What Could Have Been of Digital Harmony: Vespimon Arc, Part 2 · 11:39pm Jan 22nd, 2019
Continuing from where we left off, here are what my plans were for the Vespimon arc.
Dark Bargain
After his apparent death, Ken awakens in a white expanse of endlessly stretching void. There, whispers and silent images drift through the air, a patchwork of his own fading thoughts and memories. Ken is not given any time to further contemplate, before he is brought faced-to-face with the very last person he wanted to see: himself. Dressed in the guise of his Digimon Emperor persona, the alternate Ken berates him for letting himself be struck down so easily.
Before Ken can bring any retort, however, he is struck with visions of the world he left: Vespimon, at her full power, effortlessly slaughtering the rest of his friends. Faced with a dilemma, the Digimon Emperor offers a way out: accept his power, or leave himself and his friends to die.
Seeing no other choice, Ken accepts, and the world fades away as darkness claims him...
Relapse
The confrontation with Vespimon has taken a turn for the grim. Left emotionally distraught, the Digi-destined barely manage to hang on for survival, their digimon allies being tossed around helplessly by the force of Vespimon’s attacks. As the fight drags on, it begins to look completely hopeless.
However, as Yolei holds Ken’s body in her arms, to her absolute astonishment, she sees his eyes open. Despite the massive, gaping hole in his chest, he manages to stand himself upright, eyes burning with a determination that was not there before.
As he slowly walks his way towards Vespimon, the fighting stops, and everyone goes quiet. Nobody can believe what they are seeing. Ken, seemingly back from the dead, advancing on a dumbstruck Vespimon. With each step he takes, the hole in his chest shrinks, until the wound is healed.
Davis calls out to his friend, begging him to step back, but Ken turns around. There is a wicked gleam in Ken’s eye as he raises his hand, and with a whooosh, Davis is knocked to the ground by an invisible force.
For the first time since the fight began, Vespimon shows signs of hesitation. As she wonders aloud where Ken is getting his power from, a mad flame dances beneath his eyes. He is the protector of the Digital World, and he has sacrificed everything to keep the Digital World safe, to lead it to a new future, to shape it into the world that it was always meant to be. He is the Digital World’s champion, its protector, its curator... and its master.
Darkness swirls, coalescing into a solid form cloaked around Ken’s body.
And just like that, the Digimon Emperor is reborn.
As everyone stares in shock and horror, Vespimon is the first to respond to the situation. In a defiant cry, she lets loose a powerful attack.
Spiking Venom!
But as the attack closes in, Ken turns his head slightly to the side. Vespimon’s stinger bounces off, leaving nothing more than a single scratch on his left cheek. As the shadows gleam off of his sunglasses, Ken flashes a vicious smirk, and says:
You know... a friend of mine once told me, that there’s a time for talking, and a time for fighting. But I disagree. Because what I’m about to do to you? It couldn’t even be called a fight.
Dark energy crackles with power, and a whip materializes in Ken’s right hand, its surface pulsing with electricity. With a single crack of the whip, Vespimon is sent reeling. Vespimon attempts to strike back, but Ken deftly sidesteps the blow. Another flick of his wrist, and the whip coils around Vespimon’s body. Dark energy surges through, and Vespimon is sent screaming in agony. When the assault finally relents, Vespimon is left in shambles on the ground. Looking up for just long enough to meet her attacker in the eye, she sees Ken raise a single hand, and call out an attack...
Time Unlimited!
A black, oily sphere materializes in Ken’s palm. As it shoots outward, it grows and expands, eventually absorbing Vespimon into itself. As the sphere reaches its maximum size, stars, galaxies, and nebulae of all colors begin to coalesce, becoming visible to the naked eye. As the Digi-Destined stare dumbstruck in terror and confusion, Cody is the first to observe what’s happening.
It... it looks like some kind of pocket dimension!
Ken gives a maniacal grin, and follows up with a second attack cry.
Dimension Destroyer!
The bubble shatters instantly, leaving nothing in its wake but a cloud of fog and a deathly silence. As the fog clears, Fluttershy is seen lying in the crater where Vespimon once stood, still barely conscious by some miracle. Rage continues to burn in Fluttershy’s eyes as Ken calmly approaches, though her anger at this point is clearly futile.
But before Ken can make another move, a new attack cry sounds.
Sticky Net!
Ken is immediately caught in an entangled web of silk. As a distraught and horrified Wormmon rushes to confront him, Ken shows no sign of struggle, still radiating a calm, calculated malice even as he is restrained. Wormmon tearfully begins to give a speech, expressing his profound sense of disappointment and betrayal, but is abruptly cut off by Ken.
Spare me the sobs, Wormmon. In case you couldn’t tell, I’ve already gotten everything I wanted. Just look at Fluttershy right now. Do you think she’ll ever be the same after what I’ve done to her?
He turns to Fluttershy, still grinning wickedly. Fluttershy, covered in bruises, manages to rise to her hooves, every part of her body quivering in rage.
Run along now, Flutterwimp. It doesn’t matter what you do. The gears have already been set in motion. Soon everything you know will belong to my perfect world.
With a final howl of frustration, Fluttershy flies away further into the darkness, and out of sight. The howling winds of shadow at last begin to weaken, and the Digimon Emperor’s regalia vanishes, leaving him to collapse onto his knees. Just before he passes out, he is only able to speak a single sentence.
What... have I done?
Shiiiiiiiiit...
That's some heavy and dark stuff.
I have to agree that is some heavy and dark stuff.