Chapter 43: Koushiro concludes
Wisemon's world had been devastated by a war between two digital deities. That event led him to his most important conclusion: the gods he knew were irremediably flawed and should be replaced by better ones. He was clearly wiser than the gods of his world. Therefore, Wisemon was qualified to create a superior deity that would bring harmony to the universe, a deity that would never be corrupted.
His quest for the perfect god began. Wisemon got on his hands all the books about all the subjects he could think of that would contribute to his end goal. One of the first spells he learned was related to travel between universes; he knew that the knowledge of only one world wouldn't be enough. He spent thousands of years on the construction of a vessel that could support the travels he needed to take and store the knowledge he already had. As he visited more universes and collected more information, Wisemon continuously expanded his ship, until it got to a point where he couldn't tell how huge the place was on the inside.
As he studied other deities, notably the ones named "Homeostasis," Wisemon developed a clearer idea of the superior god he wanted to create. It had to be logical, but couldn't fall to the traps of pure logic devoid of emotion. It had to be capable of empathy and of treating others with fairness, but couldn't be too sentimental. Wisemon tried to create an artificial intelligence that could meet all his criteria, but his attempts resulted in failure. It turned out that an AI couldn't sustain the level of complexity that Wisemon desired in a deity, which explained why every god of every Digital World had gotten corrupted at some point. They were all AIs, after all.
Therefore, the logical solution was not to create a god from a computer, but from something far more sophisticated. Wisemon concluded that he needed to base his Homeostasis on a living human brain. He looked for the perfect candidate among chosen children from different worlds. When Wisemon met Izumi Koushiro for the first time, he knew he had found the one.
But things didn't go as he had planned. His superior god turned against him and the digimon was forced to flee that universe. He was determined to fix the glitches of his creation and had all the knowledge he needed to figure out a solution. It was only a matter of time until he could retake control. But then, his ship was stolen.
After thousands of years of searching, Wisemon found his carriage on an alley of Tokyo, the city where the first Koushiro he met had lived before being sacrificed for the creation of his Homeostasis. Izumi Makoto, who had taken the carriage in the hopes of saving his "brother," had returned home. Back then, Wisemon thought that Makoto had simply given up on his impossible task of rescuing the faulty deity.
During the time he was without his carriage, the digimon had to use a magical book to travel across universes. Wisemon needed to get his ship back. He couldn't give up on the knowledge he had collected during his ancient life. But when Wisemon entered his carriage again and tried to go to a new universe, something in the programming of its main computer made the ship return to the last universe Makoto had visited, but in a different time from the one the teenager had been. Wisemon had been sent to the far past and wanted nothing more than to leave that primitive Digital World. However, he soon discovered that an irrevocable command had been put in the computer system of the ship. That command had programmed the carriage to destroy itself if it ever tried to cross universes again. He tried to overwrite that, but had no success. That command had been given by a god.
Wisemon could feel his Homeostasis spying on him all the time. That rebellious child must have been the one responsible for that situation. The digimon talked to the creature, trying to make it answer to him. Wisemon informed Homeostasis of how little Makoto cared for the thing and that the human was living happily ever after without remembering that he once had a brother. No matter how many provocations the digimon used, Homeostasis never responded to him. What did that machine think it was to ignore its creator like that?
Wisemon could still escape that world using his book but wasn't willing to abandon his ship again. He just needed to revoke the divine order in the programming. For that, he needed his god under his control. Upon centuries of studying, Wisemon figured out that the version of his Homeostasis that was in that universe was the oldest he had ever seen. He didn't have a concrete plan to take control of it, but didn't despair. Wisemon just had to wait until the Izumi Koushiro of that universe appeared in that Digital World. That boy had always been his creation's greatest vulnerability. When it tried to kill that child again, Wisemon would make his move.
As he crafted a plan, Wisemon tried to blend in that world and not call too much attention to himself. He acted as a merchant and collected favors and objects of value of all kinds of people and places. In one of his travels, he found the hand mirror on the bottom of Asclepius Fountain and rejoiced.
Wisemon made sure to take advantage of situations whenever he could, which, among other things, enabled him to avoid trouble with the Dark Masters by handing them the digivices the original chosen children had given him long before. He knew that Koushiro was too smart to die in the Academy's main base, anyway. Therefore, the digimon wasn't risking losing anything valuable at enabling that place's destruction.
After the chosen children left to the human world, Wisemon used the mirror he had retrieved from the fountain to spy on Koushiro. He soon realized that his Homeostasis was also connected to the object, despite not being able to see its mind. That was when the digimon finished formulating the perfect plan to get his creation back under his control. With the aid of a god, Wisemon would be able to get out of that doomed world with his ship. And then, he would make sure that his Homeostasis remained obedient and brought order to multiple universes, like he had intended. However, Yagami Hikari's usurpation complicated things.
Izumi Makoto had gotten rid of the exhaustive research that had led to the creation of his Homeostasis, which used to be stored in the ship. With his creation gone, Wisemon didn't have the means to bring a new Homeostasis into the world. However, he found out that the mirror contained a back-up of his fallen god's memories. With that information, it was feasible to build an even better Homeostasis, one that would never betray him. Wisemon just needed to access that back-up, but Koushiro's memories in the mirror, especially after the child came to know the truth, resisted his presence and made Wisemon's task too difficult. The obvious solution was to get rid of those nuisances and replace them with better memories.
Wisemon worked hard towards his goals. Taking advantage of the discrepancy of time between the worlds, he made sure that everything would be perfect and that Koushiro wouldn't disobey him ever again. The amount of time and energy he poured on manufacturing those new memories in preparation for Koushiro's return to the Digital World would assure his success, without a doubt.
Piyomon and Tentomon were lying on a mirrored floor. Several meters above them, there was a large blue sphere emanating light. They felt too weak to move.
"We'll find a way out and help them, you'll see!" Piyomon tried to be positive.
Tentomon didn't reply. Piyomon crawled to where he was and put a wing on one of his arms.
"I'm afraid of being hopeful…" Tentomon muttered. "That never ends well when it comes to Koushiro-han. I guess it was all leading to this…"
The other Koushiro had returned from death and was seemingly willing to help his other self and his friends, but that felt almost too good to be true. What if it wasn't anything like that? That could've been nothing more than a cruel trick by Wisemon. Or maybe Fate, if he really had survived, was the one pulling a trick to hurt Tentomon's partner.
The digimon didn't want to distrust the alternative version of his child. He wanted to believe that the other boy could be saved and that there was goodness in him. Tentomon even argued with his friends when they brought up that child's harmful actions. But the reason why Tentomon had gotten angry at them was because he knew they had valid points; he knew how dangerous Fate was, to Koushiro above everybody else.
Nevertheless, Tentomon forced himself to have hope in Fate as he was overwhelmed by regret and grief. He wanted to believe that there could have been a way to help the child and blamed himself for not finding it. But now that Fate's salvation and redemption were more than just him hoping, Tentomon got scared. That was too good to be true, things couldn't be that easy. That would certainly lead to something terrible, like almost everything else that ever happened to Koushiro. The digimon should've learned already to prepare only for the worse.
"Koushiro is fighting back… well, in a way… Fate is helping us now. It's thanks to him that Sora is alive and that we weren't destroyed!" Piyomon reminded him. "We have to believe that whatever his plan is, it's going to work!"
"To believe in Koushiro-han…" Tentomon thought aloud. He wanted to do that, but what would be the point? To be positive would only make him more miserable when everything crashed down and burned.
"He survived everything that happened to him!" Piyomon stated. "There's no reason to believe it'd be different this time! Have faith!"
"But the nightmare I had in the underground temple…" Tentomon mumbled. "It was a prophecy! It already came true! I've lost Koushiro-han!"
Despite thinking that acceptance would hurt less, to say those words aloud wounded Tentomon deeply. That reality was too painful, too unfair. He almost wished that he could forget everything as well, so he would no longer be plagued by that unhappiness.
"My nightmare came true as well, have you forgotten?" Piyomon asked. "Sora was swallowed by darkness, like I had seen in that dream! I was forced to see her go through a painful loop hundreds of times and I was powerless to do anything to help her! While I was stuck in that wall of ice, there were times when I thought that everything was hopeless…" Her voice broke. "I began to wish that things could end already so I wouldn't have to see Sora suffering anymore… so that I wouldn't suffer any longer. But it all worked out in the end! Koushiro came by and helped Sora when I couldn't! And now Sora is with him! I'm sure she'll be able to help him like he did with her! Believe in our partners!"
Piyomon reminded him of feelings he had buried for a long time.
"When you disappeared along with Sora-han, I was very worried about you." Tentomon let her know. "I had to put up a brave act because Koushiro-han was falling apart next to me, but I was afraid I had lost you. We had always been together, the five of us… and then suddenly you were gone…"
"Sorry for worrying you…" Piyomon muttered.
"Don't feel bad for me." Tentomon spoke in a guilty tone. "I was pretty angry at Sora-han when I learned that she had let Koushiro-han into the pyramid after he had shared his concerns with her. I was also mad at Koushiro-han for forgiving her so easily…"
"That's understandable, I guess…" Piyomon murmured. "But Koushiro wouldn't have realized how to help Sora if you hadn't talked to him and encouraged him to go after her. I'm thankful for that."
"I thought you'd react in a worse way…" He said, surprised. "Before we met our partners, you really idealized Sora-han and were very defensive of her. You were the most abrasive of us all."
"And you used to be the chilliest one, remember? Look at us now!" Piyomon smirked. "It took one day of knowing our partners to break our life-long expectations. But I don't regret getting to know Sora better, flaws and all. She made many mistakes, but learned from them. I got to see her evolve into an extraordinary person in front of my eyes and I'm so glad for it. I'm so grateful for the friendship we built and for who she became."
"I understand what you mean…" Tentomon muttered, thinking on what his partner had come through. Those memories didn't feel as dreadful as before. Piyomon had made him look at the past in a different angle. Instead of focusing on the tragedies, Tentomon remembered how Koushiro emerged from every danger wiser and stronger than before. "Koushiro-han also became someone incredible. He learned to open himself emotionally and trust others with his feelings… and to be kinder to and more forgiving of himself…"
"You're in large part responsible for that." Piyomon said. "I mean, sure, your early attempts to bond with your partner had some bad results, and so did mine. But after many arguments, misunderstandings and heartbreak, we got really close to our children and helped them. And do you know what the best part is? They grew into people that are capable of helping each other and themselves even if we're not around! They will be fine, I'm sure of it!"
Tentomon stayed silent for a couple of minutes. Piyomon's optimism was making its way into his heart. However, a part of him still resisted.
"Koushiro-han has no idea of who I am anymore or of who he is…" Tentomon whispered. "He doesn't know how much he's overcome… how much he's grown… everything he used to be was erased from existence…"
"He might be lost now, but it's not forever." Piyomon assured him. "I don't believe people can just end like that, not when they are loved."
"What if Koushiro-han never remembers who he is?" Tentomon asked. "What if I never get to see my partner again?"
"Koushiro is never going to stop being your partner! The two of you are connected by your hearts!" Piyomon told him. "If you focus, your feelings will reach him. You can find Koushiro through your love."
Those words moved Tentomon to tears. He loved Koushiro so much that it hurt. But maybe that love didn't have to only bring him misery. Tentomon could find strength in it and use it to actually help the boy. The digimon had heard about how Mimi had been able to reach her partner through her feelings. Piyomon's idea wasn't baseless; it could work! Tentomon had to try, for Koushiro's sake! He concentrated on his memories with his partner: the day they had met, the factory, the well…
That had been the only time Tentomon had talked to his other partner, despite not knowing it yet. The other Koushiro seemed to be happy to see him. Maybe that had been the happiest the boy had been in a long time in an existence filled with despair. If only Tentomon had been there for him before, if he had had the chance to talk to him again and get him to open his heart, could things have been different? Could he have eased that child's pain?
The sudden sound of thunder startled him. Tentomon found himself in the middle of a big and empty saloon. The walls made of dark bricks trembled and dust fell from the high ceiling as little rays of light came through the fissures. Under the ceiling, hundreds of fireflies were flying.
He saw the back of a red-haired boy sitting a few steps in front of him; that boy was wearing an orange shirt and brown shorts. Tentomon approached him, glad to realize that he wasn't as lethargic as before. The child turned around and smiled at him, a little smile that the digimon had seen only once, on the day they had met.
"It's good to see you again, Tentomon." Koushiro told him.
"You're him…" Tentomon muttered, feeling his heart race. "You're really him, aren't you? You're alive…"
"I'm a back-up of the mind of a dead person, actually." Koushiro corrected.
"I'm sorry…" Tentomon told him, shedding tears. He wanted to say a lot more, but couldn't stop repeating those words. No matter how many times he said them, it didn't feel enough. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" Tentomon continued as more tears fell from his eyes and his body trembled.
"I'm sorry for all the heartache I put you through." Koushiro apologized to him. "It's too late now… I wish I could've been better. I wish I hadn't let myself sink in those destructive feelings… but if I managed to rise out of that dark place, it was thanks to your partner reaching out to me. That had never happened in any other universe I had visited. I think that's because no other version of you tried so actively to open Koushiro's heart. You helped him to surpass his fear of the unknown. In the end, if I'm at peace now, it's thanks to you. Thank you, Tentomon!"
Tentomon couldn't say anything because of his sobs. Koushiro gently embraced him and let the digimon cry on his shoulder. He hugged Koushiro back with all his six arms.
The walls and floor trembled violently. Something was trying to destroy that place.
"We don't have much time, please, listen." Koushiro whispered to him. "Wisemon forced your partner to drop all his psychological defenses against him by changing Koushiro's perception of his past. Because of that, it's easier for Wisemon to tread through Koushiro's consciousness and get to me, thanks to our link and the mirror. He's attacking me right now and it's taking everything I have to defend myself, but I won't last long."
"What's going to happen if he gets to you?" Tentomon asked, worried.
"I don't have any godly power left in me," Koushiro replied, "but I have the knowledge that was long destroyed during the time my brother was in possession of Wisemon's carriage."
"Makoto-han?"
"It's a long story…" Koushiro muttered. "My brother was determined to save me and wouldn't go back home until he succeeded. He eventually returned, so he must have visited this universe at some point in the future and learned what happened to me. I think that's when Hikari-san, probably with Koushiro's help, placed an absolute command in the programming of the carriage. Thanks to that, when Wisemon retrieved his ship, he was taken to this universe and trapped here. The Apocalypse is coming and that guy is not willing to lose the carriage again. Because of that, he wants to retrieve the Homeostasis information guarded in my mind and use it to create a new Homeostasis. After making Koushiro docile and subservient to him, Wisemon will sacrifice your partner to get what he always wanted: a god-like entity that will follow all his commands."
"NO!" Tentomon cried. He had been lost during the boy's complicated explanation but understood immediately the gravity of his partner's situation. "He can't do that to Koushiro-han! Not again!"
"Wisemon knows how to make time go faster or slower… and he's already put Koushiro under his control…" Koushiro said. "He has all the means to succeed, but Wisemon is bound to fail."
"Is that something you actually know or are you only making assumptions?" Tentomon asked.
"I don't know for certain, but I have hope." Koushiro replied. "I believe in Sora's power to save your partner before my time ends. Once she breaks through to him and Koushiro doubts the reality Wisemon built for him, he'll be able to reclaim his memories."
The boy let go of the digimon and looked up. The other did the same.
"The fireflies…?" Tentomon asked in low voice. Those little lights hovering close to the ceiling reminded him of the insects in Otae's ship.
"I took the liberty of making a back-up of the memories he had in the mirror." Koushiro explained. "It's up to him to get them back."
"I'll help him!" Tentomon stated. "I'll make my feelings reach Koushiro-han!"
"He can't perceive external information that contradicts the past Wisemon built for him." The boy explained. "You won't be able to get to him yet. Be a little patient."
Another blast was felt, which made the bricks of the wall begin to crack.
"I'm sorry, I need to send you away now." Koushiro told him. "I have to focus all my attention in stopping Wisemon from breaking in."
"Sorry for distracting you…" Tentomon murmured, ashamed.
"Please, don't be sorry!" Koushiro asked. "I'm happy I got to talk to you before my end arrives!"
"You don't have to die, do you?" Tentomon asked in a sad voice. "If Koushiro-han breaks free from Wisemon's control and retrieves his memories, you'll be okay, right?"
"I'm a ghost of a ghost. My existence is fickle by nature." Koushiro stated. "The second someone else gets in direct contact with the mirror, I'll disappear completely. And my consciousness will probably fade before that…"
"But if we protect the mirror…" Tentomon began to say.
"When the time comes, you'll know who you'll have to protect. And that won't be me." Koushiro told him.
"I don't want you to suffer anymore! It's not fair!" Tentomon protested.
"I promise you I won't suffer." He said, smiling. "Thank you for caring for me, Tentomon. Good-bye."
Tentomon found himself again lying on the mirrored floor, close to Piyomon.
"You fainted and didn't wake up for several minutes." She told him. "Are you alright?"
"I'm… not sure…" Tentomon murmured.
"Did it work? Did you communicate with your partner?" She asked.
"More or less… I communicated with another Koushiro-han…" He replied. "It seems that, because of Wisemon, I can't reach the other one…"
"Oh… I'm sorry about that…" Piyomon muttered. "What do we do now?"
"All there's left to do is to wait…" Tentomon said in low voice. "We have to wait and trust our partners."
"Your name is Izumi Koushiro, you live in Odaiba with your adoptive parents, you're a chosen child." Sora told him. "You're my cousin and one of my best friends. Wisemon made you forget who you are and filled your head with fake memories. He's planning something awful to you."
Koushiro blinked at her, not seeming disturbed.
"So, Sora-san, what's the thing you wanted to tell me?" He asked. "You made me turn around because you had something very important to say but then you just stood in silence. Is everything okay?"
He really… can't listen… Sora thought, sadly.
"Do you have a pen or a pencil or something similar?" Sora asked, wondering if Koushiro could read what she had to tell him.
"I have in my bedroom. Is this urgent?" Koushiro asked. "We're not done with the books cataloguing yet."
"It's really urgent! Extremely!" Sora told him.
"O-Okay…" Koushiro murmured, returning the book he had been holding to its place in the shelf. He led her out of the library and into a narrow and long corridor. At the end of it, he opened a door and switched on the lights of the small room.
There were two shelves filled with books in there, a desk with pens and notebooks on it, a wardrobe and a bed covered by white sheet. Sora had never visited the boy's real room back in the human world, but had the feeling it should be similar to that place. Koushiro picked a notebook and a pen and handed them to her. Sora leafed through the notebook; it had nothing written on it.
"When I fill them with my notes, Wisemon-sama takes the notebooks away and gives me new ones." Koushiro clarified. "You happened to come in a day of switch."
"What a convenient explanation for you to not have anything with your hand writing in a room where you spent your entire life..." Sora muttered.
"I don't understand what you're trying to imply…" Koushiro mumbled, furrowing his eyebrows. "Of course there had to be an explanation. I mean… it wouldn't make sense otherwise…"
"Make sense…" Sora repeated in low voice. "It has to make sense to you! It has to be believable!"
"What are you talking about?" The boy asked.
Instead of replying, Sora began to write on the notebook:
You are Izumi Koushiro, my kouhai in the soccer club and a good friend of mine. We went to a summer camp together. Then, we came to the Digital World and became chosen children. Wisemon brainwashed you! The memories you have now aren't real!
She returned the notebook to him and asked the boy to read it. Koushiro glanced at the paper and paled. He looked at Sora with concern.
"There's nothing written here." Koushiro told her. "Do you… believe you've written something down?"
Sora sighed in frustration. Of course Wisemon wouldn't make things so easy. And now, Koushiro was probably thinking that she was out of her mind. She couldn't stand to keep looking at his worried eyes and turned away. It was when she noticed a soccer ball behind the door.
"Why is there a soccer ball here?" She asked.
"Aaaahhhh, that!" Koushiro sounded embarrassed. Sora turned to him and noticed his cheeks getting red. "I have to dust Wisemon-sama's storage rooms from time to time and found that ball. I was drawn to it… he said I could keep it… but it's not like I ever played with it or anything."
Drawn to it? Koushiro unconsciously desired a soccer ball? He wanted to play soccer? Why would Wisemon allow such ideas in the boy's mind? How could that benefit the monster?
"But why would he give you a soccer ball? Why would he have one?" Sora insisted, picking the ball up and then looking at the boy again. "It doesn't make sense…"
"He has all sorts of things in the storage rooms. It'd be stranger if he didn't have a soccer ball." He contested.
That bedroom couldn't have been prepared in a few hours, nor could Koushiro's fake memories been made so detailed in such a short amount of time. It must've taken years in the Digital World for Wisemon to get everything ready. It wasn't enough to fill the boy's head with lies, Wisemon needed to make him believe those false memories were real. That made Sora wonder if that monster's control over her friend wasn't as strong as she had thought. Maybe, if Koushiro began to doubt the narrative Wisemon had created for him, the boy could break free and regain his memories.
Koushiro had said that he had been drawn to the ball. He had never been an excellent soccer player, nor did he seem like someone that enjoyed the game the way Taichi did. However, Koushiro seemed to be happy when he was playing soccer with Sora and Taichi, even when it was only the three of them training by themselves. He smiled so much in those trainings, especially when he learned new things and was praised for his improvement.
For Wisemon to leave that ball in that room… it must've been inevitable that Koushiro would be drawn to a soccer ball. It must've been inevitable that he would think about the sport even if Wisemon got rid of all the information regarding soccer. That meant that soccer couldn't be fully erased from the boy's mind. There were things that Koushiro couldn't be made to forget, at least not completely. A part of his memories must've remained with him. Memories that were ingrained with emotional significance.
Koushiro might not be able to remember his past, Sora thought, but maybe he can remember feelings from his real life. Maybe I can help him to remember who he is if I give him familiar experiences…
"Would you like to play soccer with me?" Sora asked.
"B-But I never played soccer! I must be terrible!" Koushiro replied.
"I don't care about how good you are!" Sora told him. "I'd like to play soccer with you! It'd make me very happy!"
Koushiro's face turned red after he heard that.
"If it's so important to you, sure…" He agreed.
Sora taught him many movements and he was surprised at how fast he was learning them. The boy didn't even have to think too much. It was as if Koushiro's body knew what to do on its own. For some reason, he kept on glancing at his sides, looking away from the girl in front of him, as if he was looking for someone else. He felt like there should be a third person playing with them, but couldn't explain why.
"How are you feeling?" Sora asked, looking at him with interest.
"It's a fun game!" Koushiro replied, grinning at her. He thought that his face would hurt for smiling so broadly, but it was fine. The boy couldn't stop smiling as he kicked the ball to the girl and then received it again from her.
He didn't usually exercise; perhaps that euphoria was simply the result of physical activity. But a part of him thought there was something more to that. As he spent more time with Sora, his fondness for her seemed to increase exponentially. Looking at her smiling face gave him a level of happiness he wasn't familiar with. The feeling was so powerful and overwhelming that it scared him a little. But that didn't make Koushiro wish for the feeling to go away.
"You play like someone experienced with the game." Sora commented. "It's as if you've practiced soccer for years."
"Do you think so?" He asked, blushing. Her compliments filled his heart with great joy, yet another feeling he wasn't accustomed to experience with such intensity.
Then, Koushiro began to feel that there was something wrong. It couldn't be normal to bond with someone so quickly. Nor should it be normal to have such strong emotional reactions towards a game he had never played, especially if he was playing it with a stranger.
Koushiro remembered enjoying himself by spending time with his master, and he remembered the adoration he felt towards him. That was the most important person in his life... well, the only person that mattered for most of it, since Koushiro had never known anyone else before Sora's arrival.
Why was it that his happy memories with Wisemon suddenly felt underwhelming comparing to what he was experiencing with Sora? That happiness, once sublime, now felt tamed, forced, distant... almost as if Koushiro had lived those things through a filter. Why didn't Koushiro remember feeling during his whole life what he was feeling in that moment? It was still him… he was the same person in that moment and in those memories! Why didn't it feel like it? It didn't make any sense…
"Is there something wrong?" Sora asked.
"What?" Koushiro said, reflexively.
"You're still keeping the ball." Sora pointed out. "It's been a few minutes."
"Oh! Sorry!" Koushiro interjected, kicking the ball to her again. "I was just thinking… it's not important…"
Sora looked at him with serious eyes.
"Did you feel like this wasn't the first time?" She asked.
"What do you mean by that?" Koushiro asked back.
"You heard me?" She sounded pleasantly surprised.
"Why wouldn't I hear you?" Koushiro was starting to feel agitated.
"Never mind that!" Sora said, grinning. "But you felt that you had played soccer before, right? That you had played it with…" she hesitated "… other people?"
Her mysterious tone of voice was making him nervous. What was the point she was trying to make? How did she know how he felt? Koushiro couldn't possibly be that easy to read, especially to someone who barely knew him! It was absurd… it couldn't be happening!
"I never played soccer in my whole life!" Koushiro stated, trying to hide his uncertainty behind a rude tone. "And I never played anything with anyone!"
"You never played?" Sora sounded skeptical. "Then, what do you do for fun?"
"I read! I listen to Wisemon-sama's lectures! I do chores! That's all I ever did and I enjoyed myself! I know that I enjoyed myself!" Koushiro was having trouble in keeping his voice down. His heartbeat was too fast and he could feel cold sweat on his face. Sora kept looking at him, without blinking.
"What you felt playing with me was similar to how you remember feeling while doing those things?" She asked.
Koushiro was getting more freaked out. She talked as if she knew exactly what was going through his head, as if she knew him intimately… but Sora couldn't know him like that… they had never met before that day! They were strangers to each other! He was drawn to her… but that must've been just curiosity! She was the first human he had ever met, right? That had to be the reason… the only logical explanation for all that weirdness. It couldn't be anything else.
"So, Sora-san… do you like soccer? You're really good at it!" He tried to change the subject, nearly praying that she would take the bait.
The girl kept the ball under her foot instead of kicking it back to him. She had a lost look on her face, as if her life was flashing before her eyes.
"People told me I was a good player; that made me happy." Sora said, looking down. "My mother didn't want me to play soccer, though. I kind of… did it to spite her…"
She looked up at him, startled.
"I didn't mean to say that…" Sora said. "The last thing you need is to hear about-"
"It's okay, don't worry about me." He told her. Koushiro tried to show sympathy, but he couldn't let go of something that was bothering him. "Sorry to ask but… why would you do something that went against your mother's wishes?"
Sora stayed quiet for a couple of minutes, bearing a sad look on her face.
"You think I'm ungrateful…" She whispered. "You'd never do such a thing to a parent…"
"Well…" Koushiro murmured, unsure of what to say. "I owe everything to Wisemon-sama. It's just fair that I obey him at all times."
"Even if you get hurt by following his orders?" Sora asked in a serious tone.
"What happens to me isn't important!" Koushiro stated. "Wisemon-sama raised me and taught me everything I know. Not even my life would be enough to pay the debt I have with him. But I'd gladly sacrifice myself as many times as I could for his happiness."
Sora looked away from him. She embraced herself, as if trying to stop the shaking of her arms. Her eyes had small tears at their corners. She took a few deep breaths and looked at him again. The girl seemed to be trying to keep her anger under control.
"I used to think my mother didn't care for me, that all she cared about was to make me her Ikebana heiress." Sora spoke in a pained tone. "But, you know what? Despite our misunderstandings, my mother always wanted to keep me safe! Once I finally got to talk to her, I understood how much she cared about me and my well being! My mother would never be happy if I got hurt or sacrificed myself in any way! Her love for me wouldn't allow that!"
Koushiro understood what she was implying; that didn't bother him. What Sora was trying to say was something he had known for a long time, after all. What she didn't understand was that there couldn't be any shame in loving someone deeply without being loved back by that person. If anything, that just proved how pure Koushiro's feelings were. He loved his master without expecting anything in return. It wasn't his place to expect anything back, anyway.
"Wisemon-sama doesn't have to love me." Koushiro explained. "He has already more than enough appreciation for me. It'd be foolish to expect more from such a great sorcerer. He has more important things to care about than a worthless child like me."
"There's nothing wrong in wanting to be loved!" Sora told him. "Everybody wants that!"
"I don't need to be loved! I'm fine with how my life is!" Koushiro affirmed. "I'm perfectly happy this way!"
He felt a sting in his heart. For some reason, repulsion was growing inside him; it was a strong feeling of disgust towards himself. Why would he feel that way? He knew he had never felt like that before. It was dreadful, unbearable, unrecognizable. That feeling made him wish he could shove himself into a hole. What kind of illogical wish was that? He wasn't making any sense this day!
Then, he noticed a tear rolling from one of Sora's eyes. He had made her cry! Koushiro felt as if ice blades stabbed his heart. He didn't recognize that agony nor did he know why he was feeling it. It was not as if he had done something wrong. Koushiro was just telling the truth, like his master taught him to do at all times! Besides, it wasn't as if he had said something offensive to her or insulted the girl in any way! That wasn't his fault, he shouldn't feel bad! Then, why did he feel like he was breaking in the inside? Why was the image of Sora crying so painful to him?
Koushiro remembered being told by Wisemon that the Digital World was on the brink of destruction and that almost all of the chosen children had died. The boy had already deduced that Sora was probably the last survivor of that group and was going through a lot of pain, but didn't want to confront her about that, it didn't feel like the right thing to do. Her grief explained the emotional outbursts she was having ever since he had met her. That should be the reason why she began to cry out of nowhere and why she was acting so strangely, it had nothing to do with him. Koushiro had never lost anyone that he remembered; he couldn't understand what she was going through. He should've been more considerate of her situation instead of talking to her with such rudeness.
"I had a friend that had a really poor opinion of himself." Sora said. "He used to think that he didn't deserve anything good… that he had no worth at all… but then, slowly, he learned to see value in himself. And he was able to help people who had similar problems… people like me…" More tears fell from her eyes.
"Where's your friend now?" Koushiro asked.
Sora gave him a pained look.
"He's lost." She replied.
"I'm so sorry…" Koushiro muttered. "If you need to talk… if talking about him would make you feel better… I can't really relate to what you're going through, but if there's something I can do to ease your pain…"
Sora's eyes widened, as if she had just realized something. The girl glanced down for a few seconds. Then, she sat on the boy's bed and silently asked him to sit by her side.
"My friend was really intelligent and curious. He had a computer that he carried everywhere he went… he loved that thing…" She told the boy. "He loved to learn new things and share his knowledge with other people. He was also very kind and sweet, but didn't know it. For a long time, his qualities were invisible to him. He was awkward around people and had trouble understanding them… he used to think that he could never emotionally connect with anyone. Nevertheless, he did all he could to help others. And even though he poured all his effort in things, he thought it wasn't enough… he thought he wasn't enough… that boy didn't understand how extraordinary he was… or how much he came to mean to me…"
Koushiro felt tears accumulating in his eyes. He wasn't sure if they were just sympathy tears. The person Sora was describing sounded deeply familiar, as if he had known that boy since ever, as if he was someone for whom Koushiro longed.
"You really loved him, didn't you?" He whispered. "I'm sure he loved you as well…"
That felt more like a confession than a guess about a person he had never encountered. He wished he had known that stranger, like he had never wished for anything before. Koushiro wanted to see him, talk to him, understand him… he had the feeling that, if he could do that, everything in the world would make sense and all his doubts would cease to exist. He was aware of how irrational that feeling was. Nevertheless, it wouldn't go away.
Sora looked at him for a few minutes, without saying anything. Despite the tears rolling down her face, she smiled.
"I know he did…" She said.
Koushiro smiled after hearing that. His heart felt lighter, filled with joy that should be deeper than the ocean. He wanted to hug Sora tightly, but he knew that would be inappropriate, despite the girl having done that to him before. She was overwhelmed with grief when she hugged him; he didn't have an excuse to do the same to her.
The girl's smile suddenly vanished. Sora looked away, furrowing her eyebrows, seeming to be in deep thought. When she looked at the boy again, her eyes were full of resolve.
"I was with his computer. That thing was really important to him, more than any other object in the world. I know he'd be happy if he could work on that machine again… he had so many good memories tied to that object…" Sora said, glancing down. "It was in a big dark place, somewhere in this carriage… I think the backpack I had is there too…"
"Are you talking about the Dark Zone?" Koushiro asked, feeling a knot form in his throat. "That place is off-limits! I'm forbidden to go there!"
"Can you at least show me where it is?" Sora asked, looking at him again.
"The door to that place must remain closed all the time! Wisemon-sama wouldn't allow anyone to go there!" Koushiro told her.
"Please!" Sora insisted, putting her hands on his. "I wouldn't ask for your help if I didn't really need it! Please, I must find that computer! My friend… for my friend…"
She couldn't continue to talk and resigned to cry in silence. Koushiro felt as if his heart was being torn apart. Why did she have that effect on him? Koushiro wasn't that empathetic, right? His feelings lacked logic and couldn't be explained. That had never been the case before. In that moment, there was nothing he could do to control them.
He wanted to help Sora; he had almost an urge to make her feel better. But Koushiro couldn't go against Wisemon's wishes! That was unthinkable! To do so would break the sorcerer's trust in him! That would be an unforgivable act of disrespect! Koushiro dreaded the idea of doing that. But to see Sora suffering was a lot more unbearable. He couldn't stand to feel that way any longer.
"Maybe I could do it… it would be okay if Wisemon-sama didn't find out… it could be our secret…" Koushiro muttered. "He wouldn't be upset about something he didn't know… and keeping a secret is not the same as lying, right?"
Sora seemed to be pondering about something difficult. After half a minute, she gave the boy a resolved look and said:
"It's not the same thing at all! We won't be doing anything wrong!"
Ancient Wisemon had closed himself in his office, where he had killed Agumon earlier that day. He put Sora's digivice in a protective bubble and let it float close to the room's ceiling. Sitting behind the desk, he concentrated on the mirror inside the floating bubble in his front. Thanks to the changes he promoted in Koushiro's mind, accessing the object and projecting his consciousness into it had become a lot easier. Because of that, it didn't take long for him to locate the back-up of Homeostasis.
It was hidden in a castle in ruins, surrounded by water, under a thunderous sky. For more than an hour, Ancient Wisemon tried to break through the walls to retrieve what was his. At last, his effort paid off when one of the walls fell apart. The digimon floated into the castle and saw the image of a ten year old Izumi Koushiro standing under several fireflies.
"You made a back-up of his memories, how naughty of you." Ancient Wisemon had a scornful tone. "After I get what I need from you, I'll just destroy them like I did to the original ones."
"I won't let you!" Homeostasis stated, giving him a ferocious look.
The back-up's behavior didn't make sense. After spending almost its entire existence targeting alternative versions of Izumi Koushiro, why would that thing change its mind and try to help him? There was more damage to its programming than the digimon had expected. That should have been obvious ever since the creature had given itself to be consumed by Yagami Hikari.
But there wasn't anything to worry about. As soon as he retrieved the information and created a brand new and flawless Homeostasis, that series of disappointments brought forth by that first Koushiro's weak mind would lie only in the past.
"You don't have powers anymore. Give up already." Ancient Wisemon ordered.
"I'm in a mind space inside a world powered by subjective concepts." The other said. "This is the only place where I still have some power left."
"I've tamed Koushiro's mind, you can't count on him to lend you power through your connection." Ancient Wisemon affirmed. "Something like you, that isn't alive... you have no chance against me. It'd be easier for you to just give yourself to me willingly."
"I'll never surrender!" Homeostasis vowed.
"What's the point of this resistance?!" Ancient Wisemon was losing his patience. "Izumi Makoto isn't looking for you anymore! He returned to his world to live his life and forgot about you! From our point of view, he's been dead for longer than it's possible to calculate! You're at the very end of your existence and nobody is coming for you! It's time for you to stop being stubborn!"
The digimon made a movement with his invisible arm and pulled the other closer. That thing was immobilized and at his mercy. Nevertheless, it still looked at him with contempt and defiance.
"I can't surrender! Stubbornness is in my nature! It's a part of my soul…" Homeostasis said, smiling. "No matter what you do to me, to us… you can't ever change this! I will always resist you!"
"You don't have a soul, Homeostasis!" Ancient Wisemon reminded the other. "You're not alive! You're not a person! Stop deluding yourself already!"
The boy looked deeply into his eyes and stated:
"I am Izumi Koushiro!"
Ancient Wisemon gave up on reasoning with that thing. He began to forcibly turn the back-up into particles of data; with no sentience, it'd be easier to retrieve the information he wanted. However, fierce winds interrupted the process. They knocked the other walls and the ceiling down and carried the fireflies. Ancient Wisemon was distracted by that event for enough time to allow Homeostasis to escape.
The digimon screamed in rage as the winds increased in intensity. He couldn't keep his eyes open and had no idea where the other had gone. That chaos in the boy's mind could only mean that Koushiro's submission to him had begun to waver. That shouldn't happen after Ancient Wisemon had gone through the trouble of meticulously creating a lifetime of false memories to the child. That girl must've influenced him, but how could she do that if Koushiro couldn't listen to anything that contradicted his world view? Clearly, Ancient Wisemon had underestimated Takenouchi Sora. He had to fix that mistake.
Sora observed as Koushiro tried to hack the electronic lock of the door connected to the dark space. She felt guilty for tricking him into retrieving the computer, especially when he was so against the idea. To see the nervous look on his face as he typed on the little keyboard on the wall broke her heart further. She couldn't tell him the truth directly, but only hope that he would figure it out by himself.
He seemed to be getting somewhere while they were playing soccer, but he got scared before reaching the right conclusion, because of the girl's insistence. She couldn't make the same mistake again. While talking to him earlier and remembering their friendship, Sora realized that Koushiro's computer had to be the object imbued with the most emotional memories. There was also the boy's digivice, but she didn't think it was a good idea to give it back to him yet. Koushiro would certainly regain significant memories once he recovered his laptop; then, he'd break free from Wisemon's control. After he did that, it'd be safe to give him back the digivice. That computer was the most precious thing the boy had; if it didn't make him question the nature of his fake reality, nothing would.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
Ancient Wisemon suddenly appeared behind Sora, who immediately turned to him. Koushiro stepped away from the lock, looking at his master in pure terror.
"I-I'm sorry! I'm s-so sorry!" The boy stuttered. "S-Sora-san wanted something back and I didn't think it'd be a p-problem-"
"It's not your place to decide things by yourself!" The digimon roared, passing by the girl's side and approaching Koushiro, who was trembling from head to toes. "Your only reason to live is to do everything I want! You're supposed to obey all my orders! After everything I've done for you…" Ancient Wisemon sounded deeply offended. "I never thought you could be this ungrateful!"
"I-I'm s-so sorry…" Koushiro muttered, letting a few tears escape his eyes. "I didn't m-mean… I-I didn't w-want…"
"It wasn't his fault! I convinced him to do it!" Sora shouted, running to put herself between the boy and the monster.
"You're right…" Ancient Wisemon said. "You wanted to retrieve something from there… an inconvenient little machine, perhaps? Were you putting your hopes on that?"
"Sora-san wanted the c-computer that belonged to the friend s-she lost!" Koushiro explained, wiping his tears with the back of his right hand. "She was so sad… I wanted to cheer her up…"
Ancient Wisemon stared at the boy with cold rage. Koushiro looked away from him, shaking.
"This girl is a complete stranger to you." The digimon reminded him. "You've known her for less than a day and yet you prefer her to me? I picked you up and raised you, moved solely by kindness! I gave you food, shelter, all the books you could desire! And this is how you pay me back?"
Every lie spitted by that monster made Sora tremble with anger. She didn't remember ever hating a digimon so deeply.
"I don't prefer anyone to you, Ancient Wisemon-sama!" Koushiro tried to convince the other. "Nobody is more important to me than you! I know that!"
"Prove it, then." The digimon said, glancing at the electronic lock. "Insert the command of self-destruction. Get rid of that zone and everything in it. If you do that, I'll forgive you."
"No!" Sora shouted, turning to Koushiro. That computer was the best chance she had to make the boy remember something from his real life! If it was destroyed, what other options did she have to help him? What else could have enough emotional significance to remind Koushiro of who he was? Sora couldn't think of anything. If the laptop was lost, so would be her hopes to save her friend.
Koushiro gave her a conflicted look. A few tears were visible at the corners of his eyes. His pale face was covered in sweat. His trembling fingers stopped a few inches from the keyboard. He bit his lower lip and looked away from Sora.
"Don't do this, please!" She pleaded to the boy.
"I'm really sorry…" He murmured in a guilty tone.
Koushiro inserted the command. A quick tremor was felt. The digimon examined the lock for a few seconds. Then, he patted the boy's head.
"See? Isn't it better to do as you're told?" Ancient Wisemon asked, softly. "I taught you an important lesson today. Thank me for that."
Koushiro shivered. A couple of tears rolled from his eyes.
"Thank you for the lesson… Ancient Wisemon-sama…" He muttered, looking down.
She thought that the pain of failing her friend was the worst feeling in the world, but Sora soon realized how wrong she was. Watching Koushiro being treated that way made the girl's blood boil and her insides freeze. She clenched her fists and breathed rapidly, but no amount of air would be enough to stop her urge to destroy that diabolical creature.
There was no reason for that digimon to force Koushiro to destroy his computer. There was no reason for him to make Koushiro do that in front of her, when the boy thought he was doing it for the girl. Koushiro's tears and shaking body, the fear and shame printed on his behavior, it was all seared forever on her mind; she knew that image would haunt her nightmares for years to come. To be stabbed in the heart would hurt her less.
Ancient Wisemon had mistreated her friend, humiliated him, broken him… not because he had to, not because it helped his plans in any way, but simply because of cruelty. That monster enjoyed every second he spent tormenting the boy. He intended to rejoice in that twisted game for a long time. Sora could never forgive him for that. Nor could she allow that to continue.
"You'll pay for this!" She vowed, glaring at the monster. "I'll make you pay for what you've done to Koushiro!"
The boy turned his face to her, shocked.
"I've seen this look before…" Ancient Wisemon commented, amused. "You really are Kanda's successor… that guy went down a really dark path, you know?"
"I know very well the darkness he had in his heart." Sora said in a cold tone. "He was the bearer of love, how would he not go down such a path after seeing his beloved ones wronged? For a person who loves so deeply… this destructiveness is inevitable." A single tear dropped from her left eye; Sora didn't break eye contact with the digimon. In that moment, she felt as if her entire body was in flames. "You won't hurt Koushiro anymore! I'll protect him from you!"
A bang was heard at the distance. The sound of something metallic hitting hard surfaces was getting louder. Then, suddenly, something broke through the wall opposite from the lock and hovered in front of Sora. It was her digivice, shining with red light. She held it and pointed it to Ancient Wisemon, who stared at her in shock.
"Only immense power should be able to break my protective bubbles…" He muttered. "This shouldn't be possible… you shouldn't be so strong!"
"You shouldn't have mistreated someone I love!" Sora told him.
"What are you saying…? I don't understand…" Koushiro mumbled in distress, which made the girl turn around and look at him. He stared at her with astonishment.
"It's going to be okay!" Sora promised, showing the boy a reassuring smile. "I'm here with you, Koushiro. You have nothing to fear!" She turned to Ancient Wisemon again. "Nothing in the world will ever hurt you again!"
A big crack appeared on the digimon's mirror body, which made him scream in pain. Sora could see a few red sparks escaping the crack.
"Piyomon…?" She asked, hopeful.
Sora heard the answer in her mind:
"Houomon!"
"I WON'T LET YOU!" Ancient Wisemon shouted, vanishing. Sora wanted to go after him; the trail of destruction left by the digivice could lead her to that monster.
When she turned around, Sora saw Koushiro sitting against the wall, close to the lock. He was holding his head with both hands and breathing rapidly. Several tears were falling from his eyes. Sora kneeled in front of him and touched his face gently. He looked at her with confusion.
"It doesn't make sense… nothing makes sense… I don't understand anything anymore…" Koushiro mumbled. "I don't understand… I don't understand…"
"Please, talk to me." Sora asked. "It might make you feel better."
The boy took a few deep breaths and began to say:
"I remember being helped and guided by Wisemon-sama… that was my whole life. I remember feeling deeply satisfied when he approved of something I did. I have so many memories of him being fair, gentle and wise… each of those memories are filled with my adoration for Wisemon-sama. That feeling was what I should feel for my savior… my parent… the one who did everything for me… I owe him my life. He was my entire world… the right thing for me to feel towards him was love. I shouldn't be able to feel anything stronger for anyone else! My rightful happiness should be to live according to his wishes, obeying his orders, living for his satisfaction! That's how it was supposed to be! That's what it had always b-been!"
Koushiro sobbed. Then, he continued:
"But then, today, I met you and my world went upside-down! I thought I knew what joy was! I knew what love was! I was happy and loved my master with all my heart! I just met you today; you're a stranger to me! You shouldn't mean anything to me! Then… why…? Why was the happiness I felt while playing soccer with you so much greater than what I felt for serving my master? Why was it more painful for me to see you sad than to disappoint Wisemon-sama? Why was I so much more content in spending time with you than with him? Why did I hesitate when I should've obeyed him without question… and then I felt so awful…?"
"It's okay! You're going to be okay!" Sora promised.
"The way I behaved today isn't coherent to what I had been before… everything I remember… it's as if that life wasn't really mine, but someone else's…" Koushiro continued. "It's as if it was all just lies… what is the truth, then? Am I the person in my memories or this person now? Which one is the real me? Who am I? Please, tell me who I am!"
"I can't tell you…" Sora said in an apologetic tone. "You're the only one who can answer that."
The girl took the digivice from her pocket and gave it to him. Koushiro held it and looked at the object with confusion.
"It belongs to my friend." Sora explained. "He's lost now. I know that he's very afraid, but he doesn't have to be…" She wiped a tear from her eye. "My friend is braver and stronger than he imagines! He doesn't know… but he's very close to finding his way back!"
Koushiro stayed in silence for almost one minute, looking from the digivice to Sora and then back to the digivice. His confused expression slowly changed to an understanding one.
"Your friend is in the same place where my answers are, isn't he?" Koushiro murmured, looking at the girl. "I'll find them if I look into myself."
Sora smiled at the boy, without saying anything.
Koushiro held the digivice with both his hands and closed his eyes.
The night was chilly, but the first rays of sunshine were visible on the horizon. The field where Koushiro was standing still had melted snow on a few spots, but some flowers were blooming. A gentle breeze caressed his face. Countless fireflies flew around him. Koushiro touched one with a finger and scenes appeared in his mind.
He saw himself as a little boy, in the arms of a beautiful lady. There was a woman dressed as a magician shooting glitter from her wand. He went to her and asked her to teach him magic. The woman said that was impossible. Then, she smiled warmly at him, placing her top hat on his head. And she told him:
"Magic is present in each one of us and surrounds us all. You just need to pay attention to see it."
After that, the other fireflies approached the boy, drawn to him. He remembered his parents and how loving and complicated his family life was, but the melody of a violin was enough to make things better. Tentomon was the next to return to the child; the digimon had always been worrying and trying to help him… he had taught the boy so many important things! Jyou and Koushiro had a rocky beginning, but came to be such good friends later, once they were willing to be honest. Mimi smiled her way into his heart; she was very sweet but also knew when to scold the boy. Takeru and Koushiro had a disagreement once, but made amends and understood each other better afterwards. Remembering Otae and her friends broke his heart all over again, but the memory of her telling him to live brought comfort to the child.
The remembrance of Sora caused a huge impact. The temple, the pyramid, the orb… and, above all, the carriage... Sora felt like a force of nature, bringing warmth to every inch of his soul. Relentless, powerful, majestically imperfect, so similar to him... she was his senpai, his cousin and, more than anything, his beloved friend. Koushiro was glad to finally understand why Sora was so important to him, and how she was able to override Wisemon's meticulous brainwashing in a couple of hours.
The fireflies kept coming. Koushiro remembered Taichi, his precious friend who always seemed so kind and happy. But then Koushiro remembered how devastated Taichi was about what had happened to Hikari. She was somewhere in the Digital World… they had to find her!
The last fireflies brought him the memories related to Fate. They were so painful, so devastating… filled with rage, shame, sadness, denial and, at last, compassion. Koushiro suffered because of him and for him. He got to meet him for a last time that proved to not really be the last.
Once the fireflies had all vanished, he saw his other self lying on the grass a few meters away, surrounded by flowers. Little particles broke from his body and disappeared. Koushiro approached him and sat by his side. The other Koushiro smiled at him, weakly.
"I knew you'd come…" The boy on the grass said.
"Thank you for returning my memories." He muttered.
"You took them back by yourself, I just kept them safe… that took a lot from me…" His voice was getting lower and it seemed to be hard for him to keep his eyes open. "My consciousness is fading… I'm glad I could do something right by you…"
Koushiro held one of the other's cold hands.
"Thanks to you, she was able to save me." He told the other.
"I helped a little, but Sora would've found a way to save you even without that. My murderer could never succeed when the two of you were together…" The child on the ground said. "He wasn't counting on Sora's intelligence… and your heart…"
More and more particles were breaking from his body. Koushiro didn't know what he could do for him.
"My brother had promised me that he would find me one day… that he would save me…" The other Koushiro muttered. "I know that he came to this world at some point in the future, because the carriage was programmed to return here and never leave… and then, my brother went back home… it's not that I'm disappointed, I wanted him to be okay… but I also wanted to meet him one last time and tell him…" He closed his eyes, letting a couple of tears roll. "It's pointless now… I'm about to end, anyway…"
An idea came to Koushiro's mind.
"I can give you a chance to talk to Makoto when he arrives." Koushiro told him. "You're like an amount of memories, like those fireflies, right? If I absorb you, your memories will be transferred to me, it'd be like a part of you could keep on existing."
"I would still end…" The other contested.
"People don't end!" Koushiro stated. "They exist beyond themselves… they live in the memories of those who love them and leave marks on the world… little clues ingrained with meaning that secure their permanence. Your consciousness might fade away, but I'll remember being you just like I remember being me. You'll live through my memories."
"My memories as Fate would drive you mad…" The other warned.
"Then, don't give me those. I don't need them to talk to our brother." Koushiro said. "I can have only the memories of when you were alive, until the last happy moment you had…"
"That Christmas morning… Hikari-san…" The other boy whispered with a smile on the lips. "It's okay, then… you can have those memories… but first, I need to tell you something…"
Koushiro leaned towards the boy, allowing the other to whisper a secret in his ear. That information shocked the child, but also made him immensely happy.
"Tell them I'm sorry…" The other murmured. He was using all the strength he had left to hold Koushiro's hand. The boy nodded and told his other self:
"Good-bye, Koushiro. I set you free."
Several images flooded his mind while the boy lying down disappeared. They were all so vivid, so intense, imbued with happiness, sorrow, love, regret, acceptance… and they were all his.
Koushiro opened his eyes and saw his cousin in front of him.
"Do you…?" The girl's nervousness didn't let her finish her sentence.
He grinned and said:
"I'm so happy to see you again, Sora!"
She looked at him with wide eyes, not believing what she had just heard.
"You told me I didn't have to call you 'Nee-chan,' don't you remember?" Koushiro asked in a teasing tone that soon changed to a more serious one. "I should drop the honorifics with the others too… and Taichi-san…"
The girl pulled him to a hug. She couldn't say anything for a couple of minutes, time Sora spent simultaneously crying and laughing on his shoulder. Koushiro understood her completely. He was doing the same thing, after all. The boy felt so relieved, so much lighter and safer in that hug. He wished that moment could never end. But there was still something urgent to do.
"We have to find our partners, Koushiro! Let's go!" Sora said, helping him to get up.
Houomon destroyed the blue sphere in the mirror dimension, which allowed Tentomon to move normally. After doing that, she began to attack the mirrored floor, creating cracks on it.
But then, that surface shone. A bubble containing the hand mirror with Koushiro's memories had emerged and was now fused to the floor.
"I wouldn't keep on trying to break free from there, if I were you." Ancient Wisemon's voice was heard from the other side. "If you break my body, you'll break the mirror too and that boy will not only lose his memories forever, but also be incapable of forming new ones."
"Coward!" Tentomon shouted.
"You must be really scared to risk the mirror like this…" Houomon commented. "It seems that all of your plans crashed down, huh?"
"I just need some time and then everything…" Ancient Wisemon began to say, but didn't conclude. They couldn't listen to anything coming from the other side of the mirror any longer.
"Do you think Sora saved Koushiro already?" Houomon asked. "She made me evolve…"
"Koushiro-han won't be safe until he's free from the mirror!" Tentomon said, hitting the protective bubble around the object. "If only I could touch the mirror, then I'd be the one to be connected to it and Wisemon wouldn't be able to use it on Koushiro-han again!"
"What if he uses it on you?" Houomon inquired.
"I'd break the mirror before he had the chance!" Tentomon replied.
"You'd lose your memories!" Houomon shouted. "I don't want that to happen to you! Nor would your partner want that!"
"If you were in my place, wouldn't you do the same thing to save Sora-han?" Tentomon asked. "It's the only way!"
"It can't be! We have to think on a different plan!" Houomon told him. "You're my friend! I'm not going to help you to harm yourself!"
"I'll do it alone, then!" Tentomon decided, continuing to hit the bubble. Nevertheless, his efforts didn't cause any damage to it.
Sora and Koushiro followed the trail of broken walls and reached Ancient Wisemon's office. They found the digimon lying on the floor, in front of his desk, contorting his body in agony. On the surface of his cracked mirror body, the bubble with Koushiro's mirror was visible behind the glass.
"Koushiro, you need to take that girl out…" The digimon told the boy. "Look at what she's done to your poor master! She's dangerous! Find something you can use as a weapon and force her to leave this place!"
"You can't deceive me anymore!" Koushiro spoke in a cold tone. "I know who I am!"
The digivice the boy was holding emitted purple light.
"You really are my biggest disappointment! I'll make you apologize to me!" Ancient Wisemon shouted. He moved an arm to the front of his body, but stopped suddenly.
"Why didn't you take the mirror from inside your body to give Koushiro that command?" Sora asked. "Why did you even put it in a place where our partners can…?"
Suddenly, the two kids understood what his plan was.
"Tentomon, don't touch that thing!" Koushiro had desperation in his voice.
"Houomon, be careful!" Sora tried to warn her friend.
"They can't hear you!" Ancient Wisemon informed. "They can't break my body if they're afraid of shattering your mirror, Koushiro. If they break the bubble and touch the object, I'll pull it back and use it to control them. If it's Tentomon…" He smirked. "I know many time spells to force him to evolve to ultimate level. He'll follow all my orders, can you imagine? Oh… the things I'll make him do…"
"Stay away from him!" Koushiro ordered.
"If you touch them, I swear…" Sora spoke in low voice.
"You two will give me your digivices and I'll seal them in a barrier that not even an exploding sun would be able to break. Your partners can't stay in ultimate level without being powered by those things." Ancient Wisemon told the children. "Then, I'll lock this girl in a dungeon from where she'll never escape. After that, I'll take the mirror back and rewrite you, Koushiro. I'll break you in a way that will make you miss the state of blissful ignorance I had put you before!"
"There was nothing blissful about that!" Koushiro stated. "You striped me out of my knowledge to abuse me!"
"And I'll do it again, but this time without showing you any kindness!" Ancient Wisemon said. "In the end, you'll be my perfect and subservient Homeostasis, like you were always supposed to be!"
"I'll never let you do that to Koushiro!" Sora vowed.
"Do you know how protective your partner is, little girl?" The digimon asked. "I bet she'll touch the mirror before Tentomon, to protect him. Once she becomes my servant, I could throw her a tasty dinner. Do you think Houomon would like to eat shards of glass? I wonder what would happen if I made her drink gasoline? It would be fun to find out!"
Sora trembled in horror, covering her mouth with her shaking hands. Ancient Wisemon chuckled.
"You can't beat me, chosen children." The digimon affirmed. "I know you'll never abandon your partners. You fought well and surprised me a lot, you should be proud of it, really. But now, it's time for you to surrender. Give me the digivices!"
"What do we do?" Sora asked, turning to the boy.
"I have an idea." Koushiro muttered to the girl. "Please, trust me."
The boy approached Ancient Wisemon, who was murmuring a spell to fix the cracks on his body.
"May I talk to Tentomon?" Koushiro asked. "I don't want him or anyone else to suffer because of me. Please, let me tell him what the smart thing to do is and put an end to this situation."
"It seems that you've come to your senses. Very well…" Ancient Wisemon commented with satisfaction. Once the cracks were fixed, the monster reestablished communication between the two sides of the mirror.
"Tentomon?" Koushiro called.
"Koushiro-han? Is that you?" Tentomon's voice came from the other side. "You said my name! You… you remember me?"
"I met the other me before he passed and got my memories back." Koushiro explained. "I remember everybody!"
"He… passed…?" Tentomon sounded sad.
"It's okay. It was very peaceful… I'll tell you all about it later." Koushiro promised. "But now, I need to ask you something… it won't be a thing you'll want to do, but I need you to do it. I need you to trust me. I know that I've been self-destructive and that I hurt you a lot with my actions. But I've changed… I learned a lot from you, Sora, Jyou-san, Mimi-san, Takeru-kun, Otae-san, my parents and everybody else. Thanks to you all, I began to see a new side of myself… I learned that I can be brave and kind… that I can be strong and that I can really help other people and bond with them…"
A couple of tears formed in the corners of the boy's eyes. He continued:
"Now that I had the opportunity to see my entire life flashing in front of me, now that I came to see how great were the things that tried to destroy me and failed… now that I see how far I've come, how much I've grown… for most of my life, I was afraid to get to know myself better, sure that I'd only see terrible things in me. I was myself a mystery that I didn't want to solve. But you encouraged me to do so… I had a lot to learn and I wasn't so afraid of the unknown with you by my side. You kept on teaching me… all of you… that's how I came to get to know myself. Do you know what I learned? What I concluded after taking a good look inside me?"
"Koushiro…" Sora muttered, letting tears fall from her eyes.
"Is this going to take long?" Ancient Wisemon sounded impatient. "Tell the bug and the bird to give up on attacking me already!"
"What did you conclude, Koushiro-han?" Tentomon asked, ignoring the other monster.
Koushiro smiled largely and answered his friend's question:
"I'm actually pretty great!"
His digivice shone more brightly. Ancient Wisemon jumped from the floor and floated to behind the desk. That sudden action made Koushiro lose his balance and fall to the ground. Sora helped him to sit up. Tentomon's voice could be heard from the other side of the mirror:
"TENTOMON WARP EVOLVES TO… HERKULESKABUTERIMON!"
"He evolved, so what?" Ancient Wisemon had a defiant tone. "The situation remains the same!"
"Herkuleskabuterimon, listen to what I'm going to ask. Remember everything I told you and trust me, okay? I promise everything will be alright!" Koushiro said. "Break the bubble and then destroy the mirror without touching it!"
"What?!" Sora gasped.
"You can't be serious, Koushiro-han!" Herkuleskabuterimon exclaimed.
"This is what the prophecy warned you about!" Ancient Wisemon reminded the digimon inside him. "You can't do what he wants, don't you get it? The boy you fight so much to protect will bring himself his own end!"
"Everything is going to be okay!" Koushiro promised. "Trust me, Herkuleskabuterimon! Trust the person I've become!"
The determination in the boy's voice weakened Sora's doubts. She held his hand, silently showing him her support.
At the other side of the mirror, Houomon was waiting for the other digimon's decision.
"Listen to your partner." She said. "He has a plan. You know that, don't you?"
The giant golden insect nodded.
"I want to trust him but… I'm afraid…" He confessed. "If this goes wrong… it'd be like… I'd destroy Koushiro-han… I can't do it… I can't…"
"I'll be by your side." Houomon promised. "Let's do it together!"
"B-But…" Herkuleskabuterimon resisted.
"Don't be scared!" Houomon assured her friend. "Trust him!"
Herkuleskabuterimon finally gave in.
They flew, taking their distance from the bubble. Houomon launched a concentrated fire attack at the object. The heat exploded the bubble; the mirror fell to the floor. It was slightly cracked, but not broken. Then, Herkuleskabuterimon launched an electric attack from his head towards the mirror.
The object was destroyed, sending shards of glass everywhere in that dimension. Afterwards, the two digimon attacked the mirrored floor together, breaking it.
They escaped that prison and found their partners in Ancient Wisemon's office. Because of their massive sizes, they had to break the walls and ceiling to fit in that space.
"Sora!" Houomon greeted her partner.
"It's good to see you too!" Sora said, smiling at her.
"Koushiro-han…?" Herkuleskabuterimon hesitated.
"I'm alright, don't worry!" The boy assured him. "It was an improvised plan, but I'm glad it worked out!"
Ancient Wisemon was on the floor, crawling in their direction. The shards that were part of his mirror body were now floating in the room. Several data particles were breaking from what had remained of the digimon. He looked at the children and their partners with confusion.
"Who am I…? Where…?" He mumbled, glancing around. "Please, someone explain… I don't know… I don't know… who am I supposed to be…?"
"That dimension was part of him. When the bubble was destroyed and the mirror got in contact with that place, it was rewritten with his memories." Koushiro explained. "And then, when the mirror was broken… so was his mind."
Ancient Wisemon completely dissolved into data particles that turned black and disappeared.
After that, they felt like the carriage had begun to fall. Sora and Koushiro were launched upwards and caught by their respective partners. They had to find a way out of that place before it crashed.
Suddenly, they found themselves floating in the dark sky, outside the ship. Below them, the carriage was falling into an abyss.
"What just happened?" Sora asked, climbing on Houomon's head.
"I have no idea!" Koushiro answered, being held by Herkuleskabuterimon.
"It was me. I'm glad I found you just in time."
Hikari's voice came from above them. She was standing on a floating circle filled with magical symbols, with Tailmon and Wizarmon by her sides.
Sora, Koushiro and their partners stared at her in shock.
Hikari showed them a timid smile and said:
"We need to talk."
With this chapter, the first half of the final arc is over.
Now that the Fate plot was concluded, I think I should address a few things. This alternative version of Koushiro came from a previous fic of mine called "Two Minutes to Midnight," which was also where Makoto and Wisemon originated. Technically, I retconned the end of the final chapter of "Knowledge Wisdom Truth" to be Fate's first real appearance. These fics are a bit old (2010 and 2013) and my English was more limited when I wrote them, since I was still learning the language. Those fics didn't have many readers and I decided to bring back those plot points and characters to use in this story.
In a way, "The Song of Love" serves as a sequel to those fics when it comes to Fate, Wisemon and Makoto. Since I don't know if I'll ever write the fic where Makoto fulfills his promise of finding his brother (made at the end of "Two Minutes to Midnight"), I decided to already establish that event as something that happens in the future of this fic's universe.
People who only read "The Song of Love" don't need to read those other two fics to understand the story. It's more enjoyable to be surprised by the twists of "The Song of Love," I believe. Nevertheless, I still wanted to give those who read the three stories (or who only read TMTM and TSOL) a more complete arc. So, thank you for reading my stories!