Monday, 4:53pm (4:53am local time)
The gate was a rather unassuming obstacle, really, and yet when they reached it Hikari felt her heart soar. Somewhere on the other side of it were her brother and partner, and Takeru, and Koushiro. Behind an impenetrable barrier crafted of a mixture of wood and metal; iron rods tinged with rust.
There wasn't any visible method of opening it. There was no handle, no latch. No bell to ring or button to press. She couldn't see anything like a security camera or motion detector—and it wasn't as though anyone in this world would be likely to have any clue what those things were, anyway. So how did it work? When they'd left, a group who remained behind had waved them out of sight.
"Euthalia, do your thing," the squad commander said.
"I thought you would never ask," replied a tall, slender woman with leaves growing through her hair. She cracked her knuckles and rolled her neck and shoulders, setting off a series of crackles which made Hikari wince. Then she clasped her hands together and took a few deep breaths, standing with her feet shoulder-width apart and her head bowed.
Hikari just had time to wonder what was going on when the door rattled. She turned to stare at it, as a wooden crossbeam shivered and pulled loose of the door, and several of the wooden ceiling braces turned out to be rather more alive than she had believed them to be. The ends of them were thinner and root-like, and reached down to coil around iron loops in the base of the door, lifting it upward towards them.
Beyond the door was another corridor, this one lit with old-fashioned, slightly dim electric bulbs. Hikari walked under the gate, turning back to stare at Euthalia with wide eyes.
"How did she…" she whispered to Alwyn, as Euthalia walked forward, seemingly in a trance, and stood in a small corner of the corridor where the floor was the same well-trodden earth as the passage outside, rather than the stone slabs the rest of it was paved with. The door swung gently back into place.
Alwyn grinned at her. "You've never met a wood-nymph before?" he said, with obvious amusement. "You hail from a world of bright lights, and boxes which display images of people around the world, have travelled through a world made from the substance which powers your com-pu-ters, and this surprises you?"
Hikari laughed. "A little," she said. "Although I suppose I probably should have run out of things to be surprised at by now."
"I am sure Koushiro has been making a close study of this place," Tentomon added.
"Taichi's last message said he'd gone to sleep again," Hikari reminded him. "I don't think he's meant to be working just yet."
The corridor the squad had entered wasn't long—a couple of hundred metres at most—and ended with a second, rather more imposing set of metal doors. They were inlaid with intricate patterns carved on wooden beams, with gold, silver, and jewels in a rainbow's worth of colours and more, and swung open by themselves as the group approached.
Several of the squad members clapped each other on the shoulder as they walked through, already discussing food and bed and loved ones. There were guards on the far side of the gate to welcome them, and one approached, bowing. Hikari half turned as the grating of metal on stone marked the gates closing behind her, sealing off the outside world. What had Alwyn said—there was a whole city down here, wasn't there?
"Well met, Chosen of Light," the guard said as she turned back to face him. He looked human; a man in his late thirties, perhaps, and spared Tentomon only the briefest wary glance as he spoke. "I have been tasked with escorting you to your quarters."
Hikari nodded; she'd gathered from Taichi's messages about Koushiro overdoing it that they'd been given somewhere to stay.
"Thank you," she said, then turned to the rest of the squad who had accompanied her. "And thank you for keeping me safe," she said. "I know you've all put yourselves in danger on my account."
The shrugged off her thanks, shaking their heads and waving at her before heading off down a corridor, calling out wishes to meet again. Alwyn stayed by her side, and shook his head.
"Most likely they will," he said. "The city is not that large a place, after all, and you must surely remain while your fellow Chosen are recovering."
"What about you?" Hikari said to him, conscious of the guard waiting for her.
"I will stay with you for now," Alwyn replied. "Nonie will yet be asleep—I hope—and I would very much like to see this reunion through."
The guard led them down a corridor which spiralled further into the ground, down and down until Hikari started to feel dizzy. At last it levelled out, and they were led down a passage with a polished stone floor, and wooden panels along the walls. The lights still looked old-fashioned, but were in actual fixtures, as opposed to being bare bulbs.
"Your quarters, Chosen of Light," the guard said, as they reached a door with an odd, swirling pattern marked on the door. "There are bells within for you to ring should you require anything, although the city proper does not awaken until six bells of the morning, so some amenities may be unavailable until then."
Hikari really wasn't sure what the man meant by "bells", but she nodded anyway. "Do you know where my…where the other Chosen are?"
"I can tell you that their rooms are close to your own. This whole hallway has been reserved for your use. But as I have been stationed by the gate, I'm afraid I don't know whether they have bedded down for the night or wandered. I was told the pattern of days and night are reversed in your world, so there may be some confusion there? Although, I believe the Chosen of Hope had not yet been cleared to leave the healers' quarters. It is unlikely they would wish to move him until morning."
He bowed, and opened the door before Hikari could reach the handle. It was a little unnerving to have gone from being a prisoner to an apparently honoured guest in less than a day, but she did her best to smile as he gestured for her to enter. She looked over at Tentomon as she walked into the room. It had to be hard for him to be so close to his partner and still not know where he was, but selfish though it might be, she wanted to know where Tailmon was first. And after all, these were her rooms so perhaps Tailmon might be—
"Wow," she said flatly, looking around. The lack of any immediate response told her that Tailmon wasn't there, but for a moment she was too startled to mind. The room was easily the size of her apartment's living area. There were brightly coloured tapestries hanging from three of the walls, with a large fireplace set into the only bare one. A huge four-poster bed was set against the wall opposite the fire.
"The Elders will reconvene at nine bells of the morning," the guard said. "Someone will come to fetch you around then." He bowed once more, and left, leaving the door ajar.
Hikari set her bags down on a desk, and turned to stare at Alwyn.
"They're letting me sleep in here?"
Alwyn smiled. "Now you look like Nonie. And, you are a Chosen Child. These are the rooms set aside for important visitors to the Forest City. The Elders will spare you no honour while you are here, so I'd advise you to enjoy it while you can. The road north will have none of these luxuries."
She stared around the room one more time. It looked like a five star hotel—albeit a rather old-fashioned one. Sighing, she shook her head.
"Well. Right now I want to know where everyone else is," she said, fishing in her pocket for her D3. She pulled it out and smiled when she saw several dots on the screen. It hadn't shown any signals at all when she'd checked it earlier on during their march back to the city. "We're close enough that the tracker is working, at least."
Tentomon flew over immediately. "Is Koushiro nearby?" he asked.
She smiled at him. "Well it certainly seems as though he is. Look…and Taichi must be with Takeru."
They followed her lead out of the room, and down the corridor to a room a couple of doors from her own. The door was marked with a symbol identical to the one from before.
"This must be his room. But…Taichi said he was asleep. I'm not sure we're meant to disturb him," she said, then faltered at the wilted look which came over Tentomon. "You know, I suppose there's no harm in knocking. Just quietly, of course."
Part of her badly wanted to offload Tentomon, much as she felt guilty for thinking it. But at least once he was back with Koushiro she'd be able to focus on finding everyone else. It wasn't so much that Tentomon was bad company under normal circumstances, but things could hardly be said to be normal. Still, she had to bite back a smile at the sight of Tentomon tapping gently on the wood, as though if he wasn't careful it would explode.
There was silence for a few seconds, and then the sound of muffled cursing.
"Please, come in," called a familiar voice. "Unfortunately I can't seem to reach the door at the moment."
"Koushiro!" Tentomon cried, and grabbed the handle, opening the door so fast that Hikari was worried for a moment that he was going to pull it off.
The door swung open to reveal a room every bit as extravagant as her own, with the exception that the desk was piled high with books and sheets of paper. Koushiro sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in an odd, long shirt. He yelped in pain as Tentomon flew over and collided with him.
"Koushiro, what happened to you?"
"It's…I'm fine, Tentomon, honestly," Koushiro said, wincing as his partner landed on the floor beside him and he levered himself upright once more and sighed. "No lasting damage."
Hikari leant on the doorway. It was good to see the pair together again, but what she wanted was her own reunion. She cleared her throat.
"Um, Koushiro, do you know where the others are?" she asked.
Koushiro looked up, then rubbed the side of his head with his right hand. "Hikari? Oh, of course…my apologies: I got caught up there for a moment. Somehow I forgot that Tentomon could only get here with you. I'm glad you made it here safely."
Hikari winced, but managed a weak smile. She really didn't want to think about the cave with the grootslang any more if she could help it. Especially not while she was underground.
Koushiro sighed. "I'm not sure where Taichi will have got to by now, but I do know that someone brought food to his room for the digimon. It's to the left of this one. As far as I know, Takeru and Patamon are still in the hospital area where they treated our injuries. If Taichi isn't in his room it's possible he went to visit him."
She nodded, and backed out of the doorway. Tailmon might be next door?
"I can lead you to the healers quarters if you like," Alwyn said, but Hikari barely heard him. Taichi's door, like Koushiro's and her own, had a strange symbol marking it, but beyond that there was nothing to set it apart. She half expected to knock and find that Koushiro had made a mistake and sent her to the wrong room.
No, she thought, and raised her hand. The longer she stood there, the more right it felt. She rapped lightly on the wood, and felt her heart leap as it opened to reveal a small white figure.
"Hikari!" Tailmon cried.
She dropped to her knees and hugged her partner. It might only have been a day or two that they'd been apart, but after everything she'd been through, it felt far longer.
"I missed you, Tailmon," she whispered.
Tailmon clung almost as tightly back. "I missed you too. And I am glad you're safe. Did you really have to put yourself in danger like that again?"
Hikari found herself laughing, although she wasn't entirely sure why. She let go and sat back on her ankles. "I didn't know what else to do," she said. "But I won't be doing it again, I promise."
"Too right you won't," Tailmon said. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again until all this is over, you hear?"
"Gladly," Hikari said. "Now, can we go and find my brother?"
Despite the plentiful amount of sleep he'd gotten, Takeru found himself nodding off. It was tiring being stuck in a hospital bed, especially since Taichi had fallen asleep in the chair beside him. How he'd managed that given the complaints he'd made about its lack of comfort, Takeru wasn't sure. But it probably had something to do with the fact that he seemed to have gotten far less sleep than any of them. After all, it was…
What time is it? Takeru thought. Surely someone else has to wake up at some point and let me out of here? Perhaps if he were allowed to get up he'd stop feeling so worn out from doing nothing.
Even the prospect of wearing whatever mismatch of weird clothes the people here could possibly find for him was starting to seem less of a compromise for being allowed to get out of the hospital ward and walk around. He wanted to know where he was. What the city was like. What the people were like. After all, if they were going to be stuck in the city until Koushiro's wrist healed, he might as well find something to do. Something more entertaining than trying to get Taichi to tell him what was actually going on. Being treated as though he was about to break had gotten old within just a few sentences.
"Patamon, could you check the time?" he asked, nodding over at his D-Terminal. Taichi had 'helpfully' placed it out of his reach.
Not that he could have checked it by himself anyway. Until someone came along and removed the bandages over his fingers, his hands were more or less useless. And over the last few hours he had decided that if there was one thing worse than being treated as though he couldn't handle things, it was being—quite literally, in fact—unable to handle things.
His partner flew over to the cabinet where his belongings had been placed, and nudged a button on the D-Terminal. "The clock thingy says it's five-dot-dot-fifteen-P-M."
Takeru frowned with concentration briefly then stopped, smoothing his features as best he could. Frowning only tugged on the gauze taped to his face. "So that's…if day and night are back to front, then it can't be that long until it's properly morning here, right? Which means those doctors will wake up and let me out of here."
"Right!" Patamon said cheerfully, then winced as Taichi stirred beside them. They both watched as he settled back into the chair once more.
"It's good that Taichi's sleeping," Patamon said quietly. "I think he's been really worried about everyone. And Agumon told me that he got hurt on that island where they appeared, too."
Takeru rolled his eyes. "Figures he never told me that. At least if we're waiting here for Koushiro we'll all have time to get back into shape. I can't believe he tried to—did you hear that?"
He leant forward and sat up, groaning at the stiffness in his back. It had been muffled at first, but even as Patamon asked him what he meant, the unmistakable sound of voices filtered into the room.
"…here on the right," said a woman. Takeru recognised the voice as belonging to one of the staff in the hospital area that Taichi had spoken to, during the long while he'd kept Takeru company. "I do hope that in future, normal visiting hours will be respected."
"Of course," a young male voice replied. "Although I'm sure you understand why the Elders have asked that you make an exception in this case."
"Hmph," the nurse said. "I just ask that you not tax him overmuch until the healers are able to make an assessment. Chosen or not, while he is in my care he is a patient first and foremost."
The woman appeared in the doorway, tall and willowy—and not just in terms of her physique. There was a definite element of tree-ishness about her appearance, too. There was no mistaking who she had brought with her though.
"Hikari!" Takeru cried.
Taichi flinched in the chair beside him, but was still rubbing his eyes groggily as Hikari replied.
"Takeru? What happened? Taichi said you were worn out, but…"
"Oh. Um…" Takeru found himself half-consciously trying to pull the bedsheet higher up, and winced as the bandages on his hands rubbed at his burns. "It's—I'm fine. Really."
"Hikari!" Taichi cried, waking up at last.
Takeru sighed with relief as Taichi launched himself out of the chair, ran across the room, and swept Hikari into a hug which lifted her clear off the ground. At least the attention was no longer on himself. He'd more or less managed to forget the fact that most of his clothes had been cut into pieces until Hikari had gaped at him in surprise.
Hikari laughed.
"Put me down Taichi!" she cried. "I didn't come all this way to get crushed by-"
Taichi set her on the ground and stepped back.
"What did you go all that way for?" he asked. Takeru could picture the concerned frown even though Taichi had his back to him. "Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was? You could have been killed!"
"I didn't have a choice," Hikari said. "There was no way for me to contact anyone, and I had to pass on what the Elders told me somehow. I didn't know you were going to show up here, especially not as quickly as you did."
Taichi sighed. "I know. Just…don't scare me like that again, okay? When we got here and they said you'd already left…"
"He looked like he was going to hit someone," Tailmon remarked. "Which probably wouldn't have been a good idea, given all the spears pointing at us at the time."
"Spears?" Hikari said, looking lost.
"Yeah," Taichi remarked, looking at the nurse and the fairy who had accompanied Hikari. "I'm not sure what kind of reception you got when you first arrived here, but ours could have stood being a bit friendlier, that's for sure."
Hikari cleared her throat and looked over at the fairy stood by her side.
"Actually, it was one of Alwyn's squad who captured me in the first place," she said. "Alwyn, this is Taichi, my brother and the Chosen of Courage. Taichi, this is Alwyn. He's…well. Ithel asked him to keep me safe until we got back to the city."
Takeru couldn't help but frown slightly at the sight of Hikari's new bodyguard. The fairy didn't look much older than he was. Still, there was definitely a no-nonsense look about him, and he didn't wilt under what was almost certainly a stern stare from Taichi, which had to count in the newcomer's favour.
"I am honoured to meet you, Chosen of Courage," Alwyn said, bowing. The wings on his back took a few seconds to settle when he stood again. "Hikari has told me much about you, and your previous quests to save the…ah…Di-gi-tal world."
"Just 'Taichi' is fine, really. And…thanks for looking after my sister. I mean, I'd have preferred her not to need looking after at all, but, well. We are in a prophecy again. I guess none of us can guarantee we'll stay out of harm's way until this is over."
He looked round at Takeru and sighed. Takeru looked down at his hands. He was pretty sure that Taichi had been hovering over him out of some sense of duty to Yamato, and no doubt the fact that Hikari had emerged from danger apparently unhurt was both a relief and a source of guilt for their leader. He really hoped that he'd be rid of the mess of bandages before they found his older brother. A reunion where Taichi got punched in the face wasn't really going to help anyone.
Takeru closed his eyes, trying to block out the inevitable thought which followed that: If there was a reunion. Hikari and Taichi were back together, but no one had any idea what had happened to Yamato, or even where he was. And now Sora had vanished without a trace as well, and all anyone knew was that she'd been alone in his father's apartment with Piyomon. As Taichi had said, anything could have happened, sure—but the answer which made most sense to Takeru was that Yamato had come back, and dragged Sora away with him through a fear gate.
Just like I did with Koushiro, he thought glumly. So what scared him so badly? And if it was that bad, why haven't he or Sora come back?
"Takeru?" Patamon said, nudging one of the few spots on his arm which wasn't bandaged over. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he said, but his heart wasn't particularly in the lie. "I…I wish Yamato was here, that's all. And I want to be out there looking for him, but I can't even get out of this bed. I feel useless."
That much was true, at least. He was glad to see Hikari, but as she chatted merrily away to Taichi, Tailmon and the fairy she'd introduced as Alwyn, he found it harder and harder to be relieved that she was safe. They'd known that already, after all. What no one knew—or even knew how to find out—was what had happened to his brother.
The thought popped into his head without warning: What if Yamato hadn't come back again because he'd been killed? So far they'd all been thrown out before dying because they'd been scared enough, but what if Yamato had gone back and died before he realised what was going on? When he'd fallen through the roof with Koushiro, there hadn't been time to be scared and then it was all over anyway. But if he'd fallen from a bit higher, or if the roof had completely collapsed straight away…
No, he told himself. Stop thinking about it.
It was too late. Already he could see the world tumbling over and over in his mind. He could practically feel the air whipping at his face.
"Takeru!" Patamon cried.
He shuddered, and reached to grab his partner. They were falling! Falling—he needed to catch Patamon and clutch him safe and close. Takeru fumbled with arms which felt leaden and sluggish, and burned with pain. Was that the wind? It sucked at his lungs—he couldn't breathe, but something had tangled his legs and—
"Takeru!" a halfway familiar voice said firmly. The falling sensation ended with a lurch. "Takeru, you are in the healers' quarters. You are safe."
The air was still. He felt a hand close around his arm and yelped as it pressed on a burn. Closing his eyes tightly, he opened them again to see a ceiling, blessedly solid. Underground. He was underground. Not falling. Not in the air.
"Can you hear me?" the voice said.
He turned to its owner and saw the nurse watching him, her expression calm. It took a moment to realise that in addition to the hand which gripped his arm—more gently now—her other hand rested upon his shoulder, warm and soothing. The deep ache down his back was easing even as he stared.
"Okay. Takeru, can you tell me where you are?" she asked.
As she spoke, calmness washed over him in waves. He could feel his heartrate settling again. Feel the tension in his limbs easing.
"I…I'm underground," he muttered. "What did you do?"
She nodded. "We dryads have an ability to heal. It is limited, and tiring to keep it up, but I considered this an urgent case, given the…conditions of your arrival in this world. You carry a burden in your mind, one similar to that which I have felt in many of my patients. A shadow—not of darkness, but of memory. The past shapes us, and this can be for good or ill. These episodes should grow fewer over time, but you would do well to see a healer of the mind. One who could help ease them sooner."
Takeru frowned, looking past her to see that at some point, Taichi and Hikari must have left the room. He hung his head.
"But I don't get it. This… It wasn't even the first time I've fallen a long way. It happened before, in the digital world, but the only thing about all those times which bothered me was—" He glanced over at Patamon and sighed. "Something else."
"I died," Patamon said, quite calmly. Takeru's stomach lurched at the words, and he hugged his partner as tightly as he could manage with his free arm.
"I cannot explain why some bad memories bring waking dreams and leave a shadow, and why others do not. Our minds are the seat of our being. The most difficult part of the body to understand and to heal. All I can say is that time will ease the worst of it, although it may not heal it altogether by itself. I can explain to the Chosen of—"
"No!" Takeru said. "I…I mean—I know he has to know, really. I just don't want him treating me differently, I guess. It's bad enough already."
The nurse raised an eyebrow. "You are tender in years, and your safety is paramount to the future of our world. I believe it is understandable that your friends and travelling companions would wish to safeguard you."
"I'm not that young—"
"Chosen of Hope, I have witnessed more than a hundred and twenty summers in my lifetime. Save Sjarel, who has but a human's span of time upon this world, there are none among the Elders whose years number less than a hundred and fifty. By the reckoning of many in this world, you are unfathomably young to be entrusted with its future. After all, though your presence here is prophesied, that does not make you immortal. Nor does it make your companions unreasonable when they are concerned for your wellbeing. I advise you to make peace with the present. It may also aid you in laying to rest the past. And have patience."
Takeru stared at her. "Uhh…"
"For now, I believe you should rest. When you awaken, I am sure your companions will have arranged for you to be transported to more comfortable surroundings." She produced a small vial from a pocket, and held it out to him. "Here. Drink this. It will help you sleep soundly, and without troublesome dreams."
"But I've only been awake a few hours," he said, biting back a yawn.
"Regardless, I advise sleep. If it may be an incentive for you, I am sure your escape from the healers' quarters will be far easier if you comply with the instructions of the healers here, of which I am but one."
Takeru sighed, and nodded. It was only after he had drained the vial of its contents and sunk back into the recess of his pillow, sleep already tugging at his eyelids, that he realised he'd never mentioned nightmares to the nurse, or healer, or whatever she was.
"How did you know?" he asked, but the words came out as little more than a mumble. Patamon settled at his side once more, and he slept.
A.N.: Whew!
I'm not as happy with this chapter as I could be, and if I come back and tweak anything, it will most likely be that conversation at the end. But at this point, I've been staring at the chapter all dratted week and it's not going to change from being a somewhat slower-paced one. Besides, we got some reunions at last! Hurrah!
...I also want to thank everyone who has followed, favourited or sent me a review. Honestly, it absolutely makes my day to know that someone out there has enjoyed the story so far. And thank you all too, for being so patient with me this last few months. Updates have been slow, and what with NaNoWriMo approaching in a couple of months, that's unlikely to change. On the side of writing this, I'm also working on my own original novel, which is going to start eating into my time more and more as I progress with it. I will do my best to keep my fics going, but please bear with me if the updates get a little patchy for a while - I want to have a good draft of my novel finished by April, which means some serious work.