So, I hesitated with this chapter for quite a while honestly. I have rewritten this chapter I don't how many times and thought of cutting a certain detail out and just changing it. I decided though to just, stick with what I originally had planned and to go with it.
Chapter Eighty Three: Vanity
[Takuya's P.O.V]
My body trembled – a mix of fear and anger. I didn't know what would happen. I was afraid of what could be done. I was angry at what was happening. Angry at what had happened. I gulped as I found the courage to take a step forwards, it was small though.
"What did she do to you?" I wanted to know.
I was waiting for the answer but no answer came. Eyes just stared blankly at me – glazed over with just pure emptiness. There was no light in the eyes that were staring at me. I knew Amaya was twisted and I was afraid of actually knowing what she did. I wanted to know but at the same time I didn't want to know.
"Your words fall on deaf ears." My hands curled into fists at Amaya's words.
"I refuse to believe that!" As I shouted I felt the anger starting to push the fear away.
"Chrono, what did she do?" I looked to the empty eyes of Chrono – hoping to see something.
Her eyes just remained an empty and dull red. There was no hint of life in the eyes. What did Amaya do to her? Why did Chrono have wings? Why – why did she have wings that were so similar to Lucemon?! Why? It didn't make any sense.
"Believe what you will but she's not going to hear you. Chrono is gone – all that is left is an empty husk that'll listen to my every command." I growled and I looked to Amaya.
"She'd never listen to you!" I knew that for a fact.
"Let's test that." Amaya smirked.
"Takuya, back down." Zoe hissed the words out.
"We shouldn't test someone who we can't beat." I wasn't going to back down – no matter the reason that Zoe threw out.
I wasn't going to back down. This wasn't even the matter of having to fight someone who worked with the Demon Lords anymore. This wasn't about facing someone who nearly killed my father and me. This wasn't about just saving my father and aunt anymore. Chrono needed help. She saved me and pulled me out of that nightmare. I'd return the favor and save her.
"Attack him." Amaya spoke but I stared Chrono down.
She didn't move. She just stared at me unblinkingly. I knew she wouldn't. My eyes widened because the wings that had sprouted from her back flapped once – kicking up a rather harsh gust. She was in front of me in a split second.
"Chrono?" I was stunned – calling her name hadn't stopped her from punching me.
"Takuya!" Too many people shouted my name but I was more focused on the pain that blossomed in my head and gut.
My gut ached from getting hit by Chrono – that wasn't normal human strength she used to hit me. I forced myself up even if the pounding in my head from hitting the ground begged me to stay down. I didn't want to believe that Chrono just did that. She was our ally. She wouldn't have hit me.
"See? I told you she'd listen to my every command. That body is just an empty husk – Chrono is no more." I glared at Amaya.
"You're lying. Chrono's still in there." I was glad that I wasn't the only one who still believed in Chrono.
"You and your cousin really are thick headed, aren't you Harmony?" How did she know Kari was my cousin?!
I curled my hands into fists and glared at Amaya. There had to be something that I could do. There had to be something! Think. I have to think. What do we do in this situation? Could words reach Chrono? If words could what would bring Chrono back? What would bring Chrono forward enough that she could beat whatever Amaya did to her? Would we have to fight Chrono? If we defeated Chrono would it break the spell over her?
I gulped hard at my last thought. Fighting Chrono – was that something I could bring myself to do? Would I be able to actually fight her? Would any of us be able to fight her? Chrono was one of us and human – she could get killed if we fought her with our Spirit Evolutions. We couldn't take that risk, no matter what.
"We're not thick headed, we just have faith in her." Kari's right.
We have to believe in Chrono. Chrono was strong and she'd be able to defeat whatever Amaya did. We had to get her away from Amaya somehow. Amaya needed to be removed from the equation somehow. Amaya has control over Chrono with her voice somehow.
"Takuya!" The shout shattered my thoughts – on instinct I jumped to side and hit the ground.
Chrono tore through where I had been, her fist leaking red aura that faded off into data at the edges. I took a deep breath – I had to focus as well. Chrono is being forced to attack us so we can't just sit still and try to figure out what to do to help her. Chrono would never forgive herself if she hurt her friends – I knew that. We had to help her before she was forced to do something that she'd feel guilty for – even though she had no control over it.
"Take care of them, Vanity." Vanity?
I sucked in air out of surprise when the red aura around Chrono grew stronger. The wings that she had fully unfurled and the feathered wings grew sharper in appearance and she started to float off of the ground, red aura tracing the ground below her. Chrono held her hands up – one hand pointed at me and the other pointed at the others. A blast of red aura came hurtling out of her palms. I scrambled to my feet and out of the way but it followed me. I stopped and covered my face – bracing myself for the attack that would come. I was ready for the pain that would come – if her punching me had winded me I could only imagine what this would do to me. I didn't want to feel it but at the same time with it being a homing attack there was no dodging it. Seconds passed without pain so I was confused.
Opening the eyes I had closed while bracing for pain I peeked between my arms. The red aura was easily being held back by fire – the fire though was pure white. I knew that the fire wasn't mine or my Spirit's doing. The fire fizzled out as the red aura ball vanished. I looked at the others to see how they fared – only to be surprised. Chrono was pinned to the ground by Nori – Nori's face was blank and tears still stained her face.
"I won't let another friend get hurt." Nori's voice was hollow.
Nori looked from Chrono and to Amaya. Chrono was trying to pry Nori's hands off of her neck – the flames that cloaked Nori's hands wouldn't allow Chrono to do that though. Nori's fire didn't seem to be burning Chrono though – which was good.
"I'll tear you apart." Nori spat the words out and she was gone from on top of Chrono in a split second.
I heard Amaya scream so I looked to her. Nori had appeared in front of Amaya and hit her. Amaya crashed to the ground – her lab coat singed. Amaya backed away from Nori without standing – I couldn't see Nori's face but if the fire wings she had was anything to judge by she was angry. I wasn't sure how far Nori would go either judging from what Amaya had done – what Amaya had had her hands in. Nori arched backwards while I was stunned – Chrono seemed to have manifested behind her before grabbing her flaming wings.
Chrono didn't say anything as Nori cried in pain – the flame wings were being pried away from Nori's body. The back of Nori's shirt was burned away and the gems in her back were revealed – they were glowing while blood was starting to roll down Nori's back. Was the act of pulling on the wings actually pulling at the gems?!
"Get off!" The words were strangled but Chrono was blasted backwards.
The wings had exploded and had Chrono not shielded herself with the angelic wings that she currently had I wasn't sure what would've happened. Singed feathers fell from Chrono's angelic wings only to be replaced. Nori fell to the ground though and glared over her shoulder at Chrono. Blood stained her back around the gemstones – the parts of her back that wasn't stained with blood was red and irritated.
"You don't wanna push me Chrono – be smart and stay out of this." Nori growled the words out as she stood once more – she shook where she stood.
"Like I said – your words fall on deaf ears. Chrono cannot hear you. Chrono is no more. That empty husk is the greatest weapon. Vanity will destroy you all – right Vanity?" Amaya is starting to get on my nerves!
"Shut up!" I yelled it as I stood up.
"Chrono, no!" Kari's voice was the only one I was able to pick out of the screams of panic.
I looked to Chrono only to find her lowering her leg – a crescent shaped blade of aura was coming straight for me. No, it wasn't only coming for me. It was large enough that it would be able to reach Koji and Kari who weren't too far away from me. My legs locked up on me – keeping me from reacting at all while Koji managed to force Kari to the ground so it would go over them. I was disorientated when I was snatched off of the ground and held in the sky.
"You've faced scarier things Takuya, don't freeze up on us now." Zoe's words brought me out of the daze.
When had Zoe Spirit Evolved into Kazemon? When had Zoe had the time to grab me and get us out of the path of the attack? She was wrong though. I wasn't afraid. I couldn't be afraid of Chrono. I watched as Chrono looked up – stared at Zoe and I. Her blank expression changed – it twisted in disgust and anger. I was surprised by the expression – it wasn't one I had ever thought I'd see Chrono make. When Chrono bared her teeth at us she let out an inhuman growl that echoed. The red aura around her grew darker and the ground immediately below her cracked.
"Blizzard Blaster!" The snowballs hit Chrono in the back of her head – drawing her attention from Zoe and I.
Chrono whipped around to face Tommy who was currently Kumamon. Chrono was cut off from her charge at Tommy by J.P. who cut in as Beetlemon. How had I missed them Spirit Evolving? Was I that far out of it? I needed to focus more because if I was missing things like that then who knows what else I could be missing. Zoe sat me on my feet by Koji and Kari – neither of them moved and Koji hadn't Spirit Evolved.
"Leave her to us – try and find us a way out of here." Zoe's words made me freeze.
"You're going to fight her?" Kari's surprised shone through her words.
"She's the enemy." Zoe's words as she turned to rush at Chrono echoed.
She's the enemy. Chrono, wasn't the enemy. She would never attack us. She wouldn't hurt us. She was our ally. Zoe's wrong.
"What do we do?" I didn't know the answer – Kari and Koji were better with plans.
"I was hoping one of you guys knew that." Kari spoke after tearing her eyes off of the battle.
Chrono was able to dodge or block the attacks that the others were sending her way. Even if they did hit her the attacks seem to bounce off of the aura she was using or the wings that she had. Were they doing so little damage because they were probably running on fumes? The fact that they had strength to Spirit Evolve was amazing.
"We need to free Chrono from Amaya's control." I groaned and looked at Koji.
"Gee thanks for that Captain Obvious." Koji glared at me.
"We don't have time you two – they can only hold Chrono's attention only for so long." Kari's words made something click.
My eyes widened and I looked back to Chrono. Chrono had her back to us – as if we weren't even here. She was bound to be able to hear us but she wasn't reacting to our voices at all. She was focusing solely on Zoe, J.P., and Tommy. They were holding her attention even when they stopped – it was if she was only acting when they acted. She wasn't fighting to hurt them either. The only time that she seemed to take initiative was when Nori was going to attack Amaya.
"She's still there." Kari and Koji both looked to me.
"How do you know that?" Kari sounded hopeful.
"She's not attacking them." Chrono wasn't attacking even though the three of them were standing still – probably fighting to keep their Spirit Evolutions.
"Destroy them Vanity!" Amaya shouted the words seconds after Nori let out a pained scream.
My attention was split in that moment. Seeing that Chrono went after Zoe, J.P. and Tommy my attention turned to Nori. Nori was the human of the four at the moment so she was the most vulnerable. Nori was on the ground, clawing at the ground actually. Amaya smirked at Nori and when she delivered a harsh kick to Nori's side, the scream that Nori let out was far more pained than just simple pain from being kicked.
"Hurricane Wave!" My attention snapped back to Chrono since I had nearly been knocked of my feet from Zoe's attack.
The attack had acted as a buffer for one of Chrono's attack. I hated the thought of it but I pulled out my D Tector. I didn't want to fight Chrono. I couldn't fight her but I might be able to tire her out or cause enough disturbance that Chrono could seize control from, Vanity. Attention also had to be pulled from the others before they lose their Spirit Evolutions.
"Takuya." Koji questioned me.
"Chrono might be able to seize control if we distract, Vanity, long enough. Split Vanity's attention – Vanity is probably barely controlling Chrono since Chrono is able to make it so attacks only fly when ordered or when attacked." Koji nodded.
Gatomon stepped forwards, "I'm in."
"Crystal Breeze!" We had our opening then – Tommy had grounded Chrono due to freezing her wings.
"Execute! Spirit Evolution!" Koji and I echoed the words together.
"Stop them!" Amaya screamed the words.
I only saw Chrono turn towards us before I was swallowed by Fractal Code. I took a deep breath and put faith in Chrono. As I felt the change of becoming Agunimon I heard a cry of pain that made my heart drop.
"Koji!" Kari shouted his name while my head whipped to him.
When the Fractal Code fully cleared I saw a sight that made me freeze for a moment. I sprang into action though without thought. I was already swinging full speed at Chrono's face with a fire covered fist by the time I realize what was going on. Chrono though simply looked at me with dead eyes – only one of her four wings moved to shield her face. My fist connected with the bat like wing that hummed with the aura. I fell to the ground while my Spirit Evolution bugged out – I was flicking between Agunimon and human.
You have to fight!
The voice resounded in my ears as I crashed to the ground – the red aura sparked off of me. I pushed myself up while Chrono's face was revealed – an evil smirk was on her face. She dropped Koji – who she had been holding by the throat. Kari managed to use her card and flash to him and spread out the wings she was able to summon so they didn't crash to the ground. Chrono turned in the air and her smirk widened.
"Puny flame – you stand as a mere dying ember compared to the blaze that I am." The voice that came out of Chrono wasn't her voice.
No, I could faintly here Chrono. The voice though was darker and far crueler than Chrono's voice. It was harsher as well. I stood and curled my hands into fists – the red aura that she had turned to vivid red flames. This was not going to be fun – two fire elementals was never a good match. The victor was usually who had the hotter flames or the stronger will. Sometimes it just came down to who had more stamina.
I was running empty on stamina and will – the last thing I wanted to do was fight Chrono.
"Simmer down then! Blizzard Wave!" Chrono attempted to shield herself from the combined attack from Zoe and Tommy but the snow latched onto her wings and began to freeze them over.
I watched stunned as the ice traveled from Chrono's wings and onto her body. Her dead eyes were widened and she reached for the ice with her flame covered hand. The flames though turned white and fizzled out – allowing herself to be consumed by ice. No. Chrono was human and she would suffer from being frozen solid – that was probably close to death for any human.
Chrono was.
She was allowing herself to be frozen. I watched as Chrono was fully incased in ice – she dropped out of the air as well. I barely thought about it before I dashed forwards and caught Chrono's frozen form – I did not want to know what would happen when the ice shattered. I've seen attacks that the one frozen inside shattered with the ice.
"Idiot monster!" Amaya's words pissed me off.
Amaya was only human though so there wasn't much threat that she posed. She hadn't made a move to call anyone or anything else here. Using Chrono was her last line of defense since Raven had failed. When the chill that was the ice that incased Chrono managed to make it through my armor I was worried. If I could feel the cold from the ice as Agunimon then I could only imagine what it was doing to Chrono's human body.
"Vanity, shatter that ice! Destroy them!" Amaya's words were met with no reaction from Chrono's body – the ice in truth grew colder seemingly.
"She's not getting out of that lady. They learned that trick not too long ago – it taps into the Ancient Spirits powers. It's a seal." J.P.'s words made my gut tightened.
"Oh, I think you underestimate people." Amaya's words were cruel but I knew why she was laughing as she spoke – she was staring right at me.
I turned my eyes from her because I hated it. I hated that she knew. She knew what was going to happen. I reached inside of myself and focused on the flame that I could always feel when I Spirit Evolved. I stoked the flame higher so it would burn brighter and hotter. The cold that had soaked through my armor was chased away. The ice that incased Chrono was melting away – sparks of flames dancing across it.
"Takuya! What are you doing!?" Zoe was near hysteric as she shouted the question.
"You're insane man! No matter how human she looks she's still a Digimon! She's still that crazy lady's partner!" J.P.'s words revealed their misunderstanding of the situation.
"She's not a Digimon! She's human, she's our friend and ally. She's fought with us." Kari spoke up, turning her attention away from the unconscious Koji long enough to look at J.P., Zoe and Tommy.
"No way she's human." Tommy sounded stunned – guilty even.
"Oh, Vanity is no Digimon. I can promise you that. Vanity was born from Snow Aleksander. You people call her Chrono Aleksander – I just favor calling her the name I gave her though, Vanity." Amaya's words thickened the air and I heard her approach me.
"I must thank you brat, there would've been no hope in thawing her out without destroying her. I certainly don't want to go back to the drawing board so I'm quite glad that you thawed her out." Amaya's gratitude made my skin crawl.
"Don't even think I did this for you – I did that for Chrono." Amaya's footsteps stopped seconds after my words.
"Takuya." Chrono's call of my name was weak.
I looked at her and I watched her smile up at me. The wings were disappearing in bits of red tinted data. She reached up and she placed her hand on my cheek. I managed to bring her back – well Zoe and Tommy's seal did. I just unthawed her and got greeted by Chrono rather than Vanity.
"This just won't do. I underestimated the power of Chrono – she's not the weak child she once was. What did you do to my creation? What did you do to reprogram it?" I looked to Amaya and glared at her.
"Chrono isn't your creation. She's a human being." Amaya laughed at my words and raised her left arm – the device on her wrist let out a vile light.
"Vanity, you have your orders." I was going to laugh but I found myself at a lost for air.
"You don't have to tell me – I hate how this puny flame thinks that he can overpower me." Chrono – no Vanity – had wrapped her hands around my throat.
The red aura that surrounded her hands pulsed. The feeling was an odd one – I knew that I regressed to human but I could see the armor of Agunimon floating in the air, moving away from my body. It was as if Vanity had reached through my Spirit Evolution and grabbed me rather than dispel my Spirit Evolution. It wasn't a feeling I had ever felt before.
"I'm sorry." Zoe's apology barely reached my ears but I watched as Chrono was forced off of me by the force of Zoe's attack.
Zoe shot past me as Zephyrmon and my head whipped towards Chrono. I watched as after a quick dance of punches and slashes Zoe managed to catch Chrono in the face. A deep cut appeared on Chrono's right cheek, under her eye. The blood that poured out of the cut further proved that Chrono was human instead of Digimon like they had thought. Zoe didn't move – probably out of shock of actually seeing blood. Chrono reached up and wiped blood off of her cheek with her right hand.
"Enough of this." Chrono lifted her left hand and held it out towards Zoe.
The attack that started to form had me standing. I had to interrupt that – there was no way that Zoe could withstand that. I was about to jump when the attack just triggered – far faster than it had the last time I had seen it. Zoe screamed from within the sudden burst of grey light. Zoe dropped out of the air – hitting the ground thankfully as Zephyrmon rather than herself. Zephyrmon's form did shatter upon impact though. Zoe was done this time – the Fractal Code Ring around her that bore her Spirits told that for certain.
"Enough, I think they know that this is a battle they cannot win." Amaya spoke as she observed Zoe – who was struggling to get up, her Spirits still lingering in the space around her.
"Yeah right, like you'd just let us walk out of here." Amaya laughed at the biting words that I spoke.
"True, true. How about we make a trade? You give me your Spirits and I'll let you leave?" I laughed – that was a stupid tradeoff.
"J.P.!" Tommy's shout tore across the room seconds before I saw why he shouted.
J.P. charged straight for Chrono cloaked with electricity. The electricity that sparked off of him was far stronger and more violent than I had ever actually seen it. I was surprised because the next thing that registered was staring into J.P.'s eyes as he crashed into me. Amaya laughed as J.P. wheeled back in surprise – somehow I was able to land on my feet. I sunk to my knees though.
"Takuya?" Zoe called my name out hesitant and worriedly.
"Oh that is wonderful! Fight! Fight amongst yourselves! Tear each other apart! Make it all that much easier on me! I'll have great fun with my next experiment!" Something snapped in that moment.
Amaya let out a startled scream and all I saw were her eyes widening in horror. I didn't even try to stop myself or to kill the fire that surrounded my fist that I aimed for her. She brainwashed Raven. She made Raven nearly kill me. Amaya nearly killed my father. Amaya killed my father's partner. Amaya kidnapped my father and aunt. Amaya had done something to Chrono. Amaya wrecked Nori mentally. Amaya was an evil that needed to be dealt with.
My fist stopped and the flames died. I faintly felt her nose against my fist – the pressure ever so faint. I gulped as I stared into dead red eyes. Wings and arms spread out to the side – red data slowly joining together to finish forming Chrono's body completely. My fist quivered and I withdrew my fist slightly. Amaya's laughter grated my ears.
"Vanity." Amaya only spoke that and Chrono's body reacted.
It seemed to play out in slow motion. Tears sprung from dead red eyes, down her cheeks and over the cut. I was flung back by an explosion of flames – the attack itself didn't hurt. The flames didn't burn me either. I managed to catch myself and land on my feet, sliding across the ground. I stared at Chrono and watched as tears continued to fall. Chrono was truly able to see what was going on. Chrono was truly fighting whatever Amaya had done to her. Chrono was doing her best to try and help.
"Isn't my shield nice?" Amaya's words were the slightest bit shaky – probably still caught off guard that I had seriously went to attack her.
"If only you had the heart to tear through her." Amaya stepped around Chrono but no one made a move.
Then again a glance revealed that no one was really up for another round of fighting. Tommy had reverted out of his Spirit Evolution – his head was hung and he was gripping his D Tector tightly. Zoe was on the ground still, glaring at Amaya. J.P. wasn't Beetlemon anymore and he was still staring stunned at the ground. Koji might've been conscious again but he was leaning heavily on Kari just to sit up. Gatomon and Wizardmon stood back – they looked ready to act but only to defend us I think.
"If only you weren't a coward who used others." Nori forced the words out – Amaya easily dodged Nori's weak punch.
Nori's punch hadn't had anything behind it besides her own strength. Chrono didn't react to Nori – then again Nori stumbled forwards from the weight she had put behind her punch. She collapsed to her knees and curled in on herself as she looked back to Amaya. Nori gripped her arms tightly – shaking.
"Can't you just give in? Light your Crest again or give it up so another can be born with it." Amaya spat the words out.
"That crest will never live again – not in my life or any other life." Amaya laughed at Nori's weak words.
"You jest surely. You never know the heart of another – DigiDestined of 'Illusions'. Your knowledge, strength and even yourself is just that by now – a mere illusion that will disappear shortly." Nori gave a weak chuckle as she stood.
"I made a deal – any who wield my crest that would bring it to life is a feast for Hadesmon." Something inside of me shuddered just hearing the name.
"Hadesmon?" Amaya – actually sounded terrified.
"I made sure that the threat would never be realized." Nori was forced away by a shockwave that was caused a strong beat of Chrono's wings.
Nori wasn't strong enough to catch herself and I couldn't even find the strength to move. Nori hit the ground and slid across it on her butt. She seemed winded as well but other than that she didn't seem to suffer anything from being forced back.
"Liar – no one has ever met and lived to tell the tale of meeting Hadesmon. He is a mere legend passed around the worlds." Amaya righted herself after that, crossing her arms confidently and smirking once more.
"Believe what you will – believing otherwise won't make it untrue, all it'll do will comfort you and your sadistic mind." Amaya glared at Nori.
Amaya chuckled as she looked us all over once she looked from Nori. No one made any move. What do we even do in this situation? Chrono was standing in the way of us doing anything. Then again attacking a human wasn't something any of us wanted to do. None of us wanted to strike a human but it may come down to that. We had to get Amaya out of the picture. Gatomon and Wizardmon might be able to handle Amaya without doing much damage actually. Then again there was also Chrono to worry about. Chrono would act as a shield and she'd dish out attacks when attacked.
"There is no way out by the way unless you have the heart to cut Vanity down to reach me. I know none of you have the heart to do that though – no one wants to stain their hands with blood." The way that Amaya laughed chilled me.
"You've." Zoe didn't need to finish her question for it to be known.
"Oh yes dearie, countless times. I am an inventor, there is quite a lot of sacrifices one must make to develop the things I've made." Amaya grinned sadistically.
"Snow Aleksander was one of them." My heart dropped – Chrono's mother was one of Amaya's victims.
"You, killed her mother?" The question fell from my lips but Amaya only laughed.
"Oh, no, I didn't kill Snow. I just caused it – Chrono was the one who killed Snow." What?
"What kind of monster would kill their own mother!?" J.P. shouted it out in disbelief.
"Exactly! Chrono's a monster! She can't even be considered human!" Amaya not so gently 'patted' Chrono on the cheek – Chrono didn't even flinch.
"Even if she killed her own mother, she's still human." Kari's words made Amaya laugh harder and drew Amaya's attention to her.
"Chrono was created by me so she could be Vanity – like I said. She was born from Snow but I still created Chrono. I made Chrono into the monster she is – the best I've ever made might I say." I was getting tired of Chrono being called a monster.
"How did you create her if she isn't your child?" Even if Tommy asked that out of innocence, I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to that.
"Let me indulge you in the tale of how I made the perfect weapon – unless any of you want to attack me and end my 'villain monologue' before it starts." Amaya paused and looked around but no one was moving, "Like I thought, you're all too soft hearted to attack a human."
"Why explain everything – you know it's always the bad guys' downfall." I couldn't resist saying the words.
If it wasn't for the fact that I knew Chrono would defend her I might've given into the low whisper in the back of mind. The whisper urging me to just attack Amaya. I curled my hands into fists and I felt my Spirit Evolution waver but I held tight. I didn't want to drop it just yet because I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't sure if Amaya was waiting until we let our guard drop and leave ourselves completely defenseless before she called out her partner. I wasn't sure what game Amaya was really playing at.
"I'm not scared of some puny children or Digimon who won't attack humans. There's no way that I could lose so why not explain things that none of you would even think about? Your minds are so simple, weak and small." Amaya's smirk made the low whisper grow slightly louder – I wanted to wipe that smirk off of her face.
"How about you talk until you're blue." I wasn't completely proud of the words that I spoke because I meant the darker meaning.
Then again maybe if she talked long enough Koji would fully recover from having gotten thrown back. Perhaps we would be able to recover enough to be able to swarm her all at once. If we all attacked at once we might be able to distract Chrono long enough to knock Amaya out. Knocking Amaya out might work to render her ineffective and might free Chrono from whatever Amaya's done to her.
"Please – you all would die from overstimulation of your puny brains before I got to that point." She laughed but I watched as Chrono closed her eyes.
If we bought enough time would Chrono be able to free herself?! Chrono might actually be able to beat the control if we waste enough time. If we don't fight she might be able to force her way out. Then again would that actually work since that would mean there was less to split the attention of 'Vanity'. What if it wasn't Vanity doing the controlling though and it was actually Amaya? What if the control weakened the longer that Amaya didn't issue a command or Chrono doesn't act on a command given to her?
Either way listening to Amaya talk might allow Chrono to come back to me. Wait, me? No. I meant us. Chrono might be able to come back to us if Amaya goes on a big old long rant. It would also give us time to think about what to do.
"Just spit it out if you're going to talk." Maybe if Amaya got angry she'd show some kind of hole in her control of Chrono.
We needed a backup plan if Chrono wasn't able to get herself out of the control. We had to figure out how to save her without hurting her. It was obvious that Chrono could suffer physical damage even using whatever she was using. The cut that still bled gave proof that Chrono's physical body wasn't immune to damage like my Spirit Evolution or Kari's Card.
"Fine, fine I'll talk. Besides at least I won't get tons of questions from fellow DigiDestineds who know everything. You all know about the reality of Digimon and the Digital World." The ego of this woman.
"You," Amaya pointed to Tommy, "asked how I created Vanity even though Chrono Aleksander is not my child. I'll start there. You could say that I'm the one who introduced Chrono's father into the picture."
Chrono's father. Chrono didn't know either of her parents – she just recently learned her mother's name. Who was Chrono's father? The only father figure that Chrono had was Chronomon. Was her father a DigiDestined? Was her father going to show up as an enemy – as a DigiDestined that works with the Demon Lords? Had Chrono's father been a casualty in the war?
"Snow was a dear friend of mine years ago and she trusted me quite a lot – it was easy to convince Snow to come with me. I convinced Snow to work with me on an invention. Snow was all for it since I told her that it might rival the Demon Lords." I was taken aback – Chrono's mother actually worked with Amaya?
"You betrayed her then." Amaya laughed at Gatomon's assertion.
"No, never. I would never betray my foster sister. Snow was my hero and the one I looked up to. She was stronger than me so when it came time for the experiment to go into the testing phase I needed someone who I could trust. I chose Snow – Snow would be able to become a legend. She was perfect! Snow was strong mentally and physically. Snow would be able to withstand what would come along with the test and what do you know the only successful attempt was when Snow was the starting point! All other attempts have failed." The grin that Amaya gave was psychotic.
"Snow was so eager to help me however she could so when I approached and asked for her assistance she agreed! Once she found out what the experiment was she was shaking with joy! She was so ready to help that she was trying to run ahead of me so she could get it done! I had to catch her and strap her down just so she would stop her excited running about – she needed to be still for the experiment!" Snow, Chrono's mother, wasn't a willing participant.
"Don't you think she might've been trying to run away?" Amaya spun on her heel so she faced J.P.
"Run away? Why would Snow try to run away? There was no reason to fear me – no matter what I wouldn't have allowed any harm to befall my precious sister. She only died because she wouldn't listen to me – she tried to take my growing experiment on vacation without me. I couldn't allow her or my experiment out of my sight. She broke the rule so she got punished – I never thought that the karma that came around would be that she would die after expelling the experiment." I gulped because the way she was talking.
"Chrono was the experiment?" Zoe finished my thought sounding horrified.
"That's the name that Chronomon gave her when he stole my experiment. I'd much rather refer to the abomination and murderer as Vanity. All that thing cares about is itself – it took my sister away from me all so it could live." Sister or foster sister, Amaya wasn't making sense – well I guess either way they were sisters, blood or not.
"What name did Snow give her?" Amaya looked to me.
Amaya stared at me before slowly blinking. I watched as Amaya tilted her head and her eyes scrunched up. She seemed to be thinking – trying to recall. Amaya frowned and crossed her arms.
"Despite the fact that Vanity murdered her I think Snow called Vanity 'Mireya'. I don't understand why my sister would give such a pretty name to such a monster." I noticed that Chrono's breathing shifted the moment that 'Mireya' was spoken.
"What kind of experiment were you doing on your sister?" Zoe asked the question and Amaya glanced to her.
"You don't want to know that answer." Nori's sudden words drew my attention.
Nori's eyes were wide and she was staring at Chrono – horrified. Nori knew about Amaya's experiments. She knew which one Amaya had subjected Snow to.
"How do you know? I made sure the Demon Lords didn't know – I had planned to give the experiment to them once she was older and stronger. Granted I only have Vanity to defend me from the Demon Lords now. Raven is bound to defect and go running back to them – even if I raised that girl for years." Wait.
"What?" Something was wrong.
"I no longer work with the Demon Lords – they actually want to kill me. I do hope when I hand them your heads though they'll accept my apology and understand the situation. How was I supposed to know that the fragile child's partner was Baalmon? How was I supposed to know that?" The Demon Lords were hunting her.
"Why do want you with my mother?!" Kari shouted it – cutting Amaya off.
"Simple – I was hoping you all would come running. You did too. With the Legendary Spirits in my grasps I'll be able to perfect my crowning jewel of experiments. I'll be able to create more like Vanity without such troublesome means. It wasn't easy figuring out how to transplant Digital Code into human cells. It was troublesome creating a half-human half-Digimon being." My heart skipped hearing that.
"Half-human, half-Digimon?" I couldn't believe what I had heard.
"Yes." Chrono was.
"How could you do that to your sister?! How could you use your sister to test such a cruel thing?!" Nori was angry enough that she was able to stand.
"There's the anger! Come at me you fragmented fury! Gather your pieces and show me the power of your fury!" Amaya was nearly squealing in excitement at Nori's anger.
"You have some major screws loose lady!" Amaya stopped her squeals and gave a dead look to J.P.
"Silence you puny brained insect," Amaya raised her hand and pointed at J.P., "Vanity!"
Chrono was crossing the room within a split second of her, name, being shouted by Amaya. Chrono didn't land a hit on J.P. due to ice appearing in front of J.P. I was surprised seeing the ice because there was only one person who used ice. I looked to Tommy only to see that Kumamon replaced Tommy. Chrono turned her attention to Kumamon but she was blasted by a ball of electricity – my head snapped to Wizardmon seeing the attack. I was surprised that he was attacking Chrono.
"Wizardmon!" Kari was surprised as well apparently.
"We can't keep this as a standstill! If the Demon Lords are really after her they are bound to come here. We need to leave as quick as possible. Chrono is half-Digimon, she can take some attacks. We need to get out of here now!" I hated what Wizardmon said.
She's still half-human. Chrono can still be killed. My attention turned back because it seemed as if the knowledge of Chrono being half-Digimon had voided their hesitance. Kumamon, Beetlemon and Kazemon were all attacking. They were aiming attacks to disable Amaya but they weren't hesitating to attack Chrono if she got in their way. This wasn't right. This wasn't supposed to be happening!
"This isn't right! Chrono is our ally! She's my friend!" Chrono wasn't an enemy to be fought.
"Vanity – crush them!" Amaya's words were shouted right along mine.
Chrono flew back away from them and spun with her leg cocked into the air as if she was going to kick them. Red data burst to life around her foot as she went through the motions and in the wake of her foot was an arc of red data. The arc rushed out and there was no time for them to react. Kumamon and Beetlemon were struck by the attack. Data exploded from around their forms and they were sent flying backwards, crashed into the ground and slid. Their spirits appeared around them while they had managed to lose grip on their D Tectors.
"Tommy! J.P.!" Kazemon's loss of focus proved enough time for Chrono to shoot ten spheres of light at her.
Kazemon cried as the attack slammed into her. There was a shower of sparks and Fractal Code as Zoe fell through the air. I moved quickly and jumped to catch her. I cradled Zoe to my chest as I landed. I looked to Chrono who was locked onto us. I saw the sneer that overtook her face. She raised her hand and I saw the spheres forming once again. They appeared slower but they were bigger than the ones that had slammed into Zoe.
"So many were disgusted by Vanity – human, Digimon and scientist alike. They were all appalled at my creation. They were appalled that I had even dared to try and create a hybrid. Despite all of that Vanity is the strongest thing to be created by any of my co-workers!" Amaya cheered as she spoke the spheres shot from Chrono's outstretched hand towards Zoe and I.
Zoe gave a weak acknowledgement of the quick movement caused by me jumping to dodge the attack. Chrono shot across the room and aimed to punch me but I managed to dodge the attack somehow. I landed and Chrono growled, leveled a finger even with Zoe. Red data started to gather and I didn't like the look of it so I moved – I wouldn't allow her to aim whatever she was charging.
"My sister seemed to be the perfect host for a half-human half-Digimon child. Not only was it due to Snow's resilience and sheer strength it was because I made sure to use a sample from a humanoid Digimon. Humanoid Digimon do show the best promise because the beast Digimon causes great damage and cannot be contained by a human." I dodged another attack from Chrono as Amaya continued on.
I did it on purpose – I charged Amaya. Her eyes widened and squealed since I was going full speed at her. I jumped into the air though – having to really fight the urge to 'accidently' hit her. The attack that Chrono had sent after me though was seconds from crashing into her. In a spark of red data Chrono disappeared only to reappear in front of Amaya. I landed but I was stunned – Chrono absorbed the attack that she had sent at me.
"Be careful you stupid monster!" Amaya shouted it as she punched Chrono.
I was glad that I had sat Zoe down because I could only imagine how tightly I would've gripped her if I hadn't. My hands furled into fists tightly and it took everything in me not to fly off the handle and take that moment to attack Amaya. Chrono crashed to the ground as vile purple light flickered off of Amaya's fist. Chrono sat on the ground as if she was regaining herself.
"Attack them not me!" Chrono stood at those words and turned towards us.
Zoe backed away – hiding behind Wizardmon and Gatomon. Wizardmon and Gatomon had moved so they stood in front of Kari and Koji. J.P. and Tommy had approached as well – effectively we were all clumped together which wasn't good since Vanity had some nice area of effect attacks. I was the only one able to move as well at the moment so this wasn't going to be good at all.
"Vanity Sun." A white sun symbol in front of Chrono's outstretched hand – veins of red crawled across the symbol though.
The white sun was dyed pure red while the veins turned such a dark red that it was nearly black. An arrow of red energy shot out of the symbol before it faded away. The energy arrow was met with a dome of light – I glanced over my shoulder to see that Kari had activated her card at some point. Light poured out of her outstretched hand to create the shield around us. My attention snapped back to the arrow when I heard a cracking sound – the shield was shattering. Chrono had her eyes narrowed and I saw red data drifting from her outstretched hand – she was fueling the arrow with more energy so it would break through the shield.
"You!" Amaya shouted but I was as surprised as Amaya was – a water ball had been thrown at Chrono and exploded when it hit her.
The arrow vanished quickly without Chrono fueling it – with it gone Kari dropped the shield. I heard heavy panting behind me and a glance behind me let me see that Kari was pale. Kari was shaking and she was already back to normal. She wasn't going to be able to use that Card again. I looked back to Chrono and Amaya – Chrono had blocked another water bomb with her wings. I noticed that the water fizzled and steam rose from the water.
"How did you wake up?!" Amaya shouted it but I heard Daisuke laugh.
"I think you forgot that years of working with the Demon Lords gave me a rather resilient body – I've had worse blows to the head before." Daisuke stepped past me but I saw that he was unsteady.
"Release Chrono now Amaya. You do not want to play this game. Storm is on her way and you of all people know she shouldn't be tested." Amaya laughed at Daisuke's words.
"I'm not afraid of her – she won't harm my perfect little shield." I watched the grin that spread across Daisuke's face at her words.
"Chrono isn't going to be your shield for very much longer. I have no qualms against attacking her and knocking her out." As if to prove his words Daisuke sent another water bomb at them – Chrono wheeled back when the water exploded and splashed upon her.
Red data leaked off of her and the feathers on her angelic wings were damaged. The bat like wings seemed to burn slightly. I noticed red dust mixed in with the water that collected on the ground. Amaya though looked slightly alarmed for some reason.
"Vanity – get rid of him, quick!" Why was Daisuke's attacks enough to send her into a fit of panic?
Daisuke was propelled into the air by water that seemed to burst to life under his feet. Chrono sailed through where he had been and I noticed that the markings on her hands were glowing fiercely. The sun markings stood out even more against her pale flesh. Chrono turned and I saw the marking that had been white had veins of red.
"Pride?" I was confused by Nori's word.
"What about pride?" I asked the question as Chrono shot into the air to attack Daisuke – I could only hope that whatever Nori was realizing would help to free Chrono.
Daisuke wouldn't be able to last long. He might've talked big but he was sluggish almost. When he landed he stumbled and even though he used it to allow him to fall to the ground before turning it into a roll I had noticed it. He wasn't fully up to fighting but he was trying to draw attention from us for some reason.
"Why does she have the Crest of Pride branded on her body!?" Nori shouted the words and I froze.
In that moment Chrono was able to catch Daisuke before he threw up a shield. Daisuke was kicked and he was sent straight at us. He crashed into Nori – they were just a groaning pile. Neither of them tried to move. Nori's words repeated once more in my head before it was broken by Amaya starting to howl in laughter. Chrono faced us but she didn't attack – once again there was no unprovoked or unordered attack.
"Why do you think Vanity is so strong?! Why do you think Vanity is hunted by the Demon Lords?! Why do you think Vanity is even able to mix herself into your group without being chewed up and spat out like any other interloper?!" Amaya's laughter echoed in the room – it rung in my head.
"Vanity is half Lucemon! She's Vanity – she is pride's daughter!" Amaya's words echoed in the room from how loud she yelled them.
I felt sick to my stomach suddenly. Chrono hated the Demon Lords. Chrono hated them because she was told that they killed her parents. Chrono's mother died because of the experiment that Amaya had done on her. Chrono's, father, was still alive. Chrono's father was Lucemon – the Demon Lord that she hated the most. She hated a part of herself that she never knew was a piece of her.
"She's the greatest creation I've made and by far the strongest! She carries the blood of Snow Aleksander who is the previous DigiDestined of Miracles. Snow was born into a world of wonder and ruin – a world of magic! She carries the coding of Lucemon – the Demon Lord of Pride! Vanity was created by the union of the two strongest beings that I knew of at the time of the experiment!" I took a step forward – the laughter that still escaped Amaya pissed me off.
"With that power she's going end this now! You all will make great new subjects! Vanity – capture my new subjects!" Amaya screamed the words as she nearly doubled over from the force of the order and the laughter.
Chrono's hands were swallowed by red energy and I watched as the white spheres formed but they appeared over both of her hands – twenty balls of light. They had all but destroyed the ground when they crashed into the ground earlier so I could only imagine what it would do to me. I had to protect the others though so I couldn't dodge this time. I swallowed hard when the sphere were died black and began to pulse with red energy.
Chrono raised her hands from being raised to her sides and turned them to face us. The spheres followed her hands movements. The spheres shot through the air and came right for us. As I was bracing myself there was a loud thud and remnants of shattering and explosion. As an reverberating clap of thunder pretty much shattered the air as Storm appeared in front of me sparking wildly. A familiar lion shaped shield appeared in front of her though but it was charged with lightning. The spheres slammed into Loweemon's shield that was thickly coated with electricity. The electricity that sparked off of the shield and Storm herself wormed into the spheres and tore them to shreds.
"Mind telling us what's going on?" Loweemon asked it as settled beside Storm.
"A very long story – one that doesn't have time to be explained." I relaxed slightly as I spoke.
Koichi and Storm were fully rested. Well, more rested than we were. They hadn't gone what seemed like ten rounds just to reach here. I was interested to know how they broke the door down but I'd ask that question later on.
"Of course – Amaya is involved. Her list of crimes and atrocities is probably long enough for a whole series of books to be made." Storm's words were biting and filled with anger.
"Aw, so glad you think so highly of me." Storm snarled and flicked her hand at Amaya.
A bolt of electricity hit the ground right in front of Amaya. Amaya didn't flinch even though the floor was charred from the intensity of the electricity. Storm sent another bolt at Amaya but it was intercepted by Chrono – which took Storm by surprise. Chrono twitched and dropped to the ground while she sparked. Chrono even twitched.
"Why did Chrono just protect Amaya?" Storm asked the question surprised.
"Easy, really. I created Vanity here – her job is to simply obey my every command while making sure no harm befalls me." Amaya grinned as she answered the question.
"Excuse me, you did."
"I think that's the long story Takuya referred to." Koichi cut Storm off and she just sighed.
"I want an explanation after this." Storm shifted on her feet and lent forwards.
Storm flashed through the air as just a bolt of electricity but the still twitching Chrono reacted. With a data cloaked leg she kicked Storm. Storm was actually knocked out of the electrical form and forced backwards through the air. Koichi caught her and retreated back towards us quickly. Storm was wheezing and gasping for air, doubled over and dry heaved actually.
"Vanity." That was all it took from Amaya for Chrono to charge us.
I stepped forwards to meet Chrono but as I did so I felt my grip slip. The uncertainty of having to face Chrono in a battle caused the slight slip. Instead of fighting it I allowed my Spirit Evolution to drop. I didn't try to move out of Chrono's way though – I remained in front of everyone. I threw my arms out to my sides though. I knew how strong Chrono was physically at the moment.
"Takuya!" The others shouted my name and I saw Loweemon start to move from the corner of my eye.
He stopped before grabbing me to pull me out of the way though. Air rushed past me and nearly knocked me off of my feet. My attention turned to Chrono. Chrono had stopped before she hit me while going full speed. Her fist shook and it was level with my chest. Red data flickered around it – as if it was fighting to even exist. Tears started to come to Chrono's eyes that refused to meet mine.
"You saved me Chrono – you pulled me out of Raven's dream. You reminded me that I had people to come back to. You reminded me that despite the battle we're in I don't regret meeting anyone. You helped me pull out of that dream – I'll pull you out of the nightmare you're battling right now." The red data vanished from Chrono's fist.
"I might not be magical like you but I'll do what it takes to rescue you." Chrono's arm dropped to her side.
Chrono's eye regained light and they lightened in color. Chrono stared into my eyes – I knew who was looking at me was Chrono and not Vanity. Tears gushed out of Chrono's eyes within seconds and dropped to her knees. She was sobbing and her whole body was shaking.
"What's going on?!" Amaya was confused – I liked the confusion her tone held.
I knelt down in front of Chrono – she barely lifted her head so she could look at me. As she looked at me through her bangs the wings that she had begun to vanish into pieces of red data. I smiled at her because I knew for certain that she was back. Chrono reached out and grabbed me quickly, hugging me as she cried. She buried her head in my chest as she cried her heart out. I didn't hesitate this time when it came to wrapping my arms around her.
"Vanity! Fight them! Don't hug the enemy!" Amaya's words were falling on deaf ears – Vanity was long gone.
"You should stop wasting your breath – Vanity is no more." I declared the words that I knew was true – Chrono had defeated Vanity.
"Vanity!" Chrono shook her head hearing the shout.
"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I'm not Vanity! My name is Mireya Chrono Aleksander!" Chrono shouted the words after pulling away only enough to get a big enough breath of air needed for her words.
"I don't know what all happened but it looks like your shield is gone." Storm spoke as she cracked her knuckles.
"None of you are brave enough to attack a human though! The only one that is, is Daisuke and he's out like a light again!" Amaya backed away as she spoke – as if she was afraid despite how confident she tried to sound.
We all looked at Storm when she giggled. Storm bounced on her feet before she shot forwards – flashed from by us to across the room and in front of Amaya in a split second. Storm delivered a harsh punch to Amaya's jaw. Amaya dropped and landed harshly on the ground. Storm stood there in front of the unmoving Amaya as if she hadn't just knocked somebody out.
"Zale?" I was taken by surprise by the fact that Koichi referred to Storm by her actual name.
"Amaya is the reason why the Demon Lords decided to kill my mother. Amaya was the one who betrayed their trust and told the Demon Lords names. Amaya sold my mother out in exchange for her own life – Amaya told the Demon Lords that my mother knew the prophecy. My mother died because she refused to tell the prophecy to them." Storm spat the words out but I knew why she was angry at Amaya enough to knock her out at least.
Storm hadn't used any of her extra powers other than to flash over there. Storm had thrown a regular punch instead of one charged with electricity. Storm could've done a lot worse than just knock her out I think.
"Besides Amaya deserves a lot worse." I flinched when I saw Storm deliver a harsh kick to Amaya's body as she spoke.
"For all of the pain she's caused she deserves a fate worse than death – death would be far too kind for her considering all of the lives she's wrecked, ruined, or ended." Storm flashed from Amaya's side and to our side – probably to stop herself from hitting Amaya again.
I looked to Chrono when she pulled away. She wiped tears away with her arm as she tried to bring her breathing back to normal. I watched as she stood – slow and unsteady on her feet. I stood up and caught her when she nearly fell. She was worn out – exhausted from being controlled and fighting the control more than likely.
"I k-know where the switch is. Once it's flipped your parents will be freed." I tightened my grip on Chrono's arms ever so slightly.
"That's good since Storm knocked Amaya out." Storm merely sighed and rolled her still mismatched eyes at my words.
"I am and am not sorry that I knocked her out." I chose to just accept her words.
Chrono carefully shrugged my hands off and she began to cross the room. I watched her for a second longer before looking back to the others. Despite everything we had to fight through we weren't that banged up. We were exhausted and tired but relatively unharmed. Koji stood up with the help of Koichi – who had dropped his Spirit Evolution at some point. Daisuke was awake but he wasn't moving – he seemed to be enjoying halfway laying on Nori. Nori wasn't rushing him to get up either – in fact she had just threaded her fingers through his hair. Kari was being inspected by Gatomon and Wizardmon. Tommy, J.P. and Zoe looked uncomfortable but they were technically outsiders to this group.
"Mom!" Kari shouted it seconds after the sound of a door opening.
I looked over my shoulder to see that wall tiles had disappeared to somewhere to reveal a door that had opened. Kari's mother, my aunt, rushed out. My aunt. That's right. Kari and I are cousins. Kari rushed to her mother and Kari's mother wrapped her in a hug tightly – a hug that Kari returned. I smiled watching the reunion. I was glad that aunty was safe.
"Where's my dad?" I looked to Chrono as I asked – she had the best chance of knowing.
Chrono walked away from a switch that hadn't previously been on the wall and headed to the center, "He's on the other side – Tai and that group is probably already there since Amaya hasn't sprung any traps on them for a while."
"So he's safe?" Chrono paused at my words.
"I cannot promise that Takuya – he should be. I only have blurry bits of memories from when Amaya was controlling me." My heart sunk.
I jumped but watched in amazement when tiles on the floor shifted and receded into other tiles. The tiles moving about allowed room for a platform to come out of the floor. The table sized control panel had buttons galore – tracking pads, mouse balls and a few switches also decorated the control panel – it was something straight out of a game pretty much. Chrono hit a button and screens came to life in the air – cameras of different rooms popped up. My eyes locked onto the one that had Tai's group due to the fact that I saw my father.
I walked over and stood beside Chrono – staring at the camera. The small section of the screen devoted to that image flickered before it took over all of the screens. I was able to see in great detail how they were. Tai's group was a bit banged up but generally happy which meant that nothing too bad had happened. My father had a few cuts and bruises but he was able to walk on his own. He was ok. He was fine. He was safe.
"Can we get out of here?" I sighed at J.P.'s question.
"We should before something else comes our way." Koji didn't even have to say that because I didn't want to stay here any longer than we had to.
"Let's get out of here." I glanced at Chrono as I said it.
I was worried about how far she could go but she just smiled at me and nodded. I noticed that Storm once again flashed across the room to Amaya. She grabbed the back of Amaya's shirt roughly and began to drag Amaya across the ground.
"What are you doing with her?" Storm paused and looked to me.
"She's so going to the 'special' jail that imprisons people and Digimon that break rules and laws." Jail?
"There's a jail like that?" I was glad Koichi asked it because it meant that I hadn't missed something.
"Yeah – it's not really a place anyone wants to go. Anyone who is sentenced to do time there is given a life sentence pretty much and they're erased from their home world – they are effectively killed off without a drop of blood ever spilling on the wardens hands." Chrono's explanation caused a chill to shoot down my spine.
Not really knowing what else to say I turned to the door that we had come from and started that way. The others had already left but I wouldn't blame them. I wanted to get out of here quickly as well. Koji and Koichi had hung back though. As we entered the hallway that held the mirrors I was surprised – all of the mirrors were shattered.
"What happened to the mirrors?" I kind of wanted to get a better look at them since I knew my father and aunt were safe.
"Casualties in busting the door down. I might have short circuited the lock system while Koichi attacked the door – the resulting explosion knocked the door in but shattered the mirrors." I glanced at Storm but I noticed she eyed the shattered mirrors sadly.
"I had hoped to gaze into them once again myself but it was more important to get into that room than save the mirrors to look into." Storm tore her eyes from the shattered remains and looked forwards.
"What I want to know is why Amaya had the mirrors in the first place. What purpose did they serve her?" I paused at Chrono's question because she was right – what purpose had they served for Amaya?
Why had Amaya had the mirrors? I wasn't even sure what the mirrors were but they had allowed me to see the reflection of the Flame Spirits at my sides. The others had seen their own Legendary Spirits or in Kari's case the Spirits of Harmony. Why did Amaya have them?
"Whoever knows with her – Truth Mirrors act as a way to see into the Spirit World. Amaya might've used them for experiments or maybe she used them as ways to spark ideas in that twisted mind of hers." Storm cast a glare towards Amaya's unconscious body.
"She might've used them to talk to the dead – to the people she cared for before she got twisted. Some say her grief drove her to madness and to do what she did. Maybe she used them to converse with the people she would never see again without them." Storm's words told me something surprising.
"You're able to talk to the dead through them?" Storm nodded but I was in disbelief.
"Only those that are connected to the Digital World actually. They have to be DigiDestined, Digimon or others that died due to Digital World forces." Storm used them to talk to someone before – I could hear it.
Not only had she used them to talk to someone before she learned the limitations they had by experience. She successfully talked to the dead before through them but was unable to talk to someone before as well. My question is who did she try to talk to that had it failed. Everyone she knew that had died, from what I gathered, was either a DigiDestined, Digimon or died due to the Demon Lords. I wouldn't ask the question though.