Monday, 9:17am
Yamato hadn't answered. The minutes were ticking by, and Sora hadn't had any reply to her last question. She wanted to know what was going on. Where they were. How they'd got there. And she felt so weak that even standing by the door with her forehead pressed against the bars was almost more than she could manage, and she didn't even know why.
"I'm sure he's okay, Sora," Piyomon said.
Sora swallowed heavily and tried to peer down the corridor outside. She badly wanted her partner to be right, but how could she be certain of anything? It all sounded like something out of a bad dream, too surreal to actually be possible. At any moment she expected to wake up in Yamato's living room, having nodded off in front of the television. She hated feeling so lost and disoriented.
Footsteps marked the approach of a man in uniform. Sora stepped back reflexively; she didn't want to take chances on the stranger being friendly all the while she felt so helpless. The movement made her head spin, and she put out a hand to steady herself, pressing it against the wall and rubbing her forehead with the other.
"Hoi, you there."
She looked up to see the man peering in at her. He spoke with a gruff voice, but seemed reasonable enough, and nodded when he caught her eye.
"I got a message from yer friend. Wants to know if you're alright, and says ee's sorry, coz' apparently it's his fault you're 'ere. Wouldn't be too 'ard on him, mind. Looks like ee's been through the wringer a fair bit himself."
Sora just stared at him for a moment, waiting for her brain to make sense of things. At last she gave up and shook her head.
"I don't…Wait—you mean Yamato? Where is he?" she snapped. "What's going on? What did you do to him?"
The man took half a step back and grinned.
"Well. Yer a regular little firecracker, I can see. Yer young man ain't in that bad a shape. Little worse for wear, but nothing lasting. Cahir's a bit of a bastard, but he's not…well, there's worse, ain't there."
"…who?"
The man sagged a little. "Ah. So that's how it is."
He shook his head and rested his hands on his hips. "Man, they don't pay me enough for this," he muttered. "Look, yer in the custody of Their Graces. Dunno what you did—dunno what a little thing like you could do—but it was enough that the Commander of the City Guard himself wanted to question ya. Don't quite recall that bit, I'm guessing?"
Sora turned to stare at Piyomon. There was enough overlap between the two stories that there had to be some truth to it—assuming she wasn't still asleep after all. Even so…it was a lot to try and take in. Particularly as her head told her she must have nodded off while worrying about Yamato.
"I…I don't understand," she said, leaning against the wall. "If all this happened…why can't I remember?"
"Piyomon patted her leg gently. "It's okay So-"
The man yelped, and Sora looked up to see him back out of sight of the hatch in the door.
"Fates preserve us, the thing talks?" he cried.
Piyomon looked up at her, head tipped to one side. "Did I do something wrong, Sora?"
Sora shook her head, and knelt down beside her partner. She hugged Piyomon tightly as she looked up at the man and took a deep breath to steady her nerves.
"I don't know who you are, or what this place is," she told him firmly. "And right now I don't really care. But if you've got Yamato here somewhere, I want to know where he is, and I want to see him. Now. You have no right to keep us here like this."
The man laughed, which wasn't especially encouraging. But there didn't seem to be any malice in it, and after a moment he leant on the door with a smile on his face.
"You got spirit, lass, I'll grant yer that. I can see why your young man back there was so keen to stay on your right side. But look. I just work here. I'm just a guard. I got no more idea what you're here for than you are, seemingly, and I ain't got the authority to go letting you wander round merry as you please."
He sighed. "Orders is orders, lass, and that's all I can do, see? You got something you want to say to your young man?"
She stared at him. Other world. I'm in the other world somehow. That's the only explanation which makes any sense. Has Yamato been here the whole time? What will he want to know? What do I know?
"I…" It was hard to focus on the last few days, to keep track of everything that had happened. As much as her last clear memory was of sitting on the sofa watching the news, it was one bright moment in a sea of confusion.
"Tell him I'm not hurt, and the others are all fine," she said at last. "That…that Takeru is safe, and he has Taichi and Koushiro with him."
The names wouldn't mean anything to the guard, but she was sure Yamato would be glad to know his brother wasn't alone any more. And Takeru was fine. Or…he had been the last she'd heard. No. Takeru was in good company. Taichi and Koushiro would keep him safe. It was the one thing she was sure of.
"Nothin' else you want me to say?" the guard said. "I'll be honest, he seemed pretty cut up about you being up here with him. Still, I reckon if you've already been questioned you're past the worst of it. Nasty blighter, that Cahir, you ask me."
Sora swallowed, feeling uncomfortable. "But who is Cahir? I…I'm not from this place. I just woke up and I don't know how I got here, so please, tell me what's going on."
He sighed. "Well, like I say. I don't rightly know how you got here either. I came on night shift, and here you were. But Cahir…he's head of security. Got a cushy little number down there in his office. Comes of bein' Fae. They look after their own, see, and they live so damn long the rest of us never get so much as a look in. Anyway, He's good enough at 'is job, at least. Scares the willies out of everyone as crosses him. He can reach right into a person's head and pull out any answer he likes. I reckon that's what happened to you, lass. Got his answers, he did, and then a bit of the old…you know…so's you wouldn't remember what yer said."
Sora stared from him to Piyomon, who was watching her with a worried expression. She hadn't really expected that things could get worse than waking up in a dungeon with no memory of how she'd got there, but apparently, she'd been wrong. The thought of someone poking around in her head made her skin crawl. Was that why Yamato had looked such a mess?
Monday, 1:35pm
Mimi stood out on the balcony, watching the city below. The wind teased at her hair, and nagged at the scratch on her face, but it was cool at least. She'd gotten sick of the worried looks Mrs Yagami and Mrs Takaishi had been giving her, and hadn't dared complain that the wound felt hot. Her back and arms burned, too, but that was probably from the antiseptic cream, and the way the bandages rubbed beneath her school blouse.
It seemed a little silly to be wearing her uniform when she could have called her mother and gotten her to bring something more practical over, but honestly, it wasn't worth the fuss. She was fine—for now at least. It was Palmon she worried about, and what would happen when she had to go back. She really didn't want to go alone, but how was it fair to drag her partner into all that again? If she were able to evolve it wouldn't be so bad, but even if she managed to bring her digivice with her next time, what was to say Palmon would be in a fit enough state?
No more buildings, she told herself, picking at a corner of the tape which held the bandage on her arm in place. Even those soldiers weren't as bad as the monsters.
The sound of a new voice inside caught her attention and she turned around to see an unfamiliar woman in the apartment. Miyako was stood by the laptop with Poromon hovering plainly in sight, which meant the newcomer had to be someone who knew…
"Where is my son?" the woman said, her voice shaking. "Ken said this was all just a…a pretence, so where is he?"
Miyako looked terrified, almost more than the woman—who had to be Mrs Ichijouji—was. No one seemed to know what to say. They all just stood there, looking uncomfortable.
"He's with Jou," Mimi announced, walking back indoors. "And honestly, Jou is the oldest out of all of us, and he's responsible, and sensible, and he always looks out for everyone else. He looked after Takeru when they were coming back to Odaiba, and he stuck with me when we all went in different directions in the digital world, and…and he's training to be a doctor too, so really and truly, I'm sure that Ken's perfectly safe. It's just…we're not exactly sure where that perfectly safe place is right now."
There was a short, decidedly uncomfortable silence.
"He…left?" Mrs Ichijouji said, raising a hand to cover her mouth.
"Oh, no, it was nothing like that!" Miyako said. "He-"
"It was an accident," Mrs Takaishi said. "I saw the whole thing myself. Here, come and sit down, and we'll explain everything."
Mimi bit her lip as everyone fussed around Ken's mother. Had she said the wrong thing? But, really, the truth had to come out at some point, and Ken really was bound to be fine all the while he was with Jou. Especially since they both had their partners with them, and Jou had been in the mountains, hadn't he? If they hadn't come back already, they obviously couldn't have been caught in a landslide or anything like that. It was just a matter of waiting for them to send a message to say that all was well.
In the meantime, what could she do? The growl of her stomach answered that question. Mrs Yagami had walked over to the kitchen area - the least she could do was offer to help. It might even take her mind off the pain of her injuries.
I hope Jou comes back soon, she thought. I never realised how much we all rely on him to do his doctor thing for everyone.
Mrs Yagami smiled sadly at her as she approached.
"It was sweet of you to try and reassure Mrs Ichijouji," she said quietly. "But you have to understand, this isn't easy for her at all. It isn't the first time Ken has disappeared without a trace."
"Yes, but this time he's with Jou," Mimi pointed out. "Jou might not look it, always, but he's perfectly capable of defending himself and his friends, believe me. In the digital world-"
Mrs Yagami sighed. "I know you've seen things we haven't. And, Mimi, I know perfectly well that you can all take care of yourselves, too. But…how Mrs Ichijouji feels right now—how, deep down, we all feel? It's not about facts and reason. Every parent worries about their children, even when we don't have to sit back and watch them do very dangerous things, and Mrs Ichijouji has more reason than most to be scared for her son."
Mimi wasn't sure what to say to that. She wanted to explain that that was why she'd started off by saying that Ken wasn't alone—that he was being looked after—but there was something about the expression on Mrs Yagami's face which stopped her.
A bleeping sound from the laptop drew her attention. Miyako squeaked as she raced over, with Poromon fluttering near her head. She turned to Mimi, grinning.
"Palmon's okay!" she cried, clasping her hands together. "Daisuke just messaged to say Gennai told him that she's worn out and sore, and it's gonna be a while before she'll be up to evolving, but she's in a stable enough condition. He also said he can probably bring her back once he's picked Iori up. I'm not sure how soon he'll get my message and head over there."
Mimi sank back against the counter. It was like a weight had lifted, one which she'd carried since Palmon had fallen to the strike of one of those…creatures.
"Are you sure that's going to be alright?" she asked. "Isn't she safer in the digital world?"
Miyako frowned. "I can check, but Daisuke's message was pretty relaxed. Maybe Gennai thinks you're better off being together?"
"Miyako, we are better with our partners!" Poromon said. "When you went to Kyoto without me that time, I felt really tired and weak. I was much better after Ken and Stingmon found you."
Mimi pursed her lips. "That must mean he wants me to take Palmon back to the other world with me then," she said. "But how will we manage if Palmon is too tired to walk? I could carry her, but then I wouldn't have my hands free."
Miyako stared at her, looking confused.
"You…you're okay with that?" she asked.
"Well I have to be, don't I?" Mimi replied, sighing. "I'm going to end up back there tonight whether I want to or not, and Gennai said Palmon is better off with me."
She could feel the shudder in the base of her spine, and shook her head to dispel it before continuing: "I certainly don't plan on going in any more houses, so I won't attract those…things, and maybe if I don't surprise those soldiers so much they won't attack straight away. After all, Alwyn seemed to think most people there have heard of us Chosen Children. I'm sure they'll listen if I explain who I am. And that means I really don't know how long it will take me to get back here. I'll be stuck just like everyone else. So, really, however much I want her to be safe, I have to take Palmon with me."
Miyako looked worried. "Mimi…"
"We…we always managed before," she said, determined to think positively. After all, that's what all the others were doing, wasn't it? "And I still think that city has to be the same one Yamato found. Taichi didn't end up all that far from Takeru and Hikari, so why shouldn't the place I appeared be close to where Yamato is? If I can do something to help I'm not going to just abandon him, even if I have to carry Palmon."
"I have an idea which might help there," Mrs Yagami said, looking thoughtful. "You know, I think I still have my old onbuhimo somewhere. I'm not sure if it would be a good idea to carry Palmon for long on your back given your injuries, but if she really can't walk it might be worth a try."
Mimi felt her spirits lifting. It was all she could do not to hug Taichi and Hikari's mother there and then. If it hadn't been for the way the bandages across her arms and back tugged when she made sudden movements, she would have.
"Really? Are you sure you don't mind me using that? I promise I'll look after it as best I can, but it might get ruined. If you were keeping it for Hikari to use…"
Mrs Yagami shook her head. "I understand, Mimi. Right now, this is more important."
She looked past Mimi to the other two women sat on the sofa, and frowned. "What about your parents, Mimi? In everything that's happened, I don't think we've called them yet."
Mimi sighed, and hung her head. "I suppose I really should, if I'm going to officially disappear. I don't think my mother will really understand though. They've never liked me being a Chosen Child."
Monday, 1:46pm
Jou came round slowly, roused from odd half-dreams about forests and dungeons by a faint, persistent buzzing. What was it? It sounded like a cross between an insect and the noise made by some of the fluorescent strip lights at the clinic where his father worked. More distantly, he thought he could hear unfamiliar voices talking.
Someone was prodding his arm.
"Hey, Jou. Jou! Hey! Hey, wake up!"
He knew that voice at least.
"Gomamon?"
"Course it's me! Are you finished sleeping yet? They're all done fixing up your foot."
He groaned.
"Well, I suppose I am now," He sat up, wincing at the deep, throbbing ache in his ankle. The world was all fuzzy. "Wait…where are my glasses?"
"Oh…um…they got a little bit broken, Jou. But don't worry! I took good care of them while those people carried us down here. Here they are!"
Gomamon clambered across the bed to a cabinet, and grabbed a blur which turned out to be a rather battered pair of glasses. Examining them, Jou sighed. The central part of the frame was bent, and one of the arms hung awkwardly by a sliver of hinge. Still, despite several scratches, the lenses at least appeared to be in one piece. All in all, he supposed he should be grateful for that much after his tumble on the mountainside.
Shaking his head, he cleaned the lenses as best he could and straightened out the frame. The loose arm came off as he worked. It figured. He tucked it in a pocket and put what remained of them on, pushing them slightly more firmly down across his nose than he normally would. With any luck, so long as he was careful they would stay put. And there was always a chance he could ask their rescuers for help in repairing them.
Glasses more-or-less in place, he took a better look around the room he found himself in.
That it was a hospital ward he was sure of, although the equipment all looked very old-fashioned. Still, the arrangement of beds and screens was instantly recognisable, even if the odd splint around his ankle wasn't. It consisted of nothing more than several thin metal rods, held in place by layers of gauze bandage.
"Gomamon," he said uncertainly. "Where exactly are we right now? And—wait, where's Ken? I didn't imagine him being here, did I?"
Gomamon shook his head emphatically, and pointed.
"That's why you needed to wake up! We're in some sort of city, but it's all underground, and a bunch of important people want to talk to you. They're all outside chatting to Ken and Wormmon right now, but I think Ken's getting a little worried, because he messaged everyone to say we're okay and they didn't reply yet, and I'm pretty sure he's not feeling so good either, because Wormmon said-"
"Okay, I get the point. Gomamon, can you let them know I'm awake? I don't see any crutches or anything which will help me walk on this ankle, so I'm stuck here for the moment, and I don't want to take chances all the while it's in that…I'm going to assume it's a splint. I really hope the doctors here know what they're doing."
"Sure thing, Jou!"
Gomamon hopped down, and bounded out of sight. He heard his partner's voice, excitedly explaining that he was awake, and took a quick moment to try and tidy himself up a little.
It wasn't easy. His trousers were filthy, and one leg of them had been bunched up close to the knee in order to make space for the splint. The shirt which had been white when he'd put it on was covered in dust and dirt and a few flecks of what he thought was probably blood.
Still, he could and did straighten them before the gathering of apparently important people appeared from somewhere beyond one of the screens by his bed.
The majority of them were a good foot shorter than Ken, who stood at the back of the group holding Wormmon in his arms. They were stocky, and dressed in clothes which looked old and worn, but surprisingly elegant considering the no-nonsense look of their faces. Without a shadow of a doubt, Jou was sure they had to be dwarves. There was also a taller man, built like an ox, and a woman, thin and elegant, who stared at him haughtily.
"So," said one of the dwarves, an elderly man with a wispy grey beard, and a large gold chain around his neck. "I'm told you're a Chosen Child too, eh? Time of Merging, is it? Well, it about figures. Sure as anything we can't go on as we have been. Dark days, they are. Very dark. Still, I welcome you to the Mountain Fastness, on behalf of myself, naturally, as spokesperson for the Chief, and for the rest of this rabble of advisors." He gestured to the array of people.
Another, rather surly-looking dwarf wearing a dark brown robe, nodded. "Your friend has informed us that the remainder of the nine are scattered somewhat, and that you're not really sure what's going on. Well, I can't say as any of us really understand this business, deep down. We never had much truck with the Fates in the old days, and, well. Now their stuff and nonsense turns out to be coming true, and being blunt, we've got too much on our plates keeping this city safe to fuss about looking for some dusty old tome with a prophecy scribbled on it."
The ox-like man sighed. "You catch us at our worst, Chosen," he said. "Time was, these halls were filled with scholars as well. But it's a hard life, here in the mountains, and with our belts tightening year on year, we can ill-afford to spend our time poring over books. There are mouths to feed, and ever more foes at our gates. Truly, we are glad to see even two Chosen. And, by thunder, you have already proven your mettle. Two Olitiau downed by your allies—sorry, partners was it?—and one more driven off, by the Chosen of Kindness' account. It is a good start. They've been gathering in these parts of late."
"O-oli-what?" Jou said, trying to make sense of everything. After hearing about the reception first Hikari, and then Taichi and the others had had, he hadn't expected to be believed so readily.
"The giant bat things," Gomamon said.
"Aye. Olitiau they are, and a blight on these foothills. They used to keep to themselves, mostly, but in recent years they've gotten bold. Same as everything else, seemingly." The speaker was another of the dwarves, who shook his head sadly.
Jou nodded, and looked helplessly at Ken a moment before clearing his throat.
"Well, uh, obviously we will do what we can, and I am grateful for your assistance in fetching us down here…"
The woman shook her head. "You have no notion of your purpose in this land. You bring partners who fight, and we must not turn away allies if the time of Merging is indeed upon us, but what, pray, can two—or even nine—children do against a growing corruption which blights the lesser folks, and draws dangerous creatures from another realm to join the forces we must oppose?"
Ken cleared his throat. "I think I might know the answer to that," he said, stepping back as everyone turned to stare at him. "I…I've been helping to translate what looks like a prophecy from the digital world, and it mentions something about fixing an imbalance. We know that digimon have been ending up here through distortions, so I would guess that our task is to get rid of them somehow. And if this corruption affecting some of the creatures here comes from that, then getting rid of it should fix the problems here, too."
"A noble cause, but how exactly can nine children do something like that?" the ox-like man said. "Now, don't get me wrong, we're all glad to see you, but we'd sooner see an end to this corruption, and if you don't know how…"
"The elders of the Forest want some of the others to go to a…a council of some sort," Jou said, reaching up to straighten his glasses and remembering belatedly that they were broken. He fumbled to keep them on his face. "They seemed to think they would have all the answers."
The dwarf with the gold chain stroked his beard. "That'd be the Grand Council, most likely. Course, we haven't heard from them in years. But then, we does tend to keep ourselves to ourselves in the mountains. No time for all that fuss and ceremony the Fae and the fairies get themselves worked up over. No offence, Órlaith."
The woman frowned. "Indeed. Even so, how is it that you have word from the Forest City? It is a journey of two days either way to send word from here."
"We…well, at least, most of the others have devices which allow us to communicate," Jou said. "One of our friends—another Chosen Child—sent us messages to say that's where they were, and that the Elders wanted them to visit a Grand Council because they should have answers."
"I tried sending a message after we got here," Ken said. "But I haven't had a reply yet. I'm not sure what's causing the delay. It could be that something has happened to stop Miyako replying—we were planning to go missing soon, after all."
Jou shook his head. "It could be that she hasn't received it yet," he said. "Takeru's messages were delayed at one point. We never did work out why."
"Well, nowt we can do about it right now," the dwarf in the brown robe said. "Alls any of us can do is take note of the goings-on of the world. The Elders down in the Forest mean to act, and, if they're sending Chosen Children north, I say we do the same. There's no call for us to be holding up two Chosen Children when the Grand Council might be setting 'em on some sort of path."
He turned to Jou. "Now, that's not to say as we'll be turfing you out at dawn, you being injured and all. But there's no denying that we're poor set for answers, and the Grand Council—come what may—are probably more equipped for dealing with prophecies. And when you do go north, we'll see as you go in good company, hear? I'll not have it said we didn't do our part."
The others all agreed, chiming in with remarks like "Hear, hear!" and "That's sure enough."
Jou just looked over their heads at Ken, whose expression suggested he felt as lost by the sudden turn of events as Jou did. Everything seemed to be happening with bewildering speed. What kind of place had they landed in?
Monday, 4:30pm
Hikari could tell that they were getting closer to the city. It wasn't so much that she recognised her surroundings—all the passageways looked very much alike, and she had only travelled through them once before, consciously, at least. But the further they walked, the better the mood of her travelling companions seemed to get.
It was infectious. Although Hikari wasn't returning home, as they were, she knew that Tai and Tailmon and the others awaited her at the end of their journey, and that was certainly a reunion she was looking forward to.
Tentomon flew between her and Alwyn—even he seemed to have realised he was getting close to Koushiro, because his antennae were more alert, and he had lost the worried, drooping sort of look which he'd had ever since arriving in the real world just too late to be with his partner.
"Not long now," Alwyn said. "Soon we shall be back within the gates—to a heroes' welcome, most likely."
"Well, whatever passes for one, these days," quipped one of the scouts. "Like as not, most of the welcoming party are asleep!"
The tall scout Hikari recognised as Aldith laughed, and clouted the speaker over the head with the palm of her hand.
"The hour is late, Dáire," she said, grinning down at him. "Did thee expect the Elders to wait up, and shake thee by the hand for a job well done?"
"Late?" cried one of the others, a short man with goat-like, cloven hooves for feet. "Early's more the like! We passed late a few miles back."
Alwyn smiled at Hikari as the rest of the scouts continued to laugh and joke among themselves.
"A safe return can lift even the most hardened spirits," he said. "Truly, I shall be glad to get back to my home, and to Nonie." He sighed, losing the cheer in his expression. "I only wish that she were older. My heart tells me I will join you on your travels north, but that is no trek for a child. I fear she will take the separation poorly."
Hikari frowned. "The little girl who was with you in the prison? You haven't really talked about her. Is she…your sister?"
"My niece. And my ward, too, for her parents walk another plane."
"Oh. I…I'm sorry for your loss," Hikari said.
Alwyn shook his head. "These times are hard on all of us. And I am sure we will meet again, when my path joins theirs. But, enough of such sorrowful talk! We shall reach the gates within the hour. For now, let us put aside our worries. Soon we shall be reunited with our loved ones, and retire to soft beds."
He pointed to a marker on the wall of the passage. "A mile more, only, and we shall see our kin."
"I hope Koushiro is looking after himself," Tentomon said.
Hikari smiled. "If he isn't, there's plenty of people to make him," she said. She shook the bag of batteries. "And I'm sure he'll be happy when he sees that we've got these."
A.N.: Hoo boy, it's finally here! Honestly, it's taken me a while to get back into the flow of Hope's Fire. Four months away is enough to make anyone rusty, and I really didn't want to come back and end up with a massive tone shift because angst from Trinacriform was creeping in. I actually made myself read the whole thing before I started, and check a bunch of planning notes so that (with any luck!) there shouldn't be a noticeable "join".
I also wanted to make sure this chapter didn't come up short, which turned out to be tricky because, of course, there's not so much actual action at the moment. Still, we're getting close now. I'm really looking forward to the upcoming chapters, not least because the whole midday/midnight spikes will stop being a thing.
Incidentally, with increasing amounts of action happening in the other world, I do hope it's not confusing that I'm marking the time of day as it is on Earth. I've done it that way because that's how their digivices/phones/D-Terminals will show it, but obviously night and day are reversed in the other world, so with most of the chosen children there, I'm a tad worried it's confusing? At the moment half of them are effectively jetlagged as all hell, so they're running on Earth time anyway, but if it's helpful I can try and find a way to distinguish between the two. Let me know what you think!