The Crystal Gate
Part Twenty: Neither Living Nor Dead
Standard Disclaimer Thingie: Digimon, all characters, etc, are not mine. This rambling thing called a plot is. Don't steal, don't sue, don't forget to moo.
The town was in a valley, below the palace. A stone path meandered through soft green grass, down a gently sloping hill toward the village square. Ordinarily, the path in the early evening was traveled mostly by merchants who had peddled their wares in the palace courtyards and were returning to their homes for the evening. A few people were often seen strolling about, seeking the best place to view the approaching sunset.
Today, the village was less peaceful than usual, with what seemed to be an endless string of explosions sending stone, bricks, and mortar down to the ground with violent, damaging results. Therefore, the path between the town and the palace was also far less peaceful, crowded with people escaping the battles, knowing that they would be far safer behind the refuge of strong walls and ancient, protective magic.
It was difficult to escape the palace, for the crowds were thick and the people were panicking. The men of the palace guard were anxiously watching the growing crowd from their posts every few steps, and a few of them were arguing amongst themselves about whether or not refugees ought to be allowed to enter the palace. During the day, certain parts of the building were opened to all people, and the great hall had many times before offered food and shelter to those taking refuge. With little knowledge of what was going on in the town, some of the guards seemed to think that they should turn away the people.
"There's too many of them," one of them could be heard grumbling as Mimi emerged into a corridor near to the hall. Even here, the din of conversation and panicked townspeople could be heard through the thick walls. "We ought to…."
"To what, exactly?" Jyou demanded, pausing in his steps. "Send them back to a town that's half destroyed?"
The guard who had spoken and the one he had been complaining to immediately shook their heads. "N-no, sir," he stammered.
"Are there injured amongst them?" he questioned. "Anything serious?"
"I don't know," the guard replied apologetically. "I was told not to leave my post."
"There are things here that must be seen to," Hikari said, entering the corridor at last. "We must not spend much time, however. We are needed far more elsewhere."
"Y-you're going down to the village?" the guard asked, eyes wide, mouth falling open. "B-but…."
"It is where I am needed," she answered, and he let any further protests fall silent, though he stared as she passed.
The hall was crowded with people, even more people than had taken shelter during the blizzards of the past winter. The wounded and injured had been clustered together in a corner of the hall, and already the palace doctors and nurses, along with a handful of untrained volunteers, were applying bandages and cleaning wounds. Without hesitation, Jyou crossed the room and headed to that area.
"Princess!" a relieved voice called from across the room, and a moment later the captain of the palace guards had crossed the hall and was standing before them. He was a tall man with dark hair and eyes that had seen war. His normally impeccable uniform was torn, and bloodstains spattered it. "It is a great relief to see you…."
"I cannot stay," Hikari interrupted before he could comment further on her good fortune. "I have to go where I am needed."
He hesitated for a long moment, obviously fighting against his desire to find some way of making her stay. "It is understood, your majesty," he answered finally, conceding. "The refugees…."
"Let them in," she answered, peering around the room at the people. Some of them were completely unharmed, but almost all of them appeared distressed in some way. Families sat together, parents comforting children. Even those who had escaped unharmed had no guarantee that their homes and possessions would not be completely destroyed. "Every one of them. I don't care if they're injured or not. Put them wherever we have space."
"You're certain - ?"
"The town may very well not be standing by the time the sun rises tomorrow," Hikari replied. "Allow every last one to enter."
"Yes, ma'am," he answered immediately, pleased to have official orders at last. Hurriedly, he bowed and rushed off to his work.
The attacks and power of the dark wizard they had seen had somehow weakened the digimon to a state where victory was not assured, even over what appeared to be relatively weak Ogremon. Greymon and Birdramon had set both of the attacking ogres on fire several times, but either their flames were weak or the Ogremon were more powerful than most Ogremon because they did not seem to be badly injured or burned. They continued to attack, swinging their clubs wildly, smashing stones and bricks and leaving huge craters in walls and the ground.
Sora had taken Taichi (largely against his will) by the hand and run, dragging him behind her. They fled the square and the space where the fountain had been and ran into the depths of the town, hurrying between alleyways and over the rubble of destroyed buildings. There were, thankfully, no other people to be seen, injured or otherwise.
She paused for breath in the midst of an alley, leaning against a still-unharmed wall and breathing heavily. Behind them, they could hear the sounds of battle; stones and bricks being smashed, the roar of Greymon and the screech of Birdramon.
"What's that?" Taichi wondered, having turned back to face the direction from which they'd come. Some digimon was battling another in the sky, although they were too far away to be seen clearly from this distance. Instead, flashes of white light and dark energy slammed into each other in the sky like fireworks, sending out sparks of light when they met.
Sora turned her head to see for herself, but something else to the north caught her eye. "And that?" she questioned, for she could see tiny lights exploding on the hill above the town.
"It seems we're not the only ones doing battle," Taichi observed. "At least two other fights."
"Look out!" called a voice, and a large explosion above sent small pieces of rock raining down into the alleyway. This time, Taichi grabbed Sora by the hand and pulled her quickly out of danger.
"Maybe three battles," Sora observed, watching as the small though dangerous pieces of stone crashed into the ground where she had been standing only a moment before. "Who -? Oh! It's that green bug digimon again!"
It was indeed. The roof above was home to a battle between the mysterious green digimon and two ferocious Ogremon. Small bits of rubble rained down in to the alley below. "I think we might want to get out of this area," Taichi said, stepping back to avoid the shower of stone.
"And run from battle?" questioned the voice which had previously warned of danger. The young king whirled quickly to see who was speaking, and they saw a young man emerge from the shadows. One eye was on the battle above, the other watching them both. "The whole town is a battlefield now. The only place safe is back at the palace."
"Ken!" Sora realized, recognizing him almost immediately. "Then that - ?"
He nodded shortly before she had finished the question, turning to watch as the green bug digimon, undoubtedly his partner, battled a ferocious Ogremon, easily dodging the swings of his club.
Taichi turned his own eyes upward to watch the battle for a moment. "Do you know anything about who's behind this?" he questioned.
Ken shook his head, finally turning to face them both. "No," he answered, frowning deeply, his eyes briefly turning a shade darker than they had been before. "Someone of great power, but I don't know who."
"Not Demon?" Sora questioned. "No, we saw the one who's behind this, and he seemed to be a man…a wizard, I'd guess, but not Demon."
"Does not mean he was not an illusion," Ken told her, "but no, he was not. This is not his plan."
"Do you mean to say," Taichi interrupted before Sora could pose another inquiry, "that Demon is not an absolute ruler of the shadows?"
Ken shook his head, a dark expression in his eyes; perhaps sadness. "There is never absolute power, your majesty," he answered, frowning even deeper. "Especially when it comes to the Shadow World. There are many who would challenge him, who would take his power. He is strong, but that is temporary, and that doesn't mean some other digimon or human even might gain enough power to be stronger than Demon."
Sora turned slightly pale at the thought of a multitude of Shadow World digimon to fight, each one more powerful than the last. Before anything further could be said, however, a loud explosion sounded very close, and the side of a tall building was reduced to rubble.
"Is there a reason," Yamato called, emerging from the smoke of the battle, "why you are all standing around talking when there is obviously a war going on around you?" He was nearly soaked in sweat and a layer of dust and dirt coated his arms and face, giving his skin a slightly brownish-gray tint. He looked as though he had been fighting for some time, and only now did he sheathe his sword and wipe his brow.
Takeru, emerging from the dust behind his brother, looked only slightly better. He, too, was covered with a layer of rubble, though it was not so thick. "They're resting!" he told his brother. "I'd like to rest, too, except that you keep pulling me into battle!"
"If we do not fight them, they will keep coming!" the elder countered, turning to glare at his brother with a stern expression. "We must keep moving."
"It won't do any good," Ken stated in a calm voice, having turned his focus back toward the battle his partner was engaged in. Shocked more by the sight of him than the words, Yamato fell silent, and Takeru followed his gaze toward the rooftop of a nearby building. The green bug digimon who was his partner was still battling the Ogremon. Suddenly, the bug took to the air and attacked the ogre with a vicious attack. The Ogremon deleted into a thousand miniscule particles. A faint smile crossed Ken's face at his partner's success.
"This way!" called a voice from a different direction entirely, and the sounds of battle could be heard approaching. Takeru sighed at the thought of further fighting, and Yamato removed his sword again and prepared to face whatever enemies were approaching.
Miyako stumbled into the alleyway, almost tripping over the tattered hem of her skirt. She, too, was covered in dust and sweat, and her hair hung limp as though she had been doused in a three-day long downpour. Taking no notice of those around her, she pulled herself to her feet and took a few steps further, turning back to face whatever was behind her.
"Yah!" shouted a different voice, and a man, dressed entirely in black, with a black shroud obscuring all but his eyes, brought his sword down to attack her.
"No!" Sora gasped, but before the word had escaped her mouth, Shurimon was there, easily blocking the man's attack so that the sword clanked off of his star-shaped metallic hands.
Miyako took another few steps backward, still unaware of the others around her, eyes focused on her partner and his opponent. Thus, she was taken completely by surprise when Yamato, shouting a battle cry of his own, threw himself headfirst into the battle, unsheathing his sword again. Takeru was beside her a moment later, helping to steady her as she wobbled on her feet.
With a final sweep of his sword, Yamato stepped back and watched as the man fell to the ground and then disintegrated as though he were a digimon. Surprised by this manner of defeat, he stood still for a moment, his sword loosely gripped in his hand. "What - ?"
"As I suspected," Shurimon mumbled before a white light surrounded him and he de-evolved, becoming Hawkmon once more. "He wasn't really human. He moved too fast, with too much strength."
"No," Ken agreed, looking at the place where the man had disappeared. "Same as most of those digimon aren't really digimon."
"Illusions of dark magic," Takeru concluded, frowning. "That's why they all delete so strangely, right?" A nod was his answer.
"Damn it," Yamato muttered, sheathing his sword.
Immediately outside the palace, it seemed to Mimi as though they had entered a completely different world. Although she had observed the evidence of battles from the upper stories of the palace, it was quite a different thing to realize that only a short distance from the door, the town had been largely reduced to rubble. She understood now the frightened, tired, dirty faces of those who had come to take refuge in the palace and shivered despite the warmth.
It was quickly growing darker, and Mimi carried a lantern in one hand, stretching it away from her body to spread the light as far as possible. It formed a faintly yellow, glowing circle around them as they walked.
"All this for a crystal?" Palmon wondered, peering around her partner's skirts with big green eyes. "All this for one little rock?"
"It does seem a bit like overkill," Gomamon agreed from the doctor's shoulder where he was perched. "So much destruction…."
"No," Hikari said in answer to the question. "They found the crystal nearly an hour ago."
"Then this destruction is pointless?" Mimi asked, shivering.
"Not quite pointless," Tailmon replied. "This destruction is to destroy the Chosen and get the rest of the crystals."
"Um…was it a wise idea to bring this one with me?" Jyou wondered, holding the rock in question in his hand.
Before this inquiry could be responded to, however, a dark figure emerged from within a cloud of smoke and dust that obscured the road above. In the few seconds it took for those present to realize that the figure was a man, dressed from head to toe in black, only dark eyes visible, it leapt into the air, sword drawn, blade glinting in the light from a nearby burning building. Mimi took in a gasp of air and moved a half-step backward, but neither Hikari nor Jyou had time to react.
Palmon did, however, and the sound of Mimi's scream of fright was partially obscured by the sound of her wailing digivice, and a split-second later the mostly harmless plant digimon was replaced by a huge cactus with red fighting gloves and an angry expression. The sword of the attacker bounced mostly harmlessly off one glove and the man leapt backward again.
"Who are you?" Jyou demanded when he'd worked out in his mind what had happened. He took a step forward, stepping between Mimi and the mysterious man. A sharp object of some sort had cut a slit in the leg of the stranger's pants, and a bit of red blood had trickled out to splatter on his thigh. A similar wound was on the right arm, evidence that someone or something had fought him before.
"It's no bother asking. He won't tell you anything," Hikari told him, her voice indicating that she was interested in something else entirely. She was already walking forward, seeming to pay no attention whatsoever to the man, and then he leapt again, this time aiming his attack toward Jyou.
Angered enough for the attack on her partner, Togemon stepped again in front of the swordsman and blocked the attack again. "If you're the one with the crystal and he's one of those after the crystal, then you might want to watch out," she advised the doctor. Then, she took a step forward and brought one fist down on the ground very near to where he had stood (though not quite near enough, for he dodged very quickly).
"Oh don't smash him flat!" Mimi called to her partner. "It'll be so…disgusting." She shivered. Gomamon stared at her with wide eyes for a moment and then shook his head.
"I'll smash him flat," he said to his partner. "We can leave the mess to be cleaned up later. Let me…."
"Not yet," Jyou interrupted before Gomamon could finish his bloodthirsty plans. He was looking rather pale at the thought of the man's blood and guts being spread over the ground.
Hikari had taken a few steps forward, away from the fight, and was looking toward the town nearby, the buildings that could be seen in the dim light as dark shadows against a darker night. She had taken the sword with her, though she had taken care to sheath it before leaving, and carried it now over her shoulder. With her right hand she reached over her shoulder and touched the hilt as though to assure herself it was still there. Tailmon glanced up toward her partner with a questioning expression.
"At some point," Hikari said, speaking more to herself, "I need to stop watching and act."
"We could act now," Tailmon proposed, casually examining the sharp claws of her right paw. "I could probably take care of that one easily enough even now."
"Probably," her partner conceded, glancing back to see that once again the cactus digimon's fist had only narrowly missed the attacking swordsman. The ground shook, but only faintly, and only for a short time.
A sound from the opposite direction caught her ear however, and at the same time the feline digimon turned toward the noise. She twitched her ears and frowned, sniffing the air. "Blood."
Before Hikari could comment on this disturbing bit of information, the sound of metal clanking on metal could be heard, and the grunts of fighters breathing heavily in battle. After a moment, another man, dressed in the same black clothing as the last, leapt out of the dust and darkness and into the clear range of her vision. He, too, was badly wounded, with slash marks across his chest and arms that were far more vicious and dangerous and frequent than the wounds of the last one. A split second seemed to be the only recovery time the man allowed himself, however, and then he leapt back into the battle.
The sounds of sword upon sword were clearer now, however, and footsteps shuffling over dirt and grass. "Whose?" she asked of Tailmon, who was squinting her blue eyes into the darkness. "Whose blood?"
Before this question could be answered, the shout of the man's opponent broke through the relative quiet of the road, and the swordsman fell backward, taking a few running steps. He was breathing heavily now, and the blood was spilling from his wounds with more speed than before, coming in gushes rather than steady drips now.
After a few moments, his opponent became clear in the light of the lantern Mimi held. Although clearly not blessed with superhuman speed (as the black-clad swordsmen seemed to be), Daisuke was hot on the heels of the other, holding in one hand a sword of the same make as the man he chased.
A loud thud distracted Hikari, and she turned her head to see that the fist of Togemon had finally connected solidly with the swordsman. Thankfully, it did not smash the man into the ground, reducing him to a pancake like state, but connected at a more horizontal level, sending him flying into the darkness beyond. There was another thud as he slammed into something that was assumed to be the half-demolished wall of a building.
"Did you kill him?" Mimi questioned of her partner, who was squinting into the darkness. Togemon shrugged as best a cactus can.
"Don't know," she admitted.
"Whoa," Jyou breathed then, and Mimi and Hikari both followed his gaze in time to see the other swordsman disintegrate into nothing, deleting as a digimon might. Daisuke had apparently succeeded in wounding his opponent badly enough to defeat him. "He was a digimon?"
"I don't think so," Gomamon answered, shaking his head. "He was bleeding."
"Actual blood," Mimi put in. She glanced off into the darkness where the other had disappeared. "Do you suppose that one deleted in the same way?"
"Probably," Daisuke said, having heard the conversation. The fighting finished, he dropped the sword to the ground, and it too disappeared. "That's how the other one went."
"So there were three?" Tailmon questioned. "Where'd they come from? What are they?"
He shook his head, wiping some of the mud from his face. "Four, actually. They dropped out of the sky. Miyako said that she saw a portal open."
"Miyako?" Mimi interrupted before he could continue. "Where is she?"
"I thought they couldn't open a portal unless they had all the crystals?" Jyou put in.
V-mon emerged from the shadows at that moment. He, too, was covered in mud and dust, and was scratching at the back of his head with one claw, hoping that no insects had crawled into his ears. "Ick," he muttered to himself. "I'd really appreciate a bath."
"Not for a while, I don't think," Daisuke answered him with a sigh and sat down in the dirt beside him, feeling tired. He scratched at the top of his head. "I don't know where Miyako is. We were separated in the dark." He looked around, then, and got to his feet. "Let me see the lantern."
Mimi held it out, feeling a bit unprotected without it. "So – if they're not human, and they're not digimon, what are they?" she wondered, hugging herself.
"Dark magic," Hikari said, frowning. "It feels cold and…dark." She shivered. "What happened to Shijo?"
"He's around somewhere, I guess," Daisuke said, having moved the lantern around the immediate area and not turned up any signs of bodies nor boys. He sighed, frowning, and handed the lantern back to Mimi. "I told him to get out of the way if there was danger. Maybe he actually listened."
"What, made of dark magic?" Jyou questioned, shaking his head. "I don't understand this magic stuff."
"I think so, yes," Hikari answered, frowning. "We need to find the others. Miyako will be with my brother. We'll find everyone else with him. All we need to do is find them."
There was silence for a few moments as everyone thought and looked around them, wondering which direction might be the best way to go. Overhead, the stars were coming in to view, and it would shortly be pitch black. None of them were particularly familiar with the town to navigate it in darkness. Distantly, they could see lights flashing in the sky, undoubtedly a battle of some sort progressing, but for the moment there were no explosions.
"I suppose it might sound silly," Jyou said, breaking the silence, "but perhaps the crystal they were looking for was hidden in the center of the town…."
"And so maybe if we go to the center of the town we'll find the others?" Gomamon finished. "Brilliant. I always knew you were the smart one, Jyou."
Sorry for the lack of new chapters lately. I haven't been in a good place for writing. The good news is that there's DEFINITELY only one of these left, and I plan to have it up in the next week. Then I think I'll take a week or two before I start on the next story, which I've already mostly finished in my head. Thanks to anyone who's stuck with this, I appreciate your reviews.