Chapter 23: No Hell below us
The Academy had lost contact with the four remaining chosen children by the time the Sanctuary's attacks became fiercer. Then, one day, the children and four giant ultimate level digimon were witnessed heading to the place that used to be the Cloud Continent. A space distortion caused by the black sphere of entrapped souls had made the barrier between the Digital World and the Human World thin and full of cracks in that point. Nanomon had instructed Gennai to send messengers to where the children were. Those messengers never returned, but the children did.
They were not carrying their digivices and would not give a straight answer to what had happened to them or how they had unlocked their partners' ultimate evolution to holy beasts. Nanomon had created those devices to only need to be unlocked once per evolution, afterwards the digimon could take energy from the humans whenever they wanted. To create a controlled environment that would allow the children to form bonds with their partners and make them evolve until perfect level was the main goal of keeping them in the base for so long. Once those levels had been reached, the digimon would be in control of the situation.
But the digivices had disappeared and the children unlocked ultimate level without them. Plus, their partners stayed in those forms. It was obvious that someone knowledgeable had assisted the children. Someone who made sure to remain unnamed.
When the children arrived at the main base, they told Nanomon that the Queen had been pushed into another dimension along with the sphere, which made the gate to their world close. The first thing the children had asked was to go back to their world. Nanomon could not allow that before he found a way to make sure that their digimon would stay as ultimates, so he convinced those kids to fight a little longer for the stability of the Digital World. They were tired but their resentment kept them going. That and the fact that only Nanomon knew how to send them home.
They returned after the fire of Aurora Town. At that point, those children spent most of their time with blank expressions on their faces or crying. The four holy beasts, who wanted to continue to protect the world from the few members of the Sanctuary that were still alive, were authorized to leave the humans in the main base and do what they wished. Meanwhile, Nanomon had come to the conclusion that, if he cloned the chosen children, if their power for evolution was ever required again the Academy would have it. However, he had to figure out how to replicate the minds of the chosen children.
He came to the conclusion that a complete scan of the children's brains was necessary. But it was not likely that their bodies could survive that procedure. Nanomon did not tell them anything and simply ordered the cook to mix sleep medicine in their dinner one night. Gennai took the children to the laboratory and initiated the procedure. It was almost finished when Kanda woke up suddenly, looked around and screamed. The boy was quickly sedated and, a few minutes later, died, like the others.
Gennai was instructed to take Kanda's clone to a secluded place in the lowest level of the main base, where he would be kept in observation. When the other clones woke up, Nanomon told them that the experiment had been a success and that the real chosen children had returned to their world, safely. They did not seem convinced and inquired where Kanda was. Nanomon told them that his clone was not completely ready yet.
The day of the victory banquet had arrived. The chosen children refused to leave their rooms. Nanomon and Gennai had not taken part in the festivities because they were working on a program that could ensure the complete obedience of the clones. At one point, Gennai pointed to a monitor, scared. The digimon participating on the banquet were spilling black smoke from their mouths and dying.
"What is happening?!" Nanomon questioned.
"It seems that they don't like my special spice." A voice that Nanomon had never heard before came from his right. A Wizarmon was leaning against the wall, close to a table where there were micro dimension jumpers.
"HOW DID THAT WIZARMON ENTER THIS PLACE?!" Gennai shouted, reaching for the gun he kept in a drawer. Wizarmon made a movement with his staff and paralyzed both of them, who fell with their faces on the floor.
"You became presumptuous." Wizarmon told them. "You thought you had already won and your defenses were not as tight as before. With my powers, it was easier than expected."
"You're… a soldier from the Sanctuary!" Nanomon sneered.
"I'm a Priest." Wizarmon said, calmly. "At least I used to be one. Now, I have to figure out what I'll be."
"You're going to kill us now?" Gennai sounded scared.
"No." Wizarmon denied. "My new ally will."
The mage digimon made another movement with his staff and Kanda appeared in front of Nanomon and Gennai. The clone was no longer held by chains and was holding a heavy two palms long metal bar in his right hand.
Kanda approached the two who were lying on the floor, side by side, and crouched in front of them. The humanoid's red eyes were cold and piercing.
"K-Kanda." Gennai stuttered. "You're not really going to kill us, right? You understand why we've done everything, right?"
"Of course I do." Kanda put a smile on his face. "I understand it perfectly. You wanted to protect the Digital World."
"That's right!" Gennai sounded relieved. "I knew that you would be reasonable! Of course sweet little Kanda would-"
In a fast movement, Kanda lifted the metal bar and swung it down, striking Gennai's head. Blood stirred up and stained the clone's clothes and face. The symbol of his crest became hidden by the red liquid.
Kanda kept on hitting Gennai, repeatedly.
"IT WAS SUCH A NOBLE MISSION, WASN'T IT?!" He shouted. "EVERY SACRIFICE WAS NECESSARY FOR THE SAKE OF THE DIGITAL WORLD, RIGHT?! WHO WOULD EVEN CARE ABOUT CHILDREN LIKE US? WE WERE NOTHING TO YOU! WE WERE JUST THINGS TO BE USED, RIGHT?!"
Gennai's body broke in particles of data. Kanda turned his attention to Nanomon. That was the moment when the robot monster paid attention to the tear streams coming out of the other's face.
"Do you have anything to say to me?" Kanda asked.
"Nothing that could make you spare me." Nanomon replied.
"Have you ever felt any remorse for what you did to us?" Kanda inquired.
"Remorse for what?" Nanomon was puzzled. "I gave a meaning to the pathetic lives of five humans. Ofanimon is gone; the holy beasts will be the protectors of the world now; the Academy-"
"The Academy is dying as we speak!" Kanda interjected.
"Nothing more than a fraction of it!" Nanomon corrected. "As long as there are digimon who keep our cause in their hearts, the Academy will never perish!"
Nanomon noticed a strange glow in Kanda's eyes. Was he going to give up? His rebellion would only make all the remaining members of the Academy his enemies. And for what? What would he gain with those foolish murders? What fleeting satisfaction could justify a stupid act like that?
Kanda raised the bar once again. Nanomon knew that he was doomed. In his final moments, the digimon wanted to think on his most beloved one: his master, who were to rule the world, and had his noble mission interrupted by a vile woman. Would he ever meet Seraphimon again? Would the angel once again fill his heart with hope? The time Nanomon had spent devoting his whole being to Seraphimon had been the most fulfilling period of his life. He sought justice for his master and punishment to the traitors who had not acknowledged his greatness, or so he thought. In the end, maybe he just wanted to be reunited with Seraphimon.
However, as if by a miracle, the laboratory's door was opened and Otae stepped inside. That made Kanda deviate his attention and broke Wizarmon's concentration, which liberated Nanomon from his spell for enough time to allow the robot to retrieve a micro dimension jumper from the table and teleport himself away.
Those objects resembled watches and had the inconvenience of being unable to program a destination, which meant that whoever used one would be taken to a random place. Their advantage was that they could not allow anyone to track them.
Nanomon found himself under a giant fulgurite in a stormy desert. His time on the run had begun but he swore that he would one day return to the Academy.
Nanomon woke up but kept his eyes closed. He heard a voice that he had not heard for a long time.
"You're the Headmaster now." Otae's voice was low and somber. "The new Gennai, huh? You've even brought your own chosen children to this place."
"It was necessary." Kanda's voice was also low.
"For the sake of the Digital World?" There was irony in her tone.
"For the sake of wiping the Sanctuary from the Digital World." His tone became darker.
"You really are loyal to the Academy now." She muttered.
"The Academy will go down in flames as soon as I'm finished with the Sanctuary." Kanda promised.
"Why? Don't you control the Academy?" Otae sounded confused.
"Because it has utility for me. But once the Dark Masters, Ladydevimon, Vamdemon and all other Sanctuary agents are eradicated, the Academy won't have a reason to exist anymore. Nor will I."
"We can't die, Kanda." Otae's voice was full of sadness. "No matter what we do."
"We'll see about that." He smirked. Then, in a more serious tone, he asked: "Say… why did you return that ring to me?"
"I didn't appreciate that you tried to track me down." She murmured.
"I meant the first time…" Kanda hesitated. "After I had killed Gennai and you stormed away… when I found you programming that transportation circle while Homura-san was calling you a coward for abandoning us and Tamaki-san was begging you to stay… I called you. Instead of turning around or saying anything back to me, you took that ring off and placed on the floor, right before jumping into the pod and vanishing. Why did you take the ring off?"
"It had become too heavy." She whispered.
Nanomon did not understand what the female clone meant by that. Suddenly, he heard steps approaching his cage, which was soon removed from the wall. He heard the sound of a door being opened and assumed they were already in the main base. Nanomon resisted the urge to open his eyes and once again admire the structure he had designed himself. He had to control himself, for the sake of the plan.
But then he heard her voice.
"Gennai-sama, there was something important I had to tell you, let me look for it in my notepad."
Nanomon opened his eyes and saw a digimon he had believed to be dead, leafing through a notepad.
"Bastemon!" He shouted, startling the cat monster. "I thought you had been found out by the Sanctuary! Why didn't you contact me? Why didn't you leave File Island immediately after that woman's demise?"
Bastemon looked at him with confusion.
"Were you someone I knew?" She asked.
"You don't remember me?" Nanomon was astonished. "How…? Don't tell me…" His horror was increasing rapidly, but soon was replaced by anger and disappointment. There was only one explanation for Bastemon's forgetfulness. "I told you not to get into contact with the mirror no matter what! I told you to just make sure that she would touch it! You couldn't follow that simple order, could you? Moron! You touched the mirror and then you let it be shattered, didn't you?!"
"Mirror…? Shattered…?" Bastemon mumbled, scared, taking one of her claw-like hands to her head. An expression of pain took over her face. Nanomon's cage was lifted to be on level with Kanda's eyes. The male clone slid his right hand between two bars and grabbed Nanomon, hitting his head against the cage's wall and making him lose consciousness.
Otae followed Kanda into his office. The man left Nanomon's cage next to the bookshelf and opened a drawer on his desk. He picked a pair of gloves with wires on them and put them on. Then, he went to the bookshelf, picked a book and opened it. With a movement from his left hand, a small mirror levitated from a compartment among the pages. Kanda made other movements but nothing else happened.
"He removed Tailmon's link to the mirror!" He yelled, throwing the book and the mirror on the floor. "It's empty!"
After that, Kanda went to his desk and turned on the monitor on it. His agitated breath and increasingly enraged face were nothing the woman had not seen before. Regardless of it, it was still a heartbreaking vision.
After Shinsuke's death, her friend had become very focused on destroying the Sanctuary. Homura was like that too but Otae knew that the older girl was moved primarily by her sense of duty. Kanda, on the other hand, had never showed the same level of devotion to the cause. Otae could not think of any other motivation for him than to avenge Shinsuke. Because her brother and Kanda had never been close, she could only link his friend's motivation to her own sake. But, even in his darkest hours, she could still see the old Kanda when she looked deeply into his eyes. She became sure that her friend still existed when she woke up a certain night and found him praying, a little distant from the group. If she closed her eyes, she could still listen to his sobs and see his slender shaking figure.
"S-Spirit of the World, if you really exist, p-please, save my friends." His voice was breaking. "P-Please, take them home. I c-can't bear to see them suffering anymore. Please… I'm b-begging you… save my friends. I can't see them like this anymore, especially Tae… you can leave me behind. Leave me behind to punish those evil monsters, but save my friends."
Otae knew that the Spirit of the World was simply a story. She thought that Kanda understood that too.
The imaginary deity never answered to his calls. However, a digimon called Wisemon did. He took them to his carriage that was bigger on the inside and made an offer they could not refuse.
"I can help you to make your partners reach ultimate level and become invincible. I can do that in a way that they won't ever retreat to their previous forms and won't have to take energy from you anymore. And all that for a small price: your digivices."
Those machines were precisely what had made the children their partners' hostages. Without them, they would not be walking batteries anymore. Once their digimon became the holy beasts, they would be able to defeat the Queen and bring the children one step closer to their home.
"I'll tell you how to defeat the Sanctuary." Wisemon had said. "You'll head to a place where there's a massive space distortion. You'll see your world through it but you must not attempt to cross to the Human World, otherwise your bodies will be broken apart."
"Can't you take us home?" Tamaki had asked.
"My carriage is capable of doing that but a punk stole it in a different universe and I only got it back recently. I haven't made it work properly ever since." Wisemon had explained. "Your best shot at going home still lies with the Academy."
What if they had still tried to cross to their world back then? It was right in their reach. It could be their only chance. Would they have died if they did it? But they all died anyway and were turned into something else. Then, would it not have been better to die while trying to escape? Those questions still haunted her as she observed her friend losing all composure in front of the monitor.
"Not only he took her away, he also took… damn it! GODDAMN IT!" Kanda shouted, punching the table.
"Why is that Tailmon so important?" Otae asked, approaching the man. "What were you planning to do with her?"
Kanda looked up to her, slowly. His eyes were colder than ever.
"That's none of your business."
Otae gasped. Kanda had never talked to her that way.
"Surprised?" He asked, turning his body to her direction. "Were you expecting me to just tell you whatever you wanted to know? Maybe with a dumb smile on my face?"
He's angry at me, Otae thought. That was good… it was so good! He had taken forever to be angry at her but it was worth the wait. Now Kanda could acknowledge that everything had been her fault and be freed from his misery. He should blame her, loathe her, curse her. Otae had brought them to the Digital World and destroyed them. Like her mother had told her so many times, ruining people's lives was why she existed.
"I deserve your hatred." Otae assured him.
"Shut up!" Kanda shouted. "I don't want to talk about what you deserve!"
Otae took a step back.
"What do you want to talk about, then?" She asked. "You can be honest. Tell me how much you hate me. Tell me that you despise me!"
"You would like to hear that, right?" He questioned in a serious tone. "You always acted as if you were hurt whenever people showed care for you. I spent so much energy trying to figure out what to do to make you happy… you're telling me that all I had to do was to treat you like trash?"
"I don't want you to do that for my sake." She said. "You really feel that way about me, right? Just let your anger out!"
In Kanda's face there was no longer any sign of wrath. Instead, he had a heartbroken expression that was unbearable for her to look at.
"For all these years, I was never angry at you." Kanda spoke. "I always tried to understand what you were feeling… I wanted the best for you. I never shouted at you before today… but it was Homura-san who you forgave so easily. Was it because she was crying? Or because you haven't seen her murdering someone with her own hands? She does that kind of thing now, you know?"
Why is he bringing Homura up? Otae wondered. Is he trying to change the subject?
"This isn't about her." Otae affirmed. "Why can't you just admit that you resent me?"
"I don't know what I feel about you anymore." Kanda muttered, looking down. "I thought I would understand my feelings if I saw you again but I don't… I have no idea what is going through my heart anymore…"
"It's okay if you haven't come to terms with it yet." She murmured. "I'll wait until you're ready to tell me. But it saddens me to see you in this state."
"Seeing you looking like a hobo doesn't make me happy either." He commented, with an almost unnoticeable smile.
"That was an unnecessarily rude comment." She smirked, lightly. A warm feeling sprout in her heart.
The materialization of a sliding door on the left wall of the office grabbed their attention. Tamaki slid it open and marched in Kanda's direction. The sight of Otae paralyzed him.
"Tamaki-chii." She said, looking at the blonde.
"How many times have I told you not to directly come into my office unless there's an emergency, Tamaki-san?" Kanda turned to him as well.
From Tamaki's eyes, large tears came down in a burst.
"OTAE-CHAN!" He cried, going around the desk, grabbing her by the waist and twirling with her in his arms. "IT'S YOU! IT'S REALLY YOU! I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!" He pulled her to a tight hug.
"I'm so sorry-" Otae said.
"Don't apologize!" He complained. "There's nothing you've done that I haven't forgiven already."
"Still an easy-forgiver…" Otae whispered, smiling.
"I can't help it, can I? That's just how my personality is wired!" He said, putting her down and taking a long look at her face.
Kanda looked away.
"What brings you here, Tamaki-san?" The Headmaster asked.
"Something awful happened to Xuanwumon." Tamaki answered, showing the other two the back of the hand where his crest of purity tattoo used to be. "I heard her voice in my head, she was screaming… I think she was in agony…"
"If one of the holy beasts had perished, I would've received a report." Kanda said. His adult voice was not too different from Gennai's, which had enabled him to deceive their old partners for a very long time and make them hunt down the remaining forces of the Sanctuary. "Besides, the Dark Masters haven't been able to defeat them in thousands of years, what could have changed now?"
"Can't you get in contact with them, then? I want to know if my partner is okay." Tamaki's worried expression lit something in Kanda's spirit.
"Why do you still care about Xuanwumon?" The younger man inquired.
"She was my partner." Tamaki replied, seriously.
"You know how they saw us, don't you?" Kanda's tone became colder. "We were energy supplies to fuel their evolutions!"
"They didn't know better!" Tamaki shouted. "They had been raised to believe in that, it wasn't their fault!"
"HOW DARE YOU DEFEND THOSE MONSTERS?!" Kanda roared.
"There's no point in staying angry at them." Tamaki said. "What they did to us was awful, it's true, but if you tried to look at things from their point of view-"
"ENOUGH WITH THAT NONSENSE!" Kanda shouted, trying to grab Tamaki by his shirt. Otae, who was between the men, did not let him.
"Calm down!" She told Kanda.
"Out of my way, Otae!" Kanda ordered.
"I won't let you lay a finger on Tamaki-chii!" She said back.
"Do you agree with him, then?!" Kanda interjected. "Oh, I see! The two of you are just superior beings, right? Full of love and forgiveness for everybody!"
"Why are you shouting at him like this? This isn't you!" Otae wanted to understand what was happening to her friend. It was one thing for him to resent her, but what did Tamaki ever do to deserve that treatment?
"Otae-chan is right." Tamaki added. "The Kanda-kun I used to know-"
"YOU NEVER GOT TO KNOW ME!" Kanda roared, stomping his right foot and making the floor tremble. His entire body was shaking.
He's so broken… Otae wanted to tell Kanda something that would make him feel better but she had never been good in consoling others. It was hard for her to sort her own problems out. However, her refusal in facing their emotional struggles had never done any good to them, on the contrary. Otae had to break that cycle. She had to be brave and make an effort. She opened her mouth, unsure of what she was going to say.
What left her lips, however, was a scream. Like the one she had just heard in Qinglongmon's voice.
Otae almost fell but Kanda and Tamaki rushed to support her at the same time.
"Tae, what is it? Are you in pain?"Kanda's expression was completely different from the one he had moments before. His eyebrows were furrowed and his eyes shone lightly. It was almost as if she had gone back in time, like she had wished for so long.
But she had learned that the past could not be rewritten.
"Your tattoo has vanished as well." Kanda said, gently holding her hand.
"She's gone." Otae muttered, looking down. She did not think she could be sad over her former partner. But her heart felt heavier, anyway.
"What's going on?" Kanda wondered in loud voice, getting away from Otae and approaching the monitor on his desk.
Another sliding door appeared on the wall opposite to where he was. Homura opened it and stepped into the office. She was followed by all of the chosen children and their partners.
"We can't go back home yet!" Takeru was protesting.
"That's right!" Jyou agreed. "What about Vamdemon's army?"
"I can't accept that you guys decide our future by yourselves!" Mimi complained. "You don't even want to listen to what we have to say!"
"Quiet, all of you!" Homura shouted. "You guys are going home whether you like it or not!"
"What is this now?" Kanda inquired, massaging his temples.
"Hasn't Otae-san told you?" Homura asked. "We've decided that the children have to go back to their world."
"It's great to hear that!" Tamaki exclaimed, happy. Then, he turned to Otae. "Did you make her change her mind?"
"Actually, the one who did that was Kido Jyou-kun." Homura clarified.
"Jyou-san did it?!" Takeru inquired.
"I did not!" Jyou defended himself. "I clearly remember not doing that?"
"How can you remember not doing something?" Koushiro wondered.
"The idea didn't come from him but I was inspired by his words." Homura explained.
"I still don't see how you took what I said and came to the conclusion that we should go home!" Jyou reiterated.
Homura was going to keep arguing but she suddenly felt a terrible headache and heard Baihumon scream in pain. She fell to her knees, shouting.
"HOMURA-CHII!" Otae called her. She intended to go to the woman's aid but she was not well enough to walk by herself. Tamaki kept supporting her.
"Are you okay?" Sora asked, concerned, while approaching Homura.
"Her tattoo is gone!" Piyokomon pointed out.
"Now Baihumon died too?!" Otae had a horrified tone of voice.
"Died too?" Homura murmured, looking up to the other woman.
"We don't know for sure if they're dead!" Tamaki wanted to hold to any hope he could find.
"I can't contact Zhuqiaomon!" Kanda said, meddling with his desk monitor. "Why can't I turn on this thing?!"
"Kukukuku." A laugh came from behind him. Kanda turned around and saw Nanomon laughing inside the cage. The man made a movement with his hands and his anti-gravitational gloves made the object levitate over the table.
"What's so funny?" The Headmaster inquired.
"Is it Nanomon in that pet cage?" Mimi wondered.
"We can't see because the opening is turned to Kanda." Tanemon said.
"Kanda-san's gloves are capable of moving objects without having to touch them." Koushiro said with wonder.
"Don't fawn over the guy who sent you away without telling us anything." Jyou reprehended him.
"You all are hilarious!" Nanomon stated. "You haven't figured out what I did yet!"
"What did you do?" Sora asked, moving to Kanda's side with Piyokomon on her arms. When she saw the severe damage the small robot monster had suffered, she glanced at her predecessor.
"Sora, don't get close to this guy." Kanda told her.
"So that's the kid who was in the orb?" Otae asked, slowing letting go of Tamaki. "The one my substitute was desperate to save?"
"Red eyes." Nanomon smirked, looking from Sora to Kanda. I wonder how similar she is to Kanda, for him to have chosen her.
Kanda frowned. Why does he look surprised? The former bearer of love wondered. Nanomon was the one who chose these new children, wasn't he? Who else would have put their data in the Academy's computer?
"Answer my question, Nanomon." Sora insisted.
"I created the Academy." Nanomon replied. "I have in my brain a special program that allows me to take control of this base. I can only do it from inside the building, though."
"Liar!" Kanda accused. "If that was true, you would've taken control of it when you came here to steal the crest of love!"
"Hahaha." Nanomon laughed. "You really did believe me when I said that I had sneaked in and taken your crest? Seriously? With the crazy surveillance you keep in this place nowadays? I wouldn't be able to do it even if I had magical powers!"
"You didn't…?" Kanda was getting sickly pale.
"You are so much dumber that I had given you credit for." Nanomon mocked. "Someone inside the Academy stole the crest of love and gave it to me. This same someone sabotaged the orb's container and has now fled with his kitty friend. And you never saw it coming."
"Impossible!" Kanda shouted. "Wizarmon would never work with you! He always hated the Academy!"
"That's true. He did say that he was a Priest from the Sanctuary." Nanomon confirmed.
"He wouldn't work for the Sanctuary either! If they were to know about Tailmon…" Kanda's face was filled with cold sweat. "He cares for her, I'm sure of it! He wouldn't tell them about her!"
"You're right about that." Nanomon confirmed. "Whatever you did to that Tailmon, Wizarmon refused to tell me. His end of the deal was for me to give him a way to escape from this world with her. In exchange, he helped me to return to the main base."
"Do you think I'll let you take charge of this place?!" Kanda raised his voice. "I can kill you with my bare hands before you do anything!"
"Your stupidity never ceases to amaze me." Nanomon smirked. "I've already redirected the control of the base to someone else. Even if you killed me, you won't get it back!"
Suddenly, the sliding doors connected to the bases of Tamaki and Homura vanished from the walls. Fearing the worst, Tamaki rushed to the office's door and tried to open it. It was locked.
"We're trapped!" He shouted.
"There's someone controlling this base remotely?" Koushiro was astonished.
"T-That's not possible…" Kanda murmured. "Nanomon doesn't have allies!" He shouted, staring at the robot digimon. "You don't have allies!"
"I couldn't let you keep on tarnishing my Academy." Nanomon told him. "I'd rather see this building crumble than to let you stay as the Headmaster any longer. You forced me to make a deal with the devil but it was worth it!"
"Deal with the devil?" Kanda asked.
"I believe you know the saying." Nanomon smiled. "The enemy of my enemy…"
Suddenly, the monitor was turned on by itself. The digimon at the other side was not one Kanda wanted to see.
"Greetings, chosen children. I am Vamdemon, the new Master of the Academy." A monster that looked like a vampire spoke through the monitor.
"VAMDEMON?!" Takeru ran to Sora's side, so he could take a look at the monitor as well.
"That digimon who wanted to invade our world?" Mimi was afraid.
"The one who was assembling an army?!" Jyou gasped.
"I'm going to be very objective here, Mr. Headmaster." Vamdemon told Kanda. "I have an army of over one hundred thousand adult and perfect level digimon ready to be teleported to the main base. If you surrender now and come with the new chosen children to my castle-"
"Let me talk to him!" Someone said by Vamdemon's side, pushing the vampire away. A clown digimon took his place in the monitor, under protests of the other male monster. "I haven't seen your face since I was Jokermon. You must feel like an idiot for refusing our offers back then."
"Piedmon." Kanda recognized him.
"The strongest Dark Master…" Homura commented, getting up.
"What are you planning to do to my friends?!" Sora inquired.
"Your predecessors have taught us that you human beings don't deserve mercy." Piedmon told the girl. "You have two options: stay in the base and wait for Vamdemon's army to kill you in any twisted way they wish, or come to the castle to die quickly."
"I won't let you touch on a single hair of these children!" Homura shouted, across the table.
"We'll protect them!" Otae promised, glancing at Koushiro. "We won't let you kill them!"
"Who said anything about us doing the killing?" Piedmon asked. "It'd be more appropriate for you to kill them."
"Y-you…" Tamaki, who was still close to the door, was shaking from head to toe. "You c-can't force us to do that!"
"Yes, they can." Nanomon confirmed. "During my exile, I developed a way to control you, clones. After you're immobilized, they can reprogram you and force you to do anything they want, forever."
Heavy silence fell on the office. The original chosen children looked at each other in horror. The new children and their partners were trying to find a way out of that situation.
"It should be okay if each of you kills your corresponded child." Piedmon said. "Oh, but there are five new children! Then, the former child of knowledge should kill her successor and the new bearer of hope. That'd be just, wouldn't it?"
Otae felt her knees getting weak and put her left hand on the bookshelf to sustain her weight. Her sight was getting blurred by tears. She glanced at the blond little child next to Sora, wondering if he was the new holder of the crest of hope. She remembered how her brother's throat was cut open and he bled to death. Would she be the one holding the blade this time? Would she kill both Koushiro and that kid, and then serve Shinsuke's murderers for the rest of her existence?
"S-Spirit of the World, if you really exist, p-please, save my friends."
But the Spirit of the World did not exist. If it was real, it would not allow that cruelty to unfold. It would not have allowed any of the horrible things that had happened to her friends and brother. A fair god, like that Spirit was described, would not allow those things to happen. But, what if Fate did exist? What if it wished for all those disgraces? What if it wanted their story to end that way?
Could it be that the Spirit of the World was an evil god who enjoyed watching their misery? Was that almighty being laughing at them right now, like it must have laughed when Shinsuke was murdered in front of his powerless sister?
Was that simply how the world was?
"You will die in agony, Piedmon." Kanda promised, staring at the monitor.
"No, I won't. Zhuqiaomon on the other hand…" Piedmon said, lifting his right hand and showing a dark orb. "You shouldn't have let your digivices lying around for anyone to pick up. Nor should you have let your merchants unprotected."
"Wisemon?" Tamaki murmured.
"He was captured?" Homura spoke in a pained tone of voice.
"Any last words for you partner, bearer of love?" Piedmon asked, with a large smile on his lips.
"Go to Hell!" Kanda shouted, lifting his right hand. Guessing what he was going to do, Sora crouched, shielding Takeru and Piyokomon. Kanda punched the monitor, making some of its pieces fly around. They did not harm anyone. Right after that, the man screamed in pain and fell to his knees next to Sora. His tattoo disappeared.
"This used to be my office, connected to my laboratory." Nanomon said, glancing at the bookshelf. "I don't sense any surveillance equipment here. We should be able to talk freely without anyone listening to us."
"How can we escape?" Takeru questioned, letting go of Sora's protective embrace. Nanomon ignored him.
"Those options are awful, aren't they?" Nanomon continued to talk to Kanda. "Luckily, there's a third one. You know what to do to assure a peaceful end for everybody."
Kanda looked up to him.
"You know what I keep in the lowest level." The man said. "Wizarmon told you about the crack."
"Crack?!" Otae was astonished. "You have isolated a crack in the space-time continuum here?!"
"Like those ones generated by the Cloud Continent's-" Tamaki was thinking aloud.
"Aren't they dangerous?!" Homura shouted. "Wisemon told us that they could break our bodies if we tried to enter one to return to our world!"
"It can do so much more than that." Kanda told the others. "If I break the container of that crack, it will destroy everything in this dimension where the main base is hidden. Not even we could survive that."
"Not you and not Vamdemon's army." Nanomon added. "It's a shame to destroy the work of my life but it's for a good cause. The followers of the Academy are scattered around the world. They'll organize themselves, rise and defeat what remains of the Sanctuary!"
"What?" Kanda chuckled, startling everybody. "Oh, my… Wizarmon didn't tell you the most important thing, did he? The cheeky bastard fooled everybody!"
"What are you talking about?" Nanomon asked.
"Why should I tell you when I can show you?" Kanda replied, pressing the floor under the desk, which opened and revealed a red button.
"Can someone explain what is going on here?!" Mimi felt like crying.
"I think they have a plan to kill us all and Vamdemon's army before we're captured." Koushiro explained.
"That's an awful plan!" Mimi cried.
"Mimi-chan, calm down, please!" Sora spoke to her with a gentle and reassuring tone of voice, while standing up. "None of us is going to die! I won't let that happen!"
"That's right!" Patamon, who had stayed with the other children instead of following Takeru when the boy had gone to the other side of the desk, said.
"We'll fight until the end to protect you." Tanemon promised Mimi.
"I'm sure there's something else we can do." Pukamon added.
"Of course! I won't accept any plan that involves us dying!" Jyou stated.
"You children are so full of hope." Kanda had a melancholic voice. "I thought I could make everything work out… I gave you new digivices that take your feelings and wills into consideration to allow evolutions, I chose the partners who were the most compatible in personality with you and I let you form bonds with them on your own terms. I honestly believed that you could defeat my enemies and then go home… instead I doomed you all… like I doomed my friends… because of my stupidity… my arrogance… I could never apologize enough…"
"Don't talk as if we don't have other option but to die!" Takeru reprehended Kanda. "I don't believe in that! We can overcome anything! I know we can work our way through this too! As long as we don't give up, we'll find a way!"
Otae felt something warm over her chest and looked down. The crest of hope was glowing; the pendant that was holding it floated from the woman's jersey. Its glass began to crack and Otae held it forcefully, not willing to let the crest leave it. Takeru noticed what was going on and saw that there was a yellow glow coming from his digivice.
"I don't know if it's worth anything but…" Kanda muttered, pressing the red button. "I'm sorry."
The humans and the digimon were thrown against the ceiling. The office had disconnected from its previous location and was now falling freely. Loud metallic sounds came from above, in a consistent space of time. After several minutes that felt like centuries to the children, Kanda used his gloves to rip the ceiling open. Everybody was forcefully expelled to the outside, but the man used his gloves to slow them down and make them float. Nanomon, still trapped in his cage, was not saved by Kanda, ultimately falling behind the structure.
"W-W-W-h-wha-w…" Jyou was still unable to speak.
"We fell 567 floors; we're now approaching the lowest level of the main base, which cannot be controlled from the outside." Kanda explained, slowly lowering everybody down. The sound of metal crashing and glass cracking was heard bellow them. "In an emergency, I created a mechanical system that would allow me to get there while sealing the openings in the above levels."
"Why did you create this system?" Otae wondered.
"In case of an invasion, I could go to where the crack is contained and destroy the Academy." Kanda answered. "Only Wizarmon and I knew about this."
"It seems that Nanomon knew as well." Homura commented.
They reached the floor. Automatic lights were turned on as soon as they landed. The ceiling around the hole through which they had entered was low. The metallic walls resembled those of a bunker. There was a transparent sphere of the size of a head floating at their left; inside it, there was something that looked like a luminous scar in the air, through which it was possible to see something moving. The floor was covered by rubble.
"Is that the crack they were talking about?" Koushiro wondered, approaching the floating sphere.
"Koushiro-san, you don't seem very shaken… considering that we just survived a free fall like that." Takeru commented. His legs were trembling so much that he had to sit down.
"It wasn't as bad as last time." Koushiro murmured, examining the sphere. "Is it Tokyo over there?"
"Tokyo?" Sora asked, getting close to him and the crack.
"I can see buildings, cars, placards…" Koushiro listed, pointing at the moving scenes from beyond the scar in the space-time continuum.
"Does that mean that we can go home through that?" Mimi asked.
"None of us fit in there, though." Motimon said. He looked around and noticed small pieces of glass over the floor. The small monster touched one of them and was paralyzed.
"Motimon?" Piyokomon asked, jumping in his direction. Motimon released the piece of glass and stumbled backwards.
"I… I was in a battle… there was a Seadramon!" Tentomon panted. "I was someone else…"
Sora and Koushiro exchanged glances.
"Are they like the mirror from the underground temple?" Sora asked. "So many broken pieces…"
"The mirror that registered memories?" Jyou was perplexed as he walked ahead. By accident, he stepped on one of Nanomon's cylindrical arms, making the robot shout.
Small data particles were breaking from Nanomon's body. The monster could barely lift his head to see the sea of broken glass around him.
"Can you do something for him, Jyou-san?" Mimi asked, getting close to Jyou and Nanomon.
"I'm afraid it's too late." Jyou murmured.
"T-those mirrors…" Nanomon stuttered. "T-They were in my old l-lab. A-All those m-mirrors… don't tell me…"
"It took me a really long time until I managed to make every member of the Academy touch a mirror at some point." Kanda slowly walked to where Nanomon was lying down. "These inventions are so convenient. Not only I could have access to anyone's memories and watch through their eyes at moments, I also could shape their memories anyway I wanted."
"Every member…?" Nanomon's voice was filled with horror.
"It seems that there's no one left on the world who keeps the Academy's cause in the heart." Kanda had a grin on his face. "Your institution has perished, Nanomon."
"I don't understand…" Sora said.
"If the mirror you've touched is shattered, you lose all of your personal memories and become unable to form new ones." Otae explained, behind Sora and Koushiro.
"But then, that piece of mirror Koushiro-han touched-" Motimon was getting alarmed.
"You're not affected if you touch a broken piece and said piece is shattered again." Otae calmed the monster down.
"That's good to hear." Motimon sighed in relief.
"That boy would only be in trouble if the piece of mirror became an entire mirror again, but that's not likely to happen." Otae smirked.
Motimon seemed to stay calm. Koushiro, on the other hand, remembered a comment Kanda had made when he heard about what had happened in the underground temple.
"You threw the broken mirror in a lake that fixes everything?!"
Should I worry about that? Koushiro asked himself. No… there are more urgent things to worry about right now.
"Tell me it's really you…" Nanomon's cry caught everybody's attention.
"Who is he talking to?" Sora wondered aloud.
"He must have lost his mind." Homura said, ten steps away from the girl.
"I know you can hear me." Nanomon continued. "If it's really you, tell me! Tell me you've returned to complete your holy mission… tell me you came back to save the world… I've done everything for you… I lived for you… just give me hope one last time… tell me it's you… my beloved… Master! P-Please… tell me it's you… you've come back… to me…"
Nanomon's body broke apart into hundreds of small particles that floated to the hole in the ceiling.
Takeru still resented Nanomon for what had happened to Sora. Nevertheless, a couple of tears formed in his eyes. Death was a hard thing to witness, even if it was the death of someone he should hate. The boy could hear Mimi's sobs not too far away. He glanced at Patamon, sitting by his side. The small mammal digimon was trembling and looking down. Takeru could not see his face.
"Are you okay, Patamon?" Takeru asked. Patamon replied after half a minute.
"I am."
"What do we do now?" Tamaki questioned.
"I bought us some time but we're still cornered." Kanda said, turning to the sphere where the crack was. "There are no portals or dimension jumpers here. And I don't want to imagine what kind of atrocities the invading army will do to these children."
"But we could stabilize the fissure, right?" Koushiro suggested. "Everything in the Digital World is made of data. If I use my computer, there's a chance I could turn the crack into a sustainable portal for enough time for us to cross to our world."
"You can't do that!" Kanda forbade him. "I've adjusted the container to liberate the crack in a way that will make this dimension crumble on itself in a matter of seconds. If you mess with it, the result could be long excruciating deaths to us all!"
"Why are you acting as if the plan where we all die for sure is better than the plan where we at least have a chance to live? Are you stupid?" Mimi was getting mad.
"What are the chances of success?" Homura asked Otae.
"Uhmm…" Otae took a few seconds to think. "I'd say 10% of success. 90% of potentially excruciating death."
"10%?!" Koushiro felt discouraged.
"Hey, Koushiro-kun." Sora called him. "Do you remember that game when Taichi was suspended and I got late because of the traffic? When I arrived, you told me that it was nearly impossible to turn the game around. It was too many goals in too little time, remember?"
"We didn't win that game!" Koushiro protested.
"But we tied! Which was still amazing considering how badly we were losing before." Sora smiled.
"That was only possible because you were playing, Sora-san! Because you're exceptional!" Koushiro stated.
"And so are you, Koushiro-kun!" Sora affirmed. "You are extraordinary! I believe you can make this plan work."
"I…" Koushiro did not know how to reply.
"You know, Koushiro-kun?" Mimi addressed him. "Back in school, you liked to talk about so many things that I found strange. You were unlike everybody I knew."
"That's…" Koushiro frowned.
"I'm trying to say that nobody is comparable to you when it comes to intelligence. If you can't pull this off, nobody can!" Mimi finished with a smile.
"Y-you're exaggerating!" The red-haired boy stuttered. "B-Besides, Otae-san-"
"I wouldn't even try my chances against 90% of failure." Otae interrupted him.
"If it was me, I would have a panic attack for sure." Tamaki confessed.
"I don't have the knowledge to do something like that, so I won't opinionate." Homura said, blushing.
"Koushiro-kun is someone who can study for a test in the night before and still be the best student. It's a given that he can pull this off." Jyou stated.
"Don't compare a test to a life and death scenario, Jyou." Pukamon sighed.
"But it's going to take me hours to analyze the data and I don't see any other computer here!" Koushiro was still unsure.
"We can buy you as much time as you need." Takeru assured, getting up. "If the invaders come, we'll fight. Right, Patamon?"
"Yes." Patamon confirmed.
Otae paled when she realized that the partner of the new bearer of hope was a Patamon. However, she was not shocked. Kanda did say that the partners had been chosen to fit the children's personalities. During the centuries she had spent by herself, Otae thought a lot about Shinsuke and about that Angemon, who was willing to do something condemnable for someone he loved. Otae had never confronted Shinsuke about what he had done to his father, but she knew he had done it for her. The same way she knew about the things her friends had done for her. She was not entitled to judge them. All she could do was to try to understand. Those new children certainly had darkness in their hearts, but, in that moment, all she could see was splendid light irradiating from them. Maybe that light would be enough to make even an Angemon into someone better.
She grabbed the pendant over her jersey. The crest of hope had never felt lighter.
"Listen, Koushiro-kun." Sora spoke again. "We know that you can do it. But we won't be angry at you if things don't go as planned. We know you'll do your best."
"That's right, don't pressure yourself too much, Koushiro-han!" Motimon added.
Koushiro took a deep breath, allowing those words of encouragement to sink in. He felt that he could start crying at any moment but was able to keep his composure. Everybody was putting their trust in him. He had to show them that he was worth of that trust, even if he was still beginning to learn to think like that.
"I'll do everything to take us home." He stated. Sora, Mimi, Jyou, Takeru and everybody's partners cheered.
The first generation of chosen children observed them in silence.
"You kids…" Kanda whispered, astonished. How could they keep moving forward, believing in the best outcome when confronted by that situation? He did not know children could be so formidable. They had gone through hardships and, instead of breaking down, they emerged from them stronger than before.
That group of kids could really have saved the world.
"They're thinking that we're going with them." Tamaki had approached Kanda without the younger man noticing it. Homura and Otae did the same.
"We have to tell them." Homura affirmed.
"I don't want to make them sad." Otae murmured.
"It's not like we can keep this from them forever." Tamaki said.
"We're going to tell them, but not all at the same time." Kanda told them. "We shouldn't create a commotion and taint the good atmosphere they created."
The old group distanced themselves from the children, going to the right wall of the place.
"I was going to make spaghetti tonight." Tamaki said. "Meat balls… tomato sauce… it was going to be a feast."
"I was going to train with my katana." Homura told them. "Maybe check the situation on Aurora Town… that was during the morning, when I didn't think all this shit would happen."
Kanda and Tamaki muffled laughs.
"Did you just cuss, Homura-san?" Kanda asked. "I can't believe I have lived enough to hear this!"
"What's so fucking shocking about cussing?" Otae inquired, earning shocked stares from her friends.
"Since when do you…?" Tamaki began.
"I've been alone for too long." Otae replied. "I don't remember when I started talking like this but it feels good."
"The Otae I knew didn't have a filthy mouth like that." Kanda pouted. "That's it, I'm totally over you. We're just friends now."
"It was never going to happen, Kanda-chii." Otae smirked. Kanda stared at her with tear brimmed eyes.
"D-Did I hurt your feelings?" Otae got nervous. "I just never saw you that way."
"You did nothing wrong." Kanda smiled. He admired her for a couple of seconds before adding: "Thank you, Tae."
"Just to be sure, they're really just friends now, right?" Homura whispered in Tamaki's ear.
"Yeah, Homura-chan." He confirmed. "You'd better make your move before we all…"
Somber silence enveloped the four friends.
"It's funny that this has to happen for us to talk normally to each other again." Tamaki let a tear drop fall from his right eye.
"There's nothing funny about this. It's just a testament to how pathetic we all are." Homura said.
"You guys are really going easy at me." Kanda muttered. "We're here now because of me. You should hate me."
"I understand how you feel." Otae told him. "That's a messed up wish… isn't it? I'm starting to see it now…"
"How can you not hate me?" Kanda insisted.
"It's called forgiving and letting go. Yeah, I know, what a mind-blowing concept!" Tamaki taunted.
"There's nothing we could tell you that you don't know already." Homura whispered. "It's pointless to keep negative feelings this close to the end."
"I'm glad I can be with you all." Otae let them know. "I wish I had come meet you sooner… and spent more time with you… but I was afraid…"
"Did any of us ever stopped being afraid?" Tamaki wondered.
"I don't remember not being afraid." Kanda said. "Ever."
"We've done terrible things." Homura murmured.
"There's no point in thinking about them now." Otae stated.
"Yep. Instead of focusing on the wrongs, let's do something right." Tamaki added.
"I agree." Kanda said.
The four friends looked at the five children and their partners. Koushiro was working on the computer and the others were around him.
The adults knew that they had done unforgiveable things. It was not possible to correct the mistakes they had done during their lives.
All they had left was to help those kids. That would be the final battle of the original chosen children.
Then, they would rest.
Next chapter will be the conclusion of the second arc.