Chapter 8: Conflicts

"I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness because it shows me the stars."

Og Mandino

-Present day: Faction 1-

Yamato trudged through the streets of Central, people passing by hurrying out of his way. The city knew who he was, for the cousins flaunted their gained Weapon to instill fear into the citizens. It helped them maintain the upper hand and the crown. The blonde man didn't try to smile to calm the nerves of the unfortunate who crossed his path. His happiness was taken three years ago.

Hm. A rebellion rising in the Northside, Yamato thought to himself, what idiots would think they had the power to rise against the crown, to rise against Him? He slowed his pace, checking the signs to ensure he was on the correct path.

Turning left, Yamato noticed that the beautiful, white marbled sidewalks and silver streets disappeared, being replaced by a dark wet dirt and sticky buildings made of mud and rocks. He had never been outside of Central, uncertainty sitting deep within his gut. A young teen begged him for a coin, saying he hadn't been fed in months. But the crown… Don't they ensure everyone is fed? He turned, avoiding the boy's pleas for help. Something wasn't right in Northside, it felt like more of how faction 3 was described to him, but with less civilization. The citizens here were scrawny, loose rags hanging from their rail thin bodies.

Yamato kept his gaze to the ground, feeling out of place and self conscious. He pulled his jacket closer to his broad shoulders, catching a glimpse of a woman with long brown hair. Mimi? He felt his feet speed up, carrying him in the direction the woman had turned. As he rounded the corned, he came face to face with a woman handing some coins to her son. You have to forget her. She's gone. He kicked a rock, frustrated and annoyed that he still thought of her. Lillian and Magnus thought they had crushed him with their demands and beatings, but what had crushed him was not knowing. The not knowing of where she was. The not knowing of what the thief had to do with it.

Lost in thought, Yamato failed to notice that he had arrived at the small, brown building Lillian had explained to him. He was not to be seen, most recognized him on the spot.

"General Takeura!" Yamato felt a hand on his shoulder. Confusion filled him as he turned to reply, "I think you have the wrong person. I don't know a Takeura." The soldier behind him laughed, pushing him through the doors of the small building. "You leave for a few months and you think you could fool ol' Brant? Ha!" The man's burly laugh filled Yamato's ears. I wish he wasn't so loud, Yamato flinched. He was unsure of who this Takeura was, and was suddenly too aware of himself becoming exposed. Takeura must be the leader of this rebellion.

He turned to tell Brant that he wasn't the correct man, but turned just in time to see a young boy with blonde hair and his blue eyes. Yamato blinked slowly, a mixture of confusion and shock on his face.

"Well, Brant. The Jumpers got us this!" The blonde boy set a book on the table, smiling at the doorman. Brant slowly turned, scratching his head. "General Takeura, weren't you just…" He pointed towards Yamato, then back to Takeura. "Am I crazy? Has my age finally gotten to me? I knew I was becoming senile an all, but this is just… I'm truly going out with a bang…" Brant slowly walked towards a sitting room in the small building, trying to make sense of the situation.

Takeura stared at that man that stood before him, stuttering "Yamato… It really is you…" His blue eyes shifted to the scars that ran up his older brother's arms from the whippings Magnus had given him for thinking differently than the crown. "What happened to you…" He reached out a hand towards Yamato.

Yamato shrunk away from his hand. "Who are you? And how do you know my name." Yamato's gaze was stern compared to Takeura's caring eyes. "I'm here to shut down this rebellion. It is wrong. Lillian and Magnus give us everything and Myotismon gives us even more."

Takeura blinked and shook his head, frowning at his brother's words. "Yamato… It's me, Takeura your younger brother. I was afraid of this…" Takeura had been nervous of the others losing their memories.

Who is this boy and why is he saying he is my brother. I've never had a brother. Yamato was battling against his thoughts, trying to bring up any memory he would have of the boy standing in front of him. It would make sense, we are practically spitting images of each other. The younger boy sat in a chair, tears threatening to spill over. "I expected everyone else to have forgotten me, but my own brother? Yamato what did they do to you?"

Yamato continued to shake his head, only bringing up memories of days spent with Mimi in Central. He watched tears begin to fall down the boy's cheek, feeling somewhat guilty. "You don't know him, don't listen. All light must be diminished," the darkness whispered deep into Yamato's mind, the pain of fighting against it too much to bare. He had learned a long time ago that there was no way of winning. "No. I don't know you. I'm here to tell you to stop this rebellion."

The younger brother raised his head, his blue eyes meeting his brother's. "And if I disagree? If I believe that the crown is terrible and is destroying the lives of many?" He stood, stepping towards his brother. "Then I'll kill you. I'll kill you all." The words passed Yamato's lips easily, his voice deep and steady.

-Faction 2-

Mimi sighed as she took in all of Izzy's story, hugging her tea tighter. "Izzy… I'm so sorry. I never knew faction 1 was that… That evil." She shuddered at the thought of not having the support she was given by the crown, by having to beg for money to eat and even survive. "Yamato and I saw them as generous." Izzy chuckled and shook his head. "It's alright, Mimi. Most of the citizens of central do not see the corruption. They're blinded by the shine off of the marble streets."

Mimi laughed, agreeing that the marble streets were indeed quite blinding, and a bit ridiculous, during the day. "I would have joined the Northside, you know. If I knew that the darkness of Myotismon was causing all of this… I can't believe I forgot everything." She shook her head, troubled. "Do you think others have had their memories erased?"

Izzy crunched his brows together, "yes and no. I didn't remember Takeura or you the instant I saw you guys in faction 1." He tapped his chin, biting his lower lip as he tried to make sense of it all. "I often ask myself that. How many of us are out there? What if we all forget a single person from our past and they're just… Stuck?" Mimi's brown eyes watched the man across from her think, asking the questions to herself. "And General Takeura always whispered of a Jumper named Taichi, saying I'd know him when I saw him. I still have yet to see the man, but I've never heard the name before."

Izzy's mention of the name pulled something in Mimi's memories, but she frustratingly shook her head, getting nowhere with it. "I honestly didn't even recognize Yamato being from my past until he discussed the strange mists with me moments after we woke up." Izzy nodded, "Yeah, that seems to be the trend. Hey, Mimi?" She raised her head from her drink, "Hm?" The man hesitated, "are you ever going to tell me about your experiences in faction 1? Y-You don't have to if you don't want…" Mimi smiled, reassuring him. "I guess it's about time I share…"

-Five Years Ago: Faction 1-

Mimi groaned, her ankle fiercely burning. Where am I? Her eyes opened slowly as she turned, cool grass pressing against her cheek. A blonde man was next to her, stretching his body to make sure he was okay. She sat up slowly, rubbing her neck as her brown eyes traveled to her ankle. "Ohmygosh," she said quickly, her eyes widening at the sight of the new, white swirls running up her leg. The man eyes her, his blue eyes a bit concerned. "What…" he asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

"My ankle, it was burning and now I have… THIS." She pointed her finger with quite the dramatic exaggeration. "Oh god, what if it's permanent?!" The man laughed, rubbing his side. "You know, my side kind of burns too…" He lifted his shirt. Mimi shamefully blushed as her eyes went to check out to see if he had any abs or anything worth looking at, Mimi focus, c'mon girl, she thought to herself. … Okay, but not bad… Her brown eyes slid to his side, she gasped and covered her mouth. "I mean, it's definitely there." His mark was black, not her white, "but you can definitely work it so I wouldn't worry about it." She waved him off with her once manicured nails. The man laughed out loud, pulling his shirt down.

"I'm Yamato, and you are…" She flashed him her award winning smile. "Mimi, pleasure is mine." She finally let her eyes look around the city, taking in the marble and silver that surrounded them. "Where are we, if you don't mind me asking?" Mimi asked Yamato. Yamato carelessly shrugged. "I was hoping you would know, Mimi." She shook her head, his voice continuing. "This might sound crazy, but I'm not from here… I think… Well okay. My world was just engulfed with dark mists and I'm a little confused as to why this place is only marble." Mimi laughed, gasping as the memory of the dark mists hit her. "Oh. Oh wait! MY world was engulfed by mists too!" She squealed excitedly, gripping his arm until she realized how terrible the mist actually was. "… Okay sorry… I'm excited easily."

His blue eyes watched her, realization in them. "Mimi… Mimi, did you happen to live in Odaiba?" The brunette blinked, her eyes slowly widening as the memories flooded her mind. "Yamato… You were… You were there. With me!" She hugged him tightly, the blonde stiffening in her arms as he laughed nervously. "Yep. I was there. That's for sure."

She pulled away smiling, excited to have an old friend with her. "Oh thank god. I was worried I was going to be alone in this place." She looked around, "wait, what the hell is this place exactly?" Yamato shrugged again, grabbing her arm to walk down the street. "Should we find out?" She nodded, letting him guide her.

-4 Years ago-

Mimi was holding her shaking hands, she had felt the power course through her just before it happened. Fire. It shot out of her hands quickly and ended even faster. The woman had been walking home from the local market, buying her and Yamato ingredients for a soup they had been wanting to try. It happened fast and she had yet to recover three hours later.

The man had stepped in front of her, gripping her wrist and telling her she was beautiful. She had smiled, telling him thank you before trying to pull away. He didn't let go, only gripped harder. She panicked, something awakening deep within her.

It happened. Flames shot from her hands, catching the man's coat on fire. Gasping, Mimi grabbed her bag and ran. She burst through the door, crying. "Mimi? Mimi, are you okay, what happened?" Yamato raced to her side, hugging the woman close as he pressed his lips against her forehead in hopes of calming her down. "Yamato… I just… There was fire and I'm not sure what it means." Yamato just held her, not asking anymore questions as she cried into his chest.

-End of Flashback-

"And the rest is just us living our lives and you stealing my purse and then waking up here," Mimi shrugged, rubbing the palms of her hands softly. Izzy stared across the table, his jaw open. "You can shoot FIRE from your hands?!" Mimi's eyes widened, "Izzy! Not so loud!" Izzy nodded, "okay, okay… You can shoot fire from your hands?!" He said in a low whisper. Mimi nodded, "yeah seems like it. I guess that's the only thing I'm okay with coming out of the mists."

Izzy was still at a loss for words, "I just, like what?" Mimi rolled her eyes, "Okay, but you can jump to the other worlds. That's what I'd rather do." He knew this was coming, his excitement and amazement dying. "Mimi, listen. There has to be a way to jump with multiple people. I mean I jumped you all the way to faction 2 with me without any knowledge on what I was doing!" Mimi laughed, "True.. Oh. Before I forget," she rummaged through her brown purse, "I found this in the library."

Mim placed a dark black, leather book onto the table, pushing it towards Izzy. Izzy frowned, picking the book up. "Mimi, what is this?" Mimi rolled her eyes, "read the first page." The man playfully mocked her before opening the cover, his eyes sliding across the words. "Is this… A journal of the events leading up to the Reckoning?" Mimi nodded, smiling victoriously.

*Author's note*

Thank you to all who have continued to read this story! I didn't expect it to be this long, but it's still going! I hope it is as enjoyable to read as it is to write! :)