Chapter 21: Testing the Bounds

"Break out, blast the chain;
Deceit brings peace to some
And ruin to others,
How can we pick and choose?

No line can be clearly drawn
'Til it is crossed again and again;
Bending, stretching, yet never breaking
Escape is near at hand…"

Year: June 21, 2308
Location: Quiet Meadow, Africaus Pack-Machine Border

"Beḷaku, it's unlike you to pick a fight…we're trying to keep the peace with the packs…" Alex sighed as he finally stepped into the quiet meadow the elites had retreated to after the near fight, only Liana and Vadeous following him to this more private meeting.
The wolf-boy was seated cross-legged at the base of a tall oak, the other elites ranged around him in a loosely protective circle while Samaya rested at his side. All eyes turned to the high alpha and his followers, most neutral as they welcomed their visitors.
"I did not pick the fight rāja, they know our position on the matter…" Beḷaku rose, twisting slightly to keep from disturbing the half-asleep child and letting her lean against Sangloupmon's flank, "I understand your position and limitations well but we are running out of time…"
Alex shook his head, his gaze drifting up to the setting sun as it bled red streaks before them, "Be careful how you tread…if the boy needs to be moved then do so, but worse war waits if the treaty is broken…"
"The treaty was broken from the beginning…" Kattale muttered, the black lion hissing as he regarded the high alpha, "The children were barely born to be cursed…"
"It has served well enough but it is incomplete…" Gāḷi dropped back in the soft grass, her hands behind her head as she watched them, "What better peace do the gypsies tease that comes too late for the digital world?"
"It is not too late yet…" Vadeous set Whiskers down at her side and smiled at the harpy, "A meeting between the packs and royalty has been agreed upon…"
Gāḷi shifted her gaze from the gypsy to the bat-neko, accepting his nod as confirmation, "So they'll finally get together again? I hope it goes better than the last one…"
Alex regarded her a moment before returning his gaze to the silver wolf, "Keep me updated on your movements…we'll send word when a date has been set." He turned then and left with his mate, only the old gypsy remaining to study the elites.
As they disappeared a new voice entered the meadow, the speaker a lithe girl with dark leathery wings and long curved fangs, "The space boy remains lost? Perhaps we can help with that…we have a way of keeping things hidden…"
"Deceit, bored of your new life already?" Jvāle rose and glared at the intruder, his claws curled loosely, "Eavesdropping where you don't belong…"
"Peace, what have I ever done to you?" the girl slipped closer but remained out of the dragon-boy's range, "And I'm called Fang now, Pride was so boring with her old methods…heh, she wants me dead now too…"
"Why are you here outcast?" Beḷaku watched the dragon-boy, making sure he didn't cause a ruckus as he addressed Fang, "And what do you know of the child?"
"Enough, he'll surely die soon…" Fang drifted closer to the elite leader, her dark tag now visible, "Unless of course you break the treaty and bring him back here…"
"And you have a proposition?" Vadeous interrupted, turning to the new visitor as she studied the girl, "What would bring the outcasts to stand before the elites?"
Fang hissed, taking note of the gypsy for the first time, but her voice remained smooth and controlled, "Yes…if you wish to save the boy bring him to us by the time the moon is high…we will keep him hidden from the higher ones…"
Beḷaku shifted his gaze back to the gypsy, wondering at her thoughts but when she didn't speak further his gaze returned to the outcast, "And why would you want the boy?"
"You can't be serious!" Jvāle was growling again as he turned his glare to his leader, "We could protect him better than that pack of cowards!"
"Peace Jvāle," Gāḷi spoke up, her voice calm next to the fuming dragon, "The nāyaka knows best…and the boy would be seen with us, do you think the higher ones don't watch?"
Fang smirked, amused by their quarrel but her only real interest was the leader, "I care nothing for him, he'll likely be with the cursed ones but it would be safer than the void…"
"Hmmm…the siblings would have to be separated for their own safety…such a connection would easily spark attention…" Beḷaku glanced back at the others as they relented to his decision, only Gāḷi seeming supportive, "I don't trust you outcast…but we share a bond with the cursed ones…"
Fang smiled, her fangs more pronounced as she twirled back towards the trees, "It's agreed then, arrange the boy's escape and we'll be waiting…"
Vadeous waited until she had disappeared again before turning back to the silver wolf, "Well that is a movement I'd like to keep tabs on too…" She trailed off as he cast a glare at her and shook her head, "Certainly no more than you would pass to Alex, but the boy has a collection does he not?"
"Aye, he's gathered quite a collection of records and newspapers over the centuries…"
"And he would be reluctant to see them lost I'm sure, why not bring them to my warehouse to stow until the treaty has been repaired?"
Beḷaku nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful, "I'm sure you just want a look at them, if the boy desires we'll have them moved…you'll need someone ready to move them across the border…"
"You underestimate me, they'll be ready within the hour…" Vadeous took her leave then, her robo-cat padding along at her heels as they headed back towards the stark machine land.

Year: Unknown
Location: Unknown

"Rise Rekke, it is time we speak again…"
Rekke blinked open his eyes, uncurling from his tight sleeping ball to regard this new visitor as he registered the voice. "Beḷaku! You have come!" The boy ducked his head to his alpha as he shifted to a sitting position on the tabletop, mausumon curled at his thigh as both partner and digimon studied the silver wolf.
"Yes, and this bhēṭi is long overdue, it is time for you to leave this place…" Beḷaku took the free chair as he scanned the room, his gaze lingering on the stacks of boxes that reached towards the ceiling, "The treaty remains an obstacle though…"
"How will I leave if the treaty is to remain intact? The mānavaru monitor this anūrjita, they will know the treaty is broken…"
"They will not…" A blinding light filled the little room as Lucemon appeared, the angel digimon immediately taking a seat on the table beside Rekke, "The spirits have agreed to mask the energy spike…as long as time and space do not come together they will know nothing…"
"The makkaḷu know that, they have known of this possibility since the treaty was signed…" Beḷaku sighed as Samaya joined them, shaking his head slightly, "Keṭṭa, I told you to wait…"
"It does not matter, we must hurry…are the gypsies ready?" Lucemon smirked slightly and rose to pull down a nearly empty box nestled in the corner, "Moving such an enormous collection even with two time-hoppers will not be quick…"
"Yes, Samaya has the meeting spot marked…I do not know how many the gypsy has recruited but they will be waiting…" Beḷaku rose to help the angel pull down the clippings that lined the wall over the table, dropping them into the box while Samaya grabbed one of the other boxes along the wall and disappeared again.
"Good, I will take the boy out once this task is finished…do as you will elite…" Lucemon left the loose papers to the wolf-boy and grabbed another box from the wall before disappearing as well.
"You've found someone to keep my collection? Will it be safe?" Rekke helped pull down the loose things and reorganized the box to make sure it would all fit, mausumon perched on his shoulder now as they worked.
"Yes, the gypsy nāyaka has space to keep it until the time comes…it will be fine there…"
"But where will I go then? Don't the mānavaru watch you?"
"They watch but the śāpagrasta have agreed to hide you for now, they have evaded the mānavaru and the DarkDestined…"
Rekke sighed as he dropped the last photo into the box and sealed the lid, his gaze shifting to the now empty back wall. It seemed strange to see it again after so long but he was glad the history was safe somewhere else now.
"Sahōdara…you'll be safe now right? I don't want you to fade…" Samaya had reappeared now and wrapped her brother in a hug as she watched Beḷaku, tears visible in the corners of her eyes though she didn't break down this time.
"It will be fine, the rāja has finally gotten agreement from the prāṇigaḷu and the gypsy works among the mānavaru…the treaty will be revisited soon, then this rahasya will not be needed but for now you have your own mission…" Beḷaku handed her the last box as Lucemon rejoined them.
Samaya nodded and released her grip before taking the box, her gaze trailing back to her brother now. "Please stay safe…please…" With that she turned away and disappeared again to deliver the last box to the others.
"It will pass, come now…you know what will happen to this place…" Lucemon shifted his gaze from the silver wolf to the space child a moment before wrapping Rekke in a hug of his own, "Go now dream-walker, remember moving others is not so easy without a portal…"

Year: June 21, 2308
Location: Cave of Fusion, Digital World

"Envy! Envy I swear if you disappear again…" Lust trailed off as the younger girl finally stepped before her, her mikemon in her arms again as she ducked before her senior, "Finally, Pride has a new mission for you and you know what happened the last time you failed to come back…"
Koko nodded mutely and slipped past the cheetah-girl to enter the main chamber where Pride waited, the newest recruits she had been forced to drag in lined up with the other DarkDestined.
Sloth was gone, killed in her absence, but Despair was finally claimed and a new Wrath had joined them, swelling their numbers again to stay ahead of the destined.
"Come to join us Envy? I must thank you for the new followers but you have still not satisfied your punishment…" Pride sat in her stone tree again, her icy blue eyes following the late-comer's progress across the cave, "It is time we strike again and my experiments have finally produced something useful, you recall the cowardly lion?"
"Yes Alpha, what will you have me do?" Koko ducked her head again as she joined the line beside the new Wrath, her gaze on the floor as she hugged mikemon tighter.
"Good, good…you will be with me for this mission, it is time we cut off the head…" Pride shifted her gaze to Lust as the cheetah rejoined the line beside Greed, "While we have fun with him you two will be on the attack, take Chaos and Wrath and keep the others busy for a while…"
"And what will the rest of us do while you go enjoy yourself?" Calamity stepped forward to regard their leader, her eyes narrowed and her fangs bared as she twirled her digivice.
"You may take Despair and Gluttony for some fun but keep it away from Americanus, I will need more data after this anyway…"
Calamity bowed, accepting her terms, and resumed her place in line without another word.
"You would leave the cave unguarded?" Greed spoke up as he watched the spider, his gaze wary of her motives, "The outcasts know its location…"
"They would not dare venture here again but do not worry Greed, the base will be guarded…" Pride waved a hand to the back wall where a new girl stepped out of the shadows, "Hatred here will hold down the fort and once we replace Sloth we will be at full force again…won't it be nice to have all the crests bonded again?"
Greed shivered at the question and ducked his head, "Yes, though the outcasts will still need to be punished…we will go prepare now…"
"Don't forget the black infinities, I want them to have a taste of our full power…" Pride dismissed the others as she dropped down and headed for her lab, Dema following her this time at the prospect of some fun.