Digimon Frontier Fanfic

By Sakura Martinez


Disclaimer:

I do not own Digimon. This story, however, is something that I do own, including the OCs that you will find here.


Chronicles of Time: Another Future

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Ancient Workings of the Spirits


.::.

Move swift as the Wind and closely-formed as the Wood.

Attack like the Fire, and be still as the Mountain.

.::.


The power that coursed through him was new. He had thought that he had known all there was to know about controlling the Spirit of Fire, but Takuya found that was not the case. He had thought he knew what it felt to merge with Agunimon, he didn't.

Despite having gotten used to the power of the Digi-Spirits, the energy that flowed within him—merged with him, grabbed hold of him in a way that he felt he was wrestling with fire—was intense, to say the least. It wasn't tame, and Takuya found himself struggling to take control of the flames that was now in his command without the need to transform.

It wasn't easy. It certainly was not without pain. Fire, Takuya was beginning to truly comprehend, was untamable, incorruptible. It was raw power. It doesn't follow anyone and does what it please. It was destructive and unyielding. It doesn't care if it burns the hands it warms. But just as it could raze and destroy, so too could it bring life and warmth.

Fire was a double-edged sword that bends to no one. An ancient force to be reckoned and not to be trifled with. One that deserves much respect.

His body heated up and the flame raged from within, as his soul merged with the spirit of the Ancient Spirit of Fire. He could feel Agunimon supporting him, letting him know that he was not alone—and that he never will be, until the time their battle comes to an end and the Evil One purged from the world.

'You have to be tempered by these flames in order for us to be able to work together without the need of the Digi-Spirits, just like how Kouichi had embraced the existence of Duskmon within him, so too must you learn to embrace mine within yours,' Agunimon had told him, in a voice and manner of speech that Takuya had never heard the Digi-Spirit of Fire use before.

At first, Takuya had thought that he needed to walk through the molten lava that surrounded him. He had been frightened, and quite honestly, shocked. But, as it turns out, walking in the lava would have been easier compared to what he was experiencing.

But, Takuya accepted it all. He gritted his teeth and allowed himself to be cleansed, knowing the enormity of what needed to be done and the importance of doing it.

As the flames continued to meld with his soul, Takuya could only hope that Izumi wasn't undergoing the same thing he was; that whatever she needed to accomplish, in order to make use of the Digi-Spirit of Wind without requiring D-Tectors, was not as painful as his experience.


She strained her ears, trying to hear anything beyond the whish and the whirl of wind blowing all around her, but all she could hear was a thrumming sound, not much louder than a murmured whisper. She couldn't see where she was at either, the wind was making it hard for her to even try to open her eyes. All she could use to tell where she was were the sounds.

There was a sort of calmness in the midst of the raging and battering wind that kept Izumi from being frightened. It was as though someone was holding her in an embrace—a cocoon of safety. She wondered if this was Kazemon's way of apologizing.

Still, despite how peaceful it was, there were times when she could feel herself being tugged in different directions—not physically, more like it was her soul that was being pulled. Briefly, Izumi wondered if this was the start of what the old man had wanted her to learn; if there was some secret behind what she was feeling.

Before long, Izumi could hear a voice. Though still muffled and far-sounding, Izumi was certain of one thing: it wasn't Kazemon's voice that she could here. There was no lilt when this voice spoke, no hint of fun or of an accent—thanks to her upbringing and her mannerisms being mimicked by the Digi-Spirit she had once wielded. This one sounded older, more somber.

'Your soul must be flexible in order to merge with the wind. Strong and resilient; calm yet raging like the tempest. That is the only way for you to be able to wield the full extent of the powers stored within the Digi-Spirit of the Wind. You must also learn to control your emotions, and accept them for what they represent.'

As soon as she heard those words, Izumi felt she was being smoldered. Each breath she took came with a price. Her mind was assaulted with various images she couldn't comprehend at first, but later realized were images from Kazemon's past.

There were so many of them—most of which she had couldn't make heads or tails of. The events she was shown confused her and did not abate the pounding of her head. The safety she had felt before was gone, and she knew she had to withstand the onslaught if she hoped to obtain the lessons the old man had promised she would learn and earn the right to make use of the new power he spoke of.

And she needed to survive the trial, she needed the power.

And if this is the only way to obtain it, Izumi thought to herself as she willed herself to stay conscious; to stay steadfast, then…so be it.


Duskmon didn't like where his trail of thought had brought him. He didn't like what it was the old man had expected him to do—what the old man had placed his hopes upon by bringing him and Loweemon at the Ritual Chamber, the very same chamber where they had last communed with Ancient Sphinxmon, just before the Ancient Digimon Spirit bestowed the last remnants of his powers to the two of them.

Duskmon knew that Loweemon had also come to the same conclusion as him, and though Loweemon didn't speak out, the Tainted Spirit of Darkness knew that he was simply bidding his time, letting him decide.

Loweemon was ready. Duskmon was certain of that, if not anything else. He knew that Loweemon had only been waiting for him. And this—the thought of it, the moment that had come before Duskmon—frightened him in a way that none had before.

He wanted run. To escape what had been deemed inevitable ever since Ancient Sphinxmon split himself into two.

Duskmon wanted to remain as he was—as he is. He was willing to take the risk for it, even though he knew that someday—and that was someday soon—he would have to part with Kouichi and hope that the human would be strong enough to fend for himself; to reclaim the self he had lost.

Even though he felt that he was being forced into it, Duskmon knew—from the bottom of his heart, though he was not going to admit it to anyone—that the old man and Loweemon meant only well; that they were merely thinking of his well-being, and the well-being of the human he had come to regard as his ally and his friend.

"You know this is the only way, right?" Loweemon finally spoke up after a while, seeing the conflicted look on the Tainted Spirit's face.

"No, it's not," Duksmon looked at Loweemon, his eyes flickering with something the purified spirit didn't expect to see within his crimson eyes. "You know this is not the only way, Loweemon. You know there's another way…A darker path. That is the path we had been asked to take, not this."

"And yet you don't sound as sure of it as you have been eons ago," Loweemon observed.

Duskmon looked away, certain that Loweemon would think of his confusion as a sign of weakness.

"If you truly believe that this isn't what we're supposed to do, Duskmon, then why are you not stopping me?" Loweemon asked, "Why aren't you fighting—kicking and screaming—clawing your way out of this place? You know deep down that this is what you also want to do now."

"It's no longer about what I want, Loweemon—or even what you want," Duskmon knew what he was saying was true the moment the words were out in the open. "It's what we need to do; what we're supposed to do. It's what we have been prepared for. Don't you remember what we were created for? What our original mission is?"

"I do," Loweemon nodded. He did remember, after all, there was no way to forget it; not when both he and Duskmon were around. "But I also know that things have changed. A lot. What might've been important back then, seems like a small deal now. If we don't do this, it wouldn't matter if we accomplish Ancient Sphinxmon's original role or not. The worlds will end and the Evil One will rise up. I think, above all else, Ancient Sphinxmon wouldn't like his rival getting the better of him. He would rather we do this than let that guy win."

Duskmon snorted, "Did he tell you that?"

"I get the feeling it's the truth," Loweemon shrugged, "After all, I am a part of Ancient Sphinxmon…just like you."

Silence dawned upon them after that. Before Loweemon decided to breach it, trying to get Duskmon to see what he refused to see. "Even if we unite the two halves of the Digi-Spirit of Darkness, even if we make it whole again, you're not going to lose who you are now, Duskmon. Neither one of us will. The days we spent as ourselves won't be lost. It will still be there, just in a much different and much powerful form than the one we have been accustomed to."

He closed his eyes, and charged on, "It might be the only way to bring Kouichi back to his senses, and save the people he love—the people we've grown to care about."

Loweemon let Duskmon sit on his words for a while, letting the words sink in. He has said his part, now all he needed to do was wait for Duskmon to make the final decision—the one that they will live with.


Katsuya didn't know what he was supposed to do next. His doppelganger had vanished, and he was still inside a looping world with no idea on how to get out of it.

He had searched far and wide, high and low, for any exit. But there was none. What's more, he was still very much tired—fatigued from the intense battle he had fought against one who claimed to be him.

He felt the truth of his doppelganger's words as he remembered them. He knew he wasn't "real"; that he was no longer "alive". He had accepted it before—that his existence was merely an echo, one borne from the existence of Yumi Akihabara. He was a remnant of the future that will never come to be.

Granted, Takuya and Izumi will still end up together. They will still get married and have children of their own, and even grandchildren and great-grandchildren after that. But he wasn't going to be one of those children, and he certainly wouldn't be the one to sire the next generation of Kanbaras. Still, when he saw what the new future was going to be like—the one waiting for them should they succeed in pushing the Evil One back and rebuilding the broken Pillars, he couldn't help but wish he was.

It was a selfish wish, he knew that. But his yearning was so strong that he didn't care how selfish it was, or how impossible it would be. He wanted to be a part of it. And he was willing to do everything in his power to obtain such a wish, even if it means he had to fight the call of his duty; of his mission.

He wondered if the old man had sensed the change in him; if the old man knew of how drastically his plans had been altered. But those thoughts only came fleetingly, and in a moment they were gone.

I don't care. Katsuya thought to himself, gazing at the far-off distance. His mind was already made up. I'm sick and tired of being everyone's lapdog and not being able to decide what I want for myself. This time, I will get what I want…Yumi did.


"Are you sure you don't need me to talk some sense into him?" Takuya asked the old man as he continued to watch his son. "I think he needs my help."

"It is too late for that," the old man replied. His voice held sadness in them, though if the decision Katsuya had made surprised him, he did not show it. "His mind is already made up."

"But—!"

"Katsuya has served a part of his purpose, and though he looked as though he came out of it unscathed, the problem lies deeper than from what he has given in order to mend the chain of memories of the other Takuya and Izumi." The old man didn't let Takuya argue. "He felt the backlash of his actions; saw things he shouldn't have. And though the decision he has made is not one I would have liked, there is no one to blame for it but myself. I had failed to see the consequences of burdening your son, as I continue to fail to see where his decision would lead him, and us."

"So, what now?" Takuya asked, brows furrowed.

"Now I will pull him back. His time wandering around that place has come to an end now that he has chosen his path."

"And you're not going to even try to stop him? You're not going to put him to right?" Takuya was incredulous. "This could jeopardize everything."

"Perhaps. But like I have said, there's nothing we can do about it. It's too late." The old man then turned his attention to the other images being displayed before him. "Katsuya will still work against the Evil One, but it would appear that your younger self, Izumi, and Duskmon would have to be our aces now."