Y/N: This is me writing as Ken, who I like a lot better now, but still don't love, in a world that I don't particularly enjoy. It wasn't the most fun I've ever had writing, but I think it turned out alright. It was a struggle, but it was worth it in the end, I think.
U/N: So this was weird and fun. Weird because it shouldn't have been fun given the circumstances. But I'm always a fan of new friendships, and Mari seemed to work really well in this chapter with some of the other characters. Anyway, I hope you like it, even if the situations that are going on aren't desirable from a "let's make the characters be happy" point of view.
Title: Digimon Adventure 07: Virus
By: YukiraKing and UrazamayKing
Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.
Part 1: The First Two Days
Chapter 7: The Outside
Ken Ichijouji:
The flickering flames didn't warm me the way that Summer had hoped they would. It wasn't the water that had me chilled to the bone. It was the virus, the idea that my sweet, panicky wife was out there, alone, while the virus made its way towards us and the Coliseum and all of those that we held dear. The more I thought about it, the clearer it was to me. She was chasing after Kurayami. She'd wanted to get to her, to save her from the virus. I knew it, because that's just the sort of sweet, selfless thing my Miyako would do. And I hated the idea that I was upset about it.
Takeru assured me she had a key. He told me he'd seen it. I'd asked enough times, and he'd repeated the same information each time. I was now convinced he wasn't just telling me that to save my life. He really meant it. My wife was in another world, not being destroyed by the virus, the same way that it had eaten away at Morestuna's corpse.
Morestuna.
He was an evil man, a horrid excuse for a police chief, but Miyako was right. He shouldn't have had to die. He should have faced justice the right way. I could understand her view, and the part of me that was a dedicated police officer agreed whole-heartedly. It was the few remaining pieces of the Digimon Kaiser that had me pleased that he was dead. That it was him, and not my wife, that died on that battle field. He was trying to rip my wife away from me, and for that reason alone, I let the Kaiser in me take full reign. I was happy that it wasn't Miyako.
But the view of Morestuna's rapidly deteriorating body haunted me all the same.
I brought the burgundy, ceramic mug to my lips, allowing the steam to brush against my face, and the scent of the sweet, fragrant gyokuro tea filled my nostrils. It was nice, but it wasn't the smell of home. Miyako and I only used cheap tea bags, a habit ingrained in us from when I was nothing but a poor student, and Miyako's income from the library was all we had to get by. We'd grown accustomed to it though, and this fragrant, jade green tea was only a reminder of how far I was from home. It was, of course, high-grade tea that Summer had grown in her garden, not far from the very spot I was seated in. The tomatoes too, that she had simmering in a milky mixture were homegrown. She was stirring the bright red-orange, thick liquid, adding basil leaves to it as she moved the wooden spoon around in circles.
"Almost done now," she told us with a gentle, sympathetic smile.
She was making us soup, and giving us tea, and had us bundled up in fluffy blankets, each seated in one of the chairs that circled around the open flame. It should have been comforting, and the pale blue fleece did feel wonderful against my still damp skin, but it all felt wrong. I shouldn't be sitting around a fire, in a world that was absolutely perfect—not without Miyako by my side.
I cursed myself for going to Takeru instead of staying with Miyako. If I had just listened from where I was, if I has seen the virus myself, she might not have gone off alone. We could have gone together, and would still be together, if I hadn't lost track of her. I'd been so proud of my fitness progress, but I couldn't even catch up to my pregnant wife. She wasn't a fast runner. She'd never been all that fast. She wasn't interested in running. I supposed she was running on adrenaline, with the Morestuna fiasco, and the virus, and our friend's life being in danger.
I winced as I remembered her accusations, and knew I should have handled it better. She wanted to be comforted, she didn't want me to say that Morestuna got what was coming to him. She turned my words against me, saying that by my logic Kurayami was bad, and deserved to die, that I was too. And I supposed, however grudgingly, she was correct. I was wrong. But it didn't make the fact that she'd thrown my Kaiser days in my face, something she'd never done before, because she knew how hard it was on me. How much I regretted my actions, and how I was still trying to repent for them. I was doing all that I could, but I'd never done anything quite as bad as Morestuna had. The digimon I'd been responsible for killing had all come back to life. Morestuna couldn't boast the same. I supposed he couldn't boast anything now, since he was dead—body disintegrated in just the same way the digimon he'd killed. It was almost poetic justice, if it didn't suck so much and caused my wife and Kurayami to race off into an uncertain future.
And how sure was I that Miyako was in the frame of mind to even use the key that Takeru had convinced me she had? She was panicking. When she panicked, she couldn't even remember to breathe, let alone pull out a key and use it to save herself and the baby she was carrying. She had a one track mind, and if she was focussed on saving Kurayami, she might not have remembered the baby, or herself.
But Takeru was right. She had to have used the key. She and Kurayami were probably hanging out with fairies right now, or something. She'd been to the Fairyland before. She would have fun there. Yeah.
I'd almost convinced myself of it, before I remembered the other worlds, the other options. There was Witchenly, and two keys to the Dark Ocean. And there was here. I didn't know for sure which she had. She might not be having any fun at all.
I sighed and looked into my mug again, shifting my blanket so that it was higher on my shoulders. There were a few tiny tea leaves floating within the jade liquid, and I watched them dance around, swirling the cup so that they wouldn't stop.
This world wasn't helping me retain my miserable mood. The fire was pleasant, the soup and tea smelled amazing. The sun beat down on me, struggling to brighten my countenance. The butterflies fluttered from one bright, beautiful flower to another, and the rabbits hopped around the wooden benches and chairs, looking for attention. They were adorable, and I hated them for it. I wanted to be miserable. I wanted to dwell on the fact that Miyako had finally told me about the baby, only to be ripped away from me. We couldn't talk about it, we couldn't brainstorm names, or feel it kicking, or discuss the changes we would have to make in our lives. Where would my son or daughter sleep?
Probably on the ground of whatever world Miyako was in.
That thought was miserable enough to shatter the good mood that the Land of Dreams was trying to impose upon me. I might never get to see my son or daughter. Even if Takeru and I found a way back—which we might have access to, thanks to the Looking Glass—who was to say that Miyako could do the same? The Land of Dreams had barely been explored, and we'd known about it, and had access to it, for a long time. We knew next to nothing about the Fairyland, or the Dark Ocean. And Witchenly... Jou claimed to have gone there once, and I'd felt inclined to believe him, but that was the only visit anyone had taken there.
There was no guarantee that there was a Looking Glass in every one of those realms. There probably wasn't one in the Dark Ocean at the very least.
I had been so willing to die at Morestuna's hands if it meant that Miyako and the baby could live long, happy lives. But this was much worse than that dying. This was being separated from them, knowing that I was still alive, but unable to help her. I was going to be a deadbeat dad without wanting to. I was worse than a deadbeat actually because a deadbeat was at least on the same plane of existence.
"Relax, Kind one," Summer said, gently taking the burgundy mug from my fingers and exchanging it for a large, speckled, navy bowl. She dipped a spoon into the creamy, tomato soup and gave me a look that told me everything would be fine. I was hesitant to believe her, but she was a fairy, and she seemed to know things. I took a few deep breaths before taking a spoonful of soup to my lips. I ate, and watched as she gave Takeru his own soup. She got some for herself, and settled in on a third seat, looking meaningfully between the two of us. Takeru sighed and explained.
"The DWD sent a virus to wipe out all of the digimon," Takeru started. "But we don't know if it's just the digimon that it's destroying or not. I know they don't care if they get humans anymore, but I don't know if they're against the world itself or not. That purple stuff is the virus." He pointed towards the Looking Glass with his spoon. The delicate green barrier was holding strong against the violent, violet virus, though it was straining against its confines, trying to break through and spread throughout this world as well.
"Oh no," she gasped, though I figured she had at least some idea before Takeru told her. "My Forgiving Knight, he is there. Is he safe? What of his brother, Meiyomon?"
"They're totally fine," Takeru said, sounding entirely unsure of himself. "Everyone's safe, because we put up all sorts of barriers. We just weren't inside one when the virus came. We had to go to the Looking Glass, because it was too fast for us. But Iori was probably inside. I know Meiyomon was. Iori's fine."
I tried not to wince at how fake his confidence was. It was evident that Summer heard it as well, but she didn't say anything. She just sighed sadly, and ate her soup. She closed her eyes. Her eyelids flickered, and then a soft smile was on her face, and she nodded to herself. I didn't know what she'd seen, or remembered, but I was counting on that smile to mean something good. Like maybe my wife actually was fine, and I would see her again before the baby was born.
But she didn't offer any information, so I couldn't be sure.
"Is there any way that we'll be able to get back?" I asked her, glancing again at the virus struggling to break free of its prison.
"This world is fully closed to all others," she said, shaking her head. Her smile faded and she too looked to the virus. "The only exit is the Looking Glass, but I've sealed it. If I were to take that seal away, the virus would come into my world, and destroy it. A virus has no place in a land made of wishes. It could cause insurmountable damage. The keys are really the only alternative, but you didn't bring one that could take you out of here."
What little hope I had crashed down around me. I wouldn't be able to get back to see all of my loved ones again. Miyako was in another world—I was clinging to that hope, and never planned to let it go—with our baby, and Wormmon was at the Coliseum with my parents. Hawkmon was too, I thought, maybe. Daisuke was, and he was my best friend. I could count on him to take care of Wormmon, and I supposed I would have to depend on him to help Wormmon take care of little Masa too, since I never made it back to take care of him.
My poor mother. My heart clenched as I knew what she must think. Miyako and I both taken from her in one purple flurry. She couldn't know that we were in worlds apart from the one she was in. She would assume the worst, since there was no proof to say otherwise. She would think we were dead, and she would have lost both sons and her daughter-in-law—and her grandchild, though she didn't know it. And if we couldn't get back, she would never know that we were still alive.
I didn't need to look at Takeru to know he was experiencing the same dreadful feelings that I was. But I looked anyway. His face was crumpled as he tried to stave off the emotions, tried to push them away. He needed to keep hope, but I could see how hard it was for him to be away from Patamon, from Hikari, from his brother and his mother. He'd already been trapped worlds apart from his father, but he'd lost everyone else just now too. All he got was me, a broken, miserable man, who couldn't handle the idea of never seeing his child.
We'd tried for so long to get that child, and I'd never get to see it. I'd live a long life knowing that my baby existed, and never getting to see, to know.
But I was focussing on Takeru now, and I would not allow myself to cry. I wouldn't do it. I wasn't going to give in to that weakness, no matter how desperately I wanted to. Crying wouldn't solve anything. Crying wouldn't make Miyako appear next to me. Crying wouldn't magically take me to the Coliseum so I could assure my mother that I was alive and well. Crying wouldn't take away Wormmon's pain, or my own. It would do nothing except make me wet, and that was just an inconvenience I didn't need right then.
I had Takeru, and that didn't seem like much, in comparison to what I had lost, but it would be enough—because it had to be. I couldn't change that fact. He was all I had. Him and Summer anyway.
"There is one place," Summer continued, hesitantly, entirely aware of our distraught thoughts. "I'm unsure of it, and I don't recognize it, but I think I can send you there, if you wish to go. It could very well be dangerous there. I don't know. I've never known this world to exist before."
"I want to go," I said, desperate for any chance of getting out of this perfect paradise that set me on edge.
"Me too," Takeru said firmly, nodding his head as though he needed to convince himself.
"Alright," Summer said, reluctantly. "But before you go, I want you to wait until you've met up with the others in this world first. They may appreciate to know you are alive."
"There are others?" Takeru asked, perking up. He'd found something new to draw hope from, and he was going to explore that option, regardless of my desperation to leave. I knew Summer would not send me on my own, and I resigned myself to the idea that I was trapped here until we met with these mysterious others. When I thought of it, I realized it had to be the digidestined that had the key to the Land of Dreams.
Miyako had a key.
I stood up, and my blanket fell from my shoulders. I grabbed it, and draped it over the back of my chair, placing my now empty soup bowl on the seat, the spoon clanging roughly to the side of the ceramic. I winced at the loud sound that shattered the silence of our surroundings.
"Thanks for the soup," Takeru said. "We're just going to go find them now, if that's okay?"
"Go," she said with a light, chiming laugh.
Takeru grabbed my arm, pulling out his digivice as he tugged me along behind him. I pulled out my own, sending my gratitude towards Summer as I pressed the buttons. She just laughed again at our determined nature, and we set off through the fields of flowers. Our pace only slowed once Summer was out of view, and we realized that no matter how far we made the range on our digivices, we weren't going to find anybody. My digivice didn't even register that Takeru was standing beside me. I growled, frustrated, and stuffed it into my soggy pocket, where I'd found it.
"Now what?" I asked, still plowing through the fields of flowers, watching the horizon with an anxious eye for the moment the flowers ceased, and the uncharted territory would begin.
"We just start searching," Takeru said firmly. "She probably knew the digivices wouldn't work. My guess is that she needs time before she can actually send us to this new world or whatever it is. She just didn't want to be rude and tell us to go away."
"So she's sending us on a wild goose chase?" I demanded, more than a little put out by the idea.
"No," Takeru said. "I fully believe that there are others out there. She's got no reason to lie to us. So we're just going to have to do this the old fashion way. Think of it as one giant game of hide and seek. We're the seekers, and we've got to figure out who's hiding from us. It might be a little fun."
"I was hoping for quick and easy," I said, looking up to the endless, cloudless sky again. Why couldn't this be easier? I wanted to know if Miyako was here. I needed to know. I really wanted her to be, but there were so many options, and I was holding onto this shred of hope, clinging to the tiny possibility. It would drive me mad if I didn't get my answers. If she wasn't here, I needed to know it—even if it wasn't something I wanted to hear.
We wandered further, until the flowers had ceased blooming, and we were in a vast, grassy field. The grass was tall, reaching passed my knees, but it didn't offer much by way of distraction. The sun didn't warm me as much as it should have either. I ought to have been sweating by that point, trekking such a long distance under the beating rays of the slowly, setting sun. But the temperature always remained pleasant, and it was starting to irritate me. Everything seemed still around us. The slight rustle of the blades against our legs, and the sounds of our feet crushing the grass were all that there was. It was the most irritating thing ever. I needed something.
Even if it was just a slight breeze, I needed something different, something that wasn't so perfectly still.
A gentle breeze was suddenly dancing its way around us, playing with my hair, and causing goose bumps to appear on my skin. It was eerie, how the world had accommodated me so quickly. I searched around me, hoping to see that something else had changed, but the wind was all there was.
"I wonder what else could happen," I murmured to myself, raising my head up to really feel the wind.
"Like the wind, you mean?" Takeru clarified, knowing instinctually what I was talking about. Clearly the still, quietness of this world was bothering him as well. "Well...how about this?" he asked, closing his eyes tightly. Before he'd opened them again, dragonflies flew through the air, buzzing softly around us. They'd appeared midflight, and acted as though they'd always been present.
Afterwards, it became a game to us. It was a welcome distraction from the fate of our friends and the fate of the Digital World. I was quick to wish up wildflowers, to give the empty green canvas some colour. White and yellow were the most popular, but pale purples, blues and pinks could be spotted every now and again. Takeru laughed at my simply decision, and suddenly the trills of songbirds were filling the air as small black birds and pretty brown birds fluttered through the sky, pushing the buzz of the dragonflies to the background. I thought up some toads, letting their croaking add to nature's orchestra. It wasn't the prettiest composition, but it was much more comforting than the silence had been.
Our feet stopped crunching the grass, as a cobblestone path stretched out under them, leading off into the distance. And we grew more daring, as Takeru called up some horses and I—not to be outdone—wanted goats. The neighs and bleating joined the symphony, and for a moment, I was happy.
But a horse raced alongside the cobblestones, with her foal behind her, not yet fully comfortable on his unsteady legs. And then a young kid nearly knocked us over in his haste to get away from his mother. My heart clenched, and the fun had drained out of our little game. I wanted to find Miyako, and our baby. It really wasn't any wonder why the foals and kids were present. I wanted my wife and child so badly—the world most likely drew on that desperate need, and tried to accommodate as best it could.
It wasn't the same though.
Takeru sighed, and we continued on our way. Every once in awhile, a stone would appear of the path, and he would kick it, until it got lost in the long grass, and he needed to wish up another one. The sun was sinking lower in the sky, and we still hadn't found anyone. I hadn't truly been so optimistic as to think we would find the others so quickly, but that didn't stop me from being disappointed. It wasn't until the sun had sunk lower, and Takeru had wished up some fireflies that we saw anything other than the endless field.
"Is that a pile of rocks?" Takeru pointed, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.
"I didn't ask for one," I said defensively.
"Then it's a clue!" he cheered, racing down the path towards it. I couldn't let him go alone. We didn't know if there were any foes in the Land of Dreams. It couldn't be a completely isolated world, with Summer as it's only occupant. She would have to be horribly lonely if that were the case, and she hadn't seemed it. Yet she sent us on our way without any warnings, so there couldn't be anything too bad, could there?
It hadn't taken me long to catch up to Takeru's head start, and as we drew closer to the pile of rocks, we realized it was something more than that. There were ancient rocks that had crumbled from the elaborate—but modestly sized—temple walls. There were torches lit on either side of the door, and just glancing down the dark tunnel that lead inside, I could see a faint flickering of more torchlight coming from within.
"We've got to check it out," Takeru said, reaching out and grabbing one of the torches. I took a moment to look over the temple. It was rather small, for what it was, and was made of a light brown stone. It looked as though it had been beautiful in its hay day, but had seen its fair share of erosion. Grape vines grew sporadically up one side, and were stretching their way across the roof. And the outer walls themselves had intricate carvings chiselled into them. They seemed familiar. The shapes looked to me, to be digimon—something that struck me as strange in a world that didn't possess any.
I didn't get a chance to look any closer, because Takeru had gone inside. I needed to keep up with him. I was sure he could take care of himself—he'd literally slain a dragon before—but I wanted to be there, just in case.
Faint groans of frustration echoed down the hallway, and Takeru grinned, laughing loudly. He knew what—or who—was waiting within the temple walls. After just a second, I was able to piece it together too.
Koushiro.
Who else would come to the Land of Dreams and create a crumbling, ancient temple? The walls in the hall we were wandering down were covered in digicode. It should have been the first thing that came to mind at the sight of it. I was more embarrassed, than relieved, at the thought of it being Koushiro instead of a monster.
I'd let Takeru get ahead of me, and I raced down the hallway, no longer bothering to be quiet. Why should I? It was just Koushiro. He wasn't going to kill me for making some noise. He probably wouldn't even hear it. He tended to be oblivious to such things.
Upon entering the main chamber, I was met with an interesting sight. Koushiro was—predictably—bent over his computer, typing like mad, pausing every once in a while to furrow his brows at the screen and double check the symbols on the wall in front of him. He let out a frustrated sigh, before deleting everything and starting again. Takeru, however, was sitting cross-legged next to him, finger extended as he poked him continuously.
"Hey! Hey, what are you doing?" he asked. "Hey. Hey. Hey. Hey! HEY! HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" Hey Ken, I think he's deaf."
"I'm not deaf," Koushiro said quietly. "I'm just uninterested in the prospect of conversing with a rather annoying ball of immature unintelligence."
"Harsh," I said, before I could stop myself.
"Not harsh," Takeru argued. "Funny. That's the first thing he ever said to me. It was the day we left to the Digital World for the first time. I can't believe you remembered that verbatim."
"I remember everything," Koushiro said, rolling his eyes. "I simply have to have heard it in the first place, in order to add it to my bank of knowledge."
"Cool," Takeru said. "Me too. Mostly."
"Tell that to Mimi," Koushiro said grumpily. He winced, and shook his head. Obviously Mimi wasn't at the Coliseum when the virus came. I sympathized with him. At least I knew that Miyako had a key. I couldn't even offer him that same comfort. I didn't know who had a key at all.
"We just came from Summer's place," Takeru said. "From the Looking Glass, really. She said there were others. I guess she meant you. But...she said others, which is plurralized, so I guess...what I want to know is..."
"Did anybody come with me?" Koushiro suggested. Takeru nodded anxiously, glancing at me. He felt guilty for wanting Hikari to be safe. I frown at the thought. I could understand the sentiment though. I felt guilty for wanting it to be Miyako—and no one else. "I used the key to save Hikari and myself, so that we wouldn't slow Taichi, Mari and the others down anymore."
"Hikari," Takeru said, smiling and laughing in relief.
I bit back my jealousy. It was irrational. I knew that Miyako had been nowhere near Koushiro when she had started running. It was illogical to have thought it could be her in the first place. But it didn't stop my heart from twisting, and the majority of my hope from fading. I was happy Hikari was safe. I was.
I was.
I felt so heartless, for not being able to convince myself of that fact. I just wanted it to be Miyako so badly, and anyone else was going to be a disappointment. It wasn't just Hikari. I would have been disappointed if it was Taichi, or Mimi, or any of the others. Miyako was the only one I wanted right now. I was such a selfish person.
"I wouldn't get too excited," Koushiro warned Takeru. Takeru raised an eyebrow at him, urging him to explain. "She hates me. She shouted it at me. She's very angry to be here, instead of with the others. She stormed off, because I'm obviously a horrible person, and she doesn't want to be near me right now. She might respond better to you, Takeru, but I sincerely doubt it. She wants to brood."
"Hikari doesn't hate anything," Takeru protested. "The word's not even in her vocabulary."
"I assure you, you're wrong," Koushiro said. "If you don't mind, I'd like to try and figure this out now. I'm trying to access the power of the key to Earth, so we can escape this world, and meet up with Sora. As of this moment, I now have solid evidence that five digidestined have survived. I would very much like it if we could all be in one world—preferably one that makes more logical sense than this one."
Five.
Sora, Hikari, Takeru, Koushiro and me.
He didn't have any hope for Taichi or Mimi. For my wife. I didn't know what to think about it. Koushiro was rarely ever wrong. What if it was too late, and Miyako hadn't been able to use her key? What if my wife and child were dead along with my partner and parents, and I would never know, because we were stuck in this lonely world?
"Don't say that," Takeru said. "Everyone's fine. I know they are. Because I have faith in them. I trust that Kiyoko built a shield that could stand up to anything the DWD decided to throw at it. I believe that our friends are all safe within one of those barriers. And those that aren't, escaped, just like we did."
"How can you believe that?" Koushiro asked wistfully. He wanted to believe too. He just couldn't bring himself to do it.
"I have hope," Takeru said with a short laugh. "It's all I have anymore. Enough of this wallowing. Summer's working on getting us out of here. If she can't do it, then you can get back to this research of yours, even though it's obviously not helping. In the mean time, we're going to have to find Hikari. She needs to know that Ken and I are alive, and that we've got a way out. We can't just leave her out there alone in a new and strange world. That's rude. So get to your feet. We're going."
Takeru was right. Hikari couldn't stay out there alone. We needed her here with us. We needed to stick together. He was right about one other thing too. We needed to keep our hope alive. I couldn't give up on my wife. She was smart, she was capable, and she was safe.
And I would believe that, with everything I had—until someone proved me wrong.
Mari Goutokuji:
"I just don't understand why we have to work today of all days!" Babamon roared, using the end of her broom to dig into the ground at her feet.
"Because we need to get as quick a start as possible!" Tapirmon answered optimistically as he glided past her, dragging along with him two cultivating tools to work up the ground. "If we don't start now, we may run out of food before these plants can do anything for us at all!"
Babamon rolled her eyes, "But starting tomorrow wouldn't stall us any. Or not much in any case." She wound her broom back over her head and slammed it toward the ground, but instead she wailed it against her bare foot. She began screaming loudly in pain as Warg and Dracomon stifled laughter. It was good to see them laughing so soon, even if it was interrupted by solemn expressions. They'd both lost their partners today. I knew what that was like. I knew what all of these digimon felt like. I glanced over my shoulder briefly to see Monodramon helping Betamon dig a hole in the ground to plant an apple tree that would take literal years to grow anything. They really wanted to plant it, so I let them, but it reminded me how long we could really be stuck here.
There was a flash of lightning from above and Tapirmon jumped in fright, dropping his tools. "Oh don't mind that," Babamon said comfortingly, "These shields will hold up well."
"I know," Tapirmon said, nodding politely. "Kiyoko built them. He wouldn't let me be hurt." No one responded to him, and he floated in silence for a moment before picking up his gardening tools again and set off, dragging them through the dirt. It was so sad to see him that way. Especially since I was supposed to be the one he could lean on in the situation. He really didn't have anyone else left for him. But I wanted to be just as sad as he was, and I wanted to let out my fears and frustrations by doing whatever it took. Kiyoko was gone... That poor, sweet little boy who once hosted a genuinely evil spirit—I could remember the first time I'd met him. Though, really, I supposed it was Sigma then.
He'd walked right into the apartment and Hideto awkwardly admitted I wasn't the only one moving in that day. We stared at Kiyoko for a moment, trying to understand how to communicate with someone who smelled so bad. He made it clear that he was not going to be given the short end of any stick and he pushed his way straight up to the only bedroom, marking his territory by throwing everything Hideto owned down the stairs.
Hideto. That day he and Neo walked into the library was one of the best of my life. Without Lalamon around I had no one to confide in, and nothing to do. My grandmother was my family, of course, but there were secrets I could never tell her. Lalamon, for one. Having someone who knew was better than anything that had happened since she'd been dragged into my computer that horrible day in August.
"Eh, girl?" Babamon asked me, prodding me with the dirty end of her broom. "Did you say something?"
I shook my head, "No."
"Ah, well." Babamon said slowly. "If you need to talk, I can listen, despite what anyone may have told you. I wasn't always old and cranky, you know."
I tried to smile at her, but it came out as more of a glare, and Babamon looked away, continuing on her gardening spree. She had to be bitter with me for suggesting it in the first place. After the funeral yesterday, everyone seemed to be standing around, waiting for something just as 'fulfilling' to happen, and when it didn't I suggested we get to work on whatever we'd be needing for our stay, which could potentially last forever. Or at least as long as our supplies could last.
Or the barrier.
I looked to the archway that led to the outside world and stared into the thick violet fog as it rolled in great clouds of death, swimming its way around the barrier that was effectively keeping it out. But for how long? How long would we be able to survive in this place? How long would we have to? I wasn't one for hope, but it was possible the virus would eventually fade. It was possible Sora could find a way back to the Digital World and it was possible that way would allow us all a safe journey home. That meant revenge was also possible.
"What do you think it destroyed?" Terriermon asked quietly, following my gaze to the doorway. "Digimon, sure," he nodded, "but what about the trees? Or the ground?" I didn't answer right away. "Lopmon?"
I quickly threw my arm around him and pulled him closer, rubbing his head gently. "You're going to be okay," I told him softly, and he looked up with watery eyes. "You will." It felt fake. I was lying to him, which was something I wasn't too comfortable with, but I knew Willis would want him to be happy as long as possible. Even if he, himself wasn't around to see it happen. He was with his sister now though. At least that was something. "And I have no idea." I answered his original question. "We won't know until we get out there to look."
"We're not going out there, are we?" Tapirmon asked, shocked.
"I want to," Terriermon said. "I want to find Lopmon."
I looked to him with sad eyes, but he didn't pay any mind to me. He just moved off to grab some pumpkin seeds. "Poor dear," Babamon sighed quietly, "I've never known a digimon with a brother or sister before. Even with all my years of experience." She looked down to the ground, and I did the same, grabbing the trowel I was using and continued digging up the dirt. "I was there though, when he was created. Long ago. Gennai said it was important, and we told him it might not be safe," she smiled through her words, "But he knew better. He always did." She looked up to me, "did you ever meet him?"
"Once," I said quietly, "and never."
"How is that possible?" She asked.
"It's complicated." I shrugged my shoulders, and pulled the loose strands of hair away from my sweaty face. The air around us was so thick it felt like the hottest of summer days, even if the temperature was low. "Time travel."
"Ah," Babamon said as though she were disappointed in me for meddling with time, almost as if she had a personal vendetta against the very principal. I tried to get back to work, ignoring her disappointment and found it difficult. There were so many negative thoughts rolling around through the air, it was hard to concentrate on something so trivial as planting a flower garden, especially since it went against the basic idea of planting gardens. All the flowers would do is be pretty. But I wanted them planted anyway. "That wall is silly." Babamon said.
I looked to her and saw she was looking to the memorial wall where a few stragglers were still putting up their memories, hours later. "I agree," I said coldly. "I don't much like the idea of spreading false hope around to people who really just need to hear the truth."
"False hope?" Melga asked from behind me.
I turned quickly and flashed him a smile, "I just mean, we have no idea who is okay, and who isn't."
"But that shouldn't matter," Melga said shyly, "I wanted to share my memories of my favourite person with anyone who wants to read them. That's why they're up there on that wall. Not to trick myself into thinking he's alive. I know he isn't. I'm not a child, Mari." Melga turned and walked off without another word, effectively making me feel like a total jerk.
"Don't worry," Babamon said, "He'll be okay." I nodded, agreeing. "I lost two friends already, myself. Probably more. Divermon and D'arcmon. They probably thought I didn't like them, because I'm always yelling at people, but I still cared for them."
"I'm sure they knew," I said instinctively in that tone of voice I hated so much. That condescending, 'it'll be okay' voice that everyone thought was best to use when someone was grieving. It was like telling someone that you knew they were fragile and made of glass and that you were going to walk around them carefully until they tell you to stop, only, when you tell them to stop, they take offense and then when they calm down, they do it again. Forever sometimes. It was one of the reasons I never talked about Lalamon. I just wanted someone to talk to me, and not treat me like a baby.
"Maybe," Babamon said quietly, setting down her broom. "Jijimon, though," she was quiet for a moment, "I don't know if he's okay."
"He should be," I told her with a forced smile, "Palmon took us to his house, and we set up a barrier for him and the other plant digimon at a place called 'Toy Town'." I wasn't sure why I was speaking to her like she wouldn't know the lay of the land, but there was something about a sad person that just made you be careful, no matter how much I didn't want to be. Babamon seemed pleased though, she even smiled at me, relieved. Even if it didn't promise much, it was still something.
She was quiet again, for a long while actually, and everyone was getting to work. Betamon and Monodramon set to work on planting some peas and carrots, while Terriermon kept with the squashes and cucumbers. Warg and Melga were planting whatever they could get their hands on, and Tapirmon was setting up fences and stakes so we could label the rows. Babamon and I kept working on the flowers in silence. At least until Keiko emerged from the chambers below. She blinked in the weird coloured light and diverted her eyes to the ground when she saw the clouds of the virus.
Keiko shook her head harshly, tossing her hair aside, keeping her arms tight around her torso. She looked pale and tired, and I winced as I raised my arm into the air to catch her attention. I waved her over and she politely set off in my direction.
"Hey," her voice was coarse and dry, but she was putting on a brave face, "Mari, right?"
"That's me," I nodded, "Want to help?" She smiled down at me and nodded, falling to her knees and picking up a trowel of her own. "So we're planting any red flowers we can right here in this section. We're making a rainbow of sorts."
"Sounds pretty," Keiko smiled again.
"How are you holding up?" Babamon asked her. I sighed deeply and rain my hand across my brow, trying to ignore Babamon. I knew she was talking to Keiko, but it sent that same irritated vibe through me as if she was asking me, as if it were me who had just lost my partner.
When I looked up to Keiko I was surprised to see the same feeling creating a scowl on her face. "I'm fine," Keiko said, almost annoyed.
Babamon nodded, "You know, I've never had a partner myself," she sighed dreamily, "Jijimon is the closest I've ever come."
"But I was told you've been around since the start of time," Keiko said bluntly.
"No, no." Babamon said, shaking her head with a smile, "Not quite that long. Just the start of the Digital World." She sighed again, "I was so pretty back then, though. Young, and beautiful."
"You're still pretty," Keiko said kindly.
"Oh thank you dear, but not nearly as gorgeous as I was." Babamon said brightly, "You know, I was the only Rosemon of my day. Queen of the Jungle." Keiko's face lit up as if her grandmother was telling her a wild story of the old days, and I had to admit that even I found myself interested in what she had to say. "No one dared mess with me. I ruled over the plant digimon on Earth, back when we lived there. I don't remember much of those days, but I remember feeling excited at the chance to leave the humans behind. Thought I'd made a bad decision when the world proved to be nothing but darkness and chaos. But Gennai saved us, like he always did."
"So how are you a Babamon?" Keiko asked, "Rosemon is a mega, isn't she? How can you go higher than that?"
"Oh, I didn't." Babamon admitted. "I simply aged. Way back before we turned Digital. Rather unfortunate I missed my chance to stay beautiful for an eternity. But I'm one of very few Rosemon's who ever existed, you know, so I'm not ashamed of my form. I'm proud."
"How many Rosemon's were there?" Keiko asked.
"Only ever three," Babamon admitted. "Through death and rebirth, only three ever lived. One died many years ago, during the Digital World's first years, one belongs to the loud Digidestined girl, and one is yours truly."
"Uh," I spoke up, "And my friend."
"Yes, the loud one." Babamon nodded.
"No," I said flatly, "My partner was a Rosemon too."
"Not possible, my dear." Babamon said thoughtfully. "All digimon are registered, and no other Rosemon ever existed."
"Okay," I said, dropping the tools into the dirt, "Ask any of the Digidestined, they'd be happy to prove you wrong." Babamon seemed furious at me for speaking up against her, as if she couldn't stand anyone fighting against her, even when it came to things that she knew nothing about.
"I love proving Babamon wrong,"
We all turned to see Taichi standing over us, watching the gardening process. His hands were crammed in his pockets and he was actually grinning at Babamon. "So, what are we saying?"
"Doesn't matter," I said, standing up quickly and wiping the dirt from my knees. "I'm going for a walk."
Babamon's loud voice was impossible to ignore, "Your friend is just upset over nothing. Tragedy struck, and now she's dealing with her emotions, the same as everyone else." I stopped immediately and looked back to them, angry, ready to bite her head off, but the look on Taichi's face shut me down quickly. One end of his mouth was raised in an almost disgust as he looked down to Babamon, annoyed. He then shook the expression away with a sigh and turned to me.
"Mind if I come along?"
I didn't answer right away, instead I turned to Keiko, "You okay to keep everyone in line?" She nodded with a smile, and I smiled back. She'd be happy to have something to take her mind off of her partner. I pulled my arm through the strap of the backpack I'd taken from Kiyoko's things and reached inside, pulling out my phone and pressing a few buttons.
"Mari, where are you going?" Taichi asked, rushing after me, I suppose he noticed that the only exit from the arena in the direction I was heading was that big archway where the virus was awaiting menacingly.
"For a walk." I said flatly.
"Outside the barrier?" He asked, putting his hand on my shoulder to stop me, raising an eyebrow. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"You don't have to come with me." I told him, continuing on my way.
"If you're going, I'm going too," Taichi said nervously, "But are you sure it's a good idea?"
"Are you scared?" I asked, smirking.
"Never," Taichi insisted, shaking his head with a smirk, "It's just—"
I held up a finger to silence him as I focused on erecting a barrier around me using the phone. It was the same program as the barrier surrounding the Coliseum so by any logical point of view, I should be able to walk around unharmed. When I looked back up to Taichi he had broken eye contact. I was invisible. I messed around with the phone in my hand until I became visible again, but still protected. "Are you coming?" I asked, staring to the large archway where, just beyond, a wall of violet fog lay.
Taichi seemed unsure, staring at the dividing line, and then he breathed a kind of laugh, "Of course I am." He said, pulling out his phone and creating his own barrier. "I want to see what's out there."
"Me too," I told him nervously. What if Terriermon was right, and there was nothing but darkness and emptiness out there? What if the virus was designed to take away everything Gennai had done to create a world that the digimon could call home after the humans banished them from their own? Either way, we'd need to know sooner or later, because we were going to have to find the other barriers to be sure the digimon inside had enough to eat and drink. The barriers wouldn't be much use if they were going to die anyway. "Do you have to pee?" I asked him, trying to keep a straight face, "We might be gone a while."
Taichi grinned stupidly and suppressed a laugh, "You're just stalling. You're scared."
"Am not!" I insisted, smiling too, turning to look at the wall of fog again. "Okay, sure. I'm a bit nervous maybe. What if the barriers on our phone stop working for any reason."
"Maybe we shouldn't go?" Taichi suggested.
I shook my head and tried to take the step outside, but I couldn't gather enough courage. It could be a suicide mission with no purpose, and that was a scary thought. I reached out and grabbed Taichi's hand for support and listened to him count down from three, and when he muttered the simple word "go" we stepped together into the thick violent fog.
It was one of the strangest experiences of my life, that's for sure. I felt as though I were in a tiny snow globe, and all around me the virus was brushing up against the sides of the barrier. After our initial step into the void of nothingness we had lost sight of the Coliseum. Just like that. The fog was too thick to really navigate through. One thing I did notice though was the solid, if not soft, ground beneath my feet.
"Mari," Taichi said, his voice sounded soft and unlike himself. "We should expand the range of the shield as best we can next time."
I looked to the ground and immediately agreed. It hadn't crossed my mind until he'd said it, but the barrier's walls were only four feet on either side of me, and that could get dangerous. "Next time," I agreed. Then Taichi came into view again by stepping closer and overlapping our barriers.
"This is so weird." He said before laughing. "I've never done anything like this."
"I do it all the time." I said, returning his smile before setting off into the abyss.
"Wait!" He shouted, "We can't get lost." He appeared behind me again and sighed. "What if we use a gps system on our phone?" He began to click away at his phone and ultimately decided it should work. "I only know the coordinates of a couple places, which do you want to go to? My house, or the Temple?"
"Why not both?" I suggested with a shrug.
"Sounds good." He agreed, setting off with me toward the river. "If this test run works out, and, you know, we don't die, maybe we could send some others out, and we could head to the other barriers? Find Meiyomon's siblings, check on Patamon and Biyomon?" I nodded to show I was listening. It was a good idea, but I had nothing to add, "Meiyomon was just screaming at me earlier, that's why I came to the arena again. He was mad at me for not finding his siblings before the virus hit. I'm going to do whatever I can to find them all." It was a good mission. It may not have been the most planned thought I'd ever heard, but at least it was something. Then the two of us walked in silence for a while, through the river and across long stretches of empty fields. There was no guarantee we were going the right way, and it even seemed like we'd never moved at all. The scenery all looked the same to me. Every now and then there would be a bolt of lightning though, trying to strike us, but being scared off by the barriers around us. No matter how many times it happened, I jumped in surprise every time.
"So, how did you enjoy the funeral?" Taichi asked quietly, staring at his phone to be sure we were going the right way.
"Oh," I said, looking off into the clouds of fog, "You know... it was—"
"You hated it?" Taichi asked, looking up to me and making eye contact for the first time since we'd set out. It was scary though, how well the fog could be reflected in his glassy brown eyes.
"I did."
He laughed, thankfully, "Me too." He almost groaned as his laugh faded, thinking to himself, "It wasn't my first funeral though. Had a few grandparents die. A few digimon friends that Mimi and Yamato just had to honour."
"Sounds like a riveting experience," I said sarcastically. "Anyone else?"
"Agumon died once," he shrugged, "Came back though, so it's not like you." I nodded, but said nothing. "I want to go like Gennai, you know? Make a big impact, but to not have any big deal made over it. Everyone in this world knew Gennai's name. He was the creator after all, practically a god. You'd expect a big ceremony—the biggest. But there was nothing."
"Well," I said, "I don't have as big an issue with funerals as you obviously seem to, I generally respect them. It's a way to say goodbye. Lalamon's funeral was good for me, it showed me that people can care. My first funeral was my grandmother's though. It was the singular hardest day of my life, until, not even a month later, Lalamon died." Taichi was quiet, probably trying to be respectful, but I didn't really know what else to say, "I think letting go is the most important step when it comes to death. There are worse things that could happen, and I have to be thankful that she's resting in peace, I guess."
"So have you?" Taichi asked, "Let go?"
"Sure," I nodded, "I guess so. As much as I can."
"What does it feel like?" Taichi asked bluntly. "Sorry, if I'm stepping over any lines."
I looked to him, shocked that someone could walk with such heavy steps around this topic. I could feel the smile creeping onto my face. "It feels like a piece of my soul snapped off and is lost for an eternity. Which I know is highly melodramatic, but that's the best way to describe it. It's like losing an emotional limb that just can't grow back."
"Weird..." Taichi muttered.
"To say the least," I shrugged. And then we were quiet again as we walked through the misty air. Eventually we started talking again. Taichi told me about how his mother and father were arguing before she'd left to the Digital World and how he really wished they hadn't been because now she was going to be all worked up about it until they saw each other again. If ever. He told me about trusting Koushiro to take care of Hikari, and how, if they were trapped in that world together forever, at least they'd have each other. "Koushiro isn't the worst person to end up with Hikari," He had said, "Think of her and Yamato. No way." I laughed at him, and he grinned right back, continuing his stories. He told me a bit more about Gennai, how he was kind of aloof, and quirky, but also strict and kind of mean. He'd died to save Iori. I knew that, but the whole time travel thing was a complicated story, I didn't want to bring it up again. "Are you ever going to say anything?" Taichi asked.
"You're so good at talking," I told him, "You're on a roll, it would be rude to break that."
"Aw, come on," He said, "Just tell me a surface level story. I'm not asking for much."
"Fine," I groaned. He clapped his hands together in triumph and I thought about what I could tell him. Any story could be made surface level by taking emotions out of it, but it would be hard to take them from a lot of stories. Like, why had I moved to Japan? Because my parents had disowned me. What was meeting Lalamon like? Well it sucked because I'd been chased by a crazy man with a knife who attempted to rape me in the streets after Willis dumped me on Christmas day. Why did my parents disown me? Well, because I refused to become someone they wanted and who I would never be proud of. "Okay," I said slowly, "I met Miyako in pre-school."
"That's just a fact, not a story—really?" he asked, "That long ago?" I nodded. "You need a full story though, come on. Go big or go home."
All the stories in my life seemed to be heavily linked to something I couldn't talk about. I couldn't talk about Allias III because, well, we'd been evil, and because one of the members had been possessed by a man who, well, I wasn't unfamiliar with. Talking about my only real family member meant I'd have to talk about why that was the case, and talking about any of my friends meant that I'd have to explain how I felt that they were now dead. "You're going to have to help me out," I said, accepting defeat.
"Tell me about your first boyfriend," he suggested.
"Okay," I said nodding, "He was lovely," I said with a scowl. "Fifteen years ago, on a cool February morning I bumped into this charming young lad at my locker. He said to me, 'You're a babe,' and I thought, 'Wow, how romantic!'" Taichi choked on laughter, "He told me I'd be prettier without my glasses, and if I straightened my hair, and well, I wanted to be pretty back then. I was ten, you know. And we just kind of started dating. And oh boy, did he ever change my life for the better."
"What was his name?" Taichi asked.
"Marshall Taft."
"Ew," Taichi shuddered, "You've been dealing with him for that long? Fifteen years, really?"
"Why of course," I said, "Couldn't you tell? We're inseparable."
"That really sucks," Taichi said thoughtfully. "We're almost to my house," he said, glancing back to his phone. "That went fast." He then looked up to me and said, "So what then?"
"Then I tried to make him a better person," I shrugged, "Told him to apologize to Willis for everything he'd done. Stopped his bullying, and he really seemed like he good be a good guy. I was wrong, of course, for so many reasons."
"He didn't do anything... to you... did he?" Taichi asked awkwardly.
"You name it," I said flatly. "Look, this is getting way deeper than we agreed I'd have to go." He threw his hands up in the air and apologized. "Who was your first girlfriend?"
"A girl called Misa," Taichi said with a laugh, "We ate ice cream once. Sora was jealous, and said I never spent time with her anymore, so I broke up with her."
"Ah," I said, nodding. "Young love."
"You know how it is." Taichi joked, "Or, well, I guess you don't."
"No, not really."
We didn't talk anymore until we'd found a nice stone pathway. Taichi seemed familiar with it, so I let him lead the way until it stopped at a wooden step. It was his house. He moved quicker and with more familiarity, which of course made a lot of sense as it was his home. He pushed through the doorway and stepped over the threshold. I followed him inside, but lost track of him quickly. I figured he'd want some time alone anyway, so I thought I'd take a look around. As best I could anyway.
I walked along the wall, finding all kinds of things hanging, like a painting of a bird, a large photograph of Rei, Pal and Pul, and a strange mounted sculpture of sorts.
It was then that panic shot through me. I was not prepared when a strange bubbly feeling shot through me, and everything began shifting around me. There was something pushing away at the virus, trapping it against the wall, and pushing even further, forcing the substance to find an alternative escape route, until the entire room was virus free. I glanced out the window and saw that the barrier didn't stop there, it encompassed Taichi's entire property.
I looked back and saw Taichi entering the room, checking his phone nervously. "Good idea," I told him.
"Kind of," he agreed, "It's too bad we don't have a powerful enough source to create a larger barrier. Sure, it wouldn't be perfect, but if we could make a barrier around the world, the virus would be trapped in the sky and we'd all be able to roam free."
"That's something to work on, for sure." I nodded, continuing to look around.
"We lost all our genius's though," he said flatly, which actually kind of stung. Two of those he referenced had been close to me. Kiyoko. Willis. I sighed as I looked back to the picture of Rei. "She's gone too," Taichi said quietly. I wanted to tell him that he couldn't know that, and that there was no sense focusing on the negatives, but I was there with him. Rei was my friend. And she was gone now. Her and her brother were both ripped from this world and from their partners. Just like Kiyoko, and Hideto and Willis. Everyone who got close to me was violently ripped from me no matter how hard I fought to keep them. Taichi stepped up and put his hand on my shoulder, which I shrugged off quickly, walking away.
I found a bureau of sorts, covered with trinkets and photographs. I reached for the one in the back, a grin on my face. I turned to Taichi, "Is this you?" I pointed to the infant in the picture and he laughed, nodding. "Cute dimples," I told him with a laugh. "And I love that bald spot there."
"Hey now," he warned playfully, "I was trying to grow a very serious head of hair, it was harder than you'd think to keep my hair that way for so long." I raised my eyebrows and set the picture back down, nudging something with my hand, knocking it over, off the bureau and to the floor. I awkwardly bent down to pick it up and saw that it was another photograph. This one was of Rei and Taichi, but they both looked younger. She was in her chair and he was standing behind her. Next to them was a strange man painted silver, pretending to be a statue. "That was the first time we'd hung out as friends." I looked back to him and he was smiling fondly. "Kind of, anyway. Neo didn't want her spending time with boys alone, so she always brought along one of her many, many friends. None of them seemed to like me much, so she disobeyed Neo and the two of us went for a stroll downtown together. It was nice."
"That's cute," I said, smiling to him. He looked really quite sad though, so I thought I'd better set the picture down. "Maybe she found a barrier somewhere."
"You don't believe that." Taichi said.
"No, I don't," I said, "but that doesn't mean you can't. Between the Coliseum and your house there are three barriers that I know of. Maybe she even set up her phone as a barrier but can't find her way to the Coliseum. Maybe she stopped by here, and headed for Primary village. It's not far from here."
"Do you think she did?" Taichi asked honestly.
I shook my head, "I don't know." I admitted, "But it's possible. I don't like to get my hopes up, but I don't think it could hurt if you looked at the positives. Just this once."
Taichi smiled now, and nodded, looking down to his feet. He looked back up to me, clearly awkward, his eyes squinted, "Thanks, Mari." I nodded back and his phone beeped. He looked down to it with an unpleasant look on his face and then looked back up. "To the Temple?" He suggested.
"Sure," I agreed. We moved quickly, escaping his house. It was nerve wracking again this time, stepping into the virus. We had no real way of knowing if the barriers were still up. Thankfully, they were, and we set off toward the Temple. The walk was short, but we had to cut through the trees, and that was harder than I'd have liked it to be. I walked into quite a few of them, and Taichi laughed every time. Until of course he ran into one himself, and decided it was no longer very funny.
Walking across the bridge was almost as hard as finding it. The sound of the rushing water was comforting in its familiarity as we strode across the golden stretch of road to the Temple doors. We found they'd been blown wide open by the force of the Virus when it had initially escaped. While there was nothing specific I had wanted to do, Taichi made a direct beeline toward something that he clearly couldn't even see. I followed him as best I could, but his pace was quicker than mine and he easily flew out of sight.
I waited a moment, to see if I could find him, but when I couldn't, I called out to him, "Taichi? Where did you go?"
"In here." I heard his voice call back to me and followed it the best I could. "If we ever get out of here, remind me to seek revenge to a major level of ferocity." That was when I found him, holding a strange wooden staff in his hands. It looked vaguely familiar. Where had I seen that orange, Patamon-like topper before? "D'arcmon died to protect us. I wish she hadn't."
"Taichi," I said, reaching for his arm. "You're alive. What she did was a noble thing."
"She was so sad for so long," Taichi said quietly. "She was alone." He brought the staff closer to himself and held it tight. "Do Digimon go to Heaven?" I shrugged my shoulders. I didn't even know if I fully believed in the exact Heaven he wanted me to. There was obviously a world of light where spirits could go to rest, but that didn't mean it was Heaven necessarily. "They're supposed to be reborn. She won't be though. Is she gone forever, or is she with her son?"
"I really don't know." I admitted quietly. "I'm sorry."
"At least you're honest." He looked down to the staff and considered dropping it. Instead he moved to the center of the square where a large, mangled wooden horse stood tall and proud of its destruction. He wound the staff back like a baseball bat and swung hard, smashing it into the leg of the horse. The leg snapped in two causing the horse to topple toward him.
"Taichi!" I gasped as he leapt out of the way. He safely escaped the crashing of the horse. It smashed into the ground sending hundreds of pieces of wood flying in every direction. One chunk of wood nearly decapitated me, but missed by only a few inches. The force of the impact had caused a disturbance in the virus and sent much of it away with the air currents allowing me clearer vision. When the beast had fallen for good, Taichi moved forward and cleared a way to the ground. He held the staff in both hands now, above his head, and then with one quick movement he wedged it between the large stones that made up the ground of the Square. "Isn't this a funeral?"
"It's me paying my respects," Taichi admitted, "so I guess so, yeah." He made his way back toward me, hopping off of the broken horse, and landing smoothly on the ground next to me, and was off immediately, "There's just one more thing I want to check here." He waited for me this time, which was nice at least, and together we walked up to the council room. We moved slowly, keeping together and making sure we didn't trip on anything that could be in the way. The fog was thick again, and falling could result in immediate termination. We walked up the stairs, but the higher we went the more violent the lightning seemed to be. One bolt actually struck Taichi's barrier directly, but bounced off and slammed into the outer wall.
Eventually we'd made it into the council hallway and Taichi was walking straight to the end of it. He stopped and as his barrier met with the wall, pushing the virus away it became clear what he was checking. He traced his hand over the intricate wooden doorway, and stopped at the silver handle. He closed his eyes, turning the knob and pulling the door open. There was a wall where Earth should have been, solid brick's made up our blockade.
Then Taichi set off back down the hallway, this time he ran his hands along the left wall, thinking to himself. I followed him as closely as I could until he set off again, running his hand down the opposite wall. He seemed to be counting something. Finally he stopped next to Earth's useless doorway again. "They're gone," he said contentedly.
"What is?" I asked.
"The other doorways." He said, thinking. "Two for the Dark Ocean, one for the Land of Dreams, one for Witchenly and one for that weird Fairy land."
"That's good?" I asked.
"Yeah," He grinned, "That means—well, we know one of them was used by Hikari and Koushiro, but still..." he was counting again, "At least four other friends are alive. So that makes eleven of us that lived."
"Probably," I warned, making sure his hopes did not get too high. But that was still good news. As long as they remembered to close the doors after their escape from the virus, then more than half of our numbers were okay. Human-wise, of course. We had kept fairly good track of the partner digimon, with only Palmon, Gomamon, Hawkmon and Lopmon being unaccounted for. "Who had the keys?" I asked, wincing at my own words. I didn't want to know the answer to that.
"Well," Taichi said quietly, "Willis and Hikari delegated them. So I guess whoever they thought to give them to had them. I know Takeru, Ken and Kurayami didn't have one. Neo and Michael probably didn't since we have no idea what happened to them. I'm sure Hikari would have given one to Miyako, Iori took the one from the Coliseum, and Willis surely had one for himself."
"He was with Mimi and Kiyoko."
"Yeah," Taichi nodded, "Maybe they're okay too." He stopped to think for a moment, and slowly added, "Yamato?"
"Or Hideto." I said, nodding. "They're all that's left."
"Well, probably one of them has to be okay." Taichi said, trying to keep positive. It was annoying how easy it was for me to wish for it to have been Hideto. He was my best friend. Then again, Yamato was Taichi's best friend, and I could see in his eyes that he wanted it to have been him instead. It made me feel less selfish somehow. Taichi glanced down to his phone again, looking even more nervous this time. "It probably wasn't Yamato, no one knows where he went."
"Well, Hideto was off looking for Michael." I said, keeping my eyes trained on Taichi's phone. "Unless Willis went out of his way to specifically give him one..." Taichi looked to his phone one more time, and I'd pretty much had it. "What's going on?" I asked.
"Huh?" Taichi asked, noticing I was staring at his phone. "The battery is dying."
"What?" I gasped, "are you kidding me?" I grabbed his arm and pulled him into my barrier for safety. "That's the most reckless thing I've ever seen anyone do. We could have gone back, you know?" I said, glancing to my phone, realizing that my batter could die too. It seemed well charged, but with these things, you never really knew. What if the barrier was overheating it and it needed to restart at any moment? My heart was suddenly beating very quickly and Taichi seemed to realize this.
"Just breathe," he said softly, holding my wrists and looking straight into my eyes. "Breathe, Mari, it'll be fine. We'll just walk back to the Coliseum now if you want." I nodded. "And then maybe we'll find Spring."
"Who?" I asked.
"I just remembered her, thinking about the different worlds," Taichi admitted, "She's the fairy that lives around here. She should be able to help us out if we could figure out where she might be hiding."
"Sounds good." I said, glancing back to my phone to check the battery. It was fine for now, but who knew how long we'd have to walk back. "Can we go now?" I asked. He nodded and smiled.
"Scared?" he asked.
"Never!" I joked, taking him by the hand and leading our way through the hallway.
Next on Digimon Adventure 07: Hideto and Hikari both learn what it means to come undone when you're Tied Together with nothing but A Smile.
