It didn't take long for the group to settle down in the shadow of a cave that shielded them from the rest of the Digital World. They caught up on all that had taken place as well, bouncing the story around from one mouth to another to create the complete image of the past twelve hours. Even if the whole process was close to an hour long, it didn't feel that way because of how long the day had already been leading up to that point. Anything would feel short after the mess that the rest of the day had been, and the Chosen Children barely seemed to mind that they had taken their time to reach this point.
Hikari was staring blankly down at the fire that was at the center of the group's small circle. The Harmonious Ones had all departed for the time being, off to take care of any other business that they had to attend to before the following day. Taichi had heard from Daigo that the Harmonious Ones had found their partners in the first place thanks to instinct that the first generation of Chosen Children had returned. It certainly explained why so many of them were far from their original locations of the Digital World. He decided to commit such a fact to memory, enjoying it far more than he probably should have.
"Alright, Hikari... I think that now is the right time to take care of talking with Homeostasis," Maki declared. She had taken control of the situation without a beat of hesitation, something that didn't surprise Taichi in the slightest. As far as he could tell, Daigo was the leader of the first team, but Maki was the closest thing that had appeared to a second-in-command. Maki was much more commandeering in nature, but Daigo had a natural sense of charisma that dragged in the attention of those around him. It was hard to believe at a first glance because of how Daigo had come to behave since the original adventure, and it only fueled Taichi's theories about how something had changed since the first generation of Chosen Children appeared in the Digital World the first time.
Taichi looked away from Maki before glancing in the direction of his younger sister. Hikari was already on it as far as talking to Homeostasis though, it seemed, and her eyes had swept shut as she tried to set up a link of communication in full. Hikari was rigid for a long moment, but when she opened her eyes once again, something relaxed had crossed through her body. Taichi could tell that this was Homeostasis because of the different way that she carried herself compared to Hikari. His younger sister didn't hold her shoulders as tall or proudly as Homeostasis, and the entity of the Digital World had a far more regal aura than Hikari regularly did.
"Homeostasis..." Tailmon whispered, staring up at Hikari's face as she tried to once again adapt to the fact that the one who was standing before her was not her partner. She seemed to understand it a moment later, and she curled around Takeru as a way of finding something familiar.
Homeostasis rose to her feet a moment later, and something light and bright flashed in her eyes. She was borrowing Hikari's body, but there was something new that she added, and that was the glow of gentle swirling rainbows in the girl's eyes. Pink was the most prominent color among the bunch, though Taichi thought that this made sense given the circumstances. After all, Hikari did have the Crest of Light.
"Chosen Children... It's nice to see you all once again," Homeostasis declared as she cleared her throat, adapting to being a physical body rather than a spiritual being. "Much has changed since the last time that we were in contact with one another."
"You... You're the voice that I've been hearing all these years," Chisane murmured, her eyes narrowing in Homeostasis' direction. Homeostasis raised one eyebrow in Chisane's direction before her expression returned to neutrality, and if Taichi was reading her face correctly, agreement. "I've known that there was something out there beckoning for me... It must have been you trying to make contact with my Crest like Maki said."
Homeostasis simply nodded in response. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the original Chosen Children for the first time," she said softly. "It has been a great many years since you were last here in the Digital World... The only things that I have heard of you are from your partners. It truly is an honor to be able to meet you at long last."
"You're here because you have a message to deliver to us, don't you?" Maki questioned. "So much has gone wrong in the Digital World as of late, so there has to be something that you can tell us about, right?"
Homeostasis nodded once again. "That is true... The Digital World is seeing new turmoil as of late. Something has happened to cause the gateway between realms to grow unstable. Our foe... I'm afraid that I lack knowledge and insight as to who it could be that is causing such instability of the worlds," she replied.
"That would have been a bit too easy..." Daigo whispered with a shake of his head. He looked down at the ground with dejection in his gaze. "So what do you know? After all, there has to be a reason that you're here, right?"
"There is," Homeostasis confirmed a moment later. "The foes that we are combatting have found a way to use the faces of the Agents of Order to create gateways and pass through the barriers between the worlds. I have no idea who it is that we are fighting beyond the fact that nothing has been amiss within the Digital World as of late. All that has happened has been in the range of the ordinary, I'm afraid."
"Could our enemy have possibly slipped that far under the radar?" Koushiro asked. "You and the Agents of Order have been looking after the world for so long, and if there was something that you needed to be aware of, then surely you would have found it... Is it even possible for someone to hide themselves that well from the rest of the world?"
"It appears that it has to be possible. There isn't any other explanation that we can find right now," Maki pointed out. "The worlds are starting to fall apart though. The gateway is something that stabilizes both Earth and the Digital World, and today... All of these recent attacks have caused tears in the barrier, but the sudden invasions of countless Digimon only made everything worse. That means that everything is bound to start crumbling sooner or later."
"It isn't just Earth and the Digital World that are being influenced at this point," Homeostasis cut in, a frown on her face. "The other worlds are starting to see disturbance as well. That means that we have to resolve the issues here in the Digital World so that the rest of the worlds out there do not completely crumble as a result."
Ken let out a small gasp. "The Dark Ocean... That's one of the other worlds out there, and if it grows unstable and starts to leak into the other worlds..." He didn't finish his thought, instead just trailing off and looking down at the ground. Wormmon placed his head on Ken's arm as a way of silently comforting him, and Ken started to stroke his partner once again to get out every piece of stress that was willing to freely leave his body in that instant.
"The Dark Ocean is one of many worlds that is undoubtedly being influenced by recent events," Homeostasis told him. "There are many others that are seeing issues with stability because of the Digital World's issues with pressing into Earth... In fact, the distortions of the other worlds are continuing to grow worse."
"The best way to take care of this is to get the enemy that's causing all of these distortions out of the way, right?" Mimi questioned. "After all, if we can bring the Digital World back to a normal state, then that means that we'll be able to get rid of the other issues in the remaining worlds out there, right?"
"I believe that will no longer be possible," Homeostasis frowned. "You see, the other worlds are starting to grow so unstable that saving the barrier of the Digital World will not bring them salvation. There are dark forces in two other worlds that are causing the barriers to deteriorate at an alarming rate, and the culprits of these distortions must be taken care of as soon as possible. In order for the Digital World to be saved, the other worlds must be returned to normal."
"The tears in the Digital World's barrier are causing instability in other worlds. There are forces in these other worlds that are taking advantage of the weakness in the gates... If you ask me, it sounds like something is trying to break out, and I don't think that whatever is behind that is going to be on our side," Miyako said, wincing as she spoke the words.
"There are undoubtedly living culprits behind these issues. I know not who it is that could be causing such damages, but you will have to do something to resolve the problems as soon as possible for the sake of Earth, the Digital World, and every realm in existence," Homeostasis explained.
"I wonder what it is that could be causing all of this... I mean, in the past, I think that Apocalymon was the one responsible for all of the distortions of the gate, right?" Atsuo questioned. He looked over in Hiraku's direction for confirmation on his theory.
Hiraku nodded after a beat of hesitation. "That happened for a long time, yes... And then there were other means utilized to start distorting the worlds," he replied. "Whatever is behind this seems to have immense power, but since Apocalymon is no longer around, the time of the Digital World is remaining on pace."
"Apocalymon has always been strange... He was the one responsible for the distortion of time, but we aren't sure as to how it was that he could do that. His presence was dark and toxic to the Digital World, and that much we're certain of, but... There were always other creatures out there that were dark and ominous but weren't able to make the worlds fall apart," Koushiro remarked. "Then again, I suppose that thinking about him now isn't going to do us much help with fixing the current problem..."
"The most important fact here is that you must go to the other worlds and halt the creatures that are causing the distortions. There is something that is pushing at the barrier, and if those beings are allowed to continue on as they have been... There is no guarantee that the gateways will survive. Pushing from multiple directions should not be possible on this scale, but the recent damage to the gateway is causing many problems for us," Homeostasis told the group.
"The gate only started to nearly collapse today because of the sudden influx of Digimon... That means that there are creatures in other worlds that have already noticed the weakness in the barrier and are starting to push. If they're going to be able to do so much damage in such a short span of time, then we have to go and take care of them so that they don't cause any further problems," Hiraku declared.
"This is all sounding like a mess to me," Yamato sighed with a shake of his head. "The barrier between the worlds is being pushed in the wrong way from so many different angles at once. It's only a matter of time before something cracks, and we still don't even know what it is that's causing everything to start snapping."
"If not even Homeostasis has noticed something different in the Digital World, then that makes you wonder how it is that our enemies have been able to slide under the radar with such ease..." Sora murmured. "I mean, I can only think of two theories at this point. Perhaps the enemy that we're up against is so old that they've outlived Homeostasis, but... I don't even know if that's possible?"
"The Digital World has been through too many cycles of regeneration for all Digimon at this point for that to be possible," Kaya announced. "There shouldn't be any Digimon out there who still remember the era of the original Chosen Children. We've been reduced to little more than legend at this point to show proof of that much. Nobody should remember us. Homeostasis has been around for hundreds of years in the Digital World's life cycle before time started to even out and fall into pace with Earth."
"That's what I was thinking," Sora replied. "But that brings me to the second theory... And it also has an issue. I'm wondering if the enemy that we're fighting against is even from the Digital World, but... I don't think that's possible."
"The source of the distortions is most certainly coming from the Digital World. That much I'm confident of," Hiraku declared. "The speed at which the Digital World's gateway is deteriorating... This is a calculated attack. The person behind this is fully aware of the weak points in the barrier and is poking at them with as much force as they can manage. This has likely been planned for a long time."
"That's not good," Patamon said simply from his place in Takeru's life. His comment was stating the obvious, but nobody could bring themselves to object to what he said. After all, he most certainly had a point.
"This entire situation is weird," Taichi commented as he leaned back so that he was balanced on his palms, which were digging into the ground below. "There's always something that doesn't make sense when you look at it critically."
"Speaking of things that don't make sense... What do you know about Gennai?" Gabumon asked as he looked up at Homeostasis with worry in his eyes. "We've all noticed that he's been acting weirdly lately, but we don't know why. He's been avoiding us for some reason."
Homeostasis was silent for a long moment before shaking her head. "I have not noticed anything amiss with him. He has been working hard to help the Digital World recover... In fact, he's been pushing himself so hard that he has almost been isolating himself from the rest of the Agents of Order," she replied.
"That's weird," Miyako snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. "I never really took him for the type to just close himself off from the rest of the world like this, but I guess that I got the wrong impression... You know, we were all convinced that the enemy that we were up against was Gennai because of how weird he's been acting lately. The idea that somebody has cloned his data makes a lot more sense though. He wouldn't just stab us in the back like that."
"Gennai would never dare to betray us. That much I can hold as truth with certainty," Homeostasis assured her. "His strange behavior as of late is something to keep in mind, but that does not mean that he is the one we should be turning our animosity towards. The ones who we need to be concentrating on are the creatures in other worlds that are dealing such massive amounts of damage to the barrier between worlds."
"We really aren't going to be able to relax now with all that's happening, huh?" Taichi asked with a shake of his head. "I mean, all of the Digimon attacks taking place so suddenly is already bad enough as it is, but if it's only been a day and the barrier is already starting to suffer this much..."
"It means that we have to get to work as soon as possible!" Piyomon chimed in. "There are tons of people out there who are counting on us, so we're just going to have to go to those other worlds to make sure that nothing bad happens to make the gate between worlds completely fall apart!"
"Of course, that's much easier said than done... We don't even know what worlds are causing problems for us right now, and that's an important point for us to start from, wouldn't you say?" Iori questioned, a frown on his face.
"I can at least guide you in the right direction for the time being," Homeostasis said. "There are two worlds as of now that must be held in careful hands as we progress to the future of the Digital World... I would advise that you look after the Dark Ocean first and foremost. It came to blur with the Digital World three years ago, but there is little stability to be found between the worlds now."
Ken went pale from his place nearby. "If I recall correctly, the last time that any of us have had anything to do with the Dark Ocean was during our final battle against Daemon's forces three years ago..." he murmured under his breath. Wormmon curled up closer against his partner's side, seeming to sense that Ken needed as much comfort as he could get. Ken pulled Wormmon in as a response, glad that his partner was so easily able to tell when he was in search of assistance.
"It isn't going to be easy to go there again... And I don't think that any of us are looking forward to it," Daisuke commented. His previously bright grin had slipped into something much darker as he looked down at the ground below, staring at the place where the fire made contact with the dirt that the group had come to sit on. "The last time that we were in the Dark Ocean, good things didn't exactly happen."
"You can say that again," Miyako snorted, not bothering to correct him on the fact that he had never actually been there himself. The Dark Ocean had blurred with the Digital World when Miyako went there her first and last time, and it had been nothing short of terrifying for her before Silphymon appeared to pry apart the darkness. She hadn't enjoyed the experience, to say the least, and she was glad that she hadn't been back there in many years. Of course, that record was about to fall apart because of the need to keep the worlds from falling apart, so her hopes were going to have to settle for being dashed for the time being.
"What's the other world that we have to be careful of?" Sora asked next. She deliberately changed the subject because she could tell that the second team out of her generation was starting to grow uncomfortable at the subject of the Dark Ocean, not that she could particularly blame them. After all, it was hardly a cozy topic to begin with, and the context of the past only made it harder for them to discuss what they had been through.
Homeostasis paused at Sora's prompt, clearly struggling to find the words to explain the next part of the quest. "This world is much harder to define... It has no name as far as I am aware, and if it does possess a title, it has likely been lost to the mists of time... The world in question is the opposite of the Dark Ocean. It possesses an undercurrent of shadow, yes, but rather than being made of shadows and sea... It consists entirely of a hellish inferno. I lack further details, but this is what you need to be aware of for the time being," she explained.
That caused silence to fall over the group, and the Chosen Children glanced around at one another as they tried to figure out what that meant. They had two choices as for which issue they wished to tackle first between the world of water and the realm of fire, but neither one of them sounded particularly pleasant. On one hand, they had more experience with the Dark Ocean, meaning they knew what was there. However, that was not entirely positive either since that meant they were fully aware of how dangerous the Dark Ocean truly was. On the other hand, the world of fire was a mystery to them, meaning that anything could have been lurking on the other side. Whatever was pushing the barrier to its limits could not be considered weak, and they were going to need immense strength to find the truth and then find a way to turn the tides around for long enough to defeat the one responsible for such horrors.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't think that I feel entirely comfortable with the idea of splitting up to handle this," Mimi remarked, her voice quivering just a touch. "I mean, we have two things to take care of, so it would be relatively easy for us to just cut the group in half and see what we could do from there, but... I don't know. It gives me a bad feeling. The Dark Ocean is dangerous enough as it is, and we still don't know what it is that's waiting for us out there."
Takeru let out a sigh, and the rest of the group seemingly came to a halt as they waited for his suggestion. "I agree with Mimi," he confessed. He didn't elaborate on the matter, but it was clear that he was thinking about the time that he had been forced to follow Hikari into the Dark Ocean to pull her free of the clutches of whatever creatures were trying to tempt her away from the light. It had hardly been a pleasant experience for any of the parties involved, and it was only going to grow darker and more intense if the group had to go there on a regular basis to try and defeat whatever monsters were waiting in the shadows.
"Then let's make a plan as soon as we can so that we can go out there and take care of this. After all, the barrier is being pushed the wrong way from too many directions, and we can't leave it alone to crumple for too much longer than we absolutely have to," Yamato declared, his voice taking on an encouraging tone that the rest of the group sorely desired. Gabumon nodded his firm agreement from his partner's side.
"The enemies that we're dealing with are the ones who are starting to create holes in the barrier in the first place... But as far as I can tell, today's attack was an exception rather than the rule," Koushiro announced. "It would take considerable amounts of preparation to get ready for an attack of this magnitude, after all, and after we saw such damages today... I believe that we can consider ourselves safe from excessive damages for at least a while longer. It will take some time before they're able to do something like this for a second time."
"Then we'll use that lapse in their defenses to see what it is that we can do in saving the other worlds. If we can stop the other realms from starting to push the barrier too far, then we'll be able to focus on the enemies that are attacking Earth. Everything is lining up and pointing us in the right direction to try and concentrate on what needs to be done. We have to go to the Dark Ocean and this world of fire to make sure that we can bring everything to a state of equilibrium as soon as possible," Jou announced.
"I have come to refer to them as the Emissaries of Chaos."
The group of Chosen Children fell silent at the echoing voice from Varodurumon that spread throughout the area. The large bird Digimon was settling down on the ground once more after taking flight to explore the nearby regions, and he bowed his head down as he settled near the Chosen Children. He hadn't found much of anything in the vicinity of the group during his search, allowing him to return to the side of his partner and her companions without anything weighing on his mind. "The ones that you are referring to as your enemies... I am calling them the Emissaries of Chaos. They are distorted variations of the allies that we have come to care for after all these years, so their name should reflect the fact that they are darkened echoes of the guardians of the Digital World," he explained.
"That sounds fitting enough," Mimi nodded to herself. "Calling them just 'our enemies' is so vague, and it feels strange to me to say that in the long term... I like that idea. The Emissaries of the Chaos will be the opposites of the Agents of Order from this point forwards."
"You know, speaking of Varodurumon, I have to ask... How is it that Varodurumon and Huanglongmon were able to stay out of our range for as long as they did?" Koushiro questioned, turning his attention to Homeostasis. "We've been coming to the Digital World for years, but we were never aware of the fact that they existed at all."
"That would be because they were simply busy with other matters," Homeostasis replied simply. "Huanglongmon was concentrated on keeping the Wall of Fire in balance with the rest of the Digital World even after Apocalymon's defeat. He is the one who looks after the darkened powers of the Digital World, including the Dark Area deep beneath the Digital World's sea. Varodurumon serves the opposite purpose and looks after the strength of heavenly light in this world. They were both sealed away when the Dark Masters came to power, but they have never ruled over different sectors of the Digital World themselves, instead simply looking after matters under their jurisdiction."
The Chosen Children nodded along to show their understanding, but Iori raised one hand to attract the attention of his teammates. "What do you mean by the Dark Area?" he asked. The rest of the group looked over to him soon afterwards, seemingly afflicted with the same sense of curiosity.
"The Dark Area is a place beneath the seas of the Digital World where the data of evil Digimon is stored. When a Digimon diverges from the path of good and slips into evil, they must repay for their sins in the next lifetime. That is where the Dark Area comes into play, and the data is stored there for the sake of saving the rest of the Digital World from it. When the data is ready to be released back to the Village of Beginnings, then the Dark Area releases the traces of the Digimon in question, but until the time is right, they are stored far from the eyes of innocent Digimon," Homeostasis told him.
"That sounds a lot like the Dark Ocean, you know," Koushiro murmured. "A space heavily involved with the ocean that stores the data of evil Digimon... Perhaps the two are connected in some way... Though I suppose that's a matter of curiosity for another day."
"The precise location of the Dark Area has always been kept secret for the safety of the Digimon that live elsewhere in the world. After all, if evil forces went and tried to break through to release the data of those that have turned to the side of darkness... The whole of the Digital World would be placed in danger, and it cannot be allowed to happen. That would put innocent Digimon in danger, so the Dark Area is kept a secret from the world for the most part. Only those who have been sent there during the regeneration process are aware of its location," Homeostasis went on.
"The point of our journey for right now though is to go to the other worlds that are pushing against the barrier and make sure that whatever dark powers there aren't going to try and make everything fall apart," Jou said, shifting the conversation seamlessly. "There are two worlds that are causing problems for us, and we have to make sure that whatever powers are behind this instability are defeated as soon as possible so that the Digital World and Earth aren't forced to be exposed to whatever forces are waiting on the other side."
"I don't think that the barrier has ever been pushed from this many directions before," Patamon commented. He was perched on Takeru's shoulder, one wing curled around the neck of his partner for the sake of keeping himself balanced. "I mean, we've seen the barrier starting to fall apart from over here, but has it been pushed from a bunch of different worlds like this in the past?"
"I don't think so," Maki replied, her lips brought down at the edges by a heavy frown. "It's a sign that the barrier is growing weaker because of the recent events with the Emissaries of Chaos. They've been pushing for a while, and everything is going to fall apart soon enough. We have to get out there and stop whoever is behind this recent instability and make sure that nothing bad happens. After all, if the Digital World can fall apart in a matter of months because of pushing from just one angle, imagine what could happen if there's pressure being placed on it from three different sides minimum. That will be too much for every side, and before we know it, the worlds are going to start blending together, and there's no way of saying if they can be pulled apart if irreparable damage like that is pushed for too long."
"We're going to have to be ready to find a way to get to the Dark Ocean as soon as we can then. I think that would be the best place to start off given that we at least know something about what we're going to be faced with there," Taichi declared. He paused briefly after the fact before letting out a small sigh. "On second thought, I have to wonder... How is it that we're going to even get there in the first place?"
"In the past, we wound up opening the gateway to the Dark Ocean unintentionally," Hikari murmured. "There was someone reaching out to me the first time, and that was how I was pulled through the barrier. I pulled Takeru, Tailmon, and Patamon in after that. The next time that this happened, it was because of the worlds starting to blur together, and the worlds were leaking into one another. From there, we were able to harness the power of the black D-3 that Ken has, but... We haven't been able to get there ever since, not that we've tried in the first place."
"I somehow doubt that it will be so easy to force ourselves through the gateway this time around," Ken remarked with a shake of his head. "Before, the worlds were on the verge of collapse, and we're trying to prevent that right now. The only way that we would be able to push that hard with my Digivice would be if the worlds hit that point of instability again, and the point of us going there is to stop that from happening in the first place. If we wait for the worlds to hit that point of fragility, then that would defeat the point."
"And it would probably be too late for the world of fire to be stopped," Hawkmon chimed in, and he was met with a series of nods. "I suppose that it's something we'll have to look into on our own terms over the course of the next few weeks. After all, we have to find a way to get there sooner rather than later, and researching from Earth may be our only way of figuring out how to get the Dark Ocean to take us inside."
"I'll do what I can to open a gateway there," Hiraku declared. "I can't say that I'll be completely successful, but if I work together with the Harmonious Ones, maybe I'll be able to do at least a little something. It's not a guarantee, but... I'm willing to try just about anything to make sure that the worlds don't completely collapse."
"We have to take advantage of this break in activity before something else happens!" Palmon declared firmly. "We have a little while where nothing is going to happen because of how big the attack today was, but that could change if we wait too long... We have to be fast."
"Speaking of the attack today, something about it is still bothering me," Iori confessed. When the group turned in his direction, he frowned deeply and glanced up to Homeostasis. "The Digimon that we fought against today were primarily of the classifications of Perfect and Ultimate. To put it simply, that should not be possible. After all, it takes so many years for a Digimon to reach those levels that it would be inconceivable for so many of them to suddenly appear when we haven't ever seen traces of any of them during our journeys in the Digital World. Something must be happening there behind the scenes."
"If we've seen dark data patches that can cause Digimon to grow in size and power by such a massive amount, then it wouldn't be out of the question to say that perhaps there's a variation out there that could force an evolution," Sora murmured. "It could be possible... Given how much the Emissaries of Chaos have been capable of up to this point, then that wouldn't be impossible. I don't know how they would pull it off, but..."
"If they were able to somehow get their hands on the data of an Agent of Order, then they could force something that way. After all, Agents of Order are aware of many secrets involving the process of evolution and Digivices that are involved with such a concept," Homeostasis said. "I have not noticed anything amiss among the Agents of Order, but it is clear as can be that the Emissaries of Chaos were able to acquire this data somehow. Chances are that they were able to push for this dark evolution on their own terms. Forcing an evolution can lead to instability at times, and that could further contribute to the attacks and their issues that we have seen up to this point."
Taichi shuddered at the mention of a dark evolution before doing what he could to shake off the memories of the past. "We barely know anything about these Emissaries of Chaos, but they're already causing so many problems for us. It's strange that they're able to do so much that we've never even dreamed of in the past few years," he commented.
"We've got to try and get ready to go out there and see what we can find," Yamato announced. "We don't know if this chance is going to come up again anytime soon. We have to be ready in case something bad happens while we're getting ready for what's to come."
"I somehow doubt that we're going to find anything of note here in the Digital World, as much as I hate to say it," Chisane murmured. "I-I don't mean to be pessimistic, but we've been here for a while now, and the Harmonious Ones are out looking for something that could be considered out of the ordinary. Besides, how are we supposed to do anything that could bring us the truth from here? We have to go back home to Earth, don't we?"
"Chisane's right. I know that we came here to find answers as far as our foes are concerned, but the best answer that we've got right now is from Homeostasis. We've got to get back to Earth so that we can figure out a way to force our way into the Dark Ocean for the first time in however many years," Kaya agreed with a small snort. If one looked closely, they could see that she was looking at Maki out of the corner of her eye. Maki refused to meet her gaze. If anyone noticed, then they chose to not comment on it, leaving the subject abandoned for the time being.
"I think that we've already learned quite a bit from Homeostasis. I'm happy with what we've heard for the time being," Takeru said, effortlessly framing the situation in a positive light. "Let's get ready for what's to come. We know a lot more now about what we have to do. This is something that we should be careful of for the future, but for a while, we're going to be safe. We have to use this lapse in activity to go into the other worlds and make sure that whatever is pushing at the barrier is defeated as soon as possible."
"Odaiba's still going to be empty for the time being though... Maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea for us to stay here," Miyako pointed out. "All of the people have been evacuated, so we're just going to be heading back to an empty city. Even if people are starting to come back, it'll take a while for everything to get settled. Besides, it's already nighttime, and we're here on this side of the barrier. We might as well spend the night here while we're at it, right?"
"You make a good point," Daisuke agreed. He grinned and looked around at the rest of the circle. "We did a lot today, so I guess we might as well crash for the night." He wrapped an arm around Veemon, and his partner offered the same smile that threatened to block out the sun with its endless brightness.
"I don't think that we would be able to find anything this late at night anyways. Besides, we would just be putting ourselves at risk if we went out to see what else the Digital World had to offer for us. There are too many Digimon out there, and we don't know if there are others with the data patches," Koushiro pointed out. "And if what Homeostasis said is to be believed, then we're going to have the potential of many Ultimate Digimon as well. We've seen more than enough of them over the course of the past day, so we should go on and consider this a positive and stay here for the night.
Homeostasis nodded, a gentle smile on her face. "I trust that you will all be able to handle what is to come next... The worlds are counting on all of you to bring them back into balance. I will see you again when the time is right. Until then... Farewell." She closed her eyes, and the gentle glow of rainbows and prominent pink in her irises faded away. Something about the aura in the cave shifted, and when her eyes opened once again, they were distinctly brown, belonging to Hikari rather than Homeostasis.
"Hikari!" Takeru exclaimed, a gentle smile on his face. He got to his feet and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, easing her to the ground soon afterwards. Hikari's head found a place between his shoulder and cheek, and it appeared that she was on the verge of falling asleep. Homeostasis taking control of her body took more energy than she remembered, it seemed, and Hikari could barely manage much more than a smile. Her exhaustion was likely a byproduct of the events of the day stacking up on top of one another when combined with Homeostasis' invasion of her body, and her sudden tired behavior was certainly to be expected. Tailmon curled around her partner carefully, and Hikari lowered herself onto the ground with what little energy she had left. It didn't take long for her breathing to even out as snores left her lips, and the group remained silent for a few moments just to make sure that she wasn't going to stir from her slumber.
"Well, I guess we're all in agreement on what's going to come next," Daigo said with a heavy sigh. "Don't worry about staying up to watch for danger. I'd be more than happy to take the first shift. Besides, you've all been focusing on battle all day, and I don't think it would be wise to keep you up any later than I have to. Go on and enjoy as much rest as you need. When day breaks, we'll go back to Odaiba and see what we can do about getting to the Dark Ocean."
The group nodded their silent agreement, understanding from Daigo's tone that he wasn't going to be taking any protests on the matter. Ken was the only member of the group who was at all hesitant about what he had heard, and he carefully raised one hand to attract Daigo's attention. When he was sure that the older Chosen Child was watching him, Ken cleared his throat and spoke. "Did your team go to the Dark Ocean when you were in the Digital World fifteen years ago?" he asked, phrasing the inquiry as carefully as he could.
The air in the cave seemed to still for a split second before growing heavy. Daigo didn't speak for a long time. Maki stared down at her feet wordlessly, and concern overcame the gazes of Hiraku and Chisane. Kaya refused to make eye contact with anyone who dared to glance in her direction, and anger thrived in Atsuo's eyes. These silent responses were all that the Chosen Children needed to see, so no further explanations would have been necessary.
Regardless, Daigo replied with a gentle nod. "A lot of things happened when we were here fifteen years ago," he said simply. He didn't elaborate despite it seeming as if there was more that he had to say, and nobody forced him to speak a word on the matter. He had made his decision as to what he was and was not going to say, and it was unanimously decided to be unwise to push him too far on the matter.
"Um... How about we get ready to head to sleep?" Chisane questioned, changing the subject easily. Her smile was almost ghastly, as if she was putting on a mask to try and hide the tempestuous thoughts that were on her mind inwardly. She wasn't doing the best job of deceiving the others in the area, and something about her had become tired, as if the day had worn down on her since her initial arrival in the Digital World.
Nobody dared to object to her suggestion, and scarcely a word was spoken after that. Daigo took his place at the front of the cave, his knees pressed up against his chest as he stared at the sky, the very picture of the youth that had seemingly been taken from him by his adventures in the Digital World. It was difficult for the cave to fit so many bodies when the Chosen Children laid down throughout the space, but they did their best to make it work regardless. After all, this was the only choice that they had, and they weren't going to pass up on it just because of disputes that came with comfort.
It didn't take long for the Chosen Children to fall into slumber, and the only sound that could be heard was the gentle crackling of flames from the fire that was positioned at the center of the cave. Varodurumon was stationed outside the entrance of the cave, a silent sign to any passing Digimon that they had best not stray too close. Even if Varodurumon was less recognizable than the Harmonious Ones, he was still imposing and large enough to frighten off any other potential attackers. Daigo remained awake regardless, far enough into the cave that passerby wouldn't see him but close enough to the entrance to give him a perfect view of the surrounding space in case anything happened that would force him into action. The sky above was perfectly statuesque, a picture of how much had changed in the past fifteen years. Daigo scarcely recognized a star in the sky, though he supposed that was how time worked; it took, and it gave. There was never a moment that was identical to another.
The night remained still for hours after the fact, and the fire began to die down in the silence of the darkness. Nobody dared to disturb the first fragment of peace that they had received since the day initially began. This was what they had worked for, and they were going to have to continue fighting if they wanted to enjoy it in the long term. There was no other choice for better or worse.
Maki wasn't having the best night, to say the least.
She woke up with something violent burning at the back of her mind, and she knew without needing to check to be sure that this was her body's way of saying that she wasn't going to be getting back to sleep anytime soon. She let out a heavy sigh and sat up, pleasantly surprised to see that she had somehow managed to keep from waking up the rest of the group. Maki's hand came up to cradle at her temple to wish away the precursory poundings of a headache. She could tell that her dream had been responsible for this much; of course it had been. She couldn't catch a damn break, it seemed.
Maki got to her feet and started to walk towards the front of the cave. She needed some fresh air to get that awful dream off her mind. She could never seem to escape it, and she blamed Homeostasis for putting the damn thought in her head about the stupid Dark Ocean. She had wanted so desperately to forget the Dark Ocean after her initial adventure in the Digital World so many years prior, but it seemed as if the universe wasn't going to let her forget. She was ridiculous and fooling herself for daring to believe that it could be that easy. Of course it was going to continue haunting her.
"Let me guess... Nightmare?"
Maki jumped and resisted the urge to cry out in shock when she heard Daigo's voice from beside her. She glanced over to see that he was sitting in the entrance of the cave. Varodurumon was gone, likely off to continue his investigation of the surrounding area and smite the potential for an attack from the Emissaries of Chaos. That meant that they were as good as alone, and Maki found herself sitting down beside him despite her instincts screaming that this wasn't a good idea.
After all, if there was one person who was going to be able to get to the crux of the issue, it was going to be Daigo. He knew Maki too well, almost better than she knew herself. The two of them leaned on one another desperately for the sake of support for better or worse, and in this case, Maki knew that it was the latter. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't even want to think about what had happened, as a matter of fact. The Digital World had done much more damage than she was willing to admit, and she wanted to cast all thoughts of the past as far from her mind as possible.
"Yeah," Maki muttered, hating how quickly Daigo caught onto the fact that she was suffering from the side effects of a bad dream. "You could certainly say that." She didn't want to say anything else even though she knew that she was going to wind up talking about it again soon enough anyways. Daigo just knew her too well, and he was going to wear down her walls whether she wanted him to or not.
Daigo was mercifully silent for a long moment before glancing over at her. "I bet that it was what Homeostasis said earlier. The Chosen Children are going to have to go back to the Dark Ocean to defeat whatever dark force is trying to break the barrier in half," he said. "You don't want to think about sending them there. It hurts too much for you to imagine, doesn't it?"
Maki didn't say anything for a long time, unsure as to if she even wanted to bother speaking. Daigo already knew anyways, so what was the point? Still, she let out a sigh and nodded. "I wouldn't wish that place on anyone... Not anyone except for the damn Digimon that..." She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence, not with the memory of drowning so close to her mind. It felt as if her lungs were filling with water again and again with each passing second. She had to stay focused. She wasn't in the Dark Ocean. She was in the Digital World, sitting next to Daigo and looking out at the rest of the world. Nothing was going to hurt her then, and it was going to be fine even if something did happen. She and Huanglongmon were back together, and he would do anything to defend her for better or worse.
Then again, he had said he would protect her the last time too, and in the end, that had been his undoing.
"Yeah," was all Daigo said in response. He glanced over to her once again, trying desperately to meet her gaze but seeing that she wasn't going to be dragged into such a thing. He turned his attention forwards after the fact. "Are you nervous for them? The Chosen Children, I mean. They're going to have to return there no matter what we want. Nothing that we say or do can stop them. Nothing that they say or do is going to stop what needs to be done at the end of the day. The worlds need them to go into the Dark Ocean and defeat the monster that's trying to make everything fall apart."
"The fact that they're already so familiar with the Dark Ocean is what scares me most," Maki admitted softly. "I mean, I... I sort of figured in the first place. I had heard about people who were close by seeing them open the gate to a darkened world. The witnesses were few and far between, having been hiding at the time and yearning to forget what they had seen, but... I was able to put the pieces together quickly enough. It was easy to figure out what was going on if you thought about it critically in the slightest."
"It's awful that they have to go back there," Daigo muttered. "I mean, I was only ever there once when we were here as kids. That was... That was to chase after you, as a matter of fact. The others came after you too, and... You could see how nervous Chisane was at the idea. She's not exactly the best at hiding her anxiety. Hiraku's not great at it either."
"No, they're not," Maki agreed bluntly. She wished that it was as simple as merely being a matter of the past. She didn't want to think about the Dark Ocean anymore, and yet, it had invaded her thought processes even in sleep. She didn't want to imagine the way that the water had so easily tried to engulf her when she was so lost in her own despair that she could barely even function. Daigo and the rest of the group had saved her, but the trauma still remained. Of course it did. Nothing was ever quite so easy, and the past was harming her with much more vitriol than she would have cared to admit openly.
"But we're going to make sure that nothing happens to the Chosen Children. They got to see a more friendly Digital World than we did, and that's a good thing for sure," Daigo told her. "They've been through a lot, and... So have we. The least that we can do for both ourselves and their group is look after them and ensure that they're able to endure all of this with smiles on their faces. It's not easy to go through all of this, but we're going to be their crutches if they need us. They're going to have extra allies that we didn't have when we were here in the Digital World all those years ago."
"I don't want that to be necessary at all," Maki told him, surprised at how raw and painful her voice sounded to her own ears. "They're still so young. They've dealt with more when they were younger, but... That doesn't mean that all of this just goes away in the blink of an eye. They've been through so much, and... I have to do something for their sake. I can't let this happen again. I want to look out for them no matter what happens to us."
"I didn't expect you to be as protective of them as you are," Daigo confessed. "I mean, I know that you're sentimental in the first place, but... You hide it well, and you're so defensive of them. It's strange to see you so in love with the idea of guarding them from the world. There's nothing that we can do to keep them from the full extent of the world's cruelty, but... You still want to try. There will always be evil out there to make our lives harder, but you want to be the good that will back them up regardless of how dark the opposing forces just so happen to get."
"They've already seen too much as far as I'm concerned. The Digital World is a brutal place behind its mask of sweet monsters and kindness. The Crests are nice, and they represent the good in the world, but there's only so much that they can do," Maki told him. "This place is traumatizing, Daigo. That's the easiest way that I can put it for better or worse. Why do you think Kaya and Chisane left? It's because the Digital World hurt them too much, and they had to get away before they could feel the pull of the place all over again."
"Yeah," Daigo said neutrally, understanding that Maki was right and there was no point to argue with her. "That is why they left, but... They're back here. They're going to look after the new generation with us. We're finally back together as a team, and... I think that this is just what we needed. We can see our partners again, and our team is back to the beautiful thing that it once was with the Digimon around us too. We'll be able to come back here whenever we want as long as we speak with the rest of the Chosen Children. They'll be able to help us move between the worlds."
"I'm not even going to want to leave tomorrow," Maki muttered. "I don't want to leave him. Huanglongmon has been away for so long, and... I've missed him all these years. I wanted to get back here just so that I could see him again. Life seemed to fall apart after the Digital World, but if I could find him again... It would have all been fine. Somehow, the pieces of the puzzle would have come together the way that I needed them to. It was what I was searching for, and now that we're here..."
"You don't want to let go in case it's the last time that you see him," Daigo said simply, not seeming to mind at all how direct his analysis of her was. When Maki nodded carefully, Daigo continued. "He's going to be fine. I know why you're so afraid all of a sudden. It's because you're terrified of the idea of losing him again after spending so much time trying to claw your way back here to see him again."
"I can't lose him again. No matter what happens, I can't lose him again. I don't want the Chosen Children of the next generation to endure what it feels like to lose a partner either. It's too much, and... The Dark Ocean might find them if I'm not careful enough to look after them. That was what happened with me, and I'm not going to let history repeat itself. If there's something I can do to defend them, I'm going to do it. For my own sake, and for the sake of the Chosen Children... I'm going to do this. I have to do it," Maki said. She knew that she was talking in circles, leaving her mind as a dizzying shadow of its regular self, but she could scarcely bring herself to care. Her emotions didn't normally run this high, and somehow, hearing her voice come out in such a panicked, shaky manner made her feel as if her entire body was going to splinter and then crumble.
"Maki!" Daigo suddenly said, his voice much louder than he intended it to be. Maki snapped to her senses almost immediately, and her shoulders slumped as she fell into relaxation. "Sorry about snapping, but... I think that you need to stop talking right now. You're only going to freak yourself out more if you keep going, and I don't want that for you."
"You're right," Maki admitted, knowing that there was no point in protesting when Daigo had a point anyways. She found herself pulling her knees up to her chest, something that she had barely done since she was young. The one time that she notably remembered doing this had been after her life started to fall apart. The gentlest soul that she knew was destroyed, and all she could do was wait for the darkness to come out and claim her with its vicious ferocity. She had cried into her knees until there were no tears left, but somehow, the numbness had been even worse than anything else could have ever dreamed of being.
The two sat in the silence of the starlight for a while after that, just admiring the sky and all of the ways that it had changed since they were last in the Digital World. Maki's eyes started to grow droopy and heavy under the influence of adrenaline's abandonment of her body. She knew that she was safe and no longer in the Dark Ocean, a place she had not visited in well over fifteen years, and she was going to be fine. Her body was starting to crave sleep once again, and she knew that she had to listen to it. Physically, she was exhausted, but mentally, she doubted she was going to be able to dip back into the recesses of slumber no matter how hard she tried.
Maki herself was surprised when her head started to fall sideways before landing on Daigo's shoulder. She wanted to fight back and try to stay awake, afraid of the terrors that could await her if she dared to close her eyes once again, but she just couldn't do it. Before she knew it, the darkness had closed in around her, leaving her defenseless to the warm embrace of sleep.
Daigo didn't bother to look over in her direction, already knowing what it was that she was dealing with. Instead, he kept his eyes on the sky, tracing the unfamiliar constellations and committing them to memory perhaps out of some twisted sense of terror that Maki had expressed just a few moments prior. He saw an arc of light shoot itself across the sky, and Daigo smiled himself. Somehow, he just knew that it was to commemorate his team's return to the Digital World.
Welcome home, the Digital World whispered. We missed you.
I missed you too, Daigo thought simply. I really did.
Woo! Fun times!
This chapter was a lot of set up for what's going to be happening over the course of the next few arcs of the story. Exposition is important, and we've got a healthy dose of that as we get ready to shift into the third act of Echo. We've got a little bit of winding down to do before that time arrives, but for now, this is what had to get out of the way.
In all honesty, I don't have much else to say about this story, but I really do like the first generation of Chosen Children. Everything about them is just interesting to me, and while I don't think I could ever dedicate an entire story to their adventures, I will say that I adore them with every piece of my heart, and I think that everybody else should too.
Daigo and Maki especially fall under this category. There are a lot of small hints that are building up to the two of them and their development in particular, and I just adore writing them. They're going to take a bit more of a backseat in act three, so for now, I had to give them a little bit of attention.
Anyways, that's it from me this time around! I'm off to go work on something else miscellaneous. Next time, we'll be pressing on towards the end of arc two. Until next week, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is always appreciated. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital