Disclaimer: Digimon is not mine and I don¡¯t want to take it. I only need to borrow the characters for my very stubborn imagination. ^-^
A/N: I reuploaded this because the previous one had strange symbols and I couldn¡¯t fix them cause I uploaded at my friend¡¯s house since my computer had a few problems. They¡¯re fixed now. ^^
***
Chapter 10: Feather, War, and Plans
¡°How dare you!¡± The anger was apparent in the king¡¯s voice. His eyes flashed dangerously and his face was a bright crimson colour. His breathing was heavy as he looked down at his son.
Takeru stood motionless, emotionless, in front of his father. His eyes stared into space as if he wasn¡¯t listening. This reaction apparently angered the king even more and a slap descended on the boy¡¯s cheek. His head whipped back fiercely. Takeru didn¡¯t even make a sound. Instead, he brought his head back slowly and fixed his father with an unwavering stare.
¡°You have disgraced our family, Takeru! By been a traitor, you have shown your disloyalty! I would have sent you with Yamato but now, I think not. What do you have to say for yourself?¡±
¡°I am not sorry for what I¡¯ve done. I am sick of this war and your damn ambitions, father. I love Hikary, and nothing you say or do can change that!¡±
If the boy had been sorry for what he had done, the king would then have been prepared to forgive his son with a light punishment but this outburst was unexpected.
¡°You will go to your room and stay there. I¡¯ll have guards posted and watching. YOU SHALL NOT COME OUT UNTIL YOU FEEL SORRY OR THIS WAR IS OVER!¡± The king grabbed the boy¡¯s wrists and roughly dragged Takeru from the room and out into the hallways. Takeru neither resisted nor said anything as his father pushed him into his own room and locked the door behind him. He could clearly hear the loud voice commanding two guards to watch his door.
Takeru sighed, wincing slightly at the bruise he could feel forming on his face. Well, at least no one was going to see him in a while. His thoughts went back to what his father had told him. So Yamato had gone to help with the war. He thought. So for now, he was stuck.
He dropped on to his bed, back first, and stared at the ceiling. Everything depended on Yamato now. Hopefully father won¡¯t find out that Yamato¡¯s on my side.
Then he remembered Hikary. The spear thrown by the Kaizer had shattered the mirror. Takeru wondered if the girl and her friends got home safely. He dearly hoped so. And still with that thought nagging at his mind, he fell into an uncomfortable sleep.
***
Taichi, Hikary, and Daisuke landed on the other side of the mirror without any harm but a spear did follow them through. Briefly they stared at it in confusion and finally concluded that the man whom Takeru called Kaizer had caught up with them.
¡°Well, they can¡¯t follow us now since the mirror¡¯s shattered.¡± Daisuke said.
¡°Yes, but I hope Takeru¡¯s okay.¡± Hikary stared at the broken mirror.
They arrived at the palace and was greeted by the king himself.
¡°Good you found her.¡± He said, looking relieved. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have some very bad news.¡±
¡°What is it father?¡±
¡°It seems that reinforcements had arrived in Le¡¯biath during the night, lead by their prince and so it is extremely dangerous for us to stay here. Hikary, go with the others to Gladatarius. Daisuke, go with her. Taichi, you come with me to Le¡¯biath.¡±¡¯
¡°Father, please go with Hikary and Daisuke.¡± Taichi protested. ¡°I¡¯ll go alone.¡±
¡°No, I won¡¯t have that.¡±
¡°But it¡¯s no good if you get hurt father. You¡¯ll become their prime target if you go.¡±
¡°Then you¡¯re coming too, Taichi.¡±
¡°No, I have to go.¡± And seen that he¡¯s father was about to argue, he raised his hand. ¡°The reason is that the prince, Yamato, is the brother of Takeru. He helped Hikary escape. And also Takeru has told us that Yamato would help.¡±
The king considered this.
¡°Alright then, but make sure you get out of there if the situation gets bad.¡±
¡°I promise.¡±
He went to the stables and took the swiftest horse. In a few minutes, he was gone.
***
On Earth, a little girl skipped down the street, humming to herself. Suddenly something caught her eyes and she bent down to take a closer look. A gasp of wonder escaped her lips as her eyes widened. A single feather lay in the middle of the sidewalk. It was perfect in shape and shone with a strange glow. She had never seen a feather like this before. With small fingers, she picked it up, feeling the softness and silkiness.
The light grew brighter and in shock, the girl gasped. Part of the light entered the girl¡¯s hands and she felt a strange tingling in her fingertips. She stood in surprise for a while. There was no fear, only a great amount of curiosity. She tucked the strange feather in her pocket and proceeded to continue her walk, not knowing the change that the feather brought over her.
***
¡°Father, a girl has picked up the feather.¡±
¡°Excellent. Now we just have to wait. This will be the downfall of that stupid girl and I shall have my revenge soon, very soon.¡± The Kaizer broke into mad laughter.
***
A few hundred miles away, a battle was reaching its peak.
Yamato wiped the sweat off his face as a momentary break allowed him a peak around him. He shook his head in pity and sorrow. Bodies lay around the field, soaking the grass in blood red. These were mainly from their enemies but Yamato couldn¡¯t forget the fact that they lost their lives protecting what they loved.
He was sick of it, all of it. Someone charged at him with a sword raised high above his head. Yamato took one look at the man and saw that his eyes were still filled with hope. He didn¡¯t have the heart to kill anymore. Stepping aside, he retreated toward his camp, leaving the battle to his father¡¯s soldiers. Not that they needed help from him now. Victory was already at hand, there was no need for him to fight.
Inside his tent, Yamato sighed, putting a hand on the wooden table. Taking off the helmet he shook out his sweaty hair, placing the metal object on the table. He still held the naked sword in his hand. Clean, not stained. He couldn¡¯t bring himself to kill anyone. The weapon he held had only been an hateful accessory to him during the times he fought. A frown appeared on his perfect features as he stared at the blade, the symbol of war. Sounds of shouting and screams and clashing metals were dimly audible in the background, muffled by the thin wall of the material of the tent.
Suddenly, the elder prince pushed the sword into his sheath angrily. Anger at his father ripped a frustrated cry from his throat. Did his father think that this could come to anything? He closed his eyes, listening. No, at this rate everything will fall. Not just Heaven but Hell as well. They will fall into the hands of the Kaizer. Only if the king realized that. But he didn¡¯t and Yamato didn¡¯t know how to make him see that.
And where was Takeru? Haven¡¯t they found him yet? It wasn¡¯t helping that he was itching to know if his little brother was alright. With another sigh, he dropped into a seat and rested his head on his arm.
¡°Your Highness!¡±
Yamato didn¡¯t look up as he heard someone searching for him outside. He wondered at the sudden panic he heard in the voice but it wasn¡¯t enough to get him to move from his place.
¡°Your Highness!¡± It came nearer.
¡°Your Highness!¡± The voice burst through the open flaps of the tent. Heavy breathing followed. Yamato refused to look up. ¡°Your Highness?¡±
¡°Your Highness!¡± There was a pause, then, ¡°Your Highness!¡±
The sudden movement from Yamato caused the young man to jump backward.
¡°WHAT?¡±
The man tripped and fell, shaking all over. He opened his mouth but no sound came.
Yamato glared. ¡°What¡¯s your problem? Don¡¯t you have something to say?¡± The man only nodded, eyes wide.
¡°Well? Aren¡¯t you going to say it?¡± Impatient, Yamato walked toward him. The man only cowered.
With a low growl, the prince bent down and grabbed the unfortunate by the collar and hoisted him up to his feet. The man gasped and finally stammered out. ¡°P-please sir, new troops has arrived, we need your help, sir.¡±
Yamato let go of the man. ¡°How many?¡±
¡°I-I don¡¯t know. They just told me to get you sir.¡±
¡°Well, next time don¡¯t take so long to report!¡± With a final glare, Yamato left, not bothering to pick up his helmet.
***
Taichi winced at the view that greeted him. The remaining soldiers saluted him. Their hope renewed. Taichi unsheathed his sword and plunged in immediately. His goal was not to kill but to find Takeru¡¯s brother. Things were very bad and he knew that this could be the only chance to figure something out, if Yamato was willing to help. Slashing, left and right, he slowly made his way deep into the battle, keeping an eye out for any sign of a teenager.
Not long after, he spotted a youth walking toward the battle from what appeared to be a camp. He narrowed his eyes and fought his way closer. Suddenly, he caught the other¡¯s eyes. They stared at each other for a few seconds and then it was as if a silent message passed between them. Soon Yamato was also fighting his way toward Taichi.
Their swords finally clashed together.
¡°Yagami Taichi,¡±
¡°Ishida Yamato,¡±
The two boys grinned at each other.
¡°Your brother and my sister said you might be able to help us.¡± Taichi explained.
Yamato frowned. ¡°My brother? You mean you¡¯ve seen Takeru?¡±
A little taken aback, Taichi explained.
Yamato paled, ¡°So that¡¯s what happened.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know what happened after that but is he okay?¡± Taichi asked with concern.
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Yamato shook his head, ¡°I¡¯ve been here since last night. Takeru was supposed to join me but I think our father probably changed his mind. I¡¯m worried.¡±
¡°Listen, if you see Takeru when you get back, tell him that we¡¯re really sorry we got him into this trouble. And tell him that Hikary won¡¯t be able to see him in a while.¡±
¡°Why?¡± Yamato asked.
A sigh escaped from Taichi¡¯s lips and he sobered. ¡°If we can¡¯t save here, we¡¯ll be moved to Gladatarius. It¡¯s too dangerous.¡±
The two boys fell silent but they never stopped their swords just incase someone heard them talking.
¡°This is all because of that Kaizer!¡± Yamato suddenly burst out angrily.
¡°Can you find a way to tell your father that?¡±
¡°Believe me, I¡¯ve been trying.¡±
They fell silent again.
¡°Look, I probably need to call a retreat now, is there no way for you to convince your father?¡± Taichi asked.
¡°I¡¯ll try my best. We should meet again. Tonight, is that okay?¡±
¡°Where?¡±
¡°the mirrors.¡± Yamato said.
¡°Okay. I¡¯ll be there. Good luck.¡± And Taichi left.
¡°Yeah, luck, that¡¯s what we need.¡± Yamato whispered as he watched Taichi called a retreat. He didn¡¯t order his soldiers to follow.
***
A loud explosion blew away everything and everyone living in the apartment building. The only survivor was a girl. She sat on the ground, facing the ruin. Her big round eyes held shock. Slowly, she raised her hands and looked at them.
¡°Oneechan? Okaasan? Otousan?¡± She whispered. Then without realizing what she was doing, she jumped up and ran, screaming at the top of her lungs. It would be a few hours before anyone found her. The feather that she picked up that morning lay forgotten on the road, just as beautiful, just as white.
***
An earthquake shook both Heaven and Hell and everyone felt it. They also felt something else. A great release of energy and power. No one knew what it was except the Kaizer.
¡°It is done!¡± A maniacal grin showed in the dim light.
***
¡°Father! What was that?¡± Taichi asked, as he returned.
¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve sent people out but it¡¯s not something good. There haven¡¯t been such a release of power since. . .a long time ago.¡± With that he left, lost in thought.
A few hours later, a report arrived. The king stared at the single white feather that was laid on his table as he half listened to the explanations.
¡°No, it can¡¯t be. It just can¡¯t be!¡±
***TBC***
Guess what? It¡¯s almost over! In like two or three more chapters! I finally got everything figured out!! And yes I know this is shorter than the last but I¡¯ll write more. So please review. I won¡¯t be able to write without reviews! Please! Pretty, pretty please! Give me some motivations, ne? ^-^I need a lot of those to get the next chapter up soon. Or else I don¡¯t know how long it¡¯s gonna take. So review! *^-^*