Chapter 16: Will
Chapter Text
Kari had spoken with Ken, Yolei, and Cody on the phone, while T.K. was consulting with his brother. The latter was not currently in Tokyo, but promised to come to him. However, he asked that Sora and Joe be left out of it. They currently had their own problems and as long as the situation did not come to a head, they should not be brought in. It would be impossible to keep it from Mimi anyway, Yolei chatted with her almost daily.
T.K. told him that they had a meeting with Izzy today. Matt would probably not be able to join them because he was still on the road. This was fine with his little brother, he could inform him about everything afterwards.
He picked up Kari with the car and together they drove to his company. By now, it was no longer a problem to bring their Digimon with them, the employees of the company were used to it. As they entered the hallway to the office, they were met by Ken and Davis.
"Izzy is still having a conversation with the Public Safety Office. We'll wait until then," Ken informed them, while Wormmon crawled onto his shoulder.
"They should know something about this guy, shouldn't they?", Kari interjected.
Davis shrugged.
"If they do their job, probably. But I wouldn't rely on it, those guys are pretty lame."
Kari's gaze turned angry.
"Hey, don't forget that my brother is also one of them."
Davis backed down.
"Oh... him of course not! That goes without saying!"
Finally, the door was opened and a somewhat more groomed Izzy stood before them. Had he been up all night?
"Hey guys. Come in.", he yawned and let the DigiDestined into his office.
They followed, their Digimon crawling after them. Izzy closed the door again and let them into his personal area. To their surprise, someone was already sitting there on a comfortable swivel chair.
"Hello guys! Long time no see.", greeted them another DigiDestine.
"Onii-chan!", Kari was surprised.
Agumon also jumped up and greeted his Digimon comrades exuberantly.
Patamon snuggled up to the little dino.
"Hey, buddy! How was it in the Fragment World?", he asked.
Agumon let his shoulders sag.
"It was bearable. Even though I could have done without seeing Apocalymon again.", he replied.
Especially Patamon, Gatomon and Tentomon could empathize with that.
"Tai, what are you doing here?", Davis asked now.
The DigiKnight put on a smile.
"What kind of question is that. When my friends are in danger, of course I immediately get on the next plane and come!"
T.K. smiled.
"You mean, you jumped into the next gate and took a shortcut via the Digital World.", he corrected him.
Tai was caught.
"Well, better than wasting tax money. The Public Safety Office supports it when I travel this way. The Department of Digital Threat Prevention doesn't have the biggest budget."
Izzy sat down now.
"It should, though. I'm constantly recommending that they increase their budget. Instead, they pass most of the costs on to me. You have to talk to them."
Tai showed himself rather passive. Since he was still young, he did not dare to get involved in such matters.
Ken ventured to speak now.
"You spoke with Yamada-san, didn't you? Does he have any news?"
Tai's face became more serious.
"Yes, I spoke with the Authority for Digital Threats. It was quite difficult, but finally they understood that they have to give us something.", he revealed.
He reached into his jacket and pulled something out. It was a photo. It showed three people, men.
The others took it and recognized two of them first. The one on the right was Nishi, still without a beard. And the one in the middle...
"Oikawa!", it burst out of Ken.
His friends nodded. The pale man in the middle was the man who had created Mummyon and Arukenimon.
Izzy confirmed it.
"Yes, Yukio Oikawa. And the man on the left is Hiroki Hida."
Davis swallowed.
"You mean, that's Cody's father?"
There seemed to be no doubt about it.
"Hida, Oikawa and Nishi worked for the same company. They left it at different times, but we assume that they still had contact with each other afterwards.", Tai spoke.
Kari understood.
"That should prove Nishi's story. He began to create a place where the Digimon could live at the urging of Cody's father."
Izzy grumbled.
"This Nishi must be one of the smartest people on our planet. Writing a program that leaves physical boundaries behind and grows into its own dimension."
T.K. put his hand to his chin.
"What did he say again? Atoms are data and data are atoms at the same time."
Izzy crossed his arms.
"Basically, that's correct. But Nishi seems to be able to manipulate reality on a quantum level. Be it matter or simple data."
Tentomon hit his hands over his head.
"That's terrible! What can he do with all that?"
No one could give him an answer to that.
"He wanted us not to enter the DigiWorld anymore. He said he had things to do there and didn't want to be disturbed.", Davis remembered.
Gatomon clenched her paws into fists.
"We have already experienced villains who wanted to reshape the Digital World to suit them. And we stopped them all."
Veemon agreed with her.
"Yes! We have to stop him before he does something unforgivable again!"
Izzy sighed and then looked at a friend.
"Tai. Do you want to tell them?"
Everyone looked at him, but he was visibly uncomfortable.
"No, I can't. I've been sworn to silence.", he confessed.
Davis didn't quite understand.
"Silence? What are you talking about? If you know more about Nishi, spit it out."
Both T.K. and Kari called his name loudly, which made him fall silent.
Tai apologized immediately.
"I now work for the Public Safety Office. I am subject to certain rules. I am not allowed to give information to civilians."
Ken put Wormmon aside and turned to him.
"Civilians? That's what we are to you?"
Tai sighed.
"No, that's the official definition. You don't have clearance. Besides me, only my direct superior is allowed to receive this information that Yamada gave me. There's nothing I can do about it."
Davis grumbled.
"And your new, great job is more important to you than our safety?"
Once again, he was reprimanded.
"Believe me, I'll talk to my superior. I'll convince him that you need to know the info. The conversation will take place in a few days."
Kari seemed surprised.
"So you're staying for a while?"
Tai confirmed it to her.
"At least a week. Possibly longer, if Nishi really turns out to be a threat."
T.K. seemed satisfied.
"That's good. My brother is also on his way. You two are still our strongest fighting force.", he reminded them.
The others agreed with him, even though they didn't want to go into battle against a human.
Tai got up and walked towards the door.
"Then I'll raid Izzy's cafeteria first. In New York, Agumon and I have only been able to munch on burgers.", he said goodbye.
Agumon staggered after him and he left the office.
"I'll try to soften him up some more.", Kari assured them.
The others hoped that she would succeed. They needed to know as much as possible about their new enemy. That could be decisive.
Tsubasa was at Shun's house for the first time. She knew Takeshi's house from before, but Shun's family seemed to be a little wealthier. He had mentioned that his father was a doctor and his mother a lawyer. And his brother was studying, but she had forgotten what. There must be an enormous pressure on the boy. He had to live up to his family's expectations. Tsubasa knew this feeling all too well. Ever since the events at his company, she had not spoken to her father again. She would have liked to live up to his expectations, but that was simply not possible.
Shun had led her into his room, where Koemon was already waiting. It seemed to be taking care of its slingshot, apparently expecting a deployment soon.
Shun asked her to take a seat while he got drinks for her. Takeshi was still holding the small crystal in his hands, which was still annoyed that it hadn't been able to do anything against Nishi.
"As Clearmon, I would have shown him!", it said in a trembling voice.
His partner himself was not so sure. It was the aura that this Nishi radiated. He seemed completely confident in his abilities. And he seemed to have no weakness.
Shun returned and put down the drinks.
"Thanks for coming. I'll get right to the point. I've done some research and actually found out something about this Nishi."
His friends listened attentively.
"In programming circles, he's a legend. No one can compete with his codes."
Tsubasa grumbled.
"He programmed a parallel dimension of his own, I can believe that."
Takeshi looked at his partner.
"And who created the Digimon, albeit indirectly. That comes pretty close to a god."
Shun laughed.
"Hardly a god. He wouldn't be interested in his created beings. But you've seen what he did to Takutoumon."
Takeshi and Tsubasa agreed with him.
"And? Have you found out anything else?"
Shun nodded.
"Most people only know him from the net. He doesn't seem to attend conventions or conferences. I've only found one person who has talked directly to him."
Tsubasa looked at him expectantly.
"And? What could he say?"
Shun twisted his lips.
"This Nishi is said to be not very sociable. But we've made that experience ourselves. He has the same regular pub and supposedly Nishi shows up there at least every other day for lunch."
Takeshi got up and clenched his fists.
"Great! That would give us a clue. We should set off for this pub. Even if we don't find Nishi there, the employees or guests there might be able to give us clues about him.", he suggested.
His friends hesitated, however.
"Then we should also inform T.K. and the others. If he were to attack us, we wouldn't stand a chance."
Takeshi understood him, but did not yet want to involve the older DigiDestined. It was still only a vague suspicion, they had no confirmation that Nishi would be there, or that the information was even correct.
"We can always contact them if we come across something."
His friends agreed and prepared to leave.
Shun was the only one who was carrying a backpack. Hebimon had coiled around Tsubasa's wrist as usual, and Prismamon was currently so small that it could be carried around.
The pub in question was located in Ginza, none of the three had been here before, at most on the way through. So it took a while to find their bearings. Finally, they discovered the pub and entered the interior. It was not particularly crowded and getting an overview was easy. Nishi was not here, but they had not expected that much luck. They decided to ask the employees about him and therefore introduced themselves as his nephews and nieces.
However, these were not sure if they knew Nishi. If so, he had not made an impression on them so far. Finally, the three had to give up and left the pub again. They had just stepped onto the street when someone crossed the pedestrian crossing and approached the building. As soon as he had arrived on the other side, he stared at the DigiDestined.
Tsubasa immediately pointed at him.
"There he is!"
Indeed, Nishi had appeared in front of them. He still visited the pub. His face showed what he thought of the ambush. Immediately, he turned around and strolled down the street.
Takeshi and the others did not want to let him escape. They caught up with him, but Nishi simply increased his pace.
"Wait a minute! You still owe us some answers.", Shun insisted.
Takeshi held the crystal Digimon up high.
"And turn Prismamon back!"
Nishi sighed.
"It'll do that on its own. And now leave me alone."
The three, however, had no intention of doing so. Only when they reached a courtyard and Nishi saw no way out did he turn around.
"So you don't intend to leave me alone?"
The middle school students exchanged glances.
"We don't even know what it's all about! Explain to us what you're planning to do with the Digital World!", Shun demanded.
Nishi let his head hang.
"Oh man. All right, if you leave me alone afterwards, I'll do you the favor."
The DigiKnights listened attentively. Even if passers-by had come by now, they would not have done anything.
Nishi ran his hand through his hair once more and began.
"It's not just the DigiWorld. I also plan to get rid of this world here.", he revealed.
Uncertain looks followed.
"This world here... what do you mean?", Tsubasa wanted to know.
Nishi's eyes looked tired and his face sluggish.
"This world is just as broken as the Digital World. No matter if atoms or data, the sequence of events is always preprogrammed. That... makes me sick."
Takeshi raised an eyebrow.
"What do you mean? You can do whatever you want!"
Nishi bored into his ear and grumbled unhappily.
"No, obviously not. In both worlds, prey animals and predators exist. The prey animals can't do anything but frolic in their cage and look for food. And wait to be eaten. And the predators can't do anything but constantly hunt them and then eat them. And everything repeats endlessly."
Takeshi positioned himself in front of him.
"We are not prey or predators. We are humans!"
Nishi shrugged.
"It's the same thing. You fight against evil Digimon and sooner or later you will be defeated by them. That's the cycle. And normal humans work, eat, sleep and can't do anything but wait for their end to come. That's why humans and Digimon are the same. I... have failed. When I created the DigiWorld... I failed. It was supposed to become the perfect world, but I failed."
Shun frowned.
"You failed? What was your goal, actually?", he wanted to know.
Nishi looked as if this should have been obvious.
"I planned to create a world without a cycle. Where everything stays as it is. A world of absolute peace. Even my attempts to change the Digital World... have failed. Yggdrasil, the homeostasis... even my partner wanted to prevent me from doing so."
Takeshi swallowed.
"If they wanted to stop you... that means you had something bad in mind with it, doesn't it?"
Nishi shrugged.
"I told you. Both worlds are too damaged to be repaired. That's why I have to erase them and start all over again."
Tsubasa's eyes widened.
"Start all over? You mean... play God?"
Nishi did not react to the comparison.
"Would you... actually be capable of that?", Shun wanted to know.
Nishi closed his eyes briefly.
"Not yet. I can now control atoms and data at will. But not yet on a cellular level. I still need something to make it possible to create a perfect world."
Takeshi thought about what he could do.
"And this world... a world without a cycle? So complete stagnation? Is that what you want?"
Nishi shook his head.
"No, the opposite of stagnation. Stagnation is the plague of humans and the Digital World. I'm talking about infinite potential. Imagine a book with infinite pages. A story that is so exciting that you can follow it forever. That will be the world I will create."
Now Shun also ventured closer.
"And... what will happen to the humans? The Digimon? And all the other living beings?", he asked a legitimate question.
Nishi avoided his gaze.
"They... will have to give way."
Takeshi could not believe it.
"Give way... you mean, you want to kill them all? That's what it means to erase both worlds!"
Nishi took a deep breath.
"There's no other way. The old dies and the new is created. That's the cycle I was talking about. But don't worry. In the new world I'm aiming for, this cycle will finally end."
Anger rose in Takeshi.
"Do you really think we would allow that? That you destroy everything? Do you think we wouldn't stop you?"
Nishi gave him a pitying look.
"No, you're not capable of that. You're prey animals and can't do anything but wait. That's the sad reality."
Of course, the boy did not want to accept this. He stormed forward to give Nishi a slap, but he only raised a finger.
Suddenly, Takeshi could not move anymore. He remained in his position as if he were completely paralyzed.
"Ver...damn...", he just managed to get out.
Nishi now turned to Shun and Tsubasa.
"Your friend doesn't understand. I am able to create infinite potential. I will show you."
He stretched out his hand to Shun, but before he could react, he had already placed his finger on his forehead.
"Your brain has an impairment, right? In my world, there will be no more slavery by nature."
Shun felt a sting in his head and recoiled. Koemon had to support him. Then Nishi was suddenly standing in front of Tsubasa.
"You suffer from the fact that you don't have the body you would like to have, right? In my world, everyone will be able to feel comfortable."
Hebimon shot forward, but the man simply knocked the snake away. Instead, he used his abilities on the girl and she felt that it glowed for a moment. Then she too lost her balance for a moment.
Nishi returned to Takeshi and also placed a finger on his forehead.
"And you? What is your wish? I can fulfill it for you."
But Takeshi did not seem to want to hear anything about it.
"From you... I don't want anything!", he growled.
Nishi nodded and understood. He turned around and walked straight towards a wall. The DigiKnights watched as he walked directly through it as if it were merely air. As soon as he had disappeared, Takeshi's condition seemed to normalize and he tipped forward.
Shun and Tsubasa were quickly by his side and helped him up.
"That bastard! He'll regret this!"
Now the crystal began to glow and became Prismamon again.
"Takeshi! Let's not let the guy get away!", it decided.
The DigiKnight was glad to have his partner back in his old form.
"Good! He can't be far away, we should be able to catch him!"
But the looks of his friends spoke volumes.
"Takeshi... I don't know. I feel how I can remember so many more things all of a sudden.", he revealed.
The boy looked at his friend.
"And I... don't feel certain things anymore, if you understand what I mean.", she tried to smile.
Takeshi clenched his fists.
"So what? Have you let yourselves be taken in? Just because he did something for you? You've heard what he's planning? He wants to destroy our world and the Digital World! That doesn't matter at all!"
His argument was valid, but from the look on his friends' faces, Takeshi could see that Nishi had managed to gain their sympathy. That was probably another way to defeat the enemy.
"You know what? Forget it. Prismamon and I will take care of it ourselves. You go back to Davis and the others and tell them. Agreed?"
Shun and Tsubasa nodded hesitantly.
Takeshi cursed and ran off with his partner.
"Shun... what should we do now?"
The boy with the glasses let his head hang.
"Takeshi is right! Nishi wants to sacrifice our world to create his own. We can't let him do that."
The girl nodded thoughtfully.
"I know. But even though he helped us?"
Shun objected.
"Takeshi is absolutely right. That was only to lull us. And it doesn't matter if our world is really destroyed. Think of all the others."
Tsubasa agreed with him. Hebimon, who was now climbing up her again, spoke up.
"Tsubasa, please! Not only the human world, but also the DigiWorld is in danger. We have to hurry and stop him!"
Her partner's words finally convinced her. They decided to split up and look for Nishi. They took a different direction than Takeshi, which increased their chances.
Tsubasa took the path along the river.
"Tsubasa, you have to run faster if you want to catch up with him!", Hebimon urged.
The girl apologized and picked up the pace. But her partner already suspected that she was no longer sure about the situation. Finally, she stopped completely.
"It's no use. He's probably already over the hills. What would he want at the river anyway? Certainly not to swim."
Hebimon suddenly raised his head and hissed.
"Tsubasa! Over there! Up ahead!"
She looked at a bench by the river and couldn't believe it. Nishi was actually sitting there as if nothing had happened.
She took a step forward, but then stopped.
"Maybe... we should get the others."
Hebimon looked at her pleadingly.
"Tsubasa! We don't have time! You can contact them, but we have to act before he disappears again! Tsubasa, believe me, he is not our friend! Quite the opposite."
The DigiDestine knew that her partner was completely right. Nishi wanted to manipulate her and Shun, she couldn't allow that. The two of them walked towards the man, who finally noticed them. He stood up and sighed.
"I had hoped to convince you."
Tsubasa pointed at him.
"What do you mean, convince! You still want to sacrifice our world, right?"
Nishi nodded.
"Unfortunately, there is no other way."
Tsubasa struggled with herself.
"My family... my friends... do you really think they are more important to me than I am?"
She held up her DigiVice and Hebimon prepared himself.
"Hebimon digivolve to... Julungumon!"
Nishi showed no reaction. The big snake in front of him didn't seem to be a threat. It was only when it attacked that he swung his finger to the right and hurled Julungumon into the river.
That made Tsubasa really angry now.
"Leave my partner alone!"
He was back on land and ready for a second round.
"Julungumon super digivolve to... Sandiramon!"
Sandiramon attacked with an acid attack, but Nishi simply teleported himself a few meters back.
"If you can't understand the big picture, I can't do anything about it. I'm going to leave, we probably won't see each other again."
But Tsubasa didn't want to let him go that easily.
"No way! We won't let you go!"
Nishi grumbled unhappily. So he raised his hand and pointed at a bridge above him. Tsubasa had to watch as it deformed and hung in the air. Fortunately, there were no pedestrians on it at the moment.
"What... what is he planning?"
She got the answer faster than she would have liked. The bridge took on a new shape, namely that of a huge, black snake. It plunged into the river and let out a loud roar.
"Tsubasa! He turned the bridge into a Digimon!"
The girl couldn't believe it. The guy was capable of something like that.
"I'm out of here. ChaosSeadramon here will keep you busy for a while."
Following him was out of the question. The sea snake immediately pounced on the enemy in front of her. Sandiramon was just able to dodge. The water splashed all over the bank and left Tsubasa in wet clothes.
What should they do now? Wait for Takeshi and Shun? The two of them couldn't have gotten that far away yet, they must have heard the roar. But the problem was that not far from the bank were residential buildings. The artificially created Digimon seemed to be a berserker with not a single thought in its head. Only one, the one that Nishi had probably implanted in it. Namely, to take care of its pursuers.
Sandiramon launched an attack against ChaosSeadramon, but it now coiled around and sent the enemy into the river with its tail.
"Sandiramon! You have to be careful, you're not a match for him in the river!"
Her partner was able to swim, but had to admit that the DigiKnight was right. The enemy was incredibly agile in the water. It dived under and swam under Sandiramon. Then it surfaced and snapped at the prey.
Tsubasa had to watch helplessly as her partner ended up in the monster's mouth and was in danger of being swallowed. Sandiramon fought against the monster's stable bite. It used a poison attack, which caused some damage. But that only helped temporarily.
"Tsubasa... please... I need more power!"
The girl hesitated. More power? From her? What could she do here? She even hesitated whether Nishi was really the enemy. How was she supposed to support her partner if she couldn't even believe in herself?
"Tsubasa!"
Sandiramon called her again.
"Who... do you want to protect?"
The DigiDestine paused.
She watched as her partner continued to resist ChaosSeadramon's bite. It wouldn't be able to hold out much longer. That just couldn't be true. It didn't matter at all whether Nishi had helped her or not. Right now, only her Digimon was important.
"Hebimon! I want... I don't want to lose you!"
Her DigiVice lit up again and just at the right moment Sandiramon began to transform.
"Sandiramon mega digivolve to... Mervamon!"
Her partner was now much smaller, but that allowed it to escape from the monster's mouth. ChaosSeadramon bit its own tongue and retreated.
Tsubasa was amazed when she saw Mervamon.
It had now taken on human form. It was a beautiful woman with a bone helmet. While one of her arms was now a snake, she held a magnificent red sword in the other. Tsubasa couldn't help but admire her.
But the enemy gave them no respite. ChaosSeadramon's mouth was ready to bite again, but Mervamon also stretched out her snake arm, with which she blocked the attack.
"Time to finish you off, monster!"
Mervamon now took her sword in hand.
"Last sword throw!"
She attacked the sea snake's neck and severed it with a single blow.
ChaosSeadramon roared before it began to turn into data.
Tsubasa almost cheered. Mervamon landed in front of her and her partner threw her arms around her neck. However, she did not fail to notice that Mervamon had also undergone a development in her chest area.
"Uh... Tsubasa?"
She released her again.
"Great job!"
Mervamon smiled before she digivolved back to Hebimon.
She slithered up her partner while Tsubasa recognized two figures in the distance.
Takeshi and Shun came running over and asked if everything was okay. Tsubasa was fortunately only a little wet.
"I'm sorry, I let him get away. But Hebimon digivolved and protected me."
Shun grumbled.
"It's okay. We probably wouldn't have been able to stop him anyway. Not even the three of us together."
Takeshi looked up.
"Hey... wasn't there a bridge up there a moment ago?"
Tsubasa tried to put on a smile. She wondered what the residents might think. But that was not a problem they could take care of now.
Shun suggested they return to his house. On the way, they got some dry clothes for Tsubasa so she wouldn't catch a cold.
As they sat on the train, she stared out the window.
"We're going to stop Nishi, aren't we?"
Her friends nodded seriously.
"Yes. Together with the other DigiDestined. Because besides us, no one else is capable of doing it. I guess... that's what it means to be a DigiDestine."
