Author's Note: Well, it took a long time and a lot of work, but here it is - chapter six! I hope I can do the next part faster. Thanks for your patience, and thanks extra-specially to those who encouraged me. (You know who you are.) Oh, yeah, and happy holidays!
Oki waited breathlessly, a little amazed at his own daring. He wasn't sure what he could do to help the ethereal being that was sitting next to him, but he had made the offer, and now he was going to have to go through with it. He half-expected her to name some impossible task, while the other half of him expected her to reconsider and realize that there was nothing a skinny human boy in glasses could do that an angel couldn't. Much to his relief, Ebon Angewoman only smiled reached out one of her pale hands to touch his face.
"You are a good boy, Oki," she said. "You have a brave heart."
"Not really," he admitted, "but I want to help, if I can."
"Of course you can," she said. "Only someone like you can help me... only someone who understands pain as I do can know what is driving me. Do you know why Chiaromon is doing what he does?"
"No, not really..."
"He is trapped. He is being held captive by a dark force. He needs the power the chosen ones carry to free him. That is the only reason why he would sink to such an action as kidnapping. Only when he has the seven he needs will he be free to return to me. I would do anything to help him. Do you understand?"
"I think so," answered Oki, "but what..."
"Think a moment. The other chosen ones believe there is danger lurking here. They will be cautious about returning. They will need encouragement."
Oki blinked. "Are you telling me I'm supposed to find some way to lure the rest of our parents over here so Chiaromon can capture them?"
"Not to capture, Oki. Only... a short visit. He won't keep them forever, only just as long as it takes to free himself, and the sooner they are gathered, the sooner they will be freed. They will feel no pain. They won't suffer at all. They won't even realize any time has passed. Besides... haven't you ever wished you could live your own life, away from your parents?"
"Well, yeah, but..."
"This is your chance, Oki," she said. "Listen to me. There is nothing to be ashamed of. All children wish for a separation sooner or later. It is part of growing up, learning to be your own person, making your own decisions. If you don't break free of your parents, you will never be your own person, only a child living in their shadow. Now is the time to choose your own path."
"So no harm is going to come to anyone?" asked Oki slowly.
"None at all. It is not my nature to wish harm to anyone, only good."
"And what exactly do I have to do?"
Ebon Angewomon rested a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. All you need to do is convince a few of your friends here to coax their parents into the Digital World. Only the weak and undeserving will fall prey to Chiaromon's magic. The rest will remain free. When it is over, everyone will be released. They will be free, Chiaromon will be free, you and your friends will be free. Can you not see that this is the best course?"
Oki hesitated a moment, then nodded. "I'll do what I can."
Ebon Angewomon smiled. "That will be enough. Thank you, Oki. I knew I could rely on you." She rose gracefully. "Come. It is time we returned to your friends."
Eager to please, Oki followed after her, already formulating ideas in his mind as to how best to help this lovely, sad creature.
*I'm not going to end up like Dad. I won't let anyone decide my fate for me. I'll start a new life, right here... and maybe I won't go home after it's all over. I like it better here, anyway.*
He returned to find the rest of the group sitting around the spring, chatting and nibbling at those strange, multi-flavored rolls. They seemed to be in a good mood, and welcomed him back.
"You were gone a while," said Kata, slightly accusatory. He didn't seem to have liked being left alone with a group of people, even slightly familiar people. "What were you talking about all that time?"
Oki started to tell him, and then stopped. Something told him that what had passed between himself and Ebon Angewomon was meant to be kept private.
"I'll explain it to you later," he said. "It's kind of complicated."
Kata shrugged; apparently he was used enough to keeping his thoughts to himself that he didn't mind when other people stayed silent as well. "Whenever you're ready then."
Oki nodded. He did mean to tell them what was going on... eventually, once he knew how they would react. They might not understand if he blurted it out all at once. For now, he would have to watch, wait, and prepare.
Preparations were a pain. Kaiya glared at the pile of odds and ends on her bed, trying to think if there was anything else she might possibly need. She could forget about basic creature comforts for a while - things like hot running water and microwaved food - but for her sojourn to the Digital World, she wanted to be at least halfway ready.
The general consensus was that the group had to make an extended exploration of that computerized dimension if they were ever going to find the lost Crests, and they simply weren't going to be able to manage it without actually staying there for a while. The idea had been discussed throughout the night by assorted parents, with the parties who were actually involved sitting on the sidelines waiting for everything to be settled. By the time permission had been obtained from everyone in authority, most of the children had started packing already.
"Can you think of anything I've missed?" Kaiya asked Wingblade.
"Well, I know I have everything," said Wingblade. "You know, brush, comb, styling mousse, hair dryer..."
"Hair dryer?" she repeated.
"Of course! Aren't you bringing yours?"
Kaiya rolled her eyes. "And where do you think you're going to plug it in, hm?"
"Um. I hadn't thought of that."
"You've gotten spoiled, living here in the Real World," said Kaiya. "If you had grown up in the Digital World, you wouldn't have all this neat stuff you do here."
"I suppose next you're going to tell me about the starving children in China?" he drawled.
Kaiya decided to ignore him and went back to going through her bag, trying to make sure she wouldn't make it halfway across some Digital wasteland and realize she was missing something important. She sifted through a jumble of clothes, toothpaste, and other odds and ends, checking it against her mental inventory. She knew she was going to have to travel light - her luggage was limited to what she was willing to carry around for the next few days - but she did want to have at least a few clean pairs of socks and some basic hygiene items. After all, there were some things a girl just couldn't do without.
"I think that's everything," she said, zipping her bag shut. "You just watch, tomorrow I'll think of something else I need."
Despite her resolutions not to worry about packing anymore, she continued prowling around her room, looking at things with an eye to whether or not they should come along. For the most part, the exercise was reassuring: most of what she saw she rejected without a second thought. Only one thing caught her eye. Sitting on a her bookshelf, among the tattered collection of paperback romances she liked, was a book of fairy tales. It hadn't been her choice in reading material; it was something some well-meaning relative, too distant to know her well, had given her as a present a few years back. The stories were a collection of lore and legend from all over the world, ranging from the classic Grimm's fairy tales to Greek myths. As a book, it was nice enough, with a leather cover and gilt-edged pages - a collector's edition, with beautifully detailed colorplate illustrations. As reading material, she thought it was a bit childish for her. She had never done more than leaf through it out of idle curiosity before sticking it on a shelf to gather dust. She had a notion she knew someone else who would like it, though. She picked it up and gave a glance in Wingblade's direction to make sure he wasn't watching her, but he was busy going through his own supplies, trying to decide how to cope with an unknown amount of time without proper feather care. Kaiya slipped the book into a pocket of her bag.
"Is anyone else done yet?" called a voice. It seemed Kaze was done packing, and since nothing else of interest had happened in the next five minutes, he had gotten bored.
"I am!" she called. She slung her bag over her shoulder and began heading for the living room. Wingblade followed, struggling to drag his things with him. Kaiya let out a sigh of exasperation.
"You can't bring anything you can't carry," she told him. "Get rid of some of that junk."
"But I need it," he protested.
"Not that much. Come back when you have a load that weighs less than you do."
"That's no fair," he said. "You get to bring more stuff. You weigh a whole lot more than I do."
"Watch it!"
She walked out of the room and went to see what Kaze was doing. Luckily, he'd had enough sense to travel light; whatever he was carrying, it was small enough to fit comfortably into his school bookbag. Larva didn't seem to have brought anything at all, but then, he had a lot less vanity than Wingblade did.
"Where's Natte?" Kaiya asked.
"I dunno."
"Well, isn't he in his room?"
"I guess so," said Kaze. "If you knew that, what are you bugging me for?"
Kaiya decided there was no point in answering a question like that and went to look for her youngest brother. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, playing with Crawler. A backpack was sitting beside him, obviously packed and ready to go.
"What are you doing in here?" she asked.
"Waiting," Natte answered. "I didn't want to wait out there with Kaze."
"He won't pick on you while I'm with you," Kaiya promised in her most supportive big-sister tone. She escorted him out of his room. The first thing Kaze did upon seeing him was glare.
"What took you so long?" he demanded. "We could have been there by now if you hadn't been holding us up."
"He was packed," answered Kaiya, "as you would have known, if you'd felt like checking on him. All we're waiting on is-"
"I'm ready!" Wingblade called. He flapped in with a bundle clutched in his claws. "Can we go now?"
"In a minute," said Miyako. "This darned computer is giving me problems. It's been so long since I've needed to go to the Digital World...."
She continued scowling and muttering at the computer. Her sons and the Digimon gathered around her, waiting in fidgety silence, occasionally nudging each other out of the way as they jockeyed for better viewing positions. Kaiya, however, didn't feel like joining the fray, and instead wandered off to see what her father was doing. She was used to living with him most of the time, but she was not used to living with him in her mother's apartment, so it still gave her a slight turn to see him sitting at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and chatting quietly with Wormmon as if nothing unusual was going on.
"Hello, Kaiya," he said. "Are you ready for the big trip?"
"Ready as I'll ever be," she said. "I feel a little prepared, anyway. How are you?"
He smiled a bit. "Well, I'm naturally worried for you, but I know you'll all do just fine. I've seen what you're up against, and it's bad, but I don't think it's something you all won't be able to handle, when the time comes. Given that, I wouldn't be surprised if I was the least nervous one here."
Kaiya relaxed, feeling somewhat more reassured. Her father usually had that effect on her. She had heard the stories of how he'd been in the bad old days, but she had trouble believing them. It was hard to imagine her quiet, gentle, gracious father as a maniacal despot. The image just didn't seem to fit him, somehow. Now, seeing him smiling quietly as if the group was simply arranging a trip to summer camp, she decided now would be a good time to ask a question that was bothering her.
"Dad," she said, "can I get your opinion on something?"
"Of course."
"Okay. Do you think it's wrong for a human to love a Digimon?"
The peaceful smile on his face vanished; it was obvious the question had caught him off-guard. After a moment of consideration he said, "Of course it isn't. It's only natural for us to love our partners."
"I don't mean it quite like that," she said. "I mean like romance stuff. Is that wrong?"
He took a few more minutes to answer that. "Love is never wrong - only the absence of it."
Kaiya scowled. "You read that off a fortune cookie. I want a real answer."
"I don't think there is a simple answer to a question like that," said Ken. He took a deep breath. "I've thought about it myself, though, so I can give you my opinion. I think that if Digimon were just like animals, it wouldn't be right - it wouldn't even be possible. But Digimon are just like human beings on the inside. They feel all the same emotions we do - and they're capable of knowing their own feelings in a way an animal never could. Maybe some of them are cruel and selfish, but none of them are without feelings and thoughts of their own, and some of them are capable of depths of love and devotion that would be astounding in a human being. I think that if a human and a Digimon found real love between each other, it wouldn't be any different than love between human beings." He stopped and sighed. "I just made a speech, didn't I?"
"You did, but that's okay," said Kaiya. "It told me what I wanted to know, anyway."
"Good," said Ken. "So, if you don't mind my asking, why bring up such a question? Is it simply a matter of curiosity, or is this something more personal?"
"Kind of both," said Kaiya. "See, last time I went to the Digital World, I met this Digimon, and he's got kind of a crush on me, and I'm not really sure how to deal with it."
"Maybe you should ask him about it, then," said Ken.
"I don't think he knows how to deal with it, either," said Kaiya. "He probably knows less than I do, when it comes to this sort of thing."
"Well, it still wouldn't hurt to tell him up front that you're feeling uncertain," Ken answered knowledgeably. "It will only lead to problems down the road, if you aren't honest about your feelings. Ask me. I've been there."
"Well, maybe," said Kaiya. "I'd hate to hurt his feelings though. I like him, even if I don't like him that way, you know? He's really very sweet, but he's... he's missing something. It's kind of hard to put into words."
"Who is he?" asked Ken. "I hesitate to ask 'what'."
"His name is Marcel. He's a... well, I don't know what exactly to call him," said Kaiya. As memory caught up to her belatedly, she added, "He's the one who let you out of Chiaromon's dungeon."
"Oh!" he said. There was a pause as he shifted gears from talking about a hypothetical Digimon to one he'd actually met and talked to. "Well, that puts things in a slightly different light. I begin to see what your problem is. On reflection, I can believe him being a romantic, but he is a little... naive? That might be the best word."
"That's putting it mildly," said Kaiya.
"Well, talk to him anyway," Ken advised. "It wouldn't hurt to talk to your mother, if you get a chance. She might have some insights on the matter that I don't." He grimaced ever-so-slightly. Kaiya wondered briefly what caused the reaction, but she didn't get a chance to ask before she heard her mother calling her.
"There! The channel is finally open. Come on, guys, let's get a move on."
Kaiya abandoned her conversation and walked into the living room. She found the rest of her family gathered around the computer, peering over Miyako's shoulders as she stared intently at the screen.
"Okay," she said. "According to this, the others are ready and waiting. All we need to do is open the portal. Are you ready to go?"
"We'd better be," said Kaiya. "If we don't get going soon, Wingblade will just think of more things he wants to take with him. You know, like the kitchen sink."
"Hey, I dumped most of my stuff," Wingblade muttered.
"Well, then, I guess you'd better hurry," answered Miyako dryly. "Okay, kids - behave yourselves, and try to stay out of trouble! If you don't come back, I'll be very annoyed at you all."
"Stay safe," said Ken. He was leaning in the doorframe between the living room and the kitchen, watching the action from the periphery. "And watch out for Chiaromon. I don't know what he'll think of you all, but I have a feeling he isn't going to welcome you... and you might be in trouble if he did."
"Don't worry," said Kaze peevishly. "We'll be okay. You guys did it before, and you're okay."
Ken exchanged a glance with Wormmon, but said nothing.
"Well, let's get to it," said Miyako. "Good luck, kids! Digital gate, open!"
There was a burst of light, and Kaiya felt an internal lurch, as if she were falling sideways. A tingle swept over her, and when it was gone...
She stood in a grassy glen, surrounded by solemn pine trees. A tiny creek, hardly more than a foot wide, was winding its way through a cluster of boulders and slabs of mossy gray rock, making musical splashes as it dropped over miniature waterfalls. A glance off to the west showed the tips of mountains showing against the sky, so distant that they hardly looked like more than clouds. The scene would have been a perfect picture of tranquil, undisturbed nature, if there hadn't been an assortment of kids and Digimon climbing the rocks or playing in the stream.
"There you guys are!" Tasuke said, jumping down from a rock. "It's 'bout time you got here!"
"We were having packing issues," said Kaiya. "Anyway, now that we're here, let's get going. Does anyone know where we're going?"
"Might I make a suggestion?" asked Keiji in her quiet, deferential way.
"What is it?" Kaiya replied.
"You might try asking Arukenimon and Mummymon," the little girl suggested. "They said they'd be exploring. They may have seen or heard something of interest, and you do have their phone..."
"Good idea! Why didn't I think of that?" asked Kaiya.
She quickly clamped her hand on Wingblade's beak so he couldn't answer. Instead, she sat down on a convenient rock and pulled out the phone she'd been given. No one had bothered to tell her the number she was supposed to dial, but a check showed that there was only one number registered in the memory. She called it, and a brusque voice answered, "What is it?"
"Arukenimon?" said Kaiya uneasily. "This is Kaiya Ichijouji..."
"Oh, it's just you," said Arukenimon, sounding only marginally less annoyed. "I knew you'd get here sooner or later. Have you gotten anything useful accomplished yet?"
"I was going to ask you the same thing."
"Humph. I didn't come back to life just to put up with teenaged impertinence. Do your own work."
"Well, you're a lot of help," said Kaiya, slightly annoyed. "Anyway, I just called to ask if you'd seen or heard anything while you were running around goofing off, or whatever it is you're doing."
"You wouldn't be talking to me like that if I were there in person," said Arukenimon. "For your information, I've had my hands full just figuring out what's been going on around here in my absence. My job as Oikawa described it was to keep you kids from being eaten alive. The rest of the work you can do yourself."
"Fine. Be that way," said Kaiya. "If for any reason you feel like making yourselves useful this week, we're going to be somewhere near the D-12 sector... unless we've left by the time you get here."
"Humph. It'll take some time to get there. You can expect us to show up in about an hour... unless we don't," she added, so as not to appear too helpful. After a short pause, she added, "If I were you, I'd look for your mutant. He told us to keep an eye on him, just in case - of what, I can't imagine. Anyway, he's done nothing but mope since you left, and I finally got sick of it and left him to himself."
Kaiya nodded. There was no need to ask who he was; the tone of mixed annoyance and grudging respect had to refer to Oikawa. "Fine, fine. Where is he?"
"Oh, probably about a mile or two from the edge of the lake. That's where he was last time I saw him, anyway. Sitting beside a creek and sighing and looking pitiful. I was glad to get away from him."
"Okay, then, we'll have a look for him," said Kaiya. "And if you should happen to come up with anything useful while you're on the way over, go ahead and call - don't wait to tell us when you see us."
"Whatever. We're moving out. I suggest you do the same."
There was a click, and Kaiya found herself holding a dead receiver. She sighed.
"Nice lady. Sweet as ever," she said. "I guess some things never change."
"What did she say?" asked Mai curiously.
"She said she hasn't heard anything useful, and that we ought to try doing the job ourselves," Kaiya replied. "She's probably right, too. I don't think we can get somebody else to prove we're worthy of the Crests... or whatever we have to do to find them... Oh, and she said we ought to go looking for Marcel."
"Why would we want to do that?" asked Kaze.
"Why not?" answered Tasuke, with irrefutable logic. "If we don't know where we're going, we might as well go wherever he is, right?"
Kaze didn't seem to like that, but he couldn't think of a response for it, either.
"I want to find him," said Mai. "He was nice."
"Good enough for me," said Kaiya. "Let's move out, troops."
There were murmurs, some enthusiastic, some less so. Gradually, they died off into silence, and the little group trekked quietly into the forest.
Something was bothering Kata. He was in his room, stretched out on his bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. RB was flopped across his feet, trying to be comforting and encouraging. He was used to his partner's silences, but he had a vague feeling that this one was more serious than usual.
"Is something wrong?" he asked at last.
"I don't know," answered Kata thoughtfully. "Something just isn't sitting right with me. I'm still wondering about that EbonAngewomon woman. Why was she so interested in all of us? She brought us all together for a while, and then... then she sends us all home again without telling us hardly anything we didn't know before. What good does that do us?"
"Maybe she just felt sociable?" RB suggested, without much conviction.
"I don't think that's it," Kata murmured. He stared vaguely off into space for a while, and RB waited. He was used to his partner's silences; he would speak again when he had something useful to say.
"You know," he said at last, "I'd give a lot to find out what EbonAngewomon was saying to Oki."
"Ask him," RB suggested. "He's your friend, isn't he?"
"I almost think he is," said Kata slowly. "I think he's trying to be. He might want to be."
"So ask him," RB repeated.
"Hm," was Kata's only response.
He stretched out on his bed and stared at the ceiling. There was a mobile up there, made by his mother and hung there when he was just a small child - he literally couldn't remember a day when it had not been hanging there. It featured a dozen or so birds made of thin plastic in bright colors, light enough that they stirred in the faintest draft. Every time he opened his window, or even opened or shut the door, the movement of the air would send them all spinning around, looking for all the world like a flock of tropical avians startled into flight. He liked to watch it while he was trying to make up his mind about something, and now he watched them spinning slowly as his thoughts churned.
*I suppose I could ask Oki what he was talking about... The worst he could do is brush me off... I don't guess I'd really mind that much. I'd probably do the same thing... It's really none of my business, anyway. It might be rude to ask... He had such a strange look in his eyes when he came back. At least, I think he did. It's hard to tell. I haven't known him long enough to know what's weird and what isn't... Still, I've never seen that look before on anyone. I wonder what it was?*
He started to turn over, and was stopped by the feeling of something in his pocket. He reached into it and pulled out one of the marvelous pastries that EbonAngewomon had served her young guests. He had pocketed one of them before he'd left the Digital World, intending to eat it later. Like most teenaged boys, he was always eager for something good to eat, and he'd been intrigued by food that changed flavors from person to person. He had wondered if it would change according to his mood, and whether or not it would work outside the Digital World. Now, just out of curiosity, he peeled off a bit of the crust and popped it in his mouth.
It tasted like... nothing. All his senses registered was the presence of something with a soft, clay-like texture residing in his mouth, but he tasted nothing at all. Surprised, he broke off another piece and tried again. There was not even a hint of a flavor; he'd drunk water that was more interesting. He looked down at the roll in puzzlement.
*Well, maybe the magic doesn't work outside the Digital World,* he told himself. *Maybe it even needs EbonAngewomon around to make it work.*
Oddly enough, the thought didn't make him feel any better. The thought of being served fake food by a strange lady Digimon was not especially comforting.
*What can you think of a woman when even the food she serves you is a lie?*
He suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to call Oki and demand to know what EbonAngewomon had wanted to talk to him about in such privacy. He got up and began to reach for the phone.
Someone knocked on his door. It was so sudden that he nearly lost his balance and fell off the bed.
"Go away! I'm busy!" he shouted.
"I'm sorry. I didn't hear any music."
"Oh," he said, realizing belatedly who had to be at the door - after all, his parents weren't around, and there was only one other person left in the house. She didn't knock on his door that often, though. "What is it?"
"Can I come in?"
"Yeah, sure, I guess so."
Kata sat up and tried to tidy himself a bit as Aiko walked in, with Melody trailing demurely behind. Aiko was probably the only person he loved completely and totally. The only other candidate for such devotion was his partner, but when it came down to human beings, there was no one he worshipped so much as his sister. His mother and father he loved, but it was a more complicated feeling, and greatly bound up in a teenager's desire for independence and a wish to be his own person and no one else while trying desperately to live up to his famous parents' reputations. Aiko gave him no such problems. She was simply sweet and beautiful and even more unable to function in the real world that Kata himself. Several times in the past Kata had put his potential status as a female-magnet in jeopardy by intervening between her and schoolyard bullies who saw her as an easy target. She would have been, if she didn't have a younger brother to back her up. She was such an innocent, always so ready to believe the best of anyone she encountered...
"Hi," he said to her, watching her look around in her frightened-rabbit sort of way for a place to sit down. "Just shove some books off my desk chair. You won't hurt them."
Aiko very gently picked up a stack of musical scores and set them on the desk. Only then did she seem to feel comfortable enough to sit down, folding her hands in her lap and regarding her brother with her wide blue eyes. Obviously she wanted to talk about something, or she wouldn't have come there at all, but she didn't seem to be in any hurry to start. Kata tried to say something to fill the silence.
"Sorry we didn't bring you to the Digital World with us," he said. "You wouldn't have liked it, anyway. We didn't have a lot of fun."
"I went," she said.
Kata blinked.
"I went to the Digital World without you," she clarified. "I didn't want to be left behind. I looked for you, but I couldn't find you." In a much smaller voice she added, "I found someone else, though."
"Who?" Kata asked curiously.
She shrugged. "I'm not... exactly sure. That is, he never told me his name."
"Was it a Digimon?" he asked. "Or a human? Or something else?"
"Maybe a little of all three," she said.
That was not very clear, but Kata was used to getting those kinds of explanations. He decided to try a different tack.
"Was it a guy?" he asked.
Aiko nodded affirmative.
"What did he look like?"
"Well... He looked... almost human, but he had wings - one black and one white. He was dressed all in black and white, too. He had long blonde hair, and blue eyes. Just like mine."
"Hm," said Kata, thinking that maybe she was being as specific as she could when she said her new acquaintance was "maybe a little of all three." Based on a description like that, he doubted whether he could have said what manner of being she'd encountered, either. The thought of his naive sister being left alone in some uncharted Digital wilderness with a man who was more than likely not even human made him stomach twist, but he endeavored to remain calm.
"You should be careful around strange guys like that," Kata cautioned. "You never know who could be looking for trouble."
Aiko shook her head. "Not him. He wasn't doing anything wrong. He was just sad and lonely and wanted someone to talk to. He was nice to me. I liked him."
"Hm," said Kata again. He was aware that he had probably been beaten before the battle had even been properly joined. Once Aiko made up her mind that she liked someone, that person could do no wrong. Whoever this person was, he would have to do something truly awful before he would work his way out of Aiko's good graces. Kata sighed. "Well, I guess as long as he treated you all right..."
"Don't worry," she said. "I know he won't do anything to hurt me. He was - he was almost like an angel. Next time we go to the Digital World, maybe you can meet him."
"I hope so," Kata said.
From another part of the house, there came a commotion.
"I'm home!" called a familiar voice.
"Daddy!" Aiko exclaimed, and scampered from the room to go greet her father. Seeing that his interview was at an end, Kata got up to follow her.
At the front door, Yamato and Sora were busy coping with coats and purses - it was the time of year when the air began to go from pleasantly brisk to uncomfortably chilly, unless one was armed with a windbreaker or light jacket to keep off the worst of the air's late-autumn bite.
"Hi, kids," Sora greeted, catching her daughter's hug and returning it. "What have you two been doing while we were gone?"
"Not much," said Aiko. She was, at least, clever enough not to tell her parents she'd gone world-hopping without their permission.
"Oki came over to visit for a while," Kata offered. "He was feeling kind of down since his dad..." He trailed off and shrugged.
"I'll bet," said Yamato grimly. "Well, you can tell him not to worry. I'm not going to forget what that Chiaromon did to him in a hurry. Neither will any of the others."
"Chiaromon must be terrible," said Aiko. "I'm glad he didn't get you like he got Dr. Kido."
"He almost did," said Yamato, "and it was partly thanks to you two that he didn't. Just knowing I had you to come home to was enough... and strange to say, he wasn't really that bad. Wrong, certainly, but... there were times when he was almost nice."
Sora shook her head, plainly not comprehending any of it.
"Well, at least there's one small silver lining to all this," she said. "I'm glad to see you spending time with other boys your own age, Kata."
"I like Oki all right," said Kata. "But don't get your hopes up."
His parents laughed - rather indulgently, as if they suspected him of saying that in an effort to remain true to form. He frowned a little. He'd meant exactly what he'd said. He did like Oki well enough, as far as he knew him. He just didn't think he knew everything about him, yet.
"I wish there was something we could do to help," said Aiko, stroking Melody's feathered head pensively. "I hate never being able to do anything."
"Well, I've had a talk with Mr. Yagami," her father replied, "and it looks like there's a chance you might be able to do something, after all. His son walked right out on us today - more or less told us that he was going to the Digital World and nothing we said or did was going to stop him. He could be right. Adults have been helpful from time to time, but I've never known one to save the Digital World on his own... Except maybe Oikawa, and he didn't come to a very happy ending."
"Does that mean we can go?" asked Kata. He thought he'd feel marginally less guilty about going to the Digital World without his parents' knowledge if he had their permission, though he wasn't sure that permission would really work in retrospect.
"I'll think about it," said Yamato evasively. "I want to discuss it with a few of the others, first... I definitely don't want you going alone. Hoshi is lucky he got back safely... and even luckier that Taichi didn't skin him alive for going out like that," he added, half-smiling at the memory. "If he'd stayed more than a few minutes, I think he really would have been in trouble."
Kata felt a momentary pang of concern. Hoshi, he knew, had been one of the other children Ebon Angewomon had gathered; he would have seen Kata there. If he tried to comfort his father by letting him know he'd been with others...
"Did he say what he did there?" asked Kata, trying to sound more curious than worried.
Yamato shook his head. "No. Hoshi's pretty close-mouthed. Reminds me a lot of his aunt when she was a little kid. He just came back, said he'd seen and heard enough for one day, and walked into his room."
"Oh," said Kata. He tried not to sigh with relief.
"What if we went to the Digital World with a friend?" asked Aiko. "That would be safer, wouldn't it?"
"Well, maybe..." Yamato hedged, "but-"
"Can I go with Oki?" asked Kata, seizing his opportunity. "I promise I won't stay long. I just want to look around a little, that's all."
"Right now?" asked Yamato, taken aback.
"Yes," said Kata. "There's something I want to talk to him about, and that's the best place to do it."
"Well, it's getting kind of late," Yamato began, but his wife cut him off.
"Let him go," she said. "They won't get into too much trouble if they're together, as long as they don't wander too far. They will have their Digimon with them, after all."
Yamato sighed. "I guess you're right. There's probably no keeping you kids out, anyway. It's in your blood. All right, go on and have your visit. Just try to be home in time for dinner, okay?"
Kata nodded eagerly and scampered off. Yamato walked over to a nearby armchair and collapsed into it.
"What a day this has been," he muttered. "Do you really think this is a good idea?"
"Kata will be fine," Sora assured him. "It's easy to forget, we were younger than he was when we first went to the Digital World, and we didn't know the first thing about it, and we were still all right. Besides, I think we should do anything we can to encourage him to spend time with other people. I've been worried about this antisocial streak of his."
"You're right," Yamato agreed. "I don't like seeing him with no friends but RB. If Oki can bring him out of his shell, I won't complain if they want to go to the Digital World or the mall or the moon."
"I want to go, too," said Aiko, pouting a little.
"Maybe next time," said Sora. "If this is a private conversation, they might not appreciate you tagging along."
Aiko considered arguing against this show of favortism, but decided not to. If her outing today had taught her something, it was that she could decide to do things for herself, without getting the permission of someone else. She would go back to the Digital World when if she wanted to, and nobody would ever have to know...
...except, perhaps, Tenshi.
Mitsu walked along as quickly as she could, trying her best to stay in the lead of the group. It wasn't always easy; after all, Kaiya was older and taller than her, and could therefore travel a bit more quickly than she could. She also seemed to have taken it upon herself to be the leader, a fact which gave Mitsu mixed emotions. When this adventure had started, she had pictured herself picking up somewhere where her father had left off, in a position of at least semi-leadership. (There was an ongoing debate, albeit a friendly one, as to whether or not Daisuke had really been the leader of the second team; the pervading opinion seemed to be that there had never been a leader at all, but simply a team effort.) Still, she liked the idea of spearheading an effort against the forces of evil. All her life she'd dreamed of having the chance to battle the Powers of Darkness the way her father had, and now that she had it, she was being upstaged. It annoyed her vaguely. If only something interesting would happen. Maybe they could meet Chiaromon himself! Then she'd show what she was made of...
She suddenly became aware that someone or something was tugging at the hem of her skirt. She cast a suspicious glance behind her, in case Tasuke was trying some prank, but it was only Bubbles, her partner Patamon. He'd stopped flying and was now sitting still, his huge ears pricked to catch some sound.
"What is it?" Mitsu asked.
"I hear something!" he said. "A strange sound, like music."
"Everybody stop!" Mitsu ordered. Much to her gratification, everybody did, looking at her curiously. She smiled a little.
"Just be quiet," she told them. "Bubbles hears something."
In the ensuing silence, Mai's Gatomon, Yuki, pricked up her ears.
"I hear it, too," she declared. "It's flute music. It's coming from over there."
"Didn't Dad say that Marcel played a flute?" asked Natte. "Maybe it's him!"
"Then let's go look," said Kaiya. "I can't think of anyone else crazy enough to be playing a flute in the middle of nowhere, anyway."
With that, she altered her course a little and began leading the group in the direction Yuki had indicated. Mitsu, feeling a bit crestfallen and a bit more annoyed, tramped silently along in her footsteps.
The group hadn't been traveling long before the wind shifted, and suddenly, they could all hear the sounds of music being wafted toward them. It was indeed the sound of a flute, the whispery sound of wooden pipes playing a slow, poignant melody. Kaiya, the first to take notice of it, was suddenly and unstoppably reminded of a dark, rainy evening some months ago, just after she'd broken up with her latest boyfriend, and was feeling despondent and heartbroken and utterly alone...
Almost as soon as that thought clicked, she managed to push through her momentary disorientation, and found herself standing back on the grassy hill she'd been climbing, looking down at a winding creek that shone silver against the green. She shook herself and looked around, noticing that the faces of the others were also fixed in glassy stares. It seemed Marcel's magic extended to more than just storytelling.
"Snap out of it, guys," she said. "We've found Marcel... and I think he's lonely. Let's catch up to him."
The others came out of their trances, blinking and staring as if they, too, were surprised to realize that they were not in some dark, lonely place, but standing on a sunny hilltop with a crowd of friends. Still disoriented, they followed Kaiya down the slope; it was doubtful if all of them remembered what they were supposed to be doing before they got to the bottom.
By following the stream a short way, they eventually came to the "lake" Arukenimon had referred to. It was actually a large pond rather than a fully-fledged lake, though it was possible that it had been a lake when Arukenimon had been better acquainted with the area - things in the Digital World were likely to change, sometimes on short notice, and after thirty years, it wouldn't have been remarkable if the lake had vanished entirely. It was still a pretty place, with a scattering of large rocks around its shores, making convenient sitting places, and water-lilies bloomed on its surface. Sitting on one of these rocks was Marcel, eyes closed, oblivious to all around him as he concentrated on his music. Kaiya tiptoed closer to him, in an effort to attract his attention without startling him. When he didn't notice her, she tapped him lightly on the shoulder.
"Help!" he shouted, dropping his pipes. He looked around wildly, ready to flee as soon as he knew which direction the danger was coming from, and relaxed marginally when he saw that it was only Kaiya.
"It's okay," she told him. "It's just us."
"I see that," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "Please don't sneak up on me like that."
"I tried not to," she said. "You just weren't paying attention."
He looked down at his pipes, and then up at the sky, checking the position of the sun.
"Gracious," he said. "The time has gotten away from me, hasn't it? I hadn't realized. I apologize for ignoring you. I truly was waiting for you to come, but I had to do something to pass the time, and-"
"Yes, yes, it's all right! We're not angry," she assured him hastily.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
He looked up at her plaintively, and she made the mistake of meeting his eyes. She said, "Yeah," and hoped vaguely that it was the right answer; she had momentarily forgotten what it was they were talking about. She shook herself and broke off eye contact.
*I'm going to have to tattoo on my arm or something that this guy is hypnotic. I can't afford to be dozing off like this!*
"That's a relief," he said. "I'm so glad you're all back! I've been waiting here all night, and I was all alone..."
"Weren't Arukenimon and Mummymon around?" asked Tasuke.
"Well, yes," he admitted sheepishly, "but they aren't, er, the most reassuring company. Not that I'm not grateful, but..."
"I know what you mean," said Kaiya. "I'm just glad they're on our side."
She looked around, evaluating the state of her small troop. The older children were in good shape, even after a hike, but Mai and Natte seemed tired after walking up and down hills most of the morning.
"Let's take a breather," she said. "We'll rest our feet a while and figure out where we want to go next. No point in being in a hurry if we don't know where we're going at all."
The group agreed readily enough to this. Natte flopped down on a soft patch of grass and to all appearances went to sleep, using Crawler as a pillow. Taskue and Mitsu settled down on a convenient boulder and started up a conversation while their partners and several of the other Digimon played a game of hide-and-seek among the rocks. Kaze settled into the shadow of a large boulder and tossed rocks into the pond. Mai and Keiji seemed to be fascinated by the multicolored fish swimming in the shadows; from time to time, Mai would reach out a hand to try to chase one closer to shore so he could get a better look. Kaiya found herself standing alone with Marcel.
"Aren't you going to join the others?" Marcel asked.
"No, I don't think so," she said. "Someone has to stay on the sidelines and watch for trouble. I don't think anything is going to go wrong, but with this bunch... well, you never know."
"I know what's going on," said Wingblade. "You just want to stand here and flir-" He was cut off abruptly as Kaiya shoved his beak shut.
"What was he going to say?" asked Marcel, looking bewildered.
"Nothing important," she said, giving her partner a glare. She decided it would be safest to change the subject. "By the way, Marcel, I brought you something. I thought you might like it. Hang on a minute while I dig it out."
She knelt on the ground and began rummaging through her pack. Fortunately, since the book had been added last, it didn't take long for her to find it. As she brought it out, a thought struck her and she mentally ranted at herself for not thinking of it sooner.
"Say, Marcel," she said., "you can read, can't you?"
She hoped he wouldn't be offended by the idea that she might think he couldn't, but apparently he didn't know enough about the ways of the world to be bothered.
"Yes, I can read," he said, nodding agreeably. "Chiaromon had someone teach me. He approves of his servants wanting to be educated. He even let me read some of his books. Some of them were interesting, but others I didn't like so much. I'm afraid we don't share many of the same tastes."
"Oh," she said, somewhat stunned by this outpouring of information. "Well, then, here. Maybe you'll like this better."
She proffered the book. Its gilt edges and the gold-tooled letters on its faux-leather cover shone brightly in the strong sunlight. Marcel stared at it as if he had never seen a book before.
"For me?" he asked.
"Of course," she said. "Go on, take it. I didn't go through all the trouble of bringing it here just to show it off."
Marcel took the book with hands that trembled visibly and opened it, flipping gently through its pages, peering at the illustrations. As it slowly dawned upon him what it was, his eyes brimmed with tears.
"It's beautiful," he whispered. "Just beautiful... I don't know how to thank you..."
"I'm glad you like it," said Kaiya, smiling. "I think you'll probably get more enjoyment out of it than I would anyway."
Marcel nodded, holding it protectively. "I'll treasure it, I promise you that."
"Geez, man, don't blow a gasket or something," said Tasuke. "It's just a book."
"Well, maybe nobody's ever given him anything before," said Kaiya. "Besides, some people like books."
"Hey, I like books," Tasuke said. "I read the latest issue of Robot Mania Galaxy every month!"
Kaiya ignored him.
"I'll let you start reading," she said to Marcel. "Thick as that book is, it will take you a while."
Marcel nodded, his attention fixed on his new acquisition. By the time Kaiya had walked five yards up the beach, he had become completely absorbed in his reading, once again lost to the world around him.
"It doesn't take much to make him happy," she said to no one in particular.
"That's pretty obvious," said Kaze. "He likes you, doesn't he?"
Tasuke snickered. "Ooh, he got you good that time!"
The next thing he knew, he had tripped and fallen face-first into the muddy ground. Nobody saw who tripped him, but Wingblade could be seen a short distance off, strolling along innocently and whistling.
"That's enough of that from all of you," said Kaiya, unconsciously mimicking the tone her mother used to get them to settle down. "This is a serious situation, and we need to act like it, at least part of the time. We need to make some kind of a plan. Does anyone have any suggestions?"
"I vote we have lunch," said Speedbump sleepily.
"I mean," said Kaiya, as patiently as she could, "does anyone have any suggestions as to where we should go next?"
There was a moment of silence. Everyone looked at each other inquisitively, hoping that anyone but themselves would have a suggestion. In that silence, the phone rang. It was so sudden that Marcel, caught up in his reading, jumped to his feet in fright and came dangerously close to dropping his precious book in the lake. Several other people flinched. Kaiya rolled her eyes and answered the phone.
"Now what?" she asked.
"Hello!" said a cheery voice on the other end of the line. "You won't believe the day we're having!"
"Hello, Mummymon," said Kaiya. "Do you have something to tell us, or were you just calling to be sociable?"
"Er, well, actually, we do have something to report," he said. "It was really very strange... I don't really understand it all myself, but, well... Hm, where to begin? You see, well, we were just walking through the forest minding our own business, and-"
He broke off with an indignant squawk, and there were muted sounds of a scuffle. Kaiya thought she heard a female voice saying something along the lines of, "Give me that phone, you..." and some muttered name-calling and muffled protests. At last, she heard a clear voice come through - Arukenimon, this time.
"Next time, let me do the talking," she was saying. "Sorry about that. If I'd let him tell it, he'd be at it all day without ever getting to the point. He'd have forgotten it by the time he was ready to tell you."
"So what is the point?" Kaiya demanded.
"The point is," Arukenimon replied, "that we just had a run in with your friend Chiaromon."
Not long beforehand, Mummymon and Arukenimon had been strolling casually through a forested part of the Digital World. They had traveled far the previous day, making their way to a sector that was more jungle than anything, full of palm-like trees, twisting vines, and flowers in every color imaginable, all of them competing with each other in their colors and fragrances. The overall effect was that of riotous beauty spread haphazardly over the landscape without care for form or composition. It was, in a primitive, uncivilized sort of way, wonderful to behold. Their eventual goal was to reach a small cave where they had formerly holed up, years and years ago, when their master hadn't had any other uses for them and they needed to lay low. They had left some supplies of various sorts there, and the cave was secluded enough that it was just possible that, if the scenery hadn't reprogrammed itself too drastically, their things were still there. At any rate, it was as good a reason as any to wander haphazardly across the countryside, and it gave them a goal to work towards while they were searching for information.
For his part, Mummymon was enjoying the trip. It was rather nice to be strolling through this tropical paradise with his beloved Arukenimon at his side. He never would have believed, in his first life, that she could possibly be any lovelier, but here she was, living proof that in fact she could. He was not quite sure what it was, yet, but he was sure there was something, something that was more than just his delight in seeing her again after all this time. Time in the Primordial Databank was difficult to judge, and he couldn't have said if he'd spent years or hours there if someone hadn't told him, but his stay had been agonizingly lonely, and full of the fear of never seeing her again. Now he was back where he felt he belonged and very happy to be there, but he couldn't deny that there was something just a bit different about her.
Maybe it was only that she was no longer quite as scowling and sullen as she'd once been. In her old life, it had seemed that she was always annoyed about something, and nothing had ever seemed to please her for more than a few moments. Now her normal expression was... not unhappy, but simply pensive, as if she always had a lot on her mind that kept her distracted from the rest of the world. Of course, when something did intrude on those thoughts, she was as quick to snap and insult as she'd ever been, but that didn't happen as often as it once had. The oddest (and best, to his way of thinking) change was that she seemed to actually want him hanging around. On the day of their rebirth, she really had seemed glad to see him again, and their reunion was as good as he could have hoped for. Since then, she'd been more distant, and certainly not what he'd call affectionate. Still, she didn't ever let him out of her sight for more than a few minutes, and she refused to go to sleep at night unless she knew he was somewhere nearby. It was a puzzle, but an interesting one, and he was in no great hurry to solve it.
*I wonder what she's thinking?* he mused, stealing a glance at her as she walked beside him. It was hard to do unobtrusively, as she was on the wrong side for his good eye to see her clearly without turning his head, but she looked just as distant and thoughtful as ever. She wasn't paying attention to him, at least. *I hope she's not having second thoughts about all this. She didn't seem all that enthused about helping the Chosen Children, but she wouldn't dare disobey Oikawa...*
However, he was not to discover, just then, what was on her mind, because they were both pulled from their musings by the sound of a voice.
"Well, isn't this just the cutest thing?" it drawled. "I could paint it and put it on a Valentine card."
Both of them looked up to see an unwelcome presence leering down at him. Chiariomon had been rather miffed at being forced to end his conversation with the girl Aiko, and even more annoyed when he heard the full report of what had been going on in his domain that day. Now he was not in the best of moods and teetering perilously close to his danger zone; his eyes flickered red as he spoke.
"So," said Arukenimon. "You must be the Chiaromon everyone is talking about. Frankly I expected more than a fancy-feathered pretty boy."
"Appearances can be decieving," he said. "And despite how yours have changed, I still know who you are: Arukenimon and Mummymon. My servants told me you two freaks were back in business, but I wanted to see it for myself."
"Well, now you've seen," Mummymon snapped; both of them had bristled at being called freaks "So now that you have, you can go away."
"Not yet, I don't think," Chiaromon said. "I wanted to chat a bit first. Perhaps we can make an arrangement. You served my father, after all. You were born by his arts. We are practically siblings. We ought to try to get along, don't you think?"
"We served Oikawa. He created us with his own blood," said Arukenimon. "We never saw or heard from your father until the day he decided to torture us both to death for his own amusement."
"Oikawa created you? Is that what you've heard?" Chiaromon asked. "He might flatter himself to think so. Certainly you might have been told so. But it isn't true. Oh, he might have done the menial labor, might have contributed the materials, but he never would have had the knowledge or skill to create life, even Digital life, without my father's had guiding him. You owe your lives to him."
"Yes, and we paid our debts," said Arukenimon. "I, for one, want nothing more to do with him, or his misbegotten progeny."
"And what of the progeny of your enemies?" he asked. "Do you really want to serve them, now? Are you enjoying playing babysitter for a group of human teenagers? Do you think they'll be grateful for it? They know what you are. They'll never see you as anything but the monsters who tormented their parents. They'll never like or even trust you."
"They don't have to," Arukenimon said. "I don't care if they do or not. I'm just doing my job. Oikawa's promised that once this is over with, he'll ask nothing more of us, and we'll have our freedom."
"Do you believe him?" asked Chiaromon. "Your lives are tied to his, and his to the Digital World. He has far more power over you than he ever did. He can force you to do whatever he wishes. No matter what he promises, you are enslaved to him... unless you can find a protector more powerful than he is."
"And I suppose that would be you?" asked Mummymon.
"Why not?" Chiaromon replied. "Already I have incapacitated the mighty sage Gennai. I have plans in motion to break Oikawa's power as well. I had little hope from the outset of persuading him to join me, but I had higher hopes for the two of you. I hate to break anyone who might become a useful ally, but the fact remains that you two are the most powerful helpers the children have right now, and you will understand when I say that I cannot allow you to aid them. You cannot help them, and I cannot let you go free when you are under Oikawa's influence. You will serve me, or you will go back to the Primordial Databank. It is your choice."
"You're forgetting something," said Arukenimon.
"Really?" he asked casually. "And what would that be?"
"This," said Arukenimon.
The air around her warped, and suddenly she had become a giant spider. Mummymon followed her lead, shifting in a flash to his monster form. The two of them closed in on Chiaromon, who backed away, realizing rather belatedly how much larger and taller than him they were...
Then he snapped. His feathers bristled, fangs and claws appeared, his eyes glowed red, his whole posture shifted from that of a calm, polite gentleman to a feral beast in a hunting crouch. He launched himself at his enemies, tearing at them with his razor-tipped talons, snapping like a wild animal at their throats. When they threw him back, he launched a rain of red light-arrows at them, forcing them to dodge. Nevertheless, he'd had very little real experience in battle - he'd accomplished most of his conquest by magic and persuasion, not brute strength. The truth was, he couldn't plan very well while he was in his berserk rage, only attack and react. On the other hand, Arukenimon and Mummymon were older and wiser, and they had had some battle experience. It was also true that there were two of them and only one of him, and they did know how to work well in tandem when the need arose. A frustrated Chiaromon found that his attacks were barely scratching them, much less doing the kind of mayhem he'd hoped for, and he howled incoherently in rage. Arukenimon rolled her eyes, shot out a bolt of red webbing, and before he knew what was happening, she'd tied him to a tree. He struggled and snarled, but the bonds holding him were so tight that he could hardly move, much less free himself.
"That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be," Mummymon said. "Now that we've got him, what do we do with him?"
"I have no idea," said Arukeniomon. She prodded her captive with a tentative foreleg, and he snapped at her. "It would be sweet to have revenge on Myotismon, even by proxy.... but on the other hand, I hate to do those children's job for them..."
"Don't you dare destroy me!" Chiaromon snarled. He was so wildly angry he was actually frothing at the mouth; Mummymon backed away from him, fastidiously wiping spittle off his bandages. "The Lord of Demons will rise again! Darkness will take you all! You don't know the powers you're challenging!"
"Oh, now this is interesting," said Arukenimon. "I don't believe I've heard of your Lord of Demons before."
"I wonder what else he'll say if we prod him a little more?" asked Mummymon. He hefted his gun and pointed it experimentally at Chiaromon, who howled in new levels of rage and babbled in incoherent fury. It was a bit hard to follow all of it, but no doubt it would have eventually proven very interesting if they'd had time to piece it all together.
Unfortunately, they were to be denied that chance, because just at that moment, a pair of humans were walking side by side in their general direction.
"I don't see why we had to come out here," said Oki, wiping his brow. It was warm and muggy in the tropical jungle, and he didn't care for it.
"I wanted to talk somewhere we were sure not to be interrupted," Kata replied. "This is about as private as it gets."
"Don't complain," said Nami the Gomamon, prancing along unconcernedly at their heels. "You don't like people, either, remember?"
"All right, all right," said Oki. "So now we're here. What do you want to talk about?"
Kata shrugged. "You said you'd tell me later what Ebon Angewomon said to you. It's later."
"I don't know if it's later enough," said Oki. "I'm still... you know, thinking about it all."
"Maybe I can help you think," Kata said. "Come on. You can tell me. You know I won't tell anyone."
"Why are you so determined to find out, anyway?"
"I don't know," said Kata, shrugging again. "I thought maybe we were going to be friends. I thought friends told each other things."
Oki sighed. "All right. But... if I tell you, you've got to promise you won't tell anyone unless I say it's okay. Especially don't tell our parents. Promise?"
"Promise," Kata said.
"All right," he said. "Ebon Angewomon wants to help Chiaromon, and she wants me to help her help him. She wants us to help her."
Kata blinked. "Maybe I'm not catching on. I thought Chiaromon was the one who tried to lock our parents up just for some crazy experiment he's doing. And you want to help."
"It's not like that!" said Oki. "Ebon Angewomon explained it to me. Chiaromon's in trouble, and he needs our parents to help him get free, but they won't help him now that they're convinced he's a monster. We've got to do it ourselves."
"You want us to trick our own parents into letting them get captured."
"Not captured, exactly," said Oki. "He'll let them go as soon as he's done. Ebon Angewomon promised they aren't being hurt. They won't even know it happened. It'll be okay."
"I don't like it," said Kata. "If it was really all right, Ebon Angewomon would explain it to them, and they'd go along with it voluntarily. Besides, how do we know she's not tricking you? How do we know she's honest? Or that she really knows what's going on?"
"Oh, for - Kata, she's an angel. Angels don't lie, do they?" asked Oki. "Besides, she saved our lives. If it weren't for her, we'd still be sleeping in that forest, and nobody would even know we were there. We owe her a little trust."
"This is more than a little trust, Oki."
"Well, next time we see Ebon Angewomon, you can talk to her, and she'll explain it to you. Then you'll see."
Kata opened his mouth to say something. Then he shut it again.
"Did you hear that?" he asked instead.
"Hm?" Oki stopped walking and looked around. The Digimon pricked their ears up.
"That's a weird noise," said Nami. "It kinda sounds like Oki when he tries to sing in the shower."
"Very funny," said Oki. "It sounds like someone shouting... or maybe it's some kind of wild Digimon carrying on."
"Maybe we'd better leave it alone?" RB suggested tentatively. "Those wild Digimon can get pretty nasty when you trespass in their territory."
"Good idea," Oki agreed. "We'll finish this argument later, Kata."
Kata thought about that idea. He really didn't want to let the matter drop, but on the other hand, he didn't want to become food for a hungry Tyrannomon or be trampled by angry Monochromon. The matter was decided for him when he heard the sound of footsteps crunching through the undergrowth. He looked up warily, expecting to see a wild Digimon charging toward him. Instead, he saw his sister, looking flushed and frightened, running as fast as her feet could carry her.
"Aiko!" he shouted, half-relieved, half-annoyed. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at home?"
"I followed you," she panted. "I was trying to catch up to you, but then I heard a noise, and I went to look, and - oh, hurry, I think they're killing him!"
The boys looked at each other, uncertain. Aiko regarded them with her wide blue eyes, which were now starting to fill with tears. That decided them - neither one of them could turn their backs on Aiko when she was so upset.
"Lead the way," said Kata.
They followed Aiko through the forest, drawing steadily closer to the mysterious sound. They were finally able to identify it: it was the sound of a male voice crying out in pain or anger - or both. Finally, they reached a place where the trees thinned somewhat, and they were able to see clearly what was going on. Tied to a tree was a handsome, golden-haired, humanoid Digimon, whose telltale mismatched wings marked him as being Chiaromon. Looming over him were two horrible monsters: a hideous mingling of human and spider, and a walking corpse with rotting gray skin and jagged shark's teeth. The humans had never seen these two before, but they had heard enough about Arukenimon and Mummymon to make the connection. Aiko, however, was hardly concerned about them.
"Tenshi!" she shouted.
Chiaromon raised his head, and his eyes widened in surprise - and shifted back to their proper shade of blue as he recognized her.
"Aiko!" he called back. "Please, help me! They mean to torture me!"
"Leave him alone!" Aiko shouted bravely. "He's not hurting anything!"
"Yeah, get your slimy hands off of him," added Oki. He felt he hardly had a chance against a pair of high-level Digimon like these, but he felt it would rather compromise his position if he didn't at least make a token attempt to stand up for Chiaromon.
Mummymon and Arukenimon looked at each other.
"What do we do now?" Mummymon whispered.
"I don't know," Arukenimon hissed back. "We can't hurt the children, but if they push a fight..."
"Listen, you've got it all wrong," said Mummymon. "This isn't what it looks like!"
"It looks like you've got a guy tied to a tree and a gun pointed at him," said Oki. "Which part am I seeing wrong?"
"Er..." said Mummymon.
Arukenimon glared at her partner, wishing she was back in her human form so she could kick him properly.
"Don't bother," she told him. "You'll only make it worse. They aren't going to listen, and it'll be back to the Primordial Databank if we hurt them."
"Strategic retreat, then?"
"Unfortunately, yes," Arukenimon sighed. She turned her glare to Chiaromon. "You got lucky this time. But don't forget that we aren't fooled by your pretty exterior. We'll be back, and next time you won't be so lucky."
She spat a cloud of green mist that made all present cough and gag, covering their eyes as the toxic spray made them sting and water. By the time they could breathe again, both half-humans were gone.
"Rats. They got away," Oki muttered. "Hey, er... Chiaromon? Are you... okay?"
"Fine, thanks to you," he said. "I would be even further in your debt if you could release me."
"I'll do it!" said RB.
He trotted up to the tree, flexed his claws, and then, in one swift motion, slashed the webbing to shreds. Chiaromon stepped away, brushing stray strands from his clothing. Now that he could be seen clearly, he was even more impressive than he had been when they'd first seen him. For the first time, Kata suddenly realized how this man-Digimon could command the loyalty of his followers and even tempt someone like his father to believe and trust him. He truly looked like the angel Aiko had named him, golden and perfect and solemn as he appeared. Chiaromon caught his gaze for a second, and Kata got the unnerving sensation that he was being read like a book. Chiaromon nodded ever-so-slightly, as if he approved of him, and then went and bowed to Aiko.
"My thanks, fair lady," he said. "Without your timely intervention, they surely would have killed me."
"I had to help," she said, lowering her eyes shyly. "I couldn't let those monsters hurt you, not after you were so kind to me."
"I could be nothing but kind to someone so lovely and gentle," he answered gallantly. He turned to Oki and Kata. "My thanks to you, as well. Might I have the honor of knowing your names?"
"I'm Kata. I'm Aiko's brother."
"Ah, I see," Chiaromon replied. "Yes, I do see a resemblance, now. Truly yours is a noble family. And you, sir?"
"I'm Oki. Oki Kido."
"Ah," said Chiaromon again. His expression became faintly sad. "Then you have done me a favor in exchange for disservice."
"You mean... my dad?" asked Oki haltingly.
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Please understand that I meant no harm to him," said Chiaromon. "I promise I will release him as soon as I am able."
"I know," said Oki. "You had to, right? I... I heard you were in bad trouble, and that's why you're doing this."
Chiaromon looked surprised, but he didn't ask where Oki had gotten the information. "I'm afraid that is so. I'm a prisoner myself, though you wouldn't know it to see me. I am bound to serve the Lord of Demons, and I cannot be free of him until I've arrayed the powers of seven of the Chosen ones against him. Otherwise I would never do such a thing."
"I understand," said Oki.
"Thank you," Chiaromon replied. "Thank you all. And now I must return to my home - I cannot be away too long, particularly when night draws nigh. I hope I will see you again."
Without another word, he turned and leaped up to the lowest branches of a nearby tree, and then leaped again and was lost in the dense foliage.
"There," said Oki. "Do you see? Are you convinced now? You have to believe Chiaromon is all right, now."
Kata hesitated a moment. He still was not completely convinced, but with Oki and Aiko arrayed against him, he knew he didn't have a chance.
"All right," he said. "I agree with you. I'll help."
Meanwhile, Chiaromon was secure in the deep shadows of tree cover. He chuckled softly, eyes glinting.
"Such trusting souls," he murmured. "So naive. A foul face may hide a fair heart, and a fair face a foul one." He laughed again. "Trust not in the one who seems both fair and foul, for you cannot be sure even of your own impressions... But to have the Children's children arrayed against them - that is sweet revenge indeed. And as for Aiko..." His eyes flickered again, from red to blue and back again in the time it took to blink. "No. I won't think of her. Not now. She's too innocent even for corruption. She's no good to me, and I'm no good to her..."
He shook himself, and then, determinedly, he leaped from the branches to begin his flight home.
"...and so we had no choice but to retreat," Arukenimon finished.
"I see," said Kiaya, frowning. "So you think Chiaromon has them on his side?"
"If he didn't before, I wouldn't be surprised if he does now," Arukenimon replied. "He's very persuasive. If he hadn't slipped up and made me angry, well... it's hard not to let yourself believe what he's saying. And who would you believe, if you had been there? A couple of monsters, or the helpless, handsome, silver-tongued victim?"
"Well, when you put it like that..." said Kaiya. "I guess if I didn't know you were on our side, it would be a lot easier to believe Chiaromon's side of the story."
"Exactly," said Arukenimon. "So now you are in trouble. Odds are good that you just got yourself some enemies that none of us can fight. We can't, Oikawa won't, Gennai wouldn't if he could. It's up to you, this time."
"I understand. Thanks for the warning. I'm sorry I was sharp with you this morning; you've already helped us out a lot today."
"Humph," said Arukenimon. "I just wish I'd given that Chiaromon a few bruises to remember me by before I had to let him go."
"Next time you see him, give him all you want," said Kaiya.
"I'll do that," said Arukenimon. "Count on it."
She hung up. Kaiya put the phone away, frowning, and the others gathered around her with curiosity written all over their faces.
"What was that all about?" asked Tasuke. "Something about Chiaromon?"
"Who's on Chiaromon's side?" Mitsu asked.
"We're not sure, yet," said Kaiya, "but it sounds like some of us other kids might have gotten persuaded by him."
"You mean he caught them, too?" asked Mai, eyes wide.
Kaiya shook her head sadly. "No. I mean they've joined him - we think. Arukenimon and Mummymon caught him and were trying to pump him for information about what he's up to, and some of the other kids came up and chased them away. From the sound of Arukenimon's description, it was Dr. Kido's son and the two Ishida kids."
There was a general outcry. Mai and Keiji seemed to have been stunned speechless; Mitsu looked so angry Kaiya thought she might have an apoplectic fit.
"Man!" Taskuke exclaimed. "That's nuts! We've gotta track them down and knock some sense into their heads."
"I don't know," said Keiji slowly. "It seems to me that our job is to find the Crests. If we do that, Chiaromon should be beaten no matter what the other kids do. If we let ourselves get distracted by them, we'll never get the job done."
"You're probably right," said Kaze. "I'd still like to track them down and beat some sense into them, though."
"Maybe later," said Kaiya. "I agree with Keiji, though. We really ought to stay focused on the task at hand. We'll have to be extra careful, though. Arukenimon said it, and she's right - the only people who can defend us from the other children are, well, us."
Wingblade sighed. "Great. This is just great. Why doesn't someone just spring an army on us and get it over with?"
Kaiya sighed and once again reached down to clamp his beak shut.
Meanwhile, the hapless half-humans had decided to alter their course, doing an about-face to head for the location of their young charges as fast as they could travel. If she'd had time to worry about it, she would have been quite annoyed at having spent the whole day traveling just to have to turn around and go right back again without having accomplished anything. As it was, she had other things on her mind.
"When I signed up for this trip, I had no idea what I was getting into," she muttered. "This is more than I wanted to deal with. Oikawa is going to owe us for this. You can back me up on it."
"If you say so," said Mummymon distractedly. "Did you really mean it when you said Chiaromon was handsome?"
Arukenimon glared at him. "If you can worry about something like that at a time like this, you're even stupider than I thought you were."
"I'm just making sure."
"If I said it, I meant it. That doesn't mean I like him. A snake might be beautiful, but that doesn't mean I want to pick it up."
"So is that a yes or a no?"
She rolled her eyes. "If I had to choose between you and him, I'd pick you every time. That ought to tell you how low Chiaromon ranks in my sight. Now will you drop it?"
"You really mean it?"
"Yes, I mean it. Now, shut up."
"Yes, precious."
They walked a while in silence. However, after about five minutes or so, Mummymon apparently had forgotten about his order to be quiet and started talking again.
"You know," he said slowly, "it occurs to me now that we just faced down Chiaromon."
"Thank you for telling me. I never would have figured it out otherwise," said Arukenimon acidly.
"Do you really want to be free?"
Arukenimon almost stopped walking, the question surprised her so much. She turned to look at her partner and saw him regarding her with a seriousness that she did not ordinarily associate with him.
"Yes," she said at last. "I want to be free. If only to find out what it's like."
"So do I," he said. "Chiaromon offered us that. He knew what we wanted, and he offered it, and we didn't take it."
"What are you getting at?" she asked.
"We stood up to Chiaromon," he repeated. "Some of the Chosen Children didn't. Some of their children didn't. We did. That says something for us, doesn't it?"
She stared at him in surprise.
"I hadn't thought of that," she said. "You're right. You're right, Mummymon, that does say something for us."
And, wonder of wonders, she smiled just a little, and some of the uncertainty that had been on her face all that time seemed to lift. Mummymon beamed. Feeling that all was right with the world, he continued following her on their mission.