DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the original characters introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated otherwise here or elsewhere by myself).
A/N: So, after the rather dramatic prologue to this Book, now for the first chapter. Speaking of chapters, I'm sure (hopefully) some of you are wondering what the naming scheme for this book will be. The previous one was 'The Trick To…', and there have been other similar ideas in the past.
Well, this time round, I think I'll leave my readers to work it out. It should be pretty obvious after a few chapters, but we'll see…
Thanks, as always, go to Crazyeight for being a fantastic beta reader.
DIMENSIONS
BOOK SEVEN
Escapes
By Blazing Chaos
CHAPTER ONE
Phase One
Natsuki Takara
FRIDAY, 13th MAY 2011
Apartment Building, Shinjuku Ward
11:01 JST
"I must be insane."
It was, unsurprisingly given the task she was about to perform, not the first time that this particular blonde had had that particular thought, as she looked up at a block of fairly modern flats. A pair of short concrete walls lined a doorway with a few fairly okay attempts at gardening made in a few potted plants lining the main entrance. A fairly narrow strip of grass separated it from the road, a fairly quiet one without too much throughput for a fairy large portion of the day.
In fact, all things considered, it seemed to be, unsurprisingly, a fairly normal apartment building, five or so storeys high and with an okay view of the city over some of the lower rise buildings nearby. Nothing special.
Almost.
She glanced down at the pavement again, a slight dent in one point, supposedly from a heavy delivery. At least, that's what their inquiries said. But, how could it be? This wasn't a house, this was an apartment block, and she would easily wager that the lift wasn't big enough to take something like a sofa that made such a big crater, at least without breaking it into pieces. Plus, what could make such a dent when dropped such a short distance onto concrete? Even a washing machine wasn't heavy enough, and certainly wasn't large enough.
"A Digimon, on the other hand."
Of course, the government wasn't naïve. Digimon existed, had been seen by all, and hence there was no need to hide them. Or rather, the situation had rather got too far out of hand, probably not helped by the public sight of Vikaralamon and the other Devas to start with, and the destruction they left behind. The subsequent D-Reaper, 'glass man' and 'numeric demolition' incidents had done nothing but reinforce their existence, coupled with that of the Tamers who played an instrumental role in minimising the destruction of those incidents.
But, it was evident to many people that, while they weren't covering up the Tamers or Digimon from the public, they were covering up other things, perhaps more sinister things.
That was the nature of a cover-up though. No-one truly knew what was going on.
Yet.
She breathed in deeply, hoping she wouldn't 'disappear' between now and, well, ever. Hopefully the rumours weren't as true that they seemed, particularly given that the most sinister ones evidently involved alcohol and bright street lamps in their conception.
She had to see Ryder. Mari too, but Ryder in particular. Everything seemed to revolve around him, from the resolution of the 'numeric demolition' incident to his long hospital stay not long afterwards, to the end of the Zweite incident. The Tamers were all involved, but…he was the one who got in trouble. Always. Or rather, would have, it seemed, should government have not saved him.
Right now, the government seemed to have bigger problems. The death of the Prime Minister had been in the news everywhere, rolling on news stations and plastered across newspapers. As yet, nothing concrete had come out, besides the fact that his death had been treated as suspicious. The media, however, had filled in the rest, theories ranging from terrorist groups to militant residents angered by development and changes, from people defending their honour and the old way to, of course, Digimon.
"Ugh, they have it all so wrong. Digimon are nice, and they know that - why do they have to keep putting them down?" she asked herself, knowing the answer - it sold papers. There was a distinct chord of discontent under-running a lot of opinions in the media, ranging from calls for more research into the creatures to downright genocide. The Digital World widely featured, poorly researched opinions based on the card game used to back supposedly persuasive arguments.
But, for the most part, life went on. The government, through its Tamers, had a handle on things, and they were a benevolent force, fighting for good, backed up by their permanent civilian observers: Digital Watch.
The blonde glanced up again, across the array of balconies and windows, her mind trying to guess at which one her destination was. She looked straight above the dent, presuming it was one of those but knowing that there were no easy answers here - if a Digimon had fallen, it could've been thrown pretty far by another Digimon. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled forth a small piece of paper, an address written on it.
Room 29
"I guess that must be on the second floor. Then again, it's not always that simple. Could be the third. Wonder which system they use here for numbering floors."
She breathed in deeply, taking a step from the pavement towards the apartment, and then another. This was going to be easy, she told herself. All she had to do was knock on the door…and then see what happened. Hopefully, she wouldn't get it slammed straight back in her face.
Pushing the door open, she felt the atmosphere change as she entered the lobby. Like the building, it was nothing special, and certainly didn't have anything fancy like a receptionist. The layout was simple, a number of locked mailboxes lining one wall, and a set of stairs and a lift the other. The wallpaper was a slightly sickly pale yellow, the sort of thing used to furnish places which the decorator didn't have to use.
Stepping up to the lift, she tapped the call button and waited as the metal doors groaned slightly, the numbers dropping down until they stopped on the number 1. Evidently, this building had the ground-level floor as the first floor. She racked her mind; trying to picture the window she had seen on what she now knew to be the second floor. They were all too similar, however, and she quickly gave up. This building was very nondescript, and she didn't doubt that it was purposefully aimed that way.
The dead smell of the air in the lift wafted up her nostrils as the doors clunked apart, the result of them simply ferrying the product of dozens of human breaths up and down day-in day-out. A note on fire safety and the instructions for what to do should the lift, god forbid, breakdown, sat just above the call buttons, and she hoped her hunch about floor numbering was correct as she tapped the one for the second floor, one storey above where she was.
The lift drew upwards; thankfully empty of any other occupants on what was a fairly quiet time of day. Of course, it could perhaps have been because everyone was still getting over the shock that their PM had been assassinated. The fact it was a week of school holidays in the middle of the term meant that most kids were free to roam the city as they pleased, which made it more surprising how she had seen no-one since arriving at the apartment. Perhaps it wasn't that popular for those with children to live here.
It stopped again, not long after, and she stepped out, taking a pace along the corridor before pausing when she saw the numbers on the doors, set along the wall in pairs.
06
07
"Ugh," she moaned, turning around just as the lift doors closed. She pressed the button, but it had already been called away. She groaned as she looked to the ceiling, before wandering towards the stairs, mumbling about how useless technology was. It was just her luck that someone would call the lift just as she used it, even when everywhere seemed so…empty. "And knowing my luck even more, it'll be Ryder and Mari heading out using it."
Her complaints about the stairs weren't well justified, the girl easily mounting them with her fairly athletic pace, the product of a reasonable dose of sport and a fairly active lifestyle. She barely looked at the next floor, the third from the bottom, and kept heading up and onwards to the next one.
Reaching the fourth floor, she glanced at the numbers, seeing she had now reached the twenties. The numbers on the nearest door read 20 and 21, and as she headed down the corridor they increased, a lump growing in her throat as she walked. How would they react? What was she doing? Was she insane?
She paused when she realised she had reached the end of the corridor, a fire door at the end leading to an emergency staircase. Cursing how she had let her anxiety distract her, she glanced back at the most recent number, raising an eyebrow.
28
She groaned once again, the sense of the building evidently completely lost. The numbers were simply sequential and not split by floors or, indeed, anything.
"What does the whole world have against me finding this place?"
Turning to the fire escape, she pushed her way through before heading upwards, this room even less decorated than the lobby and main staircase, its walls a functional white. The hand rail was fairly cold to the touch as she climbed, soon enough returning to the warmer hallway, albeit the one above. She turned her attentions to the plates on the door and the numbers imprinted in them, the room otherwise identical to the one she had been in only a few moments before.
29
"Finally," she mumbled to herself, taking an uneasy step towards the door, before she shuffled back and took it all in, not yet ready to make any move towards actually entering. Her hands unconsciously played with her blonde hair, pushing it up into a ponytail and back down again, as she mused the situation she had found herself in. Part of her hoped they would be out - at least then she would have an excuse to tell herself for why she hadn't seen them. Maybe they had gone down in the lift. Maybe they were visiting a friend.
Then again, if they had, then this whole long journey had been a complete waste of time.
She sighed deeply, putting her hand on the door and wondering about what was behind it. Maybe they were having a nice, peaceful, happy time. Maybe they'd been dealing with a bioemergence she simply hadn't heard about. Was she disturbing them? She didn't want to ruin their morning by prying.
But this was her idea…well, kind of. Regardless, she knew she had to follow through now. She'd invested far too much in it, not just in terms of cost but in terms of support, and it was too soon to stay back. Letting her now slightly-ruffled hair drop down again, she bit her lip, stepping forward and knocking at the door.
"Just a minute," shouted a female voice from within, muffled by the timber. She heard footsteps grow close, quieter voices following before the door finally opened, revealing a brunette with a curious smile on her face.
She obviously wasn't expecting guests, her loose shoulder-length hair slightly ruffled, the product of no intention to leave the house. Or perhaps, on the other hand, it was a fashion choice.
The blonde glanced over her, amazed to see her in real life and weight added to her 'fashion-choice' idea. The warmer weather was clearly having its impact, the girl garbed in a sleeveless and slim black top and jeans. An attempt at revealing a slight bit of cleavage seemed to have been made above a number of seemingly random numbers that formed the design of the top, arranged in three lines and all in block white print.
11-1-2-7-3
9-8-10-14-4
13-12-5-6
Dismissing the sequence as the produce of 'inspiration' by some over-eager fashion designer, the newcomer couldn't help but notice that now, instead of the rather happy and helpful smile she had originally worn, this girl's mouth now formed a thin frown, her eyes slightly widened. They danced up and down, taking in the form at the door, oddly focusing on her bust and stomach rather a lot more than the blonde was expecting. She felt nervous, standing there in her simple dark blue top and jeans with a simple leather satchel-bag over her shoulder, feeling that somehow her fashion and appearance was being judged. This wasn't the impression she had gotten of Mari Flynn from what she had read.
"Excuse me?" the girl finally spoke up, her tones conveying how irritated she had become by the other girl's actions even if they had only been for a few moments. She wasn't used to this kind of treatment.
"You can't be…" the brunette began, stopping mid-sentence.
"Huh? What is with her? She's nothing like what I read at all." "I can't be what?"
Before Mari could reply, she was joined at the door by a guy, taller than her, and who looped his arm around her shoulder with a smile. However, this smile quickly faded, he giving the same response when he looked into the blonde's blue eyes as the girl next to him had, his own brown pair widening in surprise as he stuttered a single word. "Ivy?"
"What?"
Was Ryder just as crazy as his girlfriend seemed to be? Did Tamers simply go insane as a result of their adventures? So far, the girl hadn't seen anything to the contrary from either brunette, and she had hoped that the boy would have helped in some way, perhaps by speaking Japanese rather than nonsense.
Despite her reservations about being observed by what now looked like a comedy sketch, she still couldn't help but take in the fact that this was one of the Tamers, real in the flesh. His brown hair was ruffled unevenly and his dark brown-green shirt was emblazoned with several triads of yellow, red and white lines in a seemingly random arrangement, looking very much thrown-together rather than having the odd precision which the girl next to him had. It was certainly not the most well-thought out array of fashion, the baggy look of his khaki pants below taking away from the idea that these were two, fairly professional Tamers who endured a tough job.
The boy, finally, shook his head, mumbling. "Nothing."
The blonde watched as Mari glanced to him, raising an eyebrow before Ryder gave a slight shake of his head back. Just what was going on between them? Would anyone ever let her in on the secret?
"Sorry, I thought we knew you," Mari said, a warm smile back on her face as she extended a hand in greeting. "Mari Flynn. And you are?"
She paused, glancing down at the hand, bewildered by how quickly the previous…whatever it was…had been brushed off as nothing. They were right, these people weren't normal. But sinister? Even with their display of greetings at first, she couldn't help but feel they didn't go that far, and certainly didn't justify the calls from the media about them.
Still, something odd did abound. Where were their Digimon anyway? Were they hiding? Why when the government didn't really mind them, even endorsed them? Then again, they could just have been being cautious, not a bad move on such a bad day.
The girl finally met her hand with that of the brunette, smiling back and hoping that simply brushing off the confusing actions now would yield answers in the future. That was, of course, if they weren't about to tell her to go away for the reason she had come here. "Natsuki Takara."
"Ryder Stevens," the guy greeted, Natsuki feeling that their introductions were a tad pointless. Plenty of people knew who they were, to the point where they had become minor celebrities, albeit in some cases for the wrong reasons. Still, all publicity supposedly was good publicity. "Pleased to meet you…but…well…who are you?"
"Oh, right, sorry," Natsuki apologised, quickly reaching into her satchel-bag and pulling forth a small piece of paper, headed by some very familiar words: Digital Watch. "I'm here from Digital Watch."
"Ugh, prying into our lives again," Ryder grumbled, frowning, before shaking his head at his own words. "Sorry, I'm not being fair, I know you're not all like that, but…I'd just like some peace at times without being tracked," he said apologetically.
"As if Hypnos would ever let us have that anyway," Mari whispered back with a smile, before turning and presenting it to the girl at the door again. "So…what do you want?"
"Well…I was hoping we could maybe…talk?"
"Talk?" Ryder asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, you see," Natsuki began, already feeling guilty for interrupting their lives. She wasn't even sure if what she wanted to talk about wasn't just going to be pointless trivia now, and any confidence she had remaining in her plan had quickly fallen away as soon as she had been 'eyed'. "Everyone just finds out stuff about you through other means, and I saw how stupid that was because…well…maybe you guys would just…talk," she explained, frowning as she realised how incoherent she had been. She felt the lump in her throat rise, knowing that they could simply tell her to "go away" at any moment.
Instead, Mari continued to smile, even perhaps smiled more as she stepped aside. "Please, come in," she said, Ryder giving her an uneasy look as Natsuki warily nodded, surprised that she had even gotten this far.
"Thanks," she mumbled as she passed, stepping in and glancing about at the apartment around her.
Like much of what she had seen so far, it was, well, fairly normal. The focal point of the room was easily the large glass windows at the far end, only a slight crack in the frame of one corner breaking the sight out upon nearby parts of the city. It wasn't exactly breathtaking, but it wasn't a bad view either. The sunlight shone through, casting its rays across a pair of sofas around a coffee table, its modern glass top currently occupied by two glasses of drink, coasters under them. A TV sat silently nearby, it and the laptop on a small desk on the left hand side the only real sign of luxury in an otherwise fairly functional room. A few embellishments filled it, regardless - a model of a seemingly-famous Ferris wheel she had once seen in a photograph on a shelf in the kitchen to her right, a wireless phone sitting in its base on the side in the kitchen, and a few photographs with a cracked pair of goggles on the top of a nearby cabinet. On the right hand wall, two doors led off, and at the end of the kitchen area, the wall jutted across a bit, the third door embedded into that wall probably leading to a bathroom.
All in all, it was just…normal. Too normal for her liking, although what she had expected she didn't know. Some form of advanced control centre? Digimon pens? She shook her head dismissively at the idiotic ideas.
Still, there seemed something so unusual, and slightly saddening, about two teens living alone together. Plenty of rumours abounded on Digital Watch about Mari's parents and their fate, but it was solidly clear that they had died at some point in an accident. As for Ryder, well, his parentage was completely unknown. Regardless, she wasn't here to discuss such conscientious subjects, particularly since she already felt she had simply barged her way in even if they had been fairly welcoming. Well, after a few rather confusing moments at least.
"Just make friends with them Nat. Just make friends," she told herself, not really believing her own words. Sure, they would probably tell their friends more than they would tell her. But how on earth could she hope to ever become one of their group? She lived on the other side of the city, didn't have a Digimon, and was a member of an organisation which they were evidently wary about. She felt so self-conscious as she put her hands on her hips and paused to look about more, odd since it was something she had done a thousand times before without a problem. "This is a really nice place."
"Thanks," Mari said, beaming in gratitude. "So, Natsuki, what did you want to talk about?"
"You can just call me Nat if you want," the girl replied, smiling as she hoped she was being friendlier. Anything to get rid of the butterflies in her stomach.
"Ah, okay, Nat then."
"I can't really shorten my name to anything," Ryder said, giving a brief smile. "Without it sounding stupid, at least."
"I shorten my name."
"By one letter, Marie," the boy said, emphasising the 'e'. "You're as bad as Rei."
"And just like her, it doesn't sound any different either," spoke a voice. Natsuki looked rather bewildered at first as she glanced about, finally settling on its source as she realised that something new had arrived, almost without notice.
With a flurry of tail and fur, DarkRenamon touched down next to Mari, prepared for another day of life as it was nowadays. She looked unfazed by the blonde's presence, making no effort to inspect her hair, strands running down the front of her to just below her shoulder whilst the rest fell down the back, or even, like her Tamer, her dimensions. Who met a new person without even being fazed by their presence, particularly when her Tamer had already given a more-than-fazed response?
She looked over the Digimon even if the Digimon barely looked back, amazed to see one in-the-flesh as it were. "She looks so real…I mean, I knew she was real, but…she's a lot more furry than I thought she would be…I guess I thought data would be all spiky and harsh…"
"Oh, Nat, this is DarkRenamon, my partner," Mari said, for a brief time an apprehensive look on her face. She was clearly afraid that the newcomer would scream and run.
"Hi," Natsuki said, waving unsurely at the Digimon who gave a bow of response. "Wow," she mumbled, continuing to look up and down the Kitsune. "Sorry, I've just…never seen a real Digimon this close before. You're…amazing."
The blonde's eyes gazed over the vixen's face, wondering what her reaction was to her words. She barely seemed to show any change, which was rather troubling and off-putting for a human used to telling others emotions through their body language. Nothing but a nod gave her confirmation she had even been heard.
"Thank you," she uttered.
Ryder raised an eyebrow at this point, casting a nervous glance around the room about him. "Uh…one second," he said, raising a finger to make the same gesture as his words. Natsuki raised an eyebrow, whilst Mari simply brushed off the fact that he was now wandering towards the kitchen and subsequently begun opening the various cupboards and drawers.
"Uh…is he just really hungry or something all of a sudden? I thought the British were meant to be polite."
"Do you want to sit down?" Mari asked, evidently completely unperturbed by the boy's unusual actions.
"Uh, yeah," Natsuki replied, paying yet another confused look in Ryder's direction as he gave up in the kitchen, giving a dismissive gesture before entering the left hand door on the wall. The blonde looked away as he vanished from sight, turning back and falling back on the sofa opposite Mari. It felt lovely and comfortable, something she appreciated greatly after her long, arduous walk.
The brunette, meanwhile, seemed slightly unnerved by Natsuki's actions and continued confused gaze, but she once again brushed it off. She was evidently in a good mood even if she seemed to have a slight 'edge' to her right now which gave her a strange and only slightly perceivable 'attitude'. For all they knew about the Tamers at Digital Watch, they didn't really know anything about what they were actually like. Well, besides avoiding Rika Nonaka and her temper at all costs. So, for all they knew, this was just Mari's normal attitude.
"So, was it a long way then Nat?"
"Not that far," the blonde lied. She didn't want to make the girl feel guilty, not after she'd already been so nice. Mostly. "The city is so quiet today anyway; it wasn't hard to get through it. Everyone doesn't really know how to react."
Mari frowned, nodding solemnly. "Yeah, I know. It's horrible, isn't it?"
"The worst thing is, we don't even know what really happened. I mean, this was a high security place - they'd be well prepared for anything."
"No system is perfect," DarkRenamon surmised, Natsuki barely having noticed her crossing over to stand behind her Tamer by the sofa. "Even when Ygg…never mind," she began, before stopping all of a sudden. Her snout turned towards Mari, a concerned gaze received in reply.
"That's…weird. What was she going to say? I can't even think of any words that begin with 'Ygg' at all. Unless it's a name? But what…maybe I should ask? But, she didn't seem to want to say anything about it."
"So, what did you want to ask about then Nat?" Mari asked, Natsuki noting her swift alteration of the subject.
"Uh…whatever you want."
The blonde quickly cursed herself for how stupid she sounded. She'd crossed the city, practically broken into their home and sparked up a conversation only to ask them what they wanted to talk about. Hell, they didn't even know her - how would they know what they wanted to talk about?
"Uh…okay, well…what made you want to come visit us?"
Natsuki's eyes looked rightwards and up towards the ceiling as she remembered the past few weeks. "There was this, really, really long discussion on Digital Watch…about its future."
"Its future?"
"Yeah. There were like, two groups, people who wanted us to continue being subversive and those who wanted us to be more public and upfront about how we wanted to know things."
"So, those who look for my bras versus those who look for the one wearing them?" Mari asked, a slim and bewildered smile on her face as she rolled her eyes skyward. She crossed her arms, smiling a tad wider. "And yeah, I already heard about that conversation from a friend of mine. We're not exactly oblivious to what you guys talk about, although I'm sure you guys already know that."
Natsuki chuckled, slightly nervously as she worried that she had been 'found out'. "A-mari-ca?" she said, pronouncing each syllable independently.
"Yeah, that's one of many of my aliases. We don't stay the same for long - you guys would just ask too many questions."
"Yeah…oh," Natsuki said, her face falling as she realised the irony of the situation. "Sorry."
"At least you're upfront about it. Seriously, half the perverts on there would want to know stuff I don't even tell Ryder if I went on there. I don't really like the internet either, so I'm not really that warm to the idea of spending every day from now on fielding a million questions from a huge fan base too scared to leave their bedrooms for fear the outside world be too scary."
"Ironic that you are so deeply involved in matters of the internet then," DarkRenamon noted from behind, Natsuki still unable to perceive what expression she held. Mari simply snorted.
"You don't like Digital Watch, do you?"
"Well, I don't hate you guys…just…I really hate the idea that I can't do anything without you guys following my every move. It's like having paparazzi - only these guys don't have cameras. Plus, it's disturbing when they talk about…what they think of me," she said, a slight shudder to her as she did so.
"Yeah…it worries me too, and I don't want us to get on your bad side."
"I'm not stupid; I know it's not intentional."
At that moment, Ryder walked out of his room and caused both girls to look in his direction. He stood still outside, chewing his lip as he seemed to ponder something. He turned, glancing to the door next to his and putting a hand on its handle, before Mari interrupted.
"Tell the pervert that if he's in my underwear drawer then I'll get DarkRenamon to eat him."
"I'll let him know," Ryder replied, rolling his eyes at the suggestion. He didn't look all that surprised by the idea either. Natsuki raised an eyebrow as Ryder smiled to Mari, it evidently being a rare occasion when he ventured into her room. Clearly, living together for these two wasn't all that easy, particularly not when Digimon were involved.
"I couldn't live with a guy at my age though. Or even a girl for that matter," Natsuki thought, the idea of walking in on either bringing a light blush to her face, let alone the idea of even trying to cook. "God, there'd be so much mess. I can't even keep my room tidy, and it's tiny. These two must need to be pretty close to get on that well."
"That goes for you too Ryder," Mari added, not paying him a second glance as she settled down to looking back at her female companion. Natsuki cursed herself for the strange expression on her face as with a chuckle and a creak the door to the girl's bedroom closed. "It's hard enough with him."
"Really? He doesn't seem that bad." "In fact, the only one I've seen making any sort of suggestions like that is you."
Mari chuckled slightly, a slim smile on her face. "I know he's not, just…never mind."
"Hmm…these two are so weird. And, this girl…what side of the bed did she wake up on this morning? Or do they always keep things as secretive as this? I guess me being here doesn't really help."
"So, you were saying?"
"Oh…right…uh, well, we had this big discussion about whether it was better to, well, be quiet or be loud. I wanted to be loud, because I knew how much it would annoy you guys to keep snooping like this."
"And the others didn't like it?"
"No, not at all. They said you would never tell us anything - that we had to go under the radar if we ever wanted to find out anything. And then, one guy gave me an ultimatum."
"An ultimatum?"
"Yeah. Either I prove myself by visiting one of you guys personally and show we could actually find something out this way, or I shut up."
"But, you could just…lie, couldn't you? I mean, how would he or any of them know? Wait, they're not watching us right now, are they?"
"We're a mix of computer geeks and perverts, not trained spies. To be honest, we're not always watching you like you think we are. We don't even keep track of you all half the time - we have school and lives too, you know? Plus, given that the community is mainly guys who like fireworks and explosions and hate the tedium of day-to-day life, most people don't want to follow you guys either."
"But that means that, as I said, you could just lie, right?"
Natsuki shook her head, frowning. "Unfortunately, whilst 99 percent of the group is either perverted, a pyromaniac, a fangirl, insane, quiet or one of your group's identities, there's 1 percent, like me and this guy who I was arguing with, who have our heads screwed on right and are genuinely interested in it all…uh, no offense to you and your identities though."
"None taken. So, what kind of proof does he want? Bear in mind that if he wants to take down more of our measurements, I am going to tell Rika who will find and personally kill him."
Natsuki chuckled, the rage of Rika something infamous now in the community, perhaps beyond the reality. But, the facts never got in the way of a good story, in the media, in public image and in conspiracy theories, and so it stuck. "Uh, well, no. He just said I needed photographic proof that I came here," she explained, frowning as she put her hand on her satchel, pulling her small black camera case just far enough out for her to see it was there without her becoming worried she was about to be captured by it without her permission. "Uh, if you're okay with that?"
Mari chuckled, sighing deeply and shaking her head in disbelief. "Fine, if I have to."
"Well, you don't h…"
"But I want to. After all, this guy sounds like a jerk, and jerks can't be right. So, what sort of photo do you need? One with me, one with Ryder, one with DarkRenamon, what?"
"Any of you really. It just has to show I've been here. The thing is, no-one knows what this apartment looks like on the inside so I can't just take a picture of me in it - they'll say I'm lying."
"Makes sense," Mari said, getting to her feet and wandering around the coffee table, her blonde companion watching her with a sense of disbelief still hanging in her mind. Was this really happening? They seemed so…nice. This should've been more difficult, she expected to have to beg to get anywhere near the idea of a photo. She felt there'd be a catch sometime soon, and something sinister still hung in the air.
She blinked, chewing her lip as she caught sight of those numbers on Mari's top again, it ruffling slightly as she moved.
11-1-2-7-3
9-8-10-14-4
13-12-5-6
"Maybe someone online can work out what those are from the photo."
Mari settled down next to the girl, as she remembered she still had to get the camera out. She once again reached into her bag, pulling forth the little case but this time opening it to reveal a small, silver camera. She glanced about at the room, wondering where she could put it for the best picture. Seeing only DarkRenamon and, doubting she could ask such a favour or that the Digimon could even perform such a task with inhuman hands, she resorted to simply holding it at arm's length as she pushed her head close to Mari's, hoping that the first shot would work. The idea of having to repeat the task again and again whilst inconveniencing Mari didn't appeal to her in the slightest.
"Cheese," Mari said, smiling widely. Natsuki raised an eyebrow, as the camera clicked, a sound effect occurring simultaneously which sounded like a poor rendition of a shutter. She pulled it back towards her and Mari and flipped it over, knowing already that the raised eyebrow would be in the shot.
"Stupid Nat."
Sure enough, there it was. She looked up to Mari apologetically, wondering if it would be at all possible or polite to ask for another picture, but the girl herself looked apologetic, catching the blonde off guard. "Sorry…back where I come from, we say things like 'cheese' as we take a photo so it makes us smile…I forgot they didn't say that here."
"Don't worry…I've looked stranger in photos before." "Although I look downright perverted here, raising an eyebrow like that. God, I've joined the 99 percent, fantastic. They'll say I'm a yuri now too, ugh. Stupid, stupid, stupid…"
It was at that point that Ryder strolled back into the room, still looking befuddled. "Okay, he wasn't anywhere in there either…although I didn't look in your…um…knickers drawer for that long…I mean…uh, I'm not perverted."
"Knickers?" Mari asked, sitting up on the sofa and turning back to face her boyfriend with a bewildered expression. "Oh, right, you mean panties."
Despite feeling she was interrupting what should've been a private conversation (particularly considering the subject matter), Natsuki couldn't help but be intrigued by it, particularly by how the two seemed to converse in perfect Japanese despite clearly being British and American respectively. Every single little nuance of detail was clearly conveyed, and that seemed all so…strange, particularly since she had heard several times that Japanese was incredibly difficult to learn, and practically impossible to master.
"Uh, yeah, that's what I meant."
"I still don't like the idea of you searching through my personal stuff anyway."
A teasing smile came to Ryder's face. "Why? What are you hiding?"
"Ugh, never you mind," Mari huffed, crossing her arms and sitting back in her seat. "Have you checked everywhere for him?" she asked over her shoulder. Natsuki began to ponder whether she was hearing a bit much for a guest, and, rather ironically, how useful such material would be on Digital Watch.
"They'd have a field day. A whole forum topic on 'what's in the depths of Mari's underwear drawer?'" she thought, shuddering slightly at the idea whilst Mari gave her a rather confused look for her actions.
"Everywhere habitable. Uh, well, except the bathroom, and the fridge freezer…but you couldn't exactly…live…there…ah...crap," he said, alarm burning onto his face before he rushed over towards the refrigerator in the kitchen, pulling it open as quickly as possible without yanking the door clean off.
Natsuki and Mari both pushed themselves up, looking over towards the boy as he pulled out a red, bat-like creature by the foot.
"You bloody idiot."
"Me?!" MiniDonmon shivered, bits of ice all over his skin. "I left the door open so I could get out and one of you two shut it!"
"You left the door open, of course we shut it. It could've all melted. What were you doing in there anyway?"
"Eating." A wide grin flashed across the Digimon's face, visible even from Natsuki's distance, just like Ryder's subsequent sweat drop.
"Ugh. I've been searching all over for you," Ryder said, cradling the Digimon into his arms in an attempt to warm him up a bit. "This is why you should listen to me more."
"Meh. I still ate a lot of stuff."
Ryder looked down to the fridge, gasping in surprise at several empty packets and shelves. "But, we need that food!"
"And I needed to keep warm," MiniDonmon insisted, no guilt on his face and instead his grin remaining. The bat wriggled free from him, flapping into the air…
…and subsequently falling straight down to the ground, as both Ryder and Mari rolled their eyes.
Like a blur, DarkRenamon swept across, picking up her fellow Digimon from the floor by his frost-covered wing as he laughed sheepishly. "Oops," he mumbled, glancing about at the room in his moment of embarrassment.
It was evidently at that moment that he finally noticed they had a visitor.
"Hey, who are you?" he asked, pointing from his upside-down (and a tad sideways) position at the blonde now on the couch. "Wait…Ivy?" he continued, eyes widening in surprise as his tone rose in shock.
"Huh? Who?" wondered Natsuki. It wasn't the first time she'd heard the name today - just who was this 'Ivy' girl and what did she have to do with her? Did she look like the girl or something?
Without a word being said, DarkRenamon turned the bat up the right way again, a look of realisation crossing his gaze as his mistake became clear to him. "Oh, right…now that looks different, don't worry."
The blonde frowned, glancing away from the Digimon as out of the corner of her eye she saw Ryder, his hand on his chin as he seemed to ponder something, but what it could be she hadn't the faintest clue. "Ugh, what is with all the secrets today?"
Seeming to notice her, the boy stopped his pose, instead a strange and implacable grin on his face as he took an oddly enthusiastic step towards the sofa where his girlfriend and her sat. DarkRenamon dropped MiniDonmon down on the kitchen counter to watch as he thawed, whilst she silently took a step back into the shadows.
"Right, time to explain a few things," he said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation as even Mari gave him a bewildered look. Natsuki looked even more confused. Just what was with this sudden burst of enthusiasm? Did it have to do with what he had just been thinking about?
The boy placed his hand on his chest, a wide and proud smile on his face as he introduced himself properly.
"My name is Ryder Mark Watson Stevens, and I'm a Digimon Tamer, although I'm sure you guys are already well aware of…"
He paused, his expression falling into one of surprise as he turned, for some reason staring towards the phone handset on its base station nearby. Natsuki yet again was left questioning herself as - with a bewildered look from both herself and Mari - Ryder wandered over to the silent device and picked it up, pressing to answer it.
"Hello?"
"Uh…what? Is he nuts?"
"Do what? Why? Uh…that doesn't answer my question. Hello…hello? Are you okay? Hello?" he said, putting the phone back down with a grimace and looking with widened and concerned eyes towards Mari.
"Is it…?" she began to ask, her eyes quickly flicking to their visitor. The blonde stared on, wondering what on earth was going on between the pair. Who had been on the phone? How had he even known to answer it? It was silent, wasn't it?
"Am I losing my mind?"
Ryder wandered back towards the sofas, reaching down for the remote and flicking it on, a news channel coming up with a bright red bar at the bottom, words written on it which Natsuki simply couldn't understand.
BREAKING NEWS
"Oh, that's right…it'll be in English."
She listened as much as she could, trying to understand what she was hearing, but it was no use - her ability with English wasn't good. The words BBC World News sat in a box in the corner, but, like everything, she could only see the letters, not what they meant. Ryder and Mari stared closely, the reporter talking whilst a few images flashed up on screen. A graphic of Japan came into view, before it zoomed in towards Tokyo.
"Um…" she began, going to speak before the pair of Tamers quickly shushed her, intently listening in as the face of the Chief Cabinet Secretary came up on screen. "Hmm…at least he may speak Japanese."
And, thankfully, he did, at least at first. "Last night there was a horrific attack on our…" he began, an English voice cutting in to dub him out and leaving Natsuki straining her ears to hear the real words in the background.
"What's going on?" she asked, frustration on her face as Rayleigh Thompson began pointing angrily, shaking his finger at the camera as a determined look crossed his face. "What's he saying?"
Mari and Ryder didn't reply, staring on in sheer horror at the screen while the blonde looked between them, wondering what they were hearing. The screen changed, showing video footage, dark and unclear which Natsuki simply couldn't make anything out of.
"He can't…he can't!" Ryder spat in reaction to a certain word, the boy clenching a fist and glaring at the screen. He paused, holding it still when a beeping noise emanated from his D-Vice on that wrist. Mari looked down to her arm as it did likewise, both soon staring down.
"What is it?"
"It's Izzy," Mari noted, although whether she was talking to Ryder or answering their blonde guest's question Natsuki wasn't sure.
"At least he's telling everyone," Ryder replied.
"Yeah, but Ryder this is serious…shit, we're screwed."
"What's going on?"
"No time!" Ryder said, someone finally speaking to Natsuki at least. Both he and his girlfriend climbed back to their feet, rushing across the room to the front door and window respectively.
The boy opened the door, peeking outside before quickly pushing it shut again, securing the second bolt across it.
Mari pressed her hand against the glass, looking worriedly out the window. "They're coming," she said, her voice with a tone of deep horror. She looked back across the room to Ryder, for that breathless moment the only noise being the sound of the chattering television.
A look of indecision passed between them, glances paid to their Digimon, the blonde and the television, before Ryder frowned, a determined look manifesting on his face.
"We have to run."
"Run?! Why?!" Natsuki asked, getting to her feet as both Ryder and Mari strode back to their rooms. Her heart thumped in her chest, her mind racing and a sense of horror permeating throughout her form as MiniDonmon and DarkRenamon followed their Tamers into their rooms.
No answer returned to her, as she found herself alone in someone else's living room.
Feeling her body quake in worry and fear, she reached down to the remote, flicking through the channels in the hope she would find something in Japanese.
She didn't have to go far.
"…last night. The country is in turmoil, the government is using military action to contain those responsible for this attack. They are reassuring people that the perpetrators will be caught and normality will be restored as soon as possible," said a female news presenter, her tone overly formal and looking rather odd on what was a rather small news channel. She paused, her expression changing to one of surprise.
"Is this about the Prime Minister?"
"One moment please," she said, putting her hand to her earpiece. "I am receiving reports that the Chief Cabinet Secretary, now Acting Prime Minister, has blamed the Digimon Tamers for the attack…the Kantei has released this video."
Natsuki blinked, eyes wide as she glanced back at the doors behind her. Were they the murderers? Was that why they had been acting so weird? But…they were the Tamers! They were good…weren't they?
"People of Japan, I am as saddened as you are that I have to make this address," spoke a man in perfect Japanese yet in a British accent, his head dipped down slightly. He looked up to the camera again, a deep frown on his visage as the blonde recognized him as the Chief Cabinet Secretary, Rayleigh Thompson. It was the same video she had just seen; now without the English dubbing. "Last night there was a horrific attack on our country, an attack which struck to the very heart of every Japanese man and woman. The Prime Minister, Inukai Keishiro, was murdered in his own home. It was an inhuman attack, and, unfortunately, I have to reveal that there is good cause for that."
The screen changed, showing a dark yet surprisingly clear CCTV shot. Rayleigh continued to narrate over it.
"This footage, recorded and transmitted to the central security office from the sole remaining security camera in the PM's study shows the moment the assassin confronted his prey," he said, a blurred shadow in the midst of it all. "We have identified this Digimon as…"
The TV suddenly blipped off, the lights failing around them as the sound of vehicles outside made itself known to Natsuki's ears. She looked aside, but DarkRenamon was already there, staring down.
"There are so many of them," she gasped.
Ryder and Mari piled out of their bedrooms, backpacks in hand as they rushed towards the kitchen, piling as much food as they could fit in whilst Natsuki staggered towards them, never as scared before in her life. "What…" she began, but was quickly interrupted as Ryder looked up to her, his eyes raging with conflict.
"You're coming with us," he insisted, returning to his bag.
"Wait…what?! I'm not involved in any of this!" the blonde said, her voice becoming a yell as she continued to be blanked by the pair. "Hello! Listen to me!"
Mari gave a concerned look, evidently torn on whether to agree with her boyfriend or not. Ryder zipped up his bag, biting his lip before he strode towards Natsuki, a determined stare on his face as he seemed to tower over her.
"You're coming with us because those bastards want us all dead," he said, his words leaving no room for argument as he side-stepped around her, lugging his bag onto his shoulder as he walked. Natsuki turned, still in shock as she took a step towards him.
"Hey, I'm not one of you guys!"
"Do you think they care? As far as they know, we're all threatening Digimon Tamers, and we have to be eliminated!"
"Ryder, maybe we should let her stay," Mari suggested, an even larger grimace crossing Ryder's face as he looked towards her. He shook his head.
"She's not safe here, and we can't let her die."
"But I won't! We live in a free state! They can't just kill me, they can't kill any of us, they have to arrest…"
"We have weapons, we have Digimon, and they have Rayleigh Thompson. To them, we're just like any other terrorist with a gun or a bomb, but to him…he hates our guts."
"But he doesn't want me! He won't kill me! This isn't fair!" Natsuki screamed at him, her face red with anger as she clenched her own fists.
"You came here to visit us. You got yourself into this," Ryder insisted, holding out his D-Vice and a Digimon card in hand. He tapped the screen first of all, it whirring into life as footsteps pounded down the corridor.
D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N
MiniDonmon digivolve to…
Both the D-Vice and MiniDonmon burst into light, Natsuki covering her eyes with her arm as his form grew massively, a familiar red dragon with large wings replacing the bat.
…Donmon!
"That's…incredible…" the blonde thought, staring on with disbelief at what had just happened. No-one seemed to notice her in the midst of it all, as the boy continued his sequence, this time using the card in his hand.
"DIGI-MODIFY…Dokugumon's Poison Thread Activate!" Ryder called, data and energy swirling around the dragon's jaw before being launched at the door. It took the form of a white gooey substance, before covering the doorframe like the webs of its namesake, just as something thudded into the back of them. The door rattled, bullets hitting its frame from behind.
Natsuki stared on at the display in horror, as Mari quickly and silently made her way towards the balcony door, on the way reaching down to her leg and pulling out a handgun from underneath her jeans. Her heart raced, worried that she was about to be taken out to make things easier, but the fact that Mari instead opened the door didn't make things any simpler.
The girl looked almost fearless in the blonde's eyes as she peeked her gun outside, firing upwards at the sound of a whirring helicopter. Ryder looked slightly shocked by her actions, before he looked to a now web-less Donmon. "I don't think Donnermon will be fast enough," he said, before both he and his partner gazed towards DarkRenamon. The Kitsune had moved to be near her Tamer, evidently scared that in the middle of her current actions she would be shot.
Natsuki felt adrenaline pump through her veins, and knew that she wasn't alone in that. Mari stepped back inside, looking to her partner in surprise, amazed that the Digimon was there all of a sudden. A nod of gratitude passed between them, before she pulled a card from her belt box and swept it through her D-Vice. "DIGI-MODIFY…Digivolution Activate!"
D-I-G-I-V-O-L-U-T-I-O-N
DarkRenamon digivolve to…
Youkomon!
Bells chimed as the far larger yet still fox-like form burst into the room, Natsuki staring on in sheer amazement. Mari rushed over to the balcony doors, pulling them aside as far as they would go before leaping onto her partner's back.
"This…is unreal," the blonde thought, still unable to get over the fact she was now scared beyond her wits, her heart racing so fast she expected to have an attack. She simply stared on at the creature as Donmon climbed on. Her eyes barely blinking as the world slowed, almost to a halt, giving her a chance to take it all in.
The thud of shoulders against the door.
The whirr of copters outside, the light breeze in the room whipping up her hair.
Her breath extolled from her lips erratically, unable to even consider forming words.
Her chest rising and falling, her heart pounding away underneath.
Her nose, picking up the smell of fired bullets nearby, eking under the door frame.
A hand, held out towards her, a saddened face looking apologetically towards her as all hell began to break out.
"Sorry."
TO BE CONTINUED…
A/N: Hehe, a lovely bit of drama here as, well, like I said, all hell breaks out. Of course, I haven't given you the whole picture yet - a lot of things will become clear as we see the events of the next hour or so from plenty of different views. Yeah, as you may have guessed, the first arc of this story will be seen from several different perspectives over the next few chapters. I hope you'll enjoy, as the plot of Book Seven unfolds…
Until next time…
B.C.
