A/N: Not too surprised that it took me this long, but it is also still Summer so doing better than last year, but that isn't saying much since I only got like 3 chapters done last year. Praying that I get at least half way through planning the planned 7 chapters before the next school year starts so I can maybe finish this at some point between now and like next Summer. I have also started going back and doing an overhaul/update of this entire series, which means that there will be some inconsistencies until I get everything all updated.
xXx Sayo xXx
6 days left and I can barely keep up.
In the span of two days the castle has come to life with the bustle of activities and plans being finalized since the banquet. The Demon Lords don't coop up in the meeting chamber anymore, they stroll through the halls; radiating confidence and with a growing sense of dread I seek solace in the library. The whirlwind of meeting and events that have taken place leave me very little time to do much else.
I have apparently become integral to the succession of their plan; therefore, they now treat me accordingly. Allowing me access to their meetings-encouraging me to attend even-and keeping me in the loop at all times.
If I had contact with the Union all of this would have been extremely useful information to get back. But I do not and can only hope that they do not fail when the time comes. I have my faith in them, but it is difficult when the Demon Lord's plans are nearly flawless. They've accounted for almost anything and have plans that deviate from their main one, just in case anything goes wrong.
Wizardmon has scaled back the time spent with me as Lilithmon is no longer too preoccupied to spend time watching over me. The sudden lack of privacy and discretion has only made me more aware of the perils awaiting if we are caught. Our limited time together is also a reflection of how far ahead the planning has come.
"Sayo." Lilithmon's voice calls as she enters my room. She takes little time in crossing it to where I am seated and reading at the window. I stand to greet her, swiftly marking my place.
"Has my presence been requested?" it has become common to have me called upon at any hour to attend a meeting. I could be summoned while they're in the middle and still be expected to take a seat and observe. It had more or less taken up the bulk of my time.
"Yes. Though not for a strategy meeting. Fetch your necklace and come with me."
"Necklace?" there was but one she could be referring to. Why I may need it though is troubling. Since the start of my stay here the necklace has been left untouched. I don't risk taking it out and damaging it, and there had been no need for it. Its uses have been cloaked in mystery and it doesn't respond no matter what I try, though fairly speaking I don't know what to do with it. I've left it in the jewelry box buried underneath the accessories that I do wear more frequently.
"Yes, you know the one. The one with the stone that only responds to you. We'll be needing it, Barbamon and I are to oversee some training of yours. You'll be taught how to use that pendant to it's full potential." her voice betrayed nothing and while fearful I also saw the advantage of these lessons. Wizardmon could give me memories and restore me to myself, but he could do nothing to strengthen me without stepping out of bounds. Neither one of us were sure of how the pendant worked, most of the time it seemed like it responded whenever it wanted to. And since we could not work it, the pendant lay dormant without realising it's full potential.
"Of course, though I cannot promise you I am any good it with. I'm afraid I don't even know how to use it." finding the pendant wasn't hard, it seemed to always be emitting a soft glow; the clear stone was obviously mystical in some way when laid out next to ordinary gems. Taking care to slip it on I hurry to join Lilithmon by the door as we make our way in the opposite direction of the meeting chambers. Rounding a corner, we made our way down an unfamiliar hallway, I had passed this area of the castle before, that I am sure of, but I had never actually taken time to explore and see what this area was.
Lilithmon pushed open large double doors to reveal a chamber. The high vaulted ceilings and pillars gave it a grand appearance. The floor was a beautiful dark marble that seemed to glitter in the glowing light of the lamps, some tapestries hung along the wall and there were no windows. The room was completely empty of any furnishings, giving no indication as to what it is even used for. Barbamon stood in the center waiting. As we approached I stopped to bow and he did the same.
"Lord Lucemon had requested that you become learned in how to use the powerful gem in your possession." Barbamon began, grazing his long claws over the jewel, "as you may have experienced the crystal is capable of many feats. You've only been able to scratch the surface of its true capabilities. I will be in charge of readying you and providing the knowledge necessary for you to wield it as it was meant to be."
"Firstly, allow me to explain what it even is, and then how to harness its power. As you are aware this special crystal only responds to you, no one else may use it and no one else will be able to use it after yourself. As such you must be in tune with it, that crystal vibrates with energy and you must be able to match it. However, it is not through brute force or will that you control and use it, your heart and mind must be in balance for it to be used properly. You see it feeds off of emotions and reacts accordingly, in moments of strong emotions where your heart is at its most passionate and highest state it will release the most energy to match. Example being moments of battle, where your mind mustn't falter and you must be wholly sure of yourself. It is in moments of clear thoughts and sure emotions that this crystal is strongest. Conversely, when you are unsteady and unsure of yourself the pendant will release nearly nothing to aid you, as you are not in a position to use it. The strength and unity of heart and mind is what will lead you to victory in battle, if not then you will fail. It is as simple as such."
"Does it matter then, what I feel? So long as it is strong and true?" Barbamon knew plenty it seemed about how the pendant worked, much more than I did and he knew exactly how to use it. I was now faced with the realisation as to why I was kept around, the pendant was nothing without me, and I nothing without it. With the knowledge, already at their disposal they wouldn't need me at all if it wasn't for the safeguard on the crystal.
The crystal was a lock, and I was the key.
"It does quite a lot. Different emotions convey different powers and uses of your pendant. Just as strength of emotion matters, being able to at a moment's notice call on feelings such as fury or tranquility is essential. You will find that it is a difficult and arduous task, one that requires the upmost discipline and training to master. It will be easier to have you experience these emotions and learn as we go. There is no better learning method than true experience. I will ask you to summon a feeling within yourself and channel it through the crystal, if you cannot then I will take it upon myself to implement it within your mind."
"I am here to watch over and report progress, we will keep going until you have been tired out. When you are ready to be returned to your room and wish to retire alert me." Lilithmon's voice lacked the concern that a mother would have, but it brought a little comfort knowing that I was in charge of how far this went.
"Shall we begin?" not shortly after I gave my agreement what felt like electricity ran through me. I could feel it starting at where I desperately clutched the pendant and spread outward. The feeling was absolutely nothing like what I experienced with Wizardmon; that feeling was more of a gentle warm spreading slowly outward, this, this, however was violent and nearly painful. If it wasn't for the fact that I knew that it was all mental pain I would have already fallen to my knees. Shutting my eyes, I attempted to calm my breathing, slow and steady breaths. Eventually the feeling subsided but I kept my eyes closed, wary of breaking the concentration I had now.
"Concentrate and the first thing I ask you to feel is fury," Barbamon's voice sounded so far off that it was almost impossible for me to make out the words. Fury he said? I can remember very few times where I could genuinely say I felt that strong of anger. I tried and tried and yet nothing came, I tried to latch onto the fleeting memories of feeling such a thing, and yet there was nothing. Then suddenly like a hot burning sensation I felt it, fury in the rawest and most dangerous form, my eyes snapped open and it was as if I couldn't control myself when suddenly bolts of lightning struck the ground before me.
Startled my concentration broke and I stumbled backwards. "W-was that…me?" it was unbelievable. The sheer force of the bolts should have shaken the room and it's foundation, yet everything remained the same. I was the only one perturbed at what had just happened, looking down I saw that the pendant was radiating, its colour having gone from clear to a bright orange.
"Yes, it was, you did quite well. Though it seems as if you lack the ability to call on emotions at will. No matter, you will learn in time how to identify and isolate these emotions and use them. For now, we focus on getting you acclimated to feeling them first. A little taste if you will. Are you ready for the next one?"
Nodding once again I closed my eyes and stand firmly, feeling myself and the energy flowing from the pendant.
"Your next emotion is fear. I want you to feel it as strongly as you can, the fear that grips your heart when your life is in danger."
Fear is far more familiar than fury, that much I could do. I could easily summon every memory that related to that emotion, every single time I've felt terrified for one reason or another, and most of them stemmed from my stay in this castle. Fear for what may happen to me after I've been used up. Fear of being caught while Wizardmon and I went about recovering what had been taken from me. Fear for Wizardmon's own safety because I was valuable while he was disposable. But, it was as if nothing had happened. There was no enveloping aura, not a single drop of energy could be felt in my body. Not even the soft buzz of energy running beneath my skin.
Had I done it wrong?
Tentatively opening my eyes I could finally see why I felt no energy within me; the energy had been concentrated outward into the formation of a shield, covering me from all directions. It was small, just enough to give me some breathing space and it domed above my head, the hexagonal pattern interlocked. I was curious as to how well it would fare in battle, but it was not something I would be willing to test out today. The pendant now glowed a soft lavender before fading away along with my barrier.
"Well done, that must have been easy on you. Next I ask you to discard your emotions, seek serenity and then feel nothing at all."
Taking in deep breaths and slowly letting it out I allowed myself to be awash in calm, reaching an almost meditative state and from there the world slipped away. My body felt lightweight and free, it was almost as if I was floating, my soul being detached from my body. I was sure I was slowly slipping into a dream like trance, not quite sure what was supposed to be happening. In the darkness behind my lids I started to feel something, little pinpricks of cold, faint but gradually building. As I came back into the world I could see bits of ice forming around the pillars and the marble floor had already developed a thin coating. The temperature of the room had only slightly dropped but the ice formation had already taken place and was growing. Sparing a glace at the gem I found it to be a striking blue.
"Excellent, you're doing quite well Sayo. What a true master you will be once we are done. Are you ready for your next one?"
"Yes." I said definitively and soundly, I had to keep going and learn as much as I could before they strike. The Union cannot possibly be prepared for everything that will be thrown their way, and if I aim to be useful to the Union when the time came I must have a good grasp of how to use the power. And if the Demon Lords were willing to provide the information and training, I would be a fool to half-ass it and not make the most of what I can gain from them.
I put myself into Barbamon's hands, each time he gave an emotion I tried to find the feeling in myself. He would always know when I could not and would quickly alleviate me and force the feeling onto my mind.
Hatred and distain turned the stone red and rained down hellfire without mercy.
Sadness or grief turned it grey and would open up craters or shake the earth itself.
Tranquility and calm gave it a teal colour and could create pillars of water.
Disgust turned the stone a deep olive green and would create massive vines that encaged and squeeze the life out of my target. Barbamon had learned that the hard way.
Affection turned it a pale mauve, though instead of either defensive or offensive it focused on regeneration.
These were just the few basic uses and basic emotions that could be felt. There were more but I could not handle any continuation, having already been worn down by those few. Barbamon also said that as I grew stronger and learned how to effectively use the stone my emotions didn't need to be so clean cut. I could learn how to meld them together for results that were absolutely devastating. I would also need to learn how to control the severity of my powers based on the intensity of emotion, all of these combined would have make me the perfect trump card against the Union.
I was utterly terrified of myself.
xXx Koh xXx
Security had been tightened almost to the extreme once word got to the Chiefs about security leaks. Some access codes had to be replaced over time, since the older it gets the riskier it is. Myself and the others present yesterday have already begun the process, but since the system only allows a couple resets in 24 hours it was taking a while. Preventive measures sometimes came back to bite us in the ass. However, information leaks are serious business and while it had been well protected and treated before, ever since the Grimmon incident our data has been under complete security. There were now certain archives that couldn't be accessed without a Tamer from both teams present, and then there were ones where the use of Digisoul was required as a key. The measures taken since then have been mostly to lessen the impact if we ever got a sever intel leak or crash again.
Presently I was in the middle of essentially overhauling all my personal passwords and pins that are used to access data in the Union. Since every Tamer at any given time has at least 3 for various work reasons around the Union, it was safe to say that the leak could be from either a direct source or indirect source whether we knew it or not. Preventative measures only did so much, and we were just buying some time until we could find out more.
"Koh!" Lunamon yelled from the other room.
"What? Did you need something?" I yelled back, eyes still planted on my PC. I was just about 90 percent done with updating everything, and maybe I was just paranoid but I was not leaving this computer until it was done.
There was nothing for a moment and I contemplated yelling again when I could hear footsteps. It was too heavy to be the digimon and, well, Lunamon didn't exactly have feet. Chief Julia appeared in my door wait and held a hand up before I could bolt from my seat for a salute.
"As soon as you are done, Koh, I'm going to need you to hand for Sayo's digivice." She didn't leave any room for argument or question, so I didn't bother.
We waited out the last of my progress to finish and as soon as it did I opened the bottom desk drawer and pulled out the familiar black and purple device. I hadn't had to use it in a while, Lunamon and them essentially have been freely moving about the Cities without it, and unless they went outside the Cities they didn't need it. I followed Chief Julia out of my home and into Dark Moon, when we reached the Union Room, instead of going for her main monitor the Chief went to the side one where Raigo worked most days. She plugged the digivice in and went straight to work.
"Even if she isn't here, her digivice is still a good a target as any. Though they'd have to be stupid to risk it seeing as it has rarely been active, but we can't take any chances if they did somehow manage to get the information from her. Most things are word of mouth, but we do send out information to all of you in masses. Even turned off hers still receives messages, and even if you can't access it we still have methods of doing so. Not to mention Dorothy and Newton probably have her access codes."
"I get how it is safe if you reset everything now, but it'd still be a risk won't it?" I could see where this was going, but we don't even know if they've gotten into the system yet. They would need to use a Tamer since Digimon have very limited access to our systems if they aren't connected to a Union Tamer.
"I'm not going to just reset it, I'm going to put hers on complete monitor and change some preferences so you can monitor it too. Digisoul and DNA can be fabricated, though rare and with a miniscule success rate, there are ways to bypass some check points and not have it ding in the system. If they have Sayo and she is either being compliant or they force her they could have the make up of her digisoul and DNA to use. The digimon that they've sent it would be able to use it to access some surface level information, but even then that is already too much. Our system isn't foolproof, which is why I'm not ruling anything out until we have the leak identified. Which is why we are going treat the entire thing is a standard reset, everyone will get the notification and with any luck we can figure out where and how this is happening. No panic and hopefully no one gets tipped off."
"Better safe than sorry."
"Exactly." I remained with her until the complete resetting of Sayo's digivice. Chief Julia also made some tweaks, all of which I was not allowed to see, sensitive stuff and all. As soon as she placed the device back into my hand I was dismissed and told to keep an eye on it since I could now see more than I had before just on the lock screen. It made it easy to see if anything had changed, messages, and even if the device was reacting to something minor. A couple of these things couldn't even be changed normally! Chief Julia had basically made all activities visible while locking it down at the same time.
After I returned Sayo's digivice to the bottom of my drawer, I recalled my own digimon and left for some training with Masaru since he was finally back from the Human world. I had asked a very specific and special favour of him and while he couldn't promise anything, it was worth a shot. Especially if it meant getting stronger and gaining the upper hand when the time came to face the army the Demon Lords have gathered. I had to get all the help I could if I wanted to have a fighting chance.
xXx Sayo xXx
The idea of collapsing in bed sounded wonderful, but the sweat of exertion and heat covered me and I felt disgusting. Thankfully Wizardmon had been told to draw a bath and stood at the ready when I entered my room. Lilithmon left me in his care as she had more business to attend to, he left shortly after with the promise of some food when he returned, and in all honesty, I didn't really care for a meal.
Stripping off the dress and slipping into the water was absolutely wondrous. It was perfectly warm without it being scalding, he had scented with some oils: lavender to calm and rosemary to energize. Sometimes I wondered where all the materials came from, it didn't seem like anyone in this castle could leave for markets, and of course growing or creating these materials themselves wasn't feasible. Slinking deeper into the water I took my time washing and enjoying the water, not having felt like this in a very long time. Not since before I became prisoner in this castle.
Wizardmon reentered and placed a lighter dress on the counter and retreated. Taking that as my cue to get out I dried off and dressed before joining him, ready to recount every detail of what went on while I was out. The information would prove useful no doubt, especially now we know how to use the pendant.
A/N: It took a while but it got done didn't it? I'm shitty at managing my time and since I've started In a Year's Time I've been even shittier at keeping up since that one is more self-indulgent and has a timeline I'd like to keep. But that's not excuse and I humbly beg for forgiveness and eternal thanks for the patience of anyone reading this. I'll see what I can do for getting another chapter out soon. But of course, no promises, if my writing could pay bills and support me I would be churning out a lot more, but since this is more of a hobby life sadly has to take more of a priority. Especially since university is expensive and I am paying out of pocket. But I have also started to play around with the idea of a shorts collections for the Dawn/Dusk verse and would love to get some feedback about it if anyone wants to see it done. Going to try and get one more chapter out before school starts so hopefully see you all soon.
Love,
Dragon