Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Or Heroes of Olympus. Case and point.
Author's Note: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "amused".
Turns out, spilling coffee on my hard copy of words from my challenge makes it hard for me to read those words. Last chapter, I said the prompt was "permit", but permit wasn't even a word on my list! The word was actually rabbit, and obviously it was so distorted from the coffee that I could only make out the "-it" and just assumed? I don't even know. Either way, the prompt for that chapter has been changed to "enthusiasm", which is luckily I word I had actually used within the chapter without even thinking of that as my prompt. Go figure.
As for this chapter... I'm working harder and harder to get characters down. I'm still getting comments saying that I am really OOC, so... Just doing the best I can and working really hard to get it right.
Enjoy!
Chapter Seventeen
Takato didn't want to leave Davis and Veemon, but he was starting to think that hanging out with Sinduramon the chicken of few words might be the least dangerous option in this place.
As they climbed the steel staircase, Makuramon stayed behind them, bouncing the crystal orb up and down in his hand. The monkey might've looked like a carnival-reject, but Takato had a sense that there was nothing funny about that crystal ball. Takato had a very strong feeling that one hit from that thing would probably blow him into a million pieces.
Then there was the dog. Every once in a while, he would turn to make sure the digidestined were still following. His face seemed locked in a smile, but there was no warmth in his expression. He regarded Takato and Guilmon like they were interesting science specimens – something he couldn't wait to dissect.
If these Devas were Baihumon's underlings, Takato wasn't sure he wanted to meet their lord. Izzy had made it sound like the Holy Beasts were on their side, helpful beings who would welcome them with honors. Apparently, they just weren't as quick to destroy them as some other evil digimon might be.
Takato worried that he'd led his new friends into a trap. If things went bad, he wasn't sure they could get out of here alive. His digivice had told him that Makuramon and Sinduramon were both ultimates, and while he hadn't scanned the dog, he had a very strong feeling that he was of the ultimate level as well. And Baihumon – well, Takato was pretty sure he was a mega. So that left Davis to face one ultimate alone with Veemon, and the rest of them to take on two ultimates and a mega. He was not liking their odds.
Ahead of them, he watched as Yolei grabbed Ken's hand for support.
"It'll be fine," Cody reassured them, having also seen the exchange. "It's just a talk. Right?"
"Yeah, just a talk," Gatomon repeated, her voice dripping with doubt. Her eyes kept darting from the dog to Makuramon, as if looking for the slightest hint that they were about to attack.
"If it's just a talk, why do I feel like we're being led to the gallows?" Armadillomon asked.
"What's the gallows?" Guilmon turned to look back at Takato with wide curious eyes.
Takato's stomach sat in his throat, making it impossible for him to respond. A terrible draft kept blowing through the building, and Takato's thoughts moved almost as fast. He'd had a lot of time to think while they flew west, but he felt as confused as ever.
The picture of the eight original digidestined after the defeat of Apocalymon still hung on Izzy's wall back in the real world, but he didn't need it in front of him to see it. The image was burned into his mind. It was bad enough not remembering his past, but to know that he was somehow inside of a TV show just boggled his mind. These people, these digimon, they didn't feel like fictional characters; they seemed real. The bond that he was creating with all of them felt real. If all of this was fake, how was he even here?
Still, Takato still knew that it was true. The Data Stream that had done away with his memories had left enough for him to be certain that he had watched all of the digidestined on his TV screen at some point. He couldn't be shocked that Izzy had acted so surprised when he'd told him. If there was a TV show out there somewhere about their adventures, wouldn't he have known? Wouldn't any of them had heard a whisper?
Gennai, whether he meant to or not, had taken those memories. He'd stolen everything from Takato's past, plopped him in the Digital World, and now expected him to save him from some prison just so he could get back what he'd accidentally taken. It made Takato so angry whenever he thought about it, he more than once thought about just walking away despite how adamant he sounded about saving Gennai. The fact was, no matter how upset he was and how much he wanted to just let Gennai rot in that cage, he couldn't. He was hooked. He had to know more, and that planted a seed of resentfulness that was hard to shake.
"Takato?" Guilmon touched his arm. "Where'd you go?"
"Oh, uh… Nowhere, boy."
He was grateful for Guilmon. He needed a friend, and he was glad that he had a digimon partner at all. He could have been dropped here all alone; that would have really been awful. But even if it made him guilty to think it, he was thankful that he wasn't the only one going through this. Plus, he was sure now that they had definitely known each before Primary Village, which meant Izzy was right – he had been a digidestined much longer than just yesterday. He wondered if Jeri had been a digidestined with him…
Stop that, he told himself. He was only going to drive himself crazy thinking that way. Takato had no idea what was waiting for him back in his old life – or who might be waiting. He didn't know if there were other kids with digimon or if Jeri was anything more than a study partner. Or what if Jeri turned out to be his sister? He was going to need therapy for a month.
At the end of the hallway they found themselves in front of a set of large steel doors carved with a map of the Digital World. In each cardinal direction was a beast: turtle to the north, dragon to the east, bird to the south, and finally, the tiger to the west. Takato was pretty sure that this looked and sounded familiar to him, like a story someone had once told him. He sure hoped it had a happy ending.
The dog turned. His ruby eyes glittered, and Takato felt like he was simply a stepping stone in his plans.
"These are Lord Baihumon's chambers," he said. "Be on your best behavior, digidestined. Our lord can be a bit… steely."
"Yeah, he sounds like a real friendly guy," Armadillomon said.
"We'll be polite," Cody promised. "But really, we're just here for a quick talk. That's all."
The dog's smile seemed to deepen. "Humans are so blissfully ignorant."
Gatomon flexed her claws. "Hey! You better watch your tone! We don't even know your name."
The dog let out a low growl. "And you better watch yours, feline. I am Caturamon, lead Deva under Lord Baihumon."
The steel doors blew open at that moment as if of their own accord.
"Now, come," Caturamon said. "Hopefully you will survive your quick talk."
Lord Baihumon's chambers looked like a mausoleum. Takato shifted closer to Guilmon out of pure instinct. Along each side of the room, pictures engraved into the steel walls like tapestries showed scenes of vast deserts, skyscraping mountains, and thick forests. High above, ribbons of light cut through the sunroof and glared off of every surface. Rusty life-sized statues of digimon stood all around the room – some rookies, some champions, even an ultimate or two – all frozen in various positions, in the midst of attacking or begging.
Makuramon poked him in the back. "Keep moving, Goggled Human Number Two."
"Please don't call me that."
"Lord Baihumon is not a patient digimon," Makuramon warned.
They kept walking, and the shadows seemed to part to reveal a large tiger stretched out across the world's largest cat bed. Unlike the other fake cushions and curtains around the palace, Lord Baihumon's bed was made of real fluffy material. He was sturdily built, covered in pure white fur like snow, with blue stripes running down from his spine. He wore blue and gray armor over his head, ankles, and the tip of his tail. He had four orange eyes that seemed to hold no expression, so Takato couldn't tell if they were all about to be vaporized. He sure hoped not.
The most striking thing about him was the twelve golden orbs that floated around his midsection that seemed to pulse with power all their own.
"Digidestined," said the Holy Beast. "I am Lord Baihumon. Why are you here?"
Caturamon stepped forward and lowered himself into a bow. "Lord Baihumon, this is Guilmon, a digimon of unknown origin just as you told us to keep an eye out for, and his partner. They are accompanied by the rest of the digidestined."
"I would rather hear it straight from them, Caturamon." Lord Baihumon raised a paw and swept it toward the dog digimon, as if shooing him away.
Caturamon looked miffed, but he bowed once more and took a step back.
Lord Baihumon sized Takato up, and Takato decided it would be a good idea to bow. "Lord, uh… Baihumon, sir… I'm Takato Matsuki. I'm pretty sure. Mostly. It's a long story. That's not really the point. Thank you, sir, for seeing us on such short notice. Can I ask… why do you keep saying Guilmon is of unknown origin?"
"Yeah, I'm not that unknown," Guilmon complained. "Am I?"
"You, Guilmon," Lord Baihumon spoke, "are unique. There is no other digimon in the Digital World like you. There are digimon that are rare, yes, and digimon who are only seen once a millennia… but a digimon whose data is so different that it has never once before been replicated and will never be repeated again… That's unheard of. Yet, here you are."
"Cool," Takato breathed.
Kari looked less impressed and more concerned. "What does that mean?"
"It means that I must follow orders," the white tiger said heavily. "I must destroy you."
Takato choked. "Destroy us? Why?"
"Yeah!" Armadillomon complained. "What'd we do to you?"
"Because, my lord commands it."
Lord Baihumon rose. He stepped down from his oversized cat bed and flicked his tail out behind him as if agitated. As he approached, Caturamon and Makuramon bowed. Takato hesitated before deciding it might be a good idea to follow their example. The rest of the digidestined and digimon did the same.
"I have a certain fondness for the Child of Kindness and the Child of Sincerity as I made those two crests that then spawned the Digiegg of Sincerity with my own personal Digicores. And they, unlike my other creation, the Digiegg of Friendship, has not betrayed me," Baihumon said. "It is because of Ken Ichijouji and Yolei Inoue's presence here that I will hear you out first. My lord would at least grant me that."
Yolei and Ken shared a surprised look, but Takato was suddenly just grateful that they had volunteered to come with him. His digivice grew heavy in his pocket. If they were forced to fight, he was pretty sure they were all going to become very squishy pancakes. Even if he did manage to pull out a miraculous card to play, he'd be facing a mega and two ultimates while in their personal domain.
"You mentioned your lord before," Cody said slowly. "I thought you were the lord of this land?"
"Even I have someone I must report to," Baihumon said, as if that explained everything. "And his words are clear: humans have done nothing but bring havoc to our world. Any that cross our paths are to be destroyed."
"That's not true!" Gatomon yelled. "Humans have helped us save our world! Your boss is feeding you a bunch of lies!"
"Yeah," Armadillomon said. "Cody wouldn't hurt a fly!"
"Takato is my friend," Guilmon added.
"ENOUGH!"
An uncomfortable silence engulfed the room. Takato decided to be the either brave or stupid one to break it.
"Lord Baihumon… your lord sounds a bit… extreme," he said. "But you're not going to just crush us right now, are you? I mean… You're going to listen to us first, right? Because I'm sure once you hear about what we're doing—"
"Yes," the tiger agreed. "As you travel with the Bearer of the Digiegg of Sincerity and the Child of Kindness, I should at least hear you out. Had you chosen any other companions to accompany you, I would not have been this merciful. I am only obligated to listen, however. After that, I am free to pass judgment as I see fit. In the end, I may decide not to destroy you after all."
Takato felt like he could almost breathe again. "Great. Thanks."
"Do not thank me." Baihumon moved his gaze upward to look past the digidestined. "Just because I do not destroy you does not mean that I will let you leave."
Takato turned and stared at the various rusty statues around the room.
Kari made a strangled noise. "You mean—they're all digimon? Are they alive?"
"Alive?" Baihumon repeated as if the question amused him because it had never occurred to him before. "Not exactly. They do not breathe or move like other digimon, but their data still exists in this world."
Caturamon smirked as he sauntered through the stunned group of digidestined. "Lord Baihumon has yet to add a human to his collection. I imagine it will be quite the sight."
"Pretty sight!" Makuramon broke in. "I want the purple haired girl! Can we keep her hair all not rusty, please?"
"Silence!" Baihumon said sternly. "You are frightening our guests. Besides, you move too fast. We have not even heard their story yet. Then we will decide what to do with them. Please, Takato Matsuki, entertain us."