Chapter Six
Terminus
****
ter·mi·nus n.
1. The final point; the end.
2. An end point on a transportation line or the town in which it is located.
3. a.A boundary or border. b.A stone or post marking a border.
****
"I traveled far to find you.
Who knew you'd be so far away?
I will stay now.
Love.
"This weary heart,
The only gift I bring you,
This love I give to you,
It won't stray."
The figure sat high on his throne, surrounded by various monitors behind and before him. He was in a temporary moment of deliberation. Surely the code should not have been so difficult that his genius could not overcome such an obstacle. Surely, with the Digital Keys in his possession, the coding to the Digital World would soon fall into his hands as well. Surely....
Speculation solves nothing. I'll try again. With the thought, white gloved fingers resumed their rhythmic percussion, again bringing up variants on the monitors surrounding him. He spared a glance in the direction of the eggs kept to the bottom of this throne.
Sentimental rubbish. I should be rid of them, but they may yet have answers I require. The Kaiser considered this, pausing to rake those covered fingers through rather unruly blonde hair before shrugging and continuing to type. When the newest set of coding failed, he allowed a loud curse to escape his lips and slung his keyboard to the ground.
The keyboard, as usual, rose and reformed itself, as it had been programmed to do. The Kaiser smirked to himself, and put himself to his purpose again, determined to complete his task.
From behind mirrored glass, he was unaware that eyes were on him, monitoring his repeatedly frustrating efforts. The taller man was stoic in expression, but turned his attention towards other things. He was flanked by a red-haired young girl, who sent a fretful glance after him.
"Sir, are things not going to plan?" She innocently inquired.
"No, Rosa, but they will. Eventually, Ford's subconscious will cease its battle and accept the Kaiser persona completely." In anticipation of her next question, he rose a hand to halt it in progress. "Ichijouji cannot interfere. When the personality is fully transferred to our dear Mr. Ford, we will discard the boy. DON'T give me that pout. You are no longer entitled to any emotion directed towards him."
"Yes....sir." Rosa's voice escaped as a bare squeak, which she repeated in a more controlled tone. "Yes, sir. As you command."
"Leave me." When the girl complied, the older man turned towards another mirrored window, looking over the unconscious and collapsed Chosen Children resting inside. The controls on these would not last, he realized, and so sedated and locked them up, to be disposed of later. Their partners had already been deleted, and once his pet had completed the task set for him, would no longer respawn.
The commander turned to look at another monitor, holding an elderly male, shaggy beard matted with blood. He had been beaten, that much was obvious, and yet still managed to bear his wounds with dignity as he leaned against the icy wall, naked and exposed to the frigid air of his cell.
"Gennai, you fool. You may have pulled the wool over the eyes of these children, but you and I know the truth. Separating into different physical incarnations of your personality might have put you in more places at once, but little did you realize that it would be your downfall."
In the main chamber, the Kaiser continued to type.
----
"Come on, Sari. You're lagging behind." Renamon called back to her partner.
"Sorry, Rena. I'm just tired." Sariel complained, stepping over the barren rocks that composed the mound leading to the fortress in the distance. The pair of them had been walking for most of the day, having been deposited near the edge of a perfectly serene and grassy plain. Immediately beyond the plain, as though it had been drawn there, began a blackened landscape, scorched as though burned and void of life. The nature of the terrain proved to be increasingly violent, and Sariel relied on Renamon more and more as the pair continued.
"I know, I know. Come on, though. When we get there, we'll find a place to hide you so you can rest, and I can go look for Wallace." The Digital Partner looked towards her Chosen, offering as encouraging a smile as her inhuman face could make. "And then we can kick the ass of whoever took him."
"I'm not so sure he was taken, Renamon." The reply had fallen on deaf ears, as Renamon insisted again that he wouldn't have left Sariel alone. "At any rate, if he did leave on his own, I'm going to throttle that human. I'm sorry, but your boyfriend is going to be in a world of pain if that's the case." The Digimon did not really mean it, but was more concerned that Wallace Ford had left to protect Sariel from something related to those Digital Keys.
Sariel made no comment of reply, but kept trudging through the knee-high vegetation, expression strained but determined. Wallace, you idiot. She thought with just a trace of resentment, You won't have to worry about Rena kicking your butt. I'll do it for her, and then I'll do it for myself.
In the month and a half that Sariel and Renamon had been searching for the wayward Ford, her hair had grown into an uneven set of long locks, curling about her face a bit with the sweat from her exertion. Her skin had taken a slightly tanned cast from sun exposure, giving her the look of an experienced wanderer. The young woman found herself startled at her reflection in the small pond the pair found a few days earlier, and she had turned away from it in momentary shock.
Will you recognize me, Wallace? Will I want you to? Sariel had no answer for her tortured question, and so forced her mind into the numb haze it had been in previously.
----
"Wake up. Damn you, Ford, wake up. I should leave you like this."
Darkness. It was the first thing Wallace noticed as he came to a semblance of awareness within his own mind. His outstretched hand rest in an numbing wetness that resembled water turned to oil. A pair of pale legs extended from the center of the indeterminate liquid, connected to a lithe body. A striking pair of eyes glared down at the blonde, accusatory and pitying at once.
"That's it. Get up already. We don't have much time before you're trapped here, Wallace."
The voice had inserted itself directly into Wallace's mind and brought him to sharp alertness. He promptly rose, standing to look at the slightly taller young man, recognizing him instantly from photos emailed from Daisuke.
"You're Ichijouji Ken, aren't you?" "And you're Wallace Ford. Now that we know who each other are, we can start working." A delicate hand reached to tuck a length of violet behind one ear, regarding the other coolly. "We don't have much time. I'm sure you know by now that our mutual captor is after those Digital Keys you carry."
Wallace nodded slowly, understanding now that he was not truly awake but having this conversation within some spiritual location.
Ken continued, a touch of irritation in his voice. "I'll put this simply enough for you to follow. Our captor has imprinted a repressed personality of mine over yours so that you can unlock the secrets of the Digital Keys. He wishes to remake the Digital World into some yet unknown form, and as we are Chosen, we obviously cannot allow this to happen."
"The Kaiser, right?"
With that realization, Wallace suddenly felt an oppressive sensation, the turbulence of the forced personality suddenly weighing on him. "How do I get rid of it?"
"You're not. You're going to use it. What's more, I'm going to tell you how. I want out of this as much as you do." Ichijouji replied, his tone softening. "We've been pawns to long. I want this ended."
Wallace nodded firmly. "So tell me what I need to do."
"Speak to him. Whisper suggestions into his ear. Tell him what to type according to what I tell you. I have the knowledge, he has the skill, and you have the way."
Wallace merely nodded, and leaned in to listen carefully to everything Ken had to say.
----
Night fell by the time Sariel and Renamon made it into the fortified castle, sneaking past sentries. There was an unnatural glow in their eyes, caused by the black bands controlling them, and it caused a snarl of justified anger from Renamon, who explained their significance to Sariel.
"So do you think that's what's happening?" Sariel inquired in a whisper, following Renamon.
"The signs are the same." The digimon answered grimly. "The black bands, the controlled patrols, the Spires...." She trailed off as another patrol came by.
"And what does Wallace have to do with this Kaiser guy?" The young woman questioned her partner, apprehension evident.
"Not a clue. None at all. Come on, we're going to go deeper inside."
The pair moved with ease from corridor to corridor, dodging oblivious guards the entire time, until the pair reached a curved service hall. They followed the path until they reached a violet velvet curtain lined with black trim. Sariel peered around it and almost squealed the name of the oddly dressed young man sitting on the throne.
"Rena, it's Wallace! Why's he dressed like that? What's he doing?"
The digimon regarded the throned figure, eyes narrowing. "Your Wallace has become the Kaiser, and I'll be damned if I know how. We're going to have to watch him a bit longer before we understand what's gone on before we can know what to do for him."
"Oh, Wallace...." Sariel felt bitter tears forming in her eyes, and stubbornly wiped them away, determined to save the man she had come to love. "He's just typing."
On the throne, the Kaiser was indeed typing, unaware that his hands were now being guided by an unseen force. Internally, Wallace was strained, exerting control while the other trapped figure spoke the coding in a clear voice.
"No, it's a negative equation, so you need to counter with something positive. Keep that up and you'll have the whole place barren." Ken's voice hissed at Wallace.
"I don't know crap about programming. Give me a break!" Wallace retorted.
"Stop arguing with me and concentrate!" The taller one snapped. "We don't have much time."
"You're worried about Daisuke, aren't you?"
There was a dramatic pause, Wallace feeling a sharp touch of sympathy at the suddenly stricken look on the other's face.
"Yes."
"I have someone I'm worried about, too. Don't worry. Whatever I felt for him has turned to friendship a long time ago."
"I wasn't worried about that."
Wallace only returned to his concentration; his physical body responded and made the necessary corrections. A slow smile touched at the corners of his mouth as the oblivious dictator was unconsciously manipulated towards the mutual goal.
"Hey! What are you two doing there?!" A shout sounded as an enormous sentry caught sight of Renamon and Sariel spying on the Kaiser.
"Run, Sari! Hide! I'll hold him off!" Renamon turned her back to her friend and poised to fight the larger opponent.
"Be careful!" Sariel knew better in this situation and deferred to her partner's knowledge and experience. Still, she realized with the blast of energy that her partner had been deleted, feeling that void inside her even as she stumbled along.
"Rena...." It was no time for mourning, Sariel realized. She was completely alone and had no idea what to do to stop this situation, but she couldn't give up despite her intense weariness.
Tired feet pulled her to an unlikely destination. To her surprise, she chanced upon a storage cell, holding people she recognized from images on Wallace's laptop as the other Chosen. A lurking figure leaned over them, using clawed hands to pull small chips from the backs of their necks.
"I'll return with the replacement chips." Lady Devimon commented to the sentries as she passed by. "Keep guarding."
"Yes, ma'am!" The slug-like sentries replied.
Once she was gone, however, Sariel knew it was time to act. She took a pole from the wall nearby and rushed the two, attacking the black bands as Renamon had told her earlier. The pair blinked in confusion and apologized before wandering off.
Sariel unlocked the cells carefully, standing at the door. "Wake up. Hurry!!"
Those locked inside slowly stirred, eyes blinking as they slowly came to, freed from the restraint of the control chip for the first time in over a month.
"Sariel-chan?" Hikari was the first to speak, confused.
"It's me. Look, we don't have time. You have to get out." As the group woke and moved to stand in the hall, Sariel related everything she had seen.
"I'm going with you." Daisuke said firmly, arms folded in a manner that indicated he would argue that point indefinitely.
"The same goes for the rest of us." A deeper voice spoke, coming from a handsome blonde Sariel recognized as Yamato. He had an arm draped around Sora, who was nestled at his side.
"This is what we do." She replied with a touch of exhaustion.
Once introductions were made, Sariel led the group off, back the way she had come.
----
"You let them escape, you ridiculous thing!" The commander seethed at Lady Devimon, hurling a goblet at her which she did not dare dodge. "You idiot, their energy is needed to energize the Keys!"
"Sir, I was only gone for a moment to get the chips!" The black-clad digimon explained, her voice going unnaturally shrill with fear.
"There is no excuse!" He pulled a firearm from his robes, and with one solid shot, sent a slug directly into the female digimon's forehead, scowling as she dissolved into her data components.
He ordered a complete lockdown of the facility and tripled the patrols. Those annoying Chosen had to be found! He knocked over a table in his fury, and turned in a rage, gun aimed at the one who stood in the doorway. Slowly, he released the trigger without firing.
"Rosa...."
"Sir, he's done it. The single Key is forming!" The smallteenager barely got out her excited reply, frightened by the sight before her. "And....and somehow, the captives are in the Throne Room."
The commander wasted no time, but brushed past the girl, leaving her to follow in his wake.
----
"You were telling me how to program them into a single Key?!" Wallace demanded, rounding on his advisor.
"You'll be able to manipulate it when it's formed." The answer was calm. "Our Digivices are needed to give it power, after all. Let's just hope that girlfriend of yours can get the others free."
"You know, I left her there so that she wouldn't get wrapped up in this." Wallace replied with a sour tone.
"Would you expect her to come after you any less than you would go after her?" This was coupled with a single raised eyebrow and scrutizing glance. "No, I suppose not." "Get to work then." In the throne room, the Kaiser continued his typing, grinning with a fevered joy as the single key formed before him. He barely recognized his friends as they gathered around.
"We need to wake him." Sariel lamented. "Wallace is in there somewhere."
"You can wake him with your Digivices." A low voice called out. The figure that spoke stepped into the light, pulling back a hood to reveal light brown hair framing a youthful face.
"Gennai!" The name echoed through the ranks, but Sariel's eyes narrowed in frustration. She had seen this man before and could not place him, but instead deferred to the others' recognition of this man.
"Quickly! Focus your energy on the Key!" He instructed.
One by one, each Chosen followed those orders, focusing their nearly exhausted strength at the golden key, only to find it draining the energy. Sariel tried to pull away, and found the act impossible.
"How quick you are to follow a familiar face." 'Gennai' laughed, allowing his sneer to shine through. "Before you try to say anything, yes, I am who you think I am. An aspect, anyway. To aid you those years ago, I had to separate into multiple aspects of my personality. Of course, the more negative persona needed detainment, but I escaped. Now that you have my life story, you can continue to be depleted. I certainly can't leave you alive after this."
"But why is he....like that?" Sariel asked, wanting to fall to her knees but finding the act impossible as her own Digivice held her in place.
"I simply borrowed the Kaiser personality and looped it over your little boyfriend's persona. The knowledge came from the Chosen of Kindness, but as the Keys selected Wallace Ford as their guardian, he had to be the one to access them."
The throned figure had since thrown down the keyboard, walking towards the Key with arms outstretched, taking it in his hands. "Finally...."
"Give the Key to me." 'Gennai' spoke, approaching the Kaiser with anticipation in his eyes.
"And why would I want to do that? Don't be ridiculous. With this power, my domination will be uncontested!" Before the stunned aspect of Gennai could respond, a gloved hand reached out and pressed against his chest.
"No, how....I put a control chip....!"
"Oh, that thing." He made a dismissive shrug. "You made a fatal mistake when you thought you could control me, or manipulate this part of me." The shimmering glow of the Key duplicated itself on the Kaiser's outfaced palm, engulfing the stunned clone. Before another word of protest could be uttered, he had exploded into fiery sparks.
"One pest down...."
"Wallace!" Sariel cried out, feeling the impassive stare of the figure that regarded her coldly.
"I don't know this....uuuuh." Suddenly, he fell to one knee, clutching the Key to himself desperately as the cloak, mask, and heavy boots and gloves brushed off his form and turned to dust.
"Just in....time." A voice gasped, belonging to a slender form leaning on the more athletic shoulder of Daisuke. The pair both extended their Digivices towards the Key Wallace clutched to his chest.
"Come on, Wallace. Get up. It's in your hands now." Daisuke added. "You started this when you decided to go wandering, so finish it already!"
Wallace blinked, surrounded by light and warmth, and slowly stood. From the light around him, voices whispered foreign words, brining a sense of purpose and mourning from him. He regarded the faces of his friends, and finally settled on Sariel.
This world has no one to guard the Key. Anyone could make this happen again, and my friends would never be safe. The Digital World has a guardian, but the Chosen have no one to guard them.
"I love you, Sariel. Be safe."
"Wallace, no!" She reached out, despite the restraint on her as Wallace was engulfed in brilliance, the light extending next to swallow them all.
----
"You're a little late, Sariel." Miyako teased, even as she sent a jealous glare towards her husband's back as he sat on a log to chat with his best friend.
"Ooh, Miyako, what's with the look?" Sariel wondered, her own glance going to her son playing with the other children on the field before them.
"Ken spends all the time with Daisuke these days. He's a good father, and he tries to be attentive...." Her face fell, glancing away.
We all suspected that he married Miyako to make his family happy. Sariel mused, but she didn't say anything, instead opting to give her friend's shoulders a squeeze.
"How have things been for our friends?" She asked instead.
"Well, Yamato and Sora got married. She's got her fashion line, as you know, and Yamato's been to Mars and back twice. Taiki's the boy, and Akemi is their little girl. She's just like him, too." Miyako continued. "Daisuke runs some noodle company, Hikari teaches, Mimi has a cooking show." She sighed. "We've all got busy lives, but we had to make sure our children knew where this peace came from and what we fought for."
"Well, Will is growing up to be a lot like his father." Sariel commented, watching as the oldest boy kept an eye on the group. "He's going to start at a boarding school soon. He's pretty excited."
"Wow. Won't you miss him?"
"Every day, but it's what he wants." Sariel turned her eyes overhead, a slight smile appearing at the irridescent butterflies that dove in the direction of the children at play.
The two women sat in silence before Miyako stood. "I've gotta change Naoko's diaper. I'll be back in a few moments."
Sariel sat alone for a few minutes. "Wallace, are you proud of us?"
For that moment, she was surrounded by warmth as arms wrapped around her, an ethereal hand brushing the hair from her eyes.
"Every day."
Sariel closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth.
"So, are you ready to come with me?"
"I can't leave Will alone. Wait for me?"
"Forever, if I have to."
Sariel's eyes opened, and while she no longer heard the voice, she felt the love sent from the one who now looked over them all, even during this time of peace.
You won't have to wait that long.
End.