Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or any of it's characters.
On a side note, season one had the best villain which was Myotismon. You did not see character depth among the villains, but at least he had a goal and his fights and minion fights were epic against the digidestined. He is the only villain to actually return twice, but it was kind of ridiculous how hopes and dreams defeated him in 02.
Chapter 4: The Hidden Realm
In a bright shining light all of them had appeared. Hikari, followed by her brother, were the last ones to arrive. She stood for a moment as all of the digidestined conversed together talking about where they were going to go. It felt so odd not to see Takeru there. She put her hand over her heart, feeling it quiver.
"Don't worry Hikari," Taichi said smiling. "Your brother will protect you if anything happens."
Hikari stared at her brother, her heart trembling in frustration. She couldn't do anything to stop Takeru from being hurt, and it was her brother's fault he had caused all of this in the first place. Hikari ignored him as he tried to be there for her. She approached Sora, the closest person she could empathize with.
"Can I walk with you Sora?" she said trying not to sound so pitiful.
"Sure of course," Sora replied understandably.
She felt Taichi's shadow as he followed her from behind as if tracking her every movement.
"So where exactly are we going Koushiro?" Yamato asked. "We can't just be sitting targets for that nameless digimon."
"I thought about that to Yamato," Koushiro responded. "I am sure that Homeostasis will make her move really soon. Until then just keep an eye out on Hikari."
Hikari hated to have everyone watch over her. Taichi was a stalker. Yamato seemed awkward. Sora seemed like a worried mother watching over her baby chick. Mimi seemed like she just found the latest fashionable accessory and would not let anyone touch it. And Koushiro like she was some art exhibit at the museum protected by a cage. Of all people, the one person there she felt ok with was Joe! She felt like she was one of his patients!
Joe slowed his walk and walked back towards her. "Hikari," he said, "You don't look well. Maybe we should sit down and rest?"
Sora put an arm on her shoulder and nodded her head.
Hikari completely agreed. Not that she needed to sit down and rest, but that she needed to lay down and pass out for several hours.
"Hikari," Tailmon said holding her hand. "Come on, just this way. There is a lake we can sit down by. If you want you can wash up."
The comment seemed off to Hikari. Was something wrong with her? Did she really look that upset?
She could feel Yamato leering at her almost as if he was discontent with her.
What in the world is going on? She thought. It felt like her whole world was collapsing.
"Hey Tailmon!" Gabumon said. "I think I found the pool you were talking about!"
She watched as all of them ran over to a pond near the edge of a forest they had been traveling by. They all started to drink, some played, and some teased the others. It was very precious to watch like they were little children.
"Hey!" she heard Taichi yell frustrated. "You can't do that Agumon. We can't let down our guard. We have to protect Hikari so don't slack off all right?"
"Don't worry Taichi, I am not," the friendly dinosaur said his claws ready. "I can digivolve to Wargreymon anytime and get the bad guy!"
"We can also become Omegamon," Gabumon added. "Relax. You to Yamato," he said his head turning his way. "Everything will be ok."
Taichi's hand and teeth gritted so ferociously Hikari thought he was going to have a brain aneurysm.
"What are you so angry for?" she asked plainly, letting down her emotions. "What are-" a shimmering light seemed to greet from sunlight reflecting on the water.
"Hello?" is anyone there?" she said zoning out, all of the other digidestined slowly fading from her view. Ah, yes she recognized this presence. "It's certainly been awhile," she said almost smiling.
"And you as well chosen child of light,"a familiar voice answered.. Now be still my oracle. It is my turn to take over..."
Taichi stared at his sister worried, but also concerned for her safety. "It's you," he said anxiously watching her realizing she had been controlled again. Every time this happened he wondered if one day she would never come back.
"Are you Homeostasis?" Koushiro asked
The being possessing Hikari nodded. "You have done well to bring my oracle here," she said. "For their is much we need to discuss."
Taichi remembered the last time Homeostasis had possessed her when him and Yamato were fighting. And then after that with the threat of Meicoomon. He wondered who the enemy could be this time. Yggdrasil? The evil Gennai?
"Tell me," he said. "The enemy this time. Who is it?"
The being turned towards him as if looking into him.
"Fear itself."
"Fear?" Taichi said swallowing. He did not understand.
"Each and every one of you," the being said, "has gone through the darkness to attain incredible power. However...be warned. That same power that has helped you is the same power that can destroy you."
He heard Koushiro jamming into his computer typing like a madman. "What do you mean?" he asked, Taichi going over to him seeing what he was looking at. Once more it was the previous message sent regarding going through the darkness to attain incredible power.
"Come with me and I will show you," she said.
Taichi placed his hand on Agumon's head as he walked by, knowing well the kinds of power that could be wielded. He had no idea where they were going.
"Your strengths are the crests wherein lies the power your hearts wield," she said as they seemed to venture off a path leading into the woods. "But when you faced the darkness and overcame it, you were also exposed to it and it's influences."
The being stared directly at Taichi making him freeze in his tracks. "You know exactly what I mean..."
Taichi glanced down at Agumon who seemed oblivious to everything. Yeah he knew. When Agumon digivolved into Skullgreymon and caused a world of havoc.
"...Or also," she said, "when Tailmon digivolved into Ophanimon. You digidestined faced the darkness and sometimes you failed. But it was by your bond together you were able to fight out of it."
"What does this have to do with anything?" Mimi asked. "We all can have good days and bad days right? It's just part of being human."
"And therein," Homeostasis said, her eyes zeroing on Mimi, "is your greatest strength and your greatest flaw."
Around them suddenly the digital world seemed to blur, the forest around them slowly separating away until their was but a path twisting ahead from where they were.
What in the world is going on? Taichi thought. Why does this place seem so familiar?
As the digidestined walked towards a towering familiar structure Taichi heard Homeostasis guide them towards what only seemed like an unreachable far off destination.
"Wait a minute!" he heard Koushiro exclaim. "I recognize this place, but why are we here?"
"Just where exactly are we?" he heard Yamato glaring around.
"This is Myotismon's castle!" he exclaimed.
Taichi stopped moving forward suddenly catching a slight chill. That digimon had certainly caused nightmares for all of them, especially little Hikari.
"That is correct," Homeostasis said. "We are in the darkest place of the digital world."
The stench of death and decay littered the empty halls of Myotismon's castle. That vampire freak had really given them a ride for their money nearly ending their journey numerous times. And just like a vampire, well, he never really stayed dead until that Giga Crusher move laid him down for the count.
Homeostasis lifted up her hand and the door to the castle lifted. They all ventured forward walking deep into the darkness.
"Why are we even here?" Sora asked. "This place still really creeps me out."
"There are various layers of darkness," Homeostasis said as they waded their way through it. A little bit of darkness makes the light dim. A lot of darkness completely blocks out sight. And in ultimate darkness our own shadow becomes one with it and can't escape..."
Taichi swallowed, his burden as the leader of his group heavy. He knew the burdens they carried, but his seemed the biggest out of them all to him. After all, even with all the problems, fights, and worries they all faced he had to bring them together somehow to face the darkness.
"But then why did you take us into the darkness?" Taichi asked curiously. "Unless something is here?"
"That is correct," Homeostasis said putting one hand up in the deepest darkness in one dark hall. "Though darkness is evil, the shadows can conceal the truth, or be so very deep shield it from the outside world, just as it is with the human heart. Lies will warp around it to protect it, and so darkness expands around it into more layers like the universe constantly expanding. Darkness breeds more darkness and it's thirst is insatiable."
Taichi could not see anyone anymore, but only Hikari, pale and brightly shining with the influence of Homeostasis. The being seemed to grab an invisible doorknob and opened a door. "Enter...into my realm," she said, a twinkling brilliance enveloping the darkness into an archway.
He lost his footing as they all stumbled into a wondrous light.
Around them glittering silvery chains and a vast whiteness covered everything. Faint images of zero's and ones danced around.
Hey, I recognize this place," Yamato said. "This is where we disappeared in the battle with Apocalymon."
"Yes, that is correct," Homeostasis said. "This is my realm; An in-between between the digital world and death. It is a purgatory until digimon can reappear and be refashioned. Some in the image of darkness. Many in the image of light. In your battle your hearts which remained refashioned your bodies into stronger forms. You prevailed then against that deep darkness known as Apocalymon. And also many similar darkness's."
"Yeah," Agumon said staring around. "WarGreymon certainly has a put a lot of dark digimon here."
"Don't be foolish," Homeostasis said her eyes lighting up seriously. "Don't think you yourself can do something like this. Digimon and humans together are powerful. But individually they are weak and fall apart easy. Come this way," she said leading the way.
On the right and left sides were chains of zeros and ones like strands of DNA in greater length and detail as they progressed. Taichi knew Koushiro would be enamored by the place. He turned to see him his eyes sparkling in wonder.
He said nothing as they approached an altar with a pedestal on it, a giant scroll bound in it's place with seals over them; One seal each, with each crest sealing it to prevent it from being opened. It was enchanting to behold, but the crests seemed to be faintly dim as if the seal was about to break.
It looked like a record book of some kind, the scroll thick and heavy as if it stored a vast amount of data. More so than even the history books at his old school. It had to be a record...a digital record.
"Just...what is this digital record?" he asked.
He watched as Homeostasis lifted herself up hovering over it staring down at them all, wondrous, but fierce some to behold .
"It is the key," she revealed.. "The key...to everything."