Disclaimer: I don't
own Digimon, or any of its associated products. Heck, I don't even own the computer I'm writing this on. If I did own this show, you bet I would have
a more comfortable chair.
Cast of Characters:
Author's Note: I suppose
that I should explain what this is. It
is a very long episode based epic I wrote for the benefit of my brother. Both of us are interested in the show. However, it is, most of all, long. I tried to capture the feel of the show, but
that means writing things long, and you know how that goes (long). I'm sorry for that, but if you don't have
much patience, I wouldn't suggest you read it.
It is my first fanfic, so you can be as harsh as you like, but please
review. I hope I can write something
better some day.
It has been about 1 and ½ years
since the defeat of MaloMyotismon, which means the kids are older, calmer, and rested
up, ready for their next adventure.
Mimi has moved back to Japan, and Ken has transferred to Odaiba to be
near his friends (after going through a number of depressions, which they
helped fight together). The unification
of the Digital World with the Real World has created some difficulties, but for
the most part, it has been a slow transformation. So far not much has been effected.
COMPUTER
TERMINAL: STATUS ACTIVE.
Please
enter user identity and password for access:
Identity: Gennai
Password: *********
Greetings
Gennai. Computer access to Citadel main
net granted. Data acquisition online.
What do you
need?
Recall
Files DD1.1, DD1.2
Security
Warning: Access level 2 required to
view these files. Please enter access
codes.
Code input
confirmed.
Beginning
retinal scan and crest verification.
Security
check complete, identity and access confirmed.
File as followed.
Personnel
File DD1.1
Digidestined
Team Alpha
Tai -Taichi Kamiya -Age 16 -Courage -Odaiba Central High School, Japan,
Earth
Matt -Yamato Ishida -Age 16 -Friendship -Odaiba Central High School, Japan, Earth
Sora -Sora Takenouchi -Age
16 -Love -Odaiba Central High School, Japan, Earth
Izzy -Koushiro Izumi -Age
15 -Knowledge -Odaiba Central High School, Japan, Earth
Mimi -Mimi Tachikawa -Age
15 -Sincerity -Odaiba Central High School, Japan,
Earth
Joe -Jyou
Kido -Age 17 -Reliability -Odaiba Private College Prep, Japan, Earth
CLEARANCE: Level 10, Unaware of the existence of
Citadel
STATUS: INACTIVE RESERVE
Personnel File DD1.2
Digidestined Team Beta
Davis -Daisuke Motomiya -Age
13 -None -Odaiba Northern Middle School, Japan, Earth
Ken -Ken
Ichijouji -Age 14 -Kindness -Odaiba Northern Middle School, Japan, Earth
Cody -Iori Hida -Age
11 -None -North Central Odaiba Elementary, Japan, Earth
Yolei -Miyako Inoue -Age
14 -None -Odaiba Northern Middle School, Japan, Earth
TK(*) -Takeru Takaichi -Age
13 -Hope -Odaiba Northern Middle School, Japan, Earth
Kari(*) -Hikari Kamiya -Age
13 -Light -Odaiba Northern Middle School, Japan, Earth
(*) Designates file flagged with
Level 1 Security access
CLEARANCE: Level 10, Unaware of the existence of
Citadel
STATUS: INACTIVE RESERVE
File Display complete…Update
(Y/N)? Y
Status change: Active
Authority confirmed: Status changed to ACTIVE
Access Citadel Command Network.
Checking security
classifications: Citadel Command
Network Active and Online
Issue Orders: Fleet Dreadnought Wellington,
dispatch from local patrol grounds to head for nearest Earth access under full
cloak…
Every day
they get followed. To school, away from
school, around their homes, through the city, everywhere. Those twelve kids, with their cushy lives,
their jokes and games, their after-school entertainments, nights at the movies,
trips to rock concerts, were followed every step of the way. They never know it, never watch what's
behind them, never see those who pass in their wake. Those who follow them prefer it that way.
Jessica
Wright looked at the night sky. It was
crisp and clear, cool with overtones of cold for later on, but for now, it was
warm for that time of year. Their were
only a handful of patches of fog hovering over the coastline, and the stars
shone brightly. The winds held
themselves to a minimum, blowing quietly every once in a while, and that meant
that there was little disturbance. And
the city updrafts were wonderful.
A perfect
night for flying.
She
hovered, about sixty or seventy meters over the street, watching through the
plate glass windows as the last few riffs faded away inside. There was a moment of silence, and then some
applause, gradually building in to a roar, as those around the center stage
began to stand up. The band on the
stage took a few bows, and then dropped back off the stage as the next group loaded
up their stuff on top.
"Great job
Matt!" Tai clapped the lead singer on the shoulder, nearly knocking the black
clad star sprawling.
"Careful
Tai!" Matt looked back up. "I don't
want to lose any of this stuff." He looked pointedly at the huge load of
instrument, microphone and audio gear he was carrying.
"I'll help
you with that." Tai moved closer,
grabbing some of the parts that were on the verge of succumbing to gravity,
trying not to wrinkle his dress shirt.
At his shoulder Kari, wearing her new white dress moved in to help.
"How about
a little help from you bro?" Matt
called over his shoulder.
TK stumbled
up, weaving gradually from side to side in the cleared exit aisle. "I would, but you're not the one carrying
the speakers." Kari stopped, came over
to him and took one of the speakers from him wordlessly.
"Let's get
all this stuff to my Dad's van." Matt suggested while they distributed the
load. "We can get it loaded up, and
then come back before the next bands are finished. Then we can enjoy the rest of the charity dinner."
Tai
nodded. Matt's Dad was here covering
the dinner with his news crew, but Matt had agreed to join in the concert just
to generate a little goodwill and entertainment.
A voice
interrupted Jessica's thoughts: We're
done patrolling the Highton View area, and are headed back out of sight. Nothing to report, we'll take over from
number two flight in about twenty minutes.
I hear
you. Two flight, you can head back and
get some rest once they get here.
I copy. This time the voice was lighter, less aggressive,
and decidedly relieved. Keeping a bunch
of flying Digimon out of sight was one of the least desirable jobs in the
world. Fortunately, a handful of
Gennai's modified firewalls seemed to be doing the trick nicely, if not
perfectly.
Jessica
turned her attention back to the four youngsters, who were even then entering
the parking structure attached to the building, and that was when everything
went plain crazy.
Cortell
called the impulses that come from extended exposure to the crests insights,
and tried to explain this through a number of different scientific models. Jan just looked wise and called it
intuition. But perhaps, most fitting,
Andrel and Gennai both looked at her and said "It just is!". Nevertheless, sometimes a striking certainty
would come over one of the crest bearers, a prediction of things to come, or a
dire warning.
"Status
report on everyone, now!" she was talking out loud now, as it required less
concentration.
"This is
Jan, I'm watching over Ken now, he's studying a book at his house."
"Two flight
here, I have visual on Cody and Yolei, they're both working at Cody's on his
computer. And eating brownies."
"Six
here. Sora's studying for her history
exam."
"Five
here. Izzy's online, researching
something for his history exam. Visual
confirmation check."
"Four
flight, reporting visual confirmation on Joe, he's at home, studying as usual."
"Overwatch
one here, I can see Davis practicing his soccer. Inside." the last was with a verbal wince.
"Seven
here. I have Mimi on visual, doing her
hair and reading a book."
As the
voices echoed out of the air next to her head, the feeling of unease grew. If everyone else was home, than the four
with her were in the only truly exposed place.
If she was wrong, she might pull protection off of people who needed
it. But if she wasn't…
Her feeling
intensified as the foursome walked out into the cold night air on the exposed
structure. There was no mistaking this
feeling.
"I need
backup at my position now. I think we
have a situation."
She could
feel the communication lines explode into static as backup units who had been
resting in different parts of the city raced toward her, but they probably
would not get here in time, unless her premonitions were wrong again.
Right on cue,
a group of dark shadows became evident, a group of people lurking around that
particular floor of the parking structure, where the four were now
walking. They continued on, oblivious
to the sudden danger.
"So where's
the van?" TK asked, most of his vision still blocked by the load of speakers he
was carrying.
"Somewhere
on this floor. I was a little busy when
we got here." Matt tried to pull out the keys when suddenly the first of the
people began to emerge out of the parked cars in front of them. His eyes got real wide, and he stopped going
forward, which halted the rest of the procession rather unceremoniously.
Jessica
dropped out of the sky into the garage in a rush of wind, mentally broadcasting
images of what was going on. In the
back of her mind she could hear the sound as Jan tucked himself into a dart and
accelerated to unbelievable speeds. For
some reason Jan's connection and infatuation with speed meant that he was the
fastest of them all in his unaltered state, even giving Imperial Dramon a run
for his money. Now, he was hurtling
above the skyscrapers, barely managing to hide the sound of his sonic booms as
they threatened to echo across the city.
"Why did
you do that Matt?" Tai asked as he ran into Matt from behind.
"What do
you want?" Matt asked, ignoring Tai and concentrating on the semi-circle of
dark figures that was now blocking their path.
"Depends,"
a raspy voice responded. "What do you
have?"
There was a
glint as light flashed off of knives in the dark. Tai dropped what he was carrying, Matt and TK set there loads
down a little more lightly. All four
begin to back up, before another group of figures appeared. Kari gasped and everyone turned to watch
them. Now, the four were still backing
up, but they were being trapped against the edge of a fifth story building.
Jessica
walked out of the dark, feverishly remembering Gennai's instructions. Try not to digivolve, try not to leave
visible evidence that you're not a normal human, try not to rip a hole in
space. Do things the normal way. Inside her she cringed. Knives, I hate knives. And I hate being outnumbered. Why is it me who gets to do this? Jan would love it.
She could
still hear him in her mind, pitching on a wildly elusive course through a maze
of skyscrapers, but he probably would not get there in time. It was up to her now.
"I think
these people told you to leave them alone."
Jessica counted silently. There
were only seven of them, not actually long odds, but they were after the kids,
not her, and she had to keep any of the spread out assailants from getting
through. All of them looked like out of
work street toughs out for a night of fun, not truly dangerous, but she
remained cautious. Assumption like
that get you killed. The lighting
was faint, so all she could really make out was that they wore black and each
one carried a knife, or other metallic instrument, as a weapon.
"Out of the
way girly, we'll see to you later." the one in the middle appeared to be the
leader, he was at least the talker.
And that
was bad. Normal street toughs would
take the first target they were offered, not waste time on ones farther
away. These people were after the
children.
She let
them take three more menacing steps, and then she attacked. Spinning kick, drop the first one around
you. Drop the leg, rotate the hips,
move on through, grab a wrist and a descending knife, twist, shatter the wrist,
throw the man on it. Grab the guy who
is trying to slip past you, realize he is too heavy to move.
There's
no such thing as too heavy, too strong, or too tough. Jan's voice echoed in her head from long
ago. There are just things you try,
and things you do not.
Rotate the
lower body and throw him too, giving him a kick in the stomach for good
measure. Jessica blinked, three down,
but the rest were already past and rushing for the others, shadows in the dim
lamplight. She cheated just a bit,
putting on a bit of speed and encasing her foot in a wall of force, so that her
flying kick sent one of the thugs spinning out across the floor. She tripped another on his own shoelaces,
before pounding his head into the concrete floor. One of the guys had gone straight for TK, who had jumped back,
and Matt had swept in, landing a punch right in the guys jaw, knocking him
sprawling, but the last one…
The last
man twisted around Tai and sent his knife plunging downward, missing Tai
completely, but raking quickly across Kari's shoulder. The brown haired girl gave a startled
squeal, her eyes grew wide, and then she collapsed in a heap.
That's not
supposed to happen! Jessica's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. No minor scrape could do that much
damage! What was going on here?
Her
thoughts were interrupted by another source of worry. A low growl was growing in TK's throat. A very loud growl, and his eyes were starting to look a little
unfocused, a little wild. His killer
glare came up, and then his fist shot out right for the chest of Kari's
assailant. The man who blocked him was
easily twice as big and twice as strong, but for some reason, that did not
matter any more. TK's punch could have
broken through concrete, and the sound as ribs shattered, and an arm broke was
nearly deafening.
Jessica's
heart dropped through her ribs.
Suddenly all of Gennai's dire warnings went out the window as she geared
up for a real battle, not the sparring match she had just been in.
"Citadel,
we have a situation. TK's crest just
went rogue." her voice was speaking quickly and by instinct. Already she was moving, trying to get
between TK and his target, trying to prevent what was turning out to be a
murder. She may have been stronger, but
the crest of Hope was one of the most powerful. Any combat between the two would result in the destruction of
half of Odaiba, not to mention a casualty list in the thousands.
In her
head, she could feel Citadel's communications network explode into action. Gennai, Jan, anyone, could you just get
down here! she asked quietly.
Then,
behind the now murderous TK there was a sudden rush of air, and a figure, wearing
elaborate silver and black armor stood, on the empty air outside the structure,
transparent and forbidding, raising one imperious hand in a clear gesture of
command.
And TK's
anger and power drained from him like water from a sieve, letting him come to
rest beside the now unconscious man.
Quickly, he turned around and ran to where Tai was already trying to
rouse Kari, shaking her with increasingly frantic motions. The figure behind him was already gone.
Jan ran up
beside her, not even breathing hard. He
took a single look at the situation and then headed over to where Kari was
lying, talking to Jessica mentally. And
what just happened?
He was
here. Jessica sent back, still
recovering. Of all of them, His power
was the most undefined and hardest to understand. See to Kari. I'll
check if there was poison on the knife.
Jan nodded,
walking carefully over to where Kari was lying in a heap, and motioning
reassuringly to Matt and TK. "Don't
worry, I already called the police when I heard everything happening. They're on the way. I'm sort of an expert on injuries. Can I see?"
Tai just
sat there, oblivious to what was going on around him, so Jan moved him
carefully out of the way and took a look at the cut on Kari's shoulder. He let out a short, relieved laugh. "Don't worry about it. I've gotten cut worse while getting a
haircut. She probably just fainted from
the shock, or hit her head or something.
She'll be fine. Still, you might
want to let the hospital take a look at her."
Tai looked
so relieved that, for a moment, Jan thought he might burst out in tears over
this. TK still just looked tired. Crest drain, Jan thought analytically, the
first time I used my crest to do that, I was on my back for three days. Matt nodded at him, and then went over to
where Jessica was examining a knife blade.
"I just
wanted to thank you…"he began.
Jessica cut
him off with a smile. "No problem. I would do that for anyone if they needed it,
and I would like to think that you would help me in the same way. I'm glad nobody got too hurt, just watch
yourself in the future." A little
reinforced caution lesson now might advert major catastrophe later on. She looked up at Jan and nodded once,
Poison, one of the ones she did not recognize.
Jan responded very cautiously.
Beneath, the sound of sirens roared to life, and ended as an ambulance
pulled up beside them, flashing red lights all over the garage. Two uniformed paramedics stepped down from
the cabin and took a look at the scene.
Behind them, more vehicles pulled up, paramedics and police both bolting
out in a hurry.
Two people
shoved the friends aside and kneeled down next to Kari, quickly checking her
pulse and her breathing. "Excuse me,"
one of them turned, almost startling Jessica into outright laughter, "we'll
take it from here. Are you friends of
the victim?"
There were
nods all around. Even the normally
taciturn Jan was having problems controlling his grin. Amanda and Cortell in paramedic's
uniforms! Jessica thought, this is just too much! I bet they're not liking this part.
Nevertheless,
Amanda and Cortell quickly maneuvered Kari onto a stretcher and, still
unconscious, into the ambulance, and had a quick word with the police. After a moment they gestured and all six of
the witnesses got into the back of the ambulance, which slowly started to roll
off to the hospital. Behind them, two
police cars also started moving, the police apparently needing to talk with
everyone, but having consented to wait until people were at the hospital.
Cortell was
still standing in the back, and, ignoring a frantic Tai and a nervous TK,
turned to the two elders of the group. Gennai
flashed us a warning, his voice echoed in their minds, he said we're probably
going to need the two of us. When we
get to the hospital, you will need to stall the police and the relatives and
anybody else who comes by, because it looks like we're going to have a lot of
work to do.
How
so? Isn't this a simple poison cure?
Jan replied. I've seen you do that a
thousand times.
Not that
easy. Whatever happened destabilized
her crest. Severely. We're going to have to realign it, and that
will be the hard part. Can you describe
the attack?
Jessica
did, and Cortell looked Kari over again and nodded, his eyes now clouded in
thought. Jessica and Jan exchanged
glances, and they both shrugged, knowing that the bearer of the Crest of
Knowledge had now temporarily left the known universe, and was perusing
universes of his own. He could do this
for hours, so Jessica and Jan just settled down for the ride.
Matt was
talking quietly to TK, reassuring him until TK was more settled down, then,
working together, they managed to bludgeon Tai off of Kari, calming him down
when the ambulance reached the hospital with a screech. Other attendants came, unloaded the
stretcher, and moved Kari through the stares in the emergency room and into one
of the private medical rooms at the end of a long, white, sterilized
corridor. Matt, Jessica, Jan, Tai and
TK were stopped outside by one of the doctors and a uniformed police officer.
"I need
someone who can tell me what happened." the officer demanded. "We're going to need witness testimony
recorded."
"And I need
someone to tell me the girl's medical history." the doctor told them. "Don't worry, with an injury that minor she
should be fine, we just need to know in case there is anything that we have to
do special."
"We can
witness." Jessica volunteered, pulling Jan with her and mentally rehearsing her
story.
"I can
too." Matt volunteered.
"And I know
her medical history. She's had some
problems before. She's going to be all
right, isn't she? She's just got to be
all right!" Tai was getting frantic again.
"Yes, she
will." the doctor smiled reassuringly.
"She'll be just fine. Son," he
looked over at TK, "we don't need you at the moment, so you can go in and see
her. I'll call you out if you're
needed, since we aren't doing anything at the moment in there."
TK nodded,
and was off like a shot. Jessica smiled
to herself and began the difficult task of holding off the authorities.
Kari jerked
awake with a gasp, hands going to her shoulder in response to the pain the
blossomed there briefly. A moment
later, she calmed down, her breathing returning to normal. She looked around, she seemed to be floating
in a bed, lost amid a vast emptiness that looked hauntingly familiar, but
completely different from anything she had seen before. There was no beginning and no end, no
horizons and no landmarks, just a rolling sea of darkness. The only thing that she could see was a
faint outline at her right side, TK, head down and hat off, watching her.
"TK?" she
asked, trying to shake him. Her eyes
widened in alarm as her hand passed right through his body. "TK!" she yelled.
"Takeru!"
she shrieked, almost surrendering to panic.
TK's eyes
seemed to focus a little better, and then the outline filled in with a rush and
he was there, solid and everything.
"Kari!" he
yelled ecstatically.
"TK!" she
responded, grabbing his hand to reassure her that she would not pass through
him.
"You're all
right, wait until I tell the others…Where are we!?"
"I don't
know." Kari sunk into a slouch. "I was
hoping you would know what to do."
TK breathed
in carefully. "OK, you remember the
attack?"
"Yes."
"We took
you to the hospital. They put you in a
room and let me in. I was watching you
breathe, when I heard you calling my name.
I don't know how but I followed your voice, and here I am."
"So we're in
a hospital?"
"I guess
our bodies are or something. I have no
idea where we are now."
Suddenly,
Kari held her hand up. "…Listen."
Shadowy
outlines began to form around the bed; adults from their size, and noises began
to intrude on their perceptions.
"So what if
it overloads and backfires? Then what?"
"I was
hoping he would have an answer for that one…"
"Well, we
could possibly open a secondary bypass or something on the main."
Kari turned
to TK again. "Are those the doctors out
there?"
"I hope
not." TK replied uneasily. "They sound
like they're doing major surgery, and you don't need it."
The voices
continued:
"At least
tell me we have a plan B."
"We have a
plan B."
"OK, what
is plan B."
"How should
I know?"
"Then why
did you tell me…"
"We always
have a plan B. Right guys?"
"You mean,
shoot at the bad guys and run like hell?"
"Something
like that."
"You people
are no help at all."
Suddenly a
woman appeared before the two teenagers.
One moment, there was nothing, the next a blossom of light that seemed
to unfold into a tall woman with long flowing black hair trailing down to her
waist. Her skin glinted pale white in
the dark and cloudy void that they were floating in, her clothing was pale white
as well, a long dress with red trimming.
Her smile however, was warm and generous.
"I assume
that you are sort of confused about what you are doing here." the way she
stated it, it was not much of a question.
Her smile only increased at their sudden consternation.
"Well,
yes." TK snapped after a moment. "If
you suddenly found yourself floating with your best friend in the middle of a
sea of darkness, wouldn't you be sort of curious?"
"No, not
really." she replied. "That seems to
happen a lot to me. Maybe it's just the
people I hang out with."
"So what's
happening?" Kari asked. "Why am I
sitting here?"
The woman
sighed quietly before continuing. "I
guess that there's no real easy way to say this. You were stabbed with a knife.
A knife with an extremely nasty poison on the tip. It attacks the mind and the spirit, and
usually, there is no cure."
TK felt his
heart jump to his mouth. Kari felt hers
drop through her ribs and to the bottom of her chest deeper with a deep
throbbing pain.
"There's no
hope?" TK asked, trying to find something, anything, that would override this
horrible fate.
"You of all
people should know that there is always hope." the woman smiled. "Andrel, Cortell and Amanda are trying to
theorize their way through it before they start working on her. Nevertheless, they are confident that they
can save her life. It's her mind that
they're worried about. And yours."
"What!?" TK
exclaimed.
"Who are
you?" asked Kari at the same time.
The woman
laughed. "You can call me Vona, and
think of me as a friend."
"I'm Kari
Kamiya. Pleased to meet you."
"I'm
Takeru, but everyone calls me TK. I'm
honored to meet you Vona."
Vona
inclined her head in respect.
"You remind
me of my friend Sora for some reason." Kari rested her chin on her fist. "I wonder why?"
There was a
sudden flare of red light on Vona's chest, and the sudden illumination forced
them to close their eyes. When the
glare faded, there was, etched in fire, the Crest of Love glowing steadfastly
on her chest, the red heart burning with an inner fire.
"That's the
Crest of Love." TK gasped, his sudden surprise making him repeat the obvious
dangling in front of his face.
"The
original." Vona added. At seeing their confusion, she added "Not
like those copies that you have, the powered down versions that they,"
she inclined her head at the muted voices in the background to give an
indication of who she was talking about "constructed for you."
"Copies?"
Kari asked.
"Original?"
TK added.
"It'll be
explained later. Once they're done
arguing I expect." In the background
the voices continued.
"Well, we
could do it without fully powering up the…"
"Yeah, in
your dreams."
"My dreams
maybe, but not yours."
"Whatever."
"Maybe if
we double strung the lattice edge…"
"Gennai, if
you don't get serious right now, you're going to need a lot more than this
hospital to put you back together again."
Kari and TK
both started. "Gennai's here?" TK
gasped.
"Yep, all
the big players are here actually.
There's enough concentrated power in the neighborhood to reduce this
world into ashes probably. Right now
they have to go over the procedure they're going to do before they get
started. They would really hate to do
this wrong and screw everything up."
"I heard
that!" Gennai materialized next to the bed, looking young and wearing his gray
robes with their silver lining. "I
thought you should all know, Andrel is almost satisfied, which means that we're
almost ready to start."
"Start
what?" Kari asked.
"Saving
your life. It's a complicated
process. You can bug Andrel if you want
the details. TK, since you are the only
one that can be here, you're going to need to support Kari. Michael and Vona will support you."
A small
brown haired kid appeared next to TK.
"Hi, I'm Mike. I'll help you out
on this. Don't worry, leave everything
to us. We'll take care of it."
"The rest
of us…" Gennai continued, nodding briefly to the child, "will be supporting
Kari. We brought four of us." He turned
to Vona. "Cortell and Andrel will
actually be the ones doing the work.
We'll just back them up."
Vona nodded
as if to say that she had expected as much.
"What are
they doing now?" Michael asked curiously, raising a hand to brush a shred of
brown hair out of his face.
"Arguing." Gennai rolled his eyes up in his head. "What else did you expect them to do?"
"Nothing I
guess. If they're going to get to work,
they have to argue first. Otherwise
they argue while they're working, and that's worse."
"Smart
kid."
"What is who
arguing about?" Kari asked, having gotten lost in the conversation. TK was watching Michael as if he was
familiar, but he could not seem to place it.
"Cortell,
Amanda and Andrel are arguing about how they're going to save you. It sounds odd, but it serves its purpose,
which is releasing tension. They'd
rather die than have it be common knowledge, but all three of them get
profoundly nervous and insecure when lives are on the line. They let it out beforehand so that
everything will turn out all right."
"Yeah!"
Michael chimed in. "They've done that
for years!"
"And
sometimes we get tired of it. But we
always let them do it." Vona was smiling broadly. "Because, the truth is that they're the best we've got. There isn't a single thing they can't fix."
Kari
sighed. "I wish I knew what they were
going to do to me."
"You don't
want to." Gennai stated this flatly.
"Trust me, you really don't want to even hear what they're saying."
There was
another flash, and suddenly a man was standing there. He was tall, with long brown hair falling down to shoulders,
wearing a plain black set of clothes, loosely cut, but still well fit, and
lined with silver. His face was
angular, but plain, and his eyes danced with power, radiating a soft gentle
emotional glow over the world he surveyed.
In one hand he held a familiar device.
"Cortell
thinks that the rig we used will supercharge the Egg of Miracles." He raised
his hand and the angular, golden egg floated gently through the air to a space
in front of Kari's face, lighting her with soft, glowing, comforting
light. "He is not so sure about the
link that we established, so we may end up having to drain a Digi-Core or two
on the way, but we're both confident that we'll succeed. Gennai, Vona, Mike, if you would assume your
positions please."
All three
of the others nodded, Gennai taking five steps back and assuming a strange
posture, one arm drawn up, the other thrust straight out. Michael and Vona looked at each other, and
then lay a hand each on TK's shoulder, bracing him, as they began to glow from
within, Vona a deep red, Michael a bright gold.
"Hikari
Kamiya, bearer of the latest of the Crests of Light, before we began this
procedure, there are certain things we should agree upon." the new man was
speaking in a deep, rolling voice, more formal, yet somehow more playful than
any of Kari's teachers had ever managed.
"Y..yes."
Kari stammered, unnerved at being the focus of the eyes, which had sharpened to
hawk-like intensities.
"There are
a few conditions to this procedure. The
first two, the only ones that you need to know now, are that you will take a
series of lessons from some of us in the future. The second is that you will remember nothing of this for some
time. Takeru must also submit to the
same conditions."
"But why…"
Kari began, and then looked into his face.
"Is this the only way to save my life?"
He nodded.
She looked
over at TK, and saw him nod, once solemnly, and she looked back and nodded once
as well.
The man's
face split into a kindly grin, and he gripped her roughly, yet friendly-like on
the shoulder. "I'm glad that you've
decided to live. I promise you, on my
honor, something which I do not do lightly, that you will not object to any
further conditions, and that you will one day approve of what we do here."
Kari just
stared into his eyes. In the periphery
of her vision another woman appeared with a short man, and they both walked
around her bed to other positions. But
for now, she ignored them, staring into eyes that promised something, that
someday, something would…
And then
the man broke contact, taking her hands in his and pressing them closely and
carefully to the sides of the golden egg in front of her. Vona smiled encouragingly at Kari and took
TK's hand and placed it on her shoulder.
For a moment there was nothing but silence, and Kari could feel the
warmth flow through her from TK's hand, and from the golden fire she held in
her hands. And then the man in front of
her straightened in a pre-arranged signal.
For a
moment there was nothing, and then the four who were not holding TK began to
move their hands, slowly at first, and then faster and faster, weaving
intricate patterns that Kari could barely follow, weaves of gold and silver
thread, gleaming like moonlight and sunlight, dancing in the air. The patterns solidified, into worlds and
lands, people and places, the sound of autumn leaves and the feel of the spring
sun, and yet they continued weaving, sending power into the air, not in some
torrential hurricane, but in a slow flow.
Despite the care they put in their actions it became obvious that the
power they were wielding was as unstoppable as a glacier, binding the universe
together for some unknown purpose. And
then she felt it settle in her, burning her soul.
At that
moment the artifice in her hands erupted in golden fire, racing up her hands,
purging her soul in a wash of fire, driving everything except the joy of being
alive and the light of eternity from her body.
Is this what it feels like when they digivolve? she thought for a
moment, as the glowing light reached her head, and then there was only the
fire.
For a
moment, the fire died and she was alone, suspended in deepest darkness, and
then she felt more power, pouring down TK's arm, into her body, not just a
support, but a beacon guiding her home.
And she grabbed onto that light with all her might and she pulled…
TK blinked
twice. He was holding onto Kari's
shoulder because… because… well, there must have been some reason, something
was definitely bugging him about the whole situation, but he could not truly
remember anything. It had been dark,
and someone had said…something. Or had
anyone been there at all? And if so
who, and where were they now? All he
could remember clearly was that attack in the parking structure. So what was going on?
Beneath his
hand Kari suddenly coughed once and sat up, startling TK. She blinked twice and then looked around,
wincing as her shoulder pained her for a moment, and then frowning in
concentration. "What just happened TK?"
"I don't
know." TK admitted, "I thought that something happened, but now I'm just
confused about the whole thing."
Kari smiled
at him. "Well, whatever happened, we'll
remember sooner or later. At least I'm
better."
"Yes. I'm glad." TK stroked her shoulder (not the
injured one) very carefully. Kari
smiled at him. Then a sudden thought
struck her.
"Tai must
be frantic!"
"And she
was treated by what doctor?" the nurse was quietly talking to Tai, asking him questions,
while the police officer was still taking their testimony. Jan nodded at a question, his credentials as
a martial arts master, and his story that he had been training Jessica (not a
lie at all) seemed to hold some weight here.
He had already felt the subtle shifting of power that accompanied a
working by the four greater seals, and he was waiting for word on how progress
went, and a chance to get out of here.
The door to
the room creaked open quietly and TK walked out, supporting a smiling Kari on
one hand. Tai stopped whatever he was
saying and rushed to her, lifting her up in a great hug, spinning her almost
completely around before setting her down again. TK smiled at Matt, who clapped Tai on the back.
"I'm fine
Tai." Kari told her brother affectionately, "My shoulder hurts a little, but
other than that I'm fine."
The police
and the doctors decided that now was a good time to arrive in force, and the
next hour was spent answering questions.
The police decided they had enough information to prosecute the
criminals after about an hour of collecting statements. After a careful examination, the medical
staff decided that Kari would be fine, they would keep her overnight just in
case, and then she could return home tomorrow.
Tai breathed a bit easier about that, just as his parents screeched into
the ward, clearly expecting the worse, only to be reassured by a laughing Kari
and a set of calm doctors. After a
short break, Matt's Dad arrived, followed by Joe, who was wearing his hospital
volunteer clothes and identification, prompting another round of
explanation. At least they came out
happy in the end.
By this
time, Jan and Jessica had been interrogated and thanked a dozen times over, and
they were trying to bow out graciously without offending anybody. Jan really wanted a long conversation with
Gennai after this was over.
"You might
want to get the kids in some kind of self-defense class after this." Jessica
suggested frowning, "This sort of thing is becoming way more common than we
would like." Kari was looking on with
wide eyes, the Kamiyas looked disconcerted, Matt and TK looked at each other
with odd glances, while the bystanders merely ignored them.
"Well,
maybe, but Kari? She's just a little
girl…" Tai began, inspiring a death glare from his sister.
Jessica
gave no hint of movement to betray herself.
From standing she wrenched herself around, bringing her right leg up in
a letter-perfect spinning wheel kick.
Jan was an expert at these, but he had to admit that Jess had a neat trick
that would have let her throw a normally wide kick in a narrow alley. Her foot came around like a whirling hammer,
whipping down, and then stopped, resting lightly on Tai's shoulder less than
ten centimeters from his jaw.
"Yes?"
Jessica asked quietly. "You were going
to say something? Something nice I
hope."
"Uuuhhhh…."
for some reason, Tai's attention was solely fixed on the foot next to his face.
"Good old
Tai!" Matt was laughing. "Always
sticking his foot in his mouth. You
should really stop that, you'll wear out your shoes."
Kari and TK
giggled. Jessica smiled in reassurance,
repeated her suggestion, and then bowed and left with Jan.