Chapter Five
Disclosure
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dis·clo·sure n.
1.The act or process of revealing or uncovering.
2.Something uncovered; a revelation.
****
"Take the map and tear it up
We'll find our way anyway.
We'd never gotten this far if we'd followed the road.
If you listen close to most advice you'll never get anywhere.
Take it from myself because, boy, I ought to know."
I'm so glad we picked up a headphone splitter. Wallace glanced at his travel partner snuggled into her seat, half-dozing to the loud guitar pouring from the wrap-around speakers resting at her ears. He smiled to himself, content to watch her occasionally mouth lyrics to the song.
To say their escape had been easy would be a fallacy. How many times had they caught each other glancing over their shoulders looking for a glimpse of a stalker, or ducking behind walls in hopes that the person immediately behind them was not trying to bring about an early demise to their plans?
Of course, those were not the only concerns tugging uncomfortably at Wallace's weary mind. During the few days since Daisuke's frantic reply to his email, he had seen those words forming in his head, wondering the significance one missing person could make in relation to his mission.
"Wallace-kun, been waiting. Captain Butterfly said you were coming. Please hurry, and bring
the Digital Keys quickly. I don't know what they want, but....
"....they have Ken-chan."
He cursed to himself under his breath, rolling over to lean his head on the thickly stuffed compact pillow offered by the airline. He stared off into the billowing clouds, wondering what would become of the pristine scenery beneath him. Before he had time to answer the question, the world fell out from underneath him.
The clouds seeped into the window, through cracks that should not exist, and wrapped around him, turning darker until they were deep cobalt, molding to his skin and wrapping around his flesh, stinging and digging in like the poisonous tendrils of a jellyfish swarm. A light weight settled about his face, plunging his world into an shaded glare-free darkness, as though very dark sunglasses had formed over the traveller's eyes.Wallace landed with a dull thump on a metallic floor so finely polished that it reflected the scenery around him. Another heavy weight landed about his shoulders, and he reached with a gloved hand to feel the hefty thick guards holding a cloak to his frame. The whirring of electronics about him pulled his attention away from the startling weight of the fabric about him, and to his surroundings, even as he pulled himself to his feet.
Before him was an enormous monitor, like the one occasionally seen at concerts, displaying a dimly lit room, in which a young man was strapped down to a curved chair, reminding Wallace of the one in his dentist's office. The leather-bound individual was sleeping, showing the signs of a fierce struggle. The details of the captive were hard to discern, though Wallace was confident that there was a dark bruising under the young man right eye, as though he had suffered an impact.
The confused blonde took a step forward, but found it hard to move, not only because of the thick boots strapped to his feet, but the inky black water he found himself wading through. The water was as reflective as floor had been, but the surprise of his appearance forced him to lose his balance, and he fell forward in his attempts to right his equilibrium.
Wallace saw himself staring back, but he was not as he had been in the airplane, but a twisted version. His recently cut blonde hair stuck out in all directions as though he had slept badly, and a pair dark gold-framed glasses stared eyelessly back at him. His skin was shrouded in cobalt and white, tightly bound to his flesh and held closed with a length zipper, while the cloak fell about him. The figure was grinning at him, and Wallace felt as though he would scream.
The mirror image waved one finger, shaking his head before holding the digit to his own lips. Before him, red LED-style lettering flashed the words, "Shhhh." His lips moved, the expression condescending. Again the letters scrolled.
"Don't scream. You'll wake the Kaiser."
Wallace recoiled, splashing into the liquid obsidian, trying to contain his terror. Why would that name mean anything to him? He did not have time to wonder; his only concern was getting away. Even so, he found his limbs filled with ice, stubbornly refusing to move. His doppelganger rose slowly from the depths of the water, and walked across the surface, staring menacingly over the young man, leering.
The words flashed again, scrolling in an ellipse around the twisted reflection.
"Don't scream. You'll wake the Kaiser. The Kaiser is grumpy when he wakes. A grumpy Kaiser is not fun."
Despite the warning, Wallace found the voice to empty his lungs in a shrill cry of terror, barely noting that the bound young man in the chair on the monitor had opening his eyes, bloody tears pouring down. He moved his lips slowly, dully mouthing the words, "Get....out....keys....safe...."
The doppelganger looked over his shoulder, and then back to Wallace, shaking his head. He spoke again, this time using a voice that was deeper and more menacing than Wallace ever possessed.
"Now you've gone and woken him. Oh well, we don't need you anymore. You can wake up now. Wake up....wake up....!"
"Wallace, wake up! You're shaking!!"
His eyelids shot open, sky blue eyes struggling to focus on his traveling partner's face. "Sariel....I...was I dreaming?"
"More like a nightmare! You were shaking and so cold! I thought I'd have to pour a pot of coffee over your head to warm you up." She joked, sitting back to relax only a bit. "I was really worried. You've been out for most of the trip. We've almost landed in Tokyo."
"Holy crap." Wallace sat up, a trembling hand pressed to his forehead. "I had the worst dream, but I'll be damned if I can remember any of it....just this black water, and a name....Kaiser."
"Kaiser? What, like a sandwich, or like the dictator?" Sari scratched her head, puzzled.
"Hell if I know. I guess the dictator version. I....I think I was him. I had a whip." He brushed his hair from his eyes.
"Ooh, a whip. Kinky." Sari let out a relieved laugh as a flight attendant's voice came over the speaker.
"Attention all guests. We will be arriving at Tokyo Narita Airport in twenty minutes. Please deposit all trash in the proper receptacles, return your trays to an upright manner, and buckle your seatbelts. We also ask that all electronic equipment be turned off and put away in preparation for landing. Thank you!
The instructions were repeated in Japanese, and Korean as the travelers worked to follow them carefully, and by the time the instructions repeated in Chinese, the crowd was ready for landing, candy being passed about between guests to prevent the uncomfortable popping sensation in their ears as the altitude dropped with the descent.
The bit of Tootsie Roll that Sariel had given Wallace did little to prevent that feeling, and he had to ask her often to repeat the bits of small conversation she tried to maintain. Eventually Wallace's ears did pop, and they decided to head to the terminal to wait for their contact, trailed by a taller figure, dark hair cut close as though it were an attempt to tame and control it.
"We have another dedicated fan." Sariel whispered to Wallace. "He's the one with the dark shades failing miserably at being inconspicuous."
"I've seen him before, somewhere. I can't place it, though." Wallace shrugged. "He doesn't look very evil and deadly to me. Well, if he is, then we'll go hide out until he's gone. We gotta go and find Daisuke first."
As Sariel nodded enthusiastically, the two continued on their way, the younger of the pair squinting his eyes as a bit of light reflected off an argent surface, barely recognizing his friends who were waving him over.
"Didn't you hear me?" Daisuke was at the front of a small group, trying to look happy to see his friend, though it was obvious that the expression was strained. There were folds of bruised flesh under his eyes, premature and caused by a great strain. His skin was pallid, and Wallace could not help but think that his friend was very unhealthy.
"Oh, uh, sorry, Daisuke-kun." A nervous smile crept over Wallace's face as he shot slender fingers through his cropped blonde hair, scratching nervously at the back of his head. "I guess I'm tired. Eh...." He paused.
"What? Spill it already." Daisuke might have looked at his friend suspiciously if he could manage the energy to do so.
"No offense, but you look like hell." The blonde shrugged.
Daisuke blew off the comment. "So, who's your girlfriend?"
A bright streak of crimson flashed as the blood reached the cheeks of both Americans. While Wallace stuttered, Sariel spoke on his behalf.
"Sariel Henry." She wasn't sure to bow or reach to shake hands, so she did both, grinning sheepishly. "I've had to keep your friend here out of trouble. Speaking of which....there's some weird guy following us."
From the back, Miyako made herself heard, speaking with amusement, despite the strain evident around her eyes. "Oh, that'd be Koushiro. He's been antsy since Sora and Yamato....um...shit."
A heavy hand had fallen on Miyako's shoulder, belonging to one Izumi Koushiro. "Yeah, it was me. Nice to finally meet the famous Wallace Ford." He reached to shake the younger man's hand, nodding politely as he did so. "Daisuke doesn't shut up about you. For a while, you were all Hikari-chan talked about too."
"Koushiro-san!" Hikari discreetly elbowed Koushiro once, before coming forward to offer her shy greeting to Wallace, and smile broadly at Sariel. "Welcome to Japan!"
There were more pleasantries exchanged before the small gathering relocated to vehicles to transport the pair of weary travelers to the Motomiya apartment residence. The apartment, while adequately furnished, could be properly described as "unkempt".
"Nice place, Motomiya." Wallace moved purposefully, taking his and Sariel's mismatched luggage to set in a place not occupied by clutter.
"Yeah." He sat, motioning for the others to do likewise. Any appearance of his former enthusiasm quickly faded as his eyes fell on a photograph taken years earlier. Two boys smiled back at him, one with a bit of hesitation and the other with an open-mouthed grin, laughing enough for both of them.
Koushiro excused himself. "I'm going to call Jyou and see if he's found out anything. Hikari-kun, why don't you fill these two in on what's been going on?" He removed himself before the Yagami girl could reply.
Hikari chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. "Where do I begin? What I have to say won't be easy on either of you."
Wallace exchanged glances with Sariel, both sitting down to sip the tea that Miyako had prepared after arriving.
"Try the beginning, Hikari-chan."
"Well, to put it simply, we're being hunted. There's really been no sign of disturbance in the Digital World, until a few started turning up missing. We've all been so busy, but we took turns researching and exploring when we could." Lengths of hair fell to cover Hikari's eyes as she lowered her head, speaking with difficulty. "Oniichan had moved to Osaka after....Yamato-san and Sora-san got engaged. They were the first to turn up missing. The place was....a wreck. Oniichan was on his way up that night." She choked heavily.
"He never arrived." Sariel finished for the younger girl, receiving a nod of distressed assent.
"Iori-kun offered himself after that, to find out what was going on. After that, we've been vanishing one at a time. First Yamato-san and Sora-san, then Oniichan. We found out four days ago that Mimi-san was missing, and Takeru soon after as well. Ken turned up missing two days ago." She favored Daisuke with an almost pitying glance, before looking quickly at her folded fingers in her lap.
"Add Jyou to the list. No answer. At all. His keitai service has been disconnected, just like what happened with Taichi-kun." Koushiro stepped into the dimly-lit room, his expression tormented by fear and twisted with worry. "I was supposed to be there with him. DAMN." The expletive escaped before he caught himself.
Wallace remained thoughtfully silent during the offering of recent history, looking to Sariel from time to time, maintaining a wordless conversation between the two adventurers. Blue eyes mirrored by his own related that she was definitely thinking along similar lines.
"We need to stay together, then. All of us, and with no communication with the Digital World unless we are with someone else." The silence after his words was only broken with the sharp exhalation of breath from his traveling companion.
"That means no contact with Renamon, or any of our partners, but maybe at present, it's better that we do things this way, at least until we can come up with some kind of plan, ne?" Sariel's suggetion was relucantly agreed upon by a series of slow nods, save one.
"How are we supposed to look for Ken? It's stupid, just sitting around doing nothing while he's.....wherever he is." Daisuke snapped, standing up. "Are you telling us to give up?!"
"Of course not, but what else can we do? We need a plan to rescue him, and the others as well!" This only earned the blonde a sharp glare from his vocal host, which he returned with unwavering conviction.
"Fine, whatever." The burgundy-haired student could only murmur, before he stood to walk to the bathroom.
Sariel watched him, shaking her head ruefully. Her obsevation shifted to Wallace, noting the concern in his face as he watched the other leave. A sharp pang of an emotion she barely recognized surfaced and was forcibly shoved back down again.
God, am I jealous? What went on between them? No, Wallace wouldn't interfere. Sari remained confident in that, and the emotion was effectively surpressed.
Wallace had since turned away from his observation to sit in the relative silence saturating the room containing the remaining Chosen. The brief flash of emotion crossing Sari's face had not been missed, and he mused over what that emotion might be.
He considered things for a moment. There had been a time when he was interested in Daisuke as more than a friend, but time and distance can do much to create an emotion out of nothing. There had always been rivalry between them, but towards more recent times, the rivalty developped into one-sided longing, and eventually into an understanding friendship. Wallace had no more harbored that former desire than he had been willing to stay in that private academy his mother thought would be so good for his education.
It was Hikari who finally broke the ice as she stood, taking the momentary effort to smooth non-existant wrinkles from her clothes.
"Come on, Miyako! Let's get some dinner ready for everyone. I think Daisuke-kun should have some packaged udon around here somewhere!" The shorter girl tugged on the taller one's arm insitantly, dragging her to the kitchen with little more coercion.
Koushirou had already busied himself with his laptop, working on trying to trace where their missing comrades were, and Wallace took it upon himself to suggest to Sariel that they step outside for a bit. There was confusion in her expression, however she did agree to the distraction.
"I don't know how to tell you this, Sariel...." Wallace trailed off, looking anywhere but at the expectant face that was focused entirely on him. "It's sudden, I know. I don't even know how or why. I guess that I wanted to say...."
"Yes, Wallace?"
"If you want to go back to Vegas, I won't stop you. I don't want you to be in any danger by staying with me. Your partner has already been lost once. I don't want you to go through that again, and if you were hurt...I...." His throat tightened, feeling as though he had swallowed too much boba. "I mean...."
"Wallace." Sariel reached with one hand, gently turning her taller friend's face to face her own. "Renamon knew the danger, and I do too. I don't want to be anywhere else than where you are." She bit her lip, and this time it was her turn to glance away nervously.
"Well...I...." Goddamn. I can't....I can't tell her.... Wallace fumbled. "I guess that's, um, it."
"Like hell that's it." And in one fluid and rather surprising motion, Sariel flung her arms around Wallace and kissed him then and there, with no more hesitation. Moments later, after both realized that they were still alive and needed air to continue living, did she back up a few inches. "Like hell...."
"I think...that's what I wanted to say." Wallace was a vivid shade of rose, but he smiled all the same, using his fingertips to gently brush stray strands of pale blonde from Sariel's cheek. His smile expanded when he viewed the knotted bracelet she had made him on the plane, tied securely to his wrist. "Suki da yo."
Sariel blushed furiously, but nodded once. "I love you too, you big softie. I think I did from the first day." She would have said more, but Wallace made it perfectly clear that he wasn't really all that interested in continuing a verbal conversation.
Not that Sariel minded in the least. Wallace, it seemed, had practice, and was making it clear that he would put it to good use as long as she didn't protest. As much as her moral concience fussed and complained, the more hormonal side of her thought processes proceeded to get into a wrestling match and put the equivalent of a mental Camel Clutch.
Another break for breath was necessary, before Wallace realized he had his traveling partner pinned to the wall, and a longer moment before he realized that she had pulled him there with her.
"I'm beginning to wonder just who is making the moves on who." He laughed lightly. "Here we are with a tragedy going on, and what are we doing?"
"Getting uncomfortable drama out of the way." Sari snickered in response. "Think of how things would have been if we had let this tension continue? At least now, we know."
"And knowing is half the battle?" He couldn't help but continue with the quote, and proceeded to resume his former activity, feeling rather pleased with himself and thrilled that she felt the same intensity and need he did. Wallace did not intend to disappoint her, but the nagging voice in his head reminded him that they were at a friends, and standing on his patio. Public displays of affection, even if behind a covered screen, were not often looked kindly upon as a socially acceptible activity.
It seemed that he pulled away just in time, as Miyako opened the screen door.
"Dinner is ready! Come one, let's eat!" She beamed cheerfully and obliviously at the blushing pair.
The evening meal was more or less a strategy planning session, with Wallace and Sariel inquiring about when and where the others had vanished, and any clues that had been left behind.
"Iori-kun said that they were using their Digivices and some sort of control device on their bodies, but other than that, I really don't have much information. He said that our D-3s protect us, but it could be possible that the enemy has learned to break through that." Ford advised them before slurping down a few chewy noodles.
"I find it interesting what part you have to play in all of this, Wallace." Sariel commented. "It seems like someone had to have known something was wrong, and called you into play."
"What does she mean, Wallace-kun?" Hikari inquired, head inclined at a mild degree.
"Some rich old uncle arranged for my travels, and requested that I keep a log of it." Wallace began. "He signs his name with a 'G', and always leaves me a box address to deliver my letters to, but lately, I've heard nothing from him, though I still receive my money allowances." The traveler shrugged. "I know I'm being guided now, and I seriously doubt that it would be an uncle."
"Maybe it's Gennai." Miyako took note of Wallace's puzzled expression and began relating the brief history of the Guardian, and continued on to relate their final battle in the Digital World.
Wallace nodded with each word. "I think, perhaps, something has happened to him. I started receiving emails from some Butterfly someone or the other, but with what you're telling me, then...." He glanced to Sariel.
"....then it could be that Oikawa guy." She finished for Wallace. "I mean, it's obviously him, or someone trying to lead us in the wrong direction."
Agreement was reached with a display of nodded heads, and the meal continued in thoughtful silence until everyone had consumed the udon until they were satisfied. Sari offered to help Miyako and Hikari with the cleaning, but her offer was politely rejected.
"No, Sariel-san. You and Wallace-kun must be very tired! Why don't you two go rest?" Hikari offered, arms loaded with bowls. "We've got a room set up for you down the hall from Daisuke's room."
The two exchanged glances, honestly eager for the chance to have some more relatively peaceful time alone together. They slipped down the hall as directed, bringing their luggage with them.
Once alone, Wallace pounced, pinning Sariel with the intention of resuming the activities from earlier. This only got him flipped for his trouble, and the tickle match began to see who would end up on top.
Miyako pulled away from the door, a slow sinister smile spreading across her lips. "They're busy. Hikari, take care of Izumi. I wil handle Motomiya."
Hikari nodded once. "Izumi is already neutralized, and the implanting has begun. His Digimon Partner is already devolved and is being held in captivity with the others. Our recruit is ready for transplant."
"Excellent." She stepped past Hikari lightly, violet hair streaming past. "Let our guests exhaust themselves, and then we will bring Ford with us. The girl is of no concern, so we can leave her."
She moved purposefully into Daisuke's room, where the young man had fallen asleep on his bed, face buried in his worn pillow. The pale moonlight reflected off of what almost resembled a plastic surface, which she stuck to the back of the Motomiya boy's neck. It was done quickly and efficiently, and Daisuke did not wake, but fell into a deeper slumber.
"All too easy. The Commander will be pleased." Miyako permitted herself a small smile before she called to Hikari to assist her with the transport of their two new recruits, the smile only fading as Daisuke proceeded to salivate on her arm in his sleep.
Oblivious to the events outside of their private little room, Wallace rolled over onto his back, as Sariel cuddled against him, skin warmed under the blanket and by the warmth of the body next to her. Both were tired, and she was as sore as she expected to be, but at that moment, all was well. In moments, both had fallen into dreams, too tired for the words that neither saw a need to speak.
Pain! It was all in his head, spreading through out his body. He released it vocally in a scream that shattered glass from useless monitors around him as he fell to his knees into the inky black puddle. With tremendous effort, he kicked off the metal shoulderpads holding the unwanted cloak to his shoulders.
Before him was the same unweilding monitor, revealing a figure who was wide awake and screaming the same as Wallace did. The figure was a young man near his age, strapped into an uncomfortable chair. Wallace choked back his pain to watch the figure writhe in agony.
"Who are you?! Why am I dressed as you?" He lifted his pained voice and screamed the questions.
You woke the Kaiser. You were warned not to.
The monochrome letters formed on the monitor, leaving a blinking cursor flashing at the end of the sentence, as though more text would appear. Wallace was not disappointed.
He who holds the Keys is more worthy than he who cast off the Power. This world honors you as its Emperor.
"I don't want to be your Emperor. I want things to be as they were!" He stood shakily, wading through the thick liquid towards that screen.
Reject the honor, and another will be Elected.
The image of the struggling stranger was replaced with the innocently sleeping Sariel.
"Not her....damn." Wallace's mind raced, and where his first instinct was to protest that surely they wouldn't take her, he knew better. Very well, they could have him, but he would make them fight for the rest of it, and he discreetly pressed a button on his D-3.
"Fine. I accept, but my failsafe is Sariel. If she comes to harm as a result of your actions, I will resist you to the fiber of my being."
The screen was "silent" for a moment.
Parameters accepted.
Wires shot forth from the jet liquid beneath him, all connecting to a small filmy section on the back of his neck, and Wallace felt that firey torment, burning away all thoughts of who he was or might have been, to replace it with memories of another life and another time, and with desires of conquest and the means to make it possible.
His screams soon turned to a dark rich laughter.
Sariel woke when she realized that Wallace was no longer in bed with her. She reached for a discarded yukata, pulling it about her chilled shoulders. Next to her pillow, her Digivice beeped instantly. Blonde hair was moved with tired fingers from eyes that strained to see the readout in the darkness.
The item shifted in her hands, forming the lopsided teardrop shape of a D-3 in colors of white accented in pale grey. Before Sariel could fathom what that meant, her attention was pulled to Wallace's laptop, the screen active.
Four words flashed in green on black, causing Sariel to run to the adjacent bathroom to empty the contents of her dinner, though she did not understand what it meant.
Welcome home, Digimon Kaiser.
End Chapter Five.