Nothing to say! I'm still on a writing spree! I think this is the longest one I've ever had. Good for you. Bad for my family; they hardly see me anymore (other than when I'm writing, but then I apparently miss entire conversations!) On to the story!
Disclaimer: THIS IS A UNIVERSAL DISCLAIMER. THE PARTY INVOKING THIS DISCLAIMER IS HEREBY EXEMPT FROM ANY ATTEMPT TO SUE ON THE GROUNDS OF COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT. THIS DISCLAIMER IS WRITTEN AND DISTRIBUTED BY NAUTMYN, INC. AND IS SAID PARTY'S PROPERTY. ANY ATTEMPT TO USE FOR COMERCIAL PURPOSES WILL BE MET WITH A LAWSUIT. TO RECIEVE YOUR OWN COMPLIMENTARY UNIVERSAL DISCLAIMER, CALL 1-888-NAUT-MYN. SHIPING AND HANDLING FEES OF 56 DOLLARS AND THREE CENTS APPLY.
Old Demons
Chapter 12: Darkness Falling
The room was large, more than twice the size of the one in the Digital World. It had, at first, seemed almost identical to the other (other than the obvious difference in color scheme), but there were many differences. Instead of stone, everything was metal, covered in vines. The single beam of light in the Digital World had barely made a dent in the room's darkness; here the deep shadows gave the room the overall feeling of an optical illusion. Even the trees were different: the ones in the Digital World were by no means lush, but the branches had been covered by leaves. Here the trees looked dead, or like trees in winter after they'd dropped their leaves. And, of course, there were vines, drooping from the barren branches.
Right now, the five kids were walking around the room's perimeter, trying to find a way out. They had all, for some reason, turned gray. The only color to be seen at the moment was in their eyes.
"Are we gonna be stuck in here forever? That's just not fair!"
"Get a grip, JP. Ugh. You're such a boy! There's gotta be an exit somewhere. We'll find it a lot faster if you quit complaining."
"Will you two stop arguing already?" Kouji turned to glare at JP and Zoe. The three of them were scouring the left side of the chamber, while Tommy and Takuya had taken the right side. Kouji had been testing some vines a few feet ahead of the other two, trying to see if the vines would hold his weight.
JP rolled his eyes. "Sheesh. Grumpy much?"
Zoe elbowed JP hard in the ribs. "If you know what's good for you," she whispered, "you'll shut up now."
"Hey, guys!" Tommy called. "We found something!" Kouji, Zoe, and JP took off across the room. Tommy and Takuya were standing by a rectangular patch of wall that didn't have vines covering it.
"Um, okay," Zoe said when she got there. "I'm assuming it's a door, but how does it open?"
"The button." Takuya grinned and pushed said button, which was partially covered by the vines to the right of the door. Nothing happened. "Um…" Takuya sweatdropped. "Maybe I didn't push it hard enough?" He pushed the button again. Nothing. Another push. More nothing. "Come one, you stupid door!" Takuya gave up on the button and pounded on the door instead. "Open UP!"
At that moment, the door did indeed slide open. Unfortunately for the gogglehead, he'd been about to pound the door with both fists. His fists met no resistance and his momentum sent him crashing into the…elevator. Takuya picked himself up off the floor. "Aw, man! Why does it always have to be an elevator?"
Kouji raised an eyebrow at his best friend. "You really don't have good luck with elevators, do you?"
"Only since I met you."
"Oo-kay! Let's go," Zoe interrupted, pushing past the boys. The others followed her into the elevator. It looked almost like your average elevator – handrails on the side and back walls; display above the door showing what floor they were on (one, at the moment); and buttons on a panel by the door. Of course, there were only two: "OPEN DOOR" and "CLOSE DOOR".
Before anyone could ask what they were supposed to do, the door closed and the elevator began rising. A bell chimed, and the 1 above the door blinked out. Another chime sounded a few seconds later, and another, and another…On the last chime, the number 12 appeared above the door and the movement slowed. The doors opened onto a deserted gray hallway with no doors.
They stepped out cautiously and made their way down the hall. It opened out onto a balcony that surrounded a square courtyard on three sides. The side they were on had only the hallway and elevator they had emerged from. The side on the kids' left – the right wing – ended in a second elevator. The other side – the left wing – ended at a flight of stairs. The bottom floor seemed to be covered by gray plants. And the 10 floors in between had balconies; both humans and digimon were leaning on the railing.
"That's weird," Tommy noted.
"The forest, the fact that there are humans and digimon both here, or the complete lack of any color but gray in this entire place?" JP asked, glancing down at the younger boy.
"Neither…I mean, all that's weird, too, but that's not what I'm talking about. This floor is completely pointless! The only things here are the two elevators and a set of stairs!"
"That is weird," Zoe said. Something wet dripped on her head. Looking up, she saw what used to be a domed ceiling. It had a large hole, which was undergoing repairs, and through it she could see gray clouds gathering in a white sky. "Woah."
"What is it now?" Kouji grumbled.
"Look up."
They did, and every on of them gaped at the sight. A huge bolt of violet lightning flashed across the sky. Two more followed within five seconds.
Takuya forced a laugh. "I vote we take the stairs." Rain started falling, not quite a downpour yet, but getting there. "Correction: I vote we take the stairs NOW!" There was no argument from the others, and they ran to the stairs.
The stairs descended for one floor, and after that the Legendary Warriors had to walk to the end of the left wing hallway. They continued down nine more flights, seeing occasional cracks in the walls and even one or two splintered doors. On the third floor, there was a hole in the floor, but they saw the real damage one level lower.
There was a large pile of rubble to the left of the stairwell (from the hole overhead), and the wall to the right was completely demolished. There were a few trees outside and the rain blew in.
Zoe drew back hesitantly. "What happened here?"
Kouji frowned. "I don't know. But I intend to find out." He turned abruptly and started down the last flight of stairs. The others glanced at each other, surveyed the rubble one more time, and followed.
The ground floor was a swirl of activity. On the other floors, the kids hadn't seen anyone. They had heard a few voices through the walls, sometimes even heard doors closing or footsteps. But they hadn't seen a soul. Here, there were people and digimon everywhere, standing or sitting in small groups, slipping though the crowd obviously in a hurry to get somewhere else. Some were running through the plants. Within 20 feet of the stairs, the digidestined could see infant humans and Baby digimon all the way up to middle-aged women and Champions. Everything was colored gray…except the eyes. The eyes of every being were their normal color, slightly muted, but still vibrant compared to everything else.
"If it isn't the other Legendary Warriors! Imagine that."
They turned to the owner of the voice. Zoe's spirits immediately lifted. "Gotsumon! I don't believe it!"
The rock digimon smiled. "Tell me about it. Hmm…Sulamon's gonna want to see you."
"Who's that?" Tommy asked.
"C'mon." Gotsumon said, walking down the hall. "I'll introduce you to him."
"Wait." The threat behind that one word caused Gotsumon to stop midstep.
Takuya, who had already started after Gotsumon, stared at Kouji. "What is it? This Sulamon guy might be able to help us!"
"And what if he can't?" Kouji's eyes never left Gotsumon's face. "We've wasted enough time in the last three days. Kouichi's out there somewhere. We don't even know if Lowemon's with him. But Duskmon is out there, looking for Kouichi. If he hasn't already found him." He leaned down towards Gotsumon. "Now tell me what happened to my brother."
"Hey, Kouji?" JP asked. "What makes you think he can tell us anything?"
Kouji groaned. "Do I have to spell it out for you?" he yelled.
Zoe resisted the sudden urge to slap him. "That's enough, Kouji! You're letting you're worry about Kouichi turn you into a real jerk, y'know. Stop taking it out on us!"
Kouji sighed and softened his tone somewhat. He stood up straight, but still glared at Gotsumon. "You called us 'the other Legendary Warriors' before. I know you've seen Kouichi. Where is he? What happened to him?"
Gotsumon stubbornly avoided Kouji's eyes, but answered his question. "He showed up…what? The day before yesterday, I think. Sometime around noon. Anyway, we came back here, he met Sulamon, yadda, yadda, yadda. It was all fine until yesterday morning. Duskmon showed up and started wrecking the place. I went to get Kouichi so we could get outta here, but he wouldn't come. He said he could stop Duskmon."
"So you left him?" Takuya shouted.
"What was I supposed to do? Last time I saw you humans, you could fight. I thought he could, too. But just after I got outside, Duskmon broke through the wall, holding Kouichi, and got away."
"Which way did he go?" Kouji demanded.
"Well, I was out front. Duskmon came out of the left wing and went…towards the back of the place."
Kouji walked away, not even acknowledging what Gotsumon had said. The four kids and Gotsumon followed, some out of confusion and curiosity, some out of frustration. Kouji stormed out the mansion's front doors, finding himself on a small lawn between the building and a fairly large lake.
"Excecute: Spirit Evolution … Lobomon!"
Lobomon paused only briefly to readjust to his Human Spirit. He turned to the left wing and was about to take off after his brother when the others came out. He spoke before anyone else had a chance to:
"Don't bother trying to stop me. I'm going after my brother."
"Execute: Spirit Evolution…Kazemon!"
Lobomon stared at her. "What?" she asked innocently. "Flying's faster than walking."
Lobomon smiled slowly. "Thanks."
"Execute: Spirit Evolution…Kumamon!"
"Execute: Spirit Evolution…Beetlemon!"
"Execute: Beast Spirit Evolution…BurningGreymon!"
"You're not leaving us behind!" Beetle called.
BurningGreymon nodded. "Let's go." He picked up Lobomon, Beetlemon picked up Kumamon, and the three flyers took off.
-
They had been flying in silence for about two hours, and it was getting tedious. The storm had lasted for 45 minutes, forcing them to fly low. After it ended, a mist gathered, thick in some places and almost nonexistent in others. With dodging trees during the storm and not having any visible sun to orient themselves, they had veered quite a bit off course. As a result, they were headed not north, to the border between the Fire and Ice Sectors, but just north of due east, towards the Wind Sector. Call it fate, chance, or coincidence, but they were flying for the spot where Duskmon had defeated Lowemon not quite three hours ago.
But they would not reach that location. Not yet. Because right now…
"Hey! Look down there! Something's moving!" Kumamon pointed, below and slightly ahead of their current course, where there were only a few shreds of mist. A small figure was inching along towards them. Of course, it only looked tiny because they had been flying high above the trees. Ever since the storm had ended, the black sun had been shining in their eyes. (They had no clue why a black sun was shining light in the first place, but it was.) From up here, a small patch of clouds blocked the sun.
Kazemon, whose visor acted like sunglasses, blocking the bright light while still allowing clear vision, flew lower. Of the five, she was the only one who would be able to see. Well, she saw, and she could hardly believe her eyes. It was Kouichi, trudging along. She couldn't tell from here if he was tired or disoriented, or even if he was hurt at all, but it didn't matter at that point. He was alive!
"Well?" Lobomon shouted down at her. "What is it?"
She grinned at him "It's Kouichi!"
Most of the Legendary Warriors did not register this statement immediately, and when they did, they didn't react for a few more seconds. Lobomon, on the other hand, reacted in a matter of instants. And since he couldn't fly, that reaction was kicking BurningGreymon to get him moving. They dove down, Kazemon beside them, and Beetlemon and Kumamon a few seconds behind. They touched down a few feet from Kouichi and devolved.
Kouichi stared at them with half-closed eyes, one corner of his mouth tugging into a smile. "Kouji!" He dashed forward, but stumbled after a few steps, falling forward. Kouji was already there to catch him.
"What happened to you?" The younger twin asked. Kouichi closed his eyes and sighed. His whole body seemed to sag. He slumped to his knees, drawing Kouji down into the mud with him. "Kouichi?" A hint of panic entered his voice. "What did Duskmon do to you?"
"It wasn't Duskmon." Kouichi's voice was dull, his body still. That alone sent a chill through Kouji. He placed his hands firmly on his brother's shoulders, desperately hoping to impart some strength to him. Kouichi kept his head bowed.
The others had gathered behind Kouji, worried about Kouichi but hesitant to interrupt. Takuya had watched with a growing sense of foreboding as Kouchi remained unresponsive. What could have happened, especially since Duskmon apparently wasn't responsible? Kouichi was quite by nature, but not this quiet, and not this closed off, either. Not with Kouji. Even with others around, Kouichi would find a way to communicate to Kouji.
Tommy and JP harbored similar thoughts, as did Zoe. Or she had, but now the light was reflecting into her eyes. Stupid light! How does a black sun shine normal light, anyway? Whatever the light was reflecting off of, it didn't reflect into the boys' eyes. Or maybe they were just ignoring it. After all, the sun had been reflecting off water for more than half the morning. Kazemon's visor had filtered out most of it, so this was the first she'd had to deal with it. The boys were probably used to it by now.
In any case, Zoe looked for the source of the glare. When she found it, though, she just gaped. It was coming from what Kouichi held in his hand, near the ground: a knife. And at the moment, he was raising it towards Kouji's abdomen. The younger twin was too busy worrying about Kouichi to notice.
"No!" A blur burst out from behind a clump of nearby bushes and lunged for Kouichi, who scrambled away, dropping the knife. Kouji stared at it and then at Kouichi, whose red eyes had gone wide at the sight of the newcomer.
"So you decided to come, after all."
The newcomer did not reply. Everyone turned to see who it was. One would think that nothing could surprise them at this point. After all, just look at their surroundings - a grayscale world with impossible amounts of light coming from a black sun in a white sky. But surprised they were, because it was Kouichi, identical to the one that had had the knife, but with blue eyes.
The red-eyed Kouichi smirked for no apparent reson and turned to Kouji. He seemed to be considering something. "I could eliminate you now, I suppose – "
"Oh, really?" Takuya interrupted, sounding dubious. "I'd like to see you try!"
The boy stood up. "I will…But not now. That time has not yet come."
Zoe sighed. "Of course it hasn't. So when will it be 'time'?"
"Twenty minutes over the next hill," he mocked. A thick mist converged around him, concealing him from sight. Takuya charged forward, hoping to grab the red-eyed boy, but he went right through the mist. Whoever the boy was, he was gone.
Kouichi – assuming it was really him – remained stiff, half-crouched near Kouji. As the mist drew back, he stood up and turned away from the others. Kouji's head snapped towards his brother. Standing up, he grabbed Kouichi's wrist to stop him. The older twin jumped. He stared at the hand grasping his wrist, following the arm up until he met Kouji's eyes. He paled.
"Kouichi," Kouji whispered, struggling to control his rising fear. "What's going on?"
Zoe came up beside Kouji. "Please, Kouichi," she pleaded. "We can't help you if you won't tell us what's going on."
Kouichi shifted his gaze to her. A strange pain entered his eyes, and he looked away. "No." His voice sounded hoarse; he cleared his throat. "No. I can't do that to you."
"Huh?" Takuya stepped up on Kouji's other side. "You're not making any sense."
"I'm sorry," Kouichi said, pulling away firmly, though his face said he didn't want to. "You're just going to have to trust me." He backed up, then turned and walked away. Kouji called out after him, but Kouichi clenched his fists and broke into a sprint. He wouldn't allow himself to look back.
…And the spree is still going strong! I'm writing the last page of chapter 14 right now! Yay! Three chapters left after that!
So…anyway….ATTWT…right. My computer still isn't in use, so I still don't have Kado's pic ready. I'll get that up when I can…But for now, I'll give you some real information…Sorta. Well, I'll tell you this: The Frontier kids will be in there, but they won't be the focus for most of the story.
More next time!
Review!
-Child of Healing
Word Count: 2824