Chapter 24

Through the Looking Glass

"Don't even think about moving."

To be fair, the twitch of his hand that had prompted the comment was enough to convince him that he didn't want to move. He hurt. But it wasn't a physical hurt. It was almost like something had just…snapped. It had been wound up so tight and just…couldn't take it anymore.

He was just so tired. He'd pushed himself so hard. So far. Maybe he should just rest. Just lie here in the dirt and let his thoughts drift off again.

But…there was a reason he'd been going through all this. It was important. It prodded at his sluggish mind, a quiet little voice, insisting that there was something he needed to do, and it wasn't just to aimlessly hover right on the edge of unconsciousness.

He'd had to…help someone.

I can't protect anyone.

The thought was painful, echoing accusingly through the haze.

He…had to protect someone.

He…failed to protect someone.

A small shape plummeting further and further away. He couldn't reach them. The trees were rushing up to meet them. Each wingbeat was frantic as he tried to close the distance.

Wings? He didn't have wings.

That was wrong.

He ignored the disembodied scolding, flexing his hand in that same twist of will and muscle that would call out the claws he knew he should have…

Blunt human nails scratched shallow furrows in the loamy forest floor.

He was human.

Kouichi was human.

A yawning pit of dread churned in his gut as he pushed himself up, ignoring the heavy weight attempting to push him back down. His vision was near useless, no light would break the heavy canopy of the trees, Kouichi remembered that now. No matter how good his eyesight—it could do nothing without light. Not as a human.

Why was he human? He shouldn't be human. They had Kouji's D-Scanner. He shouldn't be able to evolve to loosen the locking pro—

Something had snapped.

He felt…odd. Lighter. Like a pressure had lifted from his shoulders. And it terrified him.

That pressure, keeping him in his digimon form, had been the only way he knew Kouji was still there. That and the D-Scanner.

Which…had been with Ken.

Ken.

"Damn it…" The word was whispered, as the cold chill of failure settled once more in his soul. Ken had fallen into that mirror. The darkness gathered around him, pressing in on him. Breathing was hard.

Did they capture Ken? He—Duskmon—the Warrior of Darkness had seen Mercuremon traverse great distances with that mirror. Was there some other digimon that could do such a thing?

After all that. After Sphinxmon. After the Dark Whirlpool. The long, exhausting journey this far. After being buried under a relentless pack of Dobermon, all while trying his best not to kill them—the sharp "Murderers!" still echoed in his mind—fighting against the whispers of the creeping corruption of his place…

After all that…and he couldn't even protect Ken. How did he ever think he could save Kouji?

"Are…you okay?"

Kouichi drew his knees to his chest and shook his head. Sphinxmon's stone was a weight around his neck, dragging him down as he rested his arms on his knees, holding them tight.

In the back of his mind, a little voice wormed through the dismal mindscape—finding that small spark of anger and prodding it.

We offered you power.

But humans are weak.

You chose your human over power.

Where did that get you?

He was drowning, but he didn't want to grab the only hand reaching for him.

x-x-x

"See? Your friend survived."

The image of Kouichi huddled in a scatter of broken tree limbs and shrubs slowly faded, even as Ryuudamon placed a comforting claw on the boy's knee. It was replaced by Ken's bedraggled reflection.

Survived. A good way to put it.

The mirror's polished surface dimmed as the green cloth settled around it, the digimon crossing his arms.

"He will live. You will live. Both of these would not be true had I not stopped your fall."

Ken set his jaw and met the digimon's eyes—two glowing yellow orbs beneath the shadow of a shrouding hat. "And why did you stop it? Shyamon could have caught me."

"Powerful Sphinxmon may be, but his fate is wrought in tragedy." The green hat moved, the digimon shaking his head, "And his is not the power that claims you."

"Sphinxmon is dead." Ken would worry about the whole claiming thing later, "Send me back. I need to help my friend."

A strange sound bubbled up from the depths of blackness, a hollow metallic sound. Laughter. "Digimon never die, child. Why would you want to go back? Are you not looking for something?"

The mirror glimmered as the sleeves were thrown wide. An image flickered in the glass depths—not Ken's reflection, but sand. Rolling hills of sand. Something glinted in the sun, light pink and familiar.

Looking for—Ken flinched, "How would you know?"

"Another seeks this thing, in your stead. Another…friend. Which would you choose, I wonder?" The image flickered, and Ken found himself staring into a familiar, if utterly sand-caked face. Daisuke seemed lost in the folds of green cloak, his jacket dirty and torn, silver stains marring the blue of the fabric. Ken found himself reaching out, catching himself and pulling back as he reminded himself that it was just a reflection."Daisuke—! Is he here?"

But a quick look around left this strange empty world just as…empty as before. A lonely floating platform in a white void.

"He was. He was the one to wake me from an eternity of sleep. But he had no claim to that which he sought."

"And you do? You have enough of a claim to deny him?" What had he done to Daisuke? And what of Kouichi? And what had he meant by choose? Ken didn't like the growing sense of unease this whole situation was giving him.

"It is mine. That bauble was my offering to the future I forsaw. A promise."

The digimon towered over him, seeming to double in size, his presence seeming to fill even the endless white world.

"I am Wisetmon, the Elemental of Steel. The Seer of Fates. You have been drawing on my power since you first came to this world, Ichijouji Ken, years ago."

The digimon made a sweeping motion with his sleeve, the feather on the end flaring with a final flourish. Ken's D-3 rose along with it, slipping out of his pack with ease. He didn't dare grab for it, the screen shining red.

If that were true…then here was the source of his D-3's dark power.

"No. My power is neither good, nor evil. Neither light, nor darkness. I am but a mirror."

A mirror…

"I reflect the light," but the image in the reflective glass was not of this blinding white world. It was darkening. The sky was grey, the water black. A lighthouse overlooked a lonely cliff, black light arcing over the horizon. "But when there is nothing around but shadow…"

So it was all his fault.

"Stop running from the darkness, child. It is not your enemy." The image shivered, something shifting in and out of focus along the shore. There was a small child, and an older one. Their backs were to the viewer, facing…something, something that loomed in the heavy shadow. Ken flinched, four arms. Garurumon's legs. Kabuterimon's head. But the color was all were no wings, and two huge canons loomed over the ethereal shadow of a dragon… "Your fear only feeds that which torments you."

My power is Eternal!

Wisetmon crossed his arms, cutting off the image in the mirror. Ken's D-Scanner floated gently into his slack hands. He …knew that shape. Kimeramon was one of his largest mistakes. His "perfect" digimon. Devimon had warned him. Warned him he was messing with powers he did not understand.

But…that wasn't Kimeramon. Yet…the sight of it sent spikes of remembered pain and fear running through his mind. It made him shake. They were old memories. Wormmon would know. Wormmon might remember.

But…Wormmon wasn't here. He was waiting. Waiting for Ken to find out what this stupid digimon wanted, and then join up with him. The first thing Ken had asked about was Wormmon, and he'd been shown a startled Daisuke as Wormmon tumbled out of the mirror. Alone.

"What do you want from me…?" His words were whispered, but they echoed in a space that should have swallowed them up with its sheer enormity. Wisetmon had moved closer. Ken looked up at the unreadable yellow eyes. They just kept staring down at him. Not really so much impassive as they were expressionless. They were glowing specks of yellow, lost in the shadows of an empty cowl

The mirror swung, away from him. "You seek what is now known as the Crest of Kindness, do you not?"

Ken nodded.

"It is beyond your reach. I'm afraid even my powers of foresight are not infalliable. Paildramon's might shattered it. But there is another option."

The Essence. "So there IS a Sanctum of Kindess."

"Of a sorts."

This was good news. He'd come to the Dark Area hoping that the Crest of Kindness had fallen through the rift when the base exploded. It was a long shot but…this was good news. So why did he feel so uneasy?

Weren't both the crests and digimentals needed to unlock the Sanctums? With the crest—gone…

"It was never completed. Never locked. There is no 'Essence of Kindness.'"

"Then what do you want from me?" Ken's fists clenched. He just wanted…he just wanted this over with. He wanted to find Wormmon. He wanted to find Daisuke. Kouichi. Kouji.

Tailmon.

He wanted to put this whole disaster behind him. Lay the matter of the Digimon Kaiser to rest. He wanted to be done.

But he would never be done.

"I'm here to offer you a choice, Chosen of mine. Do you choose to save this world? Or save your friend? Darkness is teetering on a knife-edge, and Sphinxmon's destiny will always end in pain."

x-x-x

"You."

He had a visitor. He didn't recognize the voice. Storabimon clicked his claws together, pointedly ignoring them. Everything still felt…strange. After some more taunting, LordKnightmon hadn't wasted any time in throwing him back in the dungeon. Unfortunetly, Storabimon found he was having troubles even more pressing than that.

He couldn't find Kouji.

That wasn't completely true. He knew that his other self was there. Somewhere, a faint, scattered presence in their shared mind-space. But…he couldn't reach him.

He felt…like he'd been set adrift. His anchor gone.

"You don't belong."

And there was that damn annoying visitor again. The deep-voiced digimon refused to let him block out the world, the words knifing through with the tone of one used to issuing commands. Irritated, he flicked an ear in the direction of the voice which he assumed was standing on the other side of the cell door—he had missed the enhanced senses—and snapped back, "Of course I don't belong here. It's the Dark World."

He was Light. Or he should be. Even if digivolving, and the Digimental of Light had healed the worst of their wounds, he didn't have the energy to do more than just growl and throw off a few haphazard swipes. There was no way LordKnightmon would feed him more than the barest minimum now, given it had been proven that he could digivolve.

There was a rustle of…feathers? He'd noticed a similar sound when Angewomon had visited. Wings. Was this a bird-type of digimon? He took a deep breath, testing the scents.

He hadn't expected much. This place was filled with the reek of virus types, and it overpowered anything else. But this…

He smelled like Tailmon, back in the park. Clean and pure, lacking the coppery after-taste of LordKnightmon and Zassoumon that instinct classified as virus.

A Vaccine type…?

He hadn't been able to recognize it then. Barely awake—confused and lost in the unfamiliar mesh of mind and world. Tailmon had rescued him—cloaking them long enough for Kouji to regain his senses.

But…what was a vaccine type doing here?

In the end, what did it matter?

"Just go away."

Nothing. Storabimon almost hoped that he was alone again. Then the voice spoke again.

"You are human. Yet you are digimon. You do not belong in the cycle."

The cycle? He vaguely remembered Gennai mentioning something about a cycle. Kouji had been in complete control, and had been actively trying to block him out then.

…and he couldn't even reach Kouji to ask.

"Go. Away."

The words were almost a growl, the points of his claws scraping against the stone floor of the cell. He didn't need some holier-than-thou digimon preaching to him about how he was a freak. ParaAngewomon had done enough of that. Her scent was almost gone, lost amid the cloud of virus.

"I wonder…what would happen if you died?"

Storabimon stiffened, forcing his leadened body to get to his feet. He felt so heavy. So tired. But there was the sound of claws scraping metal. His own claws were his only defense now, his and Kouji's, if that digimon came closer.

"What would happen if I judged you? Right now?"

The tone was mildly interested, curious, more so than anything. Chains rattled as Storabimon settled into a defensive posture—an extra precaution LordKnightmon hadn't deemed worthy for him as a human. But they restricted his movements, one on each leg. He wouldn't be able to dodge. There was presence raidiating off the digimon now—as if a veil had been torn back and let the sun bore into a darkened room. Was this the power of a mega? Or worse? Storabimon knew he was out-classed. Out matched as he was now. It was ten-times worse than going up against LordKnightmon as Wolfmon. Perhaps even a hundred.

Worse. He couldn't even digivolve if he wanted to.

"Would you become a digi-egg? Would the human body die? Could a human soul subsist on data alone?"

Storabimon had never felt so alone before. Lost and blind. Frightened. Anyamon had been the one in battle. Akemon had only ever existed during the down-times. While Kouichi was at school, or that one time in the Sanctum of Courage. Even when he'd been Wolfmon, he'd had Kouji with him. Even when they were fighting, he'd never been alone.

Now he was. He was straining his ears—his only warning would be the wrench and scream of twisted metal as the doors were torn open. Or even something an innocuous as the click of the lock.

And then…it faded, the veil settling back into place.

"What do you want?" He was shaking. Why was he shaking? He was…afraid.

"What do I want…?" The digimon repeated the question, considering. "You have seen it, haven't you? The End."

…The Digital World, reduced to two moons floating around an empty space where a planet had once been.

Yes. He had.

And just like that, the digimon was gone, leaving Storabimon trapped in memories of a world they had failed to save. One they'd needed to avenge.

x-x-x

Damn that mirror.

Daisuke watched Ken brooding on the other side of the small fire. He found himself getting angry. He'd been ecstatic, worried, but mostly relieved when Ken stumbled through the shimmering mirror shortly after Wormmon. He was pale, withdrawn and he looked so tired. What had Wisetmon done?

"Nothing…" Ken had sighed, "He didn't do anything, Daisuke."

"Like hell he did." Daisuke grumbled, "That jerk mirror kept me for three days and rifled through my head. Mostly about you. And I'm sure he didn't keep you there for nearly an hour after Wormmon just for chit-chat. He had to have done something."

"I appreciate the concern, but it's rather personal." Ken snapped back, and then stopped, shaking his head. The motion dislodged a small stone on a silver chain. Daisuke'd completely missed it before; the black of the stone blending in to the dark-grey patterns on Ken's sweater, there was a little red symbol showing, now that it shifted "Sorry, Daisuke. I haven't been in the best of moods. This place gets to me."

"Tell me about it." Daisuke muttered, glacing at Veemon who was oblivious to it. He was at Ken's side, chatting animatedly at Wormmon, who was trying, and failing to pay attention. The insect digimon seemed to be watching his partner more than anything. There was something going on. And Wormmon was worried about it. At least Veemon seemed so much better than when they first came to this place.

They lapsed into uncomfortable silence, Daisuke fiddling with the hem of his jacket—he still hadn't managed to get all the silver stuff off it—and Ken staring moodily into the small fire Takuya had left behind.

"…I would have helped." Daisuke was the one to break it after a few minutes, "I was worried."

The others hadn't realized Ken was gone. Like not-home-completely-gone. Iori and Miyako figured he'd taken an extended absence again—and Miyako was adamant about letting Ken have his privacy if he needed it. Especially after everything that happened. Takeru had been too worried about Hikari. Daisuke worried about her too…but Ken was his friend too.

When he found out Ken hadn't been going to school…when he called to find out he hadn't been home…

"I know." Ken snatched up one of the twigs from the rapidly dwindling pile, tossing it into the flames. It popped and crackled, the flames hungrily devouring the new fuel. It was a little bit stronger. But it was a waste of fuel to try and get it much bigger. It wouldn't work. "Why did you follow?"

"Because you're my friend, duh." Such a simple answer, but it was the only thing he could think of to properly sum everything up. He'd been worried. He'd been hurt. He'd been angry. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"It wasn't my secret to tell. I…had the ability to help, so I did. Or tried." He rested his arms on his knees and shook his head, "I've failed."

"Geez, don't be so down on yourself, Ken." Daisuke scratched his head. He could understand part of the gloomy attitude, but this was going a little far. "Takuya's been itching to go after you guys for days. There's nothing more we can do here about the crest—I'm sure that jerky-mirror talked to you about it already—so we can all go after Kouji. I'm sure we can catch up with Anyamon too. It's not your fault Wisetmon decided to abduct you for some one-on-one time without asking."

"You don't understand—"

But whatever Ken had been about to say was interrupted by the rush of air, and a sudden blast of heat as Hiryumon dropped out of the sky, the wind kicking the fire from an unhealthy flicker to a blaze. The dragon digimon landed rather clumsily, but given he'd somehow been carrying a struggling digimon that was about half his size, the lack of grace was completely understandable.

Ken scrambled back, Wormmon springing between his partner and the new digimon in a defensive move. "Chill guys, it's just Flamemon." Daisuke tried to dispel the tension. Ken gave the dragon a weighing look, before nodding. The easy acceptance startled Daisuke—it had taken him a good amount of spluttering and some time alone to think before he could accept that, not only was Flamemon a human named Takuya, but he could also turn into a dragon whenever he wanted.

Which…now that Daisuke wasn't sneaking through something out of a nightmare, or being held captive by a too curious mirror digimon…was pretty darned cool. Why couldn't he turn into a dragon?

"Let me go!" Dorumon snarled, jerking out of Hiryumon's claws. He didn't try to run, however, and instead began to adjust his own tiny wings as if he hadn't just been trying his best to break out, and was here of his own free will. "Now if you'd bothered to ask, instead of snatch, I would have come back with you."

"You ran off when the mirror appeared. Why?"

And not just run off, but completely bolted. The little digimon had been content to come and go, but just…turning tail and fleeing without so much as a word? It was confusing at best, suspicious at worst.

"Why did you stick around?" Dorumon shot back, continuing his preening, "Mirrors are bad omens."

"Why?" The quick question cut off what Daisuke was about the say. It was Ken. The little dragon's yellow eyes turned to him, and his nostrils flared in irritation.

"Great. Another one." Dorumon grumbled, and then louder, "The Mirror abandoned his duty. Everyone knows the story. Except humans apparently."

"By mirror…Do you mean Wisetmon?" Ken's eyes were narrowed on the furry dragon, matching his stubborn gaze. Daisuke was surprised. He hadn't seen Ken like this since…since…

"Who knows. The name was lost a long time ago." The dragon shrugged, "He was to take Sphinxmon's place in the Dark Area…He didn't. He vanished, spouting some nonsense about madness. In the next few years, the corruption first began to show up. It hit non-virus digimon hard. Vaccine-types whithered. Data-types went berserk, leading to friend killing friend. Now there's none of us left, except for the unlucky sods who fell through after the fact. If Ryuudamon hadn't learned how to ward, we would have lost them too." He gave Veemon a pointed stare, the dragon looking away guiltily and stopped fiddling with the bracelet.

Ken's hand went to the stone around his neck, the motion drawing not only Daisuke's attention, but Dorumon's as well, "I see you have met him."

What…? That black stone was the same as the one around Veemon's wrist? "You said it doesn't affect humans!"

Dorumon turned his glare back to Daisuke, "Do I look like I'm an expert on humans? I know its bad for digimon. So I keep digimon away from it. You seemed perfectly fine."

"Both of you quit it." Hiryumon had long since digivolved, and Takuya now sat cross-legged behind Dorumon. The purple dragon hrumphed, but didn't say anything more, crossing his little arms stubbornly. Or attempting to. It was so weird. Dorumon was outright hostile to Daisuke, but he was civil to Takuya. "Obviously there's some history here, but regardless of omens, the mirror brought Ken here, so that's a good thing. Only…" He tried to catch Ken's eyes, but the chosen just looked away, "Where's Kouichi? You were with him."

"I was." Ken shifted, withdrawing a small device from his jacket. Blue and Black. Kouji's digivice, "There was a fight. We tried to escape. Wisetmon caught me when I fell. Kouichi was alive…but…he's a good few hours flight east." He was staring down at the blank screen of the device, knuckles turning white. He suddenly stood up, crossing the distance to Takuya in a flash. He dropped the digivice in the startled boy's hands.

"He needs someone. I made my choice."

Daisuke could feel the tension as the two squared off, measuring each other. Gone was Ken's uncertainty. Daisuke had always considered his friend to be strong, if timid. Understandably shaken up since his life was uprooted, turned upside down and shaken so that everything inside was shattered to pieces. But…beneath the quiet exterior had always been an edge of steel. He seemed to have found that now.

"Go after him. Daisuke and I will take care of the world. Go help your friends."

x-x-x

He felt strage. Too light. The pressure was gone. Keirmon steadied himself against the trunk of a tree, reaching for an even higher branch and digging in his claws.

Another step.

He pulled himself up. He could see grey half-light filtering through the break in the leaves.

Almost there.

His head broke the tree-line, the world opening up around him. Only Keirmon's innate sense of balance let him stand there, swaying with the branches in the chill wind of the morning. His keen eyes pierced the gloom, searching, searching for the thing he'd barely seen in the dawn's light. The thing Ken's orders, and Devidramon's attack had kept him from persuing.

"It is folly." Ryuudamon warned. "You cannot defeat him."

"I don't need to defeat him." Keirmon whispered to the memory. He'd been so caught up in the power difference. He could still hear the whispers in the corner of his attention, promising him everything if he would just give in. "I don't need to defeat him."

I just need to find my brother.

He was done relying on power. It always let him down. What good was power, if it couldn't protect anyone?

And that thought gave him stability. Something to lean on in the maelstrom of his emotions. The terror. The fear. The anger.

He kept a tight reign on it, refusing to let anything play with his emotions any more. He was tired. He was close to breaking. Snapping, just like the lock had, leaving sharp splinters lying around. Digivolving had been painful. But it was something he'd needed to do.

He would need Keirmon's speed, and his stealth. He needed to find Kouji. If that snapping had been what he thought it was…

If Keirmon's worst fear came true, then he might give in. He might just break, and let Sphinxmon have the closure he wanted.

But until then, he had to keep it together.

Kouichi!

It didn't echo in the air, but in his mind. There was the buzzing of static.

A thought, and his D-Scanner materialized in his claws, the flickering symbol for fire appearing on the screen.

"I know what you are going to do. Wait for me." Takuya's voice came out of the speakers now, "Ken told us what happened. I'm coming."

So Ken was okay…

The ring wasn't holding him anymore. He'd feared the worst. Keirmon touched the metal band that still circled his upper arm. Was it the distance? He knew it would be child's play to snap it now. Snap it. Snap it, and with it would go the last link he had.

His claws hovered over the band, thinking back to how much he'd hated how it was holding him back. How it had been stopping him.

But…it had also helped him. Ken's energies had supported him as he was being torn in three. The Chosen's support had pushed him further than he could have ever gone himself.

"Kouichi!? C'mon, say something. I know you are there."

"Sorry Takuya…"

He let his D-Scanner dissolve, returning it to wherever it went while he was in his digimon form. It didn't cut off the transmission.

"Kouichi!"

I'm done with waiting. Catch up if you can.

x-x-x

A/N: Uh. I totally didn't forget that I had to post this tonight. Sorry. For some reason I keep thinking today is Thursday…

Anyway. We just switched groups now! Surprise! Kouichi's tired of being jerked around and is just gonna go for it!

Although, I think the most interesting part of this chapter is Wisetmon. I anticipate a question or two about that. Just REMEMBER (yes, I feel the need to bold it) this Wisetmon is NOT, in any way, related to the Spirits of Steel. Other than being of the same 'species' as the Ancient Warrior of Steel.

I tried to parallel the universes some. I know I have explained this in detailed to a few reviewers in the past, but I figure I should recap a bit. This version of the Adventure universe, has the Ten Elemental Digimon. Frontier had the Ten Warriors. They…diverged from this similar beginning, and the two worlds evolved differently. Lucemon took over in the Frontier-verse (to be later defeated by the warriors, in the process killing them and creating the spirits). In Adventure, the Sovereigns exiled Lucemon to the Dark Area, where he went insane and released the corruption on it, ending with him sealed away when he evolved to Apocalymon. We know of two of the Elementals now. Sphinxmon was killed by said insane digimon. His data lurked in Sphinxmon's fall, stagnating until Kouichi (who is compatible, since his spirits are directly related to AncientSphinxmon (who is of the same species.)

Now we find Wisetmon. We find out he created the Crest of Kindness. (I don't remember what the retcon for the existence of that crest is in 02, but only 8 crests were mentioned in the "flashback" in 01. So I feel it is fair) He has been sleeping in the Dream World/Spirit World (which incidentally, is the same one Oikawa accidently opens) following some prophetic visions of the future.

There are eight remaining Elementals. They aren't around anymore. What happened to them…well…I will go a little further into this in the next few chapters (specifically the second Aftermath) but I was just trying to head off some of the confusion. If you want specifics (and or spoilers) just let me know in a review. Make sure to mention if you want the spoiler-free version of the explanation though.

Aftermath: The Light's Despair will be next week! Hikari and Kouji/Shadow centric. Also, a return of an old friend…well…not really a friend, given what happened last time…

See you next week!