Dedication: To the best oneesan out there, and also mine, Usa-oneesan!
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The Right Kind of Wrong
Chapter 7 - Gone Again
Author: Krys Yuy
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1,000 years ago...
Princess Serenity tossed and turned in her bed. 'Argh!' she exclaimed. 'Why can't I just fall asleep?' She sighed and got up wearily, rubbing her temples. She slipped into a robe, covering her silk nightgown and put her feet into a pair of slippers. She looked out the door cautiously and sneaked out with silent steps.
Serenity walked down the many hallways, which were lit dimly by several candles on the walls. She paused outside the door to the communications room for some reason. She pressed her thumb against the panel on the side, indicating that she was authorized to enter the room. This was one of the few rooms which had identification security. As the door slid open, she entered and was surprised to find no one watching over the panels and screens. She stood by one screen and found herself reaching out to touch it. To her astonishment as her fingers made contact; eight symbols appeared, forming a circle around the area where her hand touched.
"Nani?" she whispered.
Before anything else could be said, a shining light shot out of the computer and enveloped her. She gasped as she felt herself being pulled into the screen and watched as numbers and letters flew by her. As she landed in a grassy area, she stumbled before picking herself up. She studied her surroundings, curiosity and excitement dancing in her eyes. She was standing in the front of a large temple with several tall trees around it. To get to the entrance, you had to climb the many steps coming from the front.
The moon princess glanced around and shrugged, deciding she had nowhere else to go. She started climbing the stairs carefully. When she finally reached the top, she hesitated before going through. After many twists and turns, she ended up in a circular room, which was lit by hanging torches. There was a pedestal in the very center, and hovering above that, was what looked like a large bubble. Inside the bubble, something silver glittered on a chain.
Serenity stepped towards it in a trance, as if the object was calling to her. As she neared it, she realized the pedestal had several strange markings. 'How curious...' she thought. She traced her fingers over the words, reading it in her mind. 'A forbidden object is what resides in this sacred place. Not to be touched, not to be held by any but its own holder. Only she will possess all qualities equally in heart and soul. She is not what she seems, even to herself. Touch if you dare and face the consequences if you are not destined to hold its power.'
The princess drew back her hand as if something had bit her. She turned her head to look at the exit, but to her immediate surprise, it wasn't there anymore. She whirled around again to stare inside the transparent bubble. She realized that the object was in reality a ring hung upon a chain. Before she knew what was happening, her eyes had again locked with the object. Her hand raised of its own accord and to her mind's horror, thrust inside the sphere and grabbed the ring. She held it tightly in her fist and brought it up to her face. She slipped the ring off the chain and put it on her right index finger.
The room was suddenly flooded in a spectrum of lights and colors, causing the princess to shield her eyes temporarily. As the lights dimmed, she lowered her arm that was covering her eyes. The walls of the room were glowing softly, and the insignias that had adorned them were pulsing with power. A slight breeze wafted through the room and flew up and over her. Her pure white nightgown dissolved, only to be replaced with slacks and a shirt, covered with a transparent robe.
"What is going on?" she asked aloud. She nearly jumped out of her skin as a voice answered from behind her.
"You have obtained the ring, which means you are the Crest Keeper," it replied to her rhetorical question.
She whirled around to be faced with a tall person wearing a robe just like hers, except a deep brown, and the hood was over his head. "Who are you?" she questioned curiously, lifting an eyebrow.
She could've sworn the person was smiling underneath the hood. "I am a resident of the Digital World and one of its many servants."
"Digital World? Never heard of it," she commented.
The man sighed and shook his head. "Of course you wouldn't have, my dear. It is a place where strange creatures rule the land, and those from your world would fear them immensely," he paused, then continued. "No, it's best that only few from your world learn of this place."
"Why am I here?" she questioned.
"I already told you, your highness," he answered, much to her shock and surprise. "You are the Crest Keeper, Princess Serenity. Destined to wield power unimaginable to protect the Digital World and the universe."
*End Vision*
Usagi shot up in the bed, sweat pouring from her body. 'What was that?' she asked herself. 'God, I can't take much more of this.' Her eyes darted around the dark room in a panic, before she remembered that she had fallen asleep in the guestroom of Takeru's apartment, where he lived with his mom. She clenched the sheets in her hands tightly. 'What am I going to do?'
* * * * *
"Whoa," Patamon commented, circles twirling in his eyes as he landed on a stoned floor.
"You got that right," agreed Gatomon, trying to steady herself.
"Teleporting," Patamon said, shaking his head, "still have to get used to it."
"I know. We haven't done this in the longest time," Gatomon moaned, bringing a gloved paw to her forehead.
"One thousand years to be exact," a voice said from behind them.
"Gennai!" exclaimed Patamon. "What are you doing here?"
Gatomon shut her eyes and resisted the urge to smack her digimon comrade over the head. "Don't you remember?! Gennai is the guide of the Crest Keeper."
"Oh yeah," Patamon admitted sheepishly, flying a few feet off the ground, flapping his ear wings.
"Ah..." Gennai chuckled. "You two still amuse me to no ends." Then his elderly face took on a grave expression. "I have reason to believe that the Crest Keeper has awakened."
Gatomon nodded her head. "Yes, she has. After all this time of searching, when only Gabumon knew. Only when the necklace was again seen by me, did I remember. Now, the moon princess-"
"The moon princess," Gennai interrupted sharply, "has not yet been revived. The Crest Keeper has."
"Nani?" Patamon questioned, his eyes puzzled.
"What do you mean the moon princess hasn't awakened?" Gatomon asked angrily. "Patamon and I saw it for ourselves. She is alive and well-"
"I will repeat myself only once more," Gennai interrupted for a second time. "Who summoned you was the Crest Keeper, not the moon princess. The moon princess still sleeps within her reincarnated body. The part of her, which knows only her mission about the Digital World, has awakened."
"I guess that makes sense," Patamon agreed hesitantly.
Gatomon nodded her head as well, though her eyes were ablaze with fury.
Gennai turned away from the two, his eyes gazing around the worn circular room of the ancient temple. "I am sorry to say," he started after a few minutes, "that the events that have plagued the Digital World in the present time will not be fixed without the power of the original digidestined. I had hoped that the newer generation would be able to defeat the new threat, but they alone are not enough. Their newer powers will not show themselves in time."
"What must we do?" Patamon inquired, flying up behind the wise man.
"Hai," agreed Gatomon. "What do we need to defeat the Kaizer?"
"The Kaizer is not the problem," Gennai murmured mostly to himself, but Gatomon's keen ears heard him.
"What did you say?" she asked.
Gennai sighed and turned back towards the two digimon. He suddenly looked very weary and tired to them. "The crests," he covered up, answering her first question. "We need the crests."
* * * * *
Usagi threw off the covers and cautiously stepped outside in the hallway. The rising sun greeted her surprised face. 'It's morning?' she asked herself as her eyes spotted a clock. 'Seven in the morning?!' she shrieked in her head. 'And on a Saturday no less,' she groaned. She took a place on the couch and began to ponder. 'That princess in my dreams... She had grabbed the necklace I'm wearing now.' She fingered the object nervously. 'She had put it on her finger. I don't understand. If what the writings on the pedestal were true, that means-'
"Usagi?" a voice cut through her thoughts.
"Hai?" she replied, turning around to face the blond woman she had known so long ago.
"Is it really you?" Nancy asked.
"Hai, Nancy-san," Usagi replied, getting off the couch and taking a tentative step toward her. "It's been awhile, ne?"
"It sure has," the older woman commented with a grin. Then she frowned. "I called your mother up. She was surprised to hear from me. She was also shocked to find you back in the old neighborhood again."
Usagi shifted uncomfortably foot to foot. "Yeah... I had to return something to a student at Obaida Junior High," she said truthfully.
"Soo ka?" Nancy asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hai. I had to return it to Motomiya Daisuke," she answered. "It was some kind of device."
"Daisuke? Why, he's one of Takeru's friends!" she exclaimed. "T.K. speaks of him all the time. Sometimes they have arguments but I have a feeling they are the best of friends."
Usagi nodded her head distractedly. "Did kaasan say when she wanted me back?" she changed the subject.
"Oh, today if possible but she said that you could visit again soon," Nancy answered.
"I should get going, even if it is a Saturday," Usagi commented, starting to head toward the door.
"Matte! Don't you want breakfast?" Nancy inquired with a grin.
The mention of food would have made Usagi's eyes light up yesterday. However, her current thoughts were far from eating. She shook her head regretfully and gave the older woman a sad smile. "Gomen nasai, Nancy-san," she apologized. "I'm not very hungry right now. Maybe next time." She put on her shoes and opened the front door of the apartment. She glanced back this time with a reassuring smile. "I'll visit again soon, I promise," she vowed. "Tell Takeru and the others for me," she paused, then added, "and Yamato."
Before the older woman could say anything, the blond teenager was out the door. "Bye, Usagi," she said to the open air. Then she dialed a number on the cordless phone, one that she had only used the night before. "Ossu, Ikuko-chan," she greeted when the phone was answered on the other end. "Do you know any other friends that Usagi had back when you guys lived here?" She paused as her long lost friend listed the names. "Uh-huh. Takeru is friends with all of those people!" she commented, smiling. Then her eyes lighted up with an idea. "Hey, Ikuko-chan..." she trailed off. "How about a reunion party?"
* * * * *
Takeru frowned as he heard a busy signal again on the phone line. He had tried to call his mother three times already. 'Well at least she knows I spent the night at oniisan's,' he thought. 'It's a good thing I called her last night.' He sighed and put the phone back on the hook. 'Patamon... where are you?' he wondered as he stared out the window.
"Breakfast's ready!" exclaimed Yamato from the kitchen.
"Okay!" he called. He entered the kitchen and sat on the stool by the countertop. "Where's tousan?" he questioned.
"Work," his brother stated.
"Does he always leave this early?"
"Hai."
"On Saturdays?"
"Yeah, most of the time. Work takes up his weekends."
"Oh."
"So, how did you like your eggs again?" Yamato asked, changing the subject.
"Any is fine," Takeru answered.
"I'll just give you sunny side up," Yamato said as he began to crack the egg on the side of the pan.
Then Takeru dared to ask about the person they had been avoiding to mention. "Have you heard from... oneesan?"
Yamato faltered and the next egg made a large cracking sound as it landed on the floor. "Umm... iie. I haven't," he commented curtly.
"All right," Takeru murmured, a little hurt.
Yamato's eyes softened a bit. "Gomen, otooto," he apologized. "You know how it is..."
"Hai," the younger boy agreed. Then the phone rang. "I'll get it," he offered as he got off his seat.
"Uh-huh," Yamato replied distractedly as he cleaned the mess up off the floor.
"Moshi, moshi," Takeru greeted as he picked up the phone. "Ishida residence."
"Takeru?" a voice asked hesitantly.
The younger boy blinked, surprised. He exited the room as Yamato started to put the breakfast on the plates. "Oneesan?" he whispered into the phone.
"Hai."
"You're at Koushiro's, ne?" he asked.
"Iie."
"Nani?! Where are you?"
"I'm in a phone booth, waiting for the bus," Usagi answered.
"Do you know how much Taichi and the others are going to freak?!" Takeru demanded in a low whisper. "Not to mention oniisan!"
"I'm trying not to think about it," Usagi winced.
"By the way... why aren't you at Koushiro-san's?" he questioned.
"It's a long story," she sighed wearily.
"You can tell me later," Takeru said. "Just remember to visit soon, ne?"
"Hai. Oh! The bus is here. I gotta go, otooto," she said.
"Bye oneesan," Takeru whispered.
"Bye," she replied. "Ai shiteru, otooto."
"Ai shiteru to you too," he said as he heard the phone click. 'Oh boy. What's oniisan going to say?' He groaned in his mind.
* * * * *
"Koushiro?"
"Yes, Jyou?"
"Where's imouto?" the older boy asked on the other end of the phone line. 'Though she's actually more than a sister to me...' he thought.
"....................................."
"Koushiro..." Jyou started off in a warning tone. "What happened?"
"Umm... Ijustwentintotheroomandshewasn'tthereanymore!" Koushiro said in a rush.
Jyou blinked. 'Yeesh... guess some of Usagi's old habits wore off on some of us.' "Can you say that a bit more slowly?" he asked.
"I just went into the room and she wasn't there anymore," he repeated more slowly.
"What exactly do you mean?" asked Jyou, trying to make sure he heard right.
Koushiro took a deep breath. "Well... you see... the fact is..."
"Spit it out!"
"Gi-chan is gone! Again!"
End Chapter 7 - Gone Again
Coming Next - Chapter 8 - Reunion Bliss
Author's Notes: I know... not much of a chapter, but I tried. Sorry for the delay but I was at Sacramento this whole weekend. No internet access whatsoever. Ch. 1 of The Man Behind the Gun is almost done, so look out for that. Till next time! Ja!