The Reign of Courage

Part Six: Discussing and Searching

***

Standard Disclaimer Thingy: Digimon is not mine, and I'm receiving no money for the creation of this story. The plot, however, is mine, and I'd appreciate it if you'd be so kind as to not steal from me or sue me.

***

Taichi was sleeping quite contentedly for the first time in quite a while. For once, neither the demands of his kingdom, Mimi's endless flower debates, nor Agumon's relentless snoring were keeping him awake. Hikari had managed to assure Mimi in many of her crucial decisions and saved him from having to wear flowers at the same time. Feeling quite relieved, the release of that particular burden was enough to let him forget about the rest of his worries and even sleep through his partner's snores.

Alas, all good things must come to an end. And tonight, with a full two hours or so before dawn, he was awakened by a loud banging sound on his door. Jolted awake, the young soon-to-be-King took a few seconds to realize where it was coming from. Rubbing his eyes, he squinted through the darkness at his still sleeping partner, and then glanced at the clock beside his bed.

'Four thirty?' he questioned mentally. 'What's so important?'

Naturally, Taichi was used to being awakened at ungodly hours. It had happened several times throughout his life, he expected it to happen at least several times more. The lack of sleep was simply something that could be considered expected when one was in a position of leadership and power.

So he was not as angry or upset as one might imagine him to be. He was certainly not happy about it, but that was something he would learn to deal with.

He trudged reluctantly across the floor, slowly despite the panicked sound of the knocks, and opened the door. He was, to say the least, quite surprised, when Miyako fell into the room, flung herself at his feet, and began to sob.

"Miyako?" he questioned. "What's wrong?" Suddenly, his tiredness seemed to matter a bit less. Obviously, this girl was having a crisis.

"Oh, Taichi, sir, I'm so sorry, I should have done something about it, but I couldn't. I mean, they were Airdramon, and all I had was Hawkmon and now it's all my fault." She paused for breath a moment, and wiped the tears from her face.

Even more concerned now that Airdramon had been mentioned, Taichi urged her to stand up and enter the room, closing the door behind them. After admitting her and having her sit on his bed, he handed her a handkerchief and then left the room to fetch a glass of water. When he had, he handed it to her.

"Have a drink," he advised. "And then try to tell me again."

Miyako nodded, sniffling pitifully and gulping the water. "Thank you," she replied, the desperate nature of the situation not causing her to forget her manners.

He nodded politely, waving it aside. "Now – what about Airdramon?"

Miyako took a gulp, knowing this was definitely serious. "They took Sora," she replied.

Taichi's eyes grew wide. "What?" he gasped, seriously shocked. Of all the things he'd expected to be awakened for, this was not one of them. "How? When? Where?"

"Just now," she replied, and went on to tell the story as best she remembered it. "I sent Hawkmon to wake the others. I thought you'd want them."

He nodded, sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Her mother will have to be awakened, too," he supplied. "I didn't think they'd risk something like this."

"They left this," Miyako recalled, holding out the piece of paper that had fallen into her hands just afterward.

Taichi read the letter quickly and then thought the exact words Miyako had uttered. Since she was there, however, he was nice enough to not say them aloud. Instead, he clenched his fists and stood up. "I'm going to wake my sister," he told her. "Get the others and meet in the main room. I'll be there as soon as I can."

***

Miyako walked back to her room, managing to wipe the tears from her eyes as much as was possible before meeting the others. She knocked on Daisuke's door first, as it was the first in the hall. When he emerged, still sleepy-eyed, but concerned, she knew Hawkmon had probably alerted him first.

The others were present a moment later, Mimi coming sleepy eyed and somewhat frantically out of her room, Momoe following with a concerned expression. Jun emerged from the shared suite in a similar state, tears welling in her eyes. Takeru looked concerned even as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, and Yamato, still in a somewhat disgruntled mood about the day before, also appeared concerned. Ken looked the most exhausted of them all, but even he gave Miyako a comforting glance as she explained to them all that they were going to meet in the throne room.

No one particularly wanted to break the news to Sora's mother, but in the end Miyako decided that she might as well do it, since she had been present. If there was anyone to blame, she decided, it would be her.

"Don't be ridiculous," Daisuke spoke up. "It's not your fault at all." Several others in the group agreed, but Miyako refused to be swayed.

"I feel responsible," she insisted. "I'm going to tell her." It was obvious no one else's opinion was going to sway her as she turned to leave. A moment later, she heard footsteps behind her.

"I said I can do it, Daisuke," she snapped, assured of who was behind her.

"I didn't say you couldn't," the voice replied, but it was not Daisuke.

"Then why are you following me?" she wondered, turning to see Ken, with a somewhat determined look on his face.

"I wanted to help," he replied softly, his face appearing somewhat wounded. "You know. Moral support."

She relented, finally, and nodded. "Thanks." Her voice was just as soft. "I appreciate it."

***

Taichi pushed open the door, still dressed in his nightshirt and trailed by a half asleep Agumon. Hikari and Tailmon both appeared more awake. One thing was clear in his mind. There would be no falling asleep on the job.

He was astonished at the amount of people in the room. Not only Daisuke, Yamato, Takeru, Mimi, Jyou, Iori, and Koushiro, but also Momoe and Jun had filed into the throne room. Everyone was awash in conversation, but it was silenced the moment he entered, and remained silent while he walked past them to the front of the room.

"Where's Miyako?" he questioned once he had reached there.

"With Sora's mother," Daisuke explained. "Ken went with her."

Taichi nodded. He didn't sit. Couldn't sit. Instead, he rubbed his tired eyes and stood awkwardly in front of the raised platform.

'Somehow I just don't feel I should be up there,' he thought to himself. 'That was always Father's place. Not mine.'

Before he could continue, however, the door opened, and Lady Takenouchi entered, a severe look on her face. Miyako and Ken followed closely behind.

"I want to know what you intend to do about this, Tai," the woman spoke in a stern voice that matched her expression. "If she's hurt…"

"We'll get her back, I promise," the young Prince replied. "You have my assurances."

"That's why we're here," Yamato added.

Sora's mother appeared consoled, at least for the moment. 

"Exactly." Taichi picked up where Yamato had finished off. He held the piece of paper Miyako had given him and showed it to the group. "This must be read to all of you."

There was a moment of silence so that he could be sure all eyes were on him. And they were. Every person and their digimon had their eyes locked on him. Twenty-five pairs of eyes. All hanging on his every word. He cleared his throat and began:

"'We are not a force to be laughed at. Our leader is powerful. Do not dare to believe that our first hostage will be our last. Be prepared for war, Kingdom of Yagami, for Devimon is your newest enemy.'"

There was another moment of silence as the assembled took in the sound. Then the room erupted in conversation again. Yamato and Daisuke both began to speculate on the meanings of the letter. Miyako began to sniffle. Koushiro searched through a book he had brought with him for listings of the name. Several others began to contemplate the idea of a war against a digimon.

"I have it!" the young wizard shouted. All eyes turned to him, and the noise ceased.

"What is it?" Yamato questioned.

"'Devimon,'" Koushiro read. "'One of the first enemies said to be fought by the Chosen. A Digimon of immense power. Rumored to be only at the adult level, yet with immense power. It was the evolution of the smallest which finally led to his defeat.' It's remarkable how this all fits in, isn't it?"

"I don't understand," Iori spoke up. "Does this mean we're only going to have to do exactly what the first Chosen did?"

"If that's true, then what's the point of doing it?" Yamato questioned in agreement.

"No," Koushiro shook his head. "There's a point to it. I don't know if we'll have to do exactly what the first Chosen did. But we still have to do it."

"Who cares if someone did it before?" Miyako reminded them. "If we need to get Sora back, then we'll do it a hundred more times!"

There was a murmur of assent throughout those assembled. "Now's not the time to debate the reasons," Tailmon spoke up. "Now is the time to simply act."

Taichi nodded. "Is that all the information on Devimon you have, Koushiro?"

"That's all that's in this book," he replied. "I have a ton of other books that may possibly have more."

"Good. You keep looking for more then. I want to know what we're up against." Taichi sighed. "I hate to say it, but we can't go after Sora if we don't know where she is."

There was a moment of silence and then increased conversation.

"Can we use the digivices?" Mimi spoke up, holding her own in the air. "If we could possibly manage to locate her on our digivices, then we'd be able to find her."

"A possibility," Koushiro agreed.
"We don't even know where to start looking, though," Jyou pointed out. "Don't we need a starting point?"

"I say we start near the castle and move outward," Miyako suggested. "Both times we were confronted by the Airdramon we were on the way here – from the south, right?" She glanced at Daisuke for conformation.

"Exactly!" he agreed. "So there could be a base near there."

"Could be," Ken spoke up. "Or they could just be throwing us off the track."

"The base could be miles away," Yamato agreed. "It might be a good idea to see if anyone else around here has heard of this Devimon guy."

"Good. We'll do both," Taichi decided. "Split up and cover the area." He looked over the assembled people.

"I'll go with Daisuke," Hikari spoke up. "I'll feel safest with him. You can stay here, brother." She smiled slightly in his direction.

Taichi frowned somewhat at the idea of his sister going out into the dangerous world again, but agreed. "Who else will search?" he questioned. Immediately all but Koushiro, Momoe, and Lady Takenouchi raised their hands.

"I'd prefer to stay here," the Lady explained. She turned to Koushiro. "Perhaps I can be of some assistance?"

"I'll help, too," Momoe offered. "I'm supposed to be resting anyway."

Koushiro nodded. "The help is greatly appreciated."

"Be warned, his lab is a mess," Tentomon advised. "Don't wear nice clothes."

"Iori can come with me," Jyou offered. "It's best if everyone who has a digimon that can evolve goes with someone who can't. In case of danger." Iori nodded in agreement.

"Jun can come with me," Mimi decided, turning to the other girl. "I wanted to see if Gennai had any information." Jun agreed readily.

"Who's left?" Yamato wondered, as the only one remaining with a digimon that could evolve. Miyako, Ken, and Takeru remained. "I guess you three will have to come with me."

Taichi nodded. "Everyone head back and see if you can get some rest. You can start searching right after breakfast. I don't want anyone going out until they've eaten. Understand?"

The assembled murmured assent before they dispersed. Daisuke remained behind. "I'm assuming you have a reason for requesting me?" he asked Hikari.

"I do," Hikari nodded. "I think it would be best if you and I searched some of the surrounding villages. You know best about how they live."

He nodded. "I don't know these villages," he reminded her.

"No," Tailmon interjected. "But you can talk without sounding like a pompous dork."

He blinked. "Thanks. I think."

Taichi managed a smile. "That was a compliment, Daisuke," he informed him, yawning. "Try to get some sleep."

***

"I didn't know it was going to be so warm out here," Takeru commented as he wiped his brow for about the millionth time in the last few minutes.

"We've only been outside for a half hour," Yamato reminded him, glancing toward the sky. "And it's no warmer than it was yesterday, when you were swinging a sword around at Daisuke."

"I know," he replied. "But it feels warmer."

There was silence for a few moments. The group walked along the road. That morning, after a good forty-five minutes of arguing and decision making, they had decided on what each of the groups should bring. First and foremost was a map, followed by a canteen of water for each person, a picnic lunch, a small amount of money in case of an emergency, a blanket, a compass, a lantern in case it became dark, and all carried in a small leather knapsack. It wasn't especially heavy, but it wasn't light either.

Miyako looked down at her digivice for the millionth time. "I wonder if we'll even find anything," she mumbled glumly.

Yamato and Ken frowned slightly at her, but Takeru spoke up. "We will!" he assured her. "I know we will! You can't give up hope!"

Patamon, flying above, perched on his partner's hat and agreed. "We'll find her," he agreed. "And everything will turn out all right."

Miyako nodded, but didn't look in the least bit happy.

***

Hikari carefully adjusted her scarf. "I just don't understand why Tai has to have all this secrecy," she complained. "I mean, what would be the harm in letting the others know we were going to ask around this village?"

Daisuke shrugged, making sure his hat was positioned over his head. It was too hot for a hat, so he looked slightly more conspicuous than usual, but he wore a straw hat this time instead of the usual shabby cloth one. "Do I look like me?"

She laughed. "Yes," she replied. "But you can't see your hair."

He frowned. "I guess that would be a good thing."

***

Mimi hurried through the forest as quick as she possibly could without running. Palmon, Jun, and Alraumon followed, and the girl couldn't help but think of the marked similarity between this trip and the last she had taken with Koushiro, only four days before. Had it really been that long?

'I hope we find her,' Mimi thought. 'I hope Gennai can help. I just don't know what I'll do if we can't find Sora. She's one of my best friends. I don't know what I'll do without her."

Unbidden and almost unnoticed, a tear drifted down her cheek and landed on the small pendant she wore around her neck. Mimi paused in her hurrying, seemingly to allow the others to catch up with her.

'We just have to find her!' she thought. And then, because the words didn't sound real enough, she spoke them aloud. "We've got to find her!"

"We will, Mimi," Palmon's voice said from behind her, but by this point Mimi wasn't paying attention, because the tag around her neck was glowing.

Jun and Alraumon also had caught up by this point, and stopped in their tracks as well. "It's near?" Jun questioned.

"Must be, it's glowing!" Mimi realized. "It must be around here somewhere!"

Jun, Alraumon, and Palmon followed Mimi as she quickly hurried through the woods. Suddenly, without warning, the trees faded, and they were in a clearing that Mimi didn't recall having spotted the last time she was there. It was a round area, and, somewhat out of place in the center of it all, was a cactus.

"What the - ?" Jun questioned.

"It looks like Togemon," Mimi observed. She shuddered. "You don't think I'll have to climb it, do you?"

"I don't know…" Palmon admitted.

"Sure hope not," Alraumon agreed. "It doesn't look like it would be fun."

Mimi gulped back the apprehension she felt and stepped forward. Suddenly, the cactus began to glow, and then, somewhat inexplicably, it was replaced by a small, flat, pink-colored square object which hovered in midair for a moment before connecting itself with the pendant around her neck.  

"I wonder what it means?"

***

"Certainly," the small man replied as he passed out the teacups to the girls. "That is the crest of junshin."

"Junshin means – purity?" Jun translated.

"Exactly. Purity, sincerity. It's a trait that fits you quite well," Gennai explained while he poured the tea.

"I'm not sure I understand," Mimi admitted.

"Me either," Palmon agreed. "What do you mean by purity?"

"Ah. But that's something you have to figure out for yourself," the old man replied with a grin. "However, I think you're here for something other than the meaning of your crest. That wizard boy could have answered that question for you."

"You mean Koushiro?" Palmon questioned.

"Exactly. Do you know any others?"

"No," Mimi admitted. "But we do need your help, Gennai. One of my friends was kidnapped by a group of Airdramon. They left a note identifying their leader as someone named Devimon."

Gennai nodded. "A powerful digimon indeed."

"Can you give us anything more than that?" Jun wondered.

The old man sipped his tea thoughtfully for a few moments. "Perhaps," he replied cryptically. "But not much. I can tell you that Devimon is not your true enemy."

"He's not?" Palmon questioned.

"But then - ?" Mimi asked.

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't take his threats seriously. He is a force to be reckoned with, believe you me. But he is not the greatest threat. Devimon will be an easy enemy to fight compared to what you will come against in the future."

"Then there will be others?" Jun asked. "Other enemies to fight?"

"There are always others to fight," Gennai replied sagely.

Mimi sighed. "So we're going to be fighting for all of eternity?"

The old man chuckled. "No, not quite that long," he replied cheerfully.

Palmon frowned in thought. "The book Koushiro had said that the evolution of the smallest would defeat Devimon. Who's the smallest?"

Gennai shrugged. "I don't know everything, do I?" he asked.

Mimi sighed and sipped her tea.

"Does he mean the smallest person or the smallest digimon?" Jun wondered.

"He didn't say," her partner replied.

"Well, the smallest person would probably be…" she trailed off, thinking. "I'm not sure, even. I think Koushiro must be the shortest…"

"I think so, too," Mimi agreed. "But Tentomon isn't that small…"

Palmon sighed. "It'll probably make sense eventually," she declared.

***

Daisuke frowned as he and Hikari wandered away from the village. "None of these people have ever heard of Devimon," he sighed. "I'm beginning to wonder if this is pointless."

Hikari sighed. "I know how you feel," she admitted.

"Daisuke!" V-mon jumped down from a tree and landed on his partner's shoulders. "I thought you'd never get back! I'm starving!"

Tailmon agreed, climbing down the same tree. "Same here. What took so long?"

"There's a lot of people in that village," Hikari defended. "And not one of them were any help."

V-mon frowned. "We'd cover more ground if you'd let us ask people, too," he spoke up.

"I know, but if we did that we'd give ourselves away and we can't let that happen," Daisuke reminded him. He looked down at his stomach. "I'm hungry too. Wanna stop for lunch?"

"Food sounds great," Hikari agreed. A few minutes later they had spread their meal on the ground and begun to eat.

"So where do we go after this?" V-mon questioned with his mouth full. Daisuke peered at the map he'd brought along while he munched his sandwich.

"Well, we tried most of the villages in this area," he observed after swallowing his latest mouthful. "It looks like there's only one possibility left. It's to the north, and quite a walk from here, but we can fit it in before dark if we hurry."

Hikari peered at the map. "It is pretty far," she observed. "But we can make it."

"More walking?" V-mon complained, swallowing the last of his third sandwich.

"We don't get to take a nap first?" Tailmon added.

***

Takeru peered over the landscape from the top of the hill, squinting in an effort to try to see as much as he could and shielding his eyes from the sun. The rest of the group was still eating.

"I don't see anything, do you, Patamon?" he asked. "At least nowhere that could hide Sora."

Patamon shook his head. "No, not a thing," he admitted. "Trees, grass, a village in the distance. That's about all."

"I hope the others have more luck than we do," Takeru frowned as he peered at his digivice. "I'm not reading anything."

The orange digimon perched on his head squinted out at the hills in the distance, his bright blue eyes narrowing. "Hey! What was that?" he wondered.

"What?" Takeru looked up from the device.

"I thought I saw something. It was real brief and fast, but I saw something."

"What did you see?"

He shook his head. "I'm not sure. It sort of…glinted at me. As if it were a reflection."

"Think we should check it out?"

"Yeah, why not?" Patamon shrugged.

***

"Anyone else see a pattern?" Yamato quipped as they walked. "We walk, and then we walk. After we finish walking, we'll walk some more!"

No one bothered to laugh at his joke.

"I'm not seeing anything, Takeru," Miyako noted. "Are you sure it was this way?"

"I didn't see it," the blond boy reminded her. "Patamon did. But he said it was this way, right?"

"Yes. This way," Patamon nodded.

"Are you sure it wasn't just a trick of the light or something?" Hawkmon questioned. "We've been walking for quite some distance."

"I don't know what it was," Patamon admitted. "But there was something. I know it was."

"We'll probably find it eventually," Gabumon tried to be reassuring.

"I hope," Yamato added.

***

"The village we're looking for should be right around this bend in the road," Daisuke stated from behind the map. "I really hope there's something useful here."

"We've been walking a lot," V-mon agreed. "I'm ready for a nap."

"You can nap while we go in and look around," Hikari reminded him. "Here's where we split up."

Reluctantly, both Tailmon and V-mon climbed the nearest tree and waved to their partners. Daisuke replaced the map in his knapsack and adjusted the straw hat on his head and he and Hikari walked along the path.

Immediately, they could see there was something different about this particular village. The houses looked like the same nondescript huts they had encountered in the rest of the villages, but there were very few people, and no digimon.

Hikari shuddered. "It's too quiet here," she whispered as though she were afraid to break the silence.

Daisuke mentally agreed, but said nothing. Instead he walked on past the huts, Hikari following. Some of the huts were small stores with food or pottery in baskets offered for sale, but there were few items. The food that did remain was old and the pottery was cracked. The entire place appeared to be covered in a loose layer of dust.

Hikari paused in front of a stand that sold pottery and examined the wares. One of the pots looked as though it had once been very beautiful, but was now covered with an inch-thick layer of dust. It appeared very old.

"You don't want that, you don't want anything here," a quiet voice spoke up. Hikari looked up to see the old man that ran the store peering over her.

"Why? What's happened here?" she questioned in a voice that was equally quiet.

The old man shook his head. "If you're smart, you won't stay here," he replied instead.

"Why not?"

"There's something wrong here," the vendor explained. "Very wrong."

*

Daisuke, meanwhile, was examining some fruit that was available at another store. A haggard woman that in another life might have been quite cheerful sat in front of the hut, rocking on a worn out chair.

"Don't bother looking, there's nothing worth buying," she spoke up, her voice cutting harshly through the silence.

"Why not?" The woman offered a shrug as her only response. "Why do you try if you know it's not worth it?"

*

"What's wrong?" Hikari pressed, trying to get some information out of the old man. "Is there something…evil here?"

The old man's pale blue eyes grew wide. "How did you - ?" he stammered.

*

"I don't have anything else to do, really," the woman replied. "What's it matter to you?" She squinted through the sunlight at the boy, a suspicious look on her face.

Daisuke frowned. "I've heard stories," he replied, half-lying. "That there's something evil here." He gestured to the dried-out landscape.

"That so?"

*

"I've heard things," Hikari explained. It wasn't exactly a lie, she told herself. She had heard things.

"Truth be told, there's a digimon around here," the man explained in a fearful voice. "A powerful one. I've not seen my own partner since."

*

"What sort of powerful digimon?" Daisuke wondered.

The woman snorted. "The evil kind, of course," she replied. "After he arrived, the digimon in the area took off. The wild ones, the tamed ones. Only the partners stuck around. Then they started moving out, too. If the human partners could, they followed. There's only a few of us left, that don't have no place to go."

*

"Your digimon left you?" Hikari gasped.

His thin face nodded in response. "Not of his own volition, of course," he explained. "But the fear – the – I don't know – evil – in the air, it just got to him. I can't blame him. If I'd been stronger I would have gone with him."

"What brought this evil?" she asked.

*

Daisuke frowned. "So there's some sort of evil around here that this digimon brought with him? Do you know who this digimon is? What it's called?"

There was a long silence. The woman lowered her voice to a conspiratorial level. "I can't be sure, but I've heard some digimon refer to him as…" she lowered her voice even softer. "Devimon…"

*

"That digimon brought the evil," the man replied. "Don't ask me to tell you what he is, because I don't know. But the moment he came, there was an evil surrounding the place. All the digimon left." He pointed to a mountain that towered over the landscape. Hikari recalled having seen it as a faint spot on the horizon from her window.

"What's that?"

"Infinity Mountain," the man answered, his voice shaking now. "If you want to find him, that's where he'll be."

***

Funny, isn't it? Now that school's started again I am posting more.

Obviously, a few big things are going to happen. The story begins to lose its fluffiness and humor quotient and move into more serious aspects. My muse has not left me yet, either, so expect plenty of drama. I still have no idea how this will end. Okay, some idea, but not exactly. ^_^

I've tried my very best to make the locations fit in this story. Obviously, the main location is the castle. Miyako's residence is a secondary location which is located about a day's ride to the south and a bit west. The Motomiya family resides a bit further south, and Ichijouji lives south as well, but more west – further north than Miyako's but not as far as the castle. The village Hikari and Daisuke visit is very near to where he lives. The Primary Village is further east than the castle, but still south. This doesn't figure in yet, but I'm going to assume that Mimi lives somewhere to the north of the castle. This may or may not become important in the future.

Gennai's hut thingy and the woods he lives in are almost directly south of the castle – further west than the Primary Village, which almost directly east. Infinity Mountain is further east than the palace – almost a full day's walk.

In the future I may make a map that helps to explain this better. When I get into the next story after this is when it gets even more confusing in terms of locations. I'd tell you why, but it would give away a few things I don't want to give away yet. ^_^

Now that I've completely confused the few people reading this, I'll end. Hope you're enjoying it, feel free to leave me comments complaining that I'm too darned confusing or writing too slowly or whatever. Of course, if you'd like to worship, that's acceptable as well.

Thanks for reading! ^_^