I do not own anything.
Chapter Fourteen: No such thing as Paradise
Slush and mud had come to cover nearly the entire portion of Jun's upper body. It didn't bother her very much, neither did the slush she could feel seeping into her shoes and into her feet. A low wind had begun to blow through the swamp causing Jun to speed up in an attempt to find a way out. It wasn't easy with a low fog rolling in from off the ocean. Her visibility had decreased however it wasn't at the point she couldn't see five feet in front of her. Strangely Jun had begun focusing less and less on seeing things and more on her sense of hearing and sixth sense. She used sixth sense because she that was all she could use to describe the tingle that ran up her spine everything she felt danger approaching. She wanted to laugh at how close it was that of movies and novels; the only difference being it felt far more surreal.
It took some stumbling and trips up stream before Jun found the right path leading back to Innsmouth. Walking through the forest almost blindly had left her feeling once more like a rat in a maze. Being with Orgemon had erased it, having his strength beside her made her feel like they could get out of this mess. Taking her time down a step waterfall gave her time to reflect on how stupid that idea was. His strength alone wasn't going to get them out of this mess.
If anything walking down the gaping river rushing down from the mountains made Jun realize she was going to need to start putting more effort into the partnership. Totems, statues, and spiritual talismans were becoming more and more common as she kept advancing. Many of them resembled Native American works of art as well as some kind of tribal, cult knick-knacks: straw figures held up like scarecrows. Trees had been either covered out into wooden statues or had carving nailed to them. Digicode ran up and down some of the towering trees, their shapes having been compounded thanks to the molding bark on some of them. In the river totems had been set-up, somehow managing to stand tall amid the ever changing flow of the river. If there was one thing they all had in common, it was whose likeness they'd been made in.
Hesitant Jun pushed down the bubbling fear threatening her nerves. "I don't think I'll ever be able to look at octopuses the same way after this." She'd already found the multi-limbed creatures disturbing but after this that would jump to out and out disgust. "This guy really must love himself." Jun thought taking a few glances at each idol on her way. Much of what she saw looked man-made further creeping her out as well as fascinating her. Who could have built these things? Dagomon's followers? For what purpose? To show their mad devotion to the digital monstrosity? It occurred to her that may have been the case. The thought filled her with an overwhelming sense of disgust at the said Digimon. What right did he have to rip people away from their homes and loved ones just to have them worship him?
Mindfully she avoided touching any of the pagan objects. Looking at their bizarre forms was enough, she didn't being cursed. It felt as if every idol with eyes was watching every step she took. Both her hands began to subconsciously wrap around themselves while keeping her weapon close. Nothing popped out of nowhere nor was there any sort of odd sound like in a horror movie. All Jun felt was an ever growing sense of dread that never seemed to ease. In tandem it seemed like the show of freakish totems was growing, now adding forest paintings to the collection.
The paintings walked the line between cartoonish to otherworldly. Not all of them depicted Dagomon, in fact, many of them depicted scenes of despair and morbidity. Men and women kneeling in despair, crying faces, figures lying dead on a field, and storms drowning out land masses just to name a few. To a degree Jun found it incredibly, a handful of the paintings looked like they'd been made by masters. While she didn't get too close or stare into them Jun felt she should take a picture of them. Seeing the works of art made Jun realize some of the people lost in the Dark Ocean were probably art students or professional artists. It certainly made some degree of sense, the place drew on negative emotions and art tended to collect those as much as it did positive ones.
Cold vipers ran up Jun's spine with all the different ways such events could have played out, all of them equal in the level of horror and sadness. Did he namb them so they could focus their sadness into him?
Not for the first time Jun questioned how someone's ego could be so massive. It wasn't like she'd been a stranger to people who had one, between her and Davis it was a miracle their parents hadn't grown one gray hair yet. Come to think of it for a good chunk of her life Jun had been around people with egos much bigger the size of elephants. Loving yourself was one thing but when that went too far Jun felt like she was looking at the end result. What could possibly justify this? What could ever justify believing yourself to be so much better than those around you?
What drew Jun's attention to the structure was the way the central river seemed to branch off in a different direction in a completely unnatural way. Upon examining it Jun found it was made-man. Curious she followed to a temple. It was…unusual to say the least.
Four sets of four pillars stood in a square formation around a shallow pond. The pillars were almost an onyx black color in the black and white world, so black Jun believed she was looking into the night sky. Getting closer to the structure, albeit hesitantly, she saw feint red DigiCode inscribed onto each pillar. It seemed red was the only color besides black and white that seemed to shine through in this hellhole.
In the center was what could described as a mixture of some hexagon shaped alter and a marble fountain. On top was another pagan idol, this one shaped more like Dagomon's head with all its octopus tentacles in full glory. The rainwater ran down its tentacles into the fountain then into the small pond.
The temple looked aged yet there was very little moss growing around it save for some near the bottom. Something told Jun this thing hadn't been built by human hands. No doubt it was the work of the Revenants based on the DigiCode lining pillars.
For some reason she couldn't step away from the temple. No sense of danger could be discerned from it, there wasn't anyone around. Seemingly the only thing that kept Jun grounded on the temple grounds was the idol staring at her. She couldn't take her eyes off it for some strange reason. It seemed almost…mesmerizing.
The eyes seemed to be digging into her the more she gazed at it.
THICK!
Her sixth sense kicked in but by then it was already too late. Jun could have sworn she saw a flash of light before she started to feel her body getting weaker. The coastal forest spun around her like a top, growing further and further away with every rotation. Before she fell completely she felt her legs weakening then the low whoosh of air swimming past her. Then, at last she felt the cold touch of water. The last thing she heard was the splash.
Clouds of haze blocks Jun's vision.
She was used to feeling shuffling while in bed. It never broke her from her sleep unless it rolled her or grew louder than she could bear. Clawing at the sheets she waited for the shuffling to stop and indeed it did. A set of arms wrapped around her waist while she felt someone place their head on her shoulder. It felt good, comforting, and most of all it made Jun not want to get up. The darkness wasn't pushed back, it was invited so long as it allowed this feeling to last.
How long before her brain registered what was happening, Jun didn't know, all she did know was the more rational part of her brain fired all the alarms.
In a split second her eyes bolted wide open bringing her whole body alive. The room was spacious, covered in light blue wallpaper and filled with portrait and paintings. Four rather large windows lay in a row, all of them slightly opened to allow a warm breeze to slip through and ruffle the blinds. Looking around Jun saw various desks and guitars in almost every corner. Beside them were pieces of wood and metal, half-finished musical instruments that probably would have sold for a few good bucks. Almost fearful she turned to the large flat screen in front of the bed. Staring at it Jun wanted to scream as loud as she could, not out of joy or horror, just pure shock.
In the reflection she saw she was lying almost in the nude with Matt, their clothes thrown to one side of the bed. Worse they both seemed…older, like eight to eleven years older judging by their reflections.
Now normally Jun would have had a completely and total breakdown at her situation; however, she was smart to realize doing so would cause more harm than good.
That and a small part of her was enjoying the situation, more than she'd liked to admit.
An unspecified amount of time passed with Jun not moving a muscle. Her head was a mixing pot of theories, thoughts, and rapidly growing confusion. One minute she was looking at a Cthulhu look alike and the next she had apparently aged and shared a night with her crush. When she did gather the strength to move she noticed a dim light reflection off her left hand.
This time she couldn't contain the gasp upon seeing the navy blue wedding ring on her finger.
Shooting straight up her eyes remained fixated on the ring. "No way! There's absolutely no freakin' way! No! It just can't be possible!"
That was enough to startle the sleeping dirty blond. Groaning he sat up, a smile breaking out on his face at the sight of Jun. "Morning Gorgeous."
Hearing those words made Jun's heart almost literally melt inside her chest. Every shred of panic and doubt she'd had instantly vanished from her mind. "Morning handsome."
The next thing she knew his arms were around her and his lips were crashing against her hers. Everything in the maroon-haired girl's mind went blank expect for the pleasurable sensation running through her body, growing with each kiss Matt placed on her neck. Slowly everything that had been troubling her faded away with the warm breeze flowing from the windows.
When he stopped he shot a glance at the set of guitars. "We should probably get ready. Today's the big day."
"Yeah, right." She answered dreamily. She didn't have a clue what he was talking about but at this point he could have said they were going to the moon and she'd have been fine with it.
After that everything around her seemed to blur together; getting up, showering, getting dressed, and eating breakfast. While she went through the motions her mind didn't pay much attention to the large hotel room they were in or the seemingly expensive furniture in it.
Naturally her attention was split between listening to Matt discuss his latest gig (at the Tokyo Dome!) and her supposedly accomplishments in the field of hard-light technology. When he noticed her mind would wonder off Matt would make a smart quip or joke to bring her attention back to him, it worked every time. He continued doing it even as they got into their car (Audi r8) and began driving towards the stadium.
"I can't believe this is really happening." She kept repeating in her head once they got inside.
Matt wrapped his arm around her, planting another kiss on her lips. "You did an awesome job setting all this up."
Still flustered the remnants of her mind managed, through some miracle, to splatter out a response, "O-O-Oh, this! It was nothing, just a…well…I wanted to kick your big night off with a bang."
"You mean our night."
It didn't matter that there were hundreds of people mulling around them, Jun could have kept kissing the blond all day if one of his band-mates hadn't interrupted them. Clearly he looked just as flustered as they did though in the end they all walked away laughing. The moment they separated Jun expected everything to go south, yet almost automatically she began walking to one of the production set-ups. Lights, special effects, positioning, and props, all of it fell under her coordination. Even more bewildering, Jun knew how to do.
She directed and supervised the final preparations for the show. Information seemed to flow into her head with every passing second, her brain operating at a rate she didn't even know possibly. Memories trailed in not far behind the information; weddings, parties, celebrations, and an overwhelming sense of warmth. She knew exactly what was going on now; She and Matt had been married for almost five years, they'd gotten married only a little after Tai and Sora did, she went to Kyoto University, attained her degree in mechanics, Matt's musical career had shot off from college onward, she had friends, she'd been to the Digital World, she'd watched Matt and the others save the world, she'd watched Davis finally show the world what an excellent cook he was, and most of all they were all successful.
Humans and Digimon worked side by side following Jun's instructions word for word filling her with a sense of pride. All through the day she went through the motions with a single thought; she was going to make this the best damn concert in the history of the Tokyo Dome.
Before Jun knew it the sun had begun its journey south and the first of what was going to be thousands began flooding inside. It filled her heart with warmth to find many of them were wearing Teenage Wolves clothing.
"We got here on our own feet, now we get to live it all up."
There were four acts before Matt's, while she no doubt wanted to see him perform she was amazed at the other three bands performing. The singing and dancing were the only sounds Jun could hear along with the cheering. At one point she could her herself cheering at every motion. She threw herself into the ever growing sea of joy. If the sea was rough when the first four played then the sea became a raging storm when the Teenage Wolves made their debut. Jun thought for a brief moment her eardrums were going to explode (thanks in no part to Orgemon shouting right next to her).
At last Matt's turn was up. Darkness blanketed the entire dome until a holographic moon appeared in the 'sky'. A short monologue on the nature of wolves boomed over while the moon shifted through all its phases until a full moon shined over the arena. Howls, barks, and hard-light wolves began running rampant through the crowd.
Uws and awes went up like waves nearly sending Jun to through the roof and into the real moon. She could feel the amazement radiating off of every spectator.
Jun could have sworn the moment the bearer of the crest of friendship finally appeared on stage, he winked at her, all the way from across the stage.
In that second Jun knew beyond the shadow of a doubt this was heaven.
They were three minutes into Matt's third song before Jun felt a cold shiver. Snapping out of her euphoria she realized the dome was shaking from more than just the thousands of fans, in fact, they'd noticed it too. The next thing she knew she was tumbling into Orgemon.
Terror replaced the joy within every spectator, human and Digimon alike as they looked to the ground and the roof. Countless cracks appeared in the ceiling, each growing in size until it was nothing but a collection of spider-webs. Chunks of steel and metal began slipping from their place then falling towards the ground with surreal speed. As the roof began to cave in sections of the ground began to crack up, tearing up sections of the ground and bringing entire levels down on top of each other.
Jun had no time to mourn the horror for Orgemon had already picked her up and was carrying her through the maelstrom of panicked citizens. Her vision blurred into a tingling, hulking mass of colors and her hearing was nothing but a receiver of ever-shifting screams and howls. Even with his strength Orgemon couldn't move as freely or as fast as he could have without bumping into someone or something. So many faces, so many bodies, all of them shoving in every direction, screaming for the exit and to know what the hell was going on. Jun was among them, her mind spinning at just a fast a pace until she saw one last glimpse at the stage.
Performers were scrambling to get off as fast as they could with the ground splitting open around them. It wasn't enough. Like some demonic beast the jaws of the earth ripped up, swallowing everything in sight. Digimon, some in the process of Digivolving and others not, were helpless as they fell into the darkness below. Instruments and their owners screeched in horror as they followed the digital monsters, their faces briefly illuminated by the remaining lights.
Clearly the maroon-haired women saw the love of her life, her husband, reaching out as he and his partner descended into the abyss. Jun was too far away to make out what he might have been saying but she knew by the expression on his face he was begging her to get away.
She wanted scream and shout at Orgemon to go back but he couldn't anymore than he could go forward. Like her he was frozen in the moment, allowed only to watch the tragedy unfold before their eyes.
In the last few seconds before the center stage completely collapsed Jun found her voice again. "GABUMON! MATT!"
There was sickening series of crunches and tearing before she could feel s searing heat tear at her face. Tearing herself away she saw flames had at some point erupted from the lights and holographic displays. Waves of red and orange rolled over the masses making the journey more hazardous. Unable to watch she shut her eyes praying when she opened them the whole scene would vanish. The constant orchestra of death broke that hope each time it creeped back into her mind. With her eyes shut all she could do was go by sounds and feelings assaulting her; Orgemon's grunting, yelling, and the sound of metal falling apart under unimaginable stress. She knew the whole stadium was going to collapse, the only question was how many would escape before it did. Mustering up her strength she opened her eyes and called for her friends, knowing somewhere inside that it was too late. She screamed their names but her voice was merely a whisper in the hurricane that had engulfed the once bustling stadium.
When Jun turned to her partner his face was grim. "I'm sorry Jun." he spoke, his eyes on the verge of tears.
Jun wasn't able to question what he meant before she felt herself sailing through the air. The feel of Orgemon's strong arms was no longer present, instead a set of unfamiliar hands clapped onto her and began pulling her out into darkness. Orgemon was the lighthouse that seemed to drift further away with every second, his green figure the only thing standing out in in the red ocean. Jun kicked and screamed for him, her lungs running on fumes thanks to the smoke and her own hectic shouting. No matter how much she tried her body began shutting down on her. Eyes watered and lungs screamed for clean oxygen, her red eyes stayed locked on the six-foot five orge until a mass of black and gray steel came down.
Her voice box probably broke from the insane shriek she let loose though she doubted anyone heard it as they were busy themselves. Jun didn't stop until she felt the last vintage of her strength leave her then the realm of sleep take her for its own.
Matt, Tai, Sora, Izzy, Yolei, Ken, Davis, and Chiyo were all the ones who died she later learned once she awoke in the hospital. Of them Ken, Davis, and Chiyo had died from their injuries, not even a full hour after they were brought to the hospital. The others…she never found the heart to look at their bodies or rather what was left of them. She heard the reports though, some of them were too mangled to be identified right away. There…wasn't a need to search for their partners when enough of the rumble had been cleared away, everyone already knew they had met the same fate as their human friends.
When she asked for her Digivice all she received was a broken hump of scrap metal. Within the first five minutes she woke up Jun could already feel it in her heart that her partner was gone. He died protecting her.
Staring at the tombstones Jun still struggled to put together what had gone wrong, what had sent several of her loved ones to early graves.
Two days after she woke up she remembered someone telling her it was an earthquake. Somehow it didn't matter what it was, it could have been a meteor strike for all she cared.
It was little over two weeks ago that the incident had happened. The news media had been covered the even almost nonstop. All Jun could gather was the randomness of it, the grief and rage she felt. Why did it happen? Why did fate suddenly decide to end the lives of fifteen people who'd risked life and limb to save the world multiple times? Why was she spared?
Focusing on Matt's tombstone Jun felt the desire to scream and curse the heavens as she did when she woke up. She shouted her utter fury at the sky moments after being told, dashing to the rooftop heedless of the wounds she was still healing from. Any second she expected to wake up from this nightmare and back in the nice bed she'd found herself in with Matt.
The shuffling of footsteps stirred Jun to the pond where a priests was making his way toward her. His head was shaved and his skin was leathery, his sunken eyes were a dark blue color, and set of prayer beads hung around his neck and were in his hand.
"I offer my deepest condolences for you loss." He spoke in a low voice.
She'd heard that some many times she felt like yelling at the next person who said it; however she lacked the emotional strength to do so. Secondly, she could tell from the tone the man obviously meant it from the bottom of his heart.
"T-Thank you." She mumbled turning back to the grave.
They kneeled in silence for almost ten minutes while the sky began to darken slightly overhead yet neither of them seemed to care.
At some point Jun gathered enough strength to use her voice again. "Why…why did they die? Was it their time? Was it just…they can't…not after everything they've done!" She bursts into tears. "They had everything any could have wanted so why did they have to die?"
The priest was quiet before he turned to the sky. "There is no reason I'm afraid."
"So I'm just supposed to accept that?" her voice barked. "I'm just supposed to accept that they're gone forever! For no other reason than that's what fate decided!"
"You anger is understandable yet it is meaningless." He paused holding out his head for the first drops of rain. "You see human life, even digital life, we are all nothing but raindrops. No matter how powerful they are, human leader or even a god of the Digital World life is a fragile thing. It can be snuffed out in an instant and no one will care. Like the rain they are born and die in such speed how can anyone acknowledge their existence?"
"But Matt was a rock star! Sora was a fashion designer! And Davis was a cook! He was about to be offered a place on Iron Chief from crying out loud!" Jun shouted.
The priest shook his head. He pointed to all the other graves around them, "It doesn't matter. You see child, when a person dies that's the end of their story. Their dreams, their hopes, their future, becomes meaningless. What they could have become no longer matters and that is the end of that. Everyone below us, their stories are finished. Never again will they see this world. Their dreams are dead." He suddenly thrusted his head into the dirt, raising it up he showed her a lump of soaked soil and grass. "This is our true love, for one day we all return to the earth. This is our true love and partner."
"What do you mean?"
"In death we are all equal. Death accepts everyone, no matter who they are. He is unbiased and most importantly he is patient. How long do we spend chasing such meaningless things such as dreams? Death is the only one who waits for us, who welcomes us with open arms." He sneered dumping the dirt back into the ground. "He is much more charitable than them," he pointed towards the sky with one of his bone-like fingers. "Those we call 'God' and 'fate' are the ones we should scorn. They lie to us, mock us, and yet how many mindlessly dance to their whims.
"They tell us to a good life, one free of sin and wrong doing yet they constantly toy with us on a daily business. It is madness!" His voice shot up an octave making Jun scoot back just a little. He was sounding increasingly like he was conduction a session at a temple. "How are we supposed to do this when they set such obstacles before us? War, crime, famine, and of course as you've experience tragedy. Why would they do this?"
Jun wanted to answer the priest but she couldn't. In truth she didn't have an answer, in fact the more she thought about it the more absurd it all sounded. When she was a girl she always questioned why did bad things and why didn't anyone do anything to stop it. Her parents would always look at her with the same sympathetic expression, no matter how old she was, and answer the same thing; that it was simply the way the world worked. Hearing the priest speak of it made her feel like a child again, scared and confused at what lay before her.
Taking her silence as an invitation the he continued. "They are cruel beings. Like the clouds that spawn rain they care nothing for our lives. They tell us to be brave in the face of terror and strong in times of darkness. Hah! We aren't supposed to voice our distaste for these trials, only face them with all the strength endowed to us by our creator. Why do we do this? Why put on a show for some mad deity that cares nothing for us, rather we live or die?"
"That's…we…people can be brave in the face of all that!"
"Can they? Are bravery and compassion not traits of the virtuous? If we are made in the image of our creator, what if our creator be a maleficent deity?"
Jun stared at the older man, her mind coiling around what he'd just said. If she was some of some practicing faith such as Christianity, Jewish, Catholic, Islam, or some other faith she would have taken offense to that statement. Still mortified she realized in some small way she found some truth in his words. If humans are supposed to be good then how is it history is filled with eras of warfare, violence, and hatred?
"Digimon are the children of man so they inherit all the same problems. They think like us therefore they are subject to our follies; hope."
"Hope? How in the hell is hope a folly! People need hope!"
"For what? What has hope done for you? We hope our dreams come true and we hope to live happy lives. Far too often it betrays us. Chasing our dreams never leads anywhere. If they do all they do is lead us to destruction."
"If you say it like that then what's the point of even doing any of it!"
Shaking his head he took looked out towards the city in the far off distance. "There's no point in doing any of it. A hundred people can die in an instance and no one will care." The man shuddered suddenly, running his head over Matt's tombstone much like Jun had done many times before. "Over the decades I've seen many horrible things happen to many people and I've come to realize that just like virtue, human empathy is an illusion. A man can loss his whole family and no one will bat an eye. You yourself have lost much yet the world moves on, heedless of the loss. Does that ever bother you?"
As soon as he said those words Jun thought back to the cave she stumbled into when she and Orgemon were separated. All those items representing dreams lost and abandoned. Worse, she was likely the only person who knew about them. "Yes…it does. It…makes me sick to think that."
Nodding his head approvingly he continued, "My child that is the history of the world. The truth is no one really cares about the pain of another person, all they care about is themselves. Digimon due to their nature are the same; survival of the fittest as they say."
Suddenly Jun began to laugh. It was a hollow sound fitting for the graveyard they were in. "Then how the hell does that justify what happen? Was my husband or brother weak? They fought creatures that could make the whole world's military look like schoolyard bullies. If they weren't strong than who is?"
"They call survival of the fittest the law of nature. That is true. As it was made nature is cruel and unforgiving, even to the strong." His cobalt eyes locked Jun in her kneeling position despite the growing pain in her knees. "No matter how strong we are, there is always someone stronger that is what they never tell you."
Jun's fist began to tighten. "Let me guess, God's supposed to be the strongest."
"Yes and as I have told you he is a fickle and cruel being." He spoke.
Her position shifted. She brought her knees to her chest, her arms wrapping tightly around herself. The sobs came in uncontrolled bursts. "If that's how you put it then what the hell are you supposed to do huh?"
"You welcome despair."
"W-What?"
Now facing her face to face the priest placed both his hands on her shoulders in a comforting manner. His face held a sadden smile that seemed to be the only thing Jun could keep her eyes on. His eyes were kind reflections of hers. "Mrs. Ishida despair is the final destination we all reach. Hope, love, friendship, these things are merely roadblocks and shortcuts to it. Everyone reaches despair one way or another, just like death it welcomes everyone." He brought her closer into a hug. "In despair we find peace and harmony. That's the truth, once you arrive you never want for anything, it provides everything you could ask for."
His voice was soothing. Despite the chilling rain Jun felt comfort in the arms of the priest, a comfort only a few people like her parents had ever been able to give her. Everything he said, it made sense. All hoping for good things had done was lead her to misfortune. "Maybe I never should have tried to be a better person. It's not like there was any guarantee I was going to get something out of it."
You aren't really going to believe him are you? Give into despair? Please! If that's reality then why do so many people still fight for a better life?
Jun had no idea where the voice had come from but hearing it awoke something inside her.
Of course I'm going to get you out of here! Then we're going to kick Dagomon's ass!
All the pours on her skin suddenly blew open, her nerves blazed with fire. The name napped at her mind like a dog begging for a bone. There was something she was forgetting. Her eyes scanned the environment, everything seemed to be miles away, even the tombstones right next to them. Her noise became aware of the smell of seaweed and fish. It was disgusting.
A familiar metallic object suddenly appeared in her left hand. It was beeping.
"Sinful…Priest…of the Ocean Floor." Jun whispered, her body suddenly warming up.
With a savage grunt she kicked the priest away, hissing in disgust. The mourning clothes she wore melted away revealing what her raincoat, bag, and her hunting rifle aimed squarely at the priest. When she spoke it was with pure venom. "Is that how you got people to follow you? To worship you?"
His head was kept low to the ground. He didn't seem at all fazed at the fact he had a gun pointed at him. "All I did was show them the truth. That's the secret of life ya' know. It took thousands of years and countless deaths for that truth to fully be brought to the world." He pouted. "Yet no one seems to listen expect a select few."
Darting her eyes toward the exit Jun slowly began backing up. "You're sick." She sneered. "You're seriously sick if you believe all life has for you is despair."
The 'priest' finally raised his head revealing in place of the dark blue eyes were now red orbs. The wrinkled skin now looked oily, caked in moisture. More unsettling were his cheeks; they were shrinking back into his skull. A feint red aura was steadily shimmering into existence.
When he opened his mouth Jun could see the rows of sharpen teeth in place of the old humanoid teeth. On top of that, his voice had grown raspy, like it was coming from some abyssal creature or a pair of rusty pipes scraping together. "Hey I've spent the last forty years coming through billions of files that prove my point. Wanna take a look?"
"No thanks," Jun said taking aim. "You see I've got real people waiting for me." The rush, the fear, and the exhilaration she felt upon pulling the trigger was alien to Jun. What seemed terrifying within the first second soon turned into joy upon seeing the man hit the ground with a resounding thump.
Kicking off she made a bee-line straight for the exit. In retrospect it probably wasn't a good idea to run through the city holding a hunting rifle and having a pistol strapped to her hip however Jun wasn't keen on stopping to ponder solution. Running through Odaiba was maddening. Turning back wasn't an option, the image of Dagomon being behind her was enough to push her forward through crowds of startled people and oncoming traffic.
She lost track of the number of times she'd almost been hit by a car or screamed at by drivers. None of it was real. She constantly cursed herself for believing any of it was real.
"Just where are you going? Back home? We both know there's nothing waiting for you there." Dagomon's voice resounded through the air.
"Who said anything about home!" Jun shouted knowing he could hear her.
Luckily she knew exactly what part of town she was in and where she needed to go. It wasn't going to be a fun trip but she needed to get it down.
The rain seemed to grow heavier with every block she passed. Though she paid them no mind the people around her began to fade away into nothing, she was alone running down the street towards the warehouses. It felt good to be by herself again.
"You honestly think you can escape? Did you not hear me child? There is no escaping despair!"
Stopping dead in her tracks at Warehouse where band practice was being held Jun felt her heat ach at the painful memory it brought back. In the now stormy weather it looked more ominous, ghostly evenly. The windows glowed blood-red before homing in on the frightened teenager.
Countering the massive glow the warehouse gave off was the feint yellow aura of her Digivice. Spreading her feet apart she readied herself to burst through the metal doors that stood shut before her. "You may be right about there being no such thing as paradise but you're wrong about hope being a mirage! We need to it to keep us going, we use it to help us achieve our dreams!"
Sickening tears and shrieking boomed from the warehouse as it morphed into a face. The windows now became organic beacons. Rooftop shudders howled with unholy rage as they twisted into the air turning into blacken tentacles. "What do you hope for? That Matt Ishida will someday call you his wife? That one day everything you saw will be real?"
"No," Jun shouted aiming at the left eye. "One day I want to be happy and I want him to be happy, even if it isn't with me. When something happens the world does go on but someone notices, friends, family, people who care about you! They help you get through that pain!"
"Nonsense!" The Dagomon head boomed.
"If you had anyone you cared about then you'd know! The people who you trapped here knew what that feeling was before you took that from them!"
"I FREED THEM! I BROUGHT THEM PEAC-ARGH!"
First she shot out the left eye then she shot out the right. The sound that the head released with both haunting and satisfying to Jun ears. Keeping her hunting rifle level she made a full on dash at the jaws that were now pulled back in pain. Bracing herself she leaped into the darkness, not knowing or caring what she found on the other side as long as it was out of this accursed dream world.
Terror seized Jun when she found herself falling helplessly through infinity darkness. She couldn't even see her own feet or hands. The only sounds she was aware of were her won screaming and the thundering of her heart. Somewhere in the back of her head she realized she probably should have thought of a better plan. What better plan was there?
SPLASH!
"If I don't come out of this with aquaphobia it's a miracle." Jun thought feeling the cold rush of salt water devouring her whole. She didn't get long to ponder the feeling before she felt multiple pieces of slim and rubbery flesh wrap around her body. Her eyes became dinner plates the moment her brain reregistered the feeling. "Oh God please no!"
Jun was pushed and pulled through the water like a rag-doll. The feeling was sick and disturbing yet she didn't scream as much as she could have. She could feel Dagomon's malicious words through his tentacles. They were all saying the same thing: GIVE UP.
She cursed him. With the water filling up her lungs, she cursed him as loud as she could in her mind, screaming every profanity she knew at him. The tentacles grew tighter then completely turned her around to face the abyss she was currently sinking into.
Dagomon's red orbs were glaring at her with near-total fury.
Despite her squirming and struggling a tentacle wrapped itself around her head, forcing her to look the deprived monk straight in the eye.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRHHHHHHH!"
All Jun saw in those eyes was evil. She saw sick things, things she knew she would never be able to forget even into her last years.
What she saw made her struggle harder and her hatred for the aquatic Digimon grew to heights that would have dwarfed mountains.
With the last breathe of oxygen her lungs could manage Jun grounded out what she expected to be her last words. "I…will…never…a-a-accept…your…bullshit…logic!"
From her pocket the same light from before burned into existence. Color stained the abyss, illuminating both Jun and the unholy abomination she had been struggling against. The bloody orbs deemed in the light, the horrific face shrieked back as if it was being pressed against a roaring flame.
With renewed strength Jun tore away the tentacles surrounding her and swam for the surface. There was a light shimmering at the top, a fading yellow light she reached out towards. When she felt fresh air hit her fingers she shot her head out. From the briefest moment Jun could have sworn she felt the warm rays of sunlight heat her skin.
Electricity buzzed through Jun's body like a lightning bolt had struck her head on. If her mouth and eyes had been any wider she would have looked like some cartoon character.
For probably the first and last time she was happy to see the black and white texture of the Dark Ocean. Everything looked the exact same as it had when she blacked out. Her hunting rifle was clenched lying at her knees. Reaching into her pocket she brought her Digivice to her face to see the golden glow was slowly fading. Jun clasped the device in both her hands and brought it to her heart. The small device had just saved her life and likely her sanity as well.
The first thing she did was check the ammo count for her rifle. She'd fired three shots; however, as she'd suspected they were all in her head. She had the exact same amount as she'd left Barkley's house. The same could be said for her other supplies.
Almost timidly she looked at the pagan idol. To her immense surprise it was smoking, no, it was sparking with red arcs of electricity. The eye were dimly flashing red. Cracks had begun spreading all over the wood. Doing a three-sixty she found the entire temple had cracks spreading through like someone had taken a sledge hammer to the whole thing.
Sneering she walked closer toward the Dagomon model. Putting away her hunting rifle she cocked her pistol. "That's how you do it right? Lure people in under the guise of a priest or a man of faith and drag them into that hell hole? Well not this time. You may think despair is the end-all-be-all but here's a newsflash; it's not. Never was and never will be." Leveling her aim at the forehead she waited a moment before squeezing the trigger. "Happiness isn't something that's given to you, we make it with our own hands."
BANG!
Jun wasn't expecting the entire temple to go up in flames though she sure wasn't complaining. Besides a sideways glance she didn't look back on her way down the river.
Finally alone with her thoughts Jun reflected on the last time she'd seen Matt. "As usual I over reacted and look at where that landed me." A pathetic chuckle left her lips as she passed into drifted through a shallow pond by the river side. "I wonder what's going on back home. Have mom and dad found out yet? Has Daemon launched a full-scale invasion?" Speaking her questions out helped calm her still firing nerves. They'd been rustling in her head for a while. If she could have asked any of the Digimon she'd encountered she'd fear the answer. "Orgemon you better be alright."
BEEP!
Belly-first she s hit the soggy ground scanning the area. Screeches boomed in the sky alerting her to a new airborne threat. With her scope she looked through the rainy sky to find a large black bird plowing its way through a horde of DeviDramon. Her Digivice identified it as a Saberdramon, a champion level. To Jun it was a predator that wouldn't hesitant to squash her. Jun stayed low in the grass, moving like a worm through the dirt. Her heart jumped when she saw a series of flaming feathers rain through the forest yet her body remained still and composed.
She remained so once a chorus of demonic shrieks went up in response to the Saberdramon's attack. On her Digivice she saw a big O at least a hundred yards to the southwest. If she sprinted she could cover half that distance and maybe catch up with him. The problem was it looked like she was going to be in the middle of another battle between the two demonic Digimon.
Clutching her rifle Jun continued her slow track down river despite the giant predatory bird circling the skies above. It wasn't going to be easy but she'd increasingly learned nothing worthwhile in life was ever easy.
