119
Near – Far
"It came to pass with me when another three yards looks as unattainable as three miles. Once I stumbled… But I recovered myself." – Sax Rohmer, The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu
Standing on either side of the damaged wall, the two boys quickly filled each other in on what they knew. Ken related the accident that had freed him. No, he hadn't seen anyone else, Chosen Child or enemy.
"Be careful," Takeru said, his voice slightly lowered, so that Ken had to strain to hear him. "Demon is up there."
"Demon!" Ken exclaimed.
"He seems to be fighting something," Takeru said. "He may be the one who attacked this building."
He's here for me, Ken thought to himself. No, not for me. For the Dark Seed. It was reminiscent of the events in December. Once again Demon's claim to the Dark Seed was being challenged. Ken didn't know who the Demon Lord's current opponent was, but he had a good guess.
"Is there any way you could help me over this wall?" Takeru's voice came again.
Ken surveyed the scene in the hallway as best he could make it out by the non-light of the clouded sky. It looked like the majority of the rubble from the collapsed wall and ceiling had landed on his side rather than where Takeru was. The question was whether Ken could use it to help his friend out of the cell. Apart from the debris, the hall was as empty as the rest of the building, and Ken didn't have much hope of finding anything more useful. He could have gone for help, but what help was there? Other Chosen Children may have managed to escape their cells as Ken had done, but even if so they would be of little help in this situation.
The problem appeared to be hopeless. The larger chunks of stone would probably be too much for Ken to move, particularly in his weakened state, and the smaller chunks would be too treacherous to climb on when piled. Still, he had to try something. It might be the only chance to free Takeru. One of the largest pieces of rubble leaned against the wall, taller than it was wide or long. Awkward as its orientation was, it would probably be the best starting place.
"I'm going to try," he called over to Takeru, raising his voice so that he could be heard, though like his friend he didn't want to shout loudly enough to draw the attention of those above. "Please wait a moment."
Using a mid-sized stepping stone he made it atop the large piece against the wall. He stretched up the hand without a handcuff hanging from it, but his fingertips came short of the wall's ragged top. He doubted he could reach it even by jumping. He looked back to the floor with a growing sense of futility. There wasn't much room atop the stone he now stood on. Stacking stone fragments on top of it would be both difficult and dangerous. Still…
He jumped down to the ground, wincing a little at the impact. Back when the Dark Seed's power flowed through him a drop like that would not have fazed him at all. The Digimon Kaiser would have had the strength and brains to engineer a way to reach Takeru. But if I were the Digimon Kaiser I would leave him to die, Ken reflected. For a moment the task at hand slipped his tired mind as he reflected on what the Dark Seed had accomplished – and perverted – in a mere human, and how the ghost of Vamdemon had used it to effect his resurrection. If Demon ever did get hold of the Seed, there was no telling the extent of the evil he might unleash.
With a nervous glance up at the sky, Ken returned to the puzzle before him. He looked at the irregular blocks of stone, trying to select whichever might be most useful. It was as he bent to grasp one that he heard the measured padding of feet approaching down the shadowed corridor.
He froze, wondering what to do. If he could quickly navigate the cluttered floor it was possible that he might retreat until he found a branching corridor, but then he would run the risk of being cornered if the thing in the dark happened to choose the same route. Yet there didn't seem to be any other option. Had Takeru heard the thing's approach? If not he might unwittingly alert it to Ken's presence.
Ken looked down at his feet, squinting to make out where the fallen stones lay in the dimness. Gingerly, but as quickly as he could, he began to move down the hallway, away from those deliberate footsteps. He couldn't see what they belonged to, but his instincts decided it was of the same species as the Digimon that had come to him in his cell. The noises were what might be expected from their rubber-soled claws.
The strange chase continued. Ken knew what the inevitable end would be. With the rift of open sky above him, there was no way he could flee the area before the other saw him, unless it had considerably poorer eyesight than a human. The next moment his grim expectation was realized, as the footsteps picked up their pace. Turning to face his pursuer, Ken could see a dark bulk approaching, and before long he could make out the distinctive gasmask of a Troopmon.
Ken continued to back away, picking up one of the fallen rocks as he did so. It looked relatively sharp, but whether it was large or sharp enough to damage the strange, rubbery creature he had no way of knowing. He wondered if it would do any good to grapple with the Digimon. Due to its puffiness Ken could form no idea of how strong it was. Strong enough to swing a whip, he thought, a scowl crossing his face.
"Ichijouji-kun?" called Takeru. Ken didn't answer. As the Troopmon came to the stretch of rubble it checked its speed, and he took the opportunity to grab another stone and throw it as hard as his exhaustion and lingering pain allowed. The Troopmon raised an arm but wasn't dexterous enough to keep the projectile from striking its chest.
No effect.
The choice Ken now faced was whether to run and risk becoming lost again in the labyrinth or to stand his ground. The deciding factor would have been whether the slowly advancing Digimon was any more vulnerable to the rock in Ken's hand than the rock he had thrown, but Ken had no way of knowing that. For that matter, he had no idea what sort of attacks the thing might have, and no idea whether it would do him any good to merely outpace it.
Then a new factor entered into consideration. Somewhere down the corridor, far behind the Troopmon, Ken thought he detected a faint glimmering. Something else, it seemed, was approaching. His instincts told him to run. Unsure of his ability to deal with a single assailant, he couldn't risk meeting any others. He only hesitated because of a minor incongruity. Though easily explained away, it struck him as odd that any creature of this dark prison should shine like that.
But the next moment the choice was taken out of his hands. There came a harsh pneumatic hiss, and with an alacrity he hadn't expected the Troopmon leapt at him, and the metal-studded fingertips of its hand descended on his head. Slightly stunned, Ken slashed awkwardly at the thing's body with the rock in his hand, but found the stone too dull to tear through the strange fabric. The Troopmon's other hand had clamped upon his shoulder, and the lashes that had fallen there burned anew. Grunting with pain, striking repeatedly and futilely with his improvised weapon, Ken tried to break the clutch of the clumsy paws, but the Troopmon's indefatigable strength squeezed him until he was half choked.
He could hear Takeru shouting something over the wall. Was it his imagination, or did he hear other voices rising just above the pounding of blood in his ears? He was sinking to the debris-littered floor… then the clutch of the misshapen hands fell away. Looking up, Ken saw the Troopmon turn, its attention caught by something behind it. Ken saw the form of another Digimon shoot above that of his attacker – a winged, stern-faced figure.
Before Ken had time to wonder what the newcomer's arrival might mean, its claws had grabbed the Troopmon's masked head, and under the pressure of those claws the gasmask crumpled and the rubbery suit split apart. Even as the fabric and metal dissolved into data something came pouring out – a half-visible gas or mist. Ken and his apparent rescuer looked at the strange cloud a moment as it hung in the air, but the next moment Ken's attention was diverted by the sound of voices – this time there was no mistaking them.
"Ken-kun!"
"Ichijouji-san!"
He saw them then behind the Digimon, running along the hall towards him. The light he'd seen before had died out, but by the phosphorescence of the sky he made out the figures of Miyako, Iori, and Hikari.
"Everyone—" he began, then fell silent as his voice caught in his throat.
"Ken-kun!" Miyako repeated happily. She had almost come up to him when Anubimon stretched out his arm to block her path. Surprised, she came to a stop. Anubimon was still gazing hard at the substance floating before him.
"More of the Dark One's doing," he muttered to himself. "How many blasphemies will he commit before he's satisfied?" His hand softly glowing, Anubimon reached out towards the vapor, then grunted in surprise as it flowed quickly away from him, becoming one with the darkness of the hall beyond Ken and vanishing. Though visibly perplexed, Anubimon let his restraining arm fall, and Miyako picked her way forward over the rubble and extended her hand to Ken.
"Is everything alright?" came from over the wall.
"Takeru-kun?" Hikari asked, her smile widening.
"Hikari-chan! And Iori-san and Miyako-san… Thank goodness you're all okay."
"Stand away from the wall," Anubimon warned. He and those with him heard several footsteps in the next room as Takeru obeyed.
"Ammit!"
Soon a hole large enough for Takeru to pass through had been made, and the five children greeted each other. More than anything, Takeru was overjoyed to see that Sato Katsu's account of what he'd done to the others had been exaggerated.
"I was so worried," he said, his eyes on Hikari.
"We all were," she answered.
"And Motomiya?" Ken asked. The others' smiles faded a little.
"Not yet," Hikari said, "but it won't be long now."
"We should move on," Anubimon said. He was thinking about that which had animated the Troopmon, and considering where it might have gone to in such a hurry.
Hikari nodded, and looked down the length of the black hall. The pale radiance that Ken had seen sprang up again, and his mouth opened in wonder as he saw its source.
"Hikari-chan's light…" Takeru murmured. "Just like before…"
She gave him another brief smile, and led the way.
There could be no doubt of it. The screen showed that five of the six cells now stood empty. Sato sent electronic eyes scattering through the halls of the monastery, smoldering the while with a baffled rage. How could it possibly have happened? Surely the collateral damage from the Dark Man's battle with Demon could not be wholly responsible.
"Sato-sama," said the hissing voice of a Troopmon that had entered the room. "One or more of the Chosen Children have escaped."
"I know that, you idiot!" Sato growled, his eyes never leaving the screen. "Get every single unit searching for them." He would have threatened the creature with hells worse than this one if the search failed, but he remembered what the Dark Man had said of his creations' lack of emotion, and didn't bother.
At the last moment, he thought, his teeth clenched and his eyes black with fury. They escape now, when with another few hours all might have been ready. "Enjoy your moment of freedom," he hissed aloud. "I will crush you, drown you! Words cannot describe the fate that awaits you when next you fall into my hands, Chosen Children."