We'll be reborn anew
And able to forgive,
So
Let's jump together
To the other side of the image."
Koushiro Izumi—"Version Up"
(Translated by Megchan)
With Broken Wings
Chapter Ten: "Version Up"
"This one is for Izumi, and this is for Kouji," four-year-old Dijon Azikiwe said, presenting his new friends each with a tiny leather pouch containing a beaded strip of leather. Izumi's was long and made to dangle in her hair. It was constructed of rose and lavender glass beads, and from the bottom dangled two silver charms designed to look like feathers. Kouji's, however, was in the shape of a circle with two tassels to tighten it, and was meant to tie back his shoulder-length hair. Blue and clear glass beads adorned it, and the ends of the leather tassels held silver charms carved into a wolf—one charm for each side. For both hairpieces, a silver bead slid up to hold it in place, but Izumi needed to twist the tiny loop of hers around her hair three times before sliding the bead up, and Kouji found he needed to wrap the leather ends around his hair a few times and then tie them.
"How did you learn to make this?" Kouji questioned in English, finding that his and Izumi's English skills were getting quite a workout on this journey. It would have been an interesting thing to mention to their English teacher back at the Imperial school, if they weren't outlaws and being chased by the Kaiser.
"María Ramirez," Dijon answered. Both teenaged Chosen felt a twinge of guilt, unable to break the terrible news to their young friend. "She knows all these Native American things and teaches me, while I teach her African things."
"Is she the one who made these charms?" Izumi asked.
"Mm-hmm. The beads too. She used to do glass blowing."
"Dijon!" called his mother, Ariela.
"Coming!" He turned back to his friends. "I got to go. Say hi to Ki for me."
"We will," Kouji promised.
"Thanks!" Izumi cried.
An entire month had passed without any progress. Instead, all they'd found was digress. An unnatural fever epidemic had ravaged the caravans in the desert, diverting them from their quest to find Kage and the others. With their old friends Dinohumon and Grizzmon, they were trying to track down a cure for it, without any success. Ki had left the Gotsumon village as fast as possible, instructing V-mon to protect it for a while. It was Ki's job to figure out what the fever was while Kouji and Izumi tried to treat some of the patients.
"Things all right in the African caravan?" Ki checked once they entered the tent. Instead of answering, they both sat down on chairs. "That bad, huh?"
"No new cases, but no one is getting any better," Kouji replied.
"Three people died today," Izumi added, removing her bandana. "One of them was Dijon's friend María. We weren't able to break the news to him."
"Things are just as bad with the Digimon," Ki informed. "I checked up on them in one of the infirmaries. I hope it's some comfort to you that your friends Bearmon and Kotemon haven't gotten sick."
"It is," Kouji assured. "That Kotemon, and one back home, helped save my life—only this one died to do it. I'd hate for him to die again, or for Bearmon to die."
"Any clues to where this came from?" Izumi questioned.
Ki turned to the computer that had been installed in their tent for his research, and brought up all the information he had. "I don't have anything yet. Unless I can analyze some of this, we won't be able to find an antidote. I've been trying to contact your friend Kage, but I think he might be blocking me." He wiped his forehead on the back of one of his gloves. It was then that they observed he'd removed his coat and placed it on the back of his chair. He'd also ripped off the hood and was using it as a hat. "I've had so many false leads… It's not the water, patients are quarantined too quickly to determine if it's contagious, and I haven't detected any parasites causing this. I can't think of what's causing this."
"Ki!" Grizzmon called. "There's trouble in the African caravan!"
"What happened?" Kouji asked.
"A young boy has gotten sick," Dinohumon informed.
Fears flying, the three humans and two Digimon ran across the desert sands, finally reaching the African caravan. And just as they'd feared, Dijon was the newest patient. His face was flushed, and he was having trouble breathing. He'd been laid on a cot and a cool, damp washcloth had been placed over his burning head.
"He was fine earlier," Kouji protested.
"I know," Ariela answered, her face as pale as a dark-skinned person's could be. Her concern for her son was starting to make her look sick, in Kouji's eyes. "He collapsed, clutching the back of his neck in pain."
"The back?" Ki repeated in surprise.
"Does this mean something?" Grizzmon questioned.
"I'm not sure. But it sounds like an illness I've heard of. Someone once became very ill after being hit in the back of the neck. He was bedridden for a year or two."
"Is this the same sickness?" Izumi asked.
"I can't say. That illness wasn't fatal, but it nearly was for some people. I have to look into this. I'll meet you later. I have to see if Kage answered my mail."
-------
Kage sat down on a tree stump and began checking his computer. An e-mail was waiting for him.
"This guy's persistent," he commented. "How many e-mails has he sent me?" He clicked the checkbox next to the mail and prepared to delete it when the subject caught his eye: "Caravan epidemic." "What's that supposed to mean?" Finally, he opened it and found details on the illness that had ravaged the desert caravans.
This sounds just like Takamoto's bacterium, he realized. But there aren't any mutations linked with it… His thoughts suddenly drifted back to Earth as he remembered when they'd taken the Mt. Fuji hospital. "Takuya! Takuya! Where is that goggle head? Never around when you need him. Takuya!"
"What?" the aforementioned "goggle head" responded.
"I need a second opinion," he explained. "Does this sound like the bacterium that killed Miyagami, or is it just me?"
Takuya skimmed through the e-mail quickly. The sender had mentioned that there seemed to be no reason for the sudden illness, and that the fever was what seemed to be the main killer, although some people would show bruises or cuts on their bodies. Out of all the people that had fallen victim, no one had recovered.
"Yeah," he agreed. "But Takamoto made sure that it was destroyed, right?"
"I thought so too, but…"
"But what?"
"When we saved that hospital, the one Izumi led us to, so many people were dying. It looked like abuse, judging by all the bruises and lacerations the patients had, but… What if it was that?"
"Huh?"
"Akagami was a mercenary, working for the Kaiser of his own free will. What if he managed to get a sample of the bacterium and sent it to the Kaiser? After all, it would explain the sudden stocking of penicillin, remember? Remember when Sakiko mentioned that? According to Takamoto, Miyagami had noticed it too. Those bruises the hospital patients had must have been a weaker form of the mutations."
"Then why don't all the fever patients have them?" Takuya asked.
"I'll bet anything that the bacterium has been refined, to filter out everything but the fever. But the Kaiser must have gotten sloppy and didn't filter out the newest batch well enough. In more recent doses, there were traces of the mutagen." He began rapidly typing back an e-mail. "I've got to let them know. I may be wrong, but a sample of the bacterium can't lie. This fever is definitely lethal, and the only key to saving these people died three years ago."
-------
"Thank God!" Ki declared upon seeing a response to his e-mail. Hmm, a bacterium created by Takamoto. That's weird. I've met the guy, and I know he wouldn't do something like that. Outside, the sun was beginning to rise. He yawned, promising himself never to pull one of these all-nighters again. But there's always still a chance, he reminded himself. He brought up the information he'd been studying before and yawned again as he squinted at it, wishing he'd thought to bring his glasses.
"Ki?" Kouji questioned.
"There's something we've been meaning to ask," Izumi added.
"What is it?" he asked, turning around in his chair. Kouji looked at the computer screen.
"The Dark Seed? Is that what you think this illness is?" the Warrior of Light questioned.
"I don't know," Ki admitted.
"Is this what you were so confused about last night?" Izumi asked.
"Yes."
"Then what does the tool that forced Ken Ichijouji to become the original Digimon Kaiser have to do with any of this?" Kouji questioned.
"That's what I'm trying to find out. You see, he became very sick when he first got it. It's hard to say why, but part of the reason could be because it was originally heading for Ryo Akiyama, Ken's 'older brother' figure. But Ken took it instead to protect Ryo."
"Why would Ryo be the target?" Izumi interrogated.
"From what I've learned, Millenniumon—the creature who released the Dark Seed—was Ryo's partner, and I guess the only way Millenniumon thought he be joined with his partner was by forcing him to be the Tamer. But Destiny decided to intervene by having Ken take the Seed, and therefore become the Kaiser two years later."
"Then Kouichi could be behind this," Kouji realized. "If he's using the Black Ring, then why wouldn't he use the Dark Seed?"
"That's what I've been looking up," Ki informed. "My friend Koushiro gave me whatever research he'd compiled on the Dark Seed. Just prior to the defeat of BelialVamdemon, the Dark Seed was tested on twenty other children. Those children were between the ages of nine and twelve—same age as the Chosen in that world and this one—and they experienced most of the same symptoms that Ken did, but much more quickly, and without the illness. They were becoming better at sports and academics, and their attitudes toward the world began changing. The Chosen came to know four of them: Noriko—age ten, Hiroshi—age twelve, Takashi—age nine, and Keiko—age eleven. Noriko was constantly sick due to a delicate immune system, Takashi was constantly ostracized from other kids, Keiko was an aspiring baker who had lost faith in her cooking skills, and Hiroshi gave up his dream to be a manga artist because of his friends. Their depression singled them out from other children, making them the perfect hosts for the Seeds. But there was a problem. The Seeds eventually began to sprout, and spread roots within the children, rather than keeping the power confined like in Ken's case. A flower bloomed from each child's head, and BelialVamdemon absorbed the dark power in order to grow stronger. Each child was drained for a long time. Today, they're all living relatively normal lives and working toward fulfilling their dreams, but like Ken, they have to fight against the Dark Seeds everyday for the remainder of their lives."
"But?" Kouji pressed.
"But I don't think he's using it."
"How can you be so sure?" Izumi questioned.
"I can't be. It's just a theory. But I do know one thing. If Kouichi did decide to use Dark Seeds, he wouldn't waste them on a group of settlers. He'd use one on himself."
"How do you know?" Kouji asked.
"Because Ken would have done the same." He stretched at the desk. "Kage wrote me. He said the illness sounded like something he'd faced before, but he'll need a sample of it to be sure."
"Madcap!"
The three humans automatically hit the ground as their tent collapsed on top of them. Quickly, they crawled out of the ruins to see Gotsumon standing over them.
"Nice to see that bruise has healed," he mocked, referring to the injury below Kouji's eye. "But not for long." His stone foot connected with Kouji's right eye, bruising it again. Over and over, the Child Digimon continued his assault while his victim was trapped underneath a mess of sand-colored canvas, rope, and wood.
I hope Iori's kendo tips helped, Ki prayed, grabbing a two-by-four. Silently, he slipped out from under the tent and brought the wood down on Gotsumon's head. The beam broke in half, ineffective. Apparently not, he decided. But the interference was just the opportunity Kouji needed to grab Gotsumon's leg and pull him down, biding himself time to get up.
"Oh no you don't!" Gotsumon denied, removing the round magnifier from the handle of his magnifying glass, revealing a blow dart. With a quick puff of breath, he managed to lodge a dart the width of a toothpick in Kouji's neck. The young Warrior of Light carefully removed it and handed it to Ki.
"Here's the sample you need," he said.
"I'll e-mail the genetic information to Kage right away," Ki promised.
"What?" Gotsumon exclaimed. "That's impossible! No one can be immune to that!" Sure enough, Kouji shook his head a few times to fight off a feverish lightheadedness. "Just as I thought. You can just fight it a little better, but you can't beat it. And that means neither of your friends is immune to it either."
Ki ran over, dropped to the ground, and kicked Gotsumon's left foot out from under him in a sliding block. But it was all a split-second too late. The dart entered Izumi's neck, injecting her with the disease as well. Her effects were more immediate, forcing Kouji to run over to help her stand.
"Quick!" Ki warned. "Scan his DigiCode!"
"DigiCode Scan!" Kouji ordered, trying to purify the dark data. But already his hands were beginning to shake, and the DigiCode started slipping away from his digivice.
"DigiCode Scan!" Izumi insisted, weakly holding out her digivice. The black data strand split in two, one strand entering Kouji's blue-and-black D-scanner, and the other entering Izumi's purple-and-pink one.
Gotsumon blinked, unsure as to where he was or how he'd arrived there. But his memory of his actions returned in a flash as he looked at his friends with a horrified look on his face.
"What have I done?" he asked.
"Everyone's entitled to at least one mistake in his life," Ki explained. "Come on. I'll need help getting them to the nearest hospital tent."
Being careful not to accidentally inject himself or break the blow dart, Ki placed Izumi's arm around his neck and helped her walk to the African caravan's infirmary. Kouji's movements were too shaky for him to help her, and he couldn't even be trusted to walk on his own. Gotsumon walked over to the young human that had saved his life when they'd fought the Royal Knights, and lowered his head. After a few seconds, Kouji realized that it was an indication for him to place his hand on the Digimon's head so he'd be able to walk without stumbling. Gently, he did so, and they both slowly headed to catch up with Ki and Izumi.
-------
Kage looked at the newest e-mail from Ki. It was the enlarged photographs and the amino acid composition of the bacterium causing the fever in the caravans. He shook his head as he compared them to the notes he'd gotten from Takamoto.
"Takuya, it isn't good," he informed.
"You mean…"
"The amino acids are the same, meaning the DNA is the same. And that means the bacterium is the same." He e-mailed the confirmation back to Ki, and closed his laptop.
"Tomoki!" Takuya called. "Skye!"
Both young teenagers rushed over at the sound of the leader's frantic cry.
"Takuya onii-chan, what is it?" Tomoki questioned.
"I need you to go to the desert caravans," he requested. "Skye, go with him."
"Why?" she asked.
"A fever's broken out there," Kage explained. "Tomoki's Spirit of Ice can ease some pain while the Chiba/Beijing force creates an antibiotic."
"You think Tai's going to be okay with this?" Takuya checked.
"I'll e-mail her," Kage answered. "She knows that even though I'm her younger brother, it's a good idea to listen to me."
"Yeah. You are right most of the time," Takuya agreed.
"Guess we'd better head off then," Tomoki suggested to Skye.
"Whatever you do, don't waste any time," Kage warned. "These people have none to spare. They're dying fast."
-------
Kouji removed a cool damp cloth from a metal bucket and placed the terry cloth over Dijon's forehead.
"Thank you," the small boy whispered before falling asleep again.
Kouji then handed the bucket of water and washcloths to Izumi, who insisted that he took one for his head.
"You can't possibly fight it off any longer," she observed. "Why are you exhausting yourself?"
His eyes drifted to the sleeping child on the cot. This had happened before, when he was still a slave. By a miracle—although, many people would argue with Kouji that it was, in fact, a blessing and not a curse that had landed him in that situation—Kouichi had allowed him to remain in his family's cell to heal after a blood transfusion. He was there for three weeks, and during the fourth day, he'd found out that perhaps he was even luckier than others despite the fact that he'd been deprived of his senses for a little over forty days:
As he walked down Cellblock 18, he heard a bone-rattling cough, much like the ones he tended to make when he'd been out in the cold too long. A young boy—no older than five—was sitting up in the night, coughing hard.
"Are you okay?" Kouji checked in his usual, quiet voice.
"I don't know. I can't stop coughing." Almost as a demonstration, he began coughing even harder.
"Hold on. I'll be right back." Instinct took over, leading Kouji back to the cell he'd been sharing with his family. A straw mat lay on the floor, intended for his use so he wouldn't have to get sick lying on the cold floor. He rolled it up as carefully as possible and carried it to the boy's cell, using the sounds of the coughing as a guide. "Here," he offered, sticking it through the bars.
"Thank you," the boy replied, unrolling it and lying on it.
"The next night, I found out he'd died," Kouji explained. "I don't know what it was—asthma maybe? Whatever it was, it was worse than my disorder. But the one thing I could think was that all I'd done was make his death less painful…" His voice sounded oddly choked. "Or killed him faster." He cleared his throat, masking his emotions once more. "You'd better get these to the other patients. They're probably overheating by now."
"Right," Izumi answered somewhat sadly. Kouji rarely told stories of his life in Cell 24, but when he did, everyone listened. Whether they liked him or hated him, people would stop to hear him speak about this. He wasn't much of a talker, and found that oral stories were the hardest thing for him to get through, but his mind was full of so many vivid details that poured forth as he spoke. Every time one of his accounts was finished being told, no one could help but wonder if he was telling the whole story. This time there was no doubt. The story was short, yes, but he'd told every portion of it without toning anything down. He was opening up a little more, but it was just so obvious that the legend of the Digimon Kaiser was no longer some child's bedtime story or a horror story told around a campfire. Several times, the story had nearly cost him his life. How ironic was it that telling the story seemed to be keeping him alive? The unchecked emotions he'd never been able to release were finally coming out. And if there was another way for him to release this other than speaking, Izumi would advise it in a heartbeat. The pain was eating him alive.
She pushed back the tent flap to see Gotsumon standing there. "I think someone else has been listening to your story," she informed.
"Come on in," Kouji urged.
Gotsumon kept his head down, unable to look at Kouji's bruised and scraped face. "I wanted to see how you were doing," he explained, bringing in Kouji's bag and Dijon's craft supplies. "Ki said I should bring some of this stuff in for you. I put Izumi's stuff in her room."
"Thanks," Kouji replied. "You doing okay?"
"Yeah. I'm sorry for what I did."
"It's okay. You've done enough to help me already. You've paid in advance."
"No, I haven't."
"Then would it help you if I said that someone else has already paid for you?" Kouji asked, remembering Kotemon's words about having paid the favor forward by helping Kouji escape, so it could repay itself later.
"I guess."
"That's better," Izumi commented. "Gotsumon, like Kouji was saying, this wasn't your fault. Anyone Kouichi controls is like a slave: They have no free will of their own."
"I guess you're right."
"Hey," Ki interrupted, entering. "Gotsumon, I need your help. We're heading off to Seraphimon's castle, where we have to locate the Chiba/Beijing Resistance. They're going to help find an antidote."
"Did Kage find out what the illness was?" Izumi questioned.
"Yes. He'd been theorizing it for a while, but he needed the sample to be entirely sure. Apparently, it's a variation of a bacterium your friend Takamoto created, and it had killed a man named Miyagami." Suddenly, the air in the tent became thick with tension. "I take it you've seen this illness before."
"Yeah," Kouji replied, regret present in his voice. "I was the only one that survived it. Out of two patients, I was the one that lived."
"I see," Ki replied. "What were your symptoms?"
"Fever, recoding of DNA," Izumi described, remembering it all too painfully. "In anyone with a Digimon form like Kouji and me, it causes evolutions to show."
"Also, the mutations were exhausting," Kouji added. "Both Miyagami and I were unconscious for most of the time."
"What part of the illness killed Miyagami?" Ki questioned. Kouji shrugged.
"The only thing I know is that he got the medication too late. He had been infected before I was, and he'd been left in the woods for a while. No one else contracted it because we were put into quarantine so quickly, so whether it's contagious is anyone's guess."
"But it's probably transmittable by blood," Izumi reminded.
"What kind of medicine did you use?"
"Some kind of penicillin. I'm not sure. Our friend Sakiko managed to get it for us." And not a moment too soon, he thought, recalling how Akagami had attempted to poison him.
"Then we'll need to work on an antibiotic," Ki realized. "All right. That's a lot you two gave me. Now, get into bed. If those mutations are as exhausting as you said, then you'll both need to be in bed the whole time. Don't be too alarmed if you have bruises on your body; it's a form of the mutations. Ariela's going to be taking care of you for the next few days, so you'll have someone around to help bring in water and whatever you and the other patients need. Come on, Gotsumon. We have to go. We'll be back in two days, hopefully."
-------
It couldn't have been more than a few hours that he'd slept, but Kouji woke up to find he was uncomfortably hot, and even more so than usual in the blazing desert heat. In that short amount of time, his fever had shot up a good five to ten degrees, leaving him just as sick as the others.
He stood up carefully, feeling dizzy from the movement. Slowly, he made his way to the tent flap and opened it. Ariela was handing Izumi a cool washcloth.
"I'll be with you in a moment," Ariela promised. She reached over for a new cloth and discovered a small cut on her hand, only just beginning to bleed. "Izumi, drop that cloth now!" The Warrior of Wind dropped it as though it was on fire. "Now, wash your hands as fast as possible!" Again, Izumi obeyed, frightened by the frantic tone in Ariela's voice. The woman walked over and picked up the washcloth, relieved to find there was no trace of blood. Thank God it wasn't contaminated, she thought, sighing in relief. "Izumi, be sure to see that your skin isn't broken in any way."
"They're clean," she answered in a rather fearful voice. "And I don't have any cuts or anything."
"Good. I'll have to get back to you two later," she replied.
"I can take care of things for a while," Kouji insisted.
"Thank you. You're an angel. I'll be back soon." And with that, she quickly head off to nurse her wound.
"I wonder what that was about," Izumi commented.
"Same here," Kouji agreed. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just a little frightened by it all. Ariela's never used that kind of voice—not around us anyway."
"I know. I don't like it. I hope it doesn't mean she was infected too."
"You don't think that's actually possible?" Izumi's eyes were wide with fear.
"I don't know. But there is something wrong with her. There was a small trace of blood on her hand. I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but I've noticed that there are times when she looks weak and frail."
"Her? Weak and frail? I think the desert heat must have gotten to you."
"Remember, my senses adapted while I was in Cell 24. I can notice things others don't, or pretend not to. You saw her when Dijon first got sick. I've seen my parents and Satomi literally worried sick, but this is more than concern. She's sick—maybe even dying."
"Kouji, you're exaggerating."
"I hope so." He then saw Izumi rubbing her back. "What's wrong?"
"My back hurts. It's like something's trying to push the bones out."
Kouji placed his hands on her shoulder blades. "Here?"
"Ouch. Yes." Both began to feel very nervous. This would need to be examined. "Um, can you…"
"Nervous beyond belief" was an understatement to describe how Kouji felt as he found he needed to lift Izumi's shirt to examine her back. Fortunately for him, he was so ill that he had a very good excuse for the wave of heat and sweat washing over him, his thumping heart, and his rapid breathing. But the anxiety quickly disappeared once Kouji found several bruises lining Izumi's shoulder blades, just above her bra.
"What did you find?" she asked.
"Mutations are beginning. Wings are trying to force their way out, but they can't because the mutagen isn't strong enough. Get back in bed. I don't know how strong the mutations are going to be, but they're going to take their toll."
"What about you?"
"I have enough of an immunity to it to fight the bacterium longer than you can. I'll be a couple of stages behind you. By the time I start showing any mutations, Ki should be back with an antibiotic. You took care of me last time. Now it's my turn to take care of you."
Izumi smiled and kissed him. "Thank you."
Seeing that she indeed went back in bed, Kouji walked over to the water pump installed outside the tent. He was infinitely grateful that the Digimon in that region had been able to locate several wells and had the water pumps installed. This pump supplied water for this tent and the entire African caravan. The supply of water was finite, but there was enough to last, especially considering the rainy season was soon coming. With that assurance, Kouji had no regrets about pumping the water out and placing his head under the cool flow. He was glad Izumi had believed him when he said Ki would be back before the mutations began; he wasn't so sure if he believed it himself.
-------
After a full day of travel, Trailmon Worm halted at the Forest Terminal and released his passengers.
"Will you wait here for us?" Ki questioned. "We need to transport the antibiotic to the caravans."
"Don't worry about it," Trailmon answered. "Captain Jen-Tai Liu of the Chiba/Beijing Resistance force gave me strict orders to remain here for transport."
"Thank you," Ki replied. He then turned to Gotsumon. "Can you sense anything around us?"
"Something's here, but it's faint. Why?"
Ki lowered his voice significantly. "Someone's been following us since we entered the forest." He pulled out his digivice, producing a tracking system.
"A digivice!" Gotsumon whispered in exclamation. "How did you get it?"
"I'm also a Chosen Child," Ki admitted. "And I was given it, although under different circumstances then Kouji or Izumi." He placed his digivice back in his pocket, knowing it was too dangerous to leave it in plain sight. "We need to find Seraphimon's castle. The Chiba/Beijing movement is waiting for us there."
"The castle is in the uppermost right branch of the largest tree here," Trailmon informed.
"Thank you," Ki replied, bowing in the traditional Japanese style. "We'll be back soon."
They began making their way through the forest, cutting past overgrown foliage as they searched through the greenery. If anything, this was worse than trying to get past the high grasses near the Gotsumon's mountain. Of course, this journey could not be made without Gotsumon's grumbling about how they were supposed to find a large tree in the forest, or Ki's occasional cursing as sharp branches scratched his bare arms or threatened to hit him in the face. But despite these misadventures, they managed to find the correct tree. The one problem was the guy they were told to meet with was waiting by a tree ten feet behind.
"I didn't want anyone to find our base," he whispered.
"I understand," Ki answered. "Someone's been following us."
"My name is Peng. I'm with the Chiba/Beijing Resistance movement."
"I'm Ki, and this is Gotsumon. Did you find an antidote?"
"Right here." Peng held up a steel case. "You'd better hurry. According to what we've been told, these patients don't have much time."
"I know," Ki replied.
"Erase Claw!"
The green-gridded, black attack shot directly for the case, quickly destroying it and the medicine inside.
"A Cyberdramon," Ki recognized. "Gotsumon, don't let that Erase Claw get any closer!"
"Angry Rock!"
"Cyber Nail!" Cyberdramon cut past the attack and quickly managed to get past Gotsumon, nicking his stone body.
"I have done my duty," the menacing Perfect stated. "That antidote will serve you no longer." And he rose into the air, leaving behind an internal wake of devastation in the knowledge that many people were about to die very soon.
"Is there any way to produce more?" Ki asked.
"Yes, but it will take a few days," Peng answered.
"Then we'd better get started," Ki decided.
-------
Two days had passed since Ki and Gotsumon had left to get the antibiotic, and the time was taking its toll on the patients. Kouji woke up on the floor of the tent to find that even his hair hurt.
Mutations, he realized. Even without his Spirits of Light, he was still feeling the evolutions take place. How did I get here? he asked himself, slowly sitting up. Dijon had woken up several hours earlier, asking him to get one of the Fox Leaf Arrowheads, as he wanted to place it on one of his cords of leather. Kouji had taken his knife and used the smallest blade to put a small hole in the shining leaf, and the rest of his memory was hazy after that point. He had to have passed out somewhere between placing the hole in the leaf and then.
"Dijon, I have your leaf," he said, standing in a feverish daze. But the little boy didn't answer. "Dijon?" He checked the boy's breathing. It had stopped entirely, forcing Kouji to quickly act. He headed for the tent flap. "Ariela? Anyone? Dijon needs help!"
Izumi heard this and exited her tent. She seemed ready to pass out. "What's wrong?"
"I think Dijon's dying."
The two immediately headed over to Dijon only to find they were too late. He had no pulse and wasn't breathing. Izumi quickly grabbed a mask designed for rescue breathing or CPR and began trying to get Dijon to breathe again, but it was to no avail. She tried for several minutes until Kouji finally placed his hand over hers and shook his head. Dijon Azikiwe was dead.
Mournfully, Kouji took the leaf arrowhead and threaded a cord of leather through it. He then tied it around Dijon's neck, as though performing the Last Rites. This simple action was just as meaningful and important—especially to Kouji, who had been unable to be present as the funerals of Miyagami or the boy from the slave barracks. And so they wrapped Dijon's body in his blanket and carried him to his mother, who was naturally more heartbroken than the two Chosen. His body was burned soon after, and both Kouji and Izumi were present. It was the last gift he'd given them.
When they returned to their tents, they found they had both been enveloped with an overwhelming fatigue. They each lay down and entered a seemingly endless slumber.
-------
Tomoki and Skye had just finished with the North American caravan when they moved on to the nearby African one. A somber woman stood outside, crying.
"We were sent with ice for the patients," Skye began.
"Men are on the left, women on the right," the woman answered. "Two of our volunteers came down with the fever a few days ago, so they'll need help too if they aren't asleep."
"All right," Skye decided. "I'll take this to the women, and you take the men."
Tomoki entered to find several men and boys of all ages unconscious from fever. Those who were awake thanked him for the ice as it made their body temperatures more bearable.
After passing several empty beds, Tomoki felt more and more sorrow suffocating the hot dry air. When he finally did reach the last cot, he was relieved to see the volunteer was alive—asleep, but alive nonetheless.
The volunteer was definitely Asian without a doubt, maybe from the liberated Hong Kong by his tanned skin, but Tomoki had a feeling the blazing desert sun had more to do with the young man's golden tan than nationality did. His long dark hair was tied back with a beaded leather cord, exposing a face masked by a black eye that had been scraped and stitched, among other injuries. A white blanket had been pulled up to his neck, leading Tomoki to assume that despite his fever, the young man was freezing. Tomoki placed his hand on the volunteer's forehead to find that he was just as feverish as the others, but he could never withstand ice packs around him. First, the Warrior of Ice took a washcloth off the patient's head, and soaked the warm terrycloth in the water had had melted from the ice in the bucket. Placing the cooler washcloth on the volunteer's head, Tomoki removed his D-scanner from his pocket.
"Spirit Evolution! Chakmon!" Normally, he was self-conscious about this "chibified," or miniaturized, evolution, but in this form, he was able to freeze any substance. Carefully cupping the young man's head in his hand, he removed the pillow underneath and blew on it. "Kachikachi Kochin!" Almost instantly, it was frozen. He then replaced the pillow and devolved, not even once seeming to recognize Kouji.
-------
They're close by—only a day's trip away, Cyberdramon observed, sniffing the desert air that blew his way. And disease is with them. Momentarily, the feral Perfect level recalled his orders. He was to kill Kouji Minamoto, by any means necessary. It doesn't matter if Minamoto dies by fever or at his enemy's hands. But I'd better see to his death personally.
Ki and Gotsumon looked up to see Cyberdramon.
"This isn't good," Ki realized. "Trailmon, hurry up!"
"I doubt Kouji and Izumi will be able to stand up, much less run for their lives," Gotsumon realized. "We'll need Dinohumon and Grizzmon—not to mention every Digimon in their army."
"I only hope we'll have enough time," Ki commented. It was funny how time had become so vital now—even more so than air, water, or food. True, time could not feed them, hydrate them, or fill their lungs, but it could still be the determining factor of a person's life or death. And just as there was little water in the desert, there was even less time.
-------
Bearmon kept nudging Kouji, but the Warrior of Light didn't move.
"Ki!" he called. "I can't wake him up."
"What do we do?" his best friend and partner in crime Kotemon asked.
Ki lifted Kouji into a sitting position and held a cup of a greenish liquid to his lips. Knowing it was futile to force the medicine into his mouth, Ki held Kouji's nose. Immediately, the Kaiser's disowned brother opened his mouth to breathe, only to choke on the foul-tasting medicine. Ki carefully tipped the cup back to get the whole of it into Kouji.
"Bearmon, get your brother," Ki instructed. "We're done here."
Grizzmon came in and half-carried, half-dragged Kouji out of the tent and underground. Ki helped Kotemon and Bearmon into the underground shelter beside the well while Dinohumon carried in Izumi, who was beginning to regain consciousness. Gotsumon quickly counted everyone.
"Wait," he interrupted. "Ariela's missing!"
"She's still inside," Dinohumon informed.
"Everyone get in!" Grizzmon ordered as their brothers began climbing out to retrieve the missing woman.
"Cyberdramon's almost here!" Gotsumon observed.
"I hate saying it, but we'll have to look for Ariela later," Ki decided. "We've run out of time."
Gotsumon and the two Adults climbed into the hole, followed by Ki, who grabbed the door and tightly locked it behind him, and not a moment too soon.
"Erase Claw!"
Caravans: temporary mobile settlements for refugees without access to the free lands
The blow dart is from the Mexican episode of G Gundam, an episode I hate so much. And this time, I brought in the Digimon from movie 7, even though it's supposed to be out of continuity.