Welcome to the Digimon Omnibus: Book 3. If you've not read the first two, then start with Piedmon's Absolution, though I warn you I was still learning to write during that one and thus it is not the greatest quality for a good portion of it. I've designed a regular update schedule for these chapters. I'll be posting once a month around this time until next summer, when I'll have more free time to write chapters, and then I'll probably move to a bi-weekly format for a while. I have the chapters pending, however, so there should no longer be long gaps between when I'm able to submit chapters.
The Digimon Omnibus: Sins of the Digidestined
Part 1: Attack on Kyoto
Qliphoth
"Then I looked, and behold, a whirlwind was coming out of the north, a great cloud with raging fire engulfing itself; and brightness was all around it and radiating out of its midst like the color of amber, out of the midst of the fire."
The Digital World
"Keep running!" Kentaurosmon galloped across the field of jagged rock as the angry hoard swept behind her. PaladinImperialdramon was by her side, jumping between stones with his massive blade leaning against his shoulder. "Look up there! We can hide inside that building!" Paladin looked ahead of them to see a massive structure looming in the horizon. Tall pillars stretched up the façade of the space, with bell towers reaching up into the sky.
"A cathedral: up here?" Paladin gaped at the towering space.
"It's the digital world; what did you expect?" Kentaurosmon quipped. "We need to get inside, quickly!" Kentaurosmon picked up the pace, with Paladin leaping ahead of him. He glanced back at the massive horde tearing across the landscape, closing in on them, and shuddered. They arrived at the face of the cathedral moments later, ripping the massive doors open and slipping inside. The two Royal Knights slammed the doors closed, and Paladin slid his sword in between the handles, sealing them from the outside.
"That won't hold them for long." Paladin remarked. "We need to get into contact with Dynasmon and Crusadermon and find a way out of here."
"Paladin…" Kentaurosmon was turned the other way, looking past the pews into the depths of the church. The white knight turned around at Kentaurosmon's command, gasping as he caught sight of a magnificent light radiating down the aisle.
"What in Yggdrasil is that…?" Paladin slowly walked forward, his mouth dropped open. "Could it be…?" The two knights slowly walked forward towards the light, entranced by the sparkling beacon.
"Welcome back," A voice boomed within the hall, calling to the two warriors.
"What do you mean?" Kentaurosmon breathed. "What is this place?"
"Home."
Uchide Junior High School
Otsu, Kyoto, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
Monday, April 2nd, 2018
8:00 A.M
"Oh man!" Twelve-year-old Takuya Kanbara bolted down the streets of Otsu. He pulled his phone out of his pocket, checking the time. "Crap I'm going to be late, and on the first day of school too!" He moved as quickly as he down the street, his red-and-yellow tennis shoes pounding against pavement. The boy was dressed in dark grey shorts, a yellow shirt, and red over-shirt, along with green gloves and a green baseball cap.
Takuya shivered as he finally came upon the entrance to the school. "I can't believe how cold it is: are we just not having spring this year?" He grumbled as he joined the other stragglers who were making their way inside. He filed in behind them, pulling a sheet of paper out of his pocket as he did so to confirm where his classroom was. He found his way upstairs and to the room, where luckily the teacher was nowhere to be seen.
"Hey, you're lucky." A familiar voice sounded from the back of the room. "The teacher is late too." Takuya excitedly made his way towards the back, where his best friend Willis Miyahara sat. The boy had his feet propped up on the legs of the desk in front of him, wearing grey shorts, a white long-sleeved shirt, and a red over-shirt. He passed his hand through his short, blonde hair as Takuya walked by.
"Hey Willis!" Takuya nodded as he headed for the seat he always chose in every class, in the back of the room next to the window. "Aw, man…" He stopped when he saw somebody else sitting there: a boy dressed in black pants and a blue jacket, with a blue and black-striped bandana covering his black hair. A yellow shirt could be seen under his jacket as the boy stared out the window, lost in thought.
"Sorry buddy, he got there first." Willis smiled. "I was going to save it for you but he was here before I was."
"Man, this is stupid." Takuya grumbled as he took the open seat in front of Willis. "I always sit in that spot: every classroom…"
"Good morning class, sorry I'm late." A woman with long brown hair came in through the open door, wearing a navy blue skirt and a yellow sweater.
"My name is Nami Asaji," She announced, "And I'll be your instructor for this term." The woman turned around and began writing on the chalkboard. Takuya slumped back and prepared for his first boring term of middle school.
Factory Mark Central Headquarters
10:04 P.M
"Tao, when you get a chance, could you send me what you've got on the latest batch of encryption data?" Shibumi leaned back in his chair and tilted his head back, so as to catch sight of the man named Tao out of the top of his eye.
"Yeah, give me a minute and I'll forward it to you." Tao nodded as he clicked away on his keyboard.
"Better do what he says quickly Tao," Their associate said from a computer desk a few meters away, "Before he starts cracking the whip again." A smile appeared in the corner of his mouth.
"Tell me about it, Dolphin." Tao chuckled.
"I do not," Shibumi groaned, "I can't help it if the guys upstairs have us on a disproportionately shrinking timetable. They're the ones cracking the whip, not me."
"You shouldn't let him get to you like that." A man appeared in the doorway of the small room, leaning against the frame. He looked into the small workspace, fit with eight computer stations, three of which were occupied. "You know Dolphin's only teasing."
"Hey there Johnny." Tao cocked his head over at the newcomer.
"Howdy Tao," Johnny nodded. "How goes the project? You really haven't finished yet?"
"We're extracting massive amounts of data from a decades-old server that somehow has more levels of security and encryption than any system built within the last year…" Shibumi stated bluntly. "Give us some time."
"Though we have been making some incredible progress since we've been using that decryption algorithm you managed to… acquire… for us a few months ago." Tao chuckled.
"Where did you get that again?" Shibumi added.
"Hey, hey, we got that in from a private contractor," Johnny waved them down, "And are you complaining?"
"Not complaining, just curious," Tao shook his head, "This algorithm works very elegantly, decrypting each layer of data one at a time, making the next layer more susceptible to editing. Over the last few months we've made more progress than in the first year of the project."
"Sounds like a dream come true," Johnny smiled, "Is that why no one shows up anymore?" He indicated to the empty work stations.
"Nah, Babel, Daisy, and Curly all have the day off," Dolphin explained, "Though I don't know where Shorty is today."
"He called earlier," Shibumi explained, "Said the trains weren't running: something about a problem with the automated system."
"He could have grabbed a cab," Tao shook his head, "The guy probably stopped to help them fix whatever the problem was."
"Shorty does love to tinker." Dolphin agreed.
"I told you guys I don't like that name," A shorter man slipped past Johnny and into the room.
"It's about time you got here." Tao said with a smile.
"Sorry about that, the trains were down." Shorty answered.
"Did you figure out what was wrong with them?" Tao inquired. Dolphin suppressed a laugh.
"Some sort of information dump on their servers crashed the system," Shorty answered matter-of-factly. Tao gave Dolphin and Johnny a knowing look. "I helped them reboot their system, but it took a while." He finished as he booted up his computer.
"That's a little weird," Shibumi was intrigued, "Any idea what caused it?"
"Not a clue," Shorty shook his head. His following silence indicated he had already become engrossed in his work.
"Alright, well I guess I'll leave the monster makers to their work." Johnny nodded as he prepared to leave.
"If you're dissatisfied with our timetable, you could always come back and help us again." Dolphin suggested.
"Nah, I've had my fill of cubicle work."
"They're not cubicles!" Shibumi protested.
"Woah!" Shorty jumped out of his chair. "What the hell is this?"
"What's wrong?" Shibumi immediately sprang to his feet and ran over to Shorty's workstation, with Tao, Dolphin, and Johnny behind him.
"Look here," Shorty leaned in, "There's a massive influx of data spilling into our server, just like what happened at the train station."
"How can there be data spilling into the server? We're the only ones with access to the project." Tao inquired.
"No, you don't understand," Shorty shook his head, "The data isn't pouring into the project, it's overloading our servers here in the building! Someone's trying to crash our system!"
"Shorty…" Shibumi leaned in and began navigating on his screen, "The flow of data… it's coming from the project."
"What?" Dolphin inquired.
"He's right…" Shorty gasped. "Whatever this is, it's coming from us." As he spoke, the lights in the building began to flicker, and after a few moments plunged them into darkness.
Uchide Junior High School
12:02 P.M
"Get out of there," Mimi Tachikawa leaned against the sink, looking into the mirror, as she carefully maneuvered her fingers around her eye.
"Would you hurry up?" Her friend, standing near the entrance to the restroom, tapped her foot impatiently.
"I've almost… got it…Yuno…" She grunted, "I just can't quite see…" She paused to slip the pink cowboy hat she was wearing off of her head, letting the tether catch under her neck, so that it hung off the back of her head, resting against her long blonde hair.
"You look beautiful, now c'mon, I'm hungry." Yuno whined.
"That's not what I'm doing but I appreciate the confidence booster," A tear dripped down her cheek as the tip of her finger brushed against her eye. "Got it." She quickly washed her fingertips. "Stray eyelash." She smiled.
"Ugh, we're not going to be able to find a good place to sit now." The girl groaned as Mimi slipped on a pair of yellow gloves and straightened her long, red dress.
"Okay, I'm ready, let's go." She followed Yuno out of the restroom, and they made their way towards the long cafeteria line.
"Oof!" As they walked, a tall boy in a red shirt scraped past them. "My bad!" He waved before running over to his friend.
"Ugh, Takuya Kanbara," The girl shook her head. "He's so rude."
"His friend's okay." Mimi protested.
"Who?"
"Willis," She nodded over to Takuya, who had joined a blond-haired boy in line.
"I don't know," Yuno said warily, "Two peas in a pod, if you ask me."
"Maybe," Mimi drifted off as she began digging through her purse, finally pulling out her cell phone.
"Hey, we're not supposed to have those out during school hours." Yuno warned.
"I just want to see what's for lunch today," Mimi answered, "Oh, that's weird."
"What?"
"The school website is down. There's just an error message."
"Well, looks like you'll have to be as surprised as the rest of us!" Yuno gasped quickly as she snatched the phone out of the girl's hand and plunged it back into her purse.
"Hey, what are you-!" She stopped as a teacher walked past the line of hungry students. Yuno and Mimi glanced at each other before giggling quietly.
"Nice save." Mimi smiled. "Ooh, the line's moving!" Mimi eagerly pulled Yuno forward as they made for the lunchroom.
The Digital World
12:09 P.M
The terraces of the EXE Mountains were oddly quiet. The rice farms that had been so dutifully worked over the years now lay empty and bare, the waterways overflowing, and farming equipment scattered across the fields. Empty homes littered the landscape, victims of the flooding as much as the unkempt fields, clinging to the sides of the mountains, as if in one last desperate attempt to hold on to the way things were.
Nothing was the same. The owners had fled, months ago, when the virus first attacked. Once infected, death was quick, and almost certain. Thousands of Digimon had been obliterated within the first few weeks, and the remaining stragglers had flocked to the cities, hoping to find a cure. No one had known where the virus had come from, or how it spread. Scientists had ruled out an airborne contagion or physical contact. No, the virus seemed to strike randomly, with complete chaos. No Digimon was safe, be it a rookie or mega.
One lone figure sat with legs crossed at the top of the terraces, overlooking the valley below. A humanoid Digimon with flaming red hair, and a metal visor covering his eyes, wore a black, form-fitting body suit along with a large, white coat. He sat completely still, unwavering against the steady wind or the ripples in the water. He sat in silence for a long time, until he was disturbed by a high pitched voice calling from afar.
"Gankoomon!" A voice squeaked in the distance, catching his attention. The silent creature turned towards the source of the noise, peering across the flat mountaintop, where a small, pink creature came bouncing towards him.
"Poromon," He greeted the young creature as it hopped towards him, using its small wings to flutter through the air for moments at a time. "Is something the matter?"
"Gankoomon, there's something you need to see, back at the camp!" The Digimon urged as it came upon the larger Digimon, using its small wings to control its stop.
"What's the matter, young one?" Gankoomon inquired as he jumped to his feet.
"It's the digital army." The Poromon puffed.
"We must move quickly." Gankoomon snatched the small Digimon into his arms and began dashing across the terraces, making his way across the leveled hills until he came upon some unbroken, natural formations, coated in trees. He leaped from the last terraced hill and into the forest, appearing moments later amidst a flurry of small Digimon hopping to and fro.
"Gankoomon, you're back!" A Patamon cheered at the sight of the taller creature.
"The Digital army, where is it?" The Digimon inquired. Patamon wasted no time, leading him through the forest and to the other side of the hill, where a small outcropping of stone had been built to oversee the land beyond the mountains: a flat expanse of fields, interrupted by the occasional foliage.
"Look." Patamon pointed out into the distance, where a legion of Digimon marched across the fields. Hundreds of Digimon, mostly rookies, were led by champions and a few ultimates, as they marched towards some unknown destination.
"They're mobilizing." Gankoomon murmured.
"Where do you think they're going?" Patamon inquired.
"Where else?" Gankoomon sighed. "They're going to do what they were created for: invade the human world."
"There must be something you can do Gankoomon." Patamon whimpered.
"Even I could not defeat an army of that size," Gankoomon shook his head, "Not by myself. Besides, I need to look after all of you." He smiled at the young Digimon.
"But what about the humans?"
"Humans have a strange tenacity for trouble," Gankoomon answered, "Making them uniquely equipped to handle it. And perhaps the legendary Digidestined will be there to help them."
"I don't see how that's possible." Patamon shook his head.
"But you're right." Gankoomon nodded. "The humans are in terrible danger. For now, all we can do is keep them in our thoughts, and do our best to survive. Yggdrasil save them."
South Kyoto
12:14 P.M
"C'mon…" Detective Urameshi rapidly rapped his knuckles against the door of the apartment door, impatiently drumming the fingers of his other hand against his leg. His partner, detective Kazuma, was peeking up the stairs and down the hallway, searching for anybody who may be watching. Urameshi irritably tapped his foot against the ground as he continued to knock against the wooden panel, until finally the resident inside opened the door.
"Can I help you?" A short, stocky man wearing a white shirt, black pants, and no shoes greeted them. He looked up at the two men standing in front of his apartment, both of them wearing matching navy blue suits.
"Are you the landlord for this building?" Urameshi, the thinner of the two detectives, inquired.
"That'd be me." The man nodded.
"I'm detective Urameshi, and this is detective Kazuma," He pointed to his broad-shouldered friend, "We called earlier about one of your tenants."
"A mister…" Kazuma pulled a notepad out of his pocket, "Koushiro Okawa?"
"Oh yeah, Kou." The man rubbed his eyes, clearly having just woken up, "You said he was wanted for something?"
"Sir, we believe that Mr. Okawa might be connected to a string of cyber-crimes we've been investigating, stretching back the last twelve years. We'd like to see his apartment." Urameshi presented the man with a small bundle of papers: a warrant to search the apartment.
"I see…" The man massaged his head. "Let me grab the keys."
The landlord met them a few moments later and led them up the stairs. "You know, for what it's worth, the kid seems pretty dependable. He never causes any problems with the neighbors, always pays his rent on time."
"It's standard behavior when you don't want to get noticed." Urameshi argued. "But the results of our search should help to prove whether or not he's who we're looking for." As he spoke they arrived at the door to Koushiro Okawa's apartment. The landlord rapped on the door, and was met with silence.
"He'd usually be out right now." The landlord explained as he clicked the lock open and led them inside to the dark apartment. He flipped on the switch as Urameshi and Kazuma walked inside, illuminated the sparsely decorated interior. The living room was simple, with a small couch and coffee table in front of a television set, next to a desktop computer.
"I'll check out the bedroom," Kazuma indicated the small hallway leading to the back of the apartment.
"He's not one for extravagance, I see." Urameshi noted as he took a quick tour of the man's kitchen, which was slightly grungy, and void of food save for a few boxes of cereal and insta-noodles.
"Kuwabara!" Detective Kazuma called from the back room. "It looks like he's cleared out!" The man came back to the main room swiftly. "He's got a dresser in there with a bunch of clothes hanging out of it. I think he packed and left in a hurry."
"Shit…" Urameshi groaned. "Wait, the computer." He hurried over to the CPU, looking around on both sides, and sure enough, the side panel had been taken off and the hard drive removed. "He knew we were coming Yusuke."
"I'll call the tech guys, have them see if they can pull anything off of it." Kazuma said as he pulled out a phone.
"Get someone from forensics down here too: I want to get some prints, see if that tells us anything."
"Weird, the line's busy." Kazuma put his phone back into his pocket. "Can I use yours?" He turned to the landlord, who nodded and then led Kazuma out of the apartment.
"Dammit Okawa," Urameshi growled as he scanned the apartment in futility, "Where did you run off to?"
The Digital World
12:29 P.M
"The connection has been made." In an otherwise dark room, an armor-clad warrior stood with his back straight, looking into a bright void. "We'll be attempting to breach within the next two hours." He spoke somberly, but reverent of the force before him.
"Do you have doubts, my soldier?" A soothing voice radiated from within the void. "Do you believe they are not to blame for the travesty that has occurred?"
"I understand the necessity of what we're doing," The warrior shook his head, "But I can't help but feel as if our actions might be too drastic."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures," The void answered, "We are on the brink of oblivion."
"I know, my master." The warrior nodded.
"Then you know that we must do whatever we can to rectify this transgression?"
"Of course, forgive me," The warrior bowed, "My heart is just heavy at the thought of another war. I've seen much bloodshed in my time."
"Do not fret: your heart is pure and your reservations are well placed, just know that our actions are not bred entirely out of desperation. Our cause is just, and our campaign will be swift and without much bloodshed, provided the army you've raised is well trained."
"My soldiers have shaped up properly in the short time you've given us. They'll serve you well." The general answered.
"Then linger here no longer. Take your place as the commander of this army, and bring peace to our world once more."
"I will not fail you," The warrior swore, "By your name, I'll tear apart those that would seek to destroy us, and restore our world to its former glory." He bowed, and then made his way out of the room.
Factory Mark Central Headquarters
2:59 P.M
On the roof of one of the largest buildings in Kyoto, Koushiro Okawa stood along the edge, looking out across the city. His laptop under arm, He anxiously tapped his foot, checking his watch for the time.
"I swore I read the time correctly." He murmured to himself as he dropped to a seated position and flipped open his laptop. After a few minutes of searching and reading, he spoke again. "Yeah, my calculations are perfect. It should begin any minute. He anxiously looked out across the city.
Fifteen minutes later, his eyes strained as afternoon sun beat down upon the city, he finally saw what he had been waiting for. A small cloud had appeared, encompassing a roadway off in the distance. Then another. Then a few more. He watched eagerly as they began to expand, rolling towards one another.
"Here it comes." He grinned. "It's finally opening." He moved his laptop onto the ground and sprang to his feet, peering out across the city. The clouds swirled together and began reaching higher into the sky, engulfing the city around him, and slowly making their way into the sky. "Beneath me it devours." The various points of fog became one, encompassing even the tallest buildings, including himself. A slight dizziness washed over him as the fog encompassed the rooftop, and he struggled to maintain balance. "Let's get to work."