Enter The Light
Part Twenty Six: This Way Comes
Standard Disclaimer Thingie: Digimon is not mine. I make no money from the creation of this story. The plot, however, is (mostly) all mine. Don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.
Moo.
Hikari awoke in mid-morning, having dreamt of epic battles and thousands of monsters and a swirling black sky. She opened her eyes to bright sunlight streaming past heavy curtains and wondered if this dream was a portent of things to come, a memory of the past, or a reflection of her own inner fears.
"Maybe all three," she said aloud, getting out of bed. The dream and its fleeting images were slowly disappearing from her memory, but she held on to the thought of it through the rest of the morning.
Mid-afternoon found her in the gardens, still preoccupied with the previous night's dreams, meditating amidst the flowers and the swirling blossoms in the air. Though she'd spent three weeks on the Sanctuary Island, and she'd gone there to learn about magic, Hikari realized that she still knew precious little about what she could do or how to do it. Still, she thought that a bit of focus might help.
Jun and Daisuke had gone walking somewhere with the hope that seeing more of his home would help to awaken more of his memories. They returned to the garden in the late afternoon to find Hikari still there, eyes shut, an expression of concentration and concern on her face. Tailmon was asleep near her partner's feet, snoring lightly.
"Hikari?" Jun asked hesitantly, taking a seat on the bench beside her. Knowing little of magic or the ways of meditation, she was not certain whether it would be wise to interrupt. She glanced hesitantly toward her brother, but if Daisuke had ever known he had forgotten, for he returned her look of confusion with one of his own.
"I don't want to leave her here," Jun explained. "It'll be dark before long, and cold. It seems…unsafe."
He shrugged helplessly, his own face now an expression of concentration and concern which his sister recognized as an attempt to remember something from the past. "It does…," he finally agreed, but had nothing more to say.
"What do you suppose she's doing?" Jun's partner Alraumon wondered, resting her chin on the armrest of the bench, her green eyes wide.
"Seeing something," Daisuke answered almost immediately. Both Jun and Alraumon glanced toward him in surprise, but he appeared more certain of this statement than he had been of anything since he'd returned home.
"What do you suppose she's seeing, then?" Alraumon asked.
His frown, which had been present for some time, grew deeper now, and he began to look more unsettled, stuffing his hands into nonexistent pockets for a moment before giving up and folding his arms at his chest instead. His eyes, narrowed in thought, did not leave Hikari's face, and for a moment it seemed to Jun as though he was trying to see through her and inside of her head, and he seemed to be so intent upon this that Jun almost expected him to produce a definitive answer.
Before he could answer, however, Tailmon yawned loudly and opened her big blue eyes. Almost immediately after this, Hikari opened her own eyes, blinking in the dimming yet still bright sun and looking around her.
"Are you all right?" Jun asked, and Hikari turned to face her, blinking a few moments as though trying to focus on what she was seeing.
Then she looked down at her hands, around at where she was. "I think so," she said, her eyes focusing on a few flowers in the garden. She got to her feet, brushing off her skirt as she did so. "How far is it to the village?" she asked then.
Jun raised one eyebrow in surprise. "The village?" she echoed. "Not far, I suppose…just down the hill…."
"If we walked, could we get there before dark?"
"I think so," Jun answered. "Why do you want to go to the village?" She glanced toward her brother, in hopes that Daisuke could offer some sort of explanation for this, but he appeared to be just as clueless, if not more so.
"I'm not sure yet." She was quiet for along moment, glancing in the direction of the town in question. From the higher levels of the house, it would be possible to see the roofs of buildings, but in the garden there were too many trees blocking the view. "I think that something's coming."
"What sort of something?" Daisuke wanted to know.
"A bad sort of something."
"So then they're both digimon." Sora concluded. "I wonder if he knows that…."
"Possible," Piyomon commented. "When's he been one to tell all he knows?"
"He who?" Miyako wondered.
The Chosen had gathered once more in a small parlor, now that Miyako had finished eating and bathing and felt more well rested. Miyako told the others the information that she'd managed to gain from Ken, though she was disappointed to hear that none of the others had heard of or from him while she was gone. Now, however, she was hoping to have the missing information filled in.
"The Dark Bandit," Sora explained. "He was in our village just before the attack, and after, too. I followed the army of digimon when they left the town square, and I saw the bandaged digimon as he put on a coat and hat and looked human. There was a woman with him that appeared from nowhere and caused his army to vanish. They argued with each other for a bit, and he called her 'sister.' When I mentioned it to the Dark Bandit afterward he asked if she'd been wearing red, but he never explained why he asked. I wonder if he knows that she's not human either."
"The Dark Bandit?" Miyako's eyes had become wider than seemed possible, and for a long moment she was incapable of speech. "A-are you certain of that?" She glanced toward Hawkmon, who had a similarly astonished expression.
"I believe I know what he looks like, Miyako," Sora returned, puzzled by the reaction. "He seemed the same as before…."
"The same?" Miyako echoed dully. She glanced toward Hawkmon again, and he returned her gaze. Then, she shook her head and sighed deeply.
There was a moment of silence but Miyako didn't seem inclined to pass on whatever was on her mind, and so the conversation went to another topic.
"There's been no reported sightings since the last attack at Ishida," Iori stated. "I sent messages to each one of the Lords and the village magistrates, asking them to inform us if there's been any word of attacks, and all sent replies saying that they'd seen nothing of the sort but would be happy to comply."
"There seems to be great destruction each time they wander through," Yamato noted, having spent a great deal of time in Tachikawa compiling reports and then having spent a great deal of time listening to his brother's reports on Ishida and Sora's memories of Takenouchi-Inoue. "Each time, the evidence is of a huge army wandering through, and yet very little fighting. Most of the villagers involved report running for safety and those who did reached safety – the army didn't track down the stragglers or even seem interested in taking lives."
"All the attacks took place near sundown, too," Takeru pointed out.
"Yes," Mimi agreed. "That's why the damage was so heavy in Tachikawa – forty five dead, the highest number." She paused for a moment, frowning, before continuing. "The attack was just after dark, which meant that the villagers didn't realize they were in danger until it was too late to escape, and those who did escape barely did so."
"A lot more wounded in the mines at Ishida," Takeru reported, shaking his head in disgust, "but miraculously, only twelve dead. Nearly two hundred with minor and serious injuries. I still don't know how they all escaped – luck, I suppose."
"And only a few minor injuries at Takenouchi-Inoue," Yamato concluded, with a nod toward Sora in acknowledgement of her work. "None dead."
"There's got to be some sort of pattern to these," Taichi said, an expression of deep thought on his face now. "Tachikawa is far north – nearly two days from here, and Ishida is far south – nearly two days in the opposite direction."
"If all the villages have to do with the Chosen and where we have come from, then perhaps we have only to look at where has not yet been attacked – one of those must be next," Iori stated pragmatically.
There was a moment of quiet as everyone considered their options. "The places that have not yet been attacked," Koushiro said aloud, thinking to himself. He removed a scrap of paper from somewhere in the bag of books and other materials he nearly always carried with him, and then a pen and ink. Quickly, he began to scribble the names of all twelve Chosen on the page.
"Takeru and Yamato both hail from Ishida," he noted, marking a check beside them as he wrote.
"Yes," Takeru agreed, interrupting. "And yet, I think it might be wise to included Takaishi on there."
"Mother's parents' home?" Yamato asked, frowning toward his brother.
Takeru nodded. "You might not have many memories of it, but I spent a great deal of time there as a child, remember?"
"We did," Patamon piped up. "Much time in Takaishi."
"Very well then," Koushiro said, making the adjustment. "Takenouchi-Inoue has already been attacked, as we know, and thus Miyako and Sora have been spoken for."
"As have I," Mimi put in, and the wizard scribbled in Tachikawa on the page.
"I daresay we've little chance of the palace being attacked directly," Koushiro continued, "and so I won't bother to add you or Hikari."
"For the moment, I suppose we're safe here," Taichi said with a sigh. "There's no reason to assume they won't attack the village around us, though."
"True," Koushiro conceded, and added in both Taichi and Hikari and the village Yagami. "Now. Who's remaining?"
"I've not been there in years," Jyou reported with a thoughtful expression, "but it might be wise to return to Kido soon."
"A trip home?" Gomamon asked. "I love travel."
"I don't know what's left of my village," Iori put in, a solemn expression on his face. He glanced toward Armadimon, who was frowning as well. "It's been a long time since I was home. I haven't any family left there, and it hasn't got my name, so I don't know if it would be of any interest to whatever's behind these attacks."
"You're Chosen as well, Iori, and thus of interest, I should think," Koushiro answered, having scribbled in Kido. "I shall put it down nonetheless."
"And what about you, Koushiro?" Mimi asked. "From what village do you hail?"
Koushiro shook his head. "I haven't any memory of it," he answered. "I've lived here for as long as I recall."
"So what remains?" Sora wondered. "Ichijouji?"
"It certainly bears writing in," Koushiro agreed. "And then let us not forget Motomiya…."
The sun was nearly set by the time they'd reached the village, and there was a chill in the air. Hikari had taken a thin cloak and wrapped it over both her and Tailmon, and now she pulled it tight around her.
"Any sign of anything strange yet?" Jun asked.
They stood at the entrance to the village. Before them was the town square, filled with villagers hurrying about their business and merchants closing up their shops. Travelers who wandered through the town sought out the inns for the night and those who made their living dishonestly – and there were a great deal of those in this village – began their nightly wanderings.
"So far, everything looks as it always does," Alraumon answered.
Hikari raised the lantern she'd brought up to her eyes and looked around. "It looks much the same as it did the last time I was here," she admitted. "Perhaps I was wrong."
"Or perhaps the danger has not come yet," Tailmon pointed out, scolding her partner. "Be patient!"
"Do you…feel…anything strange?" Daisuke wondered. Hikari fell silent, lost in thoughts. For a while, she said nothing.
Jun entered the village square, a warm cloak and hood of her own pulled up to guard against the chill, and began to wander through the marketplace as it closed, glancing through the shop windows and admiring a few stands of fruit. A cool breeze darted through the square, swinging the wooden signs and banners of the shops and rustling her skirts.
"Awfully cold for so late in spring," Alraumon commented, shivering, staying close to her partner. "I wonder if this means a storm is coming?" She glanced upward and saw a few clouds gathering in the night sky, but nothing overtly threatening of rain.
"I hope not," Jun said. "I don't want to be caught out here in the rain at night. I wonder what we're looking for." She sighed and turned to wander back toward where she had left the others, not far away.
There was no one there.
"Damn," Miyako mumbled under her breath, just quiet enough not to be heard. Taichi must have had a similar thought, because his thoughtful expression was suddenly replaced by a frustrated scowl.
"You don't suppose - ?" Sora questioned, noticing his expression.
Before anyone could say anything further, Miyako got to her feet. "I'll go," she volunteered. "I'll leave right now, and I can be there in a few hours."
"It'll be after dark," Koushiro pointed out.
"Can you fly any faster?" she demanded, turning to him. He shook his head.
"The fastest anyone could get there would be in a few hours," Yamato pointed out. "Even if we sent the speediest Piyomon we know, it would still be a few hours, an hour or two too late to reach Motomiya. There's no certainty they'll attack tonight – just because it's the first thing we think of doesn't mean that village is in danger now…."
"No," Taichi said, shaking his head. He, too, had gotten to his feet, and was scowling ever deeper. He ran a hand through his hair. "No, it'll be tonight, I'm sure of it."
"And they don't know anything about it," Miyako put in.
Iori shook his head. "Lord Motomiya got the message I sent out to the rest of the kingdom," he pointed out. "He's well aware of the problem."
"He doesn't know his village is at risk, does he?" Miyako returned. "You didn't tell him that the attacks were connected to the Chosen, did you? Hikari and Daisuke know nothing about it, either. And while they've stuck to a pattern of destroying the villages and moving on, what if they don't this time? What if, because there are two Chosen defenseless nearby, they decide to attack them?"
"Not completely defenseless, I'm sure," Takeru put in cautiously, but Miyako shook her head.
"Do you suppose Hikari could defeat an army by herself?" she asked. "I don't think she could, not that she's not powerful, but an army? I daresay that's beyond her scope. And Daisuke…." She shook her head. "I'll go. Right now."
Taichi was frowning deeper than ever now, so deeply that it looked as though the frown would run down off his chin and into the floor. He was quiet a long moment, and then he nodded, once.
"Not alone!" Takeru protested. "I'll go too. What's the addition of one to stop an army? I'll go."
Yamato let out an audible sigh of frustration. "Go then," he said before Taichi could make any sort of sign of disapproval or approval. "Both of you. Not that it will do much good, as it'll be dark before you arrive, but go if you must."
They'd left the village, leaving Jun behind, heading southward. The breeze was growing stronger now, and the sky darker. Hikari held the candle at an arm's length, lighting the path ahead of her. Beyond the village, there was nothing but grassland and a few scattered farms. It grew slowly colder, and Hikari pulled the hood of her cloak over her eyes.
"Where are we going?" Daisuke wanted to know, hurrying quickly behind her so that he might see in the dim light, but Hikari didn't answer, only walked faster and faster until they'd reached the edge of the river stream and then she paused.
The water was floating gently past, the sound of it a gentle calm. Hikari looked down at it and saw a few fish in the stream. Something was nearby. "It won't be long now," she said.
"Are you sure this is wise?" Daisuke ventured to ask. Hikari turned to face him, holding up the lantern to see his face more clearly. She peered at him with a scrutinizing glance for such a long time that he began to feel a bit nervous.
"There's something coming this way, quickly," she replied. "Do you want to see that village destroyed and all those people killed?"
He appeared alarmed by this statement. "Killed? I…no."
"Neither do I," she answered. "Therefore, I'm staying here, and trying to stop it."
"Stop it? How? And what is it?"
"I don't know," Hikari said, rummaging in the pocket of her skirt and removing a small blue box. She held it in her hand for a moment and then held it out to him. "This is yours. Take it. I think…I am almost certain that you will need it tonight. I have held on to it for too long. "
If she had expected him to ask more questions, then she was surprised, because Daisuke only took the box from her hand without another word and nodded as though he understood everything she had said.
The air was cold, and growing colder. A sudden gust of cold air sent shivers down spines. Hikari wrapped her cloak tighter around her shoulders. "It won't be long now," she said, closing her eyes against the strong breeze.
She could feel, somehow, something bending in the air itself, something coming closer, something dark and evil….
"Is that what's coming that you want to stop?" Daisuke questioned, pointing. Hikari opened her eyes and followed his gaze to across the empty plains, and saw that a group of various sized dark shapes had appeared from nowhere and were beginning to move closer.
"Looks like it," Tailmon noted, jumping down from her partner's arms. "Shall we go?"
"Not yet," Hikari answered. "Wait…."
"Wait?" Daisuke echoed. "Wait for what?"
Suddenly, the night became day and the grasslands became a sea of fire. The tall grasses and the small shoots of the crops in the farms caught fire almost all at once, and a massive wall of flames appeared between them and the intruders.
Almost immediately, the fire spread in two directions, forming a wall between the village and the river that formed a border with the Eastern Forests, and then a wall that blocked the road leading back up the hill, the direction they had come. It spread further, blocking the road leading north.
"It's circled the village," Tailmon realized, spying the fire with her keen eyes even through the village streets. "They've trapped everyone inside."
"So there's no escape, then," Hikari concluded. "We fight and stop this army or else."
Still no sign of an ending to this, so stay tuned!
Next part, arriving soon: The battle, obviously. V-mon's return, and, um, stuff. Expect lots of coming excitement, some of which will eventually involve Iori. Wow.