Phantom Codewalker
Tablet IV - Scars
by Ajora Fravashi
*Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon. Toei does. If I did own Digimon,
Ryo would be a major character in the TV series instead of only
landing a grand total of ten seconds of screen time within the frame
of two episodes and a movie.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
A ball of purple and white fur cracked open an eye at the vigorous
typing that had so rudely roused him from sleep, relatively annoyed
but not so much that he was going to fly off in a huff. "Whatcha
doing, Tamer? Isn't it a bit early to work?"
"Strengthening the cloaking perimeter," Akiyama stated in a somewhat
distracted voice as he continued typing. "Motomiya's desperate and
getting closer than I like. Besides, the perimeter also acts as an
inverted firewall and it'll keep the codewalker from escaping."
Savali the tsukaimon snickered maliciously as he fluttered over to
glance at the screen. "Say anything you want, but you hate him don't
you?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," the Tamer growled in
annoyance at the virus digimon that had decided to perch on his head
to get a better look at the monitor. Oh, he knew what the creature
meant, but damned if he was going to let Savali trap him.
Cackling, the tsukaimon raked his claws through Ryo's hair in
amusement. "Oh, you have reason enough to hate him. After all, he did
steal your digimon and Jogress partner. Wait, I forget, V-mon never
really bonded to you did he? And oh, how could Motomiya possibly steal
something already abandoned?"
Ryo swatted at the tsukaimon on his head, dislodging Savali and
sending the creature fluttering over to perch on the monitor. Savali
practically purred at him, golden eyes glittering in satisfaction.
"Don't you have anything better to do than pester me?"
"No, not at all. Besides, you did say you wanted me to help in the
hunt, did you not?"
"Pestering me is not considered help. Go dig up something to eat and
let me finish this up." One of the few certainties Ryo learned when
dealing with most digimon of Savali's level: when all else fails,
appeal to a digimon's stomach. As expected, the tsukaimon took his
hint and flew into the kitchen with it.
With the distraction gone, Akiyama Ryo opened up the overwriting
application and began to input the codewalker's signature into the
identification fields. He had no doubts that it would work, all he
needed was to lure the codewalker into a sense of security long enough
to overwrite and reconfigure it to a low-powered digimon. It wasn't
even his idea, really. Osamu was a true genius, and would have been an
invaluable resource if he had the power back then to bring the boy
into the Digital World. He had entrusted the elder of the Ichijouji
brothers with information about this world before even knowing about
Ken's existence and Osamu jumped at the chance to flaunt the abilities
that made people bow at the boy's feet.
Oh, Osamu hated the fact that he couldn't enter the world his programs
aided, however. He had been deeply offended when the digivice was sent
to his brother instead, and kept the thing away from Ken with the
excuse that the Digital World was far too dangerous a place for his
precious little brother. Ryo was however certain that this action was
more out of jealousy than anything else.
He did miss Osamu, however. Of course, Osamu would have raked him over
coals for taking his eyes off the boy's brother long enough for Ken to
get hurt, then gone codewalker hunting with a bloodthirsty zeal that
Osamu was infamous for in online gaming circles. Kageko probably
wouldn't be all that far behind, for she had been almost as protective
of Ken as Osamu was.
Ryo allowed himself a break to raise his coffee mug to the screen that
displayed Osamu's program. "To the dearly departed who would kick my
pathetic ass for letting things go so badly."
.~*~.
He thought he had gotten rid of it, thought he had killed it when he
destroyed its source code in the ziggurat. To be honest, he didn't
think this of all things would happen. He really should have known
better. This was the Digital World, after all, and every scrap of data
ended up being recycled. Ryo taught him this years ago, yet why was he
so surprised when Wormmon had been reborn or that the Kaiser turned
into what Ryo liked to call a codewalker? Was it because he didn't
want to remember?
This room was so familiar, but he couldn't quite remember why. Why
were there so many holes in his memory? He had been here before, when
he was much younger, although exactly when and why he couldn't quite
recall. The last time he had been in this room, wasn't he ill with
something or another?
Ah, yes. The last time he was here, he could remember Ryo ordering
Wormmon to take good care of him, then walking out of that door and
out of his life forever. Everyone he cared about always ended up
leaving him. Really, why had he been so willing to accept Daisuke's
friendship? Because it was a pathetic attempt to see his only friend
in someone, and who could be better than the boy who inherited the
digimon that was once Ryo's partner? Would Daisuke end up walking out
of his life too?
The Child of Kindness sighed as he closed the book he wasn't quite
paying attention to and glanced across the room at the blond who was
currently scribbling away at his desk. It was odd, he never thought
Takeru cared much about anything beyond Patamon, Hikari, and that high
and mighty code of honor the blond seemed to have... but Takeru was
the one who rescued him from certain death, who had bandaged his
wounds and did anything he asked to make him feel better. For the life
of him, Ken couldn't figure out why.
"Hey there, feeling better?"
Ken blinked at the question, unaware that he had slipped into his own
little world and his vision became unfocused because of it. "Somewhat,
although I have to say that the speed at which I'm healing is much too
unnatural." He lifted the hand that once sported a cast and flexed his
little finger in demonstration. "This ligament should have taken weeks
just to heal even with surgery, and then I should be experiencing some
stiffness. But it's like nothing ever happened."
Takeru offered a slight smile at that. Ken seemed to be capable of
sitting without discomfort now too, though he knew better than to ask
for verification. "Yeah, Gennai said it would be like that. I don't
exactly know what he did, but it's not like he'd tell me anyway."
A pause followed soon afterwards, leaving the boys simply gazing at
each other and attempting to find something new to talk about.
Conversation had never been a strong point between them, due mostly to
other factors getting in the way. Finally, Ken asked the thing that
had been bothering him for awhile.
"Why did you save me? Why do you stay with me even though you have
better things to do?"
All Takeru could really offer was a shrug since he hadn't really
thought about it. "Because I wanted to? To be honest, I don't know.
You were almost dead when I found you, and I couldn't bear the thought
of losing someone I like to think of as a friend. And as for sticking
around, I figured I should make myself useful for once."
"What makes you think you were ever useless," Ken asked, somewhat
surprised at the depressed look that had briefly crossed Takeru's face
before it was covered up. There seemed to be more to the blond than he
originally thought.
"You... you aren't the only one to have lost a digimon partner,"
Takeru got out after much difficulty, wishing Patamon hadn't gone off
in search of food earlier as he was tempted to hug the little digimon
and not let go for a very long time. "I could do nothing to save
Angemon, but I had a chance to save you. It was a gamble, but..." the
Child of Hope paused to look up at Ken, the tiniest of smiles quirking
at his lips as he did so. "I'm glad I did it."
The raven-haired boy set his book aside as he freed up his hands to
hug his knees close. That much he could understand, at least, but
while he was the Kaiser he couldn't remember ever having heard of an
Angemon being destroyed anywhere at any time during his reign. "When
was he killed?"
"A long time ago," Takeru muttered as he tapped his pencil against the
desk in discomfort. He had never really talked about Angemon's death
to anyone, never felt the need to bring up something so painful. But
it was conversation, at least. "I was eight or so then, I think. God,
I felt so helpless during that battle."
Ken gave a wince of sympathy at that. Oh, he knew about grief alright,
knew all too well what damage that kind of loss at that age could do
to someone. "I... lost my brother at that age."
A short pause followed, leaving the boys to gaze at each other in a
new light. Then, as if triggered by the recent discovery of mutual
beginnings, new conversation arose. Stories of being the youngest
members in a group and watched over by older kids with big brother
complexes were exchanged, tales told of long nights spent in the
Digital World being left out of discussions the older kids had that
they were certain the younger kids wouldn't understand. Recollections
of seemingly hopeless battles and mixed emotions those battles brought
forth were spoken.
In the midst of Takeru's recounting of the battle with Pinocchimon,
Ken sighed and leaned back against the headboard. Never did he think
he would find someone who went through so many of the same things he
did, someone who seemed to like him as a friend and understand him
without even asking anything. It was nice to know that he wasn't
alone. And, curiously enough, he wasn't all that uncomfortable when
Takeru sat beside him on the bed.
Somewhere during one of the tales exchanged, a purple and white
version of Patamon burst through the door, drawing the boys' attention
for a brief second before the tsukaimon exhaled a purple fog that soon
had them pass out.
Akiyama Ryo entered the room soon after the fog dissipated, frowning
slightly at the tsukaimon that was making itself comfortable on the
foot of the bed. "Did you *have* to target both of them?"
"Not my fault they were practically cuddling when I barged in," Savali
smirked, delighting in the rise he was getting out of the Tamer. Ryo
was really far too easy to needle. "Oh yes, they were talking for
hours. Isn't it nice that darling Ken has someone to relate to at
last? You should be happy, Tamer, since *you* certainly never made an
attempt. After all, why do today what you can do tomorrow? I'm afraid
it's a little too late for you to redeem yourself, isn't it?"
Refusing to answer the tsukaimon as it would be exactly what Savali
wanted, the Tamer settled on the desk chair and opened up the his
laptop computer. Now the hunt was on.
.~*~.
There was darkness all around him, no light anywhere to relieve him of
his stark black surroundings. It was disorienting, he couldn't tell if
he was suspended midair or submerged in liquid. None of his senses
would register in his mind, and he hated it. He hated darkness, hated
feeling so helpless. And more than anything, he hated being alone.
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, all discarded before they
could come to fruition. Nothing he could think of would get him out of
this, and the situation was becoming increasingly distressing. Why was
he here anyway? All he could remember was talking with Ken and passing
out when that strange purple digimon flooded the room with equally
purple fog. That fog probably triggered this dream and he was going to
wake up soon enough.
Takeru took comfort in that thought even as his senses returned to him
one by one. The air was temperate and still, it was so dry that his
lips soon became chapped with the lack of moisture. The darkness
lifted to unveil grounds that once supported life but had been salted
so that nothing would ever grow from it again, and in the place of
living things was death. There were forests of wooden stakes that
impaled humans and digimon alike, and at the head of this death forest
was a crucifix with a certain very familiar figure nailed to it. After
fighting down the urge to throw up at both the vision and the fetid
stench of death that was now carried by languid winds, Takeru stepped
closer to get a better look at the crucified angel.
It was Angemon, of that he had no doubts. Hair that was once golden
was now tarnished to a dull brown, and a couple of wings that were
ripped from their sockets now laid at the base of the cross in a dirty
pile of feathers and blood. The helmet had been discarded to expose
the angel's face, but in the place of one clear blue eye was a gaping
hole. A flood of despair washed over the Child of Hope at the sight.
Who could... Why... How...?
As if to answer his unvoiced questions, a human figure draped in black
strode forth. It was definitely human yet it sported huge, leathery
black wings that had holes ripped in several places. The person's body
was sheathed in tight leather clothing, with gloves tipped by metal
claws and an all too familiar red bat emblazoned on its chest. The
figure ignored his presence completely as it strode towards the angel
with a lance in hand. Somehow in the light of a dark sun the figure's
hair appeared a striking blue, and the wild style in which that blue
hair was presented offered Takeru a horrifying conclusion.
It was the Digimon Kaiser dressed in attire that mimicked Devimon's
appearance. Even the middle finger of the right glove had been painted
red and brown bandages were wrapped around the Kaiser's forearms. He
was so paralyzed by terror that he could do nothing as he watched the
Kaiser plunge the Lance of Longinus through Angemon's side. The entry
was diagonal and pointed upwards in such a way that it would have
penetrated Angemon's heart, and once the lance was yanked out the
angel disintegrated into dust that floated off in the wind.
This time there were no feathers floating down to the ground, this
time there was no egg materializing before him. As the Kaiser stalked
off with a lance that still dripped blood Takeru raced towards the
crucifix, hoping against all odds that it was just a dream, that the
wooden cross would disappear when touched. But the solidity of it, the
way a splinter worked its way into his finger as he touched the place
of his digimon's death, the pain that splinter shot into his nerves...
it was far too real. No nightmare he ever had was this vivid.
Takeru sank to the salt-encrusted ground and hugged his knees close.
This was wrong... very wrong. Closing his eyes against the visions of
death, the Child of Hope tried to think despite his need to cry. No
one was here to comfort him, and he'd have to figure a way out of here
on his own.
Ken wasn't the Kaiser anymore, and was likely never to go back again.
They had been sitting together and talking until that strange digimon
came, and then this happened. Did the fog the creature exhaled have
some hallucinogenic qualities? Was the good Ken he liked to think of
as a friend out here too? Akiyama said that there was something
haunting Ken, that had caused the wounds the raven-haired boy carried.
Was that incarnation of the Kaiser the codewalker Akiyama mentioned?
If so, how was that possible?
Wait, he remembered something Taichi was talking about long ago. Sora
had been cloned by some evil digimon or another, he couldn't quite
recall which. But cloning was a very real possibility in the Digital
World. Maybe this was a clone? But why, and why was it a codewalker?
Didn't those come into being when a human was killed in this world? If
so, then what happened at the ziggurat made sense at last. Everything
was falling into place.
The forest of wooden stakes and corpses melted away when Takeru opened
his eyes again, leaving only the monochromatic salted plains and
overcast skies. Takeru rose from where he was sitting and took a good
look around. Everything was the same: grey, featureless, lifeless. Why
he walked in the direction he did, he wasn't sure but it seemed as
good an option as anything else.
It seemed like he wandered forever before he found something that
stood up sharp and proud against the landscape. It was the same white
lance used to kill Angemon, and with resolve set in his face he yanked
it from the ground. He was going to find Ken, hopefully before the
codewalker got to the boy. How, Takeru didn't know, but nothing got in
his way when he set his mind on something.
Takeru resumed his wandering despite the hopelessness of the situation
he was in. Once again it seemed as if he was wandering for an eternity
before he paused to look at the lance in his hand that still dripped
with blood. Damned if he knew why it was doing that, but he didn't
particularly care at this moment. An idea formed in his mind,
something about how he had found the lance, and he acted upon it.
Light from an unidentifiable source seemed to glint off of the lance's
polished shaft as he lifted it high in the air with the bleeding point
aimed downwards, intensifying when he struck the lance into the ground
and the dead grey world shattered like glass around him. In its place
was darkness once again, but this time the darkness was relieved in
places by flickering torches situated on the corridor walls every two
meters. The lance was still in his hand, and he gripped it tighter
just in case something unpleasant was going to show up.
He passed empty rooms, many of which had frescos, murals, and bas
reliefs depicting battle scenes. Scrawled on the walls were codes that
looked to be somewhat familiar, but he wasn't concerned with that.
There was all the time in the world to think about it after he found
Ken and would leave this nightmare world. Takeru wasn't quite sure
where he should be going, but the corridors at least offered better
options than the dead grey world he left. Thankfully, he could hear
something fall close by.
The sound led him to a chamber that was bigger than the others and
better lit. It took but a moment for his mind to register just what
was going on. Oh, the Kaiser's back was to him and the wings obscured
his view, but he did notice the figure struggling futilely in the
Kaiser's arms and it was just enough to trigger his actions. Takeru
pressed the bleeding point of the holy lance against the base of the
Kaiser's skull. "Step away from him. Now."
A growl rose from the Kaiser's throat at the unwelcome intrusion. He
was certain Takaishi wouldn't have figured out a way out of the hell
of his making, or into here for that matter. That the blond had the
gall to interrupt him while he was forcing himself on Ken was also
somewhat surprising. However, he could turn this around to his
advantage just by teleporting behind Takaishi and knocking that lance
from the boy's hands.
It was a simple process in the Digital World, really... so simple he
was surprised how few creatures used it. Just imagine where you wanted
to be, focus solely on that image, and you were there. But there was
something infringing on this ability which the Kaiser couldn't quite
pinpoint, and it was becoming quite infuriating. Then, somehow, it
seemed as if an invisible wall of fire was trapping him in place and
was quickly closing in on him. He couldn't move, couldn't breathe,
couldn't figure out what was happening to him.
Then, as quickly as he had come into being, the codewalker simply
deconstructed and vanished.
Takeru stared at where the Kaiser had been standing, wondering what
had just happened. From the point when he had pressed the lance's
point to the Kaiser's skull to when the codewalker simply disappeared,
only the span of a minute passed. Oh, he thought his eyes were playing
tricks on him when the image of the Kaiser seemed to flicker briefly,
but that was quite unexpected. Shifting his gaze to the boy who was
staring back at him in astonishment, the blond sighed and lowered his
lance before extending a hand to help Ken up.
Ken hesitated a moment before taking the offered hand and allowing
Takeru to pull him up from the altar his doppelganger had pressed him
against before... no, he wasn't going to think about it. Not anymore.
He was tired and didn't want to deal with what was done to him ever
again.
Frowning slightly as Ken flinched at his touch when he reached out to
brush away a lock of hair that was shielding the boy's face, Takeru
withdrew his hand to pull his lance into an upright position. For some
reason holding the holy lance was rather comforting at the moment. In
an attempt to process this all Takeru cocked his head as he watched
his friend shrug on the remains of a shirt that had been ripped and
tossed aside. "You do know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
"I know. I'll explain everything later," Ken whispered as he stepped
slowly towards the room's exit, his pace due more to his thoughts than
anything else. Really, why had Takeru come out here and rescue him?
What happened to make his doppelganger disappear like that? It was
something to ponder.
No more words were exchanged between the two as they left the complex
both Ken's psyche and the Kaiser's manipulations had constructed and
returned to the waking world.
.~*~.
Such a simple little thing it was, and easily breakable when one
thought along such lines. The digital egg that now occupied the
Tamer's lap was simply grey in tone with splatters of black that were
few and far between. What exactly it would hatch into, Ryo really
didn't know, but all he could be certain of that its evolutionary path
would be that of a low-powered virus. It would retain no memories of
what it had been or of its purpose when it was the codewalker, Osamu's
program made the wipe complete.
With a quick command to Savali, the tsukaimon took the egg from his
hands and flew off to relocate it to the place where all viruses
inevitably were hatched. Now he was alone to handle what was certain
to be an inflammatory reunion. Lovely. And even better yet, the boys
were awakening now.
Ken was the first to sit up from where he had been laid out, his eyes
instantly falling upon a figure that was far too familiar. His body
stiffened as the person's very presence elicited from him a flood of
emotions he fought to hold back. The feelings of abandonment, anger,
depression, so many others that he couldn't name, they all presented
themselves at once. But the reminder of Takeru's presence rose above
those emotions and Takeru definitely didn't need to see this.
Ryo sighed to himself as he allowed the boy to jerk him up from his
seat and drag him out of the room. After all, he certainly deserved
everything his former Jogress partner would throw at him. Once they
were in the solitude of the study, Ken stepped away and glared at Ryo.
"Why did you leave me when I needed you," the raven-haired boy started
as he watched the Tamer settle into a chair. Ryo had never been very
hard to read, but that had been back before the Tamer left him. Now he
couldn't tell what his former friend was feeling or thinking at all
and it was somewhat disconcerting. In what might have been an attempt
to escape his heated glare, the Tamer looked away and brushed back a
lock of hair that escaped the spikes.
"I didn't exactly have a choice."
"Oh really? I suppose your job and status as the last of your kind
were far more important for you to concern yourself than with someone
like me."
Ryo flinched at the particularly sharp words Ken threw into his face.
Savali was right, he had no chance to redeem himself to his only
friend and Jogress partner. Well, he'd just give Ken what answers he
was allowed to bestow before letting the boy walk out of his life. "I
don't suppose you remember what happened after we battled Milleniumon,
nor am I allowed to explain in length. But afterwards you became so
ill that all of us were emotional wrecks. I had to sell my own freedom
in exchange for the power to heal you. They wouldn't let me go back
with you to Earth, they insisted I sever all my emotional ties and
concentrate on the tasks they required me to undertake. Do you have
any idea what it's like being told that you couldn't go back home and
couldn't be with people you care about?"
"Who are 'They', Akiyama, and why would 'They' have any power over
your life," Ken queried as he folded his arms across his chest. He
really didn't like this situation, nor did he like the forces that
drew them far enough apart that he was here now trying to find
justification for being abandoned and turning into what he did. Trying
to find something or someone else to blame for his fall from grace.
"There are powers far stronger than anyone could guess at work in the
Digital World," was Ryo's reply. He never did like talking about the
Four Holy Beasts, and was certain there was some law or another out
there that said he couldn't speak of them anyway. "They're the ones I
went to when I was desperate and afraid of losing you. I'm not really
allowed to talk much about it."
The silence that fell between them was uncomfortable in its intensity.
Sighing as the strength of his emotions managed to taper off, Ken
leaned against one of the bookshelves. The knowledge that someone who
was once as free as Ryo was now sworn to serve higher powers weighed
heavily on him. Despite the job the Tamer performed, Ryo had been free
of such bonds, and now...
"The phantom that had been haunting you... it's been neutralized and
won't hurt you ever again," the young man offered at last, hoping it
would at least loosen the tensions between them. Unfortunately, Ken
seemed to freeze at the very mention of the codewalker. "When all this
is over, I'll tell you everything you want to know," Ryo smiled
slightly in what he assumed was a reassuring gesture as he rose from
his chair to deactivate the summons light that began blinking the
moment he brought up the subject of the codewalker. He never did like
the Holy Beasts' sense of timing either.
"I'm being summoned again," Ryo muttered dourly as he strode up to the
doorway. "I'm sure you can recall or figure out where everything is,
so feel free to take anything you need."
Ken simply nodded as he watched his first Jogress partner shrug on a
robe over the khakis and blue shirt that was once Ryo's standard
attire. Ryo had cared enough about him to give up the freedom that the
Tamer considered as precious as life itself, he couldn't hate his
friend after learning that. But there seemed to be something missing
out of all this.
"Ryo, wait..."
The Tamer turned back to look at him in curiosity. "Yes, Ken?"
"I'll come visit sometime," Ken smiled as a grin of relief flashed
over the Tamer's features. "If you're willing to have me over."
"Of course."
Perfect.
.~*~.
Takeru attempted to curl up into a tighter ball despite Patamon's
pawing at him in an attempt to get him to wake up. Taking care of Ken
during the raven-haired boy's recovery had been tiring and ended up
drawing more hours from his usual sleep schedule than he was used to
dealing with. Right now he at least had the time to make up for that.
Unfortunately, Patamon wasn't going to allow him that for the moment.
The little digimon continued pawing at his human partner until Takeru
sat up in bed and mock-glowered at him.
With a yawn the boy stretched, and in doing so he noticed the little
metal thing that was clenched in the same hand he held a holy lance in
during that horrifying nightmare. Surprise rose in Takeru's face when
he realized that he was holding a genuine tag in his hand that was
much like the ones he and his group had in their first endeavors in
the Digital World. It hadn't been there when he first passed out.
Patamon noticed his partner's questioning look and practically beamed.
"The Tamer said it was needed to find Ken in the dream world, and
since you were unconscious too he needed you to point him to the
codewalker. So he gave that to you hoping it would act as a divining
rod or something. And-" the little digimon wheezed a little before
taking another breath and continuing. "He said that if you pointed
the dream world embodiment of that at the codewalker, he could set his
trap and reconfigure it. The walker thing, I mean."
So that's what the lance really was, and why the Kaiser seemed to just
disappear. It made some sense, at least. "So this is Ken's?"
The little digimon nodded vigorously. "Yeah! The Tamer said to give it
to Ken when you wake up. Oh! And there's no bloodstains on your hat
anymore! It's on the dresser if you want it."
Shaking his finger before his partner's face, Takeru reached out to
grab the fisher's hat and throw it on. "We do not mock the hat."
Shortly after having straightened out the room a bit, Takeru wandered
out into the living room with a Patamon firmly planted on the top of
his head. Ken was standing before the framed photos on the mantleplace
and was dressed in a Tamachi school uniform that looked like it had
never been ripped. There seemed to be a look of sadness as Ken's eyes
lingered on the images of a far more innocent childhood.
"Say Ken, ready to go," the blond asked hesitantly, slightly relieved
when the sadness seemed to disappear. "We have one last Holy Stone to
protect, and Daisuke's probably besides himself right now trying to
find you."
Ken nodded before moving to pick up one of the framed images. It was a
small one, really, but it meant much more to him than its size would
indicate. Set against a background of a wildflower field was a girl
with white hair sitting next to a teenaged boy who was grinning at the
camera. In the safety of this boy's embrace was another boy that was
much younger, who glanced over at the girl in a lazy manner that
suggested that he would much rather take a nap.
It was something taken on his birthday, Ken recalled as he took it out
of its frame and slipped it into the inner pocket of his uniform
jacket. Ryo wouldn't mind, and it was from one of the few happy days
he had in his life. With a silent farewell to his innocence, the boy
strode out of the cottage with his friend in tow.
Hidden in the tree branches that loomed over the cottage was a pair of
glittering yellow eyes set in a body that could best be described as
a ball of purple and white fur. The tsukaimon watched the boys
progress down the river, thinking to himself as he did so.
Well, things certainly turned out much better than he anticipated.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Ajora: I would have gotten this out sooner, but the idea for a sequel
fic was nagging me and I've been spending some time fleshing that one
out. And yes, there will be an epilogue that will lead up to the new
story in this universe.
The Lance of Longinus was the lance that a Roman centurion used to
poke at Jesus during the crucifixion to prove that the guy was indeed
dead, although in certain variations it's said that Jesus asked the
centurion to put him out of his misery. Regardless, it is said that
whoever possessed the spear and understood its powers for serving
good and evil could conquer the world, though anyone who dropped it
would die soon afterwards. The spear is also known alternatively as
the Holy Lance or Bleeding Lance.