-To the place they seeked-
It didn't even take half an hour as soon as the Destined were found by both Blue and Green. There was a little chat, which was mostly comprised of "I'm so worried about you", "good to see you alive." Sort of things. As if the world itself had given petty to the party for their more than frequent encounters with wild Digimon along the road, they experienced nothing during the time they followed the Coredramon.
When the arrived at the village where Kaito was staying, they were greeted by a bunch of people, though there weren't really that many, due to the small population of the village.
"I don't like it." Liollmon said lightly, looking down on the road to escape direct eye contact with the villagers, who had all been curious to see someone not from their village.
"I'm just glad that we finally get to see another human being." Katashi answered dryly, though he was, too, unaccustomed to being watched that closely by strangers.
"Please tell me this place can at least let me take a shower." Elsa joined the conversation. "I can't stand not having one for so long."
There were other chatters, mostly among the villagers. None of the group cared what they were saying, proceeding in getting into the village and finding their lost member.
The most prominent meeting, however, didn't occur until some time later. Ever since he'd set foot in the village, Rikuto had been turning his head left and right, looking to-and-fro, but could find no trace of his brother. He wanted to wander off on his own, but couldn't really find a way to do so with so many people watching. Knowing that Kaito was alive and well from the Coredramon had done little to lift his mood. He needed to see him, face to face, to make sure.
As if knowing what he was thinking, the Coredramon turned around and pointed to a building, saying that they had left Kaito there. Without a word, and regardless of what the others might think of him, Rikuto left the party and dashed as fast as he could towards the building, which was just a tiny wooden house. Arriving there he placed his hands on his knees while gasping heavily for air. All those didn't really concern him, though. After just a second's rest he had already gotten into the house, since the door wasn't locked.
Not here, not here, not here either. His mind could only operate one function now, to track down Kaito as soon as possible. In just a second's time he had concluded that he wasn't on the ground floor, and so he rushed to the staircase, already forgotten his exhaustion, when he bumped into someone and fell back, stumbling a few steps behind, barely keeping himself balanced.
"You're back already?" said a female voice. Rikuto lifted his head quickly and saw a girl with white hair, like him, who seemed pretty shock to see him.
"I'm sorry, but do I know you?" he asked.
The girl stared at him for a long time, examining his face thoroughly so that it seemed as though he had been disfigured, though he was pretty sure he wasn't. "What are you playing at?" she asked again.
"I really don't know you." Rikuto replied, his vision kept going up, to the first floor. "But I have something important to do right now, and you're getting in my way." As he said so he gently pushed the girl aside and started taking his first step onto the staircase before the girl held him by his sleeve and said, "What's wrong with you, Kaito?"
Rikuto stopped at once and looked back at the girl. Of course it is. How would I forget that? "You know my brother?"
"Your brother…" the girl muttered, "He did mention something like that." She then pulled Rikuto by his sleeve so that he was forced to go down a stair. "Now that you've said that, it really seemed that you're different person." Her eyes kept scanning Rikuto as she leaned closer to examine the details, which embarrassed Rikuto a bit as he staggered a few steps backwards. "Even your clothes are a bit different."
"So, you know my brother?"
"Of course I do. I'm the one who saved him." The girl said, a bit proudly.
"Then where's he right now?"
"He saw someone at the gate, and thought that his Digimon friends had returned. And then, before I could stop it, he had rushed to the gate of the village."
"But I didn't see him when I got here."
"You must have just missed him."
Without even saying a word, Rikuto turned his head and headed for the outside almost instantaneously. It would make him feel guilty normally, turning someone down impolitely, but his mind didn't even have the capacity to process that emotion now. Just as he ran out of the door, the others had just arrived, and were therefore a bit shocked to see him rushing to somewhere else.
"He sure is energetic." Elsa uttered. "After all these days in the wild and he's not even tired."
"He just misses his brother." Katashi replied. "I bet you'd do the same if you were him."
"Glad I'm not."
It was already too late when Smith found out what's wrong. He was supposed to be the 'administrator' of the Destined, meaning that he would be held responsible for what the Destined did wrong. This time, however, he had had other forces to deal with Cyberdramon instead of letting the kids do whatever they thought best, which meant death for the lethal Digimon.
And now, the problem had revealed itself: Cyberdramon had broken free, in one of the most important places in the city. The poorly designed prison was right inside of one of the most important facility –the complex that contained vital and dangerous setups. Everything could go wrong easily there, from incomplete developments in a research lab, to the security center that could easily observe the entire city. And had personally invited Cybderdramon to access all that.
The children had not discovered that yet. The thought of having them to aid was ignored. Believing that he was still in control of things, he simply put more effort in strengthening the security guard there.
Their reunion wasn't really one of the most moving ones.
Instead, it was quite a messy one.
Right after Rikuto had rushed out of the house to actively look for Kaito he had been gone in a matter of seconds. The rest of the team, deciding that the twins would both go there once they had been reunited, simply accepted the girl, who called herself Irene, invitation. And then there they waited for about half an hour before seeing both Kaito and Rikuto return.
"What took you guys so long?" Elsa demanded, resting her head on her palm.
"We almost ran in oppositet directions every time, so I guess that lengthened the trip." Said Kaito. "Anyway, how did you know where I am?"
"I'd say you knew where we'd go." Said Kynan. "How long have you been here, and why hadn't you tried to at least look for us?"
"I only guessed that I was in the right place." Said Kaito. "Anyway, it's kind of a relief to see you guys again." I almost thought I'd be lost forever. He added silently.
"Aren't we forgetting something here?" Said Ren in a sudden. The others looked at her with strange faces for a moment before realizing what she was talking about.
"Right." Said Katashi. "We're not here for sightseeing."
"The virus; it was said to be here." Kynan turned to Kaito with a questioning look. Kaito simply shook his head.
"You know nothing about that?" Liollmon asked, to which Kaito responded by nodding. Liollmon then turned to the Dracomon and asked the same question, getting the same answers as well.
"I've done all I could, but it seemed that nobody here really knows about it." He said. "The people here didn't even know what I meant. Maybe we've all gone to the wrong destination, or perhaps it has been so long that nobody really cares about it anymore."
"The map showed that it was here." Muttered Kynan. "And when he gave it to me, he looked so sincere. There's no way we all came here for nothing. And Cyberdramon, he wouldn't have made us go through all this knowing that it's fake, would he?"
Kudamon, leaning close to Kynan, whispered. "I really think we have to consider that possibility."
Kynan turned his head around so he wouldn't be facing the others, and shoved Kudamon lightly from his shoulder. Being dispirited, he went outside to calm himself down a little first, or so he wanted, before Elsa grabbed him by his arm and dragged him back to the others. The boy's strength allowed him to shake off her effortlessly, but he chose not to, and returned to the others, though it was apparent that he was not paying attention to the others anymore. Even his eyes looked dull.
"Actually, I may have lied a little when you first asked me." Said Irene lightly.
"What'd you mean?" Kaito asked gently.
The girl walked forth, so that she was sitting right in the circle the Destined had formed. She then held out her left hand, revealing something like a bangle with silver color and a simplistic design, though a few uniform blue bits were on there to break up the consistent silver. Kait hadn't paid much attention to this, making it hard to believe that the blue dots now seemed to be actually glowing lightly. The technology in the village never seemed so modern. There wouldn't be a way that the villagers could make this but couldn't change their harsh living.
"What is it?" Katashi asked, curious.
"This was passed to me by my late father." She said, her voice barely audible. And, for the first time, Kaito thought he saw sorrow on her face, though she covered that up quickly. "I never really know why this would be an important item. I thought it was just for decoration."
"Sounds reasonable." Kudamon uttered. "But then what happened?"
Irene took in a deep breathe, closed her eyes for a while, looking like deep in thought for a second or two. "There was a night when I couldn't sleep, so I wandered around the house. It was perfectly fine at first, until I saw the bangle glowing. Immediately I knew something was wrong, and so I examined it. But then, just when I touched the bangle, I found myself in a completely different place. I thought that was a part of a weird dream…"
"But you remembered it anyway?" Asked Kynan.
"I thought I was dreaming, as I thought. But then I knew I wasn't, because, in that place I had gone to, I picked a piece of stone that looked smoother than any other. When I woke up…I didn't mention I fell asleep quickly, did I?"
"No." Said Katashi. Everyone gave him a mean look. "Let's continue."
"When I woke up, I was on my bed and I really thought I had had a strange dream, except that stone was there with me as well. I couldn't make sense of it, and I was afraid that others might laugh at me for this, so I kept it hidden. It wasn't a big deal, not then, at least."
"So, when did it happen?" Katashi asked.
"About a year ago."
"What're you doing here?" Kaoru asked when he first regained consciousness. Looking around he could figure out the members of the Digi-Destined, but couldn't quite tell where he was. "What happened? I can't remember."
"Well, just now, your headache went a bit too far and you fainted." A familiar voice came from beside him. He turned to find out that it was Yuzuki. "We're in Katashi's house now. His parents were nice and lend us the place while he's gone."
Kaoru managed to make himself up straight and climbed down the bed. Believing that he'd been fully recovered, he paced slowly and tried to get out of the room, but was stopped by Eiji.
"We can't let you out yet." Said the older boy.
"But I'm fine."
"You just fainted for no reason. I don't think that could be called fine!"
Yuzuki walked close to Kaoru and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Everyone here's just trying to help you."
Kaoru reluctantly walked back to the bed and sat down. "There's nothing we can do, anyway."
"There was not." Uttered Amy. "But there is now."
"What're you talking about?" Ryosuke asked.
"You're here all because of Cyberdramon, aren't you?"
Kaoru nodded. Amy continued. "And right now, we have him captured."
"Which means?" Yuzuki muttered.
"We can just go and make him talk." The older girl replied.
Kaoru got out of the bed once again and walked to the door. This time, no one stopped him.
"Isn't that a little rushed for now?" Asked Takumi.
"I can't wait any longer." The blonde boy answered. "I want to get rid of all these as soon as possible."
The Digital World was in a total mess when everybody important was not there –except for Gulfmon.
The Digimon was faithful to Cyberdramon, who somehow seemed to be his master, and he remembered one thing before Cyberdramon departed. One simple order. And now, he was there burning up for probably the third village that he had come across as he roamed the Digital World. It was an easy job, killing everyone in sight by sucking them straight into his belly. It sounded gross, but that's the way the Digimon got stronger and stronger every time he stumbled onto a small village.
But that wasn't his mission at all. All that he had eaten could only be considered as side effects. His goal wasn't to destroy every thing on sight. No; Cyberdramon's plan was way greater than that.
Now that he had almost wiped out three villages, words spread. At first, there were only rumors about it, but then it became something that could bring up fear and panic. Villages everywhere started to strengthen their guards for fear that they would be Gulfmon's next targets.
But then Gulfmon stopped the massive killing. Most of the time when he approached a village, a few small ones would come forth and be exterminated. Their deaths become something far more powerful than the unsettling aura that Gulfmon brought. Soon there were no resistances at all, and that was when Gulfmon carried out his true mission –to gather as much Digimon as he could and make them compliant to Cyberdramon's command by whatever means possible. Now, the terror had gathered Gulfmon more than a hundred of minions.
And that all happened in just the last four days.
Katashi found himself speechless again. He had mostly felt this way when he was sleeping, or pretending to be. He knew that the team had discussed things without him, didn't really care much for his opinions, and sometimes even he himself felt a little invisible when it came to teamwork. Sometime he really questioned his purpose of being there: to take over the place of Yuzuki, the former friendly-neighborhood to whom he had a crush on. How long has it been since I left? I hope she's all right…
"Katashi!" he heard Ren calling him, coming back to reality.
"What's wrong?" he uttered apologetically.
"We're discussing about this bangle that seems strange, aren't we?" the girl replied.
Katashi brought his attention to the bangle on Irene's arm. He had never seen or heard of or even imagined something like that, so it was normal that he didn't really think much about it. If she's telling the truth, then it might be our only chance to get that virus and get the job done. He recalled the last few lines he heard, about that bangle acting weird about a year ago. That would be the day when Piedmon, or Millinneiummon, had sent an army of Chaosdramon X to the Human World. It was no coincident, but how were the two related?
"Maybe you should take a look on it." Said Irene as she took of the bangle and passed it to Kynan.
"I can't say much about this." The boy replied. "I've never really seen things like this." He put the bangle right in front of his eyes and examined it closely, but could find no hints or whatever that made it do whatever it had done before. "Why should I examine it anyway?"
"I thought you knows the most." Said Elsa. Kynan gave her an annoyed glare and passed the bangle to her.
"Alright, I'll do it." the blonde girl muttered as she received it. The first thing she noticed was the smoothness of it; it felt like a newly made jewel, despite the fact that it should have been passed down throughout generations. She examined it just as carefully and closely as Kynan had done, and then put it back on the ground, sighing. "Nothing."
"Maybe I should take a look." Said Valkyrimon as she took up the relic. The other Digimon joined too, looking for details but could find nothing.
"Maybe it really was just a dream." LadyDevimon uttered. "No offense."
"Well, offensive or not, I trust her." Said Kaito. The ultimate gave him an irritated glare and tossed the bangle to him, which he caught skillfully midair so it wouldn't be scratched.
The moment he touched it, however, he felt a surge of energy running out from it, making his heart beat faster and somehow quickening his breathing. The uneasiness caused him to lean back a little before he lost balance and fell straight at Katahsi. The next thing he knew, he was in a much darker place with stuffy air and absolute silence. Getting up he could see Katashi behind him, with nobody else.
"Where's this place?" The brown-haired boy uttered, scanning around. They were in some sort of a dark chamber, so dark that he couldn't even make out the ceiling.
"So that was no dream at all." Kaito said, equally stunned. His voice echoed, making the already seemingly large room seem even larger.
"I don't really mean it, but this place is starting to seem creepy." Said Katashi as he took out his Digivice and used the screen's light to illuminate his path. "Where's everybody else?"
"I think it's just the two of us here." Kaito muttered. He took a look at his hands. The bangle was still there, except that it was now glowing slightly. "Could it really be…"
"That's pretty obvious to me." Said Katashi as he took over the bangle. Its glow immediately weakened once it left Kaito's hand. "This thing really got us here, but how?"
"I'm not supposed to know that." Said Kaito. He got the bangle back, and instantly it glowed again. This time, probably due to the dark surrounding, it appeared clear that an aura of whiteness was there coming out of the bangle and enveloping the white-haired boy. Afraid that anything should happen, Katashi walked forth to him and grabbed him by the shoulder once the aura started to intensify. The next thing he knew, he was on the small house again, with all others looking at them, astonished.
"Where have you two been?" Elsa demanded immediately following their return. "You just vanished!"
"I don't know." Katashi replied. "But obviously it had something to do with Kaito."
"Me?" Kaito had just gotten up top his knees.
"There's obviously something going on once you touched the bangle." The brown-haired boy said. "Maybe that's why we're gone a moment before."
"But why would it work only with you?" Irene said as Kaito handed the bangle back to the girl.
"I think I might know a little about it." said Katashi. "You're thinking about the same thing, aren't you?" he turned to Liollmon.
"Me?" the Rookie replied, a bit off guard. "What'd you mean?"
"I think I know the differences between us and them."
"What're you talking about?" Kynan asked.
"Don't you two remember?" Katashi proceeded to ask the twins. "The first time we met."
"What are you suggesting?" Rikuto said, a bit irritated. "We were in that temple just because we…"
"That's what I'm talking about." Katashi sounded exciting. At the same time, he received more than a dozen of inquisitive looks. "You're Digi-Destiend."
"Aren't that what you're all calling yourselves?" Said Irene. "Kaito told me that."
"That's just a conventional name we use, but we're not all Destined here." Said the brown-haired boy. "Elsa,. You partnered with LadyDevimon last year after she had been defeated. Kynan, you met Kudamon out in the wilderness. And Ren, you partnered with Valkyrimon during your time at the Institute, right?"
They all nodded.
"And I became friends with Liollmon when his previous incarnation died and returned into a Digi-egg."
"So you're saying that more than half of us here are just normal people?" Valkyrimon muttered.
Katashi nodded and continued. "Only you two were there at the Temple, and only you two were able to made a specific Digi-egg hatch." He cleared his throat. "That qualifies as Digi-Destined to me/"
"So you're suggesting that we've some kind of superpowers that you don't have?" Rikuto questioned, to which Katashi nodded in response.
"Maybe you should try to touch that bangle as well." Irene said. "That way we can know if your friend is making sense or not."
"That's a bit blunt, considering that it's the first time we meet." Katashi mumbled lightly. Nobody cared about him, so he was glad.
"You should just try it." Ren told Rikuto. "If that's true, our job will be done in no time."
"Alright, I'll give it a shot." The white-haired boy answered reluctantly. As his hand was approaching the bangle, however, a bang sounded outside of the house, followed by quakes.
"Why can't we see him?" Yuzuki was about to lose her patience. She had come to Smith with Kaoru, demanding that they needed to extract information from Cyberdramon about Kaoru's condition, but there hadn't been any reply yet as they got into the building where Smith worked. Frustrated, the two got to smith's office without permission and confronted the man themselves. Still, they couldn't get access to the Digimon.
"For a lot of reasons, the most prominent one being the concern of your safety." Smith had said.
"I just blacked out for no reason, had numerous headaches and most importantly, was brought back to life when I should've been dead. I don't think there's anything that can give us protection anymore." Said Kaoru vigorously, unlike the emotionless speech he commonly used.
"There are protocols that have to be complied."
"Didn't you set up those?" questioned Jesmon. "You can simply give us permission. Besides, I think we're well protected as long as I am with them."
Smith remained at his seat as he had always been. There was a moment of silence, but it didn't last long. "No." that's all he said.
"You can't just keep saying that and expect us to go!" Yuzuki almost yelled. "We're only asking out of respect."
"So you would get into a restricted area on your own?"
"Just let us go." Said Kaoru, annoyed. "Please."
Smith still wouldn't give in.
But he didn't have to anymore. Just a few seconds later, every monitor in the room malfunctioned and failed to show anything aside from those weird gray striations that covered the entire screen. And then, a moment later, all monitors showed the same image –Cyberdramon's face.
Really sorry for the little that liked this story. I have not been able to keep up the progress of one update per week, and I probably won't be able to do that in the near future so I'll have to change it into an update every two weeks. Hopefully that'll work out better for me since I'm kind of busy lately.
