103

Cat and Goat

"The head is pronounced by the most experienced archaeologists of the district to be that of a faun or satyr. [Dr. Phillips tells me that he has seen the head in question, and assures me that he has never received such a vivid presentment of intense evil.]" – Arthur Machen, "The Great God Pan"

Most of the distance to the Shibaura-futo station had been covered in a silence more tense than awkward. Meanwhile, both Taichi and BlackTailmon were doing their share of thinking. Taichi had to decide when and where they should get off the Yurikamome. While BlackTailmon was on it, there was little chance of her getting away, but that would change once they left it. Maybe Sora and Birdramon could watch from above, but only if they were ready. Maybe the best thing would be to return to Odaiba, but that would mean a change of trains if they weren't going to ride down the entire line. There was no simple, soccer game answer, and they were coming up on the station all too quickly.

For BlackTailmon's part, the question was how far she should play along. It would take cunning and quick thinking to prevent the Chosen Children from realizing that she was of no real use to them. On the other hand, there was a possibility that she could turn the tables on them. Unfortunately, a trap is hard to set without co-conspirators. She wondered if her absence had even been noted yet by those who had brought her to this world. It also occurred to her that she didn't know how much damage the Chosen had done to the group's headquarters. Had they gone over the entire place? If she tried to convince them that their friends were in that building, they might call her bluff.

The Yurikamome slowed as it approached the station. Alright, Taichi thought. Maybe it's best just to find out what's going to happen now instead of later. We'll be ready if she tries to get away.

"We'll get off here," he said aloud to the two Digimon. "After the other passengers," he added while the train came to a stop, as an afterthought for those passengers' benefit. After a moment they took the hint and disembarked, sidling past the Digimon and the strangely fierce boy with them. "Alright. Come with us," Taichi said to BlackTailmon when the car had emptied.

"Where are we going?" she asked, trying to sound innocent.

"Just follow me," Taichi said, not having any other answer ready to hand. "Agumon, you follow her."

"Don't trust me, huh?" she said.

"Would you?" he returned. BlackTailmon suppressed a smile. In spite of everything, she liked this human's attitude. It was closer to hers than he realized. She was a little inclined to disdain the Agumon – playing jailer to a Digimon a level above his – but knew that the power of evolution was on his side.

The strange procession left the train, and then the station, unbothered by the wary onlookers. Finding a place to talk was a little easier than Taichi had expected. The fenced-in, concrete space under the station stairs was empty except for a long bike rack. Agumon was the one to spot it; Taichi's eyes were turned aloft as they stepped outside, looking for Birdramon. The three waited in silence beneath the stairs while Taichi messaged Sora through his D-Terminal.

BlackTailmon made no move to escape… not yet. She had more faith in her intelligence than in her physical strength against enemies like these. If she was careful, her patience might pay off. She was looking at Agumon. The little dinosaur's face was calm, but set and attentive. They heard Taichi's D-Terminal beep.

We'll stay up here until you need us (Sora's reply read), unless Birdramon gets tired. I'll let Yamato and Mimi-chan know what's going on.

Taichi read it and looked up at BlackTailmon.

"My friends are going to be keeping an eye on us," he said. The warning was obvious.

BlackTailmon nodded, her expression blank and her mouth silent. What had occurred to her while on the train, that she didn't know exactly what had happened the previous night, came back to her. Granted that Lilithmon had been destroyed – and it didn't seem likely these kids would be here if she hadn't been – then what was the extent of the damage the children and their Digimon had caused? What about the rest of the coven? Until she knew the answer, she ran the risk of betraying herself. It was best to let the Chosen Child speak first.

But for a few moments Taichi didn't speak. His eyes looked through BlackTailmon rather than at her as he confronted his own doubts. The others' opinion – and he had to admit it was probably the right one – was that neither BlackTailmon nor Lilithmon had known about what had happened to Hikari and the others. What if this Digimon could only point him back to the building where the police had failed to find the missing Chosen Children?

"Now…" he said at last, to break the awkward pause. Another second passed before he took the plunge. "That building we were in last night. How much of it is controlled by those people you work for? Are there others like it?"

BlackTailmon had to say something. Any hesitation meant that her answer would be taken for a lie – which it very well might be. "Didn't you see enough of the base already?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm. If she could excite the human's emotions it could help her figure out what he knew. The trick was to not push him too far.

"Just answer the question," snapped Taichi, who had seen far too much of that base and had nothing to show for it.

"It's a pretty big place," BlackTailmon said, erring on the side of exaggeration. Why doesn't he just ask where his friends are? she wondered.

"And are there other buildings?" Taichi asked again.

"Not that I know of," she answered truthfully, against her natural inclination. She thought she was beginning to see the situation.

"So you can't really help us," Taichi said. BlackTailmon inwardly winced. Should have just lied, she thought.

But Taichi, despite his scowl, gave his partner no order to kill her, and she quickly replied, "Maybe I can. You want to get back into that building, right? I could show you how."

"Sounds like a trap waiting to happen," Taichi said, thinking her offer had come maybe a little too quick.

"A trap's a hard thing to set up all by myself," BlackTailmon answered.

"Unless…" Taichi said after a moment, "They know you're bringing us to them, and that's why they didn't come and get you already."

"But they couldn't have expected you to beat Lilithmon," BlackTailmon said, ironically trying to convince him of what was true. "I still can't believe you really did it. What trap are they going to have that's better than that?" She fell silent after that, brought up short by her own question. If the Chosen Children really had been a match for Lilithmon… If they had done the impossible… then was there a chance that they might actually win?

Taichi was quiet as well. He was trying to think about what the right thing to do was. Did he really plan to return to that bloodstained building? He didn't know how much he believed of what BlackTailmon had told him. If that building was the enemy's only base, then they had to go back. He'd have to talk to the others about it.

He once again pulled out his D-Terminal and messaged Sora.

We need to talk. It's too exposed here. Can you pick us up near the bridge?

Not too long afterward, following a tense and somewhat stealthy trek to a suitable location, Taichi, Agumon, and BlackTailmon were met by the descending Birdramon. Both Taichi and his partner had been watchful, looking for any sign of their prisoner trying to ditch them, and continued to watch her as Birdramon lifted off again, the human passengers clinging to one claw and the Digimon on the other. But still BlackTailmon made no sudden movement, only glancing wistfully at the ground of mainland Tokyo as it fell away beneath her.

She seemed to have something on her mind besides escape, and that worried Taichi a little. He thought about the building she would lead them into, about what they had seen there last night, and about what might go wrong. BlackTailmon would probably be a liability now instead of an asset. For a moment he almost missed the old kill-or-be-killed days of that first adventure, but was immediately ashamed at himself. What would Hikari think of a thought like that?

Birdramon rose higher above the bay, wheeling back towards Odaiba.

For the most part, Panimon had been moving by night, the best time for his depredations. On his wings he could travel rapidly and silently, switching to his half-hooved feet when the time came to charge and seize his latest target. Sometimes, if the place was private enough, he might let them run a little ways as he came dancingly clopping after them. There was little enough chance of their escaping the reach of his fingers.

Only his victims had gotten a good look at him, and most of those had only had glimpses enough to illustrate a lifetime's worth of future nightmares. All this stealth wasn't strictly necessary – he had, after all, nothing whatsoever to fear – but he was saving energy to fuel the glorious culmination of his stay in the human world. It was for this reason that he largely stayed put during the daytime. Not that he was immobile. With his remarkable talent for altering his physiology, and the aid of some stolen articles of clothing, he could at times pass for a human…almost.

He haunted shady parks and dark alleyways, and anyone who saw him instinctively loathed him without suspecting his true nature. He knew it, and drank in their discomfort, tiding himself over until the much headier horror of the people he actually set upon. The majority of those he allowed to live. They would carry their hideous experience with them forever afterwards. He let out a low, glutinous laugh at the thought.

He recalled the previous night's most fulfilling crime, greedily going over the details. He'd come across what might have been a young couple or a brother and sister walking home together, perhaps for added safety. If that was the idea, it had done them no good. Two victims being taken together, each caring for the other, had much more than doubled the negative energy yielded, and Panimon regretted not trying it earlier.

For, sadly, his time for leisure was nearly over. He had come here for a reason, and had made a bargain for the privilege. He'd had two full nights now, and most potential prey would be wary when the third came. Fortunately, there were several victims who would be eager enough to meet him of their own volition. Tonight he would at last seek out the Chosen Children. He would make himself known, the old god of another world, and this proud metropolis would quake and crumble before him. And after that? Well…

He knew that something tremendous was coming. With luck, he wouldn't be saying goodbye to this world, or to the Digital World for that matter, anytime soon. Who knew? Perhaps he might even have company coming.

But there would be time enough for speculation later. First came the Chosen Children and their Digimon. He wondered whether the battle would be easy or not. From what he had heard in the midnight forests and temples of the Dark World, the group had an impressive track record. That didn't make their defeat any less inevitable, but it did raise the possibility of a satisfying challenge.

He looked forward to nightfall and to meeting the Chosen Children – particularly the one who had been this adventure's inspiration – with growing anticipation. They were hurting terribly even now. He'd caught the mouthwatering odor of it on his visit to Odaiba, and knew it could only get better. Tonight would be a feast for the ages.