"Beware the Eastern Sun"
Chapter 4
"As we approached the land, the clocks went
crazy.
The hands flew from now to when to never. Time was
not,
and time was not, as the future married the past and
all was."
-Tales of a Time
Traveler
The five of them sat by the lakeside,
the wind sifting through their hair. It was a silent moment of reflection.
Tai's face formed wrinkles as he thought back on the recent events. Joe's eyes
drifted back to the peace of better days. Izzy pondered the whole affair
through the looking glass, curiously regarding each facet of their situation
with a scientific interest. Sora looked to the horizon and saw an endless
surface of some blue marble plane. Her thoughts were of others come and gone.
Mimi looked out past the lake and saw a vast emptiness much like the one she
felt inside of her.
"So...how did it all begin?"
Tai began, unsure how to broach the subject.
Sora and Mimi looked at each other for
a moment. Mimi bit her lip and looked down at the spot on the ground between
her feet. Sora took a deep breath and began to recount the story. "It was
ages ago. When you three first left to the real world..."
[We knew you would
be gone for a long time...]
"Whatever happens we've got to
stick together, OK guys?" Matt said.
"Right," the others agreed.
Matt looked at the young ones, his worried eyes deep in thought. Sora could see
him as a strong leader. He took it upon himself to see to their safety.
"Tai'll be back soon, right
Matt." T.K. looked up with hopeful eyes.
"Right," Matt responded,
slightly removed. "He'll be back any day now."
[...but we never
expected that you would be gone for so long.]
"I'm worried about T.K."
Matt confided.
The rest of the group looked at each
other and nodded. They knew it would be hardest for him.
"Look at the way he keeps
watching the sky all day. He even forgets to eat sometimes. I hope they come
back soon."
The others agreed that there was
nothing that they could do but sit and hope. Tai, Joe, and Izzy were obviously
needed in the real world, but someone had to look after the digital world.
[But as time went
on, things happened...]
They were walking together in the
jungle.
[Evil had
returned.]
"Was that there when we
left?" T.K. questioned, with wide eyes.
In the distance was a looming castle,
over which hovered a menacing gray storm cloud. It was a single blot of
darkness over a serene panorama of pleasant greens and browns. Evil poured
forth from its walls much like the stench of sweat and blood on a hot summer
day.
"Well, this can only mean one
thing," Matt said resolutely.
"What's that?" the others
asked.
"We've got a mission."
"Oh no, not again," Mimi
complained. "Well, maybe it's just very bad weather or maybe it's an
illusion or..."
"I'm sure of it. Can't you just tell
that something's funny?"
"Well, yes," Mimi replied
sheepishly. "But I'd rather ignore that," she hastily added.
"I think Matt's right,
Mimi," Sora offered.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, doesn't it kind of make
sense that whoever's causing the trouble in the real world is causing trouble
in the digital world? I mean, whatever it is came from here,
right?"
Nods and noises of assent filled the
group.
"All right then. Let's go,"
Matt led the way enthusiastically.
[It was a little
more than we could handle though.]
[We barely made it
out alive]
"There's got to be something we
can do," Matt said in frustration.
Sora looked at him and saw the
struggle inside of him. He was trying to be a good leader. Trying almost too
hard. As he sat there thinking, gritting his teeth, it was apparent that he
really was making an all out effort. She knew him. He didn't want to let the
others down. He didn't want the others to look down upon him. He wanted to
prove himself worthy of the position. He wanted to be strong.
[Then we started
drifting apart...]
"We should march on," Matt
said with finality.
Mimi looked uneasy. "Maybe that's
not the best thing to do. I mean Tai..."
"I am sick and tired
of hearing about Tai," Matt screamed, whirling around to stare Mimi in the
eye. "Look, we've got a problem here and now, and I don't
care what Tai would do or would not do. The fact is that he's not here and we
have to solve this problem."
"Calm down Matt," Sora
began. "She only meant..."
"I don't care what she
meant," he said viciously. "If we're going to get through this you
guys are going to have to trust me. Are you with me?"
The others looked at each other
nervously. Mimi managed a glance at Sora, who put her hand on T.K., who gave a
fearful look to Kari, who looked back at Mimi. Matt stood staring at them with
his mouth half-open.
"Is...is this really what you
think?" He began, stammering. The rain washed down his face unheedingly.
"Am...am I really...that bad?"
"It's not that..." Sora
offered.
"Fine, if that's the way it's
gonna be then fine. Fine!" Matt threw his hands up in the air. "I can
do this myself." He trudged off deep into the forest. Gabumon
looked back nervously at the group before following Matt.
[We waited and
watched and then waited some more...]
"I don't think he's coming
back," Mimi said.
"Don't say that," Sora said.
"I'm sure he will. He just needs some time to cool off. Right?"
Kari spoke up, "I don't know. He
doesn't seem his usual self. I'm really worried."
"It'll be O.K. Kari," T.K.
said, hopefully. "Things always get better. They've gotta."
"I hope you're right," Mimi
said.
"Well, we've still got a problem
on our hands," Mimi said.
[But he never came
back. We were never really certain what happened to him, but one day we met him
again...]
"All right. Here's the
castle." Mimi began to moan to herself.
[It had been so
long since we last saw him-three years I think...]
"Things have been really quiet
lately," Kari pointed out.
[We had tried to
defeat the keepers of the castle, but we didn't seem to be able to, no matter
how hard we tried. Once while we were resting, we heard the sounds of a furious
battle, and that brought us to the castle.]
The drawbridge was down and the
portcullis was up. The smell of fresh blood was still lingering in the air despite
the rain. They walked into the castle and came upon a huge wooden gate which
guarded the keep from outside intrusion.
"Should we knock?" Mimi
asked.
"I don't know about this..."
Kari said, shivering in the cold.
"Here goes nothing." Sora
lifted her fist in preparation to knock...
And the gate swung open.
A few shadows here and there darted
furtively around, but the estate was silent on the whole. They made their way
to the largest building-presumably the main hall-to see who owned the place.
Mimi jumped in fright as the cawing of a raven caught her off guard.
The steps before the two massive doors
looked small, but were cumbersome to the weary travelers. By the time they made
it up the steps they had not noticed that the doors had opened as they made
they their climb. Trudging into the stone structure, they lifted their eyes.
The hall was dimly lit by torches
tucked in scones equally spaced along the walls. They stood on a red carpet,
worn and faded from fanfares, balls, and other such royal affairs. The carpet
made an arrow-straight trail down the echoing vastness of the hall to a throne
which seemed tiny from the entrance. Fireplaces blazed along the walls, giving
forth a welcome warmth. The only life they saw was a small figure on the throne.
As they approached the form grew into
familiarity. To their great surprise, it was Matt, wearing a crown of iron,
decorated with vicious spikes. At the heel of the throne sat Gabumon, who
looked worn and tired. The digimon seemed almost a zombie as he lay there in a
state of half sleep that cats and military personnel don when watchfully
waiting. The scene was immaculate except for a small portion of the steps where
a few sploches of blood could be seen. Matt had his elbow propped up on one of
the huge arm rests of the grand throne. One of his legs was idly hanging over
the other arm rest. He looked bored.
As the group approached he sat up
straight. Gabumon's ears twitched once.
"Matt?" T.K. called out
tentatively.
He rose suddenly from the throne and
smiled upon them all. He waved his arms around the room and looked at them
expectantly. "So...what do you think?" he asked with vigor.
"What do you think of my kingdom?" He flopped back on the throne in a
lazy position.
"How did you..." Sora began,
reconsidering his words. The others had their mouths open and staring at him.
"I did it all by myself," he
stated proudly. "With the help of my loyal subjects, of course," he
hastily added. He smiled impishly, with a flash in his eyes. "You didn't
think I could do it, did you?" Standing, he raised his voice triumphantly.
"But I showed you all! I took this castle with all the power of the
digital world behind me! You should have seen the battle! It was glorious! And
the enemy fought valiantly! But nevertheless, the castle fell," he paused
dramatically. "And now I am its ruler."
"But come, come. Let us not have
this idle talk. Ulrig, Barig, light up the room and bring the others. Today we
feast."
Two shadowy figures appeared, quickly
bowed, and were out of the room. "They were former servants of the evil
digimon that resided here." Matt put his hands on his hips as he descended
the throne. "But they asked for pity, and helped me, so I offered them
service with me, in my eternal compassion."
In a moment, more torches were placed
on the walls, candles were lit, and the room was bright with the flickering of
fire. T.K. began a discussion with Matt, as he described the battle with
motions of his hands. Mimi disappeared as she went to a chamber to change her
clothes and take a bath. Kari looked at Matt for a moment, and then saw Sora
looking at her. The two exchanged a glance of concern before blending in with
the others.