By the time Dr. Morris let go of my hand, my brain was finally able to catch up with the sudden revelation. This man was the caretaker of Omnia—whatever that meant.
"I imagine you have many questions for me, to which I have several answers." He said, returning to his office chair near the console. "Take your time. Time in this dimension moves faster than the outside world, so you have time to rest before we begin."
A lot of questions? That's an understatement. I looked over to the couch and opted to sit down and process everything. My head was still spinning, and honestly, I wished I was in that hospital bed; at least there, I was calmer.
After a minute, I looked back at Dr. Morris and saw that he was watching what looked like bodycam footage on the screen before him. With little light, the footage revealed dense shrubbery as the carrier dug their way through.
"Ivan, how are things so far?" Dr. Morris asked.
"It's been quiet since everything hit the fan," Ivan's voice replied. "I have yet to track down that group of Troopmon that kidnapped the group of Riverbed students."
"What about Ms. Whitaker or her father?"
"Melanie was captured as well. However, Ace and I managed to lock onto her D-Streamer signal, and we've been tailing it for the last few minutes. As for Dr. Whitaker, he was out of the office coincidentally for the day. He might be on his way back to SAIBA if the news of the attack reached him."
"AEGIS has the building barricaded while they address the situation. Speaking of which, Axel just left and his on his way to your location."
"He didn't find anything on his end at AEGIS, huh?"
"Outside of corpses, I'm afraid not."
There was a pause on Ivan's end. "…what the hell are we dealing with?"
"A mess," he put it bluntly. "Call us back when you find something."
"…Roger that."
Dr. Morris hung up and turned around, feeling my stare on his back likely. "Are you ready?"
I hesitated to answer. Where was I to begin? Should I ask about what happened at AEGIS and SAIBA? Should I ask him about what this caretaker role is about?
"We understand this is a lot to take in," Layla approached along with Emily. "Believe us when we say it was a lot for us to remember everything."
Those last few words perked my ears, "Wait, so—you remember?"
Emily nodded, "Thanks to Morris, we regained our memories of the previous worlds and everything."
I turned to Nick, "you too?"
"Somewhat. What Dr. Morris explained to me came off more dream-like than actual memories."
That sounds similar to what Melanie told me. "Why's that?"
"I believe it may have something to do with 'Nicholas Frost' and 'Nicholas Merlo' being two different people technically. Dr. Morris replied, giving his full attention to the conversation. They may share similar characteristics, but they're just different enough. This also applies to their sisters.
"What about Director Jones and BanchoLeomon?"
"I have yet to interact with him to test that, I'm afraid, though based on observations, it's clear that Director Jones of AEGIS knows more than he leads on."
My head was spinning from all of this time and space nonsense. "Okay, um…does this mean Arylide lied to me before? About how only Digital Beings retained their memories?"
"I'm not in a position to answer that either."
"You just told me you had answers to my questions, though!"
"I said I'm not in a position to do that. I never said I didn't have an answer." Dr. Morris clarified.
"Okay, so why aren't you able to answer that?"
"Because as it stands, the situation is worsening as we speak, and I find it more beneficial to catch you up before we ask irrelevant questions."
Irrelevant?! How am I supposed to know what—! You know what? Okay, I'll bite.
"All right. Can we start with you being the Caretaker and what that means? From what the Beta Testers explained, you sacrificed yourself during Millennium Day. Yet clearly, you're alive."
"I did sacrifice myself," he nodded. "However, Eve saved me moments before Babylon fell."
"Why?"
"For the same reason she interfered with all of you children one way or another: my role as a pathfinder was not finished yet."
His finger snap summoned additional holographic screens, illustrating Millennium Day's events. It showed Adam Russo fighting against Millenniummon and Morris's final act of holding it back from escaping via the rift in the sky. After a flash of white from the explosion, the scene shifted to Morris standing in a white void, identical to the one Older me would bring me in. Then, Eve and Alphamon materialized before him.
"It was here that I met them for the first time. They explained everything that the future entailed and their objective to achieving the 'True Idealistic Future.' I accepted their offer to help them, and since then, I've been watching as things have transpired within this dimension."
Another screen flicked depicting the events of Ragnarök, where Adam, joined by Trevor and Megan, were interacting with a recording of Morris and a Kapurimon that transformed into Axel. It then depicted Adam's fight against Ivan, with Omnimon Alter-S clashing with his RagnaLoardmon.
"This pocket dimension provided by Eve and Alphamon was designed to ensure that the future would continue to thrive in their absences, should anything happen to them. With Alphamon interacting with you, fusing with you to revive you from near death, and with Eve compromised by MOD, I was hard at work putting the finishing touches for a smooth transition into this new world. In the meantime, I also monitored the events in Eve's world, leading the siblings to the power of those two Ancient Digimon and having Omnimon and Susanoomon prepared for them when the time came for it.
I turned toward Nick for confirmation. "What he says is true. He gave Mikayla and me our decks to serve as a protection, though I withheld that information from her for her sake."
"Did she have her memories returned as well?"
"After learning what her other self went through, you really think I could bring myself to think of something like that?"
He had a point. "Still, she's going to find out sooner rather than later."
"I'll cross that bridge when I get to it." He stood by his decision.
Suddenly a thought crossed my mind. "Hold on; does this mean Eve had even more contingencies I wasn't aware of?"
"Is it truly that surprising?"
What happened to honesty with each other? "Fair point."
"I have a question," Emily approached. "If Eve had you in place in the event she was compromised, then does that mean she knew of the possibility of her future not happening?"
I turned to her. That would be insane to say because, for all intents and purposes, this was the future she was fighting for. Unless…
"That is correct," Dr. Morris confirmed. "Just like there are two sides to a coin, no prediction is 100% accurate. Eve was masterful in her ability to adapt and work things in her favor; that laid the foundation of the lie that she was clairvoyant.
Morris snapped again, converting the display screens into small planet Earths. About a dozen or so were lined up on one side, and each had a line connecting to a 13th earth in the middle.
"Thanks to her predictions and skills to adapt, she was able to manipulate the flow of time and space so that it was almost guaranteed that all events would end here," he pointed to the middle Earth. "This world is the world where she ruled with her Liberators, and ideally," he drew a new line and summoned a 14th earth, "would have been the world in the aftermath of the final battle with MOD, preferably one where she—and the rest of AI—ceased to exist."
"And yet that didn't happen," Emily pointed out. "AI exists, and moreso, we're in a Golden Age of technology."
"Arylide explained that by using All Delete, Mikayla severed these worlds from this middle one, keeping MOD's influence from carrying over into the new world. Though, if all of reality was destroyed, how did we end up here anyway?
"With All Delete severing worlds of the past, Ms. Brandt turned the 'flower' into a 'seed' in itself, allowing it to sprout into something completely different: endless possible new realities.
I blinked. "Huh?"
"Matter, Energy, Space and Time. All synonymous terms, depending on whom you ask. If one can't be destroyed, then none of them can. And if these fundamental concepts make up reality as a whole, then reality is indestructible."
"Makes sense…"
"Therefore, Mikayla Brandt destroyed the worlds of the past while simultaneously creating new possibilities for the future. Hence, everyone who has been a victim in one way or another has been revived. As for their various roles and relationship differences, one possibility is that fragments of those different realities were used to create this new one.
"And would Eve have wanted this?"
"Alphamon surely has told you the answer to that, hasn't he?"
"Assuming fragments of old worlds were used to create this one, is Sorin a result of this? Is he some kind of paradox?"
"Despite being in a golden age, we have yet to reach the same level of Artificial Intelligence technology that came through Eve. Without her, Saibatars can't exist. Yet, Matthias Von Sorin exists and is intent on reviving the organization MOD to destroy said golden age."
I asked for chaos, and I got just that. "You mentioned before that Axel was looking for something at AEGIS. Come to think of it; he didn't seem brainwashed like the others."
"Axel is working under my direction," Dr. Morris replied. "Compared to the Sistermon and the pair of Royal Knights, he's immune to MOD's influences after being taken over by Diaboromon in the past. While not possessing the X-Antibody himself, he's equally as powerful."
"And what about Arylide? Director Jones didn't trust Arylide, and his suspicions proved true, didn't they?"
"To tell you the truth, I didn't trust Arylide or the other Saibatars since they arrived in this world either," he explained. "Per your earlier question, she works with Sorin, not as a subordinate but as an equal."
"That doesn't make sense." I challenged. "I purged the virus out of her with my X-Antibody, so she should be immune to hacking. Why would she be my enemy if she believes this is Eve's intended world?
"Maybe she presumes you're attempting to undo things."
"She's the one who encouraged me to go to AEGIS. Besides, I barely understand what's going on to undo anything."
"Then, at that point, it becomes a question she has the answer to."
I turned to Layla, "What exactly happened? Has she been acting weird since the other day?"
"Until a little while ago, I couldn't tell the difference," Layla admitted. "With my memories back, though, I can say for sure, in hindsight, she seemed to be hiding something. "She went into Omnia just before the attack, and I found myself in this dimension before I knew it."
"Is there any way we can back up Ivan and Axel?" Emily asked, shifting the conversation slightly.
"Unfortunately, we must be patient for a bit longer. Naturally, there's a virus that's jamming entry into Omnia. It's two-way, meaning I can't pull anyone out until it's located and dealt with.
"Dammit!" Nick exclaimed. "I'm so sick of not being able to do anything!"
"I assure you, you all will need your strength to deal with Sorin and his associates. If I were you, I would take advantage of this break. It may be the only one you get.
"You honestly think I can relax at a time like this, with my sister in danger?!"
"I honestly think you should adhere to the advice of someone who's not only older than you but who's been in this fight much longer than you have."
Before Nick could respond, Ace's' voice came back through the coms. "Dr. Morris, you won't believe this!"
"What's going on?" Doctor Morris swung back around to the console. He typed away to readjust the displays, so the screens came back. We all turned our focus to it, and I felt my heart drop into my stomach."
Ivan seemed to have made it out of the forest and into a wide clearing. There he found Morphomon floating in a helix of rainbow-colored binary, similar to how Eve's core would present itself.
"That's Melanie's AI—Eve!" Layla pointed out.
"But what's it doing in the middle of nowhere? Where's Melanie?" Emily added.
"Be careful, Ivan; something is off about it."
"I have eyes, you know," He remarked.
"Now's not the time to be a smart aleck. Be serious—!"
"WHOA!" Ivan rolled over to his side after Morphomon unleased a wave of rainbow energy at him.
"Eve, what the heck?! It's us!" Ace snapped
"BE CAREFUL!" Dr. Morris exclaimed. "Something's very wrong here! Her readings are radical for an AI her size!"
My voice caught as we continued to watch the stream. Suddenly, Morphomon opened her eyes, revealing the same crimson eyes. The rainbow binary turned black with a red glow, following it by transforming Morphomon into Eve's human form. Her hair was jet black with red streaks to match her eyes, and the diamond gown was obsidian in color, with a shimmering red glimmer all over it. In essence, what stood before Ivan and Ace was a corrupted version of the AI I was familiar with.
"What the…? Can someone explain why Eve just turned into Melanie?" Ivan asked, clearly confused.
A quick motion from Eve summoned a Digital Gate above them, and to follow, a helix of ten security formed around her.
Seeing her like this made the memories of her corrupted by MOD suddenly rush back to me. Anxiety erupting in my stomach, I dashed to the console, "Ivan, you have to run! You're in danger!"
"I'm pretty sure 'Evil Eve' here won't let me," Ivan replied, taking steps back. "Best I can do is buy Axel time to find me; then we can take it out together."
"No! Don't be reckless! Ivan!" Dr. Morris supported me.
"DIGI-GATE: OPEN!" Ivan exclaimed, despite our warning. We all watched with bated breath as the two stared one another down and began to battle one another.
"I'll start by hatching Kakkinmon, who'll then digivolve into ToyAgumon!" Ivan began his turn by hatching an orange ball Digimon with face markings and a shield on its head. It then turned into ToyAgumon, taking its stance on his side.
Kakkinmon (BT3-005)
Color: Black
Level: 2
ToyAgumon (BT2-055)
Color: Black
Level: 3
DP: 2000
"Next, I'll play Zubamon. Zubamon, when played, reveals the top 5 cards of my deck and then allows me to add one "RagnaLoardmon" and a "Legends-Arms" Digimon to my hand, sending the rest to the bottom of my deck."
A small Dragonoid Digimon clad in sharp golden armor materialized, following its arrival by revealing the top 5 cards of his deck. Guilmon, BlackGaogamon, and Greymon were among them, as well as a Level 7 I didn't recognize and another Level 4 that looked clad in blue wolf-like armor.
"Nice! I add RagnaLoardmon and TiaLudomon to my hand. The other three go to the bottom."
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Evil Eve)
Evil Eve flicked her wrist, hatching an Argomon in her Raising Area, then digivolving it into a Palmon to begin.
Argomon (BT2-004)
Color: Green
Level: 2
Palmon (ST4-04)
Color: Green
Level: 3
She then summoned Terriermon, the green rabbit dog plopping in the grass and waving at the slighted Ivan.
Terriermon (BT3-046)
Color: Green
Level: 3
DP: 2000
MEMORY
3-0
Finally, she played a Tamer. To my surprise, at least, it wasn't Menoa, her signature Tamer for her deck. The Tamer appeared wearing a big green hat covering his blonde hair, a matching green shirt, and brown shorts.
TK Takaishi (ST3-12)
Color: Yellow
MEMORY
0-2 (Turn Change: Ivan)
"I don't remember having that card when I faced her…" I noted.
Dr. Morris pondered the thought. "It's too early to speculate the change. We have to keep watching to see what other surprises she has in store."
"I love surprises," Ivan chimed. "My move!" Ivan drew. "ToyAgumon digivolves into TiaLudomon; then I play the Double Tamer Izzy Izumi and Joe Kido."
ToyAgumon proceeded to digivolve into that wolf-armored Digimon while a pair of Tamers appeared together. Both were older versions of their regular counterparts, with Izzy wearing a dress shirt, orange tie, and black pants and Joe wearing a hospital uniform.
TiaLudomon (BT3-064)
Color: Black
Level: 4
DP: 4000
Izzy Izumi and Joe Kido (BT6-090)
Color: Black
MEMORY
2-0
0-4 (Turn Change: Evil Eve)
Evil Eve drew, moved Palmon into the Battle Area then played a Level 4 Eosmon. Following that, Menoa followed due to its effect.
Eosmon (BT6-083)
Color: White
Level: 4
DP: 4000
Menoa Bellucci (BT6-092)
Color: White
MEMORY
4-0
"I get the option to play a Tamer, too, huh? Don't mind if I do." Ivan took advantage of Eosmon's effect and played a 2nd Double Tamer on his side. Their colors were slightly altered to tell the difference between them.
Evil Eve ended by playing Takumi Aiba, another White Tamer with red hair, wearing a black and yellow shirt, matching gloves, and goggles. From his hand were faint traces of yellow binary that floated from it.
Takumi Aiba (BT5-091)
Color: White
MEMORY
0-2 (Turn Change: Ivan)
Ivan drew, "Since you have two or more Digimon on your field, both of my Tamers add an additional two memory to my count. Take that, rabbit!"
MEMORY
2-4
"TiaLudomon digivolves into BlackMachGaogamon, and Zubamon into ZubaEagermon!"
TiaLudomon, with the help of the binary shower, transformed into the black Variant of the cyborg wolf Digimon. Meanwhile, Zubamon got on all fours and grew ferocious, the blade on its head extending outward like a horn.
BlackMachGaogamon (BT5-068)
Color: Black
Level: 5
DP: 7000
ZubaEagermon (BT3-010)
Color: Red
Level: 4
DP: 4000
MEMORY
4-1
1-1(Turn Change: Evil Eve)
1-3
"As usual, he's doing a lot of wisecracking and not much else," Emily commentated while Evil Eve's counter reset to 3. "How does he expect to deal with ten Security like that?"
"Knowing him, he has a plan up his sleeve," Layla said, more confident in Ivan's ability.
Meanwhile, Menoa reset the counter to 3 for Evil Eve. She drew, hatched another Argomon, and digivolved it into Wormmon, the green worm Digimon slinking innocently around the Breeding Area.
Wormmon (BT3-047)
Color: Green
Level: 3
DP: 1000
Eosmon then digivolved higher into its Level 5 form. Takumi began to glow, indicating Evil Eve using his ability. She drew an extra card from that.
Eosmon (BT6-085)
Color: White
Level: 5
DP: 6000
MEMORY
3-0
She cast her hand outward, causing the Level 5 Eosmon to go in for the first attack. In her wake, another Level 5 Eosmon materialized. Menoa began to glow, signaling her ability. Three cards appeared from her deck: Zudomon, Eosmon Level 6, and a 2-cost Tai Kamiya. She added the latter two and sent Zudomon to the bottom.
Finally, Eosmon reached its target, destroying Ivan's first Security and revealing a blue-accented gold-plated Digimon with electricity coursing around its body.
"Go for it, RaijiLudomon, take it out!" Ivan exclaimed as it went in for the attack.
Eosmon: 6000 DP
RaijiLudomon: 7000 DP
RaijiLudomon summoned a giant ball of cackling electricity and slammed Eosmon with it, causing the Digimon to burn from the raw power.
Evil Eve ended by playing a Purple Tamer, this time Kari Kamiya. The small brown-haired girl wore a yellow shirt and blue suspenders. She lined up with TK, and the two smiled at one another.
Kari Kamiya (BT4-097)
Color: Purple
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Ivan)
"Her deck is filled with nearly every color…" Nick pointed out. "How is it able to function?"
"In normal circumstances, it shouldn't." Dr. Morris answered, typing away, so the monitor could focus on her briefly. Pulling up data, we were surprised to see her makeup.
100 Card deck with 8 Digi-eggs, programmed to deploy ten shields as an added security measure. In short, illegal in any formal setting sans a two-versus-one format.
Then again, this match is far from formal.
"Whoever did this has no intention of undoing it, let alone anyone else."
"What do they get out of it, though?" I questioned. "Melanie's AI is separate from the other Eve, isn't she?"
"I don't have an answer for that, I'm afraid. It could very well be like the situation regarding Mr. Merlo and his sister here, or this AI has a bigger role to play in all of this."
"You know if you guys keep talking, you're gonna miss the part when I kick the virus out of her!" Ivan spoke, reminding us he was still here.
"I told you not to overestimate her! We still don't know what exactly we're dealing with!"
"I'm not!" He argued. "If anything, she fights just like Melanie, just with more gimmicks. And to that, I say Izzy and Joe grant me Memory!"
MEMORY
3-5
"Now, BlackMachGaogamon moves out to the Battle Area!"
BlackMachGaogamon hovered forward and crossed its arms, with Evil Eve remaining as emotionless as ever.
"Now, BlackMachGaogamon will digivolve into the Beast Knight of the Crescent Moon: CresGarurumon!"
BlackMachGaogamon howled as binary came down upon it like a torrent, converting the cybernetic armaments into gold-plated armor that covered its whole body. A halberd-like weapon materialized for the Digimon, who grabbed ahold of it and swung outward before howling once more.
CresGarurumon (BT3-073)
Color: Black
Level: 6
DP: 11,000
MEMORY
5-1
"When my Digimon digivolves into CresGarurumon, I get to reveal the top card of my deck for each of your Digimon, and then play one black or red Level 5 or lower Digimon from among them. You have Palmon, Terriermon, and Eosmon, so that's three reveals."
CresGarurumon raised its weapon, summoning the cards before them. BlackGaogamon and a golden-armored Digimon designed like a sword were among the three revealed cards, with the last being a second CresGarurumon.
"BlackGaogamon and Duramon to the Battle Area!"
BlackGaogamon (BT5-064)
Color: Black
Level: 4
DP: 5000
Duramon (BT3-073)
Color: Red
Level: 5
DP: 7000
"CresGarurumon, Security Attack! BlackMachGaogamon's IE effect grants CresGarurumon +2000 DP thanks to it having Reboot!"
CresGarurumon: 11,000-13,000 DP
CresGarurumon swung its weapon and leaped into the air, drawing energy from the moonlight. With a sapphire slash, it came down and slashed one of the Securities protecting Evil Eve.
Evil Eve
Security: 10-9
From the Security came yet another Tamer, Izzy Izumi. A younger version of Ivan's Double Tamer, Izzy, had a yellow hoodie and green shorts, a tablet clutched in his hand.
Izzy Izumi (ST4-14)
Color: Green
Evil Eve waved her hand, causing her Kari Tamer to glow purple. The Memory Counter responded by shifting one over in her direction.
MEMORY
1-0
"Another Tamer…Kari's annoying enough, stealing my Memory. Ah well, Duramon, heed my call and become the Strongest Blade: Durandamon!"
Red binary exploded around Duramon, the sword Digimon roaring as it was enveloped in light and morphed into a more streamlined sword Digimon, presenting itself as ferociously elegant with its sword limbs and overall robust stature.
Durandamon (BT3-016)
Color: Red
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
0-3 (Turn Change: Evil Eve)
"CresGarurumon reboots, and the turn passes to you," Ivan told her, signaling Evil Eve to draw.
Wormmon moved into the Battle Area, and yet another Tamer appeared: Matt Ishida.
Matt Ishida (ST6-14)
Color: Purple
MEMORY
3-1
"All these Tamers…" I couldn't help but note. At this point, she was up to six of them. Aside from having an answer for each situation, what did she get from having all these random, cheap—! I realized it as the Level 5 Eosmon went in for the attack, summoning yet another copy of itself and triggering Menoa. The Tamer revealed another Menoa, another Eosmon Level 5, and Win Rate 60%, with her grabbing the former 2.
Ivan
Security: 4-3
"Ah-ha! Security Trigger: Giga Storm to delete Terriermon and Palmon!" Ivan countered, blasting the two rookies away. Evil Eve ignored it, signaling to Matt to activate his effect.
MEMORY
1-2
Finally, she took one card from her hand, and the counter suddenly shifted to 10. All of us were thrown, Ivan included, as Machinedramon, of all things, suddenly materialized on her side, the soulless metal dragon glistening in the moonlight.
Machinedramon (BT2-066)
Color: Black
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
2-10 (Turn Change: Ivan)
"You've got to be kidding me!" Ivan exclaimed as the dragon aimed CresGarurumon and Durandamon
CresGarurumon howled as it gathered energy around it to resist. Durandamon attempted to swoop around as well to counter before it fired. However, it proved ineffective as they were both blasted back and forced to regress down to TiaLudomon and Duramon, respectively. TiaLudomon nearly collapsed from the de-transition, whereas Duramon stood a bit more resilient, only losing one level.
"There's no chance he's gonna win this." Emily pointed it out. "Are you sure there's no way to pull him?"
"I would've done so already," Dr. Morris replied, furiously typing toward a solution. He paused for a second. "What is this...?"
"What happened?" I asked as we all leaned in to see what he was referring to.
Dr. Morris continued to type until he stopped. "Someone opened a back door for me."
"We can pull Ivan out then!" Layla exclaimed.
Dr. Morris continued to type while I looked back on the main screen where Ivan was. Evil Eve drew her attention upward. "I think she noticed."
"Ivan, did you get that? In a few minutes, I'll be able to open a port for you to escape through. Take it as soon as it opens."
"And leave Eve like this? Dad, I can't just—!"
"Boy, listen to me!" Dr. Morris boomed, slamming the console for added effect. "Until we know more about this situation, we cannot assume anything! Once that gate opens, I want you through it, is that clear?!"
We were silent upon listening to that order. Ivan was quiet for a moment, looking as if he was contemplating his father's words.
"I hatch Sakuttomon…"
"IVAN!" Dr. Morris roared.
"Sorry, Dad…but Melanie would kill me if I had the chance to save Eve, and I didn't follow through." Ivan's voice came through as a golden ball with two blades for limbs appeared on his side.
Sakuttomon (BT4-001)
Color: Red
Level: 2
"Sakuttomon digivolves into Guilmon, then Duramon will digivolve into the Crimson Machine of Thunder: BlitzGreymon!"
As Guilmon appeared in his Raising Area, Duramon transformed into a Greymon variant clad in red, armed with two triple barrel cannons on each arm and a pair of electric-generating jet-pack wings that sparked continuously.
Guilmon (P-041)
Color: Red
Level: 3
DP: 2000
BlitzGreymon (BT3-018)
Color: Red
Level: 6
DP: 12,000
MEMORY
10-6
"Next, I play two Blazing Memory Boost Option cards! Each one grants Blitz Security Attack +1!"
BlitzGreymon's appendages electrified as a red aura covered its being. Its wings expanded, and it aimed its cannons while it began to charge preemptively.
MEMORY
6-0
"Triple Security Break!"
The gathered energy erupted, sending two barreling streams of blue plasma toward Evil Eve's security. Machinedramon intercepted, using its back cannons to fire equally powerful orange beams, resulting in a beam struggle.
BlitzGreymon: 12,000 DP
Machinedramon: 11,000 DP
"Not good enough!" Ivan exclaimed. "BlitzGreymon has piercing, so the attack still connects!"
BlitzGreymon increased the output of its weaponry, successfully pushing back Machinedramon's blast and feeding it back into its cannons, causing the Digimon to implode from the energy buildup. The explosion shook the surroundings, Evil Eve's security taking the brunt of the impact.
An Eosmon Level 5 was incinerated immediately, followed by two Tamers. One was Analog Youth, a boy wearing a grey beanie, yellow hoodie, and jeans, and the other was a blonde-haired teen wearing an untucked dress shirt, blue tie, green vest, and black khakis known as Thomas H. Norstein.
Analog Youth (EX1-066)
Color: White
Thomas H. Norstein (BT4-093)
Color: Blue
Evil Eve
Security: 9-6
Analog Youth activated their ability first, revealing three cards from Evil Eve's deck: an Eosmon Level 4, Magnadramon, and Volcanicdramon. Evil Eve took Magnadramon and sent the other two to the trash. Thomas then followed, with Evil Eve drawing a card.
"Now, RagnaLoardmon, it's your turn to—!"
We heard the hesitation in his voice, then saw Evil Eve's Kari glowing. Our attention turned to the counter, and we saw the result.
MEMORY
0-1(Turn Change: Evil Eve)
1-3
"Oh no…" Layla uttered.
"That Machinedramon sealed it," Nick said. "Had it not de-digivolved his Digimon during her last turn, he'd have RagnaLoardmon on the field and would've dealt even more damage, I imagine."
"I'm through!" Dr. Morris exclaimed, slamming the enter key on his dashboard. "Ivan, get ready to jump momentarily!"
"Achieve…Salvation Through…Chaos…!" Evil Eve suddenly spoke.
We all shifted to Evil Eve as she hatched an Argomon into Palmon. She revealed the Option Card Win Rate 60%. The reveal was only made worse by the number of Tamers currently on the field.
Ivan had two, while Evil Eve had eight. That explained her slew of Tamers.
MEMORY
3-1
"Ivan, brace yourself!" I exclaimed as Evil Eve discarded an Eosmon from her hand. She then revealed Eosmon Level 6 and didn't hesitate to evolve it onto one of her Level 5's. That very Eosmon rose into the air and curled itself into a ball, binary forming around it like a cocoon. It grew immensely in size until it finally emerged into the golden butterfly goddess herself, leaving Everyone except me in sheer awe.
Eosmon (BT6-086)
Color: White
Level: 6
DP: 13,000
MEMORY
1-0
Just then, all ten tamers began to glow on the field, and then to correspond, all of the Eosmon building in her trash suddenly appeared as silhouettes; two Level 5s and three Level 4s. The cards all zoomed and infused themselves into Eosmon's blub, giving her six sources altogether.
Eosmon: 13,000-16,000 DP
Ivan was so shocked that it took him a moment to realize that BlitzGreymon was roaring in agony. He spun toward it and found it impaled with a hexagonal disc. Eosmon closed its fist and shattered the disc along with Blitz, the force blowing past Ivan.
Eosmon then looked at Ivan, its eyes glowing a sickly green color. Ivan's Security reacted, Eosmon's eye blast incinerating his remaining Security. None were triggers; all were too weak to save him.
Ivan
Security: 3-0
Evil Eve fixated on Ivan, as did the rest of us. The other Eosmon Level 5 geared up to charge Ivan when the gate finally opened behind him.
Evil Eve swung her arm reactively, casting Eosmon Level 5 toward Ivan.
"JUMP NOW!" We all exclaimed as the same gate opened on our end.
Ivan didn't hesitate to sprint, but Eosmon was faster. As Ivan went to jump, its arm extended and latched onto his ankle, causing him to drop inches from the gate. As Eosmon Level 5 dragged Ivan back, I subconsciously turned to the gate and began to make a break for it.
"Don't!" Dr. Morris stopped me frantic. "The gate can't be reopened! You'll be trapped!"
"We can't leave him, though!" I argued, despite understanding his point.
He wasn't saying this lightly. His expression was clear of that.
What are we to do…?
"DARK ROAR!"
The familiar voice roared through the comms and made my blood run cold. I quickly bolted away from the gate and back to the console, catching the tail end of Ivan's captor being eviscerated by the surrounding darkness. Afterward, the navy-colored cyborg dragon, Darkdramon, landed between Ivan and Evil Eve, causing us to go silent.
It was him. He's alive in this world too…
Ivan took the window and launched into the gate, spiraling out behind us. "CLOSE IT!"
Dr. Morris snapped back into it and sealed it on both ends, giving Ian a chance to breathe. Both Emily and Layla rushed to his aid and helped him to the sofa while Nick remained beside me, watching the screen. Dr. Morris pulled up the area's surveillance data, giving us a different angle of the site. By this point, Darkdramon moved over to Evil Eve, towering over her. Though she stood emotionless, there was a noticeable twinge in Darkdramon's metallic expression.
"Disgusting…"
Darkdramon suddenly took his lance and impaled Eve in front of us. For the first time, emotion exploded on her doll-like face—shock.
"EVE!" I couldn't help but scream.
"Don't even start it, kid!" Darkdramon suddenly scolded, turning his attention skyward. It was like Eve before, making eye contact through the screen. "You know damn well that Eve wouldn't let herself end up like this!"
Due to sheer disbelief, I didn't catch his words immediately. Darkdramon ripped his lance while Eve staggered, holding onto her wounded abdomen. There was no blood but a flow of zeroes and ones from the tear. She stared daggers at Darkdramon as her body began to glitch, and that's when she finally collapsed and dissipated, her core dropping to the ground, carried into the wind by streams of lingering binary afterward.
"If you're going to feel empathy for bugs, then stay out of this mess," Darkdramon said, keeping his gaze locked. "We have enough on our plates as is."
We? "What do you mean by that?"
Darkdramon clicked his tongue, "I'm not answering that."
"Why not?! You know something, don't you? Answer me!"
Darkdramon ignored my cries taking off into the air and vanishing in the night. Losing an opportunity for answers and finding myself burdened with more questions, I screamed as loud and as hard as possible.
No words could describe what I was thinking or how I felt at that moment.
Just…nothing at all…
Dr. Morris dropped me off straight into my room, unbeknownst to my parents. The late morning rain kept my room dark, allowing my body to relax more easily. The house was empty when I first arrived, but I heard the TV in the living room go off at some point. Over time, I listened to the news report of the terrorist attack on SAIBA Enterprise. Dozens were dead, including the AEGIS agents providing security, and many more were missing, including the group of Riverbed Students and Melanie Whitaker. AEGIS is conducting an investigation, but given their track record, what good will it really be in hindsight?
In short, the world was as confused and lost as I was.
Dr. Morris and the others, Nick included, remained in that dimension of his, formulating a plan to save the students, including recovering Megan, Dion, and the remaining Beta Testers. I was deemed in no shape to fight, and I don't blame him for making that decision.
I was a timeless soldier in the body of a seventeen-year-old. Regardless of what I've seen and dealt with, my body is yet another victim of the stress of it all.
"Come on, Darren, pick up…!" I heard my Mother's voice echo.
Like a fish to a hook, I was baited toward the door. I cracked it, hearing my mother leave a message.
"Darren, when you get this…" her voice was shaky. "Listen, Raymond's on his way to get Evelyn from school, okay? I need you to stay right where you are with Zack. I tried going myself, but they're not letting anyone in or out of the building…" She paused and began to cry. I slowly exited the room, finding her at the foot of the staircase all the way at the bottom "…Please answer your phone…" she hung up and broke down. I felt compelled to console her, yet she didn't know I was here. The moment she sees me standing here, she's going to want to know—"
The front door opened, drawing both of our attention. Evie busted through the door like a wet doll in her pink raincoat while my Dad followed behind.
"Yay, half-day!" She celebrated, oblivious to the chaos erupting around her.
"Hey, any luck?" My Father asked my Mother.
My Mother shook her head. "They're not letting anyone in or out of the building. I tried calling but couldn't reach either of them, or Leo, for that matter."
"There's no signal in the building, remember?" My Dad reminded her. "And Leo already has a mess on his hands."
"Don't you think I know that, Ray?!" My Mom snapped. "I'm trying to be proactive!"
"Proactivity and trying to brute force your way into a situation are different concepts! If we couldn't reach Zack last night, what would make today any different?!"
"So you're saying it's irrational to worry about our son?!"
"That's not what I'm saying!"
"He was assaulted yesterday, Ray! His friend was kidnapped, and he was hurt!"
"I understand that. Dakota," He attempted to put her hands on her shoulders, but she swatted him back. "I understand."
"Understand what?" Evie chimed innocently in the middle of their shouting match.
The two adults looked at her, and my father knelt to help her with her jacket. "It's nothing, sweetie; we're just worried about Zack."
"How come?" she tilted her head.
My mom looked hesitant to explain the situation. "Well...Zack got hurt yesterday and had to go to the hospital."
"He did?"
My mom nodded. "They won't let any visitors in, so Uncle Ray and I are really sad. But it's nothing to worry about. Soon enough, Zack will be home safe and sound."
"What do you mean? Zack is right there."
I tensed up. My Dad was the first to look up and his expression summed up the situation. My Mom followed, and what followed was a moment that lasted far too long.
"Zack…?!"
I reactively took a step back. My mind was blank.
As I turned to sprint into my room, I heard the thunderous steps of my parents and Evie charging up the stairs. I had nowhere to run, so I quickly gave up the endeavor and surrendered to them.
Evie tackled me before I could turn around, followed by my Mother's embrace. The three of us ended up on the floor, with my Mother breaking down again and coiling around me like a boa constrictor. It took my Dad to come to break us up.
"What are you doing here?" He was the one to ask. "How did you get here?"
I had two options; either A) I lie and kill this reunion, or B) tell them the truth as I did with Uncle Darren.
"Interdimensional portal." I replied.
My Dad smirked. He thinks I'm joking.
"I'm...not joking, Dad," I said, attempting to be stern. "I can explain, but...you're probably not going to believe me."
"You're our son, Zack." My Mom replied, standing with my father. "Just tell us as best you can."
Evie, wanting to be involved, squeezed between them. Seeing the support in front of me was something I didn't think I needed, let alone ever see. Uncle Darren was also willing to hear me out and empathized with me in the hospital. After trying to come up with the words, I was overwhelmed by emotion and started crying.
Immediately, the family I never thought I'd have, came rushing.
This may not be Eve's intention, but maybe Arylide was right about something...
Maybe having my whole family back is a reward in its own right...
I spent the remainder of the morning giving them the SparkNotes version of everything, as I did with Uncle Darren. My parents were…all right afterward. In disbelief, of course; it's a lot to process. I was careful to omit anything related explicitly to Talbot and Melanie because of our relationship. What I did mention, though, was that Melanie was among the victims of the attack and that I may have a chance to save her and the others.
"Why didn't you tell us any of this sooner?" My Mom asked, clearly the more concerned of the two.
"I didn't know how you would react," I admitted. "Plus, I still don't know much about the situation because it's constantly changing."
"Is there anything we can do to help?" My Dad followed.
"You guys are seriously taking this better than I thought…" I replied, noting the sudden seriousness on their faces.
"It's just…" my Mother began, "…this 'Millennium Day,' you mentioned… I think I may have dreamt about it at some point."
I didn't see that coming. Though, it did harken back to what Dr. Morris explained about the fragments from old worlds building this one. I turned to my Father, who was fixated on Evie, who passed out at some point. I imagine the explanation of her and my Mother dying that day and what he ended up doing to preserve Evie was latching onto him. The pained expression on his face surely indicated that.
"Dad, have you heard from Mr. Whitaker at all today?"
He nodded. "Do you need to talk to him?"
"I do."
My Dad nodded and rose from the couch. "It'll be faster if we go to him. Get your jacket."
I followed his instructions, and after reassuring my Mother that we'd be careful, we were in my Dad's car and pulling out of our driveway…
-xxxxx-
We drove about 30 minutes out of downtown Riverbed and went northward. My Dad explained that the Whitakers' home was up in the woods; a quiet, secluded area where they owned several acres of land. The rain started to wane by the time we left that early afternoon, so When we finally pulled into the driveway, I was quick to take note of the AEGIS-labeled SUV. A sense of optimism filled me, and I quickly jumped out of my Dad's car and up to the front door.
Uncle Darren, sure enough, met us as the door revealed him on the other side.
"You're all right!" I exclaimed, hugging him.
"Save the greetings for later; just get inside." He replied, using his aggressive tone to shoo me into the house.
"Where have you been? Dakota's been worried sick about you!" I heard my Father ask Uncle Darren from behind me.
"Kid, did you tell them?"
"They know," I confirmed.
"Leo and I came here just before things hit the fan," Uncle Darren explained. "That tip you accidentally gave Leo yesterday about Blake led to us making it out." He paused, "Actually, now that I say that, how did you escape?"
"Interdimensional portal."
"…I'll allow it." He replied, motioning his head onward. "Take that door to the left. Leo and Blake are downstairs in Blake's office. They'll bring you two up to speed."
We followed his instructions and approached the door leading to the basement. We could hear the two men conversing amongst themselves, and following the sounds, we came upon a small workshop. Naturally not as grandiose as SAIBA's R&D department or AEGIS' command center, but it was clear that Mr. Whitaker took time to build the multi-monitor setup he had.
"Director Jones!" I called upon seeing him.
Both men turned around to find us reaching the bottom of the stairs. It was good to see that nothing terrible happened to him.
"Zachary," Mr. Whitaker stood from his chair and came over to me. "We need to talk."
His tone was severe. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited, as after coming clean with my family, I felt reassured that things were looking up.
"Is it okay with you guys?" I asked the three other men in the room.
Director Jones gave the OK. "We'll keep monitoring the situation. Don't take long."
We both nodded, and Mr. Whitaker led me back up the stairs and into the kitchen area of his house. As we sat, he took a moment before speaking up.
"The Caretaker has informed me that you've been in contact with him…"
"That's right. And while part of me wants to assume you know about him due to being related to Project Omnia, he mentioned that the inhabitants of this world are potentially fragments of alternate versions of themselves." I replied.
Mr. Whitaker was silent for a moment. He then smiled and rose from the table. "Would you like anything to drink? Coffee, Hot Chocolate—!"
"You're Talbot, aren't you? Or at least, part of you is…"
He didn't answer, reaching into his cupboard for several mugs.
"Did you create Sorin?" I asked, dropping formalities. "Are you trying to re-create MOD? What about Darkdramon? Were you responsible for the backdoor into Omnia? Did you create Darkdramon, and that's why he warned me about Tsumemo—!"
"Did you know that Eve visited me just before I died?" Mr. Whitaker interjected as he filled the electric kettle with water.
I'm not surprised at this point. I watched him as he turned the kettle on, waiting for him to turn back towards me.
"I was chosen as a Pathfinder…despite everything I did to her and what I've done to dismantle what you've built. I was convinced that Trevor's betrayal was justified after what I did to him. So imagine my surprise when she showed me mercy. Yet nothing prepared me for what she did." He finally turned to me. "She stayed by my side until the end, allowing me to see what Melanie would've looked like if I didn't let my ambitions influence me."
His tone was relaxing as the seconds went by. His voice was honest.
Still, that didn't answer my questions.
"So why are you trying to destroy everything? Eve brought you both back; you're happy! Why throw that away by creating Sorin?"
"I had nothing to do with the events that transpired. As you said, Eve gave me a second chance, so why would I throw it away a second time?"
My voice caught just then. "…wait so, if you didn't create Sorin, then…?"
"I never said I didn't. Both Sorin and Eve are products of Omnia. Ivan was correct in his assumption about Eve when she first assaulted him. As for my daughter, she was given the title of "Princess" due to her meeting her AI in that world, as well as her involvement in her study of Omnia. In truth, unlike Babylon and Arcadia, Omnia is not a city, but an entire world exclusively inhabited by Digimon, in a separate dimension from this one. SAIBA Enterprise markets the world as an expansion of the current Cyber City projects. In reality, they're hiding that they've accessed only one confined safe space in an otherwise unexplored alien world."
This sounds a lot like how Arcadia was separated from the outside world. "And how do you know all of this?"
"I keep tabs on my daughter," He answered, shoveling grounds of coffee into a filter. "As I said, I'm not going to throw away the second chance I have, and I'm surely not going to take her disappearance lying down either."
"Okay, so let me get this straight: Sorin took control of the other Saibatars and is kidnapping humans to restore your fallen organization which you claim you have nothing to do with. I got all that so far?"
"Correct."
"So then, why is Sorin trying to bring back MOD? You said that this version of Sorin differed from the one you created."
"It is, but not by much." Mr. Whitaker said, taking the kettle as it finished boiling. As he slowly poured the steaming water over the grounds, he continued. "As you know, Sorin was an AI. My personal AI, when I worked at SAIBA Enterprise. Unlike MOD, I created Sorin not to be destruction incarnate but more methodical in his tactics. I imagine that the AI itself lingered after my death, unbeknownst to any of you, likely plotting for an opportunity to resurface. As for how it managed to end up in this reality, it is as big a mystery as Omnia itself. I wouldn't be surprised if Eve knew and kept that fact hidden from you."
"At this point, neither would I. The longer I spend in this world, the more secrets I learn about her. Nothing thus far makes any sense, and the parts that do seem more fantastical than the nonsense."
"You sound like Melanie," he chuckled, setting the kettle down. "Forever skeptical about the illogical and otherworldly. Of all people, I'm surprised you are taking all of this as hard as you are."
"I've seen and dealt with a lot while you were dead."
"And yet you've let an AI with a bad fashion sense get into your head and cause you more stress than a young man like yourself should go through?"
I didn't have an answer. He just then finished pouring brewed coffee into each of the mugs.
"I apologize if I'm coming off a certain way, but as a parent, we have a knack for knowing what our children can and can't handle, and sometimes we can see it in other children as well." He picked up the tray and turned. "You can handle the situation. You have the power to fix this. The Caretaker has shown me what you've done in your world and what you've done in mine after my passing. Presumptuous as it may be for me to say, Eve has entrusted the future in your hands. Don't let Sorin or anyone else dictate otherwise."
It felt weird to be getting a pep talk from Talbot. However, it was genuine. Truly, genuine.
"If that's the case, and she did entrust this reality to me…then to save my friends and preserve what's left, I need your help."
"I'm willing to do anything to save my daughter." He replied. "You have my word."
I nodded in agreement. "All Right…"
"Let's go to Omnia."