Sorry for the really long wait. I apologize. Anyway, for those who read my last note, the so called chain smoker was actually John Constantine (Hellblazer anybody?). I was intending to put him in the story, but I eventually had to take him out because I thought it would make the story too complicated. So anyway, this chapter had to be scrapped. But if you people really wanted to see what happened in this lost chapter, give me an e-mail and MAYBE, I'll post this chapter at the end of this story as a 'deleted chapter'. Oh, and I'd like more reviews please!
One last thing, you know the fics I mentioned in Chapter 5? Just came to tell that they've all been scrapped (sorry!).
Sora Takenouchi Reborn
Chapter 7
The Asylum
"…..About the things thatta gone down in this place, it'd give ya the screaming meemies……you hear things, y'know? I mean, okay, a nuthouse is a nuthouse, but….well, shee, Arkham. I mean, I read this book once. They went into this guy's cell…..I forget his name, okay, and nobody's seen his cellmate in weeks…..they think he's escaped or something, y'know, and so they go into the guy's cell and they look down under the bed and….this is so gross……."
"Sora….." I hug Sarah tightly. It looked as if she was beginning to freak out by what the Arkham Asylum receptionist was saying.
"Um…..I think that's enough, miss, you're scaring this little girl here." I said.
"I'm terribly sorry, I don't mean to scare you people. But you know, this kinda stuff happens here all the time." she said, "Well anyway, look, you oughtta know: 1. Arkham has a 'no visitors' policy. And 2. Even if I could let you in….which I can't….you couldn't see Woodrue. He ain't here. Sorry, miss. Rules are rules." I give a sigh and try to think of what to say next. Sarah looked more depressed than I did. She was so confused.
"Well, do you where we could find him?" I asked. The woman shrugged.
"Sorry, miss, can't help you there either."
We leave the gates Arkham Asylum with sad faces. I hold Sarah's hand and walk close with her down the city parks, our ability of changing the colors of our skin and eyes seemed to have worked ever since we were in Odaiba. Sarah and I changed our purple skin to the same color skin of the other humans that surrounded us. And the wings on our backs tucked in nicely with our clothes and didn't feel even a tiny bit uncomfortable.
"What do we do now, Mom?" said Sarah.
"I don't know. We have nowhere left to go." I said. I sigh again and stare aimlessly down onto the ground, "Holland is dead. Woodrue has gone. William had no address for Isley……." Oh, the humanity, "We go back to Gotham City, I suppose….there must be someone there who can tell us something. Mustn't there? There must be someone who knows." I look at Sarah and she gave me a forced smile. I only smiled back, "Come, Sarah, we'll fly south."
Elsewhere……..
"Are you sure you know what you're doing, sir?" said Mummymon.
"Of course I am!" exclaimed Myotismon.
"Going to Gotham? I've never been there before. Will it only be the three of us then?" said Arukenimon.
"Yes. I don't want anyone messing anything up when we get there. Is that understood?" said Myotismon.
"Yes, sir." Said Arukenimon and Mummymon.
"Oh, one question sir."
"Yes, Mummymon?" said Myotismon.
"Why are we going to Gotham?"
"She's still alive, Mummymon. I can feel it. That girl is somewhere in that city. And we're going to find her." Said Myotismon, "There's something very special about her." Myotismon continued to think as he flew over the Pacific Ocean, with his bats carrying Arukenimon and Mummymon both."
Gotham………
I talk to Sarah in the park up on a withering tree. I try to comfort her when I would be gone for a short while, "You stay up here, Sarah. Don't come down." Sarah gave another sad face, "I'll try not to be away too long…..but just wait for me. Okay?"
"Well, okay." Said Sarah, "But you won't be too long, will you?"
"It's all right, Sarah. Just wait."
"I don't want to stay here on my own……" said Sarah. I hugged Sarah tightly and kissed her hair before I jumped down from the tree and went off on my long search. She's changed so much in these few hours. At first she seemed so much older, so much wiser……she remembered so much more than I did……..and now she's a child. I pray to whatever green goddesses there may be that she isn't hurt further….and that my search bears fruit.
Later……….
"…..If you could help me? I'm looking for someone. A Pamela Isley….." I said to the club owner, "I'm afraid it's an old photograph. That's her. In the tee shirt. She's an old friend. She'll be so mad if she finds I was down in the city and didn't try to find her…….I don't know what she's doing these days. If you could maybe just look at it again……."
Later elsewhere……….
"No?"
Much later elsewhere……..
"No?"
Even much later elsewhere……….
"No." I walk into the alleyways, leaning on the cold wall, shedding slight tears in my eyes in sadness. How was I supposed to find Pamela at this rate? It was hopeless. There was nobody who knew her. Absolutely nobody. I continued to sulk more, but suddenly I heard a voice from high above my head.
"Who are you?" the voice said. I look above me and see a dark cloaked figure hanging on the walls of the buildings. At first I jumped and was about to shout, but when I looked within the masked man I saw that he was not somebody trying to hurt me. I knew it all with my own eyes. It was as if I could look into his mind. I felt much guilt, anger and vengeance in this man's soul, and even almost unbearable. The masked man landed onto the ground without much problem and continued to speak to me, "What are you doing in my city?"
"Who am I? I'm not sure I know. Not really. That's what I have to find out." I answered.
"You have a name?" the man said.
"Not exactly. I know I'm not Sora Takenouchi. William said I was some sort of orchid….that's why I wanted to find Pamela Isley. Maybe she could help. It's the only lead I have. I went down to Arkham to see Jason Woodrue, but they told me he wasn't there anymore…..you see, somebody killed William. He was, well, I suppose…..my uncle. Somebody killed him. I don't know who I am anymore….."
"I see. I've heard of Sora Takenouchi. She's one of those Digidestined. Her way is a good way," Said the man quietly, "I will help you. Return to Arkham. Show them this card, and you will be given free access……or I will know why. Woodrue has been gone. But Miss Isley is down there, and perhaps she might help you. I wish you luck. Talk to Isley. But watch her. She's poison." With that said the man vanished after giving me his card which happened to have a giant black bat marked on it. I wonder who he was.
Elsewhere………
"Hi, what's your name?" said Sarah to the dark stranger passing by the tree.
"Hello, little girl," grinned Mummymon, "what's your name? And how the hell did you climb up that tree?"
"I flew up silly." Said Sarah descending down from the tree.
"Well, that's interesting. What did you say your name was?" said Mummymon.
"I didn't. It's Sarah. Just Sarah." Mummymon saw that the color of the girl's eyes were purple. He knew that there was something unusual about her and she probably had something to do with Sora. Mummymon grinned again.
"Well, just-Sarah. Would you like to come along with me?" said Mummymon.
"Well, I can't be away for too long, though."
"Trust me. Your mom will never even notice you've gone." Said Mummymon. After that Sarah took Mummymon's hand and walked out of the park.
Arkham Asylum………
"Hmmm, yes. Okay. I suppose you can see her. But don't take too long. It's quarter of five now. She'll probably be in the romper room." Said the receptionist.
"Romper room?" I said with a puzzled look.
"The recreation hall. Through there," she pointed, "turn right and just keep going down the corridor." I walk down the corridor and walked across people who weren't sane at all, but more disturbed and removed from the outer world itself. This place began to scare me a lot, but I had to see this woman desperately, no matter what the cost. It was when I stumbled across a hideously deformed man, half of his face was human looking, but the other half had green skin, giant red lips and a bulging eye. He was flipping a coin continuously, and to my view he looked pretty calm. But looks could be deceiving. I was willing to take that chance.
"Excuse me, sir. Can you help me?" I said softly.
"Help you?" he said, "Sure. Anything in particular?"
"There's a woman here somewhere. Pamela Isley. I need to talk to her."
"So, you want to talk to Ivy, huh? She's in her cell in the basement." He said calmly. He gave a loud whistle as if to summon somebody, within seconds a small man with a top hat and black suit came, "Yo! Hat! Show this young girl where Ivy hangs out." The small man took my hand gently.
"Ivy? This way, miss. Please hurry." He said. The man led me down some stairs that seemed to go deeper into darkness.
"HAT! Leave her alone! Forget it! I'll cut your face off! Hat? I'll kill you, Hat! Bastard! You hear me!" cried the man as we left. I had my strongest sympathies for that poor man. He seemed very mentally disturbed.
"Does he have a split personality?" I asked the small man.
"Oh, don't mind Mr. Dent. He gets like that sometimes, bit it's just his way. He never really kills anyone. Well, except for when he does kill, I suppose." The small smiled at me as we got off the stairs and continued to walk forward, "I can tell riddles too, you know. And jokes. I have this funny saying: guns don't kill people, hats do!" he gave a little chuckle, I only smiled at him, "Of course, you have to be wearing one of my special hats to really appreciate the joke."
This is the final refuge of the lost and the soul-dead. The little man babbles on, and the darkness extends forever. This is the bedlam. The jungle of despair. I watch their expressions: milky eyes peering from frozen faces, mouths unsmiling wounds in ruined flesh. I spy a skull-faced man who lies unsleeping; his nightmares pool and puddle on the floor around him. In a glass cell a blazing x-ray sits and smolders and weeps. His tears burn as they fall. Then hiss out on the pocked glass floor. Others and others and others. Here are the obsessed and the anguished and the damned. It goes so deep. Somehow I know that somewhere something bad is happening. Dismiss it: just another stray fear, lurching hollow-eyed through this obscene and tottering hole. And we go down. And we go deeper. Deeper into hell.
"Hello." I said to Pamela, who sat there in the corner silently in the shadows with her hands crossed. She gave no answer and stared at the ground, "I wanted to ask you for help. Do you remember William Takenouchi?" Pamela raised her head and walked out of the shadows. She knew what I was on about. I slowly revealed my purple skin to her. To my amazement she gave no big reaction.
"William? Oh, sure." Pamela said, "At college. Long time ago. You're one of his hybrids, aren't you? God damn it, I bet the crazy little son of a bitch thought he'd pulled it off! A hybrid. Have you seen my plant babies? They're hybrid too. Little darlings and soooo clever. It's hard to get the materials down here, though. After last time they don't like to let me out, so now it's mainly roaches and moss."
"You say you know who I am?" I said.
"Better than you do, little princess."
"And you were William's friend?" I asked.
"Friend? Heh, no." she grinned, "We took the same classes at college. If I smiled at him he'd crawl down a sewer for me. Smart little dumb little guy. Woodrue was our professor. He hadn't been there long, and he was working for his doctorate, teaching in his spare time. Me, Will, Sean, Alec Holland and his girlfriend, whatsername, we were the plant wizards. They wanted to feed the world. I wanted……"
"William's dead. They killed him last night." I said softly. Pamela sat there in silence again.
"It happens. Holland's been dead for years. So what?" she said.
"There were more like me. They're dead as well. There are just two of us left." I said.
"Mm. There you go." She replied.
"I came to you because I need answers. What am I? Who am I? Are there more like me? I have a smattering of a dead girl's memories. I'm not human. I'm not even animal. Do you really know what I am? Will you help me?" I said.
"Don't you think my plants are beautiful? My pretty ones." She said.
"I don't really like them." I said.
"No. Most people don't. They only let me make my pets for 'therapy'. I feel better with them. Safer. One of the nursing assistants went mad. She said they scared her. That they didn't like her. That they gave her nightmares…..pathetic."
"You're not going to help me, are you?" I said.
"I haven't seen sunlight for three weeks. This building stinks of madness and insanity. Nobody comes to see me. Nobody phones. No romance. The only reason I haven't been raped by the guards is that they're scared of me. Scared of my plants. Scared of my power. This place isn't a prison. There's no release date. No parole. Some sweaty overweight creep asks you to go down on him to prove you're fit to mingle with society…..when you're scared enough…..or hurt enough…to be quiet, to be 'good'….then they'll let you out. Or maybe they won't. And nobody gives a shit. You want me to help you? If I could be anything in the world, miss hybrid, I'd be you. And you're complaining? I never got any breaks, you know. I fucked up my life on my own, with no help on the way down from anybody else. You can damn well do the same. GET OUT OF HERE!"
"You're in pain, aren't you?" I said softly, "You hurt inside. I'll leave now."
"So s-somebody killed you, huh? Christ. S-smart little…sniff……d-dumb little guy. I'm s-sorry, Will. Aw….shit…….." said Pamela alone in her cell.
"She wouldn't help, huh? Don't let it get you down." Said the small man as we walked out of the place, "That's Ivy for you. No feeling. No emotions. Ice all through. Heart of glass. I used to bring her things to make her pets with. A dead rabbit, toadstools, some tree bark. Did I ever get a thank you? I did not. I believe in helping people. We were all put here for a purpose, I say. But it's still nice to get a thank you. Maybe a present. Some felt, or ribbons. Needles. Diodes. Top hat. Derby. Stovepipe…uhn." The man stopped walking as we reached near the end of the path, "This is as far as I can take you. The guards will get you the rest of the way."
"You've been really helpful. Thank you." I said, "I've got a present for you. Nothing big, but….." I handed a purple flower to the small man.
"A flower? For me? You shouldn't have……" His eyes began to water and he gave a big smile, "Deever! Dumfrey! Look what I got! She gave me a flower! Hey! I got a flower!" he cried running back down the path.
…
I walk into the deserted park, in sadness, now with my purple skin revealed. I take off my clothes and sit on some stairs, weeping in tears of depression. I cry for Sarah, I cry for William, I cry for those sisters I lost and I cry for my truth. I wish I knew, I just wish I knew what was going on, I just wish I knew who I was. Butterflies of all kinds fly around me, as if they were wanting to help me, but I wouldn't be able to understand any of them. They stick to my skin and wriggle round me as if they wanted to tickle me, I smile and giggle and shake them back gently. The butterflies come back and fly around me, as if they actually did like me. I played with them for some time, enjoying the experience of being free and being happy. But still the deep hole within me still remained. Nothing could rid the true sadness inside me. Then all of a sudden a hand touched my shoulder.
"I hope you got what you wanted." I look up and see that it was the masked man again.
"No. I didn't. She was no help. Woodrue's gone. Holland's dead. There's just no…."
"Did you say Alec Holland?" said the masked man.
"Uh-huh. Him." I said.
"What is it you need? Exactly?" he said.
"I…..well, the one you said was a Digidestined. I'm not her. They killed her. I'm….I'm a flower girl. That much I know. But what I am, why I am……"
"I am sure Sora died an honorable death. There is nothing nobler. Hmmmmm. I would suggest that you talk to Alec Holland." Said the masked man.
"But Alec Holland is dead! He died years ago. Everybody knows that!" I said.
"Most of the things that 'everybody knows' are wrong. The rest are merely unreliable. Go to Louisiana, to the bayou country. You'll find him. If he wants you to find him, you'll find him."
"Do you know Alec Holland?" I asked.
"Yes. But not too well."
"What is he like?"
"Well, he's……….unusual. Let's put it that way." He said as he began to walk away, "Good luck. I trust you too will become a hero. There are just too few of us………and too far many of them."
…
I fly back to the place where I left little Sarah, only to discover that's she's gone.
"Sarah?" I knew it. I knew this would happen. I knew it all along. But who could have possibly taken her from that high tree? Nonetheless, I had to find her quickly before anything terrible would happen to her.
Sora flies across the city……….
Gone. Lost. I should never have left her, "Sarah?" Just echoes, "Sarah?" Staring down at the city…..how could I have left her on her own? Stupid. I'll find you, Sarah. Because I love you. Because I care. Because I couldn't stand to be alone, "SA-RAH!"
Sora flies across the nearby states, high in the sky, with great will and determination, but would it hold on?
Keep going. Must keep going.
Later……..
I've failed you, Sarah…..William…….
Much later……..
Tired. If I could just………
Even much later………
Got to keep going…….
Louisiana………
Can't keep this up………no use……… my skin turns white pale again as my wings tire and then I am slowly……..
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To be continued………
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More reviews please. I just don't feel that people are enjoying my story if they don't review.