*disclaimer: Bible quotes were taken from the New American Bible. And yes, there is a Japanese program that allows you to translate from Japanese to that weird code they use in Digimon Adventure. Add disclaimer from parts 00 and 01 here 'cause I'm too lazy to type it in myself.*
Now cut to theme song....
Backstep 02
Digital Conundrum - Ground Zero
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Location - NNL
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum
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It was eight in the morning when Olga knocked on the door of Parker's quarters. Parker, still drowsy from the evening rescue of Buck Williams, almost didn't hear the banging of fist on wood. "What is it?" he moaned, lethargically rising from his bed and shuffling to the door. He almost stepped on Buck, who was sleeping on the floor near his bed.
"It's me, Olga," the Russian scientist crooned.
Parker opened the door and was greeted with the sight of a redheaded woman wearing a gray dress and a white lab coat. Dr. Vukavitch always looked heavenly to Parker, even when drunk or drowsy.
"Why, good morning to you, Dr. Vukavitch," Parker moaned. He looked down at himself; his gray tank and sweat pants were not good things to be seen in during the morning hours. Especially before Olga.
But then, Olga had tolerated three years of seeing Parker in his sleepwear.
"Good morning, Mr. Parker," Olga replied. "Listen - I think I may have a solution for that other code that you and Hoot-er were unable to crack last night."
Parker nodded, just to contain the laughter that was threatening to rise from his mouth. Olga was never able to pronounce Owsley's college nickname correctly. "Really? Shoot."
"Well, Parker, it's quite simple. The codes look like the abbreviations for Bible quotes. You know, the first part stands for the book, the first number stands for the chapter, and the numbers after the colon are the numbers for the verses."
"Yeah," Parker said, dumbstruck. Here he was, an orphan raised in a Christian orphanage, and he had forgotten what a Bible verse abbreviation was! The nuns at the orphanage had drilled such things into his head when he was younger! "Why didn't I think of that sooner?"
"Maybe you were too engrossed with the graphics," Olga replied sarcastically. "Now wake up Mr. Williams - you two can look for the verses together." She then walked off.
Parker stuck his head out of the door and called after the scientist. "Hey! I thought that you were going to help us!" But his rant received no reply.
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Location - Dark Ocean
Time - seven days (going on six) before Digital Conundrum
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Time seemed to have no more meaning as the bright light of Angemon's God's Typhoon attack engulfed the Dark Ocean. Takeru, Hikari, and Nefertimon turned away from the blinding light, but their efforts were in vain. Darkness flooded their vision, and for what seemed like eons the blackness stayed.
Seconds (minutes? hours? days?) later, the white light gradually retreated. Takeru shook his head in disbelief. Hikari rubbed her eyes. Nefertimon stared at Angemon, or at least where she and the Chosen Children remembered where he had been.
The angel hovered in the sky, his body dangling in midair like a rag doll. A faint breeze whipped his hair about his body. His hands were loosing their grip on the golden staff that he always carried. Seconds later a splash was heard - the staff had fallen into the gray ocean below.
"A ... Angemon?" Takeru ventured a few minutes later. "Are you all right?"
No reply.
Takeru looked out at where Dagomon and the Gesomon army were - or where they had been. The stench of deleted digital data reached Takeru's nose, making him look back at Angemon again. There was no doubt, though, as to what had happened.
The army had been defeated.
And not just the enemy battalion - some of the Hangyomon had fallen, too.
Hikari looked up at Takeru, her face emotionless. "Takeru, what's wrong with Angemon?"
Takeru looked at Hikari and shook his head. "I don't know. He hasn't spoken."
Nefertimon looked up at Takeru. "He may just be exhausted from the battle. He'll be alright."
"But if he were exhausted," Takeru argued, "then he would have reverted back to Patamon almost immediately! Something's wrong with Angemon, Nefertimon - I know it."
"You just don't know what it is," Nefertimon added.
Takeru nodded. "Yeah."
Angemon finally gave a sign that he was still aware. He lifted his shielded head and looked towards Takeru. A sense of longing was about him, but the sheepish smile he wore could mean almost anything.
"Takeru ..." he gasped raggedly, showing signs of his weakness. "I'm sorry...."
And then he fell into the ocean.
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Location - NNL
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum
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"Hey, Buck! Wake up!" Parker roughly shook the reporter's shoulders as he harshly whispered into his ear.
Buck shook his head and jumped to attention. "What? Where am I, Parker?"
Parker groaned as he helped Buck to his feet. He had given him the basic cover story of NNL the previous night, and was not about to repeat it. Besides, weren't reporters supposed to have a good memory?
"You're at NNL, a top-secret NSA facility," Parker explained. "We test, uh, experimental aircraft here."
"Oh, yeah," Buck said abruptly. "So, why did you wake me?"
Parker dragged Buck to the computer and pulled up a chair for him. "Well, my friend Olga gave me a tip as to what the other code on the disk was all about. I thought that maybe you could help out." He sat down, and Buck followed suit.
"Help out? I don't know ... it's still quite early."
Parker moved the mouse to clear the screen saver. The map of the Middle East graced the screen, along with a clock with a digital interface. It read eight-thirty.
Buck looked at the clock in disbelief. "Oh." He looked back at Parker. "Won't we get something to eat?"
Parker shook his head. "Not until we break this code. Now, Buck, could you hand me my Bible from the shelf there, please?" He motioned his head towards the large bookshelf behind him.
Buck wheeled his chair over to the shelf and grabbed a musty, black leather-bound book decorated only with the words HOLY BIBLE. He moved over to Parker again and carefully placed the book on the table. "Is this the one?" he asked.
Parker briefly looked down at the book and nodded. "Yeah. Now, do you know what Is 41: 25 stands for?" He pointed the mouse at the first of the two code numbers at the bottom of the screen.
Buck took the Bible in his hands and flipped to a section of the book. "I think it stands for Isaiah, chapter forty-one, verse twenty-five. Here it is ... 'I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes; from the east I summon him by name; he shall trample the rulers down like read earth, as the potter treads the clay.'"
Parker looked at the map, and then looked closely at the arrows that pointed at Israel. "Buck, you've noticed that the arrows on this map are coming both from the north and east. Do you think that that verse is what this attack plan was based on?"
Buck nodded - Parker and Owsley had briefed him on the information they currently had on the Digital Conundrum disk. "I think so. When I was in Israel during the attack, I remember that the planes came in from north, east, and the southwest. But there's no mention of attacking from the southwest."
"Maybe the other code has something about the rest of the attack plan," Parker said. "The next code is Ez 39: 4-7."
Buck flipped to another part of the book. "Okay. I've got it. 'I will lead you forth with all your army, horses and riders all handsomely outfitted, a great horde with bucklers and shields, all of them carrying swords: Persia, Cush, and Put with them [all with shields and helmets], Gomer with all its troops, Beth-togarmah from the recesses of the north with all its troops, many peoples with you. Prepare yourself, be ready, you and all your horde assembled about you, and be at my disposal.'" Buck shook his head in amazement. "The names of these ancient kingdoms were to the north, southwest, and east of Israel."
"I think it's all a coincidence," Parker shrugged. "But the picture and the verses correspond perfectly. Yet ... why did the attack fail?"
Buck looked back into the book and scanned the page. "Well, it says here that GOD would protect Israel from the invading armies by throwing hail and fire at them." He shook his head again, disillusioned. "I was in Israel during the attack, and almost immediately a hailstorm struck up. The hail destroyed all the planes and helicopters, but none of the cities."
"More coincidence," Parker sighed. "It may just have been a freak hailstorm."
Buck nodded. "Yeah. Could you give me the next code?"
Parker typed something into the computer, and the map of the world flashed onto the screen. For the first time, even before the backstep, he looked upon the code number: Dn 7: 23-25. He repeated the number to Buck.
"All right, Parker. The quote is: 'He answered me thus: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all the others; it shall devour the whole earth, beat it down, and crush it. The ten horns shall be ten kings rising out of that kingdom; another shall rise up after them, different from those before him, who shall lay low three kings. He shall speak against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the law. They shall be handed over to him for a year, two years, and a half-year."'"
Parker looked upon the map before him. "Ten kings rising from a kingdom that engulfs the earth.... Buck, would you think that these ten green regions here" - he pointed to the ten flashing regions - "are the territories of the ten kings mentioned?"
Buck shrugged. "Maybe. But who are the holy ones of this Most High?"
"Beats me." Parker looked down at the map again. "The quote mentioned something about this being the fourth beast. There has to be three beasts before that."
"I'm assuming that they're great empires," Buck stated. "If this fourth one is to take over the entire world, then the other three must've gotten close."
"Rome took over much of the ancient world," Parker said; "the British had quite a large empire before Gandhi, and us Americans have taken the world by storm with McDonald's and the English language. But we haven't conquered anything."
"True. So this final kingdom is to control the world - but how?"
Parker brought a hand to his chin and sat in thought. "Buck, remember that three years ago you interviewed that Israeli botanist - Chaim Rosenzweig?"
Buck nodded blankly. "Yeah. He created that Eden Formula that made corn grow in the Israeli deserts. Why ask?"
"Well, if you look at the map, you'd notice that these regions are in places in the world that don't normally support plant life - desert and tundra. Buck, did Chaim say that his formula could make plants grow anywhere?"
"I think so," Buck said. "But the interview was three years ago - I'd have to check."
"Let's just say, then, that this formula could make palm trees grow in the Artic," Parker scoffed. "If you could grow plants in the middle of a Russian winter, what would you do with the plants?"
"I don't know," Buck shrugged. "Maybe grow enough food for the entire world."
"Exactly!" Parker exclaimed. "Then the purpose of this map is for definitions of farmland - where only the formula would work!"
"And if you could grow food in all of those regions ..."
"Then you could end starvation ..."
"Which could gain you control of the world!" Buck finished. "My god, it's a perfect plan - but the formula is protected like an Israeli military secret!"
"And to weaken a military you have to fight it," Parker said. "That's probably why Israel was attacked three years ago - so that another country could gain rights to the formula. But it failed, so the formula was never released."
"So then this plan is probably scrap, too," Buck said. "Now where's the next one?"
Parker typed something else into the computer, and the angel with the horn filled the screen. "The next number is 1Thes 4: 16-17. Find it yet?"
Buck had to flip nearly to the end of the book. "Yeah. 'No, the Lord himself will come down from heaven at the word of command, at the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living, the survivors, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.'"
"Sounds strange," Parker sighed. "I haven't seen any god come down from the sky yet, and the only trumpets I've heard were those in orchestras-" He stopped talking abruptly and turned to look at the screen.
" 'At the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet,'" Parker breathed, staring at the picture. "The angel must be the one mentioned in the verse, and the trumpet ..."
"Must be the one that the angel blew," Buck finished.
"Right," Parker sighed, burying his face in his hands. "And then people will disappear at the sound of the trumpet." He shook his head. "But how can all of this be ... if everything that occurred in the past timeline supposedly took place in a 'digital world'?"
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Location - Dark Ocean
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum
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"Angemon!!"
Takeru's cry of anguish echoed across the Dark Ocean, hanging like the tolling of a funeral bell in the air. Despairing thoughts ran through the boy's head, the images of a similar event that occurred five years ago invading his every thought. How was this to happen again?
The oily darkness of the water wouldn't even yield Takeru a final glimpse of him.
Nefertimon raised her face towards Takeru, but the human boy would have none of her attempted pity. "Don't look at me like that!" he yelled out bitterly, and the digimon turned away.
"Takeru, I'm sorry about what happened," Nefertimon sighed, "but you didn't have to act that way."
Takeru sighed and recomposed himself. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that ... I didn't think this would happen again." A tear fell from his eyes, and he immediately brushed it from his face. "Nefertimon, could you fly down to Hikari?"
The digimon nodded. "Sure." She and her human passenger glided down and came to a halt before Hikari. The girl, still possessed by Light, seemed to stand on the rippling waters of the ocean.
"I saw what had happened," Hikari said somberly. For the first time in three months, she sounded like the girl Takeru remembered. "I sent a Hangyomon down to retrieve him." The way Hikari said 'retrieve' made Takeru believe that she was talking about a long dead man, not a digimon that had possibly defeated Dagomon and his entire Gesomon army and had just fallen from exhaustion.
Takeru, though, just nodded his head in consent. "All right." He looked down at the water, hoping to see the Hangyomon rise to the surface with either Patamon in his arms or Angemon on his back. It wasn't until a few minutes later when his question was answered.
The Hangyomon's fish-like face rose from the water, a puzzled look upon his face. There was no sign of Takeru's partner anywhere about him. "Queen Hikari," he gasped, spitting the air intake mask from his mouth. "I followed the angel, as you said, but...."
"What is it?" Hikari asked gently. Her voice was now that of an adult's again.
The digimon stuttered, unable to find words to say. "Hikari ... I found him, but ... he fell into a hole ... a forbidden passage beneath the bluff...."
"A forbidden passage?" Hikari asked, puzzled. "Why forbidden?"
"Legend has it ... that it leads to the Center," the Hangyomon gasped. "Only Guardians and Chosen Children are allowed to set foot in the Center."
"The Center?" Takeru asked. "The Center of what? And what would Angemon be doing there?"
It was a while before the Hangyomon spoke again. "The passage leads to the Center of all the worlds, where they all combine in a small space. Legend says that time has no meaning in the Center. As for your friend...." He paused a moment. "Your partner ... he may be a Guardian. Dagomon did say something about it."
"Yeah," Takeru breathed. "But a Guardian of what?"
The digimon was unable to tell him, for Hikari spoke again. "You have given sufficient information, Hangyomon," she interrupted. "Is there a way for us to travel to this Center?"
The Hangyomon nodded. "You could borrow our air tanks." He pulled off the two tanks that he wore on his back and tossed one each to Hikari and Takeru. The children looked at the tanks, and saw that each of them had an air intake mask.
Takeru nodded as he caught the tank and looked down at it. "Thanks, Hangyomon," he muttered. "Now come on, Hikari," he said, jumping off Nefertimon's back into the cold, dark water. He placed the air mask over his mouth and dived in, only his hat bobbing on the waves.
Hikari sighed and looked down at Takeru. "I wonder what makes him so worried over Angemon," she mused as she placed the air mask over her face and followed after the boy.
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Location - NNL
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Parker and the senior staff of Project Backstep sat around the large conference table in the soundproof briefing room, looking at the files on the table and the projection of the contents of a computer screen near the television. It was a little after noon, and the team, neatly dressed for the meeting, already looked as if they had stayed up all night. Even Buck Williams, who had been invited at Talmadge's request, looked drowsy.
"Now, team," Talmadge stated, turning down the lights in the room, "Andrew, Parker, and Buck have managed to crack the two codes on the so-called Digital Conundrum disk. We'll have Andrew Owsley explain the first code."
Owsley stood up from his chair and walked over to where the computer screen projection was reflected on the wall. He faced the staff and cleared his throat.
"Well, you see, on the last two slides on the Digital Conundrum disk, there's this message that's written in a strange alphabet." The screen behind him showed a split image of both the slide with the stone and obelisk and the slide with the angel. A detail of the text appeared in a circular window. "There's a detail of the text now.
"Now, this code does not correspond with the English alphabet, but with the phonetic Japanese alphabet called katakana. Coincidentally, about a few years ago, I downloaded a program from a Japanese website that had a key for this code, which is known as Digital Hieroglyph. Unfortunately, since the key translated from Hieroglyph to Japanese, I tweaked with the program to give out results in English, as seen here." The screen showed an English translation of the text on one of the screens. "The English translations are in the files down there."
"Could you give us a summary of the translations, Mr. Owsley?" Isaac said, leaning on the table. His short arms were unable to reach the scattered files in the center of the long table.
"Well, there is no real short way to summarize the contents of this message," Owsley explained. "Basically, the first slide tells of what that obelisk and the rock are - they're called Dark Towers and Holy Stones, respectfully. The second slide tells of the identity of this angel and the trumpet in his hands - and all the ways he could die. And apparently, if he dies, or if he blows that horn, the disappearances that Frank told of would occur."
"So basically, to prevent the disappearances," Ramsey droned, "we just have to prevent this guy from dying or tooting his trumpet."
Owsley nodded. "Basically, yeah. But Parker and Buck have more to add."
Parker stood and walked up next to the resident nerd. "Oh, yes. There's another code that I have to tell of." The image on the screen behind him turned to that of the two maps and that of the angel. "You see, on the bottom right-hand corner of each of these slides are a code number. Each of these numbers" - the details of the numbers appeared on the screen above the pictures - "correspond with a Bible quote. For this first slide, the one of the Middle East, the quotes down here basically tell of the same thing - the attack on Israel. As you all know, Israel was attacked by Russia and two other countries three years ago - and was mysteriously unharmed. The quotes mentioned also continued to say that Israel would also be saved from this attack, and the enemy be destroyed by hail."
"And I could testify to that," Buck added from his seat.
"Thank you, Buck," Parker quickly said. "Now, for this next quote. This one was on the slide with the map of the world. The quote mentioned something about an empire that would crush the entire earth, and ten kings would arise from it. These ten flashing regions here could possibly be those ten principalities that the kings would have control over. And since these regions are inhospitable places, Buck and I have only one explanation as to why these areas were chosen."
"And what is it, Frank?" Donovan asked.
Buck stood and answered the soldier's question. "Well, you see, when Israel was attacked three years ago, I was interviewing a botanist that had created a formula that would make plants grow almost anywhere with soil. If I remember correctly, this Eden Formula could make corn grow in the Sahara or Siberia - highly desirable for Russia or a desert country. Since these regions on the map are either desert or tundra, this could only mean, then, that the formula could be used to grow crops there."
"And in conclusion," Parker continued, "that would mean that these ten kings - or queens - would preside over these vast farmlands, controlling the food supply of the world."
"And if you controlled the food supply of the world," Olga mused, "then you could basically control the world itself."
Parker nodded his head. "Yeah. Now here's the last quote. The last one describes what would happen if this angel blew this trumpet. As you know from what Owsley explained, the disappearances would be caused when Little Boy Blue blows his horn. But the quote explains in detail who would disappear."
"Who exactly will disappear, from what the quote states?" Talmadge asked, taking a cigar from his pocket and lighting it. He placed the cigar in his mouth and chewed on it nervously.
"Well ... if you take the quote literally, a lot of dead people, all the children, and quite a few adults," Parker stated.
"Is there anything in common with them?" Ramsey asked sarcastically. "Like blood type or brain waves?"
"It most certainly isn't blood type, Ramsey, if all the children disappeared. No - the quote went on to say that these people would rise and meet this Lord in the air."
"So you mean, like ... god?" Olga asked, curious.
"I guess," Parker said, unsure. "Meaning that these people would be clean in the eyes of this god ... Christians, if you'd like."
"So a bunch of religious freaks, corpses, and kids will be gone to 'heaven', right?" Ramsey scoffed. "God, what kind of hokey mission is this?"
"It isn't hokey, Ramsey," Parker argued. "We're dealing with the disappearance of half the Backstep staff, the death of our President, and possibly the takeover of the world as we know it!"
"The taking over of the world?" Talmadge roared, almost audible even beyond the walls of the soundproof room. "How did you and Buck manage to reach that point?"
"Mr. Talmadge," Buck timidly said, settling himself back into his chair, "Parker and I discovered that these quotes were to tell something in a sequence. First, the invasion of Israel would fail. Then, this angel would blow this horn, making these chosen people disappear. After the disappearances, then the world would be taken over by this beastly empire." He sighed. "Do you understand?"
Talmadge nodded his head and removed the cigar from his mouth. "I do, Mr. Williams. So our objectives are clear now - keep this formula and its creator safe, and find a way to stop this angel from dying and or blowing this horn he has. Dismissed."
The staff started to file out of the room when Owsley spoke up. "We may have a slight problem with the latter objective, Mr. Talmadge."
"And what is it?" Talmadge asked, turning to face the young man. The rest of the staff turned to face him, too.
"Well ... the translations also said that this angel is in some sort of parallel dimension called the Digital World. With our technology, I don't think there's a way to reach this other world."
Ramsey scoffed and shook his head. "A digital world? How much more cheesy could this mission get?"
"Don't laugh, Ramsey," Parker said, putting a hand on the security chief's shoulders. "Let's listen to what the kid has to say."
Ramsey shooed Parker's hand away. "Who was asking you?"
"Andrew," Talmadge sighed, "you're going to have to find a way to communicate with this other world. Despite that Frank told us that the only contact we have with this digital world is six days from now, I want you to find a way, either visual or verbal."
Owsley nodded. "Okay. I'll have Parker and Buck help me with it."
"All right," Talmadge said. "Now let's go. Craig, set up a special ops troop and get the location of the Eden Formula's creator from Mr. Williams. Olga, Isaac, you could give input to Andrew's ideas on this trans-dimensional communications system. Ramsey, keep up communications with Craig and his team. Dismissed."
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Location - Dark Ocean (underwater)
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Takeru and Hikari dived below the oily waters of the Dark Ocean, and were shocked at the low visibility even in the shallows. Only the light given off by Hikari and their D3s penetrated the specters, and then only barely. The two children had to hold hands just to know where they were in the darkness.
A few minutes later Hikari pointed at something in the distance. It was a beacon of light, perhaps a few yards away from them. Hikari looked at Takeru, her eyes seeming to ask, Should we go there?
Takeru nodded and started to swim hurriedly towards the light, Hikari in tow. As they advanced upon the light, they started to see a shape take form. It was almost circular, like a passageway. And if this was a passageway, then there was a golden item lying at the bottom edge of the light.
Minutes later the two Chosen Children had arrived at the source of the light. It was a large circular hole, perhaps ten feet in diameter, carved into the rock of the bluff. The hole was about eight feet beneath the water, so the children could not feel the arrhythmic crashing of the dark waves on the rocks. At the bottom of this hole was a golden staff, which Takeru took into his hands. He immediately recalled what it was, and his face turned crestfallen in realization.
Hikari looked at Takeru and brought her arms around him tightly. Her sad eyes said, That's Angemon's, isn't it?
Takeru nodded his head and broke the embrace. His stern face was filled with determination - and lost hope. Furiously he took Hikari by the hand and made his way through the tunnel.
The tunnel took a winding, downward course through the rock, the light seeming to grow brighter with every stroke the children took. Only the drumming of their hearts in their ears and the wake of their passage echoed displaced in the water. Moments later the light grew so bright that it engulfed them....
And then Hikari and Takeru stepped out of the water into a vast, circular room.
The children threw down their air tanks and took a quick glance at the amount of air they had. There was barely enough left for a return trip.
"Where are we, Takeru?" Hikari asked, looking around the room. The pink aura about her was gone, and her voice was childlike again.
Takeru looked at Hikari, then back at the oversized staff in his hands. "This must be the Center that Hangyomon told us about," he breathed, afraid that his voice would echo in the large room. "It's so big!"
Hikari nodded. "Yeah. Let's go look around. Maybe we'll find Angemon, eh?"
Takeru looked away from Hikari, his mouth in an undecided pout. "Yeah, maybe," he muttered sullenly. "Let's go."
Together the children walked the circumference of the room, marveling at the brilliant items that furnished the area. Upon the walls were narrow, oblong windows framed with ornately decorated silver. The windows were wide enough for Hikari and Takeru to stand side-by-side before them. Each of the windows showed a blurred image of another realm, sometimes of a city or a rural area. A few steps away from where they had started, Hikari and Takeru found a window that opened to a familiar landscape.
"Hey, isn't that Tokyo?" Takeru asked, pointing at the window with the staff. A skyline marked with the Fuji Television headquarters filled the window in its entirety.
Hikari nodded. "It is! And look at all the children running around! It must be summer out there!"
Takeru nodded. "It sure looks like it. Now come on - if we manage to find Angemon, we could go back to the Dark Ocean, get Nefertimon, and return here so that we could go home!" For the first time after the battle, Takeru seemed to be in happy spirits - and he was in such happy spirits that he dragged Hikari across the rest of the room's circumference.
None of the other windows had anything of interest to the children. Some of them had strange creatures running around, either in the air, in the ocean, or on land. An occasional few were just images of darkness, like a television screen turned off. Halfway through the many thousands of windows Hikari found one with a view of the Digital World, but there was no sign of Daisuke, the other children, or the Digimon Kaiser.
It seemed like a day later when the children finally reached the portal to the Dark Ocean. No longer was it the pool of water they had emerged from - now it was a window out to the rocky bluff, with a view of an impatient Hangyomon army and a worried Nefertimon. The two air tanks were lying by the edge of the window.
"I see how this works," Hikari said. "There must be certain points in all these different realms that lead to this Center. And each of these realms are represented by a window."
"It looks like it," Takeru agreed. "There has to be more to this place, though, than these windows. Let's check out the center of this room." He walked away from Hikari and made his way further inside the chamber.
In the center of the room was a circular pedestal made of silver, with a golden baluster built upon the edge. The pedestal encompassed most of the floor space of the Center, and it was almost three feet above the ground. Four sets of stairs were carved into the pedestal, leading to the top. Takeru climbed up the closest flight of stairs, and Hikari reluctantly followed after him.
Takeru waited for Hikari to walk up to him before exploring the pedestal. It was a simple structure - a flat surface engraved with symbols along the outside edge and a strange design in the middle. Cracks in the center indicated a rising platform embedded in the floor.
"I wonder what this is for," Takeru mused, turning back to face Hikari. The girl had a very uncertain look upon her face. "Hikari, what's wrong?"
Hikari put her hands on Takeru's shoulders and sighed in defeat. "Takeru, we've spent quite some time in here. We would have noticed that Angemon was inside almost immediately. He isn't that hard to miss. Takeru, just listen to me this once - Angemon's probably not in here. He might not even be around anymore."
Takeru shook his head furiously. "No! I won't accept that! I won't give up searching for him! Angemon is in here, and I'm not leaving the Center until I find him! I will not have him leave me again!" He threw himself away from Hikari, but too late to notice the tears that rose to the girl's eyes.
"Takeru," Hikari whimpered, "what do you mean, not have him leave again?"
Takeru looked down at Hikari, and saw the girl tremble before him. "Hikari, I'm sorry," he whispered calmly, taking her hand. "I didn't mean to get all angry at you."
"It's all right," she sniffled, collapsing into Takeru's arms. "I know you didn't mean to." She chuckled and looked at Takeru with bright eyes. "You're just care a lot for your digimon. Trust me - I'd feel the same way if Tailmon turned up missing." She seemed to have forgotten what she had just asked Takeru moments ago.
Takeru laughed. "Yeah. Maybe I am a little worried. But I'd rather find Angemon here than not be able to find him at all. Now come on - there has to be a clue here somewhere." He broke away from Hikari and made his way to the edge of the pedestal, giving him a view of the first engraving.
This first one was shaped like a stylized infinity symbol, almost two feet wide. Below the symbol were the Japanese symbols for the word 'fate'.
"This looks familiar," Takeru mused. "It looks like the symbol that was on the Digimental of Fate."
Hikari nodded. "You're right. It does. Let's look at the others."
Thirteen more symbols decorated the edge of the pedestal, all of them at an equal distance from each other. Takeru and Hikari went around the circumference of the pedestal in a clockwise fashion, looking down at each of the symbols. The next symbol was like a claw, with the word 'miracle' beneath it.
"This one was on the Digimental of Miracles," Hikari said. She saw Takeru run down to the next symbol and call out the name of it.
"Down here is some sort of clock face, and the word 'time' is beneath it." He ran to the next one. "And what's this? It looks like an English question mark."
Hikari ran up to Takeru and looked down at the symbol. "You're right. And look - the word 'truth' is written there." She looked up at Takeru. "Do you have any clue as to what they mean, though?"
Takeru shook his head. "Not yet." He walked off and looked down at the next symbol. "This one is 'spirit'. And there's some sort of cloud-like swirl engraved above it. And this next one is-" He paused.
Hikari looked over at Takeru curiously. "What is it?"
Takeru shook his head in disbelief. "It's the Crest of Courage. And look further down - there's Friendship. Love. Kindness - never heard of a Crest of Kindness. And there's Purity. Faith. Light. Knowledge. And ... Hope."
Hikari ran to Takeru's side and looked down at the symbol that he stood before. It was the Crest of Hope, engraved lovingly into the silver of the pedestal. Unlike the other symbols, though, the Crest was shining with a green light.
"Hikari ... the Crest's shining," Takeru gasped, shocked.
Hikari looked up at Takeru and nodded - but then noticed something strange on the boy's chest. The Crest of Hope, which had been faintly tattooed over Takeru's heart for nearly five years, started to shine through his shirt. It hadn't shined like that for five years....
The silver light of the Center died down to darkness. Only the light of Takeru's glowing heart and the shine of the Crest of Hope on the pedestal lit up the vast room. Takeru, in awe, backed away from the shining Crest and bumped into Hikari.
"It's ... responded to me," Takeru gasped, looking down at his chest. "Because I ... have the Crest of Hope. But why ... only to me ... and not you, Hikari - when you stood before your Crest?"
Hikari slowly shook her head. "I ... I don't know," she stuttered.
The light from the crest on the pedestal grew to such intensity that it changed from green to white. Something started to take form in the light, the form of a man only a few feet taller than Takeru....
The light abruptly died down, and the silver shine of the Center was restored. Takeru and Hikari rubbed their eyes, fighting the stars that invaded their vision. Minutes later they saw the form that had appeared in the light.
Angemon.
-------------------------------------------------
Location - an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, California, USA
-------------------------------------------------
Delores sat before a computer screen, a homemade explosive in her gloved hands. She looked at the screen warily. A bright light had filled her screen again, revealing those pesky Japanese children and one of their digimon in the Center. She toyed with the explosive in her hands and laughed coyly.
"Those dumb children," she cackled, throwing the explosive at the computer. Instead of destroying the computer screen, though, the explosive sank inside like a pebble in water. Delores saw the bomb settle itself just a few feet behind the children.
With a smile of morbid glee on her shadow-covered face, Delores picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a number. As the phone rang, she whispered, "And now Buck and Frankie will see little birdies fall from the sky!"
-------------------------------------------------
Location - the Center
-------------------------------------------------
Takeru stammered as he stared up at his digimon, shakily holding up his staff in offering towards him. "A ... Angemon," he started, "uh ... here's your, uh, staff."
Angemon, though, just stood at a limp military attention, paying no attention to his partner. He did not move to acknowledge Takeru's presence.
A clanging sound came from behind Takeru and Hikari.
Hikari looked behind her, and saw a primitive bomb made of a clock and a few sticks of dynamite. She turned back to face Angemon, her face filled with panic. "There's a bomb in here!"
At the sound of Hikari's words, Angemon slowly grasped the staff from Takeru's hands. The staff started to fall into the angel's hands, and he prepared himself to attack.
Takeru looked at Angemon's fist in horror and thrust his body over Hikari. "He's going to attack!" he yelled, pushing her out of Angemon's line of fire as an arc of golden light shot out of Angemon's fist towards them. Takeru and Hikari were slammed to the ground, a red burn on the boy's arm where the light had grazed him. The cry of Angemon calling out his attack filled the room.
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"
to be continued
~ just a little request from the author: I'd like to know if anybody's actually reading this story! Please write a review and tell me how it is! This is my first fanfic EVER and I'd like some input - especially with this cliffhanger continuation.... ~
Now cut to theme song....
Backstep 02
Digital Conundrum - Ground Zero
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Location - NNL
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum
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It was eight in the morning when Olga knocked on the door of Parker's quarters. Parker, still drowsy from the evening rescue of Buck Williams, almost didn't hear the banging of fist on wood. "What is it?" he moaned, lethargically rising from his bed and shuffling to the door. He almost stepped on Buck, who was sleeping on the floor near his bed.
"It's me, Olga," the Russian scientist crooned.
Parker opened the door and was greeted with the sight of a redheaded woman wearing a gray dress and a white lab coat. Dr. Vukavitch always looked heavenly to Parker, even when drunk or drowsy.
"Why, good morning to you, Dr. Vukavitch," Parker moaned. He looked down at himself; his gray tank and sweat pants were not good things to be seen in during the morning hours. Especially before Olga.
But then, Olga had tolerated three years of seeing Parker in his sleepwear.
"Good morning, Mr. Parker," Olga replied. "Listen - I think I may have a solution for that other code that you and Hoot-er were unable to crack last night."
Parker nodded, just to contain the laughter that was threatening to rise from his mouth. Olga was never able to pronounce Owsley's college nickname correctly. "Really? Shoot."
"Well, Parker, it's quite simple. The codes look like the abbreviations for Bible quotes. You know, the first part stands for the book, the first number stands for the chapter, and the numbers after the colon are the numbers for the verses."
"Yeah," Parker said, dumbstruck. Here he was, an orphan raised in a Christian orphanage, and he had forgotten what a Bible verse abbreviation was! The nuns at the orphanage had drilled such things into his head when he was younger! "Why didn't I think of that sooner?"
"Maybe you were too engrossed with the graphics," Olga replied sarcastically. "Now wake up Mr. Williams - you two can look for the verses together." She then walked off.
Parker stuck his head out of the door and called after the scientist. "Hey! I thought that you were going to help us!" But his rant received no reply.
-------------------------------------------------
Location - Dark Ocean
Time - seven days (going on six) before Digital Conundrum
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Time seemed to have no more meaning as the bright light of Angemon's God's Typhoon attack engulfed the Dark Ocean. Takeru, Hikari, and Nefertimon turned away from the blinding light, but their efforts were in vain. Darkness flooded their vision, and for what seemed like eons the blackness stayed.
Seconds (minutes? hours? days?) later, the white light gradually retreated. Takeru shook his head in disbelief. Hikari rubbed her eyes. Nefertimon stared at Angemon, or at least where she and the Chosen Children remembered where he had been.
The angel hovered in the sky, his body dangling in midair like a rag doll. A faint breeze whipped his hair about his body. His hands were loosing their grip on the golden staff that he always carried. Seconds later a splash was heard - the staff had fallen into the gray ocean below.
"A ... Angemon?" Takeru ventured a few minutes later. "Are you all right?"
No reply.
Takeru looked out at where Dagomon and the Gesomon army were - or where they had been. The stench of deleted digital data reached Takeru's nose, making him look back at Angemon again. There was no doubt, though, as to what had happened.
The army had been defeated.
And not just the enemy battalion - some of the Hangyomon had fallen, too.
Hikari looked up at Takeru, her face emotionless. "Takeru, what's wrong with Angemon?"
Takeru looked at Hikari and shook his head. "I don't know. He hasn't spoken."
Nefertimon looked up at Takeru. "He may just be exhausted from the battle. He'll be alright."
"But if he were exhausted," Takeru argued, "then he would have reverted back to Patamon almost immediately! Something's wrong with Angemon, Nefertimon - I know it."
"You just don't know what it is," Nefertimon added.
Takeru nodded. "Yeah."
Angemon finally gave a sign that he was still aware. He lifted his shielded head and looked towards Takeru. A sense of longing was about him, but the sheepish smile he wore could mean almost anything.
"Takeru ..." he gasped raggedly, showing signs of his weakness. "I'm sorry...."
And then he fell into the ocean.
-------------------------------------------------
Location - NNL
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum
-------------------------------------------------
"Hey, Buck! Wake up!" Parker roughly shook the reporter's shoulders as he harshly whispered into his ear.
Buck shook his head and jumped to attention. "What? Where am I, Parker?"
Parker groaned as he helped Buck to his feet. He had given him the basic cover story of NNL the previous night, and was not about to repeat it. Besides, weren't reporters supposed to have a good memory?
"You're at NNL, a top-secret NSA facility," Parker explained. "We test, uh, experimental aircraft here."
"Oh, yeah," Buck said abruptly. "So, why did you wake me?"
Parker dragged Buck to the computer and pulled up a chair for him. "Well, my friend Olga gave me a tip as to what the other code on the disk was all about. I thought that maybe you could help out." He sat down, and Buck followed suit.
"Help out? I don't know ... it's still quite early."
Parker moved the mouse to clear the screen saver. The map of the Middle East graced the screen, along with a clock with a digital interface. It read eight-thirty.
Buck looked at the clock in disbelief. "Oh." He looked back at Parker. "Won't we get something to eat?"
Parker shook his head. "Not until we break this code. Now, Buck, could you hand me my Bible from the shelf there, please?" He motioned his head towards the large bookshelf behind him.
Buck wheeled his chair over to the shelf and grabbed a musty, black leather-bound book decorated only with the words HOLY BIBLE. He moved over to Parker again and carefully placed the book on the table. "Is this the one?" he asked.
Parker briefly looked down at the book and nodded. "Yeah. Now, do you know what Is 41: 25 stands for?" He pointed the mouse at the first of the two code numbers at the bottom of the screen.
Buck took the Bible in his hands and flipped to a section of the book. "I think it stands for Isaiah, chapter forty-one, verse twenty-five. Here it is ... 'I have stirred up one from the north, and he comes; from the east I summon him by name; he shall trample the rulers down like read earth, as the potter treads the clay.'"
Parker looked at the map, and then looked closely at the arrows that pointed at Israel. "Buck, you've noticed that the arrows on this map are coming both from the north and east. Do you think that that verse is what this attack plan was based on?"
Buck nodded - Parker and Owsley had briefed him on the information they currently had on the Digital Conundrum disk. "I think so. When I was in Israel during the attack, I remember that the planes came in from north, east, and the southwest. But there's no mention of attacking from the southwest."
"Maybe the other code has something about the rest of the attack plan," Parker said. "The next code is Ez 39: 4-7."
Buck flipped to another part of the book. "Okay. I've got it. 'I will lead you forth with all your army, horses and riders all handsomely outfitted, a great horde with bucklers and shields, all of them carrying swords: Persia, Cush, and Put with them [all with shields and helmets], Gomer with all its troops, Beth-togarmah from the recesses of the north with all its troops, many peoples with you. Prepare yourself, be ready, you and all your horde assembled about you, and be at my disposal.'" Buck shook his head in amazement. "The names of these ancient kingdoms were to the north, southwest, and east of Israel."
"I think it's all a coincidence," Parker shrugged. "But the picture and the verses correspond perfectly. Yet ... why did the attack fail?"
Buck looked back into the book and scanned the page. "Well, it says here that GOD would protect Israel from the invading armies by throwing hail and fire at them." He shook his head again, disillusioned. "I was in Israel during the attack, and almost immediately a hailstorm struck up. The hail destroyed all the planes and helicopters, but none of the cities."
"More coincidence," Parker sighed. "It may just have been a freak hailstorm."
Buck nodded. "Yeah. Could you give me the next code?"
Parker typed something into the computer, and the map of the world flashed onto the screen. For the first time, even before the backstep, he looked upon the code number: Dn 7: 23-25. He repeated the number to Buck.
"All right, Parker. The quote is: 'He answered me thus: "The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, different from all the others; it shall devour the whole earth, beat it down, and crush it. The ten horns shall be ten kings rising out of that kingdom; another shall rise up after them, different from those before him, who shall lay low three kings. He shall speak against the Most High and oppress the holy ones of the Most High, thinking to change the feast days and the law. They shall be handed over to him for a year, two years, and a half-year."'"
Parker looked upon the map before him. "Ten kings rising from a kingdom that engulfs the earth.... Buck, would you think that these ten green regions here" - he pointed to the ten flashing regions - "are the territories of the ten kings mentioned?"
Buck shrugged. "Maybe. But who are the holy ones of this Most High?"
"Beats me." Parker looked down at the map again. "The quote mentioned something about this being the fourth beast. There has to be three beasts before that."
"I'm assuming that they're great empires," Buck stated. "If this fourth one is to take over the entire world, then the other three must've gotten close."
"Rome took over much of the ancient world," Parker said; "the British had quite a large empire before Gandhi, and us Americans have taken the world by storm with McDonald's and the English language. But we haven't conquered anything."
"True. So this final kingdom is to control the world - but how?"
Parker brought a hand to his chin and sat in thought. "Buck, remember that three years ago you interviewed that Israeli botanist - Chaim Rosenzweig?"
Buck nodded blankly. "Yeah. He created that Eden Formula that made corn grow in the Israeli deserts. Why ask?"
"Well, if you look at the map, you'd notice that these regions are in places in the world that don't normally support plant life - desert and tundra. Buck, did Chaim say that his formula could make plants grow anywhere?"
"I think so," Buck said. "But the interview was three years ago - I'd have to check."
"Let's just say, then, that this formula could make palm trees grow in the Artic," Parker scoffed. "If you could grow plants in the middle of a Russian winter, what would you do with the plants?"
"I don't know," Buck shrugged. "Maybe grow enough food for the entire world."
"Exactly!" Parker exclaimed. "Then the purpose of this map is for definitions of farmland - where only the formula would work!"
"And if you could grow food in all of those regions ..."
"Then you could end starvation ..."
"Which could gain you control of the world!" Buck finished. "My god, it's a perfect plan - but the formula is protected like an Israeli military secret!"
"And to weaken a military you have to fight it," Parker said. "That's probably why Israel was attacked three years ago - so that another country could gain rights to the formula. But it failed, so the formula was never released."
"So then this plan is probably scrap, too," Buck said. "Now where's the next one?"
Parker typed something else into the computer, and the angel with the horn filled the screen. "The next number is 1Thes 4: 16-17. Find it yet?"
Buck had to flip nearly to the end of the book. "Yeah. 'No, the Lord himself will come down from heaven at the word of command, at the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet; and those who have died in Christ will rise first. Then we, the living, the survivors, will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.'"
"Sounds strange," Parker sighed. "I haven't seen any god come down from the sky yet, and the only trumpets I've heard were those in orchestras-" He stopped talking abruptly and turned to look at the screen.
" 'At the sound of the archangel's voice and God's trumpet,'" Parker breathed, staring at the picture. "The angel must be the one mentioned in the verse, and the trumpet ..."
"Must be the one that the angel blew," Buck finished.
"Right," Parker sighed, burying his face in his hands. "And then people will disappear at the sound of the trumpet." He shook his head. "But how can all of this be ... if everything that occurred in the past timeline supposedly took place in a 'digital world'?"
-------------------------------------------------
Location - Dark Ocean
Time - six days before Digital Conundrum
-------------------------------------------------
"Angemon!!"
Takeru's cry of anguish echoed across the Dark Ocean, hanging like the tolling of a funeral bell in the air. Despairing thoughts ran through the boy's head, the images of a similar event that occurred five years ago invading his every thought. How was this to happen again?
The oily darkness of the water wouldn't even yield Takeru a final glimpse of him.
Nefertimon raised her face towards Takeru, but the human boy would have none of her attempted pity. "Don't look at me like that!" he yelled out bitterly, and the digimon turned away.
"Takeru, I'm sorry about what happened," Nefertimon sighed, "but you didn't have to act that way."
Takeru sighed and recomposed himself. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just that ... I didn't think this would happen again." A tear fell from his eyes, and he immediately brushed it from his face. "Nefertimon, could you fly down to Hikari?"
The digimon nodded. "Sure." She and her human passenger glided down and came to a halt before Hikari. The girl, still possessed by Light, seemed to stand on the rippling waters of the ocean.
"I saw what had happened," Hikari said somberly. For the first time in three months, she sounded like the girl Takeru remembered. "I sent a Hangyomon down to retrieve him." The way Hikari said 'retrieve' made Takeru believe that she was talking about a long dead man, not a digimon that had possibly defeated Dagomon and his entire Gesomon army and had just fallen from exhaustion.
Takeru, though, just nodded his head in consent. "All right." He looked down at the water, hoping to see the Hangyomon rise to the surface with either Patamon in his arms or Angemon on his back. It wasn't until a few minutes later when his question was answered.
The Hangyomon's fish-like face rose from the water, a puzzled look upon his face. There was no sign of Takeru's partner anywhere about him. "Queen Hikari," he gasped, spitting the air intake mask from his mouth. "I followed the angel, as you said, but...."
"What is it?" Hikari asked gently. Her voice was now that of an adult's again.
The digimon stuttered, unable to find words to say. "Hikari ... I found him, but ... he fell into a hole ... a forbidden passage beneath the bluff...."
"A forbidden passage?" Hikari asked, puzzled. "Why forbidden?"
"Legend has it ... that it leads to the Center," the Hangyomon gasped. "Only Guardians and Chosen Children are allowed to set foot in the Center."
"The Center?" Takeru asked. "The Center of what? And what would Angemon be doing there?"
It was a while before the Hangyomon spoke again. "The passage leads to the Center of all the worlds, where they all combine in a small space. Legend says that time has no meaning in the Center. As for your friend...." He paused a moment. "Your partner ... he may be a Guardian. Dagomon did say something about it."
"Yeah," Takeru breathed. "But a Guardian of what?"
The digimon was unable to tell him, for Hikari spoke again. "You have given sufficient information, Hangyomon," she interrupted. "Is there a way for us to travel to this Center?"
The Hangyomon nodded. "You could borrow our air tanks." He pulled off the two tanks that he wore on his back and tossed one each to Hikari and Takeru. The children looked at the tanks, and saw that each of them had an air intake mask.
Takeru nodded as he caught the tank and looked down at it. "Thanks, Hangyomon," he muttered. "Now come on, Hikari," he said, jumping off Nefertimon's back into the cold, dark water. He placed the air mask over his mouth and dived in, only his hat bobbing on the waves.
Hikari sighed and looked down at Takeru. "I wonder what makes him so worried over Angemon," she mused as she placed the air mask over her face and followed after the boy.
-------------------------------------------------
Location - NNL
-------------------------------------------------
Parker and the senior staff of Project Backstep sat around the large conference table in the soundproof briefing room, looking at the files on the table and the projection of the contents of a computer screen near the television. It was a little after noon, and the team, neatly dressed for the meeting, already looked as if they had stayed up all night. Even Buck Williams, who had been invited at Talmadge's request, looked drowsy.
"Now, team," Talmadge stated, turning down the lights in the room, "Andrew, Parker, and Buck have managed to crack the two codes on the so-called Digital Conundrum disk. We'll have Andrew Owsley explain the first code."
Owsley stood up from his chair and walked over to where the computer screen projection was reflected on the wall. He faced the staff and cleared his throat.
"Well, you see, on the last two slides on the Digital Conundrum disk, there's this message that's written in a strange alphabet." The screen behind him showed a split image of both the slide with the stone and obelisk and the slide with the angel. A detail of the text appeared in a circular window. "There's a detail of the text now.
"Now, this code does not correspond with the English alphabet, but with the phonetic Japanese alphabet called katakana. Coincidentally, about a few years ago, I downloaded a program from a Japanese website that had a key for this code, which is known as Digital Hieroglyph. Unfortunately, since the key translated from Hieroglyph to Japanese, I tweaked with the program to give out results in English, as seen here." The screen showed an English translation of the text on one of the screens. "The English translations are in the files down there."
"Could you give us a summary of the translations, Mr. Owsley?" Isaac said, leaning on the table. His short arms were unable to reach the scattered files in the center of the long table.
"Well, there is no real short way to summarize the contents of this message," Owsley explained. "Basically, the first slide tells of what that obelisk and the rock are - they're called Dark Towers and Holy Stones, respectfully. The second slide tells of the identity of this angel and the trumpet in his hands - and all the ways he could die. And apparently, if he dies, or if he blows that horn, the disappearances that Frank told of would occur."
"So basically, to prevent the disappearances," Ramsey droned, "we just have to prevent this guy from dying or tooting his trumpet."
Owsley nodded. "Basically, yeah. But Parker and Buck have more to add."
Parker stood and walked up next to the resident nerd. "Oh, yes. There's another code that I have to tell of." The image on the screen behind him turned to that of the two maps and that of the angel. "You see, on the bottom right-hand corner of each of these slides are a code number. Each of these numbers" - the details of the numbers appeared on the screen above the pictures - "correspond with a Bible quote. For this first slide, the one of the Middle East, the quotes down here basically tell of the same thing - the attack on Israel. As you all know, Israel was attacked by Russia and two other countries three years ago - and was mysteriously unharmed. The quotes mentioned also continued to say that Israel would also be saved from this attack, and the enemy be destroyed by hail."
"And I could testify to that," Buck added from his seat.
"Thank you, Buck," Parker quickly said. "Now, for this next quote. This one was on the slide with the map of the world. The quote mentioned something about an empire that would crush the entire earth, and ten kings would arise from it. These ten flashing regions here could possibly be those ten principalities that the kings would have control over. And since these regions are inhospitable places, Buck and I have only one explanation as to why these areas were chosen."
"And what is it, Frank?" Donovan asked.
Buck stood and answered the soldier's question. "Well, you see, when Israel was attacked three years ago, I was interviewing a botanist that had created a formula that would make plants grow almost anywhere with soil. If I remember correctly, this Eden Formula could make corn grow in the Sahara or Siberia - highly desirable for Russia or a desert country. Since these regions on the map are either desert or tundra, this could only mean, then, that the formula could be used to grow crops there."
"And in conclusion," Parker continued, "that would mean that these ten kings - or queens - would preside over these vast farmlands, controlling the food supply of the world."
"And if you controlled the food supply of the world," Olga mused, "then you could basically control the world itself."
Parker nodded his head. "Yeah. Now here's the last quote. The last one describes what would happen if this angel blew this trumpet. As you know from what Owsley explained, the disappearances would be caused when Little Boy Blue blows his horn. But the quote explains in detail who would disappear."
"Who exactly will disappear, from what the quote states?" Talmadge asked, taking a cigar from his pocket and lighting it. He placed the cigar in his mouth and chewed on it nervously.
"Well ... if you take the quote literally, a lot of dead people, all the children, and quite a few adults," Parker stated.
"Is there anything in common with them?" Ramsey asked sarcastically. "Like blood type or brain waves?"
"It most certainly isn't blood type, Ramsey, if all the children disappeared. No - the quote went on to say that these people would rise and meet this Lord in the air."
"So you mean, like ... god?" Olga asked, curious.
"I guess," Parker said, unsure. "Meaning that these people would be clean in the eyes of this god ... Christians, if you'd like."
"So a bunch of religious freaks, corpses, and kids will be gone to 'heaven', right?" Ramsey scoffed. "God, what kind of hokey mission is this?"
"It isn't hokey, Ramsey," Parker argued. "We're dealing with the disappearance of half the Backstep staff, the death of our President, and possibly the takeover of the world as we know it!"
"The taking over of the world?" Talmadge roared, almost audible even beyond the walls of the soundproof room. "How did you and Buck manage to reach that point?"
"Mr. Talmadge," Buck timidly said, settling himself back into his chair, "Parker and I discovered that these quotes were to tell something in a sequence. First, the invasion of Israel would fail. Then, this angel would blow this horn, making these chosen people disappear. After the disappearances, then the world would be taken over by this beastly empire." He sighed. "Do you understand?"
Talmadge nodded his head and removed the cigar from his mouth. "I do, Mr. Williams. So our objectives are clear now - keep this formula and its creator safe, and find a way to stop this angel from dying and or blowing this horn he has. Dismissed."
The staff started to file out of the room when Owsley spoke up. "We may have a slight problem with the latter objective, Mr. Talmadge."
"And what is it?" Talmadge asked, turning to face the young man. The rest of the staff turned to face him, too.
"Well ... the translations also said that this angel is in some sort of parallel dimension called the Digital World. With our technology, I don't think there's a way to reach this other world."
Ramsey scoffed and shook his head. "A digital world? How much more cheesy could this mission get?"
"Don't laugh, Ramsey," Parker said, putting a hand on the security chief's shoulders. "Let's listen to what the kid has to say."
Ramsey shooed Parker's hand away. "Who was asking you?"
"Andrew," Talmadge sighed, "you're going to have to find a way to communicate with this other world. Despite that Frank told us that the only contact we have with this digital world is six days from now, I want you to find a way, either visual or verbal."
Owsley nodded. "Okay. I'll have Parker and Buck help me with it."
"All right," Talmadge said. "Now let's go. Craig, set up a special ops troop and get the location of the Eden Formula's creator from Mr. Williams. Olga, Isaac, you could give input to Andrew's ideas on this trans-dimensional communications system. Ramsey, keep up communications with Craig and his team. Dismissed."
-------------------------------------------------
Location - Dark Ocean (underwater)
-------------------------------------------------
Takeru and Hikari dived below the oily waters of the Dark Ocean, and were shocked at the low visibility even in the shallows. Only the light given off by Hikari and their D3s penetrated the specters, and then only barely. The two children had to hold hands just to know where they were in the darkness.
A few minutes later Hikari pointed at something in the distance. It was a beacon of light, perhaps a few yards away from them. Hikari looked at Takeru, her eyes seeming to ask, Should we go there?
Takeru nodded and started to swim hurriedly towards the light, Hikari in tow. As they advanced upon the light, they started to see a shape take form. It was almost circular, like a passageway. And if this was a passageway, then there was a golden item lying at the bottom edge of the light.
Minutes later the two Chosen Children had arrived at the source of the light. It was a large circular hole, perhaps ten feet in diameter, carved into the rock of the bluff. The hole was about eight feet beneath the water, so the children could not feel the arrhythmic crashing of the dark waves on the rocks. At the bottom of this hole was a golden staff, which Takeru took into his hands. He immediately recalled what it was, and his face turned crestfallen in realization.
Hikari looked at Takeru and brought her arms around him tightly. Her sad eyes said, That's Angemon's, isn't it?
Takeru nodded his head and broke the embrace. His stern face was filled with determination - and lost hope. Furiously he took Hikari by the hand and made his way through the tunnel.
The tunnel took a winding, downward course through the rock, the light seeming to grow brighter with every stroke the children took. Only the drumming of their hearts in their ears and the wake of their passage echoed displaced in the water. Moments later the light grew so bright that it engulfed them....
And then Hikari and Takeru stepped out of the water into a vast, circular room.
The children threw down their air tanks and took a quick glance at the amount of air they had. There was barely enough left for a return trip.
"Where are we, Takeru?" Hikari asked, looking around the room. The pink aura about her was gone, and her voice was childlike again.
Takeru looked at Hikari, then back at the oversized staff in his hands. "This must be the Center that Hangyomon told us about," he breathed, afraid that his voice would echo in the large room. "It's so big!"
Hikari nodded. "Yeah. Let's go look around. Maybe we'll find Angemon, eh?"
Takeru looked away from Hikari, his mouth in an undecided pout. "Yeah, maybe," he muttered sullenly. "Let's go."
Together the children walked the circumference of the room, marveling at the brilliant items that furnished the area. Upon the walls were narrow, oblong windows framed with ornately decorated silver. The windows were wide enough for Hikari and Takeru to stand side-by-side before them. Each of the windows showed a blurred image of another realm, sometimes of a city or a rural area. A few steps away from where they had started, Hikari and Takeru found a window that opened to a familiar landscape.
"Hey, isn't that Tokyo?" Takeru asked, pointing at the window with the staff. A skyline marked with the Fuji Television headquarters filled the window in its entirety.
Hikari nodded. "It is! And look at all the children running around! It must be summer out there!"
Takeru nodded. "It sure looks like it. Now come on - if we manage to find Angemon, we could go back to the Dark Ocean, get Nefertimon, and return here so that we could go home!" For the first time after the battle, Takeru seemed to be in happy spirits - and he was in such happy spirits that he dragged Hikari across the rest of the room's circumference.
None of the other windows had anything of interest to the children. Some of them had strange creatures running around, either in the air, in the ocean, or on land. An occasional few were just images of darkness, like a television screen turned off. Halfway through the many thousands of windows Hikari found one with a view of the Digital World, but there was no sign of Daisuke, the other children, or the Digimon Kaiser.
It seemed like a day later when the children finally reached the portal to the Dark Ocean. No longer was it the pool of water they had emerged from - now it was a window out to the rocky bluff, with a view of an impatient Hangyomon army and a worried Nefertimon. The two air tanks were lying by the edge of the window.
"I see how this works," Hikari said. "There must be certain points in all these different realms that lead to this Center. And each of these realms are represented by a window."
"It looks like it," Takeru agreed. "There has to be more to this place, though, than these windows. Let's check out the center of this room." He walked away from Hikari and made his way further inside the chamber.
In the center of the room was a circular pedestal made of silver, with a golden baluster built upon the edge. The pedestal encompassed most of the floor space of the Center, and it was almost three feet above the ground. Four sets of stairs were carved into the pedestal, leading to the top. Takeru climbed up the closest flight of stairs, and Hikari reluctantly followed after him.
Takeru waited for Hikari to walk up to him before exploring the pedestal. It was a simple structure - a flat surface engraved with symbols along the outside edge and a strange design in the middle. Cracks in the center indicated a rising platform embedded in the floor.
"I wonder what this is for," Takeru mused, turning back to face Hikari. The girl had a very uncertain look upon her face. "Hikari, what's wrong?"
Hikari put her hands on Takeru's shoulders and sighed in defeat. "Takeru, we've spent quite some time in here. We would have noticed that Angemon was inside almost immediately. He isn't that hard to miss. Takeru, just listen to me this once - Angemon's probably not in here. He might not even be around anymore."
Takeru shook his head furiously. "No! I won't accept that! I won't give up searching for him! Angemon is in here, and I'm not leaving the Center until I find him! I will not have him leave me again!" He threw himself away from Hikari, but too late to notice the tears that rose to the girl's eyes.
"Takeru," Hikari whimpered, "what do you mean, not have him leave again?"
Takeru looked down at Hikari, and saw the girl tremble before him. "Hikari, I'm sorry," he whispered calmly, taking her hand. "I didn't mean to get all angry at you."
"It's all right," she sniffled, collapsing into Takeru's arms. "I know you didn't mean to." She chuckled and looked at Takeru with bright eyes. "You're just care a lot for your digimon. Trust me - I'd feel the same way if Tailmon turned up missing." She seemed to have forgotten what she had just asked Takeru moments ago.
Takeru laughed. "Yeah. Maybe I am a little worried. But I'd rather find Angemon here than not be able to find him at all. Now come on - there has to be a clue here somewhere." He broke away from Hikari and made his way to the edge of the pedestal, giving him a view of the first engraving.
This first one was shaped like a stylized infinity symbol, almost two feet wide. Below the symbol were the Japanese symbols for the word 'fate'.
"This looks familiar," Takeru mused. "It looks like the symbol that was on the Digimental of Fate."
Hikari nodded. "You're right. It does. Let's look at the others."
Thirteen more symbols decorated the edge of the pedestal, all of them at an equal distance from each other. Takeru and Hikari went around the circumference of the pedestal in a clockwise fashion, looking down at each of the symbols. The next symbol was like a claw, with the word 'miracle' beneath it.
"This one was on the Digimental of Miracles," Hikari said. She saw Takeru run down to the next symbol and call out the name of it.
"Down here is some sort of clock face, and the word 'time' is beneath it." He ran to the next one. "And what's this? It looks like an English question mark."
Hikari ran up to Takeru and looked down at the symbol. "You're right. And look - the word 'truth' is written there." She looked up at Takeru. "Do you have any clue as to what they mean, though?"
Takeru shook his head. "Not yet." He walked off and looked down at the next symbol. "This one is 'spirit'. And there's some sort of cloud-like swirl engraved above it. And this next one is-" He paused.
Hikari looked over at Takeru curiously. "What is it?"
Takeru shook his head in disbelief. "It's the Crest of Courage. And look further down - there's Friendship. Love. Kindness - never heard of a Crest of Kindness. And there's Purity. Faith. Light. Knowledge. And ... Hope."
Hikari ran to Takeru's side and looked down at the symbol that he stood before. It was the Crest of Hope, engraved lovingly into the silver of the pedestal. Unlike the other symbols, though, the Crest was shining with a green light.
"Hikari ... the Crest's shining," Takeru gasped, shocked.
Hikari looked up at Takeru and nodded - but then noticed something strange on the boy's chest. The Crest of Hope, which had been faintly tattooed over Takeru's heart for nearly five years, started to shine through his shirt. It hadn't shined like that for five years....
The silver light of the Center died down to darkness. Only the light of Takeru's glowing heart and the shine of the Crest of Hope on the pedestal lit up the vast room. Takeru, in awe, backed away from the shining Crest and bumped into Hikari.
"It's ... responded to me," Takeru gasped, looking down at his chest. "Because I ... have the Crest of Hope. But why ... only to me ... and not you, Hikari - when you stood before your Crest?"
Hikari slowly shook her head. "I ... I don't know," she stuttered.
The light from the crest on the pedestal grew to such intensity that it changed from green to white. Something started to take form in the light, the form of a man only a few feet taller than Takeru....
The light abruptly died down, and the silver shine of the Center was restored. Takeru and Hikari rubbed their eyes, fighting the stars that invaded their vision. Minutes later they saw the form that had appeared in the light.
Angemon.
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Location - an apartment in downtown Los Angeles, California, USA
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Delores sat before a computer screen, a homemade explosive in her gloved hands. She looked at the screen warily. A bright light had filled her screen again, revealing those pesky Japanese children and one of their digimon in the Center. She toyed with the explosive in her hands and laughed coyly.
"Those dumb children," she cackled, throwing the explosive at the computer. Instead of destroying the computer screen, though, the explosive sank inside like a pebble in water. Delores saw the bomb settle itself just a few feet behind the children.
With a smile of morbid glee on her shadow-covered face, Delores picked up the phone on the desk and dialed a number. As the phone rang, she whispered, "And now Buck and Frankie will see little birdies fall from the sky!"
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Location - the Center
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Takeru stammered as he stared up at his digimon, shakily holding up his staff in offering towards him. "A ... Angemon," he started, "uh ... here's your, uh, staff."
Angemon, though, just stood at a limp military attention, paying no attention to his partner. He did not move to acknowledge Takeru's presence.
A clanging sound came from behind Takeru and Hikari.
Hikari looked behind her, and saw a primitive bomb made of a clock and a few sticks of dynamite. She turned back to face Angemon, her face filled with panic. "There's a bomb in here!"
At the sound of Hikari's words, Angemon slowly grasped the staff from Takeru's hands. The staff started to fall into the angel's hands, and he prepared himself to attack.
Takeru looked at Angemon's fist in horror and thrust his body over Hikari. "He's going to attack!" he yelled, pushing her out of Angemon's line of fire as an arc of golden light shot out of Angemon's fist towards them. Takeru and Hikari were slammed to the ground, a red burn on the boy's arm where the light had grazed him. The cry of Angemon calling out his attack filled the room.
"Heaven's ... Knuckle!"
to be continued
~ just a little request from the author: I'd like to know if anybody's actually reading this story! Please write a review and tell me how it is! This is my first fanfic EVER and I'd like some input - especially with this cliffhanger continuation.... ~