AN: Thank you for your sweet reviews! I am honoured to find you're pleased so far. If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to make them; I'd love to know how the story is being received. I'm also going to warn you – this chapter contains a lot of dialogue.
He wanted to get as far as he could from the place, but Mimi would not have it. She reached for her bag, pulling out her phone and snapping a picture of the place, of the crests and the thing that stood in the middle, from whence the commotion had erupted. He wanted to yell at her, tell her she was being stupid for snapping pictures of the goddamned place, but he recognised instantly that they were not meant for her. Mimi was collecting evidence so that they could show their friends – Koushiro, more specifically. His jaw tightened, turning his body from the sight of her. It was a pretty damn clever thing to do, but he couldn't think of congratulating her with the strange thing that had happened tonight looming over his head.
"Let's get out of here," he said, and Mimi shouldered her bag with a nod, their Digimon pals trailing beside them.
They were on the border of a sparse continent, and Palmon sighed as the sun rose above them. They had left the thicket of trees behind them, but they were still at least a day's travel from the point where they had agreed to meet their friends. They didn't speak much at first, and both Digidestined were tired and anxious; there was very little either of them could do. When they felt that they had put enough distance between themselves and that strange temple (Yamato kept thinking of it as such), they stopped near a brook to catch a breath.
Mimi and Palmon looked the worst, as both were tired and had slept very little, but neither one was complaining. Mimi took a swig of water and then looked at Yamato, speaking quietly as Palmon stood in the brook and drank some water.
"Yamato-san?" she asked.
Yamato turned to her very slowly. Her skin looked very pale, and she had dark circles under her pretty brown eyes. She was not smiling, but she was not crying either, and he supposed he should be grateful of that. She gave him a questioning look, and he only blinked twice, rapidly.
"Yes?"
"Do you think this happened to the others?" The question was not posed logically, not coldly how he was thinking it. Mimi was concerned about her friends, and she was asking him to give her comforting words that he could not find.
"Yes," he answered simply. "You saw the pillars. They only lit up after our crests broke."
Mimi winced, as though she was feeling it break again against her chest. She took the necklace out of her pocket, examining it closely for a moment. It had been deactivated years ago, when they had given them up in a last attempt to save the world. It had worked of course, but Palmon could never be Lillymon again after that. Mimi only nodded, and he understood that there was nothing left to say. The signals on their Digivices had disappeared, and they had agreed that what they had picked up was those strange stones, not other Digidestined; they didn't need Koushiro or Jyou to tell them that.
"Gabumon?"
"Yeah?"
"Can you Digivolve?" he asked, "We need to get to the others, fast."
Before them, Gabumon smirked.
"It'll be my pleasure."
Garurumon was a gigantic beast of a wolf, his hide and fur stronger than steel, yet surprisingly warm and soft to the touch. They had been riding for the best part of the day, stopping only for necessities such as food and water, and to grant Garurumon a little break. The place where they would meet was at the skirts of a mountain that had reminded them of Infinity Mountain, except it was much taller and standing somewhere in the middle of this strange continent. It was an entire mountain range, they noticed as they drew closer, and if nothing else, at least it should provide decent shelter for them all.
Night had already fallen when Yamato and Mimi arrived, riding Garurumon like they were born to do it. Jyou was standing guard, throwing pebbles into the small lake near where they had set up camp.
"Yamato! Mimi-chan!" he exclaimed, running up to meet them.
"Yamato's back?"
"Mimi-chan!"
"Hey guys! You're back!"
Mimi allowed herself to be caught in embraces, holding Hikari's hand and hugging Takeru tightly. Yamato was standing before Sora, who looked very embarrassed about something, while he shook his head, smiling at her. She chanced to come closer to him, and for the briefest time, he held her. Then he let go and Sora wiped a tear from her eye, turning to hug Mimi and tell her how much she'd missed her, and how happy she was to have her back; but Mimi had the distinct impression that she was talking to someone else as she did so.
Taichi grinned at her before nodding at Yamato.
"It's good to have you back," he said, and she knew he meant it. He shuffled awkwardly beside her, and she blushed slightly as she thought of the conversation that they had almost had that night, beside the fire. But if he was thinking about that, he definitely did not show it. Yamato only clapped Tai's shoulder as he walked towards the fire they had going, announcing loudly that they were hungry and that there better be some food left.
Garurumon, now back into his rookie state, collapsed into a useless heap by a corner, tired and spent. Mimi went over to kiss his cheek, patting his head affectionately for a few minutes. "Thank you," she told him, "For bringing us back safely."
"It was nothing," he muttered sheepishly, but she noticed his smile and it made her happy to see it. Palmon sat before him, beaming as she pushed a plate of food towards him.
"Nonsense!" she exclaimed, "You were great out there!"
"It was the least I could do, after you helped us so much in the forest…"
Mimi ruffled Palmon's flowery head and laughed a little.
"You were both amazing," she told them, "Eat, have some rest." Mimi sighed as she straightened up. "I guess it's going to be a long night."
She hadn't guessed wrong. The others had let them rest a little; they had some food and tried to unwind before they were interrogated on what had taken them so long. Koushiro and Sora had been the last to arrive, but that had been that very morning. Taichi and Takeru had been the first, followed by Jyou and Hikari. The stories all matched. Each pair had followed their signal into dangerous, unwelcoming places, only to find fragments of rock with their crest engraved in them. They said nothing of pillars, or strange lights – just the burning sensation (Mimi's hand prickled) and the wave of dark energy that had engulfed them and shattered their crests.
Mimi had been particularly sad about that little bit, fingering her broken crest of Sincerity and wishing she could have done something to avoid it. Even after such a long time, they kept their tags, almost as if they were constant reminders of what it had cost them.
"I had almost forgotten," Mimi said, taking out her phone and handing it to Koushiro, "That's what we found." She saw him out of the corner of her eye, and he began explaining what had happened when they left the enchanted (or cursed) forest, how their Digivices had reacted to the stones and how they had cracked and lit up the pillars as they did. He told them, too, what they presumed had happened to all of them, and how they had lit in turn after each of their crests had been broken.
"That's curious," Koushiro said, only after Yamato and Mimi had relayed their story in full detail. "I don't see why they should've reacted like that, our crests have been inactive for a long time."
It was true, they all knew it. They'd willingly given up the power in their crests to help Azulongmon and the Harmonious Ones a few years before. The tension had grown considerably between them as they considered the many perils that they had faced before, and those that were still unknown to them. The whole mysterious aspect of their adventure was quickly making them anxious, and they had grown quite desperate for answers.
"The fact that we're even carrying it is mere sentimentality," Jyou said, pushing his glasses up his nose.
"I don't know though," Sora said, looking at the broken crest that was cold against her palm, "I thought we didn't really need them. Remember that time with Apocalymon?"
"Yes, but we really did lose them the second time," Yamato said, "Gabumon couldn't digivolve into Weregarurumon or Metalgarurumon."
"But then we got the DigiCores, didn't we?" Agumon piped in, "I don't need the Crest of Courage anymore!"
"Not physically," Koushiro corrected him, "You still draw energy from Taichi, and it manifests when he embodies or embraces his Crest."
"This is giving me a headache," Mimi complained, and Hikari was the only one who deigned to even offer her a smile. The rest chose to ignore her comment; not that there was anything new to that.
"But then why would they break?" Takeru asked, "And why would our crests be engraved in those things?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out, Takeru," Jyou said curtly.
"I keep thinking we're missing something."
"They could've been portals of some sort," Hikari said, but Yamato shook his head.
"No, they were pretty solid. And you know all portals are sealed."
"Maybe they're bad eggs!" Mimi exclaimed, pounding her fist softly down on her open palm, as if she had suddenly figured out the great mystery.
They all looked at looked at the brunette, a little exasperated at that. Things were very stressful as it was, and none of them thought they could handle anyone fooling around with them just then. Mimi's offer, however well intentioned, was poorly received by them, who were grasping at straws to find an answer they could accept.
"Er … what?" Koushiro asked her, unsure if he had heard right.
"They weren't eggs, Mimi, come on," Taichi said, and there was little trace of his usual friendly demeanor with her, "They can't go bad."
"I mean Digi-Eggs, of course," the girl muttered with exasperation, rolling her eyes at him. "Of course they can go bad. Remember the dark gears? They made Digimon evil, why couldn't they corrupt Digi-Eggs?"
"Because Mimi, they're not Digi-Eggs!" Taichi quipped again, his voice rising considerably.
"You don't know that, Yagami."
"Yeah, well, neither do you, Tachikawa."
Mimi crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the heat rise to her cheeks. She hated the way they were looking at her, as though what she had said was any more ludicrous than what little they had to offer. Suddenly, Mimi felt eleven again, sitting down with the more "adult" children as they called all the shots.
"You saw what they did," Sora said, "They disintegrated, and all that energy came out … I'm sorry Mimi, but those things looked nothing like Digi-Eggs."
"I'm not saying they have to be. I said they could be," Mimi muttered resentfully. At least Sora should have her back.
"Well, if you're going to say anything at all, at least make it something we can believe in." She looked at Jyou, who looked apologetic for only a fraction of a moment.
"I don't see any of you offering any bright ideas." She raised a cold eyebrow, looking at her friends. That shut Jyou up, his lips pressed in a tight, grim line.
"There aren't any dark gears, we would've seen them when we held the … things," Yamato said, and he almost regretted it once the brunette turned to glare at him. He looked at her levelly, almost as if he was indifferent to the daggers she sent him.
"Well … we don't know much, so really … they could be, right?" Hikari said, looking at Mimi tentatively, as if she was about to explode on her as well. Mimi only sighed. She was a good kid, Hikari. So different to that brother of hers – stubborn almost to fault, and too stupid sometimes. Mimi knew that she was thinking that in anger; she loved Taichi, but right now she simply could not stand him.
"Oh, shut up Hikari," Taichi said, and the girl's cheeks turned bright red.
"Whatever," she muttered, shifting away from him and turning her nose up at him.
"Guys," Koushiro said, "Let's not fight over this, we don't know what's out there, we don't know what will happen now that we broke those seals," he looked at his friends, sighing. "This isn't working."
"Well, aren't you a genius," Yamato said in a bored, drawling voice. Koushiro frowned, but Yamato merely shrugged. "We're not going to figure out anything today, give it a rest, Taichi."
"We can't just give up –" Taichi complained, but Yamato cut him off by raising his hand.
But whatever he was going to say, Mimi beat him to it.
"You know what? I agree with Yamato this time. God, you're all being jerks and we're wasting our time here." She meant that she was wasting her time, but she had a feeling they wouldn't take that too kindly and she no longer had the patience to be a peacekeeper. Mimi stood up, brushing down her shorts and stepping out of the circle in which they sat.
"Where do you think you're going?" Taichi asked, but Mimi did not turn to look at him.
"I'm going to sleep," she said coldly, "I don't care what you decide; just tell me in the morning."
"Mimi – we need everyone," Hikari began, but Mimi kept walking.
"I'm sure you'll manage." In retrospective, she felt rather terrible about speaking like that to Hikari, the girl certainly did not deserve such harsh treatment, especially from her. But it was so hard to be nice to her when everyone else was acting like such a bonehead. Mimi walked away, just far enough to be out of earshot but still within the vicinity. Mimi used her bag as a pillow and forced her eyes shut, barely even moving when Palmon approached her shyly.
"Mimi?" she called softly, but Mimi's eyes did not open.
"I'm asleep Palmon," she said, and her Digimon smiled before lowering herself next to her, shifting so that she could keep Mimi warm during the night.
Jyou stared after Mimi long after she disappeared, but most of them were looking uneasily at Taichi. Even Yamato's usually cold demeanor seemed to subside in the light of Mimi's little outburst. While Hikari wouldn't look at him, Sora was openly glaring at him.
"That was unnecessary," she said quietly, and he refused to meet her eye.
"It wasn't my fault," he muttered darkly.
"Mimi was right, you were being a jerk," Yamato said simply, looking at his friend with a rather grim frown.
"As I recall, she called all of us jerks," Taichi defended himself, though he knew it was hardly anything of a defense.
"Mimi was just upset," Takeru defended her quietly. He felt rather terrible about how they had all snapped at each other, but Taichi hadn't been the only one who had snapped at Mimi, and it hardly seemed fair.
"Well, she needs to control her temper," Jyou said loudly, crossing his arms over his chest, "She can't throw tantrums like that and expect – "
"Don't make me go back there, Kido Jyou."
Mimi's voice came loud and clear, and they all looked at Jyou as the colour rose to his face.
"Excuse – "
"Jyou," Yamato said, "Just shut up."
"What? No! This is not my fault!"
"It is no-one's fault," Hikari said, standing as well. "Mimi was right. We were being jerks and there's nothing to do for it but apologise." She turned to her brother, who was still looking away and only turned to her after it was clear she was the one he was addressing. "I know you're frustrated that we haven't any answers, but that is not Mimi's fault. Or anyone else's," the girl shrugged, "We'll figure it out."
Tai ran his fingers through his wild mane of hair, clenching his jaw in frustration. He knew his sister was right. Sora was right too – hell, even Yamato was right. He'd been a jerk, and insensitive and unfair. It was something he did sometimes, but there was very little he could do to help it. He hated not knowing what was going on; hated thinking that they had been set up; hated that he and Koushiro still suspected there were other Digidestined around; and Taichi hated knowing that he had to apologise to Mimi now, too. Probably Hikari as well.
"I'm sorry," he said as he raised his head. "I don't – well, whatever. Yeah, we'll figure it out." Taichi pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking of going to apologise to Mimi but then thought better of it. If she was awake, she'd be too angry, and if she was asleep, she'd be even angrier.
Eh, she'll probably still be angry in the morning, he thought, so what gives?
"You guys get some sleep," he told them, "I'll take the first watch."
His friends looked at him for a moment but neither said much more than mutter their goodnights and wish each other sweet dreams. It was a long-shot, they knew, but there was not much else they could do. Hikari curled up with Tailmon not far from the fireplace, worried slightly about Mimi but confident that they'd patch things up in the morning. After all, if there was anyone who was as forgiving as Hikari, it was definitely Mimi.
The change came slowly, innocuously. So subtle was it that neither of Chosen Children or their Digimon partners noticed it at first. They were, after all, coupled with their own problems. But while the children travelled, or ate, or slept, the Digital World slowly drifted from its stupor.
It woke up with a roar.
By the time everyone had risen, Mimi, Palmon, Biyomon and Gomamon had already been foraging for food and had returned with a rather decent spread for everyone. They'd been gone for a few minutes, figuring what kind of fruit they might find around here (fruit tended to be the easiest food they could get) and had returned with armfuls of it. She had washed them carefully, placed them in a makeshift basket and was looking nervously at the cradle of fish that Gomamon had fetched for them.
"Here you go, Mimi!" he exclaimed happily, but Mimi only grimaced.
"Er – thanks, Gomamon," she muttered, wincing as she looked at the cold, dead eyes that seemed to stare back at her. She bit her lip. They didn't – really expect her to gut the things, did they?
"Why don't I help you with that?"
Mimi turned around, and Sora was looking at her sheepishly, one hand rubbing her other arm.
"Oh!" she exclaimed softly, "Yes please. You're a life saver."
Sora smiled, releasing her breath. She had expected Mimi to be angry at her about last night – she had realised she hadn't really been such a great friend; but was pleasantly surprised to find that the brunette had been quick to forgive, or to forget. She knelt next to her friend and took the haul with her and Gomamon, finding someplace where she could properly gut and clean the fish.
Tentomon and Palmon returned with wooden sticks to cook the fish, and once Tailmon woke, she too helped by bringing firewood. None of them noticed that there were little birds in the sky and trees, or the little sounds that the forest made. They were all busy with making breakfast, and the buzz of activity and the sudden smell of food woke up the rest of the team.
"Oh hey," Taichi said with a yawn as he looked down at the spread before him, "You didn't have to do that," he said to Sora as he knelt down and helped her carry the firewood.
"I didn't," Sora admitted sheepishly, "It was Mimi. I was just helping."
"Oh."
Mimi had not looked up when she heard the exchange, but her frown was deeper and her lips were pursed more dangerously. Ungrateful git, she thought angrily. He hadn't done anything, technically, but it really bothered her that he had immediately assumed it had been Sora's doing. As if Mimi was incapable of doing nice things, too! While it was true that the only reason she had done it was because she had woken up much earlier than them, they did not need to know that.
The team ate animatedly, thanked Mimi cheerfully albeit a little awkwardly, and kept shooting nervous glances between themselves. Mimi seemed oblivious, or at least she acted like it, eating as if she had all the time in the world and smiling as though everything was okay.
The other Digidestined were not fooled. They knew that an angry Mimi was a power to be reckoned, and they were not reassured by this false calm. When she got up to wash her hands, Koushiro and the others nudged Taichi to follow her.
"Hey, stop!" he whispered, angry.
"Go say you're sorry, Taichi!" Sora ordered, "Now!"
"Okay, okay – will you stop pushing me, Hikari? Jeez." He stood up, stuffing his hands inside his pockets as he walked a little ways towards where Mimi was. She was patting her hands dry, then rummaging her bag for a hairbrush – it was pink – and running it delicately through her cinnamon coloured locks. Taichi smiled a little at the gesture. Trust Mimi to worry about her hair in the midst of the Digiworld. No, scratch that; trust her to carry a hairbrush in her bag!
"Er, Mimi?"
The girl turned around, regarding him with a small smile that did not quite reach her eyes. He swallowed uncomfortably; he never knew Mimi's eyes could look quite so cold.
"Yes?"
"I just wanted to, er, apolo– " he began awkwardly, shuffling his feet.
"That's fine."
He looked up. She hadn't even let him finish!
"No, Mimi I'm so – "
"Fine."
"Mimi."
"I said fine."
"I'm trying to say I'm sorry here!" he said, his temper rising again. Why did she have to be so difficult? Couldn't she see what it cost him to do this?
"And I'm saying it's fine."
"Mimi, will you just let me apologise?"
"No!" She said, and her voice rose too. By now the others had come much closer, if only to witness what was going on, taking advantage of the fact that Mimi's back was turned to them. "I don't want your apologies – or yours," she added, scowling at where she knew their friends were hiding. They lowered their gazes, looking a little sheepish and embarrassed that she had noticed their snooping.
"I don't need them. I forgive you – all of you," the corner of her lips twitched into a little smirk, "Because I'm a much better person than you are."
It took them a little while to realise that she was absolutely serious, and Taichi thanked Heaven and whatever gods may be that he did not have the audacity to ask if she was. He rubbed the back of his neck self-consciously and offered her a smile that she only half returned. "You really are Mimi," he said with a chuckle.
"Yes, yes, I know," she said, waving an airy hand, "It'd be great if you didn't forget."
Mimi looked at the rest of them with her eyebrow raised again. "And I still think you're jerks. But whatever, I'm used to you."
They all smiled, even laughed a little. Mimi was good at this sort of thing, bringing them back together with just her attitude. Yamato's hands were inside his pockets, and Sora was leaning gently against his arm, looking tenderly at Mimi. He looked down at her, surprised at her proximity, but did not say anything. She seemed to suddenly become aware of it too, and jumped a little, letting go of his arm.
"Ah, sorry Yamato," she muttered, but he shook his head and offered her a little smile.
"Don't – worry about it," he said quietly, blushing a little as he looked away from her, but if he hadn't, he'd have seen the little smile that was quickly growing on her lips.
It was then that they heard it.
The sound was loud, deafening, and immediately sent a jolt of panic through the group. It was a roar, louder and wilder than anything they expected and all at once, muscle memory kicked in. The Digidestined adopted defensive stances; their Digimon poised before them and ready to respond to any immediate threat.
"Keep your eyes open!" Taichi called out, his eyes darting to and fro, waiting for the source of that horrible roar to appear.
"There!" Yamato called, his finger pointing out to the two DarkTyranomon that were fast approaching. The creatures were enormous, even for Dino type Digimon, and Taichi only had to nod once to his friends before they knew what they must do.
DigiEvolution was a singularly peculiar occurrence, and even though they had seen their partner Digimon transform countless times, the Digidestined still found it amazing. Aided by their Digivices, their friends were able to evolve from their Rookie stages to Champion, and instead of the small creatures, huge and imposing monsters now stood.
Several things were happening at once.
Togemon, the giant cactus-like evolution of Palmon, was the first to attack. Showering the DarkTyranomon with her needle spray to slow them down, the others closed in for the attack. Greymon opened his huge jaws and sent flaming shots of fire at them, Kabuterimon attacking their flank with large electric shocks. The others were helping too – attacking them with all they had as the Digidestined cheered them on, dashing sideways to move out of the way and keep clear of much danger.
"Birdramon, watch out!" Sora screamed, and her Digimon turned just in time to fly out of harm's way from a rogue attack, only to return and open her large beak and send a shower of flames upon their foes.
The DarkTyranomon were strong, yes, but they were matched against five Champion-level Digimon and they would not go down without a fight. Greymon slammed his horned head against one of the monster's flank, causing him to roar out in pain and throw his head against him, pushing back with furious strength. There were jets of red fire, blue fire; showers of multi-coloured flames and zapping electric shocks and sprays of razor-sharp needles that cut through anything – there were roars, and sharp cries and many a punch thrown in by Togemon.
Togemon was the first to fall down. Being limited to close-range attacks for the most part, she had taken a good beating herself. Her form returned to Tanemon and Mimi made a run for her, despite the danger of the war zone. She could hear the others calling out for her but she didn't care – she needed to get her Digimon out of there, or else the poor radish would be crushed! Mimi reached the small Digimon, picked her up gently in her arms, trying to protect her from any fresh charge. But then the strangest thing happened, and her Digivice started glowing again just as the two DarkTyranomon were being defeated.
"Mimi!" Sora yelled, but Mimi was not listening.
She touched one of the Digimon's huge front legs and her hand burned immediately as a flash of dark energy very similar to the one they had experienced with the crests and the things that were not Digi-Eggs, erupted. It surrounded the Digimon as if it was smoking, and then altogether faded, and their data with them.
Mimi was still sitting on the floor, a few cuts and scratches on her face and knees, but otherwise okay. She was looking at her Digivice and back at the receding DarkTyranomon, and she only barely looked back when Sora's arms went around her neck, almost crying desperately that she had been so stupid to take such a risk.
"I'm sorry," Mimi said gently, patting Sora's back, "I wasn't thinking, I'm really sorry…"
"God, Mimi," Sora cried, "You are so stupid sometimes, I swear!"
Jyou offered his hand, helping her up and asking if she was okay, if she wasn't injured, if she could walk on her own. She nodded, shook her head, nodded again.
"I'm sorry," she repeated, "Thank you – yes, no really, I'm fine," she insisted, and when they were finally satisfied, they all collapsed into an exhausted pile.
"What the hell was that?" Yamato asked, not for the first time.
"Mimi, how did you even do that?" Koushiro asked her, and she only shook her head.
"It wasn't me," she said, "It was my Digivice. It was glowing, and when I touched it," she paused, pushing her hair behind her ear, "I think I purified them. You know, like – "
"Like the dark gears," Yamato offered, and they all nodded strangely.
"This is awfully familiar…" Koushiro said, but then there was a loud laugh that broke their pensive silence.
"Very well done, children."
The voice was female, sounded clear and polished and if it hadn't sounded so dangerous, they would have found it pleasant.
"What? Who's there?" Taichi asked, jumping to his feet and looking around frantically even as Agumon got up.
"Not yet, my darling," the voice said again, "You still have some time to go before we meet. But we will meet, Digidestined," she paused, "And I will destroy you."
Just like that, the voice was gone. They all looked around, trying to find the source but were forced to conclude that it came from nowhere in specific; that it had been projected wirelessly for their benefit. Taichi looked very grave as he looked at them, his eyes cold when he spoke. "We need to get out of here," he said, "And find that woman."
They didn't move too far, just found another place to rest after that unexpected battle. They let their Digimon eat and rest; meanwhile, they discussed what had happened. Koushiro was typing away on his computer when suddenly he exclaimed happily, "I've got a message from Gennai!" The rest of the team gathered around him, all abuzz with excitement and curiosity as Gennai's digital form appeared on the screen.
"Greetings, children," he said, and they smiled at him, waving happily as their Digimon woke and did the same. The old man smiled too, looking at them curiously. "Well, children might not be the appropriate word anymore, heh?" They had, after all, grown up quite a lot. And though they had certainly physically changed, Gennai was still the same old man they knew nine years ago during that fateful summer.
"It's fantastic to hear from you again, Gennai," Koushiro said with a little nod, "But why haven't you contacted us before?"
The old man looked very grave when he answered.
"I couldn't, Koushiro. There are many things happening in the world right now, and I need to tell you as soon as possible," he explained, "But it cannot be done like this. You must come to my home, I will mark the place in your map and you will find it."
"We've been to your place before Gennai," Taichi said, "We can find it."
"The Digiworld has changed much since you were last here, Yagami Taichi," he said, "I daresay you have already realised this."
His face fell, but the old man offered him a reassuring smile.
"Just come as soon as you can," he said, "I'll fill you in when you get here. And children – be careful."
The transmission ended, and Koushiro looked up at Taichi with a very serious expression. "We need to move, Tai," he said, "He's the only one who can answer our questions."
They wasted no time. The directions that Gennai had given them had been easy enough to follow, and they agreed to allow nothing to side-track them. If done correctly, the trip should take them no more than six hours, even with rest stops. The journey was to be undertaken by foot, intending to save as much energy as possible in case they fell to any other rogue attacks. Though they hardly met any other angry Digimon, the Digidestined did not fail to notice that there were Digimon around now – actual Digimon, besides their own friends. The land seemed to be alive again, with sounds and critters and little birds. There were all sorts of creatures – most too wild to approach and get proper questions from, but they were confident that Gennai would be able to make up for them in that department.
They arrived at the specified place well into the afternoon, after the sun had beat down on them hard. They were tired and a little sore but those were small things, trivial nimieties that even Mimi had learned to live with by now. Gennai's home had originally been on File Island, set in a beautiful underwater garden. Since things had changed drastically, it seemed that the old man's home had changed coordinates, too. The map showed that they ought to follow a shady path that was thickly populated with sinister-looking trees, almost too inconspicuously hiding the entrance to a cavern. The place smelled musty, had some sort of luminous fungi growing on the walls and water dripped quietly from the stalactites on the ceiling. It was cold, and they all drew closer together, their feet shuffling awkwardly as they tried to adjust to the poor lighting offered by the few flashlights they owned.
"How much longer, Kou-chan?" Takeru asked, feeling hungry and tired.
"Just a couple more meters," the redhead answered reassuringly after checking his map once more. "Hang in there, guys."
"It'd be easier to – EEEK!" Mimi's scream was shrill, and made them all jump in surprise and flail around in fear. The girl in question was rooted to the spot, her body near convulsion with shudders and chills running down her back.
"Will you shut up?" Yamato asked angrily, snapping his head around to glare at the girl, who was promptly ignoring him by making some sort of scene.
"Mimi, what? What happened? Who's there? MIMI?"
They were all tripping over each other asking questions, and suddenly Mimi felt terribly self-conscious.
"It wasn't – it was just – a droplet fell down my back," she finished lamely, sure they could feel the heat radiating from her face.
Taichi seemed to want to say something, but he had just apologised to her and they had all just had that horrible fight and he really, really did not wish to deal with her drama again. He took a small breath, blowing the air through his open mouth and then sighed.
"Don't – freaking scare us like that, will you?" That came out wrong. "Please," he added, making a strong emphasis on the word.
Yamato huffed, turning his head to one side.
"You're a lost cause, Tachikawa," he muttered darkly, stepping in front of her and putting as much distance as he could between himself and the girl. His anger came from the fact that her screams could rouse a whole lot of danger for all of them, and more than a little came from the fact that she had screamed right into his eardrums; he was sure she destroyed them.
Mimi pursed her lips, her hands balling into fists as she stomped her way back into line, not caring one little bit about the noise she was making. She felt properly ashamed of having yelled like a madwoman, but it had been an instinct, not something she could control! Mimi pinched the bridge of her nose, knowing that sooner or later, Ishida Yamato would be after her blood.
It was only a while after that, perhaps an hour, by the way her stomach rumbled, that they finally stopped as Koushiro stepped on a puddle. His flashlight later revealed that this was not a puddle but a little underground pond, and as he held his Digivice in his other hand, the water started parting, allowing for a narrow staircase made of the same slippery rock that the caverns were made of.
The Digidestined went down in a single file, their Digimon trailing behind them loyally. The path was narrow and long, and there were single mushrooms lighting their way so that they would not fall, and the walk itself was considerably shorter. They emerged into a circular chamber with an opening on the ceiling, and a rusty metallic ladder attached to one side of the wall. Taichi tested the thing – it didn't look like much, but it should certainly hold their weight. Being the undisputed (for the most part) leader, he was the first up the rackety thing, and he quickly climbed until he swung his leg over the edge of an ancient stone well. It was Gennai's home alright, and Taichi smiled as he leaned into the well.
"Come on," he encouraged, "It's here."
"It is good to see you, Taichi," Gennai said with a nod, and Taichi respectfully returned it with a grin. "And you, Agumon."
Agumon had climbed behind his friend, and even as they stood there, others were coming out of the well, aided by Taichi and Agumon. When the last of them stood on the springy grass, they all turned to Gennai, who welcomed them cheerfully and led them into his house, where he had prepared a grand meal for them. They sat down gratefully at the table, and truly, they were happy to receive his hospitality.
The table bore a handsome spread – curry rice, vegetables, sweet buns and salads, a selection of beef, fish and fowl (they refused to ask where that came from), spring rolls and sushi, and all fruit they could have thought of. Gennai was a gracious host, in that he allowed his guests to eat their fill and take a rest before he got down to business. After their meal, he offered drawn baths and where to wash their clothes, and robes to wear in the meantime.
They were cleaner, better-fed and more at ease than they had been since they had set foot in the Digital World, and it was easy for them to sit back in the sitting room, a steaming cup of green tea on their hands as they looked at him anxiously, thanking them once more for his attentions. The old man smiled, telling them it was the least he could do and that they should make themselves comfortable, for they would need a while before they could go on their way again.
And thus, he spoke.
"I am sure you already have some questions for me," he said, smiling genially at Koushiro, "So let's begin with that."
"We'd like to know why we're here, and how we came here," Koushiro said with a nod, "We think we have reason to think it wasn't you?"
"No, I had nothing to do with this," he explained, "You were brought here, as you have been before, by a force that is interested in what you can do for the Digiworld. I do not know who or what this force is, or whether its interest is for good, or evil." The old man paused, took a sip of his hot beverage, and set the cup back on the table. "You have been needed before to serve the various intentions of evil Digimon; I cannot tell you if this is one of those cases."
"What happened to the Digiworld?" Koushiro asked again, and Gennai looked a little graver now.
"That I can tell you," he said, "What happened, basically, is that the Digiworld was … reformatted, in a sense."
They listened attentively; they all wanted to understand what had happened to the world that they had so often visited and saved, and what they could do to make it right.
"Reformatted?"
"Let me explain. As you know, this world is the Digital counterpart to your world," he nodded towards them, "Where all the data you produce is stored. However, from time to time, things get broken or misplaced and glitches or bugs come along.
Now, the Digital World has a way of correcting itself, not unlike how Nature works in your world. Things run smoothly for the most part, until something intervenes, some necessary file is deleted by accident and then the whole system crashes. This is what has happened. The Digital World is trying to repair itself but it can't – there are pieces of information that have gone missing, and it has lost its ability to regenerate wholly."
The old man paused, letting the children digest his words. Jyou kept sipping on his tea well after he was finished, seemingly not noticing.
"I think I understand," Koushiro said after a moment, surprising no-one. He was the closest they could get to a computer genius and since the beginning, had been their best source of knowledge in the Digiworld, second only to Gennai. "Does this mean that the Digiworld's main data has been corrupted?"
"It appears to be that way," Gennai said with a nod, but Taichi rapidly intervened before he could continue.
"Okay, so what about the Digimon? We hadn't seen any for a while – hadn't seen you either, now that I think of it…" he paused, "And then they were just going berserk at us. What's up with that?"
"Of this I have only theories," Gennai admitted, "But I am sure you do too, don't you Koushiro?"
The boy was caught a little off guard, blushing lightly, but to their surprise, he nodded.
"I actually started thinking about it after you said it," he looked at Yamato, who looked back at him only slightly confused. "How the Digiworld seeming to be turned off. I know you didn't mean anything by it, but the more I thought of it, the more it made sense. There was absolutely no physical – and I am using the word very lightly here – presence other than ours and our Digimon. I didn't know what to think but after this morning, well," he looked back at Gennai, "Was it?"
"Yes, Koushiro. The Digital World was shut off, its power disconnected. You need to understand that even I don't know everything about this place – there are things even I am not privy to. But what I know is that some force practically crashed the Digiworld, tried to restart it, and something went amiss.
It has messed with all the programmes – the very structure of the place is highly unstable now."
"And what about what happened with our Digivices?" Sora asked, and they told him all about their adventure, how they had thought other children were there, and what they had found instead. Gennai listened attentively and asked them no questions, but he looked supremely tired when he finally spoke.
"It would appear that your actions were the catalyst to restart the world," he admitted, though he looked a bit unsure, "When I regained my consciousness, I just knew someone had messed with the circuitry of the place. Everything is different now, and all the more dangerous because of it."
"We ran into some strange things," Taichi said again, "They weren't Digimon, exactly, but they weren't people either. But they attacked us."
"That would've been corrupted files."
"You mean a Virus?"
"No, not a Virus. There are Virus type Digimon, and they manifest themselves fully physically. These were corrupted archives, incomplete data beings. They must have infected the DarkTyranomon that you encountered earlier."
"What about that incident with our crests?" Mimi suddenly asked, and all eyes were posed on her. She usually enjoyed the attention, but in this particular case, Mimi thought she could do without so much of it. "Our crests broke in their tags, even though they're supposed to be inactive."
Gennai gave this some more thought, even as he looked at the copies Koushiro had printed him of the pictures Mimi had taken.
"I am not sure – this is just a wild guess, really," he said after a while, "But it looks as though the power released when you activated those corrupted Digi-Eggs –"
"Wait, wait, wait," Taichi interjected, waving his arms wildly, "Digi-Eggs?"
The old man raised an eyebrow, looking at the sulking young man.
"You mean those are Digi-Eggs?" Jyou repeated incredulously, as the rest of them shifted uncomfortably under the growing look in Mimi's face.
"Of course they are," Gennai said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "What did you think they were?"
They looked at Mimi, who was not looking wildly triumphant as they had expected, but instead crossed her arms over her chest, tossing her hair back at them as she turned her face away. "You're all idiots," she exclaimed, ignoring Taichi as he slapped his forehead against the table. Repeatedly.
"Is something wrong?" Gennai asked, unsure if that was the right question to make.
"No," Sora assured him with a small sigh, "Some of us are just feeling a little sorrier we didn't listen to Mimi before."
"Ah," he seemed to understand, "Then you may have something interesting to add."
The brunette had not expected it, and nervously uncrossed her arms as she looked at him. It was true, she had not been able to take her mind off it, and she had a few theories of her own. "You said the energy those Digi-Eggs released was what broke our crests," Mimi said, and he nodded, encouraging her, "But I don't think so."
There were quizzical looks but Mimi ignored them, looking only at Gennai.
"And why is that?"
"Because our crests were already inactive, there was no reason for anything to break them unless," she took a small breath, pushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Well, unless there's some way to activate them again."
"Very good, Mimi," Gennai exclaimed, actually clapping for her. Mimi smiled for a moment, proud that she had something useful to say, for once. Everyone was chattering around her, either murmuring their appraisal or surprise, even smiling triumphantly because that meant they had another weapon in this fight, but Mimi's smile fell just as quickly as it had come.
"Oh no," she said, looking at Koushiro, who seemed to have been deep in thought and looked at her just as she did. "That means …"
"That the crests are corrupted now, aren't they?" Koushiro asked quietly. The question was aimed at Gennai and he only nodded, looking at both of them.
They all fell silent but looked at Mimi expectantly, as if she should be the one to explain. But she had nothing else to say, nothing good or clever or even particularly sensible. Koushiro crossed his arms, his mouth opening before he even thought of it.
"Do you know how we can fix them?"
"Not any more than I know how to fix the rest of the damaged files," Gennai admitted. "But I have some ideas. It's why I brought you here, to help me develop them. I think we could find a way for you to get out of this nasty mess."
"Can you tell us anything about who's behind this?" Jyou asked.
"We heard a woman speaking before, claiming she wanted to destroy us." Yamato added with a low grumble, "What else is new?"
Gennai shook his head. "With the whole Digiworld deactivated, I have very limited knowledge of our current enemy. Give it a few days, by the time Koushiro and I have figured something out in regards to your crests, maybe someone else will have answers for you."
Gennai stood, looking at the young men and women before him with an understanding smile. "You should rest; take the rest of the evening off. You'll have plenty to do come tomorrow."
They understood that it was not a dismissal and some of them returned the smile, others just nodded. Mimi stayed back for a moment, finishing the last of her cold tea before lying down very still on the wooden floor. Her honey-hued eyes were fixed on the ceiling and she held her hand out as though trying to trace the white lines above her. Everything that they had talked about weighed heavily in her mind, making her feel as though she hadn't slept in days, but she was not sleepy.
She barely noticed when Taichi lied on the floor next to her, his wild mane of brown hair suddenly appearing in the corner of her eye.
"The floor isn't really comfortable," he commented lightly.
"No, it's really not," Mimi answered, not able to help a tiny, tiny smile as she scrambled to her feet, "Come on, Taichi."
o – o - o
She was sitting on the front porch, her legs dangling from the wooden platform as she looked out into the ornamental ponds in Gennai's garden. The water was pink, a soft, feminine colour that went better with Mimi or Hikari than it did with her. Biyomon was running around with Palmon, almost as if they had not been fighting today and were not exhausted. Sora sighed audibly.
"What are you thinking of?"
She jumped at the sound of his voice, the colour rising rapidly to her cheeks.
"Yamato," she acknowledged, not turning to see him, "I'm just – worrying about this." She shrugged. "Everything we said in there, it sounds awfully complicated when you think about it again."
He had come closer and it was then that she chanced to look at him. He was wearing his clothes again and he smelled nice, like freshly pressed laundry.
"It's always complicated for us," he said quietly, looking up at the sky. Gennai's home was in an underwater lake and had multiple passages (they knew at least two) that lead to it. But being underwater did not limit its potential for strangeness and beauty. The sky, which logically should not have existed, was of a deep burgundy with gold and violet streaks marring it in a rather artsy way. Yamato liked it here, and found himself wishing that they'd stay just a few more days, if only to watch those skies for a little while…
"I guess … there's no reason why we shouldn't be able to handle it."
His gaze fell to Sora, who quickly looked away, making the corner of his lips twitch. It had been around five years since certain … feelings had been expressed, and the girl still had trouble holding eye-contact for too long. Yamato stuffed his hands inside his pockets, letting out a small breath.
"Yeah…"
"Hey, Yamato," she called.
"Hmm?"
"Being back here, it really puts everything in perspective, doesn't it?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, the things that were important to us back home, they don't matter much here, do they?"
Yamato opened his mouth, then closed it. He thought he knew where she was going with that but he could not – would not let her. "No, it's not that," he said, "It's just –"
"Complicated, yes," she finished for him.
He pressed his lips together, determined not to let that get to him. Sora stood sometime later, announcing unnecessarily that it was cold and she was going to bed. Yamato only nodded, or maybe he didn't, but the girl was gone and he was alone, feeling colder after she left.
Jyou came around the corner, stopping to see Yamato standing there idly, too busy sulking to do anything else. He half smiled, raising a hand. "Mind if I join you?"
Yamato only shrugged. He retrieved his old harmonica and brought it to his lips. The melody came to him without thinking, without asking – the kind of music that did not beg to be heard, but demanded it.
Jyou took a seat, leaning with his shoulder against one of the wooden columns. He didn't need to talk – didn't even need Yamato to talk, he just wanted the sort of company that would not ask and would let him think quietly for a while. The music Yamato was offering him was soothing, a lighthearted blues that made him feel nostalgic but also a little hopeful, and he was impressed, not for the first time, at the younger man's musical talent. Jyou himself possessed none of it, but he was surprisingly good on his feet, and really quite enjoyed it.
"Jyou!"
Mimi's voice wasn't loud, but it cut through the music as if she had screamed. Yamato ignored her at first, continuing his melody a fraction of a second after he had paused, closing his eyes against the vision of her.
The girl stood watching him for a moment, absorbed in the sounds he was producing from the old brass harmonica. No matter how many times she heard him, she was always a little surprised at how well he expressed himself through music. She lowered herself on the floor unceremoniously, resting her back against Jyou's and closing her eyes with a small smile. The first time she had heard him playing had been a long time ago, when she was just a little girl with a pink cowgirl hat and he had been a little boy with a major attitude problem. It made her smile to think of it; even then his presence, when playing, had been soothing.
"Why were you looking for me?" the blue-haired man asked, and Mimi shrugged as she tore her eyes from Yamato's figure.
"Hikari said you weren't feeling well," she answered truthfully; "I just wanted to check up on you."
"I'm fine. Just tired," he sighed, "Corrupted data and Digi-Eggs, really," he chuckled, "I should've been studying for an anatomy test, you know."
"Lucky you," she said, and the superior only sighed, because Mimi did not understand that he had been looking forward to this test – he was sure he'd forget all about it and then, when they came back – Jyou shook his head to himself. He didn't even know if they'd be back, and here he was, thinking about exams…
The faith that came so easily to others was a bit tougher on Kido Jyou. They had accepted this new adventure easily, had risen up to the occasion as best as they could have hoped. He was loads better than the first one, yes, but still – still Jyou could not be certain that it was going to be just another one of their fantastic adventures. The sheer magnitude of the task that lay before them made his knees go weak, despite how hard he wanted to be strong for his friends.
But then, with Mimi's warm back as his support, Jyou thought that maybe, just maybe, they could be strong for him too. The thought cheered him up, and after Yamato's song ended, he gently pushed himself off Mimi, pressing a warning hand to her shoulder. The girl shifted and took the hand he offered to help her up, dusting down her robe (it had been much too warm to change into her own clothes), and offered him a cheerful smile. Jyou muttered his good-night to Yamato, and Mimi quickly followed, only hesitating a second before leaving his line of view for the night.
"You know … you're not half bad when you're not yelling at me," she said, leaving before he could reply.
Yamato had been quiet, but before she disappeared entirely he brought the instrument back to his lips, the tune somehow a little more cheerful, a little less nostalgic.
