Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this story but the idea.
A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I've actually gone back and updated/rewrote the last two book as well as most of the stories I have and that took much longer than expected. Oh god everything sounded terrible. How did you guys even stand reading that?! I could barely read any of that without cringing and wanting to hit myself.
xXx Sayo xXx
11 days left.
11 days until the Demon Lords decide that the Tamers and the Union are no longer wanted in the Digital World.
11 days is all I have left before this illusion of daily life crumbles and I'm left with them until I'm no longer useful. And even then, not even I dare to think about what they'll do with me after I outlive this usefulness. They won't keep me around. Even if they did, it would be in their best interest to erase my memories, keep me around as a soulless little doll. An unquestioning victory trophy over the Union and its Tamers. I'm not sure what's worse, but I'd rather not find out.
"Sayo." Wizardmon's voice broke through my thoughts as he brought a book to me, placing it gently in my lap he stood and waited for a response.
"This book, Wizardmon, you wouldn't happen to know anything about this particular one, would you?" I ran my hand over the greyed violet cover, the nameless book sat waiting to be opened and read.
"I'm afraid not, is there a reason you're so interested in it?"
"It makes me tired."
"Pardon?"
"This book, every time I read it, it makes me tired. There's something about it, and after I read it I dream. Vivid and real dreams. It's strange..." finally deciding on opening the book I slowly flipped the cover open and lightly thumbed through the pages, finding a small marker I had left within the pages.
"Would you like me to try and find information on this book?" Wizardmon offered earnestly and I smiled, shaking my head.
"No, I'll do it myself. Maybe I'll ask Lilithmon, or even Barbamon. His greed extends to that of knowledge too. He'll know about this book. And I've rarely been denied anything by them; he'll tell me if I ask. And if not Lilithmon may know a thing or two about this strange book. So it's not a complete lost." I heard a small laugh from him and looked back up.
"So it seems as if you have this all planned out, you must really be curious of that book."
"A little, it's a strange book that never fails in its effects on me. I do believe a little more information on it would be nice." I could see the twinkle in his eyes before he nodded briefly.
"It's about time I go and fetch your mid-day snack, is there anything you would like?"
"A mix of berries and honey would be nice, and some of those purple pears and green apples too."
"As you wish. Are you sure you will be fine by yourself and with that book?"
"I will be. I don't actually plan on reading anything until you come back; it's more comforting knowing that you're around when this book puts me to sleep."
"I will be back as soon as I can." he gave a slight bow-out of habit I suppose-before leaving me alone in the study. Sighing I leaned back into the settee and closed my eyes, thinking back to that dream from earlier. Well, not so much a dream, more like a memory. I still called them dreams when I know full well that they are anything but dreams. Though I suppose I call them that because these memories could be so surreal.
It's hard to believe that I was ever like that, looking at myself now.
The quiet and calming air of the study lulled me into a sense of serenity, and I allowed my mind to blank for the time being. No thoughts, no worries, just nothingness for a little while.
xXx
The sound of the door opening and the soft noise of the plates and bowls alerted me of Wizardmon's return. I made no effort to move as I heard him place the tray down and no doubt arrange the items as the smell of a very floral tea permeated my senses.
With practiced ease Wizardmon placed the teacup and saucer into the hand that lay in my lap, he made no move to let go until I had a firm grasp on both items. Inwardly sighing I swirled the hot liquid around in the cup, blowing on it a couple times, before taking careful sips. Frowning, I set the cup back and stared at the content.
Something wasn't right.
"Is something the matter?" Wizardmon asks as he offered me a bowl of the berries smothered in honey.
"The tea. It...it tastes different." I could see the subtle furrow of his brows as he poured a cup for himself, pulling back the cloak he took a careful and slow slip before frowning and looking at me.
"I do not taste a difference." he placed his cup down and reached for mine. "May I?"
Nodding slightly I motioned for him to drink it. Once again he took a careful sip, concentrating to determine any changes in the drink. Handing me back the cup he frowned again. "I cannot taste a difference, are you sure that you tasted something strange?"
I took another drink, this time to make sure that something was wrong, but it tasted normal this time around. "I'm not sure, maybe it was just my imagination. But I could've sworn that it tasted different." the last bit I said under my breath as he took the cup from me and began peeling the pears and apples while I ate. The silence was comforting, I didn't really want to talk and he didn't push me to.
I reached for the book as soon as I was finished, flipping to the page I last stopped on I stared at the picture to the right of the text. It depicted an angel like being fighting with what looked like a human riding a large monster. Both clad in golden armour and held weapons. Neither looked the stereotypical good or evil role, both were rather normal in a sense. It was sort of...amusing that a book like this would exist here. Wizardmon had taken a place next to me, with the plate of peeled and sliced fruit in his lap.
"Are you going to read some more, Sayo?" looking at him I smiled and plucked a slice of pear off the plate and turned back to the book. Making myself comfortable I reached for another slice as I played with a corner of the page.
"Would you mind if I read out loud?" he chuckled and shook his head.
"Not at all, if that is what you want I don't mind."
"Very well. I will start the story." I said in a confident, narrative tone, giggling slightly as the words sounded a little odder coming from me. "The tale begins anew, on a battlefield beneath the last tower. A child is born and our story begins with her..."
xXx Koh xXx
We were all gathered in Sun Shine's Union Room as Touma and the Night Claws delivered an update. Apparently the Dark Moon has taken it upon themselves to do everything in their power to find Sayo, even if it meant working around the clock. I suppose Sayo is one of their Tamers, but she is still part of the Union and they don't have to do it all by themselves.
All the team leaders were present and we sat in descending order; first were the Legendary, then the Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and finally the Normal ranks. Normally we wouldn't include the Normals but the Chiefs felt that it would be better to get the information out a quickly as possible. And the leaders do need to be well informed.
"As of right now, we have deployed ten teams with the sole purpose of gathering information. Five Gold, Two Silver, one Platinum, one Legendary, and one Normal team are what we have out in the field right now." Chief Julia held in her hand a folder and was in the middle of her report, thumbing through some pages.
"Excuse me, Chief Julia?" the female Tamer next to raised her hand. She was a newbie to these meetings, recently promoted to the Team Leader position and Silver Ranked.
"What is it, Minori?" Chief Glared asked as Chief Julia diverted her attention to our section of the conference table and I wanted to put my head down. This was not what was supposed to happen. It was suppose to be briefing meeting. And when people start asking questions the meetings start to drag on.
"Isn't sending out that many teams a little cumbersome? I mean you have seven high ranked Tamer teams out there looking around. I mean no disrespect, honest, but wouldn't it better to just send out the Silver and below Tamers? Looking around for something, it sounds like a three star quest at best. You could focus that effort on other things too, but that many high ranked and experienced Tamers is a bit excessive I think."
Now I remember some chatter I heard about this girl. None of it was glaringly bad, but some people were bashing her for not being able to think ahead and see the big picture. And she doesn't work too well in a larger group setting. She's a good Tamer for sure, no one has denied that since she has apparently raised a good 16 digimon. But questioning a Chief during a meeting like this?
Only a Light Fang.
"We could, but that would also mean we settle for less than ideal results. The teams we sent out weren't just Night Claws, I have asked Chief Glare to lend me a couple of his Tamers. And they've done well to get the job done. We're slowly gathering information from local digimon, and as for why such high ranked teams. It's because they have the skill set and connections to get us farther than those of a lower rank can. We also sent out lower ranks because there are a good number of Tamers who show an aptitude for connecting with digimon. They're not the best in terms of battle training, but their interaction skills are beyond their rank. And the leaders of the teams are-"
"Very good at their jobs." a voice came from the warp pad as Sukekiyo walked in with a small group of Tamers. In his hand he held a folder, and a rather thick one at that. He handed the folder to Chief Julia and took a seat beside Raigo, who only smirked at his entrance. The other Tamers that came in also took seats, Barone sat next to Newton-who was here in place of Sayo; rather ironic. And Kenpa took one next to me, she offered me a smile and placed a hand on my shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze. "Sorry for being late all, but I'm sure you can all over look that after we present our information. May I, Chief Julia?"
"Of course, go right ahead since you're heading everything up anyways." she sat down and Sukekiyo took his turn speaking.
"I'm going to make this short and sweet. Mostly because I don't like long meetings, and I'm sure you've all been here forever, and because I apparently owe Kakumi a date." he smiled and a round of laughter erupted. We waited for everyone to settle down before he took on his authoritative tone and continued the meeting. "For those of you who are new, my name is Sukekiyo and I was placed in charge of the teams out in the field gathering intel. I lead the one Platinum team we have out. Now for the actual report, we had originally sent out ten teams to search around the areas of the Digital World, out of those ten teams only four came back with any major discoveries or leads. So we decided to regroup and redistribute our efforts. If you look at the diagram and map on the table I you will see how the teams were split up." he tapped on the table and entered in a few data codes before the areas popped up on the screen.
"I took eight teams, including my own, and had them placed in Transfield, the other two teams were asked to go to Thriller Ruins and Limit Valley. Based on the information we got back, I decided that this sort of redistribution would be best. Gold Tamers Kenpa and Barone were in charge of the teams that went into the two other areas." he motioned toward them and they stood together.
"I am Kenpa and I was tasked with information gathering in Limit Valley. My search of the area came up empty the second time around, as there hadn't been anything unusual since the initial report of strange activities."
"And I am Barone and I was asked to search Thriller Ruins. In the second canvassing some digimon still report the occasional disturbance and I have recommended that we monitor the area."
The two gave their quick report and sat back down as Sukekiyo continued. "We are still searching and following in up on some things, but while in Transfield I also met with the Gaia Origin. They were able to give us some information, but our time was cut short when some digimon in the area went berserk. They ruled it too dangerous for us to continue until things settled down. But they will contact us again when they get things back under control on their end. For now we are focusing on putting what we have together before I start sending the teams back out. This concludes my report. Thank you."
xXx Sayo xXx
Shutting the book I leaned back and stretched, Wizardmon has at some point taken to putting everything back on the tray and picking up the book I made my way to the door with him.
"Do you think I can go see them?" I asked as I closed the door.
"I can go check for you." he answered before we entered into one of the main hallways.
"Would you be so kind?" he nodded before taking the tray to the kitchen and I took myself to the Demon Lords' gathering hall. I stood there and waited for Wizardmon arrive and occupied myself with looking over the book again. I still wanted to know the title; if it had one.
"I will n-notify them of y-your request, Miss Sayo." he kept his head low as he opened the door and entered the room. A few moments later he returned and nodded at me, opening the door completely and lead me to the center before excusing himself.
"Was there something you needed, dear?" Lilithmon was the first to come up to me, she placed a hand on my back and guided me to the group.
"I apologise for the sudden request, and I realise that this does not warrant me being in here at such a time. But I found a book in the study the other day, it has no title and I've taken to reading a little. And I am curious about some of the tales told within it. I was hoping that maybe you would grace me with some information of the book." I held it close to my chest as I spoke, and showed it to Lucemon when he looked curiously at me.
"Ah, yes. I remember this book now. It came into our possession after Barbamon brought it back from some ruins he visited. It's an interesting book to say the least, no doubt you'll enjoy it."
"I see, so Barbamon found it. May I ask him about it?"
"Certainly, if it pleases you." he waved his hand and Barbamon came forth, he extended a large and I gave the book to him. He opened the covered and handed it back.
"If you are looking for a title, I can't give that to you. This book has been left on that shelf for a reason, it carries a strong magic. And it is very valuable, so I have not tried to doing anything with it. Lest I damage its value. But I have imparted a little magic in it for you. A gift so to speak." he rested a large hand on my head and I thanked him before bowing and turning away.
"I apologise again for the sudden interruption, but thank you very much." bowing again I exited the chamber before returning to my room. Placing the book on the table I sat down on couch. Shortly after Wizardmon entered the room and picked up the book.
"What did they say?" he asked flipping the book over and admiring the cover.
"They don't really know anything, Barbamon said that there is a strong magic around it. And he values it too much to try anything."
"Hmm?" he made a noise and I looked over at him to find that he had the book opened to a much later portion of the story.
"What is it?"
"The character, look at what is around her neck." he pointed to the illustration of a woman clad in a silver armour. Around her neck was a glowing pendant with a large black stone in the middle. It was pretty, but there was no real detail in the picture.
"She has a pendant. Is there something interesting about it?"
"He said that there was strong magic, correct?"
"Yes."
"May I have your pendent?" he held his hand out and I diligently took the item from around my neck and handed it over. Holding it over the book he created a sphere of light around the book and necklace. "Old digi legends use to talk about jewelry imbued with key magic. It was an effective way to hide things in plain sight, but as these civilizations died out the practice was lost. Many treasure hunters have searched for these lost items, for both their value and their use. Your pendant could be one of these keys, and it may lead to some answers."
"If not?"
"If not, we at least checked to see." the glowing around the pendent glowed brighter and brighter. And soon enough I couldn't see. When the light faded all that had changed was the colour of the pendant in the picture. Now it was a light blue, but otherwise nothing had happened. "It looks like the pendant is good for finding hidden details in this book." he closed the book and I reached for my necklace.
But as I touched it a burst of energy shot through me and I pulled my hand back, staring wide-eyed. "Did you..."
"I felt it too, but it seems as if it was nothing. It could very well just bed discharging some excess magical energy." with a flick of his wrist data codes formed around my pendant. "See? There is nothing to worry about; the pendant is just releasing some extra stored energy. The energy is normally released into the airspace and becomes part of the area; it's a normal process with magical items."
"Won't they find it odd?"
"I do not believe so, you're here for a reason and they would have taken it from you if they saw it as a threat. Most likely they'll have been expecting you to become magically aware."
"I suppose so, are you sure though? Could something still have happened, even though we can't feel it right away."
"It's possible. However, if something did change we have to wait and see."
xXx Koh xXx
Clicking on a button on the table screen our conference table was retracted back into the floor and the normal floor covering slid back into place.
"That was good report, Sukekiyo. You're doing a find job." Chief Glare commented as he went back to the main monitor.
"Thank you Chief Glare."
"How is Kenpa doing with her assignment?"
"She is advancing quite well, this work is good for her. She is well versed in interacting with the digimon; she is a great asset if you're ever planning on going out and trying to deal with large hectic groups."
"That's good, it's nice to know she can opt to doing something else other than battling."
"Hey, she made it to Gold Rank by herself. Those Rank battles are hell to go through, so don't count her out yet." I said as I passed by, ready to go to home. But just as I was ready to step on the warp pad a loud beeping came from the monitor.
Running back I saw that the screen had a blinking message.
"They strike..?" Litton was at the controls with Chief Glare trying to analyze the signal as soon as possible. However the message was soon replaced with a timer, counting down.
"What the-"
"Is that a timer?"
"Yeah, but for what?"
Before anyone else could get a word in the analysis finished and the results were displayed on the screen. The signal had no origin but the system detected it as a digivice signal, which is why it was allowed into our server.
"A digivice signal?"
"No way, none of our Tamers would be able to do this. There would've been a tag if it had come from one of ours." Chief Glare busied himself with trying to determine where it was sent from.
"A couple months ago, this happened while me and Litton were on duty. We made all call then that it was a lead to Sayo. Could this be the same thing?" Raigo questioned as he pulled up the records from months ago. "If we assume it's the same thing..."
"Then we have another hint. Last time the signal came from Shadow Abyss, Sukekiyo." Chief Julia called, not turning to look at him.
"I'm on it Chief." he gave his salute before running toward the warp pad; another assignment issued.
Finally finding a voice I entered into the conversation, "Could 'they strike' mean the Demon Lords?"
"If so, then we only have until the counter reaches zero to prepare."
"Oh, boy. This is going to be major fun." Raigo smiled as pulled out his digivice, "Looks like it's time we get ready." we all gave a sound of agreement before dismissing ourselves.
11 days, huh?
A/N: I've always had the idea that the Union has things hidden under floors and all that, considering the technology I thought it was a pretty solid possibility.
I've decided that the next 12 or so chapters-I'm going for symmetry with my chapters-will be a day by day accounts of the next 11 days and I will probably have room for an epilouge. Bringing the total up to 16 chapters, the same chapter length as the other two books. Things are starting to be fleshed out a little more and I have a direction of how I want things to go, now whether or not I stay on that planned line is up for debate. 2015 is going to be a good year, or at least I hope so. And with any luck I get this finished before I have to leave for college.
Wish me luck on getting the next update done soon!
Love,
Dragon