A/N: Day 24 of working from and staying at home for me. Hoping that everyone is staying safe and healthy. Prayers for our front line workers: doctors, nurses, other healthcare workers, first responders, grocery store workers, custodial staff, the list goes on and on...


2008 February 16

Touma rubbed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. He glanced at the clock at the bottom right corner of the screen. Five sixteen. It was still dark outside. Barely any light filtered into the workshop from the room's single window.

"Master, you should get some rest before the others wake up," Gaomon said quietly from his Digivice. "And maybe grab something to eat. We have plenty of food now, thanks to Miss Lucy."

Touma nodded as he opened a bottle of iced coffee. He looked into the box of snacks that Lucy had brought over yesterday, and pulled out a bowl of kimchi instant noodles, something that neither Masaru or Agumon had touched yet.

As Touma waited for the kettle to boil, he thought back to Lucy's visit yesterday evening. She had brought them an update from Yoshino: apparently, she and Lalamon were also searching for answers on the mysterious phenomena exhibited by Phoebe Yang, Andy Hamasaki and now, even Masaru. In her report, Yoshino had mentioned her suspicions that the answer was most likely connected to the Digimon's ability to evolve to higher levels.

Perfect Evolution. According to Yoshino, both Satsuma-taichou's Kudamon and Professor Klein's Bokomon were able to evolve beyond their Adult levels. Touma didn't know about Kudamon, but he knew that Klein's Bokomon had been born in DATS, having read the creature's stats while he had been stationed in Europe last year. But, according to DATS' research, Digimon in DATS lacked the physical ability to evolve beyond their Adult level.

'Could they have altered their digital code somehow?' Touma wondered. It was possible to do, but only if the data that was being altered was in simpler forms. The data of a physical Digimon in the real world was too complicated for even DATS to experiment on without breaking down the data first. In other words, the Digimon would have to be killed first. Despite his feelings towards the man, Touma doubted that Klein would have been willing to kill his own partner for such a high-risk experiment, without any guarantee of success.

'Perhaps this power called 'Holy Light' is able to help alter the code from within?' Touma glanced over at Phoebe's sleeping form. 'That girl… I can't put my finger on it, but there's something about her that's familiar.' Touma thought back to the day the two of them first met. 'Her eyes… there is so much sadness in them. Not only does she not know her birth family, but hiding her abilities from the world must have terrified her…'

"…a light, so pale pink in colour that it was almost white, covered the entire building… it engulfed Dobermon's attack, erasing it… after the light there came a strong wind, and the walls of the building came down…when we came to, only the girl and her partner were there…"

These had been Eric Klein's observations on November 29th, 2006, the day that Phoebe's powers had gotten out of control, leading to Plotmon's defeat and 'death.' No one, not even Phoebe and Plotmon, knew how Plotmon had escaped death in that battle.

Touma picked up the piece of paper that Steven had given him. The blond could still recall the fear in the boy's face when he told them that a strange boy had left it behind before vanishing like a ghost. Touma did not believe in the existence of ghosts and other supernatural creatures (besides the Digimon), but he knew that some things in the world could not be explain by science.

'Come to think of it… DATS encountered a strange person like this before too…' Touma realized. Alice McCoy, Phoebe's late friend. Her body was never found after that battle with Dobermon, but no one in DATS had encountered the girl since then as well.

"Light and Hope are one key that will open the door."

These were the words, written in traditional Chinese characters, on the white piece of paper left behind from Steven's mysterious 'intruder.' The words had been transcribed using a black paintbrush and judging by the firm and tidy strokes, Touma concluded that the writer was someone who was well-versed in calligraphy.

"Holy Light, huh?" Touma whispered, turning back to the computer screen. For the past several hours, long after the others had gone to sleep, the blond had been searching the Internet for clues about this 'Holy Light' that had frightened Phelesmon so much. Not surprisingly, he had found very little reliable information on the subject.

"Master?" Gaomon spoke up. "Your noodles are getting soggy."

Touma drummed his fingers on the table thoughtfully. "If we are to learn more about Perfect Evolution, and the powers of this 'Holy Light', we need to get into the top secret DATS database," he concluded. "Unfortunately, its security system is one of the few that I never managed to hack into. With our limited resources now, attempting to gain access is impossible." He sighed.

"Do I smell noodles?" A sleepy Agumon sat up, sniffing the air. Beside him, Masaru yawned.


"I understand, Ayi. Yes, you take care too. Goodbye."

Lunamon watched as Christina gave the phone back to her nervous-looking father. The rabbit Digimon had never seen the man this nervous before. He had barely touched his breakfast.

Christina's mouth was in a thin line, and her face was as hard as stone, just like the last time she had received a call from her aunt. Unlike Christina's relatives on her father's side, both she and her father were extremely tight-lipped when it came to Christina's lone relative on her mother's side. Both refused to talk about the woman to each other, or to Lunamon. Lunamon suspected that Christina's absent mother was part of the reason for this.

"What did your aunt want to talk to you about?" Lunamon asked Christina when they were back in her room.

Christina walked over to the window and stared outside. "It's not important," she said absentmindedly, shutting down completely.

Lunamon sighed to herself. For the past several weeks, she had been trying to learn more about her new partner, and her family and friends. However, trying to get information from Christina and her father about their family was proving to be more difficult than talking to a herd of Neemon.

"Have you spoken to Allen since Monday?" Lunamon changed the topic. The rabbit Digimon was patient. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the truth about Christina's mother and aunt came out. She was bound to meet them eventually. So, for now, she would bide her time.

"No," Christina said quietly. "There is no point. I am a part of DATS now. Allen decided not to join DATS because of what they did to Robert. He will not associate with me again," she sniffed.

"The two of you can still be friends," Lunamon said gently, but Christina shook her head.

"It will not be the same. I am no longer the Christina Liu that he fell in love with. I have too many secrets, too many for him to carry on his shoulders. It's not only DATS and the Digimon, but also my fam-" The girl stopped herself just in time as Lunamon looked on. "There is no point…" she repeated.

"Chris, you and Henry are different – the two of you have Digimon partners. In your case, Lunamon is more than a partner to you, am I right? In that case, the two of you definitely can't surrender that to DATS."

Lunamon recalled overhearing Allen's words to Christina over the phone, about his intention to refuse Professor Klein's offer to join DATS. The rabbit Digimon had never noticed it until now, but Allen had, and he was right: she and Christina were no longer just partners; they were friends. They slept in the same room, ate their meals together, and talked about everything that crossed their minds (the exception being Christina's family). The thought of being separated from Christina frightened Lunamon.

Christina, Allen, and the others had seen how Plotmon had reacted when Professor Klein separated her from Phoebe, only moments after erasing the latter's memories with the Memory Erasure Device. With a start, Lunamon realized that if she had been in Plotmon's place, she would have probably acted the same way.

'Merukimon-sama, what should I do? You sent me to observe the humans and find out what their true intentions were. Your prophesy said I would find a human who would make me stronger, but I didn't expect to come to care for her as well…' Lunamon thought sadly.

"The friendship you and Lunamon share is precious. I don't envy the two of you so please, don't let DATS take away that friendship. Thank you also, for making me remember that too. Robert is my cousin, but he is also my first and longest friend. We have been through so much together, especially after my mother left. That's why… I can't leave him now. I'm sorry Christina. I love you still, but I need to think of my family. Thank you, and…goodbye."

'Family…' Lunamon thought, grimacing a bit as she recalled Christina's shock after Allen had hang up on her. 'That's right… both Allen and Christina care so much about their families…' the Digimon realized, looking up at her partner. Christina still had not moved from her position by the window. 'They would do anything for them…'

"She was right. About Lincoln, about Allen, about me…"

Lunamon's eyes opened wide. Christina was talking to herself, as if she had forgotten that someone else was in the room with her. Who was this 'she' that the girl was referring to, and who was Lincoln?

A tear fell onto Christina's hand. "And I can't do anything about it. She was right all along…"

Lunamon quietly left the room. There was nothing she could say or do to comfort her friend now.


So many dreams. Andy had lost count of them since his injury. He could barely remember what the dreams had been about, but the emotions that accompanied each dream were still as clear as crystal: surprise, happiness, gratitude, sadness, anger, loneliness… All these feelings melted together into a hot fire that tortured his every waking moment.

The boy slowly got dressed and looked around the empty room. After two nights in the hospital, he was glad to be leaving. Andy took off the sling for his arm and put it on the table. He grimaced at the red scar across his shoulder, but at least it didn't hurt as much now. Even the doctors had been surprised at his fast recovery rate.

A flash of light from Andy's bedside caught his attention. Sunlight from the window was streaming into the room, landing on a silver wristwatch.

Andy snatched the watch from the table and put it on. The watch was an heirloom that had once belonged to his mother's grandfather. Andy had never met his great-grandfather, as the man had long since passed away by the time he was born, but he knew that he had once been an important person in Andy's hometown on Okinawa. Andy stared at the watch, and then at the sunlight coming into the room…

"Live on."

That voice. Andy could not forget the hooded figure that he had first seen while on the verge of death the other night. At first, the boy thought that he had been hallucinating, but the figure kept haunting his every sleeping moment. The figure, a mysterious light and a golden symbol were the three things that constantly appeared in all his dreams, along with a strange warm feeling that Andy couldn't yet identify. What did it all mean?

Andy left the room and walked down a quiet corridor towards the nearest washroom. Inside, the boy stared at his reflection, and his bright blue hair. It was no longer glowing, but against the hospital's white walls, the strange colour stood out just as much.

"Come to think of it… back in okaasan's village, I was the only one with blue hair, but no one was surprised," Andy realized, touching his hair. "No one seemed to care, not even my grandparents. All they cared about was who my father was…" he whispered.

Andy headed down to the hospital's lobby to check out. As he was waiting for the nurse to process his papers, he saw a girl with a white puppy sitting on a bench outside, and was immediately reminded of Phoebe Yang and her Digimon partner.

'Or who used to be her partner,' Andy thought angrily. He was still furious at Klein for using the Memory Erasure Device on his classmate.

Pink light. A building crashing down. Gunshots. A baby crying, a red moon… A week later, Andy could still vividly recall the visions he had seen when he had collided with Phoebe outside this very hospital. Were those visions Phoebe's memories?

"He left your mother to die?"

Andy clenched his fists. Phoebe probably saw his memories too, about how his father, who was an American soldier stationed on Okinawa, left his mother before he was born. How Andy and his mother were shunned by his mother's family and the villagers. How the sea took his mother long before her time. How lonely and hopeless he felt after he left Japan, with no purpose in life except to hate his father for ruining his and his mother's lives. Yes, until he met Katherine, Roscoe and Anna, Andy knew only vengeance…

"Andy Hamasaki!" Andy stood up as the nurse called his name. He signed the forms and left the hospital, deep in thought.

'I joined DATS to get more information on that man to take him down, but he is no longer the person I think about the most…' Andy realized as he walked. A woman with her daughter walked past him, their blonde hair sparkling in the sun.

"Kat…" Andy muttered, remembering…

"You're Andy, right? I like your hair. I think it looks cool," the girl laughed. But unlike the laughs of everyone else he had encounter so far, it was an honest and kind laugh.

"Andy, stop laughing and eat your asparagus!" Katherine scolded him. "Otherwise, you're going to regret it!"

"You can't make me!" Andy stuck his tongue out at his friend as he reached for another piece of pie…

"You asked for it! Simon!"

"What?! HEY! Let me go!" Andy screamed as Katherine and her brother Simon tackled him to the ground. "No! Stop!" the boy screamed as the two of them began to tickle him. "I'm going to kill you two!" he laughed as tears streamed down his face. In response, Simon and Katherine laughed even harder.

Andy stopped and looked back up at the hospital building. Unlike him, Simon Price was still in the hospital. Even though the young man's room had only been down the hallway from Andy's own, Andy had not visited him.

He couldn't. Not after everything that had happened between them. Not after what Simon had told him about himself, and about Katherine.

Katherine's blue eyes were huge in her pale face. Her face was frozen in fear as she screamed and pushed him away. Andy shouted her name as she ran off, but she never once looked back.

That was the last time he and Katherine talked. Katherine had missed almost a month of school after that incident. Lost and confused, Andy had turned to Anna for support, and the two of them had become closer. By the time Katherine finally returned to school, Anna would not let her near Andy.

Even though he wanted to, Andy realized that he couldn't completely blame Anna. It was his fault that he had ignored Katherine when she had needed him the most. Deep inside, Andy knew that it was his own cowardice that was to be blame. He was afraid that Katherine would scream and push him away again.

He was right. The next time he and Katherine saw each other face to face, it was after Phoebe had saved them from that crazy man with the gun. He quickly realized then just how much Katherine had changed, both in demeanor and in how she treated the people around her…

Kat's breath reeked of alcohol and other drugs. "Monster! Your mother is a whore!" she spat in his and Phoebe's faces. Despite her words, Kat's eyes were wet with tears...

"Oh Kat…" Andy moaned, staring up at the sky. "I'm so sorry. If only I knew the truth sooner, I could have helped you, both you and your brother. But I was selfish… I chose to ignore everything, to protect myself, and now I regret it. I know the truth, but there is nothing that I can do to help you. Once more, I am too late…"

The little boy stared down at the woman's lifeless body. Her body was as cold as the ground she laid on…

Andy's fists clenched in agony and despair. He felt so hopeless…

The boy's blue hair briefly glowed. No one, even the boy himself, noticed the light except for a strange man in sunglasses standing across the street, partially hidden by the shadows of the surrounding buildings.

The man's hands briefly glowed a golden colour.

Andy suddenly sensed that someone was watching him. He whirled around, but the street was empty. The boy frowned, just as a flock of crows flew overhead, cawing noisily.


Iona Island, Vancouver

Eric Klein inspected the area, looking for new clues. However, the setting sun created patches of shadows everywhere, tricking his tired eyes and making the search difficult. The loud roars of the Fraser River behind him also didn't help.

A large black feather in the sand got Eric's attention as he knelt down to pick it up. The feather was too large to belong to a crow or eagle, so that meant it probably belonged to either Lady Devimon or Neo Devimon.

'Why did that girl turn into a Digimon?' the man thought sadly. 'How could someone so sweet suddenly become so terrible?' Eric had talked to John Holland, who knew the girl. He had also met the girl very briefly when Michael and Lilly Hunter brought her, her brother, and Phil's son to Europe for a trip, many years ago. All three children had forgotten about their first meeting with the DATS member, but Eric remembered.

Little Katherine Price handed him a bouquet of daisies. "For you," she smiled.

A boy gave him a toothy smile…

Eric dropped the feather. "Ryan…" he said quietly, turning away. But the dimming light of day, and the grey waters of the Fraser River, only brought back more painful memories of that fateful day…


One year ago…

"Ryan, where are you?!" Sandra, Eric's wife, shouted. Eric could barely see her in the dim light, even though he knew that she was only a few feet in front of him.

Eric did not go after his wife as she ran further ahead, trying to find their missing son. How could he, when it was his fault that Ryan was missing?

"Botamon!" Ryan had not eaten for two days, ever since Centalmon had been forced to destroy the DarkTyrannomon that had been Botamon. Eric couldn't even return the Digimon's DigiEgg to the Digital World, because Ryan would not let it out of his sight.

This couldn't go on. For his son, he had to do this… Forgetting would be the first step to healing.

Ryan's sad eyes as he stared at his father, before the light of the newly created Memory Erasure Device got to him, was the last expression that Eric would ever see from his son's eyes.

"Ryan, please eat… This is your favourite, right?" Sandra pleaded with the boy, who only stared blankly at the plate of fried chicken in front of him…

"Ryan, please say something…" Eric begged. The boy stared straight out the window, as if he had not heard him.

"Don't go…" Eric heard the boy crying in bed, but his words were not meant for him. They were meant for a friend, long gone but not forgotten, even if the boy himself didn't realize that. "Don't leave me."

Little did Eric know that these would be the last words he would ever hear from his son. Early next morning, Sandra found Ryan's bed empty.

"Sandra, Eric, down here! We found something!" someone from downriver shouted.

Eric's feet moved. Sandra was right behind him. A crowd of people were gathered on the bridge, pointing down at something in the waters. Their voices died down as he and Sandra came closer.

Plotmon came up to him and Sandra. For once, her blue eyes were soft. "This way," she said quietly, leading them to the water's edge.

Eric stopped at the edge of the roaring river and looked down into the darkness. A wave crashed into the stone bridge and receded, and Eric finally saw the small bundle floating on top of the waters.

"Ryan, no!" Sandra screamed.

Eric fell to his knees. He barely comprehended the others holding back his wife. The river pushed Ryan's body against the stone bridge with every wave, but it could not push it downriver any further. The bridge of stone had stopped the river's currents in its tracks, just as everything stopped for Eric from that moment on.


"What are you doing here?!"

Eric turned around as a particularly large wave from the Fraser River crashed against the riverbank loudly. Phillip's son stood behind him, and he was glaring at him.

The boy's eyes widened in surprise. Before Eric could ponder on this any further, the boy looked away. His eyes were drawn towards the black feather on the sand.

"That's…"

Eric picked up the feather, and watched as the boy's eyes followed his every movement. "It probably belongs to Lady Devimon," he said absentmindedly.

"You mean Kat? Was she here? Did you see her?"

Eric looked away angrily. The boy sounded almost hopeful at the thought of seeing his friend again. Did he forget that she was now a monster. "No. It's better that way. Did you forget what injured you and blinded Simon Price the other day?" he said bitterly.

"What's your problem?!" Eric could feel the boy's anger and confusion behind him. He half expected the boy to run over and physically confront him. Surprisingly, he didn't. In fact, neither of them moved or said a word for the longest time. The only sounds came from the river.

"Of course I know what happened," the boy finally said calmly. Eric turned around and looked at the boy – his eyes had a far-away look in them as he stared out at the river. "But Katherine… she was my first friend. She hurt me this time, but I remember how she helped me before. I can't help it."

"People change, Andy Hamasaki," Eric replied. "For better or for the worse. For your friend, it was the latter."

"What do you want me to do then?!" Andy snapped. He turned and glared at the professor. "To forget about her?! It's not that easy!"

"Yes," Eric said simply. He heard the boy inhaling sharply in surprise. "She's a Digimon now. Sooner or later, DATS will defeat her and you and your other friends will need to move on."

"No!" Andy shouted. "You can't! You can't kill her! There has to be a way!"

"It is the only-"

"At least let me talk to her first then! She will listen to me!" the boy insisted.

Eric grimaced in pain. He remembered a conversation just like this one…

"No! Botamon is in there somewhere! Let me talk to him!" Ryan cried, grabbing his arm.

"He can't hear you, Ryan. Botamon is gone."

"No! I can still feel him! Let me talk to him, please! Please Dad, listen to me!"

Eric almost stumbled backwards into the river as Andy Hamasaki grabbed his arm. The boy's eyes were wide with fear, just like Ryan's had been. "Please don't kill her!" he begged.

"It's the only way." he began again. "It's the best choice too, for you and your friends. Time will heal all wounds."

"Bullshit!" Andy swore. The boy was glaring at him now, but the fear remained in his eyes. "There has to be another way!"

Eric shook his head. "You don't understand, Andy. There are times in our lives when we have to make difficult situations."

"And killing Katherine is one of them?!" Andy spat. "You don't know anything! You think it is that easy to move on?! I lost my mother seven years ago, and I still think about her every day! Don't you see?! Katherine's family and I will never forget about Katherine. Time will heal all wounds? That's a lie, because even if we lose our memories, we will never forget the feelings we made from them!"

Eric's eyes opened wide in shock.

'Even if we lose our memories, we will never forget the feelings.'

"Your way of thinking only hurt people and make them hate you even more!" Andy continued to glare at him.

"Be quiet boy!" Eric tried to push Andy away, but the boy's grip was surprisingly firm. "Let go now!"

He didn't want to hear anymore. This boy didn't know anything. About DATS, about him, about all the difficult decisions that he continued to live with, day after day…

"I knew that DATS were made up of rotten people! But now I know that you guys are murderers too!"

The sun had set, but the waves remained restless. They were almost as loud as the boy's screams.

"DATS protect humanity from the Digimon!" Eric insisted as he tried to wrestle himself free from Andy's grasp. "Everything we do is for this world's peace!"

The wind blew through the trees and howled almost as loud as the river.

"You can't protect without love! Don't you know what love is?!"

Love.

"I love you Dad!"

"You killed our son!" the woman who he thought he loved was now a stranger.

"I love Kat! Simon loves her too! And her father and mother and Uncle John and the kids in AWANA and their parents and our classmates Phoebe and Amy and-"

He had acted out of love to help Ryan. It was the most powerful kind of love, the love of a parent towards his child. But in the end, it was his love that had doomed the one he loved the most.

It was his fault.

"Eric!" Bokomon suddenly shouted from inside his Digivice. "Something's wrong!"

Eric did not notice the tower of water rising from the murky river until it was too late. It was Andy Hamasaki who saw it first and saved them both from the tidal wave.

Bokomon realized from the Digivice just as a large Seadramon emerged from the depths of the Fraser River.

Eric scrambled to his feet as the wild Digimon turned its attention towards them. "Bokomon, evolve now!" he commanded. "Digisoul, Charge!"

"Murderer!"

"Please Dad, listen to me!"

"It's your fault Ryan is dead!"

"You drove him to suicide! You killed him, your own son!"

Both Bokomon and Andy were staring at him now, but Eric's attention was directed solely at his hand, and the lack of light coming from it.

"Digisoul, Charge!" he shouted again.

"You can't protect without love."

The twisted body floating on top of the waters…

"Water Breath!"

"Watch out!"

For the second time that night, Hamasaki saved him. As the two of them hit the ground, Eric's cold Digivice flew out of his hands.

"No, the Digivice!" Bokomon screamed as the device landed somewhere in the sand and became just another shadow in the darkness.

Eric stared at his shaking hands. How come his Digisoul wasn't appearing?!

The priest closed the lid of Ryan's coffin as candles flickered eerily in the darkness…

For a second, Eric Klein saw that his hands were crimson red. It dripped from his hands and onto the white sand, turning it into a sea of blood.

Seadramon roared again as it geared up for another attack.

"Water Breath!"

He sank into the red sea…


Glossary:

Ayi: 'Aunt' (in Chinese). Can refer to either your mother's sister, or any female middle-age friend of your parents in general.