(Writers note: miching mallecho means mischief in Shakespearean English, also an old Irish saying)
In the middle of a forest stood a door, it wasn't a attached to anything, it was just there, standing upright, carved into its frame were strange symbols, which glowed with an eerie light, the door creaks open, and Lilithmon appears in front, her eyes completely black, her skin looked the shade of a corpse, she raised her hands, they were red and covered with blood, which was dripping from her fingers, the blood touched the ground burned it black, leaving spots where they landed. She was reaching out towards Lorrimon drawing a scorch pattern on the ground as she did so. A young girl appeared dressed in the same colors, and same hair color as well, she stood between her and Lorrimon.
"You know who she will become, and what she will do, your gift to her is death" Lilithmon, wrapping her arms around the girl, and leaned on her shoulders, the girl began to scream, Lilithmon started dragging her towards the doors.
"No" Lorrimon shouted, as she ran towards Lilithmon and the screaming girl, as they headed toward the door, but she was too late, and they both entered the door before she could reach them, and everything shattered, and the world became a black void. She crumpled to her knees, the void shattered and she was on top of what looked like a giant egg, which also shattered leaving her plummeting into another void.
Thania woke up covered in sweat on the outskirt of the kingdom of Suzubuya, it had just been a very bad dream, she hoped it was a vision of things to come, and her distant future, her greatest fear coming true, when she had woken up Biyomon by accidentally her away when she rose from her sleep so suddenly. And looked rather annoyed now.
"Stupid human partner, it's only a dream you don't have to knock me senseless" Biyomon said, glaring at Thania. "Now make up for it by making food"
Thania wondered why she made her digimon with such an annoying bluntness that made her tempted to uncreated her and try again, but decided against it. She began to good breakfast, but never took her eyes off the outskirt of the kingdom of Suzubuya, a kingdom she had visited on several occasion but this looked nothing like she had remembered, the kingdom spread out as far as her eyes could see and in dead center was a polished silver castle of impressive size into its walls was its wielder so she had to find them and give them their digivice, it was important they had it, whoever they were. She had to sneak into this heavily fortified kingdom, knights in silver armor everywhere. And a wall that stretched on forever. That's when she noticed a hole in a wall, big enough so she could, she could have gotten in if she was allowed to use her own powers there was a mirror in this kingdom, but that would break her promise.
This hole lead right into a crowd of people, who didn't notice her they were watching something else intently, it was two kids fighting in an open arena. The older one and his digimon partner was seemingly brutalizing the younger one, even though she was showing a lot of heart. She was going to lose this fight. It made her sick to her stomach watching this, and she couldn't do anything about, she felt something suddenly, it was coming from the girl, this child was digidestined, or fated to become one when the chip that was here awakened to choose her.
Digimon Sync Episode 53 "An Interlude of Light part 2"
"It's a battle for the throne of Suzubuya, the princess has challenged her brother once again, even though she will get her ass kicked again like previous time" the person said, not even looking in Thania's direction.
Thania was taken aback by this, how any father could let their children beat the crap out of each other in the name of naming an heir to their kingdom, it was beyond irresponsible, she look at the girl and instantly knew she was the one she had been looking for the digidestined of courage, she had so much intensity in her eyes alone, she would eventually overcome her brother, but not without any serious help if she would become a digidestined, the digichip of courage was within this city she just had to guide this girl to it. She crept through the crowd the one way to get her to the digimon was to touch it with her own making it call out to it chosen wielder by awakening it, she felt its presence and it wasn't far from where she was, snuck out of the area, she couldn't handle watching the girl be beaten like that, she was almost out when a man scarred head to toe and missing one real, which was replaced with a fake one and a stump where his arm should have been stopped.
"You are too young to be by yourself, while attending this festival, where are your parents young" Kizuguchi Ida, which confused Thania, the main battle of this festival was between two kids and theres an age restriction on going without parents.
"My parents left before I did, I got lost in the crowd, and is this of the exit" Thania laying on the water works, insincere tears flooding out of her eyes "handsome knight like of yourself would a girl find of the exit?"
Kizuguchi blinked in confusion "You are not from Suzubuya, telling from your accent you must be from Primary Village, I heard place is beyond breathtaking this time of year?" his deep voice friendly yet razor sharp and threatening, if he knew who he was talking to, he wouldn't be talking like he was.
-Present day-
"I hate to interrupt, but I didn't get my digichip until after my mother died, and not years ago when I was as young as you described me then?" Mikuni said, looking confusedly at Lorrimon.
"I had issues beyond anything I expected, let's say the chip of courage at the time didn't want a new digidestined it was waiting for the one that was had been dead for 5 years, and I didn't know over the years the virtues had gained sentience, but not of the living, breathing, and thinking kind, just a malevolence towards anyone that wasn't their previous wielder, and an anger that the chip of curiosity still had its digidestined" she gave Mikuni a threatening look to let her know not to interrupt her again, but she didn't flinch, she gave a threatening look of her own, that made her flinch instead. That Mikuni is one scary girl making a great old one scared like this. "Can I continue now, well that's settled" she started again without letting anyone else talk.
-Years Ago-
Thania managed to get away from the creepy scarred man, she traversed her way through the city, she had avoid guards, she didn't want to be answering anymore questions, she took back allies, she felt the presence of the virtue of courage, but she was having a hard time placing it for some reason it was fighting but not like the virtue of love had at the mountain, that was repelling her like a threat, this one seemed very angry and wanted to die if she got closer to it, she felt silly describing a virtue like it was a person, but it had been created from the powers of life and light so it was possible it a rudimentary personality.
She had to be careful, courage was one of the most powerful virtues, right up there with love, Friendship and light. She reached the outskirts of the kingdom, and there it was, where she felt the virtue was. A very scary looking cave, it looked like a monster gaping maw ready to swallow any passerby that ventures close enough, it didn't help her feeling of anxiousness that the virtue of courage was giving of an aura of murderous intentions, and was getting angrier the closer she got to it, she wasn't who it was looking for,
Soichiro Kamiya was who is was seeking, but he died years ago, and it had probably fed on his negative enough about Lilithmon for the nearly hundred years that he lived, before he had been killed by members of the Kurokami Brigade, namely Karone Melody. She entered the cave but its hateful aura flung her out, and she landed on her behind, she stood up right away and attempted again. She tried to force her way in, but was flung outside once again, she landed beside an old oak tree, that was likely as old as the virtue itself, how could the virtue give off this aura if it wasn't awakened, but waited for someone that was dead and wouldn't be coming, instead of the new wielder which was that little girl in the Suzubuya, who really needed it.
"Go away!" a voice screamed from inside the cave, and symbol of courage emblazoned itself at its entrance barring anyone from entering, even though the chip was not fully awakened, it still was very powerful.
Thania considered the words and was starting to think might have to leave and come back when she figured out how to bypass its defenses. It weirded her out that it had been able to speak, a virtue speaking actual words. She watched as the virtue blazed more viciously showing it was angrier now because she had not left yet, its patience was very thin. In the end she decided it was best not to antagonize the virtue and she left.
She would not return for a few years, when she did, trying to enter the cave was even more difficult, before she tried again, sirens sounded from the kingdom of Suzubuya, she turned and ran back there, she went retraced her root back to the arena, but on her way she spotted running guards, and decided to follow them, where they were clearing people away from something, and some of the guards were huddled around something. Did the brother finally kiss his sister was she too late to give the girl her digichip? She thought to herself, she crouched to see through the guard legs, the princess was there but she was clinging to someone who lay lifeless beside, who share resemblance to her, it was the queen of Suzubuya, Queen Megumi, she had been assassinated.
-Present day- "I wish had been there, before she had been killed I would have used my virtue to protect her" Lorrimon said, facing Mikuni.
"Dead is dead, I have grieved enough for my mom, she has stepped beyond the door, and no longer occupies her rotting remains" Mikuni said, gesturing she doesn't ever need any apologies "but thanks anything, I do miss both my parents but I won't cry for them anymore"
"Your courage is breathtaking as always, your virtue has picked as well as I thought it did, now on to both Takajin and Hikaru" Lorrimon said, hugging Mikuni, ignoring the fact she was trying to get away from her.
Hikaru chuckled as she watched Mikuni try and fail at getting away from Lorrimon's hug, and the uncomfortable annoyed expression on her face as she did so. "I can't breathe!" Mikuni said, seemingly gasping for air.
"If you are talking, you surely can breathe?" Lorrimon said, as she continued hug Mikuni, who was now looking more angry than embarrassed. This was when the rest of the Digidestined, started laughing, except for Tajiri and Sorami, Sorami just stared in her father's direction, She was contemplating him and everything she now knew about him, and what should even be doing about it, he was her father, and her leader as a guardian, but he had been doing sick experiments via the recently dead Donica, who created fake digichips that drove people insane when used by them, should she tell the others, about his actions and results, but it was her father, she didn't know what to do.
"Weeks later I would breach that cave, and awaken the digichip, and it summoned you, I left you digivice where you could easily find it" Lorrimon said, finally pulling away from Mikuni "I then headed back to the mountain that I saw your sister Hikaru and my sister's reincarnation Juniko for the first time. –
Months ago-
Thania was at the weird mountain again, trying to make her way toward it, remember the children years ago that had fallen from nowhere, which made her wonder now if the mountain was even real, she placed her hand on it, making contact with some kind of strange heat like the mountain had actually been a volcano but clearly wasn't, she thought then attempted to force her way through the heat, forcing the energy of her chip into it, it suddenly gave way like it hadn't even been there and Thania fell through into what appeared to be a village outlined by trees and vast amounts of flowers, she looked around to see far ahead of her was an old looking castle, like something from a children's storybook. She remembers this place, she had been here before a long time ago, it was Digitopia, but why was it disguised as a mountain. She hadn't been here in centuries, it was still as beautiful as she remembered. There was this overwhelming surge of energy and she felt it all around, making her wonder why she hadn't felt this massive output before, the mountain itself had been created by the digichip, if she wasn't mistaken one of the annulment stones too. That's when the symbol of the virtue of love appeared in front of her, it wasnt antagonistic like the virtue of courage, and it was welcoming her like an old friend. This had to do probably with the fact Ankou had relinquished it instead of holding it for over a hundred years.
"Nice to see you again too" Thania said, The feeling she got from the chip was like a warm hug, right before it vanished. She was glad that this was probably going to be easy, it would allow her to be near it, to awaken it fully to summon it Digidestined. She pulled her cloak over her face, and stepped foot on the dirt road leading to the castle, this kingdom was very rustic in its charm compared to kingdom of Suzubuya. There was suddenly feeling that came over here, another digichip had awakened without here, that feeling came from way off in the distance it was the virtue of hope, and someone had found it, and awoken it with their digichip, it was Sorami, and her father had awakened the chip of friendship, and now Sorami had done the same with another virtue, she was as cold as her father, since Soichiro had turned against her Lilithmon, hate had been in that family lines blood, which meant Thania had to find the remaining digichips before she did. She sat on a tree stump and wondered if the Kurokami brigade was seeking the virtues too, she had been worried about that too.
-Present day-
"I am curious about what you mean by the digichips being sentient, there is nothing in the archive that says this, even though the chips themselves seem to summon their Digidestined to them when they found the one they choose, it even only says choose once in the ancient texts?" Virgil asked, wondering very much to understand it more, like he was a story teller missing an entire chapter in the book he was reading.
"Each chip was created with life and light energy since I created the shell for each with the exception of chip of light which is only my energy, since it had been the first created, how can something made from life energy not be somewhat alive, in like I said a rudimentary way, you could blame Soichiro for some of the missing documentation, he burned quite a lot of scrolls because it contains traces of heretic text in it. Lorrimon answered, with a seriously annoyed look on her face, prompting Virgil to stop before he asked another question. –
Months ago-
She had decided to make her way slowly so she didn't bump into any of the inhabitance, before she knew if they were like she remembered, and not fallen into hate like other kingdoms she had been to, it had been nearly a week since she had arrived. Out of nowhere a not so well looking boy falls on her, and accidentally grabbed her chest, Thania freak and punched him in the face, and he went down like a Leomon that had just charged into the wrong battle. She gasped at what she just did and checked the boys pulse, looking at him now, she knew he was not from this kingdom, he was from the village north of here, soon as she relax about being groped, she felt something familiar about him, he was the wielder of the virtue of hope, she needed to take somewhere to be treat, and he was dying if something, she picked him up put his arm around her shoulder letting him use her like a crutch, she helped him walk even though he seemed like he was fading in and out of consciousness, until she reached what was a humble estate.
She waited there with the unconscious boy, for someone to show up, she was there for ten minutes when two girls showed up, one in blue, the other in purple and black. She picked up someone she would eventually know as Huang, and shoved him forward out into the open. Something about the girl in purple made her flash to memories of her sister. To her, cradling her sister's lifeless body, her tears raining down upon Lilithmon, it had opened a wound that hadn't closed properly in her heart.
-Present day-
"How dare you grope a great old one, you fiend" Virgil said, as he charged toward Huang, whose face had turned bright crimson, only to be intercepted by Hikaru.
"Um he was badly injured and didn't know what he was doing, act your age" Hikaru said, who had been trying not to laugh at Huang's copping a feel on a great old one.
"Continue your story" Tajiri asked, giving a harsh look to both Hikaru, Huang, and Virgil, who stopped talking.
"I was the one in the market that gave Hikaru, her digivice and digichip when she was in the market, she was its wielder, I knew that when I bumped into her" Lorrimon said. "Every time it was me trying motivate you like Hikaru in the cave, that time in that training simulation I was talking to my sister's incarnation"
"Thanks I was scared in that cave and it was almost the death of me, if Juniko was Lilithmon's reincarnation, then why didn't you stop her from coming with us to the Infinite Citadel, preventing her from coming in contact with the animus of her previous life, causing her to full awaken as herself again, this whole situation would have not have happened?" Hikaru said, finally asking Lorrimon the question that had been digging at her for hours.
"She was a child, when I encountered Juniko the first time, she did look familiar, but the girl I saw in the nightmares was the one from present day before turning into awakening to her true self" Lorrimon replied, looking downcast once again "I wish I looked more closely at her then, how could I not even recognize her even in child form"
"You have been through quite a lot, I can't blame you, oh great one for anything" Tajiri said, receiving a confused look from his daughter Sorami. "is there any more backtracking before you get to the point on what you are trying to tell us, we aren't convinced if what you are trying to say you gave most of us our digichips so thank you deeply" his tone turning from pleasant to antagonistic within a heartbeat, startling the rest of the Digidestined except Sorami, and Mikuni.
Lorrimon blinked, she had never been talked to like this before, and didn't know how to take, and she had always been treated with respect when she was in her true form. She quickly regained her resolve "The Point is I wanted you all to know everything, between the legend and now, that will be important when you face my sister again, my point of view" she said, with a slight irritation in her tone, as her expression give an impression she was trying to burn a hole in Tajiri with her eyes.
Takajin had enough of this, he steps in-between Lorrimon and Tajiri, he was not going to deal with this bickering anymore "why do you keep attacking her, it's like you want her to retaliate so you have a reason to act against her" he asked, with fury showing in his expression. "She apologized and you accepted it"
Tajiri rolled his eyes slightly "Ok fine I'll stop" he said grudgingly looking down at the kid that was almost in his face normally he would have beaten down anyone that had done that before, but he needed the other digidestined's cooperation and hitting Takajin would have ended everyone possibly going with his plan to take down Lilithmon. He backed away from Takajin and Lorrimon, someday he was going to get his pound of flesh.
"Enough of that, Lorrimon is talking" Virgil said, gesturing for everyone to shut up, with his hand in the air.
"I followed you as you traveled, bidding my time, lending assistance when needed, not using my actual power but that of the chip and my digimon partner, who helped me, fly when I needed to, I added this stuff to my chip alone before I made the promise I was going to add powers to the rest of the chip but my word prevented me from continuing after mine" Lorrimon said, before pausing on a thought she was having but continued. "Her energy permeated the tower, and it would have killed me if I entered it so I couldn't have sneaked in to rescue you guys, but doesn't mean someone else couldn't"
-A month ago-
Thania waited for Kitsumon, who hesitantly left the forest, she was the caretaker of, and the Tartarus seal, who appeared in a body part at a time, starting with her head, which startled Thania, taking a deep breath
"What do thee want from me, from a humble caretaker of the wild woods" she said being slightly over theatrics like she was performing some sort of play, she turned and faced absolutely nothing "how am I then a character of fictional p'rsona, But I doeth couldst speaketh with miching mallecho to people that readeth this, that art anon confus'd"
"Shuteth… I mean Shut up!" Thania said trying not to shout, they were standing on the ground that hung on for its life at the button of the tower "You can be very random at inappropriate times, I need you to go in there and get the Digidestined out, hopefully that girl didn't go anywhere near Ankou while he has my sisters animus out, the world would be in so much trouble" Kitsumon bowed to her and then vanished, leaving Thania alone, she stood there for only a moment then started to pace back and forth, she waited for hours that's when the alarm sounded, she spotted the Digidestined, she ducked behind a rock, Kitsumon was with them, or whatever was left of them. Her sister's reincarnation Juniko was the worst of them, she was even though still standing was fading in and out of consciousness. That's when she saw it, Juniko's hand turned into a Nazar claw showing she was awakening and becoming Lilithmon, Thania cursed under her breath, what she most feared would happen having the reincarnation in the shame place as the animus, now she will bring an end to this world lie she tried before she had been defeated. As the digidestined fell, Thania ran towards Kitsumon who was coming in her direction, she was still hidden by a rock formation, she grabbed her hand as they met up "I am sorry Sister I am breaking my word just this once, I'll never do it again, I promise" she used kitsumon's illusion powers to create beds then used her powers to make them solid each flew off to rescue a falling Digidestined.
"Come out sister, I felt you used your powers, with one of my hybrids!" A still very weakened Lilithmon said, not fully awakened yet "I know you promised you wouldn't use your powers to help anyone for or against, but I thank you and forgive you for it, I needed those Digidestined alive, I felt your presence and knew you would save them" she was speaking in a monotone voice with no emotions what so ever "I won't hurt Lorrimon"
Thania turned back into Lorrimon, and stepped out into the open "Sister it's good to see you, again but it saddens my heart that you are still not yourself yet" she said, her voice cracking a bit, seeing her sister again ripped open the wound that hadn't fully healed yet.
"I need the virtues they carry, for the annulment of this world, I notice it's still crumbling, they want to save the world, but they don't want it to change, even though they will help in the end, even if they don't want to, fate will force their hands" Lilithmon said, ignoring what Lorrimon had said, like she didn't say anything at all. "If those digidestined enter the crucible, nothing good would happen to them, this reminds me of the parable you once told me about the tribe of warriors that entered it, they wanted to destroy the door, and do you remember what happened to them?"
They were so demoralized by what the crucible showed them, they gave up and walked through the door giving up on life all together, the old, the young, people with a long future ahead of them snuffed themselves out in the blink of an eye" Lorrimon said, barely holding back tears "they shouldn't have entered I should have stopped them"
"They died because they dared to threaten the door" Ankou said, as he stepped between Lorrimon and Lilithmon "you are not at full power my beautiful great old one" he steadied Lilithmon foot, "Now leave us Lorrimon" his voice cracking since he hadn't spoken in years, which startled every Kurokami brigade member there.
"Now you are sending my sister through the door, and you know fully well she isn't in her right mind, if you don't then you are just as delusional are her" Lorrimon said, pleading with Ankou, to see reason.
"My Lilithmon died years ago, I'll see her again when I see this world ended, we will be together finally my love is with her always" Ankou said, running his right hand over the mask he wore. "Now leave before I have to give to have my Kurokami brigade kill you" he turned his back on Lorrimon, and she vanished as he did so.
Present day-
"Nothing happened after that I wandered for days till I met up with Takajin, days after that incident" Lorrimon said, down casting her gaze once again avoiding eye contact with those around her.
"Those beds were you, and Kitsumon, thank you I thought we were going to die" Hikaru said, putting her arms around Lorrimon in a deep embracing hug.
"That is what we should learn from that you, the crucible is dangerous, I already knew this, let's go already, and open the gate to the citadel" Tajiri said, with clear irritation in his voice, but at that moment after he finished speaking the ground started to shake and the sky went gray, they all looked into the distance the citadel was now visible in the horizon, it was reaching the sky like a spear stabbing at the moon. "Look the tower is one, and time is ticking away now open the gate" as one of Lilithmon mirror gates appeared behind them.
Lorrimon ran over to it, and pulled a crystalline box out of nowhere "I can't use my powers to open, but this is my back door" she said pressing something and the mirror shimmered to life. "Please don't fall into despair and walk through the door you promise me" they all nodded and entered the mirror, leaving her alone with Takajin.
"I can't promise you that we won't have to defeat Lilithmon again" Takajin said, before making his way towards the mirror. "I know" Lorrimon said, right as Takajin vanished following the rest of the digidestined through the mirror "I wish I could help you more"
-To Be Continued-
Will the digidestined be able to make to through the crucible, and will they be able to stop Lilithmon before she opens the door of endings, to answer this question and more please tune into the next Digimon digital monsters!
