A single breeze blew as Impmon surveyed his surroundings. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath as the wind seemed to envelop and caress him, as though it were welcoming him home. He glanced behind him to see the almost liquid-like sphere hovering mysteriously in the sky, dozens of white, glowing data streams buzzing and skimming across its fluid surface like searchlights. He'd forgotten how beautiful his home was, but he had more important matters to attend to.
After all, he had a gift to deliver… A very important gift. Finding out how to attain said gift, however, was going to be a bit more difficult. After all, all he had driving him right now was ambition; information and knowledge, not so much.
He flinched as something flitted past his ear, and out of the corner of his eye, caught sight of a glowing white figure darting past him. A cheerful, familiar chattering noise filled his ears, and before he knew it, a small pack of Digignomes joyfully encircled him, chattering happily and excitedly. He quirked an eyebrow at the jubilant creatures, deciding to humor them for a little while at least until they calmed down.
He couldn't help but smile; their excitement reminded him of the reactions of Ai and Mako whenever he came home. Even after all this time had passed, they'd treat him as though he had been gone for days if he was out for 10 minutes…. Had they truly missed him so much? And what did that say about how they felt when he was practically drowning in his lust for power and need for self-identity?
"Alright, alright, that's enough," the small Digimon said finally; the Digignomes showed no signs of losing their enthusiasm any time soon, and he had something important to take care of. He drew in a deep sigh and tapped his foot impatiently as they circled him a few more times, and then hovered just in front of him patiently. "I need some information that involves the workings of data and imbedded data… Where can I go?" The Digignomes chirped and quipped excitedly, and then took off across the vast digital terrain. "Hey!! Wait up, I can't…" He stopped himself mid sentence, concentrating hard and closing his eyes. His body began to tingle as warmth surged from his very core into his outermost extremities, bathing him in shining light. In a brilliant flash, Beelzebumon now stood where Impmon had been. With two swift footsteps and a powerful flap of his wings, Beelzebumon was airborne and quickly caught up to the Digignomes. Upon seeing him, however, a few of them made excited noises of fright while others chattered angrily and darted around him viciously. "Hey, hey, relax! I'm a good guy now, a good guy!" He refrained from batting them away to prove his point, and as they backed off, he couldn't help but sympathize with them.
In truth, he never thought he'd be calling himself a "good guy," simply because, even after the changes he'd made in himself, he didn't feel like he truly deserved the title. Sure, he'd helped in a preliminary fight against the D-Reaper, he'd tried to save Juri and Culumon, but he didn't feel as though that was enough… Not enough to cover the tracks he'd made in the past. And in a way, he felt that he never would.
The odd thing was, he was okay with that.
He didn't want to spend all of his time trying to make up for past deeds.
It wasn't that he didn't care, or that he was tired of feeling sorry for himself… In the time he'd spent with Juri these past few days, he found himself more drawn toward actually becoming her friend than relieving his own guilt. He figured that doing things just to make himself feel better was positively selfish; seeing her truly happy was all he wanted.
That's why he was here, doing this final task for her sake as well as his own. After this, there'd be no more hiding behind rocks or up in trees, no more freezing up when he heard her voice. He wanted them to be equal… He wanted a relationship with her, like the relationship he had with Renamon and the others. If he could do this last thing… The relationship he desired may be possible.
His attention turned back to the Digignomes as they finally came to rest and flew in excited circles at the top of a cliff. Beelzebumon landed, and then cautiously approached them. There was something weird about the air here… It was kinetic, as though every molecule in the air was as excited as the Digignomes. As he approached them, his eyes fell upon a large, daunting mass of black clouds hanging ominously in the sky. The storm seemed to engulf the entire sky in this region, streaks of lightning snaking their way through the portentous clouds at intermittent moments. Before he could inquire about their whereabouts, the Digignomes made a beeline into the storm above.
He quirked an eyebrow; he didn't know whether to be confused, worried, or both. It was silent for a moment with the exception of a few calm rumbles of thunder in the distance. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was here; something huge… Something powerful… But before he could contemplate further, the kinetic activity in the air seemed to increase exponentially. His skin tingled, and he felt his hair standing almost on end. His eyes unconsciously traveled skyward as, flanked by the Digignomes, the enormous form of Azulongmon descended from the storm and gracefully coiled himself upon the cliff Beelzebumon waited upon. Beelzebumon stood, overwhelmed and awestruck, as two pairs of wise, ancient eyes regarded him silently.
"You," the dragon spoke finally in a low, booming voice, "I have heard of you… You were Zhuqiaomon's servant once, were you not?"
Beelzebumon flinched slightly. "…….Yeah, I was……"
Azulongmon eyed him solemnly. "Do not be ashamed… While your reputation as an assassin exists, your reputation as a hero exists as well. Your efforts in the Human World against the D-Reaper were valiant and selfless--"
"Pardon the interruption," Beelzebumon said quietly, his eyes downcast, "but if you don't mind… That's enough with the compliments, because I don't want them." A bewildered look came upon the large dragon's face. "Instead of giving me compliments… I need some information about data, and imbedded data."
"Data… And imbedded data, you say?"
"Yeah."
Azulongmon took a moment to contemplate what he wanted to say. For the most part, Beelzebumon's question was remarkably vague, and with his vast knowledge of the subject, Azulongmon knew he'd have to try and summarize it. "Well, as you know, all Digimon are made of data. Data is, for lack of a better term, like our DNA. We all belong to different Digimon families, have differing affiliations, but all of us have our own personal make up which makes us who we are."
"What about…. When Digimon die….?"
"Well, that's a different story entirely. You see, when Digimon die in the Digital World, their data is sent to something called the Primary Village, where Digimon are "born" in a sense…"
Forgetting his initial fear, Beelzebumon pressed the old digimon for more answers. "So…… If a digimon's data was dispersed into the air, it somehow gets siphoned into this Primary Village place and they're reborn just as they were…?"
The ancient dragon hesitated.
Beelzebumon's eyes narrowed slightly in confusion and frustration, though he knew that he'd have to keep his composure; this digimon's knowledge was going to help him in the long run. "What's with the pause…?"
"Well… The Primary Village is the birth place of all digimon, but more often than not, Digimon are not reborn with their personalities in tact…"
Beelzebumon suddenly didn't like where this conversation was going, but he hesitantly continued his query. "What about…. Memories….?"
"……. There is a high probability that, in most cases, memories will be gone. You must remember, rebirth does not simply mean continuing the life that once was. With rebirth, you get a new life, which means your memories of your past life will either not exist, or be vague to the point where they can not be understood."
There was a long silence between them as Beelzebumon let the reality of his query sink in. 'If I could bring him back………. He'd have forgotten his memories of Juri…. Would there even be a point…? It'd just hurt her even more…..'
"Is…. There anything else I can discuss with you….?"
"….. I gotta tell you somethin'…. When I came here, I was stupid to think this would be easy, that everything would go back to normal if I decided to do this… And now that you've told me the truth behind data, now that I know about the truth behind rebirth, I still have to do this…." He looked up at Azulongmon. "When I was working for Zhuqiaomon, I did a lot of messed up stuff. I… I messed up a little girl's life by killing her partner and uploading his data… So I gotta ask… Is there any way I can get his data separated from mine, and sent back to her in the Human World? I…. I know it sounds crazy, but… This little girl… She's suffered enough because of me, even though she don't act like it now, I know she still misses him. That's why I need to have this done. Please…."
Small currents of electricity crackled across Azulongmon's serpentine form as he thought long and hard about how to answer this question and grant this complex request. He only knew one way, which in itself was risky beyond comprehension. "There is… A way…." He felt no relief when Beelzebumon's eyes lightened; this wouldn't be easy to explain. "There is a concentrated stream of light hidden deep in the forest, called the Scanner. It was created long ago for the sake of relieving Digimon of any data which they uploaded needlessly, or data which was harmful to them. Only the Digignomes know of its location, so I will have them take you there… Once there, you must stand within the Scanner's beam, and state the name of the file data you wish to have removed, as well as where you want it sent."
Beelzebumon couldn't help but notice the forlorn tone in Azulongmon's voice. "What's the catch?"
"It's not so much of a catch…….. It is a very risky, very dangerous procedure."
"How so?"
"As it scans you, it weakens you tremendously. Imbedded data such as this can only be successfully downloaded and siphoned if the host data's defenses are weakened. In other words… You are to be scanned until you are near death before the data can be extracted, and even after it is uploaded successfully and sent to the desired place, you must exit the Scanner beam quickly before it completely destroys you. And even if you live… The removal of this data, especially since it made you so strong, will leave you eternally weakened."
Beelzebumon let Azulongmon's words sink in, drawing in a heavy sigh. A dozen thoughts dashed through his mind at once; the severity of this procedure was making his head spin. There were so many factors against him at this point: the possibility of Leomon not having his memories, the possibility of dying during this process, and the reality of being mortally weakened after the process was complete. However, with the idea of Juri's happiness in mind, he found a new bravery which took the place of his prior hesitance. He was willing to risk being a bit weaker if it was for the sake of giving Juri back the one thing she loved more than anything. "You can spout as many particulars as you want. I need to do this. No… I want to do this, no matter how much of a risk it is against me."
Azulongmon eyed him quietly. "Very well," he said after a few moments. "When you are ready, consult the Digignomes, and they will take you to the Scanner. Luck be with you."
The Digignomes swirled around Beelzebumon as he began walking away, his mind positively racing. The dual emotions of fear and anxiety nagged at him relentlessly, almost to a point where he wanted to collapse and just stare off into the distance. 'Do I……. Really know what I'm doing….?' He hated to admit it, but he felt selfish for feeling like this. After all, he'd made the decision to come here and ask for information on this… He should have figured that data removal wasn't going to be an easy, painless procedure… But it was for Juri's sake. He had to keep telling himself that.
And losing sight of his true objective was not an option, not now.
"I'll be back later, guys," he said to the Digignomes quietly. "I…… I gotta get back and let her know I'll be delivering her present tonight…" The Digignomes flitted out of his way as the Demon Lord Digimon walked past them, making his way back to the data streams that would take him back home.
