"Auguries of destruction be a lullaby for rebirth."
See-Saw/Emily Bindiger—"Key of the Twilight": .hack/SIGN
Echoes of Angels Who Won't Return
Chapter Five, May: "Lullaby for Rebirth"
Kouji Minamoto sat all alone in the darkness of Cell 24. Technically, he was not alone; his parents, stepmother, and half-sister slept peacefully on the floor, and an invisible spirit kept watch on him, though he didn't know of this spirit. And he had the two Spirits of Light, even if Kouichi was the one in control of them at the moment. And he had his memories of his friends, even though he would never be able to see them again. Still, they were there despite everything, never having once abandoned him. But in the cold, damp darkness that could not segregate night from day, he felt alone, and more so than he had in over a year.
He'd been dreaming about them again—the other Chosen Children. He silently called out to them in his sleep, unable to reach them. It was like lying on the grass on a warm summer day, reaching out to catch a passing cloud, only to realize that they were too far. Though he couldn't feel them, he could see them so vividly in his dreams each night. Rarely did he have the same dream twice: One time he could be reliving their picnic the previous May, and in another he could be desperately running down the stairs at Shibuya as they searched for Kouichi. He had one dream for each of their personal encounters, and many more for their adventures as a team. Quite often though, his thoughts turned to Izumi, but not in a romantic way. He was merely concerned for her state of mind, considering the events that had led to his "death" on the beach. With each injury he sustained, he wondered about her personal pain. Did she blame herself for turning to his aid when Kouichi appeared to be suicidal? How did she cope with knowing it was her lover that attempted to murder him? More than anything, he wanted to escape and see them all again, to show them he was alive.
But he couldn't very well do that in this state.
Along with the usual wounds and the savage scars, he'd managed to humiliate himself in front of Kouichi, Reiyama, and Renamon.
During the daily crucifix beatings, Kouji had lost control of his bodily functions, invoking laughter from his three tormentors. The electrical shocks from the whip had never caused him to wet himself before, so he was more than just undignified by the action. His face burned puce—not merely red—as he wished he could just die on that wall—anything to avoid the sound of their hysterics. They had released him and continued laughing on their way out while his head burned with the embarrassment he would not—and could not—allow his tears to show. Somehow that night, he'd kept his emotions under control, but he had considered drowning himself in the bathtub. The thought appealed to him, but the glitter faded when he remembered his unspoken promise to protect his family. The knowledge of what would happen to them kept him sane. Besides, dying inside Cell 24 would be a shameful waste. He would prefer it if his death was a bit more dignified and didn't involve such a dungeon.
His pants were still drying over a few burning candles; his underwear had dried beforehand, so he wore it with a towel wrapped around his waist. All of his clothes had been washed after the incident so he would feel less disgrace. In the midst of his humiliation, he'd managed to sleep that night, but one of those dreams woke him up. It was not an unpleasant dream—far from it. It was one of those memories he cherished, but also one of the warning signs he wished he'd caught.
It was a lazy day in August, and the Chosen lay on their backs on the soft grass at the park, listening to the sounds of kids playing nearby, trying to figure out exactly when it was they had stopped being just like those others, who never worried about the fate of two worlds. It wasn't their initial trip to the Digital World—they had still acted as children (or something akin to it in the cases of the rather mature Kouji and Kouichi) then. The musings soon became a debate over when they had grown or when they would if they weren't so sure they had changed yet. Every so often, they would have to chase after a child's ball or Frisbee, but there was nothing more than that. As brightly colored kites soared through the sky, looking like they could cut through the clouds, the children soon found themselves imagining their futures as they did at least once each time they met.
"Will we still all be friends?" Tomoki had asked.
"Of course," Takuya stated. "A friendship like this is made to last a lifetime, no matter who decides to avoid society; isn't that right, Kouji?" He kicked his friend good-naturedly, causing the others to laugh about the former Warrior of Light's reputation as a loner.
"Any ideas about what we'll be doing?" he questioned. "And will the Digital World need us again?"
"It might," Kouichi decided. "And for our jobs, I think it's obvious you'll be a singer with the way you're always playing music." A grin soon spread across his face. "Either that, or a high school band teacher."
"Not on your life!" Kouji defended. "I foresee you teaching some kind of dance class—and falling on your face in the process." This caused everyone to laugh harder, knowing Kouichi sometimes had problems with his coordination.
"And what about our deaths?" Kouichi asked, making the others sit up in surprise. It was not the first time he'd mentioned death, but the memory of his situation in April made the subject all the more uncomforting. "Any predictions on how we'll leave this world?"
"I don't know," Izumi admitted, lying back down to gaze at the clouds. "But I think we'd all go in a peaceful world that we helped build."
"Not Takuya," Kouji challenged.
"What are you talking about?" their leader demanded.
"You know you'd just keep fighting till the end," Junpei determined. "I'd say you'd have a lifespan of two seconds."
It was at that point that Kouji woke up. True, on that day, they had all laughed and made a game out of trying to think of Takuya's murderer, but he'd been the one to face Takuya's fate in the end. And mysteriously, it hadn't killed him when it should have.
He was soon aware of Renamon's presence in the room once she phased into existence in front of him. He showed no sign of acknowledging her presence and continued to venture deep into his thoughts.
"Six o'clock," she informed. "You know what that means." Kouji ignored her and kept delving into his memories. "The Kaiser is away this morning. He expects you to evolve yourself." He remained unresponsive. "Get up, unless you want another accident like yesterday."
He suddenly looked up at her, hatred and anger burning in his cold blue eyes. For once, his eyes matched Kouichi's exactly, and it was rather unnerving for Renamon.
"Let me get dressed," he ordered.
Unsettled by the emotions in the harrowed boy's eyes, she teleported and remained out of the cell long enough to let him finish getting dressed. How could the two boys look so much alike at this one point of time when it was always so easy to tell them apart? How could they have been brothers if they were on opposite ends of the spectrum? One was social; one preferred his own company. One knew all the answers; one always asked questions. One was a powerful Kaiser; one was a halfling slave. One was Darkness; one was Light. It had always been this way, and always would be.
She returned to see him glaring at her with his cold eyes. She thought to hit him, she should have, but he looked so much like her master at that moment that it was impossible. He quickly evolved to Garmmon's form, and his now golden eyes held the same hate. But now, he was not the same person she'd seen before.
"Get moving," she commanded, kicking his side. He would not be allowed to cross her again.
-------
He's angry, Hikari thought as she sat at her desk at six in the morning, drawing. I don't blame him. I'd be angry too. The sketch was of the Digimon she had just seen in her vision, one that Yamato and Sora had also described—Garmmon. On a separate page was a drawing of Wolfmon, his eyes seeming to demand justice. Sighing, she placed her now finished sketch aside and flipped through the minute medical information Taichi, Sora, and Yamato had filled in from their brief encounter with him. There was nothing she could do.
She got dressed, opting to wear an emerald-colored blouse with jeans. Atop her head went a black leather chauffeur's cap, which seemed to change her appearance to match her current mood. On her belt was her pink D-3, the embodiment of the weak, sensitive girl she used to be. There was no way to change it, so she chose to ignore it.
"Nice choice of clothes," commented a voice that sounded like Ken's. Hikari's face grew hot with anger and embarrassment as she spun around, wielding a sharp pair of scissors.
"Choosing your old Kaiser guise, Ichijouji?" she asked, pressing the point against his chest. "And who said you could watch me dress?"
"I didn't watch you," he answered. "Though I could if I wanted to, which I don't. And if you want to stab me, go right ahead. I believe it would be the first time anyone attempted assault and battery with a pair of scissors."
She pulled them away. "I don't get you, Ken. What makes you think you can just walk in here in the early hours of the morning, asking for my help." He stared at her calmly, though not questioning. "That is what you want, isn't it?"
"Yes," he replied. "Though you're wrong about my identity. Who's the one person, other than Ken Ichijouji, that would have such unkempt hair and wear gold-framed glasses?"
Normally, one would engage in a pointless ten-minute battle of denial over his existence; however, Hikari did not. She simply sat down in her chair and demanded in a matter-of-fact tone, "All right, Osamu, what do you want?"
"It's more of what you want." She lifted an eyebrow in surprise. "I know your brother and two of his friends went to the other world to learn more about the new Kaiser, and you asked them to find information on Kouji Minamoto."
"Tell me something I don't know, Ichijouji."
He smiled at the challenge. The grin was not Ken's self-assured little smirk from his Kaiser days, but his own sincere smile he had worn when the photo Ken kept was taken.
"Ever wonder why Kouichi puts Kouji through such hell?" She stared back in confusion. "You've seen his cell in your nightmares; you've felt his fear. You know his pain, his suffering, his sorrow—you even know the humiliation he went through last night. Why is he put through that? Why does he feel those emotions?" When she didn't even venture a guess, he sang part of the mysterious song.He sang it perfectly, using Kouji's exact tone of voice. Hikari's eyes widened in shock. That was impossible, wasn't it? "Ever wonder why he mourns the word 'brother'? It's simple—because Kouichi Kimura, the Digimon Kaiser, is his brother."
"Ichi…ji…" she murmured.
"One and two. They're twins, so their father named them that way. Personally, I'm not too big a fan of giving twins similar names, but I guess anything beats being 'Reign First Temple' when your brother was the Digimon Kaiser. The reason why their surnames are different is because their parents are divorced, just like two friends of yours—Takeru Takaishi and Yamato Ishida, I believe their names are?"
"Just what do you want, Ichijouji?" Her voice sounded oddly more venomous.
He approached closer, bringing his face right in front of hers. "The same thing you want: the chance to help Kouji Minamoto and stop his madman brother." In a lower, more pleading voice, he added, "Please. I know somewhere in there, underneath that hardened exterior, is the little girl who hated seeing people get hurt. For her sake, and Kouji's, help me."
"What is it you need?" she questioned as though not convinced.
He sighed. "I need that little girl to find her way into the Kaiser's database. You won't need to hack—two people are already set to do that. We just need to find his plans of action."
"How do you know he'd keep them around?"
"I know how he thinks; I'd know my own brother's actions. He would never jump into a situation without a well-thought plan of attack. Kouichi would do the same. My guess is he has the battle plans for the last confrontation with the Resistance. He probably knows their bases. If they lose, Kouji does too."
"And if you know exactly how your brother would act, why don't you do it?"
"I'm not allowed to! Qinglongmon and Gennai have strictly forbidden me…"
"Then get your brother!"
"I already tried! He's working on his own battle strategy! You're the only one who knows the layout of the base…"
"How about Daisuke? Or Takeru, Miyako, or Iori?"
"Takeru would kill both Kouji and Kouichi the first chance he gets. Miyako could care less, and Daisuke has enough problems on his plate!" Their voices were so close to shouts that it was a wonder the entire apartment building wasn't awake. Osamu lowered his voice to a calm level before continuing. "And I would have asked Iori, except he's in the hospital, and I don't think he'd be able to complete a mission while he's on the brink of insanity. Please, Yagami, help me save Kouji. We may be the last hope he has."
She growled and placed her hand against her forehead, running it through the hair underneath her cap. "Just get my brother's digivice so I can upload the key program into mine."
Grinning, he produced the turquoise-colored device and a few wires. "Already have it, as well as the wires Koushiro used to copy the system into all of them." He noticed her reach for her D-3. "May I? Besides, you'll want to leave a note for your family and Tailmon. Just say you decided to help."
She sneered again as he handed her a pen and got to work transferring the program from one digivice to the other. But somehow, she found herself asking, "So what are you in this for? Is it because you couldn't save your brother?"
"Far from it. I don't consider Kouji and Ken to be alike any more than I would compare you and…oh, Izumi Orimoto."
"Excuse me?"
"You'll see," he promised, searching her drawers until he'd found a purple-and-pink tie-dyed, spaghetti strap top and denim shorts. "Here. Spare clothes. Never know when you'll need them."
"Osamu, I could kill you."
"Wouldn't help. I'm already dead. You have one day to find this. Now you'd better get going before you miss your contacts." He suddenly vanished, and she felt a deep, burning hatred inside her. This would be the last time she'd let an Ichijouji push her around.
Alice savored her last minutes in her home world by relaxing to the music of her .hack/SIGN OST 1 CD. Knowing her mission and charge, she'd fittingly switched to track fourteen: "A Stray Child."
I wonder if he ever does doubt himself, she found herself thinking as the music in her headphones continued.
"Alice?" Jenrya checked, walking in. She removed her headphones and looked at him. He was dressed in his normal black T-shirt and a pair of khakis. "It's time to go."
She nodded and stood up, dressed in a tank top and cargo pants—all black, of course. Her hair was in a simple ponytail atop her head, much like Ruki's, but less spiky.
Both walked out, receiving goodbyes from their friends and families. Shiuchon cried as she hugged Jenrya while Alice said a tearful goodbye to her grandfather.
"Be careful out there," he warned. "You're all I have left. After your dad and mom died…"
"I know," she choked in between tears. Her parents had died in a plane crash when she was nine or ten, before the D-Reaper. Her grandfather had been raising her ever since. They were a support system to each other, lifting up the other when he or she was down.
"Jianliang," Jiang-yu addressed as his son hugged Jaarin goodbye. Jenrya broke the embrace and hugged his father. "Don't get hurt."
"I won't, Dad." He respectfully pulled away to bid farewell to Ryo, who looked as calm as possible under the circumstances.
"I'd be there too if I could…" he began, but Jenrya stopped him short.
"The Kaiser would recognize you too easily because of Ken's memories. It's better that Alice and I go alone. He never met us." He forced a smile. "Besides, you're grounded after breaking that window." He held out his hand, and the two acquaintances shook hands like they were long-time friends. Jenrya was careful not to squeeze too tightly because Ryo's hand was still bandaged from the window incident.
"See you, Lee."
Shibumi handed Jenrya a Blue Card. "Koushiro's algorithm for the dimensional key is on this. Slash it to upload."
Jenrya nodded and took the card. But before he brought it to his D-arc, he turned to Terriermon. "Take care of everyone while we're gone."
"Moumantai, Jen! You know I will."
Jenrya held the Blue Card and, in quick movements, scanned it through his digivice. "Card Slash!" The key's algorithms transferred to the D-arc as Jenrya held it out to open a portal. Alice held to his shoulder and squinted as he placed on a pair of green-tinted sunglasses and they both walked through a column of light.
There was the sound of squawking and the fluttering wings of seabirds as the portal opened to a Yokohama beach. A girl in a black cap stood with her back facing them, jotting down notes onto a yellow legal pad.
"You could have been a little louder," she commented coldly. "I think there are some Imperials that didn't hear you."
Alice looked at Jenrya before asking, "What are you doing here?"
"Finishing up what my brother, Yamato, and Sora couldn't."
Jenrya's silver eyes widened in surprise. "You're Hikari Yagami?" She turned, not answering. "I'm Jenrya Lee, and this is Alice McCoy." Hikari merely stared at them as if she didn't comprehend.
"I didn't think the Chosen would come," Alice confessed.
"They didn't," Hikari replied. "I came alone." She continued writing her notes.
"What are those?" Jenrya questioned.
"The Imperial Guard and the Resistance are nearing this area," she explained. "According to my sources, it was the idea of Mt. Fuji Resistance commander Kage Tenshi, current leader of the Chosen Children of this world."
"But he's not a Chosen Child, am I right?" Alice guessed.
"Not according to what Taichi, Sora, and Yamato have obtained," Hikari answered.
"What else has this informant of yours told you?" Jenrya asked.
"Only that this beach, this same stretch of sand, is where Kouichi killed his brother and began the war we see today."
Alice stepped forward and sifted through the sand. It was all too strange, too macabre, that they stood on the grave of a boy only their age. Her voice was soft when she spoke next: "So where to from here?"
Hikari debated whether or not to head for the base. It was vital that she entered and found out Kouichi's plans—and, perhaps, rescued Kouji in the process. But it was more vital to find more information before charging into battle—she'd learned that much watching her brother's mistakes. There was plenty of time left in the day to find those plans, and less time to find information on the Chosen and Kouji.
"We head for Mt. Fuji," she decided.
Miyagami stood in the lobby of the hospital in confusion. He could have sworn he saw Takamoto head in there. Because the hospital was in the midst of an Imperial town, the Resistance rarely entered it unless there was dire need for Dr. Yamamoto or his colleagues. Now both young men had placed their unit in danger.
"Chideta, is something wrong?" Dr. Yamamoto questioned. He and his two trustworthy colleagues, Akagami and Iwahara, walked up to him.
"I saw Reiji walk in here, so I thought he might have been hurt or something," Miyagami answered.
"He's in the lab, working on some project of his," Akagami informed.
"Akagami, I do have a question about these figures," Iwahara called as Miyagami headed toward the lab. Instead of heading toward his friend's location, he eavesdropped on the conversation. "Apparently, you placed in an order for a large quantity of penicillin. And the pharmacy nearby has also stocked up on amoxycillin and related drugs."
"Several patients have come in with bacterial infection," Akagami explained. "I assumed it was going around."
"I never saw any of these patients," Yamamoto challenged.
"Must have only been on my watch," Akagami replied.
Having heard enough of the odd conversation, Miyagami entered the lab to see Takamoto carefully pouring liquid into hollow bullets. All but one of the bullets were placed into a gun—a regular, run-of-the-mill gun—he wore in a holster on his belt.
He changed his latex gloves and took a clean scalpel to an artery in his left arm. Blood poured forth, landing into a small beaker. Once he had a sufficient amount of blood, he tightly taped cotton to his wound, being sure to cut off the bleeding. After having done that, he changed his gloves again and dropped the lone bullet into the beaker. The metal disintegrated, releasing the liquid. Takamoto then took some of the blood sample and placed it in a petri dish to inspect under a microscope. With a dropper, he placed penicillin into the dish, observing the changes immediately.
"Perfect," he whispered.
"Reiji, what the hell are you doing?" Miyagami demanded.
Hikari sat in a room in the Mt. Fuji Resistance Settlement, trying to put together her notes. Jenrya and Alice were out, trying to get information from the Chosen. But as she tried to make sense of all she had gathered, Osamu appeared in the room. She jumped about ten feet out of her chair.
"Don't do that!" she ordered.
"Sorry," he apologized, though he didn't sound it. "Trying to piece it together?"
"Thanks for stating the obvious." She sighed as she looked through it all. "Can't you tell me anymore?"
"All I'm allowed to say is that he's in Cell 24, and you already know what that looks like." She groaned and looked back at her notes.
"You've got to be the most useless informant I've ever seen," she muttered.
"I'm sorry," he apologized sincerely. "But just because I'm not allowed to say some things doesn't mean I have all the answers. There's still Kouichi to take into consideration. He operates on a slightly different level than my brother did. He didn't have time to get a Dark Seed and become a genius, so he has to improvise a lot. The problem is things are working very well for someone who's making it up as he goes."
Hikari put aside her notepads and connected her scarlet eyes to his indigo. "So you're saying that he might not have any plans at all? That he's improvising everything?"
Osamu sighed. "I hope that's not what I mean."
There was a knock at the door and he disappeared. Groaning again, Hikari went up to answer it. Alice and Jenrya were standing outside, toting Styrofoam cups of coffee.
"If you imagine hard enough, it tastes like real coffee," Jenrya commented.
"I've never had real coffee before."
"Then I hope this doesn't scare you away from it," Alice replied. They sat down at the table with her and placed their notepads down.
"I'm surprised you got any info from the Chosen," Hikari commented. "Onii-chan said they were devastated by their friend's death."
"We didn't get a whole lot," Alice answered. "What did you figure out?"
Hikari sighed and took a sip of her drink. Finding it too bitter, she dumped in a packet of sweetener. "I don't know how the settlers can drink this stuff."
"Well?" Jenrya pressed.
"Not a whole lot. I know that Ken had a bridge, a control room, somewhere, but I don't know where it would be. I'm sure that if Kouichi has the same setup, he'll have his files there, but I don't know where."
Alice sipped her coffee thoughtfully. "What if you could get inside somehow and track it down with the D-3 or D-arc? Jen and I are related to hackers, so we could figure out how to bypass the computer's security."
For once since the beginning of this new war, Hikari appeared to be impressed. Her face softened and took on an expression of surprise. "Really? How much do you know?"
"She probably knows more than I do," Jenrya admitted. "Her grandfather taught my father, and they in turn taught us."
"How hard would it be for you two to hack into Kouichi's system?"
"It depends on what kind of security he's put into place," Alice explained. "If he's smart, he'll have a harder system, but Ken's never faced a hacker before, has he?"
"No," Hikari replied with some contempt. "He made it so Koushiro would be useless in battle, so we never thought of hacking into his database."
"Which is why I think Kouichi will be too overconfident to put into effect such an advanced security system," Alice continued. "It won't take much to get in."
"How long before you can initiate your plan?" Hikari asked. Alice smiled.
"When's the next battle?"
Kage continued to pour over the information for the new weapon while he fused together several pieces of circuitry.
Not easy, he thought, but at least Himi will have something to work with. He glanced at the completed weapons. Too bad his is taking the longest. But I have to get these plug-ins uploaded or it won't be of much use to him or Gabumon.
A twelve-year-old girl with platinum blond hair walked up to him, delivering a package wrapped in brown paper. "More clothes from the settlement."
"Set them down right there," he instructed, using his soldering iron to point to a clear corner in the tunnel. "What type?"
"Huh?"
"Of clothes?"
"Petite woman's—small juniors, I suppose. Tie-dyed tank top and denim shorts."
"Well, no one fits that size except maybe Izumi, and she doesn't want to change, so we may have to save it for any escaped slaves, if we get any. Fewer are coming now. I don't know what it's supposed to mean."
"Neither do I." Her response wasn't a lie. She didn't know what it was supposed to mean either, but she had a sickening suspicion that it had to do with the plans Hikari kept talking about.
"Thank you though."
As Alice walked away, she removed Hikari's digivice from her pocket and pressed a button to activate the sensors of every digivice in the area, including Jenrya's.
"That's the signal," he observed as he stood on the beach with Hikari.
"Are you sure this will work?" she checked.
"Takato, Ruki, Ryo, and I are all at least partially data," he explained. "That's how we were able to use the Red Card, even if it was for a short time." He laughed. "I guess you could say we're halflings ourselves."
Hikari stared back at him as if he was the craziest person alive. It was the only time she'd heard someone use that term as a compliment. "I hope insanity isn't contagious."
He laughed again before taking the infamous Red Card out of his pocket and swiping it through his D-arc. "Card Slash!"
The power from the card lit up the sky, temporarily altering the data that was intermingled with Jenrya's DNA. The flash was visible all across the Tokyo area, including near the Chosen's camp.
"What is that?" Junpei questioned.
Takuya grimaced. "I don't know, but I'm getting Kage. If we attack, we do it under his orders."
They all darted past the retreating Alice before finding Kage ready to exit the Railroad. The fourteen-year-old's face was set, and he nodded at Takuya and the others.
"Spirit Evolution!"
"Agnimon!"
"Blitzmon!"
"Chakmon!"
"Fairymon!"
The burst of energy from the card didn't go unnoticed by the slaves either. Garmmon glanced up at the sky with the longing to see his friends fly past. He would have no chance to escape as long as his family was still in Cell 24, but he could at least try to get a message across. His only hope was that someone would find him—someone would find them all soon.
"Form a barrier around the slaves!" Reiyama ordered. "Under no circumstances must any of them escape."
"Especially you," Renamon commented to Garmmon. "Where's the Kaiser?"
"He's heading off to the front lines," a soldier informed.
"Shoot down anything that flies unless it's the Kaiser's Airdramon squadron," she instructed. "Nothing can be allowed near the halfling, got it? If anyone sees him, kill them."
"Yes, ma'am," the soldier replied, saluting.
"Guilmon, Agumon, Palmon, assist Colonel Reiyama and me in surrounding the halfling," she requested.
"Yes, ma'am," they answered, also saluting.
"No chance of you getting away," Reiyama drawled, taunting Garmmon. The human within the Digimon wanted to scream, but silence had long ago claimed him.
Alice abandoned the red pickup truck she'd hijacked and ran toward her partners. Jenrya was lying on the sand, pale and half-conscious, while Hikari tried to help him to his feet.
"What happened?" Alice asked, returning the D-3.
"My data's going back to the normal, easy-to-delete type," Jenrya replied. "Same thing happened after the D-Reaper. I'll be better soon, after my intestines stop rearranging themselves."
"Are they coming?" Hikari questioned. Alice nodded.
"They'll be here much faster than I was, but they'll arrive via Digimon and not truck."
"All right," Hikari decided, "you head for Kouichi's base while I get Lee to safety."
"Got it," she replied, running for the truck.
"Wait!" Jenrya informed, handing Hikari the D-arc. She quickly tossed it to Alice. "You'll need the compass to find the computer system."
"Don't worry," she assured. "I'll make both the Tamers and the Chosen Children proud." Hooking the D-arc to her belt loop, she climbed into the truck and drove off. Though she wasn't experienced with driving—much less a stickshift—she managed to hurry to the base.
Meanwhile, Jenrya and Hikari watched as Kouichi arrived atop one of three Airdramon. Rushing in to face him were four unidentifiable Digimon.
"I don't have my D-arc to analyze them," Jenrya explained. "Do you know who they are?"
"Yes," Hikari answered. "They're the Chosen Children."
"What?" Jenrya asked. He tried to get up, but the Red Card had taken too much out of him. "But if the Chosen are able to become Digimon, then they must have Spirits, which means…"
"Yes. Kouji is a Chosen Child too. Therefore, that makes him their 'dead' friend and the Kaiser's brother."
"Why didn't you tell us?"
She shrugged. "I didn't think to."
Fairymon stared at Kouichi coldly, thankful that her visor covered her eyes. She could not let him see just how much he'd hurt her. She could tell that Agnimon was of like mind as he kept clenching his fists more and more tightly. Though it had been his idea to make the pact not to remember Kouji's death instead of his life, the loss of his best friend had affected him greatly. They had been the only non-family members that had been closest to him, and so the pain scarred them worst.
"All together," she called. "Brezza Petalo!"
"Burning Salamander!"
"Lightning Blitz!"
"Kachikachi Kochin!"
Kouichi stared back at everyone, never once showing emotion as an attack grazed him. He never responded when Kage fired a burning laser at his arm, narrowly missing his shoulder. And he was still apathetic as he ordered his forces to "Fire at will."
Alice brought the truck to yet another rough stop once she reached the base. The compass on Jenrya's D-arc was reacting strongly to Kouichi's computer, so she knew it was all up to her to save this world.
This is it, she realized, but how am I going to get past all these guards?
"Need a little help?" a voice questioned, startling her. She turned to see a young man with spiky dark hair, indigo eyes, and gold glasses. Out of instinct, she was on guard, but he produced two empty hands. "I'm not an Imperial. I'm from Hikari Yagami's world. I work with Gennai and Qinglongmon."
"How do I know I can trust you?"
He applied pressure to his left wrist, causing his form to fade back and forth from solid to transparent. "I have a Light Seed—opposite the Dark Seed. Long story, but basically, they only give one to someone they completely trust." She still appeared apprehensive. "My name is Osamu Ichijouji, and I died nearly four years ago. I've been protecting Kouji Minamoto secretly, so his brother doesn't succeed in killing him. I'm the one that told Hikari to come here, and I revealed to her that the same friend the Chosen thought was dead is indeed Kouji."
She blinked a couple of times, absorbing the details. "How can you help me?"
"I can't do anything physically, but I can tell you that the Imperial Guard is concentrating on keeping Garmmon hidden from sight—over there." He pointed to the location. "Naturally, the defense is weakest on the opposite side."
"But it's still heavily guarded," she pointed out.
"Not if you create a diversion," he protested. Her pale blue eyes connected to his medium blue for a moment before landing on the truck.
All was tense at Garmmon's location. The sun was setting, limiting visibility. Sweat beaded down Guilmon's and Agumon's foreheads while some of Renamon's Fox Leaf Arrowheads lit a circle around them. Garmmon couldn't move at all with Reiyama training a gun on him. He struggled to stay calm, but never before had he been in this stressful a situation—not even back in the Digital World. For one of the few times in his life, he found himself wishing something would happen.
And then it did.
A red pickup truck appeared out of nowhere, speeding past them. Agumon spat a Baby Flame at it, assisted by Guilmon who aimed a Fire Ball at it. Renamon fired her Fox Leaf Arrowheads directly at it in an attempt to pop the tires. Soldiers and mercenaries abandoned their posts, sending the slaves they guarded to another group's care.
The diversion worked like a charm, allowing Alice to slip unnoticed into the base via the unguarded opposite side. Following the call of the D-arc's compass, she ran up the ramps of the cellblocks, counting at least fifty on her way to the top level. But finally, panting for breath, she found herself in Kouichi's study. Rather than be impressed by the books all around her, she desperately searched for a computer.
Where would he keep it? she wondered in frustration. A whistle interrupted her. She turned to see Osamu.
"You're in the wrong place. His computer is in his bedroom."
Slightly exasperated, she followed him to the tyrant's sleeping chamber, where he seemed to be sleeping peacefully in black silk sheets. She nearly gasped in surprise, but Osamu had a finger to his lips as an order to keep quiet.
"He's able to create an astral projection of himself to head out into battle," he whispered. "He accidentally did it when he fell in the Shibuya station last year and ended up in the Digital World while his body was comatose—it's hard to explain, but both he and Kouji defy all laws of logic. The Kaiser's hold over his mind gives him the concentration necessary to do it again, but he must sleep while he does this. If things go any further, he won't need to be asleep." Alice nodded in understanding.
A top-quality computer rested on a desk a bit too close to the bed for comfort, but there was no time to worry about that. Rapidly, she turned it on and put her hacking skills to the test while Osamu kept watch for anyone coming their way.
Work schedule, she observed, cell assignments… Wait… "I think I found something."
"The plans?"
"No. There are no plans for an attack against the Resistance, so I assume they're too well hidden or that he never had any to begin with. But I did find something disturbing: 'Friday, sixteenth of May: Rearrange cells after day shift. Terminate Kouji's family.' That's two days away."
Osamu directed many fitting swear words toward Kouichi before calming himself. He glanced at the monarch to see that he was still sleeping, realizing just how much danger he'd just put himself and Alice in. "That bastard is actually going to kill his own family. And he doesn't even dare to call it his. He doesn't even consider Kouji to even be his brother anymore. Bastard."
"There's no way to change that, but I can alter the work schedule so two people from the same cell get to work with him. They could rescue him, but you'll need to see to it that they succeed."
"I may have to break a few rules here and there, but don't worry. I'll get it done." He soon observed that she was complete with her work and was shutting down the computer. "Now you'd better get to your ride."
"What ride?"
He pointed to the window, removing the illusion of a setting sun to reveal Hikari and a healed Jenrya on one of the Airdramon.
"Get on!" Jenrya ordered. "Hurry!"
"Hikari, meet me in the woods near the Railroad," Osamu requested. "There's a piece of unfinished business I want to settle."
"All right!"
Osamu watched them depart, feeling the same thrill he knew Alice had felt too. Though they were not Chosen or Tamers, they'd been able to fight like they were.
Perhaps I don't have to idly watch after all, he reasoned as he stared at a caged raven.
Having bid farewell to Alice and Jenrya, Hikari walked through the woods to encounter Osamu near the Chosen's camp. He stood against a tree in the moonlight, staring thoughtfully at the starry sky.
"You impressed me out there," he commented. "You accepted when you couldn't fight, you followed orders, and you seemed to make some friends."
"But I didn't rescue Kouji."
"I know. That's someone else's job."
Her voice softened considerably when she spoke next. "Alice told us what she found. Do you think Kouichi will really succeed?"
It was his turn to shrug this time. "Only if her plan fails—which it won't. I'll see to it."
"So we just trust it to Fate, right?"
"No. Never trust it to Fate, or it will never get done. It's something I tried to tell Ken for years, but he's only just beginning to listen. Any one person can make a difference, and you were one of those people."
She sighed and looked over at the camp. The children were all sleeping soundly while Yutaka Himi yawned and kept watch. "So what is it you want this time?"
There was no laugh, no grin, no happiness from Osamu Ichijouji this time around. He sighed just as she had and looked over at the latest line of children chosen to fight against the Darkness. "Takuya suffered a lot today, even more than Izumi this time. He couldn't stand being at that beach. I was hoping that you could help me give him peace of mind."
Her voice wasn't sharp or cold as she offered, "What do you want me to do?"
Takuya wandered through the forest to reunite with everyone at camp. He'd just been at the memorial, paying his respects once again. It was another of those days when he felt he couldn't go on, and he asked if he'd made any mistakes in the past that could have brought forth this nightmare.
"You're really beating yourself up about this, aren't you?" commented a familiar voice. Takuya turned to see Kouji leaning against a tree.
"Kouji? Impossible, is it really you?"
"Don't answer my question with another question."
"I'm sorry, it's just… I'm just so glad to see you. Do you know how long it's been since…? We haven't even been able to say your name; we were so broken up. Can you wait for a minute here? I have to get the others!"
"No." Takuya stared at his long lost friend in complete confusion. "I don't have much time. I just wanted you to stop blaming this on yourself, and I figured this was the best way to tell you to stop. Just because you're two Chosen short, you don't have to leave the leading to someone else. You elected yourself as the leader, and we followed you without question. At any time, we could have broken away or elected another leader, but we didn't. If you made a mistake, it didn't matter. What happened happened. There's no way to change the past, and that's what we all learned to deal with. You need to learn it too."
The dream Osamu and Hikari created soon faded from Takuya's mind as a new sense of calm and confidence flooded his subconscious. However, a bit further away, Hikari hit Osamu's arm, berating him.
"He doesn't talk that much," she whispered. "What was the point of having him say more than what's in his character?"
"I needed to get the message across," he defended.
"Do you think this worked?"
"Yeah. He'll know it wasn't real, but as long as he remembers what we told him, he'll be all right. He just needed to know that Kouji forgave him."
Hikari nodded. "You're not that bad, Ichijouji, but don't think that means I like you any more or anything."
A small smile. "Wouldn't dream of it."
The shield of darkness swayed and the shackles on the wall opened, dropping a bruised Kouji Minamoto to the floor. Nearby was his dirty and bloodstained shirt. His parents and stepmother carefully placed Kouri somewhere safe and frantically ran over to him as he clutched a darkening bruise on his left side. This time, Reiyama and Renamon had joined Kouichi in the daily beating, taking out their anger and frustration over losing the earlier battle with the Resistance.
"That was for your attitude this morning," Renamon informed, observing that his eyes were no longer filled with defiance. Rather, they were tired and pain-filled. She produced a single Fox Leaf Arrowhead and jabbed it into his side, drawing blood.
Reiyama clasped both hands together in a fist and struck the boy's left temple, hard. His head slumped onto his stepmother's shoulder as the pain bit into him. The world around him twirled madly, making it impossible for him to cling to reality. For a few minutes, all he was aware of was the pain. But when his family's faces finally came into focus, he had to close his eyes to avoid seeing the hurt his pain caused them.
Kouichi then approached, holding the blade from his whip. "Don't ever forget that you're a slave here. Your life is bound to us, and it is ours to continue or end." Kouji couldn't answer; he could barely even meet his brother's gaze. Enjoying this, Kouichi sliced along the weakened boy's right bicep, provoking a small gasp of agony. This wound was nothing in comparison to the slashes he'd made to the wrists, but it was still an effective warning nonetheless.
They made their exit while the injured boy was carefully laid onto the floor. After trading praise over their choices of blows, Kouichi handed Reiyama a clipboard.
"Cell 22B, Cellblock 31," he informed. "Somehow when I planned this out, I ended up having the same cell two days in a row with this job."
"Their problem," Reiyama answered, taking the clipboard and walking to the correct level.
A human girl and two Child Digimon were eating their dinner when he arrived on the orphan cellblock. They hid the food as though afraid he'd take it away and looked up at him with frightened eyes.
"Yes, sir?" the human asked.
"I'm not here to see you, girl; I'm here about the Kotemon."
The newer of the two Digimon gulped and looked to his friend Koemon for help, almost as though asking what he'd done. The human girl gave him a look to egg him on, so he walked up to the barred door.
"Yes, sir?"
"You're working with Garmmon tomorrow. Don't look for pity."
For those questioning my sanity, I listed Emily Bindiger as singer of "Key of the Twilight" as well because she sang it in Yuki Kajiura's CD Fiction. The scene with Hikari and Osamu arguing is straight out of The Pretender, except we were playing the parts of Miss Parker and Jarod without any romance. The translation for his name came from the shrine To Bring Back Yesterday.
