Italics = thoughts

"Quotes" = dialogue

underlined = reading something that is written

Bold= words and thoughts of Norn/Yggdrassil/The Mistress

Disclaimer: I do not own digimon or any of its characters. I do however claim ownership of any original characters introduced.


Chapter 54: Saboteurs

The chucidarumon turn as the tamers enter their village's premises. The elder calms the others before stepping forth and asking, "What brings you to the Village of Discarded Data?"

"One of our friends is hurt," Ryo explains, stepping to the fore of the group. "We need a place to rest and data packets if you have any." The elder Chucidarumon furrows a brow and cocks his head, as if not understanding what he was being asked.

"Please, elder," Kotemon interjects after some silence. "We're in need of shelter. I can explain everything to you if…" The elder holds up a hand to gesture for him to stop. "It is not in our culture to turn down travellers in need. Please, make your way inside one of the buildings and get comfortable."

"Thank you," Alice says with a bow before gesturing for the others to continue forward. Kai, Masahiko, and Kotemon stand-by as the others pass them and enter one of the structures nearby. Jeri bumps into Kai, causing him to fall over and look up at her with disdain. She extends a hand, saying, "Sorry. Guess I wasn't looking where I was going." Kai swipes her hand away and returns himself to his feet. The girl merely shrugs and continues to follow the others.

Henry stumbles by last, still clutching Terriermon tightly as MarineAngemon sits on his arm blowing a stream of bubbles. The boy meets Kai's eyes for a moment, though he turns away quickly as he bites down on his lip and enters the building as well.

"Is something wrong?" the elder asks when the three do not move. "I just want to let you know," Kotemon states softly, that we're not here just because of an injured friend. We found a way to leave the Digital World and are awaiting its arrival, but we have more friends still out there. We think they're being pursued by the Royal Knights and there's a possibility they will come here."

"You are concerned for our safety. You need not be. The Royal Knights, if it is true that they are patrolling around, will not find interest in this place: none do."

"That's not really what I…" Kotemon starts.

"What he actually meant," Kai interjects, interrupting the rookie, "is that the friends of ours that they're hunting might come here and that they might track them here. We know it'd be putting you in danger so we just wanted to make sure you know…"

The elder Chucidarumon again waves his paw. "If you are warning me with the expectation that I might ask you to leave, I'll stop you now and tell you that it is not in our custom to deny aid to those who need it. This village is made from the data that was unwelcome or unneeded elsewhere, and it will always serve as refuge for those that need it."

"In that case, I have another favor to ask," Kotemon speaks up once more. "The others here: our friends would not be safe from them either. If anyone else does arrive, perhaps you could keep them hidden and secret, even from all of us?" The elder Chuchidarumon cocks his head once more in confusion but ultimately nods. "If you feel it is a matter of safety, then we shall do it."

"Thank you," Kotemon says giving a bow. Masahiko imitates his partner and Calumon scrambles to follow suit as well from atop the boy's head. Kai gives slight nod of his head and turns to enter the hut the others had gone in.

"Welcome back to the village, Kotemon," the elder states with a smile. "Please help the others make themselves at home, and rest easy: You are safe here with us."


"And…done!" Babel pushes his seat back from the computer, a smile plastered on his face. "With that, all essential systems of the ark are complete. She's ready to go."

"That's good," Daisy says. "It means that we're ready to launch it should the need arise before the contingencies are finished."

"I'm sure it's not going to be an issue," Curly adds. "Tao and Dolphin said it shouldn't take longer than another day or two to finish the contingencies. We'll have all the children back soon enough."

"Almost all, Curly," Yamaki states dryly, his usual frown on his face.

"Don't remind me," Babel says, placing a hand behind his head.

"Well what matters is our work here is done," Daisy says, trying to lighten the mood. "Tao and Dolphin will finish the rest and soon we can put it all behind us."

"I agree," Yamaki says while pushing his shades up the bridge of his nose. "You should go inform them that we're done on our end. I guess after that, you can go home…"

"You're not coming?" Curly asks, arching her brow.

"I've seen enough of that sack of manure we call a Prime Minister to last a lifetime," Yamaki replies disdainfully. "You go on ahead; I think I'll wait a few more minutes before I head back up to the main lab and get back to my real job."

"You really should take a break, you know," Babel suggests, but Yamaki shakes his head. "Not yet. I still have a Juggernaut to deactivate and a virus to monitor."

"That's right: I almost forgot," Daisy says, laughing slightly to herself. "Well, best of luck. Please call if you need us." Yamaki nods and they turn and exit the lab.

Yamaki waits a minute or so to ensure they do not come back before sitting back down, jabbing a usb into the port, and punching the keys of his console rapidly. Windows open and close rapidly as Yamaki deactivates contingency after contingency on the ark program. Some request further clearance for access and he skips over them, focusing on those more easily deactivated. Just need to knock out as many of these as possible without alerting them. With any luck, Mr. Matsuki will figure his way around the ones I can't get to. He's resourceful enough: he'll manage it…

He clears another window and opens the next as a third pops up on the left of his screen. A worm! I have to get out of the system before any alerts get sent out. I gotta make this fast! He punches in commands rapidly and a loading bar appears on both the contingency window and worm window. Yamaki moves his cursor over to the exit prompt, ready to back out the moment the contingency would be deactivated. The worm bar seems to move quicker, reaching 65% before the loading bar on the contingency reaches 50%. The loading bar suddenly shoots forward to 90% and Yamaki relaxes slightly, only to jump forward a moment later as the worm bar shot up to 98%. He exits the program and pulls out the usb. Damn! So close! It'll have to be enough.

He returns the computer to its normal screen before standing and leaving the room. Only thing left to do is get Shibumi in here and send that ark before they finish too many of the remaining contingencies.


Kurota eyes the main console warily, watching the numbers and symbols which dance across the screen. "Talk to me, Ms. Onodera. What's the status?"

"About 17% of the Digital Network has decompiled," Tally responds. "As of right now, I am still detecting all of the tamers' signatures. Most of them are gathered in one place, but there are three that are a ways from them, though seem to be heading in their general direction."

"Are we any closer to closing down the Juggernaut?"

"Afraid not, sir. We still remain locked out of the program."

The main lab's doors slide open and Daisy, Curly, and Babel walk in. "We finished all of the ark's essential systems," Daisy reports. "It's ready to launch at any time."

"That's great!" Janyuu says, looking up from the console he and Dolphin are at. "Rob and I should be done in about another day, and then we'll be good to go!"

"And luckily the Network is decompiling at a slower rate than we anticipated, given the virus' aggressive nature," Kurota remarks with a grin. "It seems we'll have plenty of time to get those children out." The Prime Minister looks at the three Monster Makers and frowns. "Where is Mitsuo?"

"Still down in the lab. He'll be right up. I think he's trying to avoid you," Babel says with a small hint of sarcasm.

"Well he has a job to do and if you're all done with the ark, I want him up here working on the Juggernaut!" Babel makes a placating gesture. "I can go get him." The man turns and walks out of the lab.

As he exits, Riley enters, a clipboard clasped in her hand. "Ms. Ootori, where have you been?!" Kurota practically barks.

"We received another message from the tamers," she says, handing it off to him. "In my opinion, we should send the ark…" Kurota scans down the document, his frown never once leaving his face.

"What's wrong?" Janyuu asks, panic clearly entering his voice. Kurota looks up at him and says, "We are continuing as planned." He hands the clipboard over and Janyuu takes it and reads aloud:

Riley:

It is vitally important that you send the ark. How much longer do you think it will be? We have encountered Norn's servants, who have given us slight hostility, though they are primarily focused on their objective, and thus ultimately left us alone. Though my concern on it is not so high, there are members of our group suggesting that these servants will come for us next if they succeed in their current task, and I'd much prefer not to wait around and find out.

For the time, we have taken to hiding in the Village of Discarded Data. We are safe, but I do have news to report. Henry is once again amongst us, but he had an encounter with a swarm of digimon, which we are presuming to be the wave or swarm-like anomaly you warned us about. His partner, Terriermon, seems to have become extraordinarily unstable as a result of the encounter and we are giving our best efforts to caring for him and keeping him safe. He and Henry are both fine, but the sooner that ark comes, the sooner we can get back and you can run diagnostics. If you have further instruction on what we can do, please send it. I anxiously await your reply.

-Ryo

"Henry ran into the DexDoruGreymon!" Janyuu shouts upon finishing. "We have to send that ark, now!"

"Negative," Kurota states somewhat forcefully. "You heard the children: he is fine and can make it until we finish the contingencies."

"It doesn't sound like he's fine, Kurota." The Prime Minister turns to notice Yamaki and Babel had entered the lab. "He's had contact with the X virus. That means his partner has it and it's causing him to decompile."

"The tamers said they are tending to him. He can last another day or two," Kurota responds curtly.

"What if he doesn't? The deal is we bring back the tamers AND their partners. If you lose Henry Wong's partner because of your stubborn and sadistic…"

"That's enough from you, Mitsuo!"

"Prime Minister, please," Janyuu interjects. "If Terriermon is in danger, we have to send the ark now. I promised my son that I wouldn't cause him or his friends to lose their partners again!"

"Continue as planned. That's an order," Kurota states, turning his gaze toward the Monster Maker.

"Tao, it's ok," Dolphin adds, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We're nearly finished and we can send the ark the second we're done. I think Kurota might be right here: Terriermon is being cared for and the tamers are safe as of now. If we keep at it, we'll be done in less than a day."

"Dolphin, you don't understand…"

"Yes I do," Dolphin replies. "I've been without my granddaughter for two years now: I know what it's like to be concerned. Those children have shown themselves to be remarkable and have survived in the Digital World before. They will make it. We have to trust in that and focus on their safety for when they get home. You know if we send that ark now, this Norn will be more likely to prevent their escape."

Janyuu glances back at Kurota, who gives a slight nod. He then glances at Yamaki, who shakes his head. Finally, he turns his attention to Riley. "Send them a message and tell them it should be ready in about a day. Ask if they think they can last that long." Riley gives a nod to him.

"Janyuu…" Yamaki starts.

"Please don't, Yamaki. If the children say they can't hold out any longer, we'll send it, but if they feel capable of waiting it out, then it's important that we finish our task."

Yamaki turns his head away. "Anything else to say, Mitsuo?" Kurota asks, grinning his typical victorious grin. "No. I wash my hands of whatever results from your reckless decisions. You just best hope that this doesn't blow up in your face. I'm going to grab some lunch and then I'll get to work on the Juggernaut." Yamaki turns and struts out, Riley following out behind him.

Yamaki turns down the hall away from the cafeteria and rides the elevator up to his office. As they enter, Shibumi stands and greets them. "Are we ready to go?"

"Almost," Yamaki responds. "The ark is ready for launch, but we need to get you into the main lab, which means we need to get all of them out."

"How do we do that?"

"Well that's where I come in," Riley interjects. "I think I can draw everyone down to the lab by alleging a hack in from that point. At most, I'd be able to buy you ten or fifteen minutes to get into the system and activate the launch protocol."

"Once it's launched, they'll have sixty seconds to abort. We just have to keep them from the main console for that long and then there will be nothing they can do."

"What if they don't all leave the lab when Riley reports the hack?" Shibumi asks.

"They will," Riley assures. "Because I'm going to tell them it's you who broke in and is hacking us."

"We move tonight, in a few hours when the security staff will be at a minimum," Yamaki finishes. "We only get one shot at this. Make it count."


Calumon, Masahiko, Ai, and Mako rapidly devour the mudballs placed before them on the table. The Chucidarumon who placed them there seems to giggle at them as Kotemon and Impmon sweat drop at the display.

Alice enters, a couple Chucidarumon flanking her and carrying some data packets. They stroll across the room towards Henry, who still holds a now semi-conscious Terriermon while MarineAngemon sluggishly continues his stream of hearts. "We brought some data packets so MarineAngemon can take a break," Alice says as cheerfully as she can. Henry bobs his head in a sluggish nod and utters, "Thanks."

"About time we got to the data packets… I still feel like I was hit by a Truckmon…" Terriermon jests half-heartedly while sluggishly rolling off of his tamer's lap. MarineAngemon nearly immediately collapses next to him, snoring loudly as he falls asleep instantly.

"Poor little guy…" Alice says, looking at him as the Chucidarumon lay the data packets at Henry's feet.

"I'm glad he can get some rest finally," Kenta says, taking up position next to Alice. He's going to need to in case we have to make a run for the ark." Terriermon grabs one of the packets and curls up around it before shutting his eyes and relaxing himself. Alice gives a small smile at the rookie before turning toward his tamer and frowning. "You doing ok?"

Henry gives another sluggish nod. "Just a bit of a headache… And I'm really tired."

"Why don't you take a nap then?" Kenta suggests. "We'll wake you up if we have to go anywhere." Henry shakes his head. "I'm fine. Really. I'd rather keep a eye on Terriermon."

A beeping suddenly fills the room and Ryo pulls out the comm device. As he reads his frown grows deeper and, upon finishing, announces, "They say the ark should be here in about a day. They want to know if we think we can make it that long."

"Do we have a choice?" Kazu asks, some sarcasm clearly present in his tone.

"The longer we wait, the more likely it is we have to fight again," Jeri remarks. "It's highly probable that Takato could find his way back by then, or the Royal Knights might decide to get rid of us, or even the sovereigns or Norn herself."

Ryo and Alice each glance quickly at Kai, who seems to simmer in a corner of the room but makes no remarks. "We'll manage whatever we have to," Ryo says with a frown.

"Why is the ark taking this long," Henry wonders aloud. "They already had a base program from Grani. I hope nothing is impeding their progress."

"Well whatever the reason, I wish they'd hurry up," Kazu grumbles out.

"I guess I'll tell them we'll hold out for another day…" Ryo states with a sigh before pulling out the stylus.

"Such tenacity is key to survival in the Digital World," the elder Chucidarumon interjects. "We know that better then most here. It was some time after you tamers chased away that bike that was terrorizing us that another human showed up to our village unaccompanied. He too was a rather tenacious lad."

"Wait, are you talking about Ren?" Alice asks. "The boy who this cloak belonged to?" She pulls on the fabric draped over her shoulders. The elder nods to her. "Why yes. That's right Alice. We gave you the cloak he left behind. It was his token of gratitude to us for giving him shelter."

Dobermon emits a low growl before lying down and stretching his legs out in front of him. "What was a human doing in the Digital World on his own anyway?" Kotemon asks. "Was he looking for a partner?"

"Well yes, and no," the elder continues. "If I'm correct, he said he lost his partner and wanted to find him, but that he was also looking for an old friend of his. I don't quite remember the name…"

"Would the name happen to have been 'Atticus?'" Alice blurts out. "That's who he was looking for, wasn't it?"

"Well, I can't be certain, but the name does sound familiar..." the elder responds while scratching his chin in thought. "He said something about having made a mistake and that he believed the mistake got his friend deleted. He said he was called by the sovereigns sometime after that to deal with some great threat, but that his partner was corrupted and could not complete the task, so he fled to this corner of the Digital World and abandoned the mission that was set for him. Later he lost control of his partner and spent some time wandering the desert until he stumbled upon our village. During his travels, he said he had heard that this friend of his was alive and that he had completed the mission he himself had failed to accomplish. When he left us, he said he was going to look for him and left us that cloak as a way of saying thanks."

"What happened after that?" Masahiko asks. "Did he ever find who he was looking for?"

"If he was looking for Atticus, obviously he never found him," Jeri replies.

"We are unaware of what happened after. We never saw him again. It was very soon after that that Alice happened upon our village and we likewise gave her shelter."

"It kind of makes me feel bad for Atticus…" Ryo adds. "But I guess at least one of his friends tried to find him and fix things..."

"Which is a lot more then what you guys are doing to my cousin," Kai interjects, his back still turned as he faces a corner of the room.

"What would you like to hear, Kai?" Ryo asks in reply. "That we're sorry we had to do it? That we still have to do it if he tries to come back?"

"I want you to stop trying to hurt my cousin! He hasn't done anything to you to deserve this."

"You're wrong, Kai," Henry mutters weakly. "He killed my sister. You know that."

"I know it was an accident," Kai retorts.

"That actually makes it worse, doesn't it?" Kenta asks. "He didn't even mean to hurt anyone and he did. He can't control the power of the Digital Hazard…"

"I guess you guys got nothing out of that story…" Kotemon says with a sigh. "Ren recognized that he was wrong and set out to make amends. You're all just sitting here thinking of ways to justify the dishonorable things you've done."

"I think you took the wrong thing out of the story," Jeri answers curtly, drawing everyone's attention. "Assuming it was Atticus he was looking for, you're forgetting that he and the other members of his group betrayed Atticus for no reason. In our case, it's Takato who betrayed us: he insists on endangering everyone here to protect himself rather than doing what a real leader does and looking out for the well-being of the group."

"You take that back right now!" Kai shouts. "My cousin never betrayed any of you! You betrayed him!"

"No, he betrayed me the moment he refused to save Leomon," she retorts in a monotonous grill. "He betrayed Guilmon the moment he turned him into that monster, Megidramon. And he betrayed everyone else when he put them all in danger to save his sorry behind. Maybe if Takato was better at controlling his anger, there would have been no Millenniummon attacking our world and we wouldn't even be in this mess at all!"

"That's not really fair, Jeri…" Ryo suddenly interjects. "The truth is he saved our skins on more than one occasion and he was only captured because the rest of us weren't strong enough. He never did anything to deserve getting mixed up in all this…" Ryo raises his gaze to meet Kai's. "But now we're here and the circumstances are what they are. We had to choose between rescuing him and keeping the rest of the group safe. You can't reasonably expect us to throw our lives away for him when there is no way to save him."

"You didn't choose between rescuing him or abandoning him to save yourselves though," Kai responds with a hint of resentment. "You chose the third option: to turn on him and attack him yourselves to spare your own lives. You can't reasonably be angry with him for defending himself. My cousin may have accidentally unleashed a monster, but you all have purposely become monsters yourselves!"

Ryo turns his gaze away while Alice, Kazu, and Kenta lower their eyes as well and their partners noticeably sag with remorse.

"You won't make me feel sorry," Jeri says, turning her own gaze away. "I don't personally wish harm on Takato, but I'm glad to see karma is catching up with him. He's shown his true colors now: when it comes down to it, he's more concerned for his own safety than the safety of others. That's why I lost Leomon and that's why he'll deserve whatever the Digital Hazard brings…" Jeri suddenly cries out and everyone's eyes divert toward her and notice that Kai had struck her again. Ryo dives quickly, knocking Kai aside before he could land another blow and the two boys struggle as Jeri pulls herself away from the scuffle.

Kai wastes no time, turning himself over to face Ryo and slamming a fist into his face. Kazu jumps to join the scuffle as Alice, Masahiko, Ai, Mako, and Calumon plead for them to stop. Kai knocks Kazu aside with another punch and Ryo jumps to tackle him again. Kai once again wriggles in Ryo's grip, turning around and landing another punch to Ryo's cheek. He then shoves his knee into his stomach, causing the boy to release him and stumble back. Kai tackles him and begins relentlessly pelting him with punch after punch. "You…won't…hurt…my…cousin…ever…again…!"

"Kai, stop it! You're hurting him!" Alice pleads, but Kai continues.

"Beat Knuckle!" Monodramon jumps into the fray, head-butting Kai away from his tamer and knocking him into a wall. His head hits the wall first and he rolls over, unconscious as Kenta and Alice rush to aid Ryo.

"You ok?" Alice asks, concern bleeding through. Ryo rubs his face and nods. "Fine." He looks at Monodramon, who peers back at him with concern. "Thanks for the rescue…"

Impmon hops over to Kai and pokes him before saying, "You knocked him out…"

"Good. He'll be less trouble that way…" Kazu remarks as he stands and rubs his head. "Jeri, are you ok?" Jeri pushes herself up to her feet and walks to the exit without giving an answer. Masahiko moves to follow, but Kotemon stops him. "We should give her some time alone."

"But…"

"Kotemon is right this time," Henry mutters from his space on the floor. "Just give Jeri some space. She'll be back in here soon."

Jeri struts over to the edge of the village and peers out over the expanse of sand. Angry little trogg… just like his cousin…

Her face twists with annoyance as she stares out across the desert. He thinks you're going to make it back…but you're never going to lead the tamers again. She reaches into her pocket and fiddles with its contents, tightening her hand around it but soon relaxing her grip before turning her gaze back to the village.

Delete…

I finally got what I wanted… He's all alone…and yet…it's almost like it's not enough… Why don't I feel better? Is it because he's still out there?

Tears begin to form in her eyes and she looks back out over the desert. Or maybe it's because Leomon is out there too… To have him so close and yet for him to be so far beyond my reach… it's unbearable… She clenches her hands together and scrunches her face up in an angry expression. He took you from me and now I'm kept in constant pain because I can't get back what I want most. It's not fair! I should never have lost you! He should have saved you for me!

Yes, Subject Jeri Katou… He is a failure, like all humans. Humans must be perfected. The sting of sadness must be deleted and the slate wiped clean.

What do I do to feel better? Takato's pain hasn't made me feel any better. What more can I do? Maybe I'm just destined to always be sad…

"No. I can make you happy, Subject Jeri Katou. All you have to do is let me out…

I don't know… Give me one reason to trust you…

I'm you…

"Hello, Jeri…" Jeri is jolted from her thoughts and turns to see the heaving form of Darkdramon, his wings still a ripped mess from his battle. "You… What are you doing here?"

Darkdramon allows himself to fall to a knee and continues to breathe heavily. "I apologize for disturbing you. I need help. I am hurt…"

"What happened to you? Where did you go? Why weren't you with us when we woke up?"

"I ran," Darkdramon admits. "Atticus damaged me too greatly. I had to flee and try to recover so that I could continue my mission and hunt down the Hazard."

"Well what do you want with us then? We're not hunting for him anymore. We're trying to go home." Darkdramon chuckles and coughs before replying, "How will you get home…if the swarm overtakes you…"

"Swarm?" Jeri asks.

"It's coming. I tried to fight them, but there's just too many. When it arrives, it will destroy everything and everyone here."

"…you came to warn us?" Jeri asks.

"Partially. I saw you enter the village and I know you are trying to escape. Lady Norn is happy to allow you to, but the Hazard must not slip through her grip."

"…You're working for Norn now, then." Darkdramon bows his head. "The swarm… She unleashed it to ensure the Hazard's destruction. I and the other Royal Knights are to prevent his escape and allow the swarm to do the rest."

"I'll tell the others…" Jeri responds after a moment's hesitation.

"Respectfully, I will tell them. I wish to ensure you're escape, plus staying close to you may lead me to my target and ensure his deletion." Jeri nods after another moment.

Darkdramon looks out to the desert and Jeri follows his gaze to a dust cloud in the distance. "They are coming, and you will all be deleted if you stay here. We should tell them quickly…"