Chapter 27: The Eye That Sees
"The watchful eye knows all;
The quiet one that sees the truth
Even in the deepest shadows.
Time flows differently for the observer;
The ever watchful and ever cursed,
By the ancient dragon's bane."
Year: August 9, 2308
Location: Spirit Alley, Africaus Tri-Border
"Get out of the way Flea, I have business with your alpha."
"Hardly welcome here loner…" the old coyote's drawl was measured as he watched the red wolf from his half-crouch, one partially changed paw lazily scratching at his ear while he guarded the alley entrance, "The alphas aren't due any visitors today…"
"Let him in, Alex has been expecting another visit…" a new voice silenced the two canines as Liana stepped behind the guard dog, "You look terrible Zev…"
Flea cast a wary glance back at his alpha and ducked his head in acceptance, shifting slightly to permit the loner and his partners to enter the alley.
"How do you expect her newest plaything to look? I'm going to rip that mutt's throat out the next time I catch her…" Zev growled as garurumon slipped past the guard and padded down the alley, Liana keeping pace beside the wolf digimon.
"In that state you are no match for her, she did not gain her position through fear alone…" Liana stepped ahead as the alley widened to their general living space, boxes and wooden lean-tos lining the narrow space while a rough cart-table dominated the center of an alley intersection. Beyond the table a small stack of mattresses had been pressed against an outside wall where Alex was currently sitting with his ever-present pocket watch held close.
"Zev, you're intruding again…don't think I'll let you see the dragon's eye…" the bat-neko shifted the watch closer as the loner approached, his eyes narrowed now, "Or would you listen better if I used your full name…Mesic Zev Ye Rahasya?"
Zev's ears folded back at the unusual address but his eyes strayed to the watch, the eye carefully covered away from him, "Leave that old name out of it, how does my name manage to circulate better than that mutt's? I just need a peek high alpha, any time she might be away from the cave…"
"I know your purpose loner and you will have to find another way, the eye of time is not something to trifle with…" Alex rose slowly, tucking the watch in his pocket as he motioned Liana closer, "Besides that you of all the destined already know your destiny, that crest is the only reason you saw through the eye at that time… There is nothing more to know, the path remains unchanged despite Pride's recent hostilities to the packs…"
"Recent? She's always been hostile towards the packs…" Zev swayed slightly on the digimon's back, the act of staying upright suddenly a challenge as he tried to focus on the evolver, "Besides…you get to see all the paths…what makes this one better than another?"
"This one has already progressed beyond the critical point, there is no turning back for any of us…" Alex stepped back as Liana dratted forward to catch the boy as he suddenly tumbled from the garurumon's back, the digimon collapsing at the same time as his partner, "Is Spark back yet Liana?"
"Yes, I'll send him after Bunny immediately…she's the only one skilled in dealing with spirit fever…" Liana shifted Zev into a more comfortable position against his digimon's side before turning to one of the smaller exit alleys, "I'll fetch some spirit rope too, we're going to need it later…"
Alex nodded as she took off, resuming his seat on the mattress stack now as he pulled the pocket watch back out and traced the eye that covered the front, "This will do for now…the threads of time are such a complex puzzle…"
Location: Outside Cursed Camp, Asiana Machine-Neutral Border
"You're only permitted light walking, you can hardly keep from falling over as it is…" Tora warily watched the younger boy as he followed a pace behind, mausumon perched on his shoulder to see this world they had been barred from for so long.
"I know that…" Rekke sighed as he finally joined the tiger on the hilltop, pausing a moment to catch his breath before staring down at the land that stretched away before them, "That's the machine land?"
"It's different from the article clippings isn't it? The gypsies call it one of the 'extremes', granted neutral's not much better…"
Mausumon pressed deeper against his partner's neck, a soft hum barely audible as he curled his tail tighter, "This world is very lost…was our sacrifice for naught?"
"You ended the war, wasn't that enough?" Tora dropped down to the soft grass as he regarded them, his eyes straying to the spirit barrier that trembled a few feet from them.
"Hmm…didn't you also end a war though?" Rekke dropped beside him as he registered mausumon's quiet hum, the tune sparking something as he watched the quiet land before them.
"That was unintentional…" Tora sighed, not caring to labor on that old digital war again as he dropped his eyes to the valley, "You have that look in your eye again, did you sing a lot in the void?"
"It was something to do…even if there was never anyone around to listen…" Rekke's voice dropped as the tune slowly translated into words, the haunting melody carried by both boy and digimon though the words for now were Rekke's alone.
"This world I see all around me;
From the vast jungles to the metal empires high,
From the deep ocean floors to the skies so far above,
From the nekos to the humans to the digimon and back.
Why must it suffer for our own selfish greed?
Why must we destroy the very thing that keeps us alive?
Does no one see the destruction we wreck?
While claiming it was all for peace
Do we know the cost of such peace?
When no one is willing to sacrifice for it,
No one willing to give their life.
Come to me oh kindred spirits,
Whisper your lies again so I might continue to live;
All for a chance to survive between two extremes
That draw ruin as their battles lines.
Why must this world that gives us life be tortured so?
Why must we continue to grieve?
While shadows move all around us,
Telling us that peace and war are the same,
Whispering lies again
That your children don't die in vain…"
Rekke's voice dropped on the last note, his energy spent as he tried to get his breath back while mausumon's low hum changed to his own whispered melody.
"Partner tell me again why we live,
That might simply die another day
In a world so clearly split.
Look at this war they bring upon us,
Ignoring the shadows whispering in their ears
That they might justify such sin.
They send the young to die again,
While parasites leech at their backs.
Partner tell me again…"
The mouse digimon's voice had hit a deeper note and Rekke managed a brief smile before joining him again.
"Sing with me partner
That we might open their eyes before it's too late,
Before the curtain draws closed on this battlefield
Of another bloody day wasted in darkness.
Tell me how it came to this,
That our sacrifice was in vain again,
That hope fled so quickly from here.
And the puppet kings now rule,
And the wild alphas now fight,
And the lost are forever gone again…"
Rekke sighed as the last note faded, plopping back onto the soft grass as he watched the clouds drift by overhead, "What do you think of the war Tora?"
"It's not the war I'm interested in…right now the gypsies are the ones to watch…" The old tiger smiled as he caught the faint movement behind them, their follower taking flight with a tightly compressed air pebble, "And you might have just helped them…"
"Gāḷi's gone then? I'd almost forgotten we had an audience…" Rekke winced as he rolled over, still unaccustomed to this unfamiliar environment as he glanced back the way they had come, "You don't mind her following?"
"No, I could lose her if I wished but for now she has her own mission…" Tora shook his head as he turned back to the machine-land below, "The eye that sees knows better what it hears…or so the old saying goes…"