Frontier 02: Home Frontier – Chapter 22: Phase Two
madjack89: Hey there guys! Time for chapter 22!
Zoe: Yippee.
madjack89: Why are you upset?
Zoe: Well, you just seem to be making everyone's central problem me, and I really don't appreciate it!
madjack89: Uh, sorry.
Zoe: You should be! How would you feel if you had two guys going through grief and anguish because of you?
madjack89: I'd be happy to HAVE two guys who like me.
Kouichi: Three…
Zoe: I'm sorry, Kouichi! I took you as a given!
madjack89: Yeah, sorry Chief!
Kouichi: It's okay.
madjack89 and Zoe: You're so nice!
JP: Un-be-freakin-lievable!
Takuya: Wow.
Kouji: Of course he's the twin that gets all the luck with girls…
Kouichi: *sigh*
madjack89: Okay, review time!
Daiki: Wait a minute, why aren't me and Hotaru in the—
madjack89: Don't you start!
Daiki: Sorry.
madjack89: Okay, as I said, review time!
*break*
hazeleyedharmony: Yeah, the infamous wait. Sorry about that! I was watching a Nancy Drew movie while typing this, so it found its way in there! I don't know! And I like how Shino turned out myself. I never expected him to get so complex! Now I plan on doing more with him than I originally intended. Thanks for commenting and I'm glad you like it!
agoodcupoftea: Sorry, but shonen-ai isn't my cup of tea (pun intended!). Glad you like it anyway, but don't strain your eyes for my sake! Don't want your eyes to burn out of their sockets or something! lol! Alright, well thank you!
Megmo8214: Yo, Megmo! Thanks for the comment. I did have a feeling people would like the Nancy Drew joke (heh heh)!
kyokoaurora: He is, he is. He has his reasons, though, as we will soon see. Thankies for commenting and all that jazz!
Kayland Elric: I was wondering why no one had gotten lost in this crazy plot yet (lol)! But seriously, if you need anything explained, you can drop a line to me or something. I'll explain it to you. (I'll be there for you!) And the past with Chikao crap is up in the air because I haven't explained it completely yet. This happens in anime a lot, so I'm trying it out for myself (heh)! And tell your friend to get on soon because I'll enable my anonymous comments for him or her so they can comment. I'm just that nice (and now I'm hyper)! Anyway, thanks for your honest opinion. I would expect nothing less!
GoldenDragon326: Yes, I hate writer's block (sigh). And with Shino, he knows that if he goes along with his plan (explained in chapter 20) he'll be doing something wrong in order to fulfill his own self-satisfaction (what a conundrum). Hope that explains it better! Thanks for commenting!
angelswings217: Don't we all? lol Thanks for the comment!
xReminis-cence: Yay, someone got the title reference! I've gotten into a habit of using different song titles for chapter titles. I may just start using them for every chapter! You'll have to wait to have your question answered, though. Sorry! But thanks for the review!
garnettfox: Ummmmmmmmmmm…okay! Thanks for reviewing (though I didn't understand it)!
*break*
madjack89: Okay, now to write chapter 22! Woot! Oh, and Tommy's brother's name is Yutaka, in case somebody didn't know (it's an anagram of Takuya!).
—
Takuya's eyes fluttered open, but he barely registered this fact because all he could see was black. He tried to move his arms and realized that they were tied up behind his back.
As his eyes adjusted more to the dark and he felt less groggy, he recognized the yellow shirt hanging in front of his face. He realized with a jolt that he was tied up in his own closet.
His eyes narrowed. "So it did happen," he whispered to himself, inching closer to the wall in order to get into a sitting position. "Chikao…and Wizardmon…"
His head throbbed painfully and he gritted his teeth against the harsh reality. His cousin was out to get him…maybe even wanted him dead…but for what? Why was he doing this? How did he come to be partnered up with Wizardmon? This couldn't still be about before, could it?
"Don't cry, Takuya." Takuya jumped when he heard a feminine voice come from the opposite side of the closet. He jerked his head to find Gatomon tied up next to him, eyes soft and sympathetic.
Takuya quickly looked away, not wanting Gatomon to see him like this. Actually, not wanting Gatomon to be near him in general.
"Just shut up," he mumbled angrily, tears stinging his eyes. "Like you really care. Do you even have the capacity to care?"
"Yes," Gatomon replied softly, placing something soft in Takuya's hand. He glanced over his shoulder to see that she had given him a tissue.
He glared at her, embarrassed and angry. "So, you want to help, huh? Okay, then why don't you just leave me the hell alone?"
With that Takuya turned himself around, facing away from Gatomon and letting the tissue fall from his hand.
Gatomon sighed. "I know that you don't trust me, but maybe you will when you hear what I have to say."
Takuya didn't answer. Gatomon continued anyway. "There's no use beating around the bush, is there? Well, I guess I'll start with the most shocking news.
"I'm in love with Kouichi."
—
Kouji shoved his hands in his pockets, staring thoughtfully at the moon. JP's dilemma had gotten him thinking about some touchy subjects.
In his opinion, he had handled things in the worst possible way. He had lost control. It could have cost Takuya his life. It could have cost anyone their lives. Even Kouichi…
He shook his head, trying to get back on task. He was supposed to be finding Takuya, not worrying over his own troubles.
He sighed, taking a step forward.
Suddenly, something jumped out of the bushes in front of him. Before he had time to react, the figure jumped into the sky, raining a storm of bright lights down on Kouji.
When they made contact with him, he realized too late that these supposed lights were solid, and painful. For a moment he was lost in a haze of sharp, searing pain.
Then as quickly as it had begun it was over. The pricks of light, now spattered with red, dissipated into particles of data. Kouji stood dumbfounded for a moment, bleeding from multiple places on his body (and don't take anything perverted from that statement. You know who you are.)
His legs trembled and he fell, unable to support his weight. His eyes widened in fear as the full gravity of what had just happened sunk in.
He had been attacked by a Digimon while in his human form. It was still there; probably ready to go in for the kill. And even if he got lucky and it didn't finish him off, he was still in danger of massive blood loss. It was a no-win situation. He was finished.
He got a better look at the Digimon in front of him. From its mannerisms and the way its body curved, he could tell it was female. She was yellow in color, and resembled an upright fox. Her tail swished back and forth over the park's path gracefully.
Kouji glared at her for a moment, waiting to see what she would do. When she did nothing, Kouji said, "So that's it, huh? You're just going to stand there and watch me bleed to death? No heroes among mercenaries, are there?"
He winced as more blood flowed from a particularly deep cut on his arm. He grasped it with his other hand, trying to keep pressure on it. He wouldn't go down without a fight, and if that meant staying alive until JP or someone else found him, so be it. He would try to keep the Digimon occupied in conversation for now.
The fox-like Digimon glanced at Kouji with her beady eyes, looking almost bored. "I'm a mercenary, am I?" she said smugly, walking slowly over to Kouji. She stopped a foot from where he sat and crouched down in order to get a better view of him.
"Humans are always so short," she muttered, standing back up to her full height. "Even the legendary warriors."
Kouji closed his eyes, trying desperately not to cry out in pain. If he did that, he knew this Digimon would silence him quickly so as not to be discovered by others.
"If you were wondering, human," began the Digimon, glanced over her shoulder at Kouji, "I was not actually ordered to kill you. I was ordered to show you human children the strength of the Digital World resistance."
She paused before continuing her monologue. "We are attempting the revival of a very important Digimon, and you are both helpful and hurtful to our cause. My mistress, Lady Ilsemon, has been monitoring your movements for many human months now, slowly learning all your weaknesses and fears.
"Now she is ready to proceed to the next phase of her plan, and for that, you must stay alive."
Kouji looked at her skeptically. "So you ambushed me and mortally wounded me in order to keep me alive?" He doubled over suddenly, racked with the pain from the effort it took to talk.
The Digimon quickly flitted to his side, placing a paw on his back. She closed her eyes and her paw glowed with a warm light.
Kouji opened his eyes, feeling the pain slowly ebb away. His body tingled with this soothing sensation for a moment longer. Then the Digimon took her paw off Kouji's back and began to walk away.
Kouji glanced at his arm, realizing that the gashes were gone. He examined himself all over, finding more of the same. He stood slowly, gazing at the retreating Digimon in wonder.
He knew he was no match for her now, so instead of wasting energy attacking, he asked the Digimon, "Who are you?"
Without turning, the Digimon murmured, "Renamon." Then she jumped into the air and was gone.
—
"Alright, let's read this back," said Kouichi to himself, holding up his note to Kouji's parents.
"Dear Dad and Mrs. Minamoto, Kouji and the rest of us went out to buy snacks. JP ate them all. Be back soon. Kouichi."
He stared at it a moment longer, knowing JP would be mad at him. Then he laid it down on the kitchen table and hurried out the front door.
He had talked to Tommy for a little while longer after Kouji and JP had left him, mostly to calm Tommy's nerves. He still had no answers, though. All he knew was that, for some reason, Tommy's older brother was worried about Takuya's cousin visiting. Takuya hadn't seemed all that excited either.
"Guess Kouji and I aren't the only ones with family problems," he muttered to himself, walking in the direction of Takuya's house. He figured that was as good a place as any to start looking for some answers. He wanted to meet this cousin of Takuya's for himself.
Suddenly his cell phone began to ring. He stopped, fumbling around in his pocket to get it. He finally fished it out and flipped it open. "Hello?"
"Kouichi?" He recognized Kouji's voice on the other line, sounding kind of nervous.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Kouichi asked, getting straight to the point. He was beginning to feel a bit anxious himself.
"It doesn't matter how I am!" he snapped. "Where are you?"
Kouichi winced. "I'm on my way to Takuya's…"
"Okay, just keep going then," said Kouji quickly, cutting him off. "I'll meet you there. Call Zoe and Kira and tell them to meet us there too. I'll call Daiki and Shino. Tell them to be careful and bring their D-Tectors. Speaking of which, do you have yours?"
"Yeah," he said, taking it quickly out of his pocket. "Kouji, what's going on?"
"There's at least one Digimon after us right now, but there could be more." He paused, then continued. "It attacked me in cold blood."
Kouichi's eyes widened in fear. "What? Are you alright? Where are you?"
"I'm fine," Kouji said quickly. "I'll explain everything once we're all at Takuya's house."
A thought suddenly occurred to Kouichi. "Kouji, where's JP?"
There was another pause. "That's what I'm going to find out. Be careful. I'll meet you soon." The phone beeped and Kouji hung up. However, Kouichi wasn't paying attention to this fact at all. In fact, he dropped his phone, forgetting it was even there.
He didn't even feel as if any of this was real anymore. He felt like he had just stepped into one of his nightmares.
In front of him stood the one thing he had been trying to block from his mind, the one thing from the Digital World he tried so desperately to forget, but couldn't.
"It's been a while, Kouichi," said the Digimon in front of him pleasantly, extending his hand mockingly to Kouichi. "You look well. And, no thanks to you, so am I. Surprised?"
Kouichi's surprise instantly turned to anger and dismay. "You should have stayed dead, Duskmon. Now you've just put me in a bad mood."
Duskmon chuckled. "You think you're in a bad mood? You don't know the half of it."
—
Yutaka paced the floor of his living room for a moment, going over in his head what had happened between him and Chikao just before he had left.
He had been completely packed and ready to take a taxi to his neighborhood, when he heard his door open. He spun around to see Chikao standing in his doorway, smiling and waving.
He rolled his eyes and glared at Chikao. Great. Just great.
Being near this guy always gave him the creeps. That's why he had been so surprised to find out that Chikao was actually Takuya Kanbara's cousin. He had met his brother's friend a few times before and thought he was a pretty nice kid. But his cousin, to him, was the opposite.
The weird thing about it was that he only seemed to act odd in front of Yutaka. He was always nice and mild-mannered around everyone else. Why he had to put on a show, or for what purpose Yutaka didn't know. All he knew was that this guy was bad news, to him at least.
"You know, people usually knock when they want to enter someone else's room," said Yutaka grudgingly. "I'm on my way out anyway, so I guess whatever you wanted will have to wait til next week."
He grabbed his bags and tried to shove past Chikao, but Chikao blocked his way. Yutaka glared at him. "Move, Kanbara," he ordered angrily. "I don't have time for you right now."
Chikao smiled, but not in a happy way, Yutaka noticed. This was more of a smug smile, like Chikao knew something he didn't. This made Yutaka stop.
"We need to talk," said Chikao bluntly, grabbing his own bag from outside the room and walking in, shoving the door closed behind him. "Lock that," Chikao ordered, setting his bag on Yutaka's bed.
Yutaka stared at him, not knowing if he should turn and run or not. Chikao chuckled. "I'm not going to do anything to you, Himi," he said, "I just want to tell you something before you leave."
Yutaka still didn't move. Chikao sighed. "It's about your brother. Tommy, right?"
Yutaka's eyes narrowed. "What about Tommy?" he asked, suddenly interested.
Chikao smirked. "Now we're getting somewhere," he said, pulling his bag closer to him. Yutaka noticed for the first time that something seemed to be moving around in it, almost like something alive were in there.
Yutaka gulped, but finally his curiosity won out over his better judgment and he locked the door.
"Let's start with how much you know about these weird mutated monsters that have been popping up lately," Chikao began, pulling a newspaper article from his back pocket and handing it to Yutaka.
Yutaka grabbed it and scanned the article quickly. It was a report about the intelligent monsters that had started showing themselves recently. "I know enough about them. Who doesn't? It's pretty unsettling to know we're not the only intelligent life forms out in the universe."
"So you think they're aliens?" asked Chikao.
"Everyone has their theories," answered Yutaka, growing anxious. Why was Chikao asking him all these questions? What did he need to tell him that was so important? He needed some answers.
Chikao chuckled. "The answer is right under your nose, Himi," he muttered. "But before I get to that, let me introduce you to my little buddy."
Chikao opened his bag and a worn-looking witch's hat popped out, followed by a short body wrapped in a tattered cloak. Its face was hidden in shadow.
Yutaka's eyes widened and he backed up against his wall quickly. "Th-th-th-that's a…a…"
"A Digimon. That's what these monsters are called," Chikao said calmly, walking up to Yutaka. "This one's name is Wizardmon."
"Pleasure to meet you," said the monster, bowing slightly.
Yutaka nodded, regaining his senses slightly. This thing was intelligent and didn't seem hostile. If it wanted to kill them, it would have done so sooner. Plus, it had nice manners.
Yutaka turned to Chikao, a million questions whizzing through his head. "These things are called…Digimon?"
Chikao nodded. "Why is this one…?" Yutaka began, feeling at a loss for words.
"I found him wandering around the streets one night, grumbling about getting revenge on someone." Chikao smiled devilishly. Yutaka shivered. "I talked to him, and I decided to help him in his quest for revenge. That's where we're headed right now."
"Revenge?" Yutaka asked listlessly, glanced at the Digimon and then at Chikao.
"Yes, revenge," said Chikao. "Don't worry, though, he wants revenge against some other Digimon."
From the way he said it, Yutaka knew that there was more to this than Chikao was telling him. This might even be what had to do with Tommy.
"What about my brother, Kanbara. Tell me right now!" he demanded, eyes blazing with anger.
Chikao chuckled again, shooing the Digimon back into his bag and zipping it up. "If you want to know, I suggest you go ask him yourself." He took a piece of folded up paper from his bag and handed it to Yutaka.
Yutaka unfolded the paper. On it was a crude drawing (done in crayon) of a device that looked no bigger than a game boy. He could make out a screen near the top of it and many different buttons adorning the bottom. It was light blue and green.
But what really struck a cord with him was the fact that he had seen this device before. He remembered how, at Christmastime, Tommy had always insisted on carrying this thing around with him, claiming he didn't want it to break. Yutaka was beginning to think there was more to it than just that.
He lifted his head, ready to ask Chikao a flurry of questions, but he was already gone, having unlocked Yutaka's door himself.
"Yutaka?" Yutaka was brought back to the present by the sound of his little brother's worried voice.
Yutaka stared at him for a moment, pondering over his next actions. Should he tell Tommy what he already knew about Takuya's cousin? Or did he already know?
"Tommy, what is this?" asked Yutaka, holding up the drawing of the strange device.
Tommy's eyes widened. "Where did you get that?" he asked with urgency.
"Tommy, I'm going crazy with worry here! Please, you can trust me! I won't tell anyone! Just tell me what's going on!" Yutaka grabbed Tommy's shoulders, staring him straight in the eye.
Tommy closed his eyes, deliberating for a moment. Finally he came to a decision, getting his D-Tector from his pocket.
"Follow me," he said quietly, motioning for the back door.
Yutaka followed, not having the slightest clue what he was getting himself into.
—
madjack89: I could go on and on with this plot, but I'll save the other stuff for the next chapter!
Takuya: How nice.
madjack89: You guys are so sarcastic!
Kouji: Yeah, whatever.
Tommy: I did get a more prominent role! Hooray!
madjack89: I'm glad somebody's happy!
Kouichi: Had to be Duskmon, didn't it?
madjack89: Sorry Chief.
Kouichi: Yeah, I guess I should have seen it coming anyway.
madjack89: That's the spirit! Alright, see you laters!