"W-who are you?! Where am I?!" Bastemon cried, crawling backwards on the ground of the temple below Infinity Mountain. She was cornered by Angemon, who pointed his spear menacingly at her. His wings were broken.
The tree in the middle of the lake shone a golden light on them. Close by, Ofanimon's statue seemed to watch over the two creatures. A few steps away from Bastemon, at the feet of the statue, there was a broken hand mirror. Only one small piece of glass remained in it.
"What kind of game are you trying to play with me?!" Angemon inquired. "Backstabber! For how long have you pretended to serve Mother?!"
"I swear I don't know what you're talking about!" Bastemon's wailed desperately.
"I HEARD YOU TRYING TO CONTACT SOMEONE AT THE ACADEMY!" Angemon blasted Bastemon a couple meters away with a reach attack. "WHAT WERE YOU PLANNING TO DO WITH THAT MIRROR? WHY WERE YOU HORRIFIED WHEN I MADE YOU TOUCH IT?"
"M-mirror?" Bastemon gasped. Her scared expression was replaced by a confused one. "W-who are you?! Where am I?!"
"ENOUGH WITH THIS!" Angemon was ready to attack again, but a voice coming from his left stopped me.
"What's the point of punishing someone who doesn't know why she's being punished?" The voice asked.
"Angewomon?" Angemon inquired. "Wait… there's something different…"
"I had never noticed before how that helmet was uncomfortable." The woman said, approaching him. She glanced down at her reflection on the lake, seeing for the first time how her appearance had changed. Her once delicate gloved hands were replaced by ones that resembled claws, with one hand bigger than the other. From one of her shoulders, there was a creature that looked like a ghost; it never talked, which made her believe that it was nothing more than a split of her own soul. She had chains around her body, black shredded wings and was mostly covered in jet black cloth. Her red eyes were visible; they were striking different from the blue ones she once possessed.
She had had blue eyes when she was a lost Plotmon. With them, she saw that angel, the kindest creature who had ever lived. Her eyes were covered when she was separated from that angel. In her defeat, the weight of the helmet she was once so proud of was unbearable. Did she think she could ever be like her? Her Mother was strong, wise and just. And her Mother was still damned by the world she had tried to protect for so long.
If even that formidable being could be defeated, what was there left for a weak thing like her to do? What was the point of doing anything? Any strength she ever believed she possessed had clearly been an illusion. She was helpless and with no hope. Was that what it meant to fall from grace?
"What are we going to do now?" Angemon's voice had no shred of ferocity. Instead, he was expecting an answer that could give him a direction. She looked at him, trying to find her rage. Had Angemon not been the culprit for everything bad that had happened? Was he not probably the digimon who had caused her Mother terrible pain in his previous life? He had been banished, what was he even doing there? She should throw him out! She should curse him! She should break him into little pieces!
But she did not feel like doing any of that.
Ladydevimon merely watched that pathetic creature who she knew despised her, and yet he was hoping that she had something to tell him that would appease the wounds in his soul. She walked in the direction of the Bastemon and grabbed the cat woman with both her hands, opening her wings next.
"Answer me!" Angemon shouted.
"There's nothing to do anymore." She said, setting flight. "We lost."
Angemon could not follow her. Ladydevimon exited the place through a circular opening on the transparent ceiling which was made of the water from Asclepius fountain, arranged to be in a state between fluid and crystallized. She landed on the grass outside and let go of Bastemon.
"A-are you my ally?" The cat woman asked. "I can't remember anything… anything at all… I don't know who I am…"
"If you don't get out of my sight in two seconds, I'll be your murderer." Ladydevimon threatened. Bastemon ran as fast as she could.
I could use a long-reach attack and exterminate that creature in a second. Ladydevimon thought. But that felt so pointless. So what if she killed that creature? So what if she decided to punish Angemon? What difference would any of that make? Her Mother would still be gone.
She looked back at the ceiling of the underground temple, beneath her. It looked like a lake made of hardened water, with a circular hole in its center. Like every peculiar occurrence in the Digital World, there were legends that attempted to explain Asclepius fountain. Her favorite one, told by her Mother, was that in the beginning of the Digital World, the Great Spirit cried endlessly because of solitude, because it missed a beloved someone or because it had lost something precious. The precise reason for its tears was unknown.
The tears formed a lake capable of healing everything. The Great Spirit hoped that the lake could restore what it missed. However, that was not possible. Not even a medicine that cures every injury was capable of erasing that kind of pain.
Pain could never disappear. But if there was love, there would be no pain that could last for too long.
Now that Ladydevimon thought about it, that story made no sense at all. Love was precisely the source of her pain.
Something cold touched her skin. She looked up and saw sparse snowflakes falling. That had never happened on that island before.
"Mother?" She asked, staring at the dark sky. "Is this you? Are you watching me now?"
There was no reply. Ladydevimon did not need one. She knew that the weather around the mountain was influenced by her Mother's feelings. She's still here. Maybe not with her body… but she's still with me.
"I'll bring you home, Mother." She vowed. "I'll open a door to you."
Chapter 24: Above us, only Sky
The satisfaction of smashing that orb lasted less than she had expected. Ladydevimon excused herself and flew out of a window of Vamdemon's room. She landed on the conical roof and stayed there for an uncertain amount of time. In front of her, there was an ocean of pine trees. There was a forest full of life so close to a place where an army prepared an invasion. Cold wind woke her from her stupor. She decided to check on the Dark Master she had known the longest and performed a communication spell. A circle appeared in mid-air; at its other side, Pinocchimon greeted her.
"Nee-chan! Good to see you!"
"I've met Piedmon. Congratulations for capturing the holy beasts." She said, formally.
"That was awesome, wasn't it?" Pinocchimon had a proud grin.
"Where are you right now?" She wondered in loud voice, noticing a shelf filled with books and strange objects behind him.
"Guard duty." Pinocchimon did not sound happy. "Mugendramon is at the Academy base of the west now, trying to figure out what happened there."
"What do you mean?" She inquired.
"When we arrived at that base, the enemies didn't resist us at all." Pinocchimon reported. "They didn't know who we were… or who they were! It was the creepiest thing I had ever seen!"
"Did all of them just lose their memories?" Ladydevimon was perplexed.
"I can't imagine who could have done something like that. We don't have the means for that kind of attack. Do we have secret allies, perhaps?" The other mused.
She frowned, remembering an encounter with an amnesiac Bastemon. She was a spy from the Academy but something went wrong with her plan. Wait, I'm not considering that the Academy erased the memories of its own soldiers, am I? Although… if it's those chosen children who control the place now…
The chosen children had every reason to want revenge against the Academy. But, if that was the case, why would they not ally themselves with the Sanctuary? No. That was a stupid question. Nobody in the Sanctuary would accept those creatures after what they had done. The chosen children took control over the Academy and, instead of crushing it, they used it to keep on fighting the Sanctuary. Did they want to exterminate both organizations? Why could they not simply leave the Digital World? Why go through all that trouble just for revenge?
She glanced at the hand she had used to crush the dark orb. It had felt good when she did it. But it was a fleeting sensation, quickly substituted by emptiness in her heart. Emptiness she had grown too familiar to her likeness.
"Inform me if anything new happens." Ladydevimon muttered, making the communication circle disappear.
We're doing the right thing, aren't we? She wondered, gazing up to the night sky. For the sake of the plan… for the innocents who have perished… for Mother… I know what we have to do. I know…
She felt the urge to go to the door behind which her Mother was. She had done that many times after finding a way to reach the woman. Despite not being able to bring her from the other side. Not yet.
"The older sister has to stay and watch over them, right?" Ladydevimon's question was almost inaudible. "At least you're watching over me. You are, aren't you? Keep watching over me, Mother. And I'm sorry for my weakness."
"The teleportation pods are sealed and can only be opened remotely by Vamdemon-sama. We can advance in search of the chosen children knowing that they can't escape this base." Blossomon informed Fangmon.
"Good." The monster that resembled a red wolf with sharp teeth and claws said. "Most of our troops are already covering the paths that lead to the deepest floor, where we believe the enemies are hiding."
"Wouldn't it be faster to go through the tunnel where the Headmaster's office used to be?" The digimon that looked like a giant purple flower with countless vines as roots growing from her body asked.
"He insists on taking that route without the rest of us." Fangmon complained, staring at the leader of the army in his front. Skullsatamon had been engaged in combat with Bastemon for nearly an hour. He had ordered the other monsters to continue with the mission and to allow him to fight the cat woman by himself.
"At least it seems that his pointless one on one fight has come to an end." Blossomon said, noticing that particles of data were leaving Bastemon's body. The cat monster was still able to stay on her two feet, but was visibly worn out. Gasping for air while covered in bruises and cuts, she had a proud smile.
"You fought with honor, soldier." Skullsatamon praised her, sustaining his weight on his red staff that had a yellow orb at one extremity and a sickle at the other. The digimon had a skeleton like body and a pair of bat wings on his back. "It's rare to find a digimon with so much courage. You remind me of someone I used to know."
"Soldier…" Bastemon let a single tear escape her right eye. "That's who I am… I won't forget it anymore…"
She died standing up.
"Look at the deplorable state you are in." Blossomon commented, approaching Skullsatamon and taking a look at his wounds. "We had numerical advantage. We could've crushed that cat without the need of-"
"No matter how vicious the enemy is, I refuse to fight like a coward." Skullsatamon interrupted.
"I hope you don't intend to fight the chosen children by yourself with your body like that." Fangmon said.
"Did the technicians take care of the vertical tunnel?" The leader inquired.
"They were not able to open the sealed passages in the hundreds of floors separating us from the lowest one." Fangmon informed. "They were able, however, to narrow the passage. Digimon with large bodies won't be able to fight in that tunnel."
"Does that mean that I have to stay behind?" Blossomon questioned.
"I'd feel safer if you watched over the teleportation pods, even if they've been reprogrammed. I don't want to risk any chosen child escaping." Skullsatamon said. "I'm the only one who needs to go down there through that path. My body is small and agile and I can fly."
"My body is smaller and a lot faster than yours." Fangmon told him. The wolf monster stuck his claws into the metallic floor and wrenched a piece of it out. "And I have no need for wings."
Skullsatamon frowned.
"You're a murderous beast, Fangmon." The leader stated. "Concepts like honor and mercy are foreign to you."
"Why else do you think Vamdemon-sama paired me with you, Mr. Noble Demon?" Fangmon taunted.
"The chosen children know no honor." Blossomon affirmed. "They don't deserve any kind of mercy. I approve on letting Fangmon go with you."
"Alright, then." Skullsatamon agreed. "But if I decide Fangmon has gone too far, I'll stop him immediately."
"It's typical of perfect levels to underestimate adult level digimon." Fangmon smirked.
The sudden narrowing of the tunnel alarmed the chosen children. But not as much as the explosions that began sounding above them in the distance.
"They must be coming through the office tunnel." Takeru theorized, standing up. He had stayed seated with the others around Koushiro until that moment.
"But Kanda-san had sealed the floors, right?" Jyou had a fearful voice.
"They're destroying the seals. And they're doing it fast." Sora remarked, paying attention to the space of time between the explosions, while standing up. "It won't take long for them to get here."
"Damn it!" Koushiro suddenly interjected, making the other kids look at him. "I made a mistake! I'll have to redo this part! Damn it! Damn it!"
"Be patient, Koushiro-han." Motimon told him.
"I have to work faster!" Koushiro seemed to be talking to himself. "There's not much left! I need to do this faster! I can't waste time!"
"Koushiro-san!" Takeru raised his voice, which made Koushiro look at him. The blond child continued: "We've told you already that we would buy you time. Just focus on your work and leave the rest to us."
"Sorry." Koushiro murmured, looking down.
"If any enemy comes our way, Zudomon can send them running!" Pukamon was confident.
"The ceiling is too low; Zudomon wouldn't be able to move here." Jyou remarked. "The size of your perfect form is very inconvenient in this situation."
"Don't kill my fighting spirit, Jyou." Pukamon complained.
"Birdramon and Kabuterimon can't maneuver with ease in that tunnel, if they can still fit there at all." Sora had a concerned voice. "They would be an easy target to the enemies."
"There's no way Garudamon can fit in that space." Piyokomon added.
"Neither can Atlurkabuterimon." Motimon said.
"They must've narrowed the tunnel to keep our major offensive forces outside." Sora theorized.
"I bet the digimon coming down are small and can fly." Jyou suggested.
"Hey, didn't Nanomon say that my ultimate form was a cute angel?" Pukamon suddenly remembered. "If it's cute, it has to be small, right?"
"I remember him saying that was a possibility." Jyou recalled. "Wait! You can't mean that you want to reach your ultimate form now!"
"Why not? It's possible, isn't it?" Pukamon asked, turning to the first chosen children, who were at the other side of the room. "YO! KANDA! I CAN REACH ULTIMATE LEVEL, RIGHT?"
The original chosen children began to walk in their direction. When Kanda was a couple of meters away from the new kids, he said:
"The way I projected your digivices, you all can reach ultimate level. It depends on your emotional state and how it influences the crest."
"Hah! Then Jyou needs to be honest for me to reach that level!" Pukamon exclaimed, turning to his partner. "Tell me everything about you, Jyou!"
"I don't think that's how you're going to activate the crest." Homura gave her opinion.
"I… I…" Jyou tried to think on something important to tell his partner. "My birthday is on September 1st!"
"Jyou-san is a Virgo! I knew it!" Mimi laughed.
"Hey, Mimi." Tanemon called her, close to her partner's feet. The girl glanced down and noticed the somber look on the plant monster.
"I know." The ten-year-old said. "Lilymon will be the only one able to fight."
"I understand that you don't like violence." Tanemon muttered.
"I don't want my friends to get hurt." Mimi had a decisive tone. "Please, protect them. And take care of yourself."
"I will." Tanemon promised.
"Lilymon is not the only one who can fight." Takeru approached Mimi, with Patamon by his side.
"Takeru-kun…" Sora said, walking in the little boy's direction.
"Please, Sora-san." Takeru looked into her eyes with intensity. "I know that I haven't been in my best shape lately, I'm sorry for that. But please trust Angemon and me with this. We can fight! We can protect you all!"
"I'm sorry, Takeru-kun." Sora told him. Takeru was starting to feel tears coming to his eyes when she added: "I shouldn't have overprotected you the way I did."
That phrase surprised the other kids.
"I have my issues." The leader admitted. "I felt that I had to take care of all of you, you especially, Takeru-kun. I projected my personal problems on you. My inability to trust you to handle things blurred my sight and had dreadful consequences." She glanced at Koushiro, who was concentrating on his work.
"Sora-san…" Takeru was at a loss of words.
"You had ups and downs but you've grown a lot, Takeru-kun." Sora smiled at him. "We're counting on you."
Happy tears rolled down the little boy's face.
"Yes!" He said, smiling. "I will do my best! Patamon and I will do our best!"
"Takeru-kun." Mimi called him, showing him a serene expression. "Let's protect our friends together."
"Let's do it!" Takeru grinned.
"Blondie!" Otae called. Takeru looked at her, startled. She was holding something under her jersey. "I need to talk to you."
"O-okay." Takeru said, following the woman among the rubble, passing by Koushiro. Patamon pondered about following Takeru, but decided to stay behind.
"Mimi-chan, do you mind if we talk?" Tamaki asked. "Just the two of us."
"Oh." She glanced at Tanemon, who nodded. "Alright."
The fourth-grader girl stood up and followed the man, wondering why his eyes were red and swollen.
"Do you need an intimate talk with Jyou too?" Pukamon asked Homura.
"I… erh…" She mumbled.
"I'll be right back, Pukamon." Jyou smiled at the floating creature and went after Homura.
Sora and Kanda exchanged a silent glance. The man turned around and slowly walked away.
"Please, wait for me." She asked Piyokomon, before walking after him.
"They're going to tell them something heavy, aren't they?" Tanemon asked.
"I think it's something personal." Piyokomon theorized.
"We probably shouldn't worry about it." Pukamon tried to speak in a calm tone.
"I can hear your heartbeat from here." Motimon told his floating friend.
"We shouldn't interfere on the matters of human beings." Patamon said, sitting down.
Koushiro quickly glanced up, taking notice of what was happening. He bit his lower lip and went back to work.
Tamaki had sat down on a large and straight piece of metal that used to belong to one of the walls of Kanda's office. Mimi joined him. The man held his hands together and kept his eyes on a piece of glass that was a foot away.
"You like Astrology, then." Tamaki mustered all of his will force to imprint a joyful tone to his voice. "I used to read about Astrology when I was your age. What's your sign?"
"Leo." Mimi replied, seriously.
"Oh, that's a great sign!" His excitement came out too forcefully. "Not as great as mine, though. Taurus is objectively the best sign!"
"Tamaki-san…" Mimi's voice had a sad tone that Tamaki could not bear to listen.
"D-did you know that Scorpio and Aquarius is said to be a b-bad romantic match?" He could feel his voice starting to crack. It had become a struggle to keep the grin on his face. "Kanda-kun was mad at me when I told him that-"
"It's okay." Mimi turned her body to him and placed both her hands over his. "You can tell me what you have to. There's no need to be frightened."
"Hah…" Tamaki had a nervous laugh. His eyes became flooded with tears. "I can't believe you're the one comforting me now. I wanted to be cool… but I'm the same lame crybaby I've always been… weak, coward, silly Tamaki…"
"Don't talk about yourself that way!" Mimi reprehended him. "I can't stand it when people are mean to themselves!"
"You barely know me, Mimi-chan." Tamaki murmured.
"I know that you care for us and wanted to keep us safe!" Mimi stated. "I know that you've done bad things and regret them immensely! And that you can't stop beating yourself over them! But you're so kind-"
"I'm not kind!" Tamaki cried. His tears rolled down profusely and he tried to hide his face but Mimi did not let go of his hands. The man lifted his eyes and looked at her. She did not turn her eyes away from his.
"I'm a good for nothing." He affirmed. "I'm the most pathetic person who has ever lived… someone who never stood up… I never made myself be heard… even when I'm about to die, I'm pitied by a little girl like you…"
"You're not about to die! Koushiro-kun will save us!" Mimi corrected him.
Tamaki examined her wide open eyes. There was unshakeable faith in them and he thought that he had to be a truly despicable person to do that to a child. Regardless of how he felt, Tamaki knew that he had to say it.
"Nanomon made our bodies in a way that…" The man took a deep breath. "We can't cross to the human world. We've tried before, after becoming like this… no portal will ever allow us to go home."
Mimi paled deeply after hearing that. She shook her head, trying to deny that reality.
"We lived for thousands of years, you know?" Tamaki attempted to force a smile again. "It's just natural that people die one day… really, it's nothing to be upset about…"
Mimi stood up and hugged him with all her might. The man could hear her sobs and feel the shakiness of her body. He let his hands fall by his sides, unsure about what to do.
"My friends and I are together… we are fine…" Tamaki felt his sight getting blurred again. "We've talked and laughed, you know? W-we…" His voice broke.
"It's okay, Tamaki-san." Mimi told him.
"W-why do I have to be like this?" Tamaki asked as tears busted from his eyes. "Why do I have to be such an e-embarrassment?"
"Those things that you told me in your base… I took them to the heart." Mimi said. "It's overwhelming sometimes but I really want to find that path. I really want to protect my friends from the spiral of despair… I want to protect everybody from it… even if I can't do it right now… I can't do it for you, I'm so sorry…"
"Don't be." Tamaki found the strength to lift his arms and hug her back. "Allow yourself to fail once in a while. Honestly, if you told me something super inspiring right now, I'd feel even more as a useless adult."
"Tamaki-san." Mimi whispered. "I don't remember you joking even once when we first met. But now it's like you can't stop it."
"Yeah, I'm weird like that." Tamaki sniffed.
"I'm glad that you can joke now, despite everything." Mimi told him. "It's kind of cool."
Those words brought a small smile to his lips that Tamaki did not have to force.
"Thank you, Mimi-chan."
When they were far enough from the others, Otae took the pendant from her neck and gave it to Takeru.
"That's all that's left from Shinsuke. Take care of it." She told the kid.
Takeru examined the yellow rock with a drawing of a sun rising on the horizon. He put the pendant around his own neck.
"Does this mean that you can't take care of it anymore?" He asked.
Otae leaned against a wall and looked away from him.
"I don't know you very well so it shouldn't bother me to tell you this." She spoke in low voice. "Our bodies can't get translated into the material world, which means that we can't cross over with you. We'll wait for the crack to destabilize and destroy us."
"What?!" Takeru gasped.
"Dimensions get crushed; people die… that's just how the universe is." Otae tried to sound indifferent. She looked at the boy and observed how the little child's expression of anxiety was slowly replaced by one of understanding.
"Do you think you're going to see your brother again?" Takeru asked. "Is that why you don't seem disturbed about dying?"
He's sharp, Otae thought, amused. Shinsuke was sharp as well.
She studied Takeru's eyes. Their blue was deeper than the blue of hers. It would be more accurate to say that Takeru's eyes were darker. Otae could still see sparks of innocence in them but they were not many. A shadow lurked in their depths, like the one that lurked in Shinsuke's eyes before the day they ran away.
"Do you have siblings?" The woman asked.
"An older brother. His name is Yamato." He replied.
"Is he a good brother?"
"He's a great brother!" Takeru's eyes lit up. "We don't spend much time together anymore, but he has always been kind to me! He loves me and wants to take care of me. He must be worried about me right now…" The boy frowned. "But I'm going to meet him soon and explain everything that happened. And I'm going to introduce him to Sora-san and the others."
"If you died, I bet that he would suffer a lot." Otae said. Takeru gave the woman a serious look and told her:
"Not long ago, Patamon evolved to Angemon and killed Devimon, the same digimon who murdered your brother."
"Really?" That information did not make her feel any different. "Do you expect me to thank your Angemon for it?"
"My Angemon died after defeating Devimon." Takeru continued, without breaking eye contact. "He became an egg right away and then he was able to remember me. Nevertheless, I suffered a lot over his loss. Right now, although we are reunited, I know that Patamon is hiding something from me… and I can feel that he's different from before."
"It must be disturbing to remember your own death." Otae commented.
"It's not that. He changed because of something else." Takeru muttered. "But I'm getting off topic."
"What was the topic?" Otae inquired.
"It was hard for me to lose Patamon, despite his death not being permanent. That makes me afraid…" He gulped. "If I were to lose someone else permanently… if Onii-chan…" A couple of tears formed on the corners of his eyes. "I don't know if I could recover from that."
"Are you afraid you could become like me?" She inquired, bitterly.
Takeru remained silent.
"I loved my brother more than anyone in the world." Otae stated. "But I know what kind of person he was. I know that if he had seen me die, he would have taken a path much worse than mine… much worse than the one any of my friends took."
The woman noticed how pale Takeru was getting by listening to her words but that did not stop Otae. She had to warn him.
"I think that if Shinsuke had lost me, he would have become something twisted." Otae concluded. "That's what you should be afraid of."
"It can't be! It's not fair!" Jyou said as hot tears washed his face. His entire body trembled.
"We'll atone for our crimes and be freed from our misery." Homura assured him, holding her hands together. "It's right for us to die this way."
"What are you talking about!? There's nothing right in that!" Jyou cried, louder. "There has to be a way to save you!"
"We don't want that, Jyou-kun." Homura felt that her words were not reaching the boy.
"How can you not want to live?! That's madness!" Jyou protested.
"You don't know how it is to live endlessly." She commented. "To feel your very humanity slipping away… to long for peace of mind that you know will never come. But the opportunity to finally rest came to us."
Jyou lifted his glasses and harshly wiped his tears away. Homura watched him with admiration. How wonderful it was to show his emotions so freely.
"Say, Jyou-kun, have you ever fallen in love?" The woman asked.
"EH?!" Jyou was so shocked by that question that he took a step back. "What are you…?! This isn't the time to talk about this!"
"It's the only time I have to talk about it." Homura grinned. Jyou stared at her, perplexed.
"I…" He began, scratching his head and blushing. "I don't think I've ever fallen in love. How would I even know?"
"You'll definitely know when it happens." Homura assured him. "You'll be euphoric and nervous, happy and scared all the time. It'll hurt, but it's a good kind of pain."
"Nothing that you're saying makes any sense to me." Jyou sighed. "I thought that romance was something that happened when two friends got so close to each other that they never wanted to be apart again."
"That's a beautiful view of romance." Homura told him.
"Homura-san…" Jyou hesitated. "Have you told the person you love-?"
"Oh, she knows." Homura interrupted. "I never kept it from her."
"How can you be sure that she knows? A girl wouldn't expect another girl to love her, would she?" Jyou asked.
"Do you think you're an expert on the feelings of women, Jyou-kun?" Homura asked, staring at him and smirking.
"I didn't mean that. Sorry if I was rude." Jyou blushed.
"It's okay." Homura took one step forward and rested her right hand on his shoulder. "You're a sweet boy. I'm proud that we got to share a crest."
"Homura-san, I found you terrifying the first time I saw you. Then, I got to know you better and felt very sorry for you." Jyou told her. "You did bad things but I think that you're genuinely a good person. So… don't be too harsh on yourself, okay?"
Her eyes got very humid.
"I'll do my best, Jyou-kun."
Sora followed Kanda to a pile of rubble close to the west wall. From up there, she could see what her friends were doing. More than twenty meters across from her, Jyou was crying while talking to Homura. From her left, in a similar distance, Mimi was hugging Tamaki. Ten meters on Sora's right, Koushiro was sitting on the floor, working on his computer, surrounded by the digimon. Around ten meters behind Koushiro, Takeru and Otae were talking.
Kanda sat on the top of the pile. The girl sat next to him but not too close. She held her knees against her chest and looked up, in the direction of the hole in the ceiling.
"I overheard you talking to Homura-san the night before we went to the pyramids." Sora said. "You told her that you could never go home."
"We can't cross over because of how Nanomon built these bodies." The man let her know.
"I also heard that the original children died." Sora continued. "And that you saw your friends dying before the same happened to you."
All she heard in response was his heavy breathing. She looked to the side and saw that he was looking at his feet.
"Now I'm going to see them die again." He said. "I had planned to destroy this place along with myself. I never wished to bring my friends death… I never wanted to hurt them…"
"Your friends would be sad if you died." Sora told him. "No matter how much you thought that you deserved to die alone, I'm sure that they would try to save you."
"Why are you being kind to me?" Kanda inquired, looking up and gazing into her eyes. "After all I've done to you and your friends, you should hate my guts."
"That would be easy." Sora smiled, sadly. "But I would like not to hate people anymore. Besides… I can't hate someone I understand."
"You… understand me?" Kanda asked, softly. There was an almost unnoticeable sparkle in his eyes.
"Didn't you expect that?" She questioned. "Why else would you open your heart to me, back in Homura-san's base?"
"I don't know why I told you all that." He replied. "Maybe I was too eager to connect with someone… I told you many unnecessary things, didn't I?"
"Adults normally don't say those things to children." Sora chuckled, dryly. "But I appreciate how honest you were… also, there was some truth to what you said."
"Truth?" Kanda raised his eyebrows.
"Good people indeed don't exist. But neither do bad people." She told him. "We can be many different things during our lives, depending on the choices we make."
The man smiled at her as his eyes shone.
"You are quite wise, did you know that?" He asked.
"I'm just beginning to learn to think that way." Sora blushed.
Kanda smirked, closing his eyes.
"You're still a kid."
"H-hey!" Sora thought he was teasing her.
"I wish I could've been a kid for longer." Kanda confessed, opening his eyes. "I wish I could see a future full of possibilities… and that I could learn from my mistakes and grow up gradually."
Sora rubbed her eyes with her right hand.
"I'm going to take my time to grow up." The girl promised. "I'll have a long childhood and adolescence and slowly figure out what kind of person I want to be."
"I think you're going to be great." Kanda said, smiling brightly.
When Koushiro finished his analysis, he found the other children already around him. They had concerned expressions and some of them had been crying.
"They're not coming with us, are they?" The redhead boy asked, while he let the program run in his computer.
"You've figured that out already?" Jyou did not sound surprised.
"Otae-san told me that they can't cross over and that because she didn't know me very well, it shouldn't bother her." Takeru informed Koushiro. The fourth grader glanced at Otae, who had reunited with the other adults.
"We have to wait for the program I developed to finish running. If everything works out as planned, the portal should open for a few minutes." Koushiro let them know, scratching his head slightly. "After it closes, there will be a chain reaction that will consume this entire dimension in a matter of seconds."
"They won't have time to feel pain, then." Sora concluded, looking down.
The atmosphere around them was heavy.
"At least Koushiro-kun finished his work before any enemy-" Jyou had begun to talk but was interrupted by a large piece of retorted metal that fell from the vertical tunnel. It was evident that it used to be one of the structures that sealed the floors above. The piece of metal dissolved quickly into data particles. Tanemon and Patamon jumped in the direction of the opening as the digivices of their partners shone.
"Tanemon evolves to Palmon! Palmon evolves to Togemon! Togemon super evolves to… LILYMON!" Mimi's partner shouted, surrounded by green light, as she flew in the direction of the enemies.
"Patamon evolves to… ANGEMON!" Takeru's partner yelled, as he followed the female digimon. When Otae saw the angel, she covered her face and would have fallen on her knees if Homura and Kanda had not caught her in time.
Fifty meters up in the tunnel, Skullsatamon was hovering and Fangmon was holding to one of the walls with his long claws.
"FINALLY!" The red wolf howled, jumping on Angemon. "TIME TO START THE PARTY!"
Angemon managed to grab the beast by the jaw and throw him at the wall. Fangmon laughed, sticking his claws into the metallic surface and stopping his fall.
"I like your smell." Fangmon had delight in his voice. "How many have you killed?"
That question made Angemon's heart skip a beat. Don't think about that! The angel ordered himself. This is not the time to think about that!
He launched a beam with his clenched fist in Fangmon's direction but the wolf jumped before being hit. All what Angemon achieved was to create a hole in the wall. Fangmon landed over his head and whispered:
"Holding back, aren't you? Just give in to your nature already. All digimon are roaming beasts that enjoy slicing the flesh of their prey."
Fangmon bit Angemon's left shoulder, making him bleed. Angemon grabbed the wolf by one of his back legs and threw him against the wall again. Fangmon kept on his strategy of using his claws to hold to the wall and attacking Angemon in great speed.
Meanwhile, Lilymon used her flower cannon against Skullsatamon, who was able to dodge the attacks. When he used long-reach attacks, she used her blasts to deflect them. The female digimon could have dodged them with ease but she was concerned about Angemon, who was fighting below her. Skullsatamon decided to attack directly and flew in her direction. He was about to pin her against the wall when Lilymon kicked his chin and sent him upwards.
As her foot made contact, Lilymon had a vision. She was fighting Skullsatamon in a sunlit field. He was laughing.
"I almost caught you off guard now, Banchou!" The male digimon told her in the vision, slowly returning to the ground.
"Heh, you're thousands of years too early to defeat me, Bones-chan." Lilymon was surprised at how confident her own voice sounded.
The vision ended and she found herself back in the vertical tunnel. Skullsatamon was hovering above her with an expression of shock.
"Did you… see that too?" He inquired.
It was a trick. He entered in my mind somehow! Lilymon told herself. She conjured a large flower collar to trap the other. Skullsatamon used his staff to cut the collar in two points. The fairy held each of the two parts in each hand and was about to swing them like ropes. In the fraction of a second, she had another vision. Instead of flower ropes, she was holding yoyos in her hands.
"What are you doing to me?!" Lilymon questioned, trying to reach him with the ropes. Skullsatamon grabbed them and pulled her closer.
"There are digimon like me, who were born remembering who they used to be in a previous life." He told her. "I've heard stories about digimon who begin to regain their memories when they fight someone they had encountered in a past life. To think you would fall on the second category…"
"What's this madness you're spitting?!" Lilymon raised her voice.
"When you kicked me, you had a vision of us sparring, right?" Skullsatamon asked. "We did that many times. I followed you to every battle as you tried to free the world from the Tyrant!"
"You're trying to confuse me! You want me to drop my guard so that you can kill me!" Lilymon accused.
"I would never try to kill you, Banchou!" Skullsatamon swore, throwing his staff away. It got stuck on the wall, a few meters below. "Please, remember me! Remember who you are! Whenever you went, the people sang about you!"
Lilymon was paralyzed as new visions flashed before her eyes. She remembered fighting multiple digimon along with loyal allies. She was celebrated in every city she visited. And there was a song…
Her spirit beaming with incandescent courage.
Her dazzling weapons soaring with justice.
Banchou! Banchou! No one compares to her force!
The one and only who can oppose the Bloody Lord!
Lilymon paled intensely. I… was called Banchou? She asked herself. The strongest?
Meanwhile, Fangmon torn a piece of Angemon's left wing, forcing the humanoid monster to stick his staff into the wall to stop himself from falling.
It shouldn't be a problem for me to defeat a Fangmon! Angemon thought, anguished. If I fought with my full power… but… I'm not like that anymore!
"You're a bore, did you know that?" Fangmon taunted, walking over Angemon's staff and trying to make the angel let go of the object. "Aren't you the same kind of digimon that once spread terror in the world? You have to put up a better fight! Like Seraphimon would!"
"I'm… not…" Angemon's words came out in a wrathful whisper.
"I've heard uncountable exciting stories about that guy." Fangmon began to stab the other's hand with his claws. "He tainted the land red when he fought! There were times when he beheaded and dismembered enemies with his bare hands! He destroyed an entire continent and everybody who was there! Seraphimon was the greatest of the digimon! He was what all digimon should aim to be! If I could ever measure up to his bestiality, I would be so proud!"
Angemon finally fell.
Because there were many digimon like this… Angemon was recollecting his past. Elecmon told us what digimon like this Fangmon did. And I used to say…
"If only there was a digimon who was powerful and fair, the Digital World could become safe for everybody."
In a full moon night, she was sitting on the edge of the well. But she had no shadow... and was almost transparent… I asked who that was… she looked deeply into my eyes and told me…
"I am the very Spirit of this World."
I couldn't believe that. That being continued to talk to me.
"You want to save the world, don't you, Patamon? I can help you with that. I can make you the most powerful digimon in existence, able to reign absolute over all living things."
Angemon raised one of his bloody hands in the direction of Fangmon. Five meters from the exit of the tunnel, he spoke those four words once again:
"Give me the power!"
"Angemon is falling!" Tamaki shouted. He had been under the exit of the tunnel, watching the battle and narrating what was happening. "He's hurt!"
"ANGEMON!" Takeru tried to run to the tunnel but was stopped by Jyou.
"You know it's dangerous to get close! You could be hit by an attack!" The sixth grader reminded him.
Not able to free himself from Jyou's grip, Takeru grabbed the pendant that had been around his neck since his talk with Otae. He held it with his right hand and his digivice with his left one.
"Help Angemon!" He gave the yellow rock an order. "Save him!"
"What is this?" Koushiro said, suddenly, covering both his ears. The redhead boy had a terrified face. "This voice…"
"Voice?" Sora asked.
"THE VOICE FROM THE WELL!" Koushiro shouted. "IT'S FATE! IT'S HERE!"
"What did he say?!" Otae thought she had misunderstood it. It could not be true.
"Fate is a fairy tale…" Kanda murmured, startled.
"What is Fate saying?" Jyou questioned, agitated.
"'Welcome back.'" Koushiro replied, looking to Jyou. "It keeps repeating that. 'Welcome back...'"
White light shone inside the tunnel. Takeru took advantage of Jyou's distraction and broke free from him. The little boy ran to the exit of the tunnel and looked up.
Soon, there was blood splattered everywhere.
"IT'S HIM!" Skullsatamon had dread in his voice. Lilymon looked down, to where the other was looking, and saw Angemon flying back up. His wounds were being healed by a strange white light.
"You seem to have become interesting at last!" Fangmon spoke with glee. But before the red wolf could attack, Angemon got to where he was and grabbed the creature by the neck with all his force.
"Don't talk as if you could understand me! You know nothing about me!" Angemon howled, tearing the wolf's neck and beheading Fangmon. "NOTHING AT ALL!"
The angel looked up and saw Skullsatamon. Angemon aimed his attack on the perfect level digimon's head, destroying it instantly.
"HAND OF FATE!"
Lilymon was thrown against the wall because of the attack's shockwave. She had been watching what was unfolding, astonished.
"A-Angemon…?" Her question came out in a scared whisper. This power… this brutality… is he really the digimon I've grown up with?
"I was chosen by the Great Spirit to bring peace to the world!" Angemon stated, grabbing his staff and getting it out of the wall. "Anyone who opposes me must be crushed!"
"ANGEMON!"
Takeru's cry coming from below him paralyzed Angemon. Sudden horror filled his being. Takeru… Takeru saw what I did! What did I just do? What was I saying just now? No! I'm no longer… I shouldn't… what's the matter with me?!
Lilymon used her flower ropes to tie the angel up, hoping that would bring him back to his senses.
But when the flower ropes touched her friend, Lilymon had another vision.
She was on the site of a great battle. The grass was tainted red. A golden sword had been struck to her torso. The one holding the sword was a man completely covered in armor, who had golden wings and a helmet with a cross on it. The image of her murderer was flashing back and forth with the image of Angemon.
"You…" Angemon murmured, filled with guilt, while facing her.
Lilymon let go of the ropes and fell, overwhelmed by that vision. She no longer had the will to keep the energy Mimi had given her. She drowned in the stupor, closing her eyes and feeling her body becoming smaller. She did not hit the ground, though.
Palmon opened her eyes and found Angemon holding her in his trembling arms.
"All this time…" She whimpered. "This whole time… I thought we were friends… but you… you are…"
"I didn't know." Angemon swore. "I've only come to remember after being reborn… following the battle against Devimon."
Palmon tried to get away from him, but was powerless to do it.
"Please, don't tell anyone. Don't tell Takeru." Angemon pleaded. "I will never be that again, I swear. I will never be Seraphimon again."
They landed without uttering any other word. He returned to the form of Patamon. Takeru ran to his partner and hugged him.
"Patamon, you…" Takeru cried, remembering the horrific way his partner had killed the two invaders. "It was Fate… it possessed you and made you act like that, right?"
The small mammal buried his face on the boy's shoulder, saying:
"I'm back to myself, Takeru."
Palmon looked away. Mimi approached her.
"You didn't become Tanemon this time." The girl noticed. "What happened there? Are you alright?"
Before Palmon could say anything, a whistling sound pierced the air. The crack in the space-time continuum grew, destroying the bubble that was containing it. It assumed a rectangular shape, resembling a door. There was the top of a hill covered in snow at the other side. Down the hill, there were a few small wooden huts.
"It's the camp!" Jyou recognized.
"It worked!" Koushiro exclaimed. "We should hurry, before the passage closes and this dimension crumbles." He urged, putting his laptop in his backpack and putting the backpack on his shoulders.
Takeru walked towards the open portal with Patamon in his arms. Before crossing, he turned around to face the adults. He reached the crest pendant with his right hand and held it tightly.
"We're going for now but we'll find our way back." He swore. "We won't let the Digital World be destroyed."
The little boy jumped into the fissure with his partner, landing at the real world.
"Tamaki-san…" Mimi called the man, after picking Palmon up.
"We've had enough crying! Let's part ways with a smile, okay?" Tamaki said, showing her a trembling smile.
"You're already crying, Tamaki-san." Mimi observed. She tried to put a smile on her lips but was unable to. "Thank you for everything." She carried Palmon to the open portal and turned to Homura.
"Homura-san, I don't agree with many things you did, but thank you for caring for us." The ten-year-old told the woman, who smiled to her.
"I inflicted pain to others to distract myself from my own pain." Homura admitted. "I regret that… and I regret thinking less of you for you not being cynical. There's no nobler strength than the one you possess."
"Thanks." Mimi felt hot tears coming to her eyes. Then, she looked at Otae.
"I don't really know what to tell you, I'm sorry." Mimi said.
"Don't worry about that." Otae found the girl amusing.
"Mimi-san, I don't want to be rude, but if you don't hurry up we'll die." Koushiro informed his classmate.
"Ah, right!" Mimi was ashamed. "One last thing! Kanda-san!"
"There's no need for you to tell me-" Kanda started.
"I can't believe you convinced Koushiro-kun to leave us behind to look for Otae-san and then lied to us about his whereabouts! That was awful! Shame on you!"
"Kanda-san did what?!" Sora was surprised.
"Mimi-kun, why say that to someone who's about to die?" Jyou questioned.
"If I didn't say it, it would bother me forever." Mimi replied, jumping to the real world while holding Palmon. At the other side, she added: "But now that I've said it, I can forgive Kanda-san."
"Thank you." Kanda muttered.
"I-I don't have much time for goodbyes now." Jyou had a concerned tone, turning to Homura. Pukamon landed on his shoulder.
"Just be concise." His partner advised.
"Stay true to yourself." Homura told the sixth grader, with a large smile. "It was an honor to meet you."
Jyou was able to smile, despite his eyes getting humid.
"B-be at peace, Homura-san." He brought himself to say, with difficulty, while stumbling backwards into the portal.
Sora picked Piyokomon up and gazed at Kanda.
"I'm very sorry." Sora did not know what else she could say to someone at death's door.
"Be happy." The man wished.
"I intend to." The girl tried to smile. She crossed to the human world with her partner.
The borders of the portal began to distort. Distant sounds of footsteps were approaching the room.
"Koushiro-han, we need to go!" Motimon urged his friend. Koushiro gently picked him up.
"I…" Otae hesitated.
"The things you want to tell me, I already know." The boy gave her an assuring smile. "You're together with the three people you care about… I'm glad that you're not alone anymore."
He jumped to the other side of the portal, embracing Motimon.
"Koushiro-chii!"
When he heard Otae calling him by his name, Koushiro turned around to face the closing portal. At the other side, the woman had a tear falling from each eye. With a trembling grin, she told him:
"Live!"
The portal closed, sending red sparks upwards. Not long after that, above the kids' heads there was only a clear sky.
They did not know how things had unfolded at the other side. They did not know that the four adults reached the end of their story hugging each other, without exchanging unnecessary words. Nor did they know that the army approaching the lowest floor and the Blossomon who had stayed close to the teleportation pods died suddenly, not understanding what had happened. To the kids' ignorance, the Spirit of the World carried the data of the fallen digimon out of the crumbling pocked dimension, so they could be reborn one day. It left the data of the clones to be completely destroyed, so the original chosen children could rest forever.
The five children did not know that Afro-Agumon, who was supervising the mission in Vamdemon's castle, hurried upstairs right after losing communication, before the teleportation pods at his side began to emit red sparks. And without their knowledge, Vamdemon destroyed his room, filled with distress over the loss of his army, while Piedmon met Ladydevimon on the roof, where he told her: "The chosen children are dead! We won!"
And those five children could not even suspect that Wizarmon and Tailmon had found the portal Nanomon had promised in an old laboratory built over a lake. Neither cold they imagine that the mage opened a passage to Japan and promised his friend that she would find light.
If someone was to ask the surviving chosen children what they were thinking while looking at the empty spot through which they had crossed back to their world, they would not know what to say. Their digimon partners looked at them, anxiously. Palmon glanced from Mimi to Patamon. The little animal got out of Takeru's grip and landed in front of the boy, giving a sorrowful glance at the plant digimon. Takeru did not notice the absence in his arms.
Jyou wept quietly. Mimi sobbed. Koushiro kept his eyes on where he had seen Otae. Sora placed a hand on the redhead boy's right shoulder.
Then, a voice broke the silence among the woods.
"TAKERUUUU!"
All of them turned around. A blond boy who should be close to Sora's age was running up the hill, followed by a boy with large brown hair.
"ONII-CHAN!" Takeru cried, running to his brother. When they reached each other, they shared the tightest embrace they had ever had.
"You disappeared after that wave! I was looking for you like crazy!" Yamato sounded like he was scolding his brother. The shakiness of his body made it evident how concerned he had been.
"Sora! Koushiro!" Taichi approached his two friends. "How did you guys get up here?"
"Hello, Taichi-san." Koushiro murmured.
"Good to see you again, Taichi." Sora greeted him. Then, she glanced at the little boy and Yamato. I'm happy for you, Takeru-kun. She thought. He seems like a great big brother.
Without anyone noticing, Patamon got close to the two siblings.
"So that's Yamato?" He asked. "He looks a lot like you, Takeru."
Yamato slowly broke the hug and stared, startled, at the little creature.
"Did that toy just say our names?" The older sibling questioned.
"Patamon is not a toy. He's my digimon partner." Takeru explained.
"Digimon?" Taichi asked, examining Piyokomon and Motimon, who were still being held by his friends.
"Well…" Sora took a deep breath. "I guess we have a lot of explaining to do."
And then, Yamato and Taichi were told an unbelievable story.
With this chapter, the second arc of The Song of Love comes to an end. The story of the original chosen children is now complete. Next month, hopefully, the third arc starts. It could be said that this is the part of the story that marks the beginning of the end. But maybe it is, actually, the end of the beginning.