Chapter Text
The more the Digidestined developed their plan to invade the Emperor's fortress, the more it all slowly became real for them. This was their final campaign, and it was all or nothing. If they failed… nobody was really sure what would happen.
Eventually, it became obvious that this wasn't something they could wrap up in one afternoon. They'd be in the Digital World for days, at a minimum. Which presented a whole new set of problems when the children had to figure out how they'd explain their sudden disappearance to their parents.
Tai was the one who came up with the idea.
"You guys are going to go on a camping trip," he said. "That's what we'll tell the grownups, anyway. Me and Matt and Izzy will go for real and cover for you."
Kari smiled up at him. "That's really generous of you, big brother."
"Nah. Not really. I'm not just doing it for you guys. I'm doing it for Agumon… and for me." His expression got a lot darker. "I'll do anything to get back at Ken for what he did."
"Ugh. Why couldn't we do this during school?" Davis griped. "We're just wasting valuable summer vacation like this."
Their plan quickly came together. Mr. Ishida agreed to act as the chaperone, and Davis and the rest of the team got permission from their parents to go off on the "camping trip", which would supposedly last several days. The children all resolved not to be like Ken and just vanish into the Digital World, leaving their families to wonder what became of them.
The next thing they knew, it was the night before they were set to take off. TK had finished packing his sleeping bag and other toiletries – things that would be necessary for a days-long excursion into the Digital World, and also conveniently necessary for a camping trip.
He sat at the kitchen table, gazing off at nothing. This was it. Tomorrow, they were leaving to take care of the Digimon Emperor once and for all.
He couldn't relax.
Something was eating at him. Had been eating at him for a long time now. Since Omnimon… no, longer than that. And lately it had just gotten worse.
He couldn't ignore it any longer.
He picked up the phone and dialed a very familiar number.
After a moment of ringing, Kari's voice picked up on the other end. "TK? Is that you?"
"Yeah. It's me." His voice was strangely hoarse. "I'm just… checking up on you, I guess."
"You're worried about tomorrow?"
"Aren't you?"
There was a moment of awkward silence, but thankfully, Kari quickly spoke up again. She'd always been pretty good at reading him.
"There's something specific that's bothering you, isn't there."
TK winced. "Yeah. There is." He was getting the feeling they should have talked about this a long time ago. "Listen, Kari. You know we've been trying to figure out how Ken learned about Machinedramon. But you remember… just the day before, Bearmon and I were talking about the Dark Masters. To everyone on the team."
He didn't elaborate, but the implications were obvious.
"Yeah… I do remember that. Actually, TK… there's something I have to tell you too," said Kari, and it sounded like a confession. "The day before Ken kidnapped Agumon and Gabumon, I… I was talking to Wormmon. I told him about the time Omnimon fought Diaboromon."
TK was silent. He'd never known that detail before. Vaguely he realized his throat was tight, and his mouth was dry.
"TK… what are we going to say? What are we going to do?" came Kari's voice. "We're about to fight Ken inside his fortress."
TK struggled to form a response. His mind was racing. "I don't know…" he started, but then he started thinking about Davis and the others, and how they'd all be in danger unless he did something.
"No… I know what I have to do," he said grimly, mostly to himself. "Davis'll never forgive me for this, I know that much. I'll never hear the end of it." He sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I wish I could think of something else… but…"
"But?"
"But if we really want to beat Ken, I don't have any other choice." He swallowed hard, knowing he was about to commit himself to something he might very well regret in the future…
But that was what it meant to be a Digidestined, after all. It was full of regrets.
"Kari, I need to ask you a favor."
"Anything, TK."
His eyes grew steely as he gazed ahead. "I need to borrow something from you."
––
Wormmon was there to meet the children and their Digimon as they arrived in the Digital World. They had all packed for what could be a long trip. TK specifically was lugging around… something. It was covered in a tarp, and Wormmon couldn't tell what it was.
"We're here," Yolei sighed, hugging herself and looking around at the forest where they'd found themselves. "This is really happening, huh?"
"There's no going back now," Cody agreed. "So. Based on our calculations, the Emperor's fortress is south of here, right?"
"And those schematics of the place that Izzy dug up showed a bunch of secret entrances," said Kari. "We'll have to get inside through one of those – we'll probably need our Digimon's help to reach it."
"And once we're in there… we look for the power source. Whatever makes that place run," said TK. "I'm sure it'll be heavily guarded, but if we can take it out permanently, the Dark Rings and Control Spires should all stop functioning. Ken will be powerless."
"That's right! He's just a human kid. Then we can beat him up and drag him back to the human world so he can never come back here again." Davis balled his fists, looking eager to get going. "All right! Anybody got any questions?"
"I believe we're all quite clear on what needs to be done," said Hawkmon.
"We might get split up in there. We all need to have our D-Terminals on us. We should remain in contact with each other at all times," said Cody.
"And if there's any nasty Digimon in there, we'll take care of them!" Patamon chimed in.
TK gave a nod. "Okay. Well, the first step is just to get there… we can worry about the rest once we've done that." He slung his bag over his shoulder. "So let's head out."
Wormmon hadn't said a thing this whole time. He had just stood and watched, hoping against hope that the children had another plan, that they weren't about to just blindly walk into the fortress. He steadily filled with dread as he realized his worst fears were coming true. His friends were heading right into a trap.
A trap that he had helped set.
"You can't," he blurted out.
Everyone turned to look down at him, seemingly remembering him for the first time.
"Huh?" said Davis.
"You can't go inside the Emperor's fortress," Wormmon repeated, unable to keep the desperation out of his voice. "This whole plan… you can't do it."
"Why not, Wormmon?" asked Kari.
This was it. This was the moment he'd been dreading for such a long time. He was a fool to hope he could keep them from ever finding out. That he could keep the consequences from ever catching up with him.
"Because he knows you're coming," he said. "He's prepared for you."
Everyone else looked confused… except TK, who abruptly got a very dark look on his face.
"So it's true."
Suddenly filled with rage, he grabbed Wormmon and slammed him against a tree with enough force to shake it. Wormmon let out a scream, and the others all gasped or cried in shock as they automatically stepped backwards.
"How long have you been working for him? How long have you been lying to us?!" TK snarled. "Did he even burn your home down, or did you lie about that too?!"
Wormmon couldn't even form a sentence. "I… I…"
"TK, stop it, you're scaring him!" cried Kari.
"Wait a minute." Davis looked back and forth between TK and Wormmon before his eyes landed on the Digimon. "Wormmon? What is he saying? Were – were you spying on us?"
"But we played soccer together…" Veemon whimpered.
"That's it, isn't it? You can't even deny it," TK hissed. "You've been going to him at night and telling him everything and… oh my God…" He seemed to realize something else. "My D-Terminal," he groaned. "You showed it to him, didn't you? He's been reading our emails! That's how he always knows where to attack us!"
"Is that true, Wormmon?" said Cody, more dangerously than a boy his age should have been able.
"I'm sorry…" Wormmon pleaded.
"Shut up! You don't get to just apologize!" TK tightened his grip on him. "This is all your fault! Bearmon and the others – my brother's Digimon! They're all dead because of you! Do you even understand that?!"
Wormmon had never been so scared. He could only squirm pathetically in TK's grasp. "Please… don't be angry… please, I can explain…"
"Fine. Then explain, Wormmon. Explain why you sold us out to the guy who tried to kill you!"
Wormmon could barely get the words out, but he knew he had to. "Ken… Ken is…" he whimpered. "Ken is my partner."
Everyone was silent. Davis, Yolei and Cody all went slack and just stared at him. They looked too shocked to even feel betrayed.
TK's anger seemed to ebb and be replaced by confusion, but only barely.
"What – what are you talking about?" he demanded. "Ken doesn't have a partner."
"Yes he does. He does. It's me. It's always been me," said Wormmon. "I couldn't remember him before, but… I remember now."
TK clearly had no idea how to react. But he pulled his hand away from Wormmon, and the little Digimon fell to the ground with a thud.
"What do you mean? You forgot him?" It sounded like Yolei had just remembered to be outraged. "How do you forget something like that?"
"I don't know. I wish I did. But I forgot him, and he's forgotten about me too. This whole time I've just been trying to get him to remember…"
"So you lied to us?" demanded Cody. "You told him all our secrets, you pretended to be on our side? How does that help him remember?"
"Wormmon…" Strangely, Davis didn't look angry at all. He just looked heartbroken. "I thought you were our friend."
This was horrible. This was exactly what Wormmon had never wanted to happen. His friends, his place on the team, the life he'd tried to build for himself… it was all falling apart before his eyes. Everyone hated him, and he'd hurt them all so badly… and Ken had already rejected him. He was about to be left with nothing.
"I wasn't lying," he insisted. "I never wanted to hurt anyone… or betray anyone… it's not like I approve of what he's doing. But this was the only way. The only way I could be with him… get close to him… so maybe I could understand what's made him this way…"
The others were looking down at him warily, like he was some kind of imminent danger. "Wormmon… don't you understand that what Ken's doing is wrong?" said Kari. "How can you still want to help him now, after all this time?"
"I can't help it. No matter what he's done, I'm his partner, and I love him. I love him more than anything in the world." He gazed up at the Digidestined with such sadness in his eyes. "Don't you understand how I'm feeling? It's my job to protect him… it's why I exist. It's because he's doing these horrible things that I have to help him… because no one else will." His eyes were shimmering. "Wouldn't any of you do the same thing for someone you loved? Even if they could never love you back?"
He turned to look at the other Digimon. "Wouldn't all of you do anything to protect your partners? Anything at all?" he begged. "Especially if they were putting themselves in danger?"
Veemon and the others immediately looked uncomfortable. They all exchanged wary glances with each other from where they were standing at their partners' sides, or perched on their shoulders, wondering if someone else was going to speak up, but no one did.
TK was the one who had to break the silence. "Wormmon… the Ken you thought you knew doesn't exist anymore. Maybe he never did."
Wormmon stared up at him, aghast. "No… you can't mean that… you can't…" Desperation started creeping back into his voice. "He's just forgotten, that's all… I just have to make him remember… then he'll go back to the way he was… I know he will…"
Yolei scowled at him and put her hands on her hips. "You've got an awful lot of faith in him. What's he ever done for you?"
Wormmon shook his head. "You'll see. I promise, you'll see. It's all right if you're all angry with him, but… you can't hurt him. Please, don't hurt him."
The others all glanced at each other again. Wormmon really didn't like the looks they were giving each other.
"We're not going to hurt him, Wormmon," said TK. "But I can't guarantee he won't hurt himself. And if that happens… there's nothing we can do."
There was a moment of very heavy silence. "So… what, are we still doing the plan?" asked Yolei. "If Ken knows we're coming, then…"
"No way. We are not backing out. Not now!" Davis said angrily. "We've planned all this out, and we've come this far. I don't care if Ken knows we're coming! We'll bring the fight to him, and we'll win! We don't have any other choice!"
"I think Davis is right," TK sighed. "We have to do this now, before he hurts any more innocent Digimon. We'll just have to be smarter than him."
"Great. Smarter than a super genius? No problem," Yolei complained.
Looking like they were unsure of what else to do, the others started slowly gathering their things up and getting ready to set off on a trek. Wormmon was surprised. Was that it? Was that horrible conversation over? Was he still coming along?
"Wait. We're not leaving yet."
Everyone paused what they were doing and looked over at TK. He stepped over to the thing he'd been carrying around, and he pulled the tarp off. It was the kennel Kari used to carry around her pet cat, Miko.
He opened the door and glared down at Wormmon. "Get in."
Wormmon stared at him, then at the kennel, like he couldn't understand what TK was saying. "Wha… what?"
Davis, Yolei and Cody all looked surprised. TK obviously hadn't shared this part of the plan with them. "Wait a minute – TK! You're just gonna lock him in there?!" said Davis.
"We can't trust him," TK said sternly. "If we let him do what he wants, he'll try to warn Ken. You know that."
"Who the heck died and made you leader? There's no way we're doing that to him!" Davis got up in TK's face, staring the other boy down. "You know who else locks Digimon up in cages? The Digimon Emperor! Are you trying to be like him now?"
"TK… please…" Wormmon tried to speak up, but he could barely raise his voice. "I have to be there… he's my partner, I – "
TK turned to look down on him. "If it comes down to saving the Digital World or saving Ken, which one will you pick?"
Wormmon was shocked into silence. Everyone was looking at him expectantly, but he couldn't answer. All he could do was lower his head. And that, of course, was an answer in itself.
Davis slowly lowered his fists, and suddenly he just looked disappointed at him.
TK shook his head. "I'm not going to tell you again, Wormmon. Get in."
Wormmon squeezed his eyes shut, but even then he could feel the eyes of the others boring into him. Everything was going wrong… so wrong. He hadn't known it was possible to feel so ashamed.
It occurred to him that TK wasn't physically forcing him. If only he were a stronger Digimon, maybe he could have fought his way out. But, no… no matter how strong he was, he didn't have the will to do that. He couldn't go against his friends' wishes, didn't have the strength to defy the just anger in TK's eyes.
Ever so slowly, with his head still lowered, he crawled into the kennel. And then he heard a clink as someone locked the door behind him.
He turned himself around and saw the Digidestined and their partners all gazing down at him from the other side of the bars. Some of them looked angry, some… looked like they didn't know how to feel. But no one made a move to come to his defense.
"We'll come get you when it's over," TK said to him, and then turned away to face the other children. Like that was all there was to it. "Let's move out, guys."
Everyone else was completely silent… including Wormmon. Slowly, awkwardly, the children finished gathering up their things before they set off walking through the forest. Their partners stuck by their sides, and Wormmon was left behind.
"TK," Patamon said softly, flapping along next to his partner, "was that really the right thing to do?"
TK didn't respond. No one else said a thing, but they all periodically looked over their shoulders as they trudged along to see Wormmon, locked in the kennel, watching after them. His wide, staring eyes were the last thing they could see of him before he vanished into the distance.