DISCLAIMER: I don't own Digimon, but I do own the original characters introduced in this story and my other stories (except where stated otherwise here or elsewhere by myself).
A/N: Cheers again go to Crazyeight for beta-reading.
DIMENSIONS
BOOK SEVEN
Escapes
By Blazing Chaos
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Phase Two
Discovery
FRIDAY, 13th MAY 2011
Kenta Kitagawa
Of all of the beautiful yet inherently bad sights to see, storm clouds would rank fairly highly. And yet, aside from that, the ones Kenta found himself casting his eyes upon had another quality that made them especially impressive.
They sat alone.
Like an island in the still-bright sky, they cast a shadow, almost perfectly, over a town below. Drizzled buildings, tall and short, made in brick and weaved between by brass pipes, stood in stark contrast to the featureless meadow they had crossed.
The view had come upon them so suddenly, as the gentle hill they tiredly strolled up gave way to the vista below.
Kazu had been the first to exclaim. "Whoa! Talk about bad luck with the weather."
"It does appear they are making the best of it though," Guardromon noted, gesturing towards a rather large funnel placed over the highest point in the town.
A lightning bolt crashed into it. Kenta back-footed.
"Won't keep being much good if that happens," he said, taking an anxious look aside to the older trio, Matt, Mimi and Jun. The blonde scratched his chin, staring down with an analytical gaze, while Jun looked as apprehensive as Kenta felt.
"Are we going down there?" Suzie sounded off-put by the idea, still hanging close to her big sister for protection. Even Kenta, once used to getting wet as a child by water fights and splashing in puddles (the former continuing right to the present, if Kazu acquired a water gun in the middle of summer, that was) didn't find himself much of a fan of heading out of a nice, dry, calm area and into the midst of a storm.
"I don't quite fancy the idea of getting my coat wet," Gabumon mused, looking up to his partner with a concerned gaze.
"I only started trying out this dress two hours ago," Mimi complained. It was an oddly expensive garment to wear on such a long distance trip, that much was certain. Ayaka wore a similar look of discontentment.
"I didn't come here to get soaked."
"Geez, you're all such wimps. Lil' water won't hurt ya!" Impmon moaned, taking a step forward. "I'm tired of this boring place anyhow. Need some excitement and variety in life, not some endless meadow. Am I right?!"
"This may be a stupid question, but is it normal in the Digital World for weather to be like this?" As Jaarin spoke, Kenta was somewhat reminded of her brother's curiosity. Between it, his father's programming knowledge and Suzie's natural enthusiasm and intrigue, their family rather had a habit for intellect, rather more than the boy's own mother who would have preferred a soap opera over a documentary any day.
He grimaced. His mother would be so worried right now, and his father would be too. They would raise hell to find him…only problem was, would Rayleigh see fit to silence them?
The boy gritted his teeth. It was rare for something to make him genuinely angry, but he found the reaction unavoidable as memories of that laugh, that grin, that manic clown who had systematically wrecked their lives and futures, all flashed across his mind. His hands clenched unconsciously.
The feeling of fingers gently pressing against his right hand made them relax, yet his shoulders tensed in surprise as he looked out to see…Miki?
"Are you okay?"
He looked up to notice that MarineAngemon had noticed his actions too. Shaking his head dismissively, he noticed the slight frown on the girl's face when he said "I'm fine."
She nodded nonetheless. "I want to go down and see that place. It looks so interesting – I've never seen a town like it."
Kenta looked out. For all he had seen in the Digital World, he had to agree. Far from the traditional homes of the Tibo Village or the sparkling skyscrapers of the City of Domain, this place didn't really compare with anything earthly. Their colour was that of brick, but their stature was erratic, while those brass pipes…were they drainage? They flew from building to building randomly, larger pipes spewing into swarms of little pipes, becoming invisible at such a distance. All shone in the unseen sun. What did they carry? Maybe that was what was the was funnel for? Were they really collecting rainwater? Did Digimon need to drink?
Looking back to Miki, he saw the grin on her face. She was genuinely enjoying this – much more than Ayaka was. He had never seen so much eagerness in her eyes, well, apart from when he had first introduced her to MarineAngemon. Girls seemed to always obsess over how 'cute' his partner was. Emasculating as it was, he had to admit as he was growing up that he liked the attention, even though most of it went over, or, rather, above his head.
Her hand still loosely touched his. Kenta hoped neither Kazu nor Ayaka saw…he would have been teased for all eternity. Miki seemed to notice, but rather than pulling back, she merely gripped his hand completely and pointed out. "I think we should go have a look," she said more loudly to the rest of the group.
"Damn," Kenta thought as he saw a mischievous grin on the visor-wearing Tamer's face. Ayaka looked happier, but in a very worrying way.
"I can't see many other options," Matt sighed. He sounded fairly pessimistic in general, even though Kenta had noticed that everyone was looking up to him as their de facto leader. Why was another question, but his fairly tall stature and history as a Tamer probably helped somewhat. "Let's go."
Ai Terada
The small, short wall was too stout a seat for many a passer-by, but for this particular child it was a godsend. She breathed rapidly, her face flustered as her eyes ran ahead. "Mako!"
Her brother practically skidded to a stop, turning about on his heels clumsily and wandering back towards her. "Are you okay Ai?"
"I'm tired," she moaned, frowning. "And we haven't found Impmon yet." She felt disheartened, so disheartened. In her mind, that valiant step out their front door was a panacea, meant to solve all their problems in but an instant, but all it had done was create more. The shops and tower blocks leered over them, and it hit her painfully that, without their mother, father or Impmon to help, they were well and truly lost out here. "Where can we look?"
"I don't know. We've got to save him!"
"Where is he?"
Mako looked down to the D-Arc, still spinning wildly, and stared at it with a look of confusion. "It won't say."
"Let me look," Ai said, practically snatching it from his hands as he moaned in annoyance.
"Hey!"
She ignored him. "Maybe one of these buttons does something." She began to jab at whatever she could – something had to be the right one. The screen on the purple-ringed device swung from left to right to left to left and back to the right thrice more, as her finger wandered back and forth. Nothing changed, the compass never fixed, and, apart from the time, the other screens seemed mostly blank. How were they….?
"Move!"
After the shout, she saw her brother grab her, pushing the pair of them over the wall and into a (thankfully soft) bush behind, rolling down onto the soil and lawn of an apartment block. "Hey!"
"There's a cop!"
Ai's irritation ceased, as a curious look filled her visage and she poked her head up. Not once did it occur to her how odd it would've been for any passer-by to see two children's heads peeking out of a bush, but, alas, the area seemed fairly quiet. They were not into the furious heart of Tokyo yet, but it beckoned further on down the street.
The police car drifted along the road, lights lifeless and sirens silent. After it vanished from sight, Mako wiped a hand across his brow and exhaled. "Phew. If they caught us, I just know they'd take us back to mom and dad!"
"How do we stop them seeing us?"
"We'll be like spies! Or ninjas! Really stealthy, and then, when we find Impmon, hi-yah!"
Ai smiled, seeing her brother's actions and nodded. Perhaps when older, she would find such moves embarrassing, but right now, the idea seemed perfectly valid to her. Mako waved his hand over the short wall and out into the great land beyond the bush.
"Let's go find him."
"Right…if he's looking for us too, we'll find him in no time!"
"And if he's not, we'll save him from the bad guys! And he'll digivolve, and he'll be all pow-pow…"
Matt Ishida
"Pah, how long is this path?!" Impmon's arms were firmly across his chest as he stomped ahead, loudly moaning. "It just gets further and further!"
Matt rolled his eyes at the impatient imp in front of all of them. The rain hadn't started yet, but he was sure that the creature's complaints would let him know in advance. Either that or Mimi's inevitable cry about her dress and clothes. "Different digital world, same old Mimi."
"Aw, it's so cute to see those two holding hands." That was Mimi at his side, a wide smile on her face as she pointed ahead. Kenta and Miki skipped in front, hands firmly interlocked.
Even from here, Matt could tell Mimi wasn't entirely right in what she said. "Looks more like she's dragging him to me."
"Aw, but he's just embarrassed because his friends are laughing at him." Mimi shot the sniggering Kazu and Ayaka a glare, but they didn't seem to notice.
"Meh, they're probably just jealous." Matt was only half-listening. Mimi had a habit of becoming too engrained in sappy romances, perhaps a knock-on effect of her year or so in the US and all the soaps and sitcoms she said she watched.
"Yeah. We cared so much back in our day about relationships – we wouldn't laugh!"
Matt was certain that they would've and did. Unfortunately, he left that part silent, and said the other thing which came into his head. "You sound like an old lady."
Mimi huffed, hands on her hips. "I'm not an old lady."
Despite his mix-up, Matt's expression only turned to a slight grin, the first genuine smile he had made since arriving in this new land. "You moan like one. And besides, I'm pretty sure we would be doing the exact same thing as they are."
"What, holding hands?" Mimi's voice rose in surprise.
"Laughing."
"Yeah, well, if they can't even have a relationship of their own, they can't laugh at someone else's attempt." She huffed again. "Anyhow, that Kenta kid doesn't seem brave enough to ask on his own…it's such a shame, so many guys are afraid of making the first move."
"How would you know that?"
"I pay close attention – I've been to my fair share of bars."
"Yeah, same, but I'm normally focusing on the drink. And, you know, the ladies."
"Yeah, that's the problem – everyone who approaches me is always so arrogant."
"I'm surprised the pink hair doesn't put them off." Matt knew that wasn't the case. Mimi was well known throughout their campus for her 'style', usually in-fashion but occasionally trying to get one step ahead of it.
"Yeah, maybe. I'm thinking of having it dyed again."
"What colour this time?" Even if just for a day, Matt was pretty sure he had seen every conceivable shade on Mimi's head since he had first met her all those years ago.
"Hmm…I really don't know. I might just let it grow out. Natural hair colours are coming back in fashion."
How she knew that was a total mystery, but, in any case, Matt seemed content to humour her. At least this conversation helped clear his mind, a mind fraught since they arrived with one simple question. What could they do?
"Oh come on Matt, smile. You look so worried."
"I am."
"It can't be as bad as it seems."
"I know well enough that it's always worse than it seems. And I can't quite shake the feeling we're walking into a death trap here."
"I know what you mean. Normally we'd be walking away from the big broody town."
Matt nodded. "Even though it was Miki who said we should go, I still feel responsible for us all."
"Huh?"
"I'm the oldest guy here and the closest to Tai; I'm a substitute Gogglehead."
"Can't a girl lead us?"
"Be my guest – I don't want to."
"Why not?"
"Tai and Davis fit doing this like a glove. Heck, even someone like Izzy or Henry would have the strategic thinking to come up with something, and we don't have a Monster Maker either. No-one here has any real technical experience for me to fall back on, or any of that stubborn Gogglehead-ness."
"Kazu and Ayaka seem pretty stubborn to me."
"You know what I mean."
"Okay, so you're not Tai. That doesn't mean you can't lead us."
"I never said I couldn't. Hell, we're actually luckier than the others: at least everyone here is under 25, and most of us have a Digimon too, so worst comes to worst we can run for it. And that's the problem: I haven't got any other ideas of what we can do. If this place is useless, all we can do is just keep walking to the next place, and the next place."
"Come on Matt, think optimistically! What if this place isn't useless?"
"Well, then I won't have to lead us all anymore. But I really doubt we'll find a way of finding the others."
"We'll find them eventually, they have to be somewhere in the Digital World."
"Yeah, and us Tamers don't stay quiet for long," Palmon added.
"Yeah, next thing you know it, you'll be hearing of them building a giant telescope to look for us."
"I'd think you were kidding me, but I can already imagine them trying that," Matt facepalmed. "It's better than what I can come up with…the Digivices haven't shown us a thing."
Mimi smiled, nudging him in the arm. "Come on Matt, we've got plenty of creativity between us all."
"Just you wait…we'll have plenty of insane ideas soon enough!" Palmon added.
"I'm gonna hold you to that." Matt found an edge of optimism to his voice, yet he mentally asked why it was. Friends had a certain way of cheering one up, it seemed.
"Go ahead."
Matt mentally sighed, although didn't let it show on his face. Of all things, the worst had to be the knowledge that the rest of the group could truly be anywhere. Without their digivices to help, Matt couldn't shake the worry that they could easily just miss them, even if by a few hours, and that was assuming they were even remotely nearby. How large was the Digital World now?
As for their personal safety, this town could be a haven, or trap. A way perhaps to find their friends, or a complete waste of time, and perhaps their lives too.
Still, it was better than the endless meadow. He could tell simply wandering wouldn't yield them any results any time soon, and the group was beginning to grow very tired of…
"So, how's your love life going?"
Matt was snapped out of his thoughts by that voice, that tone taken on by someone gently nudging another. Mimi had a look on her face, a cheeky look of slightly-raised eyebrows. Was she intentionally trying to distract him from his worries? Or was it just a fortunate coincidence?
After a briefly pause to compose his thoughts, Matt shrugged. "Same. I've met some girls in bars, gone on a few dates…nothing came from it though. But hey, in a city Tokyo's size, it's always worth searching."
Matt knew his tone lacked sincerity. He couldn't help but notice the dearth of non-Tamers as partners to Tamers. They were a different section of society, ones who knew far more than they should've about the workings of the world.
"I've been focusing on my studies lately anyhow."
That cheeky look was well-gone from Mimi's face, the girl probably expecting a better answer. Matt knew why – he was known all over campus for being a fairly attractive guy. Having been in a band before helped rather a lot too, and he knew that he was pretty high on most girls' 'would-date' list. Such were benefits of being so close to many girl friends, able to pass him on news of what the university thought of him behind his back.
"Hmm…so you haven't really had a proper girlfriend since Sora then."
Matt shook his head yet chuckled. "Thanks for pointing that out. That must've been…I'm not even going to try working it out."
"For a guy like you, I find that pretty surprising."
"Meh. It's difficult, you know. It was nice being with Sora…I don't regret us breaking up, but I do miss having a girlfriend I could talk to about the Digimon and all. Now, I'm worried so much that some girl is going to see Gabumon and run out screaming. That's not a morning-after I really want."
"They might think I'm cute Matt," Gabumon chipped in.
Matt chuckled. "I'm sorry, but you're really not – at least, not to most girls. I'd say it's the horn that scares them."
"Aw."
Matt smiled widely. "Hey, you're still the coolest Digimon around."
"And that fur coat is hard to best," Palmon added.
"See, now that's all of what I mean. We can talk so easily about it all, we're used to it," Matt's tone became rather disheartened. "But do you really think a girl would want to go out with a guy who risks his life alongside a talking dinosaur?"
"It's brave and dangerous – why wouldn't they? Plus, you're one of the good guys."
"Yeah. So long as you pay attention to her feelings in amongst facing every enemy Digimon coming along, you'll be fine."
Matt raised an eyebrow and turned to face a newcomer to their chats, the unforgettable Jun Motomiya. "Uh…will do Jun."
"Like, oh, I don't know, not leaving them behind while you go camping," Jun teased, a smile on her face making her ever-so-slightly bitter comment have a strange edge to it.
"Huh, what?" Matt racked his mind for what she was talking about, as her eyes stared him down. "Oh, right," he finally got it, cursing the girl for her obscure reference. It had been a while since they had had a conversation, in fact.
"Oh, I worked it out in the end. You guys didn't want me to come at all, did you?" Her tone was like a detective coming to her grand conclusion, or a conspirator unveiling their master plan.
"Don't you remember? They really went to the Digital World, so we couldn't bring you along. Sorry."
"Hey, you had to pay for the bus ride back, so we're already even. No need for 'sorry'. Besides, with that and seeing you go to save Sora at the concert, I was completely over you like that." She clicked her fingers.
In spite of her accomplished tone, Matt could distinctly remember Davis passing on the news that she had been heartbroken for days after that and slouched around the house. At least, of course, until she began chasing Joe's brother. Regardless, he decided against pointing that particular bit out. "Okay."
"Good."
This truly was dredging up the past. At least he could have a normal conversation with her now, far better than that fangirl crush she had long-ago held. As they wandered in an uneasy silence, Jun began to drift aside. She had probably just realised that she'd interrupted their conversation, and was the reason no-one was speaking.
Matt looked ahead to the settlement ahead. Just how far was this town? It grew larger and larger the further they got, and with it the funnel grew to an enormous proportion, more and more railway tracks leading in from all directions. Was it a town? Or a city? Were they individual buildings, or a huge complex? Were they friendly, or…?
Something occurred to Matt, something nagging, and with the quietest of whispers he spoke across to Mimi. "Wasn't that cataclysm thing that Rika and Takato did meant to stop them remembering?"
"I don't understand it myself," Mimi shrugged. Yet, Matt quickly learnt that his attempt at whispering was somewhat of a failure, a voice creeping over from behind.
"Did you say the cataclysm?"
Matt swung his head around to the eldest member of their group, Henry's sister, Jaarin. "Yeah, why?"
"Henry told me about it."
"Huh? I thought we were keeping it a secret."
"He talked to me about it once. I can't say I really understand it, but…maybe there wasn't much need to erase the memories? Maybe they didn't overlap? I'm not really sure how it all happened, but it did get me by surprise."
Every person merged with every other version of themselves. That was difficult to explain on its own, let alone work out the specifics of it all. Matt wondered regularly whether there was a parallel him thrown into the present him – if there was, he couldn't tell.
Mimi shrugged. "Don't ask me."
"Yeah, it's easier to leave that sort of thing up to Izzy."
"I'm surprised Henry told you," Palmon chipped in.
"Normally this kind of thing is top secret," Gabumon added.
Jaarin chuckled. "My brother has a habit of letting these things bug him though. When we were younger, he spent a month pining over accidentally killing an ant. He just tries to be too good and think things through too much. I always thought it was adorable."
"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing," Matt noted.
"I miss things being really simple," Mimi sighed. It seemed so long ago that they had first landed upon the Digital World, and faced so simple choices and events by comparison. Sure, phone boxes on a beach were confusing, as was a trolley car without rails, but at least they knew who was good, who was bad, and their most important goal of all: getting home.
The latter was still true, of course, but now, good and bad were thrown out of whack more often than not. Almost every decision seemed to be a dilemma nowadays. It didn't help that their main enemy was human, and the age old rule of 'no human deaths' was long-broken.
It was then that Matt noticed Jun, the distance closed without him noticing. She waved a hand in greeting. "Hey. What are you guys talking about?"
"Never mind."
Jun scowled, clearly not liking being left out of things, and cast a suspicious glare across all of them. "Fine."
An awkward silence fell, as Matt felt an irritating nag in his mind telling him to explain something to her. They dragged her all this way to a world she had never wanted to come to, and now they were leaving her out of talking about it. It wasn't like she could talk to the younger children, after all. As much as she didn't say it, she looked pretty lonely wandering alone.
"We were just talking about that place up there and what it might be," Matt lied. He had thought about it, but he hadn't said it. He could hardly tell her about the cataclysm and all. Nonetheless, she for a brief second looked pleased to be spoken to, although she quickly settled into moaning regardless.
"Ugh, I just don't want to get wet. This world isn't all that special – I can't see why you guys are so interested in it."
"It's not normally this empty," Palmon insisted. Matt couldn't tell exactly, but he was sure he heard the slightest tone of offense in Palmon's voice. Rubbishing the home of all Digimon when surrounded by them wasn't exactly a wise move.
"I think that town breaks up the monotony too," Jaarin added. Matt caught a brief glance across from the girl to her sister, wandering while lost in chat with Lopmon and Impmon. The latter kept his teeth firmly gritted, still angry about being dragged all this way.
"I really hope so," Jun sighed, looking across to the tallest guy. "Hey Matt, do you think there'll be a way home there?"
He shrugged. "Don't ask me. I hope we just manage to contact someone, anyone. Right now, Gennai would come in handy."
Jun looked rather curious and bewildered about the name, but shrugged it off. "Do you think we'll be able to find my brother and the others then?"
"I really don't know." Matt was sure that Jun appreciated his endless inability to give a clear answer, or indeed, any true optimism. This girl lived with Davis, after all, and as a Gogglehead he would be able to find hope in even the direst of cases. Takeru would too, but he himself found it harder to ignore the facts than his brother. To put it bluntly, the Digital World was huge. Too huge.
"I'm sure they'll be looking for us too," Mimi added.
"Let's just hope we don't just miss each other," Jaarin sighed, looking ahead to a parting in the buildings, now towering on either side. Matt frowned. It was nothing on Domain, but the elegant brasswork and brick gave it its own imposing charm. They were beginning to attract attention too, a smattering of Digimon looking towards them uneasily.
"We can still try," Gabumon tightened one of his small claws defiantly.
"Yeah, no matter how big the Digital World is – we've found each other before and we'll do it again."
"Go Palmon! Now that's the spirit I like!" Mimi cheered, smiling widely as, like an infection, the briefest of smiles appeared on Jun's gloomy face. All the while, Matt found even that hard to match.
"Just wish I could be as optimistic."
So much responsibility he felt on his back. Every important question seemed to be directed his way, everyone (literally) looked up to him, and everyone was relying on him for ideas should things go wrong. Whether he liked it or not, he found himself as the leader.
A gear-like Digimon flew straight towards them, looking as nervous as Matt felt.
"Here goes nothing."
Ryo Akiyama
"Monodramon, stop it."
Those firm words were ones Ryo never wanted to have to say. "Cyberdramon, stop it" he was used to, but having to say the same to the innocent, jokey rookie form too? That was something he didn't want to have to deal with.
It was hard, but he had managed to lead the Digimon away from the others, to a short rock nearby, just enough to sit on with a slight jump, and, more importantly, just secluded enough for no-one to overheard.
Part of him wished Ken had noticed and followed, but the rest of him was glad. This was his problem, and he didn't want to worry anyone else about it until it escalated. There had to be a way to deal with it.
Monodramon's snarling stopped, leaving Ryo breathing a sigh of relief.
It was short-lived.
"I have subdued the beast on your behalf. Be grateful."
Ryo gritted his teeth. Monodramon's mouth moved, yet another horrible voice came from it. "You caused it."
"We discussed this Ryo, did we not? I cannot believe you are under the impression I would be so…uncivilised."
"You'd sink to whatever depths you need to. Now let him go! You can talk in my mind, why are you doing this?"
"I am doing this to clear your mind of these prejudicial ideas of yours. Bless you, my dear Ryo, for you have become so embroiled in your lies you fail to see what is right in front of you."
"I'm not falling for whatever psychological trick you're pulling. And speaking of tricks, how are you even back?"
"Do you really believe that, after seeing that foul beast of yours, I am possible to subdue with a mere evolution? I always thought you were a smart boy, Ryo, but if you still cannot understand the scale of my abilities then I must change my opinion of you."
"What do you want?"
"Has the fine art of conversation died on you?"
"Tell me."
"I shall have to lecture you on the power of manners. You still have not thanked me for saving you before from that brute and his soldiers."
"I figured that was your doing. Why are you protecting us?"
"I believe it is foolish to look a gift horse in the mouth."
"It's not when that gift horse has soldiers inside. Now just tell me why you did it."
"Be patient for once – it will serve you well. And I feel I hardly need to explain. I did it to protect you, my Tamer."
"That wasn't my question. You protected all of us…you have to have a reason for that!"
"Does a good deed require explanation?"
"You're planning something."
"Whether or not I am planning something, do you really believe I would simply explain it to anyone who asks?"
"So you are then."
"I did not say that. I would appreciate if you only heard my true words."
"If you hurt anyone…"
"If…if?! Every 'if' that spews from that jaw of yours is negative. How about this one: if I truly did become good, would you ever notice? Or is your mind too far blighted with this ridiculous notion of good and evil, light and darkness?"
"I haven't yet seen anything to say otherwise."
"I have saved you twice in but the past few hours, and all of your friends too, and I have subdued this beast you insist on calling your 'friend' and 'partner'. I surely have done more than enough to prove myself."
"That's because he is my friend and partner."
"That will only make it more painful then when the truth comes out."
"What?"
The voice was gone.
Monodramon looked around, bewildered, and it became clear to the boy that he was aware of the verbal sparring but moments ago. Perhaps it was not even that – perhaps Milleniummon was manipulating his mind?
"He never answers anything until it's too late. Milleniummon! If you can hear me, I'm telling you – I'm going to stop you before you hurt any of my friends!"
Ryo heard a snatch of laughter from the corners of his mind, one lasting but an instant yet staying on his memory for far longer. He felt a lump in his throat, as he knew that things could only get worse from here. Milleniummon was clearly planning something, something huge.
But what was it?
Jaarin Wong
"Hello…and...uh...welcome to Bolton."
Even for all she had seen of her brother and sister's partners, the sight of a brass and steel gear talking to her still made Jaarin raise an eyebrow. This somewhat surprised her, given that just in front of her was a large equally-mechanical Digimon, Guardromon, and so she thought she would be used to such things by now.
"Still…I'm acting like this should all be normal. My friends would've already gone insane at the sight of all this."
"Hagurumon, Virus Type, Rookie Level, attacks are Cog Crusher and Command Input." Jaarin glanced down, seeing her sister with her D-Arc out, a holographic image of the Digimon upon it.
The gear looked rather worried by the odd device. "Uh…who are you? And what's that thing?"
"My name is Suzie Wong," the girl chirped. "And this is a digivice."
"Digi…vice?"
"Yeah, we're the world-renowned Digimon Tamers!" Kazu exclaimed, raising his D-Arc proudly in front of him. "I'm sure you've heard of us."
"Uh…" One of the two smaller cogs, like a hand, went to the Digimon's face as he looked upon them all. "Am I meant to have?" He seemed to have a permanently startled expression, although given his size compared to even the smaller humans, it was fairly understandable.
"Really? You haven't heard of us?" Palmon asked, a look of bewilderment crossing the group as they looked to one another.
"Maybe you just know a different name…Digidestined?"
The Hagurumon stared on at Matt blankly, as if his words were like a foreign language.
"Chosen…uh…people? Special people? Saviours? Anything?"
"Morons?" Impmon asked.
"What about humans?" Ayaka interrupted.
"Humon? I've never heard of that Digimon before."
Jaarin let out a quiet sigh. This was getting nowhere – the Digimon obviously hadn't heard of them at all. Behind the gear, she could see other Digimon drawing up, a strange mix of similarly-mechanical beings and more organic ones. The town simply seemed to spew them from its various alleyways and random doors, the fizzling-out seen in reality of tall buildings into the suburbs into the countryside just not there. Where the bricks and brass stopped, the meadow started. Indeed, where the bricks and brass stopped, the rain did too, although you wouldn't know it were it not for the plink-plonk sound from the huge brass funnel above.
Not a single Digimon looked wet. Neither did the buildings. The storm clouds loomed high overhead, but for all Jaarin could see, the rain from them was collected perfectly by the funnel, the vast brass surface reflecting light down into the town from…something. There was no sun to speak of. Neither was there the 'Earth orb' her brother and sister told them about.
Feeling the flames of curiosity, Jaarin had to ask. "What does the funnel do?"
Hagurumon looked rather confused by the change in subject, but his presence was quickly ruled obsolete in any case.
"It uses the storm to harvest rainwater and power our city." These words came not from the gear, but from one of the newcomers, a large white wizard-like hat upon his head. He was humanoid, although not of a normal human's height, and garbed in white and pale blue robes. His large blue and black glove-held sceptre looked cold to the touch, a few specks of ice sat on it. Perhaps that funnel wasn't as leak proof as it seemed?
"Sorcerymon, Vaccine Type, Champion Level, his attacks are Crystal Barrage and Aquarius Fill," Mimi read from her D-Arc.
"That's one precise storm," Jun noted. "Is your weather always like this?"
Sorcerymon nodded. "That is how it is meant to be. But there are more pressing matters…just who exactly are you all?"
"Have you heard of Digimon Tamers? Or Digidestined? Or even just humans?"
"I have heard whispers about humans, but not enough to truly know. What exactly are you then?"
Miki let out a wide smile, her eagerness unchecked by the gathering Digimon and increasing wariness of the creatures they spoke to. Hagurumon was already on his way back to the city. Jaarin didn't blame him: this was like first contact with aliens, only these ones didn't come down from the sky. Well, at least not in a spaceship.
"We come from this other world, the real world. There are tons of us there…but only a few Digimon."
"I have never heard of any of this." This was another Digimon, a green and red vaguely humanoid one covered in an array of mirrors, a flat pair of red lips upon one which loosely resembled a face in its placement. The lack of eyes left Jaarin more than a little put-off.
"That's Mercurymon, Variable Type, Hybrid Level – his attacks are Dark Reflection and Offset Reflector," Kenta whispered across to their group. He looked somewhat surprised when he turned his head back to a straight-lipped Mercurymon, his voice becoming cautious and stern.
"Can we believe them Sorcerymon?"
"I am not entirely sure. They do not seem aware of our city."
"Hey, you can trust us," Mimi insisted.
"Yeah, we're the good guys," Gabumon added.
Mercurymon's head turned, eyes not moving but his 'painted' lips seeming to chew, a long "hmm" noise from them. The mirror looking straight at her, Jaarin felt even more uneasy, frightened perhaps. Suzie looked unfazed. "I thought I was meant to be the brave big 'sis."
Finally, the Digimon smiled. "I think we shall. We are a friendly community; we can't have such suspicion going around."
"They seem harmless too," Sorcerymon added.
"They're talking like we're not here."
As if hearing her thoughts, the mirror turned to face them again. "I must apologise for the fourth degree, but it is wise to be cautious," Mercurymon gestured across them. "Welcome to our fine city of Bolton. My name is Mercurymon." He raised out a hand.
Matt glanced aside before stepping forth to shake it, still looking uneasy. "It's good to meet you, but why is it so good to be cautious here?"
"These are troubling times," Sorcerymon explained, and with a frown he glanced over to the horizon. "Strange events have been occurring; the Digital World is not quite so stable as she once was. I've heard news from the South as well…a vast tragedy is fast approaching."
"Like what?" Miki asked, a troubled expression replacing her wonderment.
"If I knew, I would say, but…it is like this world is diseased. Every day, we receive less and less messages. Digimon go out and do not come back, no matter how many days we wait."
"Do you think there's something out there?" Matt asked, looking to the same horizon Sorcerymon had looked to.
"And if there is, are Henry and the others safe?"
"Hmm…it is strange."
"Yeah, strange in a world that seems to be at threat ten times a day," Impmon said, rather more cynically. "Bet it's just some new Digimon up himself again, and I know the antidote…bada-boom!" he tossed a fireball down to the grass, roasting a small patch of it.
The lips upon the mirror shifted. "Perhaps that could be the case, but…if that were so, it would surely be in a specific direction that fate befell us from?"
"Huh?" Jaarin wondered. Mercurymon did not seem to be the easiest Digimon to understand.
Sorcerymon gestured circularly. "It does not matter where; the Digital World seems to be losing Digimon every day. This place…we used to receive so many messages from afar, but now we sit idle for day after day."
"Yggdrasil's demise merely worsened our situation," Mercurymon added.
"Wait…why's that?" Jaarin asked.
"Bolton has so much power - we could send messages to almost anywhere. Yggdrasil bestowed a decree upon us for the Royal Knights to use our services. It kept us all very busy, and in response Yggdrasil provided us with protection and importance," Sorcerymon explained.
"You can send messages?!" Ayaka exclaimed, eyes bursting wide. "Like, to someone else in the Digital World?"
"Allow me to restate that: we 'could' send messages to almost anywhere."
"These days, the equipment lies dormant. We have no-one to send messages to and the only messages we receive in return are from the few remaining stations nearby," Mercurymon clarified.
"Stations? Like, train stations?" Suzie asked.
Mercurymon shook his head. "The great Lord Yggdrasil cast upon this world a vast network of message stations; we all served such importance and prestige. While the rest of our world was disconnected and animalistic, we were proud and civilised. Alas, with his destruction most of the stations fell by the wayside: they had no power. With much trepidation for the future, built the Weather Machine so we would not do the same."
"The…weather machine?" Ayaka asked, glancing up at the rainclouds. "So that's what's causing…?"
"It does exactly what it sounds like. It generates a constant flow of rain, enough to power both itself and our proud city. We are a beacon of civilisation in the Endless Meadow."
"Endless Meadow? Bolton? Weather Machine? Henry has never mentioned any of this." There was no denying it; wherever they were, it was far from what any of them had experienced before.
"Isn't that impossible?" Jun asked, an eyebrow raised in bewilderment. "That's perpetual motion, right?"
"Perpetual motion?"
"You know, energy cannot be created or destroyed. There's no way that machine can both power itself and give you any power for the city too."
Jaarin quickly found herself re-evaluating her first impressions of this girl, and she could tell that Matt was doing likewise, a shocked expression on his face. Jun looked him straight in the eye.
"I took physics, duh!"
"Even I knew that," Mimi added from behind.
"Yeah, I did too," Gabumon agreed. Matt looked down, before slamming a palm into his face.
"Great..."
"I'm not surprised; it's not like you've made any effort at all to know me these past few years. But, who cares…the point is…that thing shouldn't work. It's basic science!"
For all her attempts to explain, Mercurymon and Sorcerymon simply stared on at the non-Tamer with straight, bewildered lips. It took a certain imp to break the silence.
"Toots, I'm all for you and your pretty little head learning about the gears of the world and all," Impmon patronised. "But this is the Digital World! Things don't work like your cushy little place here. Hell, I prefer it! None of that dumb-ass 'reality' to bog you down."
Jun looked startled, startled enough that for all she tried to respond, she could only sigh and bow her head in desperation. "I give up…I guess this explains why Davis is so insane."
"Are you kidding? He wouldn't ever think this deeply," Matt jibed, before being elbowed by Mimi, who shot him a glare, one just as bad as that from Jun.
"I am sorry, but who is this…Davis?" Sorcerymon asked, saving Matt from a painful collision of him and Jun's palm. The redhead turned to face the wizard upon hearing the name, a frown upon her face.
"He's my brother."
"Brother? What is this?"
"Uh…we share the same parents?"
"I see. Only recently have we had to come to terms with such a concept."
"Terriermon's patch, I forgot about that. I was expecting this place to have turned into some explicit nightmare, but…I can't see anything, well, obvious. How did he manage that kind of programming?" Terriermon was a Digimon, of course, but nonetheless, even with the time he spent at home while Henry was at school, Jaarin never imagined his programming powers would rival her dad's. He had somehow managed to devise a program to patch every single Digimon for reproduction.
It wasn't perfect, of course. Guilmon and Renamon fell afoul of it fairly quickly, even though thanks to Terriermon's lack of knowledge she had produced an egg rather than pregnancy, something that Henry later said seemed like a godsend. Terriermon's mistake had saved his friends a lot of bother, particularly when they had plenty to deal with themselves.
Still, Jaarin couldn't help but admit that what had happened in those nine months had changed her opinion of Takato and Rika, far more at the centre of it all than Guilmon and Renamon. At first, like most, she had been shocked: here were two kids her brother's age engaging in something that at that age herself she wouldn't have risked, and they had paid the price on their first go. To an extent, she had then felt pity, but what she heard from Henry were only sung praises. He thought so much of them, and slowly Jaarin found her way of thinking changed about them. Undeniably though, from what she had seen but a few hours earlier, Takato and Rika had come a long way from the sweet couple she occasionally saw.
She didn't know everything, and she knew that full well. Henry obviously didn't tell her everything, even with their long chats over the internet while she was at university. But…she felt glad he at least told her some things in the past. Now, he seemed so wrapped up in his own mind so constantly, and he wouldn't let on a word of what bothered him.
"…somewhere else in the Digital World. Do you think there's any way at all you could contact him?" Jun asked, hope in her eyes, hope shared by plenty of others around the group. For the first time ever, they seemed to have had a bit of luck, coming across a place designed for communications.
"I am afraid not."
So much for that.
"Allow me to elaborate: all the stations nearby would have told us by now were any newcomers to visit. Doubtless they are already aware of your arrival, and none are further than two linear gigabytes away, but a speck of dust across our vast land. The Endless Meadow only measures a gigabyte by a gigabyte."
"What about all these train tracks? Is there any way of getting a message out? Or we could ride the rails until we find something?" Miki asked, glee in her eyes in spite of all the hardship they faced. She was genuinely enjoying this new world. Jaarin shared a fraction of her enthusiasm, but having heard so much more from Henry she found it hard to entirely empathise.
"The Trailmon's visits are occasional. We have left the network. No one has much cause to come to our city, without Yggdrasil."
This was another of those knock-on effects. Without the ability to breed, Digimon had once begun to die out. Now, they were losing their connections and civilisation. "This is a demonstration of 'unintended consequences' if I ever saw it."
"But the equipment still works, am I right?" Impmon asked, promptly receiving a cautious nod, Sorcerymon hearing the leading tone in his voice. "So why don't you just turn it up to 11 and see who answers?"
"I suppose we could try that."
"Then do it. 'cause I don't want to be here a moment longer than I have to."
"Excuse me, but I cannot help but feel remarkably offended by your comments. We are renowned up north for our hospitality," Mercurymon replied, his lips a frown.
"Geez, sorry. I want to get back to my friends and Tamers, if that's alright with you and your hospitality? I don't know about you, but I owe a Gogglehead a piece of my mind! So I hope we can send this message out pronto."
"Would that be his only piece?"
"Hmm…we would have to prepare everything. You can stay here until then."
"Well I'm not sure about everyone else, but I'm exhausted. I'm all for that if you guys are?" Matt asked, glancing about the group. Jaarin looked down to Suzie, who for all her optimism couldn't help but look tired from all the walking they had done.
"Yeah!" was the unanimous response.
"Then follow me thus ways." Mercurymon gestured with his mirror-wearing hand towards the entrance to Bolton's streets, his face still leaving Jaarin a little on edge.
"I hope this is right," she mused, as they began to follow the pair of Digimon. Other Digimon, a mixture of shapes and sizes, lined their sides, all curious about these new 'Humon' who had come to visit.
This was truly a bewildering world, but it was interesting nonetheless.
Jaarin smiled. She could tell why Henry enjoyed this.
TO BE CONTINUED…
I hope you all enjoyed that. To clarify something I don't think I'll be able to write into the narrative, Bolton is in the Steampunk style. You might want to look it up if you haven't heard of it before. Anyhow, to make up for the dearth of updates somewhat, a preview of what's to come…
FROM THE OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER OF JAPAN
Dear Mr Yamaki Mitsuo,
I would like to first and foremost apologise unreservedly for the acts of my predecessor, and would hope that you might pass that apology down to the Tamers as well. They have taken a great toll from this all, and I would like to invite them for a personal apology if they so wish. All of their transgressions are pardoned, and I have made it my priority to put measures in place so this does not reoccur.
I am aware of a number of fatalities from this incident, both amongst your staff and amongst those who were in the Digital World. Funds will be available to the families for a memorial service, and they may be planted in the reserved cemeteries of central Tokyo if so wished. Whilst they are not in a military capacity, they regardless died serving their country and protecting its populace from harm, and they should be remembered as such.
I would also like to pass on the news that I will be allocating funds to restore the damaged area of Shinjuku Park. At this present time, our funding looks stretched by the rebuilding work, but I believe that since the Japanese government owes the surviving Tamers enough for their great service it is but a small price to pay. While their most-frequented area of the park may be rather busy for the next few weeks with construction workers, I am certain they will appreciate the gesture when it is finished.
In light of the recent events, I am reconsidering the role of Hypnos within the Japanese government, and its remit in terms of the constant Digital threat we face. I will report to you my thoughts in a future letter. Be assured, I have no intention of disbanding or removing your organisation and its connection with those it supports.
Regardless, I would also hope that more effective screening processes during recruitment are now being pursued, to avoid a repeat of the same incident.
Yours sincerely,
The Prime Minister's Office
P.S. A detailed report of the damage and the incident as a whole as is apparent so far (229 pages) is attached for your reading.
Heh, there's a lot of red herrings and my usual tricks in this, so I wouldn't take anything at face value if I were you. All is not as it appears. Happy speculating!
Until next time…
B.C.
