Chapter 9: Takeru's loss
Takeru still remembered how the bedroom he had shared with his brother his entire life felt empty that day. Only the second bed, next to his, remained of Yamato's things, and not for long. There had been no satisfying explanations about what was going to happen.
"Mom and Dad won't live together anymore. Yamato wants to go with him," was all what his mother said.
His brother had been very quiet in those last days. Yamato had told Takeru that he did not feel bothered about moving with their father and that it could be fun to live with him.
"It's not like we'll never see each other again. We'll just… meet less often."
Takeru wondered if Yamato was aware of the way his eyes got humid and his lips trembled when he said that. The hug he gave the smaller boy in their last day living under the same roof was tight and long. The boy felt the heavy breath of his brother as he forced an optimistic tone of voice.
"Be brave, Takeru."
And soon enough, he was alone with his mother in that house. He did not feel that he had become a different person but his name had changed. Ishida Takeru had become Takaishi Takeru and there was no sign that he had ever been anything else.
There were still phone calls and rare visits. Yamato always told him that things were good and the little brother limited himself to say that he missed him and their father. But that commentary would fade away from their interactions as Takeru noticed the hurt expression Yamato tried to hide every time.
In those three years, they had become like strangers to each other, who did nothing more than small talk. Yet, it was with excitement that Takeru received the news that he would spend the summer with his brother in a camp.
When his mother left him in his father's apartment, the two adults had the same polite conversation they always had ever since they had divorced. When she talked to Yamato, there was the same awkwardness characteristic of their interactions from the past three years. But once the boys entered the bus and sat side by side, it was as if all the tension had vanished. When their parents were not around, Yamato seemed more relaxed and smiled more.
"I think you're going to enjoy the camp a lot, Takeru." His older brother told him. "We're going to share a hut, eat together, play…"
"And we'll have a lot to talk about!" Takeru said, full of enthusiasm.
"Yes." Yamato agreed, smiling timidly. "We're going to be together every day."
From their meeting in the father's apartment, the amount of time they had spent together in that day did not make it to three hours. They had barely entered the hut and put most of their luggage next to the beds when Takeru wanted to take a look outside. As they walked, snowflakes started to pour and the boys rushed back to the hut before a snow storm hit them at full force. After it stopped, an excited voice came from the outside, saying "come see this!"
Takeru was curious to see how the outside looked like covered by snow. Maybe the lake nearby had frozen! He ran to the outside, with a concerned Yamato coming right after him, telling the little boy to be careful. Five other children had left their shelters as well. A beautiful aurora was visible at the horizon and a pair of kids was debating the probability of the event. Then, lights appeared in the sky.
Suddenly, the water from the lake nearby formed a big wave, as tall as a building, and engulfed the children. Yamato had tried to grab Takeru by the hand but was too late.
Under the mass of water, the boy fell into the darkness and lost consciousness. When Takeru woke up, he was in the middle of a jungle, with a little white creature next to him.
"Takeru!" The other had a joyful tone of voice and jumped happily at the human's lap. "I'm so glad I finally met you! I'm Tokomon!"
"Tokomon?" Takeru asked, astonished. He had no idea what the stranger was. "How do you know my name?"
The white creature blinked twice before replying, happily:
"I've always known. Since I was born, I knew that Takeru was coming to meet me and that we would be friends."
"I'm not sure if I understand…" The boy said, putting Tokomon down, standing up and looking around. The surroundings did not resemble the camp at all. But Takeru had a more urgent concern.
"Have you seen my big brother? His name is Yamato. He looks like me but is taller and has a serious expression."
"You're the first human I've ever seen, Takeru." Tokomon told him.
"What do you mean by that?" The human was getting anxious. Was there nobody else in that place? Where could his brother be? Was Yamato still in the camp, looking for him?
Takeru's heart ached and he started to cry.
"W-Where's Onii-chan?"
"D-Don't cry, Takeru." Now it was the small white creature that was tearing up. "Don't lose hope so easily. Listen, I'm not the only digimon who has been waiting for a human to arrive. Maybe your brother is someone else's partner."
Takeru felt a little guilty when he realized how nervous he had made Tokomon. The boy wiped the tears and tried to have a more positive attitude.
"Could you look for Onii-chan with me, Tokomon?" He asked, shyly.
"Sure!" Tokomon sounded happier. "Let's go look for him!"
The little animal ran into the jungle and the boy followed him in a hurry.
"Tokomon, don't run away!"
And then Takeru met Sora and the others. However, his brother had not come to that world.
Takeru did not want to be a burden to the other children, so the boy did his best to conceal his sadness. They just had to find a way home and everything would be alright. Even when things got bad, he still felt supported by those kind strangers, especially Sora and Patamon. But being positive did not stop the situation from getting worse. The revelation of the possible evolution of his partner had only been the most recent slap on Takeru's face.
Elecmon had lit a bonfire and the boy and his digimon sat close to it. The cribs nearby had many baby digimon inside. Tsunomon had followed Elecmon somewhere; a few minutes later, they had returned with a huge cauldron and vegetables. Once the soup was ready, Elecmon ran somewhere again and returned with cups and bowls for everybody.
Neither Patamon nor Takeru had much of an appetite.
"A long time ago, the Digital World lived in anarchy." Elecmon started to narrate, sitting in front of the chosen child and Patamon; Tsunomon was next to the Carer, paying attention to the story as well. "I had seen many big digimon mistreating smaller ones just because they could. That made me hate adult and above levels monsters. I was just an Elecmon trying to do what I could to help… it was when I heard the Call of Fate."
"What do you mean?" Takeru asked.
"It's an entity said to be as old as Time. It has many names, like Fate and Spirit of the World. The voice spoke inside my head: 'Elecmon, I've looked into your heart. You desire to bring change to the World. If you wish, I can grant you power and guidance.'"
"Carer, you had never told me that you had been chosen by Fate!" Tsunomon sounded impressed.
"What I replied was: 'I don't want to ever evolve and forget how it is to be small and defenseless. But I want to be able to protect all the digimon who are too small to take care of themselves.' To which, Fate replied: 'Very well. I'll choose a land where all digimon will be born and you will guard it forever.' And that's how this Village was create-"
"Excuse me." Takeru interrupted. "You had promised us that you'd explain everything about Patamon and Devimon. Is it going to take long?"
"Don't be impatient." Elecmon scolded him. "You need to understand the beginning in order to comprehend the end. Continuing, one day, two eggs hatched at the same time in the Village. The digimon who had been born became so close that they considered themselves to be siblings."
"Siblings?" Takeru could not avoid thinking about Yamato.
"When one of those digimon became Patamon, he heard the Call of Fate. And he swore to bring order and peace to the World. That Patamon evolved and became the strongest digimon in the world, and he was able to subjugate all others. However, the sense of justice he once had became ruthlessness… and the once sweet Patamon would be known as 'Seraphimon, the Bloody Lord.'"
Patamon shivered. Takeru believed that his friend was about to cry.
"That transformation broke his sister's heart. And she also listened to the Call. She became the strongest digimon and took Seraphimon's life to save the world. She threw away her name and became known as the Queen and the Goddess. She ruled over the world and, a few years later, she took in a Patamon that had escaped from this Village. It was possible that he was Seraphimon reborn but there was never a confirmation. From what I heard, he loved her more than anything… and because of that love, he brought war upon the world."
"War?" Patamon muttered, afraid.
"There was a group of Digimon who called themselves 'the Academy.' It seems that a factory where they were developing an experiment was attacked by his order. The next thing I know is that the Academy brought human children to this world and they defeated the Queen... but at least one of them died. Not long after that, Devimon began to terrorize File Island."
"So that's it…" Patamon said in a desolated voice. "… if I evolve, I'm going to become a heartless murderer."
"Patamon, it's not like that!" Takeru protested. "Just because it happened to them, it doesn't mean that-"
Patamon abruptly flew away. Takeru ran after him.
"What are you doing? Come back here!" The boy called his friend. The little digimon was still too injured and could not fly for more than a couple of minutes before being forced to land. Takeru sat by his side and Patamon began to cry.
"This is not how I imagined things would be." The small creature sobbed. "I always thought that when I met Takeru we would have adventures and become best friends… I never wished to become something horrible!"
"PATAMON!" The boy shouted, which made the digimon finally face him. "What are you so scared of, Patamon? Even if you were to evolve to Devimon or that other digimon, you would still be you! And I would still be your friend, no matter how you look like or how you call yourself!"
"But if I become evil-"
"YOU'LL NEVER BE EVIL!" Takeru stated. His intense gaze astonished his partner. "Patamon, I might have known you for a little more than a day but I swear to you that there's no possibility that you would ever become evil! Look at the bruises you got from fighting for me! Remember how you never hesitated in helping me, not thinking in the danger you were putting yourself into! You are kind, brave, and hopeful and I like you so much! You are already so special to me, Patamon…"
A couple of tears fell from Takeru's eyes and, soon enough, the boy had begun to cry profusely. Patamon jumped on his lap and the human gave him another tight hug.
"Takeru, do you promise me that things will stay the same, no matter what happens tomorrow?"
"Everything in life is always changing and we can't stop that. But I swear to you that, no matter what happens tomorrow, I won't leave your side." Takeru promised. His partner muttered a "Thank you" and did not let go of the human. Still hugging the tiny mammal, the boy lay down on the grass and admired the stars.
In the child's heart, he wished that things could never change between him and Patamon. After everything, did Takeru not deserve to have at least one thing in his life preserved? But he did not want to delude himself or his friend into a false sense of security, which would only increase their pain later. However, a memory crossed his mind.
"Being negative is just going to make things worse! If you assume that things are inevitably going to take a bad turn you'll just give up!"
"It's a good thing to hope for the best, right, Patamon?
Patamon did not reply, which made Takeru wonder if he had fallen asleep. The child turned to his left and laid Patamon gently on the grass, still holding the small creature in his arms. He curled up with the digimon and closed his eyes. The night was neither too hot nor too cold.
The kid fell asleep as well.
Takeru would not remember his dreams of that night clearly. All he knew was that he was playing and laughing along with Patamon and everything seemed to be okay. But suddenly Patamon took flight and disappeared.
Away from there, Sora, Koushiro, Tentomon and Piyomon had reached the end of the underground passage. They found themselves facing a circular brick wall that was over ten meters high. Thirty centimeters bellow the end of the passage, there was a mass of water that reflected the starry sky above.
Elecmon had gone to a field at the north, separated from the Village but inside the range of Devimon's spell. There was a large well on the ground of about ten meters in diameter. The brick wall surrounding it was only twenty centimeters tall above the ground. The digimon had been there several years ago, when the voice called him.
Elecmon bowed, touching his forehead to the grass. Then, he began to pray.
"Oh, almighty Fate! I beg you to answer to my pleadings. The Village you gave me to protect faces its greatest threat. A chosen child has come to our aid but I'm afraid of what might happen… I refused your offer of power long ago… I was foolish." He spoke with bitterness. "Please, Fate, listen to me. Give me the power to protect my children. I beg you to answer to my call! Please, give me a sign!"
Suddenly a giant orange bird flew out of the well, carrying two human children and followed by a Tentomon. In shock, Elecmon stood up quickly and fell on his back. The Birdramon landed and let the children get safely on the ground, devolving into a Piyomon right after.
"It's so good to be out of that tunnel!" Sora said cheerfully. "Who would think it'd end in a well?"
"Yes." Koushiro agreed, glancing down. "The wind almost made me believe there was someone down there with us."
He heard a voice? Elecmon wondered, getting up. When the girl noticed the red digimon, she asked him a question in a concerned voice.
"Excuse me; have you seen a little boy with blond hair?"
"Yes. He came here with his Patamon friend not long ago." Elecmon confirmed.
"Thank goodness!" Sora exclaimed in relief. "Could you take us to where he is?"
"Yes. I think I have a lot to tell you, chosen children." Elecmon replied.
When Takeru woke up, the first sun rays were caressing his face. The boy heard a pair of familiar voices behind him.
"What are we going to do, Sora-san?" That was the voice of Koushiro.
"Piyomon went back to the tunnel to check and there's an invisible wall there too. As Elecmon said, we are trapped here." Sora said. "There's no other solution than to fight."
Takeru sat up quickly, leaving Patamon on the grass, and turned around. Sora, Koushiro, Piyomon, Tentomon and Elecmon were talking close to a tree that had stuffed animals in the place of fruits.
"Sora-san!" Takeru cried, standing up and running in her direction.
"Takeru-kun, I'm so glad you're okay!" Sora replied as the child hugged her with all his force and hid his face on her shirt. "We found you sleeping and did not want to wake you up."
"Patamon said that you were coming! We can definitely protect the Village now!" The blond boy spoke with great happiness. Patamon woke up because of the noise and was glad to see the others.
"Guys!" Patamon greeted Tentomon and Piyomon but they barely responded.
"Good to see that you protected Takeru from Devimon." Piyomon commented, not as cheerfully as she used to be.
"Devimon let us go after saying that he would destroy this village tonight." Patamon explained.
"So he tricked you to come here and get trapped." Koushiro concluded.
"No." Takeru denied. "We knew that we were going to be trapped in here and made the decision to come anyway."
"What?" Sora asked in low voice. Her eyes were wide open, her face paled and a few drops of cold sweat could be seen on her face.
"We couldn't abandon the babies! We couldn't just walk away!" Takeru stated without raising his voice. He saw how the girl's eyes softened and a subtle smile appeared on her lips. The boy had the impression that she had conflicting emotions and was thinking carefully on what she would say.
"You are very courageous, Takeru-kun." Sora had a bit of pride in her voice and Takeru blushed when he noticed that.
"Mimi-san and Jyou-san have not arrived yet." Koushiro changed the subject. "We should come up with a battle plan not counting on Togemon."
"I'm sure they'll arrive in time!" Takeru said with a big smile. "I know that, together, we'll stop that villain."
The youngest child felt confident and at ease. He had almost forgotten how that felt. Ever since his family had been separated and his brother departed, that feeling had vanished. But at that moment, in spite of the danger he was in, Takeru felt safe and optimistic.
"Now that we have more hands to help, we should move the babies and the eggs to inside the cube towers. You just need to press one of the walls for ten seconds and a circular door will appear. You can close it that way too." Elecmon said.
"Are the towers strong enough to protect them from Devimon?" Koushiro asked.
"It's all I can do now. But, with your help, I believe there might be a better way to protect my babies." Elecmon told Koushiro, giving him a hopeful and intense look.
"W-what do you mean?" The boy with red hair asked, nervously.
"I'll explain on the way, let's go." Elecmon said, walking in the front. Koushiro hesitated for a second but did as he was told.
When Tentomon was about to follow the two, Elecmon stopped him.
"There's no need for you to come. You should help the others in transporting the infants." The red mammal digimon had an authoritative tone.
"I'm not going to let Koushiro-han out of my sight!" Tentomon stated with cold fury, which shocked everybody.
"Devimon won't come here until the night falls; this human is in no danger." Elecmon told him.
"I'm not leaving his side!" Tentomon reiterated, trembling slightly.
Patamon found the insect digimon's behavior odd. Why is he being so unreasonable?
"Tentomon?" Piyomon called him, getting to his side and gently touching his shoulder. "Is this about the nightmare you had after eating those-?"
"Who said I had a nightmare?!" Tentomon got defensive. "What is wrong with wanting to be close to my partner?!"
"Tentomon, please." Koushiro wanted to reason with him. "Elecmon is right; you should assist Sora-san and the others."
"But…" Tentomon wanted to protest but could not bring himself to do it. He limited himself to admiring Koushiro's features in case he didn't see his friend again.
"Everything is going to be fine. Please, don't worry about me." The red haired boy promised.
"Okay." Tentomon sounded defeated.
Elecmon and Koushiro went through the same path they had come earlier, along with Sora and the others. The girl wondered if they were returning to the well.
Those who remained behind spent the rest of the day moving the babies and the eggs into the nurseries in the cube towers, taking occasional breaks to eat snacks that Tsunomon had prepared. The cubes were padded and colorful in the inside, with many pillows and toys for the infants. Sora and Takeru, along with their partners, had brought the last babies and eggs to a tower more at the south. The pair of humans lay down to rest.
"Sora-san…" Takeru had a shy tone. "I'm very glad that I got to meet you."
"W-what are you saying, Takeru-kun?" Sora blinked nervously.
"There's something about you that makes me feel calm. I don't really know how to explain it."
"I'm not doing anything special." The girl sounded slightly sad. "You'd probably be better with your brother around."
"Sora-san, I just had a great idea!" The boy said, sitting up. "Once we go back to our world, I'll introduce you to my brother! I think the two of you will get along really well. You're kind of similar."
"Really?" Sora giggled, sitting up as well. "Tell me about your brother."
"Onii-chan is very sweet and kind." Takeru started. "He's serious and worries a lot about me and I think that, if he could, he'd shield me from all the harm in the world. He's very sensitive but is also too shy."
"I wish I could protect you from all harm…" Sora murmured. "I promise that I'll do everything in my power to keep you safe."
"My brother used to make me promises he could not live up to." Takeru said with melancholy. "I could tell that he felt guilty because of it. But Onii-chan has a habit of hiding his emotions. That makes me very worried… I know that his intentions are good and that he wants to protect me… but I wish he would open up to me. I wish he would let me help him, somehow… but I know that he sees me as a small child who can't understand anything."
"I don't believe in that at all!" Sora protested in a serious tone. "You're such an intelligent and kind boy! I doubt your brother would look down on you like that."
"Then why doesn't he trust me?"
Sora looked down and took a couple of seconds to formulate a reply.
"Maybe he wants you to look up to him… maybe he thinks that, if he were to show you his true self, you would think less of him…" The girl had half closed her eyes and contracted her eyebrows in a way that made the younger child wonder if she was in pain. But soon, Sora put a smile on her lips and added: "Your brother loves you so much! You're so lucky, Takeru-kun!"
"Thank you, Sora-san." Takeru said, forcing a smile. The older girl really did remind him of Yamato.
Leaning on the opposite wall of the cube, Patamon was resting close to Piyomon, who watched Sora from afar. A dozen of baby digimon were playing around in front of them.
"What has gotten into you and Tentomon?" Patamon asked. "You don't seem as lively as usual."
"I don't know about Tentomon… but I had a nightmare about Sora." Piyomon trembled as she spoke those words. "She was being swallowed by a sea of darkness and I could not reach her… she did not allow me to get close to her… no matter what I did, I couldn't save her…"
The bird digimon let a couple of tears out.
"It was just a dream, Piyomon. I'm sure that nothing bad will happen." Patamon tried to comfort her.
"What do you think happens if a human being dies?" Piyomon asked, in a melancholic voice. "Do you think they have a Village of Beginnings where they can be reborn?"
"I don't know… I had never thought about that…"
"What if humans don't get reborn? If I let Sora die… will she stay dead forever?"
Patamon's eyes widened in horror. He looked at Takeru, at the other side of the room.
"But I swear to you that, no matter what happens tomorrow, I won't leave your side."
The mammal digimon felt his eyes getting humid but forced himself to expel the dark thought from his mind. He's going to be okay. With Birdramon and Kabuterimon here, I'm sure that nothing bad will happen.
Tentomon had not joined the others, moving the babies and the eggs on his own. It was getting dark and he was deeply concerned about Koushiro. When the sun was still high in the sky, the insect digimon saw Elecmon returning alone to the village and flew in his direction, eager for news.
"What about Koushiro-han?"
"He's working on a solution for our problem. Don't worry about him."
"You left him alone?" Tentomon asked, angrily.
"How about you talk to me with more respect? Or have you forgotten that I watched over you when you were a baby?" Elecmon got irritated.
Tentomon had done as the other had told him and waited for Koushiro to return, for hours. But he could no longer do that. Once there were no more infants or eggs left to move, the bug digimon flew in the direction of the well. When he got there, he saw no sight of his partner. The laptop, however, was lying on the grass.
"Koushiro-han?" He called, in panic. Tentomon had a bad feeling and flew above the well. What he saw in it almost made him fall into the water.
Koushiro was floating on the water with his face up. His half closed eyes were lifeless.
"KOUSHIRO-HAN!" Tentomon screamed. He dove into the well, stopping right above his partner. The boy moved his arms slowly and grabbed the digimon, who carried him back to the safety of the grass.
"What happened?!" Tentomon was hysterical. "Did you fall in the well? Did Elecmon… if Elecmon did that to you…"
Koushiro seemed to ignore his partner's concern. He sat down, picked his laptop and concentrated on typing something in it. After five minutes of him not responding to Tentomon's questions, a strong light came out of the screen and spread across the fields, going to the Village.
"The babies will be safe from Devimon's attacks now, just as he asked." Koushiro spoke in an extremely calm tone of voice. Only after doing that did he look at Tentomon. The human smiled but his eyes seemed to be full of sadness.
"I'm glad to see you again." The boy said, right before collapsing.
"KOUSHIRO-HAN!" Tentomon cried, catching him before he hit the ground. Instantaneously, Koushiro opened his eyes and agitatedly sat up. He looked around frantically until he touched the grass with his hands and looked down. Then, the boy let out a loud sigh of relief.
"You took me out of the water, Tentomon. Thank you! Thank you so much!" The child nearly cried, hugging his friend. The digimon was shocked by the boy's actions compared to his behavior from less than a minute before.
"Koushiro-han, do you remember when I took you out of the well?" Tentomon asked in a worried tone.
"No, I… didn't I just wake up?" Koushiro asked, letting go of his partner and looking at him preoccupied. Then, he saw the turned on computer on the grass, close to him.
Tentomon noticed as the boy's eyes got wide as he slowly approached the computer. Koushiro examined the screen for a couple of seconds before shutting the machine down and quickly putting it back inside his backpack, that had been lying next to the laptop. The kid began to tremble.
"Koushiro-han, what's the matter?" Tentomon's concern was increasing.
"I worked on something in the computer… to protect the infants…" The human muttered, as if trying to understand his actions.
"So you remember!" Tentomon was relieved. "I was worried you had hit your head again or something. How did you end up in the well?"
"Elecmon had left me alone… I glanced into the well and…" Koushiro stopped talking. His pupils contracted and a pained expression took over his face.
Tentomon did not have the opportunity to make further questions because someone called the boy.
"KOUSHIRO-KUN!"
It was Mimi, running in their direction with Jyou, Palmon and Gomamon.
"I'm so happy to see you again! Are Sora-san and Takeru-kun here too? Are those buildings in the distance the Village of the Beginnings?" The girl asked rapidly.
"Why are you all wet?" Jyou questioned, pointing to the boy's clothes.
"Koushiro-han fell into the well by accident." Tentomon explained. Koushiro raised an eyebrow but did not add anything.
"Honestly, Koushiro-kun, you need to be more careful!" Jyou scolded him. Suddenly, the older boy felt awkward. He realized that had been the first direct conversation he had started with the fourth grader since the incident in the factory. I should talk to him properly… explain everything, he thought.
Out of nowhere, an explosion was heard coming from the Village.
"It's Devimon! He had said he'd come at night!" Koushiro shouted, getting up in a jump and running in the direction of the explosion.
"Wait for us!" Mimi yelled, before running after him, along with the others.
Inside the cube tower, the babies began to cry. While Takeru tried to calm them down, Sora pressed one of the walls for ten seconds and made a circular door appear. She crossed it with Piyomon but then blocked the way when Takeru and Patamon were about to follow them.
"Takeru-kun, stay behind." Sora ordered.
"Don't ask me to do that!" Takeru protested. "I can't let you fight alone!"
"Takeru-kun, please!" Sora pleaded.
"NO!" Takeru shouted as tears streamed down his face. "I'm sick of everybody trying to protect me! I want to help! Why don't you let me help?"
"Takeru-kun, listen." Sora kneeled in order to be at the boy's eye level. Her voice was calm but firm. "Do you think Patamon can fight in his state? He's still hurt from the battle against Andromon, isn't he? He might not be able to evolve to fight Devimon."
"But…" Takeru could not find the words he wanted. It was true that Patamon was not in his best condition. However, did Elecmon not say that the small digimon could not only fight but also defeat Devimon? Did that not mean that Patamon was strong enough? That Takeru would not have to be sidelined and actually do something instead of seeing someone he cared about putting on a tough act to make him believe that there was nothing to worry about?
Again.
"Takeru…" Patamon, who had been standing next to the boy, called his partner in a whisper. "I think we should stay behind."
The second grader glanced down at Patamon in disbelief.
"Stay with him, Takeru-kun. We'll be right back." Sora told him before getting up and running to the center of the Village of the Beginnings with Piyomon, twelve meters ahead. There, she found Elecmon telling Tsunomon to hide. Devimon was hovering above the buildings, firing heat balls at them but failing to cause any damage. Elecmon smirked.
"Give it up, Devimon!" The red mammal ordered. "Fate has not abandoned us! You cannot win"
"Fate!?" Devimon laughed. "Do you mean that infamous two-faced trickster?"
"Don't be disrespectful!" Elecmon roared, firing electricity from his tail. "Fate guides us all! Fate protects us all!"
Black flickering smoke suddenly appeared around Devimon and Elecmon's attacck disappeared. The adult digimon's right arm grew and stretched all the way to where Elecmon was. The red creature only had time to push Tsunomon away forcefully before being grabbed by the giant hand.
"CARER!" Tsunomon cried as Devimon's painfully squeezed Elecmon.
"PIYOMON!" Sora shouted. Piyomon evolved to Birdramon and relentlessly attacked with flaming meteors. They might as well have been feathers, for Devimon's smoke eliminated them easily as well.
"SORA-SAN!"
Sora heard Mimi's voice and turned her head to the right. The younger girl was coming with Jyou and Koushiro, while their digimon evolved and joined Birdramon in her attacks. Togemon threw needles and punches, Kabuterimon fired electricity far brighter than Elecmon's, Ikkakkumon released missiles from his horn. Even together, none of these attacks made it past the smoke. They were fighting their hardest, but Devimon was unharmed.
"T-That smoke…" Elecmon wheezed. "Is this c-corrupted data?"
Devimon smiled proudly before replying:
"The Village of the Beginnings is the place where all the data of the deceased digimon gather to allow their rebirth. But what do you think happens if they died because of a severe corruption in their data?"
"Is he talking about the black gears?" Jyou asked, paling. Mimi, who was by his side at Sora's right, trembled in fear of what Devimon meant. Koushiro, who was standing at Sora's left, let the answer escape his lips.
"They can't be reborn."
Devimon laughed and commanded:
"Sing, my children!"
Hundreds of crying voices were heard as the smoke started to take the forms of arms and claws. Among the horrific noises, one of the words the children could hear clearly many times was "HELP!"
"YOU DEMON!" Elecmon shouted in disgust. "How dare you torture those poor souls like that? How dare you disturb the balance of the Digital World?"
"These souls will have no rest as long as this world stands. Luckily for you, Elecmon, you won't be here to see it turn to ashes." Devimon told the small being as he crushed Elecmon in his hand. Tsunomon cried in despair as the Carer's data floated away.
Mimi screamed in horror, covering her face with both hands. The other children watched everything in shock. Their partners kept attacking the smoke even though they had realized that it was pointless.
The lost souls became denser and, in a single strike, fell on the children and the digimon. At the entrance of the tower, Patamon tackled Takeru so he would stay inside the cube building. Less than a second later, the digimon flew to the wall and pressed his head on it, praying that the incoming smoke wave would not hit them in less than ten seconds. The entrance was closed just in time.
"W-What happened?" Takeru asked in a shaking voice. "That s-smoke fell on Sora-san and the others! What h-happened to them?"
The baby digimon around them were crying louder than before but Takeru paid no attention to the infants. The image of the lost souls attacking Sora and the other kids was seared into his eyes.
"I have to go… they need my help…" The boy stood up, feeling that he was about to cry again.
"I can't let you go there! You saw what he did to the others!" Patamon stated, turning to Takeru's direction. The digimon could not lift his eyes from the padded floor.
"Elecmon said that you could defeat Devimon if you evolved!" Takeru reminded his partner. "I know that you're hurt but if you don't evolve Sora-san and the others might-"
"I CAN'T DO THAT, TAKERU!" Patamon shouted, desperate.
"IS THIS BECAUSE YOU'RE SCARED THAT YOU'LL EVOLVE INTO DEVIMON?" Takeru was getting upset at Patamon's cowardice. Was not Patamon the one who had encouraged him to be optimistic? Did Takeru not assure his friend that he would never become evil and they would stay together? There was no justification for Patamon's behavior and that made Takeru furious.
"I'M SCARED I WON'T BE ABLE TO PROTECT YOU!" Patamon confessed, finally looking up to his partner. The boy froze when he saw thick tears flooding his friend's eyes.
"… Patamon?"
"I don't know if I can evolve… or if I'll protect you if I evolve… if you die, Takeru… would I see you again?" Patamon sobbed. "You told me that you would stay by my side… but how will you do that if you die?"
Instinctively, Takeru kneeled and picked Patamon up, giving him a tight hug. The child had never felt so ashamed.
Patamon was scared for me. I didn't understand his feelings at all… was it the same with Sora-san? Was I so self-absorbed that I failed to see how they'd feel if something bad happened to me? I was so arrogant… I thought I understood everything and made demands. But I'm just a kid!
"I'm sorry, Patamon." Takeru apologized. "I'm sorry for making you scared."
"I'm sorry too, Takeru." Patamon sobbed. "I'm not brave enough to do this… I'm not strong enough…"
"Yes, you are!" Takeru reassured him. "I have complete faith that you are able to protect me."
"This is no time for optimism!"
"Of course it is! Don't you know?" Takeru smirked nervously. "If we assume things will take the bad turn, we'll just give up. If we give up now, everything will be over for all of us. Are you afraid that if we go outside I might die? If we don't go, the others will die! And we don't know for how long we can hide in here!"
"BOY!" Devimon called, outside the cube. "I have the other humans and their partners at my mercy! I'll only kill them when you come to watch but if you don't come out quickly, I'll make them beg for death!"
This time it was Takeru who let big tears fall from his eyes. However, the human did not have to say anything else to convince Patamon.
"Do you really believe that I can protect you, Takeru?" Patamon inquired. "Despite everything, do you honestly believe I can do that?"
"I never stopped believing in you, Patamon."
Outside, Devimon was staring at the cube building in which Takeru and Patamon were hiding. Behind him, the other four children and their digimon, still in adult level, were held by several dark claws made of smoke. Mimi was crying profusely. Jyou had begun to recite a sutra. Koushiro kept his head down. Sora closed her eyes fiercely, trying to contain the shaking of her body. Birdramon, Kabuterimon, Ikkakumon and Togemon were being forced to stay on the ground with their faces down, touching the grass.
Devimon's attention was diverted by a pair of bubbles that hit his face. He looked to his left and found a Tsunomon staring at him in anger. Tiny particles of light surrounded the small being and he changed form, becoming a creature that resembled a lizard with a horn on his head and covered by a mantle of fur.
"Tsunomon evolves to… GABUMON!"
"You evolved?" Devimon had a condescending tone. "Was that triggered by the stress of seeing Elecmon die?"
"How could you do that to Carer? Didn't he watch over you when you were born?" Gabumon asked with fury.
"He kept me here without telling me why. I have no fond memories of that fool." Devimon spoke with bitterness.
"Was he wrong to do that, Bloody Lord?" Gabumon had defiance in his voice. Devimon felt rage take his body over and was about to strike the other digimon dead when Takeru's voice caught his attention.
"We are here!"
Takeru had left the cube with Patamon flying by his side. The boy's right hand was still pressing the outside wall, closing the entrance behind them. Despite the boy's trembling body, his eyes were full of determination.
"TAKERU-KUN, RUN!" Sora shouted. Tears fell from her eyes, now fully open. Takeru gave her a small smile and said:
"Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine."
"You have finally come to face me, youngest child!" Devimon felt great satisfaction. "Tell me, which of those kids do you want to watch die first?"
"You won't have the chance to harm any of them! Patamon will defeat you!" Takeru stated. Patamon flapped by his side with a determined expression that matched his partner's.
Devimon began to laugh uncontrollably and looked up.
"Isn't this funny? I, who once killed the youngest chosen child, am going to die by the hands of the current youngest chosen child… WHO HAS A PATAMON AS PARTNER!"
"You loved someone." Takeru said. "The Queen who took you in, isn't that right?"
"I love Mother! More than anyone has ever loved another being!" Devimon affirmed. "And human children like you took her away!"
"You know that pain and yet…" Takeru had disgust in his voice. "Look at how many you've hurt! Look at all the pain you've caused to others! How can you justify what you did knowing how hurtful it is?! I don't understand it!"
"You'll understand it soon!" Devimon stated, coldly. "True justice will only come when this cursed world crumbles under the weight of its sins!"
"You're unforgivable!" Takeru's tone was deadly serious. "I have never met someone as petty as you!"
"I have changed my mind, boy." Devimon said, clenching his claws. "You are going to be the first one to die!"
I have nothing to be afraid of. Takeru thought, watching Devimon advance in his direction, while Sora and the others screamed. Patamon is with me.
Specks of light appeared around Patamon, glowing brightly until he looked like a star. "Patamon evolves to… ANGEMON!"
The light cleared, revealing an angelic creature. Angemon had three pairs of wings, a muscular humanoid body, and a shining helmet that covered his eyes. With a flash, Angemon banished the smoke and freed the other children and their partners. Devimon stopped in his tracks. Then, Angemon lifted his staff and called for the holy light of the other digivices. When rays of light came out of the objects and converged at the staff, the four adult digimon who had been imprisoned devolved into Piyomon, Palmon, Tentomon and Gomamon.
"YES! YES! I WAS WAITING FOR THIS!" Devimon screamed with joy. "THIS IS MY VICTORY!"
The diabolic digimon grabbed Angemon and pulled him up into the sky. The light from Angemon's staff transferred to his body and gathered at his fist. After charging, he released a powerful attack at Devimon. Even as he did this, Devimon was fighting with full force, claws slashing viciously accompanied by red blasts of light. Their clash was so bright that the children and their digimon had to cover their eyes.
The next thing they saw was Devimon hitting the ground violently. He was rapidly disintegrating into red particles.
Angemon landed by his side, supporting himself with the staff.
"ANGEMON!" Takeru called his partner, running happily to his side. He had won! He had saved everybody, like Takeru knew he would! The boy intended to hug his friend tightly and celebrate. They would laugh and play together for the rest of the night. After years of having everything he cared about taken away, Takeru's hopes had finally paid off.
Two steps away from his partner, the boy stopped.
No! He thought in horror when he saw small white particles breaking off Angemon's body. His friend fell to his knees, still sustaining his upper body with the staff.
"I… had to use all of my vital energy…" Angemon's voice was weak but had no sorrow in it. "But I did it, Takeru… thank you for believing in me."
"You can't do that!" The boy was in denial. "It's not fair! You can't die! Please, Angemon!"
Takeru pleaded among sobs, stretching his arm to touch the angel.
"You'll see me again… but for now… goodbye, Takeru." Angemon said with the last of his energy. His entire body became white particles that dispersed. Takeru screamed in despair and the others rushed to his side.
Mimi was the only one to glance at the dying Devimon.
He admired the night sky with a resigned smile and, before disintegrating completely. He muttered something in a language that the girl did not understand.
Preste atenção, querida.
De cada amor tu herdarás só o cinismo.
Quando notares, estás à beira do abismo.
Abismo que cavaste com os teus pés.
The mother watched everything, like her child had demanded.
There was no music in existence that could hide her cry.
Notes:
Next chapter, the new arc begins.
As you might have guessed, the chapter ends with the final part of "O mundo é um moinho" (by Cartola). The translation is:
Pay attention, Dear.
From every love, you'll inherit only cynicism.
When you notice it, you're in front of the abyss.
Abyss that you've dug with your feet.