A.N.: It lives! Good grief, this chapter took so long to write. Pretty much every time I sat down, something interrupted me. And then the scene which I thought would be a couple of thousand words managed to just keep going without any end in sight. Still. I made it at last, and here's the update! Part of me worries that there's a little slippage into OOC here, but honestly, this chapter really needed to happen either way, and I'm gonna lean heavily on "they're all friggen exhausted" for an excuse. Hopefully I managed to keep things mostly in check though. Please do give feedback if I've slipped up! (Or just generally. Feedback is always welcome and joyfully received!)
Now, it's November in a few days, and I'm taking on the role of ML for the first time, so I don't know when the next update will be. NaNo prep has actually been one of the factors delaying these updates recently, too. I will aim to get at least one chapter out during November (it'll help that I have some stuff already written which will hopefully slot into the next chapter), but as I've not ML'ed before, I don't know how much time I'll have. Fingers crossed though! I'm almost at the end of the first arc of the story, and I'm really looking forward to the next one!
The promised escort arrived a few minutes later. Looking at them, Takeru realised they were guards, armed with swords and spear-like weapons. They were in a range of styles, no two alike. He couldn't help feeling a little as though he'd stumbled onto some sort of film set. The digital world had never been normal by any stretch of the imagination, but it seemed to make fundamentally more sense than this place.
The wooden bars sank into the floor, and two of the guards stepped forwards. Both had sheathed swords slung on their belts, and rested one hand on the hilts.
"Out," said one of them, a man with narrow, translucent wings, and deep frown lines marking his brow. "You can claim whatever titles you want, but they don't count until the Elders confirm it, in my eyes. Far as I see it, you're dangerous, plain and simple. And mark my words. If you try and harm the Elders, you'll be the worse for it."
Takeru scooted Patamon off of his lap and into the air before bracing himself to stand. He made it a few inches off the ground before he fell back with a groan. Everything hurt, and now his legs were stiff from sitting on the floor to boot. If this wasn't the worst day of his life, it was a strong contender.
"Takeru, are you okay?" Patamon said, flying down and hovering in front of him.
"I'm…I don't think I can get up," he replied, sighing.
From the back of the cell he heard Koushiro stifle a groan. Apparently he wasn't alone. Even Taichi, although standing, was leaning against the wall.
"Yeah, we're real dangerous," Tailmon said, arms folded. Her eyes were narrowed as she looked up at the guard who had spoken.
Taichi straightened, and cleared his throat meaningfully. They turned to look at him.
"My friends are injured," he said tersely. "As am I. We have no intention of harming these "Elders" of yours, but if they really want to meet us so badly, don't you think they'd rather we were able to speak when we got there, instead of passing out? Do you treat all your prisoners like this?"
Takeru blinked. It was still jarring to see this side of Taichi, so different to his normal carefree and friendly self. He suspected the older boy wouldn't be satisfied until he was reunited with Hikari, and he could understand that all too well. The fact that they'd almost found her only served to remind him that Yamato was still missing - so far as they knew. He was trying as hard as he could not to get his hopes up about the message they'd both received. What if Yamato was back, just in time for the rest of them to have been captured?
The guards had retreated out of the cell, and were conferring amongst themselves. The woman - Takeru hadn't really been paying enough attention to remember her name - was talking in a fierce whisper, gesturing to them and to someone or something out of sight. Patamon landed on the floor beside him. Tailmon and Agumon were stood beside Taichi, all three of them watching the conversation, although Agumon's attention seemed to switch between the guards and Taichi himself.
Koushiro was sitting upright at least, although his eyes were downcast, and he seemed to be bracing himself on his uninjured arm. Takeru was pretty sure he had to be feeling the effects of their forced march hardest out of all of them. He'd had the least sleep, too, what with trying to find out as much as he could about what was going on. Collectively, they were a mess. Taichi was right. If they had to walk to whoever these Elders were, most likely they'd fall down before they even made it.
Someone marched into sight, carrying a bottle of some sort and a wooden cup. Takeru watched with growing unease as the woman took the cup and held it out as a dark crimson liquid was poured in. He couldn't help thinking that it looked an awful lot like blood.
The woman turned to the open cell door - still flanked by armed guards - and proffered the cup.
"Drink," she said. "This is a restorative which will bring vigour and dull pain. Until such time as the Elders permit you to see a healer it will suffice."
Taichi folded his arms.
"You expect me to just believe that? There could be anything in that cup. How do I know this isn't a trick?"
The woman sighed. "Believe my words or not; it is of no concern to me. But either you drink this, and have sufficient energy to walk to the Elders, or you elect to refuse it, in which case you will still walk to the Elders, only perhaps you will fall down before you reach them and be dragged the rest of the way. The decision is yours."
"Taichi," Koushiro said, making everyone turn to look at him. "I don't think it's a trick. I doubt they'd go to all this trouble if it was. They really don't need to."
From her position near the entrance of the cell, Tailmon snorted. "You got that right."
For a long moment, Taichi simply stared at her, frowning. No one else moved. Even Agumon hung back, although Takeru could see the tension radiating off of his body.
"I'll drink it," he found himself saying. "I…I'm not entirely sure I can stand up, otherwise."
Patamon flinched beside him. Taichi whirled on the spot and scowled at him.
"Like hell you will," he said, looking more scared than angry. "You don't touch this stuff until we know it's safe."
Turning back to the woman, Taichi held out a hand. "I'll go first," he said through gritted teeth.
To judge by the expression on Taichi's face, the liquid didn't have a pleasant taste. Still, there was no denying the fact that just a few seconds later, he was able to stand straighter. The woman held the cup out to the guard holding the bottle, not taking her eyes off Taichi's face, or looking round as the cup was refilled. Only when he nodded did she offer the cup to him once more.
Taichi was still frowning as he handed the cup to Takeru, who accepted it and downed the contents in one gulp. The taste was sharp and bitter, and made him gag. It lingered in the back of his throat, burning more than the wine he'd tried when his grandparents had come to stay some months ago. Shuddering, he handed the cup back.
Still, he had to admit, whatever it was seemed to be working. The exhaustion which had been dragging him down was easing a little, as were the aches and pains. He felt more alert - enough to notice Patamon's worried expression.
"I think I can manage without drinking that," his partner said.
Takeru smiled weakly, watching as the cup was refilled once more. "I don't think I blame you," he said.
Koushiro peered into the cup when it was handed to him. He seemed to be examining it for something.
"Would I be correct in assuming you won't tell us what is in this?" he said, looking up with a wary expression on his face.
The woman smiled thinly. "Trust me when I say that there are some things you are better off not knowing. Leave that answer to the thurgists and healers."
Koushiro sighed, but drank anyway. He shuddered as he lowered the cup. "Judging by the taste, I think I believe you."
The woman nodded. "And your familiars? Will they also require the restorative?"
Patamon shook his head, as did Tailmon. Taichi looked at Agumon, who was frowning thoughtfully.
"Might be an idea, Agumon," he said, looking down at his partner. "You've digivolved twice today already, and that was before the march. We could carry Patamon or Tailmon at a pinch, but you're a little big for that."
A fourth draught was duly poured out.
"Aurgh, that's terrible!" Agumon cried, as he handed the cup back. "No way am I trying that again."
The woman smiled grimly. "So say many, and yet the demand for it is ever high. You are fortunate. Now. Follow me. Do not think to hang back, or our escort will be forced to encourage you."
Whatever the drink was, it had helped. Takeru found that he could stand and walk as though he'd had a far longer rest than had been the case, and his aches and pains seemed…not gone, but older. The wound on his shoulder was still almost as bad though, as were the blisters and other assorted scrapes. Apparently it could only do so much. Koushiro, too, was nursing his wrist with the same care as he had been since they'd set out.
They were led from the prison cell along a different corridor to that which they had entered by. Takeru noticed the girl from earlier watching them as they passed a room off to one side. There was no time to see anything else in the room - the guard behind him cleared his throat meaningfully when Takeru turned to look.
Despite being underground already, they weren't led upstairs at any point. Instead, if anything they seemed to be going even lower, down passages which sloped gently but inexorably further into the earth. At last they halted in a room with two large, ornate doors before them, and a smaller door off to one side. Two more guards stood by the larger doors.
"Wait here," the woman said. She gestured to the chairs and benches arrayed along the sides of the room. "You may sit, while we await our audience."
Takeru sank gratefully onto a bench, letting Patamon settle on his lap. Even having drunk the "restorative" he was still worn out. Beside him, Taichi and Koushiro did the same. Agumon sat where he was, on the floor, while Tailmon remained standing, watching the guards around them intently.
The woman walked over to the guards by the door, and spoke quietly with them. They seemed to disagree at first, until the woman indicated Tailmon. Taichi stiffened, sitting upright on the bench.
"They're talking about Hikari," he said softly. "She was here. In this same room."
"All the more reason not to lose your temper now," Koushiro said. "We're close to getting answers, so there's no sense angering the people who might be able to provide them."
"Easy for you to say," Taichi muttered.
At length, they were ushered towards the two doors, flanked on all sides by their armed escort. The woman walked ahead of them into a wide, high-ceilinged chamber, lit by flaming torches as opposed to the electric lights they had seen in the corridors. Broad pillars supported the ceiling, engraved with a repeating leaf pattern and painted in rich greens and grounds. Had they not spent so long travelling downward, Takeru would almost have believed them to be above ground again.
In front of them, on the far side of the room, sat a row of assorted people who Takeru supposed to be the elders, although most of them didn't look all that old. No two were alike, but that was something he had begun to get used to as well. Certainly it seemed as though humans were something of a rarity around here, even if they did all seem to be more humanoid than digimon.
They were brought to a halt by the two guards at the head of their escort, who crossed spears in front of them once they were a little over halfway into the room. The woman strode a few paces further, before bowing low.
"Stay alert," Taichi muttered. "I wouldn't put it past them to ambush us."
Takeru looked around uneasily as the woman announced their names to the assembly in front of them. Certainly there were plenty of places that someone could be hiding in the hall - the pillars were broad, and the flickering torchlight cast long shadows between them.
His attention was brought sharply back into focus when the woman mentioned Koushiro's name. Several of the elders stood immediately, and all of them seemed startled.
"We were given to understand that the Chosen Child of Knowledge was on Earth, not in this world," said one, a man whose legs ended in cloven hoofs. "Is there a means by which we may be sure that you are indeed who you claim to be?"
Koushiro started, while the others turned to stare at him. "Wait, how do you know that my crest is Knowledge? We didn't tell you that."
Taichi lurched forward. "Where's my sister! If you've hurt Hikari, I swear-" He stopped his tirade abruptly when one of the guards swung their spear around, halting it just inches from his throat. Agumon took a step towards him, but halted when another guard levelled their spear at him.
"Halt!" the first guard said. "One wrong move and I strike."
"Peace, peace!" cried a female voice. Takeru looked round to see one of the elders flying towards them. Her wings were a translucent blur behind her, and she landed next to the guards, easing their spears aside. Close up, he realised that although she had the proportions of an adult, she was tiny - she barely reached his shoulder.
"My name is Maela. I am one of the Elders of the Forest City," she said, arms still outstretched. "And it would seem that there has been a confusion. We would no more harm the Chosen Child of Light than I would cut off my wings. Her coming - and yours - is a sign that the time of prophecy is at hand."
Taichi stared at her. "Prophecy," he said flatly. "There's a prophecy? I thought we were finished with all that shit years ago."
"Never mind that!" Tailmon said. "Where's Hikari?"
Maela sighed. "Would that you had arrived earlier. Hikari departed the city several hours ago, accompanied by an armed guard to protect her on her journey. She seeks to return to Earth, as her…I believe she called it a "D-Terminal" has ceased to function and requires power from your world to restore it."
"WHAT?"
This time it was Koushiro who held Taichi back, gripping his shirt firmly with his good hand.
"Taichi, would you please calm down? We know that she's safe - that's more than we had an hour ago. Right now we need to focus on finding out what's going on."
Taichi clenched his fists, then sighed. "Fine," he said, through gritted teeth.
Takeru looked around to see how their escort was handling this exchange. Several of the guards had half drawn their swords; now they eased them slowly back into their scabbards and took a step back. It was a little unnerving to know how quick these people were with their weapons. A fact that was made worse by how vulnerable he felt without his D3.
Koushiro cleared his throat.
"I do hope you'll excuse our behaviour," he said to Maela, bowing. Takeru saw him wince as he stood straight again. "We have been very concerned about Yagami Hikari's whereabouts since her disappearance yesterday. And now you find us rather at a loss. You seem to know considerably more about us than we know of you. Are you able to explain why we are here, and what this prophecy you mention is?"
Maela nodded. "In truth, the prophecy is something we do not understand fully. It is more than a century since the Fates last walked freely in the world, and they are the custodians of the future. The most accurate transcripts of their words lie far from here, in the halls of the Grand Council. But all know of the Chosen, for it is foretold that you will dispel the corruption which has fallen over this land."
A man, who easily looked the oldest of the Elders, strode forwards.
"If you are truly the children who are Chosen, surely you will know the remainder of the Marks, and their number," he said, frowning. "Forgive me, but these are dark times, and we must be certain of your identity, particularly in light of your travelling companions."
Takeru shifted so that he stood between the man and Patamon.
"What do you mean?" he said. "What's wrong with our partners?"
Now a third person came forward. He was shorted even than Maela, and had thick, rather moth-like wings which hung low on his back.
"Peace, Sjarel," he said, speaking to the old man. He turned back to face Takeru. "I am Ithel, sometime spokesperson for the Elders. You must forgive Sjarel. The burdens of his people weigh heavy on him of late. Humans, being surface dwellers and scattered across the world, have fared especially poorly in these dark times."
"But we're human," Taichi said. "Doesn't that count for anything?"
Ithel nodded. "Indeed it does. And as you are the children who are Chosen, it is only to be expected that you bring allies, as this was foretold. However, you must understand that digimon number among the dark forces arrayed against us. Many of our people have fallen in battle with them. It was Hikari, the Chosen of Light who explained to my kinsman that digimon are not evil, but may fall prey to the same corruption which blights our world."
Koushiro nodded. "That does make sense," he said. "But if digimon have been coming here, I don't understand why nothing appears to be going wrong in the digital world. We've been monitoring it for over a year now, and we've not seen any signs of disturbance. Although, the presence of digimon would certainly go some way towards explaining why we're here. As Taichi mentioned, this isn't the first time we've been mentioned in a prophecy of some sort."
"And we're not evil, or corrupted," Tailmon said, folding her arms. "But we do fight back if we're attacked."
"Takeru was attacked by someone riding a giant black bird," Taichi said. "He was shot at and wounded. And another one of those things attacked my partner while we were flying to meet Takeru and Koushiro. We haven't exactly had a lot of positive encounters so far."
Maela sighed. "In times of war, miscommunication can be the greatest evil of all. The foe which attacked you was likely one of the great crows. They are often steeds for goblin archers, or others of their ilk. Many of the beast races have fallen prey to the growing darkness. Once, our city lay above ground, but few now dare to venture to the surface. Great peril lies there. It is the same in all lands. More recently, the land itself has become corrupted, and the digimon have appeared, allying themselves with our foes. The prophecy made by the Fates is poorly remembered, but we know it speaks of the children who are Chosen, and their ability to purge the corruption with Marks. Hikari named these Marks as crests."
Koushiro nodded slowly. "Ahh. And at some point she mentioned me, because she thought I was still on Earth. Until I ended up here, I was working to translate some information from the digital world which might give us some information about what's been going on." He sighed. "Well, you already know that I have the Crest of Knowledge. Taichi has the Crest of Courage, and Takeru has the Crest of Hope."
One of the other Elders - a woman who seemed to be a walking tree - cleared her throat. "The Child of Hope is here?"
Takeru felt a sudden wash of unease as almost every pair of eyes in the room turned on him. Patamon flew into the air and hovered in front of him.
"What do you want with Takeru?" his partner said.
The woman slowly inclined her head. Her movements reminded Takeru of a tree's branches swaying in the breeze. "Hope and Light are mentioned more specifically in the prophecy," she said. "It has been many, many years since last I heard the Fates speak, but I do remember that those two, above and beyond the rest of the nine, have a part to play."
Taichi, who had turned a somewhat worried expression towards Takeru while she spoke, now whirled around to face her, holding up his hands. "Now hold on a minute. Nine? When we were pulled into the digital world to save it, it was just the eight of us. Seven at first. And even if you count the younger Chosen Children, that makes twelve."
"There are only nine Crests though," Koushiro said. "The others have their Digimentals, but of the younger ones, just Ken has a Crest of his own…of course! No wonder Hikari is trying to get back. If she knows this too, she'll want to warn him. "
Takeru stayed quiet. He wasn't entirely sure he liked the way the tree-woman was still staring at him, and if the conversation could be steered to other matters, so much the better. Besides, the boost of energy he'd gotten from the vile-tasting restorative seemed to be ebbing, and with every ebb the various pains it had suppressed were returning too. He could see Koushiro starting to sag slightly, although apparently having a new theory to work with was giving the older boy something akin to a natural adrenaline rush.
"Why would there need to be a warning?" Maela said, resting her hands on her hips.
Taichi snorted. "Well, the fact that we've all been attacked, injured, and then captured by people who more or less dragged us here would be a good start."
"There's also the fact that Ken's partner is not on Earth at the moment, so far as any of us know. He's in the digital world," Koushiro said. "And this world is proving to be very hazardous. It would be safest if he were able to fetch his partner before whatever it is that pulls us across takes hold."
Takeru shuddered. He didn't want reminders. He was safe on the ground - safe below the ground, even - so there was no reason to feel the whip of the wind against him, or to hear the rushing roar of the air as he fell-
"Takeru!"
Patamon's voice cut through his growing panic, rooting him in the room. He flinched, and looked up to find everyone staring at him again, this time with assorted expressions of concern.
"I'm fine," he said, although his traitor voice managed to have just enough of at tremor to it to make the lie fall flat.
Taichi rolled his eyes. "Bullshit Takeru, you're… Oh shit, your shoulder! Why didn't you say something!"
Takeru blinked, not sure what Taichi meant. Belatedly, he looked down to his right shoulder, and saw that the sleeve of his shirt was stained with blood, which showed up even against the dark green material. Pain flared when he tried to twist in order to see the site of the wound, making him yelp. Amongst his other assorted injuries, he hadn't felt it start to bleed again beneath the bandages. It had stopped by the time they'd left their cell; apparently the walk to the Elders, with his ability to sense pain dulled by the restorative, had been enough to open it up yet again.
"It's…not so bad," he said, mostly to reassure Patamon, who was hovering beside him wearing a concerned expression. "Honestly, it looks worse than it is. Jou cleaned it out earlier, remember? It's just that the bandages didn't hold up so well."
Maela frowned, looking from him to Koushiro, and shaking her head briskly. "Forgive us. We ought to have tended your injuries sooner. Unfortunately, we can take no chances. To allow one of the enemy to roam free in the healers' quarters would be to court disaster." She turned to the other Elders. "Is there any who would disagree that these children are the Chosen, and that their companions are the allies mentioned in the prophecy?"
There was a low murmuring, but none of the assorted elders spoke up. The old man who had been introduced as Sjarel scowled at them - or more specifically, the digimon - but stayed silent too.
"What about Hikari?" Taichi said, as Maela gestured for the guards to leave. "You're telling me you just sent her packing? Where did she go?"
Ithel nodded. "She elected to return to the mountains east of here, in the company of some of our best scouts. Her D-Terminal had ceased to function, and she informed us that the only way to "charge" it would be to return to Earth in search of something called batteries."
Taichi blanched. "And you let her? Do you even know what you sent her off to do?"
To Takeru's surprise, it was Sjarel who spoke.
"We have a greater knowledge than even she," he said. "The beast she mentioned is known to us, as is the precise method by which she may return to Earth. It was not a decision made lightly, by ourselves or the Chosen of Light. And indeed, we have sent ample guards to defend her from all harm."
"But if Hikari is safe, she won't go back to Earth at all," Tailmon said slowly. "So…what's the catch?"
"She does not know of the measures we have put in place to protect her," Maela said flatly. "There is too much at stake to jeopardise the life of one of the Chosen, but we cannot shelter you from the task you were chosen for. Hikari believes that returning to Earth is the best means by which she may advance our cause, and so we made certain that she would be safe, yet not so safe that she would be unafraid. The beast which dwells in the caves bordering the forest is fearsome to behold, and very dangerous, but it has a great love of diamonds and can be reasoned with. Hikari's guards carry sufficient payment to spare her should she be unable to return to Earth."
"It has been several hours since the Chosen of Light departed this city," Ithel said. "No doubt she nears the forest's edge even as we speak. She is in no real danger; please, allow our healers to attend to your wounds, and accept refreshment."
Takeru was pretty sure that Taichi remained unconvinced. Hell, Takeru himself wasn't. The thought of Hikari willingly putting herself in harm's way to get a message back to Earth made him feel ill. Of course, it was also exactly the sort of thing she would do, if it had a chance of helping.
Taichi's fists were clenched, and his jaw was tight with what Takeru recognised as serious anger. In fact, there was every likelihood that Taichi would have leapt forward to strike Ithel, had Koushiro not staggered at that moment, nearly falling down before steadying himself again. His face was ashy. Evidently his adrenaline rush was running out.
Maela gestured to a guard, who ran forward to support Koushiro. She was tiny - not much taller than Agumon, in fact - but hovered in the air on a pair of transparent wings, and supported Koushiro's weight on her shoulder without any apparent difficulty. Koushiro looked too exhausted to even notice.
Agumon rested a hand on Taichi's leg, looking up at his partner. "I think we have to trust them," he said.
Tailmon nodded. "Much as I don't like it, I agree. She's too far away for us to help her now. And she's faced this monster every night for a week now without it getting her." She turned to the Elders. "But you have to give them their phones and digivices back. Otherwise Hikari won't be able to contact us when she gets home."
"We shall have them brought to the healers' quarters," Ithel said. "Now please, let me escort you there, before your friend falls down and must be carried."