Altered Reverberations
Chapter 15
A Lonely way
Tai sat back in his chair. It had been three days since he had left again, since he said goodbye to parents, again. He sighed and glanced around the inn. It was a quiet and homely place without any viruses at all... and he hadn't been the one to notice it.
He thought about his last comments to his parents, I have to do this mom. I let Kari get into this mess, and now I have to get her out. His dad's comforting words, Bring her back safe son... I know you can. He had said as he gave him a hug. His fight with Sora, STUPID BAKA! I hate you Taichi, you here me Taichi Yagami! I hate you! Those final words had hurt, and had kept him thinking a lot since he left the real world. Sora had stormed out of Jyou's apartment at that point, then again, he wasn't sure what to make of Joe's own comments. Personally Tai, that went a lot better then I expected it too. Tai hadn't been sure what she and Joe had been talking about before he got back, but evidentially, Sora screaming at him that she hated him was mild.
Tai had been lost in his own thoughts so much that he didn't notice three things. First was that Agumon kept trying to tell him something in their Biomerged form that he couldn't tell him outside of it, and he hadn't been willing to listen. Second was Deva's own quietness and silence, not stirring up any conversation at all and not saying much when Agumon had asked her things. The third was something Deva had noticed. Their weren't any Virals in this town. Not a single one, in a city of thirty-thousand digimon, they were all Vaccines and Datas.
Deva shivered inside her cloak, and Tai looked over at her as he drained a bit more of his drink. Cream Soda, extra carbonated. "This place... it's wrong." She shivered again, "I feel a dark presence inside this city."
Tai glanced around, "Describe to me wrong, I understand that the lack of Virals is making you uneasy, but theirs more to it, isn't their."
Deva glanced around and nodded, "Well... its.. I was a Guardian to my Sovereigns Gate. I met many kind of digimon as they tried to pass, Good, bad, Data, Viral, Ultimates, Megas, you name it. I began to become aware of many different things about each groups... and well Virals... aren't the cleanest of digimon."
"The work crews." Agumon said realizing what she was saying, "All those work crews in the alleys and houses. I thought they were just updating or something."
"But they're getting rid of any trace of the Virals." Taichi muttered.
"It's not only that," Deva told him, "but the Data's, there seems to be a silence between them and the Vaccines, a sort of reverence for them, and yet there's a fear there too."
Agumon glanced around the room, "That doesn't make any sense though, Data's have a natural advantage against Vaccines, if anything it should be the other way around."
"Unless the Vaccines have a hero holding the Data's in and forcing this Caste system in place." Tai said quietly. He glanced around the room, then back to Deva, "How good are you at Dice?"
Tai and Deva pulled up a seats next to a Deputymon and a Mojyamon who were conversing. Deputymon looked over Tai, then to the dice that the Chosen had spilled out onto the table from a little pouch. "What's you're game and you're wager?" Deputymon asked.
"My game is this," Taichi said quickly , handing everyone four dice as Agumon watched from afar, "You throw you're cups of dice, and let no one know. I'll call what I think is on the field. You can tell me I'm lying and we'll see when everybody shows up their dice, or, you can up the Ante." The other two understood, "If you call my bluff, and it's not a bluff, then you lose." Tai thought for a moment before saying one final thing, "Oh, and one's are wild."
Deputymon fingered his pistols, making sure that Tai knew that they were there, "And the wager. You didn't come her for bits, otherwise you would have already set some down, and I don't carry no trinket of Value, like a Chosen, so that leaves information."
"Two questions answered, no questions in return." Tai said plainly.
"And exactly what would I want to know from a Chosen." Deputymon asked carefully.
"Me." Deva said as she lowered her hood just enough for Deputymon to get a look at her without anybody else seeing, before putting it back on. Deputymon just starred in surprise, a look of astonishment on his face, and yet, Deva felt odd at the look he gave her.
Deputymon fingered his chin, "Two questions answered, no questions in return, eh?" Deputymon asked. Tai nodded, "You've got yourself a deal."
"Then lets roll." Tai said as he picked up his four dice in his cup, and Deva, Deputymon and Mojamon did the same. They all slammed their cups down onto the ground.
Taichi slowly lifted his up, just enough to get a peek at it. One one, two threes and six. Tai set his cup down, "Three threes." he stated.
"Three sixes." Deputymon said next.
Mojamon took another look at his cup before lifting it, "Four threes."
"Four fives." Deva said immediately.
Tai glanced over to her then back to Deputymon, "Four Sixes." he said challengingly.
Deputymon smiled, Fell for the oldest trap in the book he thought. He was about to call the Chosen out and he looked up into the eyes of Deva, and hesitated, remembering exactly the strange look of her that reminded him of their New Empress. He glanced back down at his dice, knowing what they were, but made sure that they hadn't changed. Two threes, a four and a one. No, it was better to let these two hang themselves with their own rope. "Five threes." He muttered.
Mojamon glanced over at him, then smiled, "Six threes." he said quickly.
"Seven threes," Deva said almost instantly.
Tai looked over at her, the over to Deputymon. It would do the Chosen no good to get his own partner to be the loser, and at seven threes, their wasn't much room for him to go. Deputymon held a smug grin on his face.
"Seven Fives." Taichi's voice challenged Deputymon, and the Champion almost balked, then smiled.
"You lie... Chosen." Deputymon told him, as he pulled up his own cup. Two threes, a four and a one.
1 2
3 3's
2 4's
1 5
1 6
Tai pulled up his own cup, pushing his one forward to emphasize it's wild state.
2 2's
6 3's
3 4's
2 5's
3 6's
Mojamon pulled up his own cup, underneath was two twos and a six and a one..
5 2's
7 3's
4 4's
3 5's
5 6's
Tai cursed himself as he counted up the numbers in his head, he relied to much on the unplayed number, and should have gone off three's, forcing Deputymon to make a very high call, and Mojamon an unbelievable one, which meant they would have one. For once, it seemed his gut instinct had been wrong.
"You lose." Deputymon stated.
"Not quite." Deva told him. Deputymon glanced over at her. She lifted her cup. Taichi's eyes went huge, there, underneath her cup were no ones.
"By the Demon Lords." Deputymon cursed. Underneath Deva's cup lay four fives, all of them in staring up at ceiling with their twenty eyes in total.
5 2's
7 3's
4 4's
7 5's
5 6's
"You cheat." Deputymon said up straight, one of his hands going for his gun.
"No... she didn't." Taichi told him perplexed, finally realizing exactly what his gut instinct came from. Four Fives None of Deva's other statements had sounded nearly so confident, "She didn't cheat, she told me what she had in the very beginning. Her first call,"
"Was four fives." Deputymon remembered. His hand came off of his gun and he set both of his hands on his body's barrel. "Very well, ask you're two questions, I must say, you have some pretty good luck my friend."
"Trust me, I know." Taichi told him, his mind going back to more then several near death incidents, "As for my questions..." Tai trailed off as Deputymon eyed him suspiciously. "First, why are they're so many construction teams around here." He asked carefully.
Deputymon glanced over to Deva, then back to him, "Their's been a surplus of workers lately, so our leader is trying to stem the overflow on the market and called for a renovation for several of the non updated parts of town."
Taichi glanced over to Deva, who seemed to have picked up on everything he said. Translation, a new leader came in and put in a caste system, were the virals were at the bottom of the food chain. They have been put into all the factories and any job were they aren't seen, forcing Vaccine and Data digimon out of work. In order for the new leader to make the Virals even more despicable, then Data type digimon have been hired to clear out everything... as what the Vaccines are doing... "Understandable enough. Now tell me, why are you two the only Vaccines in here." Taichi asked, a threat in his tone.
Deputymon glared, "Because, we have to make sure that the Data's know their place just like Virals know theirs." Taichi said nothing, then got up and Deva followed them. The two of them left, Agumon following quickly behind.
"In front Agumon." Taichi ordered, "As a Vaccine, you'll hold more respect then either of us." Taichi said wiping out his dark blue cloak and throwing it over his body and bringing up his hood. He handed Agumon's blue sweater to the digimon and he put it on with the hood up, only his snout sticking out. A cool breeze rustled through him and felt good, Deva however shivered.
"It's that way." Deva said. Agumon stopped and looked back at Tai, both know that she was indicating to the Dark being she had been feeling. Tai glanced back, then shook his head.
"Were trapped. Deputymon no doubt has a group ready for us and is coming this way." Tai swore and looked at Deva. He sighed, "We might as well get to know at least what this Darkness is before were captured."
Deva nodded slowly. She didn't doubt Tai though, he'd come up with a plan. The three of them continued to walk hurriedly until they com around a bend into the main street towards the gate. It was completely empty except for one Digimon.
"Lucemon." Deva muttered, "I should have guessed."
"Bravo. I must admit, you've done a good job with hiding yourselves. If you hadn't shown Deva's face to Deputymon, I would have never known you were here until it was too late." Lucemon's Ultimate level form said, "I must say. I'm interested in studying you... Deva." he smirked as he said her name.
Deva frowned, and she took off her hood, "How..." Then her eyes widened.
"You can come out Kari." Tai said calmly, stepping in front of Deva, Agumon coming up beside his partner. Tai watched as his younger sister's new form stepped out of the shadows of Lucemon. Light smiled as she saw her older brother.
"Hello Oni-san." she said mischievously, "I must say, don't you agree that Demon Lords make very good servants?" She said as she ran her finger down Lucemon's chest seductively. She took a few steps toward her older brother, "I must say, I'm looking forward to changing you. It'll help along our plans immensely."
"World Domination, huh. Wouldn't guess any less. I take it that you're creating armies here." Taichi looked around, "You keep the place nice and clean. I must say, this cobblestone is a nice 1110001 combination." Taichi said sarcastically.
Light laughed, "You're still yourself even in the face of Danger. I can't wait to be on the same side as you again, Oni-san. It will be so much more fun. Hazards a real bore, always so serious. Very good in bed though." Light laughed lightly.
"Shut up." Deva told her.
Light glanced at her, "If it isn't the little shadow girl. Deva was it. What right do you have to tell me to shut up."
Deva glared, "The stronger the light, the farther the shadow reaches."
"Deva stand down." Taichi told her, "This is my fight."
"No!" Deva said shortly, "I'm not a wittle kid anymore. I'm not just some spoiwled bwat who everyone has to watch out fow. I can fight and pwotect myself, I don't always need Henwy or Wika or Takato watching over me."
Tai looked over at her, and said nothing, then smiled, "Very well, but leave Kari to me." Deva nodded. "Agumon you ready?"
"Yeah."
"Then lets do this."
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Kitsune stepped lightly through the crowd of digimon. She was now near Ebowumon's place, he was the oldest of the Sovereigns, and the wisest. If anybody could tell her the answers to her questions, it would be the two headed turtle.
"Look, you don't break up with me!" a Flamdramon told a Ranamon, "No one breaks up with me." He shoved his girlfriend to the ground, "Understand me."
"Leave her alone." Kitsune said as she stopped right next to the scene.
Flamdramon looked at her, "Stay out of this, or I'll be having some more data to add to my collection." he told her.
Three minutes later Ranamon was running away, freaked out for her life by the strange new digimon. Kitsune put her hood back up on her dark red cloak and started to walk away from the scene as digimon got out of her path. She felt some blood dripping from her cheek, but she didn't care. She didn't care about anything right now. Even the Flamdramon's data hadn't seem to give her any satisfaction. She was becoming stronger... but for what?
A digimon watched her from a little ways away, before following her. Lekismon had gone on a hunch and had guess right. She had finally found one of the Tamers.