Episode 25: A Shining Girl Within Dark Cells

Wild opened her eyes to find herself in Meg's room. Her heart was beating too fast to be natural, and she was shaking. Passing through that Gate hadn't been like it had been before. She looked at her laptop and found that it was proudly displaying her desktop. An analysis of the time stated that it had been about three minutes since she'd left the Human World. She snapped her laptop shut and swore.

She found her phone in her pocket, her hands shaking. She unlocked her phone and found the Digital Gate application that Lord Andromon had installed on her phone. She tapped it, finding that her screen went black. A little menu appeared in silver at the bottom of the screen, consisting of two buttons in white – one said DIVE, while the other said EDIT. There was also a small CLOSE PROGRAM button at the top corner of the screen. She tapped that button and stood up.

There's no time for testing, she thought, grabbing her laptop and tucking it beneath her arm. She stuffed some cords into her pocket. We have to get back there and get the Princess back, before something horrible happens... If Zen, Aws, Sin, and their master took over the Digital World, the Human World would inevitably be next. If it was within her power to stop, Wild wanted to make sure that both worlds lasted through the night.

She was so absorbed in her plans that she didn't hear Meg enter the room, a glass of water in one hand and a glass of soda in the other. She set down the cups and asked, "Tatsu-chan, what's up? You look like someone kicked your dog. What was that phone call about?"

Wild looked up and met Meg's eyes. I have to tell her, but there's no time to do it now. She had intended to tell Meg about the Digital World before, because Wild figured that Meg was the only person who would believe her about it. Something had stayed her tongue for this past week, though, and she knew she wouldn't be able to keep on doing this.

"I have to go," Wild told her breathlessly. "There's a problem."

"At home?" Meg wondered, an eyebrow raised.

Wild pulled at her ascot. "No," she replied, "but I have to take care of it now. I'm sorry; I promise I'll be back soon."

Meg shrugged and said, "Go ahead, if it's that big of a problem. You look like you're about to break into a psychotic fit. Did someone rearrange your room or something?"

Wild rolled her eyes and said, "No. Look... I'll explain later – I just don't have time right now."

"Then hurry up, I guess – I'll be waiting," Meg decided. She went and sat down on the floor. She picked up her controller and said, "I'll just be killing people. I can't guarantee your soda will be here when you get back if you take too long."

"Thanks, Meg," Wild offered. For being my friend, and for not asking too many questions... she added to herself. She turned and fled the room. Thankfully Meg's room was on the ground floor of her house, with her parent's room being upstairs, probably for privacy. To her knowledge, they had a small basement that served as Meg's mother's office. Jimmy's room was down the hall, but he didn't seem to be inside.

Wild ignored all of that, however, and made for the front door. Her muscles protested – her fight with Zen had strained them, not to mention trying to hold onto Flamemon before falling into the Gate. Thankfully Meg hadn't seemed to notice the bit of blood that stained her already-red ascot, or that she had dirt smeared on her back.

"Whoa, Tatsuya, where's the fire?" Meg's dad called from the kitchen. Wild stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, her heart beating fast. Meg's father was a kind-looking man, with pale skin and slightly longer blonde hair. His complexion and hair had reminded Wild of Toushi when she had first met him, but Damien Bourke had proved he was nothing like her brother, and seemed to sense that Wild was in need of a kind figure in her life. He, unlike Meg, noticed her haggard appearance. "Are you alright?"

Wild bit her lip, trying to formulate an excuse. Jimmy poked his blonde-haired head out of the kitchen and looked at her with wide eyes, a candy bar in one of his hands. Wild took a step back towards the front door, unsure.

"She's got something to do, Dad," Meg said, appearing from the hallway that led to her room. "Let her be, jeez. She'll be back, right?"

"Uh... yeah; I'll be back soon. Don't worry," Wild said shakily. "Just a little emergency popped up, that's all." That was quite the understatement, Wild; yikes, when did you start lying? She thought. I really need to tell her what's going on... She made a promise to herself to tell Meg when she returned.

"Well, be careful," Damien told her. "It's late. You never know who's prowling the streets at night these days."

Wild gave him a bow. She knew he was being kind and cautious for her sake, but Wild knew that they lived in a fairly nice neighborhood. It was bad in some places, but not here, she knew. She turned and opened the door, exiting the Bourke household, saying a silent thank you to Meg. She shut the door behind her and began to run.

She pulled out her phone as her feet pounded on the sidewalk. Two or three cars passed her by, their headlights blaring bright into her eyes. They paid her no mind. Wild dialed Nikolai and put the phone to her ear.

One ring. Pick up, pick up, she thought. It was hard to run with a phone in one hand and a laptop in the other.

Two rings.

Nikolai picked up on the third. "Wild?" he assumed, sounding serious. "What the hell happened?"

"She sent us back," Wild told him breathlessly, her lungs beginning to burn. She reminded herself to run more often – though she wasn't a weighty girl, she certainly wasn't in great physical shape. Spending most of your time behind the screen of a computer would do that to a person. "So we couldn't stop her."

"But why didn't KnightGarurumon stop her?" Nikolai asked harshly. "I thought he was supposed to protect her!"

"I don't know," Wild told him, her throat parched. She pushed on, though, determined to make it to her destination. "But I need you and Yukio to meet me at the café on the corner of Kagarame and Rō."

"I know where that is. What for?" Nikolai asked.

"I can get us back to the Digital World," Wild told him. "But we need to all be in one place. Can you do that?"

Nikolai paused on the other end. Finally, he said, "Sure – I can just borrow my Mum's car. I'll see you there."

"Good," Wild said. She took the phone away from her ear and ended the call. Then, she slowed to a walk. She was halfway to their set meeting place and she figured that it would take a bit of time before Nikolai and Yukio would be there. It was all right to walk.

She opened up the Digital Gate application again and then pressed the EDIT button. Another screen replaced the black one, and she recalled that Lord Andromon had said that only her voice would open the restriction on the code editing feature. She took a deep breath and hoped he was right.

"Let me in," she commanded.

The screen suddenly changed to display the code behind the application. Wild breathed a sigh of relief.

This might just work after all.

Loaño tried to move her arms, but they were firmly bound. She could walk, at least; that was something... and she could see. She could remember. She looked around the place, trying to get a feel for where she was. It was nearly impossible – the whole place seemed to be shifting like it was made of snakes. She had a feeling that she was in a castle or a fortress of sorts, though. The place had a very... cold atmosphere to it – the air itself was giving her goosebumps.

She was being pushed along by Sin. The other girl had a hard grip on her shoulder, guiding her towards... wherever. It appeared that Loaño had been taken to some sort of dungeon-esque place within this shifting, cold, castle; but she really couldn't tell. The rooms she could see were empty of prisoners, but they looked enough like cells to convince her that this would be her new home for a little while.

"Don't worry," Sin said. "You'll be treated well, Princess. Wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable."

Loaño bit her tongue and refused to reply. So long as she didn't give them anything, they couldn't have her. She wouldn't let them have her. The voice inside of her head had been coolly quiet since they'd set foot in this place, as if he was worried he would reveal himself if he spoke to her.

It's my job to protect you, she thought. So I'm going to do it... no matter what. She would use all her strength if she had to – she knew that Zen, Aws, and Sin's master must not, no matter what, get a hold of the owner of the voice inside of her head. While she breathed, it wouldn't happen.

They stopped before one of the cells. Loaño looked at it, trying to discern the details. It looked like a cell in an insane asylum (though she wasn't quite sure what one of those was); a door with a small, barred window on it. A wave of apprehension washed over her, and she shivered. This place was too cold.

Sin opened the door with a wave of her hand – there was no handle, on either side. Loaño gazed inside to find that it was made of the same shifting, cold material as the rest of the place. There was a bed pushed up against one wall. Curiously enough, there was a barred window on the opposite wall that looked into the cell beside hers. Why would they want me to look in on another prisoner? Or nothing, if that cell's uninhabited?

Loaño felt her bindings release; but before she could do anything, she was shoved into the room. She landed on her hands and knees, and she heard the door shut behind her. Loaño pushed herself to her feet and rushed at the door, banging against it with her fists. Sin laughed at the clamor she was making and walked away, cackling, "Sweet dreams, Princess!"

Swearing, Loaño tried using her DigiPower. The energy formed, but when she commanded it to strike the door down, the wall absorbed the blast. She swore again. In hindsight, she decided that she should have planned a little better. Of course, she'd had no idea what to expect when she gave herself up – she knew that she would be taken to their headquarters eventually, but even she had no idea what Zone she was in right now. They had blindfolded her soon after they retreated.

There were no other windows in her cell but the one that opened up to look into the cell beside her's. Loaño swore, kicked the shifting walls, and then sat down on the bed. It was comfortable, for a prison bed. She had always imagined them to be harder than this. She wondered how long it would be before she was called upon by the master of this castle. She steeled herself – she was ready to deal with whoever it would be.

Loaño lay down on the bed, her knees bent up. She sighed and thought, I'm sorry guys... Perhaps she should have confided in one of them. Frowning, she knew that they never would have allowed her to go.

A moan broke her out of her thoughts. Loaño sat up and asked, "Who's there?" She looked over into the other cell. It hadn't looked like there was someone else there when she came in. She stood up and walked over to the bars.

She took the bars in her hands and slid down, to her knees. She pressed her face into the bars, trying to see. The lack of light in this place made it hard to discern details of any kind. She tried to stick her arm through the bars, but she realized quickly that they would get stuck.

"Who's there?" she asked again, louder this time. Perhaps they were hard of hearing? She wondered how long they had been in the cell, and why. She could hear their labored breathing now – they sounded hurt.

"Finally..." The voice came from a corner of the cell that Loaño couldn't see. It was weak, but she could feel their personality coming through. "Some company... I thought I would be destined to rot here alone."

I know that arrogant tone, she thought. Her heart began beating – surely it couldn't have been this easy? Were they all daft here? She swallowed and chanced to ask, "Prince Lucemon?"

Her heart was beating in her ears as she heard the occupant of the cell move. Suddenly, they came out of the shadows and into her vision. It looked very much like a human boy, who, if he were standing, would be about her size, if not a little taller. He had light-colored tawny hair that hung down in curls. His eyes were a beautiful blue with golden flecks. Purple markings covered his body, which was also covered by white cloth. Golden bands hung from his wrists and ankles. He would have passed for a strangely-attired human if not for the eight wings coming from his back, four on each side. They were feathered and white, but they looked dull in the dark, cold, castle. A pair of wings sprouted from his temples and reached up high, while another pair crossed at his waist.

He touched the bars, his eyes wide, and breathed, "Princess – sister!"

"It is you," Loaño said happily. She took his hands in hers and smiled, saying, "I found you – finally!"

Lucemon's smile faded. Loaño tilted her head at him in confusion – wasn't he happy that she was here? Now they could escape together!

"You shouldn't be here," he said darkly, shaking his head. "You don't know what they'll do to you."

"What did they do to you?" Loaño demanded. I intend to pay them back in full.

Lucemon replied, "The creature that holds this castle – they call it The Master – has been draining me of my power since I was brought here. He'll do the same to you... only it will be used for a more extreme purpose."

"I won't let it," Loaño insisted.

"You're so bullheaded," Lucemon spat. "Sometimes I wonder if you're stupid, sister – what possessed you to be brought here? At least tell me that you put up a fight!"

Loaño blinked at him, guilt tearing at her heart. She wanted to tell him that – she wanted to lie – but they both knew that she was an awful liar. She admitted, "They gave me no choice. They were going to use Kimeramon to destroy the Digidestined; I had to do something. If they were killed, then the Digital World would really be without any hope."

Lucemon reached through the bars and punched her in the arm as hard as he could. Loaño swore, rubbing the now-sore spot. She snapped, "What the hell was that for?"

"You idiot!" Lucemon growled. "Did you think sacrificing yourself was the heroic thing to do?"

"You did," Loaño retorted.

That shut Lucemon up. The boy looked away from her and then sighed. He leaned against the bars and grumbled, "I don't regret it, if that's what you're wondering. I couldn't let them take you, sis. Now look at what you've done..."

"I know, I know," Loaño complained. "I messed up – but I plan on getting out of here."

"How?" Lucemon wondered, a fair-colored eyebrow raised. "This place absorbs any sort of power you try to use against it. I'm sure it sends it directly to The Master, too. I've tried, believe me. The most we can do now it wait it out and hope that Ser Kidd and your Digidestined find a way to get us out." He paused and then asked, "Tell me about them, will you? The Digidestined, that is."

"Oh, right," Loaño replied. She knew Lucemon had been in here for a long time – some part of her just figured he already knew about them. She had no idea what sort of news he had been getting while he was stuck here. "There are three of them, a girl and two boys. They've connected with the Legendary Warriors."

"Interesting," Lucemon mused. "The Legendary Warriors, eh?"

"Yeah," Loaño replied. "There's Wild – her real name is Tatsuya, but she likes being called Wild - and she has the Spirit of Flame. She's their leader. She's an interesting person, to say the least. Her DigiPower is Creation, so she can fix what Zen breaks. She's got a really strange personality – I get the feeling that she's a lot different in the Human World than she is here. Her partner is Flamemon – do you remember Flamemon?"

Lucemon smirked at her, a bittersweet look in his eyes. "Yes, yes I do."

"He's a real cutie, to be honest," Loaño told him. "He's really sweet, and he loves Wild like she's his big sister. Then there's Yukio – he's got glasses and he's kind of tall. He's quiet, but he's really nice. He has the Spirit of Wind and the DigiPower of Healing. He has a hard time remembering people's names, though, so everyone has a funny nickname because of him now. His partner is Breezemon. She acts kind of like she's his mother or something, but she's got a real kind heart.

"Then there's Nikolai," Loaño went on. She paused, unsure of what to say about him. "He's... he's got dark hair and it's really curly and messy. It looks kind of like someone could make a nest in his head. He's got a funny accent, too; I don't think he's from where Wild and Yukio are from, but he speaks the same language that they speak. He has the Spirit of Light, and his DigiPower is Purification. He's... acts kind of funny, to be honest. His partner is Strabimon. But Nikolai... he acts kind of funny around me." She wasn't sure whether she should mention the kiss in the tower – she didn't know how Lucemon would react to that. She knew that if she told KiddGarurumon, he would rip Nikolai to shreds. It was just for luck... she told herself.

"You like him," Lucemon decided.

"W-What?"

"You like him," he repeated, smirking. "How cute; my little sister has a crush!"

"I-I... I do not!" Loaño insisted, looking away from him.

Lucemon rolled his eyes and said, "Sis, you're a horrible liar. Look; there's nothing wrong with having a little crush. He's a human, and so are you. There's nothing at all wrong with that. But I wouldn't mention it too loudly in these walls – I'm pretty sure they can hear all that we're saying to one another. They put us in adjoined cells for a reason, sis... and it wasn't so that we could have a nice little family reunion."

Loaño nodded. She insisted to herself inwardly that she didn't have a "crush" (whatever that was) on Nikolai. The voice gave her no response. Lucemon looked into her eyes, his own filled with worry instead of condescension, as they usually were. He's worried about you, she thought to the voice. But he knows he cannot dare to ask.

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I know you put yourself in danger because of me, but... I didn't mean to throw it all away."

Lucemon reached his hand through the bars and touched her face. He gave her a brotherly smile and told her, "Don't be sorry, sis. It's what brothers do; they're supposed to protect their little sisters."

Loaño was comforted by that, but guilt still settled in her stomach. Lucemon removed his hand and leaned against the wall beside the bars. Loaño did the same, but sat at the opposite end so that they could still see one another. She had found her brother, but how were they going to get out of here now?

She closed her eyes and tried to think, but she only ended up falling asleep.

Wild looked up as a pair of headlights appeared down the road. Three or four cars had passed by her as she sat on the sidewalk before the café, but none of them had Nikolai behind the wheel. The café was a small, quaint little place that served pastries and light lunches, and Wild wished that she hadn't come here when it was closed. She would at least have had a table to sit at while she waited out here – but they were all locked in the store now. A lone street light shone on the corner of Kagarame and Rō. That, along with Wild's laptop and phone, were the only sources of light here.

The car pulled up to the corner and parked. Nikolai got out of the driver's side and Yukio hopped out of the passenger's. They observed her, both looking tense and wary.

"We're here," Nikolai told her, putting the keys to the car in his pocket. "Sorry it took so long – my Mum needed a bit of convincing as to why I was taking the car out at nearly eleven o'clock."

Yukio pushed up his glasses and noted, "Thankfully my father wasn't home at the time. He would have definitely asked as to why I was leaving the house."

"So, what's going on? You said that you can take us back?" Nikolai wondered, skepticism in his eyes.

"And why did Hime-chan do that?" Yukio wondered. "Why would she put herself in that position and then send us home?"

"She planned it," Wild replied. "I don't know why; but we all know someone who would."

"The Boss," Nikolai finished. He stamped one fist into his other open palm. "He would definitely know. But how are we getting back?"

Wild closed her laptop and then stood up. "When I was in the Machine Zone, Lord Andromon helped me out. He helped me code a program that would create a Digital Gate – that's what those portals are called – using my phone, so we can go to the Digital World whenever we want. I was working on translating the code so that your phone could use it too, Nikolai."

"What about me?" Yukio wondered. "I don't have a smart phone; just my 3DS."

"I was working on that, too," Wild told him. "Please tell me you've Homebrewed your 3DS?"

"The moment I got it," Yukio answered decisively. "It wasn't that hard."

"Good," Wild said. She bent down and pulled out a cord from her pocket. She reopened her laptop and it displayed a screen for Apple's store for purchasing applications. She pointed at the application she'd created and said, "Nikolai, download this. It will only be up for a few more moments, and it's free."

Nikolai pulled out his phone and began working on that. Wild beckoned for Yukio to kneel down beside her. He pulled out his 3DS and Wild plugged one end into her computer and the other into the 3DS's charge port. "This might take a minute," she warned him. Yukio nodded, giving her permission.

She fiddled with his 3DS and the Nintendo eShop until finally the program showed up. She began the download and set it aside while that was going on. It would take a little longer for the 3DS to download.

"Got it," Nikolai told her.

Wild nodded and turned back to her computer. She removed her application from the market and closed that window. The 3DS was nearly finished downloading. It's faint jingling could be heard loudly in the quiet night.

When it was done, she unplugged the 3DS from her laptop and handed it back to Yukio. "It might take up the majority of the battery power," she warned, "but it should work."

"Have you tested this?" Nikolai asked.

"No."

"Wonderful."

"But we're going to right now," Wild announced. She shut down her laptop and hefted it in her arms. She got her phone out and opened the application. "The coordinates will take us to the Boss's castle, in his solar. To be safe, we should go one at a time. I wouldn't want to end up inside one of you."

"I'll go first, then," Yukio offered. He opened the application on his 3DS. A soft green light shone from his screen. "What do I do?"

"Tap DIVE," Wild replied.

Yukio nodded to her and then said, "Well... I'll be seeing you." He tapped the option. Wild and Nikolai had to close their eyes so that they weren't blinded by the white light that had enveloped Yukio. When they opened their eyes, he was gone.

"You think it worked?" Nikolai wondered.

"I have no idea," she replied. "Wait a few seconds, and then try it yourself."

Nikolai nodded. They waited a few minutes before he held up his phone and said, "I'll see you there, I guess." He tapped the screen and another bright white light threatened Wild's retinas. Wen she opened her eyes, he, too, was gone.

Now it's just me, she thought. She waited about five minutes, staring at the black screen on her Android phone. I hope this works... She pressed DIVE.

Loaño's eyes flew open to the sound of someone banging on her cell door. She must have dozed off longer than she thought. She stood up and heard Lucemon breathe cautiously on the other side of the wall. She looked out her small window and frowned. It wasn't the Digidestined, like she had been hoping.

It was Aws.

"Come on, Your Highness," Aws cackled. He opened the door and held out his hand. "Your presence has been requested by The Master. You are to come immediately."

Loaño looked back at her brother, where he lay on the ground. He looked furiously at Aws, and she knew that if there wasn't a wall between them he would be blasting the human to bits. Unfortunately, there was a wall between them, and there was really nothing they could do about that.

"If I decline?" Loaño asked.

"That's not an option," Aws answered, his tone cold. "Come on; it doesn't like being kept waiting."

Loaño took a deep breath and then walked out of the cell, not taking Aws's hand. Aws shut the door behind her and followed her closely. If I were to run, where would I go? She thought. He has no reason to be overly cautious.

She got a chill from the idea of seeing The Master. But she clenched her fists and steeled her resolve. She would give him nothing.

Nothing.