The Keystone Chronicles
Book One
Chapter Five
Kari had spent the rest of her weekend in the confines of her room, brooding under the covers or hunched over her desk doing homework. She tried anything to distract her from the distasteful encounter with Bragi, but everything reminded her of the Aesir; her camera, listening to the radio and it's advertisements, or looking out from her balcony at the 'Digimon Adventure!' banners hanging above the street. Cuddling Gatomon seemed her only remedy.
How could something so vulgar possess so much power, the girl wondered. Bragi was the Aesir of poetry and culture, yet Kari could see the intoxication of 'Digimon Adventure!'. Children played the card game. Adults wore the merchandise. The internet thrummed on the fuel of people's imagination and what appeared a desperate attempt at what should have been. It made her angry; a spark in her belly that clenched her fists so tight Gatomon yowled as she pulled strands of fur, roots and all, from the felines back. Kari felt sick. Somehow, in the early twilight of Sunday, she fell asleep, Gatomon snuggled against her.
Awaking Monday morning, Kari's spirit felt lighter. Throughout the school day she managed a smile or a brief hello to her non-destined friends, but Takeru and Davis noticed her withdrawl after school, heading towards the metropolitan building. They asked her what was wrong. It's nothing, she said. Gatomon betrayed her act, growing more concerned about her partner.
Thirteen stories down, Kari and the younger Destined arrived in Mimir's lab. She found Izzy in the back room lying on his cot, staring up at the ceiling, hands folded on his chest. At first the Destined of Knowledge remained oblivious until Kari knocked on the door frame. Izzy glanced up and rose to greet her. The armpits of his lab coat had turned into yellow half-moons. His face drooped. Kari almost asked if he wanted a coffee from the commissary a few floors above.
"You guys are early," he said in a dreary whisper. "Mimir and Yudai won't be here for another half an hour."
Kari smiled. "That's okay," she responded. "How about you, are you doing okay?"
Izzy sat down on the cot, massaging his neck. "I've been working round the clock. Problems with the Digital Transit System, Gennai, and the Aesir's little projects," he yawned, wafting garlic across her nose. "I can't remember the last time I fell asleep."
"Mimir's working you that hard?"
The red head blinked at her. He rubbed his eyes. "Oh, it's nothing like that. If anything, Mimir and Tentomon have been begging me to go home for a few days, but I'm learning so much about the Aesir and their relation to Gennai that sleep is impossible."
Kari thought about his words for a moment. "How about we talk over some coffee up in the commissary?"
Izzy smiled. "That sounds prodigious," he said. Reaching into his coat's front pocket, he produced his wallet. "On the house, courtesy of Mimir."
The two left the backroom and Izzy relayed the information to the other children. They took the elevator up four floors to the commissary, Cody and Ken in tow, stepping out into an empty cafeteria. It was a sweeping eatery with two dozen or so tables dotting a concrete floor. Cody and Ken took the groups order and, carrying Izzy's badge, crossed the room to one of the open cafeteria stalls. Kari, Izzy, and the digimon found a table near the opposite end, closer towards the shopping area of the commissary. Izzy plunked on the seat in exhaustion with Tentomon aside, while Kari, Ken, and Cody sat opposite.
The tired prodigy took a long drag of his double-shot, dark roast, and three sugars. "I've learned some interesting things about the Aesir from Mimir. He's pretty forthcoming about it," he said between sips.
Cody cupped his hands around his chocolate milk. "Did you figure out who they are?"
"Or how they managed to keep the world in the dark about the Digital World?" Ken added. He pulled his tie loose, letting it unravel around his collar.
"Well, it's pretty spectacular," Izzy began, taking another purposeful drag. "The Aesir are actually digital beings, like Gennai, but on a completely different level in terms of power."
"If they're like Gennai, how didn't we know about them before?" Kari asked.
Izzy looked around. After checking the group was alone, he leaned in. "Because they were already in the Human World before we even left in the first place," he whispered. "Apparently they had been kicked out of the digital universe during some catastrophic event. Remember how Gennai kept the Digital World hidden all this time?" Izzy took another drag and continued, "Well it was the Aesir he kept in the dark, but somehow one of them managed to commit things to paper and ink."
Gatomon lapped at her saucer of milk, sighing. "It sounds pretty simple if you think about it. Gennai can't touch what isn't digital."
Kari's brain clicked. She recalled Bragi mentioning something about set backs and 'her friend'. Did he mean Gennai, she thought. Even from this small bit of information, she could piece together something logical from Saturday. "That's how Bragi created 'Digimon Adventure!' isn't it?"
Izzy gave a tired nod. "Mimir said Bragi had been set back half a decade because of Gennai. Most of the Aesir hate him, actually."
"Seems a bit silly to hold a grudge after the fact," Cody remarked.
"That's the thing, I think they're mad at him for different reasons, but Mimir won't say what they are. Of the Aesir that are in the Real World, Loki hates him the most—" Izzy stopped mid-sentence, shivering. "That guy gives me the creeps even thinking about him." He looked at the others. "Promise me you'll stay as far away from Loki as humanely possible. Don't even call out to him." His eyes hardened, forgetting about the coffee for once. The three children nodded. "I don't know what Gennai did to make them so angry, but it's serious enough to want to kill him over it."
Ken's eyes widened. "What? Why?" he demanded. Izzy shook his head. "If the Aesir are powerful enough to bend the Japanese Government's ear, what chance does Gennai have?" Ken asked.
Izzy remained quiet. "He knows there's a target on his back," he said after a few moments of silence. "The Aesir are strong," Izzy muttered, taking a long drag. "Stronger in ways beyond raw strength. I don't know what to do except keeping Gennai informed." He looked at Tentomon, who placed a claw on his shoulder. "We're out of our element on this one."
Armadillomon looked up from his own saucer. "Now you wouldn't think Yudai's somehow caught up in all this?"
Izzy drained the coffee cup and asked Ken for a refill, which he did. He waited until Ken came back. "Yudai's just an ordinary guy. Two years in the SDF (Self-Defense Force) and he had befriended Menhit and Maahes during the aftermath of Myotismon's first invasion," he continued, "but the Aesir have plans for him as well, using that D-Shutter of theirs." His muttering stopped as he took several, long drinks. "And let me tell you, that device is amazing. It makes ours look like cheap toys in comparison."
Cody slaked on his milk in thought, before asking, "So where does that leave us now? What's so important about these tunnels and a city?"
Izzy laughed, surprising everyone. "Only the biggest discovery in the Digital World," he whispered again. "The Aesir think that it's one of their ancient cities that predates the Guardians on the Digital World."
"I guess that's why the entrance was warded." Ken mused. Izzy nodded, slow and purposeful. "Well, what's in it?"
The genius shrugged. "No one knows, that's why you're going to find out for us."
Kari placed a hand over his. Izzy looked up, confused. "Thanks for telling us, Izzy. But you should really go home and rest now, leave the rest to us for a while."
He started protesting. "But I can't leave now, not when's there's so much work to do."
"Believe it or not Izzy, but you could pass for the walking dead." Tentomon added, the claw on his shoulder holding steady. "Can't you see that your friends are concerned about your well being—even Mimir is practically begging you to go home and get some well deserved shut-eye. Won't you listen to your friends, at least?"
Izzy sighed, a heavy, exhausted breath. He looked at his hands, at his friends across the table. "Walking dead, huh?" All the children nodded. "Well, if it's that bad, then maybe I should leave before Mimir gets the crazy idea to call Mimi over. Nothing's more eye-opening than a Mimi tantrum." Izzy yawned. "All right, I'll go. Tell Mimir I'm taking a few days off." Izzy collected his coffee cup and, with Tentomon guiding him, disappeared into a waiting elevator car.
Kari watched him go. She said nothing to the other boys at the table. The few minutes over coffee filled in gaps about the Aesir and even explained Bragi's brusque demeanor, somewhat. She mulled over Izzy's explanation as the group finished their drinks and headed back down to Mimir's lab. Yudai and his Gazimon were waiting for them, chatting with Davis and the others left milling around, waiting for Mimir. Another man stood with them, not the aged Mimir, but someone unfamiliar.
The man matched Yudai's height. His malt-blonde hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, revealing a square forehead above chiseled features. His brow square, nose explicitly Roman, and an emperor's judicial lips. Sharp, cutting blue eyes regarded the arriving group, settling on Kari and holding long enough for her to fidget under his stare. The man wore the heavy carapace of a soldier adorned with ornate laurels on the pauldrons and Norse runes scribbled across each piece. Unlike the men-at-arms scarlet over industrial gray, his armor was imperial blue with gold trim over a lighter gray, like snow-slush.
Kari recognized an Aesir standing in front of her. Like an innate sense, she could feel his presence. It was welcoming and warm, yet firm. She wondered if her ability stemmed from being a Destined, though if the others could sense this feeling, they kept it to themselves. An aroma accompanied it. Kari mentally inhaled, tasting sweet alcohol and bitter-leaf tobacco wafting from the Aesir. It felt disorienting. What was this delightful aura, she thought.
"And the others have arrived," the man announced. His voice was deep, yet cultured by a subtle, accenting lilt pleasing to the ear. "I trust our scholar took council and went home to sleep?"
Ken blinked. "Izzy?" he asked. The man nodded. "Yeah, he asked us to let Mimir know."
The man smiled. "Excellent," he rumbled in response. "Now we can begin exploring in earnest. Loki has taken the liberty of clearing the entrance of pests. I trust you know what to do once you're down in the warrens?" The man asked Yudai.
"Sure do." Yudai replied.
The Gazimon chuckled, hefting their backpacks. "Don't worry, Baldr. We've got everything covered," Menhit said, giving him a crisp salute.
Baldr the valorous gave the mischief makers a skeptical look. "I'm sure you're well prepared. Try to keep your scavenging to a minimum. You have a city to discover."
Kari spied the tall Aesir from the seclusion of her friends shoulders. Baldr appeared pleasant enough, but his gaze hung on her for a second longer than anyone else. He wanted to say something, privately, yet refrained, hanging back as the group gathered towards the rear of the laboratory in front of the digital portal machine. Kari pulled Gatomon in her arms and hugged her. Davis held out his Digivice and the machine whirred to life.
"Identity confirmed. Voice pattern recognized. Coordinates onto the Digital Plane locked in and awaiting input," the machine warbled.
"Let's get this adventure started, Digi-port open!" Davis shouted, thrusting his device outwards.
The familiar tingling began crawling across Kari's skin and, in an eye blink, the Real World disappeared once more.
OOC: Well, I lied. I tried rushing into the Digital World, but the pacing felt off and I couldn't exactly stave off some exposition, though I'm loathe to give it this way. But now that's largely out of the way, the real sojourn into the Digital World begins next chapter. Promise!
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