"DID I NOT PERSONALLY TELL YOU NOT TO HARM THE CHILD OF LIGHT?!!!"a raspy voice bellowed loudly. It was SkullSatamon, and he was infuriated beyond belief.
Before the image projection of the dark demonic Ultimate, the Puaka Generals stood straight-backed, barely flinching.
"You did, Master," Mephistomon said with a careful tone. "However, we didn't have an inkling that the child would go to such measures. We didn't expect him to sacrifice his life in order to kill VenomDevimon. We merely hoped that the boy would be spiritually crushed and broken so that he would submit himself to you, Master."
"I have been waiting a LONG time for him!" SkullSatamon said coldly. "Aldiyamon was exactly what I have hoped for. His combustion power would easily destroy the barrier Grademon erected around my Horror Hall. I have long suspected that Adam's teleportation power would evolve to deadly proportions and today my suspicion was proved to be correct. You should have stepped in when he was stopping VenomDevimon! Your own Mega form was enough to deal with whatever such simpletons as those former Saintly Siblings could have given you, or so I recall."
"We apologize deeply for our mistake, Master," Mephistomon said, bowing his head slightly.
"We do have the other four DigiWira, Master," Phelesmon supplied.
SkullSatamon snorted; his empty orbital sockets glowed with eerie green aura. "I have no desire for them. Not any of them has power akin to the child of light!"
"So what should we do now, Master?" Mephistomon inquired.
The dark lord glowered at his two minions via the communication link they were sharing. "You will figure out how exactly to free me from my imprisonment, or rest assured that the powers you now have will be stripped away!" As he said that, the bat insignia on his skull shimmered blood-red, and both Puaka Generals suddenly winced in pain as two bat signs emerged from their foreheads. They staggered a little before SkullSatamon lifted the pain he had exerted on the Puaka Generals. He stared at them with silent fury.
"You have messed up. It is only in my good grace now that you two still retain your Ultimate and DNA-Mega powers. Should I see no use in keeping you two any longer…"
SkullSatamon cut off the communication link, leaving his sentence hanging.
The Puaka Generals heaved in relief as the pain SkullSatamon had inflicted on them diminished. They lingered in the darkness of their lair momentarily.
"What do we do?" Phelesmon asked the bigger general.
Mephistomon smirked, his eyes glinted in contemplation. "For now, we'll do as he says."
"For now?"
"Yes, for now. Until we drained off the powers from the four Wira Digital, that is. Speaking of which, I think it's time we pay our guests a visit."
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TobuCatmon cast a forlorn look at a framed picture in his hands. Inside the picture were Liu Ying, Adam and Gayathri, in their gray uniforms and with their partners. The picture was taken after they had beaten Lynxmon, and the first day they had all received the uniforms. The furs underneath his eyes were damp with tears as he gazed sadly at the dark-haired boy, who was grinning widely at the center of the picture with his partner perched on his head.
"It seems like only yesterday you joined the team, and now you've been taken away from us," the Champion Digimon sighed. Another tear dropped onto the glass that covered the picture. "Had I know this is how things turned up to be, I'd block the White DigiSphere from being activated. You might not join us if that happened, but at least you would be safe, oblivious to the Digital World."
"You can't blame yourself, TobuCatmon," said a brown-haired man in beige garb, who was sitting by the table.
"He's just a child, Jackie," TobuCatmon said softly, staring at the man's blue eyes as he continued, "a sweet, innocent boy who's got a bright future waiting for him. He didn't deserve this."
"From what I gather, Adam's been sad for a long time, no matter how cheerful he appeared to be," Jackie said grimly. "His parents and brother passed away two years before, and now Alisha is in coma…it'll been a week if Thursday approaches."
"Do you think that's why he was willing to sacrifice himself?" TobuCatmon asked. "Was it because he thought that he had nothing to lose anymore?"
"We may never know, but I don't think it's because of his sister. Alisha is not dead," Jackie said, adjusting his garb. "Although I can't imagine how are we going to tell this to her should she wakes up. It will crush her to pieces…she might not want to go on, learning that her only flesh and blood is gone as well." The cerulean-eyed man leaned against the table. "This wasn't what I had in mind when I agreed to Gennai's idea to supervise the Malaysian kids…I mean, I've supervised the Chinese, Indian, Hong Kong, Vietnamese and Cambodian DigiDestined before and they never had trouble as big as this…nobody got killed…"
"I'd give anything for the DigiWira to only have boring encounters," TobuCatmon sighed. "Instead, they've been getting life-threatening run-ins one after another. The Mage and Dryad Generals, Dragomon, now the Puaka Generals…and to think there are FIVE other generals still imprisoned, and the team is now without its heart…"
"Heart?" Jackie asked.
"The White DigiSphere is the heart to all the other DigiSpheres; that much I've gathered from my study of the DigiSpheres, the prophecies and everything about the battle between Grademon and SkullSatamon three hundred years ago. The team is strong with its heart…now that the heart has been ripped apart from the team; I fear that everything will go downhill from this point on."
"We can't just give up yet!" Jackie said indignantly. "What of the others? Liu Ying, Gayathri, Manny, Joshua? Their partners? What of them? Their families were almost crazy with worry back at school earlier. They wanted to call on the police but I'd assured them that everything would be fine. Liu Ying's grandfather was a great help in keeping things under control back then, but I can't say the same for other parents." The man grunted as he looked at TobuCatmon. "We have to rescue them!"
"We don't even know where they're being held now," TobuCatmon said. "The Puaka Generals didn't exactly publicize their lair's whereabouts."
Jackie grunted as he leaned back against the table. "I hate this, not being able to do anything. I'm supposed to watch over the DigiWira, and now one of them is dead. Never in history had a DigiDestined died in battle." He stood up abruptly, causing the stool he sat on crashed onto the marble floor. "Well I'm not going to sit around, doing nothing! I'm going to try and save them."
TobuCatmon placed the framed picture of the three DigiWira back on a flat stone nearby. Then he fluttered towards the blue-eyed man. "I'm with you…but we don't even know their lair is."
"Then we'll ask around. I'm getting tired of pretending to be a school teacher while all the while I'm one of this world's guardians of the DigiDestined. It's time I act like one."
"I thought you were the one who chose to disguise as a school teacher in order to get close to the DigiWira?"
"…It did sound fun when I first thought about it…"
TobuCatmon's face faltered. "How are you going to defend yourself, then?"
Jackie thumped his chest. "I have the data of those Jedi warriors from Star Wars movies plus the abilities of that famous actor Jackie Chan. I know how to defend myself." Jackie took out a small metallic tube from his belt. He pressed a button and two streams of blue light erupted from the upper side of the tube, before joining together to form a glowing rapier made out of light. "I also come equipped with my own light saber." He gazed into TobuCatmon's blue irises. "What's your backup?"
"I'm not chosen to be the guardian of this sanctum for nothing," TobuCatmon answered cryptically. "I can defend myself if needed be."
Jackie eyed his light saber, then at TobuCatmon, before looking up at the dark heavens. The three moons of the Digital World were aligned in a weird near-45 degree angle, with the green moon now seemingly at the front side, followed by the blue and magenta moons. Something seemed odd about the moons, but Jackie brushed it off.
TobuCatmon was studying the moons as well. "The moons are in a rather peculiar position, don't you think?" he asked Jackie.
"No time to worry about that," Jackie said. "Let's get moving."
xxx
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WIRA DIGITAL
Chapter 32 – Fighting Spirit
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"RAGGGGHHHHH!!" Satriamon yelled and attempted to yank free his arms from the glowing chains that restrained him to the wall.
"Save your strength, Satriamon," Mephistomon sneered as he walked down the stairs which led to the dungeon underground. "Those chains are made to block your powers. You'll find that you can't utilize your attacks and special powers while being restrained by the chains."
"So there's no use struggling," Phelesmon said, appearing behind his bigger companion.
The Wira Digital were inside a massive dark dungeon, chained on four sides of the wall. Their wrists and ankles were clasped by thick bracelets which were joined to the walls by equally thick chains. Bigger, thicker clasps made of rusty metal were fixed around their waists, and joined to the chains. The chains and the clasps were all glowing with yellow-green hue.
After the startlingly unexpected revelation of Mephistomon and Phelesmon being the real Puaka Generals, the two demons had electrocuted the four Wira Digital with bolts of lightning so severe that the heroes were immediately knocked out unconscious. Xianamon was the first to wake up, followed by Satriamon. Puspamon and Samudramon were still out like light. The flower woman's head was hung down, while the merman had reverted into his real form – his legs had shifted into a sleek blue fishtail which was wrapped with the glowing chains.
At the center of the dungeon was a rectangular podium, with a stone pedestal. On the pedestal were four candles, colored red, yellow, pink and blue respectively. In front of the candles were the Digivices and DigiSpheres. The candles were lit, and from the looks of it, they had just been lit. Small traces of wax residues were seen around the candles. The candles were the main source of light inside the otherwise-dark dungeon, but they were anything but beacons of light amidst the darkness. Something uncanny seemed to scream out from the candles, but their purposes were currently unknown to the Wira Digital.
"Nice candles, aren't they?" Mephistomon asked silkily. He ran his hand over the flames that were flickering over the candles, seemingly savoring the heat.
"We don't care about your freaking candles!" Satriamon snarled. "I'll burn them all right now if it gets YOU to shut the hell up!"
"Ah, Satriamon, you don't want to do that…" Mephistomon snickered. "Because you see…the four candles here have been bound with your life-forces via your Digivices. Since we can't corrupt your DigiSpheres we have to drain your power the old-fashioned way. The mystical candles here could do the trick. These candles won't burn as quickly as normal candles – they burn at a slower rate. It will take a full 24 hours for the candles to be totally used up. We have just lit them about an hour ago before you two woke up, so there's 23 hours of wait still."
"And you're telling us this WHY?" Satriamon snarled, still attempting to break free by yanking the chains.
Mephistomon shrugged, as if without a care in the world. "Oh nothing, I think it's just good courtesy to inform you this…seeing that after 23 hours has passed you four will be dead, wilted like a dead plant drained out of water. 24 hours are the amount of time the candles need to drain your powers properly and wholly…and after that you all will perish like your dear friend Aldiyamon. Ah, poor boy…in fact, I think there's a little bit of big brother in me who's starting to miss him…" the satyr cackled. "…NOT!"
The revelation stunned Satriamon and Xianamon. The mention of Aldiyamon's death caused pain to swell within their hearts, but the earlier revelation of them going to perish after one day had passed shocked them into silence. Xianamon's head limped down and Satriamon could see a faint trickle of tear moving down her cheek. Pain gripped the dragon-man – he wondered what Aldiyamon – or Adam – could have done to earn such bad luck one after another. The human half of Satriamon – JD – was momentarily ashamed to think that the first stroke of bad luck Adam had earned as a DigiWira was the boy's several run-ins with him when he was the evil Red ShadoWira. It all had ended when Karatenmon mysteriously vanished – Satriamon still didn't think that he had been the one who had killed Karatenmon, but there was nothing that proved to be otherwise so he'd accepted it. Peace didn't seem to reign long for Adam when JD's brash attempt to infiltrate the Shadow Realm had caused him and Agumon to be brought to the Dark Ocean, and Adam and Patamon had gone there to bail them out. That only led Adam into Dragomon who wanted his power of light. Luck was at their side when they managed to escape, and another bad luck came when Mephistomon entered the picture, disguising as Adam's dead older brother in order to use his teleportation power to gain the other four DigiWira's Digivices and DigiSpheres. It all had ended with Aldiyamon's sacrifice to delete VenomDevimon…but VenomDevimon wasn't the Puaka Generals at all. It had been Mephistomon and Phelesmon all along.
'And I still haven't done anything to make up for what I've done to him,' JD thought desolately inside his joined mind. 'And now, I never could.'
"We'll leave you to think about it," Mephistomon said. "Phelesmon, let us go and celebrate our victory."
Phelesmon smiled evilly. "Very well. A celebration is already long overdue."
"Yes, yes…this has been a most gratifying day," Mephistomon agreed as he climbed the stair. "I can't wait for tomorrow."
"You'll never get away with this!" Satriamon roared angrily.
Phelesmon shook his head as he followed Mephistomon. He gave the Wira Digital a mocking gaze. "What is it with you hero types? Always the same line." The red devil and the dark satyr both laughed at the joke heartily.
The two conscious Wira Digital stared hatefully towards the retreating figures of the Puaka Generals, and heard the door being slammed shut with a loud, heavy creak. Darkness reined the dungeon and all they could see clearly were the four candles that would spell their dooms, and the barely-illuminated figures of Samudramon and Puspamon. Xianamon's silent sobs could be heard and Satriamon tried his best to control his own emotions.
His thoughts reeled back to what Mephistomon had said about the four candles. Silently he tried to call out his fires, only to find out that the Puaka Generals had been right. The chains around them were blocking them from using their powers. He glanced sideways and saw that Xianamon's sobs had receded. The sorceress was silent, as if trying to do something. Satriamon caught the soft grunts she were letting out and saw she was subtly flicking her head.
"I can't use my telekinesis," she said despairingly, realizing that she was being watched. "And I cannot astral-project myself either," Labramon's voice rang out. "What are we going to do?"
Satriamon didn't have an answer to that.
xxx
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"…Where…where am I?"
All around him was complete whiteness. There seemed to be no up, down, front or back. Everything looked the same.
As he walked, he felt as if he was stepping on a solid surface, yet he could see no surface. It was as if he was walking in midair. The air was still, yet he could still breathe. His surrounding was so quiet that he could even hear himself thinking or the soft beats of his heart. While the whiteness was bright, it didn't blind him.
Not knowing what to do, he continued walking. 'Is this how afterlife is?'
His ears suddenly caught some sounds and at the same time he could feel something as well. Gentle winds caressed his face, coming from out of nowhere, causing his dark hair to flutter ever so slightly. The air felt comfortably warm, and he could detect a distinct salty smell. He could also hear the sounds of leaves rustling against the wind, and the sounds of soft waves and the squawking of seagulls. Everything seemed so familiar.
He blinked, and his surrounding slowly shifted. The whiteness began to reveal a grayish-blue sea against a clear sunny afternoon sky. White and light gray seagulls flew above the sea merrily, enjoying the warm breeze. He looked down, and saw his black boots contrasting clearly against the yellow-brown sands with pebbles and seashells scattered around. The sea water grazed his boots gently. Glancing left and right, he could see tall coconut trees – some of them stood erect pointing towards the sky while some were bent at weird angles, one of them was even close to the ground. Their leaves swayed gently against the winds, causing distinctive sounds to echo all around the beautiful beach. Those who weren't familiar with the sound might thought that a hurricane was brewing, but he knew better and was not alarmed with the sound. If one listened closely, they could easily distinguish the peaceful sound that was now permeating all around him, and the silent furious sound of the hurricane.
Beyond the coconut trees were a shady area with grassy land and trees shorter than coconut trees, but tall enough to form canopies which blocked the blazing sunrays partially. A moderate-sized yet handsome house could be seen built in the middle of a clearing. It was a wooden house stood on pillars, with a verandah set lower than the opened door leading inside the house. Dark green stone stairs were built facing the verandah's entrance. Joining the pillared wooden house was a rectangular stone-walled building built above ground with the walls painted light orange. Parked near the stairs was a red Proton Iswara. Surrounding the house was a somewhat sandy clearing, with hibiscus shrubs and pots of orchids and roses, among some flowers that could be recognized from the distant.
'I'm back…I'm home…'
"ADAM!!! AIZAD!!!"
He blinked, and saw a young woman with long dark hair coming out from the inner door. She was wearing a simple light pink T-shirt and a dark red batik sarong, and she was seen carrying a jug of water. After placing the jug on the floor – which was covered with tablecloth – she leaned against the wooden railing beside the stairs. She seemed to have spotted him.
"Adam! Come on, lunch is ready! Call Aizad home too!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "Ayah and Ibu are coming out now! You two better be here when they're here!"
Adam blinked. 'Kak Lisha? I thought she's in the hospital…'
"Hey, come on, Adam!" Adam nearly fell frontward when someone slapped him lightly on the back. A young man with a white towel flung against a wet body was grinning at him. His dark hair was plastered against his forehead, dripping with water, and his black shorts were wet as well. He looked as if he'd just come out from the sea.
'Abang Zad? Oh no…not this again…'
"Come on, Kak Lisha's calling us there…" Aizad grabbed Adam's hand and began pulling a semi-reluctant Adam towards the house. He then paused, seeing Adam's stricken expression, and frowned in confusion. "Why are you looking like you've seen a ghost? And what's with the weird uniform?"
Adam pulled his hand away. "I'm not falling for this again!" he said breathlessly and began taking a few steps back.
"Falling for what?" Aizad asked, looking genuinely disconcerted. He pulled the towel flung on his shoulders up and began wiping his damp hair.
"You're not Abang Zad…you're Mephistomon…"
"Me-fis-who?" Aizad's face frowned in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Adam stared at Aizad in disbelief, before his eyes darting wildly around his surrounding. The beach, the house, his brother, and his sister…and his eyes widened in further disbelief as he saw two more figures emerging from the entrance. Both looked to be around their mid forties. The man was moderate in height, smart-looking with light-tanned skin, dark brown eyes, dark hair and a moustache. He was wearing a light-blue work shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his elbow and black pants. Beside him was a fair woman with a very warm and sweet expression and dark gray eyes. Her dark hair was pulled back in a bun and she was wearing a light green simple baju kurung. Both of them were looking at Adam and Aizad.
'Ayah? Ibu? But…how?" Adam looked suspiciously at Aizad, who was looking more and more baffled. 'Mephistomon CAN'T be this good!'
"Come on now, boys. I only have an hour left before I'm needed back at school," the man, Mr. Ariff Aizudin called with a 'come-back-here' wave of his hand. "You might be on holidays now, but I still have meetings and whatnot at school, so come along. I'd like to have the whole family with me during meal times."
Adam couldn't believe what he was seeing and hearing now. 'What's going on here? This is so confusing. I can't believe that Ayah and Ibu are here…but…is it all a trick?"
"Adam, is something wrong?" the woman, Mrs. Aleza Azhari, asked. It was a gentle inquiry that stirred Adam's heart.
Without warning, a tear spilled down Adam's left eye. He immediately rushed past a still-confounded Aizad and practically leaped up the stairs before embracing his mother with a shivering body. Clearly confused, Aleza ran a hand up and down his youngest son's back.
"I miss you so much, Ibu…" Then he pulled himself from the embrace and hugged his father as well. "And you too, Ayah…I miss you…"
Aleza and Ariff exchanged confused glances. "Umm…okay, we both love you too…but care to explain why you're reacting as if you haven't seen us for years? We just saw each other this morning before I went to work," Ariff asked Adam as the boy pulled away from the embrace.
Adam couldn't find his voice to answer his father – he was looking at his parents up and down in rapt disbelieve.
"Maybe it's the hormones..." Aizad cracked as he climbed up the stairs. "Kak Lisha got that whenever she has her periods…" At this, Alisha gave her younger brother an ugly stare as Aizad continued, "I forgot how I was like when I came of age…maybe little brother here is finally maturing…" He paused when both his hands were clutched by Adam, who was looking at his eyes deeply with his dampened, inquiring gray eyes. "Uhh…"
"Are you for real this time?" Adam asked softly, sounding like a scared child. He was searching Aizad's eyes for any sign of him being Mephistomon in disguise, but all he could see was a pair of confused, but warm and somewhat mischievous dark brown eyes. Adam darted his eyes on Aizad's body, looking for the yellow star tattoo, but it wasn't present. Then he gazed at his brother's eyes once again. "Are you really you, Abang Zad?'
"Umm…no, I'm an alien from outer space and if you don't drop this act I'll take you to Mars and…" At this, Adam's mouth broke into a grin before he rushed towards his older sister. "Fine, no hugs for me, I can see that I'm not wanted…" he grumbled in a joking manner. The young man exchanged confused looks with his parents as they watched Adam hugging a very surprised Alisha.
"Kak Lisha, you're ok!"
"Um…why won't I be, Adam?" she asked as Adam pulled away. She placed her palm on Adam's forehead. "Are you feeling alright, Adam? Do you have fever or something? You're acting really odd and it's starting to worry all of us here."
Adam smiled happily as he looked at his assembled family members. "I'm alright," he said with a happy chuckle as he wiped a tear that was about to fall from his right eye. He felt like he was about to burst with profound joy and happiness. "I'm finally am alright."
xxx
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The lunch was a really enjoyable one, and Adam noticed that his mother had made all of his favorite dishes that day. But even without his favorite meals, Adam was very content with having all his family members with him. They were sitting on the verandah floor in a circle of five around clutters of used plates, enjoying some watermelons as desserts. Adam watched as his father talked about his work with his mother, whom listened with interest, occasionally offering her opinion. Sounds of bickering could be heard and Adam saw that Aizad was teasing Alisha about a local village man who apparently was very interested to have Alisha as his wife – in which Alisha recoiled in disgust as the said man was even older than their father, whom had married three times on separate occasions…with his first wife already divorced, the second one had died while the most recent had become an invalid because of a hereditary sickness. He giggled upon seeing Alisha becoming very red in the face, which resulted in Aizad being pinched so severely over his forearm that it caused the young man to howl in pain, which caused Adam to laugh even harder.
What more could he ask for? His family was whole…once more. And Adam wouldn't want it any other way.
"Adam…" a disembodied voice whispered.
Adam stopped laughing and looked around, and was confused upon seeing that nobody else seemed to have heard the voice. His parents continued to talk, undisturbed, and so were his siblings. It was strange; the voice had been rather audible.
"Adam…" There was that voice again. Adam knew he wasn't imagining things – the voice was real.
"Did you hear something, Abang Zad?" he asked, poking his brother on his left arm – Aizad was sitting beside him.
Aizad acted as if he wasn't aware that Adam was talking to him. Adam snorted and waved his hand in front of Alisha.
"Kak Lisha, did you hear something?"
Alisha continued talking to Aizad, ignoring Adam completely. It struck Adam as strange – his brother might pretend to ignore him sometimes just to tease him, but not his sister.
"Kak Lisha? Hello?" Adam waved his hand in front of his siblings frantically. "Abang Zad?" Both of them continued talking as if they didn't even see Adam's hand flailing in front of them.
"Ibu?" he called, knowing that his mother would listen to him. To his disappointment, his mother's attention was solely fixed to his father. "Ayah…?" Adam called, but his father ignored him too. He rose slightly from his seat and tugged his father over his shoulder. He was surprised that his father didn't even budge. He tried poking his father on the back but the man didn't even turn around to reprimand Adam. Confused, Adam leaned his head in between his parents, just to get their attention. They continued talking, undisturbed. And of all things, they were talking about the weather and Adam knew that nothing was more boring than the weather. He crawled towards where his sister was seating and tugged her hair – Alisha was very sensitive of people touching her shining, well-cared hair and Adam had seen Aizad tugging at their sister's hair every now and then just to spite her. Alisha didn't respond – she was now yelling at Aizad for a rather dirty joke Aizad had just told her and the leering face Aizad was giving her – something about him imitating a perverted man mentioned in the joke.
'Why are they ignoring me…? Why are they acting as if I'm not here?'
As a last resort he went to his brother and did the only thing he thought that could annoy Aizad. He pinched the man's nose and pulled it frontward. Aizad hated that and Adam often used that tactic to wake him from sleep every morning – his brother was a heavy sleeper. Still, Aizad ignored him despite his nose reddening. Adam was expecting that his siblings would yell at him now, but they were still talking. This was very strange – as the youngest usually Adam would get everyone's attentions easily, but now his parents and siblings were ignoring him.
"Adam… focus. Take a closer look and you'll see what is real, and what is imaginary."
"Huh…?" Adam thought, feeling more and more confused. He stared at his family, feeling very sad that they were ignoring him.
"Look with your heart, Adam, not with your eyes."
Adam breathed in and out slowly and observed them more intently. Slowly, the whiteness that Adam saw earlier appeared, covering the beautiful surrounding of his house and garden with white mist. The clear voices of his parents and the bickering of his siblings became softer until they were only whispers. One by one, they disappeared and Adam was in the white void was again, sitting on his own in the middle of nothingness. Choking a sob as his family members vanished out of sight, Adam rose from his sitting position as the scene shifted to a familiar setting. He was now in a sterile hospital ward, and he saw Alisha – unconscious – on a bed with bandages and wires all over her. Her left leg was plastered in immobilizing cement cast. There was a pink plastic clip on her right thumb, with the clip having a wire that joined the clip with a monitor that displayed Alisha's heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen level. She was still in coma.
"Kak Lisha…" Adam said, heartbroken upon seeing his sister severely injured and unconscious, and he realized what the voice had meant.
"You're now seeing what is true, rather than what you prefer to see, Adam," the calm voice said to him.
Adam saw a flash of gold emanating from his side as the hospital room vanished into nothingness and he was now in the white void again. Only this time, he wasn't alone. From the flash of gold a humanoid being in gold armor appeared. It stood no more than seven feet tall. The newcomer was wearing a billowing cape of rich blue, and his helmet, also gold, was pronged in four. His shoulder armors projected into spikes of gold, and twin swords were affixed on his back.
"Greetings, young DigiWira," the figure said with its deep, noble masculine voice. "I'm called Grademon."
"Grademon?" Adam said, surprised. 'This is Grademon? The one who created the DigiSpheres?' Given his state of confusion earlier, Adam didn't feel too excited upon meeting Grademon, but still he was surprised enough to give the armored warrior in front of him now a quick appraising look.
"The one and only," Grademon replied, as if knowing what Adam was thinking. Although, he could also be answering to Adam's inquiry.
Adam nodded, still subdued to be too excited or giddy, although in normal situation, he'd be circling around the warrior, poking him and asking lots of question.
Instead, he just asked, "What happened just now?"
Grademon held out a hand towards Adam. "Come, Adam. All will be explained in due time. You have seen what you wanted to see and what is true…but right now, we'll see what you NEED to see, and what you need to conquer."
Adam took the warrior's hand, still somewhat confused. As soon as their palms joined each other, the whiteness became dark and the scene shifted back to Adam's house by the beach…only it wasn't sunny. It was not even day – it was nighttime, and the winds were somewhat fierce and it was raining cats and dogs. Looking sideways, Adam saw that Grademon had somehow shrunk – he now stood merely at six-feet-tall and his armor had shrunk along with him.
Grademon caught his gaze, and with a nod they both vanished in orbs of gold – and reappeared by the doorway of a room shared by Adam and Aizad.
Inside, Adam saw a younger version of him, aged around ten to eleven, hovering around the desk where a younger Aizad – roughly fourteen to fifteen years old – was sitting, doing his homework. The teen had a frown locked on his face as he heaved his breath slowly while doing his homework. Aizad appeared to be frustrated, and the younger Adam didn't seem to be helping much.
Adam's heart beat wilder. 'This is…'
"Are you done yet?" Young Adam asked in a voice as sweet as a ten year old could have mustered as he poked his head over Aizad's shoulder, trying to see what his brother was doing.
"Not yet, Adam," Aizad answered dully.
Two minutes passed. "Are you done now?"
"No, Adam…" There was a faint hint of annoyance in the teen's voice.
"Oh, ok…" Five minutes passed by and the young boy grew impatient. "How about now?"
"No!" Aizad's voice rang shrilly. He glanced towards his younger brother with an annoyed look and a pair of tired eyes. "I still have homework to be done. Just watch TV yourself."
"It's no fun," young Adam pouted, shrinking slightly upon meeting his brother's intense glare.
It was very rare that Aizad snapped at him; Adam guessed that his brother must be in a really sullen mood that day, and he knew why. It was the last day of their holiday and Aizad had procrastinated in doing his homework until the very last day. He had spent the entire morning and early afternoon looking for used ice cream sticks and sea shells for his Art project, and spent the later half of afternoon constructing the house model with them. Then the teen realized that he still had homework in practically every subject so he had been burying his nose over his books for the last four hours. And young Adam was growing impatient of not having his brother accompanying him watching the nightly serials they always watched together.
"Then wait. Just sit still for a while. If you stop bothering me I can finish this quicker and we can watch TV then."
As Aizad turned back to face the books, the young boy sat on the large queen-sized bed that the two of them shared, and looked admiringly at a house model built with ice cream sticks joined with glues. It didn't look sturdy at all, and Adam, out of curiosity, reached out a finger to trail the structure of the model.
"No, don't touch it!" present-day Adam exclaimed, wide-eyed and with a gasp. He tried to reach out for young Adam, but his hands just went through the young boy and the house model. Young Adam didn't look disturbed at all as he lifted the model from the bed. "DON'T!" The curious young boy, unaware of his older self, now had both hands on the model, and present-day Adam watched with dread, knowing exactly what was about to happen…and the dreadful consequence that would follow such an innocent, curious, act.
"Uh-oh…" Young Adam muttered, scrunching his face in disgust as he realized that the glues hadn't dried yet…and his hands were glued to the model. Looking at his brother, who still was too focused on his homework to notice, young Adam tried to pull his hand carefully and quietly, but the model wouldn't budge from his hands. Then he saw his brother turning around and he panicked. Without thinking he shook his hands frantically and suddenly…the house model was sent flying towards the wall, colliding against it before shattering into sticks and sea shells once again. He gasped loudly.
"ADAM!!!" Aizad yelled, his eyes transfixed on the pile of ice cream sticks and sea shells – some of the sticks were still joined, but the house model he had built during the better half of the day was destroyed. He glared angrily at young Adam who was frozen with fear and shock. The tenseness that had been built up from earlier that day began to rise up like a volcano that was about to erupt, and without thinking straight he swung his hand and struck Adam squarely on his right cheek. He had even forgotten to control the amount of strength exerted from the blow. A loud thud was heard and the smaller boy was sent tumbling on the bed.
Present-day Adam gasped softly, and Grademon laid a placating hand on his shoulder as both of them saw young Adam turning to face Aizad, who had a horrified expression on his face. A burning red mark was visible on where he had been struck, and the look from his eyes showed that he was shocked, sad, disbelief and hurt at the same time. The boy was blinking rapidly as he touched the place where he was struck by his brother. He was shivering.
"Adam…" Aizad said softly, looking absolutely regretful of his action.
Adam knew that that was the first time his brother had ever laid a hand on him…and it had also been his last. Adam saw the crushed look on Aizad's eyes upon seeing the fearful look that was reflected from young Adam's eyes, which usually shone with admiration whenever Aizad looked at them. Adam knew his older brother prided himself for being a good brother to him, and now, it hurt him to see that the look was no longer there as they usually would be. Quickly the teen leaned towards the cowering boy, trying to see how much damage he had done.
"Adam…little brother…I'm very sorry…"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Young Adam screamed, and pounded his fist onto Aizad's chest. Immediately the teen stopped, and it wasn't because the blow his little brother had just delivered on him. The blow didn't even hurt him, but the icy look that his brother was shooting him did. His next words caused Aizad to freeze in shock. "You're the biggest, meanest bully around here and I HATE YOU and I NEVER EVER want to see you again!" the boy exclaimed shrilly as tears flowed down his cheeks. He got up from the bed, wiped his tears, and ran off from the bedroom, going through the present-day Adam who was now pale as a ghost upon seeing the whole commotion between the two brothers.
"Grademon, why are we seeing this again?" Adam said hoarsely. He knew this memory well.
"You need to see this, Adam. It has been haunting you for so long."
They watched briefly as Aizad remained stiff as a log, before the teen shook his head with a sad expression. It struck the present-day Adam that he had never seen his brother this distressed. Aizad then looked at the pile of ice cream sticks and sea shells, and assessed the whole damage.
"Great…I'm running out of glue…" He glanced at the clock. "It's almost ten…better ask Ayah whether he can take me to that stationary shop."
Hearing this, Adam felt his heart nearly stopped. He shivered as Aizad walked through him, heading towards the living room. Adam and Grademon followed the teen, and saw young Adam sitting stoically on a large cushion spread in front of the cupboard where the TV was at. He was watching TV alone, ignoring Aizad completely as the older boy attempted to make eye contact with him. Then he sighed and went towards his parents who were sitting at the living room.
"Ayah, can we go to the stationary shop? I need to get some glue," Aizad requested.
Ariff glanced outside, where it was dark and raining. "Is it really necessary now? It's raining outside."
"I need to pass up the art project tomorrow, and I need glue. I ran out of the old one."
"I thought you've completed your project earlier?" Aleza asked as she put down the newspaper she was reading.
"Yeah, I did…" His eyes went towards young Adam, who was ignoring him although it was clear that the young boy was listening in. Aizad sighed and said, "But I dropped it…by accident."
His father shook his head. "You should be careful next time, and not to wait until the last minute," he reprimanded Aizad. Aizad just nodded silently and watched as his father got up from his seat. "Alright, I suppose I can drive you there. I need to get some new pens anyway." He glanced at his wife. "Za, want to come along?"
"Sure." The woman got up. "Let me put on my headscarf and we're set to go. Adam, honey…" she called towards her youngest son. "Want to come along?"
Young Adam shook his head, eyes transfixed on the television.
Aleza shook her head in amusement and headed towards a closed door. Knocking it lightly, she said… "Lisha, take care of Adam. We're stepping out for a while."
The door opened and Alisha's head poked out. "Ok, Ibu." She was studying inside her room – she was now in her second year in university.
Present-day Adam's body shook as he watched the retreating figures of his parents and brother. Memories one after another invaded his mind.
"NO! DON'T GO!!" he cried out, tears welling up to his eyes. Of course, nobody heard him except for Grademon, who placed a hand on Adam's shoulder, restraining Adam who was flailing his hands in despair, trying to stop his parents and brother from exiting the house.
"Let them go, Adam,"Grademon said softly. "Let them go."
"But…but…they'll DIE!! This is the night…the night…of the accident!"
"Yes, Adam, I know."
"IBU! AYAH! ABANG ZAD! Don't go, please!!" Adam cried out tearfully. His arms tore wildly towards the retreating figures of his parents and brother.
Grademon placed both his hands on the DigiWira's shaking shoulders as they watched the main door being closed. Thunders rumbled outside the house, and the rain grew more intense. The sound of the car being started was heard.
Adam shoved Grademon's hands away and rushed out of the house in a frantic attempt to stop his parents and brother from driving off. He leaped down the stairs, but they were too high for him to jump and Adam lost his balance, falling painfully on his chest on the ground. Grunting, he got up and ignored the pain, immediately ran towards the car, trying desperately to stop them from going although he knew that nobody except for Grademon could see him. But still, he had to try. The car skidded away from him, and Adam teleported in front of the car's path. The car drove through him, sending chills coursing every inch of his body, before making a right turn over the gate and drove off in the middle of the raining night.
"Don't go!!" He fell to his knees and cried; knowing only to well what was going to happen to his parents and brother. "No…no…" he sobbed, and his tears blended with the rains.
A hand touched his shoulder. "Adam, you have to let them go…"
"No…I don't…I can't…." Adam looked up hopefully at Grademon. "Surely there's something we can do to save them! We can teleport them back here, right?" he asked.
Grademon shook his head, tearing the hope away from the DigiWira. "No, Adam, there's nothing we can do. You have to let them go,"he urged softly.
"This can't be happening again, Grademon…not again…"
"It will happen, Adam. I'm so sorry, but you can't change the fates of your parents and brother."
"They'll DIE, Grademon. They'll die…in a car accident. It's tonight…it's going to happen tonight!" Adam said hysterically as rains spattered over his head and Grademon's armor. His face was wet with rainwater and tears, and his eyes bloodshot. His dark bangs were plastered on his forehead.
"Yes, Adam, but there's nothing we can do about it."
Adam's sob grew more intense as Grademon's words entered his mind and his heart. "I'll never see them again, Grademon! They'll die tonight, and I'll never see them again. I'll lose them…I'll lose my parents, and my big brother." Adam's arms flailed out again, as if reaching out for the car which sound was now only barely heard in the midst of the heavy downpour and strong winds. The lights from the car soon vanished.
"Adam, you have already lost them," Grademon said firmly but truthfully – the truth was brutal and painful, but it was needed and it was necessary. "They have long passed, and you know that, Adam. This is their fate. You know it as well as I do, that death is not something for us to decide nor do we have power over it. It's God's will, you know that. This is their fate…it was written long before they exist, that their lives would only stretch to this fateful day. You can't do anything about it. It's time to let the pain go, child."
As Grademon's words sunk in, Adam let out an anguished cry against the rainy night before he collapsed onto the muddy soil. He just sobbed and sobbed, each cry was more tormented than before. He clenched both fists, and from the lights emitted by the house's lamps, Adam's fists were both bone-white, clenched so tightly in his despair and loss. Nails dug into the flesh of his palms and blood soon trickled down his palm, intermixed with the rainwater and his tears.
"I'll never see them again, Grademon. I'll lose them forever…" his voice was soft now. He sounded like a very frightened child.
"Their deaths are unfortunate, Adam, but you must move on…"
"It's my fault…" Adam's tone was so hollow that it shocked the noble warrior. The boy looked up at the warrior, who'd been shielding him from the rains. "If only I didn't wreck that model, if only I didn't annoy Abang Zad…they wouldn't have to step out, and everything would be perfect. It's my fault…I caused their deaths."
"Adam…it's not wise to dwell in 'what-ifs' and 'if-only" for it will not do you good, and it's something which I believe is not encouraged, forbidden even, to think about, according to your belief. Your parents and brother's deaths is NOT your fault, and never is. As far as I know, regardless of any situation their deaths would still be this very day, only in different circumstances. I am not sure about that myself, but I do know that it is never your fault. Do not blame yourself over this…you have no power over death as everyone else."
Grademon shifted his body slightly and raised his cape, protecting the hunched, kneeling, grieving Adam as the boy let out the pain that had been buried in his heart.
"You haven't cried at all after receiving the news of your parents' and brother's deaths," Grademon said softly. "You need this, child. Cry. Cry to your heart's content."
With that said, Adam's head limped down and he cried. Softly, he sobbed, and Grademon stood watch silently and protectively. Every now and then his head lifted up towards the gate, and his sobs would sometimes alternate with hiccups and coughs. Twice, he nearly vomited and he actually vomited once, due to crying so hard. Yet he never stopped crying, and Grademon never wavered. It was unclear for how long they both remained like that.
Then a police car drove into the garden, followed by a red van. Two policemen got out from the police car, and a couple with a teenaged boy stepped out from the van. All of them marched towards the house, climbed the stairs and knocked the door. Adam looked up, and saw the police informing his younger self of what had happened. He saw young Adam froze with shock. He saw his uncle and aunt hugging him tight, them sobbing softly, but little Adam wasn't crying. It was as if he knew the worst had yet to come. Then Alisha stepped out, and she plopped down onto the verandah, screaming and crying in sorrow when the news of their parents and brother's death was told. Their uncle restrained Alisha while their aunt hugged Alisha tight, as the boy – Adam's cousin – held his shoulders. Young Adam just watched in frozen horror as Alisha cried and cried.
"Adam, it's time to say goodbye," Grademon informed gently, touching his shoulder.
Adam nodded weakly. He thought that with all the crying he had done that night, he could no longer cry. But as soon as he thought about it, tears flowed down again. His mouth quivered, knowing that with the word uttered, everything would be final.
But it had to be done. For his own sake, Adam knew he needed to do this. Taking a deep breath, Adam whispered,
"Goodbye…Ibu, Ayah, Abang Zad…"
"Well done, Adam," Grademon said with a clear, gentle voice. "Now you can move on, and heal."
Adam nodded again. They watched in rapid succession of the following events – the time his deceased parents and brother were buried and how young Adam had remained beside their graves from morning till dusk, not budging and refusing to eat, continuously whispering for forgiveness for believing that he had been the one responsible for their deaths. He never told anyone about this, due to the overwhelming guilt he was feeling. His uncle had to come and carried him back to his house where Adam and Alisha were taken cared for.
Back at their uncle's home, Alisha had hugged him tight and cried in an attempt for her to comfort her youngest brother…now her only brother. All the while, Adam was silent, not crying…a frozen expression of grief had remained on his face. Everyone knew that he was hurting, and everyone noticed an aura of sadness that always accompany Adam wherever he went to, but he never wavered. Not once had he cried, and not once had he confided in anyone. The young boy had buried everything in his heart, and never moved on.
Then a scene was shown when Alisha had to return to the university - Alisha had promised him that she would study hard and graduate, and find a good job so that she would be able to take care of Adam on her own, despite their uncle and aunt's insistence that Adam should be under their care. Alisha had insisted that she wanted to care for her brother, no matter how difficult things would be. She kept her words after a year and a half passed.
"You still have so much to live for, Adam. You have to be strong for your sister, and you've done well for more than two years. You need to take care of her too, as she too needs to take care of you. You two need each other, and for this, you must live. Your sister is still alive, Adam. She's counting on you for your support."
They returned to the white void, and images of his DigiWira friends soon appeared one by one. JD, Liu Ying, Gayathri and Manny.
"And…your friends need you now too. Your fellow DigiWira need you more than ever and you are the only one who can save them from the hands of evil."
Adam nodded wordlessly again.
"I wish you good luck, Adam…for here, we must part," Grademon said.
"You're leaving?" Adam choked out. He looked up at the majestic warrior, his face still bearing the tear-marks along his cheeks. But he wasn't crying anymore.
"It's not me who's leaving…it's you," Grademon informed, and from his tone of voice it could be said that he was smiling wistfully. "We are now in your subconscious, Adam. I am here to help you go through your painful times, and help you free your secret demons. I'm happy to have met you, Adam, and I wish you all the best."
"But…I thought that I'm dead now. Patamon and I sacrificed myself to beat the Puaka Generals."
"No, Adam. You're not dead. At great cost of your own power, and the power of your White DigiSphere and your Digivice, you and your partner are saved right before the brink of an actual death. It's not your time, you still have a destiny to fulfill and you are greatly needed by your friends…who are captured by the REAL Puaka Generals."
Adam gasped. "Mephistomon and Phelesmon…they're the Puaka Generals?"
"Yes, Adam. Mephistomon and Phelesmon are the Puaka Generals and they are creatures of the dark who have great fear of the light. They now have seized your fellow DigiWira, and whatever intention they have for your friends – they can't be good. Only you can save them now, Adam."
Adam's eyes set in fierce determination, and he nodded. "Mephistomon and Phelesmon had crossed the lines, impersonating Abang Zad like that. I'll never forgive them for what they have done!"
"Never based your will to go on for revenge, Adam, for it will only kill you from the inside out. Do what you have to do, but never based it for vengeance. When all of these are taken care off…enjoy life, do what you must, live life to the fullest. Make as many friends as you can. Take chances every now and then, reasonable ones of course. Let your sister in, let your friends in and let Patamon in…."Grademon's blue eyes shone. "That much advice I can offer to you, Adam."
Adam sighed, and nodded again, understanding that the golden knight was right. "I'll do that, Grademon," he said. He looked up at the mighty warrior tentatively, before reaching out in a motion to embrace him. Seeing it, Grademon knelt down and scooped the boy with his arm, returning the gesture warmly. The boy buried his face on the warrior's shoulder, inadvertently dampening his cape with silent tears as he whispered, "Thank you, Grademon…for your help. I…I needed it, and I really appreciate it."
"That much I can do for my heir," Grademon said as Adam pulled away. He placed his large hand – easily bigger than Adam's whole head – and wiped the tear marks on the boy's cheeks before pushing the boy's dark bangs away from his eyes. It was a fatherly gesture which the warrior himself had never thought he'd be able to accomplish.
"Will I see you again, Grademon?" Adam asked.
Grademon appeared to be beaming with joy, although it was hard to discern with all his armor. "I'll always be here for you, young warrior," he said, and placed his palm on Adam's chest – indicating his heart. The golden knight then nodded as he slowly lowered Adam on the 'ground' of whiteness, and said, "Time is of great essence, Adam. Remember this - let the moons lead you to the light. Also remember that I'll always be there for you…I might not appear to you in person like this, but you'll find that in time of greatest need, someone will guide you from within."
Adam blinked. "Like a guardian angel?"
At this, Grademon chuckled. "In a way. Now go, DigiWira. Close your eyes, and wish that you're back at the Digital World."
"I'm really glad to have met you, Grademon. Goodbye…" Adam closed his eyes, and felt his body spinning…
"And I you, young warrior. And it's not goodbye. Just good journey…and good luck."
xxx
xxx
In the middle of the ruined battlefield near Zephyrus City, orbs of white light materialized in midair. The dark paddock was illuminated with blue-white orbs before a bright explosion of white light followed. As the light receded, Adam's body took form from head to toe, lying quietly and suffering a few cuts and bruises, but otherwise he was fine. Three DigiEggs appeared in swirls of light, all huddled near his weakened body.
'I'm…back…' He blinked, watching the dark cosmos that was spattered with twinkling stars and the soft glows of the three moons.
Adam stirred slowly, and raised his body up. He looked down at the DigiEggs, wondering what they were. Then he remembered that all Digimon who got deleted was reconfigured into DigiEggs, but why were there three DigiEggs? And which one was Patamon's DigiEgg? There was a DigiEgg with pink hearts, another DigiEgg with orange polka dots and the third with beige diagonal stripes. All of them were the same in size and shape.
Something made him lift his hand, and on his palm his Digivice and White DigiSphere materialized in orbs of light. The Digivice's glass screen suddenly shattered and cracks were seen on the plastic body of the device. His DigiSphere was looking somewhat dull gray in color instead of its usual white brilliance.
Adam's heart sank. He was reminded of Grademon's words – the powers from the Digivice and DigiSphere were all used up to save him in the near brink of death.
"ADAM!!!" a voice rang out.
Surprised, Adam whipped his head back and saw an adult male running towards him. He was robed in beige, with swept back brown hair and blue eyes that were visible in the moonlight. The man was impossibly familiar – but Adam didn't expect him to be at the Digital World.
"Jackie?" he wheezed in disbelief. What was the computer teacher doing here, in the Digital World? And why was he dressed like a Jedi from those Star Wars movies?
A purple blur zipped past Jackie from the back and zoomed towards Adam. TobuCatmon fluttered around Adam with tears around his eyes.
"Oh, Adam! Thank goodness you're alright! What happened?" TobuCatmon asked rapidly.
"I…I'm not sure. Grademon told me that we were in my subconscious just now, before I was brought back here," Adam said, rubbing the back of his head as Jackie knelt beside him.
"GRADEMON?" TobuCatmon and Jackie said in disbelief.
"But that's impossible!" TobuCatmon said. "Grademon was gone without a trace after his war with SkullSatamon."
Adam shrugged, he was too tired to argue and he couldn't be bothered about it. He knew that he'd met Grademon; that was enough.
"Adam, your Digivice and DigiSphere…" TobuCatmon pointed towards the damaged devices. He inspected the devices worriedly. "Oh dear, looks like they have both been exhausted wholly to aid in your…reconfiguration? Is that the right word to say it?"
"It's not reconfiguration," Jackie said. "Remember the fundamental of teleportation? It's by dissembling the molecules in one's body, and reassembling it again at a different place. I've done some thinking, and I think the explosive power of Aldiyamon stems from the increased rapidity in the process of dissembling the molecules, and scattering them away so thoroughly that reassembling them would be impossible. I believe that is the concept of Aldiyamon's combustion power." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "And… now with Adam being back here, I think it's using the concept of reassembling. Aldiyamon's data was scattered due to the explosion, and greater power is needed to pull them back together. The powers used to aid the reassembling, I believe, were the ones from the Digivice and the White DigiSphere both, but they were both used wholly that they're now exhausted of their power."
"That's logical," TobuCatmon said.
"But whose DigiEggs are those, other than Patamon's?" Adam asked.
"Since you were fighting VenomDevimon, I believe these are the DigiEggs of their two selves," TobuCatmon answered.
"What? Why are they reconfigured?" Adam asked, looking at the DigiEggs in disgust. It made him sick thinking that villains such as NeoDevimon and LadyDevimon had been given a chance to start anew as well. But then Grademon's words about not to live on for revenge echoed in his mind. Adam sighed.
"The Digital World works in mysterious ways," TobuCatmon answered. "Perhaps when they hatch, we can ask them…although all reconfigured Digimon usually lose their memories of past selves."
"Huh?" Adam was perplexed at this revelation. "Won't Patamon remember me then?"
TobuCatmon's ears drooped down. "Chances are, he won't. I'm sorry."
Adam was reminded of the time he had spent with Patamon. The first time they had met – how both of them fought against Deltamon, and how Centarumon was propelled to Sagittarimon. Patamon's love for soap drama serials back home caused Adam to smile wistfully, as well as his abilities to work with microwaves so well that he had taken upon himself to prepare Adam's lunch after the boy got back from school. Every night, they would cuddle against each other, sleeping the night away. His face darkened upon being reminded of how Centarumon was overwhelmed with grief and anger that he accidentally Dark Digivolved into Black Knightmon, but that was countered with his amazement of how Sagittarimon attained his Radiant Mode. Their brief stint as Aldiyamon, despite it being a corrupted evolution…Adam had never felt such power in his hands before.
He sighed desolately. "Perhaps…it's for the best," he said softly, his eyes drawn to the DigiEgg with orange polka dots. The dots were similar to the color of Patamon's fur. He was still sad upon thinking that Patamon would not remember him, but realized that up to his deletion Patamon still carried the pain of having Dark Digivolved into Black Knightmon, and later on Aldiyamon. If the reconfigured Patamon had no memories about those bleak moments, then Adam was happy for him. Their friendship could be re-forged, as his friendship with JD had been, and they would have new memories together. After setting free of his inner demons, Adam felt as if he too, had been reborn.
And technically, he was.
"What are we going to do now?" Adam asked as he examined his broken Digivice and dull DigiSphere. He tried summoning his teleportation power, but failed. "I don't have my power, and I don't have Patamon…" His eyes looked up at the dark heavens, as if asking for an answer. His eyes widened upon seeing the weird angle of the moons. "Let the moons guide you to the light…" he whispered, quoting Grademon.
"What did you just say?" TobuCatmon asked.
"Let the moons guide you to the light," Adam repeated. "Grademon told me that…"
TobuCatmon and Jackie looked at each other in confusion. They looked at the moons – they were now in a perfect alignment of 45 degrees, and all of them saw a peculiar phenomenon. All moons became pale yellow for a brief few seconds, radiating with light so bright that the sky around them was brightened like day. Then the lights diminished and the moons were restored to their original colors.
"Of course!" TobuCatmon said knowingly. "I remember now!"
Adam and Jackie exchanged confused looks. TobuCatmon looked at Adam with a hint of a smile set on his worried-panicked face.
"Adam, there's hope for you to restore the power in your White DigiSphere and possibly, repair your Digivice."
"Really…?"
"But Adam, the journey is hard and you only have one whole day, beginning now. Grademon had made this journey before, to get the power of light for the White DigiSphere, three hundred years ago. It's a miraculous coincidence that today is actually, exactly, three hundred years from that day!"
Adam was reminded of TobuCatmon's story about their DigiSpheres, and realization dawned upon him. "You mean…"
"Today is the day the Lost Mountain appears, and it only appears once every century. Adam, you must seek out Lady Ophanimon of the Lost Mountain. Only she can restore the light in your DigiSphere, as she was the one who'd given her power to it in the first place. It's…it's the only way you can regain your powers and save the others!"
xxx
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Author's Notes:
For sure I won't kill off the main protagonists just like that. :D
However, I'm trying out with the angst genre for this chapter…I don't know whether it works or not in favor of the story. Nevertheless, this chapter has been in my mind for a very long time – more than a year, in fact – a walk down Adam's dark memory lane. Some part of it is inspired from Digimon 02 – when MaloMyotismon used the power of illusions against the DigiDestined but with a twist. We get to see a great deal of Adam's past and his family, and the stuffs that have been tormenting him. The hints have been placed here and there throughout the earlier chapters, and are more reinforced when JD enters the picture, with him noticing Adam's brooding manner when he too was brooding.
And how was Grademon, who's made a surprise appearance here? Not really what you have expected, right?