Malice Striker

"I had the fear of God put in me…"

Neither man spoke for a while after that. Takahito said nothing, and Yamaki didn't press him. The priest wasn't sure if it was better or worse that the government man actually seemed to be bordering on compassionate. It threw him off balance all over again that his inquisitor was giving him time to breathe. But eventually, he did speak, to offer more sympathy. "If you don't feel like you can tell me right now, I can come back on some other date, Professor Komatsu."

"No!" Takahito surprised himself with the force of his own voice. "I mean, no, I, I'll tell you what happened that night. I just, I needed a minute. And thank you, Mr. Yamaki." The blonde man merely nodded.

And he did take another minute, going over it all in his mind for the thousandth time. Takahito sucked in air, and he began.

I'll start at the very beginning, with the early thaw. Winter ended too early this year, and when the ice in the mountains melted too much of it melted, and too fast. Kawaten has plenty of rivers and streams all around it, and the town was built back in the day to survive a flood, but that changed back in the eighties when the next town over got chosen for the site of a new hydroelectric dam. Because of that the course of the Hebime River was altered and ended up being redirected through the mountains east of town, not far from the shrine actually. So, to try and keep Kawaten safe they built a big levee up there to control the flow. It was rated, I think, to be fine for a hundred years, but at the start of the year we got our once in a century flood early...

At the start that day didn't feel like a day in January, it was actually pleasant in the morning! Bright and welcoming, warm for winter, but the clouds came quickly that morning and by noon it was completely overcast. An hour after that the sun was completely gone. By the time it started pouring it wasn't a surprise.

The weather service put out a flood watch for our Prefecture the day before citing a storm front, and everyone was holding their breath. If a really bad flood hit the town it seemed like that might be the end of our home. Even if we survived and rebuilt it wouldn't be the same. I told you there was already a lot of tension in the town over the new subdivision for the people at the plant, Kawaten is proud of its history and everyone was afraid if the waters came they would wash all of that away.

And it didn't help that old lady Himiko was going around telling anyone who would listen about the bad omens, she said she could feel it in her funnybone, said that the last time it ached this bad was the day of the kidnapping. It's funny, I didn't think much of it at the time, I was coming back from the convenience store when I heard her yelling about it and I thought it was just a silly superstition, and then I laughed to myself for thinking that when I'm a priest. The clerk did say old lady Himiko had been on the money back 10 years ago, but what had got me concerned was the warning from the meteorologists working for the government, and that actually got me thinking about another paper I wanted to write about the difference between "high" and "low" magical beliefs, er, but, I'm digressing, sorry.

My point was that the whole town was nervous. The air was thick and heavy, Ms. Himiko talked about her funnybone but everyone could smell the storm coming, ozone I think. And people got busy preparing, either to stay safe or just to do something. We were all praying it was a false alarm, that would be a bad storm and nothing more than that, but still. If you live out in the country it pays to be prepared. I think we must have bought out all the canned food and supplies in town and when I had gone out that afternoon I saw a couple of people putting tarps on their roofs or filling sandbags. Everyone was talking to everyone about flood relief zones and calling family members and… It, it was all morbid is what it was.

Kyoko and all the rest of the kids got sent home from school early that day. She said none of her teachers could pay attention to their own lessons; her math teacher copied an example problem out of the book and got it wrong she said. She also said that she heard from their kids that a couple of the newcomers from the lab were going to skip town. I myself had couple of people with deeper roots in the area asking me to help do an appeasement ritual to the Dragon God of the mountain to beg it to spare our town, and I was getting up all the material to get ready for that when it really started to hit.

Sunset that day was around five and it really set me on edge, the clouds broke for a moment and I could see it was purple up above, like the whole sky had been bruised… And then it opened up and started pouring rain.

Thanks to Kyoko we were ready for it, though. The moment she got home she started packing emergency supplies, nonperishable food, water bottles, flashlights, the portable radio, an electric hurricane lantern, the satellite phone, a couple changes of clothes… She had pulled out the flood evacuation procedures and an old map out of storage and was going over where we should go if it got really bad. She even pulled out the shrine's public insurance forms from somewhere to see how much was covered. God, sometimes it feels like she's MY parent...

So, after my daughter did all the things that I probably should've done we had something for dinner in the microwave ('while the power is still on' Kyoko had said) and we just, we waited. I tried to read something, she tried to do homework, but it just didn't work. I couldn't pay attention to the words I just kept jumping and losing my place every time I heard thunder.

We're on the high ground here, like many shrines ours was built high up in the air to be closer to the heavens, but of course Kyoko had to explain to me by how cascading mudslides could still wipe our shrine off the map if it got really bad. She talked about how she had heard an avalanche like that could flip over a house in seconds, and with everything rumbling and rattling the wind and the rain… Well, I was scared. I probably don't need to say that, right? Or keep talking about how I was sweating and praying and jumping at every loud sound... I was trying to stay brave for her sake, but I think she knew me too well to believe it. And I think she was trying to be brave for my sake that night.

So, there we are, huddled around the table with the radio on trying to ignore the storm, and we hear it, the Japanese weather service officially confirmed a flood warning all along the Hebime river, and that everyone effected should evacuate to a safe area.

I can't do it justice for you Mr. Yamaki, but those words, it was almost like the man on the radio had read off our town's obituary. We're five meters under sea level and the surging river above us is about to jump its levee. This flood, the storm, a deluge, the voice announcing it all from far away, it all felt, biblical...

I, I felt frozen. All the sounds of the storm seemed like they were coming from far away all of the sudden. It didn't feel real, it was like I was dreaming, Kyoko had to shake me to get me moving and pull me along to keep moving. I don't even remember putting on my raincoat and boots or getting the backpack with the emergency supplies or heading out the door, the next thing I remember is we're going through the path up through the forest and she was holding my hand leading the way for me wearing her bright yellow rain jacket. I could barely hear her over the storm when she told me that we were heading towards the nearest safe zone at the ceremonial ground further up the mountain.

And so, we do that. I'm following my daughter through the forest in the middle of this massive storm. We're going up the old stone path marked by old lanterns, and I know I've climbed it a thousand times before but when the cold wind and rain are so harsh I can barely see my hand in front of my face, when the tree branches are bent double over the path? I can't help it, I start thinking about the Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, or our myth of Izanagi and his flight from Yomi. It felt like the end of the world…

But we get there, stumbling through the mud. Kyoko tripped once and I helped her up, I tripped once and she helped me up, we just kept going like that. It's only a 20 minute hike, but out in the storm it felt like it took hours fighting through the cold and the rain. And then we made it up there, up on one of the peaks at the highest point in a kilometer, well above the river. In fact we could see the levee and the river beyond it from up there. When I looked down I saw the waters churning all gray and brown, I could see some of the water splashing over the top and I could also see the metal and concrete start to bulge here and there and, and I had to look away, it made me sick to think what might, what was going to happen...

And like she said, like I said we ended up at the ceremonial ground, an offshoot of the shrine where the shintai of the Dragon God of the Unyielding Mountains sits, it's the largest stone at the center of the circle of others stones and that night its shimenawa ritual rope flapping wildly in the storm.

For a moment I just stared. It was too perfect, this was exactly where the prayer ceremony of appeasement and blessing would have been held, the one that the old folks wanted me to conduct. I imagined what would've happened if the storm hadn't broken right over us, I could see myself holding up the lantern dressed in my ceremonial robes saying the prayers and trying to light the incense in the dark and the rain and... I started to wonder if I should do it anyways, would the Kami be offended if I didn't have all the right ritual tools and the right words? I'm not, I usually don't think I fully believe, but right then when I was wet from head to toe and cold to my bones with the rain blowing sideways, I, I thought maybe I could, or should or, but I… God I keep trailing off like that I'm sorry.

And I couldn't help it, right at that moment I was thinking about Mount Sentsu. It's a well-known and somewhat popular hypothesis in my field that the origin of our myth of Susanoo slaying the Orochi comes from a catastrophic real-life flood that happened there once. It's well attested that the Kami of rivers were often deifications and personifications of those rivers, our ancestors imagined that they were dragons or snakes because their long, flowing bodies. People worshiped them because their water is what brought life and growth to their farms, but they also feared them because of the destruction that came from their floods. We have some archaeological evidence that Mount Sentsu was the site of a truly horrific flood centuries ago, and so the idea is that the story that got recorded in the Kojiki was a mythologized account of that. The survivors of that flood came up with a story to rationalize the devastation they suffered, and began to say that it was a battle of the gods, an epic clash between the god who embodied the storm, Susanoo-no-Mikoto, and the Eight-Branch Serpent who was an incarnation of the river, Yamato-no-Orochi.

I'd had a lot of reason to think about that particular myth recently of course, but in that moment I couldn't help but wonder what story we would be telling if that were us. If it was 1400 years ago, what kind of myth would we tell about that night? Would we see the storm clashing with the flood, a god of storms striking out against the turbulent water? Or would it be the mountains battling the rivers? Or the earth fighting the sky?

And while I was there, soaking wet and freezing cold, lost in the past imagining mythology, Kyoko suddenly called out to me. She was standing near the edge of the stone circle pointing down towards the levee. I ran over to her and looked down where she was pointing and I saw Taro running up towards the dam with his Orochimon beside him.

Taro yelled something I think, it was too far away and it was all drowned out by the storm, but he pulled out something tiny which must have been his digivice because he waved it and moved it somehow and all of the heads of his Digimon started breathing ice. Its breath created a wall of ice along the top of the levee to try and keep the water from spilling over it, but he couldn't get the whole length of it covered, and it was still bulging outward. When they saw that, the Digimon rushed up against the wall and started pushing and I realized it was trying to hold back the entire river all by itself.

And it's just perfect, I mean it was mythologically perfect. The priest of the mountain shrine stands at the grounds of the Dragon God to bear witness to the Kami of the new generation challenging the flood. I'm watching a brand-new Chaoskampf unfold right in front of my eyes, a New God reflecting the Old Chaos fighting for Order in a renewal and reversal of the ancient struggle. That battle is one of the oldest stories there is, a story that comes to us from civilizations all around the world.

It felt eerie. As I was standing there watching I couldn't help but think this is fate playing out before me. I don't know if I was just imagining it, but the air felt tense from more than just the storm. I was shivering and not just because of the cold. The grounds felt alive somehow, like the mountain beneath me was awake somehow, and it was watching and waiting. I'm standing next to the circle of stones that are meant to embody the Dragon who is the mountain, and I swear to you, Mr. Yamaki, that in that moment I felt it breathing.

I didn't say anything but next to me Kyoko suddenly nodded and told me something important was about to happen.

Way down below Orochimon was throwing all of its weight at the levee to try and keep it standing but it was still bulging outwards in more and more places, I could see it start to leak and I could see the water going over the top even above the wall of ice they made. Taro shouted something, and then the next thing I see is him running up next to his Digimon and he starts pushing against the dam as well! He must have know it was pointless to try, but I can tell from all the way up here he's putting everything he has into it. I yelled at him to get away! To run before it was too late! But of course he couldn't hear me from so far away either.

Then the levee starts to sway and tilt... I'm yelling, Kyoko is saying something, Taro was yelling, I think the snake is yelling, and then there's a thunderbolt and a flash of light and a voice drowned out by the storm and then…

And then, god help me, I see it. I see the thing and for a moment it doesn't seem real, it's like it CAN'T or SHOULDN'T be real. It's utterly inhuman, completely unpossible, it's like a nightmare made flesh.

In the blink of an eye, rising out of the valley below was an impossibly huge black snake, a mythically huge black snake. It's huge. That's the first thing I thought when I saw it, that the thing I'm looking at would put a skyscraper to shame. I was standing at the peak of the mountain, and I had to crane my neck back to look up at it.

Its upper body rose into the sky, its head was shaped like an arrowhead with a line of gleaming red lights along it and it took me a moment to realize those must be its eyes. When it roared I could see its rows of jagged teeth, and that it had a tongue covered in, covered with, with eyes. It had arms the size of trains with blood red claws that were each bigger than cars. Off the back of it were huge jagged orange wings that danced like fire. Its whole body looked like tar, and it was covered all along it with bulging sacks of orange. And its coils just kept going...

It opened its mouth, tilted its head back, and out came raw destruction. It, the creature, it shot a beam of burning light up into the sky. I had to close my eyes and cover my ears from the glare and the sound. I thought it was going to keep going, that it was just going to rampage, but it doesn't and when I look back up at the thing I realize the clouds are gone and the rain has stopped. In a blast it had ended the storm. That creature had split the heavens

Then it moved, the massive thing let out another roar and its lower body unfolded itself and shot out like a whip. It was terrifying seeing how fast it moved, something that huge should not be able to strike like a cobra, but it did and its coils land against the levee easily pushing it back in place. The snake was holding back the entire river effortlessly. And its body kept going, those coils zigzagged down the valley making a series of makeshift dams out of its own body.

And miraculously, (if that's even the right thing to say) it holds, the dam and the creature. That thing held up the entire levee up like it was a toy, like the entire kilometer of granite and steel was a child's sandbox plaything. What water leapt over the top or got in under its scales is held back by the next coil or the coil after that or the one after that.

I fell to my knees. It was divine intervention, everything I had been hoping and praying for, the Dragon God of the mountain had responded and it was terrifying. My heart is pounding, I'm gasping for air, my head is spinning, it hurts to look at that monster, even to think about it. We were tiny little specks compared to it…

My next rational thought is to run. I turned and reached out to grab my daughter and pull her away and my heart sank, she wasn't there! I yelped, I'm panicking, I spin around looking for her, I nearly tripped, but after a moment I caught sight of her in her raincoat. For some reason Kyoko had started climbing down the mountain. She was taking the back path down the mountain, an old series of stones laid out like an ancient stairway. Even though it was still slippery from the storm she ran down them fearlessly, step-by-step, downward towards that thing. For a moment I stared, then I scrambled to my feet and chased after her.

I, I didn't make it to her. Kyoko reached one of the coils lying on the side of the mountain and my heart stopped. I was 10 or 15 steps behind her, cursing myself for not being faster and hating myself because I couldn't make the words come out to call her back. That snake was impossibly huge, the coil she reached was near the end of the creature and it was still easily twice as tall as I am. And my insides were churning as I saw her get close to it. It'll never see her, I'm thinking, it'll squash her and never even notice and then I'll have another funeral and… Or maybe it will see her and then it'll… I can't. I can't, I won't tell you what I imagined in that moment when I saw my daughter reach out towards that monster.

Kyoko's hand gets within a meter of it and I hear someone call from somewhere "wait! Stop! Don't touch there!"

For a moment I thought I said those words, that I finally squeezed them out, but I realize I'm still choking and gasping. Kyoko stopped, and I finally reached her and grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back from the huge thing. Then the creature's body began to shift. I couldn't do more than stare at it when it's tarry scales started to bulge out. There was something writhing around underneath its skin. It was like some kind of monstrous tick was crawling towards us from inside the creature's body. I completely froze, I just stood there as the bulge centered itself in front of us.

Then the skin and scales folded open vertically around the bulge and I saw what had been squirming around under it. It was an eye. A meter-long eye, colored deep red with a circle midway into the iris with a pinprick of a pupil right in the center of it. I remember thinking that it didn't look like a snake's eye at all, and I remember thinking how sad it was that that would be the last thought I ever had...

"Oh, Kyoko! Mr. Komatsu! It's you!" It was the same voice again, it sounded bizarrely young and for a moment I was confused, but then my heart sinks even lower when I realize that the voice talking belongs to the nightmarish thing. It's seen us and it even knows who we are and we'll never get away. It was a numb, empty, hopeless feeling.

I tried to fall back but Kyoko pulled free from my arm and stepped forward. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"Nothing's wrong," it said, and somehow the words didn't sound like they were coming from anywhere in particular, they sort of project out of the thing. "I'm overheated, if you try and touch me you'll burn your hand."

I started shaking. I recognized the voice, the horrid, massive thing was using Taro's voice somehow.

"Oh." That's all Kyoko says, she didn't seem confused or surprised or even frightened. It's like this giant nightmare was no stranger than a dog or a bus or a rice paddy.

Then something shifted in the huge creature's body, I heard it clicking and rattling and its coils started to shake. I stared, I was only able to stare the entire time, stare and nothing else, and so I keep staring when I see its body transform. All along it I see coming out of its body were what I can only call "chimneys". Big round protrusions punched up out all the way down its impossible body and they started bellowing steam. In seconds the whole valley was filled with mist, and the cold night air suddenly felt like a sauna. While it was doing that I can see its wings fold up and the blotchy orange patches over its body start to dim and fade away. After, I don't know, a minute? I heard Taro's voice again.

"That's better. Sorry about that, I had to vent the extra heat. I can't really… Stop generating energy like that, but at least it'll be a little while before I get really hot again."

*Click* *Click* *Click* Went to the battered silver lighter.

"So, you reached a point where the Digimon was no longer a monster friend, and was merely a monster," Yamaki said conclusively when the priest fell silent. Takahito didn't bother to labor the point. "What happened after that Professor Komatsu?"

"Well, nothing, that night," Takahito said. "Nothing as dramatic, or at least as dramatic as its initial appearance at least. Kyoko spoke to Taro, or at least the voice of Taro, she thanked him for saving the town and bowed politely, and she patted the beast's scales and said he wasn't hot anymore and thanked him for warning her and then Taro's voice wondered if they would have school tomorrow and… They had some small talk, they talked about the sorts of things kids talk about. It was surreal hearing his voice coming from that monster. After a little while that horrid thing dissolved back into Taro and Orochimon, and just like that first day when I met them they just went home. And then we went home as well. I felt strung out, but also wired but also drained. I didn't feel tired at all, but I fell asleep the moment my head hit the pillow. The next day I had just about convinced myself the ordeal had been a bad dream, until Taro and Orochimon came afterschool to ask me about the, about the THING they'd become."

"And what Digimon had they evolved into?"

"Evolved? You call that…? No, I guess that is the word they use isn't it? Well, the next day they told me the Digimon they had 'evolved' into was called 'Nidhoggmon'. Not a particularly auspicious name," Takahito said, kneading his forehead.

"Neither is Orochimon considering the depredations of the creature in that myth," Yamaki pointed out.

"Yes, but Orochi is believed to be an archaic name for 'snake'. There is a world of difference between that and Nidhoggr, whose name means 'Malice Striker'," Takahito retorted.

"Did you tell them that?"

"Not in those words, but I did tell them what little we have on it. I pulled out a copy of a translation of the old Norse poems that relate to that serpent, or dragon. The ones that say it lives in or on Nastrond, the corpse shore, at the roots of Yggdrasil where it sucks out the blood of sinners and oath breakers, how it constantly gnaws at the roots of the world tree and how its actions may eventually foretell Ragnarok, the catastrophic end of the world."

"I assume they didn't take your warning seriously," Yamaki said.

"No they did not," Takahito said testily. "They shrugged off the myths, Taro said that he liked the myths about Orochimon better because they were closer than the myths about Nidhoggmon. The snake agreed, it said it could never imagine itself eating corpses or chewing on roots. I remember that Taro nodded and said he didn't think the name made sense and said it was too bad that was the name they had to use when they evolved together. I was absolutely dumbstruck they were talking so lightly about what happened, even more so when I heard they were willing, maybe even wanting, to become that, that MONSTER again. I had been praying it was some kind of horrible accident, but the boy was certain they could 'evolve' into that again. I tried to ask them not to, and the best I could get was Taro saying it was too big and they probably wouldn't need to very often."

"In other words," Yamaki said placidly, "neither of them saw anything wrong with their evolution. I'm not surprised."

"What you mean you're not surprised?" Takahito's voice was suddenly livid.

"What I mean is that the evolution you describe is fairly normal for what we've observed for that kind of 'complete' Matrix Evolution."

"You call all that normal?" Takahito shouted.

"I do indeed Professor Komatsu," Yamaki said evenly. His cool and still perfectly controlled tone froze Takahito's anger dragging him back down to a kind of defeated exhaustion. And then into curiosity, and that must've shown in his face because Yamaki followed up with, "I'm more than willing to share what we know about that particular phenomenon if you're interested, professor. Fair is fair after all."

"Fair is fair, huh? Well since we are being fair now I guess I should backpedal and state that I am, I was, at least aware intellectually that that kind of evolution was possible. I remember the broadcast intrusion two years ago with the slime creature showing children inside those Digimon fighting it, and the follow-on PSA's your office released the next year when they came back. And of course I got that thing in the mail. But on the other hand, I never expected for it to be so… Drastic. And you call that normal?"

Yamaki nodded. "Your account made it sound harrowing, and I have no intention of dismissing what you saw, but as I said the evolution you describe is well within what we might call 'expected parameters' for this kind of situation."

"Those being…?"

"To start with all the triggers and preliminary indications seem to be present from your account of Taro's activities. Specifically, in most cases Matrix Evolution occurs when the Digimon and human in question are partnered and have been partnered for more than six months. Another seeming prerequisite is that the human and Digimon must also be close and have a strong emotional connection, which seems to be present from what you've described. Furthermore, in the lead-up to the evolution the human may also suffer from a Mirror Neuron phenomenon wherein injury to their Digimon partner's body causes them to feel a similar sensation in their own body. Finally, the evolution itself usually occurs in response to a high stress situation."

"I'm aware of that, that was all in the packet about Digimon Tamers that I received earlier this year," Takahito said. "But the rest of it? The size and the voice and the eyes, that was all 'expected parameters'?"

"Yes. Putting aside the physical appearance of the Digimon you described, there's nothing abnormal in your account. In response to stress the human is physically absorbed into their Digimon partner causing it to immediately evolve into an Ultimate Digimon, in this case becoming the Ultimate Digimon Nidhoggmon. In all known cases this evolution creates a Digimon whose abilities are ideally suited to react to the situation that instigated said evolution and as expected in this case they became a Digimon that was able to avert the flood. And despite becoming a single being the identity and the personality of the human partner remains and can project itself and its voice if the aggregate Digimon so desires. In some cases this may be because the personality of the Digimon partner is one that prefers not to speak or interact socially, but in this case it may be more likely that the part of Nidhoggmon that was comprised of Morikubo Taro chose to interact with you to try in that way to AVOID alarming you or your daughter."

"That ship had already sailed I'm afraid, Mr. Yamaki," Takahito said. He grimaced.

"Finally," Yamaki went on, "after performing the evolution once the pair can easily perform it at will from then on. Many Tamers expressed surprise that they ever had difficulty evolving in that manner in the first place, one Tamer described it as simply choosing 'not to be separate anymore', for what that is worth""

"And they would want to become a Digimon again? Why? Why would Taro… Why would anyone want to become something like that?"

Click, click, click "…I'll admit it's a question I've asked myself before, Professor Komatsu. And we do have some possible answers, but I want to make clear we are now talking about psychology, in this case child psychology, and I'm out of my depth. Doubly so because you and I are speaking to an extremely intense, idiosyncratic experience that has never happened to either of us. However, I can speak statistics and patterns."

"Then if you would, please do so Mr. Yamaki. And not just for Taro, I want to know why she... why anyone would do something so dangerous."

"Dangerous? Hm. Well, let me first reiterate we are talking about a comparatively rare phenomenon with fewer than a hundred cases reported worldwide. However, in every case study we've been able to observe, the human being who undergoes that kind of evolution with a Digimon universally describes it in unreservedly positive terms. The descriptions we received of that kind of union suggest it to be an intensely ecstatic and cathartic experience, no matter what Digimon is evolved with or into. Consistently brought up is a sense of true and complete understanding of themselves and their partner Digimon. Multiple Tamers credit those feelings as bringing about a kind of personal epiphany to them. Many also go further and ascribe a deeper, even spiritual purpose to it. The earliest known Tamer who performed that kind of Matrix Evolution has stated consistently that he believes humans and Digimon are meant to be able to evolve together in that manner. He is not alone in that opinion either, many other Tamers have voiced the opinion that this kind of joint evolution may be the ultimate purpose of the partnership between humans and Digimon."

"Unbelievable, you mean to tell me the reason children bond with those monsters is to become even bigger monsters?"

"The 'bigger monster' you're talking about saved this town, its cherished history, and possibly many innocent lives," Yamaki said. The chill in his voice was back to full blast in seconds. Takahito could feel he was on thin ice. He tensed up, readied himself to fight, but then quickly gave up on that and slumped back in his seat, rubbing his forehead.

"Well... Maybe I said too much. God I need a beer," Takahito glanced over at the government man. "Do you mind if I…?"

Yamaki shrugged. "I'm merely a guest Professor Komatsu," he sounded faintly amused now. Well, that was better than angry.

Takahito slunk out to grab a can out of the refrigerator and try and collect his thoughts. His mind kept going back to his very first question, what the hell did this guy want? He'd told the spook what happened that night, he'd answered the man's big important central question, he'd even gotten a little bit in return, that should be all right? But Yamaki didn't seem like he was going to budge from his chair. Takahito cast his mind back down his interrogation, through everything the very important director had said and asked. It still felt surreal the man he'd seen on TV was sitting in his office asking him weird questions. When Takahito returned to his seat with a cold one he couldn't help but glance around his office on the off-chance he would find a hidden camera to prove this was some kind of bizarre reality show stunt. But of course he couldn't find one. Still, he'd had time to think and regroup, time for a challenge of his own. The same challenge he'd wanted to make all afternoon.

"Are you sure that these children aren't being manipulated somehow by their Digimon?"

Yamaki raised an eyebrow. "What you mean by that?"

"Well, I heard from somewhere that the Digimon's world was a dangerous place, one ruled by the concept of Survival of the Fittest. If absorbing a human allows a Digimon to immediately ascend to its strongest form then doesn't it make sense that Digimon would want to do things to convince humans to join with them? You say that the children describe that kind of evolution as feeling good, but not everything that feels good is actually good for us. What if the connection between human and Digimon is less symbiotic and more parasitic? They could be taking advantage of being joined with their human to mentally condition them to make them want to evolve again."

Yamaki didn't reply immediately. Instead he started clicking his lighter rhythmically and Takahito was pretty sure that the blonde man had closed his eyes to think (but again, those sunglasses).

"That was the idea you brought up in your most recent article, I believe. And you aren't the first to make that suggestion; that same idea has been suggested to me more than once. And I'll admit it was also close to my initial belief about the children and their Digimon. There's even some circumstantial evidence in the direction you are going."

"Like for instance…?"

"Like for instance that Digimon are capable of evolving like that in our world now. The earliest cases of that kind of Matrix Evolution occurred in the Digital World after the children who performed it had been Metaphorized into a Digimon-like data construct in order to exist on the Network. During the D-Reaper crisis the children who fought against it in this world required outside help in order to evolve to Ultimate with their partners. However, since Digimon began reappearing last year that no longer seems to be the case. One of our consultants theorizes that this is due to something akin to a software update, that Digimon across the Network now have an additional program to allow them to evolve more easily with humans. Approached from a perspective like what you've suggested it's possible to interpret this as Digimon on the whole realizing the power that a human can grant them and adapting to gain it."

"But it sounds like you don't believe that?"

"I believe that this update is an adaptation in response to the proven power that a Tamer can provide a Digimon, but I don't believe it's the only reason Digimon and Tamers form partnerships. If that were the case then Digimon that had evolved to Ultimate on their own wouldn't have Tamers, but several do. I think you may also be underestimating the role the children play in this kind of evolution."

Takahito blinked. "How so?"

"Because the human partner doesn't seem to be an inferior subject in their fusion. The mistake you're making is to assume that the child acts only as a kind of battery the fuel the Digimon's growth, but they're demonstrably more than that. It's been observed multiple times that the Tamer has a significant amount of control over their merged body and clearly takes an active role in fighting. The pair are also not always mentally in lockstep. The handful of times I've been able to witness a Matrix Evolution firsthand I've seen multiple instances where the human and the Digimon parts disagree with each other and are at odds despite merging together. I've even seen occasions wherein the skills and ideas and personality of the human half became clearly dominant over the Digimon half, which would obviously be impossible if the human were completely subjugated.

Additionally the Digimon puts itself at great risk from the human when it evolves this way because the human partner's data is installed directly into the Digimon's core kernel. This is the part of the Digimon that is both brain and heart, the very core of its being, and when a Digimon evolves in this way it grants unrestricted access to that part of it to its human companion. If the human is at risk of influence from the Digimon, then the Digimon presumably is just as much at risk from the human in the same exact way. Finally, after the merger the human also retains memories originally belonging to the Digimon and vice versa; it's a tortured phrase but they remember remembering what they remembered when they were a single being. Given that and the intimacy of that kind of evolution I don't think it would even be possible for one to do something and keep it hidden from the other."

"But, you don't know for certain, do you Mr. Yamaki?"

Click, click, click. "I'm a scientist Professor Komatsu, science never knows things 'for certain', it only knows things to the point beyond a reasonable doubt."

"And where does that get you?" Takahito asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Far enough to state that Matrix Evolution is, beyond a reasonable doubt, not a nefarious scheme for brainwashing children," Yamaki said.

"So what should we consider it then?"

"Maybe as a new form of kamigakari."

Takahito stared at him. It took him a second to realize his jaw had open. He closed it. "Kamigakari?"

"Yes, I was surprised you didn't bring it up at all in either of your articles," Yamaki said. It was actually infuriating how smooth his poker face was.

"And that's what you were talking about? That's what was missing from my articles? That's why you came here?" Takahito asked incredulously.

"I visited you today for several reasons, Professor Komatsu. However, that was indeed one of those reasons. As I've said more than once now I was impressed by your research and intrigued by the comparisons you drew. You touched on so much of our country's history of religious practices in both of your articles that I was surprised you made no comparison to kamigakari, the concept of divine possession. Given your previous body of work and your credentials you must have been aware of it as a concept."

Takahito swallowed. "Yes, I was aware of it, but I'm not sure how it might apply to Digimon evolving with humans…" He lied.

"Aren't you?" Yamaki raised an eyebrow again. "Isn't that exactly what's going on according to your hypothesis? Kamigakari, a person being possessed by the Kami, is much less common than the possession of objects as in the creation of a shintai, but it is also not unheard of in Japanese religious traditions, and there are comparable examples of it worldwide. Shamanism, spiritual possession, mediumship, being 'mounted' by spirits, however you say it these are the same kind of near universal religious touchstones that you discussed in your articles. Various traditions worldwide have people becoming vessels for gods or other powerful spirits to manifest bodily in order to cast blessings or perform rites, and now children around the world are bodily manifesting into beings of mythic proportion via union with their partners. If I accept your theory that Digimon are a new kind of spiritual being, a new kind of god for new kind of era, then I would say Matrix Evolution is a new kind of spiritual possession. Kamigakari."

"That thing was not a god…"

"No, it was a Digimon," Yamaki said simply. "But aren't you focusing too much on the appearance of that creature?"

"You're telling me I should praise the world ending, corpse sucking, Niddhoggr?" Takahito's voice darkened.

"No, but perhaps you should be thankful that Morikubo Taro was able to evolve with his partner into Nidhoggmon to save your town. If Digimon are living myths then they are ones who are they are less than beholden to their source material. A werewolf Digimon may not be weak to silver, a vampire Digimon may be slain without a stake to the heart, a devil Digimon may be a hero and a protector, an angel Digimon may be cruel and vicious. Didn't you yourself say that Orochimon's actions were reversal of the classical Chaoskampf? The near universal conflict between the god of order and the serpent of chaos?"

"Yes, I may have said that…" Takahito admitted.

"And you also admit you compared Digimon to modern-day gods and other spirits?"

"I'll admit that as well, it would be silly to say otherwise."

"Then surely the comparison follows. Beyond Nidhoggr, Matrix Evolution has manifested, as Digimon, mythic figures such as Konohana Sakuya, Ba'al Zebub, Diana, Uka-no-Mitama–"

"NO! You are crossing the line Mr. Yamaki!" Takahito lunged forward in his seat, his face suddenly contorted in a snarl. "Don't you dare talk like you know anything about that!"

Yamaki blinked and pulled back. "I didn't mean to cause any offense…"

"Of course you didn't, but you're blundering around talking about things you don't understand," the priest spat. In a second all his frustrations and boiled over until he was red in the face, furious beyond fear and enraged beyond caution. "You may talk about science, but you're just picking at scabs. You have no idea about me, you have no idea what it's like. So don't you dare talk to me about kamigakari." Takahito opened his mouth to say something more, but instead his scowl sagged and collapsed into sorrow, then into grief. His hands over his face, Takahito slumped over in his chair and the man began to cry.

Yamaki stared. Once or twice he began to say something, but each time he realized he couldn't find the words. He considered putting a hand out on to the other man's shoulder, but second-guessed himself before he was an inch out. So he just stared at Takahito as he cried in heaving sobs, tears streaming from the turned up corners of his eyes.

The director ran through the conversation again, everything he knew about the priest and his life and his background, what he might have said or done that led to this. Finally, he swallowed his pride once again, and admitted quietly to himself he'd been wrong and now someone was angry and crying again. That it was a grown man instead of an 11-year-old boy did not help.

Finally, when Takahito had run through his tears and his eyes were red and swollen Yamaki held up a packet of tissues. They were cheap and shoddy but the other man gladly took them to dry his streaming eyes.

Yamaki gathered his things smoothly into his briefcase, stood up, and bowed deeply. "I am genuinely, deeply sorry if I caused you undue distress. It was never my intention to cause harm to you in any way, Professor Komatsu, so I offer my sincere apologies if that happened. I don't want to cause you further discomfort, but I will thank you for the possibility of speaking with you today," he turned towards the door and began to leave. "I can assure you that this conversation was of value and I–"

"Wait, hold on!"

"Did find some value after– Pardon me?"

"I said, I want you to stay. There's more I want to talk about. About Digimon, and gods."

"Even after causing you distress?"

"Yes, still, even after everything, Mr. Yamaki. Because, because I think you may be the only person I can talk with about this." The priest was red in the face, he was sniffling and his voice shook, but there was a look of intensity gleaming deep in his eyes.

Yamaki looked around, for the first time seeming uncertain. "Most people don't say that about me."

"And this isn't something most people would understand, but I think you might. And if not I don't think most people would be willing to hear me out, and I think you would."

"And you think I can be of help? Are you sure you'll get anything from me?"

"No, I'm not sure, but I guess I'm willing to try."

Yamaki returned to his seat in the old blue easy chair and retrieved his silver lighter. Then, to Takahito's utter astonishment, he took off his sunglasses to meet his gaze with his baby blue eyes. "All right then, if you want to continue, Professor Komatsu, then go ahead. And if you want to stop for any reason, let me know that as well."

"Thank you, Mr. Yamaki. You're kinder than you seem on television, you know."

"So people tell me," he smiled. and with his eyes uncovered Takahito could tell the director had a pretty good smile.

"Well then I assume you probably have already guessed what this is going to be about."

"Not with certainty, but if I was to make a guess it would be about your daughter, Komatsu Kyoko. That is, her, and her partner Digimon."

The rain was gone, the water level was shrinking, and Kawaten town was still standing. Everyone was safe. They'd done it!

Taro heaved a deep sigh and fell back onto the ground. He was going to soak through his clothes lying there on the wet and muddy grass, maybe even catch a cold, but he didn't care. He was exhausted. It took him a moment to realize he didn't feel wet at all. He actually felt warm. It took another to realize that he wasn't in the dirt, and another to realize he wasn't actually tired. And his legs hadn't actually given out from under him. They couldn't have.

He didn't have legs.

He blinked his eyes, then he blinked them again more slowly. He could still see for the moment his eyelids shut. Taro could see perfectly with his eyes closed. No, he could see better than perfectly, he could see impossibly perfectly. He could see straight to the horizon, he could count the individual leaves on trees, he could distinguish every blade of grass underneath him, he could spot the differences between the pebbles sitting on the riverbank.

He could feel everything beyond perfectly as well. He felt every lingering droplet of water individually as they fell on his scaly skin and sizzled away. He could hear the wind and knew perfectly where it was coming from, even how far off the storm was now. He could smell the scent of the town, soil and charcoal and rice wine.

The rest of him had changed as well, his arms were black and scaly and clawed. His head felt heavy and jutted out. He could feel two sets of wings folded out on his back. His whole, long body felt like it was burning, like he had magma for blood now, but it was a strangely painless sensation.

Taro knew on some level he should feel surprised, that this should be bizarre or terrifying, but it didn't feel that way at all. It all seemed right somehow, like this transformation had been a long time coming.

If he focused in on himself he could see himself, who he was used to being, way down deep inside. That was him, the data of him (and only him, nothing else), arranged like it should be in the light blue sphere at the center of him.

"I became a Digimon…" Taro said.

"We became a Digimon," Orochimon said. "We evolved together." His partner's voice sounded like it was coming from inside Taro's head.

"We did… We did! I remember now, I remember hearing that the Digimon Tamers in Tokyo could do that, I think," and Taro did remember saying that, but right now he remembered it from Orochimon's perspective as well. "I didn't think we'd be able to…"

"Of course we were able to. You should believe in yourself more. I told you that your life was worth living the day we met. I still believe that, nothing's changed. After everything you've done, everything you were able to do, your life IS valuable, Taro."

And in that moment, hearing his partner's thoughts, feeling those emotions with his heart, Taro understood him. And way deep down inside their body Taro started to cry. Tears rolled down his cheeks and down and away into the warm darkness of Orochimon's heart. And he could feel his partner's support all around him and throughout him, the feeling of a warm coil wrapped around him holding him tight.

And when Taro finished crying, finally crying, he smiled.

"Do you think one of those things would be scared of us if we evolved like this again?" Taro asked.

"I think we're too big right now…" Orochimon's voice answered. Taro laughed. It felt good to laugh, laughter always felt best after tears.

"Speaking of which, are we as big as you were supposed to be, in Mr. Komatsu's story? In the myth of the Yamato-no-Orochi?"

"I don't think so, in the story I was supposed to be as long as seven whole valleys. I'm not that big, even now. But maybe we should go talk to him again, I'm not Orochimon anymore after all, we evolved. I wonder what kind of myth we became?"

Half of the reason this story exists at all is to play with perspective. Takahito knows only so much, Yamaki with his position and expertise knows more, but we the viewer know the most. If you think about it, the viewer has a distinctly privileged position for looking into the proceedings of a setting. In most media, we see what happens from the broadest possible view. We can speak both objectively to what things characters do, and, via the means of fiction (that is framing and pacing and the intentionality of design), we can understand further to the point of knowing WHY characters do what they do.

The characters in a setting are not so lucky, and so I wrote this in part to ask the question what does Matrix Evolution look like from the outside? Hell, what does this whole thing of the kids having Digimon partners look like to an outsider in the setting? Especially Digimon and evolutions that aren't traditionally heroic. Us in the audience see it one way, obviously, but the people in the setting don't have our same privileged position. You probably realized what was happening and figured out Takahito was grabbing the wrong end of the stick right from the start, but of course he doesn't know that.

And will also freely admit that this chapter is yet another dumping ground, this time for everything I can think of related to Matrix Evolution. It's combination of observations from the show, ideas I've had and liked that I think fit with what's on screen, and very gently playing at some of the themes that were in the original work. The concept of it remains one of Digimon's most interesting details, and I've always wanted to further examine it and give a take on it. And if I can also try a couple of things out with Yamaki I'll do that as well, he's another genuinely fascinating character. People write fiction and fanfiction for all sorts of reasons, and I know I'm not alone in writing it in part to put across my ideas about a series.

I mean, putting across ideas about a series ultimately IS fanfiction, isn't it?

Next - Mighty Soul