Author's Notes: Oh boy, this chapter... So, the way I see Takumi, he's pretty flat in the game. I tried to make him a bit more interesting here by having him gradually deteriorate. It's been showing up here and there, but I guess it's time to really break our hero. I feel parts of this are a bit sloppy and can be refined, but for the most part, I'm satisfied with it. It just means I'll have to figure out how to smooth it out in the future. Well, enjoy the chapter.
"Kyoko-san, is it time for us to strike now?" Takumi asked. "It's been nearly a week…" he worriedly stated.
"You hate having to just stand by and wait?" Kyoko looked up from her monitor and raised an eyebrow at him. "Aren't people always waiting for something?" she asked him with a smirk. "Not that I'm any different," she shrugged.
"You know why I'm getting impatient though…" her assistant frowned. "My body's been behaving so far, but that can't last forever… We're pushing my luck as it is…"
"If you're so worried, why don't you patrol the city?" the detective suggested. "I don't really have work for you right now, so go out and look for clients, help people, or save some Digimon. Just don't push yourself too much and the time to attack will soon present itself to us."
The teenager sighed but he nodded in understanding. "Alright, Kyoko-san. I'm off."
"Have a safe trip," she nodded to him as he left.
As soon as he left the agency, a call came in. Takumi stared at his Digivice in surprise when it began to ring. He blinked at the Caller ID with a bit of hesitation and uncertainty before he carefully answered it. "Arata!? Is that really you?"
"Hey…" the boy coolly nodded to him in greeting.
"Arata…!"
"Sorry, but I'm in a hurry," the older boy stated. "I have a message for you. Come to Odaiba. Suedou said that the weakened Examon will be heading back there. It's your chance to defeat Examon. Help Suedou."
"Of course I'll go, but don't think I'm doing it for that man's sake," Takumi nodded. The redhead was about to head back into the agency but Arata quickly spoke again.
"Listen up, though," the raven-haired teen frowned. "Come alone. Don't tell Kyoko-san or anyone else. Just you."
"Alone…?" the redhead frowned at that.
"See you later," Arata quickly hung up.
Takumi clenched his right hand into a tight fist. "Why only me…?"
Arata grunted as he tried to eat Examon but frowned as the Dragon Emperor was too large for him to consume so easily. He heard footsteps behind him and immediately stopped before turning to face the running redhead. "Ah, here you are," he smirked. "I've been waiting. I'll take care of that big thing first. It'd be messy if your buds started showing up."
"You don't have to worry about that," Takumi frowned at him. "I didn't tell anyone I came. But even so, Kyoko-san will figure out where I disappeared to soon. She's always keeping tabs on me and lately she's also been monitoring Examon."
"Yeah, Suedou told me all about it," Arata nodded. "You softened up Examon, right? Way to go, Cyber Sleuth…" he chuckled. "Yeah?"
"I'm only just doing my job," the redhead stated.
"Ah, okay," the older boy nodded.
Takumi's blue eyes wandered over to the Eater connected to his friend. "How's your arm?"
"This one?" Arata lifted up the monstrous limb. "This is the one you're worried about? It's pretty convenient, being able to devour anything," he grinned at it. "Eaters, Digimon… even human beings, really." Takumi gulped as he continued to stare at creature eating away at Arata's sanity. "I just… I want to eat and eat and eat and I can't stop. I can't help it," the older boy chuckled. "It's like I'm always starving… The more power I eat, the more power I gain. But at the same time, I'm able to feel less and less."
"That's why I'm warning you to cut it out!" Takumi yelled at him. "What's the point of throwing your humanity away for power? You know this is wrong, don't you, Arata!?"
The hooded boy simply shook his head. "The strange thing is that it's not as bad as I might've thought. For whatever that's worth."
"Arata!" Takumi glared at him.
"Does that repulse you?" Arata asked the younger boy. "I suppose it would have to," he frowned as he remembered the reason for Takumi's half-cyber body. The older boy began to laugh though.
"Just why are you doing this, Arata?" Takumi asked.
"What's that? What's the point of getting this powerful?" Arata smirked. "It's not like I want to do something terrible," he shook his head. "There was something I had forgotten to do for so long. And I finally remembered what it was," he sadly frowned for a while before his red eyes flashed in determination. "So I'm going to finish it. And to do that, I need power… More, more, more…" He growled as his arm was making him feel even hungrier than before. "More, more, more, more, and more! It's because I remembered! I have nowhere to hide," he painfully stated. "And all my escape routes are cut off! So I'm moving forward. No matter what happens, I won't try to run or hide anymore!"
"Arata!" Takumi clenched his fists as he still didn't understand his reasoning. "This power will only destroy you in the end! You're always the one yelling at Nokia and me to quit while we're ahead. I need you to do the same here!"
"Who cares about all of that?" Arata frowned at him. "You might be right, but let's just leave that for now. The real matter at hand is this huge thing," he nodded to Examon behind him.
"You really won't listen to me…" Takumi frowned at the ground.
"Okay…" Arata turned to face the gargantuan Royal Knight. "I'm going to start." He tensed up before leaping at Examon with his right arm point out. "Incept Handler!" The tentacle-like fingers of his deformed arm pierced Examon as he began feeding on the Dragon Emperor's data.
The Cyber Sleuth shook his head as he quickly dispatched his team. "Quickly take out Examon before Arata can consume any more of his strength," he told them.
"Dark Roar!" Darkdramon condensed an orb of dark matter before firing it at their opponent.
Mugendramon and MetalGarurumon (Black) quickly opened their missile ports. "Catastrophe D!"
"Blizzard Wolf Claw!"
Arata nimbly jumped back as Examon's legs were bombarded with explosions. "Whoa!" he chuckled. "Well, aren't you being a reckless fighter today?" The raven-haired teen smirked as Examon raised Ambrosius in preparation to strike at them. "Well, if you're going to show off your power, I might as well show you mine!"
"Avalon's Gate!" Examon thrust his lance forward at his small opponents but was surprised when Arata managed to block it with his Eater arm.
"Arata! What are you doing!?" Takumi asked.
The older boy laughed as he began absorbing the data of Examon's beloved lance. "More, more, more! Give me all of your data!" He let out a painful gasp as a surge of power rushed through his body.
"Darkdramon!" Takumi called out to the blue Cyborg.
"Gigastick Lance!" Darkdramon knocked Ambrosius away from Arata's arm before attacking Examon. "Demon Stab!"
Arata growled as his hunger returned. "I want to eat and eat and eat…"
Examon heavily panted as he struggled to beat his wings. He managed to lift himself off the ground before taking off into the atmosphere. Once high enough, the massive Digimon dove at the group of Digimon and Arata. As he descended, friction-generated heat resulted in the Dragon Emperor catching fire as he crashed straight onto the rooftop. "Dragonic Impact!"
Mugendramon quickly shielded Takumi and the Cyber Sleuth flinched from the force of the destructive attack. His eyes widened as his Digimon's data was reloaded into his Digivice. "Mugendramon!" Looking at the rest of his team, he noticed his two other Virus Digimon were knocked back into his reserve. In their place, BlackWarGreymon, Rosemon, and MegaloGrowmon emerged.
The three new Digimon's reactions were a bit delayed but they quickly scattered as Examon began firing a laser at them from his lance. "Pendragon's Glory!"
"Brave Shield!" BlackWarGreymon blocked the attack as he rose into the air above Takumi. The Jet-black Dragon Warrior defended his tamer before returning his shield to his back. "Dramon Killer!" His sharp claws gleamed before he jammed them into the Dragon Emperor.
Examon slammed the tiny Digimon out of the way and raised his lance. "Avalon's Gate!"
MegaloGrowmon countered the weapon with his Pendulum Blades. "Double Edge!" he cried before clashing their weapons together.
Takumi quickly called for Rosemon to return so that Darkdramon could fight. "Keep it up!" he encouraged his two dragon-based Digimon.
Arata raised his right arm towards Examon again and roared. "Incept Handler!" With the great dragon weakening, it was easier for him to take on more of the Royal Knight's data and he wasn't about to let the opportunity go to waste. "More, more, more!" He screamed as power began flooding through his system again. It was much more than he could handle, but the addictive rush pushed him to continue.
"Arata!" Takumi winced as the Digital Waves around Arata began to distort. The Cyber Sleuth felt sick to his stomach and the air suddenly turned foul. "I can't… move…!" he noticed as his body began to grow numb. "N-no…! Focus!" He clenched his eyes shut and let out a roar. "Everyone! X-xros… Xros Combo!"
Examon flew up into the air and prepared to ram into the Digimon again. "Dragonic Impact!"
BlackWarGreymon roared as he charged up a dense ball of atmospheric energy. "Gaia Force!"
"Atomic Blaster!" MegaloGrowmon charged up his chest cannons and fired two destructive beams from them.
"Dark Roar!" Darkdramon cried as he shot dark matter at the Dragon Emperor.
Examon roared as the three attacks altered his course of impact. Takumi quickly reloaded his team as the great Digimon crashed into the roof. The draconic Royal Knight tried to rise, but he found he no longer had the strength to support his heavy body. He stared at Takumi as the boy was gasping for air before noticing Arata was laughing at the dragon's pitiful state.
Arata's red eyes glowed as he studied the Dragon Emperor. "This one's really too big for me! I'm never going to be able to eat it all!"
"A-arata…!" Takumi struggled to move his body but his limbs were still paralyzed. Still, he pushed himself to the edge of his limit. "Arata!"
"What's that?" the older boy turned and frowned at him. "Something you want to say?" Takumi didn't say anything and only glared at him. Arata lowered his gaze to the ground. "I know what you want to say anyway," he stated. "I mean, it's been on my mind too. The thought that Suedou could be using me. I'm sick and tired of thinking about all that," Arata shrugged. "Let the clever ones sort out the hard stuff. After all, I'm still just a kid."
"So you're admitting that you're an idiot," the Cyber Sleuth frowned.
Arata sneered at himself. "I haven't grown or changed a bit since eight years ago. Still just a boy. So I should act like one, right?" he asked. "Do what the 'wise' adults tell me. Be good. That way I get the power I want. It's simple give-and-take."
"The last time one of my friends tried something like this on her own, she was nearly eaten alive…" Takumi muttered. "I just don't want the same thing to happen to you…"
"That's what I'm talkin' about," Arata shook his head. "You've probably already surpassed me, maturity-wise. I'll just let you handle the thinking for me."
"That's not what I meant and you know it," the Cyber Sleuth stated.
"I've disappointed you, haven't I?" the older boy wryly smirked. "We got along so well, up until now. But look… I'm changing." With that said, Arata turned to leave.
Despite the difficulty it took, Takumi managed to raise his right arm at the older boy. "Arata!" He considered Connect Jumping into the boy's arm then and there but the turbulent swirls of the unstable Digital Waves around Arata made it difficult for him to identify which Digital Wave was the best to piggyback onto.
Sensing his friend's hesitation, Arata let out a wry chuckle as it was just like Takumi to give into his soft-heartedness at a time like this. "I'm no longer the person I once was. You'd be smart to wise up too. The next time we see each other... Well... I'll just leave it at that," the older boy shook his head before launching himself off the rooftop and onto another building.
"Wait, Arata!" Takumi exclaimed as his vision became blurry. He wanted to chase after him, but his body still refused to obey him. When he was finally alone, Takumi collapsed onto his hands and knees and took in a deep gasp of air. "Once again… I'm left behind…" he bitterly smiled to himself before passing out.
"Well done," Kyoko praised her assistant as she crossed her arms. "But to think you managed to take out a rampaging dragon even after it had been weakened… It ended up turning out just as I expected."
"R-really?" Takumi blinked at her.
"I'm one smart cookie!" Kyoko flipped her hair and smirked at the boy only to see him lowering his gaze to the floor.
"Y-yeah…" the redhead agreed with her as he numbly nodded his head. "U-um… thanks for sending Jesmon for me. But what happens now?"
"Examon's activities may have halted, but Magnamon and the others are still monitoring him," she told him. "There should be no cause for concern, but they're still keeping an eye on him just in case. This completes the bond between you and Digimon," she smiled. "Not only have you successfully courted the Royal Knights to our cause, you've gotten past their misplaced trust and their delusions. Be proud of who you are."
"Who I am?" Takumi frowned at himself.
"Hmm?" Kyoko continued to study him in worry. "What is it?"
"I still couldn't get through to Arata," he muttered. "It looks like I'll have to fight him after all…"
"Hmm… You're concerned about Sanada Arata?" Kyoko asked, bringing a hand up to her mouth. "Actually, I suppose given how you think, you find the prospect, in a way, exciting. His skills don't rival those of the Royal Knights, but he's approaching that level abnormally quickly. But someday, those powers of his might make him… No, he is probably already a threat to us."
"I see…" Takumi clenched his gloved hand into a fist.
"But I'll leave him to you," she sternly told him. "Perhaps you should use your usual 'crouching lunge' attack," she smirked. "Surely that will be the best strategy to employ."
"Do I have an attack like that?" Takumi raised an eyebrow at her. He chuckled and nodded anyway. "I guess I understand what you mean though. If Arata will only listen to power, I'll just have to show him all of mine. Thanks, Kyoko-san." He paused as his Digivice began to ring.
"Umm, excuse me…" Yuuko awkwardly appeared on the screen. She shook her head as she remembered this was her friend she was trying to call. "Hello, Takumi-san."
The Cyber Sleuth frowned as there was something very wrong with the raven-haired girl if she was addressing him so formally. "What's going on?"
"I know where Rie-san… No, I mean I know where LordKnightmon is," she told him.
"Eh!?" Takumi's eyes widened before a concerned frown appeared on his face.
Yuuko lowered her gaze as she noticed the disapproving expression he wore. "I got help from the Kamishiro engineers and analyzed all of Tokyo's Digital Waves. Traces of the method used to control the Digital Waves were found in the Akihabara Digital Shift. Following those traces back led us to picking up a signal that matches LordKnightmon's! So please, come to Akihabara!" She frowned as she willed herself to look into his eyes. "I beg you. I'll be waiting there."
Once the girl hung up, Kyoko chuckled as she crossed her arms. "It looks like we're about to reach the climax of this case. The only remaining Royal Knights who oppose us are Duftmon and LordKnightmon. Finding where one of them lurks is a big step. Make haste for Akihabara," she directed her assistant.
Takumi tightened his fist and put on a determined frown. "Understood," he nodded. "I'll be sure to keep an eye on Yuuko too so just leave this to me."
The detective studied him for a while before giving him an encouraging smile. "I sense something good in your 'you-ness'."
"Eh? What do you mean by that?" Takumi blinked at her.
"You should already know what I mean," she gave him a firm nod. The boy only responded with a serious frown on his face, uncertain about what so 'good' about his apparent weakness. "Anyway, prepare yourself. You're up against a Royal Knight… LordKnightmon."
"Hello, Takumi-san," Yuuko nodded to the boy.
"Yuuko…san…" the Cyber Sleuth knit his eyebrows together but greeted her with a polite nod.
"The time has finally come," she stated. "I want to avenge my father's death. I want to finish things with LordKnightmon! Takumi-san… Won't you please help me?"
"You're so obsessed with revenge…" Takumi sternly frowned at her. "I thought I told you it was a dangerous mindset to have."
"Eh?" the girl frowned at him. "I thought we decided to put that behind us!"
"You decided that on your own," Takumi stated while shaking his head. "You even went so far as to threaten to hack me into forgetting, but you know…" The Cyber Sleuth seriously looked into her eyes. "Whether it's through hacking or a crowbar, I can't just stand aside and let your darker feelings get the better of you."
"I can't live an oblivious life like an idiot like you," Yuuko glared at him. "I already decided to go through with this! I called you here to help me, but if you intend to stop me… I'll…" She clenched her left hand into a fist and gulped as she looked down at her Digivice. "I won't hesitate to… My Digimon will…"
Takumi calmly studied the girl's expression and shook his head. "You won't attack me," he stated. "You can't."
"I-I can!" Yuuko tried to exclaim.
"No," the boy continued. "You don't have the resolve to fight me. Even if you wanted to, you can't." Yuuko's eyes widened as she knew he was right. "The opposite holds for me though," he told her. "I don't want to fight you, but if I have to, I will. I did it once before when you were Yuugo and I know I'll have to do it again with Arata…" he frowned. "I don't like it… No, I hate it… but if it's the only way to make you listen, I'll do it. That's the difference in our resolves."
"I really don't understand you…" Yuuko lowered her gaze to the ground. "Every time I think I know what it is you're going to say or do, you always go against my expectations. You go around parading yourself like a smiling idiot, but that's probably the one thing you aren't."
"What do you mean?" Takumi tried to grin at her as he tilted his head to the side.
"There you go again, playing dumb," the girl glared at him. "It's exactly that type of false attitude that makes you infuriatingly difficult to understand."
"Are you sure?" he asked her. "Because I've always been honest about how I'm feeling…"
"No, you haven't," Yuuko tried to scold him. "Even with your body the way it is, you're still running around worrying for others all the while saying you're fine!"
"But I really am fine," Takumi shook his head. "At the very least, I'm in a better mental state than you right now if you really do intend to force my hand."
"So I suppose you're here to stop me then?" Yuuko tensed up.
"Even if I did, it wouldn't change much," the Cyber Sleuth stated with a sigh. "At the end of the day, we have to stop LordKnightmon from destroying the world. The only way to do that is to defeat her. But my idea of 'defeat' differs from yours, I'm pretty sure. I'm still working with the possibility of deterring LordKnightmon."
"Why do you always insist on standing between me and my goals?" Yuuko asked him.
"Because your 'goals' contain dangerous feelings you shouldn't be carrying in your heart," Takumi answered with a concerned frown. "Those sorts of thoughts will only weigh you down as you sink into a sea of despair." For some reason, a shiver ran down his spine but he didn't completely understand where it came from.
"What do you know about despair?" She was beginning to lose her patience with him. "Ever since I lost my family, my entire life had been filled with despair! I tried to change things for the better only to dive further into it when I failed! Now I know all of that was because of LordKnightmon and even more, I've been given a chance to destroy her! So what if I lose myself to these feelings? And what does it even matter to you?"
"You're my friend, Yuuko," Takumi seriously told her. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect my friends, even if it means having to protect you from yourself."
"As I said before, I don't know what was inside my heart back then, but… We. Are. Not. Friends," she stated through clenched teeth as she stared into his blue eyes. She kept her gaze steady and refused to look away as he studied her face. "How can we be friends when you have absolutely no idea what it is I'm going through?"
The Cyber Sleuth paused at this as something strange stirred within him. In the end, he was the first to break his gaze as he sadly stared down at himself. "You're right that I've never experienced that type of pain before… but for some reason… I think I understand how much it hurts…" he absently brought a hand up to his heart as it began to ache. He didn't know whether it was her loneliness or desire to hold onto the remnants of what was precious to her that resonated with him so strongly but he knew he couldn't just leave her be. "Yuuko, please!" Takumi desperately tried to get through to her. "Such selfish desires are self-destructive! Nothing will change if you obtain your revenge! Yuugo will still be in the hospital and your father won't ever return. You'll be lucky if you don't lose more than you've already lost… I… don't want you to regret your decision later…"
"I won't regret it," Yuuko seriously told him. "Now will you stop wasting my time with your nonsense? LordKnightmon is here and I don't want her to get away from us again."
Takumi painfully frowned at himself as he had nothing else to say that could convince her to give up on such a volatile desire. "F-fine…" he dejectedly mumbled before turning towards Akihabara's labyrinth. "You've made up your mind despite my warnings… Neither of us can face LordKnightmon alone, so… I'll follow your lead then."
Satisfied with the outcome, Yuuko gave him a nod. "Thank you for understanding." She took a deep breath as she prepared to take charge of their mission. "Let's go…"
The redhead knit his eyebrows together as he watched her start for the labyrinth without him. "She really shouldn't be thanking me…" he mumbled to himself. He shook his head to clear it though before quickly going after her. Man… So much for you sensing something good in me, Kyoko-san… I can never get through to anybody when it counts… "And once again… I'll be left behind…" he paused for a moment before sensing something wrong with his thoughts.
He dismissed his concerns though when Yuuko quickly disappeared into the distorted alleyway, prompting him to immediately chase after her. Passing over the threshold of the Digital Shift, he winced as the world flickered in static around him. His entire body began to ache, but he forced himself to continue through the suffocating Digital Waves for the sake of completing his mission.
LordKnightmon chuckled when she saw Yuuko coming towards her. Even more delightful was the sight of Takumi limping behind the revenge-oriented teen. "I got tired of waiting," she smirked.
"LordKnightmon," Yuuko glared at her with intense hatred. "You're not running away this time!"
"Run away? Me?" the Digimon asked. "Humans suffer from extreme misunderstandings. I rather welcome your arrival!" she stated as she clenched her left fist, "Because you'll clean up this unsightly trash."
"I will never forgive you!" Yuuko declared. "You killed my father!"
"It was never my intention to kill your father," LordKnightmon lowered her gaze. "Rather, it was that woman's thoughts… Like a black flame. Like a serpent in the grass… Kishibe's ambition, desire, envy… Her passion affected my thoughts as well," the Digimon explained. "We Digimon realized how dangerous humans can be. I experienced this firsthand."
"Then that means that Rie-san's urge to kill my father ended up changing you?" Yuuko frowned.
LordKnightmon remained silent so Takumi quickly shook his head. "Not all humans are like that!" he told her. "Sure, humans carry darkness within them, but there's also light! That light is what allows people to grow and evolve in order to surpass their dark selves. LordKnightmon! Even as a Digimon, I believe in your strength to surpass that hatred." The Royal Knight laughed at his words as Yuuko frowned at the Cyber Sleuth. "I don't care if these beliefs sound naïve…" Takumi stated, "But it's because I believe in them so strongly that I'm standing here right now! Please, if you just give me a chance to prove to you the strength of human's light over their darkness…"
The Digimon continued to laugh at him. "Her emotions weren't that bad after all!" LordKnightmon shrugged. "The utter rush I get when I trample puny, weak humans like you! The agony of death when your spirit is crushed! All of these things make me mad with glee! It is you humans who have given me these feelings! Who is guilty for this? Am I? Or you humans?"
"LordKnightmon—" Takumi tried to call out to her to listen, but Yuuko quickly cut him off.
"Was the spread of EDEN Syndrome really your doing?"
"Hmph… You're only half right," the Digimon told her. "My role was simply to control the Eaters. I'm glad it spread, but that wasn't my goal. Still, it's very human of you to want to blame me for the spreading of the Mark of Sin. It's an act of utter stupidity! And the source of Original Sin, which led the world to destruction, was still you humans!"
"What…?" Takumi knit his eyebrows together.
"What are you talking about?" Yuuko asked.
"I'm talking about eight years ago!" the Digimon exclaimed before glaring at the pair of teenagers. "Kamishiro Yuugo! Kamishiro Yuuko! Shiramine Nokia! Sanada Arata! And you, Aiba Takumi!" The Royal Knight focused her gaze on the blue-eyed boy. "Don't speak to me of 'light' when you yourself were the harbinger of darkness! You all came to the Digital World eight years ago and brought an unprecedented calamity upon us!"
Takumi tensed up as a strange uneasiness filled him. Images of five children flashed into his mind and he winced. "Harbinger… of darkness…? Me…?"
"Original Sin? Calamity?" Yuuko frowned. "What are you talking about? We came to the Digital World? I don't remember that. I… I have no memory of… No… No memory of…" Yuuko gasped as it slowly dawned on her why this situation sounded familiar. "Could it be that we were also…? Were we robbed of our memories? Like Yamashina was?"
Takumi frowned too as his head began to hurt. "If that's the case…" The boy became nauseous as his insides began to sink in what he believed was despair. "We… I…" He drowned in his own thoughts of his probable guilt. "Is this really our… my… fault…? I can't remember…" he muttered. "Am I really…?"
Yuuko knit her eyebrows together as she was still piecing together the information. "And then, eight years ago… My brother came down with EDEN Syndrome! The EDEN beta test… There were five children who participated. Five? So that means—"
"Hmph," LordKnightmon nodded to the despicable humans. "You finally realized what I'm getting at. That said, the path and the truth are meaningless! Your future cannot be changed! Your despair, your fate of destruction, cannot be changed!" Takumi's eyes widened at this as he quickly snapped himself out of his dark spiral of thoughts. "You tread but one path!" the Digimon cried as she raised her shield up in preparation to attack. "Urgent Fear!"
"NO!" Takumi yelled as his Digimon came out to defend him.
A large knight-like Digimon with purple armor emerged from the boy's Digivice and raised his spear up to block LordKnightmon's Pile Bunker before forcing the Royal Knight back. "Claíomh Solais!"
LordKnightmon stared at the Digimon in shock. "Craniummon! What is the meaning of this? I had believed you had been defeated! Why have you joined with our enemy? Have you turned your back on Yggdrasil too?"
Craniummon lowered his weapon and looked towards Takumi. "The only enemy I have is anyone who threatens the will of Yggdrasil," the bulky Royal Knight stated. "In my defeat, I entrusted my Claíomh Solais to this human's Knightmon to see whether the boy's desire to protect their world is true. To my surprise, not only was it more powerful than I had thought, but he genuinely expresses a desire to save our world too. Such strength of heart was enough for me to bestow the rest of my power to Knightmon and now, we serve Takumi as one."
"You cast aside Yggdrasil's absolute rule for a mere human?"
"Do not misunderstand," Craniummon shook his head, "I do not defy our lord Yggdrasil, only your methods of following his will. It is with a heavy heart I face you now, LordKnightmon, but you have fallen into darkness."
"And you believe he is free from darkness? He has poisoned your mind, Craniummon." LordKnightmon glared at the redhead. "You are indeed no different from any other despicable human with your impertinent hypocrisy! You who directly caused the world's destruction!" She roughly pushed Craniummon aside before attacking the boy. "Urgent Fear!"
"HiAndromon!" Takumi cried. "Spiral Sword!"
The Ultimate Cyborg quickly threw an energy blade with his arm before SaintGalgomon rammed into LordKnightmon. "Saint Tackle!"
"Spiral Masquerade!" the Royal Knight tried to counter the larger Digimon with her ribbon-like blades. SaintGalgomon tried to block against the attacks but he didn't see LordKnightmon's next attack. "Urgent Fear!" The shockwaves LordKnightmon released from her Pile Bunker sent the super-gigantic Machine Digimon flying into his allies, crushing and pinning them into the ground.
"Everyone, get up!" Takumi hurried towards them. "Stand back up!" he directed them before hanging his head as his muddled mind made it difficult for his team to promptly act. "Everyone…"
"Gaioumon!" Yuuko clenched her fists as her Digimon battled against the Royal Knight on his own.
"Spiral Masquerade!" LordKnightmon quickly knocked Gaioumon aside before sneering at the trembling Takumi. The pitiful sight resulted in her laughing at his hypocritical self. "Just admit defeat to your own darkness, Aiba Takumi. Take responsibilities for your sins and perish!" She dove straight for him as she raised her Pile Bunker back. "Urgent Fear!"
"I won't make excuses for something I can't remember," Takumi stood his ground. "If this really is my fault, of course I have to take responsibility." He snapped his head up towards the incoming Digimon. "But I won't perish! I'll prove to you the strength to overcome the past!" He let out a roar as his team rose behind him. "Xros Combo!"
"End Waltz!" Craniummon aimed the sonic waves towards the opposing Royal Knight.
"Giant Missile!"
"Atomic Ray!" HiAndromon's regulatory turbines on his shoulders began to spin before producing a high energy beam that he fired at LordKnightmon.
The pink Royal Knight stared at the attack in surprise but couldn't evade it. She was sent flying and when she crashed onto the ground. She groaned as she looked towards Takumi to finish her off, but noticed he was calling his Digimon back. LordKnightmon scowled at his actions. "Fool…"
Takumi frowned at her and shook his head. "I have no reason to keep fighting since it'll only just prove your misconceptions of humanity. People can change," he tried to convince her as he tried to reach his hand out to the fallen Royal Knight. "LordKnightmon, this battle is over…"
"No, it isn't!" Yuuko frowned at his soft-heartedness. "Gaioumon!"
"Yuuko!" Takumi grit his teeth as he tried to stop the Dragon Man Digimon with his team. "Stop! What are you doing? We already won!"
"I won't let you get in the way of my revenge! And you said you'd leave this mission to me!" Yuuko told him. "I'm going to end this now!"
"I told you to let those thoughts go!" Takumi scolded her. "You're only going to make things worse!"
"So you're going to just let her live?" the girl asked him. "Even knowing she destroyed the lives of countless others? If we let her go, she'll only continue her plans to destroy our world."
"You don't know that! I believe she can be changed, just like Craniummon," Takumi seriously stated. "That's what it means to overcome darkness! I warned you of the consequences already so I'm telling to stand down! By going through with this, you're going to be admitting that her current view on humanity is correct!"
"If those are the only consequences, then I don't care!" Yuuko looked towards her Digimon as he was looking between Takumi's team and LordKnightmon. "Gaioumon! Do it!"
Obeying her orders, Gaioumon knocked Craniummon and HiAndromon aside before concentrating the energy in the atmosphere into a sphere. "Gaia Reactor!" The ball detonated into a large explosion that even SaintGalgomon couldn't defend against, forcing the Cyber Sleuth into recalling his entire team into his Digivice. Gaioumon roared as he finally reached the fallen LordKnightmon and raised his blades up. "Phosphorous Fire Slash!"
"No!" Takumi cried out but there was nothing else he could do. He tried to reach his hand out to the Digimon in the hopes of scanning her data as she was deleted.
LordKnightmon maniacally laughed though as she disappeared. The Cyber Sleuth collapsed to his hands and knees in failure before taking in the results of the case. He closed his eyes to collect his thoughts and when he was done, he finally stood up. As he did so, his body tingled as he sensed a strange Digital Wave wash over him, but he ignored it. He had much more important things to worry about than his body's current state of affairs.
"I should probably contact Kyoko-san," he said before dialing the office's number. He blinked when he noticed his goggles weren't functioning. "My Digivice isn't responding," he noted as nothing he did seemed to work. He couldn't even access his Digimon so he crossed his arms to consider what to do next. It took him a while to realize it but everything around him was oddly silent. "And come to think of it, Yuuko is gone," he frowned as he really wanted to berate her for her actions. "I wonder if she went back ahead of us," he muttered as she probably didn't want to face him. "That must be it…" He started for the exit before wincing as static washed over him. His entire body began to hurt but he limped out of the labyrinth anyway.
After a few minutes of wandering, Takumi noticed the streets getting darker and there was still no sign of Yuuko anywhere. Looking ahead of him, he frowned as there was no end in sight. "The pathway goes on…" he continued trudging down the road. "Onward, when we advance, if we do, or not," he told himself with a forced smile.
No matter how far he walked, Takumi began to notice that the scenery was just looping over and over again. Moving his body became even more painful and his breaths were getting raspier. The boy tried to lift his gaze from the ground but his vision blurred.
The Cyber Sleuth frowned as he began to hallucinate children around him. First a girl with long red hair ran across the street before him. "N-nokia…?" Takumi struggled to keep moving. Soon, a boy with messy black hair appeared on the side of road and tried to speak with him. "A-arata…" The teenager shook his head and tried to ignore the apparitions but he noticed a timid girl with black hair crouched down at the side of the street, shaking. "Y-yuuko…" An older boy ran to her in concern. "Y-yuu...go…" Takumi stared down at his body and frowned as his body flickered between images of his younger self and current self.
Seeing as there was no point for him to continue onward, Takumi finally allowed himself to give up. He let his body collapse to the floor and he stared at his gloved hand. A small frown appeared on his face as he wanted to call out to someone for help, but somewhere deep inside of him, he knew no one would be coming for him. He was completely alone here and it was futile for him to keep struggling.
"Am I… being left behind… again…?" he tiredly mumbled to himself. His eyelids began to grow heavy and the rest of his body stopped responding. He let out a weak chuckle as he finally closed his eyes and allowed his internal darkness to overtake him.
"Hey!" a child suddenly called out, resulting in Takumi slowly opening his eyes.
The Cyber Sleuth blinked as he noticed he was in a strange area of cyberspace. Everything was unsettlingly white and clean. It felt familiar somehow but Takumi soon turned his attention to the four kids running around him. It took a while but once he realized where he was, his blue eyes widened in disbelief.
"This is EDEN eight years ago," he told himself. "I met everyone during the beta test program and I had a really good time," he fondly recalled before a sad frown appeared on his face as he recalled his childhood. "It was the happiest I had ever been in a long time after Dad left Mom and me because of…" His face scrunched up in pain as he brought a hand up to his forehead. "I was so afraid that Mom would leave me too that I ended up withdrawing myself from everything else. I cried a lot back then as I fell into a dark spiral of loneliness. It was hard for me to connect to others again and I didn't know what to do until Mom was asked to cover the EDEN beta test…"
Takumi knit his eyebrows together as he remembered the kind man his mother had been interviewing for her news story. The man had been rather eccentric, but he had taken a great interest in the depressed but very intelligent boy who adamantly remained at the news reporter's side. "By using this terminal, we can upload mental data straight into cyberspace. Once there in EDEN, the possibilities of what you can mentally do are limitless!" Takumi remembered how the man's eyes gleamed in anticipation of the EDEN project being complete. "EDEN is a new world, unbound by the laws of the real world. There is no suffering in EDEN. You'll be free to do whatever you wish." He smiled at the reporter and nodded. "If you would like, Yukino-san, I can have it arranged so Takumi-kun can experience it himself. He seems to have been through so much already for one so young…" he sympathetically frowned at the child staring at him in wonder and fear.
"Suedou-san…" Takumi frowned to himself. "It was thanks to you that I became happy again… Because I carried the same wish you did of a world without sorrow, you gave me the chance to meet my friends…" Tears began running down his face as his emotions overwhelmed him. "I didn't… I don't want to be by myself anymore…!" he cried. "I'm tired of always being left behind!" He let out a frustrated scream before sensing someone approaching him.
"Are you okay, Takumi?" a boy gently asked him. Takumi looked up at the young Yuugo in surprise. "Were you crying again?"
"N-no, I-I'm fine," the redhead automatically forced a smile on his face in response. He used his arms to wipe up the tears on his face. "I'm s-sorry for worrying you, Kamishiro-san."
The boy laughed at him. "I told you, Takumi! It's Yuugo! You can't just refer to Yuuko and me by the same name! Yuu-go!"
"Yuugo…san?" Takumi tried.
"Yuugo! Just Yuugo," Yuugo repeated himself before turning towards his younger sister. "Tell him, Yuuko!"
"Eh?" Yuuko shyly hid behind her brother and stared at Takumi. "Um… that's right. Onii-chan is Yuugo and… um… I'm…" she lowered her gaze and fell silent.
"Kamishiro-san," Takumi nodded.
"Yes," she nodded before she noticed her brother's disapproving frown. "W-wait, no!" she shook her head. "I'm Yuuko," she told the reserved redhead, "T-t-takumi-san."
"Yuuko," Yuugo shook his head at her. "Why are you being so shy for? Just call him Takumi."
"Aiba-san," she muttered.
"Ta-ku-mi," her brother sighed. "Hey, Takumi. Come on. What are our names?"
"Yuugo," Takumi nodded to him before looking towards Yuuko, "and Kamishiro Yuuko-san."
"That's right, Aiba Takumi-san," Yuuko nodded, causing her brother to groan at the awkwardly shy duo.
The older boy paused though as he noticed Takumi had a strange bag beside him. "Hey, what's that you got there, Takumi?"
"Eh?" the quiet blue-eyed boy frowned as he tried to hide it behind his back. "N-nothing…"
"Come on, let us see!" Yuugo smirked at him.
"It's n-nothing…" Takumi blushed. "My mother… er, mom… made me lunch. She thought I'd get hungry running around EDEN… so I took it with me, j-just in case…"
"That's pretty funny!" the older boy laughed. "We're in cyberspace! There's no way we'd get hungry. Right, Yuuko?" he asked his sister. He paused though as he noticed the younger girl was drooling as she stared at Takumi's bag. "Yuuko?"
Takumi nervously frowned at her. "Are you hungry too, Y-yuuko-san? My mother… mom… packed me extra in case I wanted to eat with… f-f-friends."
"Really?" Yuuko brightened up at his offer. "W-wait…!" She quickly dug through her bag and pulled out a bento box. "I asked my papa for lunch too! He probably made all sorts of food for me, but I don't think I can finish it all by myself, so I'll share some with you! Let's eat together, Takumi-kun!" She eagerly pulled on the quiet boy's arm. "Food tastes better when you eat with others!"
"E-eh!?" The introverted boy's blue eyes widened in surprised. "R-right! O-okay!" he nodded to her as Yuuko handed him another bento box. He opened it up and a smile suddenly appeared on his face as he noticed the food had been arranged to look like a small cat. "Ah…! It's so cute!"
Yuuko giggled at her shy friend's silly smirk. "What did your mom pack for you, Takumi-kun?"
"Onigiri," he answered with a smile. "I helped her m-make it too so it's filled with all sorts of things like love and tarako!" Takumi looked up towards the other two kids running around the entrance. "Nokia-san! Arata-san! Would you like some too?"
"We can all eat later!" Yuugo laughed, glad Takumi was slowly opening up. "We've got to at least explore EDEN first to work up an appetite!" he exclaimed before taking off further into the area.
"H-huh?" Takumi looked up towards the running boy and quickly fumbled a bit as he put the lid back onto the bento box. "R-right!"
"Onii-chan!" Yuuko called out to her brother. "Wait up!"
Nokia giggled as she chased after the older boy. "Come on! Hurry up!" she told Yuuko and Takumi.
"W-we're coming!" Takumi nodded.
"Hey, don't just walk off on your own!" Arata scolded the four of them. "Listen to me! I'm older than you!"
"O-kay…!" Nokia raised her hand and smirked.
"S-sorry," Takumi lowered his gaze but he was a bit surprised as Arata began chuckling.
"What are you apologizing for, Takumi?" the boisterous boy asked. "I'm just saying we should all stick together while we explore EDEN!"
"Ah… R-right!" Takumi nodded. "I-I understand!"
"All right, then!" Yuugo exclaimed. "Let's head that way!" he pointed further down the path. "EDEN really is frickin' huge! Let's check out lots of different places!"
The four kids suddenly took off and Takumi quickly went after them. "P-please, wait for me!"
As he chased his friends and relived his past, Takumi lost track of how long he was stuck there. The longer he stayed though, the more difficult it was for him to decipher what was reality. In the end, he could no longer tell whether he was his old self or his current teenage self, but he found that he didn't care. Lost in his childlike wonder, he ran through the area that resembled Cron's first level before he spotted Galacta Park ahead of him. Takumi cheerfully laughed and ran towards it with his arms spread out to the side. "Ah…! Everyone!" he called out to the others. "Look, look! We can do whatever we want here!"
Nokia nodded in agreement as she chased him. "We should never, ever stop playing here."
"Absolutely!" Yuuko stated. "We'll always be together!"
Takumi nodded with a bright smile on his face. "Oh, what fun! It'd be great if the present can last forever!" He winced as he remembered this wasn't really happening though. The boy brought hand up to his forehead as he partially came to his senses. "If only the past can last forever, too…" He frowned as there was something dangerously familiar about his words. "W-why…?"
"But of course!" Yuugo nodded. "We'll always be together!"
"We should never, ever leave here!" Arata declared. "Don't you think so?"
Takumi lifted his gaze towards his friends and wryly smiled at their promise to remain together. "I… want to stay here forever," he softly stated with a nod. He flinched when a light flashed around them. When he lowered his arms, he spotted a strange glowing ball floating in the air.
"What's that?" Yuugo asked. He walked towards it and the three others followed him.
Takumi was about to do the same but he faintly heard ringing. He tilted his head to the side as he wondered what it could be. "I hear something. Something is crying out. Something important." Thinking it was probably something that could pull him back into reality, he began to raise his right hand up to the goggles he always wore. He stopped though when Arata called back to him with his arms crossed.
"What're you doing, Takumi?"
Takumi stared at the four kids looking back towards him and listened to the faint ringing. In the end, he finally reached up to his goggles and pulled them off his head. After deciding he didn't need nor want them anymore, Takumi discarded his Digivice without another thought. The beeping soon stopped and without them distracting him, he quickly stepped towards the strange light. "Sorry…" he apologized to his friends as his goggles clattered on the ground behind him. He smiled and reached his gloved hand towards the strange light. "Let's go check it out, everyone!" he nodded before touching the glowing orb. His blue eyes widened as the ball suddenly turned into a strange tear in EDEN. It was like a window to another world and without thinking of the consequences he allowed himself to fall into it.
"Takumi?" Yuuko looked around the streets of Akihabara in confusion.
After she had defeated LordKnightmon, she had noticed the Cyber Sleuth was gone. He must have been angry at her actions so left early before he could lose his temper. But still, she had expected to find him waiting for her near the labyrinth's entrance as he cooled off. It wasn't like him to just leave without an explanation of some sort.
"Takumi?" she called out again in the hopes he was nearby.
She sighed when there was no answer. Maybe he really was upset and didn't want to face her so soon. Yuuko sadly frowned to herself but decided this was probably for the best. She'll just stop by the agency to apologize to him later. In fact, maybe it would best if she treated him to another food tour to make it up to him. He was fairly simple to please and his kind-heartedness meant he was also very forgiving. At least, that was what she hoped.
Yuuko knit her eyebrows together in worry when there was still no sign of the redhead anywhere. "Takumi…" She took in a deep breath before starting for Nakano but paused when she spotted something on the ground that made her blood run cold. She hurried over to the object in question and knelt down at the familiar pair of goggles. "H-huh…?" She picked it up and checked the Digivice's user ID before letting out a short gasp. "Takumi!" She rose to her feet and looked around Akihabara, wondering where he disappeared to this time.
Final Notes: I totally blame Yuuko for what happened. Takumi might not be angry at her, but I am. Although... Yuuko was sort of right. Takumi's weakness ended up costing him. But I still hold that Yuuko should have been a bit more careful and not so focused on her revenge. Really... Yuuko and Takumi is the worst team, in my opinion, because you have someone who's not used to being with others, let alone working with others, combined with a person who is way too emphatic and frankly doesn't care if anything bad happens to him so long as others around him are better off. Nokia and Arata have their own problems sure, but at least they're aware of Takumi's deficiencies. But Yuuko not really being aware of it all can just be chalked up to the fact that she hasn't really known Takumi for that long. Still, Yuuko and Takumi would be cute together... as messed up as they are... Oh yeah, because Knightmon can only become one of three Royal Knights, I went with the Royal Knight that isn't all gung-ho about destroying humanity. It'd be really awkward having Takumi trying to collect LordKnightmon's and Duftmon's data anyways... For one thing, I'm pretty sure he's traumatized by LordKnightmon. For another, Duftmon isn't defeated until near the end... Also... I still feel bad about how Craniummon died... Stupid Suedou. Now the only Digimon on Takumi's team that hasn't evolved is MegaloGrowmon. He won't be Dukemon, by the way. Dukemon's dead... I killed him off in the story... on accident... Whoops... Oh well...