5
The Sabbat
"He heard the hushed Arkham whispers about Keziah's persistent presence in the old house and the narrow streets, about the irregular human tooth-marks left on certain sleepers in that and other houses, about the childish cries heard near May-Eve, and Hallowmass, about the stench often noted in the old house's attic just after those seasons, and about the small, furry, sharp-toothed thing which haunted the moldering structure and the town and nuzzled people curiously in the black hours before dawn…" – H. P. Lovecraft, "The Dreams in the Witch-House"
"Baluluna Gale!" Blades of wind swept towards Lighdramon, who positioned himself between Daisuke and the others so as to take the brunt of the attack. Ken reached for his Digivice. Theoretically, the Dark Tower may not be working, which would allow Wormmon to evolve. But no, there was no reaction from the little machine. The tower was operational.
The remainder of the Chosen watched what was happening from across the river.
"We have to do something, Holsmon," Miyako said.
"Red Sun!" Twin beams leapt from Holsmon's eyes toward the tower, but as they passed through the neon rain their light began to fade, and before reaching the other side of the storm had disappeared entirely.
On the island, Ken looked up and watched the attack fail. So long as the poisonous storm continued they would be on their own. He glanced back at the lead Witchmon. She had not moved since the rain began. Her arm still stretched in front of her, unwavering.
"Maybe... Lighdramon, aim for the one in black!" The floating red Witchmon heard and tried to maneuver their broomsticks to intercept the attack, but who can move faster than lightning?
"Blue Thunder!" The bolts of energy struck the leader with full force. Her arm gave a convulsive spasm, and the rain immediately began to slacken. Seeing their chance, the other Chosen Digimon flew forward once more, unleashing their attacks at various red Witchmon, with the exception of Pegasmon, who shot directly upwards and spread his wings wide.
"Shooting Star!" The Dark Tower was showered with meteorites. The projectiles pounded into its ebon surface, some passing directly through. The tower shattered, its rubble raining down on the grounded Witchmon, who threw up their oversized hands to shield their heads.
"No!" the black witch groaned. The downed Witchmon got slowly to their feet. "We will retreat," the leader announced.
"Not until we have some answers," Takeru corrected her.
"You aren't leaving, dagyaa," said Digmon.
"Why are you defending the Dark Tower?" Iori asked. There were some snickers among the red-clad Witchmon, almost drowned out by the black witch's now familiar cackle. The Chosen tensed, wary of some other nasty trick the Witchmon might have up their sleeves.
"You could not force it from me through torture," the lead Witchmon answered. "And I know well you don't have the stomach for that. The Dark One has come, and the day of your destruction approaches. Until next time, brats and pets! Aquari Pressure!"
"Aquari Pressure!" the others echoed, raising their hands. The air was suddenly filled with water, as if the river had leapt up and exploded in an attempt to engulf the world. Nothing could be seen amidst the blinding spray, and by the time it had dispersed there were only the ruins of the Dark Tower and the Chosen Children and Digimon, gazing around them for signs of the enemy. But the Witchmon were gone.
"Partners," Lighdramon growled.
Daisuke looked at him, not understanding. "Huh?"
"We're not pets. We're partners."
Several minutes later the children and their partners were seated in one of Arkham's old buildings. It was apparently meant to be a restaurant, but no one was there to attend them. Even after the fight was over, Arkham remained silent. Its inhabitants were not in hiding, as some of the visitors had guessed. They were simply gone. Everything sat in its usual place, and the town looked as though it had been inhabited as recently as yesterday, but the citizens were all gone, as if at the appearance of the Dark Tower they had fled and left all their belongings behind.
The Chosen Digimon were in the process of recovering their strength, meaning they were eating what they had found in storage. They had reverted to their Child level forms, with the usual exception of Tailmon.
Everyone felt a little dejected. A few of the children still had hands and heads mildly stinging from the poisonous rain, but that wasn't the reason for their mood. They had destroyed the Dark Tower, but done nothing to address the real problem, whatever it might be.
"This sucks," said Daisuke. "At least last time we knew who we were fighting."
"That Dark Tower was working," Ken said to no one in particular. "Wormmon couldn't evolve." He thought for a moment. "My D-3 was what made the original towers work, but after I stopped being the Kaiser they stopped functioning. Archnemon and Pukumon were able to bring them back online somehow."
"Maybe," Takeru said, "the towers work when anyone is near them who wants them to work. Maybe the darkness in the hearts of some Digimon is enough to activate them."
"That might be true," Miyako agreed, "but it doesn't tell us what's going on. We don't know where the Dark Tower came from, or why those Digimon wanted to protect it."
Ken tightened his grip on his Digivice and looked down, only to meet Wormmon's gaze. He mustered a slight smile to ease his partner's worry.
At the same time, Hikari gave Tailmon a little squeeze. The little Digimon understood. It was time to tell them.
"I'm not sure if this will help," Hikari began, then stopped as their eyes turned towards her. After a moment she resumed. "Last night I had a dream. About the Dark Ocean." Takeru and Miyako gave little starts, as though they had just remembered something.
"So did I!" Ken exclaimed.
"What did you dream, Ken-kun?" Hikari asked, glad to share everyone's attention.
"Well… not much. I was just standing on the beach, looking out at the water. What about you, Hikari-san?"
"I was back in the town from the first time I went there."
"But wasn't that town destroyed?" Takeru asked. He had done that, in a way, drawing the Airdramon's fire.
"It was, but I was there anyway. A man talked to me, but I didn't see anyone. He said he wanted to welcome me back." She shivered. Ken looked at her intently.
"What did he sound like?" he asked.
"He… He spoke softly, and calmly, but he seemed threatening in a way." She searched for a better description, shook her head. "It was a dark voice," was all she could think to add. Ken thought about his visitor of the previous night. That might be a description of his voice, but if Ken were the one describing it the first thing he would have mentioned was that underlying sense of black humor. Maybe they were not the same person, then.
Takeru spoke up, asking, "Has there been anything else, Hikari-chan? Just the dream? You haven't started to disappear?"
She nodded.
"That's all," Tailmon said. "I've been with her ever since, and nothing strange has happened."
Iori broke the long silence that followed.
"I had a bad dream last night," he said.
"So did I," said Takeru.
"Me too," Miyako said. "What about you, Daisuke?"
Daisuke looked a little confused.
"I don't think so, but… maybe there was something." He shrugged apologetically. Everyone thought in silence a while, searching for some way to connect all the puzzle pieces, but none of them were able to find it.
The woods west of Arkham were dense and dark. A good many Digimon had gone into that forest and never come out, so that these days the place was generally shunned. And yet as the sun began to set that day, and the shadows grew thick among the trees, a fire began to burn in the forest's midst. Around it stood the coven of Witchmon. The black-wearing leader stood over the fire, moving her hands in esoteric motions over the flames. It was somewhat early to perform the ceremony, but she figured that it was dark enough, and the message urgent enough to be delivered as soon as possible.
Another of the Witchmon stepped forward, carrying something small, white, and squeaking tightly clutched in her hands. The leader, finished with her maneuvering, reached out and grasped what the other held. She lifted it aloft above the fire, the glow of which revealed it to be a terrified YukimiBotamon.
A dark shape detached itself from the gloom, covered the distance to the fire almost instantly and leaped up toward the squirming Baby Digimon. "Neko Punch!" Sharp claws tore through the small white body, which vanished in a cloud of data. The attacker landed next to the fire, a veritable twin to Tailmon, but with night-black fur.
The black Witchmon waited, gazing into the dark beyond the range of the fire's glow. Eventually she caught a glimpse of something, a pair of eyes reflecting the firelight. There was a flash of teeth below them as the thing in the dark grinned. The Witchmon bowed deeply, avoiding that chilling smile.
"They destroyed the Dark Tower," the lead Witchmon said.
A chuckle answered her. "Yes, I am well aware!"
"I cannot express—"
"There is no need to. I knew you weren't up to it. This was… a trial run, let's say." Witchmon said nothing. The man laughed at her apparent discomfort. "This has only begun. Now, I suppose you want your new orders?"