Kouji was not much of a dreamer and placed little importance on them. That didn't mean he didn't dream- everyone does, every night, he knew that, but for whatever reason it had been years since he last had one he remembered. He ofttimes wondered in passing whether that said something about him, but never for long, and never very seriously.
But he must be dreaming now because he was falling, he had been falling for what had seemed like hours, and there was no ground in sight. Unlike real falling, he knew, the air did not rush up to greet him and gnaw at his skin, nor did he feel the cruel lash of headwinds. He just... fell, accelerating at 9.8m/s^2 to a good fraction of the speed of light, he supposed. Seriously, though. It did not bother him; he decided he could get used to this. This was real freedom, true weightlessness, as close to an inertial reference frame as you are ever likely to get near the Earth in General Relativity.
Except this was not and could not be Earth, he suddenly realized as he jolted awake, a semi-spherical crater surrounding his body where he had impacted the soil. There was no air resistance, yet he could still breathe. And on Earth, he couldn't have survived the fall... Or did he fall?
The first thing he noticed was that his backpack full of ropes and can openers and navigation tools was gone. So it wasn't a dream. Then he recalled everything: Izumi's call, the talk show, Kotemon. Maybe that all was a dream too; who can know after all? Maybe all that falling was a dream within a dream. When it came to dreaming Kouji was truly a novice, nor did he particularly want to get good at it. Consider what he'd gone through, it was all the same to him what was "real" and what was not. Red pill, blue pill*, he thought wryly.
"Kouji!" A girlish voice called out. That sounded real enough, Kouji thought with annoyance. He turned over on his back in his crater, spread out his limbs then sighed a lazy sigh. He was not ready to deal with the world right now, real or imaginary. Then he was greeted with the most unusual sight: a turquoise sphere with data floating around it like planetary rings, dotted with craters spewing purple pillars.
"What is that?" He wondered out loud, genuine surprise creeping into his voice for the first time in what seemed like years.
"Come on, brother, get up." Kouji glanced to the side and saw Kouichi, Izumi and Kotemon standing over his crater. He wasn't going to reply; he did as he was told.
"What's the plan, Kotemon?" Kouichi asked the little martial artist.
"There's a deserted village nearby with a transporter. It will take us straight the palace where the Great Angels are held." He replied, pointing in the direction behind them and began to walk.
"There sure is a lot of sand!" Izumi exclaimed, surveying the barren yellow landscape reminiscent of the Australian outback. "I don't remember being here."
"This is not the Digital World you're used to." Kotemon replied shortly.
"Is this a different world? Is there anything in particular we need to know?" Kouichi asked. Kotemon gave him a look.
"What exactly do you want to know? It's no mean feat to summarize an entire world in a manageable duration of time, you know." Kotemon replied matter-of-factly, seeming determined to avoid speaking as much as possible. Kouichi looked about to speak, then closed his mouth again. There was so much that could be relevant, and so much that seemed irrelevant, Kouji thought, he did not know where to begin.
"You still haven't told us what's going on." Kouichi pointed out.
"Can we talk about this after we've rescued the Great Angels?"
"Oy, you complexity addicts. Let's start with that thing up there." Izumi pointed to the turquoise sphere. "What on Earth is that?"
"That technically is not on Earth. It is the human world." Came the bored response. Izumi look of irritation mirrored Kouji's own.
"And all the rings?" She countered.
"Data. The Network."
"And the purple things coming out of dents?" She tried harder.
"Data streams."
Kouji was not amused. "I have never met anybody who speaks while saying nothing at all."
"I'm not 'anybody'; I'm a Digimon, so your assessment is fair."
"What is their function?" Izumi cut in again.
"They send you random places in the Digital World. I would steer clear of them if I were you." Trying to get information from this guy was like pulling teeth, which did nothing to allay Kouji's suspicions of him.
"Are there any civilizations around here?" Kouichi asked pleasantly. Kotemon gave him an incredulous look.
"No." Kouichi raised his eyebrows at him, so he continued. "I told you this isn't the Digital World you're used to. We're here."
It was a village with the strangest buildings. The cubical houses were rotated about 45 degrees; the lower vertex sunk into the ground. They were windowless huts made of dried Earth, with only a tiny door for an opening. They wandered into the dark interior and came upon an open box-like structure.
"Get in." Kotemon instructed, and they did. Suddenly, the walls began to shrink. Izumi shrieked in fright.
They sat around the dinner table while Janyu stirred his tea. Takato was agitated while Jenrya looked distressed.
"I'm sorry, son. I've kept things from you again." Janyu apologized.
"I can't pretend I'm happy about this, father." Jenrya replied. "But I trust you have your reasons. You always do. It's pointless to get angry at you."
"Thank you." If anything, he looked more pained than ever.
"Um. Mr. Lee? You haven't answered my question... What was Hypnos up to?" Takato asked, unable to hold in his curiosity any longer.
"As you know, there are agencies like Hypnos in every country. After the D-Reaper incident, delegates from around the world came together and almost unanimously agreed that the Digital World is a threat and had to be controlled. Japan has... Agreed to do her part." Janyu explicated, resignation in his voice.
"Con...trolled..." Takato repeated in disbelief.
"Entailing what, exactly? To what end?" Jenrya asked pointedly, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.
"Why do I have a feeling you know exactly what I'm about to say? Yes, Jenrya, meaning we will have absolute control over the barrier between the Digital World and the Material World. This is all I've been told. The rest are classified."
"And do you have any idea what your work is doing to the Digital World? Have you considered it at all?" Jenrya was getting increasingly angry, all attempts at restraint gone. "How can you be a part of this?"
"Better us than someone else! Yamaki and I are doing all we can to lobby for their interests."
Jenrya sighed in frustration and shook his head. "No, no, NO! Look around you, father! People. Are. Disappearing. Hirokazu, Kenta, Ruki, Ryo, and god knows how many others! Digimon did this! They're hunting us! And why would they, if it's not something on your end? Takato and I could be next! Shuichon could be next! Don't you care? Why do you people always start things without thinking it through?"
"I had no choice. I thought..." Janyu stammered, burying his head in his hands. Jenrya stood up abruptly, both hands on the table, ready to leave.
"Jenrya!" Takato admonished, putting a hand on his shoulder. Jenrya removed his hand wordlessly and walked over to the couch, refusing to look at his father.
"Blaming your dad isn't going to solve anything. We need to hear him out! There must be something we can do!" Janyu looked up slowly- guilt written all over his face. He was astounded and grateful that Takato was not yelling at him. He has every right, Janyu thought.
"You need to go to the Digital World and find your partners. We'll need their help. And try to find out what's going on. We'll stay in touch via the pager and with any luck, we can build an Ark in case you can't get back. With the barrier unstable, there should be plenty of gates you can use."
"And me?" Shuichon's voice interrupted the conversation. Nobody had noticed that she had come out of her room and was listening intently. Jenrya turned around to scold her, but Janyu beat him to it.
"You'll stay with me. It won't be safe." Janyu replied, his tone firmer than before.
"I will be safer with Antiramon than I will ever be with you." She pointed out.
"We don't know when we'll find them, and you'll only slow us down." Jenrya cut in. Now both father and son faced the youngest member of the family, agreeing on something at last.
"You'll be perfectly safe in Hypnos. There's no place safer." Janyu promised.
"You mean I'll live like a prisoner in that hellhole! Why do you all think I'm helpless?" Shuichon held out her Queen Device card, a token of gratitude from the Legendary Tamer for saving his life. "Doesn't this prove I'm as capable as any of you?" Jenrya cursed Ryo for feeding his sister's ego.
"You have no idea how dangerous it is, do you? Does the fact that Ryo himself disappeared mean anything to you?" Jenrya said, his face turning red. By that point the argument had attracted the attention of the whole family, and everyone came into the living room. Mayumi, her mother, walked out of the master bedroom to stand beside her husband.
"You're not going, and that's final." She glared at her daughter, who glared back.
"I'm sorry, Shuichon. I know how much this means to you." Janyu said gently.
"No, you don't. None of you do. I'm sick of talking to you." Angry tears were falling from her face. Once again, she walked into her room and slammed the door. Janyu sat back down and Mayumi wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Jenrya walked to the window, too stressed to speak, and Takato went with him, trying to calm him down.
"I'm going to take care of Shuichon." Eighteen-year-old Jaarin whispered to Mayumi, who nodded.
"Ugh! Who owns this place?" Izumi was disgusted as they waded through swaths of slime through the hallway. She couldn't believe she was stuck with this crowd. Kouji and Kouichi barely said anything at all, and Kotemon was silent as night.
"This is the palace of GranKuwagamon, called 'Demon of the Deep Forest'. You'd best take it seriously." Kotemon supplied.
"You call this a palace?" Izumi said incredulously. "What does he want with the Great Angels?"
"He doesn't want anything. As far as I know he's merely a lackey. For whom, we're still trying to find out." Kouji suddenly turned his head and looked at Kotemon intently, as though recalling something.
"Why us? Why you?" Izumi continued.
"Because according to our intelligence, the palace's defenses are meant to detect intruders of Adult level and above. I am a Child level Digimon, and as for you, you are children."
"You keep saying 'we'. Who's this 'we'?" Kouji asked. For the first time, Kotemon looked shifty.
"I'll explain later."
"See that you do." Kouji glowered at him and turned away in annoyance. They kept walking for a time and happened upon a spiraling staircase.
"Watch yourself on these steps", Kotemon whispered. "This is the entrance to the castle proper. Don't touch any cocoons, or we might be found out."
They started to climb the steps and sure enough, hundreds of cocoons hung from the ceiling- some higher, some lower. Some were so low that they would have to crawl up the steps, which were covered in slime. All three children looked perturbed at what they had to do because they didn't bring a lot of extra clothes. I'm taking a shower after this, thought Izumi. If this stupid place even has showers! Suddenly, Kouichi yelped and he began to slip. In an effort to steady himself, he used his feet to give a lower step a mighty push, and rammed headfirst into the cocoon directly above.
"Kouichi!" The other two kids cried at the exact same time. Kotemon whipped out his wooden sword.
"Grab this!" Kotemon said, and Kouichi caught himself. But it was too late. The cocoon glowed yellow and the shell melted. A Kunemon pushed himself out.
"Thunder Kote!" Kotemon's sword buzzed with electricity and he slashed at the Kunemon before the insect could gather himself. He instantly exploded into red data bits as Izumi watched on, horrified.
"Where's the Digitama?" She puzzled, as the bits dispersed into thin air.
"Digimon don't come back to life in this world." Kotemon replied. "We must hurry; the other Kunemon will wake up soon." Sure enough, the other cocoons flared up. "Quickly!"
The four scrambled up the stairs, cocoons be damned. They reached the landing and Kotemon slammed the heavy wooden door behind them. Behind them, they heard hundreds of Kunemon slam into the door. Kotemon turned around and waved his sword, muttering a few words under his breath, and they felt the atmosphere visibly thicken and the door glowed blue.
"What did you do?" Kouichi asked.
"A spell. It strengthened the door but won't keep them out forever. We have about five minutes before they break it down. Hurry!"
How does a child level digimon know a protective spell? Izumi asked herself silently. She decided it didn't matter. She looked around her: the room was an empty nursery. They all ran for the nearest door and Kotemon instructed them to all stand with their backs against the wall, "in case any Flymon are in the next hallway." They edged closer to the door, and Kotemon swiftly bumped it open with his sword. The hallway was thankfully empty, but that didn't mean they could make noise. They walked quietly through the hallway whose roof was dripping wet. There were endless doors on either side of the walls as they walked and Kotemon guided the kids through one of them, again, gingerly nudging the door open with his sword.
Almost instantly, they were greeted with an abrasive buzzing.
"Flymon!" Kouji shouted. "Get down!" They all dropped to the floor and narrowly avoided Flymon's blind assault.
"You go ahead!" Kotemon shouted back. "I'll take care of him!" He was already very busy with the Flymon, who swung low for the little swordsman and barely missing a critical strike. "Thunder Kote!"
"You sure?" Izumi called nervously.
"Yes! You can't do much good here! Go through that door into the dome, and try to get through the door at 11 o'clock without waking up Okuwamon!"
They scrambled to do as he said, but before they had gotten to the opposite door, Kouichi turned and looked back worriedly at Kotemon, for whom Flymon was more than a match.
"We have to help him!" He whispered, more to himself.
"GET THROUGH THAT DOOR!" Kotemon ordered.
"No!" Grabbing a jagged rock on the floor, Kouichi hurled it towards Flymon with all his strength. Izumi thought her eardrums were splitting by the agonized screech Flymon emitted. In Flymon's moment of distraction, Kotemon aimed a jolt of electricity right at his core. He dissolved into particles of red grain and vanished into thin air.
"Kotemon! Are you hurt?" Kouichi asked with genuine concern, as Kotemon was limping slightly.
"It's nothing. You should have run!" Kotemon said angrily. Kouichi opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Finally, he closed it, his cheeks flushing red. He walked towards the door without a word. They arrived at a dome, just as Kotemon said, and in the middle of the dome, a monster of an Okuwamon slumbered. They treaded silently through the dome and entered the door at 11 o'clock. Inside the door was another tunnel that led directly to a shining orb.
"What's that?" Izumi asked Kotemon.
"That's the prison trapping the Great Angels so they wouldn't hatch. Go and reach into the light. You should be able to free them. The castle's defenses won't register you. I'll guard the entrance." Kotemon instructed.
Izumi regarded the yellow sphere with a strange fascination. She reached her arm inside cautiously and felt a round object. Puzzled, she pulled it out. It was the size of an ostrich egg, yet she instinctively knew what slept inside was no ostrich.
"They're eggs!" She exclaimed, as Kouji and Kouichi each claimed an egg.
"GranKuwagamon thought they would be easier to manage if they were in their lowest, insentient forms. Clever, if I do say so myself." Kotemon remarked without passion.
"But that's... Horrible! Did he kill them?" Izumi hugged the egg to herself.
"No. Merely torture them until they ran out of energy. Killing them would have been unwise, valuable as they are, because Digimon do not come back in this world. We need to leave now. The exit is nearby. Follow me." Kotemon motioned with his hand "Remember to mind Okuwamon."
They quietly closed the door behind them as they left.
"Three doors down to the left." Kotemon whispered. "That door will lead straight outside."
They went to the designated door. Before they could open it, however, a thunderous buzzing burst into the dome.
"Kunemon!" Kotemon said, alarmed. Okuwamon roared to life and made for the group.
"What are you waiting for? GO! The Great Angels need you!" He turned around as though to face the Perfect level monstrosity.
"What should we do with them?" Kouji shouted.
"Keep them safe! Help them evolve! That's all you can do at any rate."
"What about you?" Kouichi screamed at Kotemon over the din. Kotemon chuckled without merriment.
"I will pay my dues." He answered cryptically before pushing all three of them through the door. Before the it slammed shut, they saw Okuwamon descend upon the swordsman, who exploded into a galaxy of brilliant red fireworks, causing the Okuwamon to roar in pain. The last of his energy made the door glow blue.
*Look up "Red pill and blue pill" on Wikipedia. I really like this analogy lol. I imagined that Kouji, being the philosophical type, would think about things like this. Maybe he's even watched The Matrix.
Note: Apologies about the delay. Still would like some more reviews. I'm really a beginner and have no idea what or how I'm doing. Some feedback would be nice. Like, is it too "dark"? I just write things as they come to me and have no interest in "Darker and Edgier", though I have equal disinterest in "everything works out and everyone gets what they want". I am admittedly a little inspired by A Song of Ice and Fire series, but really don't enjoy killing off main characters just to prove they can be killed.