117

Breaches

"He felt a revival of volition and a great desire to escape from the gulf and from all that dwelt in its darkness." – Clark Ashton Smith, "The Dweller in the Gulf"

Ken stood in indecision amid the rubble that had lately formed part of a wall of his cell. He looked into the darkness before him, and then turned to the darkness behind, wincing at the pain in his back. The Troopmon responsible for flogging him had left long ago, but the sting of the Kaiser's whip lingered. Ken hadn't been able to decide whether the beating or the hanging from the handcuffs had been worse. One cuff still remained attached to his lacerated wrist – by some miracle the other hadn't been refastened after he'd been let down. Even as it was he'd had a difficult time climbing out of his damaged prison.

His current indecision did not concern whether or not to leave the cell behind and seek his friends. There was no question about his having to find them, and he definitely wasn't going to wait around for the next torture session. But which way should he go? The corridor remained very dark despite the rift in the ceiling, and his eyes found no hint as to what path he should take. Maybe it didn't matter. After all, he had no criteria by which to make a judgment. No sound could be detected besides the noise of the battle somewhere above him – if more of the Dark Man's minions lurked in the shadows he didn't hear them.

He decided to get moving. For all he knew the Dark Man was already aware of his "escape," and if he were going to be recaptured he at least didn't want to make it easy for them. Ignoring the welts on his back and holding the unlocked cuff in his hand to minimize clinking, he started off into the darkness.

No more than a couple minutes had passed before Anubimon checked his race through the corridors, coming to a halt before he had even realized why. It was nothing he had seen or heard. He couldn't quite define the sensation, but he thought he understood what it meant. Someone was nearby – a person whose aura seemed distinctly out of place in this stronghold of evil. In the past, flashes of intuition like this had aided him in the judging of deleted Digimon. Here he felt confronted by a soul that did not deserve to be damned.

He began to feel along the walls with his hands. In his wanderings he'd had a good deal of time to ponder the workings of the building. For the most part the place seemed to consist of corridors, but whenever he tried to get a sense of the layout he would notice that there was a good deal of space unaccounted for. His conclusion had been that a number of chambers existed that were sealed off somehow, though accessible to Sato and the Dark One, and it must be in these that the Chosen Children were to be found.

The question then became how to access these hidden rooms. Could only those who used the power of darkness reveal the way, or was there some mechanism that opened the invisible doors? Could Anubimon use his offensive techniques to break through? If this had been the Digital World he would have felt no concern on that count – useless though his attacks might be against the Dark One, a wall should be something he could easily destroy. He would try an attack as a last resort, but for now it seemed better not to draw attention to himself and to hope that an entrance could be effected by mechanical means.

For several minutes his careful search continued and his impatience built. No sign of a hidden switch or button. Did he have the wrong wall? Should he try the one behind him instead? He began to worry that his instincts had misled him, and perhaps it was that fear of ultimate failure that decided him. A battle still raged above. If it turned out he did have the power to break through a wall, he should be able to deal with any enemy he might alert – except for the Dark One, and noises from above told him that the Dark One remained locked in battle.

He stepped back from the wall and raised his hands. Holy powers he might not be able to rely upon in such a place, but there was another power at his disposal, and with luck the atmosphere of the Dark World had not been able to deprive him of it. He was relieved when a dull greenish glow began to emanate from his palms.

"Ammit," he whispered. With a hollow roaring sound a ray of light bridged the distance between Anubimon and the wall, and beneath its impact the black stone disintegrated. Several other blasts of green energy followed, and in the end left a ragged hole in the rock that Anubimon could duck through and enter the room beyond.

He wasn't sure what to expect. Long accustomed to the darkness of the monastery, his eyes had been dazzled by the radiance of his attack, so that at first he saw only blackness in the invaded space. Rather than remain in suspense as his eyes readjusted, he again conjured the little shape of yellow light, and by its candle-like glow he saw that his senses had not been deceived.

Beyond a thin stone pillar a human form lay. It was a girl, her eyes open and looking up at him, and her parted lips lending her pale face a wondering expression. He recognized her. He had indeed found one of the Chosen Children.

"Who are you?" she asked softly. He was glad she didn't seem to be afraid of him. Perhaps she could sense his basic goodness, as he could hers.

"I am Anubimon," he said. "I'm here to help. Can you walk?"

"Yes, I think so," Hikari answered, getting slowly to her feet. "What's going on?"

"I do not know," he said, "but there is a chance now that you and the other Chosen Children can escape from here. Do you know where the others are?"

"No," she said, walking over to where he waited, stretching her cramped muscles. "We have to find them," she continued, as urgency crept into her voice. "He might have…"

Anubimon nodded. "Let's go. We may not have much time."

She followed him out into the hallway, almost unable to believe what was happening. While immured in her cell she had found it impossible to hope. She hardly dared hope now. If this turned out to be a pleasant dream, the awakening would be crueler than any nightmare. But she couldn't deny it – the hope was there. What was it Qinglongmon had said, on that day that seemed ages ago? "No matter how dark, keep the light inside your heart lit." She thought of Takeru and the others. She had to keep hope alive for their sakes if for no other reason.

"What is your name?" Anubimon asked, interrupting her thoughts before they had gone any great distance.

"Yagami Hikari."

"Hm?" He let out a little sound of surprise. A girl named Light, he thought. There is something strange here; I will take it as a good omen. He noticed that she was flagging – he hadn't thought about the Chosen Children not being able to match his speed. Hopefully it wouldn't complicate matters. He paused to give her time to catch up and catch her breath. It was no wonder she had trouble keeping up with those stiff limbs after the rigors she had undoubtedly been put through.

By the faint glow that shone around him Anubimon could see that just ahead the hall intersected with two others leading in opposite directions. Hikari came up and stood beside him, and together they looked at the dark rectangles for several seconds before she spoke.

"Which way should we go?"

"I don't know," Anubimon sighed. "I don't sense any nearby presence. It seems as though I found you merely by chance." He thought for a moment. "In many labyrinths," he murmured, thinking back to the ancient buildings of the Digital World's desert, "it is possible to navigate by placing a hand against one wall and following that wall until the destination is reached. It takes a long time, and may be thrown off by certain peculiarities, but it may be our only chance."

Hikari's heart sank. While she did not know exactly what events had made her rescue from the cell possible, she knew that time was running out for her and her friends to make good their escape. As it was she might already be too late to save them. They had been wanted alive, yes, but what if they had already served their purpose? All the countless apprehensions of those hours in the dark returned to her – the terrible things that could have been done to the others since their capture. It hit her almost like a physical pain.

"What can I do?" she whispered to herself, her head bowed. She could not allow them to suffer further. Her precious friends, more precious still now that Tailmon and the rest were gone. After everything they had been through together, all the times they had lent her their aid and support, she couldn't let them down when they needed her. "And yet…" she whispered, tears beginning to escape her lowered eyelids. "Yet…"

Anubimon, focused what lay in front of him, did not hear. He had just chosen the left-hand hallway and was about to start forward when he sensed a difference in the atmosphere. Visually, too, there was a change. The glow surrounding him was not quite as faint as it had been. Were his powers returning in greater force? A noise behind him made him turn, and he stifled an exclamation when he saw Yagami Hikari collapsed against a wall. Already wan and pallid when he found her, she had grown paler still – but not with fatigue. She seemed infused with an inner radiance that glowed white.

"Hikari?" He held out his hand, but received no answer. Hikari had temporarily forgotten his presence. She felt strange, and yet her sensations seemed vaguely familiar. When had this come over her before? The feelings both unsettled her and lent her a vague hope. A new personality that seemed only half her own had stepped in, as it had once before, years ago, in another threatening maze.

"The light will guide us," she murmured. A distant memory began to stir. In some intuitive way she was beginning to grasp the situation. She knew that an outside power had managed to find her, a power whose sympathy was with light. It gave her confidence, but at the same time she could sense that it was worried. It had not been worried the last time. The powers of darkness had pushed the universe to a tipping point. If she and her friends didn't act now, all might be lost. She raised her gaze to meet Anubimon's wondering eyes.

"We have to go," she said. "The light will show us the way to the others, but we have to hurry." As she spoke, the light from her body gathered itself into a beam like that of a searchlight, pointing to the entrance of the right-hand hallway. Hikari's brief faintness had passed, and it was she instead of Anubimon who led the way. Her pace quickened until Anubimon had to run behind her to keep up. Her aching muscles bothered her little now – it felt good to be running towards something, rather than running away.

The foot of the sarcophagus lid clanged against the monastery's roof. Cracks showed in its surface, but the face of Pharaohmon still wore a slight smile.

"We should really reschedule," he said. "I'm afraid I have some pressing business to attend to just now."

"Your business is with me," said Demon, who appeared to be still unharmed by the vigorous fight. "If you were hoping to accomplish anything you should not have opposed yourself to me. I concede that your power is great, but not even you can defy me and live."

"Have it your way," the Dark One sighed. "Another round begins. Necro Mist!"