Chapter Four
--Ienji--
Expressionless, Ienji looked down upon the strange contraption that had suddenly appeared in his hand.
It was metallic cobalt hue, smoothed yet shaped irregularly, but at the same time seemed to lack corporeality; it felt real enough as he turned it over in his hands inquisitively, but at the same time he strongly felt that it did not exist in the same way as everything else.
As he inspected the device, it seemed to glow, an unseen light pulsing out from within it. No, that wasn't right--it wasn't a light so much as a mist, neither dark nor bright, just hazy.
There was something else he felt, too, in the depths of his being--like was touching something, getting closer to something. He felt as if a connection was forming between himself and something out of this world.
But through all this, Ienji felt very calm, as though maybe some part of him felt that this needed to happen....
--Evan--
Twenty seconds later, he had arrived in the History Reference section, a tiny, mostly unvisited section of the library. Adjacent to a partially unloaded book cart was a boy with a vacant look; the same kid Evan had crashed bikes with less than an hour earlier. He couldn't recall his name.
In the kid's hand was an active ghost digivice.
Moving quickly, Evan held out his digivice in defensive position. He'd been taught this method several years ago, but never thought he'd have to use it.
He concentrated on a negation, an equalizing data stream. It was, in the end, all data; if he supplemented it correctly, he could nullify the rapidly building forces of the digital reaction.
As the digital beam burst from his own GD, he sensed the kid's digivice anticipate the maneuver and shift bases; as the beam of his digivice collided with the data flow that linked the kid and the other digivice, both he and Evan were thrown against opposing walls in the resulting shock wave.
--Ienji--
As Ienji hit the wall, he was jolted out of the trance he'd locked himself into. Immediately all the digital activity dispersed, and the area resumed its role as the mundane reference section of the library once more.
"What.... happened here?" he finally asked. He remembered everything that had happened, but while it had happened, he'd been in a different state of mind; now it was over, but he felt different, very different, and had many questions for the other, who was just getting to his feet.
Ienji could tell that last impact had taken a lot out of him; the other groaned as he stood up. "Deja vu...." Ienji heard him mutter.
Suddenly, the other looked up, as though recognizing Ienji for the first time. For a few seconds their eyes met uncertainly, until the other broke off, redirecting his gaze to the ground and sighing heavily.
--Evan--
After picking himself up off the ground, Evan had immediately felt in his pocket for his cell phone; he'd need to tell Amelia about this. It was only after his jacket pocket turned empty that he had a brief flashback and saw his cell phone fly out of his pocket and get crushed under the wheel of a car.
Cursing to himself--the kid didn't flinch at the language, being unable to recognize American profanity--he asked the kid, "Are you carrying a cell phone?"
The kid shook his head in response before responding verbally. "My house is a five-minute bike ride from here, though."
Evan considered this for a moment before nodding. "That would be fine."
--Ienji--
Expressionless, Ienji looked down upon the strange contraption that had suddenly appeared in his hand.
It was metallic cobalt hue, smoothed yet shaped irregularly, but at the same time seemed to lack corporeality; it felt real enough as he turned it over in his hands inquisitively, but at the same time he strongly felt that it did not exist in the same way as everything else.
As he inspected the device, it seemed to glow, an unseen light pulsing out from within it. No, that wasn't right--it wasn't a light so much as a mist, neither dark nor bright, just hazy.
There was something else he felt, too, in the depths of his being--like was touching something, getting closer to something. He felt as if a connection was forming between himself and something out of this world.
But through all this, Ienji felt very calm, as though maybe some part of him felt that this needed to happen....
--Evan--
Twenty seconds later, he had arrived in the History Reference section, a tiny, mostly unvisited section of the library. Adjacent to a partially unloaded book cart was a boy with a vacant look; the same kid Evan had crashed bikes with less than an hour earlier. He couldn't recall his name.
In the kid's hand was an active ghost digivice.
Moving quickly, Evan held out his digivice in defensive position. He'd been taught this method several years ago, but never thought he'd have to use it.
He concentrated on a negation, an equalizing data stream. It was, in the end, all data; if he supplemented it correctly, he could nullify the rapidly building forces of the digital reaction.
As the digital beam burst from his own GD, he sensed the kid's digivice anticipate the maneuver and shift bases; as the beam of his digivice collided with the data flow that linked the kid and the other digivice, both he and Evan were thrown against opposing walls in the resulting shock wave.
--Ienji--
As Ienji hit the wall, he was jolted out of the trance he'd locked himself into. Immediately all the digital activity dispersed, and the area resumed its role as the mundane reference section of the library once more.
"What.... happened here?" he finally asked. He remembered everything that had happened, but while it had happened, he'd been in a different state of mind; now it was over, but he felt different, very different, and had many questions for the other, who was just getting to his feet.
Ienji could tell that last impact had taken a lot out of him; the other groaned as he stood up. "Deja vu...." Ienji heard him mutter.
Suddenly, the other looked up, as though recognizing Ienji for the first time. For a few seconds their eyes met uncertainly, until the other broke off, redirecting his gaze to the ground and sighing heavily.
--Evan--
After picking himself up off the ground, Evan had immediately felt in his pocket for his cell phone; he'd need to tell Amelia about this. It was only after his jacket pocket turned empty that he had a brief flashback and saw his cell phone fly out of his pocket and get crushed under the wheel of a car.
Cursing to himself--the kid didn't flinch at the language, being unable to recognize American profanity--he asked the kid, "Are you carrying a cell phone?"
The kid shook his head in response before responding verbally. "My house is a five-minute bike ride from here, though."
Evan considered this for a moment before nodding. "That would be fine."