Chapter Twenty

A New Evil

            "Weeeee WON!!!" Josh exclaimed happily, skipping along the trail towards Server's beach.

            "Yeah, we realized that three days ago, Josh," said his sister, who trudged along wearily.

            "I think the adrenaline hasn't faded away yet, eh?" commented Jessie.

            "Duh…"

            Daiki ran ahead and climbed a boulder. "Hey! I can see the beach from here! Ah, the smell of the ocean…"

            "Makes me wanna puke," Riku muttered. "I hate the ocean smell… it makes me seasick."

            "Well," said Riki, "when we get our ride, you better get a decent barf bag. It took us four days last time."

            Riku simply glared at him.

            The Tamers gathered at the beach, wondering where their transport was, when a sudden rumbling caught their attention. Curious yet fearful, the Tamers watched as the ocean waves rippled, then parted, and, with ocean spray shooting upwards into the air, a large Digimon emerged from underwater.

            "Hello, children," he said. "I am Whamon. Jijimon sent me to give you a ride. Hop on."

            The Tamers climbed onto Whamon's back, away from the blowhole, and held on tightly as the large aquatic Digimon swam towards File Island. Riku was not happy.

            "We had Airdramon before! Why can't we have Airdramon now!?" she complained.

            "Because," said Whamon sadly, "Airdramon has died."

            "WHAT!!!?" the Tamers screamed.

            "Almost everyone has died."

            "Is it some sort of disease?" asked Riley.

            "No, no… someone burned down the village and killed most of the inhabitants."

            Several jaws dropped, and silence reigned until Compass demanded, "Who!!!?"

            A jet of water gushed out of the blowhole before Whamon replied: "I do not know. Ask Jijimon when we get there."

            There was a long, sad, respectful silence thereafter. All of the Tamers were greatly distressed, but no one was as grievous as Jessie. After all, she had lived there most of her life. To find out that her village, her home, was gone…

            Terriermon patted Jessie on the shoulder. "It's okay, Jess. Be glad that we, at least, lived."

            "But what about everyone else?" she whispered. "What about Nyaromon, and Piximon, and Elecmon, and—"

            "We'll see them again, don't worry. After all, that's what Primary Village is for, right?"

            "But what if that's burned down too? What if…"

            Terriermon put on a reprimanding tone. "Jessie! Don't think that! Just because our village was destroyed doesn't mean you have to give up hope! We're still free, like the waters and the wind." He put a tiny paw on Jessie's D-Force. "We're still free."

            Overcome with emotions, Jessie hugged her Digimon. "Thanks, Terriermon."

            The little rabbit, though, was suddenly irritated. "Ow! You're hugging too hard!"

*          *          *

            "Whamon?"

            "Yes, Mister Riki?"

            "Um… don't call me 'mister'. And you said the village was burned down, right?"

            "Yes…"

            "That was an understatement…"

            It was true, if one looked hard enough. The Tamers were standing at the main gates of the village, wide-eyed and utterly shocked at the sight before them. There was nothing left standing, not even half of a hut, not even a part of wall. It was laid down flat, rubble and debris scattered and heaped onto each other. Burnt grass flew on the stale, smoke-filled breeze. There was no fire left, just smoke and white-gray ash. There were no bodies, either.

            Jessie stepped forward and picked up a piece of blackened wood. "This village wasn't burned," she said darkly as the wood crumbled to bits of coal in her hand. "…It was demolished."

            "Yes, hm, it definitely looks that way, doesn't it?" said a familiar voice.

            Everyone turned to see a bruised Jijimon sitting on a pile of rubble that looked like he himself had formed.

            "Jijimon!" exclaimed Sytamon. "You're safe!"

            "Yes, yes, hm… I am, right? I think so too." Everyone stared at him. "Oh, I'm old… five thousand years have finally caught up with me…"

            "You're not going to… die, are you?" whispered Patamon.

            "Yes, I will some day soon, hm, yes. In fact, I might today. Hm-hm… That is why,"—he coughed for a moment—"I must tell you all you need to know. Hm… Mikara, is it? Riku? I need you to turn on your… ah… computers."

*          *          *

            A few minutes later, everyone was safe in a cave just outside the village. Jijimon patted the laptops and handed them to their respective owners. "I have installed a program in your computers. They are… hm… databases, yes, and provide maps and other such survival needs, hm-hm, like what foods are good to eat, and what aren't. Hmmm… encyclopedias, yes… that's the word."

            Mikara started to protest. "What do we need them for, Jijimon? We've spent half a month here already. We should know—"

            "Ah!" the ancient Digimon replied. "Ah, yes, yes, yes… you need them for Chikyuu, of course… hm…"

            "Chikyuu?" asked Terriermon. "I've never heard of that place before."

            "Chikyuu is a tiny, forgotten island in the middle of… what was it called?" Jijimon lapsed into a few more moments of coughing, then continued in a raspy voice, "Yes, yes… hm… I remember. The Undead Sea…"

            "The Undead Sea?" echoed Vipomon. "But aren't undead things like vampires and… stuff like that?"

            "Yes. It is named thus because nothing but monsters you cannot kill live there… hmmm!" He coughed some more. "Oh, I'm so old, so tired…"

            Jessie knelt down beside the elder Digimon. "Just sit and rest, Jijimon. You'll be fine."

            "Oh! Oh, no I won't. Hahah… I'm too weak to be fine. But I will… hm… yes, I will sit…" He did so, and rested his staff on his lap. "Now listen, Children of Destiny… cough… there is a greater evil… greater than Satanmon and Vile—cough—Devimon. It resides on Chikyuu Island… and it does not sleep. The evil there… cough… so great! So great! Hmmm… so great…"

            David spoke up. "Jijimon, we ought to understand how to get there first…"

            "The map…"

            "Just inform us what this wickedness is and how to vanquish it."

            "The evil… cough-cough-cough… does not sleep! It sends minions… hm… Digimon… created for one purpose…" Jijimon had another coughing spasm, and when he was done, his voice was faint. "One purpose alone, hmm… to obey… to destroy… to kill…" He closed his eyes, though none could really tell it, and he relaxed.

            "…Jijimon?" whispered Terriermon.

            "Beware!" cried the ancient Digimon, startling everyone. "Beware the dragons!!! Yes! Cough-cough! Beware the dragons!

            Vipomon stepped forward. "Does that mean—"

            "No! Cough-cough-cough… Beware the dragons of Chikyuu, hmm! They shall crush you, yes, if you do not defend your…selves…"

            Mikara was worriedly wringing her hands. "Jijimon… You haven't told us everything yet… How do we stop this evil?"

            "You must… cough… find that out for yourselves, hm?" Jijimon raised a finger. "One more thing… do not be deceived… by innocence… because Chikyuu… shrouded by innocence… demon in angel's disguise… innocence… beware the dragons… do not… be… deceived…" And then, as the last of his strength gave way, he uttered, "Cards… parents… they will help… you…" And he died, promptly vanishing in a cloud of data.

            Jessie suddenly got up and ran after the data. "JIJIMON!!!" And she fell to her knees, trembling.

            "Jijimon will be avenged, Jessie," said a small yet determined voice. Jessie looked up to see Josh standing there. "I might be the youngest here, but I know one thing—we can't give up hope, because if we give up hope, we can't go onwards." The Crest Pendant around Josh's neck started to glow with Hope engraved on its surface. "So come on. We can't waste time."

            Terriermon patted his Tamer on the shoulder. "Grandpa Jijimon will be fine. We'll come back for him, Jess. Don't worry."

            "Yeah…" The girl nodded and stood up. "We'll come back for him."

*          *          *

            The happy faces of the original Tamers filled Riku's computer screen. "Oh, that's wonderful, kids!" exclaimed Jeri. "I'm so glad you defeated the evil."

            "Yeah, and we're so glad you finally decided to call us," added Henry, a little annoyed-looking.

            Riki grinned nervously. "Right, Dad…"

            "So are you heading home now? Please say you are…" Suzie begged.

            The Tamers exchanged glances before Josh said, "We can't. We have to go fight another evil. We don't know who or what it is yet, but Jijimon told us to find it at Chikyuu Island. Sound familiar to you?"

            Sado shook his head. "No, son, it doesn't."

            Mikara pushed her way to the screen. "Mom! Dad! How is Chikiyo?"

            Suzie had a pained look on her face. "She is…" And she said no more, for tears started to course down her cheeks.

            "She is dead," whispered Sado, trying to comfort his wife.

            A shrill cry from Mikara caused everyone to start, and the girl was soon on her knees, weeping. Josh too was crying, but he was silent. He knew he had to be strong, for his older sister.

            Riley and Lina went to comfort Mikara. Josh stood firmly in front of the computer and said, "Mom… Dad… we won't let you down."

            "Don't die too," Takato said. It sounded like an order.

            "We won't, Mr. Matsuki. We won't. That we promise you."

            David spoke up. "Before Jijimon… died… he said to get cards from you. …What cards?"

            Rika then smiled suddenly. "Finally. I've been waiting for this day, to pass on my cards to my children. You see, David, there are special cards called modify cards that can be used in the card game. However, they can be used in real life. Just slash them through your digivices and say, 'Digi Modify.' When you do, your Digimon is, well… modified." She held up a card. "See this? This is a key modify card called Digivolution. It digivolves your Rookies to Champion easily."

            Daiki grinned. "Cool, Mom! Can we have 'em now?"

            In just a few minutes' time, the new Tamers had the cards of their parents. After instructing their children how to use them, they logged off and the screen went blank.

            Mikara joined Jessie near the mouth of the cave, cards in hand. "It seems," she said, "that we must fight now with these new weapons."

            "We're not going to let anyone die anymore," agreed Jessie. "I must thank Riku's parents for lending me these cards. They will be useful." Her grip on her cards tightened. "Because we are not letting anyone else die, no matter what the evil." She held her D-Force high in the air, at an enemy far away. "Do you hear me!? We're not going to let you kill anymore!"

            Hidden among the rocks high above them, a shadow disappeared into more blackness, its two glowing eyes the only thing visible. It's time to leave, it thought to itself, then vanished.