3. Pump Up the Signal

For a while, Koushiro didn't speak, merely typed at his worn out laptop. Hikari wondered if they should get him new parts for his birthday so he could make a new one. He'd like that, she hoped. He hadn't spoken at all since she had told him what she was seeing, and it was kind of uncomfortable to sit in a room with Taichi and silence at the same time.

Her brother must have agreed because he eventually said, "Koushiro?"

"Yes?" He didn't look up from his rapid fire typing.

Taichi scratched his head. "Uh… what are you doing?"

"Communicating."

"Well, not with us."

"No." Koushiro's agreement sounded more like a grunt than an affirmation.

Taichi glanced at Hikari and turned back. "Are you trying to get a hold of Gennai or something, then?"

"Or something, yes," Koushiro said, voice distracted. "He is not responding. I'm wondering if my messages are even sending at all."

Hikari frowned. She didn't know much about Gennai, had only really met him twice, but apparently he was usually like this. It wasn't even helpful, wasn't he supposed to help? "Do you think he'll answer soon?"

"I hope so." Koushiro turned away from his screen. "Hikari-san, is this like last year? Where we could vaguely see the Digimon on screen or on the ground?"

Hikari shook her head. "It's just Tailmon! Before, they were all one color and now I can see her clearly." She had seen enough of it to know the difference after all.

Koushiro sighed a little. "I'm not sure if that's better or worse… It's possible that it's a sign of the Digital World needing help, but since we can't see its severity from this side, it's difficult to say. For now, we just need to hope that it is nothing too serious. Have you always seen things like this, Hikari-san?"

Hikari hesitated. She wanted to lie because Taichi was in the room and he may not believe her. But he'd believed this, so… She nodded. "Since we first met Koromon all that time ago. Always." She bit her lip. "Nobody believed me though, so I figured it wasn't okay to keep bringing it up."

Taichi's expression was hard to read from this angle, but Koushiro nodded. "That would make sense." He gave Taichi an odd look. "We've never fully explored the meaning of your Crest, Hikari-san. 'Light'. There are a lot of traits associated with the light, and you've exhibited a lot of behavior that is out of the ordinary."

"She's not crazy, Koushiro," Taichi said, trying to smile at the sight of Hikari's complete befuddlement.

Koushiro flushed. "I wasn't saying that, Taichi-san, forgive me. I merely want to ascertain how deep this runs. It's possible that Hikari-san is a… medium for the Digital World, so to speak. She's always been aware, unconsciously, of things we have not been. It's possible the Digital World is sending us a message through her, like it did once before."

Taichi nodded but Hikari scratched her head. She didn't remember this, and she remembered the short time she had visited the Digital World with some clarity. "Um… when did that happen?"

"In Pinocchimon's forest," Taichi said, frowning worriedly at her. "When Yamato and I… when we started fighting."

"Oh." Hikari didn't remember that time period very well, but she did remember her brother's feelings, and Takeru-kun's. So sad. So angry. It had almost been a relief when Yamato-san had left for a while. When he had come back, his head was clear and he had been okay. They had won.

Back then… what had happened? A voice... she had heard a quiet little voice singing. It had seemed desperate, like a bird at the pet store. And she had followed it. And then…

Her head throbbed and she slipped from the bed. She barely felt her brother lift her up, couldn't hear his voice. Her Digivice had started to scream.

She opened her eyes (when had they shut?) and found Tailmon standing right there. Her partner was looking at her. Then, seconds later, she was gone.

This song did not fade. It grew louder and louder, mixed with a longing, airy warble.

"The world is ending, and I feel fine..."

A/N: Okay, for the record, this has been done for a while. unfortunately, I haven't had much time or energy to post anything because school. The middle and end of the semester are basically designed to kill you slowly, just to let all of you who aren't in college yet know. Also, I have a lot to post so if some of it doesn't go up today, it might go up tomorrow after the stuff I have to do. Anyway, please drop a review and everything and thank you to those you have!