Thank you for everyone's continued support! I reread everyone's review and was really heartened that you still remember my Perhaps Universe and enjoy the story. I wish more than ever that I had the motivation to finish the story years ago, but we're almost there - just one short one left after this!

As some of you know, this story (and its companion story) are outtakes from a larger story. This chapter is the one that both inspired and derailed that original Perhaps story as I kept writing myself into a corner. I wrote many versions over the years, and while I'm still not 100% satisfied with this version, I'm glad to share it with everyone.

Castle of Glass

Her late husband, if he had ever truly been her husband, looked the same as he had a decade ago. The same cropped hair, the same dark eyes. But the expression was different. Nobu's face had never regarded her with such malice.

Then again, how much did she really know the man she married? No, not even a man; a monster wearing a human mask.

"Who are you, really?" Hikari whispered.

"Don't you remember the day we met?" Nobu said. "It was raining so you visited my gallery to hide because you didn't have an umbrella. You really liked that one painting of ships passing each other in the night. It reminded you of someone, you said, and I told you it was one of my favorites as well. You stayed until the rain stopped, and then I asked you for coffee. From then on -"

Her hands clenched. "I said, who are you, really?" she repeated, almost in a snarl.

Nobu looked pleased by her reaction. "Come now, indulge me while I relive our romance and all the sweet nothings we used to share. I thought you'd be happy to see me after mourning me for so long."

She shook her head slowly. "I was mourning for my husband, not a monster."

He smiled, amused, and did not answer. Her head spun. The truth was unveiling before her, like a trainwreck she could not stop.

"Was Nobu ever real?"

Nobu hummed. "I suppose you could say that he once existed. I needed a human body to get closer to you, since my original approach didn't work, and it was much easier to borrow the body of an introverted orphan. Easily forgotten, easily replaced."

Her eyes widened. "You killed -"

"I breathed new life on an otherwise worthless human being."

"That's -"

Nobu interrupted. "I chose well, it turns out, did I not? You seemed to have enjoyed our time together, if our lovely son is any indication."

Hikari had the urge to retch - he had touched her, marked her so intimately - but she refused to give Nobu the satisfaction. "Where is my son?"

"Calm down, I won't hurt him." Nobu's smile had become a grin. "He is, after all, my little prototype for the army that I wanted to create from our progeny."

Memories, long-buried, assaulted her. The Scubamon had wanted her to mate with their god. She had escaped, had thought that the nightmare was over after they sealed the Dark Ocean.

Nobu cocked his head. "You remember my promise, I see."

"You've waited all this time," she said, voice hollow as realizations swirled around her.

The gallery in Nagoya where their story began. The sweet courtship that felt like a dance with destiny. All leading to a love story that ended in tragedy. And then there was the paints left in the attic. The lost memories. The painting. Everything. He had planned everything so well, created such a perfect trap that she was ensnared from the very beginning.

"I have waited so patiently, and it is time for you to come home and claim your place as my queen."

Hikari shook her head. "You are going to give my son back and leave us alone."

"You dare disobey your husband?"

"Don't call yourself my husband!"

Before her eyes, Nobu was transforming, his human body shedding away to reveal the monster underneath. She almost shrank away at the sight of the slimy blue skin, the tentacles and fins, and the stench that suddenly filled the cave. But she stood her ground.

"You're not my husband," she said, "and you are going to let us go."

"I told you I would come for you," he growled, grabbing her wrist and yanking her closer. "I told you that I would make you my bride. I succeeded in all counts. And now I'm going to invite you back to your castle."

Hikari struggled to pull free, to no avail. He was pulling her even closer now, trying to draw her into an embrace she did not want.

"Leave her alone!"

Tailmon tackled Dagomon in a white flash. She wasn't strong enough to knock him to the ground, but the impact was enough to shock him into releasing Hikari's hand. She stumbled back, caught her breath, and found Takeru's hand on her shoulder.

He was still blinking sleep from his eyes, but his eyes were cold as he watched Dagomon battle Tailmon and Patamon, who had now joined, sending reverberations through the cave with air shots.

"What - who -"

"Dagomon was my late husband," Hikari said, aware that she was dropping a bombshell, but unable to think more clearly in wake of everything that was happening.

"Wait, what?" Takeru stared at the Digimon, who was easily keeping Tailmon and Patamon at bay with thousand whips. "How even is this possible -" He shook his head. "We need to get you out of here."

"Look out!" Hikari shouted, dragging him out of the way as Tailmon and Patamon sailed through the air, knocked back by a particularly strong tentacle attack. Once Takeru found his footing, she ran over to the Digimon. "Are you guys okay?"

Patamon raised an ear wing in response, while Tailmon struggled to stand on four feet, her tail flicking.

"We need to evolve," she wheezed. "But we're so tired."

Dagomon laughed. "That was pathetic."

"We're not done yet!" Patamon said in defiance, although he was clearly too weak to fly.

"Let us go," Takeru said, stepping forward. "Let her go."

Dagomon spoke only to Hikari. "My army has surrounded you outside," he said. "There is no way back home, not for you."

Hikari swallowed.

"Your friends are in no shape to fight," Dagomon continued. "Your time in the Dark World has sapped you of your strength."

Blood pounded in her ears.

"The choice is yours," Dagomon concluded. "Keep fighting us if you wish. I have my army and will not hold back. It will be you who will live with the deaths of your friends."

She glanced at the Digimon, at Takeru, all of them so tense, so protective.

"Don't listen to her," Tailmon snapped. "We can definitely still fight."

"Or," Dagomon said, "come with me to the kingdom I built for us, where you will reunite with your son, and I may find some mercy in me and let your friends return home."

"Hikari, don't..." Takeru said, holding out an arm as if to ward off any danger. "There is always another way."

Dagomon seemed to be smiling, although the smile looked grotesque with his large, sharp teeth.

"The choice is yours."

His gesture held so much false generosity that Hikari wanted to laugh hysterically. The choice was never hers. Dagomon had sealed her fate the moment she'd been foolish enough to accept his courtship.

"I will come with you," she said, reaching into her pocket and confirming the reassuring presence of the gun. "And you will let my friends go back home."

"Hikari, what - no -"

"Hikari! He's lying to you!"

"We can keep fighting -"

But she wasn't paying attention to her friends anymore. Takeru was right: there was indeed another way, her way, and she had made her choice. But for now, she would allow Dagomon to bask in his triumph.

Dagomon's smile grew broader. "All in good time, my love," he said. "All in good time."

The ocean whispered around them as they made their way to the beach, Dagomon leading the way, his Scubamon flanking Hikari and her friends. Welcome back, it might be saying, or perhaps it was, say your farewell.

Dawn, or what passed for dawn, was breaking. The sky had brightened and the beach town forged from her despair was awakening in the distance. Hikari suppressed a shudder as she caught sight of a few aimlessly wandering Digimon. Were they created from her darkness as well, or were they corrupted because of her?

Before they reached the edge of the water, she noticed a sign that she'd missed earlier. Innsmouth, it read, and another memory returned, a memory of her standing in the same place twenty-five years ago, lost and terrified.

"Nostaglic, isn't it?" Nobu said, having once again assumed his human form. "My lock on your memories is dissolving, now that we are reunited."

He laughed at her grimace, enjoying every opportunity to emphasize his acts of violation. In the background, Takeru or Tailmon made a sound of protest, but he paid whoever it was no heed.

"Innsmouth. I built this town as a tribute to our love." He grinned. "Do you like it?"

"No," Hikari said, recalling the grayness that had hung over her life the past decade, the long nights when sleep had eluded her as she turned over too many life choices in her mind. Her tone was flat and factual. "You destroyed me to build this town."

"I rebuilt you into my perfect queen," Nobu corrected.

Hikari didn't answer, refusing to look at him and show weakness.

"Wait until you see the marital home that I've been constructing for the past ten years," Nobu said. "It will take your breath away. Come on."

The water shimmered invitingly and began to part again, the way it had before Takeru found her on the beach. Nobu stood close at her elbow, waiting for her to lead the way. She didn't move.

"You said that you would let my friends go. You only need me to come with you."

"I have a feast awaiting to celebrate our reunion," Nobu said. "I think your friends will want to partake in our celebrations, don't you?"

"No," she snapped. "You promised. Let them go."

"Hikari, we are not going to leave without you," Takeru said, taking a step toward her, only to be restrained by a snarling Scubamon. "You know that he will never keep his promises."

Hikari narrowed her eyes at Nobu. "Don't hurt him!"

Nobu threw Takeru a calculating glance. "You still can't let him go, can you?" he said scornfully. "This display of sentimentality sickens me, my love. It was pathetic enough that I had to live under his shadow as your husband."

Hikari froze. Of course, he had known all along.

Nobu hummed. "I can borrow his body, if you'd like," he said. "Would that make our marriage more agreeable to you? The flip side, of course, is that he would have to die."

She stared at him, noting the hatred and sadism evident even on his human features. How had she never seen the darkness in her husband?

"No?" Nobu chuckled. "Let's go, the feast and your son are waiting."

The water glowed again and steps now appeared. She remained in place. If she allowed Takeru and the Digimon to join her underwater, she didn't think that they would ever be able to leave.

She had to keep trying.

"Let them go," she said, "and I will come."

The beach faded into the background as they held each other's eyes in a silent battle. She wasn't sure what was running through his mind, but in her mind she was playing back every moment of their courtship, once treasured in the aftermath of Nobu's passing, now poisoned with the truth.

You cannot take everything by force, she thought viciously. Certainly not my love or my loyalty. I will not let you hurt them.

To her surprise, Nobu relented. "Very well," he said, giving her an ugly smile. "My Scubamon will guard them until our safe arrival home, and then they will go and never ben allowed to return."

He waved his hand carelessly. Over the protests of Takeru, Tailmon, and Patamon, the Scubamon pushed them away from the water and formed a circle around them. Hikari averted her eyes so her resolve would not weaken.

There was a burst of light, probably Takeru trying to Armor Digivolve Patamon, but it was quickly snuffed out. Patamon had not fully recovered his strength, and in any case Hikari didn't think Pegasmon and Nefertimon could handle so many Scubamon.

"Hikari!" Tailmon shouted. "Don't go!"

"Hikari!"

"Don't trust him!"

There was so much desperation in their voices. She allowed herself one last look, one last smile at her friends. Her gaze lingered on Takeru, memorizing his face as she remembered their final exchange in the cave, the brush of his hand against her own. That was the closure she'd been chasing, and she felt at peace.

Now she had to be focused. She wasn't going to survive the encounter, but if she played her cards correctly, she might be able to save her friends.

"Please live well and be happy," she said. "Everything will be fine."

They might be saying other things now, trying to convince her to keep fighting, but she was no longer listening.

Nobu started his descent down the staircase and, taking a steadying breath, Hikari followed.

The castle rose impressively from the ocean floor and was rendered entirely of glass. Hikari had a vague recollection that once upon a time, Nobu had such a painting in his gallery. Castle of Glass, he might've called it.

Prison, she would call it now.

From her vantage point inside her new room, the ocean resembled a heavy blanket, suffocating everything in grayness. She put a hand against the glass wall, testing its smoothness and strength.

How long had she been here - hours, days? Did time even matter anymore?

Footsteps sounded behind her. She knew it was him and, without turning, asked, "Where is Kazuki?"

She had been asking the question since their arrival at the castle and was met by silence each time. This time, Nobu chuckled.

"He did not have the patience to wait for us," he said, confirming the suspicion that had been forming in her head. "No worries, he will return to us, though I'm afraid he will need to be disciplined when my army finds him."

"So you lied to me," Hikari said, sharpening her tone to be as accusatory as possible, despite the hope and fear churning in her stomach. Maybe Takeru was right. Maybe Kazuki wasn't in the Dark World after all. Maybe he had escaped and would be rescued by Takeru or the other Chosen Children.

"I'm only trying to protect you," Nobu said. "White lies are necessary in a marriage."

She snorted. "Stop pretending that this is a real marriage, Dagomon."

Her words failed to get a reaction out of him, who remained pleasant. "The wedding feast is starting, my love," he said. "Won't you join me in the great hall?"

Hikari inhaled deeply and turned around. "Yes please," she said, smiling. "Lead the way."

The great hall was ablaze with light from hundreds of floating candles, casting shadowy reflections. Hikari could have marveled at the sight under different circumstances.

A long table stood in the center, laid out with glass cutlery and surprisingly colorful dishes, for a place that was otherwise so monochromatic. The ceiling hung low above them, underlining the oppressive atmosphere.

Two ornate chairs waited at the head of the table. The Scubamon stood, heads bowed in anticipation. Nobu held out his arm.

"Shall we?"

"We shall," Hikari said easily, enjoying the flash of surprise on his face. "But first, I want proof that you didn't hurt my friends. I want proof that you kept your word and let them go now that we are here."

His face twisted. "You need to stop overstepping your boundaries. I don't need to make deals with you."

She kept her face expressionless and waited.

Snarling, he gestured at the ceiling, which changed to project a fuzzy image of Takeru, Tailmon, and Patamon on the beach. They were alone now, no longer surrounded by Scubamon, and they seemed to be yelling at the ocean. Hikari only wished she could convince them of the futility.

"I do hope they learn to give up at some point," Nobu remarked. "They are testing my patience and at some point I'll stop tolerating their intrusion."

The image disappeared, replaced again by the ocean. Hikari kept her eyes skyward, trying to draw everyone's attention from her trembling hands.

"I've upheld my end of the bargain," Nobu said, and again held out his arm. "Shall we?"

In a fluid moment, she had taken out the gun, the cold metal reassuring in her palms. She pointed and aimed at him.

"You've taught me well, husband."

He laughed scornfully, transforming into Dagomon. There was a clamor around them as the Scubamon started to pull into a close circle around them, growling out warnings.

"Did you think that a mere human gun could stop me?" he said. "My own gun, no less? I am the Sinful Priest of the Ocean Floor, I'm practically invincible."

"I"m not trying to kill you," she said.

I am going to kill myself.

And I'm going to drag you down.

His expression changed as he came to the realization, but it was too late.

Before he could react, Hikari raised the gun to shoot at the enchanted ceiling. Originally she planned to use it on herself, but the obvious magic laced in the ceiling inspired her to try this. If she died, Dagomon would be extremely likely to take out his anger on her friends, who had stubbornly refused to leave. But if she died and took down his kingdom with her...

Even though she didn't know if it would work, she kept pressing the trigger, shuddering with every recoil. Once he recovered from his shock, Dagomon had tackled her to the ground and tried to wrestle the weapon from her hands, but she held on and kept firing until the bullets had run out, until the fine-haired crack she managed to make finally succumbed to the pressure of the ocean and burst.

Glass rained down, followered by showers of water. Someone was screaming. Maybe it was Dagomon, maybe it was the Scubamon. Maybe it was herself, from the exhilaration of causing such destruction. Water was flooding from every direction, drawing Dagomon's attention from her in his desperate attempt to mend the glass, but the damage was occurring too quickly to be repaired with his magic.

Some of the Digimon were trying to flee now. There were sounds of glass bursting throughout the castle as the magic holding it together started to collapse. Hikari braced herself against the table as the great hall began to tremble. Part of her noted that she was bleeding where the glass had cut into her, but she looked at her wounds as if from a distance, not fully recognizing them as her own.

More, just a little more, she thought, and then she started to glow.

As a child, she never knew how to control that power, that occasionally inconvenient link to Homeostasis, but in this moment she knew exactly what she wanted to do. She directed the pink light that she was emitting, lighting up the great hall, lighting up the shocked faces around her, before crashing upwards in a huge eruption.

The great hall shattered completely into shards of glass and then the water was everywhere, sweeping everyone and everything away.

The ocean was ice-cold, freezing her from inside out. In the suffocating darkness, Hikari clung to her Digivice. Her light was still strong, rushing to the surface like a geyser, though she knew that with only minutes - seconds perhaps - left to live, it would disappear soon. Please, she thought, willing herself to stay conscious just a bit longer, please protect Takeru, Tailmon, and Patamon. Please.

A clammy tentacle wrapped about her throat before jerking her upwards. And that was all she remembered before everything went dark.

The last scene was the one that I had in my head ever since I was a teenager: the vision of Hikari confronting Dagomon with a gun stuck with me.

Funnily enough, as an adult I found it challenging to plot around the gun because I thought someone bringing a gun of all things to confront the Dark Ocean was a ridiculous idea. But then - spoilers alert! - Tri actually had a character who did exactly that. So maybe I'm not so crazy, or original for that matter.

Once we wrap up Gray in the next chapter, I'll share some additional context to resolve some plot holes (e.g. Kazuki who was glossed over here).