The Digimon leading the charge towards the building that Mimi recognized as the government's data bureau was known as Aegisdramon. That was what Lillymon had told Mimi, at the very least, and she knew that she had to trust her partner on this front. Lillymon knew better than she did when it came to naming Digimon, after all. Mimi bit down on her lip and held her Digivice tightly, desperately searching for an opening amidst the crowd of Digimon. They had to use the element of surprise to their advantage, yes, but it was so much easier said than done to do that. After all, there were so many Digimon in the area that there would be eyes everywhere at once. As soon as she and Daisuke stepped out from their hiding place, they were going to be seen, and everything could so easily fall apart from there.
Mimi was on the verge of asking Daisuke for his advice on what he thought they should do, but she was cut off when the Digimon in the area began to move in separate directions. She gasped before clamping her mouth shut to ensure that nobody heard her when passing by. She kept her gaze on the sky in muted curiosity, and she prayed that the Digimon didn't see her or Daisuke along the way. Luckily for her, it seemed as if her concerns were unfounded, as nobody even bothered to look twice in their direction. That meant that only Aegisdramon was left in the area.
"What do you think is going on?" Daisuke questioned of Mimi after a long beat of silence where none of them had the confidence to speak. Mimi was still struggling to make sure that she could actually talk if she absolutely had to because of how tense she was in the wake of such a sudden shift in the battle.
"I guess that they realized that only one Digimon would be needed for whatever is in there," Lillymon replied, and Mimi was glad to hear that her partner had taken over for her on this front. She nodded her agreement, figuring that Lillymon's theory was as good as any other. She bit down on her lip once again, working the skin between her teeth as she desperately tried to figure out just what was going on. There had to be an explanation for this, right? Why were all of the Digimon in this area? Just who was inside of that building?
"We won't know what's waiting for us until we go inside," Daisuke commented, almost as if he could read Mimi's mind. She nodded her agreement, knowing that he had a point. They were going to have to find a way to make it through Aegisdramon's defenses if they were going to see what it was that was waiting for them within the building's confines. Of course, that was much easier said than done, but it didn't stop her from trying to scheme up something that would work to their benefit.
"With only one Digimon there, that's going to make us fighting back much easier," Paildramon pointed out. "All we have to do is figure out where the dark data patch is on Aegisdramon's body, and from there, everything should get much easier. If we can hit it without needing to get too close, then that will be even better."
Mimi nodded her agreement, and she looked down at the concrete, almost as if she expected it to just give up the answers that she was looking for. There had to be an answer for what was coming next out there somewhere, and she was begging for the universe to go on and hand it over to her already.
"Come on," Lillymon said next. "I'm going to try and get a bit closer. I think that the rest of you should do the same. I don't know where those Digimon went or how long they'll be gone for, but we have to make sure that we figure out what we have to about Aegisdramon before they come back. We don't know if they're going to return or not, and if they come back before we've gotten rid of Aegisdramon, then we're going to be in a lot of trouble."
Mimi nodded, knowing that Lillymon had a point. She let out a small sigh from between her teeth before starting to walk forward carefully. She had an awful feeling about this. She glanced down at her Digivice simply because it was something familiar and comforting to her. Daisuke watched her the whole way through before she pulled her head up to hold it higher than she ever had before. This wasn't the time to falter. For the sake of whoever was in that building, they had to keep pressing on, and Aegisdramon wasn't going to be able to stop them. Nothing was going to stand in their way if Mimi had anything to say about it.
Lillymon walked carefully through the shadows, and Mimi trailed after her. Daisuke went next with Paildramon taking up the rear. They stayed in the places that were hidden from the sky's view thanks to the massive buildings on either side, and Mimi found herself pressing her back against glass windows every once in a while just to make sure that nobody caught onto the fact that they were there. She didn't know what would happen if they were found, but she had a pretty good theory, and the last thing she wanted to do was put it to the test.
"We'll be there soon," Mimi heard Daisuke whisper to nobody in particular. She nodded her agreement before looking up at the building in the distance. She didn't know what was going on for sure, but she was going to make sure that everything was alright. That was part of her job as a Chosen Child, and with all that was happening throughout the city, she couldn't neglect her duties then. There was simply too much on the line.
Atsuo's pacing was starting to grate on Hiraku's nerves, not that he would ever admit it out loud. He simply didn't see a point in confessing something so deliberately harsh. He bit down hard on the inside of his lip as he continued to stare at the computer screen in front of him. The Digimon signals had only shifted slightly since the last time that he had checked, but that didn't stop him from praying all over again that there was a shift in the information.
Much to Hiraku's surprise, a signal had flickered out of existence. He let out a gasp before grinning to himself. "They managed to get another one down!" he cried out to Atsuo. He resisted the urge to start crying and indulge in the tears that were starting to well up at the corners of his eyes. This was a massive deal as far as he was concerned. If the Chosen Children were making progress, then that meant that they would hopefully be saved soon.
Atsuo stopped pacing. "That's great!" he declared, though Hiraku could hear the slight shake in his voice that eventually gave way to a crack. Atsuo clapped one hand over his mouth before sliding his palm down his face. "All of this waiting is driving me nuts! Why can't the Digimon just leave already? I know that they're here for us, but I'm still sick of all this. I want the Chosen Children to show up. They have to be on their way now, right?"
Hiraku nodded. "It seems to me that Mimi and Daisuke are coming with their partners. I don't believe that they've been spotted yet. All of the Digimon near us are in the same place as ever... I guess that they're still just surrounding the building as a way of trying to lower our morale. It would be easier for them to just knock it down, but..." Hiraku let his voice trail off since he didn't want to finish that sentence. He didn't want the Digimon to just destroy the building. After all, that would mean certain doom for both himself and Hiraku, and that was the last thing that either one of them would want. They couldn't see what the future had in store for them if they were dead, after all.
Atsuo shook his head. "I know that you're right, and the suspense is killing me! I don't want them to do anything like that either, but..." He sighed and stamped one foot against the ground simply because he needed something to do with his body. That was the reason for all of his pacing. He was desperate to get all of his nervous energy out somehow, and if escape was no longer an option, then simply moving around would have to suffice until he could figure out something else that would be more effective.
"We'll just have to have faith that they're going to come for us soon," Hiraku told Atsuo. He was glad when the other man nodded in response, and he allowed a light smile to grace his features. They were going to be fine. They just had to be fine, right? That was what he was counting on, at the very least. This was driving him nuts as well, but he was going to try and hold onto hope for as long as he could manage. Others were counting on him to do that.
Hiraku let out a gasp when he glanced down to see that something else had shifted on the screen. He hardly believed what he saw at first, and Atsuo came to stand over his shoulder a moment later when he saw Hiraku struggling to properly articulate his shock. The two stared at the computer screen for a long moment before Atsuo let out a strangled cry to show that he had noticed the strange happening as well.
"The Digimon are leaving!" Atsuo exclaimed. "But why are they doing that? We're still in here, and it's not like they've managed to defeat us, right? I mean, we're still fine, and..." He was silent before he sighed and continued. "I guess that this isn't anything that I should be complaining about though. I mean, we're still alive, and if they're all leaving, then that might mean that they've found something else more interesting than hanging around here. We can't escape, and I bet that they've picked up on that much by now, wouldn't you agree?"
"They could have decided that only one of them is needed to knock the building down," Hiraku said softly. He liked to think that he was an optimistic person, but at the same time, there was only so much pushing that he could take before he started feeling like he was going to fall apart. This was a life or death situation, and he couldn't deny that no matter how hard he tried to. If they were unlucky, both he and Atsuo could perish in this building as they waited for outside assistance to arrive.
"I don't like the sound of that," Atsuo confessed. He knew just as well as Hiraku that it was hard to be hopeful in this situation, and Hiraku couldn't help but think to himself that it was obvious why such a trait had always belonged to Chisane rather than one of them. He shook off the thought when he thought about how tragic it would be that he hadn't seen Chisane or Kaya in years, and if the building fell down, he never would.
"We're going to be fine," Hiraku finally declared, though he was more trying to convince himself than Atsuo. The other man remained silent at his words, and Hiraku knew that his attempts at persuasion had ultimately fallen short. What else could be done? All that they could do was wait, and they both knew that it wasn't going to end well for them. How could it? Everything was falling apart, and they were simply caught in the middle of it.
The ground shook.
Iori was doing his best to stay focused given the circumstances, though that was much easier said than done. Shakkoumon, Angewomon, and HolyAngemon were giving it their all to try and defeat Hexeblaumon, but it wasn't as if they were making all that much progress. They were too disoriented from a variety of factors, such as other Digimon streaking through the overhead skies or Takeru's injury. They had mended it to the best of their ability, but that didn't change the fact that it wasn't lessening the anxiety of the air in the slightest.
Angewomon sent an arrow flying towards Hexeblaumon, and Iori was glad to see that it was actually enough to deal damage against Hexeblaumon, sending the Digimon reeling for but a brief moment. He smiled to himself, glad that there was at least a small amount of progress being made. This was what they needed. Even just tiny pieces of progress counted for something.
The ground shook for a second time, and Iori glanced over to Hikari and Takeru in confusion. He didn't know why it was that the earth was suddenly trembling for seemingly no reason. Why was it that they were being influenced by something from below? Was there another Digimon coming closer to them?
Before Iori could open his mouth to ask the question that had posed itself in his mind, he let out a gasp. Zudomon's figure came into view, and he could see Jou sitting with two others atop Zudomon's free hand. Zudomon noticed Hexeblaumon quickly, and he dropped off Jou and the other two people riding on his palm before he took another step forward, getting ready to engage in combat along with the other three Perfect level Digimon that were already working to fend off Hexeblaumon.
"Jou!" Iori cried out as he dashed towards his senior. His shoes nearly slid out from beneath him against the concrete because of his immense burst of sudden speed. He smiled up at Jou and received a hazy grin in return, and Iori could tell immediately that there was a lot on his predecessor's mind. He frowned to himself before his attention went sideways to the two other newcomers that had arrived with Jou.
"Who are they?" Takeru asked as he walked closer. He was still holding the piece of cloth against the back of his neck, and yet, he managed to plaster a smile on his face despite this. "I didn't realize that we would be seeing company, Jou." Even in the darkest of moments, he was still managing to shine with optimism. That was one of Takeru's most amazing qualities as far as Iori was concerned, and he found it to be notably stunning given the circumstances. The fight against Hexeblaumon continued in the background, but Iori barely registered it beyond a distant static that fuzzed around at the back of his mind, so close yet so far away that he struggled to make out any parts of it.
"That doesn't matter," the taller of the two women said bluntly. She walked around to stand behind Takeru before unceremoniously yet carefully making sure that he sat down on the ground in front of her. She pulled the cloth away from the back of his neck and reached into a bag slung over her shoulder to pull out a small bandage along with a water bottle and a second piece of fabric of her own. She tilted a few droplets of water onto the cloth before pressing it against Takeru's injury. He winced slightly but did his best to keep a smile on his face.
"Meet Kaya Fujimori and Chisane Matsumiya," Jou replied. "They've been helping me to navigate the city since the attack started, and they're going to help me to make sure that everyone gets out safely. I can't heal every injury that we come across, and there are probably other people that are still inside."
"I see..." Hikari murmured. She looked at both of the women for a long moment, and Chisane looked up to meet her gaze. Kaya completely ignored her inquisitive stare, focusing only on her work of mending the wound on Takeru's neck. Chisane and Hikari stared at one another for a long moment that seemed to last for an eternity. Iori could sense the tension between them, but he wasn't quite sure of how to describe it.
Chisane looked over in his direction next, and he suddenly felt an odd sensation bubble up from inside him. Something about her felt oddly familiar, though he didn't know how to define such a thought. After all, he was confident that he had never met her. He was positive that he would have recognized her if they had crossed paths previously, but if that was the case, then why did she feel so eerily familiar to him? There had to be an explanation behind it, but Iori didn't know where he would even begin if he tried to figure out the truth behind such a fact.
HolyAngemon streaked through the sky overhead, and Iori's attention was dragged away from his curiosity over Chisane and Kaya. He watched as the angel Digimon attempted to slash at Hexeblaumon's shoulder where the dark patch of data could be seen notably against the blue of his regular armor. Hexeblaumon managed to swerve out of the way at the last minute, but he ran straight into the line of fire for Shakkoumon. An energy laser rocketed forth from Shakkoumon's core before slamming into Hexeblaumon's back. The attack would not have been as effective as it was had Hexeblaumon had even slightly more balance than he did in that moment, but Iori sure wasn't complaining. This made it much easier for them to find success, after all.
Iori didn't even notice that Zudomon was actively attempting to fight back until after his shining silver hammer came slamming down onto Hexeblaumon's shoulder. The black data patch disappeared from view as it fizzled out of existence, and the knight Digimon started to change. His darkened color scheme dissipated, leaving behind only traces of lighter blue. Iori let out a sigh of relief, glad that they had been saved from at least the immediate threat of danger. There were other Digimon out there, but for at least a few moments, they were going to be able to breathe.
"Do we have a computer around here?" Hikari questioned. She continued to give Kaya and Chisane odd glances out of the corner of her eye, a clear sign of her uncertainty regarding their shared presence in the area. Iori was sure that Hikari was desperate to get rid of her remaining traces of adrenaline before they drove her up a wall.
Chisane let out a gasp before nodding. She dug her hands into Kaya's bag a moment later before pulling it out. She presented the device to Hikari, and once again, the two women met eyes in a strange way that Iori found himself disliking. There was clearly more to Kaya and Chisane than met the eye, but what was it that set them apart from the crowd to such an extent? He hoped that he found the answers sooner rather than later.
Hikari was the one who volunteered to approach Hexeblaumon, and with a quick flash of light, the portal opened to send Hexeblaumon back to the Digital World. Iori's shoulders sagged with poorly-contained relief at the sight of Hexeblaumon's disappearance, and he turned over his shoulder to see how Kaya was doing with helping Takeru out with his injury.
Kaya's fingers curled carefully around Takeru's upper arm as she helped to haul him to his feet, and he gave her a grateful smile before pressing his fingers against the cut on his neck. Iori could see a small swipe of crimson across the top of Takeru's shirt collar on his upper back. He forced himself to look away from it. Iori had never been the type to be notably bothered by blood, but he knew that it would also distract him at a moment where that was the last thing that he could afford.
"I'm glad that's all been taken care of," Kaya said simply. She glared at Takeru when his fingers began to fiddle with the edges of the bandage. "Don't mess with it. That's only going to make sure that it takes longer to heal, and I don't think that anybody wants that." TAkeru nodded before his hand fell down to his side in a defeated, hazy retreat.
"There are other Digimon still roaming the city," Chisane commented, her voice shaky and frail. Iori couldn't help but wonder if she was alright to be doing this at all. She appeared to be so unsteady that she was on the verge of falling to the ground, like the presence of the Digimon was taking away her energy and leaving behind only a shell of a woman in their wake.
"We have to make sure that they don't cause any other problems, in other words," Kaya went on. Her tone was so stern and down to business that Iori found it difficult to believe that she was simply a regular person. There had to be something more to this that he wasn't yet aware of. Part of him doubted that Kaya and Chisane were members of the government agency that Daigo, Maki, and Hiraku were part of, but if they weren't involved with that, then just how were they tied in with the grand scheme of this mystery?
"Come on," Jou suggested. "We should continue making our rounds through the city. We aren't going to be able to help anyone else evacuate if we stay here for too much longer. We don't know how many people are unable to get out, and we have to find them before there are any other injuries." His voice shook with a note of uncertainty, and Iori hated how anxious Jou sounded. It was normal for Jou to be nervous, yes, but this somehow seemed to run deeper in a way that Iori detested more than he could ever articulate.
"Let's keep going then," Hikari suggested. She approached Angewomon, and her partner swept her up without a moment of hesitation. Hikari's arms wrapped around her partner's upper body, and Iori could see that she was holding on for dear life in the face of all of the awful circumstances that the day had presented them with.
Jou hesitated before looking down. "I don't know if I'll be able to come with you," he said. Iori's eyes went wide, and he could sense similar shock from Takeru, Hikari, and all three of their partners as well. "I want to try and get as many people out of here as possible, but it won't be as easy to do that if I'm with you three. If we find anybody, I'm only going to slow you down, and I want to make sure that I'm not rushed if I have to help anyone who's hurt along the way."
"Slow us down?" Hikari echoed, her eyes wide with surprise at Jou's words. She seemed to be taken aback that Jou would ever even imply such a thing, and her mind was clearly already working to try and formulate a response to him that would make it clear that she didn't think of him as an extra burden in the slightest.
"I'm not saying this to be self-deprecating," Jou cut in, putting an end to Hikari's insecurities before she could even voice them. Her mouth shut immediately. "I'm saying this because I want to be practical and realistic about what's next for us. I'm going to make sure that we see each other again, and everything is going to be fine. I'm not going to be alone anyways. These two are going to be coming with me to help heal any injuries that we happen to see."
"Are you sure that this is a good idea?" Iori questioned. He was so shaken by the day's events that he found himself borderline desperate to keep as many of the Chosen Children in his line of sight at once as he could. In a way, it felt wrong for him to let Jou go so easily. He knew that Jou had a point and was making the decision that he thought to be for the best, but that didn't do much to stop the quaking sense of uncertainty that was quickly influencing everything that Iori knew both inside and out.
"I know what I'm doing," Jou assured him, and Iori knew deep down that there had never been any doubts on this front. They were going to see each other again, and Iori was confident of that much. He would simply have to shelve his concerns briefly until he and the others were able to defeat more of the Digimon that had quickly come streaming in from the other side of the dimensional barrier. Jou's skillset was unique, and it was also needed elsewhere, especially if there were other injured people that were still waiting to be rescued.
"Alright," Hikari finally said, though it was still clear that she was unsettled by Jou's proposal. She glanced up to Angewomon and nodded, giving her partner the go-ahead to take off into the sky when the time was right. Meanwhile, Iori mounted Shakkoumon, letting his hands press firmly against the cool metal of Shakkoumon's armor.
Takeru was slightly more hesitant as he made his way towards HolyAngemon. He risked a brief glance over at Chisane before he spoke. "Why do I feel like I know you from somewhere?" Takeru questioned, risking answers in a moment of boldness.
Chisane nearly jumped out of her skin at his words, and Iori saw that she grew even paler somehow when he spoke. "Um... I don't know," she said, though it was clear that she was fully aware of why it was that Takeru found her to be so odd. Chisane deliberately avoided meeting anyone's gaze, seeming to understand that she was under silent scrutiny from the trio of departing Chosen Children and their partner. Kaya's eyes began to formulate a glare, and Iori found that such an action only added further to the complexity of the mystery behind who exactly these two women were.
"We'll see you again soon," Jou declared as he began to clamber onto Zudomon's hand once again. Chisane and Kaya followed suit, and Chisane tucked Kaya's laptop back into her bag after they were somewhat settled down.
Iori gave Jou a wave as Shakkoumon, Angewomon, and HolyAngemon all took to the skies in unison. Iori kept his eyes on the ground where Zudomon's silhouette could be seen long after he and his partner had lifted themselves into the atmosphere, and Iori continued to wonder just who those two strange women were.
He knew that there had to be an explanation regarding their strange behavior somewhere. The true depth of their connection to the situation at hand was undoubtedly complicated, and that almost seemed to be an understatement as well. Kaya had taken control of the situation so effortlessly, and she hardly seemed bothered by the Digimon invasion that had sparked all of this conflict in the first place. Did that mean that she somehow had experience when it came to situations of this nature? If so, how was that even possible? There wasn't an explanation that made the pieces come together no matter how hard Iori tried to find a way to force it to make cohesive sense.
Chisane's eyes would linger in his mind for quite some time. That much he was certain of. There was something about her that felt familiar, and Takeru clearly felt the pull of such a strange sensation as well. Hikari's odd behavior regarding Chisane seemed to stem from something different, but Iori doubted that he would be able to ask her about it easily in that moment. They were still flying above Odaiba, after all, and the thrashing of the wind was going to keep them from being able to communicate easily.
The fact remained that Chisane seemed familiar to both him and Takeru somehow. Jou didn't seem to feel the same way though, and that was one part of the mystery that truly did befuddle Iori. Why was it something that only influenced him and Takeru? Was there something odd about Chisane that was exclusive to the two of them as far as gut sensations were concerned? There had to be an explanation in existence somewhere, but the details continued to elude Iori much to his own distress and anguish.
Still, he knew that it wasn't the time for him to bury himself in his own curiosity. His inquisition regarding other people had remained strong and true even years later, but he didn't have much time to entertain such a thought process given the situation. There were Digimon roaming the city, and if Iori wanted to find any answers that would help him, he would have to speak with others. He couldn't take that time out of the fight when there were other people that were still in danger. His search for answers was going to have to wait until all of this was over, though Iori had no idea just how long that was going to take.
Iori let out a careful breath, biting down on his lip silently. He tried to focus on the wind that surrounded him on all sides. Breathe in, breathe out. This was a stressful situation, but he was going to power through it. He and the other members of the group had promised to see one another again, and Iori was going to make sure that they all followed through on such a vow. Until that time came though, he was going to have to fight, and nothing was going to get in his way of ensuring triumph when dusk finally broke.
"Flower Cannon!"
Aegisdramon barely had a moment to process what was happening before the laser from Lillymon's attack had slammed into his upper arm. His armor was a radiant gold that only seemed to glow brighter in the midday sunshine, but the wing-like formations on his arms were somewhat vulnerable. Even if Lillymon missed the intended target of the data patch hiding against his torso, she was more than able to hit Aegisdramon's wing. Her attack clipped the edge of the wing, and that was enough to threaten to send Aegisdramon spiraling to the ground, and while he managed to keep from completely collapsing under the weight of Lillymon's attack, it was still noticeable how he struggled to stay afloat.
Mimi grinned up at Aegisdramon from her place on the ground. Lillymon had told her to stay out of sight, and she wasn't going to have any added protection. Daisuke and Paildramon had other business to take care of, so that left Mimi and Lillymon alone to try and fight off Aegisdramon. Well, fight off was hardly the correct term for the circumstances. If anything, it was more that they were distracting him. Daisuke and Paildramon's other duties involved them sneaking into the direction of the building that Aegisdramon had been circling, and if they were successful, they would be able to help the people inside to escape before anything fell to further disaster.
Aegisdramon turned with the rage of a thousand beasts in his gaze when he tried to focus on Lillymon. He lunged towards her, the wing-like structures on his upper body threatening to slam into her if she dared to get too close. Luckily, Lillymon was more than fast enough to continue outrunning him, and she swerved down low to keep from getting hit. Aegisdramon had the advantage in size, though that was quickly turning into a weakness because of how easily Lillymon was able to use her speed to get out of the line of fire.
After a few moments of pursuing Lillymon, Aegisdramon seemed to get sick of such an endeavor, and he instead closed his eyes. The missiles mounted to his back began to spark to life, and Mimi found herself clamping down on the skin of her bottom lip between her teeth. "Blaze Power!" Aegisdramon cried out, and the missiles started to launch themselves in Lillymon's direction.
The fairy Digimon ducked and flew high to keep from being hit, but the missiles did hit the ground in messy explosions of debris when she dodged well enough. A streetlamp fell sideways, and Mimi was relieved that she was on the opposite side of the metallic structure when it started to crumble. Her arms came up to cover her head, though she still left a small gap between her forearms so that she could see what was happening elsewhere in case she had to suddenly bold from the scene to handle other matters.
By the time that the attack had run its course, Lillymon had luckily managed to escape unscathed. Mimi was glad that she and Daisuke had agreed on Lillymon being the one to provide the distraction while Paildramon focused on freeing the people trapped within the nearby building. Paildramon was bulkier, and while that was a boon in most fights, it would have certainly worked against him in this specific instance of combat. Plus, Paildramon's physical strength would be crucial to helping the hostages escape from the scene, and Mimi doubted that Lillymon would be able to fill that hole even if she wanted to.
Lillymon ducked when Aegisdramon lunged towards her once again, and Mimi found herself continuing to grip tightly at anything that she could get her hands on. This was too much pressure for her. Why did all of the buildings around her, structures that she had once found to be so comforting as a sign of the home that she loved so dearly, feel like they were suddenly closing in with enough ferocity to suffocate her? She knew the dangers of the situation, in other words, and as soon as she started noticing them, Mimi really wished that she had never caught on at all. It left her paranoid and on edge.
In all honesty, Mimi was already getting tired of waiting, but she knew that there was little that she could change the flow of this battle. Daisuke and Paildramon would return soon enough, and when they did, everything would be easier. After all, Paildramon and Lillymon would be able to tag team Aegisdramon. Even if their foe was an Ultimate Digimon, all they had to do was shoot down the dark patch of data, and the pieces would fall into place from there. It couldn't be that hard if they worked together, right? That was what Mimi was choosing to tell herself, at the very least. The concept of not knowing was as heavy as a lead weight in her stomach, and it seemed to be ready to either drag her into hell or strangle her at the same time.
"Please, Daisuke," Mimi found herself whispering. "You can do this. Please... Find a way to pull this off."
Paildramon's hefty arms were more than able to lift the large rock away from the door of the building, and Daisuke grinned up at his partner with endless pride in his eyes. He gave Paildramon a curt nod as his partner fully removed the item obstructing the entrance. This gave both of them a full view of what could be found within the building's interior, at least within the lobby.
Daisuke resisted the urge to cringe openly when he saw how many pieces of stray debris were now littered all over the floor. He remembered the bureau building as being magnificent and regal with all of its technological advancements, but the current situation made it seem like little more than a shell of its former self. He didn't know why that was so unnerving to him, but he hated it. Daisuke glanced up to Paildramon when he noticed just how much broken glass was in the area as well. This was certainly going to take some quite time to recover from on the bureau's part. Much of their budget was bound to go towards helping ensure that the building was structurally sound enough for future operations to continue being centered around this specific location.
"They're here!"
Hiraku's voice broke through the haze, and Daisuke looked up to see the brown-haired man dashing towards him. Hiraku had his laptop in one hand and a bag thrown haphazardly over his shoulders. Next to Hiraku was Atsuo, who was in such disbelief that they had been rescued that he could barely bring himself to say anything to Daisuke. Instead, he simply stammered, desperate to find the words but ultimately falling short each time that he tried.
"Thank you so much for coming to help us!" Hiraku exclaimed as he bowed his head deeply to Daisuke. When he returned to his full height, there was a grin that seemed as wide as a canyon across his face. When Daisuke looked closer, he could see the opening pinpricks of relieved tears pulling at the edges of Hiraku's eyes, though the man didn't seem to be bothering to hide such a fact.
"We're happy to pitch in," Daisuke assured him with a grin that matched only the sun in its brightness. He gestured for the other two men to follow after him as he turned towards the door. "Come on. We should get out of here, huh? Mimi and Lillymon are outside keeping Aegisdramon distracted, but I have to do something to pitch into the fight sooner or later, and it would be best if we left now."
There was minimal hesitation as Hiraku slammed his laptop shut and forced it into his bag with an unceremonious sense of haste that Daisuke didn't think looked good on Hiraku in the slightest. For someone so normally composed, it was unsettling to see, and Daisuke found himself staring until Paildramon nudged him. Daisuke covered it up with a small cough to clear his throat before he turned towards the door once again. "Follow me. I'll make sure that we aren't caught on the way back to Mimi," he assured them.
Hiraku and Atsuo looked over at one another for a long moment, and Daisuke found himself feeling oddly strange around Atsuo when the blonde found his way into Daisuke's peripheral vision. He wasn't sure about how to describe the new sensation, but he knew for sure that it was something that he wanted to leave as soon as possible. It was uncomfortable solely because he didn't know how to define it, and he prayed that he would either find an explanation or a distraction as soon as possible.
The ground shook a moment later, and what little glass was still left in the windows of the building began to rattle as it threatened to cave and burst outwards. There was the distraction that Daisuke had been hoping for, though it wasn't exactly what he would have wanted. He picked up the pace after that, giving occasional glances over his shoulder to make sure that Hiraku and Atsuo were still with him.
By the time that they were out of the building, Paildramon was ready to get back into the fight. He looked down to Daisuke to make sure that he had his partner's permission to leave before kicking off into the sky and vanishing against the blue of the heavens. Daisuke watched his partner before he began to slink through the shadows once again. He had never been the best when it came to sneaking around, but he didn't think that it particularly mattered. He was doing what he could, and that was what mattered. Besides, he could fix his skills when it came to stealth when he was no longer at the heart of a life or death situation.
One thing still bothered him though, and Daisuke found himself resisting the urge to look over his shoulder and ask just what the strange object was that Hiraku had. Ken hadn't been able to get a straight answer out of Hiraku before, and Daisuke was desperate to hear the truth. He somehow just knew that it would be relevant in the long run, though he wasn't sure where this instinct came from. Did it even matter? He was going to have to figure it out sooner or later. Once again, it seemed like it would be able to wait until after the fight was over.
Daisuke was relieved when he saw the signature whirling of Mimi's light brown hair against the shadows, and he grinned to himself before kicking up the pace a notch. There was the destination of the hour. He had succeeded in his mission, and that meant that it was time for the next phase of the fight to begin. Aegisdramon was going to be defeated one way or another, and Paildramon joining the fray was just the first step of it.
Mimi's chest had been so tight with tension that she found it hard to breathe. All of that went melting away like ice off the surface of a rushing river as soon as she saw Daisuke coming closer with Hiraku and Atsuo. "You're safe!" she exclaimed with an excited grin. She was glad to have the extra confirmation that Daisuke was fine even though she knew realistically that he was going to be fine in the end regardless.
"And they're here with me too," Daisuke told her. "These two were probably the only ones in the building. I can't imagine that there were any others on the upper floors, so I sent Paildramon back to keep fighting Aegisdramon. I don't think that he noticed because Lillymon was distracting him. Thanks for working on that, by the way. I don't think it would have worked without your help. The plan, I mean."
"It's no big deal," Mimi assured him, feeling the pink warmth of pride starting to manifest in her cheeks regardless of her words. She felt the ground rumble once more, and when she glanced over towards the direction of the fight, she could see that an attack had made contact with the ground. Dust was flying in every direction, and Mimi held up her hands over her face to make sure that she didn't breathe in any of the excessive materials left over from the attack. Daisuke, Atsuo, and Hikaru all followed in her lead, and Mimi waited for a painfully long moment until after the dust had settled to risk taking another breath.
Mimi swiped at the air with one hand, and she saw that the concrete nearby had been borderline eviscerated by a rogue attack from Aegisdramon. If she had to guess, she would have had to say that Paildramon goaded the enemy Digimon into engaging in an attack, and he jumped out of the way at the last minute. That left Aegisdramon with a hole in his defenses, but it also meant that the city was suffering damages, and Mimi was suddenly overly aware of the fact that she and the other three people with her were at the heart of the chaos.
Mimi looked at Hiraku and Atsuo carefully, and her heart seemed to twist with sympathy that was almost nauseating. She didn't want them to be in the line of fire this way. The Digimon attacks as of late were putting regular people in danger, and Mimi hated it more than she could ever hope to describe. This battle didn't involve them at all, so why couldn't the enemy simply leave them alone? It was a question that she had asked many times in the past. Why wasn't battle limited to simply the parties that took to the battlefield? She knew the answer no matter how much she hated it; war was a cruel beast, and it took no prisoners, only causing irreversible damage to those who happened to get in the way. There was no rhyme or reason to the situation, only agony that was visited upon anyone without a sense of discrimination. Mimi had come to know this fact all too well when she watched as life began to fade from the eyes of Digimon within her grasp.
"Mimi?"
She was vaguely aware of Daisuke saying her name nearby, but she barely processed it. Instead, she looked up to face the battle between Aegisdramon, Lillymon, and Paildramon in the skies overhead. No matter what happened, she was going to make sure that people were kept out of harm's way. It was the least that she could do in her eyes. She had seen enough people get hurt over the course of her short life, and she refused to allow such an action to retreat. Odaiba had been mostly evacuated, yes, but that didn't mean that everyone would escape unscathed. Mimi had to act as soon as possible. If war was going to be cruel, then she would have to fight tooth and nail with everything she had to at least lessen the impact of the bloodshed and harm that the monster left in its wake.
"Never again," Mimi whispered, though she wasn't entirely sure where the words had come from. Somehow, she knew that they were as true as it got though, and the deep sense of passion that spawned them in the first place was bound to persist until the end of time or until she became numb to the world around her, whichever one happened first.
Mimi's fingers clasped tightly at her Digivice, and she felt the device begin to vibrate more violently than ever before. She noticed it but didn't fully process what was happening, too focused on her parading thoughts of a tragic past that she had tried so desperately to move past. The back of her mind replayed echoes of what had been in the past and what could have been in the future if not for tragedy sinking its unfortunately sharp teeth into souls that were taken away too soon. Regardless of if Digimon returned from death or not, Mimi didn't care. All she knew was that the scars remained both upon her heart, the eyes of those around her, and those who had been harmed so deeply in the first place.
"Never again," Mimi repeated, much louder this time. The screaming of her Digivice only grew louder despite the sound being silent, and she felt the explosion of warmth from her palm that spread outwards at a rapid speed, so fast that she was unable to completely notice it until everything that she had ever known had been swallowed by the sense of timeless beauty that came with perserverance.
Lillymon began to glow bright green from overhead, and Mimi found a gasp leaving her lips. There were tears welling up in her eyes, and they started to slide down her cheeks. She knew what was happening even though she hadn't expected it to be possible. However, the reality of the moment, as grounded and precious as it was, outshone every doubt that she could have had regarding the truth of the situation.
Daisuke let out a strangled yelp from somewhere nearby, but Mimi scarcely gave it a moment of focus. Instead, she allowed herself to watch as Lillymon's shape began to shift into something different. Pale wings and pastel pink began to shift into bold red. A rose-shaped helmet slid into place over her head, and an outfit of deep black and stark crimson came into existence. She held a whip in one hand that was lined with thorns, and everything about her declared that she was the embodiment of passion. Mimi's tears only continued to fall, and she didn't bother to wipe them away, instead allowing them to act as fuel for the fire that boiled up inside, a steam that flew in every direction without any sense of care or thought.
"Lillymon, evolve to... Rosemon!"
Rosemon. So that was her name. Somehow, Mimi was sure that she would have figured it out one way or another even without being told. After all, Rosemon was her partner, and she simply understood everything that happened as far as Palmon and her evolutions were concerned. Rosemon was the product of an incredible sense of rage that had become palpable enough to incite change. Mimi had seen this happen in the past, but that did little to take away from the resplendent perfection of the moment.
"Lillymon reached the Ultimate level!" Daisuke cried out, punching the air above his head with one confident hand. He looked over to Mimi with a bright grin, and he practically threw his arms around her in his excitement even though it wasn't his partner that had undergone the evolution. That was just like Daisuke, Mimi had to confess. He would always be happy for anyone else's success because of how endlessly kind and caring he was. It was part of his charm, and Mimi would have been lying if she said that she didn't appreciate it.
"She did," Mimi confirmed with a smile that seemed bright enough to block out even the sun itself. She found herself returning Daisuke's kind hug a moment later, and her tears began to wet the shoulder area of his shirt. If Daisuke minded this at all, he did a great job of hiding it. Mimi was confident that he didn't care though, because that was one other part of him that had always been beautiful to her. His kindness was as overwhelming as the dawn itself, and he would hold onto that for the rest of his life no matter what came his way.
Overhead, Rosemon made a harsh dive towards Aegisdramon. The golden Digimon attempted to swerve out of the way, but he just wound up being hit square in the back by a punch from Paildramon. The element of surprise allowed the attack to do much more damage than it would have otherwise, and Aegisdramon was sent spiraling down towards the ground. Rosemon followed after him, her whip seeming to glitter in the overhead sunshine. Hiraku and Atsuo watched on with shock, not doing anything to intervene in Mimi and Daisuke's moment of joy at the newfound evolution. Mimi barely noticed them even though they had played such a large part of Rosemon's evolution. She was too concentrated on how proud she was of her partner, and the sensation was so overwhelming that it seemed to be ready to swallow her at a moment's notice.
Rosemon's whip lashed out harshly, and before Mimi knew it, Aegisdramon was stuck in place because of the vine weapon wrapping around his torso. He struggled and thrashed against it, but the whip had a far better hold than one would have guessed based off its flimsy appearance. Aegisdramon roared in anger, but Rosemon didn't back down, refusing to yield in the heat of the moment.
Paildramon came diving down from the heavens in the moments that followed, and all it took was one swift blast from his cannons to end the fight once and for all. Aegisdramon was hit hard where the data patch was, and he let out a roar of pain before his screams began to fall silent. It took a moment for the sounds to decrescendo into peace, and when they finally did, the area was covered in an eerie silence that seemed to be attempting to suffocate anyone present.
Rosemon pulled her whip away from Aegisdramon without a moment of hesitation, and she landed on the ground carefully. Her cape blew serenely in the wind behind her, and when she turned to face Mimi, there was a perfect smile across her bright red lips. Everything about Rosemon was beautiful, but not purely in the aesthetic sense. Instead, Mimi thought that Rosemon was perfect because she was her partner. Rosemon was someone who had stood by her side through thick and thin, and she would be there for Mimi until the end of time as far as they were concerned. The hardships that they had endured would never be forgotten, and they would continue to press on no matter what was thrown in their direction.
Mimi pulled away from Daisuke and approached Rosemon slowly. There were still tears falling down from her eyes, but she didn't seem to care. Instead, she let out a choked laugh and reached out to take Rosemon's hand in her own. She wasn't sure quite where this had come from, but Mimi found simultaneously that she didn't care in the slightest. Instead, she was simply glad to be able to be there with her partner at all. The world was little more than background noise compared to the two of them.
Mimi threw her arms around Rosemon a moment later, and her partner returned the embrace. Mimi found herself feeling oddly guilty for a remark that she had made in passing years prior about how Palmon wasn't quite to her aesthetic tastes, and she wished that she had apologized right after the comment, or better yet, never spoken the words at all. Rosemon's physical appearance was stunning, yes, but that mattered little to Mimi, who for all of her concern with outward looks, felt as if emotions were much more important. Her feelings had always possessed immense strength, enough to overwhelm even the strongest of souls, and such a statement had rung true once again.
Nearby, Paildramon and Daisuke looked on with happiness in their hearts. Even though Paildramon lacked the ability to smile from a technical standpoint, his eyes still gleamed with pride at the powerful moment taking place between Mimi and her partner. Daisuke had eclipsed the overhead star with the brightness of his joy for a few fleeting seconds, and it seemed as if the world had suddenly become an orchestra that only listened to the commands of the boy with worn goggles and too much love for a single person to bear.
The sound of typing was what finally shattered the silence, though the moment itself didn't seem to end despite that. In fact, it stretched on for what felt like an eternity, never willing to bring itself to a conclusion solely because of how quietly beautiful it was. All that mattered was the fact that they were there, and they were alive. No sound would ever be able to shatter that sense of perfection and peace, and the world would have a hell of a time trying to break through that sense of radiance.
"It's time for us to send him back to the Digital World," Hiraku declared as Mimi finally managed to pull herself away from Rosemon. She gave a brief glance up to her partner, and Rosemon returned the gesture with a conclusive nod and a small yet perfect smile. Mimi's Digivice, bold and bright against the rest of the world's lack of radiance by comparison, reached towards the computer screen found on Hiraku's laptop to send Aegisdramon to the other universe that they knew so well.
It wasn't until after a paler than before Aegisdramon vanished through the screen that Hiraku finally gave himself the chance to let out a breath of relief. He began to focus on his computer once again, turning the device around so that he could see the screen more easily. "We've still got a lot left on our plates," he told the rest of the group, his eyes glowing with concern. "There are tons of other Digimon around here, and I think that we have to get to work on sending all of them back as soon as possible."
"For now, I need to take a moment to breathe," Atsuo confessed. He let out a sigh and turned his face up to the sky, shielding his eyes from the midday sunshine with one hand. "If I'm being honest, I didn't think that we were going to get out of that. I know that I'm supposed to be all optimistic since that's how I've always been, but there's only so many life or death situations that I can handle in a single lifetime before I start to lose my charm for cheering people up."
Mimi frowned at Atsuo's phrasing, noticing that there had to be more to the situation than she was aware of at that moment. Atsuo's words in general were strange, and she wondered if she would ever be able to hear an explanation for such odd behavior. She figured that if she was meant to know, then she would hear about it soon enough. For the time being, Hiraku had a point. There were still other Digimon that were roaming the city, and it was up to her and Daisuke to continue trying to fight them off for the sake of the people in the area. The Digimon had been restricted to Odaiba up to that point as far as they were aware, but it wouldn't take long for all of that to suddenly disappear and change.
"We're going to be fine," Daisuke proclaimed confidently, his smile just as bright as ever. "We've been through this much, and we're going to continue pressing on the same way that we always have been. Plus, we've got an extra Ultimate Digimon on our side this time around, and that's going to make things even easier!" He looked up to Rosemon with an endless grin, and his admiration towards the Digimon was as clear as could be.
"Yeah," Mimi agreed with a firm nod. Even though she had seen more than enough of hell and war for one single person to stand, that wasn't going to stop her from pressing on. She had survived in the past, and she was going to do what she could to ensure that the same applied to everyone else in her life. It felt like the least that she could do for those that she cared for so endlessly and deeply. Mimi cared so much for others that sometimes, it felt like a little piece of her heart rested with every person that she had ever met, like she was a little bit in love with everyone that she had ever cared about deeply enough for it to become difficult to stand.
"We'll be with you no matter what," Hiraku assured her. He gave her a weary, lopsided smile of his own. He was trying his best in the face of dreary circumstances, and Mimi knew that there was stock in that. Sometimes, trying was the most that a person could do, and she wasn't going to fault him or anyone else for only being able to pull off something that simple. After all, there was beauty in even the wildest of attempts that had been made in the past. Mimi knew that all too well after living a life of pacifism and mistakes and too much love between disappearing data and war and pain. She knew the world well, and she knew that she had to save it even better than that.
"Let's get going then!" Mimi declared instead, allowing all of these unsung words to fall by the wayside. Rosemon practically glowed with her pride from nearby, and Mimi allowed herself to commit as much of this moment to memory as possible. She knew that this was something that she was going to want to remember for the rest of her life. Deep down though, Mimi was confident that she would never be able to fully forget it. After all, nothing that she had ever experienced in the past felt like it would ever be able to compare with that perfect instant, and she wasn't going to try and fight it. This was what she deserved, and she was going to embrace it throughout every remaining moment of her life.
And so we arrive at the one quarter marker of this story! Wow, time really does fly when you're having fun!
Before we go any farther, I want to sincerely apologize for this chapter being late! I was out of the house all day without internet, and when I did get home, I fell asleep before I could post the new chapter. It was already done, but I wasn't able to get it out in time. My apologies, everyone!
Moving right along, I'm going to say upfront that I absolutely adore this chapter. I knew from the start that Rosemon's appearance was going to thematically echo Lillymon's first appearance, and man, it certainly did that. I love how this turned out, and I think that the poetic ending to the chapter really does fit the way that the moment is supposed to feel.
That's one other thing that I want to mention about the evolutions in this story. One thing that will quickly be noticed about this story is that the character arcs aren't quite resolved through the use of new evolutions (at least, not at first) for the most part. Instead, the evolution sequences start up the character arcs that will be pursued throughout the book. Trust me when I say that this will make a lot more sense as we get deeper into the plot, but that's the truth of the matter for now. It's a unique way of handling things, but I think that it's going to work pretty well. I've already got all of the character arcs planned out and ready, and they're going to be great in the end. I like writing the character content more than combat sequences, and it kind of shows. Oops? No, not oops, I like it this way. Character scenes are what make Digimon. It's not Digimon if it's just flashy combat, you know?
Anyways, that's it for this week's chapter. Next week, we'll get into the second quarter of the story by continuing through act two (which is already a third of the way over, as a matter of fact). Until then, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital