Kaiya stared up at the new arrivals, hardly able to believe what she was seeing. This was just too much, on top of everything else. Bad enough that the Digital World was being threatened by a mysterious new monster, even worse that she and the rest of her group were about to be finished off by a gang of angry Bakemon, but now these two had to show up! She had heard her father describe them often enough that she knew exactly who they were: Arukenimon and Mummymon, two Ultimate Virus Digimon who had plagued the previous wave of Chosen Children, and who, by all accounts, should have been dead and gone years ago. Despite the danger, Kaiya felt an overwhelming urge to throw up her hands and screech her frustration that every force in the universe seemed to want to align against her.
While everyone was still gawping in shock, the woman suddenly leaped down from the tree, performing a midair spin that made her long, silvery hair swirl around her. There was a confusing blur of red and silver, and then she was not a woman at all, but a colossal spider. At the same moment, the man in at the base of the tree tugged at a corner of his uniform, whipping it off in a swirl of blue that left him transformed into the likeness of a bandaged, walking corpse. Both of them rushed towards the battlefield, and Kaiya fought to keep her composure, even when she knew there was no way their Digimon could stand up to these horrors.
Even as she watched, Mummymon hefted his gun and fired a blast in her direction. She gave a shriek and dived out of the way... but there was no need. The laser missed her by several feet and struck a Bakemon, which bellowed and burst into a million bits of data.
"Oops! Sorry about that!" Mummymon called to her. "My aim is a little rusty."
"It was never that good to begin with," Arukenimon snapped from the other side of the field, where she was busily cocooning Bakemon with ropes of red webbing. With their hands tied, they were defenseless against the smaller Digimon, who dealt with them handily.
"What in the...?" said Kaiya, feeling that someone had just changed the rules of the game without telling her. "Are you saying you're here to help?"
"Why not?" Mummymon replied, as he casually blasted another Bakemon into oblivion. "We would have been here sooner, you know, but we've been out of circulation for some years. It took us a while to get our bearings."
"But you're supposed to be the bad guys!" Mitsu exclaimed, sounding scandalized.
"Bad," said Arukenimon, "is largely determined by whose side you're on."
"Be cool," said Tasuke to Mitsu. "If they wanna help, who are we to argue?"
Within moments, the last of the Bakemon had been dealt with, and the little band was regrouping. The children and their partners kept their distance from the newly arrived monsters, still not sure if they wanted to trust them. The newcomers didn't seem to care; they had shifted back to human form again, and Mummymon was making a professional inspection of the area.
"I think we got them all," he said, with a satisfied nod. "Well, my darling, it looks like we've still got it."
Arukenimon gave the area a cool evaluation. "Not bad, I suppose. Not that Bakemon are much of a test."
"I still don't get it," said Mitsu, frowning. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, it's complicated," Mummymon replied.
"Only for you," said Arukenimon. "We're here because we were sent. How hard is that to understand?"
"Sent?" Tasuke repeated. "By who? And aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"They are," answered a voice, "but then again, so am I, and it hasn't stopped me yet."
By now, no one was surprised to see Oikawa materialize in the shadows of the trees. He looked more tired than ever; all that could be seen of him was the faintest trace of color surrounded by the palest of purple shimmers. Nevertheless, he looked rather more cheerful than the last time they had seen him.
"Please forgive my appearance, or lack of it," he said. "Summoning these two took more out of me than I expected. I don't think I could have done it if it hadn't been for the bond between us."
"They were your servants, once, weren't they?" asked Kaiya. "Dad said something like that..."
"They were more than that," Oikawa replied. "I created them. They were based on my own genetic code transformed to digital matter. In one respect they are almost like my children."
"You always did have a sentimental streak, Oikawa," said Arukenimon dryly.
"I don't deny it," he answered. "Be that as it may, I was able to use that bond to bring them back from the Primordial Databank and return them to life. I believe they will do better this time around."
"How do we know they won't turn on us?" asked Mitsu, eying the monsters skeptically. "I remember what my father told me - they did terrible things..."
"Many of them on my orders," said Oikawa. "Again, I remind you that these two are in many ways an extension of myself. These recreated versions are different from the monsters your parents knew because I myself am different... and, I suspect, because they've had a long time to think over how their last life went. Think of them as upgraded," he added, with a small smile. "Version 2.0."
A few of those present found this statement amusing. Kaiya considered it, looking over the newly creatures, and decided there might be some truth in what Oikawa was saying. Her father, being an artist, had provided illustrations for Mr. Takaishi's Digital World books, and judging by the pictures he'd made, either her father's memory was faulty or these two really had changed. The difference was particularly noticeable in Mummymon, who had been painted as monstrous even in his human form, with dead gray skin and pointed teeth. The man she was looking at now could have easily passed for an ordinary human being, and not even a bad-looking one at that. He carried himself with dignity, and had a craggy, good-natured face with a mouth that looked accustomed to smiling. Shaggy brown-blonde hair hung over one face, concealing the area where the missing eye would have been. The other eye was a peculiar gold-yellow color that she had seen a few times in cats, but never in a human. Objectively, she decided he might even be rather attractive, if you liked your men rough-cut.
The differences in Arukenimon were more subtle, but then, she had always been the more human of the two. The major difference Kaiya could see was in her costuming; she appeared to have abandoned the hat and glasses that she'd worn in her last life, leaving her eyes visible. They were the same gold color as her partner's, but all the same, just being able to see her face clearly made her seem less alien. Her features were sharp and intelligent - too sharp for true beauty, but implying a certain strength of character. At the moment, she was doing her best to look uninterested in what was going on around her, but she kept shooting looks at her sidekick when she thought no one was looking. She looked faintly surprised, as if not quite able to reconcile his new appearance to the way she had known him last time.
"So, what are we supposed to do with them?" asked Kaze. He didn't look like he trusted the newcomers any more than Mitsu did.
"They are here for your protection," said Oikawa sternly. "And if I were you, I would be polite to them about it. I do not believe you will find Arukenimon to be a forgiving creature, even in her present manifestation."
Kaze and Keiji both looked insulted, and Kaze said, "We don't need protection. We were doing just fine when they showed up."
"That's not what it looked like to-" Mummymon began, and silenced as Arukenimon stepped on his foot.
"Be that as it may," said Oikawa, "I still will feel better knowing you have some protection. Your partners haven't learned to evolve yet, and that leaves you vulnerable. Also, in the event that you should need to stay in the Digital World for long stretches of time, they will be able to guide you and show you where to find food, water, and shelter. I believe they can prove themselves useful."
"Do we really need to listen to this?" asked Arukenimon. "Because if you don't need us for anything, I can think of things I'd rather do than stand around listening to you telling them things I already know."
"Things like what?" asked Oikawa.
Arukenimon shrugged. "I'd think it would be obvious. We've been in suspended animation in the Primordial Databank for the past thirty years or so; we've got things to catch up on."
"Ah," the shade replied. "Yes, I can understand that. All right, I think the danger is dealt with. You may go. Just be sure you can catch up later."
"Yeah, yeah, I know," said Arukenimon. She grabbed her sidekick by the sleeve and began leading him away from the group. "Come on."
"Come where? What for?"
"So I don't have to suffer the embarrassment of having you call me those stupid pet names in public, that's why," she retorted. "If we're going to talk, we're going to do it in private."
"What are we going to talk about?" he asked hopefully.
"Well..." Her voice became more difficult to hear as the two of them moved deeper into the forest. "I saw what you did in the last fight with Myotismon. It was brave of you."
"You think so?"
"Yes... Stupid, but brave. I've been thinking..."
Whatever she thought, it wasn't for the children to know, as both voices faded into obscurity, and then vanished altogether. Oikawa watched them a moment before shrugging.
"Inevitable, really," he commented. "They might have even worked through it in their old life, if they hadn't met such untimely ends..."
"Where are they going?" asked Natte innocently.
"I'll tell you when you're older," said Kaiya.
Kaze, who was old enough to know but young enough to find the whole idea of romance disgusting beyond measure said, "You know how people act in those soap operas Mom likes?"
"Yeah," said Natte.
"I think that's probably what they're going for."
Natte made a face. "You mean they're gonna kiss each other? Gross!"
Kaiya wasn't sure whether to be scandalized or laugh. A few of the other children giggled.
"I think the immediate danger has passed," said Oikawa. "Forgive me, but I'm going to have to leave you now. Bringing those two back has tired me, and I need to recover my strength if I'm going to get you past the barrier. I'll meet you at the shore of the Lake of Stars. Until then..."
He said something that might have been a goodbye, but it was hard to hear, because he had faded out even as he was speaking.
"Well, that was interesting, wasn't it?" said Keiji calmly.
"That was weird said Kaze. "I hope no more creepy things show up. We have enough monsters around here as it is."
Since he wasn't looking at Natte as he spoke, Kaiya couldn't really scold him, but she thought she heard the usual note of scorn in his voice.
"It's not right," said Mitsu, frowning. "They're monsters. I don't get it."
"They seemed nice enough to me," Tasuke replied. "Just because they're Virus-types doesn't mean they're bad. Look at the Wormmons! They wouldn't hurt a Flymon."
"Don't worry about her," said Bubbles the Patamon. "Mitsu just likes everything in black and white. She'll get used to them after a while."
"Black and white, huh?" said Tasuke. "Remind me never to watch TV at her house."
"Speaking of creatures," said Keiji, "has anyone seen Marcel?"
Nobody had. Looking around, they saw that the clown was still in hiding, and was doing it so well that, despite the lack of obvious hiding places, no sign of him could be seen. The group split up and began to search for him, calling his name. Eventually. Yuki the Gatomon found him crouching at the top of a tall tree, curled into a ball and hiding his eyes, apparently oblivious to everything going on around him. When she tapped him on the shoulder, he gave a yelp and nearly fell out of the tree in surprise. He caught himself just in time, latching onto a handy branch and pulling himself upright again.
"Don't sneak up on me like that!" he said, breathing hard and clutching at his heart.
"If you don't want people to sneak up on you, you shouldn't cover your eyes," she scolded him.
"I didn't want to see the monsters," answered Marcel meekly.
"Oh, you're hopeless," Yuki said, lashing her tail. "Come on. Everyone's gone."
Looking chagrined, Marcel came down out of his tree, blushing and stammering apologies to the children. He seemed ready to cry with shame, and Kaiya took pity on him.
"It's all right, no harm done," she said soothingly.
"Yeah, if you don't count calling a bunch of monsters on us and then running off to let us deal with them as harm," said Kaze.
Marcel cringed. "I didn't mean it that way! I was only trying to help, I just-"
"Yeah, right," Kaze snapped. "I wouldn't be surprised if he did it all on purpose. Who's to say he's not still working for Chiaromon and just pretending to be on our side?"
"Kaze, be quiet! You know that's not true!" Kaiya scolded. "I'm sorry, Marcel. I don't know what's gotten into him lately."
"He has the right to scold," said Marcel miserably. "I didn't want to leave you all, I really didn't - I would love to be able to help you if I could. I just wanted to make them visible so they couldn't sneak up on you, that's all, but when I looked at them, I - I - I just... panicked, and then..."
"What," said Keiji, eyeing him seriously, "is your problem? You are a Mega Digimon. Those were just Champions. Those Ultimates took them on easily - it should have been simple for you to fight back. You said yourself that almost nothing can hurt you. How can you possibly be so afraid?"
"If I knew that," Marcel replied, "I wouldn't be so scared."
"Lay off him, Keiji," said Tasuke. "The guy's just - what do you call it? Pantophobic. You don't need a reason to be scared if you're pantophobic."
"What does pants-of-obic mean?" asked Natte.
Taksuke shrugged. "It means you're scared."
"If I were a psychologist," said Kaiya, "I would sit you down and make you tell me about your life, and I'll bet we could find a reason for all this. Unfortunately, I'm not a psychologist, so we're just going to have to make do. Listen, Marcel, we're going to have to do something about this. We can't have you just up and disappearing every time there's trouble."
"But what can I do?" he asked. "My attacks don't work - at least - not when I want them to, usually..."
"You're just going to have to teach yourself not to be afraid," she said stubbornly.
"How?"
"Well... Every night, before you go to sleep, and every morning when you wake up, I want you to repeat to yourself twenty times, 'I am Marcel the Magnificent, and I am not afraid.' Tell yourself often enough, and maybe you'll start to believe it."
He looked contemplative. "Do you think it will work?"
"It couldn't hurt," she replied.
"Then I'll do it," he said.
"Good," said Kaiya. "You can start today."
"Whatever you say," answered Marcel. As she walked away, he watched her with a dreamy look in his eyes.
"Isn't she wonderful?" he said, more-or-less to Wingblade, who was still hanging around. "She's so clever and brave and beautiful..."
"You're making me sick," said Wingblade, and flapped off to join his partner.
Marcel sighed. The rest of the group was already pulling themselves together, and he got up and followed them, repeating under his breath, "I am Marcel the Magnificent, I am Marcel the Magnificent..."
The next leg of the journey was mercifully uneventful. About an hour after they had left the parted company with the rest of the group, Arukenimon and Mummymon returned. Whatever the results of their conversation were, it seemed to have put them in a good mood; both of them were looking pleased with themselves. Nobody asked any questions, and they volunteered no information.
Shortly after the reunion, they left the confines of the oak forest and reached a plain of yellow green grass. Everyone was glad to see the sun again. Not only was it cheerful to be back in open air, but the rolling hills held few hiding places for enemies.
"We're getting close," said Kaiya, consulting her Digivice once again.
"You said that ages ago," Savvy complained.
"Well, now we're almost on top of it," she told the little dragon. "I can't see any space between us and the signal anymore."
"The girl is correct," said Arukenimon. "We are very close - I suspect we'll be catching sight of it any minute now. Not that I have ever been to the Lake of Stars myself, mind you. Gennai has always been protective of his personal space; I never thought it worth my while to cross him."
"Who is Gennai?" asked Mai. "I mean, I know he helped our parents, but who is he?"
"If you want his life story, you will have to ask him," she replied. "As I said, he's not what I'd call a close personal friend of mine. Ask Mummymon. He's the one with the interest in legends."
Mai gratefully turned his attention to the other Digimon. Despite assurances that Arukenimon was completely harmless (to the children, anyway) he still had an instinctive feeling that he was better off dealing with Mummymon. He didn't seem to think there was anything at all odd about going from being the enemy in one lifetime to a staunch ally in the next. Being a shy child by nature, Mai felt much more comfortable talking to him than to his sharp-tongued partner.
"Do you know anything about him?" asked Mai.
"Well, let me think," said Mummymon, staring off into space and scratching his head thoughtfully. "I might remember something...Yes, now I remember. From what I've been told, he's one of the sages."
"The whats?" Tasuke asked.
"Sages," said Marcel. "Wise men. They lived here, once, ages ago."
"Who is he? The court historian?" asked Arukenimon, giving Marcel a glare.
"He's a storyteller," Mai supplied. "He knows things."
"Then why didn't you ask him in the first place?" she asked.
Mai flushed. Mummymon tried to reassure him.
"It's all right, I don't mind you asking," he said.
"And I don't mind you not asking," Marcel added. "He might know something I don't. I'd hate to miss something because nobody asked."
"Hm. I hadn't looked at it like that," said Mummymon. "All right, let's see, sages... Well, you know there are other worlds besides the Real World and the Digital World, right?"
"Yeah," said Mai, thinking hard. "Mama talked about a world with a Dark Ocean... and a Dream World - that was where everyone fought Myotismon."
"Not much of a dream, if you ask me," said Arukenimon.
"Unfortunately," Mummymon replied. "Anyway, where was I? Ahem. Well, the sages come from one of those worlds - a world of Light, they say, to counteract the world of Darkness. The sages are the servants of the Harmonious Ones, and are dedicated to preserving the balance between Light and Darkness."
"I think I heard something about this from Dad," said Mitsu. "Were they the ones who created the Digivices and everything?"
"They might have been. I wasn't around at the time," said Mummymon with a shrug.
"I remember," said Marcel dreamily, staring off into space the way he always did when a story came to mind. "They came to this world to defend it from... an evil Digimon... by creating the Tags, Crests, and Digivices that would be used by the Chosen Children and their partners. When the evil ones came, all of the sages were slain... all but one."
"Gennai?" Tasuke guessed.
Marcel nodded. "After the battle, he chose to remain in this world as its guardian, rather than return to his own dimension."
"Probably didn't want to have to tell everyone back home his people screwed up," Arukenimon surmised.
"That's not true!" said Marcel, looking scandalized. "He's too brave for that! He fought Piedmon single-handedly and survived!" It was clear from the tone of his voice that he couldn't imagine any higher level of courage. Arukenimon didn't look especially impressed.
Fortunately, any further argument was avoided as they arrived at what was indisputably the Lake of Stars. For one thing, it was not possible that there be two such bodies of water anywhere in the immediate vicinity. For another, it was a most un-lake-like shade of pale purple. It flashed and sparkled in the bright sunlight, looking as though it really were full of glittering stars. The children stood and admired it, duly impressed.
"Well, I guess this is it," said Kaiya. "Now what happens?"
"Mr. Oikawa said he was going to open a portal," Keiji replied.
"Yeah, well, I don't see one," said Tasuke. He pitched a rock into the lake, and it splashed and rippled, but did nothing magical. "All I see is a lot of water."
"Patience," Arukenimon scolded. "Give him time to work."
Seeing no other alternative, they sat down to wait, some of them more gratefully than others - after all, it had been a while since their last rest break, and they weren't all accustomed to travel. Natte settled down on a patch of soft grass, hugged Crawler to his chest, and went to sleep. Speedbump went to join them, and soon he was snoring loudly. The others simply relaxed, or strolled along the beach. Tasuke, more athletic than most, pitched more pebbles into the lake, looking extremely bored. Kaze fidgeted impatiently.
"This is boring," he complained. "We probably aren't even in the right place. I don't see any houses or any portals anywhere. We ought to just turn around and-"
At that moment, there was a burst of pink light from the bottom of the lake. The waters at the edge of the lake parted, revealing a long flight of stairs, leading down to it's depths. Kaze stared with his mouth hanging open, for once completely lost for words. Arukenimon gave him a superior look.
"Next time, maybe you'll listen to me," she said. "You know, Oikawa told me about you."
"What did he say?" Kaze asked suspiciously.
"That I wouldn't like you," she replied, "and he was right."
"Join the club," said Wingblade.
"You all go on down," said Mummymon. "We'll stay up here and keep watch, I think."
"Yes, somehow I doubt we'll be very welcome in his home," said Arukenimon.
Kaiya looked at Kaze to see if he was going to make any retorts, but it seemed he had decided that Arukenimon was someone he didn't want to cross swords with. Kaiya wondered if the spider woman might teach her that trick; it would be nice to be able to make Kaze shut up once in a while.
They went down. As soon as the last Digimon had stepped below the water level, the lake closed behind them. Kaiya cast a final glance over her shoulder and was just able to get a wavering underwater look at Arukenimon and Mummymon standing on the shore, and then even that was lost beyond the watery purple shadows.
The flight of stairs had appeared from the top to be miles long, but to their surprise, they progressed rapidly. Despite being underwater, they were smooth and dry, broad enough that there was little chance of anyone stumbling. As they progressed, curious fish drifted up to have a look at the trespassers in their watery realm. At last, the group reached the bottom and found themselves facing an ornate wooden door. Tasuke gave it a push, and it swung silently open.
They were surprised. Beyond the door lay, not the inside of a building, but a pleasant garden. A riot of flowering plants of varieties never seen on Earth were blooming profusely, despite the fact that the sun was nowhere to be seen. A little splashing brook had been carefully cultivated into tiny waterfalls and rippling eddies. Occasionally one of the lake fish would swim through the stream and resurface on the other side. A pebbled path led from the doorway through the garden, an obvious invitation.
Following the path led them on a winding course through the gardens, over a bridge, and then, at last, to the front door of a house. It looked like a Japanese house of the classic style, save that one of those wouldn't usually have had several stories or multiple wings sprawling out in all directions. From the look of it, whoever had designed it had possessed more time and materials than architectural sense. Nevertheless, it was a friendly looking building, without the stuffy formality it would have had if it had been neat and symmetrical. Wind chimes along the roof of the front porch, tinkling musically in the breeze, and the corners of the roof were topped with fanciful finials and weather vanes.
"I think you were right, Mai," said Tasuke, in obvious approval. "The guy who built this really had to be crazy."
"It's going to be a pain finding him in all this," said Kaiya.
"Well, he must be here somewhere," Keiji replied. "We'll find him."
She walked up to the front door and knocked politely. There was no answer. When knocking again brought no results, she tried the handle and found it open. She shrugged; why wouldn't the door be open? The man of the house would have had no idea he was getting visitors if he thought he was completely sealed in. Beckoning for the others to follow, she slipped inside.
Luck was with them. The front door opened into a spacious parlor, filled with lots of comfortable chairs and sofas - just the kind of place it would have been nice to spend an afternoon sipping tea and talking to friends. However, there was only one person in the room. Sitting at a desk in the corner of the room was a young man in monkish white robes. He was strikingly handsome, despite the fact that he was also looking extremely bored. He sat with his chin propped in one hand as he used the other to play solitaire on his computer.
"Um, excuse me," said Kaiya.
The man gave such a start that he knocked his mouse off the desk.
"Oops! Sorry!" she said. "I didn't mean to scare you. We just wanted to ask-"
"How did you get in here?" the young man interrupted.
"Well, you see, we met Oikawa, and he said we ought to come talk to Gennai," Kaiya explained. It was a rather unclear explanation, but she was never at her best when trying to talk to handsome young men; they tended to distract her even when she was trying to keep her mind on business. "He opened the portal for us so we could get in."
"I see," said the young man. "Well, I'll have to thank Mr. Oikawa if I ever get out of here."
"So... can we talk to Gennai, then?" asked Kaiya.
To her surprise, the young man laughed. "Who did you think you were talking to? His butler?"
Several people gawped.
"You're Gennai?" asked Tasuke. "I thought he would be like an old man or something! I mean, he's like a gazillion years old!"
"A gazillion and three - I had my birthday last week," answered Gennai, eyes twinkling. "I suppose I could be an old man, if I wanted to be. I've worn that shape before, especially when I'm trying to win someone's trust, but I don't find it particularly comfortable. I like this form better, don't you?"
"Uh, yeah, sure," said Kaiya, trying furiously not to blush. "Anyway... we needed to talk to you."
Gennai dropped his silly manner. "Yes, I surmised as much. Chiaromon's done his best to keep me in the dark, but I can still get some news from the outside. Enough to know things aren't going well out there. I'm not surprised Oikawa sent you for help."
"You can help, can't you?" asked Mitsu eagerly.
"I will do everything I possibly can," he replied. "In case you didn't notice, I don't much care for being trapped in my own home. I don't like what Chiaromon's up to, either. It worries me - worries me a great deal. Unfortunately, any help I can give you is going to be limited to information and advice."
"What?!" Tasuke yelped. "That's not right! You gave our parents Digivices and Crests and all kinds of good stuff!"
"I did not," said Gennai. "They found those themselves. I only gave them a point in the right direction."
"So give us a point already," said Kaze. "What do we do? Where do we go from here?"
"Before I can tell you that, I want an update on the situation," Gennai replied. "How much exactly do you know about Chiaromon and his plans?"
The children filled him in on what they knew so far about the mysterious half-and-half Digimon. Gennai listened in silence, his expression unreadable. When they were done, he sat back in his chair, thoughtfully running a hand through his hair.
"Son of Myotisimon," he said. "Well, that fills in some blanks. I wondered where he had come from. It's unusual that such a powerful Digimon should just appear out of nowhere. Even with Piedmon, we knew he was coming for years..."
His musings were interrupted by a yelp of fright. Gennai looked startled, and a few of the children and Digimon rolled there eyes.
"You set Marcel off again!" said Tasuke.
"Marcel? What's a Marcel?" Gennai asked blankly.
"A weird Digimon," Mitsu supplied. "He's scared silly of Piedmon."
"He's already silly," Yuki said. "And he's scared of everything."
"Really? That's odd," said Gennai. "I mean, Piedmon's been gone for years and years. He's not likely to do any more harm. Why be afraid of him?"
"There's a clue in that somewhere," said Kaiya.
"I don't mean to be rude," said a disembodied voice from the region of the nearest sofa, "but it's bad enough being afraid without being psychoanalyzed, too."
"Fair enough," said Gennai. "Would you at least come out so I can get a look at you?"
"I'd just as soon stay where I am."
"And I'd just as soon you did as you were told."
The implied rebuke was enough to sting Marcel out of hiding. He stepped sheepishly back into review and submitted meekly to being studied. Gennai gave him a few moments of cool scrutiny.
"I don't believe I've seen your type before," he said at last.
"Chiaromon created me," Marcel answered. "I am given to understand that I am the only one of my kind."
"And yet, you bear a striking resemblance to... the master of Spiral Mountain," Gennai replied, deciding it was best not to use the former Dark Master's name.
"Yes," said Marcel, dropping his head as if admitting a character flaw. "I was programed using his data, altered to make me more controllable."
"You are not proud of this? He was a great ruler - nearly conquered the world, you know."
Marcel shuddered violently. "No! I would do anything not to be like him!"
"That's what I thought," Gennai said, nodding as if he'd proven something. "Yes, I think I understand now. I'll wager you're not much of a fighter, eh, Marcel?"
"Marcel's a storyteller," said Kaiya. She had noticed that Marcel was looking not at all comfortable with this conversation, and felt the need to come to his rescue. "He might have been Chiaromon's once, but he's really very nice."
"I never implied he wasn't. I've seen help come from unusual sources before," said Gennai mildly. He looked back at Marcel. "A storyteller, hm? As I recall, the name of your predecessor came from an old word for a storyteller. As much as you don't care for the name, you might deserve it more than he did."
"I'd rather have as little to do with him as possible," said Marcel, who looked somewhat rattled by this new knowledge.
"Nevertheless, I have an inkling it would do you some good to think about it," Gennai replied. "Like it or not, he is a part of you. As long as you deny that, you're missing a part of yourself."
"Why would anyone want to be related to him?" asked Mitsu. "If I were in his shoes, I'd want to forget about Piedmon, too."
"It was just a suggestion," Gennai answered. "But I'm sure you didn't come here to talk about him. You wanted information on how to defeat Chiaromon."
"Yes. Do you have any?" asked Keiji.
"Perhaps," he said, frowning a bit. "Chiaromon is an Ultimate Digimon. If it were simply a matter of physically destroying him, it could be done easily enough. What worries me is that I don't think Chiaromon is all you're going to be dealing with."
"What do you mean?" asked Tasuke.
"It's just a hunch. There have been strange energies moving around his palace - energies that don't seem to be associated with him. I have a feeling he is being assisted in his rise to power by some outside source, but I haven't been able to pin it down. It worries me."
"Oikawa said something about an Ebon Angewomon," Mai offered.
"Ah, yes. There's a sad case," said Gennai. "Yes, I do believe she would help Chiaromon, if she could. After all, he's her son."
"What?" Tasuke exclaimed. "But Marcel said Chiaromon's mother was dead!"
"Chiaromon said she is dead," said Marcel, looking confused.
"She is not," Gennai replied. "She attempted to halt one of Chiaromon's berserk rages, and was terribly injured in the process, so badly that Chiaromon never imagined she would live. He ran away rather than linger to watch her die. When she recovered, she secreted herself deep in the Sleeping Forest, where even Chiaromon is unable to enter. He never knew she survived."
"Well, that puts a new spin on things, doesn't it?" said Kaiya to no one in particular.
"She is a problem," Gennai agreed. "There's no predicting how she will act. She is essentially a good creature, but I don't believe she's in full possession of her mind anymore. She is capable of doing terrible things, all the while believing she is doing what is right. And I believe you have another problem as well..."
"Our parents," said Natte. "Chiaromon's after our parents."
"Correct," Gennai agreed. "That will be the difficult problem. The magic he is using is very powerful because it only works when the person he casts it upon is convinced to accept it. It is very difficult to break a spell when someone subconsciously doesn't want it broken. I doubt even destroying Chiaromon would break it. Freeing his captives won't be easy."
"Wait a minute," said Kaiya. "Captives? I thought it was only Dr. Kido he'd captured."
A shadow of surprise crossed Gennai's features. He frowned.
"Oh, dear," he said softly. "I didn't realize... I had thought Oikawa would have told you..."
"He didn't have a lot of power left, last time we saw him," said Mitsu. "He couldn't stay long."
"Never mind that," said Kaze. "Get to the point! Who did he get this time?"
For a moment, Gennai didn't answer. Looking at him, Kaiya suddenly got a sense of seeing through a mask. It crossed her mind that what she was seeing was a disguise: Gennai was not the laughing young man she'd seen when she first met him. That was a disguise, worn to give viewers a certain impression, to earn their trust, to put himself somewhere on the same level as a human. She wasn't really sure she could really understand what he was truly, but she had the creeping feeling that he was something powerful and ancient - not just old, like the eccentric wise man the original Chosen had met, but something that had lived before her great-grandparents and would still be living when her great-grandchildren were gone to dust, and yet still wouldn't be near the end of his years. Just now, she thought she saw something of the weight of all that time weighing on his shoulders. She thought of how he must have felt when all of his compatriots had died and left him alone in a world not his own.
"Tasuke," he said gravely, "I'm sorry."
Tasuke went pale behind his suntan. "What? But - how?"
"Shortly after you arrived here, your father came after you - to check up on you, I believe, just to reassure himself that you were all right," Gennai replied. "Chiaromon found him."
"No!" Tasuke protested. "He never - my dad would never give in to the darkness! Never!"
"Tasuke, listen to me carefully," said Gennai. "Just because your father was caught in Chiaromon's web of lies doesn't reflect negatively on him. Chiaromon has a skill for taking a person's greatest strengths and twisting them to make them seem to be weaknesses."
"But... Dad wasn't like that... Nothing ever fazed him," said Tasuke.
"And that is precisely what made him vulnerable," Gennai replied. "I remember when Daisuke was a boy. He was a regular firebrand, back then - always taking risks and jumping into things. That is one kind of courage, and it served him well at the time. He began to feel that the only way to be brave was to be fearless, which isn't the same thing at all. Now he's grown up, and he's learning that there is a different way to be brave: to have fears and deal with them, to take calculated risks, to learn discretion. He's a father now. He loves you and wants to protect you, even when he knows you can protect yourself. Chiaromon took a father's love and concern and used it to make him believe he was fearful and weak. He took his skill for putting on a brave face to encourage his friends, and made him see it as lies and deception. Can you imagine what it would do to Daisuke to see himself as cowardly and deceptive when he is supposed to be brave and true?"
Tasuke was thoughtful for a moment.
"Yeah..." he said slowly. "Yeah, I can see that..."
"He has lost his identity," said Gennai, nodding. "Thus, the darkness trapped him."
"But we can save him, right?" asked Mitsu eagerly. "We can get him and Dr. Kido back, can't we?"
"It is possible. It will take powerful magic, though, to undo what has been done," answered Gennai. "If I were free, it is possible that I could do something, or contact people who can. As it is, I am sealed up here, of no use to anyone."
"But Oikawa let us in," Mai began.
"Yes, but the spell isn't keyed to you. It is keyed to me specifically, and that specificity makes it the more powerful. It is possible that Oikawa and I working together could break it, provided we found a way to coordinate our efforts, but even if we did, it would leave us both so drained that Chiaromon would probably be able to best us both easily before we could do anything else. No, I am afraid you all will have to seek a different source of power."
"Is there one?" asked Kaze.
"There is," said Gennai, "but it's a long shot. And there is a danger involved, not just to yourselves, but the entire Digital World. Nevertheless, it might be the only option."
"Well, don't just keep us in suspense!" Tasuke exclaimed. "What is it?"
"The Crests," Gennai replied.
Kaiya blinked. "Um... correct me if I'm wrong, but... aren't they gone?"
"Not gone. Converted," Gennai replied. "Years ago, the Crests were incorporated into a powerful shield, meant to cover the Digital World and protect it from danger. The shield still stands. My teachers always taught me that you should never build anything you can't take apart again. After all, the Crests might be needed for something someday..."
"Like freeing parents from bad magic," finished Crawler.
Gennai smiled slightly at the Minomon. "Yes, I believe that would be one use for them. To that end, I made eight... well, call them Keys. Their purpose is to unlock the powers of the Crests and refocus them. I give them to you now."
There was a shimmer in midair, and a small, flat box appeared, hovering a few feet above the floor, surrounded by a nimbus of pale light. Seeing no other options that made sense, Kaiya reached out and took it. It was heavier than it looked, falling weightily into her hands. It was made of some smooth, dark wood that gleamed reddish where the light struck it, and its outsides were worked with delicate gold patterns.
She undid the latch and found a set of eight crystalline objects. They didn't look like her idea of keys; rather, what they most resembled were the glass icicles some people liked to hang on their Christmas trees. Each was identical to the others, and all were bright and shiny. They seemed unable to decide what color they were; one moment, Kaiya would think they were silver, only to reconsider and decide that they were blue, or purple, or pink. She held one up to the light, trying to get a better look, but it remained steadfastly ambiguous.
"What color do you call this?" she asked.
"That," said Gennai, "is the color of a possibility. You'd be amazed how many people can't see it."
She gave him a considering look and found that he was smiling. She decided that he was kidding... and that he was also serious.
"They'll be a little less... mercurial... once they've accepted the Crests' powers," he went on. "Keep them safe until then."
"How do we use them?" asked Mai, standing on tiptoe for a better look. "How are we going to find the Crests?"
"The same way the original Chosen did," Gennai replied. "They looked."
Kaze looked affronted. "You mean we've gotta go wandering all over the place hoping we'll find a Crest lying under a rock somewhere?"
"That's not right," said Mitsu. "The powers of the Crests are inside."
"Correct," said Gennai. "However, adversity has been known to build virtue. You'll have better luck finding them traveling the Digital World than you would sitting and doing nothing. Besides, Chiaromon and his followers are still out there, and we still don't have a clear idea of what he's doing, or how, or with whose help. He bears watching."
"Got it," said Kaiya. She shut the box and tucked it under her arm. "Thanks, Gennai. We won't let you down."
"I have faith in you all," he replied. "I think it best that you leave now, before Chiaromon figures out I have company. Good luck."
The children knew a dismissal when they heard one. They thanked the sage and said their goodbyes, then hurried back for the door in the garden and climbed the stairs to the surface.
"What took you so long?" Arukenimon asked, when they had arrived.
"We got off on some tangents," Kaiya replied.
"I see," she answered. "I suppose you should know that while you were goofing around down there having tea with the great sage, a squad of assorted small Virii showed up looking for you."
"We persuaded them to go away," added Mummymon, looking smug.
"Oh," said Kaiya, blushing a little. "Sorry. We didn't mean to leave you in the lurch like that."
"Oh, well," Arukenimon replied. She looked uncomfortable with being thanked. "That's what we're here for."
"Anyway, we did get something accomplished," said Kaiya. She showed off the crystal Keys. Arukenimon studied them, but didn't try to touch them.
"Yes, there is magic in these," she said softly. "I wouldn't let them out of your sight, if I were you."
"Seeing as how they're what's going to set my dad free, I don't think I will," said Tasuke, with a hint of annoyance.
"I think we should each take one," said Keiji. "It might be better than keeping them all together. That way, if something bad happens, it will be less likely that all of them are lost."
"I agree," said Kaiya. She took one and pocketed it, noticing to herself how cold and heavy it felt. Each of the other children accepted one, right up until it was Natte's turn.
"Don't give him one," said Kaze. "He can't use it."
"Why not?" Surprisingly, the objection came from Arukenimon, who was giving the smallest of the children one of her piercing looks.
"Because, he's a-" Kaze said, and then paused. It was only a very small pause, but it was just enough for him to change his mind about what he wanted to say. "Little kid," he finished.
"If I'm not mistaken," said Wingblade in his cutting voice, "these keys are supposed to react to virtues. Judging by how the two of you act, I think Natte might be better off taking yours."
Kaze gave his sister's partner a sharp look. "I ought to tape your beak shut."
"Both of you, quiet," said Kaiya. She handed a Key to Natte, who eyed it with a faintly bothered expression. She wondered if he might believe what his brother had said about him being too young.
"I guess we'd better go home now," said Tasuke with a sigh. "You know, break the news to Mom. Man, she's gonna have a fit."
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Mitsu, looking concerned.
Tasuke colored a little. "Yeah, I'm fine. I mean, we're gonna get him back, right?"
"Right," Mitsu agreed. She smiled at him, making him blush even more.
"Ooh, Tasuke's got a girlfriend!" Savvy leered. "Hey, Mitsu, gonna kiss him to make him feel better?"
"You leave Mitsu alone!" Bubbles squeaked.
Kaiya sighed. "Definitely time to go home. Hey, Marcel, are you going to be okay while we're gone?"
"I'll be fine," he replied, looking resigned to his fate. "Just... hurry back, all right? I don't like being all alone."
"I'll try to come back tomorrow," she answered. She ignored the looks Kaze was shooting her. Let him think what he wanted. She felt a bit sorry for poor Marcel, and if she wanted to comfort him, that was her business. Just because it was obvious he had a crush on her didn't mean she'd ever reciprocate...
She was pulled from her thoughts by the sight of someone handing her a small black box. She tried to get her eyes to focus on it, finally realizing it was a cellular phone, and Mummymon was offering it to her.
"What's this for?" she managed.
"To call us," Mummymon explained. "You know, when you get back."
"After all, we don't intend to spend the entirety of our time babysitting you all," said Arukenimon. "Maybe your friend there can sit around twiddling his thumbs waiting for you to get back, but I intend to use my time productively."
"There is a lot of lost time to make up for," said Mummymon. He gave her a hopeful look that she didn't entirely ignore.
"It has been thirty years or so since I was last here," she said matter-of-factly. "I suppose it would be a good idea to see what's been going on in my absence."
"Oh, well, better get going," said Tasuke, stifling a yawn. "I'm not used to this Japanese time - I'm jet lagged. I need to go home and get some sleep."
"Let's go find an exit," said Keiji. "I'm ready to go home, too."
The children and their partners all agreed that it had been a long day. They set out in search of the nearest passage back to the real world, each with his or her own thoughts. Some were looking forward to this as a great adventure. Others saw it as a mission to be completed. Some were still not sure they had what it took to rise to the occasion.
Only one was quietly pondering using the whole thing as an opportunity to rid themselves of part of their own family.
The young Ichijoujis were surprised to return home and find their father in residence. Ken, Miyako, and their partners were all sitting in the living room, conversing earnestly and seriously over cups of undrunk tea. They all looked up with a start as the children reappeared.
"There you are," said Ken. "I was just thinking it was time you got home."
"Dad!" Kaze exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"Visiting," he answered. "Possibly making an extended visit. I had a discussion with Mr. Ishida earlier, and he made a suggestion that I think bears considering. Too many people have been vanishing lately. We don't know how far Chiaromon's powers reach. He suggested that we would all be safer if none of us are alone right now, so I'm temporarily moving back in until this whole mess blows over."
Kaze's jaw dropped. "You're staying here? With us, and Mom?"
"Is that such a surprise?" Ken asked. "These are dangerous times; I want to be here in case I need to protect you all."
"But - but I thought you hated her!" said Kaze.
Ken looked so stricken that Kaze flinched at the reaction. It was one of the few times since his attitude had turned sour that anyone had seen the boy look contrite.
"I don't hate your mother," said Ken softly. "I never did."
"Then why did you divorce her if you don't hate her?" Kaze persisted.
"Because we weren't in love anymore," said Ken. "Maybe... maybe I was angry at her for a while, and hurt, but I never hated her. Miyako is still my friend, and I still care about her... and I still love all of you, no matter what. Do you understand?"
Kaze didn't look like he did, but he nodded anyway.
As usual, Kaiya made it her task to come to the rescue.
"Let me tell you what we did today," she said.
With some help from her brothers and the Digimon, she filled her parents in on their meeting with Oikawa, Gennai, and their assorted new Digimon friends. The discussion was sufficient to take everyone's minds off the uncomfortable questions for a while. Once the time the ensuing conversations were over with, Ken excused himself, saying he needed to go home and pack. Miyako walked him to the door.
"I hope none of the kids get any ideas about this," he said. "I don't want to foster any illusions that we might get together again just because I'm moving back in for a while."
"I don't think that's likely," Miyako replied. "Kaiya's realistic. She might hope otherwise, but I think she's accepted that there's things are over between you and me. Kaze... well, you heard what he said. He was surprised just to see you being protective of me! As for Natte, well..."
"Natte knows," Ken finished quietly.
Miyako nodded. "He understands more than I thought he would. Maybe it's really because he's so young - he doesn't have any preconceived notions."
"We really ought to sit down with the others and talk to them about this sometime soon," said Ken. "I'd feel better about it if they heard the whole story, and I know you're tired of keeping secrets."
"Oh, I am," said Miyako, sighing deeply. "I just keep telling myself, 'Today I'll tell them,' and I never do. It's hard. I don't like admitting the mistake I made, and when I think of how they'll react... Kaze is so hostile to Natte already, and he's getting worse every day. Can you imagine how he'd act if he knew?"
"What makes you think he doesn't already?" asked Ken softly.
Miyako blanched a little. "I never thought of that... but how could he? I mean, if no one told him... and he's never said anything..."
"Children have been known to keep secrets from their parents," said Ken, his tone ironic.
"I know," Miyako replied. "Well, we might as well clear the air, anyway. Just... give me a little more time, please, Ken? It was my mistake, so I ought to be the one to confess."
"I should at least be there, to tell them my side of the story," said Ken. "I don't want them thinking I walked out on you and left you to hang just because you made a mistake. That's not what I want my children to grow up thinking."
"You're still such a good person, Ken. You deserved better than me," she said. "I'm sorry for putting you through this."
"It's as much my fault as yours. Stop blaming yourself. That's my department," he answered, with a hint of a smile. "Everything will be all right. You'll see. I'm still here for you."
She gave him a weak smile. "Thanks, Ken. You're a good friend."
He gave her a goodbye hug before walking out of the room. Kaze saw them, though he couldn't make out a word of their quiet conversation. He went to his room with a lot of thoughts on his mind.