Episode 21: Friends in Low Places
"Palmon, drink some more water or you'll start to wilt." Mimi thrust the canteen that she had taken from Vademon's stores at her partner, but Palmon waved it away with her vines.
"That's okay, Mimi. I'm not thirsty."
Mimi pursed her lips. They were steadily making their way to the Old Forest where Gizamon had said MetalEtemon was stationed. They had passed plenty enough creeks and even spent the night near a sizeable lake, but Mimi would have welcomed the chance to fuss over her partner. The mood that hung over their group was so taut that Togemon could have cut it with a blunt needle.
"Are you intentionally skulking back there or are you trying to slip away when no one's looking?" Yamato asked, glancing back for the fiftieth time to meet Wallace's glower.
"I'm not," came Wallace's terse reply.
"Not what?"
"Skulking."
Yamato visibly bit back a retort, his eyes narrowing, before returning his attention to the ramshamble path ahead of them. The rest of the group avoided each others' eyes and remained silent as they followed him through the mossy, overgrown forest. With chagrin, Mimi reflected on the conversation she had overhead between Yamato and Taichi back at Vademon's tunnels.
"Keep an eye on him," Taichi had told Yamato, pulling him into a side tunnel while the rest of them scavenged for supplies. Mimi had been searching a closet down that way, looking for the same canteen she had offered Palmon earlier. She could hear them through the door.
"You think he's going to make a break for it?" Yamato had asked.
"He's volatile and friendless apart from Daisuke who, well... I'm taking with me to separate them for a bit. I don't know what he'll do, if anything. Just make sure you watch him."
Yamato must have nodded because Mimi hadn't heard him reply. But after a moment, he spoke in a voice low with frustration. "Why not just let him go then? If he doesn't want to be here, why force the pleasure of his company on ourselves? We're not his babysitters."
"You know why," Taichi had said. "We don't know why he's here and neither does Gennai. It could be important. Why didn't he forget everything like the other kids? And there's his digivice. It could be our best hope of getting out of here alive if we can find it. And if we can stop PhantomDragomon..." His voice had trailed away here and Mimi, excited by her discovery of the canteen, had accidentally knocked over a box of fine china thereby alerting them to her presence and the fact that Vademon had no shortage of strange and unusual collections.
Mimi was brought back to the present as a branch snarled in her hair. Releasing it with agitation—what she wouldn't give for a hair brush or a comb—she thought about the words that Taichi had spoken to Yamato. Strangely, she was less bothered by Wallace's inexplicable presence here than she was by Taichi's assertion that he was volatile and friendless. Was it true?
She had thought that Wallace had been getting along just fine, but then, she hadn't really been paying that much attention to him. She supposed that it was true that he didn't spend much time with the others, excepting Daisuke of course. Takeru and Hikari occasionally made polite conversation with him; he and Miyako sometimes bickered over trivial things, but most of the others had little to do with him and Ken had made a not-so-subtle point of avoiding him entirely.
She felt a twinge of embarrassment. They had both come from the USA; she could have reached out to him. She should have. She knew how painful it had been to be isolated and apart from others after the calamity they had suffered. She had been almost as alone as he had to have been. No wonder he was angry, she thought. She had been, when it became apparent that none of the other Digidestined wanted anything to do with her anymore—anything to do with anyone who reminded them of their past. But as for friendlessness, well, perhaps she could help that.
She cast around, trying to think of a topic to break the ice. She wanted to make it clear that she wasn't hitting on him. He was good looking, sure, but too young for her and after Michael... No, she wouldn't go there. She tried to think of movies that had recently come out in theatres back home or what was currently trending on the music charts, but all she could come up with was that irritating Rihanna song (*1). Though it had only been about a week, it felt like ages since she'd been sucked through the portal in her bedroom and thrown back here.
While she was brainstorming popular reality shows, Wallace spoke.
"You're sure this is the right way? We've been walking for forever."
His voice was hard edged and impatient, but Mimi thought that it was at least an effort to involve himself with the proceedings. Unfortunately, Yamato seemed to think otherwise.
"Why don't you lead the way then? Since you obviously know better."
The rest of the team withheld a collective sigh.
"Yamato-san, lay off already," said Sora.
Yamato's annoyed gaze fell on her instead, his mouth open to reply, but Takeru intervened with a well-timed exclamation. "Listen! I can hear voices up ahead!"
They all fell silent, halting in their tracks. Fully distracted from the tension stirring them, Mimi's heart gave a little flutter as she wondered what they were about to find. Memories of her last encounter with MetalEtemon came flooding back to her and her stomach curled into a knot.
Very slowly, the lot of them crept through the trees to where the voices were coming from. A muscle pulsed in Yamato's jaw; Sora was pale; Jou looked queasy; Ken's face was unreadable but Mimi thought she could see a shadow of apprehension in his grey eyes. Only Wallace seemed unmoved, his expression somewhere between boredom and defiance.
The Digimon were all stiff, their muscles poised for a fight.
Stealing herself, Mimi peered out from behind the fronds of a gigantic fern plant. What she saw was a host of Digimon moving throughout a clearing that had evidently been made recently. Broken branches still littered the ground and hundreds of massive tree stumps reared from the earth. Deep grooves marred the dirt where their bodies had been hauled away.
There were Digimon of all kinds—Geckomon, Vegiemon, Gazimon, Gizamon... They were all working away at different tasks. The Vegiemon were rolling stones to a mountainous pile in the centre of the clearing. The Gazimon were digging what looked like a mote around it. The other Digimon flitted in and out of the trees, their business known only to themselves.
But for all the activity before them, Mimi could spot no obvious signs of fear or abuse. The Digimon were working readily enough and for all their arguing and complaining, there were even occasional outbursts of laughter. In fact, Mimi observed one Geckomon whistling a tune.
"They don't look very unhappy," Lopmon observed, his face wrinkled with confusion.
"I don't see MetalEtemon around," Wallace added.
"Well if I were a tyrant, I probably wouldn't spend my day hanging out with my minions either," Yamato said bitingly. His face was like stone as his eyes swept across the clearing.
Wallace bristled as Mimi knew he would. She restrained a sigh of frustration.
"Really? Because if I were in charge of a bunch of workers, I'd make sure I was around to keep an eye on them. Or are you so well trained in Japan to be a bunch of mindless workaholics that you don't—" (*2)
Yamato interrupted by seizing the front of Wallace's shirt and shoving him back against a tree. Mimi let out an inadvertent squeak of surprise as the others stammered protests.
"Why don't you shut your mouth and show a little respect?" Yamato growled.
There was a long, tense second as Yamato and Wallace glared at each other, neither of them willing to back down. Mimi's eyes travelled back and forth between them. A sense of despair was rising in her throat, threatening to choke her. She was so sick of this.
"Let him go!" Sora demanded at last, recovering from her surprise.
"Niisan," came Takeru's tentative voice.
For a moment, she thought Yamato would ignore them. But gradually, his fist loosened and the fabric of Wallace's t-shirt fell away from his grasp. He threw a low, furious look at Sora who was standing before him with her hands on her hips, a mixture of horror and anger etched upon her face. "I suppose you're on his side, are you?" His expression was steely.
Sora stood firm. "This has nothing to do with what he's saying or about taking anyone's side, but you've been picking on him since we started out on this mission and it's about—"
"Picking on him? I haven't been picking on him. Did you hear him? If he takes a shot at my father, you can be damn sure that I'm going to say something about—"
"He didn't mention your father!"
"He may as well have. He—"
"This isn't about your father! Since we left the crater you've done nothing but harass him—not to mention the rest of us—and—"
"The rest of you? What the hell is that supposed to mean?
"You've been short with all of us since—"
"Well I'm sorry I'm not all sunshine and rainbows when we're about to—"
"Would you just listen—"
"I'm trying to—"
"You're not the leader, Yamato!" Sora finally exploded. By this time, her face was a shade of red that perfectly complimented her fire bright hair. Mimi stared at her, taken aback.
There was a long moment before Yamato spoke. He seemed to be trying to decide on what words to say as a silent film of resentment and anger played across his face.
"No, I suppose that would be your beloved Taichi, wouldn't it?" He said at last.
Sora's body trembled with fury but before she could reply, Yamato turned around to address the others. "We're at the camp. Let's do what we came here to do and get it over with. Mimi-chan, Ken-kun, Takeru, go and check out the other side of the clearing, will you? See what you can see and meet us back here in an hour. Jou-san, you can go with Sora-san to the west end." He paused for a moment. "Unless anyone else has a problem with my taking charge then we can just stand around here, waste more time, and take a god damn, fucking vote."
There was a shocked silence. No one seemed to know what to say.
Except for Wallace of course. "What about me?" he asked aggressively.
Yamato met his gaze coldly, signalling through his silence that he meant to partner him.
Mimi closed her eyes as this led to a renewed outbreak of fighting. The noise pounded against her eardrums—Wallace's enraged protests, Sora's fury, Jou and Takeru's attempts to get them to stop, Ken's silence. She forced herself to breathe in and out, willing herself to stay calm and not give into the conflict. She wanted to scream at them all to shut up. Didn't they see what they were doing? Driving each other even further apart. Breaking the fragile bonds of an already tenuous team. They were never going to be what they used to be, she knew that. But if they couldn't find a way to get along, they were never going to win this battle.
They wouldn't even stand a chance.
Taichi could just make out Daisuke's dust-streaked face in the light pouring from the hole above them. They both stared at each other, eyes locked, as they listened to the sounds above. Veemon had already reached the wall and was trying to climb up it with his bare hands.
"Lightning paw—oof!"
"Miyako-chan, look out!"
"Black beam!"
"Feather strike!"
"Black beam!"
"Black beam!"
"Get away from that hole!"
Taichi's heart was pounding as the sounds of battle rang over their heads. Frantic, he looked around for a way to climb back up to the surface. But just as there had been before, there was no way up. He paced a panicked loop around the asphalt from the ruined road.
"Hey guys, what's going on up there?" Daisuke called, trying to sound casual and failing. But there was no response other than a Digimon's bellow and the tinkling of a shattered window.
"Daisuke, give me a hand here!" said Veemon, falling on his butt for the fifth time.
"We have to get up there," Daisuke told Taichi, going to his partner.
"I know." Taichi's response was terse and cold, but he couldn't help it. He couldn't think straight. He was blinded by his own stupidity. He was stupid for bringing them here. Stupid for refusing to listen. Stupid for putting them in danger like this. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
"Taichi-sempai, are you listening to me?" Daisuke asked.
Taichi jumped. Daisuke was suddenly right in front of him. He shoved him back a foot, breathing hard. "Dammit, Daisuke-kun. Don't do that!"
"You're freaking me out. You have to tell me what to do here!"
Daisuke asking for direction? Taichi wanted to laugh, but his mouth was too dry and he thought he might choke. "Figure it out," he croaked instead.
"Oh, okay, um..." Daisuke looked around like Taichi had done only a moment before. The look of concentration on his face would have been comedic in any other situation. In fact, Taichi had the urge to laugh again. All of a sudden, everything seemed hysterical. That he was trapped down here with Daisuke and the others were in trouble mere feet away from them. That he had put his sister in danger, again. In the same city that he had nearly lost her before.
"We have to go," Taichi whispered, sobering suddenly as images of a hospital room flashed through his mind. Not one but two—one for both worlds. He felt an acute wave of nausea roll over him as he considered the reasons behind those visits.
"What? Go where?" Daisuke demanded. "We have to stay here. I think—" He paused as an outbreak of shouting echoed above them. "I think they're winning!"
"Show them who's boss! Fight! Fight! " Veemon was shouting.
But Taichi was pacing again, wondering which direction to take in the blackness. Neither end of the tunnel offered any clues. It was a risk, he knew, but he couldn't just stay here and wait for his sister and friends to be slaughtered. He had to get back up there. It was his fault for getting them into this mess. He'd known it was dangerous. What hadn't he come alone? Why—
"Taichi-sempai!" Daisuke shouted as Taichi took off into the sewers.
Taichi could hear Daisuke's voice rebounding against the walls as he ran, not knowing where he was going but hoping against hope to find a ladder or an exit or something—anything. In his mind, he could see his friends being torn apart by corrupted Digimon. He could see the reflections of the Demons in his sister's terrified eyes. Fear burned in his throat and he pushed himself to run harder and each breath he inhaled felt like fire in his lungs.
"Hang in there, Hikari. I'm coming."
Palmon could feel the eyes of the others, hiding just out of sight in the trees, on the back of her head and tried not to fidget as she chatted to a group of Gazimon who were taking a break.
"You're a little late to the party, aren't you?" one of the Gazimon asked in response to her request for work. He eyed her with suspicion. "How'd you hear about us anyway?"
Palmon flipped one of her flower petals, emulating a gesture she'd seen Mimi do a thousand times before. "How haven't I heard about you? Everyone's talking about it!"
"It?"
"You know," Palmon dropped her voice and tried to bat her enormous, green eyes. "The return of the king (*3)," she forced herself to say, swallowing her disgust with herself.
"King," snorted one of the Gazimon. "What a ridiculous title."
"Shh! He'll hear you!"
Palmon felt a flash of triumph as they confirmed that MetalEtemon was indeed there.
"Does it look like he's around?" the first Gazimon snapped.
"So you haven't seen him recently?" Palmon asked, feigning a lack of concern.
The Gazimon's eyes narrowed. "Of course we have. Who do you think we get our orders from? But MetalEtemon has more important things to do than sit around with us all day."
"Like what?" Palmon asked, too eager and realizing it at once. She flushed as the Gazimon stared, their mouths sinking into frowns. She tried to cover her mistake by lowering her gaze to the ground and tracing circles in the dirt with her foot, attempting to look abashed.
"It's just... it's been so long since we've had a proper leader. And I was such a fan back in the day..." Again, she had to fight revulsion at her own words. But the Gazimon seemed to buy it. They were nodding. One even started to rant about what a lousy leader Piximon had been.
"...the conditions are much better here. Shorter working hours. Better pay. Dental."
The other Gazimon murmured their agreement.
"Yeah, and we don't have to live in terror of his creations all the time."
"And of course there was always the danger of—"
"So do you have room for one more?" Palmon interrupted, trying to steer the conversation back towards her purpose. She batted her eyes again with hope.
The one who seemed to be the ring leader sighed and relented. He jerked his head towards the pile of stones slowly accumulating in the centre of the clearing. "You can help the Vegiemon gather rocks since you're so eager. Vines are good for that kind of work."
"What are we building?" Palmon asked brightly.
"A watch tower," came his scornful reply.
But the other Gazimon shot their leader puzzled looks.
"You mean a castle," one corrected.
"Small difference—" Palmon started to say but the lead Gazimon cut her off.
"Does that look big enough to make a castle? You heard MetalEtemon. We need something to help us keep a lookout for enemies and we were told to—"
"I was told he was building a karaoke joint," interrupted another Gazimon.
"No, it's going to be a movie theatre!"
"It's a pile of rocks..."
"Well, I heard it was going to be his own, private penthouse."
"Who said that?"
"One of the Gizamon."
"Well he fooled you, didn't he?"
"You think you're such a know-it-all!"
Palmon took a step back as the Gazimon fell to arguing. Her eyes moved back and forth between them, unable to get in a word of her own. She tried to make sense of what they were arguing about, but that was just the problem. They weren't making any sense. How could they not know what they were building?
"Um, well, what did MetalEtemon say exactly when he told you what to do?" She asked, but her words were drowned out by the Gazimon's escalating voices.
Frustrated, she opened her mouth to try again and then realized it was futile. What more could they tell her if they couldn't even get their stories straight? Giving them up as a lost cause, she slipped away and pretended she was making her way over to the Vegiemon. When she was sure they weren't watching her, she slipped back into the trees to where the others were waiting.
They accosted her at once.
"Well?" Mimi asked, her face alight with anxiety.
As her facade fell away, Palmon's eyes filled with frustrated tears. "I don't know. I couldn't get a straight answer out of them. It's definitely his camp but... I'm sorry."
"It's okay, Palmon. You did a great job," Takeru encouraged her.
"Yeah, Palmon!" Mimi knelt next to her partner and hugged her. "You were great!"
Palmon sniffled. "Really?"
Mimi nodded and brushed one of Palmon's petals back from her face. "Tell us what else they said. I saw the magic you worked on them. Nice job," she added with a wink.
Palmon blushed but relayed the conversation to her friends.
"It sounds like they're not sure what they're doing," Ken said when she'd finished.
"Well, Gazimon aren't very reliable..." Wormmon said. "Maybe they got confused."
"Very smart, you mean," Ken said with a wan smile.
Wormmon stammered an unintelligible denial.
"I could go back," Palmon offered, feeling her confidence returning. "I could talk to some of the other Digimon. The Vegiemon must know what they're doing."
"No, we can't risk you being recognized," Takeru said.
"Besides," said Patamon. "I flew to the trees above where the other Digimon were working while you were gone. They're all saying the same kind of things. One of them thought that MetalEtemon was building a bouncy house. Takeru, what's a bouncy house?"
"Erm..."
"I wonder where they got all these ideas from?" Mimi wondered.
"That's what worries me," said Ken.
"Do you think MetalEtemon lied to them?" Wormmon asked his partner.
"It's possible."
"But why would he do that?" Patamon asked.
Takeru was frowning. "Maybe he doesn't want them to know his true purpose."
"Which is what?"
"That's what we have to find out."
"I don't suppose they mentioned where MetalEtemon is?" Mimi asked her partner. Apprehension flickered across her face and Palmon knew that she was remembering their last encounter with MetalEtemon. She moved closer to her, wishing she could comfort her somehow.
"No," she said. "I didn't ask. They were suspicious of me already."
"Well, let's meet back with the others and see if they've learned anything," Takeru said.
The others nodded their assent.
Palmon fell into step alongside Mimi as they started back the way they'd come, moving through the fringe of the forest. Her partner's face was still dark with unspoken thoughts. She reached up, intertwining her vines with Mimi's fingers. "Don't worry, Mimi. It will be okay."
"I know," Mimi answered but her expression remained unchanged.
"It's not like last time," Palmon insisted.
Mimi nodded but said nothing. Silence fell over them. Inwardly, Palmon thought that it was true: it wasn't like the last time. It was much worse. How could she protect Mimi if she couldn't digivolve? But she wasn't about to let onto her fears. Mimi had enough to deal with.
Ever since they'd been reunited, Palmon could feel the anguish behind her partner's feigned cheerfulness and occasional annoyance. Anytime the others argued, she saw the way Mimi watched them—as if trying to make sense of what had happened to reduce their friendship to such a level. Every time the coalescence or PhantomDragomon was mentioned, she saw how her partner's eyes grew dark with barely contained terror. There was a time when Mimi would have told her anything and everything—when she would have poured her heart out to her about even the slightest provocation. But things had changed and Palmon found her partner had a new habit of silence. Was this the cost of their separation? Palmon had thought that she'd had it bad during their time apart... but at least she'd had other Digimon. Who had Mimi had to confide in?
Fresh tears stung Palmon's eyes as these thoughts entered her head. She dragged her feet through the dirt, wishing she could break through the invisible barrier Mimi had constructed around herself. But before she could think of a way in which she might do so, she was roused from her thoughts by the sound of a distant commotion. Someone seemed to be shouting.
"What the...?" Takeru and the others paused to listen.
What had begun as distant yelling now escalated to full volume screaming. The earth began to shake. Palmon glanced up at Mimi in terror. "Earthquake?" she asked. But Mimi had no time to answer. With a roar akin to thunder, dozens of Digimon came hurtling through the trees.
And they were right in the way.
"Look out!" Ken shouted.
They darted for the tree trunks for cover as MetalEtemon's workers streaked past them. None of them paid them any attention as they fled the clearing. Palmon was jostled away from Mimi and the others by the current of their stampeding bodies. Diving for a bush, she took cover beneath its thick branches. Terror gripped her. What was happening? As the ground roiled beneath her, she peered through the leaves of her hiding place and caught a glimpse of the clearing. The tower of stones had toppled and stones were rolling in all directions.
It was a rock slide.
After a few more seconds, the shaking stopped. Trembling, Palmon remained still for several seconds. She watched as a last stone rolled to a stop with an echoing thump. Some ways off, Palmon could hear the murmurs of MetalEtemon's followers as they recovered from their flight. It occurred to her that they would return to the clearing in a matter of minutes and that she had to find the others before they did. Trying desperately to breathe, she forced herself to move.
The others were converging roughly where they'd been forced apart. They were all breathing hard, stunned expressions on their faces. Wormmon was shaking violently. Palmon breathed a sigh of relief when she saw them but just as the air left her lungs, she sucked it back in. Ken, Wormmon, Takeru, and Patamon, she counted. Mimi. Where was Mimi?
"Pepper breath!" Launching a fiery blast from his mouth and ducking to the side, Agumon narrowly missed the claws of the Dobermon (*4) as it went flying past him.
"Is that all you've got?" the demonic dog Digimon taunted. Its lithe muscles were taut beneath its silky black fur; its teeth were bared in a snarl. It began to stalk a circle around him.
"I'm just getting started," Agumon retorted, trying to sound bold despite the fact that he was fighting against a champion as a rookie with no hope of digivolving. Despite the fact that his worry for Taichi was threatening to overwhelm him. He had to get back to his partner. Opening his jaws once more, he summoned a vortex of flaming breath onto his tongue. The Dobermon lowered its haunches to charge.
"Wait! Wait, stop!" Miyako screamed, throwing herself between them. Her glasses had been knocked askew and the blood had left her face, but her expression was brazen.
Agumon wanted to yell at her to watch out but it was already too late. Jerking his head away from his target, whom Miyako was now blocking, he sent his pepper breath rocketing towards the nearest building. The dead plants in the windowsill burst into flame with a hiss.
"What are you—" he began but a glance behind him told him that the battle had abruptly ceased. Hikari, Gatomon, Koushirou, Tentomon, Iori, Armadillomon, and Hawkmon were all standing in an uneasy half circle opposite to the pack of Dobermon. Iori was bent over Armadillomon in a protective posture, his normally calm expression unusually strained. The Dobermon were all standing stiff and alert, but no longer looked ready to attack them.
"What are you doing?" Agumon's opponent barked at its companions.
The pack growled in response. One pointed its muzzle at Iori and Armadillomon.
"They're not the enemy."
"How do you—"
"Our enemy would not be harmed so easily. Nor would its companions care."
Agumon's opponent seemed to doubt this but grudgingly, he rose out of his attack stance. Shooting Agumon a last contemptuous look, he trotted around Miyako and rejoined his pack. Agumon was still for a moment and then, his heart still racing, walked to join the others. Miyako fell into step beside him and only up close did Agumon realize how badly she was shaking.
"You thought we were the enemy?" Gatomon was questioning the Dobermon. She was looking at the pack with mingled curiousity and disgust. "But you must know who it is by now."
The biggest Dobermon gave a low growl. "Do you think we're stupid? Ever since the Digimon who lived here started disappearing, we've kept our distance. Then you arrive here with strange creatures and start wandering our streets, looking for something. How were we supposed to know you weren't searching for us? That it hadn't sent you to finish what it had started?"
"It?" Hikari asked. Unlike her partner, her face was tempered with sympathy. Agumon saw that her arms were smeared with dirt but that she looked unharmed. Armadillomon, on the other hand, had not been so lucky. Agumon saw now that there was a cut along his leg. Iori's hands were stained with blood. But though it was long, it did not look deep. Armadillomon seemed to have recovered from the pain already and was trying to shake off his partner's concern.
"It—whatever took those Digimon. Whatever it is, it's living beneath the city. There's a part of the city none of us go near anymore. That's where the disappearances started."
"There's a bad feeling about it," another Dobermon said. He paced back and forth, his black fur rippling in the dull daylight. "It feels bad. It looks bad. It even smells bad."
"It smells bad?" Hawkmon repeated, dubious.
"Well, it's in the sewers," the Dobermon answered.
Agumon's heart plummeted into his stomach.
"Taichi!" He managed to choke out at the same time as Hikari gasped "Niisan! Daisuke!"
They both reached the hole at the same time. Dropping to her knees, Hikari peered over the edge and called for her brother and Daisuke. But only her voice rebounded back to her from the darkness. Agumon's eyes could detect no sign of movement in the shadows.
"Taichi!" Taichi!" he tried, even knowing that it was no use. He knew his partner and he knew that the state of mind he was in made him reckless and impulsive. Taichi wouldn't have stayed there listening to the sounds of their battle. He'd have gone in search of a way to join it.
But what if he found something else first?
"You have to tell us what exactly is down there," Agumon pleaded, forgetting his animosity at having been attacked. "Please," he added when the Dobermon glowered.
"Why should we tell you?" one growled.
"Just because you're not that enemy, doesn't mean we should let you go," another added. It cocked its head, considering them through the narrow slits of it red eyes.
"Tell us why you're here so that we can kill you quickly," Agumon's opponent agreed.
"Now let's not be hasty," said Koushirou, raising his hands. "We're here to help."
The Dobermon laughed.
"You can't help us. There is no hope."
"How can you say that?" Hikari asked, looking like she couldn't bear to stand there another moment. Her legs were bent as if to take off in pursuit of her brother.
The Dobermon met her eyes evenly. "Can't you feel it?"
"No, I can't," she said stubbornly.
The Dobermon looked away.
"Look, please just give us the chance. Tell us where this place is, this place you avoid," Koushirou pleaded. "We have to find our friends before they find it."
"And then what will you do?" the Dobermon asked.
"We'll fight whatever's there," Agumon said.
"What if it's something you can't fight?"
"We'll find a way," Agumon promised.
The Dobermon exchanged another round of growls. They seemed to realize that at the very least, their enemy might take care of their desires for them. The Dobermon that Agumon had fought finally stepped forward. He pointed into the distance with his nose.
"It started in the west corner. Beneath the water tower."
"Thank you," said Agumon.
The Dobermon's eyes glinted. "I don't think you should be thanking me."
Mimi wasn't sure when she blacked out but one moment she was dodging an oncoming Vegiemon and the next she was lying at the bottom of a steep slope. Craning her neck, she peered above her at the rotten log that had given way and sent her tumbling down into the hidden ravine. She must have backed onto it without knowing. Blinking back startled tears, she rotated each ankle and wrist in turn, checking that nothing was broken. By some miracle, she appeared to be okay except for the deep ache in her tailbone and a slight bump forming on her head.
The woods were silent. Whatever had caused the stampede seemed to have stopped. Alarm shot through her as she remembered Palmon and the others. Where were they now? Were they okay? Were they looking for her? How long had she been out? She lurched to her feet.
"I'd take it easy if I were you," said a familiar voice.
Mimi gasped and spun around, searching for the owner of the voice in the dense foliage. It took her a moment for her to locate the shaded eyes watching her from within the trees.
"Who's there?" she asked, sounding braver than she felt.
As if in a horror movie, he stepped out from the trees.
"It's you," she gasped, feeling the blood drain from her face. Her heart found its way to her throat and she was transported back to her ten year old self, hovering over the body of a dying SaberLeomon. Every inch of her bridled at the memory as MetalEtemon smiled benignly.
"I haven't come to hurt you," he told her.
It took Mimi a moment to digest these words, so caught up was she in painful memories.
"Yeah right," she managed at last, the words falling from numb lips.
MetalEtemon took a pacifying step towards her and Mimi recoiled. The slope pressed up against her back and fresh terror detonated inside her stomach. It was on the tip of her tongue to scream for Palmon and the others, but she couldn't find her voice. What if they got hurt?
"Mimi-chan, I haven't come to hurt you," MetalEtemon soothed her. His voice was almost a purr. "I know you have no reason to trust me, but you have to believe I've changed."
"Don't call me that!" Mimi snapped. "And of course I have no reason. You—"
But what he had done was too painful for her to repeat. She settled for staring at him with every ounce of hatred she possessed. MetalEtemon ducked his head, almost as if embarrassed.
"I know that I've done terrible things."
"You still are," Mimi answered him, interrupting him, because anything was better than listening to his svelte voice—a voice that had haunted her since they'd set out to find him. His last words rung continuously in her head, his promise that they would pay for killing him. "I've seen your camp," she forced herself to continue. "I know you're hurting those Digimon."
"Hurting?" MetalEtemon actually sounded surprised. "They came to help me of their own free will. I treat them fairly. In fact, I have nothing but gratitude for them. Without them, I could hardly construct a defense against our enemy in preparation for the great merge."
"Oh, like you—what?" Mimi stared at him, taken aback. "How do you know about that?"
MetalEtemon's expression was calm. "You're not the only one who's noticed the changes taking place around her." He glanced up, the grey sky reflecting in his sunglasses.
Mimi shivered. "Don't lie to me. I know PhantomDragomon brought you back."
"Yes," MetalEtemon agreed. "He did that."
"And that he gave you..." she didn't finish, wondering if she dared to ask him about the crests. What if he didn't have one? The last thing she wanted to do was alert him that they were back. In any case, he didn't appear changed. Vademon had had the Crest of Knowledge emblazoned upon his chest, but MetalEtemon looked just the same as ever.
"Gave me what?" MetalEtemon asked, raising an eyebrow. The look reminded Mimi how dangerous he could be and she felt her anger flicker with fear.
"Gave you cause to go after us again," she finished lamely.
MetalEtemon chuckled.
"Why is that funny?" Mimi demanded.
"It's funny because you're right. About everything. PhantomDragomon did bring me back. And he did ask me to find you. I set up this camp to get your attention. I—"
"We should have known it was a trap!" Mimi gasped.
"Let me finish," MetalEtemon said. "I set up this camp to get your attention but I don't want to hand you over to him or do anything to otherwise harm you. My world is at stake just as much as yours. I had to find a way to get you to come to me... so that we could talk."
Mimi fought the urge to laugh hysterically. Talk with MetalEtemon? One of their worst enemies? The murderer of their friend? "I don't want anything to do with you!" she spat.
"Mimi, I've changed. I know I've made mistakes—"
But Mimi had stopped listening to his madness. She turned and tried to scramble up the slope but it was too steep and her fingers kept slipping, unable to gain purchase in the dirt.
"I was the one who raised him, you know," MetalEtemon said quietly.
Mimi cried out as a tree root stabbed beneath her fingernail.
"Did Leomon tell you that?" he persisted.
Mimi went rigid at the sound of Leomon's name. She turned again, regarding MetalEtemon with unveiled fury. "Don't you dare speak his name," she whispered.
"I took his egg from Primary Village and raised him. Kept him safe. Even before the Demons came, this world wasn't quite as free of dangers as you might have imagined."
"That's not possible," Mimi said. "PhantomDragomon only just brought you back..."
"Ah, to my mega form," MetalEtemon answered. "But I was reborn long before that. Long before Leomon even. We can't control when we're reincarnated you know. It differs."
"I—Leomon would have said something."
"Was there a need?" he asked, raising his eyebrow again. But instead of triggering fear, this time Mimi felt doubt. She thought back to her brief time at Infinity Mountain. Everything had been so chaotic. They'd been too busy learning about the coalescence and planning how to get back to Server for anything else to take precedence. And why would Leomon say anything?
"No..." she admitted. Her arms fell limply to her sides.
"I know it's difficult, but you can't imagine the remorse I've felt these past decades," MetalEtemon said gently, moving closer to her. "I've made mistakes, so many mistakes. But now I'm trying to set them right. You have to trust me. I need your help."
Mimi tried to organize her thoughts but they were all running together now in a big, mottled blur. Her head ached where she'd hit it. "Even if what you're saying is true, even if I could forgive you for everything you've done, how can I help? We're already doing everything we can to stop the coalescence from happening."
"Ah, but that's just it, isn't it?"
"What's it?" Mimi asked.
MetalEtemon took one of her hands in his own. His metal fingers were cold against her skin. "Stopping the coalescence. You've put so much worry into stopping it, that you haven't paused to think what would happen if you just let it carry on."
"What?" Mimi shook her head and tried to back away, but MetalEtemon held her fast. "You're crazy. We have to—"
"Why? What's so wrong with it? You've heard how things were here without you. You were separated from your partners for years and them from you. Were you happier for it? I've just told you how I had to keep Leomon safe. It wasn't easy without our human defenders. The truth is, the Digimon need you and you them. The merge would allow you to live side by side forever. There would no longer be a Digiworld and a human world. There'd only be one."
"But the Dark Ocean," Mimi whispered, terrified by what he was saying. "The Demons. You met PhantomDragomon. He means to rule over all of us."
"If you ask me, it's PhantomDragomon that's the problem then, isn't it?"
Mimi could only stare at him. A queer, empty feeling had taken hold inside her. She no longer felt anger or fear or even confusion. Just an unsettling emptiness.
"If we can take care of him, there's no reason our worlds can't co-exist peacefully."
"Peacefully..."
"You don't really want things to go back to the way they were before, do you?" MetalEtemon asked. And as he spoke, all the images of the past four years exploded inside Mimi's head. Her parents setting up an intervention with a psychiatrist, Michael screaming at her that she was crazy, the monotonous repetition of Sora's voicemail inbox...
"No..." she whispered.
"Everyone would have their own partner. No one would ever be lonely again."
Mimi felt the loneliness of the past four years engulf her like a cocoon. Deep inside her, that logical, stubborn, naive part of her brain writhed against it. But what if she didn't want to fight it anymore? What he was saying made sense. She would never have to feel that way again. She would have Palmon forever and no matter what happened between the others—for all their fighting and bickering and resentment—she would always at least have her partner at her side.
MetalEtemon was watching her, waiting. Mimi couldn't see his eyes behind his glasses but she could see her own bewildered expression. She shook her head, trying to clear it.
"What do you need me to do?"
Chapter Notes:
1) "You can stand under my umbrella-ella-ella-eh-eh-eh..."
2) This is probably a good time to insert a disclaimer that the views of the characters do not in any way reflect my own.
3) Oh god, me and my Lord of the Rings references... Sorry, sorry.
4) Dobermon are not my own creations, but exist in the series outside of Adventure. If you would like to see what they look like, you should try a Google search.
Next Episode: Enemy is pitted against enemy and help comes from unwilling hands. Will Taichi and Daisuke find their way out of the sewers before something finds them? What will come of Mimi's new alliance? Find out in the next episode of Digimon, Digital Monsters!
Wow, you guys are amazing! You left me a record eight reviews last chapter (plus those from those of you who started the story and reviewed as you went through it) and I cannot thank you all enough for your kindness and constructive thoughts. It's because of you that I'm so passionate about this story. As a side note, a lot of you are concerned about Yamato and Sora's history and I apologize for letting you sit on that for the last several chapters. Rest assured that it will be revealed in all its glory during this arc. It may be a few chapters yet, but I hope I've given you something to chew on here. I have also introduced a new footnote system. Each * is marked with its corresponding number so you can use the find function to jump up and down without losing your place. I hope. Please let me know if it works or not and if its even helpful. Anyhow, finally, I really hope that you enjoyed this chapter. It's been one of my favourites to write and I am so excited to continue onto the next. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback and predictions. It's always a huge help. Until next chapter! - Ally