Chapter Thirty Six: Gathering
I sat within the massive library, the floor cluttered with piles and piles of book. Looking for a much needed answer but I hadn't found much of anything. There wasn't much that I could find within the books here in the lower levels. I would probably have to go up, up to the higher levels. At that thought I paused in reading and tilted my head back. All I could see was floor after floor of books; no one knew how many books there were in this library. No one knew what could all be found here. It's said you could found anything and everything here. From the massive number of books I would believe that.
"Found anything of interest?" I looked to the phantom that flickered about the library, he was lending me a helping a hand.
"No nothing that can be of any use in this battle." My shoulders slumped and I hung my head.
"It's to be expected, you've only started to research about two days ago." I looked to him when he opened a book.
"For two days of research you've gone through a lot of books." He looked at me but I looked to the few notes that I had, things that might be helpful but more than likely not.
"I want to help, you know what's it like being forced to sit back and watch as everything falls apart." I stood up after putting the device thingy on the table.
"Where are you going?" I pointed upwards as I looked at him.
"We need to look higher. The lower levels have good information but we need to look higher because at this rate we'll learn the key far too late." He sighed but nodded.
"You're right there. It would be nice if we had another person to help us though." I bit my lip.
Would we find the key before it's too late? No we can't find it too late, we can't afford that. We had to find that key soon. We need something that will change this battle. I know one thing that can change this battle but it's far too early to reveal that. It would also quickly fall to bits; it's something that will only work once because it'll catch them off guard.
"Well we don't. We have to do this." I placed a hand on my head and screwed my eyes shut.
My head screamed in sudden pain. By now this is the only side effect of mine I get for staying awake for more than one night. Spending years of having to stay constantly aware of my surroundings I barely sleep and if I do it's very lightly. So light at the sound of simple footsteps closing in on me wake me up or the sound of a door opening or closing would wake me up.
"Are you ok?" I felt him place his hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, my head hurts that's all." I opened my eyes and took a deep breath.
"Maybe you should take a nap?" I shook my head.
"We don't have time for me to nap." We had to find a way to help, neither of us wanted to sit back any longer.
"How about I go find the books and wake you up when I got the books? You can help look through them but nap while I grab them? It'll be easy for me to get up there anyways." I was going to decline but it seemed like the world shifted its balance.
"Maybe I should take a nap." He helped me over to the little corner that was set up seemingly just for me.
Neither of us understood this place. He learned of it when he was drifting and then he sought me out, said that I could help find the key. When we arrived it seemed devoid of any kind of life but it had a few things. There was food and water along with a small corner had seemingly been turned into a comfort spot, it had what seemed to be a bed even though it was made from fluffy blankets and a pillow. I dropped to the makeshift bed, cradling my head.
"Are you going to be alright?" I didn't dare nod my head.
"Yeah, normally this doesn't happen until halfway through the third day. Maybe it's because of wherever this place is." This library, it was drifting through worlds I'm almost certain.
"Perhaps something about this library, wants to lend its help as well." I didn't understand what he meant.
I followed his line of sight surprised when I saw what happened. All throughout the library books were glowing, only a few here and there but something told me the reason. Whatever this place was, it was giving us leads. It was helping us for some reason. Something about this place wants to help. I got what he meant.
"The path into the future will always be lit." I remembered the words, my mother once told them to me.
My mother told me never to give up hope. No matter what would come she told me never to lose hope. She said 'if there is a will there is a way'. I didn't know my mother for long because she died shortly after my seventh birthday but I remember her vividly. I smiled looking at the books that were lit up. He was quick to go and start gathering them.
"Thank you." I lay down as I murmured the words; I might not know who did it but I know someone helped us.
'You're welcome.' My eyes that had closed snapped open.
There was someone here, someone who was seriously helping us, just when we admitted to needing help we received help. I sighed and closed my eyes. I might just be imagining the voice in my head. You know, I actually hope I'm not. If I'm imagining voices in my head I might really need that nap right about now. Yeah I'm taking a nap. I really hope that was just a disembodied voice. I sighed after a few seconds. Would I rather a ghost in here or being going crazy?
(Elsewhere)
I opened my eyes; I could hear them moving about. Another day of trying to find them, I held out my hand at the though. I saw the broken fragments still there. I always fell asleep with it clutched in my hands. I'd rather die with it held close than lose it. I stood up, my body didn't want to move anymore but I couldn't stop.
"I found him." I looked to my partner and friend; scars marred his body like scars marred mine.
"Good job. Are we close?" He nodded slowly, weary and tired.
"Yeah, we have to go down the chasm. He resides there but none who have gone have returned alive." I grabbed my bag, looking down at the shard before closing it in my hand.
"If you want to Dorumon you can go." He blinked surprised.
"You don't have to go any farther than this if you don't want to. This is my selfish quest. I want to see that smile one last time even if it means I'll die." I gave a shaky smile.
"After all, I kind of had a feeling of what happened." I haven't heard anything but of the beginning of the battle, I knew what was going to happen though.
"I'm not running away! We'll finish this together." I patted his head and smiled at him.
"How long have we searched?" I lost count of the days we spent wondering, the days we spent lost and confused.
"Years, I lost count after two." More than two years since I've seen that smile that's burned into my mind then?
I looked to my hand that clutched the shards. I no longer remembered my past. I have no relocation of anything previous to waking up within some room. A massive bird like Digimon looking at me with a white haired girl standing beside him, he said whatever I was thinking about when I died left my spirit wondering between the worlds. He had pulled my soul from its wondering and with the use of what he called 'the girl's magic' my body was recreated.
"Dorumon, do you think I'm crazy?" I hold no memories but of two things.
I know the shards that I hold onto so dearly belong to the girl with the smile, the smile that's burned into my mind. The way her face lit up with that smile. I want to see it once more. I want to know who the girl is within my memories. Whenever I think of the smile, it seems to make me keep moving ahead. It pushes me to hunt down the only thing I could. If I could find a certain creature he could mold the shards back together even though the rest of it was elsewhere.
"No I don't think you are." Some Runners that I've met have called me crazy, said that since I got a second chance at life I should just settle down and stay out of this life since whatever killed me clearly thought I was dead.
"You don't remember anything do you?" Dorumon shook his head, he began leading the way.
"No, just like you I remember nothing." His Digi Egg had reformed beside me over the course of the days I remained in that world.
When I asked the Digital Ruler of that world about the shards he said that I reformed with them in my hands. I had told him about wanting to get them mended, that something deep down told me that it needed to return to the girl. He told me who to seek. He told me that it was a dangerous journey though and advised me against it. I refused though; I followed whatever was driving me.
"You remember the girl though, don't you?" He nodded; it was the only memory either of us head besides of a remembrance of our friendship with each other but all that was there was the memory of the bond no memories of what occurred or anything.
"She must've been important." A lot of our conversation focused on the mystery girl.
"Yeah, like super important to us." How we only retained a memory of her was surprising and a bit confusing but at the same time reassuring and it feels as if it's only right that despite everything we remember her at least her face.
"So how long do you think it'll take to get to the chasm?" I opened my bag and pulled out a loaf of bread.
"I don't know, probably a few hours." I sighed but I took a bit out of the bread.
"Assuming we meet no enemies along the way?" He nodded, he glanced back at me.
"Hungry?" He nodded.
I broke the bread in half and gave him half. We only had so much so we had to ration. Coming upon food was rare. We didn't like stealing but at times we had to. At times we found things we could eat in the wild and thankfully Dorumon seemed be able to sniff out what is safe to eat and what isn't. It's saved us a lot of times. Most would ignore food that grows wildly since within the Digital World you don't know what is safe. Heck I found an apple, nearly bit into it only for Dorumon to stop me telling me one bite would've killed me.
"Are you sure about this? If you die, you'll never find out who the girl is." I chewed slowly on the bread as I thought but I swallowed it.
"Something tells me if I do this I'll find out. It's better than wondering around with no hope of finding my memories. After all, what would I do if I met her Dorumon? She would remember me but I wouldn't remember her ever." It was silent but after a while he nodded; besides my instincts haven't failed me yet.
(Tai's P.O.V)
I sat rather impatient. Gennai was pacing and refusing to say anything. We've been here for about an hour and he refuses to say anything. Whatever he knows he really doesn't want to tell us. I was getting annoyed and it really wasn't helping anything at this point. I was trying to be calm and patient but I don't know how much longer I can wait.
"Gennai, can you tell us something." Gennai stopped when T.K. spoke; it was easy to tell that even T.K. was annoyed.
"We've been here for nearly an hour and you won't say anything." T.K. really was worried about Kari.
He might've seemed angry at first but it wasn't because he was angry at Kari but he had been angry at himself. He felt like he should've known something was wrong with her. That he should've realized something or another. He also was mad about how he reacted. He didn't know why he reacted the way he did when he found out. He said it felt like something had come over him. Said it felt like he was watching, as if he hadn't been in control of himself.
"I'll tell you guys but I don't how to say it so I'll just be blunt." I gulped hearing that; that usually came before really bad news.
"It can't be that bad can it?" Seconds later Davis yelped slightly, Yolei having punched him.
"That's one of the questions you never ask. There are simply three questions you should never ask, that being one of them Davis!" A few agreed with Yolei, while I didn't voice it I agreed to.
"Anyways, what were you going to say Gennai?" All eyes were on him and I watched him gulp.
"I've done some research about the Demon Lords. I wanted to give some good news to you guys since Kari's been sucked into it but what I found, there is no good news to give." The silence just grew even tenser.
"As you guys may or may not know, five years ago this world was attacked by the Demon Lords. Well only three of them attacked here. Lucemon, Lilithmon, and Barbamon attacks this world and they were repelled by a six person team. Those six consisted of four DigiDestineds from elsewhere and Kari." Those who hadn't heard from me were surprised.
"The sixth person, there is no real information on. I couldn't find out who the sixth person was, all I found was blurry pictures of a shadow within a dust cloud." A mystery sixth person, I wonder who they were.
"They were barely repelled by Kari and the other five, they weren't serious then either. It was thought that they were simply gathering information. The Digital Rulers seem to think they were preparing for this battle by judging the strength of the new runners." I froze, that means they were simply testing the new generation then.
"The following year another world was attacked by a three man cell. The three were Daemon, Leviamon, and Belphemon. That world unlike this one, they weren't expecting the attack and they were wiped out. All the DigiDestineds were thought to have lost their lives in that accident." I suddenly felt sick for some reason.
"They were merely playing around as well at first but something happened. In that world, they saw something that they did not like. They destroyed that world because something existed there that they found as a threat." That peeked my interest, easing my upset stomach slightly.
"What did they find?" Gennai shook his head at Izzy's question; he had beaten everyone to the punch of asking.
"No one knows but one Digital Ruler, Gallantmon. He referenced the attack once or twice to others, said he knew the hazard they had wanted to kill." There was a hope then right?
"Why didn't you ask Gallantmon then?" Gennai looked away, why do I have a bad feeling?
"Recently, it was confirmed that Gallantmon has been taken control of by none other Lucemon. Lucemon knows how to force others to obey his command." I had hoped that the thing was incorrect.
"Anything else?" I got surprised and questioning looks since it almost sounded like I was begging but I guess after a few seconds they remembered that Kari was fighting this battle that is seeming to become more and more bleak by the moment.
"No. Anything else would come from; no it's not to talk about that place. No one is meant to ever walk within ever again." His words surprised me.
"What place are you talking about?" Gennai was quick to shake his head at Izzy's question.
"Forget about that place. Nothing and no one will ever walk within ever again. That place has sealed its doors; no one even knows where it is." No I really wanted to know about.
"It would have the information we would need wouldn't it though?" Maybe it was because I wasn't pegged as a person who could connect the dots that those who hadn't seen me work with Izzy and Ken gave me a surprised look.
"If you could reach it, it would. But just forget about it. No matter what, you'll never find it. It's a legend by now, no one even knows if it exists any longer." I didn't want to forget about.
I wanted to do something to help Kari but there wasn't anything that I could do is there? All of the times I protected her but now I can't protect her, I can't even give advice to her. I want to see her again. I want to speak to her. I want to know that she's alive and well. I don't even know if she's alive any longer.
"Do you know the current standings of the battle?" If he did then it wasn't good, he said he had no good news to share.
"As far as I know is that the 'destined actors' are dancing upon their own rhythms to try and find information. They're trying to figure out what to do against the Demon Lords but it doesn't look very good. Last I heard one of them are dead." My eyes went wide and it seemed like everything froze.
"Do you know who?" I couldn't place who asked it, every part of me feared that he would say yes and say Kari.
"No I don't. I only learned what I did because a Runner told me. I'm not even supposed to know this because I'm not a Digital Ruler." A Runner told him?
"Who told you all of this Gennai?" Did Hiro maybe leak it to him?
Hiro knew that Kari was fighting; he knew Kari was my sister and he clearly knew that Kari was his niece from what he said right? Maybe he leaked it to Gennai so he could tell us. I had a feeling those people wanted to keep us out of the lope. It was a bad feeling I got, something told me they were planning something but I didn't know if that was just my worry tricking me.
"I don't know. He wore a cloak when he came; he was one of the older ones I'm sure about that." It had to be Hiro then.
"Tai, do you think?" I looked to Matt; they were confused but Izzy who sat beside him nodded.
"It's possible. He would have a reason to pass along the information." He did have his reasons.
"Who are you guys talking about?" I sighed and crossed my arms.
"Apparently my mother has an older brother, he was a DigiDestined apparently. He became a Runner and before recently he was in another world. He came from the World that Kari's currently in, he knew that Kari was related to him and apparently his son is also fighting this battle. His son also my cousin is one of Kari's old friend, Takuya Kanbara." They were stunned hearing that and I noticed that Gennai narrowed his eyes slightly.
"If it came from Hiro I wouldn't put much faith in it. He might be the former DigiDestined of Courage but he long gave up. He turned his back on his old team and vanished. He threw his crest to the dust and abandoned his partner. He never looked back once." I was surprised hearing that.
"What do you mean? He's working to try and help fight the Demon Lords, there's a secret branch of government that monitors this world. He is among them and came back to help them figure out what to do." I might not know him but he was family, I didn't want to think that he had done such a thing.
"Hiro betrayed his team, he was a turncoat. He joined the enemies in the last battle; he walked away after defeating them and deleting the other's partners." Something didn't seem right.
"I don't see how someone related to Tai would do such a thing. Something must've happened, who was the enemy? Maybe the only way to defeat them was to betray his friends and then betray the enemy." It seemed like the others didn't want to believe it either.
"The last enemy he faced, Beelzemon of the Demon Lords." My eyes widened.
My uncle betrayed his friends to work with one of the Demon Lords. He was the enemy then. What was he planning? What was really going on? We can't even reach Kari and them to question. There was nothing that we could do. For once, we were forced to sit back and wait. I had to wonder if this was how Kari felt whenever I protected her and refused to let her do anything.
"Beelzemon might not have played a part in any attacks since then but's fighting in this war." I couldn't believe no I didn't want to believe it.
"You had to have over looked something Gennai. I saw him that day when he heard Belphemon attacked. He was so shaken at the fact, at the thought that something bad could've befallen Kari and his son." My shoulders shook slightly, there had to be something that we're missing.
"Believe what you may Tai but he's a traitor. He's probably helping the Demon Lords." He couldn't have been acting that day; I saw the horror that was written on his face.