Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The air was cold and still. Light wisps of fog clung to the ground as a cool wind blew through the trees.

The quiet, deathly stillness was then broken by the sound of cracking glass, followed by an unearthly, inhuman scream.

There was a crackling noise, almost like static, as the trees began to flicker in and out of existence.

The server’s defenses were failing.

Suddenly, a girl emerged from the trees and ran. The wind whipped through her long black hair, held in place with a pair of bright yellow goggles.

As the girl ran, she looked around at the landscape. The sky was an eerie shade of lime green, with dark clouds rolling in from what looked like a giant crack suspended in midair.

The girl narrowed her eyes. If she looked a little closer at the dark clouds, she could almost see individual hordes of dark Digimon pouring in from the crack. Bright flashes lit the sky, as the few Data and Vaccine Digimon left in the server engaged them in combat.

The girl quickly looked away, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. There was no time to wish them luck, no time to hope for their safety. With the server’s defenses down, it was only a matter of time before they would all be destroyed.

Unless she could do something about it.

The girl finally reached her destination – a plain gray building nestled within a grove of weeping willow trees. As she slipped inside, she passed a sign written in large, gold letters.

Fujiyama Server Master Control

She sprinted down a long hallway, and skidded right into an open elevator door. She slammed a palm onto the button for the basement floor and caught her breath as the elevator slid closed. As the elevator came to a stop, she ran out and into a wide, open room with a single computer terminal in the center.

“Computer!” the girl yelled, stumbling over to the terminal and pushing several buttons. “Activate AI profile!”

“Unable to comply. AI profile damaged,” the computer replied in a neutral voice, “Estimated repair time: 25 cycles.”

The girl slammed a fist on the terminal’s surface. “Damn!” She looked around frantically, then started typing out long strings of commands. Without the AI, she would have to do everything herself. And she was running out of time.

A large map of the Digital World appeared on the computer screen. Large swaths of land glowed a menacing red color, while only a few areas glowed a cooler blue.

The girl stared back at the computer in horror. Just a few cycles ago, there had been over 208 networked servers in existence. All of them clean. Now, only two of them had escaped infection: Marianas and Fujiyama.

And Fujiyama was dying.

She shut her eyes and took a deep breath, willing herself to calm down, and tried to think of all her options.

After a long moment, the girl opened her eyes. Making her decision, she turned toward the computer terminal.

“Computer!” she said in a clear voice. A sad, defeated look appeared on her face. “Begin evacuation procedures.”

“Evacuation protocols loaded.”

“Start up the profile backup system.”

“Administrator-level access code required.”

“Code 198181.”

“Access code accepted. State your name and designation.”

The girl took a deep breath, and gave her name and designation. Outside, the sounds of explosions echoed through the control room walls.

“Program identification verified,” the computer replied, “Stand by for full identity scan.”

The girl closed her eyes and relaxed as a bright, pale-blue beam washed over her. After a moment, the beam disappeared.

“Identity scan complete. Compiling backup data-”

There was a crackle, and the voice suddenly stopped. The girl looked at the screen in surprise, seeing a blinking message.

Voice synthesis off-line.
Converting to text-based commands.

The girl swore under her breath. She typed in a long string of commands, and another message showed up:

Compiling backup data. Please wait.

“Hurry up…” the girl murmured in desperation, squeezing her eyes shut.

The racket outside the control room grew even louder. Explosions occurred more often, and the room began to shake with them.

A loud beep issued from the computer, startling the girl. She looked up to see another notification blinking on the screen:

Data backup complete.
Beginning data upload.
Fujiyama Server >>> Marianas Server

Under the message was an upload bar, increasing at an agonizingly slow rate.

The door suddenly burst open, as scores of virus Digimon clawed their way inside the control room, screaming and howling. They circled the girl and the computer terminal, watching and wondering who would make the first move.

The girl stared back at them calmly, throwing a sideways glance at the computer screen as the upload bar steadily increased.

98%. 99%. 100%.

Upload Complete.

The girl acknowledged the message with a slight nod, then focused her attention back to the Digimon surrounding her.

“You want to take over?” the girl shouted in a cold, steely voice, “Go right ahead!” She took a couple of steps toward the dark horde, palms shining with a strange, white light. “But I won’t let you have this world without a fight!”

Chapter Text

It was the last day of school before the summer. The air was hot, sticky, and full of tension as the students anxiously sat through a last-minute history review and waited for the bell to ring. Akira Mitsuishi slumped over her desk, trying hard not to fall asleep while the teacher droned about past events.

“…And the creation of ENIAC and ABC in the late 1940s led to a slow but steady increase in the number of operations computers could do, from simple number crunching to more complex calculations,” the teacher recited, typing commands on her terminal. The whiteboard at the front of the room flickered as text and picture slides appeared. “For the next three decades, computers continued to increase in prevalence, and more and more jobs and processes became automated. Technological advancement continued for the next few years afterward. At least, until the greatest catastrophe in modern history occurred-”

Akira sighed. She’d heard this lesson thousands of times and it was getting boring. Why do they keep on telling us this stuff, she thought, when everyone knows it? She settled down and closed her eyes…

She was walking in a forest with colored leaves. A cool breeze blew and lifted them from their branches. Akira smiled as their colors reflected in the sunlight and laughed as they brushed against her cheek. Another voice laughed along with her. She looked behind her and saw…

“Mitsuishi!”

Akira popped out of her trance and looked up at the teacher’s puzzled face.

“Were you asleep?” The teacher looked at her, slightly amused.

“N-no!” Akira stammered, “I was just daydreaming.”

The teacher smirked. “Well, try to pay attention. I know you already know this, but that doesn’t mean you can just go off into your own world!” A few students laughed and snickered.

Tian Shu, Akira’s best friend, shot a questioning glance at her. Akira looked back at her and mouthed the word later, then leaned down again, propping her head up with her hands.

The teacher continued, as if nothing had interrupted her. “The world was devastated as a result, as all of you know. Everything was in such a bad state, and it took the ingenuity of countless organizations and governments to help us all rebuild. The most important organization of them all was-“

Akira sighed again, and tried to block out the teacher’s droning. Everyone knows this, she thought again. They all teach the same stuff over and over again. Can’t we learn something different? Isn’t there anything else in the past worth learning about? The present is boring enough… She sat quietly, reluctantly listening to the teacher roll off more dates and events, and hearing some of the kids whisper things behind her back.

“In addition to that–”

The teacher was interrupted by the ringing of the bell.

“Oh, well…” she said, as students quickly got up, “That’s it for today. Don’t forget to write your term papers, on the global progression of technology with ITI after the Great Shaking of 2019. They’re due at the start of second term – no excuses!” With a few keystrokes on her terminal, she wiped her data off the whiteboard, and a new set of text quickly took its place:

July 30, 2069

Odaiba High School, Class 1-1

Classes have ended for Term 1.
Term 2 will begin September 1, 2069.

Akira got up, relieved, and packed up her things. When she got out of the school building, she pulled out a pair of yellow and blue goggles from her bag and put them on. They clashed with the navy blue and white uniform she had to wear for school, but she didn’t care. Tian ran over to her, wearing a yellow and black baseball cap with the brim turned backwards.

“Hey, what happened?” she asked, “You never fall asleep in the middle of class!”

“I had that dream again,” Akira replied with a puzzled look, “you know, the one about the colored forest and that mysterious laughing voice. Every time I try to see who it is, I wake up. I almost found out today, but…”

“The teacher woke you up,” Tian finished. “You haven’t had that dream in months. Why did it come back?”

Akira shook her head slowly. “I don’t know.”

Tian noticed her friend’s uneasiness, and steered the conversation somewhere else. “Are you going to play that new Digital Adventure game?”

Akira frowned a bit. “I don’t know. My dad got a copy of it for me last week. Everyone’s crazy about it, but I don’t quite understand why. The whole object is to just wander around with a monster and fight other monsters, right? It sounds kind of boring.”

“They’re not ‘monsters,’ Akira,” Tian said, laughing, “They’re Digimon.”

“Same difference.”

“They’re creatures made of computer data that serve as your partners and are programmed to fit your personality,” Tian quoted, “That makes it easier for you to win battles together.”

“Or so the game says,” Akira added with a smirk.

Tian laughed. “Yeah. But it actually is pretty interesting from what I heard – you can create your own character and pick any Digimon you want, you can choose to complete different missions or goals, and you can link up and play with people anywhere on Earth! That hasn’t been done in a long time, if what our teacher says is true.”

Akira looked at her thoughtfully. “Well, maybe I’ll give it a try sometime.”

Tian smiled. “If you want, we could play together online during vacation. Are you going anywhere this summer?”

Akira hesitated for a moment. “I’m going to America to see my mom.”

Tian looked back at her, shocked. “You’re what?”

“I got a call from my mom last week,” Akira murmured, “She wanted me to visit again.”

“How long has it been since your parents split up?” Tian asked.

“At least nine years,” Akira answered, “Mom left when I was seven, and this’ll only be the second time I’ve visited her. The first time was a year ago.” Her expression slowly turned sour. “Sometimes I think back on it and wish I didn’t go.”

“You never did tell me what it was like over there,” Tian said quietly, “Did something awful happen?”

Akira looked away, and didn’t speak for several moments. Tian looked back at her uneasily. This wasn’t the first time she had asked that particular question, and Akira had always given her the same answer.

“I don’t want to tell you,” Akira finally replied, “You don’t need to know.” She looked at Tian seriously. “You don’t want to know.”

“All you ever told me is that you would never go back. That you hated it.” Tian stopped suddenly and slowed down. “And then…” She almost whispered. “And then, there was that freak accident you had right after that-”

“No one said it was an accident!” Akira said sharply. She stopped walking and closed her eyes, her face darkening. “It was just something that happened that I can’t remember…”

Tian sighed. “Sorry… I shouldn’t have brought it up…”

They walked for a while without saying anything, then Akira spoke up.

“So…” she said tentatively, trying to break the silence, “Where are you going for vacation?”

“I’m going back to China to visit my relatives.” Tian replied, and saw Akira look up, surprised. “Yeah,” Tian added, “One of my cousins emailed us last week. She said that the time was right to go back, since the government’s more lenient now, and a lot of the fighting has stopped.”

“That’s wonderful,” Akira replied, smiling. “You haven’t been back in years.”

“I don’t know. It’s not like I’d remember anything… I was only five when we were evacuated,” Tian remarked, frowning. “Mom doesn’t want to go back just yet, but she’s insisting that I go, so at least my aunt and uncle will know the two of us are still alive.” Now she was scowling, as if she wasn’t looking forward to it at all.

“Well, I hope you have a good trip.” Akira felt troubled and confused, but still managed a smile.

“You have a good trip, too!” Tian smiled at her, then turned, waving. “I’ll be seeing you!”

“Bye…” Akira waved back, slowly. She walked home in silence for a while. When she finally reached her house, she was about to make her way across the yard when a voice rang out from nearby.

“Yo!”

Akira’s heart sank. She recognized the voice – it belonged to the one person she did not want to talk to at the moment. She sighed, and continued to walk through her yard, pretending not to hear.

“Hey, Akira!”

Akira walked more quickly, refusing to answer.

“I know you hear me, so stop ignoring me!”

Akira stopped dead, and she clenched her fists. She whipped her head toward the voice.

“What do you want, you moron?!” She turned to face a boy with sharp blue eyes. He was dressed in a normal high school uniform, except for the bright blue sweatband tied around his spiky black hair.

The boy frowned at her. “I do have a name, you know. Why don’t you use it once in a while?”

Akira scowled at him. “Seita Kazama,” she recited, “My annoying next-door neighbor, the resident clown of Class 1-1, and the biggest moron in all of Tokyo.”

Seita’s frown got bigger. “Not cute.”

Akira smiled sweetly. “And neither are you.”

Seita huffed in annoyance. Then, after a moment, he gave her a wicked smile. “Have you played Digital Adventure yet?”

Akira stared at him warily and shook her head. “No.”

“Well…” Seita said slowly, “It’s really hard to play. You’re constantly being ambushed by Digimon stronger than yours, and you can die pretty easily, so it’s impossible to advance.” He smiled at her smugly. “I’m not sure you could handle it!”

Akira stared at him dully with an eyebrow raised. “Oh, is that so? And what about you?”

Seita looked at her proudly. “Well… I’ve always been better than you at fighting. A video game is no different!”

Akira scowled. “Moron…” she muttered.

Seita couldn’t help but smile at her.

“Seita,” A small voice rang out of nowhere, making Seita jump and look around. A little girl with short black hair and blue eyes smiled up at him.

“Yuka…” Seita said faintly, “When did you- How long were you-?”

“Just now,” Yuka replied, “Long enough to see how goofy you looked!”

“Yuka,” Seita hissed, the beginning of a scowl on his face.

Yuka laughed. “Just kidding.” She looked up at Akira and giggled.

Akira smiled back. Yuka was Seita’s little sister, but somehow, she usually came across as more of an older sister instead.

“Seita,” Yuka spoke up, “there’s something I think you should see.”

“Huh?” Seita answered clumsily, “What is it? Is the game working now?”

Yuka nodded, smiling infectiously.

Akira looked at Yuka, then at Seita. “You only just installed it, didn’t you?” she asked, laughing.

“No, I didn’t!” he answered sharply, “She’s lying!”

“Seita!” Yuka piped up.

“What?!”

“Come back inside and look at the game. You’re not going to believe this!”

Seita stared at her, confused. “Believe what?” he blurted out, when Yuka suddenly tugged on his arm. “Hey-”

“You have to come see it!” Yuka said excitedly, dragging him back to their house. “It’s so weird!” At the same time, she looked back at Akira and winked.

“Akira!” Seita called out, “Help!”

Akira laughed, “Have fun, moron!”

“Moron to you too!” Seita shouted back as he disappeared into the house.

At that, Akira walked toward her own house and went inside. She entered the house quietly, making sure not to bother her grandmother, who was sleeping in a nearby room. She finally reached her room, threw her bag on the bed, and changed out of her uniform. Then, she reached under her bed and pulled out a mostly-filled suitcase.

She was about to pack a small, silver laptop inside when her eyes lingered on a small box sitting on her desk. She picked up the box and studied it for a moment. It was small, and had the words “Digital Adventure” printed on it in glittering script. As she looked at it, she remembered what Tian and everyone else had said about it.

Curiosity overcoming her, she opened the box and pulled out a small disc. She turned on her laptop and inserted the disc in the drive. Moments later, an installation program started up.

After a few moments of installing, an error message appeared, blinking and with bright red letters.

Installation has been interrupted by an outside source. Please abort this operation and try again.

Akira frowned. “An outside source?” she asked softly, “A virus?”

But before she could do anything, the error flickered and disappeared as suddenly as it came. The installation program kicked in again, and finished with no more errors.

Akira stared at the screen, puzzled. “Now that was strange…” Then, the opening screen appeared.

“For many cycles, the Digital World lived in peace. As time went by, the inhabitants of this world, the Digimon, flourished and grew.

“But then, armies of evil Digimon attacked, and the Digital World was plunged into an era of perpetual darkness.”

“And now, only one hope remains for the future... you. Together with your Digimon, your task is to protect the Digital World and its inhabitants from the evil clutches of the Midnight Army. Good luck!

As the introduction ended, the screen flickered, and a menu took its place.

Customize your character’s appearance.

Immediately, the screen changed before Akira could do anything.

“Huh?” she exclaimed in surprise, “Why-” She was interrupted as another menu took its place.

Choose the Digimon you want as your partner.

Akira frowned as she looked at the Digimon available. “They don’t have a lot of Digimon to choose from…” she murmured. “Weird.” She took a closer look. “Let’s see… Gazimon, Patamon, Salamon, Guilmon, Renamon, Terriermon, Lopmon… no, not any of them…” She looked at the last one, a cute little gray bear with a purple cap. “…Kodamon…” A strange feeling came over her as she stared at the Digimon’s image. Her mind wandered for a moment…

She was in the colored forest again, with the laughing voice getting louder and louder…

Akira shook her head. “That’s funny, why would I think of that dream at a time like this?” She moved the mouse, clicked on Kodamon, and waited a moment.

The screen changed again, showing what looked like a bulletin board.

Choose the mission you wish to complete.

Under the message was a box listing the missions available to play. There was only one available:

Mission # 201981: Defeat the enemy Digimon armies and unlock the power of the Digivices.

Akira laughed quietly to herself. “They’re really not giving me a lot of choices now, are they?” she murmured, clicking on the mission number.

Then, her game character showed up on screen as the mission introduction played. She looked up at the screen and gasped. “What-?”

The character on the screen had violet eyes and long black hair. A pair of yellow and blue goggles was on her head, and she was wearing a red and violet T-shirt, dark blue jeans, and blue and white sneakers – the exact image of Akira herself!

“My character looks just like me! But... how? I didn’t even do anything to it!” Akira swallowed nervously and started playing the mission. There were some times when Kodamon would talk to her, and Akira would type in her responses. After winning their first battle, Kodamon turned to her and smiled.

“This game is so strange…” Akira whispered. “It’s almost like it’s real…”

A few hours later, the summer assignments she had to do for school lay forgotten in her bag, and she was still playing the game. She knew she was really supposed to finish packing for her trip the next day, but for some reason she just couldn’t stop playing.

“Akira!” a voice suddenly called from behind her bedroom door, followed by a knock.

“Yeah?” Akira reluctantly turned away from the screen.

The door opened, and her father walked in. “Hey. How was your day?”

Akira scowled. “Boring. Nothing but reviews for stuff we don’t need to remember for weeks!” Her expression brightened. “How was it for you, at school? Did anyone try to hack the computer systems again?” Her father was a computer science professor at the local university, and was one of the guys everyone talked to if a computer broke down on campus.

“Oh, no. Nothing like that happened today.” He laughed. “Just lectures. Boring stuff.” He looked at what she was doing. “I see you’ve started playing that new game,” he added, indicating the view on her laptop screen.

Akira nodded.

“It’s very addicting, from what I’ve seen of it. You should have seen some of my students – playing it on their laptops while pretending to listen to my lecture!” He laughed, and Akira laughed along with him.

“Are you all packed for tonight?” he asked.

Akira nodded. “Almost. There’s just my summer assignments and my laptop left.”

He nodded. “All right, then.” He was silent for a moment, then spoke up again. “You feeling all right about your trip?” he asked, “Excited?”

Akira looked down and didn’t answer.

Her dad frowned. “It’s still a big adjustment for you, huh?” he asked, “Having to fly back and forth across the ocean to visit each of us?”

Akira’s face remained expressionless. “I just wish Mom didn’t have to live so far away,” she said finally. “And I still wish she hadn’t taken so long to tell us she got married again and had another kid.” She looked up at him, painfully. “Mom left when I was seven, and I didn’t even know about Kei until she was seven! And Touma-” Her voice faded and she looked down again. She didn’t want to talk about Touma.

Her father put a hand on her shoulder. “I know you’re still upset. I was too, when after seven years she finally contacted us and told us how she was. But, since you’re starting to visit her more often now, there should be enough time for you two to iron things out, right?”

Akira shook her head. “It’s not just that, Dad,” she explained, “I really do want to see Mom and Kei again. I love them. But… I just don’t want to keep living over there for such a long time. I like it better here, with you and Grandma.” She sighed. It wasn’t even half of what she really wanted to say, but under the circumstances, it would have to do.

Her dad seemed to take it. “Your mom did mention a couple of times that you were getting depressed over there,” he replied, “That’s why we decided later on that you’d go only on summer or winter breaks. Just a month.”

“Yeah…” Akira murmured, but her mind was buzzing. Depressed? she thought, You have no idea.

Her dad sighed, and patted her on the shoulder. “It’ll be okay.” He looked up at the clock. “Go to bed early, okay? Your plane leaves pretty early tomorrow morning, and you wouldn’t want to scare everyone off the plane with your sleepyhead face!”

Akira glared at him in mock-annoyance. “Dad!”

He laughed. “I’m kidding!”

When her father left the room, Akira turned back to the game and continued to play.

The next morning, after breakfast, Akira’s grandmother went up to her room to check on her.

“Akira? Are you ready to go-” she started to say, then stopped when she saw Akira in front of the computer. Again.

She sighed, and walked closer to her granddaughter. She glanced at the action on the computer screen, seeing a clip of a bear-like Digimon firing an energy punch. Then, she looked at Akira herself. Her gaze lingered on the yellow and blue goggles resting on Akira’s head, and the calm, determined look on her face as she watched the computer screen.

Seeing that, a strange, distant look appeared on the old woman’s face.

The sound of a digitized explosion startled her out of her musings. She glanced at the computer screen one more time, then thumped Akira on the shoulder. Akira gasped and almost jumped a foot in the air from surprise.

“Akira,” her grandmother said, a bit too calmly, “Are you ready to go? It’s getting late!”

Akira looked at the computer clock and blinked. “Oh… okay,” she said, clearly distracted. She turned off the game and the laptop. “Just let me pack this first.”

“What has gotten into you this morning?” her grandmother replied sternly, “Your flight leaves in three hours, and you’re not even done packing?”

“Grandma-”

“You do realize how long it takes just to drive over to the airport from here, right?” her grandmother interrupted, “Now, if you’d like to actually get on your plane today-“

“Grandma!” Akira almost shouted, “I know!”

There was silence in the room, as her grandmother stared at her in surprise.

Akira sighed. “I’m sorry. I guess I’m just a bit nervous, that’s all.” She finished packing in her laptop, pulled her suitcase off the bed, and slung her backpack on her shoulder. “I’m ready.”

“Well, don’t just stand there,” her grandmother clucked, pushing her out the door. “Let’s get going!”

The moment she exited the house and got to her father’s car, Akira was startled by a familiar shout.

“Hey!”

Akira turned around to see Seita jogging over to her. “What?” she answered, irritated.

“Where are you going?” he asked, staring at the suitcase in her hands.

Akira shot him an annoyed look. “America,” she answered crossly, pulling up her suitcase and plopping it in the trunk.

“America…?” Seita said faintly. Then he groaned. “Akira, why do you never tell me when you’re leaving? You did this last time, too, and I spent three weeks looking around for you until your dad finally told me you left!”

Akira stared back at him, incredulous. “Seriously? I didn’t think you’d care!”

Seita’s jaw dropped. “What do you mean, you didn’t think I’d care?” he spat out, “Of course I c-” His eyes suddenly widened and he quickly shut his mouth.

Akira fought the urge to laugh at him, instead settling for an almost-smile. “I didn’t say anything because I was afraid that if I did, you’d take it upon yourself to follow me there and annoy me every chance you could!”

With that, she closed the trunk and walked to the front of the car.

“Oh, come on!” Seita shouted as she turned away, “As if I had the money to go all the way out there!”

“Goodbye, moron!” Akira sang out, shutting the car door.

“Moron to you too!” Seita shot back, glaring. As the car drove away, his glare turned into a look of disappointment.

Fortunately, they made it to the airport just in time, and Akira had time to say goodbye.

“Goodbye,” her dad said, hugging her and shuffling the top of her head, “Have fun, and see you in a month!” Akira smiled. She went over to her grandmother and said goodbye, giving her a hug, then picked up her backpack. She was about to leave when her grandmother stopped her.

“Akira, wait!”

Akira stopped and looked at her. “What is it?”

Her grandmother hesitated, then replied, “Be careful. Please. Try not to get into any trouble, and if anything strange happens, keep a clear head. Don’t do anything stupid.” She hesitated again. “You understand? Promise me that.”

Akira looked puzzled. “Um, sure. I promise. But I’m going to be fine. Don’t worry so much! Nothing bad’s going to happen to me.” She smiled. She walked a few steps, turned around and waved, then disappeared into the crowd of other passengers taking the same flight.

Her dad and grandmother watched and waited, and when the plane finally took off, her dad spoke.

“What was that all about, Mom? You sounded as if she would disappear or drop dead when you’d least expect it!”

She laughed gravelly. “You and your witticisms. But really, something bad is going to happen soon. I can feel it.”

Akira’s dad frowned. “You sure? You’re probably just overreacting because of what happened to her the last time she left.”

“No, no. It’s nothing like that. My intuition.” Her face darkened. “I’m telling you, something’s wrong.”

She looked up at the plane fearfully, watching as it grew smaller and smaller, disappearing into the sky.

Chapter Text

Half a world away, on the east coast of the United States, Mana Saitou was on her front porch, the large bench she sat on swinging lazily under her. It was a hot, quiet summer evening. The Florida sun was just beginning to slide under the treetops.

Mana sighed and closed her eyes, rocking back and forth slowly. The summer so far had been rather uneventful. Her thirteenth birthday had been two weeks earlier, but aside from that, Mana had done nothing but clean house, read, or watch TV. Or sit on the porch and sleep. Summer vacation was almost over, and if it weren’t for camp and a couple of other things to look forward to over the next few days, she would be bored out of her mind.

“Mana!”

Mana’s eyes snapped open, and she quickly looked up to see a boy just about her age, with sandy blond hair and light blue eyes, on a bike stopped just in front of her house. The bored look on her face suddenly disappeared. “Jun!”

“Hey!” Jun answered, smiling and waving. He looked like he was out of breath.

Jun Aikawa was Mana’s best friend. They had known each other since they were little and had lived in the same city for years.

Mana hurried down the porch to meet him, with a curious look on her face. “What happened? You look like you raced straight from your house!”

Jun laughed hastily, still taking deep breaths. He lived on the other side of town from Mana, and it usually took more than twenty minutes for either of them to visit each other, even on bikes.

“I just wanted to show it to you,” he replied, indicating something in his backpack.

“Show me what?”

“You know,” he replied impatiently, “Digital Adventure! It just came out in the stores today! I stopped by the game shop after lunch, and they were almost out of it, but I was able to get one of the last copies they had!”

Mana looked at him skeptically. “But that was hours ago. Why were you hurrying now?”

Jun smiled. “I found out something incredible about this game. Something you wouldn’t believe!”

“Uh-huh…” Mana said dryly. “It’s only a game.”

Jun looked back at her, exasperated. “It’s not just any game, Mana! It’s the first game to work completely online in fifty years! Ever since-“

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Mana interrupted, grabbing his hand and pulling him toward the house. “Come on, let’s go in.”

Inside, Mana’s mom was busy cooking dinner, and looked up to see the two kids walk by. “Hi, Jun!”

“Hi, Mrs. Saitou,” Jun answered.

“You staying over for dinner tonight?”

Jun smiled. “Sure, if it’s all right with you.”

“Of course!”

“Thanks!” Jun answered, then followed Mana up the stairs to her room. Along the way, Jun peeked into a darkened room with a desk and chair, with walls lined with books. A model of a naval aircraft carrier sat on the desk.

“Is your dad back yet?” he asked.

“No,” Mana answered, “Not yet. He’s not scheduled to come for another couple of days.” She looked a bit down, but then she brightened. “But at least I’ll get to see him again, even if it’s after we come back from camp, and he won’t have another assignment until next January! He’ll be able to stay with us for almost four whole months!” she cheered, twirling around the room. “Isn’t that wonderful!!”

“Yeah.” Jun smiled, happy for Mana. Her father was in the Navy, and he was often away from home for months on end. Mana missed him terribly whenever he was away.

Mana plopped down on the floor, where Jun was setting up his laptop. “So, what’s this ‘incredible thing’ you’ve found out?”

“You’ll see.” He started the game, loaded his file, and the game immediately picked up where he left off. He turned the laptop toward her. “Look at my character. Take a really good look.”

Mana looked, and she had to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. “That’s… you!” she exclaimed, “The game can make your character look like you?”

Jun smiled. “Apparently. But look at this-” He pulled out the instruction manual, flipped to a page, and handed it to her. “Look at ‘Character Customization’.”

Mana stared at the figures printed on the page, and looked back at the screen. “These don’t look anything like you! At all! Not even if you tried mixing everything up!”

Jun’s smile got bigger. “Exactly.”

“How did that happen?”

Jun shrugged. “Don’t know. It just happened, right after I chose a Digimon. I didn’t even get a separate screen to choose how I wanted my character to look like! And there weren’t that many Digimon to choose from, even though the book said it was over a hundred.”

Mana was silent for a moment, then she spoke up. “Can I try it? I wonder if the same thing will happen to me.”

Jun thought a moment. “I guess you could. There should be an option to add another character… here!” He clicked on an icon, and a menu with Digimon showed up.

Mana stared at the screen. “They’re only eight Digimon here,” she said slowly, looking at Jun.

He didn’t look very surprised. “Pick one!”

“Which one did you pick?”

Jun looked a bit embarrassed, then pointed to a small orange Digimon. “Patamon.”

Mana laughed. “Aww! You two look cute together!”

Jun looked very uncomfortable. “Shut up…”

Mana laughed again, and moved the cursor over another Digimon right beside it. “Then I’ll pick this one. Salamon, because it seems like the two of them belong together. Don’t you think so?”

Jun was staring at the floor. “Uh… I guess so.”

When she clicked on it, the screen dimmed, and another character was immediately added to the playing field. Mana examined it, and was completely baffled.

“Whoa! The character’s me, and I didn’t even do anything to it!”

“That’s what I was saying!” Jun exclaimed.

“Has it happened to anyone else?”

“No, not that I know of…” Jun thought a moment. “But let me check.” He quit the game, went online, and started typing in an address.

“What are you doing?” Mana asked.

“Going to AraNET.” AraNET was a popular social media site. He continued to type for several minutes, then wait, then type again. Mana didn’t say a word. Then, finally, they had an answer.

“Just one person,” Jun answered, reading off a recent post, “A girl up in D.C. - the same thing happened to her.”

“That’s it?” Mana replied indignantly, “Only three people out of millions?”

Jun shrugged. “I guess so.”

Mana smiled. “Oh well. That makes us special. It’ll be fun – just as if we were really there!”

Jun laughed. “Thirty minutes ago, you said it was just a game.”

Mana just stared at him.

Jun shook his head in defeat. “Whatever.” He started up the game again. “So, care to join me?”

They played for a while after that. At least, up until dinnertime.

“You sure you’ll be all right going home this late?” Mana’s mom asked a few hours later, “Do you want me to drive you home?”

Jun shook his head. “No, it’s okay.” He looked at his watch. “Dad should be coming home any minute now.”

Mana blinked. “He’s working awfully late nowadays, isn’t he?”

“Well… yeah,” Jun replied hastily, “He and the rest of his research team at NASA have been up to their necks in work, ever since they sent another crew to the Moon ten days ago.”

Mana’s mom smiled. “A hundred years since the first Moon landing… I don’t think any of us will ever forget this one!”

Jun nodded. “I guess not.”

“Is your mom home yet?”

“No… she’s still up north, at Langley,” Jun smiled a little. “Test piloting. She’ll be back in about three weeks, though.” He looked at them again, then got on his bike. “I guess I’ll be going.”

“Be careful,” Mana’s mom replied.

Jun nodded, then turned to Mana. “I’ll come back tomorrow, if you want. I’ll bring the game, too.” He smiled at her as he moved away. “See you tomorrow.”

Mana smiled back. “See you.”

Meanwhile, further north, Akira finally arrived at an airport in Washington, D.C., and was greeted by her mother.

“Akira!” her mother exclaimed, her face breaking into a smile.

Akira smiled at her faintly. “Mom…”

“Welcome back,” her mother said softly, pulling Akira into a hug. Akira hugged back, a little clumsily.

Her mother sighed, and quickly let go, as if she had somehow sensed the uneasiness between them. “How was the trip?”

“Okay,” Akira murmured.

An awkward silence emerged between the two, as neither mother nor daughter said anything.

“Akira!” A small voice rang out through the station, breaking the silence.

Akira turned in the direction of the voice, only to be nearly knocked right over. She looked down to see a little black-haired girl clinging onto her.

The little girl looked up and giggled, her bright blue eyes twinkling.

Akira’s expression brightened. “Kei!”

Kei grabbed Akira’s hand and pulled her away. “It’s good that you came back, Akira!” she said cheerfully, “I missed you so much!”

Akira smiled at her. “I missed you, too.”

“I have something cool to show you when we get home!” Kei said cheerfully, “Just wait!”

As they left the airport, Akira caught her mother’s eye. They stared at each other for a moment, and remained silent.

Everyone was silent during the drive home. Akira sat in the front seat, her face expressionless. Her mother glanced at her.

“You’re doing well with your father and grandmother?” she asked.

“We’ve been doing fine.”

Her mother fell silent for a moment, then replied, “I guess it’s no coincidence that you happened to come back for a visit when Touma’s out on his trip.”

Akira’s face darkened. “I didn’t want to upset him by visiting too early,” she said, “You know we’ve never really gotten along.” You have no idea, she thought bitterly. We hated each other, and I only agreed to come because he wasn’t here, and I could forget what happened and be happy with you and Kei. Why did you have to mention him? I don’t want to remember! Akira clenched her fist and shut her eyes.

“Are you okay?” Kei looked at her with concern.

Akira took a breath and turned to her. “Yes,” she smiled at her, “I’m fine.” The car slowed to a halt in front of the house. “Come on, you said you wanted to show me something. You can when I finish unpacking.” They got out of the car, ran inside the house, and raced up the stairs to Kei’s room. While Akira unpacked, Kei booted up her computer and started a game.

“You’re playing Digital Adventure, too?” Akira asked, deciphering the English script with difficulty.

Kei nodded. “Yeah! But wait till you see this!” She pointed at the character on the screen. It was a little girl with short, black hair and blue eyes. She wore a red shirt, blue capris, an orange vest and gray and white sneakers – Kei’s exact mirror image!

“Wait… That’s you, isn’t it?” Akira was shocked. “That happened to me, too! Look!” She opened up her laptop, started her game, and showed her.

“Weird!” Kei exclaimed, “They even have your goggles right! What Digimon did you pick?”

“Kodamon. How about you?”

“Terriermon.”

Akira thought a moment. “And you picked mission number-”

“Mission number 201981,” Kei answered, “It was the only one there!”

Akira frowned. “Weird.”

“It is weird,” Kei answered, “I talked to a lot of my friends about this, but it was completely different for them. They said they could make their characters look like anything they wanted to, and they could choose from over a hundred Digimon, and they could play at least ten different missions!”

“I know, the same thing happened with me. Are you sure there aren’t any others who have this problem?”

Kei thought a minute. “Come to think of it… yeah! There were two people in Miami who said so when I was looking at AraNET earlier today. They were the only ones, though.”

“Maybe it’s just a glitch,” Akira replied. “Maybe it happens in a random number of game discs or something…”

She was interrupted by a message flashing on her laptop screen.

Fellow Encoder in Range.

“Huh?” Akira exclaimed, looking at the screen. The message soon disappeared, and a new character showed up on the playing field.

The new character was a girl with blue eyes and short, dark blue-black hair. She wore a light pink hoodie, light blue jeans, and gray sneakers. A yellow and black baseball cap rested on her head, pulled backwards.

“Tian…” Akira whispered, shocked.

“Your friend?” Kei asked.

Akira nodded. “It looks exactly like her.” She watched as an image of a Renamon appeared next to Tian.

Then, a message from Tian showed up:

“Akira?”

Akira stared at the message, wondering what to say. Then she typed,

“Who else?”

A few seconds later, Tian replied.

“I knew it. I knew I wasn’t dreaming!” There was a pause, then she added, “That little girl with you – that’s your little sister, right?”

“Yes,” Akira typed back.

“What do you think happened with us?” Tian asked, “No one else I know has this problem!”

Akira and Kei looked at each other. Kei shrugged, looked back at her computer, and typed,

“Does it matter? It’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened!”

Akira looked back at her skeptically. “Kei…”

“Well, it is, isn’t it?” Kei shot back.

Suddenly, another message flashed on the screen.

Fellow Encoders in Range.

“More of them?” Kei asked, eyes widening.

This time, four new characters showed up on the playing field.

Two characters looked very familiar. One was a boy with blue eyes and black spiky hair with a blue sweatband. He wore a blue and white shirt, blue jeans, and blue and white sneakers. He had Gazimon as a Digimon partner. The other character was a little girl with blue eyes and short black hair, wearing a pink T-shirt, blue overalls, and pink and white sneakers. A Lopmon hovered beside her.

Akira laughed a little. “Yuka and Seita the Moron,” she murmured, remembering their conversation before she left, “Of course!”

Just then, a message from Seita showed up:

“Finally caught up with you! You’re not going to beat this game without me – I won’t let you! I won’t let you out of my sight!”

Akira scowled and banged out her reply:

“MORON!”

Seita’s reply came immediately:

“Moron to you too!”

The other two characters weren’t familiar at all. One was a boy with a Patamon. He had light blue eyes and blond hair, and wore a sea green and white T-shirt, brown pants, and green and white sneakers. The other was a girl with a Salamon. She also had light blue eyes, and had long brown hair in a pink headband. She wore a white hooded tank top, light blue dress, and white sneakers.

Akira glanced at everyone’s usernames, which strangely showed normal first names instead of Internet handles, and found two that looked unfamiliar. “Jun… and Mana.”

Then, a message from Jun showed up:

“Nice to meet you!”

“This is awesome!” Kei exclaimed, “We’ve got a whole army of Encoders!” She paused to type in another message.

“Let’s get going!”

Akira laughed and saw a few evil Digimon show up on the playing field. “I guess we’d better start!”

The longer they played, the more time seemed to slip by unnoticed.

“Tian!”

Tian glanced behind her, startled. “Auntie…” she said faintly, rubbing her eyes with her arm. “What is it?”

Tian’s aunt looked sternly at her niece’s crouched form in front of the laptop. “It’s lunchtime! Get something to eat!”

“But I can’t!” Tian answered, “I’m still playing, and I’m not hungry yet!” She turned back to the laptop, stifling a yawn.

Her aunt shook her head and sighed. She looked at Tian again, concerned, noticing how many times she yawned and rubbed her eyes, trying not to fall asleep at the monitor. She knew that Tian had been playing for most of the day before, and possibly through most of the night, making up for the enormous time difference between her and her friends.

“Kids these days…” she muttered under her breath. She placed a steaming bowl of rice by Tian’s feet. “Eat,” she said loudly, “And then get some rest. You’ve been staying up too late!”

Tian didn’t answer. She was too busy focusing on the screen.

“Akira! Kei! Go to bed! It’s already late!” Their mother was exasperated.

“But Mom, I’m not sleepy yet. By Tokyo time, it’s only a few hours after breakfast!” Akira pleaded.

Her mom rolled her eyes. “Okay, you can stay up a bit longer, but Kei, you go to bed!”

“Awww!” Kei wailed, “but Mom-”

“No buts!”

Kei lay in bed and sulked until she fell asleep. A few hours later, she woke up again and noticed the night lamp was still on. She rolled over and saw Akira at her laptop, shadowed by the faint light. She looked at her bedside clock.

“Akira!” she called loudly, “It’s past midnight! Go to bed!”

Akira whipped around. “Shh!” she hissed, “Not so loud! Do you want Mom to wake up?” She sighed. “Okay, okay, I’ll go to bed!”

“About time…” Kei answered sleepily.

Akira smiled. “We’ll start playing again first thing tomorrow. Go back to sleep.”

Kei lay down again, and when Akira thought she had fallen asleep again, she spoke up.

“Akira?”

“Yeah?”

“How far do you think we’ve gotten today?” Kei asked sleepily, “Do you think we’ll finish the mission? It seems like it’ll never end, and we’ll have to keep playing and playing forever.”

Akira looked toward her laptop. “I don’t know. We’ve done so much, but it seems like we’re getting nowhere. But it has to end sometime, right?”

She was answered by a light snoring.

She smiled tiredly, shut off her laptop, and curled up in her sleeping bag, looking up at the ceiling and thinking of the next day.

“What do you mean, we’re playing an impossible game?” Mana demanded, after lunch the next day.

“I posted a couple of questions on AraNET earlier, and after reading most of the replies, there were a lot of things that made no sense at all,” Jun explained. “We’re playing a mission that doesn’t exist, with character and Digimon settings that don’t exist. We have characters that look just like us, but are impossible to create with the game’s character models. We each have one of only a few Digimon partners when normally, the game would let us choose from much more… and none of these Digimon are supposed to exist in a normal game.”

Mana nodded. “Go on.”

He was silent for a moment, then continued. “Also, in a normal game, players can choose missions out of a list of ten, with mission numbers ranging from 1 to 100, and with more than 10,000 people playing each mission at any given time. We only got one mission to play, with a mission number much, much higher than 100, and there are only seven people playing it!

“Do you want to stop playing, then?” Mana asked blankly, staring into space.

Jun opened his mouth to speak, then stopped. He glanced at the computer screen, watching Patamon moving around and smiling at him.

“No,” he answered finally. “I think we should play just a little longer.”

Meanwhile, Akira was in the middle of an overseas phone call with her dad.

“Everything’s just fine over here,” Akira said, “I’ve been doing nothing but sleep and play games with Kei all day.”

Her dad laughed. “It’s nice you’re having a good time. Your grandmother hasn’t been herself since you left – she keeps bugging me to call you all the time and make sure you’re all right.”

Akira sighed. “Well… I’m fine. Tell Grandma that she doesn’t need to worry.” She leaned against the wall, listening and looking at the microwave clock in the kitchen. “I’ll be fine. Like you said, it’ll only be for a month…”

Her voice faltered as she took a double take at the clock. The digits were scrambling wildly. Flashes of electricity lit up the inside of the microwave. She glanced around, and saw that several of the other kitchen appliances were acting just as strangely. The lights began flickering on and off.

“Akira?” Her dad’s voice crackled through the receiver, “You still there?”

“What?” Akira replied abruptly, turning her attention back to her cell phone. “Yeah, I’m okay.”

“I-” The phone immediately went dead.

“H-hello?” Akira stammered into the phone. “Hello, Dad?” The call had been cut off.

“That’s strange…” she murmured. She looked around, but all of the appliances seemed to be working normally again.

She slipped her phone into her pocket just as Kei let out a shout upstairs.

“Kei?” Akira called, “Something wrong?”

No one answered.

“Kei!” The strange occurrence in the kitchen was banished from Akira’s mind as she hurried upstairs and opened Kei’s door.

Kei was sitting at her computer. At the sound of the door opening, she turned to face Akira with a funny look on her face.

Akira let out a breath. “Kei, you scared me!” she said, “What happened?”

Kei turned back to the computer and pointed. “This.”

Akira looked at the screen, then, she shook her head and blinked. “Huh?”

It was a Digimon, but it was very different from any they had ever encountered. It covered more than half of the computer screen, and was a menacing patchwork of multiple Digimon.

“What the…?” Akira whispered.

“Seita…”

Seita turned to face Yuka, still staring at the terrifying sight of the Digimon. “Yeah?”

“I don’t like this,” she whispered fearfully, “It feels wrong!”

“Yuka,” Seita replied, much too calmly, “It’s only a game. It’s not real!”

Yuka swallowed and looked away from the monster on the screen. “I don’t feel like playing anymore.” Her voice trembled.

Mana and Jun gaped at the menacing Digimon. “That looks worse than everything we’ve beaten put together!” Mana spat.

“I don’t know about you,” Jun said faintly, “but this looks awfully like a boss battle to me. An impossible boss battle!”

Akira and Kei only had about five seconds to think before the monster began its deadly attack. It was very powerful – stronger than any of the other Digimon they had fought. Akira and Kei were having a difficult time keeping their Digimon partners from getting damaged.

To make matters worse, other things started to happen, and at the worst possible time.

A couple of minutes into the fight, two Digimon, Gazimon and Lopmon, suddenly slowed down to a complete stop. Their human counterparts promptly disappeared from the map.

“Huh?” Akira blinked and did a double take at the map. “What on earth-“

Suddenly, Renamon froze and Tian’s character disappeared.

“What’s going on-” Kei started to say, until she was interrupted by both Patamon and Salamon freezing up and their human partners vanishing.

Akira stared at the screen fearfully, realizing that their two Digimon were the only ones left standing against the monster.

“This is not good…”

Seita and Yuka stared in shock at the frozen game screen, where a small window had appeared on the monitor, showing a broken connection.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Seita sprang up, dug through a nest of wires behind the computer, and unearthed a white box with blinking lights.

“Reset the router!” Yuka said frantically.

“I’m doing that, but it’s taking forever!” Seita snapped.

“Kids,” their mother said, poking her head into the room, “The net company just called. There’s an outage in the neighborhood until 11 tonight!”

Seita and Yuka looked toward her in horror. “Eleven?!” Seita shouted.

“Such horrible timing, I know,” their mother replied, shaking her head, “I guess the next episodes of my K-dramas will have to wait!”

“Damn it!”

“Seita! Language!”

An annoyingly loud bleep erupted from Tian’s laptop, promptly snapping her out of her drowsy stupor. An angry-looking notice in large, red Chinese text appeared on the screen, covering the game window.

“Huh?” Tian rubbed her eyes and squinted, trying to read the words. A moment later, her eyes grew wide.

“Classified Information… access denied… What are they talking about?!” she snapped, “I’m not hacking anything!” She kept on clicking, trying to rid herself of the notice, but it kept showing up.

Tian would have screamed in frustration, had she the energy to do so. Instead, she lay down on the floor next to her laptop, hand on her forehead, unable to think clearly. “I give up…” she murmured faintly, “I’ve had it with this game…” She gave her laptop one last glare before her eyes grew heavy and drowsiness claimed her.

“What the-?” Jun’s mouth fell open as he and Mana stared back at a flickering black screen. A short message appeared and a blue line started to inch across the screen. “Hibernate?!” He moved closer to the wall outlet, only to discover that the power cord was unplugged. He swore.

“Can you fix it?” Mana asked, frantically.

“Of course I can fix it,” Jun answered angrily, trying to turn the laptop back on. “But if it turns back on and everything’s frozen, we might have to restart the game!”

“But then… we won’t get back there in time!” Mana said hopelessly, “What about the others?”

“This is insane!” Kei shouted, as she furiously typed on the keyboard and maneuvered Terriermon through a rain of fiery darts. She didn’t notice that the chair she was sitting in was wobbling dangerously. “How are we ever going to get a shot at it? These things just keep coming- aaah!” she finished with a wail, as she landed on the floor with a thud. The computer keyboard soon followed.

“Kei!” Akira turned away from her laptop, to see Kei rubbing her head and getting up, picking up the keyboard. “You okay?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Kei answered, “I’m fine.” She looked up at her computer. “Ah! No, I’m not fine!”

The entire monitor was blue.

“What did you do?” Akira demanded, while trying to restart the computer. “You should be more careful!”

“I know that!” Kei shot back, “But-”

Akira interrupted her with a sigh and started the game again. “Here,” she said, trying to smile. “Get yourself back in there.”

Kei tried. “It won’t let me connect!” she said frantically.

“Try again!”

“It’s not working!” Kei plopped down on the chair, glaring at the computer. “I guess you’re on your own,” she said softly.

Akira swallowed, and returned her attention to her laptop, half expecting her Digimon to be deleted. Miraculously, Kodamon hadn’t been touched. Akira stared at the screen, breathing heavily. “I guess it’s just you and me now, Kodamon,” she whispered. To her amazement, Kodamon turned toward her, winked at her, and gave her the thumbs-up sign. Akira blinked, and smiled in wonderment. “Let’s go!” She maneuvered Kodamon toward the monster, who was eyeing them hungrily, and attacked.

Back and forth, the two adversaries traded shots. Kodamon put up a good fight, but the enemy’s attacks were too strong. Akira was almost ready to give up, until she saw a bright red energy beam slice through the monster.

Akira looked all over the screen in bewilderment. That shot didn’t come from Kodamon, she thought, but from who? All the other Digimon were inactive…except for one. She glanced at the top right-hand corner of the screen and almost missed it. Another character had joined in at the last minute!

The new pair was a Guilmon and a little boy with black hair and brown eyes. He wore a navy blue tracksuit and red sneakers. Akira watched, dumbstruck, as the Guilmon shot at the monster with red-orange beams.

When the monster was close to its demise, Guilmon stopped, as if it wanted Kodamon to finish the battle.

Akira took that opportunity and made Kodamon launch one last energy punch…and it made contact! The evil Digimon convulsed and exploded into tiny data particles that disappeared slowly into thin air.

The other Digmon were beginning to unfreeze and the human characters started reappearing. However, the little black-haired boy and the Guilmon had disappeared.

A message slowly appeared on the screen.

Mission Complete . Thank you for playing.

Akira stared at the screen in shock.

“We did it…” she whispered.

Kei moved closer to her. “What?”

“We did it!” A faint smile appeared on Akira’s face. “We won!”

“We won?” Kei repeated.

Akira nodded, her smile growing.

“Yes!” Kei shouted, hugging Akira and almost knocking her over. They both started laughing, hard.

“Girls?” The door opened, and the two of them looked up to see their mother in the doorway, looking at them strangely. “You all right?” she asked, “From all the racket you were making, I thought you’d had an accident or something.”

Akira and Kei looked at each other, then smiled back at her. “It was something,” Akira answered.

“Oh?”

“Yeah!” Kei added, “Just something.” And both of them started laughing again.

Their mother shook her head, a half-smile on her face, and left, closing the door behind her. She walked softly down the stairs, and was passing the front door when the doorbell rang. She opened the door, and saw nothing but a small brown box sitting on the doorstep. Picking it up, she saw that it was addressed to Kei. Looking up the stairwell, she could still hear the girls laughing and carrying on, so she decided to leave the box for later.

Immediately after she had closed and locked the door, her cell phone rang from across the room. She hurried over to pick it up.

“Hello?” She listened a bit, then brightened. “Hi, Touma! Yes, we’re fine…” She listened some more. “Oh… you’re coming home early? When?” Her face fell. “Really? Okay… No, no, that’s fine with me. Kei will be happy to see you.” She was silent for a moment, listening, then her expression turned fearful. “Yes…” she said softly, unknowingly looking toward Kei’s door. She could hear Akira talking cheerfully. “Yes. She’s already here.”

Chapter Text

A few hours after their amazing win, Akira sat near her laptop, relaxed. She could hear Kei talking to their mother and laughing downstairs, and smiled. She sat up and turned to her laptop, meaning to shut it off, when a notice popped on screen. She stared at it.

“New email message received…” Akira frowned. She clicked on the message and read it. There were only three sentences in it.

All journeys have a beginning and an end. The end is close at hand, but the journey has only just begun. The times of trouble will soon come, and then only spirit will save us all.

Akira inspected the message and found no trace of a sender or return email address. The subject line was blank. That’s strange… Then she read it again, mystified and a little uneasy.

‘The end is close at hand, but the journey has only just begun…’ She shivered. What does that mean? The rational part of her dismissed the message as just a joke or prank, but another part of her also thought, ‘what if?’ Did the cryptic message have something to do with the game? Or was it in connection with something else? She started to wonder if she had somehow stumbled into something that was way over her head.

She shook her head and shut off her laptop. It’s nothing, she thought. Just a harmless message sent by some nut playing a joke… Deep down, though, she had doubts.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Kei bounded up the stairs and burst through the door. She was holding a small, brown cardboard box.

“What’s that?” Akira asked when she got inside.

“I don’t know. Mom said she got it in the mail earlier, and it was addressed to me.” Kei shook the box and heard something clatter inside. She opened the box, and a strange thing fell out. She picked it up and gasped. It was a small, round, translucent green electronic device. It had a small digital screen with a circle of strange symbols around the rim of it. A single, thin slot crossed the top of the device. “Weird,” she said softly, “It looks just like a watch without the strap!”

Akira stared at it with a strange expression. “That’s funny,” she whispered, “I think I’ve seen that somewhere before…” She strained to remember where and when she saw it, but the answer seemed to stay just out of reach. She sighed, frustrated.

Kei smiled, not listening to what Akira was saying. “I guess this is a prize the game company sent because we won that mission!” She skipped away, the strange little digital device in her hand. Akira stared at her, frowning.

“Then why didn’t I get one?” she whispered.

“Seita?”

Seita was currently packing a large duffel bag. “Yeah?” he asked, turning toward Yuka.

“What do you think these could be?” Yuka asked, holding up two small devices, one blue, one pink.

Seita frowned. “Where did you get those?”

“In the mail.”

“Can I see one of them?”

Yuka looked at both devices, then tossed the blue one to Seita. She remained silent for a few moments while he examined it, then spoke up.

“They came in a little brown box, addressed to both of us,” Yuka said softly, “Mom found it on the doorstep…” She hesitated, looking directly at Seita. “Right after we won that mission.”

Seita shrugged. “I don’t know,” he said, pushing random buttons on the device. “Maybe they’re some sort of prize for completing a mission, or something. They’re a bit of a waste, though. They don’t look like they do anything.” He shoved the device in his pocket and picked up his bag. “Don’t worry about it.”

Yuka was silent a moment, staring at hers. “Everything happens for a reason,” she murmured in a dead voice.

Seita raised an eyebrow. “Yuka-”

“Seita!” their mother’s voice rang out.

“Yeah?” Seita answered back.

“Soccer practice!” she called back, “Now, or you’ll be late!”

Seita sighed. “All right, Mom, I’m going.” He was about to leave the room when she shouted again.

“And take your sister with you this time!”

Seita sighed again. He looked down at Yuka with concern. “I guess Mom doesn’t mind if you get bored,” he said, trying to make a joke.

“It doesn’t matter,” she answered softly, then her face clouded over. “I think I should go, in any case.” Her eyes narrowed, and she clenched the pink device in her hand. “If something happens today, I don’t want to be here all by myself.”

Something about what she said gave Seita the shivers. “Yuka, what are you-”

“Seita!”

He turned toward the voice in annoyance. “What?!”

“Out!” his mother exclaimed, “Now!”

Some moments later, both of them were outside, nearing the soccer field.

“What were you saying, ‘if something happens today’, Yuka?” Seita asked, still puzzling over what happened before they left.

Yuka said nothing, and just shook her head.

“Didn’t you tell Mom or Dad anything?”

Yuka shook her head again. “They wouldn’t understand.”

“Hey, Kazama!” someone called out from the field.

Seita looked over and raised a hand in greeting. “Yo.” He saw a couple of boys being rather rough with one of the spare soccer balls, kicking it hard. He ignored this, and turned to Yuka. “Just go over to one of the benches and sit,” he said, “We’ll be done in about an hour.”

Yuka, however, was not listening. She was staring down at the device in her hand. It was acting strangely – beeping and vibrating wildly.

Seita was completely baffled by this, and when he pulled his out of his pocket, he saw that it was doing the same thing.

Then, they were both startled by a shout from the field, behind them.

“Watch out!”

Seita looked back, and from the corner of his eye, he saw a soccer ball traveling toward him, slowly, heading dangerously close to his face, and then…

Tian yawned as she walked down a narrow, busy street, absently swinging a bag full of groceries. The early morning sun cast blinding rays into her eyes, and the hustle and bustle from passing cars, pedicabs, and people on bicycles bored through her ears. A car zipped by her, horn blowing, causing her to yelp in surprise and cover her ears.

She moaned, and rubbed her eyes to clear them, silently vowing never to pull any more all-nighters. She passed by an electronics store with several TVs on display, when something peculiar caught her eye, making her back up and look again.

At first glance, the TVs were normal – showing a story on the local news station, and the same one on each screen, with the time shown on the top left hand corner. However, the time on every screen was scrambled, with several of the digits quickly shifting between zero and nine in a wild roulette. Also, with a closer look through the store window, Tian could see many of the appliances acting similarly weird, and many of the employees were starting to complain.

At the same time, Tian felt a strange vibrating in her pocket. She reached in and pulled out a yellow device, shaking and making a curious beeping noise in her hand.

Suddenly, she wasn’t sleepy anymore.

She was further interrupted as a series of car horns, as well as the sounds of several collisions, filled the air. She looked toward the noise, and was shocked to see a massive car accident that had cropped up in a nearby intersection. The traffic lights were blinking madly from red, to yellow, to green, and back.

The crash began attracting more shocked and curious pedestrians, and as Tian tried moving closer, she had a difficult time seeing over the heads of those taller than her. In the confusion, she and many of the others failed to notice that another loud commotion had erupted just a block away.

A moment later, Tian could just barely hear someone shouting “Look out!” in Chinese. She turned around…

On a sparse, little-used highway, a large coach bus sped along smoothly. An endless stream of trees lined the road on both sides, and everything around was dark, save for the darkening blue sky and the faint, orange rays of the sunset filtering in through the branches.

Jun was staring into space, absently flipping a strange orange device into the air and catching it. Mana sat next to him, a similar red device resting on her lap. She stared out the window at the dark, impenetrable forest, and sighed at constant intervals, clearly bored. The never-changing scenery, the rumbling of the bus, as well as the constant chatter of the kids sitting around her were starting to get to her. And the bright orange light glinting into her eyes from whatever Jun was flipping into the air was not helping.

“Jun, will you stop that?” Mana said irritably, “It’s getting on my nerves!”

“I will, if you stop sighing,” Jun answered, still staring into space.

Mana glared at him and looked away, facing the window again. She didn’t sigh again, so the flipping abruptly stopped.

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?” Jun asked, “You were practically bouncing off the walls after we defeated that game this afternoon, and now-”

Mana glared at him from the corner of her eye.

“Now, you look like you’ve eaten a box of tacks!”

Mana continued to glare at him. “Very funny.”

“Then why are you so ticked off?”

“Here’s why-” Mana said scathingly, “We’ve been on this bus for four straight hours, heading for a camp in the middle of who-knows-where, and-”

“And?”

Mana was about to reply, when the bus suddenly lurched, slamming both of them into the seats in front of them. Screams and shouts erupted from the other kids on the bus, and then… silence.

“What was that?” Mana asked in a fearful whisper.

“No idea,” Jun answered, picking himself off the floor. He got up, noticing immediately that the bus had come to a complete stop. “Did we hit something?”

His thoughts were interrupted by Mana’s sudden intake of breath.

“What is it?”

Mana gestured toward the kids who were sitting near them, both in front and in the back. “Look…”

Some of the kids were screaming, while others looked surprised. However… none of them were moving. No sound came from their mouths, and their expressions remained the same – as if they were frozen in time. A quick look around the bus confirmed that all of the other kids were similarly affected.

Jun got out of his seat and stepped into the aisle. He pulled his backpack up from under the seat and slung it over his shoulder. Mana did the same with hers.

Jun looked toward the front, at the driver, and called out.

“Sir?”

His voice sounded unusually loud as it traveled down the aisle. He walked slowly over to where the driver sat, Mana following behind him. “Excuse me, sir-”

Jun stopped, staring at the driver in shock. Just like the other kids, the driver was frozen, with a stunned look on his face. He looked as if he was trying to steer the bus out of the way from something.

Jun turned away from the driver and looked directly in front, through the windshield. There was nothing in front of them that could obstruct their path. In fact, there was absolutely nothing in front of them at all – no road, no trees. There was only a blank space.

“What’s going on?” Mana asked fearfully, “Why is everything frozen?”

Jun opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by a loud beeping noise and a violent shaking in his hand. He looked down at the orange device he still held in his hand. It was beeping and vibrating wildly. Mana looked at her own red device and saw that it was doing the same. Then, suddenly, a bright, blinding light flashed out.

It was the last thing they were aware of…

“Akira!”

“Yeah?” Akira looked up at the sound of her mother’s voice.

“Come down for a minute. I need to talk to you.”

A few minutes later, Akira was staring at her mother blankly, after listening to what she had to say.

“Touma’s coming back? Tonight?”

Her mother nodded. “Yes.”

Akira looked away from her. She tensed up, trying not to let her fear and anger show through, but apparently some did, for her mother replied, “Oh, I wish you wouldn’t feel like that, Akira.” Akira closed her eyes and shook her head. She walked back up the stairs.

“Tell me when dinner’s ready,” she called back. Her mother sighed sadly.

When Akira got back inside the room, she closed the door and smacked her fist on the wall. It’s just like him to do something like this, she thought ruefully. No matter what I do to stay out of his way and forget, he’ll never leave me alone!

She looked up and glanced at her overnight bag, feeling slightly tempted to run away. She walked over to the drawer where she kept her clothes, opened it, and pulled some out. A small device popped out and fell to the floor. Akira glanced at it and picked it up.

It was a device just like Kei’s, but was a light, pale blue in color, and looked more battered and worn. Akira looked at it more and a strange vision popped into her head.

She was standing in the colored forest, but the wind was colder and gave her a small chill. She held the blue device, which glowed with a bright light, and smiled sadly at…someone.

The details were murky and gray, like a long-forgotten memory.

“Akira! Dinner’s ready!” Her mother’s call startled her, making her forget the flashback and let it fade away. She stood up and looked at the device again.

This one’s mine, I think, she thought, Or used to be. Maybe that’s why they didn’t send two. They probably knew I already had one. But… She frowned. How did it get here, and how did I get it in the first place? Maybe I left it here a year ago, the last time I was here, but I couldn’t have gotten it then. It looks a lot older than that… She felt nervous and excited at the same time, as if her thoughts were dancing around the edge of some mystery, something hidden away for years.

“Akira!” her mother called again.

“Coming!” she called back, tucking the strange gadget in her shirt pocket. The giddy feeling suddenly flowed away. She took one last look at the room and walked down the stairs.

During dinner everyone was unusually silent. Even Kei didn’t talk much. Akira finished early and got up from the table.

“Can I go out for a walk, Mom?” she asked.

“Sure, as long as you come back before we meet Touma at the airport.” Akira frowned and turned to the door. “Are you going to take a jacket?” her mother asked her.

“No, it’s all right. It’s a warm night.” She went out the door quickly and shut it. Kei looked after her, then turned back to her mother.

“Mom…”

Akira walked out of the house quickly, trying to put some distance between herself and everyone in the house. She didn’t feel like discussing anything with them yet.

Akira walked over to the park and sat down on a bench, looking at the strange blue device.

I want to go home, she thought to herself, Why did I ever agree to come in the first place? I promised myself… that I’d never come back, ever… Tears shimmered in her eyes. That I’d never let it happen to me again… She couldn’t help remembering things – the pain and hurt, the hate, and the – what? She hit a strong, high wall in her memory, a wall blocking her from… something.

It wasn’t the first time she experienced this. The feeling that she knew something but couldn’t put her finger on it, something important she should know but could never remember no matter how hard she tried. She tried shaking the strange feeling off and looked around her. The sun was sinking slowly below the horizon now, and lots of places had their lights on.

She breathed deeply, wondering how it would feel like, just to walk off and just disappear into the crowd, to forget everything and finally be away from him. She could do it – just run off and never come back, then find some way to go back home…

She shook her head. She was being stupid. Of course I can’t just run off, she thought bitterly. What will Mom and Kei think? They’d know I ran away, and when he comes back, he’ll come and take me back and the whole thing starts over again… She shut her eyes tight. I can still remember it… She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered. No. Never again. Besides, the last time I tried running off, it didn’t work. It landed me into–

Again, she slammed into the memory wall. She sighed. What happened then? she wondered, getting nothing but a blank. Whatever it was that happened, she couldn’t remember. Tian had taken to calling it an accident – whatever that meant. It was strange – she couldn’t remember a lot of things, especially things that happened within the last year. It was as if they were locked away, unable to be touched.

She pushed these mysterious thoughts away, like she always did lately, and looked around. It was getting very late. She closed her eyes. I came because I wanted to see them, to help take care of them while he was gone. I’ll have to stick to that when he comes back. She got up, making her decision, and began to walk back to the house. She was halfway there when she bumped into a little boy. He stumbled and dropped a few things.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” Akira leaned down to help him pick up his things when she noticed what they were.

There was a digital device just like hers, but black, and a pendant, jet black with a carving of a strange, curved keyhole.

She looked at the pendant and had a flash of recognition. She blinked in surprise, trying to grab the memory back, but it quickly faded away. She glanced up at the boy. He was small and had a navy blue tracksuit – the mystery boy who helped out in the game! He had black hair and cold, dark eyes. He shot a dark look at her, quickly gathered up the items, and ran.

“Hey!” Akira called after him, “Come back! I want to talk to you!” The boy continued running and didn’t look back. Akira ran after him. She chased him until she reached a dark intersection close to Kei’s house. The boy ran across the street, and she tried to follow him.

“Akira!” a familiar voice called. She turned around and saw Kei run to her. She looked back at the boy, who was almost out of sight.

“Kei! What are you doing here?” Akira demanded, and noticed bright lights ahead. A car was coming, and they were right in the middle of the road! “Kei! Go!” Akira pushed her off the road and out of the way of the car, but there wasn’t enough time for her to move herself. The oncoming car’s lights blinded her, then…

Akira’s pale-blue device started shining and beeping wildly. Kei looked at hers, and it shined as well. The air around the girls got hotter and stuffier, and everything began to shine in wild rainbow colors. A giant wave appeared and enveloped them, and then everything went black…

Chapter Text

The blackness continued for just a few moments, then brightened. Akira opened her eyes and looked around, seeing millions of colored lights swirling. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain slice through her body. She shut her eyes tightly and tried not to scream, then lost consciousness.

Some time later, Akira woke again, painless, and the lights stopped their wild kaleidoscopic dance. She felt odd, like she wasn’t really awake yet. She got up and looked around, eyes widening in disbelief.

She was standing in the colored forest again. The light breeze blew past her and lifted the leaves off the trees. She was aware of the soft, laughing voice again, and turned around, determined to find out whom it belonged to. It started getting louder…

And then Akira’s eyes opened. She blinked and looked up, right into the face of… a strange creature with cute bearlike eyes, giggling in that same, familiar voice.

Akira screamed, getting up to her feet. Her scream startled the creature, and it screamed back as well.

“Hey!” it shouted, “what was that for? I was just trying to wake you up! You didn’t look too well.”

Akira blinked, and replied, “I’m sorry, you just scared me, that’s all.” She looked at the creature again.

The funny creature was a small gray teddy bear. She had cute pink eyes, a purple cap, a dark purple shoulder band and purple knuckle straps.

Akira’s eyes widened. “Kodamon…?” she whispered in disbelief.

Kodamon smiled. “Nice to see you again.”

“You’re real…” Akira murmured in shock, “You’re actually real. I thought it was just a game…”

For just a moment, Kodamon stared back at her with a shocked, disbelieving look. Then, that look slowly changed to a bittersweet smile. She ran over to Akira and gave her a hug.

“It’s been a long time, Akira,” Kodamon murmured, “I’ve missed you.”

Akira hugged back, but gave Kodamon a puzzled look. Then she looked around, finally noticing where they were.

“Where are we?” she asked, “In the… Digital World?”

Kodamon nodded. “Yep! Your Digivice brought you here, remember?”

“My Digivice…” Akira pulled it out from her pocket. “Kei, my sister, got one too…” She gasped. “Kei! Where is she? Did she come here too?”

“Hey, hey, relax!” Kodamon said. “We’ll find her. If you’re here, then she must be, too! I’ll help you look!” She took Akira’s hand.

“Okay,” Akira replied. They walked away, hand in hand.

Meanwhile, not far from where they were, Kei was wandering around with Terriermon perched on top of her head.

“Where do you think Akira could be?” Kei asked, glancing up at Terriermon, “I hope she’s all right. She nearly got hit by a car before we came!”

“Don’t worry,” Terriermon replied with a giggle, “Her Digivice would have protected her.”

Kei smiled and felt a bit better. “Yeah!” she chirped, and looked at Terriermon again. “You know,” she said, “you look a lot cuter than in the game!”

Terriermon laughed hastily and almost fell off Kei’s head. Kei straightened him up. “Hey! Who’s that?” Terriermon pointed to a girl running toward them. She was short and seemed to be Kei’s age. A Lopmon was gliding behind her.

“Hi!” Kei said cheerfully as the girl reached her and stopped to catch her breath. “You’re Akira’s moron friend’s sister, aren’t you?”

The girl smiled. “I’m so relieved! I thought I was the only person here!” She turned and looked at Lopmon, who was flying in circles with Terriermon.

“You haven’t seen Akira around, have you? Kei asked.

“Yuka!” a sharp yell rang out through the trees. Yuka looked ahead and saw Seita running toward her with a Gazimon running close behind. The left side of Seita’s face was slightly red.

“Are you okay? Don’t scare me like that!” Seita said, exasperated.

“I’m sorry, Seita,” Yuka hung her head. “I’m all right. I had Lopmon with me, and I met Kei and Terriermon!” She looked over to them with a pleading expression.

Seita smiled at her and ran his fingers through his hair. “Don’t worry about it,” he replied. Then he glanced at Kei. “So you’re Akira’s sister.”

“Yeah,” Kei said hastily, “It's complicated.” She quickly changed the subject. “Do either of you know where Akira is?”

Seita hesitated a moment. “No... but we can help you find her, if you want. Right, Gazimon?” He looked at his partner.

“Sure!” Gazimon grinned. Yuka nodded.

Kei looked relieved. “Thanks.”

At that moment, Akira and Kodamon met up with Tian and Renamon.

“Tian! So you got here, too! At least Kei and I aren’t the only ones!” Akira ran toward them, Kodamon at her heels.

“Are you okay? How did you get here?” Tian asked, “I remember going to the grocery after breakfast, and so many things seemed to go wrong when I was on my way back…” She raised a hand to the back of her head, rubbing it absently. “And the next moment, I was here.” She still looked shocked from the trip.

“Well, I was going for a walk…” Akira said slowly, thinking. “And I saw this weird kid, and… well, it’s a long story! Maybe I’ll tell you later!” Akira grinned, then became serious again. “Have you see Kei? We lost each other when we got here.”

“Nope. We haven’t seen her,” Tian turned to Renamon, who had her eyes closed. “Renamon, what is it?”

“Shh, I’m listening. Someone else is here…” Just then, a loud crash came from a nearby tree. Jun and Mana tumbled out, with a Patamon and a Salamon following them, and landed in a clump of bushes.

“Ouch!”

“Hey! Stop it!”

“You’re sitting on my tail!”

“Get off!”

The tangled group struggled to get out as Akira and the others stared.

“Hi!” Akira greeted them cheerfully, “What were you doing in that tree?” Jun and Mana looked at each other, then looked at her with sheepish expressions.

“Um… we were… investigating! Yeah!” Jun replied hastily, “We saw you guys and a bunch of Digimon and wondered what you were up to.”

“Actually, we were hiding like scaredy cats!” Mana interrupted, as Jun shot a glare at her.

“We haven’t properly introduced ourselves,” Jun said seriously, “I’m Jun Aikawa.”

“My name’s Mana Saitou,” Mana added, “Nice to finally meet you!”

Akira smiled, then grew serious. “Have you seen anyone else since you got here? I’m looking for my sister, Kei.”

Jun shook his head. “We haven’t seen anyone else but you,” Mana said.

“Hey!” Someone shouted in the distance. “Over here!”

Akira looked ahead and saw Kei, Seita, and Yuka running toward them with their Digimon.

“We finally found you!” Kei yelled, hugging her, “Are you okay?”

Akira smiled at her. “Yes. I’m fine.” Then she looked down at Yuka. “Oh… Yuka, hi!”

Yuka smiled, then looked up at her brother.

Akira shifted her gaze to him, and her smile faded. “Hello, moron.”

Seita stared back at her, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Moron to you too…”

After a moment, Akira looked away, facing Yuka instead. “How did you guys get here?”

Yuka looked up at her brother, then looked back at Akira. “I think those weird Digivice toys did it. We were going to Seita’s soccer practice when they started beeping, and then they landed us here!” She giggled. “Seita almost got hit in the face with a soccer ball!”

Everyone laughed while Seita flushed and glared at the ground in embarrassment.

Just then, Renamon, who was sitting on the ground, jumped up, startling everyone else.

“This isn’t the time to talk!” she said, “We should get out of here! Quickly! Something’s coming!”

“What?” Tian looked around. “I don’t see anything!” Then, a strong wind ripped through the trees. Tian pulled her cap down to keep it from blowing away. “What’s that?” A thunderous roar shook the forest. Mana looked up and screamed.

A large Snimon flew out of the trees, its fangs and sickled arms flashing dangerously.

The next moment was chaos. Screaming, most of the kids scrambled over each other to get away. Mana, however, was rooted to the spot, much too scared even to move. Akira noticed that, and ran back to her.

“Mana! Come on! We’ve gotta get out of here! Go!” Mana finally moved, running faster than everyone else. Akira looked back and her eyes widened. The Snimon was getting closer! “We’re going to have to fight back sometime, guys!” she yelled out, “We can’t run forever!” A moment later, she was right.

The group came to a high cliff partly surrounded by ocean. Mana, who was at the head of the group, stopped and almost fell into it when Jun caught her. She looked down it, nauseated.

“What are we going to do now?” she whispered, “I can’t swim very well!” The Snimon slowed down in front of them and waited, sharpening its blades.

Akira walked closer to it, Kodamon at her side. “We’re just going to have to fight it!” she replied. The other kids stared.

“Are you crazy?” Tian shouted, “Fight it? The thing’s fifty times bigger than all of us!”

“Relax!” Akira said, “Remember the game? This is exactly like the battles we fought.”

“She’s right,” Jun added, “It is exactly like it, and our Digimon’s attacks will work! It’s going to be hard, though. In the game, size didn’t usually matter.” He folded his arms. Mana looked back at the Snimon and shuddered.

“If you all have any ideas, let’s hear them,” she said, “I don’t want to end up as the Digimon’s lunch!” Everyone started talking all at once, arguing over plans. They didn’t notice Akira and Kodamon disappear into the forest.

A few minutes later, they came out, but behind the Snimon. Quietly, they tiptoed over to it. Then Akira looked at Kodamon and nodded.

“Bear Fist!”

The Snimon let out a deafening roar. The other kids looked at it in bewilderment, then saw Kodamon emerge from behind it, hurling energy punches at its head. Akira followed, not far behind.

“Sorry, everyone!” she called out, “We were getting bored!” Tian and Kei started laughing, and Seita walked over to her with Gazimon.

“Come on! What are we waiting for?” he said, “Let’s get to it!”

The kids started throwing rocks and sticks at the Snimon, while their Digimon attacked. With the sticks and rocks aggravating it, the Snimon couldn’t attack properly and made it easier for the kids’ Digimon to attack. The fight lasted only a few minutes.

“Bear Fist!”

“Electric Stun Blast!”

“Fox Leaf Arrowhead!”

“Air Shot!”

“Puppy Howling!”

“Blazing Fire!”

“Blazing Ice!”

All seven attacks hit the Snimon full force, and it finally deleted. Its data particles scattered into the air for a few moments.

Akira stared at the particles and noticed something strange. There was a little star-like point of dark energy amidst the floating pile of data. She tried to get a better look at it, but it disappeared with the rest of the data.

Everyone else danced and cheered, hugging each other and hugging their Digimon. Jun walked up to Akira and Kodamon.

“Thanks for everything back there,” he said, “If it weren’t for you two, the rest of us would still be standing there arguing, and that thing would have had all of us for lunch!” He smiled.

“I think it was really brave of you two to sneak up on it and attack from behind!” Mana added, “I couldn’t have done it!”

Kodamon laughed. “It was nothing, really. We just thought of it as a game!”

“Well, what should we do now?” Kei asked, “We’re still here. Is there a way to get home, or are we stuck here?”

“If we’re stuck here, there should be a good reason why,” Jun reasoned.

“In any case,” Mana said, “We have to find a place to stay and get something to eat!” She sighed.

“Don’t worry about that,” Salamon replied, “There’s lots of good things to eat around here. You won’t starve!”

“Umm…why don’t we try going back to the place where we first came through?” Yuka said nervously, then brightened. “We can stay there for now, and we can see if there’s any way back home!”

Renamon nodded her head. “That’s the first good idea I’ve heard so far. If you came here through that place, there must be a gate there somewhere.”

“Okay!” Akira said, “Let’s go!” She walked back, and everyone else followed.

When the group returned to their landing site, Mana and Jun ran toward some bushes and came back, carrying large backpacks.

“Where did you get all that?” Kei asked curiously.

“Well, before we got here, the both of us were on our way to summer camp,” Mana replied, looking sour.

“We never actually made it there, though,” Jun added, “The bus stalled on the way, and the Digivices reacted right after that…” His voice faded a bit as he recalled everything, looking slightly disturbed. “We were still wearing our backpacks when they pulled us here.”

“Do you have any food in there?” Akira asked.

“Sure! But we’ll have to save a lot, of course,” Jun started pulling out things from his pack. “And we have lots of other useful stuff like a compass, telescope, flashlight, batteries, matches, you name it!”

Kei looked over the stuff. “This is great! Thanks to this, we won’t have much trouble!”

For most of the day, everyone stayed together and rested. Akira and Kei sat under a tree while Kodamon and Terriermon stood guard near them. Akira looked troubled, and Kei wondered why.

“Akira? What is it? Is there something wrong?”

“I was just thinking...” Akira looked up at her. “Kei, when you got here, did it hurt?”

“No, I just felt weightless, that’s all,” Kei replied. “Why? Did you get hurt? Was it because of the car?” she demanded worriedly.

“No, no, nothing happened,” Akira assured her hastily, “I was just curious!” Kei wasn’t convinced, but she didn’t continue the subject.

“I noticed something weird when we vaporized that Digimon,” Akira continued. “I saw a little black star-shaped thing it its data. It looked almost like a black gear of some sort. Did you see that?”

Kei thought a moment. “Nope, didn’t see that! You’re probably getting too worried over things.”

As the two sisters talked, Jun was sitting nearby, working on his laptop.

“Oh, here you go again, playing with your computer!” Mana sighed. “Can’t you ever leave that thing alone to save your life?”

“I’m trying to figure out why we’re here,” he replied, “I’ve tried looking for some info about it, but nothing’s getting through! Phones don’t work, Internet doesn’t work – I’m surprised this computer even works!”

Meanwhile, Seita and Yuka were walking, not far off. Yuka caught Seita staring at something, and looked for herself. She saw Akira and Kei sitting, Akira glancing down at the ground with a disturbed look on her face, and Kei staring at her, worried. Yuka looked up at Seita again, and his expression was unreadable.

“Seita,” Yuka said carefully, “is something bothering you?”

Seita blinked, as if popping out of a trance. “What?” he asked, pulling his gaze away from Akira and Kei, “No… no, nothing’s wrong.”

Yuka gave him a funny look, which then changed into a smile as they approached the others. When they looked up expectantly, Seita looked down.

“You didn’t find anything? Any way to get home?” Mana asked.

Seita shook his head.

“Well, if we’re going to be stuck here for a while, shouldn’t we have a leader?” Kei said, “We’ll need someone to keep us together if anything happens.”

“You’re right!” Terriermon told her, “We can work better like that!”

“So,” Seita said, “Who would be good for a leader?”

Everyone thought for a moment, then Mana broke the silence.

“I think Akira should be the leader.”

“What?!” Akira exclaimed, “Why me? I’m not much of a leader!”

“Oh, come on, of course you are!” Mana replied, “You helped us win that battle with Snimon, and if you weren’t there to help me get out, I wouldn’t be here!”

“But…”

“I agree!” Kei chimed in, “You saved my life before we even got here, and helped us win that game!”

Kei then looked over at Seita. “Well,” she queried, “What do you think?” Seita looked thoughtful for a few moments, then slowly nodded yes.

“Does everyone feel that way?” Akira asked faintly. Everyone nodded.

Kodamon looked at her and smiled. “Come on, you can do it! I believe in you. You’ll do fine, I promise!” She gave her a thumbs-up.

Akira was silent for a few moments. “Well… if you all really want me to…” she replied slowly, “I’m willing to try.”

Kei laughed and hugged her. “So, where do you want to go?”

Akira thought a moment. “I think…” The others moved closer, listening quietly. “I think we should explore more of this Digital World. We probably won’t get lost, because our Digimon can guide us. Maybe we can find out why we were sent here.” She smiled faintly.

Kodamon looked at everyone. “I think that’s a good idea! How about all of you?”

“Yeah!”

Akira beamed. “Okay. Let’s go!”

As the seven kids left with their Digimon, a rustling noise came from a bush behind them. A little boy with black hair and a Guilmon emerged from the leaves, watching them. Then, they hid themselves again and left, going their own, separate way.

Chapter Text

Rion Araneta slowly walked through the digital forest, drinking in all the sights, and recalling happy memories of the last time he had been there.

It’s good to be back, Rion thought contentedly, I really missed this place.

Rion was only ten years old, but he was smarter than many people thought. He spent most of his time on his laptop, one of the few state-of-the-art home computers in his neighborhood in Manila, Philippines. During the last week, he played the “Digital Adventure” game there while his younger cousins watched with excitement. He flew to America to visit his father and older brother on the last day, when all this mess started…

Rion sighed, and looked around for Guilmon, his Digimon partner. Guilmon was following him a little further behind, looking for anything dangerous.

The forest was silent, except for faint rustling sounds here and there. Then, loud screams erupted from the nearby trees. They startled Guilmon, and he barreled right into Rion, knocking him down.

“Oww!” Rion shouted, “Watch where you’re going next time!” He quickly scrambled to his feet.

“Sorry… But where did all those screams come from?” Guilmon whispered, shivering all over. Rion shrugged, then motioned for Guilmon to be quiet.

They ran in the direction of the voices, and Rion caught a glimpse of seven kids and a group of Digimon being attacked by a giant Snimon. He recognized the girl he bumped into on the street. They had met before, sometime, somewhere.

He then noticed the girl and her Digimon sneak away from the other kids and move to the Snimon’s back. The girl nodded to the Kodamon, and the Kodamon formed an energy ball with h er fist.

Guilmon was about to say something, but Rion clamped his mouth shut with a hand and put his finger to his lips.

“Shhh!” he whispered harshly, “Be quiet! I want to see this!” Guilmon folded his arms and pouted.

Both of them watched the fight and kept a close watch on the kids after that. It wasn’t until after they talked about leadership and left that Rion turned away.

He quietly walked away from the other seven kids. Guilmon followed him, but looked back at the large group. He then looked up at Rion’s face and was surprised to see a frown.

“Rion?” Guilmon asked, “What’s wrong? Is something bothering you?” Rion blinked and turned toward Guilmon.

“No. Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.” He continued walking ahead, Guilmon following him worriedly.

‘I’m fine…’ Rion’s always saying that now, Guilmon thought, but I don’t believe that. We’ve only been together again for less than a day, and he’s already changed. He doesn’t look fine, and he doesn’t seem to share anything with me anymore. Not like before.

“Rion, I know there’s something wrong!” Guilmon pressed, “Please tell me! I have a right to know, ‘cause I’m your partner!”

Rion stopped abruptly, closed his eyes, and his hands balled into fists. For a moment, Guilmon thought Rion was going to hit him, but he then he walked away and sat under a tree, breathing heavily with his head in his hands.

Guilmon just stood there, looking at his partner with a sad expression. His thoughts took him to a time before. Rion was a year younger then, and his smile held a warm light. The two friends laughed as they ran through an open meadow. Tripping over each other, they fell, giggling and hugging each other tight. An older girl watched them from a distance, smiling, her Digimon holding her hand.

Guilmon shook his head, the happy memory slipping away. Something is very wrong with him, he thought again, He didn’t act like this before. He used to be so happy and cheerful.

He walked over to Rion and sat next to him. “Rion, why wouldn’t you go with the rest of the kids?” he asked, “They all seemed nice, and so did their Digimon.”

Rion glanced at him and sighed.

“They were okay against that dark Digimon, but I know that you could fight better. You’re stronger and smarter than all of them put together!”

“Is that a compliment?” Guilmon beamed.

Rion laughed, but then grew serious again. “The truth is, the two of us would get along fine with any of those kids. It’s just that they’re too close to her.”

“Her?” Guilmon looked puzzled. “Who? Do you mean the girl with the goggles? Wasn’t she the girl who was with us the last time you were here? Akira?”

“Of course,” Rion replied.

“Why are you worried?” Guilmon asked incredulously, “She’s your friend!”

“No, she’s not!” Rion shouted, scowling. “She doesn’t remember anything about what happened back then! I’ve been keeping an eye on her ever since she got out of school, and I helped her out in that game. She even knocked me over before we all got here and didn’t know who I was. She doesn’t recognize me anymore!” He shook with rage. “We’ve been through so much together, all of us. How could she forget?”

“I’m sorry…” Guilmon hugged him tight. Rion hugged back.

“I won’t forgive her for what happened to me back then,” he said bitterly, “After we left the Digital World, everything started falling apart…” He was silent for a moment, scowling down at the ground, then looked up again.

“If she remembers anything at all, and if we ever went along with them, she’s going to suspect something,” he continued. “She’ll think I’m trying to poison everyone. To her, I’m not the same person I was before.” His hand went to his neck and he fingered a small black Crest with a dark, curved keyhole. It glowed faintly with an eerie gray-black light. He got up suddenly.

“Come on, let’s go.” Rion walked away in the opposite direction of the other kids. Guilmon got up, looked at Rion’s face, and almost jumped a foot in the air from fright.

Rion’s eyes were almost entirely black, and glittered with an evil streak. He wore a creepy smile on his face.

“We don’t need those kids, Guilmon,” he murmured, “We especially don’t need her. You’ve seen them fight. They won’t last one week out there, even if she is their leader.” He turned slightly. “We’re stronger than them. We can take care of ourselves, fight our own battles, and save the world on our own.”

Guilmon looked doubtful, but he nodded anyway. He trailed Rion from behind, feeling very unnerved. He’s starting to creep me out, he thought. This isn’t the Rion I know! Something’s making him change, making him evil, but what? He looked at Rion again and shook his head.

Whatever is doing this to you, Rion, I’ll find out and save you. I promise!

Chapter Text

Everything was quiet, with no sounds but the whispering of the flowing breeze. Then, a strange, soft whirring noise sounded. A small black gear blazed through the humid air, its sharp, starry points flashing dangerously. It stopped and hovered for a while, then continued on its way…

The seven kids and their Digimon had just begun their exploration of the Digital World. The forest had finally thinned out, giving way to a sprawling wasteland.

At the back of the group, Yuka tried hard to keep up with everyone else. Lopmon was sleeping on her head.

As the small black gear sped by, it startled Yuka, making her turn her head around. Lopmon tumbled off and landed on her own head.

“Ow!” Lopmon got up and shook her head, ears flopping, and yawned. “Yuka? What is it?”

Yuka was just standing there, looking around wildly. Lopmon jumped up and landed on Yuka’s shoulder. “Is something wrong?” she asked again.

Yuka looked at her with a confused expression. “I don’t know,” she replied, “I thought I felt something strange.”

Lopmon eyed her curiously. “I didn’t feel anything.”

“You didn’t?” Yuka looked around again. “I could have sworn I heard something whiz by us, up in the air–” She was interrupted by footsteps behind her and turned around. Kei was running toward her.

“Yuka! What is it?” she hollered.

Yuka blinked and gave a hasty smile. “N-nothing,” she stammered.

Kei stared at her, puzzled, and then started running back to the group. “Well, come on, then, or we’ll be left behind! We don’t want Akira or Seita to yell at us, do we?”

Yuka smiled. “Nope!” Then she ran, trying to catch up. Lopmon settled down on her head again and tried to go back to sleep.

A short time later, the group was still walking.

“Jeez! Just how big is this place anyway?” Seita was getting frustrated. “We’ve been walking for half a day now, and it seems like we’re in the middle of nowhere!”

“Don’t know!” Gazimon replied, “I’ve never seen this place before!”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Tian asked.

“We Digimon don’t travel around,” Renamon answered, “We stay with our own kind and usually keep to ourselves.”

Jun frowned. “So none of you know of any other places except where you live and the forest?”

“Nope!” Patamon exclaimed.

“Great!” Seita said sarcastically, “So much for being guides!”

“Well... that’s okay!” Akira said brightly, “That makes exploring a lot more interesting. And besides, even if we get lost, we’ll all be together!”

“You said it!” Kodamon beamed. Seita looked at them doubtfully.

They continued walking for a few minutes more, until Mana spotted something strange.

“Hey! What’s that?” She pointed to a distant spot in front of them. The air shimmered, but the kids could make out small pole-shaped objects sticking out from the ground. The strange objects grew more distinct when they got closer.

Mana walked over and stared at one of the poles. “They look just like road signs!”

“Road signs?” Jun went over to her and inspected the collection of poles. “You’re right, they are!” He looked all around him. “There’s a stop sign, a speed limit sign, a whole bunch of warning signs… and they look pretty old, too! See, they all have rust all over them!”

“Wow!” A few yards away, Kei was staring at an even stranger sight. “Look at all the candy machines!” There was a clearing with a tremendous pile of old, rusty vending machines scattered around.

“Look at this!” Tian pointed at a pile of smashed up telephone booths. “I wonder what happened to these? And look up there,” She pointed up at a straggled group of power lines and electrical towers. “They’re just scattered all over the place and don’t lead to any buildings. I doubt they even work.”

“You won’t believe this!” Mana walked back to everyone else with a bewildered expression. “I just saw an old abandoned trolley just over that hill!” She pointed toward it.

“What is this place?” Seita demanded, “The Digital World’s junkyard?”

Jun gazed around the bizarre place, looking thoughtful. “I wonder if there isn’t nothing but old junk lying around here,” he murmured, “If we could find a working computer or telephone or something else…”

“We could be able to call home!” Akira finished. “I think that’s a great idea! We could all split up and look through the stuff. If anyone finds anything working, give a shout. That okay with everyone?”

Seita looked at her. “That’s fine with me.”

“Come on, Yuka!” Kei tugged on her hand, “Let’s go look at the candy machines!” They ran off with their Digimon, giggling.

“Hey! Be careful, okay?” Seita called after them. He looked back at Akira. “I guess Gazimon and I will check out the power lines.”

“And we’ll look at those telephone booths!” Jun said, pulling Mana by the hand.

“Renamon and I are going to see what’s in that old trolley,” Tian said.

“Okay.” Akira nodded. “Well, I guess that’s it,” she said to Kodamon. “What else is there to see?”

“We can walk a little further out and see what’s ahead.” Kodamon replied. “Come on!” They walked away from everyone else, and soon came to a large clearing. Their eyes widened in surprise.

There were piles of old junk strewn everywhere, as far as their eyes could see. There were wrecks of cars and school buses, TVs, radios, kitchen appliances, and even some old computers. But there was nothing that worked.

“I know what this place is,” Kodamon murmured, “It’s the Valley of Relics.”

“The Valley of Relics?” Akira looked at her questioningly.

“Yes,” Kodamon replied, “I was told, long ago, that there was a place in the Digital World which keeps things from another, faraway world. Things from deep in the past.”

“Well, judging from all this stuff, they all came from our world!” Akira picked her way through the scores of rubbish. “I guess this is where all our junk goes after it gets dumped.”

Kodamon looked at her and nodded. “Well, anyway,” she spoke up, “we have to look for someone named Kiwimon. From what I heard, she’s one of the most kind and ancient Digimon around and the mistress of the Valley of Relics. She could probably help us find something that works.”

Akira looked ahead, across the sea of rubbish. “Maybe she’s there,” she replied, pointing at a small shack at the other end of the junk pile.

They walked over to the house and Akira tried to open the door. The knob turned easily, and they tiptoed inside. There was nothing in the house, except for some ancient furniture.

“Hello?” Kodamon called out, “Anybody home?”

“Kodamon! Come here, look at this!” Akira was at the nearest corner of the house. A computer sat in front of her, its system and monitor humming. “It works perfectly!” she exclaimed. “Maybe we can use it to–”

She was interrupted by a loud squawk from the far side of the house. A large, wingless bird with a smooth bone head emerged from the shadows.

“What are you doing in my house?!” the creature screeched, her eyes burning red.

“Uh, oh…”

Meanwhile, the others were almost done searching the rest of the scrap. Most of them hadn’t found anything that worked, and they all gathered together to wait for everyone to come back. Kei and Yuka, however, were still searching through the piles of vending machines.

“Hmm, this is really weird,” Kei said, “If all of these candy machines don’t work, what do you Digimon eat?”

“If we find a machine that works, I hope there’s still candy inside! We’ll have enough to eat for weeks!” Yuka giggled.

“Eww, I doubt it. These machines are all old and crumbly, and even if there was still candy in them, it’d be all moldy and icky!” Kei stuck out her tongue at a rusty machine.

“Well, that one doesn’t look old!” Lopmon motioned to a machine in the far corner of the pile. It still looked shiny and new. The group walked over to it and tried to shake it open.

“Whew,” Kei stopped a moment to rest. “It would be much easier if we had some money.”

“There’s no need for that!” Terriermon backed up, motioning the others to do the same. Then, he ran up to the machine and jumped.

“Blazing Fire!” The machine shook violently from the attack and fell over, all of its contents spilling out.

“Wow! Look at all the candy and stuff!” Yuka’s eyes widened. “Let’s gather up a lot. Wait ‘till everyone else sees this!”

“Thanks, Terriermon!” Kei said. Terriermon blushed.

Just then, they heard a loud scream from the other side of the valley. The two girls jumped up, startled.

“That sounded just like Akira and Kodamon…” Kei whispered. Then they heard another, louder scream from another place.

“Everyone else…” Yuka shivered.

“Come on, let’s go!” Kei ran off, pulling Yuka’s hand. “They need help!”

Akira and Kodamon had been chased out of the house by the bizarre creature, who was actually Kiwimon.

“That’s Kiwimon?” Akira was shocked. “But I thought you said she was good!”

“She is! But I think something bad is controlling her or something!” Kodamon wailed. “Look! There’s everyone else, but they’re running away!”

“What?!” Akira looked up and saw the others running in the opposite direction. “Great… I guess they’re too busy to notice that we need as much help as them! Kodamon! Try to hit Kiwimon with your energy punches! We have to knock some sense back into her!”

Kodamon stopped running and Bear Fisted toward Kiwimon. The energy hit Kiwimon square in the face, but she was unfazed. She slowly opened her mouth and…

“Pummel Peck!”

“Yahhhh!” The two of them dove for cover as millions of small bird-shaped missiles spewed out of Kiwimon’s mouth.

“This is crazy!” Akira screamed, hands over her head, “We can’t even get close to her like this!”

Kodamon dodged the attacks skillfully, but froze suddenly. A large cluster of bird missiles was heading straight for Akira’s head! She didn’t have enough time to get away, and Kodamon was too far away to get her out!

“Akira, watch out!” Kodamon shut her eyes in fear. Then, a brilliant light washed over her, and Akira’s Digivice started beeping like crazy.

“Kodamon, evolve to…”

“Huh?” Akira watched, confused.

“Kodiamon!” The light slowly dissipated, revealing a tall, slender bearlike Digimon with blue pants, a purple tank top, and the same dark purple cap, shoulder belt and knuckle straps Kodamon had. A small laser was attached to her right arm, and her lower left arm was metallic with large silver claws.

Akira stared back at her, surprised. “Kodamon… changed…”

Kodiamon jumped in front of Akira, shielding her.

“Chrome Claw!” Kodiamon knocked all of Kiwimon’s bird missiles away with her silver claws. “Stay back,” she told Akira, “Let me take care of this!”

Akira just stood there in awe. “Kodiamon… thanks!”

“Don’t mention it!” Kodiamon said with a wink.

The battle didn’t take long. She shot at Kiwimon with her laser arm and swiped at her with her Chrome Claw. It took one last scratch to make a small, spinning object fly out of Kiwimon’s body. Akira stared at it suspiciously. It was the same black object she saw in the Snimon’s data debris! The only difference was, Kiwimon still lived, and it was the black thing that got deleted.

Kodiamon glowed brightly, and her form shrank to that of Kodamon’s. Akira ran over to her and hugged her tightly.

“You did a great job back there, Kodamon,” she whispered happily.

A loud ruckus erupted from behind them. All of the other kids and Digimon were jumping up and down and cheering.

“That battle was incredible!” Seita said excitedly.

“Kodiamon was so cool!” Kei added.

Akira laughed, then said, “Yeah, but next time, could you all try helping?” The group flashed embarrassed smiles.

“Evolve…” Jun murmured thoughfully, staring back at Kodamon. “So it is possible…”

“What’s that, Jun?” Mana asked.

“Evolve,” Jun answered, “Digimon get bigger and stronger by evolving!”

Mana stared back at him, confused. “Huh?”

“It was one of the things I noticed about Digital Adventure,” he replied, “Right after we defeated that impossible mission, I looked into some of the source code, and I saw an option for filling up something called the ‘Evo Meter.’”

“Evo Meter…” Akira repeated.

“I thought that it might have had something to do with powering up our Digimon,” Jun continued, “since it involved level-changing values and stuff like that. But the option was disabled.”

Akira nodded thoughtfully. “That would explain why none of our Digimon changed for the entire time we were playing.”

“So Digimon get stronger by evolving…” Tian murmured.

Kodamon looked around, seeing all the blank, confused looks on the kids’ faces. “What, you mean you didn’t know that?” she asked, surprised.

Gazimon gave her a funny look. “I don’t think the rest of us had much of a clue either, Kodamon.”

Kodamon shot an annoyed glance at him.

“I’ve heard legends of Digimon becoming stronger by evolving,” Renamon spoke up, “But I’ve never actually seen it happen.”

“Neither did we,” Patamon added. Salamon, Terriermon, and Lopmon nodded.

“That’s interesting,” Jun answered.

“Um, excuse me,” a soft voice interrupted, “but who are you, and why are you here?”

Everyone turned to see Kiwimon, who was a little flustered. They had forgotten she was even there.

“Oh, sorry!” Kodamon said, “We just got lost, and we just happened to come across the Valley of Relics. We were looking for something we could use to call home…”

“Oh, yes, yes!” Kiwimon chirped, “There are many things here used for communication, but unfortunately, nothing that works! You are welcome to use anything else in this valley, though!”

“Yeah, we kinda already noticed that nothing works…” Seita grumbled.

“But what about the computer in your house, Kiwimon?” Akira asked, shooting an annoyed look at Seita.

“Ah! Yes! That works fine, but there are no outside connections–” Moans and groans sounded through the group. “I’m sorry…” Kiwimon said sadly.

“Well, that’s okay,” Akira replied, “Anyway, is there any place nearby where we can stay and get some rest?”

Kiwimon brightened. “Yes! There’s a small village not too far from here, with good-mannered Digimon! They will help you out! I’m sorry that I couldn’t help you call home!”

Kodamon smiled. “Oh, that’s all right, you’ve helped us so much already!”

The kids stayed with Kiwimon for a little while, then set off for the village.

“Bye, Kiwimon!” Akira shouted, waving. “Thanks so much for your help!”

“No problem!” Kiwimon answered, “Come back anytime!”

“Heh... I wonder when,” Mana winced.

“Don’t worry,” Akira said, “We’ll ask when we find the village!”

The group walked on toward their next adventure.

Chapter Text

The sun beat down upon the bone-dry desert and the traveling group. They had been walking nonstop since leaving the Valley of Relics, but there was nothing in sight. Even worse, as the temperature rose, so did the tempers.

"It's so hot..." Mana wailed, "Can we please rest and find some shade? My feet hurt!"

Seita sighed. Mana had been like this for the whole time.

"No, Mana, I don't think we can," he replied, irritated, "There’s no shade anywhere, and even if there was, the ground's so hot we wouldn't be able to sit!"

"I think Mana's right,” Tian said impatiently, "Everyone's tired! We need to stop and rest."

"I’m thirsty…" Kei murmured. "Mana, is there water in your bag?"

"Yeah..." Mana dug in her bag and pulled out some water bottles. Empty ones. "Huh? What happened?" Mana looked incredulous. "I swear I filled these up before we left!"

"It's so hot out here, the water probably evaporated..." Salamon murmured.

"Great..." Seita muttered, "Another problem to add to our list!"

"Don't worry," Gazimon said, "When we find that village, we can get some more!"

"If we do. There's nothing here! We might as well be walking in this desert forever!"

Akira glanced at Seita, puzzled. Why is he being like this? she thought.

She sighed. "Okay. We'll keep walking until sunset. We'll be able to rest then because it'll be cooler.”

Jun spoke up, "I don't know..." He looked up at the sky and back at them, puzzled. "I've been thinking..."

"What is it?"

"Well… We've been here for hours, and the sun hasn't even moved. It's still in the same spot in the sky, as if it were noontime. Does the sun ever even set in a place like this?"

Akira frowned. "There might not even be a night in this place..."

"If that's the case," Kodamon replied, "we must be in the Desert of the Eternal Sun. Here, the sun never sets. And it'll always be hot."

Seita was enraged now. "You just had to mention that, didn't you!" he shouted at Jun, "Even if we found someplace to rest, it wouldn't help us much because it's too hot and we don't have any water!"

"At least someone mentioned it soon enough!" Jun shouted back, "It would have been worse later, when everyone else would have noticed!"

"Hey! Calm down!" Akira stood between the two boys. "Seita, Jun's right. What would have happened if we didn't know all that? I know we're in trouble, but screaming about it won't make things better." She looked at him intensely.

Seita glared at her, then sighed and turned to Jun. "I'm sorry... I was just frustrated, that's all..."

Jun looked away. "That's okay..."

Just then, a small black spot flashed through the sky. Its points glittering in the sun, it descended, gathering speed...

Something clicked in Yuka's mind. She gasped and looked around wildly.

"What is it, Yuka?" Lopmon asked nervously.

"I... don't know," she whispered, "I felt something strange pass by." Like last time, only now it feels worse...

Suddenly, the black gear zoomed down and slammed though the desert floor behind the kids.

Mana screamed. "What was that?" she wailed.

No one saw the gear crash, but they felt it. The impact created large cracks and the ground began to shake.

"Earthquake!"

Then, the ground right under them split. Everyone screamed as they fell through the crack and landed on solid ground.

"Oohh..." Akira sat up groggily. "What happened?" Then a muffled yell erupted from under her. "Huh? Oh!" She jumped up. "Are you okay? Say something!" She had landed right on top of Kodamon!

"I'm okay, don't worry..." Kodamon replied woozily. "Is everyone else okay?"

Mana looked around her. "How did we get here?"

"Simple. The earthquake created a hole under us, making us fall into an underground cave." Jun looked up at a tiny, coin-sized patch of light. "And we can’t get back up."

"I can fly up!" Patamon flapped his ears and floated upward.

Jun made a face. "Yeah, but that's you. What about us?"

Akira looked at a dark corner of the cave. "Well, if we can't get back up, we can just keep going through there." She pointed toward an opening.

"Okay, great!" Kodamon started running toward it.

"Hey, wait!" Akira ran after her. Everyone else looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Oh, come on! It's better than roasting to death up there!" Kei replied.

They walked until they came to a fork in the path ahead.

Seita looked to the left, then the right. "Now which path do we take?" he said, frustrated. Jun glanced at him.

Akira slowly walked toward the two paths, a thoughtful look in her eyes. She pulled out her Digivice, while Kodamon looked at her, puzzled.

"Akira? What are you doing?" When she saw the Digivice, an understanding look appeared on her face. Everyone fell silent as Akira held out the Digivice in front of her and pointed it toward each path. When the Digivice reached the right-side path, it started beeping and glowing brightly. Akira smiled.

"Okay. We go this way!" She started walking toward the right-hand path when Seita grabbed her shoulder.

"Wait a second! What do you mean 'we go this way?' How do you know? Is that Digivice a compass or something? How did you know how to use it when we only got them a day ago? Is there something you're not telling us?" Seita looked at her sternly.

Akira stepped back. An icy tingle filled her. He's right... she realized, How did I know how to use that? I wasn't even thinking when I made it glow!

She swallowed, and replied, "I thought it would help. It has something to do with Digimon, right? So I thought that if I tried to use it to find our way, it would detect other Digimon around, and maybe they would help us!"

Her answer seemed good enough for Seita. "All right," he mumbled, "let's get going." They walked on. Jun and Patamon lagged behind with Tian and the two younger girls.

"Jun?" Patamon looked at him, "What is it? Are you still mad at Seita for what happened earlier?"

"No... not really... well, maybe a little."

"Don't worry about it," Tian said, "I don't think he meant it."

Later, the group was still walking and there was no sign of anything.

"Can we stop to rest?" Mana said, "I'm really getting tired!"

"Here we go again..." Seita replied. Mana glared at him and stuck out her tongue.

"Yeah, can we?" Kei replied, sitting down and leaning against Yuka and Terriermon.

"Sure. We should get some sleep. It's been a long day." Akira sat down against a wall and closed her eyes. Seita flopped down and looked around quietly as everyone else nodded off to sleep. Gazimon snuggled up against him.

A while later, when everyone else was fast asleep, Seita decided he had waited enough and got up, jolting Gazimon awake.

"Come on, Gazimon, let's go before we wake up everyone else!" Seita sounded nervous.

"Where are we going?" Gazimon yawned.

"Away for a while. I can't stand everyone right now. We'll come back, I promise, but right now, I just want to be alone."

Gazimon gave him a funny look, but followed him anyway. They tiptoed away, and hesitated when they walked past Yuka and Kei. Seita thought he saw Kei stir, but shook his head and kept on going.

They kept walking until they came across another fork in the tunnel, this time in three directions.

"Hmm..." Gazimon mused, "Do you want to try that trick Akira did with her Digivice?"

Seita shook his head. He closed his eyes and folded his arms. "You know, I really don't like it when she does stuff like that, acting like she knows what she's doing. All the stuff she's done since we got here – knowing what to do to beat that first Digimon we fought, and doing that trick with the Digivice. Even Kodamon, she knows a lot more about everything than you or the others. They're hiding something, I know it!”

Gazimon wasn't sure what to say. "Umm... well…" He laughed hastily. "Anyway, which path do we take?"

Seita smiled at him. "The one straight ahead. The shortest distance between two points is always a straight line!" He took Gazimon's hand, and they walked through the middle path. But they didn't see the small shadows that followed them...

A while later, the tunnel got brighter.

Seita smiled. "All right! I think we've found the exit! Come on, let's go!"

Gazimon stayed put. "Aren't we going back to tell the others?"

"It's okay! We'll just look, and then we'll go back." They both walked toward the light when they heard soft thumps behind them.

"Huh?" Seita glanced back. There was nothing there, except for a large rock. Whispers came from it. "Someone's been following us!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of 'em!" Gazimon clenched his fists and jumped over the rock. "Hyaaaa!"

Loud screams erupted from behind the rock, startling Gazimon.

"Eh? Whoa!" Gazimon lost his balance and fell, bumping his head.

Seita looked behind the rock and sighed. "I should have known it was you!" Sure enough, it was Kei sitting behind it, Terriermon in her arms. Seita shook his head. "Kei... what are you doing here? I thought you were asleep!"

"I was asleep. Until you two walked away. Terriermon woke me up after you left!"

Terriermon giggled and shook his ears. "With my big ears, how could I not hear you leave?"

Kei added, "I wanted to know where you were going!"

"We were just going for a walk!"

"Some walk!"

Seita groaned.

Kei glared at him. "I followed you for a good reason. I wanted to make sure you weren't ditching us!"

"I was not!"

She laughed. "Okay! Oh, and just so you know, right now would be the perfect time to get out of here. We saw a bunch of Digimon sneaking around while we were following you. You didn't seem to notice them, and we knocked out a lot before they got to you."

Seita was dumbfounded. "Huh? Wha–? How–?"

"Of course, that just made them mad, and they're probably coming after us right now!" As if to back up her statement, loud yells filled the tunnel.

Seita grabbed Kei's hand and ran toward the light. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?" he yelled.

"Hey, It's not my fault! You made me forget! And we wouldn't have this problem if you two had noticed and watched your backs!"

"You must really love annoying people like this, huh?"

"That's my job!" Kei replied, smiling.

They reached the lighted area and entered a huge cavern. It was a beautiful ice-blue color, with piles of diamond and crystal rocks strewn about.

"Wow..." Terriermon whispered, "What is this place?"

"Whatever it is, it's pretty!" Kei answered.

Just then, a bunch of Gotsumon jumped out from behind the crystals.

"Whoa!" Kei started running away, but looked around. "Uh oh..." They were surrounded!

Gazimon walked up to some of the Gotsumon, a sly smile on his face. His paws charged up with energy…

Meanwhile, Akira was jolted awake by someone shaking her roughly. She yawned and looked up at Yuka's face.

"Yuka...? What is it? You should get some more sleep..." She rubbed her eyes.

"I can't. Something's wrong." Yuka looked very disturbed.

"What?"

"I'm not sure, but it doesn't feel right." She pointed in the direction they came in, which was shrouded in darkness. "It came from over there."

"Do you want me to check on it?"

Yuka nodded.

"All right." Akira got up and shook Kodamon. "Come on, get up."

"Wha–what is it?"

"We don't know yet."

Tian and Renamon were already there, since Yuka woke them up first. Akira walked up to them.

"What’s going on?" she asked. Tian shook her head.

"I don't know. I don't see anything strange."

"But there seems to be some strange presence here..." Renamon murmured.

"A Digimon?"

"Could be."

Lopmon jumped up and flew toward the darkness. "I'll go find out!"

"Be careful!" Yuka looked on fearfully as Lopmon disappeared in the shadows.

"Oh, and something else," Tian told Akira, "Seita and Kei are gone."

Akira stared back at her. "Gone? Where?"

"I'm thinking that Seita went for a walk. You know how he was earlier, and–"

Akira finished her thought. "And Kei, being curious as she is, followed him. I think they'll be okay. Kei won’t get hurt if Seita’s with her."

Suddenly, a scream rang out from the darkness.

"Lopmon!" Yuka shouted. Lopmon appeared, falling through the air as if she had been hit. An evil cackle echoed through the tunnel, and a large form appeared from the shadows.

Yuka scooped Lopmon in her arms and hid behind Tian. Akira pulled out her Digivice and looked at Kodamon.

Kodamon nodded. "Gotcha!" She began to glow brightly...

"Whew," Gazimon sat down and stretched, "That was a workout!" He and Terriermon had managed to knock out all of the Gotsumon.

"Tell me about it," Terriermon replied, sinking into Kei's arms.

Kei looked at the diamond and crystal piles. "What's so important about this place that these Digimon would attack us?"

"Beats me," Seita replied, "Maybe because it's a mine or a power source they were trying to protect."

Just then, everything started shaking, and what sounded like shots were being fired in the tunnel they came out of.

"Huh? What's that?" Kei asked, "I thought we beat them all!"

Then, an Ogremon jumped out of the tunnel, with Renamon and Kodiamon firing shots at him. Akira and Tian tumbled out after them, breathing heavily.

Seita stared at them. "What happened? Where's everyone else?"

"Jun and Mana stayed behind with Yuka," Akira said wearily. "Their Digimon got knocked out. We were the only ones able to chase him..."

Kei looked at Renamon and Kodiamon's battle, then looked at Terriermon. "Don't even think about it. You're still too weak from last time!"

"But they can't fight much longer!" Sure enough, the two Digimon were tiring, and Ogremon was unfazed.

"I'll go help them out!" Gazimon ran toward them, but Seita tackled him and held him down.

"Are you crazy? You're still weak!" Then, Ogremon knocked Kodiamon and Renamon away, and they didn't get up. Kodiamon shined briefly and turned back into Kodamon.

"Let me go!" Gazimon wrestled away from Seita, jumped at Ogremon, and got knocked away.

"Hey! Cut it out!" Seita tried to tackle Ogremon, but tripped. Ogremon loomed over him with his club…

Then a brilliant blue light flashed from Seita's Digivice. It beeped repeatedly, and Gazimon's small form glowed and grew larger.

"Gazimon, evolve to... Leomon!"

The bright light dissipated, revealing Leomon, the legendary lion Digimon. Leomon unsheathed his sword and swiped away Ogremon's bone club. "If you want a fight," Leomon growled, "make it fair. Never attack anyone when they're down!" Seita stared at him in awe.

Suddenly, Ogremon leaped at Leomon, snarling. Leomon jumped away and clenched his large fist. "Fist of the Beast King!" The powerful attack smacked into Ogremon head-on, hurling a small Black Gear out of his back. It zoomed into the air and deleted itself when it hit the ground.

Leomon's form shined, then shrinked into Gazimon again. Seita walked over to him and ruffled the fur on his head.

"Thanks a lot," Seita said with a smile.

"Aw, it was nothing!" Gazimon smiled back.

Then, everyone started talking at once. The others had entered the cavern during Leomon's battle and watched the whole thing. When everything quieted down, Seita spoke up.

"Everyone... I'm sorry for how I've been acting. I just get like that when I'm frustrated."

"So does that mean we can just shut you up the next time?" Kei said with a mischievous smile. Seita shot her a look, then laughed with everyone else.

Mana looked around the ice-blue cavern. "This is a pretty place!" she said excitedly, "But how are we going to get out?" She stared at the spot where Ogremon was lying, then shrieked as he slowly got up.

"Ohh... Ah! Hello there! Who are you?" he said in confusion. Everyone started talking again. Ogremon actually wasn't bad, but he couldn't remember what happened when he was in a rage. He even blasted a small hole in the ceiling of the cavern so they could get out easily. When everyone finally got out of the crazy underground maze, they waved goodbye.

Ogremon waved back. "Goodbye! I hope you find what you're looking for!"

Akira sighed. "So... what do we do next? Should we keep going?"

"Might as well," Kodamon replied, "There's no point in going back, right?"

Akira looked back toward the group. "Seita?" He looked at her and their eyes met.

"Let's keep going," he said, determined. "If it gets too hot, we can always blow a hole in the ground and go under!" Everyone laughed.

"Ok! We're going on!" Akira said cheerfully.

Yuka lagged behind the others, cradling Lopmon in her arms. A worried expression crossed her face.

This feeling... It's getting closer and closer... It's scaring me...

She looked behind her and saw only a sea of hot sand. She shivered.

I wish that whatever's following us would go away and leave us alone!

Chapter Text

"This is ridiculous..."

Akira wiped the sweat from her forehead and plopped down on a large sand dune. "Can this get any worse? It's really hot, the sun isn't setting, there’s no water left, and we can't see anything but sand dunes!"

"You got the 'really hot' part right," Kodamon answered, sweat pouring down her fur. She and Akira had left the group to see if there was anything ahead.

Akira closed her eyes. "I hope Jun and Patamon had better luck." Since everyone else wanted to rest, she had to drag Jun along. "I wonder what everyone will think when we say that there's nothing ahead but sand dunes..."

"You're right. There isn't."

Akira jumped in surprise. Jun sat behind her at the bottom of the sand dune, writing on a pad. Patamon was curled up on his backpack. "H–hey, when did you two get here?" Akira asked incredulously. Then she noticed the paper. "What’s that?"

"I'm writing down everything that's been happening to us,” he answered. “They might be clues to why we're here."

“Why not use your laptop?”

“It hasn’t been working since we got here.”

Akira sighed. “We’ll have to get back soon and report to everyone,” she mumbled, “and some report they’ll get…”

“Hey! Do you see that?” Kodamon was pointing at something in the distance.

“What is it?” Akira asked. She squinted in the same direction and could make out long, curved shapes. “They look like palm trees,” she said, “But in the middle of the desert?”

Jun popped up beside her. “I bet it’s an oasis! If there’s trees, there’s going to be water and shade!” He got up and started running toward them. “Come on!”

The strange shapes were palm trees! There was a cluster of them, with pale, scruffy green patches of grass. A stream of water flowed into the distance, and an odd-looking building stood a few feet away.

“What is this place?” Akira asked.

“I don’t know, but it’s the best thing that’s happened to us yet!” Kodamon replied.

“We have to tell everyone else about this,” Akira said seriously, “We should have been back a long time ago.” She looked around again. “Jun!”

Jun was looking around the building and was just about to walk through a dark entrance when Akira called. He whipped around. “Y–yeah?”

“Can you and Patamon stay here while we get the others?”

“Sure.” Jun tried to hide a mischievous look.

Akira looked at him sternly. “Stay right here, okay? Don’t start exploring until we come back. I don’t want something to happen and we’d have to go looking for you.”

“Sure.”

After they left, Jun walked over to a tree and sat down. He pulled out his pad and started writing again.

Meanwhile, a tiny black pinprick zoomed through the sky…

Yuka woke with a jolt. She sat up and shook her head. What was that? She couldn’t remember anything. Just then, Akira showed up.

“Hey! Everyone!” Akira shouted excitedly, “We’ve found something!”

“We found an oasis!” Kodamon added, “There’s trees, grass, and a stream!” Everyone looked like all their dreams had come true.

“What are we waiting for?” Mana shouted, “Let’s go!” She ran off, not bothering to ask for directions.

“Hey!” Akira called out, “Wait for us!”

“Typical...” Seita said, shaking his head in annoyance.

Just then, the Black Gear zoomed by, right over their heads.

Yuka looked around wildly. No… She felt that terrible feeling again and shut her eyes. No, not again!

A hand landed on Yuka’s shoulder. She jumped in fright, but it was only Kei. “Yuka, what’s wrong?” Kei looked at her, worried. Yuka looked up frantically, but to her relief, no one else noticed.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, “I can’t tell you right now. Everyone will get worried…”

Meanwhile, Jun had stopped writing and was examining a wall of the building.

“This is strange…” he murmured. “This looks like one of the pyramids in Egypt. They’re ruins now, but this–” He ran a finger along one of the edges. “–this looks new.”

He stared at it for another moment, then sighed, leaning on one of the pyramid walls. His eyes flitted toward the dark entrance.

“I wish I could go inside and look around,” he said.

“Why don’t you?” Patamon asked.

“I have to stay outside until everyone gets here,” he replied, “I don’t want everyone to worry.”

Suddenly, a black streak sped past him and plowed through the entrance.

“Whoa! Did you see that?” Jun stared at the entrance, shocked. Then, without thinking, he ran through it.

“Hey! Wait! Didn’t you just say–” Patamon flapped after him into the darkness. They didn’t notice that the entrance disappeared, as if the walls had sucked it up…

“Hello? Anybody here? Jun! Patamon!” The air outside the pyramid was filled with everyone’s calls.

“I don’t believe this…” Akira was exasperated. “I told them to stay here!” She leaned on a wall and folded her arms.

“Do you have any idea where they could have went?” Seita asked.

“I saw the look on Jun’s face when he saw the entrance,” Akira replied, “He might have gotten curious and went in without thinking and–wait a second!” She looked again. “The entrance is gone! It’s like there never was an opening in the first place!”

Mana, meanwhile, wasn’t paying attention to any of this – she was busy staying in the shade. She was stretching out under a tree when she saw Yuka staring at a wall.

“Yuka, what are you doing?” she asked.

“It’s not right…”

“What’s not right?” Mana asked her softly.

Yuka pointed to the wall in front of her. “This spot. It’s strange. It looks and feels wrong. Something should be here, but it’s not.” A shiver went through her. She didn’t know it, but it was exactly where the pyramid’s entrance used to be.

Mana stared at the wall. “I don’t see anything weird. Maybe it’s your imagination–” She noticed a black, foggy circle under Yuka’s feet. “Look out!”

Yuka looked down, eyes wide. Mana tried to push her away when the blackness turned into a large hole, and they all fell in.

Akira looked away from the walls long enough to see them disappear under the ground. She didn’t have time to be surprised, since another large black hole had just appeared under her and the others…

Meanwhile, Jun and Patamon wandered deeper into the pyramid. The black streak had disappeared, and the two found themselves in a darkened hallway, with elaborate carvings on the walls.

“I wonder what that black streak was,” Jun murmured, walking with one hand running along the wall.

“Who knows?” Patamon answered, “I wonder if everyone’s looking for us now.”

Jun shrugged. “I think it'll be all right. All we have to do is just retrace our steps, and we'll make it back out in no time, right?”

Patamon frowned. “I don't know...”

“We should be able to get back,” Jun answered calmly. He looked behind them, staring back down the hallway. The other end seemed to be shrouded in impenetrable darkness, with no sign of an opening whatsoever. He swallowed, and felt slightly uneasy. “We should.”

He turned his attention away from the hallway and instead focused on the carvings on the walls.

“Weird...” he murmured, “I was expecting hieroglyphs, or cuneiform, or some other ancient writing, but...” He turned to Patamon. “Patamon, what is this?”

Patamon hovered closer to the wall, squinting his eyes. “I think... it is some kind of ancient writing. It looks similar to the writing I've seen being used.”

Jun looked back at him in surprise. “Digimon have a writing system?”

Patamon nodded. “Yeah. Digicodes. But there aren't a lot of Digimon who know how to read them.”

“Do you?”

“Not really,” Patamon answered sheepishly, “I can recognize some symbols, but not enough to really read.”

Jun smiled. “That's the same with me and Japanese. I know some words, but can't really speak it. I know some characters, but can't really read or write.”

He turned his attention to the wall again, gazing at the symbols. Many of them looked very old, as if they had been carved eons ago. The carved marks were smooth and worn down.

However, one set of carvings looked different. Three lines of code, spaced and aligned neatly, unlike the other markings that were carved in random places. They looked to be newly-carved.

“That looks like normal Digicode!” Patamon remarked.

“Can you read it?” Jun asked.

“Not enough of it,” Patamon answered. “Sorry.”

“That's okay.” Jun looked at the symbols carefully for a few moments. Then, a strange expression crossed his face.

“Wait a minute...” he said softly, “I think I've seen these before...” He thought and thought, trying to remember where he had seen the mysterious symbols, but he came up with nothing.

He sighed, and stared at the symbols in frustration.

“Jun...” Patamon spoke up.

“Just a minute.” Jun reached into his backpack and pulled out a digital camera. “It might not work,” he said, “but let me see if I can get a picture of these things. Just in case.” He pushed the power button, half expecting nothing to happen.

The camera came to life, immediately powering up.

Jun blinked, his mouth falling open in surprise. “It worked!” He took several pictures of the carved symbols, then turned the camera off. He was about to put it away when he glanced at his laptop, lying in his bag. His brow furrowed in thought.

“I wonder...” He pulled out the laptop and opened it up. He pushed the power button, and the laptop immediately turned on.

Jun laughed. “Perfect!” He turned to Patamon. “All of my electronic stuff works in here!” He looked around at their surroundings. “This place is amazing!”

Patamon looked around nervously. “Jun, it’s been a long time now,” he said, “Shouldn't we go look for the others?”

Jun blinked, then nodded. “I guess so.” He snapped his laptop shut and packed it up.

“Do you remember the way back?” Patamon asked.

“Hopefully...” Jun answered faintly. He took a few steps, looking around for a way out, and ended up face-to-face with an unmarked door. He looked up at Patamon questioningly, and shrugged.

He touched the doorknob and was about to turn it when an alarm sounded. Small, gear-shaped Digimon appeared.

Patamon gasped. “Hagurumon!” he yelled, springing into the air.

“Air Shot!”

Balls of compressed air slammed into the Hagurumon, and it didn’t take long for all of them to drop.

Afterward, Jun looked at the door again.

“What’s so important in here that made those things attack us?” He turned the doorknob, and the door opened easily.

The door opened to reveal a small room, with a table in the middle, illuminated by a dim light. Jun wandered over to the table and stared at the top.

“Weird…” he murmured, “This looks…”

“…just like a maze!” Kei gaped at the walls surrounding everyone. The holes in the ground had landed everyone into the bottom of the pyramid, and while Jun and Patamon were exploring the top, everyone else was looking for them and for a way out.

Mana was getting impatient. “What’ll we do? We have to get out of here now and find Jun and Patamon!” Seita was about to make a smart remark, when Akira caught him.

“No, don’t even start! The last thing we need is for you to start another argument.”

Seita scowled at her. “Oh, so you’re saying I start all the arguments, huh? Is that it?”

Akira shook her head and laughed a little. “You see? You’re starting one right now!”

“You’re starting it too, by doing that!”

Akira looked at him, exasperated. “I wish you could fix that annoying attitude of yours! Do you always have to get mad at everything?”

“Do you always have to care? And what attitude? I thought it was you that had it!”

“Hey! Hey!” Kodamon and Gazimon jumped between them.

“This is ridiculous,” Gazimon said, “Fighting will get us nowhere!”

“We’re wasting time standing here talking!” Kodamon added, “And Mana’s right. We do need to get out of here and find Jun and Patamon.”

Akira shot a withering glance at Seita. “Okay. Any ideas?” Kei and Yuka were busily whispering to each other. Then, Yuka spoke up.

“Umm… we have an idea!” The others looked at her expectantly, and she continued. “Well, there’s three openings in front of us, so if we split up four at a time, we’ll have a better chance of getting out, since any of the pathways could be the right one!”

Akira smiled brightly. “That’s the best idea anyone’s come up with today!”

“Okay!” Kei exclaimed, heading toward one of the openings and pulling Yuka’s hand. “Let’s go, Yuka!”

“Oh, no you don’t!” Akira and Seita said in unison. Then they noticed that they said the same thing and glared.

Akira pulled her glance from Seita to the girls and replied, “You two aren’t going anywhere by yourselves. Kei, you’ll stay with me.” Kei folded her arms and pouted.

Akira sighed, then turned to Yuka. “Yuka, I’m sure that Seita feels the same way, and you should go with him.” She glanced at Seita. “Is that okay?”

Seita shrugged. “That’s fine. Anything to get away from you!”

Akira glared and looked away. “You make me sick!”

“Same here!” Seita took Yuka by the hand, and they walked through the opening in the middle.

“Moron…” Akira muttered under her breath.

Tian spoke up. “So, I guess I’m going with Mana, right?”

Akira nodded, a scowl on her face.

Tian smiled, and then her group disappeared through the pathway to the left.

Jun was examining the miniature maze, which was exactly like the labyrinth everyone else was lost in. He found a small switch on the side, turned it on, and looked at the controls in the maze sections.

Patamon was wary of it. “I don’t think you should be messing with that.”

“Why? I don’t think anything will happen–oops!” Jun’s hand banged over three pathways. The interference caused the right pathway to twist in all directions.

Patamon gasped, but Jun wasn’t concerned. “Don’t worry about it! This is probably just a toy or something…” He started pressing buttons on the pathways, including one with a musical note and one with a laser beam.

Meanwhile, Akira, Kei and the others had just entered the right pathway. Akira was about to look for the path to take next when she looked straight ahead. “What the…?”

Kei looked around as well. “Huh? Aaah! No way!”

The path ahead was twisted so much and led to impossible directions including up the walls, up in the air, and even upside down!

“What do we do now…?”

Tian and Mana had run into a dead end, with a keyboard in a corner and musical notes painted on the wall in front of them. Tian looked behind her to see another wall cover the opposite direction. “What are we supposed to do now? We can’t go back!”

Salamon looked at the wall thoughtfully. “Maybe, since it has to do with sound…”

Mana smiled. “That’s it!” She went to the keyboard and played a few bars.

The result was disastrous. Harsh, discordant sounds came from the keyboard, and made the room shake violently. She realized this and stopped, staring at the keyboard in disbelief. “That wasn’t how it was supposed to sound!”

“Maybe you should have played the notes on the wall instead?” Tian said in a shaky voice. The soundquake had knocked her and everyone else off their feet.

“…Right,” Mana said, laughing hastily. She did so, and the wall disappeared. She smiled. “There!”

Meanwhile, Seita and Yuka were faced with a wall of buttons. Seita was pacing around, ready to explode from frustration, and Gazimon looked at him, too wary to speak. Yuka and Lopmon were staring at the buttons and whispering to each other.

“We can’t go back the way we came,” Yuka murmured, “So the only way we can get out is to press one of these buttons!”

“Ok!” Lopmon jumped up to the buttons on the wall. “Let’s try it! Button number one!” She pushed the first button she saw.

Hundreds of heavy balls appeared out of nowhere and rolled across the floor.

“Nope! Wrong one!” Yuka looked at the wall, purposely ignoring the shouts and exhausted breathing behind her. “Button number two!” She pushed the next button.

The balls disappeared, and were replaced by hundreds of ninja stars that flew through the air. Again, Yuka and Lopmon ignored the commotion behind them.

“Uh-uh. Don’t think so!” Lopmon hovered again. “Button number three!” She moved her hand close to the next button.

“NO!” Seita and Gazimon stared at Lopmon in fear. But it was too late.

Laser beams shot across the room.

Yuka stared at the wall again, still ignoring all the bumping and screaming. “There’s just one button left. This should be it. Button number four!” She pushed the last button.

Everything stopped. And the wall disappeared.

“Okay!” Yuka looked back at her exhausted brother and his Digimon and smiled. “Problem solved!”

“Akira… I’m sick… I’m hurting all over, my feet are dying, and being upside down is giving me a headache!” Kei moaned.

Akira wasn’t feeling any better. “I know, but we have to keep going. This may be the only way out.”

Suddenly, the maze lurched.

“What was that?” Akira stared at the floor. “Something just happened… but I don’t know what!” She saw Kei about to take another step. “I don’t think you should–” she began, but it was too late. Kei put her foot down, and they all went down. As if they fell from the ceiling.

“Jun… can you stop and listen to me?” Patamon asked quietly. Jun sighed and did what he said, but his hand banged over the right path again, this time causing a trap door to appear at the end.

“What is it?”

“I think it’s time you stopped looking around and started worrying about your friends!” Patamon said gently. “Did you realize that we’ve been here a long time, and that maybe they’ve been looking for us all this time? Did you stop and think that maybe they’re in trouble?”

Jun’s shocked expression told him that he hadn’t thought of that. He swallowed. “I-I’m sorry,” he stammered, “I always get this way when I’ve stumbled onto something interesting. I can’t leave something alone and always have to investigate.”

“I understand,” Patamon replied, “Just don’t do something like this again, promise?”

Jun smiled. “Promise!” He turned back to the maze to turn it off when an energy beam came out of nowhere and stopped him.

“I do not recommend that you do that…” a robotic voice said, hidden in the darkness.

Akira fell down hard, cracking her head against the floor. Or was it the ceiling? The last thing she remembered before blacking out was hearing a shout and a bump under her. Some time later, she opened her eyes… and looked directly into Seita’s! She gasped and moved away as fast as she could.

“What’d you do that for?” Seita snapped. He sat up and rubbed his head furiously. “Ow! Gee, did you have to hit that hard?” Akira looked at him nervously and noticed his face had an odd pink shade.

“Akira, you okay? Your face is all red!” Akira looked up to see Tian, Mana, Kei, and Yuka standing over her with funny looks on their faces. Akira looked down and nodded.

“What happened?” she asked. No one had time to explain, since a giant trapdoor had formed under everyone…

Jun backed away from the voice. “W-who’s that? Who are you?” He saw something stir where the voice came from, and a large Digimon appeared.

“Andromon!” Patamon exclaimed, “He’s good! He’ll show us how to get out of here and where everyone else is!

“I am the guardian of this pyramid,” Andromon replied in a monotone, “You are intruders. I must destroy intruders…” His chest glowed and fired dozens of missiles.

Jun and Patamon tried to get out of the way, but the missiles went everywhere, blasting everything in sight, except for the maze. Suddenly, one missile exploded right behind Jun, hurling him into the air. He hit one of the walls and banged his head.

“No!” Patamon turned and saw him collapse. Then, Jun’s Digivice started glowing a bright, brilliant orange. Patamon did the same, and began to change shape.

“Patamon, evolve to… Angemon!”

“Heaven’s Knuckle!”

Jun got up, and was conscious long enough to see Angemon fire his attack at Andromon, and see a strange black object shoot out of Andromon’s back. Then, his head whirling painfully, Jun collapsed back on the hard stone floor and everything went black…

He awoke to a crowd of familiar voices. He groaned and opened his eyes to see everyone looking over him.

“Hey, are you okay?” Akira asked, “Patamon told us everything.”

“I’m… okay,” he replied, struggling to sit up.

“Oh, thank goodness!” Mana shouted, knocking him over and giving him a big hug. “You don’t know how much trouble all of us went through trying to look for you!”

“Aahh! I’m–sorry–I’m sorry! I won’t–do it–again!” Jun replied frantically, smothered by her hug. She released him and smiled.

“Did you see what happened?” she asked him.

“Huh? What happened?”

“With Patamon, silly! There was this beautiful angel blasting a robot and knocking it out. Then it turned into Patamon! I never knew he had such an incredible evolved form!”

Jun smiled and looked at Patamon. “Yeah, Patamon. I caught a glimpse of you before I fainted. You were really cool! Thanks for saving me from that android!” He turned to everyone else. “How did you all get here?”

“We were stuck in a great big maze!” Kei exclaimed, “And it kept doing crazy things to us, like making us walk up the walls and upside down and dropping us through a trap door and landing us here!”

“And we went through all that trying to look for you!” Akira said, exasperated, “What were you doing in here? I told you to stay outside!”

“I’m sorry. Really! I saw a weird black disc fly through the opening, and I followed it–”

Akira blinked. A weird black disc?

“And I saw a lot of strange wall carvings, and that.” Jun pointed to the small maze. “I started playing around with it, but Patamon kept telling me no…”

Seita examined the maze. “These things look like all the stuff that happened when we were trapped in the maze!” He whirled around at Jun. “So it’s your fault!”

Jun shot back, “I already said I was sorry! I know it’s all my fault!” Seita was about to reply, but Akira shot him a dangerous look. She turned toward Jun.

“It’s okay. Next time, think before you act, okay?” She smiled. Jun returned it.

Meanwhile, Patamon was flitting around Andromon, trying to wake him up, and was relieved when he did.

“W–what happened?” Andromon sat up, his limbs creaking.

Patamon looked puzzled. “You don’t remember anything?” Andromon shook his head. Patamon shrugged and continued, “Well, you were acting weird, and I had to evolve and beat you up until I got rid of the black thing that was controlling you. I’m sorry if I hurt you!” Andromon assured him that he was okay, then saw the kids.

“Hello. May I help all of you?”

Akira looked at everyone else, then walked to him. “Yeah! Do you know how to get out of here? We were looking around this pyramid and we got lost!”

“You got lost?” Andromon asked, “Well, that’s understandable. This place is designed to confuse everyone except me! This pyramid holds the power core for this region of the Digital World. If anything were to happen to it, the results would be disastrous, so the pyramid was built with all kinds of things to confuse intruders.”

“Like the maze?” Jun asked, “And the carvings?” Andromon nodded.

“Well, could you help us get out?” Seita asked.

Andromon nodded again, and walked to an empty wall. He put his hand on it, and it shimmered and disappeared. He walked into a small room with a window and console on one side. On the other side, there was a large circular space, containing a massive ice-blue stone. Bright blue waves of energy radiated from it.

“The only way out is through the control room,” Andromon said, “Usually, I’m forbidden to let anyone in, but since Patamon helped me, I’ll help you!” He pushed a button on the console and a door slid out, revealing the outside. “You have my permission to pass!” Everyone cheered and started running out, but Jun stayed behind.

“Thanks,” he said.

“No problem,” Andromon answered, “And if there’s anything you need, I’ll be here to help!” Jun nodded, and started toward the doorway, waving.

The opening revealed a completely different landscape than the burning desert they had left behind. In its place was a beautiful green field with a brook and flowers, and towering blue mountains in the distance.

“Oh! This place is beautiful!” Mana gasped.

Akira looked back at the pyramid. It was gone, and whatever was behind it was now just a shimmer. What a strange world this is, she thought. A cool breeze blew, ruffling her hair, and she remembered her dream. I wish I knew what all of this means…

Kei was sitting near the stream when she noticed Yuka standing there, worried like before. Kei walked over to her. “Yuka? Can you tell me now?”

Yuka looked at her, as if waking from a trance. “Tell you what?”

“Whatever it was that scared you before everything happened. Remember?”

Yuka looked down. “Oh… that. Well…” She struggled with herself. “It’s a bad feeling I get. Like something horrible’s going to happen. I don’t know why, but it scares me every time I think about it.” She looked at Kei seriously. “Promise me, that you won’t tell anyone I told you this. Not even Seita or Akira. If they knew…”

Kei nodded. “I promise.” Then, she felt it. A tiny pinprick of… something. Fear? Anxiety? She wasn’t sure what it was, but it made her nervous. She looked behind her, but saw nothing. She swallowed.

“Yuka? You know that feeling you were talking about? I think I’m starting to feel it too.”

Chapter Text

Akira sat by the water’s edge and smiled. It was evening, and the green meadows they found that day had become a completely different, but beautiful, world by night. Nocturnal flowers bloomed and cast a mysterious colorful glow that illuminated the night sky and made the stars shine brighter. The eerie glow of an aurora shined and pulsed overhead, as if it were helped by the flowers’ rainbow light. The sights made Akira feel calm, and somehow made her wish that she could lay back and sit like this forever. It was one of those rare nights that she could just relax and not have unpleasant memories tearing through her mind.

She gazed across the lake at the small village they had found just that afternoon. The beautiful garden of rainbows was home to dozens of young data and vaccine-type Digimon, led by Wizardmon. She heard laughter and occasional shrieks from nearby, and saw a big group seated around a campfire. Tian and Renamon were there, as well as Gazimon and a small group of Digimon kids. They were all listening to a scary story Kodamon was telling them and the kids were screaming at the right times.

Akira heard footsteps behind her and quickly sat up, wondering who it was. But it was only Seita, returning from a walk. He wandered over to her.

“Hi. Mind if I sit?” he asked, smiling.

Akira looked up at him and just shook her head. “Go ahead.” Seita sat down beside her and looked at the village across the lake just as she had.

“Beautiful night, isn’t it?”

Akira looked at him, blinking. She didn’t really expect him to say something like that. “Yeah,” she replied, “It is.”

Then Seita turned and looked at her. Akira could feel herself flushing, though she couldn’t understand why. Was the weather getting warmer?

“Are you feeling okay?” Seita asked, looking at her with a small twinge of concern.

Akira blinked again and turned away. “Um… yeah, I’m okay,” she replied, feeling very awkward. “Why?”

“Oh, just wondering,” Seita answered, “You don’t seem like your usual self today.” He stared at her, probing.

Akira looked at him again, warily. “I can’t help but suspect…” she said, inspecting the look on Seita’s face, “…that you’re looking for something to tease me about. Is that it?”

A tiny hint of a smile appeared on Seita’s face. “I rest my case. You are your usual self now!”

Akira looked at him questioningly. “How do you mean?”

The smile got bigger. “Your attitude’s back!”

Akira scowled and pushed Seita away. “Moron!” Seita just laughed.

A few paces away, Tian glanced at the two and smiled.

“So this is the village that Kiwimon told us about?” Jun asked incredulously.

“You’re quite right,” Wizardmon replied. “Kiwimon is as old as the trees and the waters, even the whole Digital World itself. And her memory is just as ancient. Our village really was located near the Valley of Relics – over a thousand years ago!”

Mana laughed a little and sighed. “If only we knew sooner – it would have saved us lots of trouble!”

“But we did make some new friends along the way,” Salamon countered, “Ogremon and Andromon…”

Mana smiled. “Yeah, that’s true.”

“You and your friends can stay here for as long as you like,” Wizardmon said, “It’s peaceful here, and you all can get lots of much-needed rest.”

“Thank you,” Jun replied with a smile.

Mana turned and looked out the window of the small wooden cottage they were in.

“I never believed there could be a place as beautiful as this… Never in my wildest dreams.”

Kei lay in bed, wide-awake, listening to everything around her. She could hear Jun talking to Wizardmon in the next room, and could hear all the chatting and laughing from outside. She shut her eyes, trying to fall asleep, but couldn’t, though Terriermon had fallen asleep long before. That strange, unnerving feeling kept her awake. It had gotten worse since the other day; now it gave her a shiver of fear along with the nervousness, but she knew that somehow, Yuka was feeling much worse.

Kei heard Yuka stir in the bunk above hers, and sat up slowly. “You can’t sleep either?”

“No…” The sheets crinkled and the bunk creaked a little. Kei then saw Yuka climb down and sit next to her on the lower bed. Lopmon was curled across her shoulders.

“Are you okay?” Kei asked, though she already knew the answer.

Yuka shook her head. “It’s gotten worse,” she whispered frantically, “Something bad is going to happen – and soon!” She curled up, and her head sank to her knees. “Any time now…”

Kei put an arm around her, and stared into space, lost in thought. Then she heard Wizardmon speaking again. She looked back at Yuka. “Do you want to talk to Wizardmon about it? Maybe he’ll understand.” Yuka nodded, but looked unconvinced. Kei nodded and got up, holding Yuka’s hand and picking up Terriermon with her other arm. They were almost at the door when Yuka gasped and went rigid.

“What? What?” Kei stared at her in fear. Her own senses had frozen as well.

“Oh, no!” Yuka suddenly ran to the door and pushed it open with a bang…

Akira was still fuming at Seita when she suddenly felt the ground shaking violently under her. “Huh?” She sat still for a moment, baffled, then glanced at Seita. “Did you feel that?” Seita looked just as confused as her. They could hear everyone else murmuring and asking each other the same thing.

They got up and looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was quiet. The only sound that could be heard was a faint whistling, coming from somewhere up in the sky, and then a soft ‘pop’. A small, bright ball of light suddenly appeared, and began to fall toward the earth, slowly at first, then with gathering speed.

Akira and Seita looked up, puzzled, then looked at each other. Then, it slowly dawned on them exactly what the whistling and the bright ball of light meant.

Without hesitation, they both ran toward the village, shouting.

“Everyone! Take cover!”

“Hurry!”

Akira looked behind her for a moment, and was shocked to see how close the light ball had gotten. It zoomed past them, overhead, and she could feel intense heat and power radiating from it. It looked as if it would slam right into the middle of the village.

Akira swallowed in fear, and she and Seita ran faster.

“Watch out!!”

Jun was still talking to Wizardmon when the door to the next room flew open and Yuka and Kei rushed in, breathing heavily and looking terrified. He took a step toward them. “What is it?” he asked, “Is something–” But he never got a chance to finish. A huge explosion shook the cottage and knocked him down.

Shock waves and blasts of intense heat filled the air, and the earth shook.

Several minutes later, the heat and vibrations stopped. Mana ran over to Jun and helped him up. “What just happened?” she asked, fearfully.

“It’s time…”

Mana whipped around and saw Yuka. Her eyes were closed and she was trembling all over. “What do you mean ‘it’s time,’?” Mana blurted out, her voice cracking.

Yuka breathed out slowly. “It’s time. They couldn’t wait anymore. They’ve come to destroy us all now.”

Mana was about to reply when the front door burst open and a weak, injured Koromon bounced in.

“Wizardmon!” he shouted, “We’re under attack! We’re under attack–” He was blown away by another, weaker explosion, right through the doorway.

There was silence as the smoke cleared. Then a small, black blur whizzed through the door, bumping into the walls and heading straight for Mana. She screamed, hardly moving at all.

“Puppy Howling!” Salamon's attack stopped whatever it was in its tracks, and it fell on the floor, revealing a very dizzy Picodevimon.

Wizardmon walked up to it and examined it, a dark look on his face. “The Midnight Army...”

Jun frowned. “The Midnight Army?”

“I was afraid of this,” Wizardmon continued, “They already know you're here. And they took it as an opportunity to invade us... again!”

“Wha-?” Jun stammered, “What do we have to do with any of this?”

“Everything.” The ground shook with more explosions, and Wizardmon looked at the empty doorway. “Come on, let's get out of here. I'll take you someplace safer!”

They all ran outside and came across a war zone – the very center of the village was virtually gone, with nothing left but bare ground and charred debris. Dark Digimon raged everywhere, attacking everything in sight. Kodiamon, Leomon, and Renamon were surrounded by hoards of them, and so were the other kids. Akira was trying to fight off a Digimon who was trying to strangle her, then she saw Wizardmon and the others.

“Get-away from-here!” she gasped, “It's too-dangerous!” She shut her eyes in pain.

“Akira!” Kei started to run to her, but Mana pulled her back.

“Get off of her!” Seita rushed up and attacked the Digimon with a series of well-placed kicks. The Digimon screamed and let go. “Are you okay?” Seita asked, pulling Akira up. She nodded weakly. Then, Seita turned to the others. “What are you waiting for? Go!” He ran off in another direction, pulling Akira by the hand.

“Come,” Wizardmon said, “We can't waste any more time.”

They ran a distance away from the village, until they reached a metal-covered pothole in the ground. Wizardmon opened the cover, and they were about to slide through when a dark Digimon jumped in front of them.

Jun jumped in between and shouted, “Keep going! Patamon and I will take care of this one!”

Mana didn't move.

“Go on!” Jun coaxed her, “You have to look after the little kids!”

Mana swallowed, then nodded and dropped down the hole after Wizardmon and the rest.

The hole led to a long, dark tunnel, which Wizardmon kept lit with a magic flame. Mana thought she could hear shouts and scuffling feet both above and behind them. “Where are we going?” she shouted.

“Shh!” Wizardmon put a finger to his lips. “The safest place I know.” They finally reached the entrance to a large cavern, and were almost blinded by a strong light coming from the center of the cavern. Wizardmon turned around and pushed a button on the wall. A thick steel door slid over the tunnel entrance they just came out of.

Kei and Terriermon looked around. There was a circular computer console in the center of the room, and in the middle of that, a large, beautiful ice-blue stone was suspended in mid-air. Kei stared at it in wonder, then remembered, with an icy feeling, where she had seen a stone like this before.

“Terriermon, remember the cave under the desert? The one that we and Seita and Gazimon were chased into?”

Terriermon nodded. “That cave was full of stones just like this.”

“And the stone in Andromon's Pyramid,” Yuka added softly, “It was almost exactly the same as this one.”

“It's a Meterostone.” Wizardmon appeared next to them. “A stone that can predict, sense, and even create weather patterns in an area. It can make some places ideal to live in, and others completely uninhabitable.”

“That explains why the weather is so perfect here, even if it's surrounded by miles of desert,” Mana concluded.

“And it explains why this...'midnight army' attacked this place,” Salamon added, “The enemy would want something that powerful.”

“It's not just that...” Yuka said softly. Everyone looked at her, concerned.

“They knew we were at that underground mine in the desert, and at Andromon's Pyramid,” Lopmon continued for her, “And they probably figured out we'd eventually make it here...”

“So they decided to attack, and kill two birds with one stone,” Wizardmon finished. Just then, the door to the tunnel started buckling, and large dents appeared in it. An explosion ripped through it, blasting all of them against the opposite wall. As the smoke cleared, a small, dark figure emerged – a black, catlike Digimon with golden eyes and midnight blue claws.

She looked around the room, at Wizardmon and the kids, then at the Meterostone. “Well, aren't I lucky!” she hissed, “I get to capture the Meterostone and get rid of the rest of you pests!” She walked closer. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Black Tailmon, sub-commander of the Midnight Army.” She smiled evilly. “Destroying you and taking the Meterostone will be easy!”

Wizardmon stepped forward. “Not if I can help it!”

Black Tailmon snarled. “Go get them!” A stream of Vegimon appeared.

Wizardmon waved a protective arm in front of Kei and Yuka, and Terriermon and Lopmon took to the air.

Black Tailmon turned to Mana, who had been tied down by Vegimon vines before she could get away.

Black Tailmon smirked, and placed her claws dangerously close to Mana's throat. “You kids have been a threat to our plans long enough.” She cackled, “If I have to get rid of all of you, I might as well start with you!” Mana screamed and tried to move, but she was tied down too tightly.

“Leave her alone!” Salamon tackled Black Tailmon, and she went flying. She got up an instant later. “Cat Punch!” The attack hit Salamon dead-on, and she was sent across the room. She slowly tried to get up, but couldn't.

Black Tailmon laughed. “That's what happens when a puny little thing like you dares to challenge me!” She turned back to Mana. “Now, where was I...”

Salamon's rage and despair grew as she desperately tried to get up again. She saw Black Tailmon's claw rise over Mana's head, and cried out.

Suddenly, a bright red light shined from Mana's side and surrounded Salamon. Black Tailmon stared at it, a paw over her eyes.

“Salamon, evolve to... Tailmon!” The light soon disappeared, and Black Tailmon stared in disbelief. She was staring at a carbon copy of herself, only pure white, with blue eyes and green claws. She took a step backward.

“Don't even think about it,” Tailmon growled. She coiled up and raised her claws. “Cat Punch!” A couple of seconds later, she had lashed out, slicing up all of the Vegimon's vines and ending with her claws pressing against Black Tailmon's throat. Mana stared at her in wonder.

“You have two choices,” Tailmon hissed, “Leave now and keep your head, or stay, and lose it and everything else attached to you.”

Black Tailmon scowled, then pulled out a strange crystallized ball. “All units, retreat! There's nothing left for us here.” The ball disappeared, and she glared at Tailmon. “You haven't seen the last of us yet! You can bet on that!” She disappeared in flash of black smoke.

Tailmon glowed brightly, and became Salamon again. Mana walked over to her shakily and picked her up. “Thank you... for everything!” she said brightly, then sobered. “But now, this means that you've made yourself a new mortal enemy...”

Salamon smiled and shrugged it off. “Never mind. The next time she tries to harm you again I'll make sure to give her a face full of stitches!” Mana laughed.

Kei looked up at the cavern's roof. “I don't hear anything going on up there anymore.”

Terriermon lifted an ear. “They all must have run off by now.”

“Then, let's go!” Mana replied, taking Kei and Yuka's hands. She looked at Wizardmon. “Wizardmon, you coming?” He slowly shook his head, staring into the light of the Meterostone. Mana shrugged and turned away.

When they emerged from the tunnel, they were greeted by silence. Jun ran over to Mana, a concerned expression on his face. Mana looked at him and smiled.

Kei spotted Akira and Seita sitting together, Akira sipping from a cup of warm water. “You okay?” Kei asked, walking over to them.

Akira smiled weakly. “My throat's a bit sore, but yeah, I'm fine.” Kei glanced at Seita and saw him smiling at Akira. She looked at both of them and raised an eyebrow.

Just then, Tian walked over. “Hey.”

Akira stood up slowly with Seita's help. “What is it?”

“Renamon says she feels a disturbance in the wind. It's coming from over there,” She pointed over to the mountain range in the distance.

Akira gazed at them, and suddenly had a flashback.

She was standing in front of towering, crystal mountains. She caught a fast movement from the corner of her eye and ducked, barely escaping the Black Gears whizzing past her head. She pulled out her Digivice, aimed it at them, and...

Akira shook her head, the memory fading. “It might be the source of all the incidents that have happened.”

Tian thought for a minute. “Their home base, maybe?”

Akira shrugged. “Possibly. Or maybe...” She stopped. Or maybe it's a trap... She turned away. “I think we should talk to Wizardmon about it.”

“Well, you're right, there is something strange going on in the Crystal Mountains,” Wizardmon said, reading the feedback from the Meterostone.

They all were underground, in the cavern that housed the weather-sensing stone.

“There are irregular weather patterns all over the place,” He pointed at the display. “Some parts are blazing hot, and with all the crystal around, it's hot enough for heat stroke in minutes. Other parts are bitterly cold, and with all the shadows that the mountains are casting, it's even colder.” He analyzed the information further, then added, “The only safe way to go is through here,” He pointed to a pathway going northeast through the mountains.

Tian looked at it. “But that still gives us a lot of area to cover if we were to investigate.”

“Not if we split up,” Jun pointed out.

“Are we sure we want to do this?” Mana asked fearfully.

“We have to, if we want to know why things are happening the way they are, and what the Midnight Army wanted with us in the first place,” Seita said, glancing at Akira. Her eyes were closed, as if struggling with a decision.

“Well, Black Tailmon did say that we were a threat to their plans, or something like that,” Mana murmured.

“Whatever it is,” Wizardmon replied, “the Digital World is in danger. I believe that the strange weather patterns are only a part of it.” He took a deep breath, then continued, “But if anyone could possibly do something about it, it would be all of you. After all that you've been through, I'm sure of it.”

“Then we'll go.” Akira opened her eyes and faced Wizardmon, a steely, determined look on her face. Wizardmon looked at Kodamon, and she nodded, understanding.

“Good luck.”

Akira walked ahead of the others, lost in thought. She didn't hear Seita catch up with her until she heard his voice.

“Hey.”

Akira's head snapped up, and seeing him, she looked down. “Hey…” she returned.

They walked side by side in silence. Akira glanced at Seita, an uncertain look on her face, then spoke. “Seita?”

Seita looked back at her. “Yeah?”

“Remember earlier, when you saved me from being strangled to death?” Akira replied softly.

Seita nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“Well...” Akira hesitated, “Thanks.”

Seita smiled. “No problem. You would have done the same if it were me, right?”

Akira nodded slowly, then looked at the blue, crystallized mountain peaks ahead as they grew larger and larger. All of a sudden she could hear someone shouting faintly, as if from far away. She glanced at Seita again and saw that he was still smiling at her. It made her feel uneasy, and she stopped walking.

Seita also stopped. “Is something wrong?” he asked, looking genuinely concerned.

The look confused Akira even more, and she struggled to reply. “I... have a question...” She heard the shouting again, louder this time, and looked around, surprised that no one else noticed. It seemed familiar, somehow, and she tried to place who or where it came from.

“What is it?”

The shouting faded away, toward the back of her mind, as suddenly as it came. Akira took a deep breath and looked at Seita again. “Why are you being so nice to me all of a sudden? Just the other day we were screaming at each other, and now, lately, you do nothing but smile at me.” She had a blank, unreadable look on her face.

Seita stared at her in surprise and was silent for several seconds. “I... no reason, really...” he stammered, his face turning red. He swallowed, and asked with a shaky laugh, “Would you rather I make you mad instead...?”

Akira stared at him with that same blank and unemotional look, and walked away. “Never mind, forget that I asked.” she replied flatly.

Seita stared back at her, shocked. He remembered the look on her face and shivered. He hadn’t seen her look that way for a while.

Not since she first came back from America. The day she came back to school. The memory clearly and swiftly returned to him…

It was on a very hot morning in the beginning of June. Seita was slumped over his desk, listening to the chimes that signaled the beginning of class. It was a free study period, so the sounds of lively conversations filled the classroom.

“Hey, hey-” one boy whispered, tapping Seita on the shoulder, “I heard we’re getting a new student today.”

Seita looked back at him, puzzled. “A new student? This late?”

“Yeah. Strange, huh?” the boy replied, “The teachers were talking about it. Someone said that this kid wasn’t supposed to transfer in until the fall trimester, but…”

“I wonder if it’ll be a guy or a girl?” a nearby girl cut in, “I hope it’s a really cute guy!”

“It’d be nice if it was a girl,” the other boy replied, “Then maybe you’d finally get a girlfriend, Kazama!” He punched Seita in the shoulder.

“Hey!” Seita frowned.

“That’s no use,” another student spoke up, “He’s always been in love with Akira Mitsuishi!”

Seita glared murderously. “I am not !”

“Akira Mitsuishi? Who’s that?”

“A girl who was in our class in junior high.”

“She was the captain of the girls’ soccer team in eighth grade, right? She could kick a soccer ball hard enough to break someone’s nose!”

“I remember that she was a crazy hothead – both she and Tian Shu were always together, and they kept getting into trouble!”

“Huh? Tian Shu? Our Tian? But she’s always so quiet and nice, and very smart, and she’s our class representative. She doesn’t seem like someone who’d put a toe out of line!”

“Yeah, hard to believe, huh?”

Just for a moment, Seita flicked a glance toward Tian, who was sitting across the room and looking very bored.

“I wonder what happened to Mitsuishi – last year, when we started ninth grade, she just disappeared!”

“She moved to America, I think. Come to think of it, it was a bit sudden – she was only in school for three weeks, and then she just left!”

A slight cough made them turn around at Seita. His eyes were closed and his arms were folded across his chest.

“Let’s not talk about her anymore, okay?” he asked, irritably.

One of the boys laughed. “You still haven’t gotten over her leaving, have you?”

“I remember that whenever you and Mitsuishi were together, you could argue like there was no tomorrow!”

“Shut up,” Seita growled, his eyes still shut.

The others laughed, then quieted down when the homeroom teacher walked in.

Tian immediately got up, her bored expression disappearing. “Rise!”

Seita sighed, and stood up with the rest of the class.

“Bow!”

When the class sat down again, the teacher spoke up.

“Class,” the teacher said loudly, “I’d like to announce that we have a new student who will be joining us from now on.” She paused for a moment, then went on. “She just came here from America a few days ago, but some of you may recognize her from junior high.” The teacher turned and started to write the student’s name on the chalkboard.

The murmurs of the class grew a bit louder. Seita just looked down at his desk, without a care, and listened to the conversation around him.

“Oh, so the new transfer is a girl!”

“From America? She must know a lot of English!”

“But she went to a junior high school around here? Weird!”

“She must be Japanese – her name’s written in kanji!”

At this point, Seita really didn’t care if this girl’s name was written in kanji or ancient Greek. He just wanted everything to be over with.

The teacher soon finished writing. She then turned to the classroom door. “You can come on in, now!”

The door slid open, and Seita could hear the student’s light footsteps as she entered the room.

Immediately, there was a gasp, from Tian’s direction.

Seita looked up suddenly at the noise, and saw Tian, with a very shocked expression on her face. He looked at her strangely, then slowly turned toward the front of the room.

“EHHHHH?!?!” Seita gave a shout and stood up quickly from his desk, knocking his chair down. “Akira?!”

Sure enough, it was Akira, regarding her fellow classmates with a deep violet stare. She was slightly taller, and her hair had grown just a bit longer from the last time they had seen her.

“I’m Akira Mitsuishi. Nice to meet you,” she said flatly, bowing. She looked around, and met Tian and Seita’s eyes. Her expression remained flat and devoid of emotion – almost dead, even when the teacher directed her to a seat and ordered Seita to sit down.

When everyone was seated again and class began, the whispers started again.

“Scary…”

“You sure that’s the same Akira Mitsuishi we were talking about?”

“No doubt. That’s her.”

“I thought you said she was a hothead! This girl… she’s like a zombie or something!”

Meanwhile, Seita was staring at Akira, shocked. It had to be a coincidence – they were talking about Akira just minutes before, and she ended up being the new transfer student!

He couldn’t believe it.

Ever since that day, Seita never stopped wondering. Akira had shown up in class, just as suddenly as she had left months before, and no one knew why, other than the fact that she had spent most of the year in America with her mom and had just returned. Even her dad and her grandmother didn’t breathe a word, or give any hint that she had come back! Neither he nor Tian had any clue, when by rights, they would have known first!

Not only that, he could never shake the feeling that something awful had happened to Akira when she was away. In the few weeks that immediately followed, people began to notice just how changed she was. She barely spoke to anyone, unless it was to ask or answer a question in class. She hardly ever smiled. That bright, fiery spark in her eyes, and the confident, cocky demeanor that Seita always used to notice about her, was gone.

Until very recently, she hadn't even shot her usual icy looks at him or argue with him over something stupid like she always did. In fact, during all the time that they had been trapped in the Digital World, and they had started arguing with each other again, he had been secretly relieved, glad that she was turning back into her old self again. At least until she started saying, doing and remembering strange things…

“Just the other day we were screaming at each other, and now, lately, you do nothing but smile at me...”

Seita looked at Akira, a distance away from him, and sighed.

I wanted to make you smile again, or laugh, or even yell at me for annoying you. Anything to keep you from going back to being the ghost you were before.

Chapter Text

As tall crystal peaks towered over them, the kids wandered through the only safe passage available to them, a pathway surrounded by clear crystal that cast reflections like a giant hall of mirrors. The weather was mild, far removed from the extreme heat on one side of them and the extreme cold on the other side.

All through this, Akira had been unusually silent. Seita had been trying to get her to talk to him again and tell him what was bothering her, but she ignored him. Her face was like a mask. After a while, Seita was about to lash out at her in frustration.

“Drop it.”

Seita jumped in surprise, and saw Kei glaring at him.

“You're not going to get anything out of her that way,” she continued, “She'll just shut you out until you leave her alone.” She looked down and spoke softly, almost to herself, “The year she stayed with us, whenever Mom was away, Akira would shut herself up in her room every chance she got, and refuse to talk to anyone for weeks.”

Seita looked at Kei suspiciously. “How come? What happened to her?”

Kei glared at him again. “Did I say something?” She turned around and walked away.

Seita glared back at her. Jeez, they're exactly alike! They never give anyone straight answers! He looked at Akira, walking in front of him, and wondered what was going on in her mind.

After a while, the group came to a large, open space. The path ahead branched out in two places. Akira stopped, looking first to the left, then to the right.

Seita swallowed, taking a risk to speak to her again. “Which path do we take?”

Akira slowly walked away from him, eyes still on the paths. “I don't know yet.”

Yuka eyed both paths, silent, and her gaze rested on one path. She pointed at it. “I don't want to go in there.”

Tian looked at it. It was the path to the right. Compared to the left, it was darker and mistier. She glanced at Renamon, who stared at it and nodded to her. “I don't think we should, either,” Tian confirmed.

Ignoring the conversation around her, Akira walked closer to the paths, Digivice in hand. Toward the left path, the Digivice glowed brightly. Toward the right, however, the light flickered on and off and the Digivice beeped uncontrollably. Akira stared at it, a very faint frown on her face.

“Now that's strange...”

“Should we split up?” Jun asked. “Some of us go left, the rest go right?”

“I really don't think we should,” Tian replied, a bit more forcefully than she had liked. She turned toward Akira, silently pleading.

Akira stared at her and swallowed hard, feeling suddenly light-headed. Her mind felt so full. She knew Tian wanted her to go left, and it was probably the best and safest decision. But she was strangely drawn toward the right path. Why did the Digivice behave the way it had toward it? Something about that area attracted her, and she didn't know why.

Akira shook her head wearily. “We don't have to split up. All of you can go left, but-” She turned and pointed, “Kodamon and I are going right.”

Tian quickly walked toward her. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Akira, I -”

“Don't worry about us,” Akira continued, “We'll just see what's there, and catch up with you. But until then...”

Tian looked into Akira's eyes and got nothing but a cold stare. She sighed, defeated. “I understand.”

“Good.” Akira turned away and took Kodamon by the paw. Kodamon turned toward Tian, worried. Tian just smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

She turned away and faced the others. “We're going left. Akira and Kodamon will follow us later.” She waited until mostly everyone filed ahead of her, then grabbed Seita by the wrist and pulled him aside.

“Hey! What are you -”

“Shh! We need to talk.”

“What about?” Seita replied in a huff.

Tian looked at him sternly, and pointed to the right. “The two of them should not be alone like that. I want you and Gazimon to go with them.”

Seita stared at her incredulously. “What? Why?” At this time, being near Akira was the last thing he wanted to do. “I don't think Akira wants to talk to me, much less let me keep her company!”

Tian raised an eyebrow. “Really? And I thought you two were finally getting along!” she said sarcastically.

Seita shot a nervous glance down the path, and turned back toward Tian. “But why me? Why don't you stay with her instead?” he demanded softly, “You are her best friend, after all.”

Tian sighed. “Because aside from me, you are probably the only other person who can save her if something happens.” She pointed a finger in his face. “And I have a large group of kids to worry about.”

“But-”

“Seita, you know something's wrong with her! Can't you feel it?” She took a deep breath. “And this place... something about it – it just feels wrong! Whatever it is, it's affecting her more than the rest of us. If something were to happen to her – if she loses herself to this place... she might not come back.”

Seita was about to reply, then he remembered the dead look on Akira's face the last time he'd spoken to her. He swallowed, then nodded.

Tian let out a deep breath, realizing she had been holding it. “Thank you.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “It'll be okay. You have Kodamon and Gazimon to help you, remember? And don't worry about me. I can take care of everyone else!”

She smiled and walked away, leaving a bewildered Seita behind. She caught the look on his face and laughed to herself.

Honestly, you and Akira need to wake up! You may argue and nag at each other, but from what I've seen... I think she would would much rather talk to you than to me. Maybe... She closed her eyes.

Maybe, given time, she'll explain to you what she has refused to explain to me for over a year.

“Something wrong, Tian?”

Tian's eyes snapped open, and she turned to see Mana next to her, looking concerned. “No, nothing's wrong,” she replied. “Come on, let's catch up with the others.” As they walked, she thought a moment and smiled to herself in wonder. It's funny, how you could get so caught up in other people's problems that you end up forgetting your own...

“Is that how you've dealt with your troubles, then? By pushing them away?”

Tian froze. Her breathing accelerated as she looked around wildly. Who said that? She looked at Mana. “Did you hear something?” Mana shrugged and walked on ahead. Tian started to jog after her and the others.

“You should be nervous. Agitated. Upset. You have given yourself and everyone else so much heartache.”

Tian shivered. The voice sounded very familiar. What was going on?

“You were a troublemaker from day one!”

“Renamon!” Tian shouted, her pulse quickening. Renamon appeared next to her, puzzled.

“What happened?”

“I – I don't know,” Tian stammered, “I heard someone talking to me. I don't know where it's coming from... I think... inside my head?” She looked at Renamon. “I hope I'm not going crazy!”

Renamon put an arm around her shoulders. “I'm sure you're not.” She looked up and closed her eyes. “I think it's this place. We shouldn't be here.”

Suddenly, the ground shook, and crystallized rocks began to slide from a mountain peak. The rocks hit the ground directly around where Jun and Mana were standing.

Tian gasped and ran over to the rock fall. “Mana! Jun!” She could hear coughing from underneath. “Patamon! Salamon! Is everyone all right?”

“We're fine!” Jun called back, “Nothing hit us.”

“We're trapped in here, though! No one can move these rocks!” Mana added.

Tian thought a moment. “Can Patamon or Salamon evolve?”

“We can't!” Salamon replied, “Something's blocking us!”

Tian paced in frustration, then relaxed. “Listen,” she said calmly, “I'm going to take the girls and get help. We'll find Akira and Seita. Will you be okay in there until we get back? ”

“Yeah,” Jun replied, “There's an air pocket in here, so we can breathe okay. We'll be fine!”

Tian breathed in relief. “Okay.” She started walking around, trying to find Kei and Yuka.

“You see? You did it again! You were supposed to watch over everyone, and look what happened! You're such a disappointment!”

Tian whipped around in surprise, hearing the voice echo in her mind again. Her eyes narrowed. Who are you?

“No!”

Tian jumped, and saw Kei sitting on the ground with her eyes shut tight, hands covering her ears. “No! Stop it! Stop hurting her! Leave her alone!”

“Kei...” Tian put a hand on her shoulder, but Kei pushed it away.

“Go away!” she screamed, getting up and running away. Terriermon followed, shouting her name.

Tian started to run after them when she looked around again and couldn't find Yuka or Lopmon anywhere. She started to panic. “Renamon, what's going on? What's happened to everyone?”

“What's happened? You should know!”

Renamon's senses perked up – she could 'hear' the unspoken, emotionally-charged thought pattern! Tian shut her eyes and covered her ears with her hands. “Renamon...” she murmured shakily, “Someone... help...”

Renamon wrapped one arm around Tian and charged an attack with the other. “Whoever you are,” she shouted to the air, “show yourself!” Her eyes narrowed. “You can't hide forever!”

“You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Always running to someone else to solve your problems!”

“Who are you?” Renamon shouted. She gazed at a crystal rock-face, reflecting Tian's pale, stricken form within her arms. A misty figure began to appear in the reflection.

“Why can't you admit that you've done wrong and take responsibility?”

The figure in the reflection suddenly became clearer, revealing a woman with short black hair, brown eyes, and glasses . Tian gasped and blinked in disbelief.

“...Mom...?”

Renamon looked at where Tian was staring, and frowned. Her mother...?

“You only hurt everyone that you run to for help! Your friends. Your relatives. ...Your father.”

Her mother's figure changed slightly, becoming several years younger. The clothes she was wearing were streaked with blood, none of it her own.

Tian took a sharp breath, and tears began to fall from her eyes. “No!” she screamed out, sinking to the ground. “That wasn't my fault! I was just a kid!”

She wrapped her arms around herself, shut her eyes… and memories began flowing back.

Eleven years earlier...

A five-year-old Tian woke up suddenly to a shout and a violent banging of the front door.

She yawned and rubbed her eyes, wondering who would be visiting so late. She had only been sleeping for an hour.

She blinked, and looked around at the piles and towers of boxes strewn about the room, and felt a twinge of excitement. They were moving soon. Her father had just gotten a new job in Japan, and they were going there in less than a week.

She was about to lie down again when she heard a rather loud conversation start up outside her bedroom door. Wondering what the fuss could be about, she got up and crept over to the door to listen.

“I just heard from some of the people in town – the secret police is after you!” a high, worried voice blurted out. Tian, listening carefully, identified the voice as her aunt’s.

She heard her mother gasp.

“What?!” her father replied incredulously.

“They’ve been making inquiries about you,” her aunt continued, “I don’t know why… but it can’t be anything good. You have to leave, now!”

“This can’t be happening…” her father murmured, with a hopeless tone that she had never before heard from him. “How could they have caught on to us so quickly? How did they find out?”

“What do you mean, ‘find out,’?” her aunt demanded, “What have you been doing?”

No one spoke.

“Are you involved in something shady?” her aunt continued, “Or…” There was silence, and then a soft gasp. “You haven’t… you’re not one of the rebels, are you?! Have you been passing information?!” Her voice grew more panicked. “We’re in the middle of a civil war... and doing that… Oh, if they find you, they’ll kill you!!”

“It’s nothing like that!” her father shouted, “You’ve got it all wrong!”

Tian’s eyes widened, and she slowly opened the door a crack.

“Don’t think about it any more,” her mother answered shakily, “Just tell us when they’re going to show up.”

Her aunt sighed in defeat. “Twenty minutes. Maybe less.”

Peering through the door crack, Tian could see her parents look at each other with an expression she didn’t quite understand. Then, she saw her mother hurry away, heading straight toward her and opening the door. Tian took a few quick steps back, barely missing being hit by the door.

“You're awake!” her mother said, surprised. Tian nodded, confused.

Her mother sighed. “Okay, go put your shoes on. We have to leave.” She picked up a bag and started stuffing various things into it.

Tian ran to the hallway and put on her shoes. She came back, whispering softly. “We're leaving? Now? Where are we going? Mama?”

Her mother didn't answer her. She had finished packing and slung her bag on her back. Her father appeared beside them a second later, carrying another bag.

“Daddy, what's happening?” Tian asked, “Where are we going?”

“I don't know where we're going. Yet.” He had a calm, yet troubled look on his face.

“Can I take my toys with me?”

“No!” he said sharply. “It will slow us down, and if we waste time, we'll be caught. You understand?”

Tian nodded, but she didn't understand.

“Will you be okay?” her aunt asked worriedly, “I can drive you over to the airport, or the train station, or anywhere else. Just so that you get away from here as soon as possible!”

“No, no…” her father replied, “Just go home, and don’t get any more involved with this.” When he saw her about to protest, he continued, “Please. Go home, and you can tell them truthfully that you have no idea where we went!”

“But-”

“Just go!” her mother said sharply, “Don’t worry about us. You have a family to take care of, right? You have kids to watch over! You can’t get involved and put them in danger too!”

Her aunt gulped, and nodded, blinking back tears.

“Be careful…” she whispered, “And good luck.” She hugged them both, and gave Tian a kiss on the cheek. “Take care…”

Her father pushed her. “Now, go!”

She nodded, and ran off, stopping only to wave at them.

When she was finally out of sight, Tian’s parents looked at each other and nodded.

Tian shivered and held her mother’s hand tightly as they ran out the back door of the house and into the night.

Renamon stared at Tian worriedly. There was a pained look on her face. Renamon shook her, trying to get her attention, but nothing worked. Tian seemed to have retreated into her own little world. Renamon heard an eerie laugh and turned to face the mother-reflection, which had an evil smile plastered on its face.

At that moment, Renamon realized what was going on. She growled at the image of Tian's mother. “Devimon!”

The image smiled at her evilly.

Renamon lifted an arm and began charging an attack. “Get out of that hideous disguise and face me properly!”

The image stepped out of the crystal, to become a winged demon, black as night.

“So you're behind all this...” No wonder the place had felt so cold and eerie and wrong.

“It took you long enough to figure it out,” Devimon hissed, “I created an unpleasant environment in order to keep you all off balance, and it allowed me to probe the minds of the children you were supposed to protect... to bring out their greatest fears and darkest secrets!” He cackled, then dodged as hundreds of icy arrowheads zipped past him.

“Why?” Renamon shot back. “It wasn't enough just to attack us with black gears and the Midnight Army?” She charged up her Fox Leaf Arrowhead again.

Devimon sneered. “Exactly. You and those children of yours are becoming a thorn in my side! We are so close to gaining complete control of this server and being able to set the next part of our plan into action, and you are all that stand in our way!” He dodged another shot of arrowheads. “Besides,” he laughed into Renamon's angry face, “it's much more satisfying to see those children rot from the inside out!”

Something in Renamon snapped, and she blasted a hurricane of arrowheads toward Devimon, dodging his own attacks. She kept on firing, but none of it had an effect on him. She looked at Tian in desperation. Tian was curled up into a ball, still trapped inside the nightmare of her mind.

Tian, Renamon thought furiously, You have to fight this! I need your help! Devimon's too strong... I can't do this on my own!

“Daddy… I’m tired…” Tian moaned, her feet dragging on grains of sand. The rumbling of waves and the smell of salt filled the air. “Can we stop?” She looked around and saw nothing but gray sky, gray sand, and gray sea, covered in gray fog.

It had been several days since Tian and her parents had evacuated themselves, and by that time, she was exhausted, and her feet were hurting like crazy.

Her father smiled. “Sure, we can stop.” He dropped the heavy bag he was carrying and sat down on the sand. Tian plopped down beside him, and looked around again, squinting through the fog. The faint outlines of a few ramshackle buildings and moored boats were visible.

“When is Mama coming back?”

“After she gets tickets for the boat.”

Tian’s eyes lit up. “We’re going on a boat?!”

He nodded. “Yup. Better watch yourself, so you won’t get seasick!”

Tian scowled. “I won’t get seasick!” Her father laughed.

Tian laughed along with him, then stopped. She raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you go with Mama to get boat tickets?”

Her father didn’t answer. The expression on his face was troubled. After a moment, he smiled and answered, “Because you were getting tired, and I was getting tired, and your mother can go for days without getting tired!”

Tian giggled.

The two of them were silent for a while after that.

“Tian…” her father murmured.

“What?”

“Are you scared?”

Tian blinked. “Huh?”

Her father continued. “After everything that’s happened to us, are you scared?”

Tian looked down for a moment, and slowly nodded.

“Do you understand why these things are happening?”

Tian slowly shook her head, still looking down.

“…I see.”

Her father was silent after that, and no one spoke. The only sounds that could be heard were the waves breaking along the shore.

“Tian,” her father spoke up again, breaking the silence.

“Yeah?”

“If anything happens to me or your mother…” he began, looking very serious, “there’s something important you must remember.”

Tian’s eyes widened. “If anything happens…? What’s going to happen?”

“Don’t worry about it now,” he answered, “It’s only just in case.”

Tian thought about it for a moment, then looked up at him seriously. “What do I have to remember?”

“These words…” Her father took a deep breath, and recited:

“All journeys have a beginning and an end. The end is close at hand, but the journey has only just begun. The times of trouble will soon come, and then only spirit will save us all.”

Tian listened, and tried reciting the phrases over and over.

“…and then only spirit will save us all,” she finished, with a breath.

“Right.” Her father smiled. “Can you remember that?”

Tian frowned. “I don’t know…” Then she brightened. “But I’ll try!” she answered cheerfully.

“That’s the spirit!”

Tian giggled, and got up. She stretched, letting the wind whip through her, and walked over to the edge of the shore, feeling the water tickle her feet.

“Don’t wander too far,” her father called out, “Stay where I can see you!”

Tian, however, was only half-listening, and soon wandered far enough so that she could barely be seen through the fog.

Just then, she heard a shout. She looked up and saw a group of soldiers with great, big guns. They were talking with several men, dressed in black suits and sunglasses. One of the men was holding a small, electronic device. He looked straight at her and pointed to her, saying a few unintelligible words. The soldiers nodded, and started jogging toward her.

Tian was terrified. She turned around and ran as fast as she could, but the warm sand under her feet was slowing her down.

“Daddy!”

Her father turned toward her, and his eyes widened in shock. He ran toward her and took her hand, pulling her along. After that, everything became a blur.

A feeling of panic. Hurried breathing. Being held by a warm, strong hand. Bullets whizzing by. Then, a sharp cry and a shudder. The next moment, landing on the sandy ground, staring into a pale, sweaty, pain-etched face.

“Daddy!” Tian screamed.

“Tian…” her father said weakly, “…remember what I told you…” He coughed violently, and specks of blood came out. “Remember those words at all costs… never, ever forget them…” He held her hand tightly. “Understand?”

Tian nodded in fright, and her fingers wriggled – he was squeezing her hand much too hard.

“Don’t forget…”

Her father’s eyes slowly closed, and he fell silent.

Tian’s eyes widened. “Daddy…?” She shook him. “Daddy?”

He didn’t move.

Tian froze, and stared at his inert body in shock. She became light-headed, and her eyes fluttered closed. She could feel someone lifting her up and carrying her away, and she could hear someone else screaming, somewhere nearby...

When Tian woke up, some time later, she found herself in the bottom of a boat. Her mother was sitting next to her, her clothes covered in red.

“Mama?” Tian asked, “what happened?”

No answer.

“Where are we going?”

Still no answer.

“Where's Daddy?”

A soft gasp, then her mother turned away, hands over her mouth.

Tian blinked, and looked the other way. She closed her eyes, and the tears started falling.

Devimon laughed as Renamon collapsed, exhausted and in pain from being hit with dark energy.

“You want to know something?” Devimon mocked Renamon, “You're going to be destroyed anyway, so I might as well tell you – my mind manipulation refused to work on quite a few of those annoying children. Two of them are so normal that no memory of theirs would truly hurt them. Another one worries more about the person he likes than about himself, but has surprisingly good control over it – he'd fought me off without even knowing I was there. His sister is so full of light that I can't stand within ten feet of her. But...” He smiled evilly, “I'll find other ways of getting to them.

“What I'm really amazed at,” he continued, “is how well my plan has worked with some of these children. Especially this one, full of guilt, despair, and hopelessness,” He looked to Tian's curled-up form. “There are two others like her. You may have seen what happened to one...”

Renamon remembered Kei's pained reaction, and her rage increased.

Devimon continued, “That little girl's memories seemed to offshoot from her sister's... I haven't started to probe her thoughts yet, and I'm already sensing waves of darkness from her!” He laughed. “I can't wait to start dissecting her mind and see what she's been through!”

Renamon closed her eyes and tried to stay conscious. It was getting harder and harder for her to think straight. All she could think about at that moment was getting Tian to wake up. She tried to mentally reach out to Tian, and got a faint answer. An image of Tian at the edge of a deep, yawning abyss. Renamon could sense feelings of despair.

Tian, Renamon urged her, fight back! Don't let yourself go over the edge! Devimon is just doing this to weaken you!

She probed deeper and caught feelings of loneliness.

Tian, you're not alone! Your friends are here! I'm here. Let me help you get over this! I don't want to see you this way!

Renamon could feel another emotion. Guilt. It had been buried in Tian's mind and heart from the very beginning, and Devimon's manipulation had brought it out into the open. Renamon's eyes widened in fear, and she could hear the dark thoughts Tian directed at herself.

“It's all my fault. It's all my fault that Daddy's gone and Mama won't talk to me anymore.”

Tian! Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault! You had no control over this!

“It’s my fault!”

No, it’s not !

A year later, Tian was an ocean away, in Japan, and starting a new life.

On one warm summer day, Tian stood at the front of a crowded school classroom, as a first-year transfer student in Odaiba Elementary.

She stared at the students in the classroom as the teacher wrote her name on the chalkboard. The students stared back at her, except one girl in particular, with short, close-cropped black hair and violet eyes. She was the only one who was smiling.

“Class,” the teacher said, “This is Tian Shu. She's come to us from a place called Nanjing, in China.” When the teacher mentioned China, the entire class became quiet. She ignored this and continued, “I want you all to be nice to her and make her feel welcome here. She has been through quite a lot.”

A vision of a misty beach came to Tian, unbiddingly, and she fought an urge to scream at the teacher.

The teacher didn't notice, and began looking for a place to seat Tian. “Let's see... the seat beside Mitsuishi is vacant. You can sit there.” She pointed to the seat next to the black-haired girl. Tian sat down, and the lessons began.

The girl smiled at her again. “Hi!” she whispered cheerfully, “I'm Akira.”

Tian stared at her and didn't answer.

“I remember you,” Akira continued, “You and your mom just moved into the house down the street, right?”

Tian shrugged and said nothing.

Akira looked back at her, concerned. She remained silent, and after thinking for a moment, she smiled. “If you want,” she whispered, “I can show you around after school. We could go get ice cream, or we could go to the park and play soccer, or we could study together... if your mom says it's okay!” She smiled again.

Tian frowned, then gave a slow smile. “It's okay with her. Thank you!” Her mother barely spoke to her now, and probably wouldn't care where she went as long as she came back before dark.

Akira smiled back and returned her attention to the teacher.

Not long after, Tian had adjusted to school and she and Akira became best friends. She had begun to forget the horrible things that happened to her and her family. Until one day, during break, when the classroom TV was on and was showing a news story about the continuing situation in China. When she saw the soldiers, she froze, and remembering the incident on the beach, a tear fell from her eye. “Daddy...” she whispered.

By this time, her father’s death had been officially written off as an accident – the death of an innocent bystander in a police raid on a nearby seaside town, but with numerous rumors that it was a cover-up for the murder of an enemy of the state. Tian didn’t know what to believe. The only thing she knew was that her actions on that day had helped it happen.

With that last thought, Tian began to cry.

It's my fault, she thought. It's my fault that you're gone. Why didn't I listen and stay put? Why did I wander away? If only I had stayed near you. If only I didn't slow you down. If only...

The tears came faster. She didn't notice the teacher ask what was wrong, or Akira's hand on her shoulder, or Akira talking to the teacher and leading her away. When she looked up again, she was in the bathroom, and Akira was hugging her.

“If you don't want to talk about it,” Akira told her softly, “you don't have to. But if it will help you stop being sad...”

Tian hiccupped, and looked up again to see a sad smile on Akira's face. She took a deep breath. “...Something bad happened to... someone I loved... and... and I... it was my-” She started crying again, even harder.

Akira hugged her tighter. “It's not your fault. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault. You didn't have any control over it. It's the government’s fault.”

Tian sniffled and looked at her, surprised. “How do you know that?” She hadn't told anyone about what happened, in detail, not even the teacher.

“Just a hunch,” Akira smiled. “Things happen, a lot of times, that you have no control over. No matter how much you try, you can't do anything about them, and because of that, it's not your fault.” Her expression changed, and when Tian looked at her again, there was a pained look on her face.

Tian frowned. “Who told you that?”

Akira brightened again. “ My grandma, ” she said softly. “She said to always remember that, especially if something happened between-” She stopped suddenly, and closed her eyes.

“Did your grandma also tell you how inappropriate it is to talk about situations like this without a guidance counselor? Which is where I sent you two in the first place?”

Akira and Tian whipped around and saw their teacher's head poking through the bathroom door.

“If we did, the counselors would have asked too many questions, and Tian wouldn't have said anything,” Akira said pleasantly. “The same as if it were me. You send me there every other week for anger management, and the same thing happens. Absolutely nothing.”

The teacher sighed. “Come on then, go back to class. And Mitsuishi, please try to watch your mouth. You're getting too smart for your own good.” She walked ahead of them.

Akira stuck her tongue at the teacher's back. Tian smiled, and they both laughed.

Tian had begun to relax a bit more, and Renamon felt her thoughts become lighter. Tian slowly opened her eyes and looked at Renamon. She smiled.

“Thank you.”

Renamon smiled back, and began glowing. Tian heard a beeping noise, and pulled out her Digivice, glowing a bright yellow. She looked at Renamon and nodded.

Devimon looked down at them, confused, before he was hit with a blast of light.

“Renamon, evolve to... Kyuubimon!”

The light faded to show a large, golden fox with a long, segmented tail. She lifted it, and blue fire began forming from the tips.

“Fox Flame Dragon!”

The flames hit Devimon head on, and he staggered back. He glared at Kyuubimon. “That was most unexpected.” He shifted his gaze to Tian, who glared back at him. “Another child escapes me...” He suddenly smirked. “But not for long. You haven't seen the last of me yet! I'm off to see how your little friends are doing without your support!” He laughed and flew away before Kyuubimon could hit him again.

Tian watched him escape, his last words filling her with fear. She looked at Kyuubimon. “He got away...” she said faintly.

“Relax and rest a little. We'll go after him soon enough,” Kyuubimon replied.

Tian breathed out slowly, calming down. She ran a hand down Kyuubimon's fur. “You're amazing...” she murmured.

“I'm glad you came back to yourself,” Kyuubimon said, “You were scaring me back there.”

Tian sighed, a smile playing at her lips. “Everyone was right, I can't keep feeling guilty over things I can't control. It's just... I don't want anything bad to happen to the people I care about. If there's anything I could do to protect them, I would do it.”

“And you do,” Kyuubimon answered, “You're a pillar of strength for the others. If they don't go to Akira for help or support, they go to you. You're like their big sister!” Tian smiled brightly.

“Hey!”

They turned around to see Jun and Mana running toward them. A very tired Patamon and Tailmon followed. Tian stared at them in shock.

“Wow!” Mana gasped, looking at Kyuubimon. “Renamon evolved?”

“Yeah... it's a long story...” Tian said distractedly, “How did you get out of there?”

“Well...” Jun hesitated, “This may sound crazy, but there was this stupid voice in my head telling me that I put everyone in danger because I thought too much about my own problems and not enough about others. So... I did something about it.”

“Yeah!” Mana added, “There was a stupid voice in my head saying that I was useless because I complained more than I helped. So, I looked for things that would be useful for any crazy plans Jun would have for getting us out! And then, when we found out that Salamon could evolve again...”

“...You know the rest.” Jun finished. “Not that we didn't think you would get help for us – we knew you would. We just needed to get those voices to shut up!”

Tian stared at them some more, then smiled. She was relieved that Devimon's mind games didn't affect them as much as she feared. Then she grew serious.

“We have to find the others,” she said, “There's an evil Digimon, Devimon, running around here and messing with our minds. He tried it with you two, but I can see nothing really happened. And then... he got to me...”

Mana looked at her with concern. “Are you okay? What did he do to you?”

Tian swallowed. “It was horrible. But I'm okay now, really!” She tried to smile. “But I'm worried about everyone else. Yuka and Lopmon disappeared, and Kei... She's going through what I was going through...” She closed her eyes. “Seita and Gazimon are okay, I hope. Akira... I don't want to know.” She shuddered.

If what Tian had experienced was bad, then what would happen to Akira, whose inner demons were just as strong as hers?

“We have to find them. Now.”

Chapter Text

It was cold.

As cold as if a fairy-tale ice queen had swept her hand across the mountains and turned them into lands trapped in the middle of an Arctic winter.

Yuka shivered, remembering a story about an ice lady who would freeze anything in her path. There was an 'ice lady' at work here as well, but this one didn't just make the temperature drop.

There was evil here. She could sense it, especially when the fog and mist got thicker and thicker, and everyone had disappeared. She could hear screams and sobs echoing across the mountaintops. Not long after, everything had started to freeze over. Lopmon had fallen into a deep sleep, and until now, she had not awoken. Yuka somehow knew she didn't do it on purpose.

Yuka was alone, scared. She wanted Lopmon to wake up. She wished that someone, anyone at all, was here with her. She felt Mana and Jun's frustration toward a dangerous barrier to overcome. She heard Kei's cries in the air, along with Tian's – anguish over things she could only wonder about. She could feel some of the same emotions from Akira – fragmented, confused, but still concealed. And she could sense her big brother's concern for Akira, and his determination to make sure she was all right.

Then, Yuka sensed the being responsible for all of this.

“Go away...” she whispered, closing her eyes and clutching a limp Lopmon in her arms. She could almost see the evil being in her mind.

Go away. Leave us alone.

The being, in her mind's eye, flickered and turned around, noticing her. It came closer.

Stop it. Stop making us suffer like this.

The being didn't stop. It came closer and closer. Soon, it was less than ten feet away from her.

GO AWAY!

Yuka suddenly opened her eyes and screamed out that last thought. Her Digivice came to life, shining a pale pink light and beeping uncontrollably.

A pale pink light surrounded Lopmon, and she finally woke up. She saw the dark creature in front of her, and knew what she had to do.

“Lopmon, evolve to... Turuiemon!”

A large, pale lavender rabbit appeared, dressed in ancient Chinese garb. Silver blades adorned her wrists. She raised one, and deflected a blast of dark energy Devimon fired. She raised her hand again to attack, but it turned out she didn't need to. Devimon had already fled, driven away by the abundance of light.

Yuka felt a warmth spread through her. She felt safe again. Something seemed to reach out to her, and reassure her.

You don't have to worry anymore. Everything will be all right.

Yuka looked up and saw Turuiemon standing beside her, glowing. She looked at Turuiemon in wonder, and slowly smiled. Turuiemon smiled back, and took Yuka's hand.

Together, they set off to find and heal the shattered remnants of their team.

Kei was freezing, but she didn't care. Terriermon, like Lopmon, had fallen into a deep sleep, and still, Kei didn't care. All she cared about at that moment was finding an answer to her question:

Why?

One year. That was all it took. One year of living with screams, shouts, and tears had given Kei the worst memories of her life. But it didn't start that way...

A year ago, on a sunny, late-spring day, Kei was staring through a huge window at the airport, watching planes take off and land. She was excited, because in another thirty minutes or so, she would finally meet her big sister – the big sister she had never known.

She could hear her mom and dad talking to each other softly behind her.

“Are you feeling all right, Touma?” her mom asked, “You don't look very excited at all.”

“I'm still a little upset at you, Kyoko,” Touma answered, “You never told me about her. All these years, and I never knew you had another daughter.”

“...I'm sorry. I closed that chapter of my life a long time ago.” She looked at Kei, and Kei smiled at her and waved.

“Akira was Kei's age the last time I saw her,” Kyoko murmured, “It's been so long – eight years... she must be starting high school by now...”

“Mom! Mom!” Kei piped up, “Is that the plane?” She pointed at a Japan Airlines plane just pulling in. “Japan, right?”

Kyoko nodded, her eyes misty.

Twenty minutes later, Kei was staring at the crowd of passengers from the plane walking down a long hallway toward their families. Soon, she saw a teenage girl with mid-length black hair emerge. She wore an olive green and navy blue uniform, and was carrying a large backpack. Kei heard her mother cry out and rush up to hug the girl.

“Akira...” Kyoko said, tears in her eyes.

Akira smiled. “Mom...You still look the same!”

Kyoko laughed. “And you-” She looked at Akira's uniform. “Junior high already?”

Akira looked at herself and flashed an embarrassed smile. “Not anymore. Dad signed me out right before I left, since when I go back next year, I'm going straight to high school.”

Kei watched this from her mother's side, and when she saw Akira smiling, she relaxed.

Akira looked from her mother to Kei and her smile faded a little, replaced by a questioning look. Kyoko put her hand on Kei's head.

“Akira, this is Kei. Your little sister.”

Akira stared at Kei for a while, then she took her hand and shook it. “Hello.”

Kei studied Akira for a couple of seconds. She seemed to be a nice person. Kei swallowed, then spoke, “Hajimemashite doozo yoroshiku... onee-chan.”

Akira stared at Kei in wonder, then a surprised but warm and happy smile appeared on her face. She hugged her. ”Nice to meet you too,” she answered, “... little sister.”

It was the last time Kei ever saw Akira that happy again. Because by the time Akira was introduced to her dad, the smile had disappeared from her face. She didn't look angry, but then, she wasn't happy either. The questioning look had returned. Touma did not look happy either.

It was the first sign that Touma and Akira wouldn't see eye-to-eye.

But why? Why didn't they?

A couple of months later, after Akira and Kei started school again, the arguments started. Kei, not understanding, heard many of them while sitting on the stairs. Other times, Akira and Touma were so loud their voices carried all the way upstairs and Kei could hear them through her bedroom door.

As the arguments continued, night after night, questions formed in Kei's mind.

Why does Daddy act the way he does?

Why does Akira lie whenever I ask her what's wrong, and pretend that nothing happened?

Why does Mom never ever notice what's going on?

I don't see what happens around the house during the day or at night, but I know something's going on. I know there is, when I hear Daddy and Akira screaming at each other every night over something Akira did, or something Daddy thought Akira did.

I know something's wrong when, afterward, when she thinks I'm sleeping, Akira comes in with bruises on her arms and legs. Most times, she just goes to bed and falls asleep and all I'd hear is breathing. But once or twice before, I heard her crying. The day after, whenever I ask her what happened, she smiles and says it was nothing. That someone hit her with a soccer ball the other day and it bruised, or that she wasn't looking and fell down the stairs when I was sleeping. I don't believe her. I never do, because even though I don't see it, someone in this house is responsible for those bruises.

It's not her, and it's not me, so...

When I'm with Daddy, just the two of us, or with Mom, he never gets mad. He always smiles. Sometimes I ask him why he's so happy, and he says because I'm with him.

Mom, because of the job she has, is hardly ever home. But on the days that she is home, and she asks us how everything was when she was gone, Daddy and Akira smile and say everything was just fine. And so, Mom suspects nothing.

I don't understand.

One day, when Akira and Kei were walking through the park, alone, Kei stopped suddenly, lost in thought.

“Akira?”

“Hm?” Akira turned around to face Kei, “What is it?” she asked, a puzzled look on her face.

Kei glanced at Akira's arms, but couldn't see anything, since she wore a sweatshirt that covered them. She looked up at Akira and swallowed.

“Do you hate me?”

Akira stared at her, shocked. She wondered if Kei was joking, but the look on her face told her otherwise.

“No...” she said, horrified, “No, I don't hate you. How could I? What made you think of something like that?”

“Because...” Kei said slowly, “because you and Daddy fight all the time, and I wonder if it's because of-”

“No.” Akira hugged her. “It has nothing to do with you. Whatever's going on is just between your dad and me. We'll fix things up eventually, so don't worry about it.” Kei didn't look convinced, so Akira smiled. “Don't worry about me. I'll be fine! And-” she hugged her tighter, “I'll always love you, no matter what happens. Don't forget that, okay?”

Kei nodded. “Okay.”

I don't understand. Why is everyone pretending that everything's fine? Why am I not getting any answers?

Are they doing this to keep me from feeling bad? If that's the case, they're doing a terrible job. I'm feeling bad already. And if I hear “it's nothing” or “everything's fine” one more time, I'm going to scream.

Kei wrapped her arms around herself and breathed out a ragged breath. The coldness of the mountains was starting to get to her. Tears streamed down her face.

I wish I could tell Mom something, or let her know what's really been happening every time she's away, but then I would be saying something bad about Daddy, and I can't do that. If I don't say something, Akira will keep getting hurt and it will never stop because, being Akira, she'll never say anything or do anything to hurt someone else, and she'd rather get hurt instead.

I hate this. I don't know what to do.

I want to do something about this, but I can't. Either way, someone I love gets hurt.

Kei cried harder, and shook her head.

What can I do?

Kei then felt a warmth spread through her, and a small hand clasped hers. She was starting to feel better, in spite of herself. She opened her eyes and looked up. Yuka was there, holding her hand, and Turuiemon was standing in front of them, her back to them. Both of them seemed to be glowing a soft pink.

Kei stared at Turuiemon, her mouth wide open in surprise. She turned to Yuka. “Lopmon...?”

Yuka nodded, smiling.

Kei dropped her gaze. “You could sense everything... in here, right?” She put a hand to her forehead. “You understood?” Yuka nodded again.

Kei was silent for several seconds, then spoke again. “Do you know... what could I have done? What can I do now? It hurt to see all of that and not be able to do something.”

“Well...” Yuka had a thoughtful look on her face. “You could have told someone.”

“But-”

“It doesn't have to be your mom,” Yuka interrupted, “but even if you did tell her, I think she would understand. If it was something as serious as this, she'd probably be grateful that you did.” Yuka smiled again. “When I was really little, I would see Seita bother Akira all the time. You could hear them shout at each other up and down the street! But after I said something about it, my mom told him to stop. And he did. At least, he did when Mom was watching!” She started laughing, and Kei laughed along with her.

Yuka continued, “And you could be there for Akira, always, whenever she needs someone to talk to.”

Kei nodded. “Of course.”

“And don't lose hope that things will turn out right in the end,” a little voice piped up from Kei's lap.

Kei looked down at her lap, surprised. “Terriermon! You're awake?”

“Perfect timing,” Turuiemon said, speaking for the first time in a while. “Devimon's coming back.”

“Devimon?” Kei looked confused.

“He's the bad Digimon that made you remember all those horrible things,” Yuka replied.

Devimon appeared before Kei had a chance to retort. He saw her glaring at him, and Yuka and Turuiemon with her.

“Not again...” he hissed, “Lost another one. You children are stronger than I thought!”

“You haven't even seen the worst of us yet!” Kei shot back. Without even thinking, she pulled out her Digivice, and it began to glow a bright green. “Terriermon!”

“Right!” Terriermon nodded, and began to glow green as well. “Terriermon, evolve to... Galgomon!”

A large green-eared rabbit with great big guns for arms jumped at Devimon and fired millions of tiny shots at him. “Gatling Arm!”

Devimon dodged, the shots missing his wings by a hair, and landed on the ground. Galgomon lifted an arm at him.

“Go ahead, try and escape. This time, I won't miss.”

“You can give up now, Devimon. You have no place to go.” Turuiemon said calmly, on the other side. “We have you cornered.”

Devimon laughed raucously. “Surrender? Me? I'm more powerful than the two of you put together! And the longer you all stay here, the stronger I get! The next time you see me will be your last!” He laughed again and disappeared into thin air.

Kei stared at where Devimon used to be, then spoke up. “So what do we do now... Galgomon?” She stared at Galgomon in awe.

“Do we go after him?” Galgomon asked Turuiemon.

“No.” Turuiemon shook her head. “We find the others.”

“Of course,” Yuka said, “By ourselves, Devimon had power over us. But together...”

“Well, come on then,” Kei interrupted, “let's go!” She started walking off, looking behind her at the other three, all the while hoping that everyone else was all right. That Akira was all right.

Meanwhile, Akira and Kodamon continued walking down the right-side path. Akira was silent for a long time, staring up at the crystal peaks and mirrored cliff walls, tinted an eerie ice-blue due to the heavy mist. It had gotten colder and colder since they had entered the passage, but strangely, Akira barely noticed it, even though Kodamon was shivering.

A short distance away, Seita and Gazimon followed, and the cold was getting to them too.

“Seita,” Gazimon whispered through chattering teeth, “Let's go back! This is too cold even for me! And everything around here gives me the creeps!”

Seita shook his head. “I'm not turning around until I'm sure Akira is okay.”

Gazimon stared at him in bewilderment. “I don't get you. One minute you're mad at her, then the next you're concerned for her safety? Do you like her or do you hate her? Make up your mind!”

“Shh!” Seita snapped back, “She'll hear you!”

A few paces ahead, Akira stopped and turned around to see the two of them behind her. “Why are you following us?” she asked, in a flat voice.

Seita struggled to come up with an appropriate answer, but Akira didn't wait for it.

“Tian made you two come and watch over us, didn't she?” Akira looked down and closed her eyes. “I should have known. She's worrying about me. She always has, ever since we were little.”

Seita swallowed, and walked closer to her. “She's not the only one who's worried about you. We all are.”

Akira turned away. “You don't need to worry about me. I can take care of myself... I – I can... deal with this... on my own...” Her eyes snapped shut again and her fists clenched. Tears sprang from her eyes.

Seita fought an urge to hug her then and there, settling for a hand on her shoulder. He gasped, shocked at how cold she felt, and even more shocked that she didn't seem to notice or care. He gulped. “I don't know what's on your mind, but it's hurting you! And it's scaring me- I mean, us.” he stammered. His expression softened. “I wish you could tell us what happened.”

Akira shrugged him off and stayed silent.

Kodamon gripped Akira's hand tightly and pleaded, “Whatever emotional battle is raging in you... please don't keep it inside! Not this time!”

Akira breathed in sharply. The memories she tried desperately not to relive came flooding back. She pushed Kodamon away and ran.

“Akira! Wait!” Kodamon, Seita and Gazimon ran after her, but the fog and the mist were so thick, they soon lost sight of her.

Seita looked around, agitated. “Where did she go?” He was about to run again, but Kodamon grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

“Don't just go like that!” she said sharply, “We don't want to lose you too!”

“But-”

“Stay.” she growled, “Akira will just push us away again if we keep going on like that.”

“That's the same thing Kei said!” Seita shouted, “How would you know all of this?” Then he stopped. He thought about all the times Akira did strange things to help them out and couldn't seem to remember why, and the times when she would remember strange things, just out of the blue. Things she couldn't have known. Unless...

Seita exchanged a glance with Gazimon, who seemed to have come up with the same conclusion he did. He then looked down at Kodamon, surprised. “This happened before, hasn't it?”

Kodamon nodded. “Yes.”

“How long ago?”

“…Almost a year, according to real-world time,” Kodamon replied softly. “Back then, when we first met, I knew something was bothering her, but she refused to tell me anything. She hid it behind a smile.” She looked away. “She's always been so selfless like that – keeping her own problems to herself and refusing to get others involved. She never wanted to let others get hurt because of her. But now...” She took a deep breath. “It's too much for her to hide. It's overflowing, and now all of us are feeling it.”

Seita had so many questions he wanted to ask, so many things he wanted to know, but this wasn't the time or the place to bring them up. “Do you have any clue what she's thinking about?” he finally asked.

“Not definitely. But I've been suspecting things, and Kei has been dropping hints. I know that something happened to her, and maybe Kei too, on your side – the real world.”

Seita sighed, and looked ahead, into the thick fog. “Is there any way we can help her get over this? I don't want to see her like this again.”

Kodamon stared through the fog, thinking. “I hope there is.”

Chapter Text

Akira dropped to the ground, exhausted from running. Everything seemed to whirl around her.

Why do I keep thinking about all this? she thought desperately.

She breathed deeply, trying to think of something happy. But all she could hear was Touma and herself screaming at each other, the noise bouncing off the mountains and coming back painful to her ears. All she could feel was coldness, and lingering, imagined pain from long-healed injuries.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to block everything out, but nothing worked. She didn't notice the long, jagged shadow that cast itself before her. Her Digivice started beeping uncontrollably again and glowing brightly.

She put her hands over her ears and screamed.

Seita heard that scream echoing from the mountaintops, and his heart jumped. “Akira!” He started running toward the sound, Kodamon and Gazimon following him. Kodamon glowed a bright cyan blue and evolved to Kodiamon without even thinking.

“Hey!”

They all stopped and turned around to see Tian and Kyuubimon coming toward them.

“Are you all okay?” Tian asked, “Where are you going?”

“We're fine,” Seita replied, worried. “But Akira got separated from us, and we're trying to find her.”

“She's alone?” Tian's eyes widened. “Oh no! We have to find her before Devimon-”

“Wait a minute!” Seita stopped her, “Who?”

Tian took a breath, impatient. “Listen, has there been anything in your head that's been nagging at you all the time we've been here?”

Seita thought a moment. “No... I don't think so. Why?”

Tian stared at Seita in amazement. “Okay...” She regained her composure quickly. “Well, anyway, there's a Digimon around here that's been screwing with all of our minds – except for yours, I don't understand that – and making us relive our worst memories. Devimon's gotten to me, and Kei, and to Jun and Mana, but not so bad. I don't know about Yuka-”

“She'll be fine.” Seita said firmly. “I know that.”

“If you say so,” Tian continued, “And Akira...”

Seita looked down. “I think he's gotten to her too...” He started running again. “But not if we can help it!” He pulled out his Digivice and glanced at Gazimon. “Get ready!” The Digivice glowed...

Devimon laughed as he approached Akira, sitting on the ground below. He could sense everything that was going on in her mind. Before he could get closer, he was knocked unceremoniously out of the air.

“Fist of the Beast King!”

“Fox Flame Dragon!”

“Chrome Claw!”

Devimon spun wildly. Then, righting himself, he saw the group of Digimon who attacked him and the kids they were partnered with, and bristled with anger. “Why you-”

“Heaven’s Knuckle!”

“Cat Punch!”

Devimon was flung through the air again, this time in the other direction.

“Gatling Arm!”

“Swift Secret Punch!”

Devimon ducked and barely missed being hit by the two attacks. He landed, then faced the barrel of one of Galgomon's guns.

“Hi again!” Galgomon said cheerfully, “Remember us?”

Kei ran over to where Akira was and her eyes widened, horrified. “Akira!” she cried, “Is she okay?” she asked Tian.

“I'm not sure,” Tian replied frantically, “but try not to worry.” She was trying not to worry herself.

Seita beckoned to Jun and whispered into his ear. Jun nodded reluctantly, then turned away.

“Come on!” he yelled to the others, “We have to get Devimon away from here!”

Mana looked at him, confused. “But-”

“Just do it!”

Mana nodded quickly, and got the two youngest girls to go with them.

All the Digimon followed, except for Kyuubimon, who stayed for a little while longer. She went over to Tian and Seita, who were trying to rouse Akira from the state she was in. When they saw her, they moved away.

Kyuubimon placed one of her paws on Akira's head, and closed her eyes. “Everything's a jumble...” she said, “Nothing's making sense... but some definite feelings I can sense are anger, frustration, fear... and pain.”

Seita looked at Akira in worry. “What can we do to help her out of this?”

Kyuubimon stared into his face. “You'll have to be here for her and help her sort out all those memories. Give her support.”

“But how?” Tian asked.

“Make some sort of contact with her,” Kyuubimon replied, “Hold her hand. Because of the state of things right now, it'll be easy to sense whatever she's thinking.”

“Are you sure this will work?” Seita said skeptically.

Tian thought a moment, then took one of Akira's hands. “We have no other choice.” She looked at Kyuubimon and nodded.

Kyuubimon did the same, then turned to join the others in fighting.

Tian looked at Seita. “Come on, Seita, help me out!”

Seita blinked and hastily took Akira's other hand. It was cold. He swallowed and closed his eyes, waiting for the memories to flow...

Akira stared at her father in disbelief. “I'm what ?!”

“You're going to Washington D.C. to visit your mother,” he repeated, “Next week.”

“No- what did you say after that?” Akira asked him, her voice trembling. She prayed she had heard wrong.

Her father sighed. “You're going to stay with her and her family for a year.”

“A year?” she shouted, jumping up. “But why? School just started three weeks ago! And I don't want to spend a year in a place I know nothing about!” She started pacing.

Her father shook his head. “This was not my decision. Not fully, anyway. Your mother and I… we talked it over… and we agreed that you would live with one of us – a year with me, a year with her.” He took a deep breath. “Starting now.”

Akira stared at him. “Couldn't you just say no, or not yet?”

“No. Your grandmother also insisted that you go.”

Akira's jaw dropped. She turned toward her grandmother. “What? Grandma?” She looked at her pleadingly. “Why?” But she didn't get an answer.

The next day, after school, Akira walked home with Tian, venting her feelings about her upcoming trip.

“So, I take it, you don't want to go?” Tian asked, tentatively.

Akira's head snapped toward her. “Are you kidding? Of course I don't want to go! Just when everything was going right…” Her eyes narrowed. “The soccer team was counting on me to lead them to victory this year… And we actually have teachers this year who aren’t mean or annoying… And…” Her eyes widened in horror. “And I’m going to miss graduation!!”

Tian looked back at her in surprise. “How long are you going to stay over there?!”

“An entire year!” Akira shouted.

Tian stared at her, too shocked to say anything.

“My mom said it’s better this way, so we’ll have more time to get to know each other again,” Akira replied bitterly. “If she really wanted to spend a lot of time with me, she shouldn’t have waited seven years to finally say something about it!” She shut her eyes. “It’s not fair…”

No one said anything for a while. Tian just stared at her sadly.

“An entire year…” Akira murmured softly. “What am I going to do, Tian? You're not going to be there, so who am I going to have to talk to?” She glared. “What if all the boys end up being like my next-door neighbor?” She shot an angry glance in the direction of Seita's house.

Tian sighed. “Well, at least you'll get to see your mom again, and you'll get to meet your half-sister.”

Akira didn’t answer her.

“Or maybe…” Tian smiled a little, “Maybe you'll find yourself a boyfriend there!”

Akira scowled and folded her arms, refusing to look at Tian all the way home.

On the morning of her departure, Akira got out of the house and started putting her things in the car. On her third trip, a voice interrupted her thoughts.

“What's going on?”

Akira looked up and saw Seita standing on the sidewalk. He was staring at the huge suitcase she was carrying, then staring at the car. “I'm leaving,” she said grudgingly.

“I can see that, but why? And to where?” There was a disbelieving look on his face.

Akira scowled at him. She was in no mood to talk. “None of your business!” She plopped her suitcase in the trunk, walked over to the front, and yanked the car door open. “ Moron !” she shouted, slamming the door. She could hear her grandmother apologizing to Seita, but she didn't care. She spent the time before her dad drove them away trying not to look at Seita through the window.

Tian pulled away from the memories, taking a deep breath. She remembered that conversation with Akira, not long ago. She didn't know then that it would be the last time she'd see her friend the way she used to be.

Seita remembered Akira's outburst before she left, and couldn't help but feel hurt all over again. Akira's grandmother had eventually told him that she was going to America to visit her mom, but he had never expected her to be gone so long. Every once in a while, he'd stop by her house and visit her grandmother, asking for any news at all regarding her.

One evening, a couple of months after Akira had arrived in D.C., she entered the house and ran into Touma.

“Where's Mom?” she asked, looking at him warily. Not again... she thought frantically.

“Away,” he answered. “Where have you been?” he asked her, in that freaky, quiet voice she had begun to fear.

“I was at the neighbor's,” she replied, slowly, “One of my classmates was helping me with my English homework.”

Touma scowled. “Next time, you tell me when you're going to be late. For all we know, you could be going out with people we know nothing about!”

“I don't have to listen to you,” Akira said softly, almost as a whisper, “You aren't my dad!”

Touma's head snapped around. “What did you say?” He had a dangerous expression on his face.

“Nothing.” Akira looked away and was about to go upstairs when Touma grabbed her arm.

“Listen, young lady, as long as you're in this house you will do as I say, no questions asked. Understood?” He gripped her arm tightly.

Akira didn't answer. She winced as his grip around her arm tightened.

“You'd better understand,” he continued, “or else-”

“Or else what?” Akira shot back. She tried to pull her arm away. “Let go of me!”

Touma glared at her some more, then let go. Akira shot a dirty look at him and ran up the stairs, rubbing her arm. The next day, there were bruises showing on it.

Another day, while Akira was dressing for school, she stared down one of her arms at the new black and blue marks she got, and looked at them with disgust. She pulled on a sweatshirt that covered them fully, and was about to leave the room when she noticed something sitting on the clothes pile that she didn't notice before. She picked it up.

It was a pair of yellow goggles with clear lenses and a black band. She stared at them, then remembered how she got them. Her grandmother had given them to her before she left. For luck, she had said. Just in case. At the time, Akira had accepted them just to make her happy, having no idea what to do with them. Now, thinking about it, an idea came to her. She slipped them on her head.

There, she thought. Now, if Touma decides to rip my head off the next time he goes bonkers, at least he'll hit these instead of me! She smiled playfully, having found a reason to wear the goggles. She left the room and met a very sleepy Kei on the stairs.

“Good morning...” Kei yawned. She almost walked by her when she looked up suddenly and pointed at the goggles on Akira's head. “Where'd you get those? They look cool...” She yawned again and walked toward the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.

Akira rolled her eyes and laughed softly. She looked at herself again before leaving. They do look pretty good, actually, she thought, rushing out the door.

Seita opened his eyes and smiled a little, despite having a strong urge to find Touma and punch his head in. He glanced at the goggles on Akira's head. He'd noticed her wearing them on her first day back home. He agreed with her – they did look good on her. But he wouldn't dare say that in front of her.

The trembling of Akira's hand in his reminded him of their predicament. He gripped her hand again and closed his eyes, ready to help her through what was coming next.

What came next was a jumbled mess of loud, chaotic memories swirling around in Akira's brain. It was getting harder and harder for her to focus.

A flash of Akira watching Touma and Kei from a distance, talking to each other with smiles on their faces. Then Touma looked up and, seeing Akira watching him, his expression changed to a glare.

I don't understand.

There were some times when other people were around, when we could talk to each other, just a brief exchange, without it becoming a shouting match. Sometimes we were almost civil. But most times, especially when we were alone, he'd look like he wanted to murder me or something...

Why was he acting like this only around me? What did I do?

A flash of the family at a parent-teacher conference. The teachers raved about how much Akira had been improving in class and how high her grades had gotten, almost hitting the straight-A mark. Kyoko beaming with pride, while Touma remaining absolutely unmoved.

Another memory, one of Akira watching Kyoko and Touma from the stairs. Kyoko commenting on how well-behaved Akira was for the past month or so, with Touma not saying a word.

I improved in school. I tried to be good. Wasn't that good enough for him?

Tian was trembling as she traveled through those memories. So this was why Akira had changed so much over the course of a year. She had known before that something had happened between Akira and Touma, but she never knew it was as bad as this. She began to wish that she could have helped her in some way.

At this point, Akira was aware of things around her. She could feel Tian's shock and sadness, and Seita's anger. It was beginning to upset her.

Why didn't I say anything? Why didn't I let someone know what was going on? It was just getting worse and worse!

Was it because I was scared?

A memory of Akira looking down the street ahead of her while walking home from school. She saw that one car was missing in the driveway of their house. She groaned. Mom wasn't home today, and probably won't be home tonight either. Tonight... Akira stopped dead, trembling all over. She knew what would happen tonight, what happened every night her mom wasn't home. She was scared. Then, she sighed in resignation. She might be scared, but she had to come home sometime. She couldn't not. I'd have to face him again anyway, she thought, Might as well get it over with. She sighed again, as she walked toward the house.

No. There was another reason...

Akira wracked her brain, trying to remember.

I was...

A flash of Touma sitting alone, rubbing the back of his neck, his face contorted in pain.

A flash of Akira watching him from the other room and noticing a strange, dark grayish-black aura coming from the spot on his neck he was trying to soothe.

A flash of Touma looking up suddenly and catching Akira looking at him, a concerned look on her face. The pained look on Touma's face disappeared, replaced with a look of pure anger. His eyes flashed. Akira said something, her concern turning into fear. Touma shouted something back in return, and smacked her on the cheek. The force of it sent her reeling into the banister, cracking the lenses of her goggles and making an odd cracking sound in her left arm.

I was...

A flash of Akira sitting at the table a couple of weeks later. Her left arm was in a cast and sling and there were bandages on her forehead and cheek. Her goggles lay near her on the table, the clear lenses replaced with transparent blue ones. Akira observed Touma from behind the enormous medical book she was reading, waiting for Touma to have the strange neck problem again. She flipped a few pages, read a little, and frowned. Nothing matched the symptoms she had seen. Then, glancing at Touma again, she saw the telltale symptoms. She got up quickly and walked out of the room, carrying her goggles and the book with her good arm. It wouldn't be good to stay there.

I was trying to find a cure.

Akira opened her eyes in amazement. “I was trying to help him...” she whispered, speaking again for the first time.

“What?” Seita blurted out.

“I was trying to help him,” Akira repeated. “There was something wrong with Touma. I was trying to find out what it was.”

“What was it?” Tian asked.

“I don't know,” Akira answered, frustrated. “I don't think I ever found out, but I tried.” She closed her eyes. “Something was hurting him and making him act the way he did around me. The abuse... it wasn't entirely his fault.”

“You're kidding!” Seita said hotly. He put a hand on Akira's left arm, then held her hand tightly. “He did all that to you, and it wasn't his fault?”

“No.” Akira looked at Seita seriously. “No, it wasn't.”

“How can you be so sure?” he demanded.

”I- look, I just know, okay? I don't have an explanation!” Akira shot back. Actually, the answer might have been there, but like most other memories she had, trying to remember it was like trying to keep ocean tides from flowing away. Akira sighed in exasperation, then calmed down. She at least had an answer to something, and that was enough to bring her back to herself. “That's why I kept going through all that, without telling anyone what was going on or what I was doing. I had to find proof that he wasn't himself those times. I had to find a cure for him.”

At that, all three of them could hear shouts and explosions from ahead. The three of them looked at each other in horror.

“Devimon!”

They ran ahead, and arrived just in time to see Angemon flung away and changing into Patamon again. Many of the other Digimon had de-evolved as well. The only ones still standing were Kodiamon, Leomon, and Kyuubimon, and they didn't look very well.

Jun saw them come and ran over to them, worried. “He's too strong for us! All of a sudden he got bigger, and now nothing works on him!”

A very large Devimon shifted his gaze from the three tired Digimon to Akira, an ugly frown on his face.

“I see you've come back to yourself,” he said, dangerously quiet. “And to think I believed my plan was working...”

“You can't take any credit for what's happened to me, Devimon,” Akira said, loud and clear. “I brought it on myself.” She shot him a piercing glare, and Devimon twitched in anger. Tian and Seita ran toward her and held her hands.

“But what you did,” she continued, shaking with rage, “Making my friends feel the same way I was feeling...” She closed her eyes for a split second, then opened them again. “That's unforgivable!”

A strange thing happened after that. The space in front of the three of them began to glow brightly, and three objects began to form.

In front of Akira, a small stone pendant emerged, with the symbol of a sun engraved into it. In front of Seita, a pendant with the symbol of a circle with two waves on the sides, and in front of Tian, a pendant with the symbol of a heart.

The three pendants glowed, and merged with the light of their three Digivices. Kodiamon, Leomon, and Kyuubimon began glowing as well.

“Kodiamon, super evolve to... Helamon!” A large bear with gray fur and golden eyes emerged. Standing on all fours, her limbs, torso, and head were covered in gold armor, with a large gold cannon mounted on her back.

“Leomon, super evolve to... GrapLeomon!” A more muscled, spiky-maned Leomon appeared, covered with silver armor and grapples on his wrists and ankles.

“Kyuubimon, super evolve to... Taomon!” Kyuubimon became more human-like, dressed in an ancient robe.

Everyone stared at the three Digimon in shock and awe. Was it possible? The three of them had evolved again!

“Super evolve…” Jun murmured in amazement.

Devimon snarled and attacked, or tried to attack, while being hit by three attacks at once.

“Solar Swipe!”

“Lion Whirlwind Kick!”

“Talisman of Light!”

Devimon writhed in pain, but recovered enough to slam a section of the ground with a fist. The ground started to shake violently, making a large crack appear. Dozens of Black Gears shot out, speeding through the air.

Akira ducked as a couple of them shot over her head. “Watch out!” she shouted, pulling out her Digivice. “Take cover!” She aimed the Digivice at a cloud of gears, and a light shot out, obliterating them.

“They're... all coming out of the ground?” Jun blurted out in disbelief, “So this place is the source of them all-” He dodged a gear, and pulled out his Digivice, following Akira's lead.

A few of the gears grazed across Taomon and GrapLeomon, however, when they were unable to dodge them. They fell to the ground, de-evolving.

Helamon leaped around, incinerating some with her flame-filled paws, and landed directly in front of Devimon.

“You've made it plain that you hate us, Devimon,” she said, smirking. “You're going to hate this even more.”

The air around her began to shimmer. The temperature rose a few degrees, and she shined a bright gold. A thin spherical barrier of energy appeared, surrounding her, Devimon, and the hoard of Black Gears.

“Say goodbye, Devimon,” she said calmly. “This time, for good.”

The light and heat surrounding Helamon, Devimon and the gears increased by tenfold, then a hundred, then over a thousand, and was still contained in the barrier she had created around them. Akira stared at it for a second, mesmerized. Then, a fuzzy, cloudy recollection came to her, followed by a shocked realization.

“My God...” Akira's eyes widened. “Everyone, get out of here! Get as far away as you can!”

No one moved.

“Come on!” she urged, “Go, go, GO!”

They all ran off in different directions, away from the increasing ball of energy, and hid behind large mountain walls. Akira dove under a large slab of rock and plugged her ears.

Helamon took a quick glance behind her and, seeing that the surrounding area was clear, decided to let everything go.

“Solar... Expulsion!”

A beat of silence fell over everything. No sound. No movement. Time seemed to stand still.

Then, a tremendous explosion. Everything within the radius of the energy ball simply went up in flames, except for Helamon, who jumped away untouched. The outer reaches of the energy ball were just a few yards away from where everyone else was hiding, but Helamon's barrier held.

After about five minutes, which to them felt like five hours, the flames died down and the spherical barrier disappeared.

Everyone emerged from hiding and stared, speechless. There was nothing left of whatever used to be there – no mountain, no rock, no Black Gears, and no Devimon. Helamon was the only recognizable thing that came out.

Akira ran over to her. “You could have given us a warning!” she said, flustered. Then she smiled and threw her arms around Helamon's neck. “But then, seeing that again was spectacular!”

Helamon glowed, then shrank, becoming Kodamon again. “You remembered?” she asked, a tired smile on her face.

“I remembered that big bang,” Akira replied, “but not the poor soul who got it the first time around.”

Seita stared at her, confused. “I'm going to pretend I didn't hear you remember something weird.” He winked. “For now.” He walked off, leaving her puzzled.

“How did you... do that?” Jun asked Kodamon shakily.

“Well... that was a little something that I could do,” Kodamon replied, “In case of an emergency. Very strong, very effective...” She breathed in and out heavily, then flopped down on the ground, exhausted. “But a killer on your nerves right after you do it,” she murmured, putting her paws over her eyes.

Everyone laughed, then quieted down to let Kodamon rest a little.

Tian examined the pendant around her neck, a thoughtful expression on her face. She turned to Akira. “Why do you think we got these... things? And why only three of us?”

Akira shrugged, staring at hers. “I don't know. I know we got them for a reason, just like there's a reason we're here in the first place. We'll just have to find out.”

“So...” Jun said after a long silence, “What do we do now?”

“Ugh.” Mana looked around her and shivered. “I will eternally hate this place. Remind me never to come here again!” There was laughter, but everyone was on edge.

Akira sighed. “Come on. Let's get out of here.” Everyone smiled gratefully.

As they all walked away, Seita went over to Akira and took her hand. “Are you okay?”

Akira looked at him and nodded. “Yeah.”

Seita said nothing. He couldn't stop staring at her arm, the one that had broken and healed. There was a sad, sympathetic look in his eyes.

Akira noticed this. “It's okay. Really.” She smiled. “I'm over it now.” Seita looked at her again, then nodded.

They walked on, and Akira was lost in her thoughts. She wondered – did she really get over everything that had happened, like she said? The sickness or whatever that Touma was suffering from – what was it? She wished she knew. It was one of many things that nagged at her mind. There was something she was missing – something important, maybe more than one, and she couldn't remember what it was.

The sound of giggling pushed the thought from her mind. She looked behind her, and saw Yuka and Kei whispering to each other and glancing at her and Seita. They saw her looking at them and giggled again. Akira looked up and saw Tian smiling at her. She looked at Seita and noticed he was still holding her hand.

“You can let go of me now,” Akira said, smirking.

Seita smiled wickedly. “What? Tired of me already?”

Akira glared at him, then smiled. She playfully whisked her hand out of his. “Not yet.”

Chapter Text

“You know, I wonder if someone or something around here is mocking us.”

Jun turned to face Mana, puzzled. “Why?”

“Because,” Mana replied. “We're stuck here, trying to follow a road that's leading to nowhere, with no end in sight!”

It was true. After the mountains ended, there was a long stretch of dusty road, framed by trees on both sides. Everyone had stopped to rest a while back, and as far as they knew, there was no end in sight. The only thing that was ahead was a dreary, gray sky.

“Well-” Jun started to say.

“And,” Mana interrupted, “Look at what else we've been through! We've walked through burning deserts, junkyards, caves, pyramids, haunted mountains, and God knows what else, and we haven't even found one reason why we're here in the first place!”

“We know that,” Seita spat, “so can you stop complaining about it?”

Mana glared. “I'm not complaining, I'm just telling it as it is!”

“Actually...”

Everyone stared at Akira, who had been leaning against a tree, absently flipping her Digivice in the air.

“Actually, we have found out a couple of things,” she said softly, “A couple of very important things.” She caught her Digivice in midair, then turned around to face them. “We know that, judging from what Black Tailmon and Devimon said, some sort of dark force is trying to take control here. And from what Wizardmon said, we're probably the only ones who can stop it.”

“Is that it?” Seita asked, “But why us?”

“Maybe it has something to do with why we got the Digivices,” Tian replied, "And these-” She held up the tag around her neck.

Akira nodded. She sighed and leaned on the tree again, lowering her head and closing her eyes.

Seita slowly walked over to her, and was about to say something when she spoke up suddenly.

“What do you want, Seita?”

Seita jumped. “How did you know it was me?” he whispered.

Akira opened an eye and smirked. “Because you're the only one I know who'd approach me that carefully,” She looked up and stared at him. “What is it?”

“I just wanted to know...” he said softly, “How much do you remember?”

Akira frowned. “About what?”

“About before,” Seita replied, “Kodamon told me about it.”

Akira was silent for a while, wondering how much to tell him, then spoke. "Not much, really. Almost nothing. Most of the time, everything's a blur.”

There was an awkward silence between them, then Seita broke it. “About what I asked everyone earlier...” He hesitated a moment, then looked into Akira's eyes. “Haven't you ever wondered, why you? I can only understand a little bit of why you're here.”

Akira looked at Seita questioningly, and swallowed. "I... I don't think I understand any more than you do.” She looked at Seita pleadingly.

Seita blinked, then after a moment's silence, nodded. "Well... if you ever remember other things, you can talk to me or Kodamon... if you want to. Whenever you're ready.” He smiled, then turned and walked away.

Akira stared at him in wonder. That was at least the second or third time he's done that in an hour, she thought, and we haven't had an argument in days. She continued watching him from a distance, and found herself smiling for no reason. I just don't understand him sometimes...

Just then, someone or something ran past her in a blur. She looked up suddenly and stood up straight. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open. She looked ahead, and strangely, there was nothing there.

“Hey...” Akira said shakily, “Did you all see that?”

“See what?” Kodamon asked. Everyone else shrugged.

“I... I'm not exactly sure...” Akira stammered, “I thought I saw...” She swallowed. An icy chill went up her spine.

When that something or other ran past her, she had seen a flash of a girl's face. A girl with violet eyes, long black hair, and a familiar-looking pair of yellow goggles...

Akira shivered and shook the thought out of her mind. That's impossible. Of course I didn't see something like that. But then, what was it? She looked in the direction the person went, subconsciously holding out her Digivice. It started beeping, and the small screen showed a bright light moving away from them. Akira ran, following the light on the display.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Seita called after her.

Kodamon had been watching her the whole time and had caught on. "Never mind, just follow her!”

Akira was way ahead of them. She stared at the Digivice and saw that she was getting closer to whatever she was chasing. She looked up, and she could see the faint outline of a person in front of her. She got closer, and when she looked at the person's face again, she almost stopped breathing.

Long black hair. Violet eyes. Yellow goggles.

What the heck...?

The person looked almost exactly like her! Akira couldn't believe it. The only differences were that the mystery girl was a couple of inches shorter than her, the lenses on the goggles were clear instead of blue, and she was wearing different clothes – a cyan blue tank top and a pair of red shorts. She was also moving strangely – she seemed to run in a jerky motion, and her image was indistinct, flickering on and off, like a computer or TV screen with interference. Then, suddenly, she vanished.

Akira stopped dead, a shocked look on her face. She looked around her and saw no trace of the strange girl. Mist began to surround everything and obstruct her view. She sighed.

Mist? Not again!

She walked on, very slowly, and as the mist moved away, she came across a strange sight. The dirt road had ended at a large clearing, with the ruined remains of a small village. Every hut was damaged in some way, and the only things growing were weeds and a handful of dying trees.

Akira stared at this until everyone else had caught up with her.

“Akira!” Seita called, running up to her and breathing deeply, "What were you doing, running off just like that?”

“It took forever to catch up with you,” Tian added, catching her breath, “I forgot how fast you can run!”

“What is this place?” Mana asked, staring at all the ruin.

“I guess we'll just have to find out,” Kodamon answered, taking Akira's hand.

After an hour of exploring, they still had no answers.

“I don't get it,” Tian said, half frustrated. “What would have happened here that would make whoever lived here leave all this stuff behind?” She gestured toward the piles of computer towers and complex-looking consoles and wires inside one of the huts. There was something similar in every other one they had looked in.

“Something terrible, I think,” Renamon replied. “Everything looks like it's been through an attack of some kind.”

“Whatever it was, it must have happened a long time ago,” Jun added, examining the objects inside the hut. "Everything looks like it hasn't been used in decades. Everything-” he pointed to the pile, "-except the computer stuff. I don't understand that. Being exposed to the open air like this for a long time should have made them rust!”

Tian just shrugged, and followed Renamon somewhere else.

Jun walked over to another hut and went inside. Patamon followed, as well as Mana and Salamon. Jun turned to Mana, and Mana began to say something.

“Let me guess,” Jun said, “You found nothing but computer consoles.”

Mana's mouth snapped shut and she nodded.

“Same here.” Jun looked around and saw something flat sitting on a table. He walked closer to it and examined it. It was a laptop, a very old model by the size and thickness of it. Its cover was white and bright yellow, and had a pineapple symbol in the middle. He opened it up. “I wonder...” he murmured.

“I hope you're not thinking that still works,” Mana said skeptically.

Jun pushed the power button and the old laptop sprang to life. He laughed. “Perfect! Maybe whatever's in this laptop will give us some kind of clue!”

Mana and Salamon just looked at each other.

“Anything understandable yet?” Akira asked hopefully as Tian approached her.

“Nope.” Tian shook her head. “The only thing we agree on is that something bad happened here a long time ago. That doesn't explain all the computer equipment, though.”

“About that,” Seita put in, wrists deep into the back of a console,”I don't think any of this junk will work. All the wires in here are ripped out and frayed.”

“So get out of that before they spark and burn you alive!” Akira shouted at him, "You could have asked Jun to look at it!”

At that, a small spark spewed from a wire and gave Seita a mild shock. He yelped and jumped away from the console.

Akira rolled her eyes. “Like I said.”

“Good call! You're more observant than I ever was. If it were me, he really would have been burned alive!”

Akira froze. "Did you hear that?” Both Seita and Tian nodded faintly. Then Akira felt something touch her shoulder. She whirled around, swinging a fist in front of her, and nearly collided with...

“Whoa! Hey, hey, calm down! I'm not an enemy!” The voice came from the image of a boy with wild, spiky brown hair. He wore a pair of goggles with a blue sweatband on his head. He moved strangely, flickering like a computer screen.

“Taichi, you know better than to scare her like that!” An image of a girl appeared next, wearing a blue hat.

“She's right, you know.” Another boy appeared, with spiky blond hair and blue eyes.

“Now you see why I worry so much!” A boy wearing glasses appeared, sighing.

“W-who are you?” Akira stammered.

“I'm Taichi,” the boy with the goggles said, "That guy over there is Yamato, and the girl is Sora.” He smiled again. “Nice to meet you!”

“I'm Jyou,” the boy with the glasses added, with a resigned look on his face.

Kodamon looked at each of them closely, then blinked. “They're not real. At least, not in the sense that we're real.”

“Ghosts?” Tian asked quietly.

“No,” Renamon answered, “I don't feel anything from them.”

Seita looked at them skeptically. "Okay... so if they're not real people and they're not ghosts, what are they and why are they here talking to us?”

Yamato looked at him seriously. "Because there's something we need to explain.”

Jun was silent for a couple of minutes as he stared at the computer screen, typing in a couple of things every once in a while.

Mana looked over his shoulder, frowning. “There's nothing in there...”

“Yes, there is something here,” Jun answered, frustrated, “It's just that there's so many security blocks everywhere, and I'm looking for back doors.” He wiped his arm across his forehead. “Whatever this is, it must be important enough to have this many passwords!” He hit 'Enter' one more time, and the laptop bleeped. The password screens disappeared.

“Perfect!” Jun smiled. He typed something in, then frowned. “Now this is strange...” After a minute of silence, he spoke up again. “It's a database of some kind, and it's all written in Japanese!”

Mana snapped toward him, confused. "What?”

“Let me see...” His eyes squinted, "My written Japanese isn't that good...”

“You actually learned some of that?” Mana asked, shocked. "I just let my mom and dad translate!”

“Now you see where that got you,” Jun replied, sighing. "Never mind. I'll just let Akira look at it later.” He pulled out his own laptop and a cable from his backpack, and started to connect them to the old laptop. "Right now, though, I'm going to make sure we have this information. I don't think this old thing can take much more.” He pressed a button, and the database began to download.

“Now that's smart! I didn't think my old laptop would work for much longer either!”

Jun looked up suddenly. "Who said that?”

“Me!” A short boy with short, spiky brown hair appeared, making Mana jump.

“W-what?” Mana stammered.

“Don’t forget me!” another voice said. A girl wearing a pink hat and pink dress appeared. Mana let out a scream.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Mana half shouted.

“Not who, Mana,” Jun said, "What.” He waved his hand through the boy, and it went through him.

The boy smiled. "Caught on already? You're smarter than I thought!”

Meanwhile, Yuka and Kei were wandering around outside.

“Yuka,” Kei asked, “Do you feel anything wrong about this place?”

Yuka shook her head. “Uh-uh. For once, everything feels fine.”

Kei frowned. “If that's the case, why is everyone else worried over this?” Yuka shrugged in reply.

Just then, both of them heard giggling. They looked up to see two kids run past them and into a hut.

Yuka and Kei looked at each other. Kei looked up at Terriermon, perched on her head.

“Did you see that?”

“Yeah,” Terriermon replied, “Something funny's going on here...” Terriermon jumped up and glided over to where the two kids disappeared, and everyone else followed.

Inside, the two kids turned around and smiled at them. One was a little boy wearing a green hat, and the other was a little girl wearing a whistle around her neck.

“Hi!” The boy said cheerfully, "I'm Takeru!”

“I'm Hikari,” the girl said.

Yuka and Kei stared at them, then stared at each other.

Jun thought a moment. "You're some kind of computer programs, right? Holographic projections. That would explain all the computer equipment lying around everywhere.” He looked at the boy. "Koushirou, right?”

Koushirou nodded.

“And I'm Mimi,” the girl added.

“We're here to make sure you got that database from the laptop,” Koushirou explained, "Everything you'll need to know is in there. Mostly everything, anyway.”

“And,” Mimi added, "We have to give you these,” She and Koushirou each pulled out a tag and placed them in Jun and Mana's hands.

Jun looked at his. It was purple, and had two linked circles. “These are like the ones Akira, Seita and Tian got,” he said.

Mana's was green and had an engraving of a teardrop. “What are they?” she asked.

“They're called Crests,” Koushirou answered, “Their powers reflect the personalities of the holders.” He looked at Jun. “Your power is knowledge. No matter what happens, you always find a solution.”

“And you...” Mimi told Mana, "You never hesitate to say what's on your mind. You know when danger's staring you in the face and say so, even when the others don't realize it.”

“Powers?” Jun looked puzzled.

“Yes,” Mimi said, “They...”

“...can make your Digimon get bigger and stronger!”

Kei stared at the yellow Crest in her hand and glanced at Takeru. "Really?”

“Yeah!” he replied, smiling.

Yuka clasped her pink Crest and added, "Just like how Kodiamon, Leomon, and Kyuubimon got stronger!”

Kei brightened. "So, Terriermon, with this, you can be just like Helamon and have the power of a million suns?” she asked, very excited. Terriermon laughed.

“A Crest's powers are different for everyone,” Hikari said, "But if your feelings are strong enough, your Digimon will be too!”

“Is everyone else getting one too?” Yuka asked.

“Yes,” Hikari answered, “But you two kids are special. Sometimes, you'll have powers stronger than everyone else.” She turned to Yuka. “Darkness can never touch you.”

“And you'll never lose hope that things will turn out okay!” Takeru said to Kei.

“All those things are important for you to have, especially now,” Hikari said seriously, “You two will have to grow up faster than we ever did.”

“Let me get this straight,” Seita said in exasperation, “You're saying that every once in a while the Digital World ends up in danger, and the only way to stop it is to get a group of kids from the real world to fight back?” He was about to shake his head in disbelief.

“Don't say you don't believe that,” Akira told him, “If it wasn't true, then why else are we here?”

“So we weren't the only ones to come here,” Tian concluded.

“Right.” Taichi said, “We fought the same battle you're going through, years ago, but this time...”

“It's our turn,” Akira answered.

Sora nodded. “And it will be harder for you than it was for us. We don't know much, but whoever's behind everything this time was smarter than before. The attacks on you guys are coming faster than what happened to us. Whatever their plans are, they're speeding things up.”

“Because of that,” Jyou put in, “we've decided to speed things up too. You all have gotten your Crests way earlier that we did. And you didn't have to go running all over the Digital World looking for them.”

“We couldn't afford to waste any more time trying to get you prepared,” Yamato added, "So we had to make sure you all got what you needed.”

“How did you all know about this?” Seita asked, "If you were here years and years ago...”

Sora spoke up. “We already had an idea that something like this would happen in the future, so before we left this place for good, we left a little bit of ourselves behind in the computers, to warn the next group of kids about what was coming.”

Taichi nodded. “Whatever's coming this time around will be worse than anything we've ever seen. In both this world and ours.”

“What is it?” Akira asked.

Taichi shook his head. “We don't know. The person who told us everything didn't tell us that. She's the only one who knows everything, and to this day, we don't know exactly where she is.”

Tian raised an eyebrow. "This person is still around here?”

“Her programmed self is still here. Somewhere.”

“So, the only way for us to understand is to find her?” Seita asked.

“Yeah,” Yamato replied, "And good luck trying!” His image and the others began to flicker and crackle violently.

“What's happening?” Akira asked worriedly.

“Our power's running out,” Sora answered, her voice getting faint. “We were programmed only to tell you everything we knew and then disappear.”

“But we have one more thing to give each of you,” Jyou added, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out seven more tags and handed them over. All of them were empty.

“You'll have to go looking for these,” he continued, "But they're worth it!” He disappeared. So did Yamato and Sora.

Taichi's image flickered as he smiled one more time. "Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be fine. Because this time, fate sent someone with experience!” He turned to Akira. "Not too long ago, the dark forces tried to take control, and a disaster almost happened. But you stopped it from coming!”

Akira stared at him in surprise. Her expression changed to realization, then fear.

“Remember everything you can. And good luck!” With one final wave, Taichi disappeared.

There was a deafening silence in the room. No one dared to speak or make a sound, until Mana and Jun's calls and Kei and Yuka's shouting broke the silence.

“Hey, guys!” Jun said excitedly, carrying his laptop under his arm. “You won't believe what we've found!”

“And look what we've got!” Kei practically screamed, thrusting her crest in everyone's face.

When none of them got a reaction, Mana stared at the three oldest kids with a puzzled expression. "Hey... are you all okay?”

Seita sighed. "It's a long story...”

“So that's why...” Jun said quietly, after everything had been explained.

No one said anything for a while. The only sounds were of Akira's heavy breathing and shuffling feet.

“I don't know what to do...” Her voice quivered.

“We have to get stronger,” Renamon said.

“We also have to find these other Crests that Jyou was talking about,” Tian added, fingering the empty tag in her hand.

“We need to look through all of this stuff and see what else we can learn,” Jun tapped his laptop.

“And we need to find that girl,” Seita said, "So we'll finally know why everything's this way.”

“And you have to remember,” Kodamon murmured, looking up at Akira.

“That's the thing!” Akira shouted, “Remember what?” She stared at everyone and began to pace. "I understand that Kodamon and I were here once, before any of you were, but I don't remember anything!” She shut her eyes. "I don't remember how I got here the first time, or why I was here, or whatever I did to stop a disaster from coming!”

“But I do.” Kodamon walked over to her and took her hand.

Akira opened her eyes and looked down at her, surprised.

“I remember,” Kodamon said firmly. But for just a moment, an uncertain look appeared on her face. “I'm probably just as forgetful as you are…” She smiled. “But it's a start.”

“And we'll help,” Seita assured her, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Like I said before, if you remember anything at all, you can talk to us.”

Akira stared at him for a couple of seconds, then smiled. It was one of the first real smiles that Seita had seen on her in a while.

She turned to the others. "Come on, let's go!”

Outside, the sky began to darken, and the wind began to pick up speed, blowing away dust and whistling through the cracks in the huts. The temperature had dropped a few degrees.

Akira shivered, and stopped slowly as she passed by a large shard of glass leaning against a wall. Her reflection was there, pale and fearful, but as she looked closer, she thought she could see someone else in it.

A little boy, just a few inches taller than Kei or Yuka. He had black hair and dark eyes, and was dressed in dark clothes. He looked very familiar...

Akira blinked, and the boy's image was gone. Then she heard a soft, calm, but eerily familiar voice echo through her mind.

“Don’t forget about me…”

Something clicked in Akira's mind. She gasped and turned around, looking out into the distance. Over there, the gray sky had darkened to almost black.

“Akira!”

Akira turned around to see Seita walk up to her. He looked at her strangely.

“Something wrong?”

Akira turned back and stared at the darkening sky. "I don't know...” she murmured. "Something just happened. Something bad, but I don't know what it is!”

I don't understand, she thought. Everything feels off-balance somehow. Disturbed. She swallowed.

Something has gone terribly wrong.

Chapter Text

In another part of the forest, Rion and Guilmon were slowly trudging through large bushes, branches, and overgrowth. Guilmon shivered as the wind blew through the trees, but Rion paid no attention to it. He kept on walking, arms folded and eyes closed, lost in his thoughts.

Ever since Rion had returned to the Digital World, he and Guilmon went straight to work. They trained and fought, and defeated every Digimon that got in their way. Every time, they had been successful.

Now they had a problem. More than one.

Rion looked up at the faint, light patch of sky in the distance, and thought of the first problem.

The other kids. And the other Digimon.

The last time he had seen them was on the first day, probably no more than a couple of weeks or a couple of months ago, but it had felt like a million years. Ever since then, even though they were apart, he could feel them. He could feel their strengths increasing, slowly but surely. Especially one team in particular.

Akira. And Kodamon.

When it came to those two, Rion felt threatened. As time went by, he began to suspect things. And not too long ago, when he saw part of a large, flaming sphere emerging from a nearby mountain range, he finally knew.

They had finally caught up to him. Kodamon had reached the Perfect level once again.

Which brought Rion to the second problem.

Guilmon couldn't do it. No matter how hard both of them tried, he couldn't evolve a second time. And Rion didn't know why.

A loud crack and a mechanical hum jolted him out of his thoughts. He looked up suddenly, eyeing the trees with a suspicious glare.

Guilmon noticed this. “Rion? What is it?”

Rion motioned him to be quiet. An eerie silence fell, and no one dared to move.

An icy chill went down Rion's spine. They were being watched, he could feel it. His eyes narrowed, and he looked over at Guilmon.

“You stay here. There's something I want to check out.”

“But, Rion-”

“Just stay,” Rion answered harshly. Guilmon's mouth opened and closed a few times in surprise, then he lowered his head and nodded.

“Good.” Rion walked off, disappearing into the foliage.

For a while, there was silence, and then Rion heard the cracking of a twig. He stopped and looked around, hardly daring to breathe. The silence continued for almost a whole minute. Then, Rion heard a rustling of branches, and soft, swift footfalls.

He whipped around, Digivice in hand, and came face to face with a girl. She was a few inches taller than him, with black hair, violet eyes, and yellow goggles, and dressed in a blue tank top and red shorts. Her image was slightly fuzzy and indistinct, and flickered every now and then.

“I wouldn't use that if I were you,” the girl said in an echoey, faraway voice, “It would just go right through me if I wanted it to, or it could bounce off me and do you in instead.”

Rion glared, and slowly lowered his Digivice. “Who are you and what do you want?” he asked suspiciously.

“Who am I?” she echoed, “You don't need to know just yet. And as for what I want, I'm just here to ask you some questions.”

Rion looked away. “I don't feel like talking.”

She sighed. “Why do I get the feeling that I knew this was going to happen?” she asked softly, mostly to herself.

“Now that you know that,” Rion replied darkly, “can you go away? Far, far away, where I won’t have to see you again?”

The girl frowned at his rudeness. “Is that how you treat everyone you meet?” she asked, “Or am I a special case?”

“You look like someone I wish I could blast off the face of the earth,” Rion hissed.

“I'm surprised you didn't try that already,” she said cooly.

“It crossed my mind,” Rion replied, “But you're not her.”

The girl raised an eyebrow. “How would you know that?”

“You look just a little younger, your goggles are a little different, and so are your clothes. I haven't seen you smile even once.” Rion looked directly at her face. “And you're far too creepy.”

Ignoring that last remark, the girl abruptly stopped walking and looked down. “You seem to know a lot about this other person,” she replied carefully, “Are you sure she isn't a friend of yours?”

Rion glared. He turned around and started walking away.

“Where are you going?”

“Away from you,” he called, not bothering to look back. He walked a few paces, stopped, then reluctantly turned around to see her right behind him. “Will you quit following me?” He tried to move forward, left, and right, but she blocked his way. “Leave me alone!” he shouted.

“No.” the girl said firmly. “Not until you answer my questions.”

“Who are you, anyway?” Rion exploded, “Did someone send you here to get on my case?”

“No one sent me anywhere to do anything,” the girl replied, “I just come and go, every now and then, making sure everything's in order.”

“Then go away and do your ordering somewhere else!” Rion said irritably, “If you know so much about everything, then you'd already know that Guilmon and I aren't doing anything wrong!”

“Not doing anything wrong?” she echoed in disbelief, walking closer to him. “You're about to make the biggest mistake of your entire life!”

Rion's eyes narrowed. “And what's that?”

“Refusing to join up with the others. By doing that, you're putting the entire Digital World in danger!”

“What others?” Rion asked.

“Don't play stupid with me!” she shot back, “Of course you know who I'm talking about!”

Rion glared at her through the corner of his eye. “Why should Guilmon and I even bother with all of them?” he asked, “They're too weak to deal with what we've dealt with.”

“Akira isn't. Neither is Kodamon.”

Rion's face darkened. “I don't want anything to do with them.”

“That doesn't change anything,” she continued, “You need to be with all of them. Keeping yourselves apart from them, alone – you're corrupting yourselves! Pretty soon, you'll forget the real reason why you're here!”

“Shut up...” Rion's fists clenched.

“You need to be near them, so you can find the real you...”

Something in Rion snapped. “I said, shut up!” he screamed. He lunged at her, pulling out his Digivice. Darkness shot out of it. The girl jumped away, missing the shot.

Rion aimed again, but the girl stiffened, and caught the dark beam in her hand.

“I don't want to do this,” she replied, straining, “But you leave me no choice.” She made the beam fragment into thousands of data particles and made them bounce back at him. She saw Rion shield his face with his arms, and shoot off another beam with his Digivice. She was about to fragment that one as well, when a sudden blast of red energy jolted her circuits. She looked up and saw Guilmon crashing through the bushes.

“Leave him alone!” Guilmon shouted, sending another Fireball her way. The attack fragmented in her hands.

Guilmon began to glow, and Rion's Digivice beeped.

“Guilmon, evolve to... Growmon!”

When the light disappeared, Guilmon, as Growmon, was at least ten times taller. The girl started to back away. The attack-blocking was starting to wear her out, and she needed to get out of there before things got even more out of hand. She turned around and started running, barely missing an energy beam. As she jumped into a clump of bushes, another one grazed through her image and short-circuited it. Sparks flew. The girl slowed down and hit the ground, gasping for breath. The bushes hid her from view.

As Growmon attacked, a strange light began to shine from the black crest hanging from Rion's neck. Rion stared at it with a disbelieving but hopeful look. Growmon began to glow again. The light from him and the Crest got brighter and brighter, until the Crest crackled and sparks flew from it. Rion let out a shout and dropped it like a hot potato.

Growmon began to shrink, and became Guilmon again. He dropped to the ground in exhaustion.

Rion looked at his Crest with a fearful expression, and after waiting a couple of minutes, he slowly bent down and picked it up. He glanced at Guilmon, laying on the ground.

“Guilmon...” Rion walked over to him, legs trembling, and dropped to his knees. He took a few deep breaths, shut his eyes, and pounded the ground with a fist. “Why?” he shouted, “Why can't you evolve again? Why aren't you getting stronger?” He stared at the black Crest in his hand. “Why is this stupid thing not working?”

“Because something's holding you back,” a deep voice answered.

Rion looked up, and saw a strange, tall figure clad in flowing, black robes and holding a long, silver staff. His face was concealed behind a large hood.

“W-who are you?” Rion asked fearfully.

“I am Mataymon,” the dark figure replied, “You need not fear me. I am here only to help you.” He laughed.

“Matay...” Rion murmured to himself, “Death...” He looked up again. “With a name like that, how do you expect me to believe you?”

“Because I know the answers to all that you seek...” Mataymon said cryptically.

Rion wiped his eyes. “What is it then?” he demanded, “What is it that's holding me back? I need to know!”

“Yourself!” Mataymon answered.

“Me?” Rion asked incredulously, “I don't understand.”

“I think you do,” Mataymon answered, “Think about it.”

Rion looked at him questioningly.

“Every time you fight, you know that you have to, but still, there is a small part of you that resists,” he continued, “You understand that what you're doing is the only way to put things right, but a part of you still doubts it.”

Rion looked down. He didn't deny anything.

“What is it you really want?” Mataymon asked.

“I want to be stronger,” Rion said firmly, “I want to be strong enough to do whatever I have to, without having to depend on anyone else! I want to be stronger than the person who forgot about me!”

“Then join me,” he answered, “If you do, you and Guilmon can become stronger. Strong enough to overcome your doubt and defeat anyone who gets in your way. Strong enough to defeat that one person you hate.”

Rion eyed him suspiciously. “How do I know you're telling the truth?”

Mataymon laughed. “You still do not believe me? Very well, then. Let me show you!” He raised a hand, and let it fill with dark energy. Then, he shot it at Rion.

Rion gasped, and dodged it, missing it by a hair. “What are you doing?” he shouted in disbelief.

Mataymon said nothing. He sent out another attack, but this time, Guilmon jumped in and tried to block it, but it sent him flying. He got up again and charged at him, evolving into Growmon along the way.

“Exhaust Flame!”

Flames shot out and surrounded Mataymon, but he beat them away with his robe.

Growmon started to glow again, and so did Rion's Crest. Rion stared at it again with that same wild hope.

Light shot out of the Crest and merged with Rion's Digivice, and Growmon began to change.

“Growmon, super evolve to... MegaloGrowmon!”

Rion gaped at the large, metal-clad Digimon that Growmon became.

MegaloGrowmon began to attack Mataymon again, but Mataymon held up his silver staff and stopped MegaloGrowmon in his tracks. The light surrounding him faded, and he shrank, becoming Guilmon again.

Rion had a look of shock and disbelief on his face. “Amazing...” He stared at Guilmon for a while. “MegaloGrowmon...” Then he looked up at Mataymon. “My Crest worked... How did you do it?”

“My powers are greater than you can ever imagine. Nothing else compares,” he answered, “If you join forces with me, you will be just as powerful!”

Guilmon watched as Rion digested this, and slowly walked over to him. When he saw the look on Rion's face, Guilmon knew his mind was made up.

“Let's do it, Guilmon.”

Guilmon glanced at Mataymon, and quickly shook his head. “I don't think we should. I don't trust him.”

“What are you talking about?” Rion demanded, “He made my Crest work again! You can reach the Perfect level! After all of that, you still don't trust him?”

“No.” Guilmon shook his head again, with a determined look on his face.

Rion glared hard, then grabbed one of Guilmon's hands, pulling him toward Mataymon. “It doesn't matter. We're doing this anyway, whether you like it or not. This is for our own good, trust me!” He ignored Guilmon trying to pull him away, and stopped right in front of Mataymon.

Mataymon smirked. “So, do we have a deal, boy?” He extended a bony hand.

Rion nodded and took it. “Yes.”

Guilmon saw the evil glinting in Mataymon's eyes, and his own eyes widened in fear. No!

Mataymon cackled. “Good...” Right then, waves of dark energy began to flow from his hand and into Rion's and Guilmon's.

Guilmon felt the energy spread through him. He did feel stronger, but it was very unsettling. He tried to hold back the evil thoughts that were beginning to seep into his mind.

Rion became pale, even paler than he already was, and his eyes became even darker. There was a lazy, hypnotic smile on his face.

“So...” he said, in a dangerously quiet voice, “Where do we start?”

Hidden in the nearby bushes, the girl watched the whole scene, her image recovered but still bristling from Growmon's attack. She could see Rion talking to Mataymon, but she was too far away to hear what he was saying. When she saw Mataymon disappear and Rion and Guilmon rush off, she sighed.

“Well... that didn't go very well, did it?” she said to herself. “What to do now...” She leaned against a tree and looked up at the dark gray sky. She stared at the fast-moving clouds threatening to bring rain, and her image fluctuated as the wind whipped through the trees. It wasn't a good sign.

In just a moment, everything had gone wrong. When she first approached the boy, she knew that it would be hard to persuade him, because of the power he shared with his Digimon. Theirs was a necessary evil, but they weren't meant – or expected – to turn to the other side. Losing Rion and Guilmon to the dark forces was a devastating blow. If they were as strong as she thought they were, the other seven didn't stand a chance.

She groaned, and slammed a semi-transparent fist into the tree trunk. “What do I do now?!” She closed her eyes. “Gennai, where are you when I need you? I can't do this by myself!” she said to the air.

But she didn't get an answer. She never did get any answers. She was on her own, as always.

Chapter Text

Meanwhile, not far away, the other kids and Digimon had stopped in a small clearing, watching impatiently as Jun and Akira picked their way through the old computer database.

Akira frowned as she clicked the mouse and a warning flashed across the screen in bright, red Japanese text.

Access denied. Please try again later.

“Another one?” Jun asked.

Akira nodded, sighing. “Yep. Another section of the database we can't get into.” She clicked the mouse again, this time on another section.

Access denied. Please go away as the computer is busy with something more important.

Akira blinked. “All right, then...” Another click.

Access denied. Please log off, don't come back, and have a nice day.

Akira stared at the screen in disbelief. “You've gotta be kidding me...” Another click.

Access denied. Why don't you give up already? There's nothing important in here, moron !

Akira scowled and slammed a fist into the ground, barely missing Jun's laptop. “Damn it!” she shouted, and let out a stream of words in Japanese. Seita, Tian and Yuka were laughing.

Jun looked confused. “What did it say?”

Akira huffed. “Nothing!”

“It was just an error message,” Tian said between giggles.

“Nothing major,” Seita added, “All it does is insult you!”

“Humph!” Akira shot back, looking away.

“Okay... how about I try it this time?” Jun said, “Just tell me where to click.”

Akira rolled her eyes and looked toward the screen again. “How about this one?” She pointed to a link in the top left-hand corner.

Jun clicked it. No error message.

Akira shot a look at him and took back the mouse. “I don't believe it. Why'd it work for you?” Jun smiled nervously.

Kei looked over Akira's shoulder. “So, what does it say?” When she saw what was on the screen, she didn't need an answer. “Hey!” she exclaimed, pointing to the pictures. “These are all the Crests we got!” She pulled out hers and held it out, and so did everyone else.

“Courage, Friendship, and Love...” Akira murmured, reading the names. “The ones that appeared for us!” she confirmed, looking at Seita and Tian.

“Knowledge, Sincerity, Hope, Light...” Seita read, “These are the ones everyone else got... But look-” He pointed to nine spaces near the bottom. “There's more of them.”

Tian looked at the spaces. The pictures were shadowed, and no names were shown. She looked at Akira, confused. “There's no information on these. Maybe they're the other crests that the three of us are supposed to find?” she asked, holding up her empty tag.

“That doesn't explain all those others,” Akira answered, “And why they have no information either...” She clicked on one of the shadowed spaces.

Access denied. Knowing too much is dangerous for your health!

Akira sighed. “Never mind.” She clicked on something else, and gratefully, there was no error message.

This time, there was a list of names. Akira scrolled up and down, reading the names and looking at the pictures of the people the names belonged to. “Taichi Yagami, Yamato Ishida, Sora Takenouchi... These are the names of the kids we talked to in the ruins!”

Jun looked at the pictures. “You're right.”

“Koushirou, Mimi, Jyou, Takeru, Hikari... Everyone we met is in here,” Akira continued.

“But who's this?” Kei pointed to a picture of someone else, located at the very bottom, spaced further apart from the others.

Akira looked at it, and gasped. The picture was of a black-haired, violet-eyed girl, wearing a pair of goggles.

“She looks just like you,” Kei continued, “But it couldn't be, could it?”

Akira shook her head slowly. “No...” She swallowed. “But I've seen her before.”

All eyes were on her. “You have?” Seita spoke up, “When? Where?”

“Right before we entered that ruined village,” Akira replied, “She led us to it. She was the person I saw on the road. And she moved funny – just like the programs of the other kids we talked to.”

“What's her name?” Kei asked.

Akira looked at the screen. “Naoko Magami...” she murmured, reading off the text under the picture.

“Do you think she's the person we're supposed to find?” Tian asked, interrupting Akira's thoughts.

“Naoko Magami...” Jun murmured. He thought a moment, then his eyes widened. “It couldn’t be…”

“What is it?” Akira asked.

“Magami…” Jun continued, “…as in the Magami OS?”

The kids looked at each other in surprise.

“That’s impossible,” Seita answered, “She’s only one person – uh, program – whatever! And there are billions of computers around the world running Magami OS. She can’t be in that many places at once!”

“But it makes sense,” Jun put in. “Look at this.” He pointed to a short annotation at the end of the page:

Naoko.exe – Command.com

“If this is true,” Jun continued, “This girl's 'programmed self' is the one responsible for managing everything around here, just like a Command.com program controls a computer.”

He was met with blank stares. Only Akira was nodding her head. “Go on.”

Jun sighed. “And according to this,” He pointed to a set of dates, “She created her program years ago, so the time period would be just about right.”

Akira was silent for a few seconds, then spoke up again. “How long ago?”

Jun looked at the screen and did a rapid calculation in his head. “About... 70 years ago.”

“What?!” Everyone else shouted.

Jun shrugged and clicked on another link. This time it was a different list of text and pictures.

“Digivices...” Jun murmured, looking at the pictures. “This one looks like yours, Akira.” He pointed to a light, pale blue Digivice at the top of the page, separate from the others.

Akira nodded, pulling it out and comparing it to the picture.

“And here's ours,” Jun pointed to the rest of them.

“But – wait a minute, how would they know about those?” Mana asked incredulously, “I got mine through the mail!”

Everyone fell silent for a moment. “So did I,” Jun said.

“Me too,” Tian said. Seita, Yuka and Kei nodded.

“I didn't.”

Everyone turned to face Akira. She looked just as confused as them. “I don't remember how I got it,” she answered.

“Oh yeah – I never did get around to asking you where you got your Digivice from!” Kei told Akira. “There was only one Digivice in that box that came in the mail – mine!”

“I do remember finding it somewhere in your house on the day we got here,” Akira continued, “but I think I've had it longer than that.”

“You would have, since you were here before any of us!” Seita answered with a smirk.

“There's something else strange about it,” Jun said suddenly, squinting through the text. “Look at this.” He pointed to two words under the Digivice picture. The only ones in English:

Digivice S1

“S1?” Akira asked.

“And look at this,” Jun pointed to a set of English words under the rest of the Digivices:

Digivice S1 – Copy

“So, does this mean that Akira's Digivice is the original, and ours were just copied from hers?” Tian asked.

Jun frowned. “Probably. But that doesn't explain this,” He pointed to another Digivice at the bottom. It was black and also had the words “Digivice S1 – Copy” written under it. “None of us have this one,” he continued, “And we still don't know how we got them in the real world, in the mailbox, of all places.”

“Hey, how about this,” Mana piped up, “Maybe there's someone in the real world who knows what's going on here and decided to recruit us to help – someone like the Naoko person who programmed herself here! Maybe she had us play that 'Digital Adventure' game that got us in this mess in the first place, and since we won, the person somehow copied our Digivices from Akira’s, gave them to us in the mail, and activated them so we'd all get here at the same time!”

Everyone stared at her.

“That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard,” Seita muttered.

“You know… that just might be it…” Akira said softly, her hand tightening around her Digivice.

“What do you mean?” Jun asked intently.

Akira thought a moment, then answered him. “Do you have a cable? There's something I want to try.”

When Jun gave her the cable, she plugged one end of it into the small slot on the top of her Digivice, and plugged the other end into the laptop. Then she opened a few programs and started typing furiously.

“What are you doing?” Jun asked, staring at the gibberish appearing on the screen.

“You’ll see. If I’m right.”

“But-“

“Shh!” Kodamon said sharply.

After a few minutes, a long stream of pictures and text flashed across the screen at high speed. Jun breathed in sharply, reeling in the sheer amount of information zipping across the screen. He looked at Akira, puzzled by the determined look on her face. She seemed to be looking for something. Then, she gasped, and a disbelieving smile appeared on her face.

“So that’s it…”

Jun looked at the data stream, then looked at her. “I don’t get it. What did you see?”

“Yeah, and can you explain it all to the rest of us who don’t have a degree in computer nonsense?” Seita added grudgingly.

The others turned to him. “Shh!” Seita frowned and folded his arms.

Akira ignored him and turned her attention to Jun again. “Remember what you said about the admin program being created 70 years ago? And about my Digivice being the original device that all of yours were copied from?”

Jun nodded.

Akira looked at the screen again and saw that the data stream had stopped. She disconnected her Digivice and held it out. “Look at mine, and look at yours. What differences do you see?”

Jun glanced at his Digivice, picked up Akira’s, and took a long look at both. Color differences aside, there were a few other significant differences – the rough, scratched surface, faint cracks, and chipped and worn edges on Akira’s, compared to the smoothness of his.

“From the outside, it looks like it’s been through years of hell…” Jun answered slowly.

“Right,” Akira replied, pressing a key on the laptop. A long list appeared, and she motioned to it. “This is all the data that came from my Digivice. It looks like garbage, but what do you see that every file has in common?”

Jun looked carefully for a minute, then a knowing look appeared on his face. “The access dates…”

Akira nodded. “They’re all from 70 years ago.”

Everyone was silent for a moment.

“Wait a minute…” Seita spoke up, “Are you trying to say that your Digivice belonged to the mystery program girl… Naoko… when she was in the real world?”

Akira nodded.

“But if that’s true, how did you get it?” Tian added, “If Naoko created her program 70 years ago, she probably isn’t around anymore in the real world!”

Akira shrugged. “I don’t know… yet. Maybe someday we’ll find out.” She turned toward the computer again and started typing.

Seita frowned. “What are you doing now?”

“Just trying to figure out what else to do with all this stuff…” Akira replied, not looking away from the screen.

She entered a few more commands on the keyboard when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Yuka and Lopmon slowly get up and start moving away from them. Akira watched them closely, with an eyebrow raised, until they were almost out of sight.

After that, Akira pressed “Enter” and got up from the laptop.

“Where are you going?” Jun asked.

Akira turned to him. “Oh, I'm just going to take a break. I’m starting to get a headache, and I don't feel like being insulted by a computer again just yet!”

Seita laughed. “Right!”

Akira shot a dirty look at him before she walked off. “Kodamon, you coming?” she called out. Kodamon left the huddle in front of the laptop to join her.

Jun watched them leave, then turned back to the laptop. When he saw what was on the screen, his eyes widened and he gasped.

“Whoa! Everyone, look at this!” He clicked on a couple of links, and pictures and information on different types of Digimon appeared. And everything was in English.

“Digimon Analyzer,” Jun read from the top of the window. He shook his head in wonder and looked in the direction Akira and Kodamon left in. “She unlocks an encyclopedia and translates everything into English. How does she do it?”

Tian shrugged. “One of those weird mysteries, I guess.” She looked up at the sky, thinking. “For as long as I’ve known Akira, her one passion was soccer. She hardly ever touched a computer.”

Jun stared back at her. “Really?”

“Yeah. But then, she left for a year, stayed in America with her mom, and a lot of bad stuff happened…”

Jun and Mana nodded. They’d all heard a little bit of what happened after the incident with Devimon in the mountains.

“And then, a couple of months ago, when she came back, she just all of a sudden got good at computers. And everything else too. It scared everyone, even me. It was like she was a completely different person…”

“Well…” Mana began, “She studied a lot over there, right? Maybe all of that stuck with her.”

“I guess…” Tian said doubtfully.

They were silent for a while, until Seita finally spoke up.

“This Naoko person…” he began, “She and Akira had the same Digivice, and they look so much alike that it’s scary... Do you think they’re related somehow?”

Jun glanced at him. “Well, with all the insane computer skills they have – Akira doing all of that data work on the laptop, and Naoko programming herself – they might as well may be.”

At that, he turned back to the laptop and looked at more of the database.

A few feet away, Kei was sitting against a rock, staring into space. All the extra talk about the computer was beginning to bore her. She yawned, and glanced at the nearby trees, trying hard not to fall asleep. Then...

A bright twinkle of light flashed from the trees.

Kei blinked, and rubbed her eyes. She got up, and slowly walked toward the tree line. Terriermon followed her, puzzled.

“Kei?” he asked.

Kei didn't answer.

Tian and Renamon noticed them walking away, and followed.

“What is it?” Tian asked Kei.

“I thought I saw something,” Kei answered, squinting through spaces between the trees.

Tian looked around her. The others seemed not to have noticed anything.

Just then, Terriermon heard footsteps from behind the trees. They were faint, but distinctive. She looked up and caught Renamon's eye.

Renamon nodded quietly, catching on. She peered into the line of trees and thought she saw two pairs of glittery eyes and a glimpse of a black stone hanging from a cord.

A bright light flashed from the stone, and a strange feeling swept over all four of them.

“What was that?” Kei asked, staggering. She felt as if she had been smacked by a huge wave.

“No clue!” Tian replied, her hand on her forehead.

And still, the others hadn't noticed anything.

At this time, Jun and Patamon were looking through more of the database while Mana and Salamon looked on. Seita sat nearby, staring into space.

“There's a lot of interesting stuff in here, huh?” Jun asked.

Patamon nodded. “Yeah.”

“It kind of reminds me of when the two of us were stuck in that pyramid, with all those wall carvings,” Jun added, pulling up random pictures from the database. Many of them were filled with nothing but random bits of Digicode.

“Hey!” Patamon spoke up, pointing to one picture. “Isn't that the bit of Digicode that you took pictures of? The one carved on the pyramid wall?”

Jun looked at it. “You're right.” He pulled up one of the pictures he took, and laid it and the database picture side by side on the laptop screen.

After looking at the two pictures for a few moments, Jun's eyes widened.

He thought, once again, about where and when he had seen this particular bit of Digicode before. At the time he had taken the pictures, he couldn't remember. But now... after seeing the Digicode clearly on the computer screen...

Now he did.

It had been five years ago. Five years ago, he had seen the same three lines of symbols, laid out in bold on a flickering, old computer screen...

“Jun!”

An eight-year-old Mana smiled, and walked up to Jun, who was sitting at a desk with an old computer. The room was filled with the shouts and laughter of children at play. In the hallways adjoining the room, men and women in uniform walked by, conversing in English and Japanese. Outside, a couple of fighter planes zoomed across the sky.

“What'cha looking at?”

“I don't know. It just showed up, out of nowhere!” Jun frowned at the screen. “And it won't go away, no matter how many keys I push!”

Mana suddenly looked worried. “...Maybe you should turn it off, before someone sees!”

“Why?”

“Because...”

“Who would care about a couple of kids playing with a computer? And besides, my mom said it was okay!”

“But... we're on a military base! If you mess up their computer, they'll probably arrest you, even if you are a kid!”

“Don't worry about it,” Jun assured her, “We're fine.”

Suddenly, the computer bleeped an alarm, and the screen flickered red. The strange symbols ran along the screen like lines of code, completely filling it up.

“I told you!” Mana shouted. “Jun!”

“Relax!” Jun shot back, agitated and nervous. “I'm turning it off already!” He pushed the power button, but the computer would not turn off.

“Jun...”

“What, Mana?” Jun answered, irritated.

“Someone's staring at us...” Mana whispered.

“Huh?” Jun looked up, and saw a man in a black suit, standing a few feet away. His eyes were hidden by sunglasses, and he was holding a strange, electronic instrument.

“He's staring right at us, Jun!” Mana whispered again, afraid. “We're going to get arrested!” She clutched at his arm in fright. “Jun!”

“...un.”

“Jun!”

Jun blinked and shook his head, his mind abruptly returning to reality. He looked up to see Mana staring at him.

“You okay?” Mana asked.

Jun nodded. “Yeah. I was just thinking about stuff.” He glanced at the pictures of the carvings again.

Mana frowned. “Are you sure you're okay?”

Somehow, something about Mana's question irritated him. “I'm fine, Mana,” he answered crossly, “You worry too much!”

Mana scowled at him. “You don't have to say it like that!” she retorted, “You could just tell me nicely!”

They were interrupted by a mean laugh from Seita.

“It's about time you annoyed someone else besides me, Mana!” Seita said, smirking.

Mana glared. “That's not funny!”

“Sure it is!” he answered, “To me!”

Mana stuck out her tongue and turned her attention back to Jun. “It's probably something on this thing that has you worried,” she said agitatedly, pushing him away from the laptop and typing a few things.

Jun glared at her. “Don't just start using people's things without their permission!”

“Whatever,” Mana answered. She made several keystrokes, then her hand slipped, making the laptop bleep.

Jun's expression turned ugly. “What are you doing?” he shouted, pulling his laptop away from Mana, “You almost broke it!”

“I did not!” Mana shot back.

“Yes, you did! Didn't I ask you before not to mess with this?”

Mana scowled. “I wasn't messing with anything! I just wanted to help you out! And why are you so protective of that? It's only a computer!”

Patamon and Salamon looked at both of them in disbelief. As far as they knew, Jun and Mana were very good friends and always enjoyed each other's company. They did have small disagreements now and then, but they weren't at all like this.

“No, it's not 'just a computer,'” Jun continued, “It's the only thing we have to understand anything in this stupid place! What if something happened to it?”

“Well, I -” Mana stammered.

“Will you two please shut up? I'm trying to think!” Seita shouted, ignoring Gazimon tugging on his sleeve and shaking his head.

Mana glared at him, and Jun sent out a nasty retort, which made Seita even madder. Soon enough, all three of them were shouting at each other, ignoring their Digimon's pleas.

Tian and Kei stared at the whole scene, too stunned to say a word.

Renamon looked at the three angry kids carefully and noticed something vaguely different about them. A slight change, especially in their eyes.

Something was happening, and it was only affecting them.

Meanwhile, Akira and Kodamon followed Yuka and Lopmon deeper and deeper into the forest. Along the way, Akira thought about all the stuff they had found out, and so many unanswered questions filled her head, on top of all the other mysterious things she had to figure out.

After a while, Akira realized that she had stopped walking, and Yuka and Lopmon were nowhere in sight. Neither was Kodamon.

She anxiously walked ahead a few more paces, until she saw Yuka and Lopmon sitting on the edge of another small clearing, their backs to her. She sighed in relief, and Kodamon came up to her and took her hand. They walked a little closer to them.

“Hi!” Akira said out loud, making Yuka jump. She turned around and saw that it was her, and relaxed.

“Hi...” she said slowly.

“Is something bothering you?” Akira asked, sitting next to her.

Yuka hesitated a little before answering. “Yeah...”

“Is it something I can help you with?”

“I'm not sure.”

“You can tell me anyway,” Akira answered, smiling.

Yuka hesitated again. “Okay... Promise you won't get mad?”

Akira's smile slowly disappeared and she looked at Yuka seriously. “Sure.”

“I..” Yuka took a deep breath. “I wanted us to stop sitting around and start doing something already.”

Akira frowned. “But we were. We needed to look at the information we had, so we'd understand things better.”

“It seemed like we were getting nowhere,” Yuka said, shaking her head slowly. “That's why Lopmon and I left when we did.”

“What were you planning to do?” Akira asked.

“I don't know.”

“I wonder why you'd feel that way,” Akira replied, “It isn't like you to be impatient.”

“I don't know either...” Yuka agreed, “But there's something... a feeling in me that's urging us to keep going, and don't stop.” She shivered a little. “That we're running out of time.”

Akira thought about it for a moment, a faraway look in her eyes. Sometimes I feel the same way, she thought.

“Well, it could be something else too,” Yuka conceded, a little more cheerfully, “Maybe I've been around Kei and Terriermon too long, and the impatience rubbed off on me!”

Akira stared at her in surprise, then started laughing.

Yuka smiled at her. “You look pretty when you laugh.”

Akira stopped laughing, but still had a smile on her face. “Really?”

Yuka nodded. “You do. Every time you do that and Seita's around, he stops whatever he's doing and stares, and his mouth's wide open!”

Akira smiled, imagining that. “Your brother's a funny person, isn't he?”

Yuka giggled. “Yeah.” Then, she abruptly stopped giggling and looked behind her.

“What is it?” Akira asked, looking at the same place and seeing nothing but trees.

“We're being watched...” Yuka whispered, shivering. Her crest began to glow.

Kodamon watched everything in surprise, and turned to see a light flash from the trees and a red energy beam slice through the air. It was headed straight for Akira.

“Watch out!” Kodamon thrust herself between the shot and Akira. The impact pushed both of them back a couple of feet.

As Kodamon got up again, another Digimon, red and black, stepped out of the bushes. When Kodamon got a clear look at the Digimon, she gasped.

“Guilmon...?”

Guilmon didn't answer. He sent an attack her way, but this time it missed.

Kodamon stared at him in disbelief. “Guilmon... what are you trying to do?” She ducked another attack, then shot back.

“Bear Fist!”

“Fireball!”

The attacks collided in midair, sending a blinding blast in all directions. Kodamon shielded her eyes, but her peripheral vision caught something pink and brown streak through the air.

“Blazing Ice!”

“Lopmon, no!” Kodamon shouted out, but her warning came too late.

Guilmon dodged the attack, whipped around, and shot another Fireball, hitting Lopmon in the face. She fell from the air, unconscious.

“Lopmon!” Yuka cried, running up to catch her partner.

Akira glanced over at them. “Yuka!” she called, “You and Lopmon go back and tell the others what's going on! We'll take care of everything here!”

Yuka hesitated for a second, then nodded. She turned around and ran, carrying Lopmon in her arms.

When Akira saw them disappear along the path, she turned around to face Guilmon.

“Be careful,” Kodamon said softly, “This is no ordinary Digimon. I can't tell whether or not he's on our side.”

“What do you mean?” Akira demanded, “He attacked us three times!”

“That's what I don't understand,” Kodamon answered, frustrated, “He shouldn't be attacking us! The last time we saw each other, we were on the same side!”

“The last time...” Akira started to say, then stopped. She remembered the little boy and the Guilmon in the game, and how she ran into that same boy, carrying a Digivice and a Crest, on the street near Kei's house. She thought of the black Digivice and the unknown Crest spaces from the computer database, and realization hit her. “He's one of us,” she whispered fearfully, “He's one of us, and we never realized it...”

“About time you figured that out,” a voice came from the shadows.

Akira blinked. She recognized that voice, somehow.

A black-haired, dark-eyed boy appeared from behind a tree. He stared at her with a hateful expression.

Akira stared at him, confused. I know you! she thought furiously. I know you and I know your name, but why can't I...

The boy flashed a nasty smile. “Oh yeah, I forgot – you don't remember me. But I remember you.” He stepped closer to her. “I remember everything. All that time we spent here, fighting to save the world, how we would face everything together...”

He closed his eyes. “I remember how you'd always protect me. You would never let me get hurt. You were like my big sister – my ate...”

At that, Akira breathed in sharply. The memory wall she always slammed into finally had a chink.

“Rion...”

Chapter Text

When Yuka and Lopmon finally made it back to the clearing, they were met with a strange sight – an agitated Tian and Kei, exhausted little Digimon, and three angry kids.

“Yuka!” Tian exclaimed with difficulty, being caught between Jun and Mana and trying to keep them from clawing at each other. “Did something happen? You’re out of breath!”

“Where’s Akira?” Kei spat out, trying hard not to get into a shouting match with a mad Seita.

“She’s in trouble…” Yuka started to say, but then she realized that hardly anyone was paying attention to her.

Something in her snapped, and she took a deep breath, stomped her foot, and shouted.

“HEY!”

A shocked silence fell over them.

Seita stared at Yuka in surprise, and shook his head slowly, as if he was just waking up.

Jun and Mana blinked, looked at her, then looked at each other in confusion. Tian collapsed in relief.

“Wow…” Kei breathed out in amazement. “I never thought you could be that loud!”

“No one was listening, and it was an emergency!” Yuka said urgently, “Lopmon and I had to get help, and when we got here…” She remembered just how mad her brother, Jun, and Mana were and frowned. “What happened?”

“We don’t know,” Tian replied, “but something happened. It felt weird, and all of a sudden they started arguing.”

“But, is Akira…?” Kei asked fearfully.

Yuka shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“What are you all so worried about?” Seita asked skeptically.

Kei nearly screamed with frustration and stomped on his foot. “Did you take a bottle of stupid pills this morning?” she exploded, “Look around you! Guess who’s missing!”

Seita did so, and the shock was evident on his face when he realized it. “Akira and Kodamon,” he said faintly.

Yuka nodded. “We were talking together for a little bit, and then all of a sudden a strange red Digimon jumped out and started attacking us. Akira told the two of us to get away and find you all.” She pouted. “I hope they’re all right…”

Suddenly, they were startled by a faint thump and a cry in the distance.

“Akira!” Yuka cried.

Seita didn’t wait another second. He just got up and ran.

“Kodamon! Wake up!” Akira shouted, shaking her roughly. “Kodamon!” But Kodamon was out cold from a direct shot.

“She won't wake up for a while,” Rion said quietly.

“The others will come for us soon,” Akira shot back, glancing in the direction Yuka escaped to. “You’ll be outnumbered!”

“No, they won’t,” Rion answered. “I thought it’d be fun to play with their heads, so I set up lots of traps. Mind traps, ground traps, whatever! The little friends that you sent away probably found that out already.” He smirked at Akira’s frustration, and closed his eyes. “If I’m right, they would start hitting the rest of them right about… now!”

“Whoa!”

Seita turned around at Kei’s shout. “What is it?” he asked hurriedly.

Kei had stopped suddenly, her arms and legs spread out as if to balance herself. “I felt like I was going to fall…” She took a tentative step, and wobbled violently. “Waaahhh!” she shouted, toppling over Terriermon and Lopmon and grabbing Yuka for support. They hit the ground… and disappeared.

“Hey!” Jun ran over to the spot where they used to be… and collided with a wall of nothing. The impact blasted him back. “Ow!”

“What’s going on?” Mana wailed, clutching at Jun’s hand. Patamon and Salamon attacked the invisible wall, but their attacks bounced and ricocheted off trees, rocks, and other invisible walls.

“Watch it!” Jun shouted, pushing the three of them away from a stray shot. The next step he took made them all disappear.

A bright light surrounded Tian and Renamon. Tian snapped her head toward Seita and Gazimon. “Get out of here! Go find Akira!”

“But, you two-” Seita stammered. He ran toward them, but another invisible wall stopped him.

“Forget about it!” Tian shot back, squinting through the light. “Just find Akira! If anything happens to her and you’re not there, I’ll never forgive you!”

Seita bristled, then nodded. He turned around and ran, an evolving Gazimon at his side. The closer Seita got to where Akira was, the stranger he felt. He could sense her anger, directed at some unknown entity. Who or what this was, he couldn’t tell. The anger shifted to other feelings as well… remorse, fear… and pain. He didn’t know if they had already passed or would occur sometime soon.

Seita swallowed hard and ran faster, hoping he could reach her before something worse happened. He could almost feel her screaming…

Akira trembled with anger. “What is it you want with us?” she exploded.

Rion laughed. “So many things. You probably won't live long enough to understand!” He looked directly at her. “I’m going to get rid of each and every one of the Chosen Children and Digimon, starting with you two!”

He closed his eyes and looked up, thinking. “And after you two, who should I deal with next? Your friend? That guy you like – or don’t like?” He snickered. “Or maybe your little sister?”

Akira snapped. She lunged at him, swinging her fist, but Rion caught it in his hand. Even though his hand was smaller than hers, it was stronger, and it was so cold! In the split second when they stared into each other’s eyes and Akira saw the deep, darkened black Rion’s had become, a thought came to her. This was no ordinary kid.

After that, she was suddenly and unceremoniously blasted away by a force coming from Rion’s hand. She slowly and weakly tried to get up, but was met with Guilmon’s claws pointing at her throat.

“Stay right there,” Rion ordered coldly, “One false move and Guilmon will rip your throat.”

Akira sat up slightly, shivering and staring at Rion in shock. She glanced at Guilmon, and saw the reluctance in his eyes. She felt a little sorry for him.

“I could finish you off right now, if I wanted to,” Rion said calmly, “but since you’re so persistent, I might as well tell you what I remember, so you’d actually know something before you die…” he laughed mockingly. “I remember lots of things.”

He smiled, eyes narrowed. “I even remember that night, a year ago, when you came back from the Digital World and caused an 'international incident,'” He emphasized the last two words in a mocking tone.

A memory came to Akira, suddenly.

Rion was standing inside a small, glass chamber. Akira, Kodamon, and Guilmon stood outside it. Guilmon waved to Rion sadly, and Rion did the same. Akira was in front of a console, pressing buttons. She looked up at Rion and said a few words, and Rion nodded, fingering the black crest around his neck with one hand. Akira said something else, gave him a thumbs-up, and pressed one final button. The glass chamber shimmered, and Rion disappeared.

Many hours later, that same room was engulfed in flames. Akira ran over to the glass chamber, coughing and weak. She shut herself in, and watched as everything shimmered again. Before she lost consciousness, she could see a flash of golden light and feel a blast of searing heat...

Akira spoke up again. “You couldn't have seen that...” she said slowly, “You weren't there!”

“Of course I was,” Rion replied, “You sent me back first, but I stuck around long enough to find out what happened to you!”

“What...?” Akira asked slowly.

“Yeah...” Rion said, “I saw everything. You came back, 24 hours after me, and boy, did you come back with a bang!” He laughed harshly. “Kaboom! Half the street in flames! Some of the neighbors thought it was some sort of terrorist attack and that a bomb went off, but I knew it wasn’t that. The explosion was in the shape of a sphere.”

Akira breathed in sharply, shocked. A sphere... she thought frantically. That sounds like Helamon's Solar Expulsion! But why would she- Her thoughts were interrupted as Rion continued.

“I was hiding at the time, but I was still close enough to the damage to see you. You didn't look very good yourself,” he continued, “Nothing should have survived that blast. I really did think you were dead. But then, someone ran over to you and checked your pulse, and it turned out you weren't. I watched as the paramedics finally came and took you away to the hospital.” He looked up at her with an unreadable expression. “After that…”

Akira closed her eyes tightly and lowered her head, trying to process everything she'd just heard. It was hard to think straight.

“After that,” Rion continued in a shaky voice, “nothing good ever happened to me again!” His eyes flashed.

Akira's head suddenly snapped up. “I don't understand!” she shouted in frustration, “What did I ever do to you to make you so angry?”

“What did you do?” Rion asked, half laughing. “You really want to know?”

Akira stared at him in despair.

“You…” Rion’s mocking expression turned ugly. “You forgot about me!” he shouted, making Akira flinch.

“I don’t know what those doctors did to you in the hospital,” he continued quietly, “but you changed after you got out of there. I saw you a couple of times, here and there, but you never recognized me. Never smiled, never said hello… it was like you died and someone else took your place!”

At that, something about Rion changed. His anger was still there, but for that one moment, his eyes changed from the dark jet black they were before to a lighter, soft brown. Akira could see pain, fear, and loneliness reflected in them. For that moment, Rion was speaking from his heart, temporarily free from his dark influence and not realizing it one bit.

“It hurt to be ignored like that, Akira,” Rion continued, “I was already feeling bad about what happened, and no one was around to help. My dad and my brother were overseas, and busy with work and school, my mom was busy managing things at home and working at her job, and no one else seemed to care! And here you come, my best friend, the only person I could talk to about anything, and you ignore me!”

Rion’s eyes changed to black again, and the anger came back full force. “And for that, I’ll never forgive you!”

He walked closer to her until he was less than two feet away from her. He took the black crest from his neck and pushed it through the top slot of his Digivice. The Digivice came to life.

And Akira was hit with fear greater than anything she had felt in a long while. She could almost feel the waves of darkness coming from him. It was almost as if she was faced with pure evil itself.

“This isn’t you, Rion!” she yelled, “I don’t know how I know this, but this isn’t the real you!”

“That other girl I talked to said the same thing,” Rion shouted, “But it sounds a million times worse coming from you!” He raised the Digivice and pointed it at Akira. A dark beam shot out of it and enveloped her.

Akira sank to the ground, scared out of her wits and feeling deathly cold. Pain exploded in her head and her chest.

I’m going to die, she thought feverishly. He’s going to kill me right here and now. Where is everyone? Why won’t anyone come? Her thoughts were fading quickly. Someone help me, please… Kodamon… Seita… Her eyes closed.

Then, a bright light flashed around Akira, and warmth flowed through her. The pain and fatigue lessened. She opened her eyes and saw her Digivice and the Crest of Courage glowing. She blinked, and without even thinking she took the Crest and slotted it into the Digivice. The light pulsed, and with renewed energy, Akira thrust the powered-up Digivice toward Rion. He didn’t see it coming.

“Ooof!” Rion was hit with a blast of blue and orange light. When he got up, he saw Akira standing there, eyes dull and glazed over. She was holding out her Digivice and crest, and in addition to the light coming from them, a strange blue light shined over her heart. A faint star-shaped outline was visible for a couple of seconds, then disappeared as the light faded away.

Rion was enraged. “Why, you- how did you-“ he stammered angrily. He gripped his own Digivice and called out to Guilmon. “Guilmon! Evolve!”

Guilmon started glowing, and his form flickered as Growmon for a few seconds. As he tried to become MegaloGrowmon, something went wrong. His image crackled and reverted to Guilmon, and Rion’s Digivice short-circuited.

Rion grimaced in pain and dropped it. “Not again!” he shouted, “You evolved higher before! Why not now?” He glared at Akira, who was still standing there, not making a move. “Never mind!” he growled, “I’ll take care of her myself!” He snatched up his still-crackling Digivice…

“Lion Whirlwind Kick!”

…only to have it viciously knocked out of his hand.

Rion yelped and clutched his hand. He whipped around and was met with a very angry GrapLeomon threatening him with a clawed hand as big as his head.

“Well.” Rion said calmly, unfazed. “This isn’t good.”

“What kind of twisted kid are you, attacking helpless people like that?” GrapLeomon growled.

“A kid who will always beat you, no matter how many of you there are!” Rion shot back.

“You expect to fight a ten-foot-tall lion, just as you are, and live? Quit kidding yourself!” Seita appeared out of the shadows and approached Rion, not stopping until he towered over the boy. “And let me tell you this,” he said, grabbing Rion by the collar, “If you ever, ever come near Akira again,” he continued softly, voice quivering with rage, “you will have to deal with me!”

Rion glared painfully and wriggled out of Seita’s grasp. “Fine!” he spat, “Fine then, I’ll just deal with you later!” He turned around and started walking away, motioning Guilmon to follow. “Don’t think you’ve seen the last of me, though. You haven’t won. You’ll get what’s coming to you!”

GrapLeomon fired a shot, but they jumped away, disappearing in mid-air.

“Good riddance!” Seita said angrily, “the next time that kid comes back, I’m going to let him have it!” He clenched and unclenched his fists.

GrapLeomon de-evolved to Gazimon, and ran over to Kodamon, who was just beginning to stir.

“Is Kodamon okay?” Seita called out.

“Yeah,” Gazimon answered, “She's just a little woozy, that's all.”

Seita nodded. He then felt Akira staring at him, and he turned around slowly, afraid of what he would find. When he finally did see her, his heart nearly stopped. She was as pale as a ghost, and the old, dead look had returned to her eyes.

“...Akira?” Seita asked, hesitant. His mind was raging, fearfully wondering what she had been through. Something had happened that affected her deeply, but Seita didn’t know what. And somehow, that creepy kid was responsible. Seita’s anger grew, and he cursed himself for not coming sooner.

Akira didn't say a word. She just stared at him with that familiar, unemotional look. For a second, Seita was afraid she would turn around and walk away, like she did many times before. Instead, she did something completely different.

She slowly walked over to him... and hugged him. She didn't smile or frown, and she didn't cry. She just stood there, hugging him.

Seita was shocked. “H-hey...” he started to say, but stopped. He didn't know whether to shout for joy or scream. He smiled, a little sadly, and hugged her back.

“You're going to be okay now...” he said to her softly.

But was she really going to be okay? Seita didn’t know. As he stood there hugging her, and the dark clouds in the sky turned to rain, he tried to convince himself of that.

Chapter Text

In a room engulfed with flames, Akira stumbled over to a small glass chamber, coughing and weak. She shut herself in, and watched as everything shimmered. She breathed deeply, trying to clear her head. A wave of pain enveloped her, and she winced, clapping a hand to the back of her neck.

Rion had left hours before, and she had promised to return once her job was done. But something had gone wrong, and Akira had been forced to leave now. She hoped that Helamon would win…

She coughed again, violently, and whimpered. The pain in her neck was becoming unbearable. Through the shimmering and smoke, she could see a flash of golden light and feel a blast of searing heat. Then she felt more pain. Intense pain, as if her bones were on fire. Everything whirled around her, and she collapsed…

Akira woke up to a blinding light shining over her head. She slowly opened her eyes and squinted, unable to see her surroundings clearly. All she knew was that she was in a strange, white, sterile-looking hospital room, and she was lying in an unfamiliar bed. For a couple of minutes, she wondered what had happened to her, how she gotten there, and for how long she had been there. She tried to move, and painfully found out she couldn’t. She then noticed that her arms, legs, and almost everything else had been bandaged heavily, and an IV was strapped to her left arm. She closed her eyes and tried to relax. Over the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor , she could hear soft, hushed voices.

“Any news?”

“She’s fine, now. She’s finally sleeping peacefully. No more nightmares.”

“That’s good, at least we won’t risk having her hurt herself anymore. But living through an accident like that – I wouldn’t blame her for having nightmares.”

“They’re saying now that it was a bomb planted by a terrorist group.”

“And how many of us are actually going to believe that?”

“That blast was so sudden and so strong – there was almost nothing left that you could see for a whole block! What else could it be? And the poor girl… the doctors are saying that it was a miracle that she lived through it! Any other person would have died!”

“I remember that she was murmuring strange things all the way to the ER… something about explosions, crests, digital – somethings… and she was calling out a name… I don’t remember what it was.”

“Do we know who she is now? Has anyone come forward?”

“Yes. Her mother filed a missing persons report about three weeks ago, and there was a man who came to us and identified her as a relative. He gave us a lot of detailed information on her, then left.”

She could hear the sound of something being passed, and papers rustling.

“…This is extensive… where was this guy from? The government?”

“No idea.”

“Hmm… Her name’s Akira Mitsuishi. Age, 15. Japanese national. Some of her relatives live here in the States, and she actually lived around here for about a year… She was supposed to leave for Japan weeks ago – a couple of days after she landed in the hospital, as a matter of fact.”

“Poor kid. Her family over there must be worried sick. Have they been notified?”

“Yes. Her father is flying over to see her and should be here tomorrow.”

Akira could hear a disturbance in the hallway. There were heavy footsteps, and the sound of something being rolled across the floor. She heard another, louder voice address the others, and it sounded oddly familiar.

“Excuse me, but this area is now under government control. I highly suggest you leave.”

“Oh, you… you’re the man who gave us that information on this patient!”

“As of now, she’s no longer your concern.”

Akira heard more footsteps, and assumed they had already left. Then she heard someone approach her. She slowly opened her eyes, and they widened when she realized who it was.

“…Touma?”

Touma said nothing, and he turned around and gestured to someone to push a strange metal rectangular box toward him. It had lights and dials on it, and a wire connecting to something Akira couldn’t see. He stared at Akira with a cold expression.

“What happened to me?” Akira asked weakly, “How did I get here? What are you doing here?”

T ouma shook his head, “You don’t need to know.” He roughly placed a strange instrument on her head, and she winced with pain.

“But-” she protested.

“Don’t ask questions!” he snapped. He pulled out a hypodermic needle, filled it with a strange solution, and injected her with it.

She was out like a light.

Later, she was awakened by more voices, different ones than before. She opened her eyes a crack, and saw that she was in the same room. She tried to remember what had happened in the past few hours, but all she could remember were a few flashes and bits of conversations that were hard to make sense of. Finally, she stopped, closed her eyes again, and listened to the conversation in the room.

“So?”

“The procedure was successful, sir. Every recollection within the first two or three days that she was missing has been blocked.”

“Good.”

“Are you sure it was safe to try this program on her? It’s experimental, after all. For all we know, we could have damaged her mind beyond repair. If your wife knew, she would never forgive you!”

“You just said that the procedure was successful.”

“Yes… but there was a small discrepancy.”

“Which was?”

The person asking the question sounded very familiar, but Akira couldn’t place it.

“The memories she had within the time frame you suggested… it was far more than three days’ worth.”

“Excellent. That was just as I expected. As for brain damage, there’s no harm done. She just won’t remember certain things. And believe me, if you had any clue about what she’s done in those two or three days, you wouldn’t want her to remember it either. If she knew… it would spell the end of everything as we know it.”

The other person murmured a reply too soft for Akira to hear, and then she heard footsteps leading away from the room.

She dozed off after that, and some time later, she felt a hand shake her roughly, and a small voice called her name.

“Akira? Akira, wake up!”

Akira groaned and slowly opened her eyes. There was a little boy with brown eyes and black hair standing over her, a tired but ecstatic smile on his face.

“Akira!” he exclaimed softly but happily, “Thank goodness! I was looking all over for you ever since the ambulance took you away, and when I finally found out you were here, the lady at the front desk wouldn’t tell me where you were,” he babbled, “but I followed some weird-looking guys and when I peeked into this room, there you were!” His smile got bigger. “I was so worried about you – I thought you were going to die… your cuts were so bad! But you’re okay!” He waited for an answer, and when he saw the confused look on Akira’s face, his smile faded a little. “Akira? What’s wrong?”

“Who are you…?”

The boy’s expression turned to disbelief, and then shock. “Akira… it’s me! Rion! Don’t you recognize me?”

Akira slowly shook her head.

“But, but… you have to know me! We just saw each other a few weeks ago! In the Digital World! Don’t you remember?”

“Digital World…?” Akira asked incredulously.

“Hey! Kid! What do you think you’re doing?”

The boy jumped in surprise, and a man in a black coat ran up to him and caught him by the arm.

“This is a restricted area!” the man said authoritatively, “You’re not supposed to come in here!”

“But, I wanted to see my friend-”

“Do you know this boy, Mr. Nogami?” the man asked another person in black.

“No. I have no idea who he is.”

“Liar!” the boy spat, “I know you! You’re the mean guy who lives next door and hurts Akira all the time! I can hear you shout at her and make her cry every night!”

T ouma glared at him. “Get him out of here.”

The boy struggled. “No! Let me go! I just want to see her! Akira! Try to remember me – I’m Rion! Don't forget about me!”

“Rion…” Akira murmured, a frown on her face.

T ouma shifted his gaze to Akira, then turned to the other men in the room. “Get the headset. We’ll do the mind-block again. Get the kid out of here!”

Akira winced as the headset was forced on her again and she was injected with the anesthetic. The last thing she heard before blacking out was Rion shouting her name…

“Akira! Akira, wake up!”

Akira woke with a start, breathing heavily. She was sweating, and her heart was beating a mile a minute. When she calmed down, she looked up and saw Seita staring at her worriedly.

“Are you okay?” Seita asked, “You were having a dream.”

Akira breathed in and out, then nodded. She took a second to examine where they were. There were in a large, darkened cave, lighted only by a small fire. She stared through the opening on the other side, and saw torrents of rain falling.

“How long have we been in here?”

“Just a few hours,” Seita replied, “Kodamon and Gazimon said it’s not safe to go out yet, because the rain in this area can get so bad that floods happen all the time.”

“Where are they, anyway?”

“They’re somewhere around here. Exploring the tunnels in the back. I told them it was best to leave you alone for a while, and that you needed some rest.” He was sitting with his back against the wall, and seemed to be staring into space.

Akira stared at him with an unreadable expression. “Oh… okay.” Having nothing else to do, she leaned back and watched as the firelight made shadows dance along the walls.

Her mind wandered, and without her even noticing it, the shadows seemed to transform themselves before her eyes. She saw flashes of Devimon, T ouma , Rion at his worst… and a dark figure, dressed in a long, flowing black robe and carrying a long silver staff. Its face was concealed behind a hood…

Akira gasped, and hugged her legs to herself. She was trembling like a leaf.

“What is it?” Seita had quickly moved over and sat next to her.

Akira turned away. “Nothing… it’s just… nothing.”

“Are you sure?”

Akira closed her eyes tightly, and gave no reply.

Seita sighed. He really had no idea how to approach her. “Well…” he began slowly, “do you want to talk about it?”

Akira glanced at him from the corner of her eye. His gaze was making her more uncomfortable than she already was.

“No…?” she asked, indecisive, “Yes…?”

Images of Rion flashed through her mind – in the hospital room, happy, then shocked and dismayed… in the forest, smiling with evil, then shouting with murderous anger…

“NO!”

Akira tried to move away, and winced. Her hand went to her head.

“What’s wrong?” Seita asked suddenly.

“My head hurts…” Akira answered faintly, “Everything hurts…”

“Maybe you’re sick? Do you have a temp?” Seita came over and felt her forehead. He gasped. “Akira, why are you so cold? You’re shivering, too!” He held her hands and felt them trembling in his.

“Does this have something to do with your dream?” Seita asked softly. “Or is it the stuff you’ve been remembering?”

Akira didn’t answer.

Seita reached out and put an arm around her shoulders. “Tell me about it. Maybe I can help.”

Akira could feel the warmth coming from him, but the tumultuous storm of terrible images in her mind was still there. She saw the concerned look on his face and felt torn. She very much wanted to say “yes.” But then a part of her conscience seemed to wake up.

“No!” she shouted, pushing him away. “Leave me alone!”

Meanwhile, Kodamon and Gazimon were walking back toward the cave entrance when they heard shouts echoing down the tunnel. When they turned a corner and reached the end of it, they walked into the worst argument they had ever seen. Akira and Seita were standing a couple of feet apart and were shouting at the tops of their voices.

“Oookay… I think they need just a little bit more time than we thought,” Gazimon pointed out. He turned around, pulling Kodamon with him. “Come on.”

“Hey!” Kodamon exclaimed, “Let go!”

“Uh-uh,” Gazimon replied, “Not yet.” But Kodamon still struggled.

“Let me go!” she shouted, “Let me go to her!”

“No, no… it’s best to just leave them alone!” Gazimon replied, pulling her back.

“But, but-” she protested.

“No buts!” Gazimon grunted, yanking her away. When she tried to escape again, he turned around and whipped a paw in front of her face.

“Do you want to get knocked out again?”

Kodamon’s mouth opened, then shut. “W-what?” she stammered.

“Do you want to get knocked out again?” Gazimon repeated. “It would be much easier to deal with you then,” he said smugly.

Kodamon glared at him. “You wouldn’t.”

“Then come with me,” Gazimon replied, leading her by the hand. “Take a walk. Relax. Leave everything to Seita. I’m sure he can fix what’s happening with Akira.”

“You’d better be sure. The Digiworld help you if you’re wrong.”

They both disappeared into another tunnel. Akira and Seita, however, never noticed the Digimon were there in the first place.

“Go away!” Akira shouted and turned away.

“No.”

She stopped suddenly and turned to Seita. His head was down and his eyes were closed.

“No,” he repeated softly but forcefully. “Not until you tell me what the hell is bothering you!”

“I can’t!”

“Why not?”

Akira looked away. “I don’t want all of you to get caught up in something we can’t deal with.”

Seita stared at her, confused. “What?”

Akira began to pace, trying to clarify herself. “The memories I’m getting back,” she began, “A lot of them aren’t very clear. Some are, but others… I don’t know. Some things would happen, important things, but I’d never know how they happened! I wouldn’t remember what I did! I feel like there’s something I have to do, but I have no idea what it is! I don’t know what to do!” She stopped in mid-stride, and put a hand to her forehead. “I don’t know what we’re getting into! For all I know, I could be leading us all into something so deep that none of us can get back out! I could make just one decision and it could get us all killed!”

“But that’s exactly how it would be for all of us, not just you!” Seita said firmly. “No one can tell the future, Akira. All we can do is keep moving forward and hope that things will turn out right! We all trust you to make the right decisions.”

“You might trust me… but I don’t trust me.”

“What do you mean?” Seita asked. Then he looked at her suspiciously. “There’s something else, isn’t there?” he pressed, “You’re not just worried about us because you don’t remember everything, are you?”

Akira stared at him resentfully. “I’ve already ruined one person’s life and I didn’t even know it,” she replied, her voice cracking. “He was so mad at me that he wanted to kill me.”

Seita frowned. “You mean that evil, twisted, messed-up kid? Rion?”

“You don’t know how kind he was in the beginning!” Akira shot back. “I remember… he was an ordinary kid, just like Kei or Yuka! When I think about that, and then see what he is now, it hurts!” She shut her eyes. “Now I’m starting to wish that I never started remembering again…”

“You know that isn’t true,” Seita replied, “You know that you have to remember as much as you can! The safety of the world depends on it!”

“Safety, yes. But at what price? How many of us will be screwed up because of the decisions I make? How many of us will be hurt before this is over? I’m always wishing I could just handle these things myself and not have to worry about hurting the people I care about!”

Seita’s face darkened. “So you’d rather hurt yourself?”

“I don’t want you to get involved!”

Seita’s frustration grew, and he took her by the shoulders and gave her a shake. “Akira, you have to stop doing this! Don’t keep shutting us out!”

The shake alarmed Akira for a second, then she looked away.

Seita sighed. “You’ve changed so much, Akira. Before, you were never afraid to speak your mind! If you didn’t agree with something, or if something felt wrong, everyone would know it. You would tell people what they had to know even if it hurt! Why can’t you do that now?”

Akira was silent for a while, her eyes shut tightly as she struggled with giving him an answer.

Seita saw this and had a strange feeling that something similar to this had happened before. Then, in a flash, he remembered it.

An incident in school, a few weeks after Akira returned to Japan. By then, Seita had long realized that something was wrong with her. She continued to isolate herself from others, speaking only when necessary. She was unusually quick and attentive in class, and never played soccer anymore like she used to, aside from kicking soccer balls at him whenever he tried to ask her questions. She was also suffering from frequent headaches and dizzy spells, presumably because of the strange accident that she was involved in. One day, after one of those dizzy spells, Seita saw her come back to class from the nurse looking very depressed, and he had decided to do something about it…

“Hey…”

Akira looked up from her desk and saw Seita standing over her. “What?” she asked, looking indifferent. Her expression changed to confusion when he placed an envelope on her desk. “What’s this?”

Seita smiled. “Just something I want you to look at and think about before class starts again.” He turned around and left. He looked over his shoulder and breathed out in relief when he saw her open the envelope and begin reading what was inside it.

Ten minutes later, Seita was in the hallway when Akira walked right up to him and shoved the envelope back into his hands. She gave him an unreadable look, and started walking away slowly.

Seita stared after her, confounded, and quickly opened the envelope to see if she had placed a reply in there. He was even more baffled when the only thing he found inside was what he wrote.

“Hey!” he called out, catching up with her.

Akira stopped, and slowly turned around to face him. She looked as if she were steeling herself up against a dangerous enemy.

“Did you even read this?” Seita asked carefully, holding up the paper.

“Of course I read it,” she said blankly, “I just didn’t feel like answering it.”

Seita stared at her in disbelief. “Why?”

“You know what my answer would be,” she replied quietly, “So I won’t waste time telling you.” She continued walking, refusing to look at him.

Seita frowned, and walked in front of her, cutting her off. “Are you trying to avoid me?”

Akira shot him a mildly exasperated look. “Of course not. I’m just minding my own business. You’re the one who’s trying to poke your big head in it!” She said it forcefully, but began to look very unsure of herself at the same time. She tried to sidestep him. “Will you please move? Break’s almost over, and I have to get to class!”

Seita didn’t move. “Just give me an answer, yes or no.”

Akira looked away, an uncertain look sweeping across her face. Seita began to wonder if she would actually say “yes.”

“No.”

Seita’s heart sank. Of course. But then he saw her looking dreadfully upset after saying it.

She began to walk away, but right when she passed him, he stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Wait!”

He could feel Akira tense up, and saw her lower her head. Since she was facing away from him, he couldn’t see the expression on her face.

They stayed like that for a couple of seconds, and in that time, Seita wondered what on earth could be bothering her this much.

He was about to say something to her when she snapped.

“Moron!” she yelled, throwing his hand off and turning around to face him. Her face was streaked with tears. “What made you think I would say yes?”

Seita was still staring at her in shock as she turned around and ran off, wiping her eyes. The hallway had gone completely quiet. Students watched as she ran past, then turned to stare at him. A couple of girls glared. Then, one of the teachers called out something, and the bustle in the corridor started up again. A few of his classmates started whispering loud enough for him to hear.

“Hey, wasn’t that Mitsuishi who just ran off?” asked a girl.

“Akira Mitsuishi?” another student asked, “That scary genius girl who hardly talks to anyone?”

A boy with messy hair nodded. “Yeah.”

The girl frowned, and shifted her glance toward Seita. “And, did he just…”

“Yeah.” The messy-haired boy sighed. “For about the fiftieth time this month.”

He walked over to Seita, a disapproving look on his face.

“All right, Kazama, what did you do this time?”

Seita looked at the messy-haired boy indignantly. “I just wrote her a letter!”

“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “Are you still trying to ask her out?”

Seita ignored him for once and shoved the letter into the boy’s hand. “See for yourself,” he said, irritated.

The boy read it, looked at Seita, then looked down the hallway. “Man…” he intoned, “She must really hate you – she got that mad just because you asked if she needed help!”

Seita glared, snatched the paper back and started walking to class. “You can believe whatever you want!” he yelled, crumpling the paper up.

He saw Akira again later that day, but she walked past him without saying a word…

The memory faded, and Seita let out a breath. It was happening all over again – him trying to understand and connect with her, her pushing him away… would this one end the same way? Would he get an answer from her that he couldn’t deal with?

“I keep seeing it…” she suddenly whispered, startling Seita out of his thoughts. Her voice shook a little. “My bad memories run through my head, and instead of me in them, I keep seeing all of you. It scares me every time I think about it. So when I first realized it, I decided to keep away, distance myself, anything to keep you all from going through the same things.”

Seita’s eyes widened. So that’s why… Everything was beginning to make sense.

“And you… I’m afraid for you the most.”

Seita stared at her, shocked. “Why?”

Akira breathed in and out, deeply, and swallowed. “You probably haven’t noticed it, Seita, but you’ve changed as much as I have. Every time I see you now, I’m seeing how I used to be. Charging in to save someone important to you, without thinking… not really caring what would happen to you as long as that person is safe…”

She turned around and stared straight at him.

“You’ve seen some of what I’ve been through, right?” she asked shakily. “You know how many times I’ve almost died, right?”

Seita nodded faintly.

“I don’t want that to happen to you!” Her voice rose with every word. “I don’t think I could ever stand that!” Her eyes squeezed shut and tears started to fall. “I don’t want something to happen to you and I’d have to spend the rest of my life wondering if you’ll ever come back!”

Without even thinking, Seita pulled Akira close to him and pressed his lips to hers.

Akira froze, and her eyes widened in shock. Everything she had been thinking about before that moment had been knocked clear out of her head. Then, she began to relax, and her eyes slowly closed.

None of them knew exactly how long they had stayed that way. After a time, Seita opened his eyes and, realizing what he was doing, he quickly and clumsily pulled away.

Akira dropped onto the floor, eyes closed and breathing deeply with a fist over her chest. Seita landed next to her and quickly moved away.

“…I can’t believe I just did that…” Seita whispered in shock. His heart was racing. He closed his eyes and put his head down over his knees. Now he had done it. If she didn’t like him to begin with, she would absolutely hate him now. He braced himself for a slap, a punch, an angry retort…

“…That didn’t just happen, did it?” he heard her ask softly.

“Akira, I-“ Seita stammered, eyes as wide as dishes. “I’m sorry, I… I shouldn’t have done that, I… um…” He swallowed and shut his eyes. “I’ve gotta go… I’ll leave you alone now-“

He got up to leave, but then he felt her hand grip his. He froze, slowly turned his head around, and saw Akira looking away. Her face was a deep shade of red, and a faint smile was playing across her lips.

“No, don’t go,” she said, a little breathlessly, “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

“But, I-“

“If it’ll make you feel better,” she replied, smiling, “we can just forget the whole thing happened. Okay?” She looked at him expectantly.

Seita didn’t know what to say. “Um, well… okay. If you say so.” He sat down with her, trying to avoid eye contact.

Akira stared at his uneasy expression for a moment, then burst out laughing.

Seita gaped at her. “What’s so funny?”

“You!” she giggled out, “You looked like the world was going to end! So serious!” She covered her mouth and laughed harder.

“But, I just-“

“Moron!” Akira lightly knocked him on the head. “It was just a kiss!”

“Just a kiss!” Seita replied incredulously, “I thought you were going to kill me!”

“What? Kill you? Why?” she asked, confused.

“Because, because…”

“You’re the only person who could piss me off and get away with it! Of course I wouldn’t do that!”

Seita had recovered a little bit from his shock. He blinked, stared at her for a second, and smiled. “Sure. No one can annoy you to death but me!”

Akira laughed again, and then silence fell between them. Her smile slowly faded, and Seita noticed it even though she tried to hide it.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Seita assured her, laying a hand on her shoulder. “You’re not alone. And no matter how much you think you have to be alone, you never will be. We’ll always be here to help you, whether you like it or not!” He smiled. “So let us know what you’re thinking once in a while, okay? And don’t worry about us getting hurt because of what you do. We’ll decide that for ourselves. Okay?” He looked at her expectantly, and was relieved when she nodded.

“When I think I’m ready, I’ll… I’ll talk to you. I’ll tell you everything, if you’re willing to hear it.”

“Sure.”

They were silent again, and after a few minutes had passed, Akira spoke up again.

“Seita?”

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say… thank you.”

Seita turned to her. “For what?”

Akira looked down. “Well… for being there, for helping me even when I don’t want it, for giving me confidence… for everything, really.”

“Even for kissing you?”

Akira looked up sharply. “I thought you wanted to forget about that.”

Seita’s eyes widened. “No! I mean, yes- I mean-“

Akira laughed and squeezed his hand. “Whatever, moron !”

They were quiet again, and Akira slowly moved her hand away.

“Feeling better now?” Seita asked.

Akira sighed a little and smiled. “Yeah.”

Seita smiled back. “Okay.” He looked over toward the opening of the cave, and saw that the rain was starting to let up.

“I guess when Kodamon and Gazimon get back, we can tell them we can go and start looking for the others… tomorrow…” Seita stopped when he felt a light pressure on his shoulder. He looked down and saw that Akira had fallen asleep. He swallowed and began to panic a little, but when he saw the peaceful look on her face, he relaxed.

When was the last time I saw her like this? he asked himself. It seemed as if it had been years. He sat there for a while, thinking, and watching her sleep.

“I don’t want something to happen to you and I’d have to spend the rest of my life wondering if you’ll ever come back!”

He closed his eyes and made a fist with his free hand as he thought about what she had said. Had she really been that worried about him all this time?

The thought of it made him a little upset. Why would she be so concerned about him? Until recently, he hadn’t been very nice to her at all. There were times when she had been sad, upset, or hurt and he either wasn’t there to help her, or was there just to make it worse. And now, when he was finally showing some of his concern for her, she either didn’t want his help or was too wound up in her troubles that she didn’t realize he was there.

I would do anything to help you, he thought, if you would only let me. He gazed down at Akira again, a little sleepily, and held her hand again, remembering her smile after he’d kissed her. After what we’ve been through tonight, maybe you finally will. With that thought in mind, Seita finally fell asleep.

Later on, when Kodamon and Gazimon returned, this was the scene they came back to.

“You see?” Gazimon said eagerly, poking Kodamon in the shoulder. “I told you they would work things out!”

Kodamon brushed him away, but smiled when she saw Akira and Seita holding hands and sleeping peacefully.

“Well, I guess I can trust you after all.”

Chapter Text

“Left. Right.”

Mana’s voice went on in a monotone as she, Jun, Salamon, and Patamon moved through the trees. Her eyes focused on her Digivice, which showed a small map of the area. Hundreds of glowing straight lines shined on the map, as well as four small, bright dots. As one dot neared a line, Mana pressed a button, rotated the map, and looked up.

“Salamon, go right. That invisible wall should end right at the tip of that root.”

Mana watched as Salamon did so, then turned her attention back to the Digivice. She sighed, and looked at Jun.

“This is stupid… Remind me why I’m doing this again?”

Jun had been staring into the screen of his laptop, miraculously managing to carry it and walk at the same time. “You’re watching that map and telling us what spots to avoid,” he replied, not bothering to look up, “so we won’t hit an energy barrier and get blown into next week.”

Mana scowled. “I know that, but why do I have to be the navigator? What are you doing?”

“Looking through the database. And trying to figure out how to make these barriers come down.”

Mana sighed again and looked down. “Well, at least all the ground warps disappeared. We’d look ridiculous flipping and flopping all over the place and getting blown out of ourselves at the same time…” She kicked at the ground in frustration. “Who in their right mind would set up crazy traps like this? It’s as if someone didn’t want us to get anywhere anytime soon…” She fell silent.

For the next few minutes, no one spoke. Jun glanced at Mana a couple of times, and saw that her head was lowered and her eyes were narrowed, as if she were thinking hard about something. The hand holding her Digivice hung limply at her side.

“Um, Mana?” Jun prodded, “Mana, the map…”

“Huh?” Mana snapped out of her thoughts and her eyes widened. “Oh, crap, I forgot!” She quickly glanced at her Digivice, and gasped. “Patamon! Go left-no, right-I mean, UP!!”

“What?” Patamon asked, confused, when he immediately crashed into an energy barrier and was blasted in the opposite direction. Jun quickly put down his laptop and jumped up, catching Patamon in mid-air.

“And how many times have you told me you weren’t dyslexic?” he asked, with a lopsided smile.

Mana glared. “I am not! I was just panicking – I couldn’t think straight!”

Jun laughed. “Well, at least you’re being honest. If I asked Seita or Kei that, I’d end up a couple of inches shorter!”

Mana smirked. “If Seita were here, he’d have been so annoyed at me that he’d have duct taped my mouth shut by now.” Then she stopped, and her smile faded. “Or maybe not… At this point, I don’t know what any of us would think or do anymore…”

Jun frowned. “What do you mean?”

Mana hesitated a bit. “Well… you see… it seems like lately, everyone’s been acting strange. Ever since we fought Devimon in the mountains, Akira started falling apart, and she doesn’t tell us anything anymore. Seita started to care about it, almost too much, and his worry is blasting out at us. Tian’s trying too hard to keep everything under control, and every time I see her, I can see the pressure building up. Kei and Yuka... they’re scared. Not all the time, but often enough to notice.”

Jun stared at her, surprised. “I didn’t think you’d notice stuff like that,” he said faintly.

Mana scowled at him. “I have eyes. Do you think I don’t look around if something’s going on that doesn’t seem right? I’m not that stupid, you know.”

“Well, we do know that you sometimes say things that sound so crazy that no one would believe them,” Patamon spoke up.

“But-” Salamon added, cutting off Mana’s protest, “most of the time, you’re right!”

Mana stared at her fearfully. “In this case, I hope I’m not… and it bothers me, too. They’re all acting like this, and I don’t understand why!” Her expression turned to anger. “Don’t you think that they know something we don’t? Like they’re keeping us in the dark?”

Jun thought about it, but Mana didn’t wait for an answer. “I feel so useless sometimes,” she blurted out, her anger rising with every word. “I feel like I want to do something to help, but help with what? I have no idea! Nobody tells us anything!”

By this time, Mana’s Digivice started beeping like crazy, and her Crest glowed brightly.

“Um… Mana?” Salamon murmured faintly.

But Mana didn’t notice this, as she kept up her tirade and was facing Jun. “When I look at everyone, I see everything from being mildly concerned to dead scared. The only people who aren’t going through this are you and me. We’re like the only people in this place who are still completely sane!” At this, she kicked a rock across the ground so hard it slammed into an energy barrier and ricocheted off in the opposite direction, barely missing Patamon.

Jun was caught between staring at Mana in shock, staring at the laptop screen, and staring at the spot where the energy barrier had appeared.

“Mana…?” he asked faintly, “Can you do that again?”

“The rock-kicking, or the energy boost?” a familiar voice intoned.

Both of them turned around to see Tailmon staring at them, her arms folded.

“Tailmon?” Mana asked, shocked. “How did you…”

Tailmon just sighed.

Jun looked at Mana again. “Anyway, can you throw something over there again?” he asked, pointing at the seemingly empty spot. “I thought I saw something.”

Mana looked at him blankly, then shrugged, picked up another rock, and threw it. It hit the barrier again, a faint light outlining its shape, and bounced off.

Jun looked at his laptop screen, a faint smile on his face.

“You figured something out, right?” Patamon asked.

“Maybe,” Jun replied, almost to himself. Turning toward Patamon, he added, “Can you and Tailmon throw some attacks over there? Maybe something will happen.”

Patamon and Tailmon looked at each other and nodded.

“Air Shot!”

“Cat Punch!”

This had the same effect – the attacks hitting and bouncing off. And every time they hit, the wall became more and more visible. Jun checked his data again, and his smile got bigger.

“Okay… so if I did this-” He walked up to the wall, stared at it, and gave it a light punch. Sparks shot out.

“What are you doing?” Mana said frantically, “You’re…” She looked again. “…not getting bounced back?”

Sure enough, Jun was still standing with his arm held out, his fist showing up on the other side of the wall.

“Bingo.” Jun chuckled. He pulled his fist out, then gave the now-visible wall a kick. With a flash and a shower of sparks, the wall disappeared, and the force of it sent Jun flying and landing on the ground. Mana gasped.

“I’m okay,” Jun assured her, getting up again. He returned to the same spot, waved his hand through it… and nothing happened. He smiled. “And the wall came tumbling down.”

Everyone stared at him, dumbfounded.

“How did you figure that out?” Mana asked shakily.

“It wasn’t very hard,” he replied, smiling. He lifted his laptop to show the screen. Showing on it was an enlarged version of the map on Mana’s Digivice, except there were energy gauges and numbers all over the place.

Mana shook her head. “I’m not even going to ask how you got all that to show up…”

“But you understand what I’m getting at, right?” Jun asked excitedly, “Those barriers weren’t designed to take a lot of hits and still keep their integrities. In the beginning, they’re strong enough to repel anything that touches them, and make it too painful to try,” he continued, getting lost in his explanations. “But, hit them enough times, from a far distance, and they lose enough energy for their structures to fail!”

Mana stared at him uncomprehendingly. “Um… okay. Whatever you say,” she murmured.

“Shh!” Tailmon hissed suddenly, her ears perking up. “I can hear something.” She turned in one direction and started running, her paws padding against the ground softly. The others followed silently.

The further they went, the trees began thinning out, and the noises grew louder. Soon they reached the edge of another clearing.

Mana slowly poked her head out of the tree line, and gasped at what she saw. There were scores of Digimon everywhere, large and small, and all black as night.

Jun pulled Mana back into hiding, and Tailmon motioned them to be quiet, pointing to something in the mass.

In the center of the crowd stood a little boy, and a red-and-black Digimon. The boy was coldly silent and the Digimon simply looked around fearfully. They were listening to another, very familiar Digimon, with black fur, golden eyes, and dark blue claws.

Tailmon’s eyes narrowed. “It’s her.”

Sure enough, it was Black Tailmon, and she was as angry as the last time they saw her, shouting at the boy and his Digimon at the top of her voice.

Mana groaned. “Not her again… But…” She frowned. “Who’s that kid? I thought the seven of us were the only humans around here!”

“Shh!” Tailmon snapped softly, trying to listen to what Black Tailmon was screaming about.

“How dare you tell me what my soldiers can and cannot do!” Black Tailmon snarled, “I take orders only from Mataymon himself, and not from you – you weak and foolish human!”

“It’s Rion,” the boy said calmly, “and you’d better watch your mouth. It was on Mataymon’s orders that I came. He’s very disappointed in you. From what I heard, you haven’t done anything useful since you left Wizardmon’s village.”

Black Tailmon stayed silent, shaking with rage.

“So,” Rion continued, “He’s giving you one last chance. You have to catch one of the Chosen Children and Digimon. Do anything you like with the Digimon, but don’t hurt the kid. Not badly, anyway.” He smirked. “Mataymon will need at least one of the kids, or at least their minds, in one piece so he can stabilize the Edge.”

A collective gasp echoed through the crowd. Black Tailmon’s eyes widened in surprise. “The Edge…”

Rion nodded, slightly amused. “You realize how important your job is, then.” His expression grew serious. “Fail, and Mataymon will have you replaced.”

Black Tailmon growled softly, her eyes flashing.

Rion ignored this, and addressed the crowd. “That will be all. We’ll leave you to take care of the rest.” He turned around and walked away, Guilmon reluctantly following. Then the crowd began to disperse.

After seeing this, Tailmon quietly laughed. “So that nasty black cat’s finally had it!” she said smugly.

“I still don’t get it,” Mana whispered, “Who is that little boy?” She thought a moment. “Rion – that’s what he said his name was. And he seemed hell-bent on getting rid of us.”

“An enemy we never knew about?” Patamon asked.

Mana frowned. “He had a red Digimon… Yuka said that she and Akira were attacked by a strange red Digimon. Maybe that was the same one. And the boy…” She shook her head wearily.

“What was the ‘Edge’ that he was talking about?” Jun asked. “It must be important in some way – just mentioning it scared half of that crowd! And he said that… someone… needed our minds to… stabilize it?” He shrugged.

Mana glanced at the near-empty clearing, with a few dark Digimon still milling about. “I don’t think we should stay here,” she whispered frantically.

Jun nodded, and he and Patamon started moving away. Mana followed, but when she turned around, she saw Tailmon still standing there, peeking between the leaves. Her eyes were narrowed.

“Tailmon,” Mana whispered, “let’s go!” But Tailmon didn’t move. Mana sighed and, motioning the others to wait, crept closer to Tailmon, getting a better look at what she was staring at.

Black Tailmon was pacing around, kicking at the ground with her paws. “I don’t believe this,” she said venomously, “So close to being fired, just because I couldn’t get rid of that idiotic, goody-two-shoes, rubber-clawed white cat!”

Tailmon growled, her claws twitching ever so slightly.

Black Tailmon gave a shout of frustration, kicking the ground again. “Oh, how I wish I could get my paws on her – I’d break her neck, rip her throat, claw her eyes out… And if that little brat Rion hadn’t said no, I’d do the same to that spineless old hag of hers!”

“Why, that little…” Mana’s face was like a thundercloud, and she bristled with anger.

Jun, fearing the worst, quickly grabbed Mana’s hand and restrained her, but he was too late to stop Tailmon. She hissed loudly and sprang from her hiding place, giving Black Tailmon a flying tackle. The next thing anyone saw was a blur of black and white fur and blue and green claws.

“Tailmon!” Mana cried out.

The scuffle and Mana’s shout had now gotten the attention of several nearby Midnight Army members, who rushed to the scene after seeing their leader being attacked.

Black Tailmon stopped long enough to temporarily pin Tailmon to the ground. When she saw her soldiers coming, she smiled evilly, only for Tailmon to kick her in the face and scamper off.

“Get them!” Black Tailmon screamed, cradling her aching head.

Soon enough, Jun and Mana were running in a panic, at the head of a growing sea of black.

“This is all your fault, Tailmon!” Mana screamed, “Why didn’t we just leave when I said to?!”

“This isn’t the time to be talking about this!” Tailmon shot back.

“You think?!” Mana shouted.

“Hurry up!” Jun called, “They’re catching up to us!” He looked up at Patamon and clasped his Digivice.

Patamon understood, and hung back, glowing brightly.

“Patamon, evolve to… Angemon!”

“Heaven’s Knuckle!”

With a flash of golden light, a few Digimon fragmented, but not enough to stop the onslaught. Grimacing, Angemon fired a few more punches, but they all either missed or made little difference.

“It’s not working!” Mana wailed, clutching at a stitch that had developed in her side. Then, she stumbled, Jun stopping long enough to help her. When they saw the hoard of Digimon closing in on them, they screamed. Then…

“Tailmon, super evolve to… Angewomon!”

“Angemon, super evolve to… HolyAngemon!”

The two kids stared in awe as two angels glided forward, blocking them from the enemy line.

“Holy Arrow!”

An enormous arrow of light pierced the dark mass, and it was driven back, but only for a moment.

“Heaven’s Gate!”

A massive circular golden gate appeared, sucking up every enemy Digimon that was close to it, then shut tight, disappearing in fragments.

The two attacks, strong as they were, didn’t destroy every enemy in sight, but they were useful anyway. They had bought the four escapees some time.

Without missing a beat, Jun pulled Mana up and they continued running.

Out of the corner of his eye, HolyAngemon saw something, in a direction way off from where they were running, and was relieved. “Come on!” he called out to the others, “This way!” They all darted around a corner, following him.

By the time Black Tailmon and her people reached that same corner, there was no one in sight.

“Search everywhere!” Black Tailmon called out, “They have to be around here somewhere! They can’t have gotten away from us that easily!”

When the commotion outside had finally ceased, Jun and Mana finally looked around at the small wooded cave they had blindly run into a short while ago.

“Pretty good hiding place,” Jun commented.

“Until they find us…” Mana said hopelessly, “What are we going to do?”

Jun said nothing, and simply opened up his laptop again.

Mana gaped at him. “What could you possibly be doing on that at a time like this?!”

Still, Jun said nothing. He stared intently into the screen for a few moments, then spoke up.

“HolyAngemon, you remember that last attack you made?” he asked, “The one with the golden gate?”

HolyAngemon nodded.

“Do you think you can set up more than one of those, at the same time?”

HolyAngemon thought a moment. “I suppose… but it will take up a lot of energy – I wouldn’t be able to keep them stable for a long time.”

Jun’s brow furrowed as he took that in. Then, he turned to Angewomon. “Angewomon, how fast do you think you can fly?”

“As fast as I’ll have to,” she answered quickly.

Jun nodded. “Mana, you do understand how to read that Digivice map, right?” he asked.

Mana looked at him, startled. “Uh… yeah, I think so. Why?”

Jun didn’t answer her. He now had a bright but determined look on his face.

“I know that look,” Mana said ominously, “You’ve thought of something crazy, haven’t you?”

Jun sighed and scratched the back of his head. “Well, that depends on your definition of ‘crazy’…” He took a breath and began to describe his plan…

When he finished, Mana stared at him in shock. “That’s not crazy,” she blurted, throwing up her hands, “that’s downright insane!”

Jun looked at her uncertainly. “But it can be done,” he said, more firmly than he had liked.

Mana snorted. “Oh, yeah, it can be done,” she said, her voice rising, “but can it be done with us still in one piece?”

Jun sighed. He hesitated a moment, trying to gain back a little of his composure. “Yes, it can,” he said slowly, “Angewomon only needs to fly fast enough to lead the crowd into the any of the barriers where HolyAngemon will plant his Gates, and get away without getting caught in the blasts when they detonate. You’ll be there to navigate and make sure the two of you won’t crash into certain death.”

Mana stared. “Easier said than done. And again, why do I have to be there? Why not you?”

“HolyAngemon can’t fly all over the place and concentrate on all the Gates he’ll be controlling at the same time. It’ll be too much. And I’ll have to be here at the screen to tell him which gates to open and when it’s safe to do it.”

Mana frowned. “I can do that.” But Jun shook his head.

“No, there’ll be too much to focus on. You’d not only do that, but you’d have to help Angewomon navigate through the barriers, and you’d also have to watch which places she can’t go, once the barrier energies drop low enough for one last explosion, and in what direction to go in when the Gates open, so she won’t get hurt. You’re better off just focusing on getting yourselves out. I can handle the rest.”

Mana hesitated. “That’s a lot of things to watch. Are you sure you can handle it?”

Jun looked down, his face expressionless. Then he looked up again. “Yeah,” he replied, “I can.” He brightened a little. “Besides, if you can navigate your own way out, I probably wouldn’t have to help you two very much.”

A while later, when most of the preparations were done, Mana and Angewomon emerged from the leafy cave and looked around. There seemed to be no one in sight, but they knew otherwise – some distance away, the dark Digimon were still looking for them. All the two of them had to do was show themselves, and then the madness would begin.

Mana sighed, and she and Angewomon walked until they were far away from the opening. Her hands went to a pair of headphones on her head. She adjusted the small speakerpiece attached to it, and spoke.

“Jun… can you hear me?”

A short pause. “Yes. Anything happening? What do you see?”

“Not much. They probably haven’t tried looking this way yet,” Mana paused. “Are you ready yet?”

There was an even longer pause. Mana waited, a concerned look on her face. “Jun?” she asked again, “Are we ready?”

There was a moment’s hesitation, then Jun answered. “Yes.”

Mana nodded slowly. “Okay.” She swallowed. “See you later.”

“Good luck.”

Despite her nervousness, Mana managed a smile. “Thanks.” Then, focusing on what was ahead of them, she and Angewomon moved on. “I must be insane…” she whispered to herself.

After a while, they caught a glimpse of a dark Digimon looking behind a clump of bushes. Angewomon’s arms began to glow, and Mana slowly stepped closer. Trembling, she took a deep breath and gave a loud screech…

Jun closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He couldn’t seem to keep focused on anything. Memories, questions, and statements kept running through his head.

“That stuff looks really hard, are you sure you can do it?”

“What am I talking about, of course you can do it! There’s no way you’d make a mistake!”

“Go for it! We’re counting on you not to screw up!”

“We’ll be fine, as long as you know what you’re doing.”

“Jun,” HolyAngemon spoke up, “Are you okay? I’ve never seen you this nervous before.”

Jun’s eyes snapped open. “It’s nothing,” he said hastily, “I’m just warming up.” He turned his attention to the laptop screen again, trying to push aside his nervousness. This is terrible, he thought wryly, I guess this is almost like how Akira feels most of the time.

HolyAngemon laid a hand on Jun’s shoulder, smiling encouragingly, then glided out, soaring high above the treetops. After glancing about him for a moment, he took a deep breath and focused. At several places below him, large, circular golden gates appeared, rotating slowly.

When those were set up, he looked around one more time. He could see the great black mass moving swiftly through the trees, and a flash of bright, reddish-pink light, signifying that Angewomon had started attacking. He smiled. All was ready.

Down below, Jun still tried to relax, to no avail. Suddenly, he heard a faint scream, and a rumbling noise. The laptop screen came to life, and he could see millions of bright dots moving across the map, and two lone dots in another color, moving away from them.

He swallowed. “It’s begun.”

As minutes ticked by, a bright pink streak blasted through the woods, followed by a torrent of black. The longer they were at it, the more erratic their flight path became.

Angewomon flitted in and out, holding Mana tightly. Mana looked strangely calm and cool as she shouted out her directions over the clamor of grunts and howls. But on the inside, she was screaming.

“Mana! You’re getting close to a gate!” Jun’s voice crackled through her headset, “To your left!”

Mana looked up at Angewomon. “You heard him,” she called, fighting down her panic, “Left!” She looked at her Digivice. “But be careful, there’s a couple of barriers that way.”

Angewomon nodded, and, looking behind her, increased her speed. The mob followed, some colliding with the barriers and blasting away. The gate was visible now, turning slowly.

“Watch out!” Mana shouted suddenly, “There’s another barrier right in front of us!”

Angewomon grimaced. Then, making a split-second decision, she flew even faster. “Hold on tight!” she yelled.

Mana screamed as Angewomon streaked past the edge of the barrier, barely missing it. The gate loomed ahead of them, and right before Mana thought they would hit it, Angewomon swerved up, making a ninety-degree hairpin turn. The other Digimon plowed blindly into the gate, and it dissolved with a flash of light.

Angewomon lowered herself so that they were skimming the treetops, while Mana was breathing heavily from shock.

“That’s one down,” Angewomon said, smiling.

Mana sighed. “Jun,” she said into the headset, “How many more Digimon are there chasing after us?”

“At least half of them are still there,” he replied, “But most of them are disappearing because they’re crashing into everything in sight. Some of the barriers have already exploded.”

“Okay, then how many gates do we still need to blow up?”

“Seven.”

“SEVEN!” Mana screamed, “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” She ranted on until Jun stopped her.

“They’re coming back. Talk to you later!” Jun’s voice faded away.

“Jun…” Mana fumed, “Him and his stupid plan… just wait till I get my hands on him!”

“Well, at least it’s working,” Angewomon replied.

But she spoke too soon. As they lowered themselves to ground level, a small group of dark winged Digimon broke off from the large mass and moved up, unnoticed, toward a bright, shining figure hovering above the trees.

At the same time, when Angewomon least expected it, a small black blur darted out of the trees and slashed through her wings.

Angewomon shouted in pain, and Mana screamed in terror. The black figure moved until it was level with Angewomon’s face.

Mana gasped. “Black Tailmon!”

“Hello again,” the black cat said evilly. “Aw, did I hurt you?” she said in mock concern, “Here, let me make it worse!” She clamped her front paws hard around Angewomon’s neck. “This is for kicking my head and ruining my face!”

“Leave her alone!” Mana bellowed, pulling out her Digivice and pointing it at Black Tailmon. A bright red beam shot out of it, hitting her in the chest, and she blasted away in a far-off direction.

But the damage had already been done. Angewomon glowed, and her form shrank until she became Salamon again.

Mana felt herself falling.

Jun crouched in front of the computer screen, sweating bullets and ignoring the cramps forming in his neck, back, and legs. He had been calm every time he gave Mana a direction, but in the back of his mind, he was dead worried. The entire time, he was wishing, hoping, and praying that nothing would go wrong. And up until now, nothing had. But that did little to make him feel better.

So, when he saw a small cluster of enemy dots on the screen break away from the others and move toward HolyAngemon, he had already expected the worst.

“HolyAngemon!” Jun called out, “Watch out! Something’s coming toward you!”

No answer.

“HolyAngemon!”

Then, Jun heard some energy pulses coming from directly above him. Forgetting everything else, he ran outside and scanned the sky.

HolyAngemon was there, far up, dodging attacks by five black Digimon.

“Jun!” HolyAngemon called faintly, “I can’t keep this up anymore! There’s too much interference! I’ll have to let everything go!” His voice wavered, and Jun could tell he was weakening.

Jun breathed out in frustration. “Try to hold on a little bit longer,” he called back, more calmly than he felt. “At least until the girls have made it out!”

“I’ll try…”

Then, Jun heard a scream rip through his headset. His heart skipped a beat. “Mana!” he shouted, running back into the cave. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” His eyes zipped across the computer screen, desperately trying to find out where they were.

“Black Tailmon… she attacked us…” Mana’s voice trickled through the headset, “My Digivice blew her away, but… Angewomon de-evolved, and… we fell… I think I landed wrong somehow…” Jun could hear her hard, tortured breathing through the speakers.

“What part of you hurts?” Jun asked frantically, “Can you still walk?”

“Jun! I can’t hold them much longer!”A loud beeping sound from the laptop punctuated HolyAngemon’s outburst.

“Mana! Get out of there, now!” Jun shouted through the mic. “Everything’s going to blow!”

“We can’t!” Mana wailed, “Salamon’s out cold, and I can’t run! My leg…”

Jun’s eyes widened in fear. “Oh, God…” He glanced at the screen, and saw nearly all of the barriers, as well as HolyAngemon’s gates, reach critical mass. “Mana, please!” he almost screamed, “Move! I don’t care what you have to do, just MOVE! You’re running out of time!”

But his warning came too late.

A loud, pulsating bleep burst from the computer, and the energy gauges on the screen read zero.

A humming sound erupted from outside, soft at first, then growing louder and louder.

Then… a massive explosion. All that anyone could see was a brilliant flash of light.

The last thing Jun heard was Mana screaming his name…

After what seemed like a million years, the rumbling finally stopped and the light subsided.

Jun got up slowly, Mana’s scream still lingering in his mind. He shook his head, trying to get rid of his wooziness. For a few seconds, he just stood there. Then, realizing what just happened, his eyes widened and he ran out.

When he made it outside, the view he saw was almost unrecognizable. Almost everything in sight had been obliterated, save for a few snapped tree trunks and crumbling rocks. He looked around him in shock, then noticed a small figure lying on the ground.

“Patamon!” Jun rushed over to him and cradled him in his arms. “Are you okay?” Patamon stirred.

“I tried…” Patamon said weakly, “Some of those Digimon saw me and ganged up on me, and they were too strong… I couldn’t fight all of them off… I couldn’t hold those gates anymore… But I tried…”

“I know,” Jun answered sadly, “You did your best.” He looked around him again, aghast. It seemed as if almost nothing had survived the blasts.

Almost nothing had survived. Then, it finally hit him. Mana… Salamon…

“Mana!”

Jun’s scream echoed through the wasteland. Carrying Patamon with one arm, he ran, searching around him, refusing to believe that worst-case scenario. He looked and looked, but found nothing. No sign at all that Mana and Salamon had ever been there.

A feeling of despair filled him. He trembled all over as the realization sank in. They were gone. Because they were involved in his stupid, poorly thought-out plan, they were gone.

That thought remained in his mind as he shut his eyes tightly, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to fall.

He almost didn’t notice the faint vibrations coming from the headset he still held in his hand, and the soft, static-filled voice coming from it.

“…n… Jun!”

Jun’s eyes snapped open. He fearfully glanced at the headset he was holding, and, hoping against hope, he slowly moved it toward his face.

“M-Mana?” he asked, his voice trembling. “I-is that you?” He wondered if he had been hearing things.

“Of course,” the voice crackled faintly through the headset. “Who else could it be?”

Jun’s mouth fell open. “Where are you?” he blurted out loudly, looking wildly around him.

“I don’t know exactly… But you must be close to me… I can almost hear your voice without this thing…”

Jun ran a couple more paces, then Mana interrupted again.

“Wait! I can see you!”

“Where…?”

“Behind you.”

Jun froze, then slowly turned around. What he saw next made his heart leap.

Mana was leaning against the trunk of a tree that was snapped in half, keeping pressure off of a swollen left leg. She looked tired and disheveled, but her eyes were shining. A very dizzy Salamon sat next to her.

“Mana!” Jun put Patamon down and ran up to her, throwing his arms around her and hugging her. “Thank God…”

Mana hugged him back and smiled, despite the pain in her left leg.

“I was scared for a moment, back there,” Jun said shakily, “I thought you were…” He choked up, and his voice dropped to a whisper. “I thought you were dead…”

Mana hugged him tighter. “Me too.”

They were silent for a while, and Jun let Mana sit down so she could rest her leg.

“I’m sorry,” Jun said softly, “I should have planned things better from the beginning. So many things went wrong. And I should have known better than to put you and Angewomon in danger like that…”

“You did the best you could,” Mana answered.

“But, I-”

“You’re only human, Jun. No one expects you to think of everything and do it perfectly!”

Jun sighed, but what she had said afterward made him stop and think.

“And besides, everything turned out right in the end,” Mana added, “The walls have come down, and the Midnight Army is gone!”

Jun looked directly at her, pained. “But I nearly got you and Angewomon killed!”

Mana put a hand on his shoulder. “But we’re still here. We’re alive.”

Jun looked at her, and his face brightened a little. But there was something about Mana’s expression that puzzled him. He mulled it over for a few seconds, and a thought occurred to him.

“How did you two survive that?”

Mana hesitated. “That was the strange part…” she said uncertainly, “I’m not exactly sure what happened.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“Well…” Mana hesitated again. “I can remember you shouting at me to move, and I couldn’t – my leg was hurting so bad. I could feel the ground shaking under me, and I saw a flash of light so bright that it hurt my eyes. That was when I screamed. And then…” Her voice faded.

Jun moved closer to her, listening intently.

“Then… all of a sudden, someone appeared in front of me. A girl. She came, just out of nowhere, and…”

“And what?”

Mana shook her head slowly. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Try me.”

“She stood there, facing away from me, and held her arm out in front of her with her hand open, like she was pushing on something. And when everything started blowing up, everything that came near us started bouncing off. Nothing hurt us.”

Jun stared at her, eyes wide.

“When everything stopped, she sat next to me and put her hand on my leg. After that, it didn’t hurt so much anymore.” A faint smile appeared on Mana’s face. “Then, she smiled at me, got up, and walked away. It was then when I got a good look at her face.”

“Who was she?” Jun asked.

Mana looked back at him, her face full of wonder. “She looked just like Akira.”

Chapter Text

It was a bright, warm spring morning. A light breeze flowed, stirring the branches of the cherry trees and causing a few of the cherry blossoms to flutter along the grass.

Tian sat, staring blankly at the softly falling blossoms as they were reflected in the classroom window. After a while, she sighed and turned to face the chalkboard and the chalk lines that spelled “Odaiba Elementary – Grade 2, Class A: Parents’ Day.” She tried not to pay attention to all of the parents streaming into the room. Especially not the fathers.

Akira was sitting next to her, as always. She had a big smile on her face, and her eyes shined with excitement.

“Isn’t it great, Tian?” Akira said cheerfully, “All the moms and dads coming to see us?”

Tian didn’t answer her. She continued to stare into space.

“Hey, Tian…”

Tian looked up suddenly, and snapped her head toward Akira. “Yeah?”

“Is your mom coming?”

Tian looked down for a moment, and slowly shook her head. “I don’t know. She said she might not have time…”

Akira frowned. “Oh.”

“What about your dad?” Tian asked back, “Is he coming?”

Akira smiled. “Of course he is! He wouldn’t miss today for the world!” Her voice squeaked a little, and Tian could see that she was trying too hard.

“And…” Tian hesitated, “your mom…”

Akira’s smile quickly disappeared. “She left,” she said dully. “Last week.” She closed her eyes. “I don’t know when we’ll ever hear from her again…” Her hands trembled a little while after she spoke.

Tian nodded sadly, letting the matter drop. She looked around the room, at all the parents and children, and noticed how so many students had both parents with them.

“It seems like we’re the only ones who won’t have both a mom and a dad here,” Akira whispered, voicing Tian’s thoughts.

Tian nodded again. “Yeah.”

“But then,” Akira replied, brightening, “that would make us special, in a way. Right?”

Tian stared at her questioningly, then slowly smiled. “Yeah!”

Someone laughed behind them, a mean laughter. Akira scowled, knowing exactly who it was. Tian sighed and put her head on her desk. Not again.

Akira whipped around. “What are you laughing at, Seita?”

“You two sound like a couple of idiots,” Seita said, “‘that would make us special in a way, right?’” he mimicked, bursting into more laughter.

Akira bristled. “Shut up!”

Seita laughed again. Akira pulled an eraser from her desk and threw it at him, hitting him in the face.

“Ow!”

Akira shot a withering glare at him, then turned around. “ Moron …”

“Akira!” a voice called from the other end of the room.

Akira brightened. “Dad!” She skipped toward her father, who had just entered the classroom.

Tian sighed and looked out the window again. A part of her hoped that her mom would make it to the school on time to see her, but she knew it probably wouldn’t happen. Her mom hardly spent a lot of time with her anymore, and a lot of times, she wasn’t even home. She was always working.

“Hey, Shu,” one of the students asked, “Is your mom and dad coming?”

Still looking away, Tian shook her head.

“Why not?” another student asked, “We never see your mom and dad!”

Tian didn’t answer. She didn’t like the way this conversation was going.

A boy walked up to her. “Yeah,” he added, “We never ever see them, not even out of school! Do they not care about you or something?” He started laughing.

Tian closed her eyes and sank lower in her seat. “They do care…” she tried to say, “But it’s just-”

A few of the students interrupted.

“I heard that her dad isn’t here anymore,” one girl murmured.

“Really? I was wondering about that! We never see her dad around! I wonder what happened?”

“They’re fighting a lot in China, I think, so maybe he…”

The boy overheard this, and smirked. “And her mom probably only cares about work, so that’s why she won’t come today!”

Tears started flowing from Tian’s eyes and she covered her ears. She couldn’t stand hearing any more. “Stop it…” she said shakily, “Please stop…”

The boy laughed again, until he was roughly pushed away. “Hey!”

“Leave her alone!” Akira shouted at him, hurrying over to Tian’s desk. “You’re making her cry!”

“Why are you always defending her, Mitsuishi?” the boy demanded, “Do you feel sorry for her?”

“No!” Akira shot back, “Because she’s my friend!”

The parents were beginning to notice the argument, and the room grew quieter.

“Really?” the boy asked sarcastically, “Are you sure it isn’t because you feel just the same as her?” He smiled spitefully. “I heard your mom walked out on you last week!”

A couple of the students gasped. Apparently, not a lot of people knew that, until now.

Tian looked over at Akira for a second, and was suddenly scared. She had never seen her look so mad. “Akira,” she tried to say, but her voice was hoarse and choked with sobs. “Don’t listen… don’t–” But Akira wasn’t listening.

Akira shook with anger, barely hearing Tian’s pleas. “Shut up!” she shouted, moving toward the boy with a clenched fist. Before she got there, however, someone reached out and roughly grabbed her wrist. She looked up and glared, seeing Seita there.

“Will you relax, Akira?” Seita demanded, “He was only joking around!”

“You don’t joke around like that!” Akira answered angrily. “Not when you don’t understand!” She tried to push him aside, but he was still holding onto her wrist. “Let go!”

Seita glared back. “Don’t push me!” Then he pushed Akira hard, causing her to fall to the floor and crash into an empty desk.

After that, the room was in an uproar. The students crowded around and shouted, trying to see the two of them kicking and screaming.

The teacher slammed her hand on her desk.

“Mitsuishi! Kazama!”

The entire room went silent, and Akira and Seita turned around to face her, shocked stares on their faces.

“Outside. NOW!”

She walked over and marched them out of the room. After that, many of the children started talking excitedly, and the parents whispered among themselves.

Tears continued to stream down Tian’s face, but she gave up trying to wipe them. She kept her head down, not wanting to see everyone staring at her. She could hear Akira’s dad and Seita’s parents apologizing to each other profusely, plus all of the adults’ whispering. A lot of it wasn’t nice.

She felt terrible. Not only did she embarrass herself and help cause a scene in front of all the parents, she also ended up getting both Akira and Seita in trouble.

Then, she heard one of the students call out. “ Shu , your mom’s coming!”

Tian looked up slowly and rubbed her swollen eyes.

A girl ran up to her. “Your mom’s coming to see you, Shu . You’ll feel better then, right?”

Tian wiped her face with her arm. “Thank you…” Then she stopped, realizing that she couldn’t remember the girl’s name.

She looked around, and with an icy feeling, realized that she couldn’t remember anyone’s names. And even stranger, she couldn’t seem to be able to focus on anyone’s faces. Everything on everyone seemed blurry and indistinct. Every feature, from hairstyles to eye colors, seemed muted and pixilated. She couldn’t recognize any voices either, except one.

“Tian!”

Tian’s eyes widened. “Mama!” She could see a larger figure move toward her. She got up. But when the person got close enough for her to see, she gasped. “…Mama…?” She stared up at the person’s face in confusion and shock. She didn’t recognize the face.

She turned around and ran. And kept on running.

Finally, she stopped, but it was hard to see anything. There was thick, dark fog everywhere she looked.

Then, she felt someone touch her shoulder…

Tian screamed and stumbled to the ground. Renamon had put her paw on her shoulder, jolting her out of her memory nightmare.

Renamon looked concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Renamon, don’t do that!” Tian retorted shakily, “You scared me!” She turned away. “I was just daydreaming, that’s all. There’s nothing wrong.” She continued walking ahead.

“What were you thinking about?”

Tian turned around and glanced at Renamon, startled. “Hmm?”

“You haven’t been talking a lot lately,” Renamon replied, “What’s on your mind?”

Tian closed her eyes and looked away, silent.

“Well?” Renamon asked.

Still, Tian didn’t answer.

Renamon frowned. “Are you going to tell me now, or do I have to wait until the next time someone manipulates your mind to get it out of you?”

Tian turned back and stared at her for a moment. Then she sighed, defeated. “Oh, all right.”

Renamon stared back at her, waiting patiently.

Tian thought a moment before answering her. “I’m… well…” she started uncertainly, then stopped to collect her wits. “I’m worried,” she finished in a stronger voice, “About everyone else, I mean. Worried about Akira, wondering if she’s okay, and if she’s not, wondering whether or not I should kill Seita the next time we meet…”

Renamon chuckled.

“And…” Tian continued, “I’m worried about Jun and Mana, wherever they are. I’ve been wondering what kind of crazy plan they’re pulling off right now, when none of us are around, and if they’ll live to tell about it! Kei and Yuka… I’m not sure I want to know.” She put a hand on her head and took a deep breath. “It’s driving me crazy, not knowing where everyone is or if they’re all okay!”

Renamon put a paw on her shoulder. “Calm down,” she said softly, “You can’t be everyone’s caretaker. You’re just one person!”

“I know that,” Tian retorted, “But still… I feel responsible for them, somehow. I feel like I have to be there for them, in case something happens to Akira or Seita.”

Renamon said nothing, regarding her with a thoughtful stare.

“But then,” Tian continued, “sometimes, I feel the complete opposite. Sometimes I wish that I could just leave and forget about all this, and not have to worry about everyone else. Sometimes I wish I could just go home, go to bed, and wake up… and all of this would be just a dream.”

She paced a little bit. “I know it sounds selfish and mean, but that’s how I’ve been starting to feel lately. I don’t know if everyone else feels the same, but they haven’t said anything – not one word! I haven’t either, except to you. Even now, I feel like a traitor, talking about home.”

Her pacing quickened and anxiety began to creep into her voice. “We’ve been here too long. And the longer we stay here, the more I think about home. And it scares me, because I really have to think about it.” She looked at Renamon, fear in her eyes. “I’m starting to forget a lot of things, like what my neighborhood looked like, who my classmates and my other friends were, what my relatives looked like and what their names were…” She shut her eyes, and the anonymous faces in her daydream/nightmare came back. She shivered. “I think I’ll even forget who my mother is, if we stay here any longer!”

She was about to say more when a bright pink blur suddenly zipped by her. She did a double take and whipped around, surprised. “What was that?”

Renamon frowned. “I’m not sure. But it felt awfully familiar.”

Tian ran toward the blur, squinting, and her brow furrowed. “Mana…?” she murmured uncertainly. Then, listening carefully, she heard the voice of someone shouting out directions. After that, an ear-piercing scream.

Tian’s eyes widened. It was Mana. She knew no one else who could scream like that.

Then, she could feel the ground rumbling and hear a cacophony of shrieks and howls. Right after that, she gasped in horror as what looked like millions of dark Digimon rushed past.

“Wh-what the hell…?” Tian stammered out.

Renamon had closed her eyes for a few seconds, surprisingly calm. Then, her eyes suddenly snapped open, a stricken look coming to her face.

“We have to get out of here.”

“What?”

“Come on!” Renamon grabbed Tian’s hand and ran.

Tian struggled to keep up with her, having no idea what was going on. Her Digivice beeped and glowed a bright yellow, and Renamon’s hastening form shifted to Kyuubimon’s. Tian got on Kyuubimon’s back as the fading light from the evolution was suddenly overpowered by an even brighter light from behind them.

Tian looked behind her, but the bright light kept her from seeing anything substantial. She could hear a soft humming sound that grew louder with every passing moment. She could feel everything vibrating – trees, rocks, even the air, and she could feel blasts of sweltering heat. All of a sudden, she wondered if Kodamon was somewhere nearby. If she had evolved all the way to Helamon, and something happened…

Her eyes widened in fear. “Kyuubimon!”

“I know!” Kyuubimon answered breathlessly. She ran faster, trying to escape the growing radius of light and heat, and then she began to glow again. The Crest around Tian’s neck grew warm and brightened, but after a certain point, its light flickered and pulsed violently, as if it were a candle about to be blown out.

“What are you doing?!” Tian asked frantically, noticing Kyuubimon’s brightness while still staring at the crest’s wavering light. And then, as suddenly as it came, the flickering stopped and the Crest’s light blasted out strong.

After a second, Kyuubimon spoke up again, quickly and loud enough to be heard over the noise. “When I say so, slide off of me! Understand?” Tian nodded.

Kyuubimon’s light brightened. “Now!”

Tian let go, and she tumbled down, landing on the unstable ground with a thump. Kyuubimon jumped up, and with a flash of red and yellow light, landed as Taomon. She glided back, and with Tian behind her, she waved her hands in a single, sweeping movement. A large circle appeared under their feet, in the form of a Ying-Yang, and an energy dome appeared over their heads.

And then, explosions ripped through the area, debris zipping by like bullets and bouncing off the dome.

Tian stood there, eyes wide and mouth open in amazement and fear. She tensed at every moment a piece of debris smacked the dome and made it flicker. She could hear Taomon straining to keep the dome functional.

After what seemed like an eternity, the explosions subsided. Staggering, Taomon let the energy dome disappear and collapsed to the ground, reverting to Renamon on the way down.

Tian stared around her in shock, and was unable to speak for several minutes. Then she walked over to Renamon and pulled her up. “What was that?” she managed to say, slowly.

Renamon weakly shook her head. “I don’t know.”

Tian looked around her again. “Whatever it was, it took out almost everything…” She glanced at her Digivice. “I wonder if the others…” Her fist clenched her Digivice hard, and her voice faltered.

She then shut her eyes and sighed in frustration. “I hate this!” she yelled, “I wish I never started playing that Digimon game! I’m so sick of being here! Sick of being scared all the time, trying not to get killed! I’m sick of trying to keep track of so many people, and dealing with all of their problems! I don’t want to care anymore!” She quickly turned around and started walking away.

Renamon stared back at her, stunned. After a few moments of silence, she was about to reply, but her thoughts were pushed away when she heard a rustling noise behind her, and a noise that sounded most unmistakably like a Digimon’s evolution.

Narrowing her eyes suspiciously, she whipped around, gasping at what she saw. “Tian!” she called out urgently, trying to get her attention.

Tian stopped suddenly. “Renamon?” She turned around and caught a glimpse of something large and red, and what looked like large energy balls raining down, before Renamon knocked her over to the ground and acted as a shield.

Tian breathed heavily and covered her head with her hands. The landing had knocked the wind out of her. After a moment, she noticed that the fiery attack had stopped, and uncovered her face, only to be nearly blinded by the yellow light of her Digivice. She looked again after the light faded, and saw that Kyuubimon was fighting what looked like a large red dinosaur with chrome metal. She also heard a child’s voice that she didn’t recognize, shouting something she couldn’t understand.

The sound of Kyuubimon being slammed into the ground startled her, and reality started flooding back. “Kyuubimon!” Tian ran over to her, and she gasped as she saw how hurt Kyuubimon looked. “Are you okay?” she asked.

“Too strong…” Kyuubimon said weakly, staring up at the large red Digimon towering over her. Then, she got up, slowly, and assumed a fighting stance again.

“Wait!” Tian shouted, trying to hold her back, “Not until you’ve evolved again!” She picked up her Crest and noticed that it was dark. Kyuubimon gave Tian a knowing look, and Tian’s eyes widened. She realized, with a jolt, that if Kyuubimon could evolve, she would have done it already.

Then, Tian looked down and saw that her Crest was acting strangely again, with its light flickering on and off and slowly fading away. She stared at it and stared at Kyuubimon’s weakening form, hoping that somehow the Crest would fix itself and work again, like the last time. But the light sputtered and died.

Then, the red Digimon shot another attack at Kyuubimon, and sent her flying out of sight, de-evolving to Renamon along the way.

“Renamon!” Tian cried frantically, unable to locate where she fell. She looked up at the red Digimon, wondering what to do next.

I can’t do this anymore, she thought hopelessly. It’s too much!

Then, she heard soft footsteps behind her. She turned around and caught a glimpse of someone swinging something toward her from the corner of her eye, too fast for her to react.

Pain erupted from her head, and she collapsed to the ground. Gasping for breath, she tried hard to keep her eyes open and see at least a glimpse of who attacked her. But her vision was distorted and swimming. All she could see was a dark, blurry figure standing over her, staring back with cold, black eyes. Then, everything faded…

Some time later, Tian woke up, the back of her head still hurting like mad. She sat up and impulsively put her hand to her head, surprised to find that a bandage had been wrapped around it. Her cap lay on the floor next to her. When she bent down to pick it up, she blinked, then looked around in surprise, noticing her surroundings.

She was in a large, sparsely furnished room, and she had been lying in a bed with a strangely familiar floral print comforter. On the far left, there was a door that was closed shut, and to Tian’s immediate left, there was a table. A black laptop sat on top, humming, its screen blanked.

When Tian saw the laptop, she froze.

Wait a minute…

She took a closer look around her, and saw an open, half-filled suitcase and a familiar-looking pale yellow backpack on her far right. Her eyes then rested on an object sitting next to the laptop on the table – a small picture in a frame. Narrowing her eyes, she made a closer examination of it.

The picture had been taken over a decade ago, and showed her as a very young girl, posing with both her mother and her father.

Tian gasped, surprise registering on her face. It was one of the pictures she had always treasured, and she always made sure she took it along with her, no matter where she traveled. Even to…

…my aunt’s house, Tian thought incredulously. This is my aunt’s house. I’m in China. I’m back on Earth…

She shook her head in disbelief, making herself wince with pain.

This can’t be. I must still be in the Digital World. I have to be… unless…

Peals of laughter outside the room startled Tian out of her thoughts. Then, the door opened with a bang. Two very familiar children ran into the room and toward her – a little boy, followed by a little girl.

Tian’s mouth fell open in astonishment. “Taosan… Ming…” she whispered, barely able to speak.

“Tian! Tian!” the two of them called excitedly, “Are you okay? Does your head still hurt?”

Meanwhile, Tian had been staring at them in shock. Then, when she realized that they were waiting for an answer, she blinked and quickly shut her mouth.

“Um, yeah!” she stammered, “Yeah, I’m fine. My head still hurts a little, but I’m okay!” She smiled, and the two children cheered.

Meanwhile, Tian had lowered her head and closed her eyes, trying to sort out the dozens of questions running through her head. What was going on?

“So, you’re finally awake?” a voice drifted into the room. Tian turned to see her aunt standing in the doorway.

“What happened?” Tian found herself asking, still wondering if she was dreaming.

Her aunt raised an eyebrow. “You don’t remember?”

Tian slowly shook her head.

“Unbelievable!” her aunt answered, “They must have hit you harder than we thought!” She looked at Tian seriously. “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Tian thought for a few moments. Obviously, her aunt was asking about the last thing she could remember before being whisked off to the Digital World. She could barely remember anything. It seemed like a million years ago.

Her aunt noticed the strained look on her face, so she shook her head. “Never mind. It’ll probably come back to you later.”

Tian looked at her questioningly, then the little girl, Ming, answered.

“Mama told you to go to the store, and you left,” she said.

“Oh! Oh, and then,” Taosan interrupted, “After that, the police called, and said some bad people hit you on the head!! Wham!” he shouted, whacking his head lightly and pretending to faint, then looking up. “Just like that!”

“So we all went to get you, and Mama kept telling them not to take you to the doctor! She kept saying she could fix your head herself!” Ming added, pouting.

Tian looked at her for a moment, smiled, and patted the girl’s head. “It’s okay,” she said, “I’m sure that Auntie had a very good reason for not taking me to the hospital.” She looked at her aunt for a second, then turned back to her little cousin. “My head’s fine, nothing’s broken, and everything will be just fine.”

“Really?” Ming’s face brightened.

“Really,” Tian said firmly, giving her another smile. She looked over at her aunt again.

Her aunt stared at her blankly for a moment, then brightened up. “Okay, you two,” she said to the twins, a little too cheerfully, “why don’t you go off and play for a while? Tian needs her rest!”

“Okay!” they yelled, giggling. Taosan ran out right away, but Ming hung back. She went over to Tian and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

“Here you go!” she said, thrusting it into Tian’s hands. “We made this while you were sleeping!”

Tian unfolded the sheet and stared at it. It showed a crayon drawing of herself and the two children, holding hands. She smiled. “Thank you.”

“Get better soon, okay?” Ming said hopefully.

Tian nodded, pocketing the sketch, and Ming giggled and skipped out of the room.

As the girl’s laughter faded away, Tian and her aunt stared at each other, not saying a word. Then, when the silence became unbearable, Tian spoke up.

“Are you sure that’s what happened, Auntie?” she asked skeptically, “Someone on the street just snuck up on me and hit me on the head? Nothing else?”

“Of course that’s all that happened,” her aunt said in a huff. “They found you right next to the grocery store, knocked out. If you were kidnapped, you’d be either miles away by now and we’d get some sort of ransom note, or you’d be dead and we’d end up finding what’s left of you tomorrow! And if someone murdered you right then and there, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now, would we?”

Tian stared back at her, speechless. She blinked a couple of times, and opened her mouth to say something, but decided against it. Then, in a flash, she remembered something. Her hand flew to her neck and to her pocket, then looked around her, feeling around the bed. She frowned, and looked up to see her aunt turning around and starting to walk out of the room.

“Auntie?” Tian called out, stopping her in her tracks.

“What is it?” she replied tiredly.

“Whoever hit me… did they take anything?”

Her aunt frowned. “Come to think of it… no…” she murmured, “A funny thing, too. Whoever did it didn’t bother to take anything. The stuff you bought was still there. It was as if the person only wanted to hit you on the head!” She shook her head wearily. “It must have been one of those crazy old ex-politicians, afraid you would start another revolution if you ever came back. Just because you’re my brother’s kid…”

Tian scowled. “That’s ridiculous.”

“Of course it is…” her aunt answered absently.

She was about to leave again when a boy poked his head through the doorway. He looked a couple years younger than Tian, with glasses on his face and headphones around his neck. He had an amused look on his face.

“Hey, Tian…” he started, grinning.

“Yuu…” Tian answered warily.

“I heard you got attacked!” Yuu said with a smirk. “And you didn’t even see it coming!”

Tian stared at him. “Yeah? So?”

Yuu laughed. “It’s only your first time back in, what, eleven years? I never knew you were that unpopular with the Chinese police!”

Tian had an irrational desire to jump out of bed and kick him in the head, but since her own head was still aching, she could only glare at him murderously.

Instead, her aunt was the one to smack Yuu on the back of his head.

“OW!!”

“How many times have I told you not to speak that way?” she shouted, “You know better! And don’t say such rude things to your cousin. You know what she and your aunt have been through!”

“But Mom, I was only–”

“Say you’re sorry!”

“Okay, all right, whatever!” Yuu stammered and walked away, throwing Tian an insincere ‘sorry’ on the way out.

Tian stared after him, surprisingly calm.

Her aunt sighed. “I don’t know what to do with him… I’m sorry he upset you.”

Tian shook her head. “It’s okay.”

“Cai-lin is coming later tonight,” her aunt said, “About time, too. That devil computer job of hers in Shanghai’s kept her working so long, she hadn’t been able to see you when you got here.” The frown on her face then turned into a wicked smile. “Don’t worry – once Cai-lin’s around, Yuu won’t be even half as irritating.” She winked.

Tian smiled a little. Cai-lin was her older cousin, and one of the only people she remembered from before, besides her aunt and uncle.

“I’m going to step out now,” Tian’s aunt continued, hastening toward the doorway. “I have to get dinner ready before your uncle comes home!” She gave Tian a quick smile. “Lie back down and get some more rest. If you need anything, shout.” She left, shutting the door behind her.

When her aunt’s footsteps faded away, Tian lay back down and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

That conversation had gotten her nowhere. All she knew was that somehow, she had ended up back in the real world and that everyone thought she had been the victim of a stupid hit-and-run accident. And not to mention that her aunt’s theories were as far out as outer space and that Yuu was probably the most annoying kid she’d ever met…

I wonder what they’d say if they knew where I’ve really been…

A flicker of doubt flashed through her mind. She really did wonder if she was only dreaming. Everything and everyone around her seemed real enough, but as far as she knew, there was no sensible way she could have come back. And she didn’t believe a word of that assault story. Even so, she pinched her arm, just to make sure she was really awake. The pinch made her wince and brought on a strange disorientation, but when her vision cleared, everything was still there.

She frowned, and slowly got up and walked over to the window. Everything looked normal outside – a normal, sunny afternoon. She turned away, sitting back down and staring absently at the floor.

Maybe she really had managed to return. She was found at the same spot where the Digivice had whisked her away. And the hit-and-run attack explained the head injury, at least to the people around her. But then, her Digivice and Crest tags were gone, and Renamon was nowhere in sight.

Renamon!

Tian looked up suddenly, remembering the last moments before she had passed out in the Digital World. She remembered the giant red Digimon and the murderous blasts from the sky. She could still see Kyuubimon being beaten back and forth, and falling through the air as Renamon.

“Renamon?” she said uncertainly, her voice unnaturally loud in the quiet air.

No answer.

“Renamon?” she tried again, “If you’re there, can you please let me see you?”

Still no answer.

“Renamon!”

Tian looked down again, hanging her head. She suddenly felt very alone.

Renamon!

Renamon’s eyes snapped open and she woke with a jolt.

“Tian…?” she whispered out weakly. She tried to get up, but gasped as her body was wracked with pain. She collapsed and took a couple of short, soft breaths, then slowly tried to sit up. The floor underneath her was as cold as ice.

She looked around her, and found that she was in a small, dark room with an opening covered by iron bars. A small amount of light trickled through the bars.

When she inched closer to the opening, she saw that it was coming from part of a much larger room, filled with all kinds of machines, both broken and intact. A steep flight of stone steps leading upward lay along the far side of the room, and the light from the corner shined over an area with a large computer-like screen. Wires trailed from the screen to different, shadowy parts of the room, visible only by the flashing of random, multicolored lights.

Renamon looked around again, wondering where she was and why she was there. It seemed to be a laboratory of some kind, but for what, she didn’t know.

And Tian was nowhere in sight.

Where are you? Renamon wondered, I thought I heard you call me.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud crash and the crackling of frayed cables. She looked up quickly and squinted through the bars, seeing a very old, wizened humanoid Digimon emerge from the shadows.

He had frizzy white hair, with goggles covering his seemingly eyeless face, and he was wearing what looked like a cross between a lab coat and a medieval magician’s robe. He shook himself free of some stray wires, and hobbled over to a machine next to the computer screen and started pressing random buttons.

Renamon could only look at him for a few moments before she could hear footsteps coming down the stairs. A little dark-haired boy and a red reptile Digimon walked into the room. To Renamon, they looked vaguely familiar.

As the two neared the workstation and the old Digimon, Renamon stayed in the shadows, peering through the iron bars and quietly watching what would happen next.

“Ah, Rion! Guilmon!” the old Digimon greeted the two in a much-too-cheerful tone, “What brings you two down here on such a beautiful day?”

“Alchemon!” Guilmon called out, waving happily until a stern look from Rion made him stop.

“Don’t play dumb, Alchemon,” Rion addressed the elderly scientist coldly, with another sharp look at Guilmon. “You know what we’re here for. Have you located her yet?”

Alchemon nodded. “According to my calculations, she was sent to an area in the Real World, somewhere within the city of Nanjing, China.”

Rion narrowed his eyes. “But do you know exactly where she is? Which neighborhood? Which house?”

“Eh-no,” Alchemon twitched. “I’m still working on that.”

Rion glared. “The only way we can stabilize the Edge is to use the Projection system to send one of the Chosen Children into the Real World, and map all of the places that he or she has been. Or at least, that’s what Mataymon told me.” He looked away for a moment. “This one’s over there, all right, but how can we figure out the places she’s been to if we can’t even track her?”

“It’s not as easy as it looks,” Alchemon retorted hoarsely, “The electronic interference from the other side keeps breaking up the tracking signals I’m trying to send – too many high-security installations. And this mediocre equipment you people have given me to use isn’t helping very much either!”

Rion’s eyes flashed, and he clenched a fist, as if he was going to attack Alchemon. After a moment, though, he relaxed. He thrust a hand into one of his pockets and pulled out a Digivice and Crest tags. He threw them over to Alchemon. Renamon looked closely before Alchemon caught them and saw that they were Tian’s.

“Those should solve your problem,” Rion said grudgingly, “And even if they don’t, you have permission to ask for and use anything else that will.”

Alchemon nodded gratefully.

“You understand that there will be no more delays after this, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Good,” Rion turned to leave, pulling Guilmon along with him. “You’d better have found her by the time I come back, or else Mataymon will have your head!” They walked off, disappearing up the stairs.

After he was sure they had gone, Alchemon turned back to his work, mumbling things to himself. Somehow he continued to ignore the caged area behind him where Renamon lay. He pulled out a wire and placed one end into his workstation. The other end he plugged into Tian’s Digivice. He also clicked the Crest into place through the slot at the top. Then, he waited for something to happen.

Renamon couldn’t watch anymore. Her vision was becoming blurry, and she could feel herself weakening.

In an effort to stay conscious, she closed her eyes and tried to think about what happened before she had been locked in this dark cage. She could still remember the hopeless battle she had with the giant red Digimon, who she knew had to be one of Guilmon’s evolved forms.

She could still see the stricken look on Tian’s face, when her Crest refused to shine.

Renamon sighed. She was still a little shocked at how much Tian’s feelings about their entire situation had soured, but somehow, she wasn’t surprised. With Akira constantly absent or unstable, and Seita being uncooperative most of the time, most of the burden of looking after the group’s well-being had fallen on Tian. The pressure had gotten to her, and she had finally cracked.

And now she was gone. Sent to the Real World, if what Renamon had overheard was true.

You’re in danger, Tian, Renamon thought ruefully. And I’m nowhere close enough to help you!

Frustration filled her as she tried to move again and was hit by another wave of pain. I’m in no condition to go looking for you, either.

She reluctantly settled down and closed her eyes.

I’ll rest. And then I’ll find you.

Just then, the Digivice bleeped an alarm and the Crest inside flickered violently. Then, an image appeared on the workstation screen.

The image was that of a map, showing an overhead view of Nanjing, and in the northeast corner, a bright yellow light flashed.

“Aha!” Alchemon crowed, “There you are!” He hobbled over to another console and began to type furiously.

At that moment, early evening had fallen, and the room had steadily darkened. Tian still sat in the corner, sleeping lightly and oblivious to everything around her. She didn’t notice when the temperature had suddenly dropped several degrees, even when she started shivering. It was the alarming of her laptop that finally jolted her awake.

She quickly opened her eyes and gasped. Everywhere she looked was surrounded in thick, cold, gray fog. She got up and looked over at the table where her laptop sat. The screen was a blank gray-white, with light pulsing on and off, and it was still alarming. Combined with the darkened, fog-filled room, it was an eerie sight.

Still shivering violently, Tian managed to walk across the room and over to the door. The fog, strangely, became thicker and thicker only around her, no matter where she went, and small bursts of it seemed to emerge from under her. Trembling, she placed a hand on the door and quickly opened it, peering into the hallway.

It was unusually quiet, and just as dark as her room. No one was in sight, and the fog quickly began filling up the open space.

“Auntie?” Tian called out, her voice making an odd echo. She slowly stepped out and walked toward the kitchen. “Uncle?”

No one answered.

“Ming? Taosan?” She swallowed nervously. “Yuu?”

Fog continued to fill the dark, empty hallway, and the temperature continued to drop. Tian’s pulse quickened. She felt as if she was being watched. She whirled around her, expecting someone or something to jump out, but there was no one in sight.

She took a deep breath and tried to relax. Then, when she least expected, something grabbed her from behind!

She screamed.

Renamon woke suddenly for the second time, a piercing scream still echoing through her head. She pushed herself up slowly, noticing how much easier it was this time. The time she had spent resting had paid off – she felt stronger and more alert.

But who was the person who had screamed in her mind? Tian?

Renamon looked over at Alchemon’s station again. The old Digimon was running around frantically, trying to put out a small electrical fire. She listened closely, trying to make out what he was saying to himself.

“Confounded piece of junk!” Alchemon bellowed, blasting a fire extinguisher over a fried console. “Blows up in my face, just because some stupid real-world factors interfere with the operation! Too many humans around! Why that girl would have so many humans around her, I have no clue!” He roared again in frustration, flinging the extinguisher away. He moved toward the viewscreen.

“Location: China, northeastern Nanjing, in a house with too many interfering humans!” He grimaced. “That’s all the information I have to go by!” He paused for a moment, thinking very hard. “Aha!” he crowed, “I have just the thing to fix that!” He pressed a button, and a spot on the floor opened, revealing a small, rectangular metal box.

Renamon squinted a little, not quite sure what Alchemon was going to do with this new machine. She saw him push the small machine over to a dark corner of the room that Renamon didn’t notice before. Then Alchemon pulled out a strange, headset-like thing with a wire attached.

Renamon crept closer and squinted even more, but she still couldn’t see. She gave up, and closed her eyes, concentrating hard. Her form grew transparent, and she slowly moved one of her arms until it passed through the iron bars.

She was completely out of the cage when footsteps rained down the stairs again and Rion and Guilmon reappeared. Renamon quickly turned invisible again before any of them could see her.

“Well?” Rion asked, not bothering to greet Alchemon. “What’s happened?”

Alchemon sighed wearily. “I’ve almost got it, Rion,” he replied, “The systems were faulty, so I switched to this machine here.” He motioned toward the metal box. “From what I heard, it’s been fully tested, so it will get you what you need in no time!”

Rion came closer to the machine, stared at it, then stared at the headset in Alchemon’s hands. Renamon thought she saw his eyes widen in surprise, then return to normal.

“Why are you using this?” Rion demanded, “I thought it could only block thoughts and memories – not save them!”

“Oh, it can do much more than that!” Alchemon answered proudly. “It connects directly with a person’s mind, just like the technology we use for Projection, but it also tracks exactly where the person’s consciousness is, and can save memories and thoughts!”

“Whatever,” Rion waved away the technobabble. “Just finish.” He and Guilmon looked at the dim corner, as if there was something else there besides the mysterious machine. Renamon thought she saw Rion’s expression soften just for a moment. Then he turned around to leave.

When he saw the corner where Renamon was hiding, he stopped. Renamon was still invisible, but it almost seemed as if he could see her anyway. He looked at the spot, then looked at the empty cage. His eyes narrowed, and he turned his head toward Alchemon. Renamon stiffened.

“One more thing!” Rion called, “Make sure you check our prisoner. You never know what she might do.”

“Right, right…” Alchemon answered, lost in his work once again.

Rion stared at Renamon’s hiding spot one more time, then walked off, not bothering to tell Alchemon that she had escaped.

Before the two of them vanished through the door, Renamon overheard them talking.

“Rion…”

“What is it, Guilmon?”

“That girl… I think you hit her too hard.”

“Shut up.” They were too far away to be heard after that.

Renamon’s ears perked up at what Guilmon had said, and with growing fear, she stepped closer to the work area – close enough so that she was directly behind Alchemon. She saw what looked like a shabby operating table, connected to the computer interface by a heap of wires. When she focused even more and saw what was actually on the table, she could hardly contain her shock.

Tian was lying there, unconscious and breathing shallowly. Her head rested on rags stained with blood, and the machine’s headset was fixed firmly onto it.

Chapter Text

“Any luck yet?”

Mana looked up from her Digivice and shook her head. “Nope.”

Jun frowned. “No traces of anyone?”

“Nothing.”

“I don’t understand,” he replied, “We’ve been walking for hours. The others had to have gone somewhere.” He looked around, noticing that everything around them was misty. “There’s a lot of fog around here,” he continued, “Maybe that’s interfering with our Digivices.”

“Or maybe…” Mana blinked. “They couldn’t all be dead, could they? The explosion–”

“No,” Jun said forcefully, “If we made it out of that alive, so did they.”

“If only we had some clue,” Patamon said wistfully.

“We could at least try to find Tian and Renamon,” Salamon suggested, “Renamon’s senses could help us find everyone, and Tian never panics at times like these.”

“Tian…” Mana froze.

“What’s wrong?” Salamon asked.

“I thought…” Mana murmured. Her mind flashed to the time when she and Angewomon were being chased through the now-wiped out woods. She remembered seeing something from the corner of her eye – a flash of yellow and blue, reduced to a blur from traveling at lightning-fast speed. Since she had been too busy trying to control her panic, she hadn’t paid attention to it at the time. Now, she began to wish she had.

“Mana–”

Mana shook her head and tried to smile. “Nothing…”

Renamon stared at Tian’s unconscious form for a few more moments, too stunned to do anything. Then, she focused on Alchemon, and rage filled her. She stepped closer, raising an energy-charged hand toward his back.

“Stop right there,” she said calmly. “One false move, and my Fox Leaf Arrowheads will be the last thing you see.”

Alchemon stiffened. “Eh?” he croaked out. He turned around slowly, and when he saw Renamon inches away from him, he let out a shout.

Tian lashed out in panic, trying to push away whoever or whatever had tried to attack her. Her hand smacked something hard, and a muffled shout pierced the air, followed by a thud. The noise caused Tian to come to her senses, and she blinked. She looked around her, amazed.

The hallway was bright from the lights fixed overhead. Warm air from outside blew in softly from an open window. Everything looked normal, untouched. She listened closely, and could hear her aunt and uncle talking in the kitchen, along with the clang of a pot and pan. The aroma of cooked rice wafted from the room.

What? Tian thought incredulously. The thick, dark icy fog had disappeared, almost in a blink of an eye, and no one seemed to notice at all.

A groan coming from the floor broke her thoughts, and she looked down to see who she had hit. Her eyes widened.

“Yuu!”

“What the hell’s wrong with you, Tian?!” he said angrily, rubbing the side of his neck and wincing, “Why’d you have to hit me so hard?!”

“Don’t scare me like that, Yuu,” Tian shot back. “Ever!”

“Hey… I just wanted to surprise you, that’s all,” Yuu protested, “Just a joke! I never thought you’d go berserk like that!”

“I was already scared enough to begin with! You didn’t need to make it worse!”

“Sure, whatever.” Then Yuu glanced at her suspiciously. “Scared about what?”

Tian didn’t answer.

Yuu rolled his eyes. “Never mind,” he said finally. “You sure are weird.” He turned around, disappeared into his room, and shut the door, leaving Tian alone in the hallway.

“What have you done with Tian?” Renamon shouted, “Why do you have her wired up like this?”

Alchemon was too shocked and terrified to answer. He inched over to the console, shakily, but stumbled in fright when Renamon took another step toward him. In the process, his hand slipped and pushed down on a large red button on the console.

The metal box and the headset came to life, lights flashing, and a notice appeared on the large screen:

Memory Save: 0% Complete

A red bar began to extend out across the screen below the text, showing progress. The percentage increased slowly, from 0.3% to 0.5%, then faster, to 1.1%… 5.7%… 10.9%…

Renamon looked at the screen, then at the still-unconscious Tian. She could hear Alchemon’s relieved cackling. Renamon wanted to wipe that smile off his face, but she hesitated, afraid of damaging the equipment and harming Tian. She could only watch as the percentage on the screen got larger and larger…

Just then, as quickly as it left, the fog returned. The hallway lights winked out, and the temperature dropped again. A mechanical alarm blasted out through Yuu’s bedroom door.

The cold fear Tian had came rushing back. “Yuu?” she called out, hearing no answer. “Yuu!” she shouted, padding over to his door and pounding on it.

“What is it? What?!” Yuu shouted back, exasperated. He opened the door with a bang. “What is with you?” he said reproachfully, “First you karate-chop me, and then you bother me at the same time my computer stops working!” He glared icily at her. “It’s as if bad things happen to me whenever you’re around!”

Tian ignored him, instead staring at the computer on his desk. Like her laptop, the monitor was grayed out and flashing.

Yuu caught her wide-eyed, fearful look, and scowled even more. “So? What do you want?” Then he gasped in surprise, noticing the thick, dark blackness coming through his door in wisps. “W-what’s happening?” he stammered, looking around wildly. Then, he stared at Tian, eyes widening. “T-Tian…” he blurted out, pointing a trembling finger at her. “Your hands…”

Tian looked down at her hands. They were almost completely transparent, the outlines of her fingers flashing dully. She breathed in sharply, unable to believe what she was seeing.

“Your legs too…” Yuu murmured in fright, “You’re disappearing!”

Tian looked at her fading legs, and at that moment, a wave of nausea, weakness, and disorientation hit her, full force. She sank down to the ground, gasping and breathing heavily. Yuu gave a frightened squeak as he saw other parts of her fading out.

“Why are you doing that?” he asked frantically. “Stop it!”

“I can’t…” Tian said weakly. She tried to push herself up and grabbed hold of a corner of the desk, but her hand passed through it and she fell to the floor with a thud. She tried to speak again, but another wave of weakness came over her. Everything around her started to blur as she winked in and out from solid to transparent. Whenever she winked out, her mind seemed to conjure up images of places she’d seen before at one time or another.

Memories of walking down neighborhood streets with Akira, of looking out at the buildings and homes across the water in Tokyo, of countless school field trips. A memory of sightseeing around Nanjing from just the day before.

And a very cloudy recollection – one of a gray, foggy day, with her running along the sand, trying to escape from the people chasing her, with her father trying to pull her to safety. Long-remembered words echoed in her head.

“All journeys have a beginning and an end…”

“The end is close at hand, but the journey has only just begun…”

“The times of trouble will soon come… and then only spirit will save us all…”

Winking back in one more time, Tian’s gaze finally fell onto the flashing computer screen, and immediately a clear thought came to her through the flood of old memories.

“The computer…”

“Huh?” Yuu didn’t move.

“The computer!” Tian yelled weakly, “Turn it off!”

Yuu stumbled over to the computer. “It won’t turn off!” he shouted. Tian didn’t answer. She was too far gone. “Don’t disappear!” Yuu stared at her worriedly, then, a thought came to him, so simple. He dove under the desk and unplugged the computer cord.

At once, most of the fog and darkness faded away, and Tian’s form, still winking in and out, became more solid. She breathed in and out deeply.

Yuu slowly walked over to her. “Are you okay?” he asked shakily.

Tian’s eyes fluttered open. “Yeah,” she said, soft enough so that Yuu had to strain to hear, “I’m fine.”

Yuu let out a breath. “Don’t scare me like that,” he said sharply.

Tian managed a weak smile, feeling irrationally smug that she had managed to scare him back, however inexplicable and insane the situation seemed to be.

An error message exploded across the screen on Alchemon’s jury-rigged computer:

Memory Save: 90% Complete

Aborted – Unknown Cause

“Gah!” Alchemon shouted, “More interference!” He took a step toward the machine and the headset on Tian’s head. A blast of energy hit the wall just above his head.

“Don’t touch her!” Renamon growled, pointing her attack paw at him. When he stopped, Renamon lowered her arm just a little. “Good. Now, tell me what you just tried to do to her. Tell me everything. The more you talk, the longer you stay alive.”

Alchemon gulped.

A bright light and an alarm erupted from Jun and Mana’s Digivices. Jun brightened. “I think we’ve found something! There’s a dot, not far from us. It’s yellow…”

“Tian!” Salamon exclaimed.

“But wait,” Patamon interrupted, pointing to the screen. “There’s another one, right here.” He pointed to another dot nearby. “It isn’t Tian’s or any of ours. It’s black.”

“Black?” Mana asked. “But none of us have black Digivices! Who could it be?” She looked at the Digivice map again. “It’s coming this way!”

Jun grabbed her hand. “Let’s go!” They ran, trying to find a place to hide in the thick fog. Mana stumbled, and Jun stopped to help her up. “You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she replied, “My leg’s still a bit sore.”

Jun let her lean on him, and they moved away slowly. Then, Jun spotted the stump of a shattered tree, large enough to hide them all, and they hobbled behind it, just before two figures emerged from the fog. Rion and Guilmon.

Both were silent as they walked. Rion’s expression was sullen, and Guilmon only looked worried. Their footfalls caused wisps of fog to move away, revealing a well-worn path leading to an old, crumbling factory building. The four in hiding waited until they had disappeared from sight to creep down the path. They stopped a few paces from the factory walls.

Jun looked down at his Digivice, and noticed a yellow dot shining within the complex, dead center. “Tian’s in here,” he said.

“She is?” Mana asked, agitated.

“Wait–” Jun interrupted, examining the map again. The yellow dot shined brightly for a moment, then flickered violently and quickly faded from the map. A few moments later, the dot reappeared, flickered, and faded. “That’s odd,” he added, “The dot’s not staying put. It disappears, and then it comes back!”

“Huh?” Mana blurted out, “That doesn’t make sense! Either she’s here, or she’s not!”

Jun looked up for a moment. He scanned the walls for an opening, and when his gaze rested on one edge of the building, he saw a faint movement. He frowned and slowly walked toward that corner.

When he got closer, he saw a girl standing near the wall, her back toward him and her profile partly hidden by strands of long black hair. She stared intently at the wall for a few moments, a thoughtful expression on her face. Then, she slowly raised a hand and placed it near the wall, her palm hovering just a few inches from the surface. A faint light appeared from her hand. An energy field was visible for a moment, then slowly faded away.

She was working so quietly that Jun thought twice about opening his mouth to speak or moving closer to her, in case he would startle her. Then, as if she already knew he was there, she turned toward him.

When Jun saw her face, he gasped. “Akira?”

The girl moved her head slightly, giving an almost imperceptible shake.

Jun blinked, doing a double take. The black hair and violet eyes were the same as Akira’s, but this girl was shorter and younger – almost the same age as him and Mana. The yellow goggles and the clothes she wore also looked different. Then, Jun thought back to the database on his laptop. It seemed so long ago when he’d looked through it and seen this girl’s picture.

“Naoko.” He said the name softly, almost as if he were afraid. “Naoko Magami. You’re the one who controls everything here, aren’t you? You’re the command program.”

She said nothing.

“You were the person Akira kept noticing,” Jun continued, “And you were the one who saved Mana and Salamon from being blown up…” When she still didn’t say anything, Jun continued. “We were all planning to look for you, until we were split up. There’s so much we need to know–”

Naoko shook her head, interrupting him.

“I’ll explain everything… eventually,” she said, “But now’s not the time.” Her eyes wandered over to a nearby corner, then focused on Jun again. “Stay clear.” With that, she turned around and jogged away. Her image flickered a few times as she disappeared around the corner.

Jun stared after her for a few moments, incredulous. Then, an explosion ripped through the building, bricks and cinder blocks shooting out. He heard Mana scream and immediately got over his shock. He turned around and raced over to where he’d left the others.

“Jun!” Patamon called out, “What happened? Where have you been?”

“Not now!” Jun answered, grabbing Mana’s hand, “Let’s get away from here first!” He was too rattled by what had happened to try and explain.

“What? Wait a minute–” Mana struggled to keep up with him. “What’s going on? What did you do? Did something blow up?”

Silence.

“Jun!”

“Later, Mana!!”

The shock waves from the explosion rattled the underground lab, startling Renamon and Alchemon. Shouts echoed against the ceiling and walls, along with the sound of data fragmenting.

“Hurry up!” Renamon yelled at him, “Start talking!”

“It-it was part of our plan!” Alchemon stammered, shaking with fear. “W-we needed to stabilize the Edge of this world, enough so we could pass through to the other side!”

“The other side?” Renamon’s eyes widened. “You mean the Real World?”

“Yes, yes!” Alchemon yapped, “But in order to get to the other side, we needed to know the places to go. Visualizations. Who else would know those places but one of the Children? If we caught one of them, the machines I built could create a Projection – an image – of the child in the Real World to occupy the consciousness while the machines would take in visuals of its immediate surroundings, and extract visuals of other places from memories. An ingenious idea, yes?”

Renamon disagreed, disgusted at how sick an operation it was that she had uncovered.

Then, the two of them heard the sound of metal tearing, and a group of Digimon tumbled into the room, running as if they were being chased by something.

“What’s going on up there?” Alchemon bellowed.

“We’re under attack!” one of the Digimon shouted, “There’s a crazy girl out there, blowing everything to bits!”

Another Digimon noticed Renamon. “Hey! The prisoner escaped!” He lunged at her.

Renamon blew him away with a stream of arrowheads. Then, another, smaller Digimon sprang at her. She jumped away, realizing too late that it was heading straight for the computer.

Unable to switch direction in time, the small Digimon careened right into one of the computer consoles. Sparks flew, and the Digimon suddenly disappeared. Warning sounds shot out of the equipment.

The computer screen then began to flash wildly. Amidst the bleeps and bloops, another error message appeared:

System Unstable.

“Oh, noooo!” Alchemon wailed, rushing toward the ruined equipment.

Renamon whipped over to Tian. She was still unconscious, and still hooked up to the memory machine. A couple of wires leading from the box had begun to spark, and when Renamon tried to get the headset off, she got a shock.

“Don’t do that!” Alchemon shouted, “You’ll lose her that way! Her mind is still on the other side!” Immediately after saying it, one of the consoles exploded directly beside him. Caught in the blast, Alchemon disintegrated in a shower of fragmented data.

Renamon stared at the console in shock, and hardly noticed that the room had suddenly gone quiet. Then, her ears perked up, and she turned around, seeing that all the conscious Digimon that were in the room before had vanished. She looked around, confused. Then, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. She took a fighting stance, waiting for whoever it was to show up. When she saw who it was, she knew why the other Digimon ran off.

It was Rion who emerged from the doorway, followed by Guilmon.

Renamon tensed up as Rion slowly looked around the ruined laboratory. He focused on the ruined equipment and paid no attention to her.

“Funny,” he murmured, “I leave for less than an hour and already things start falling apart.” He kicked at a couple of unconscious Digimon on the floor, and walked over to Tian’s still-unconscious form, still hooked up to the memory machine. He glanced at her for a moment with no expression, then turned his gaze to the fried consoles.

“Your friend’s probably as good as gone because of that mess,” he said blankly, looking over at the ruined computer systems. “So,” He turned back to Renamon and smiled evilly. “I guess the only one left for us to get rid of is you.”

Suddenly, a piercing siren blasted from outside. Tian jumped, and Yuu looked around, confused. The siren continued for several more moments, then stopped, then started again.

“What’s that?” Yuu asked in a quivering whisper.

“I have no idea,” Tian whispered back weakly, exhausted and disoriented from winking in and out. She took a few deep breaths, and lay still until she felt she was completely solid. Then she got up.

“This is really getting freaky,” Yuu said shakily, “All of a sudden, my computer starts acting up, all this freezing fog comes out of nowhere, you start disappearing right in front of my eyes, and now a siren’s blasting out, like we’re going to have an air raid or something!” He hugged his legs and plopped his head down on his knees. “Am I dreaming? Am I having some kind of sick and twisted nightmare?”

Tian rolled her eyes. “Are you always this melodramatic when something unusual happens? I don’t understand this any more than you do.” She looked around again and shivered. “But for all our sakes, I hope you’re just dreaming all this up.”

Then, the door swiftly opened, and Tian’s aunt raced in, carrying a knapsack. She didn’t seem to notice the fog very much.

“Hurry up, you two!” she said breathlessly, turning on the lights. “We have to go!”

“Go?” Yuu repeated in disbelief. “Go where?”

“Anywhere!” his mother answered, “As long as it’s away from here!” She rushed around, collecting blankets and bedcoverings. “We’ve just been ordered to evacuate! Don’t know why, don’t know how! But–” she stopped suddenly and pointed to the darkness outside, “That siren has never been heard for almost a decade – not since the last revolution! So whatever’s happening now must be bad!” She looked at the two of them and noticed them staring. “What are you waiting for? Get going!”

Tian ran over to her room, opening the door with a crash. She started gathering things up when the ground suddenly shook, as if something large had crashed nearby. The shock knocked her off her feet, and the back of her head cracked on the floor. Dizzy and hurting, she could hear her aunt scream and her uncle curse. The twins were hysterical. Yuu ran into the room, a backpack slung over his shoulder.

“You okay?” he asked, and not waiting for her to respond, he grabbed her hand and pulled her over to the other side of the house, where her uncle was propped beside the back door and her aunt was trying to shush the twins.

Then, they felt the ground rumble again. It was more violent this time, and seemed to be coming from just a few paces away – directly outside the house.

“What was that?” Yuu asked in a strangled whisper. The twins started to cry with fear.

Tian swallowed. “I’m not sure…” She opened the door a crack, but in the dim light of the moon, it was hard for her to see what was making the noise. Whatever it was, it was huge.

Tian blinked, thinking of the implications, and a sudden fear gripped her.

“Get out of here.”

“What?” Her uncle blurted out.

“Get out of here!” Tian repeated more frantically, “Get out of the house! Quickly!” She started pushing them all out the back door. “They’re going to rip this place apart!”

“Who is?” her aunt cried out.

At that, the ground rumbled once more, followed by a series of sickening cracks. Tian continued urging everyone out. They all made it out the door just in time to miss being hit by a part of the roof caving in. Once they were outside, Tian could clearly see what she had fearfully and hopelessly expected.

“Digimon!”

Towering over the trees and houses, a single giant Digimon roamed the streets. Parts of it looked familiar, possibly a Tyrannomon or Greymon, or something similar, but jet black against the indigo night sky. Everything else about it was unknown, blurred and indistinct, shrouded in darkness. Its form flickered in and out, like a faulty projection, and it was heading straight for them.

“Run!”

The Digimon continued to follow them as they ran, Tian staying near the back. Suddenly, in her haste, Tian tripped over something hard and tumbled to the ground, bumping her head again. She could hear everyone calling her name.

She was about to get up again when a dark shadow fell over her, blocking the light from the moon. She froze, and looked up to see two large yellow eyes staring back at her. She braced herself, expecting to be ripped apart, but strangely, nothing happened. She looked up again in shock, seeing that the Digimon wasn’t moving at all and was just staring at her with an uncertain, possibly even confused, expression.

Tian then realized what she had to do. She sprang to her feet and ran in another direction.

“Split up!” she called out to the others, “You all go one way, and I’ll go another. I’ll draw it away from you!” She moved further away, without waiting for them to answer.

“I’m coming too!” Yuu shouted back, catching up with her.

“Yuu, no!” Tian shouted. But Yuu didn’t listen.

As the two of them ran, the giant Digimon started pursuing them. Then, they heard a whirring sound, and the sky suddenly brightened as a spotlight flashed through the night. They looked up.

“A helicopter?” Yuu burst out.

Tian stared at the helicopter in alarm. Looking closely, she could barely make out the Chinese military crest painted on the side.

Explosions rocked the air as the helicopter fired at the giant Digimon’s head. The Digimon stopped abruptly and rocked back and forth, but it didn’t seem to be affected. A high-energy beam shot out of the Digimon’s mouth and sliced through the helicopter’s tail with a shower of sparks. The ruined helicopter plunged down, ripping through trees and buildings.

Tian grabbed Yuu’s hand and ran, dodging the burned fragments of wood and stone raining from the sky. Then, unable to run anymore, Tian yanked Yuu away and threw herself over him, shielding him from the debris.

It seemed almost an eternity until the sky was clear. The giant Digimon had moved on, and the whirring of more helicopters echoed in the distance. Tian got up slowly and looked around. They were trapped in what was once an open street intersection. The wreckage of the helicopter had created walls of heavy tree trunks, cracked cinder blocks, and crushed cars that blocked the openings to the street. Smoke and flames could be seen overhead.

“Are you all right?” Yuu finally asked.

Tian sighed. “Yeah,” she replied. Then, she turned around to face him. “What were you thinking?!” she almost screamed. “Following me around… You almost got killed in that!”

“I was only trying to help!” Yuu shot back.

“They’re only after me!” Tian shouted in reply, “I don’t want you involved and getting hurt because of it!”

“You’re involved with that?” Yuu motioned over to the Digimon roving around in the distance.

Tian turned to him, her face blank. “I’m not just involved. I’m in it up to my neck.”

“But, how–why–” Yuu stammered. Then his eyes narrowed. “Are you responsible for that thing attacking?”

“No!” Tian shouted, startling Yuu. “No. It’s… part of what I have to stop. I never dreamed one of them would show up here. It never should have come here in the first place. I think…” She shut her eyes tightly. “I think it came here because I came back.”

“I don’t understand–”

“Do you know about Digital Adventure?”

“What, that game you were playing all day and night for the past two days? Sure,” Yuu said, “But what does that have to do with–” He stopped suddenly, and his eyes widened. “No way.”

“Yes,” Tian said sternly, “It’s hard to explain – I can just tell you that something happened. The Digimon are real. And I have to make sure things are under control – me and six other kids.”

Yuu didn’t know what to say.

“I guess you were right, Yuu,” Tian said, with a twinge of sadness and irony. “Bad things do happen whenever I’m around.”

They were silent until running footsteps echoed from the other side of one of the ruin walls.

“Yuu! Tian!! Are you all right?”

“Dad!” Yuu answered hopefully.

“We’re fine,” Tian added.

“Thank God!” her aunt exclaimed. “But how are we going to get both of you out of there?”

Tian looked up at the wall, then glanced over at Yuu. “If you climb up onto my shoulders, I’ll be able to push you over.” When she finally got Yuu over the wall, she looked around, finding nothing tall enough to climb on to get herself out.

“You can go on ahead,” she called out, the fallen debris muffling her voice, “Get to one of the shelters.”

“What about you?” her aunt said, panicked, “We can’t just leave you here!” The twins started to cry.

The ground rumbled again as the Digimon roared and trudged along the streets.

Tian closed her eyes, silently cursing the giant Digimon for ever showing up. “Don’t worry about it,” she replied, “Just go! I’ll follow you somehow.”

“What if something happens to you out here?” her aunt interrupted, “What am I going to tell your mother?”

Tian remembered her nightmare of the school and her mother trying to find her. She tried not to think about what would happen if dark Digimon invaded her neighborhood, and her mother was all alone in their house. “Don’t tell her anything yet,” she said calmly, “I’ll talk to her myself when I get out of here.”

“You’d better,” Yuu answered severely, “Who else will I have to joke around with?”

“Yuu–” Tian began, frustrated.

“Promise us you’ll get out of there,” Yuu interrupted.

Tian realized he was being serious. “I will,” she answered shakily, “Now go. It’s getting even more dangerous out here the longer you stay.”

She heard something like a sniffle or a sob, then footsteps padding away. She could hear Yuu’s voice, growing fainter as they ran away.

“You promised! Don’t disappear!”

Tian swallowed, and turned away from the wall of debris. She wondered just how stupid she was, standing there when the Digimon could find her in plain sight. And, almost right on cue, the ground rumbled again, and Tian heard a roar echo in the night.

She took a few more steps, then stopped. A creepy feeling came over her, and she slowly looked up.

A pair of brilliant yellow eyes stared back at her.

Renamon slammed against the hard stone, weakened from a devastating attack by MegaloGrowmon. Their fight had carried on into the larger upper room of the factory, and many of the machines were burning, sparking, or dead.

Renamon landed near the top of the laboratory stairs, at such an angle that she could still see the corner where Tian was lying near the computers. Her vision was blurry, and it was hard to focus, but for a moment, she saw something odd.

She could see the shape of another person, standing next to the table Tian was lying on. After squinting a little, she could see that the person had long, black hair, and looked strangely familiar. She saw the person pick something up and put it into Tian’s hand, and saw a very faint yellow glow coming from it…

Her attention was broken by Rion’s evil laughter.

“What’s the matter?” Rion mocked, “Can’t fight anymore? Oh, yeah, I forgot – you can’t evolve, can you? Not with your partner all wired up and nowhere to go!”

At that, Renamon’s nerve broke. She forgot all about the mysterious girl and focused all her remaining strength toward MegaloGrowmon…

Frozen with fear, Tian continued to stand where she was and stare at the Digimon. Then, the Digimon lunged at her, too fast for her even to scream. However, just when she was expecting to die, a bright, blinding yellow light flashed in front of her, directly into her hand. The light pulsed, shining right into the Digimon’s eyes. The Digimon roared and took a few steps back.

Tian shielded her eyes, and when the brightness lessened, she looked down at the source of the light. Her eyes widened.

“My Digivice!”

She stared at it in disbelief, wondering for a moment how it could have reappeared. It was still shining brightly, and somehow, it seemed full of an energy and warmth she had never felt before. Then, she noticed a pale red glint from inside the Digivice, and saw the familiar outline of the Crest of Love.

The Digivice pulsed one more time, and Tian looked up to see the giant Digimon recovering from the shock. At once, she knew exactly what to do. Lifting the Digivice up, she pushed it toward the Digimon, and a large beam of yellow light shot from it.

Immediately after that, though, she began to feel cold and queasy. The mysterious fog reappeared, surrounding her, and her Digivice gave an alarm. Faint and light-headed, the last thing she saw was the beam of light blasting through the giant Digimon and causing data to fragment. Then, she blacked out…

…and opened her eyes again to find herself somewhere completely different.

“What?” Tian yelped in surprise, looking around wildly. It was early morning, and she was standing in the middle of a street. Her surroundings seemed to flicker and crackle, as if she was in an old movie or computer game. Everything looked strangely familiar. She ran down a couple of blocks, passing by several houses. When she passed by one particular house gate, she stopped dead, reading the words etched on it.

“Mitsuishi Family…” She took a step back, shocked. Then, after a moment, she ran over to the house next door. “Kazama Family.” She shook her head, trying to clear her mind.

“I don’t get it,” she said to herself, “Why am I here all of a sudden?” She walked a few steps, then stopped. A suspicious look crossed her face. She looked around slowly, and noticed that not a car or truck was on the road, and the area seemed to be completely devoid of people. Everywhere seemed to be silent. A terrible thought occurred to her.

“Mom…”

She ran in the direction of her house. Then, an explosion ripped through a nearby garden wall, knocking her down. She slowly got up, her ears ringing. The sound of the explosion lingered on with strange metallic echoes. She could see the blurred outlines of people running, and when her vision cleared, she looked on, confused.

“Seita…?”

Sure enough, it was Seita running through the debris with Yuka, trying to lead a man and a woman along. GrapLeomon and Lopmon followed. Tian ran toward them and tried to get their attention, but they didn’t notice her. She tried to grab Seita’s shoulder, but her hand passed right through. She stopped and looked at her hand, then understood that somehow, she was invisible to them.

“Hurry!” Seita shouted, pushing at the man and woman, “We have to get away from here, quick!” His voice echoed and grew staticy, as if he was talking in a metal tube.

“What’s going on?” the man asked, “What was that… thing?”

“We can’t explain now!” Seita answered tersely, “We just need to get you someplace safer!”

Yuka tugged at the woman’s skirt. “Come on, Mom. They’re coming! I can feel it!”

GrapLeomon stopped for a moment, then turned around. “Watch out!” he shouted, pushing Seita and his father out of the way. A black beam shot out of nowhere and hit him in the chest.

A group of ghost-like Digimon carrying scythes appeared, cackling. Two of them headed toward Yuka and her mother.

The two of them screamed, but Turuiemon appeared just in time, with a flash of pink light. She jumped in front of them, blocking the attack with her arm.

“Swift Secret Punch!”

The Digimon fell away, and Turuiemon helped the two up. “Let’s go,” she said calmly.

Tian watched as they moved further away. She took one step forward, and suddenly, everything began to fade. Her lightheadedness came back, and the next time she opened her eyes, she was somewhere else.

This time, she was standing on the edge of an interstate highway. The sun was setting in the distance. The road was empty, except for a single car, driving at a breakneck speed, and a multitude of dark Digimon following it. As the car passed by, she could see Jun and Mana inside, with a man driving. Somehow, in her mind’s eye, she could also see everything else that was going on.

“Dad, you’re going too fast!” Mana blurted out, “What if we get caught?”

“I don’t think anyone will care about speeding tickets at a time like this,” the man replied, his jaw set. “When we get out of this,” he continued, “you two’d better give me an explanation.” Jun and Mana just looked at each other nervously.

“They’re getting closer!” Salamon said nervously, staring at the back window.

“We’re not going to make it!” Mana said hopelessly.

Jun looked blank for a moment, staring at his Digivice. “I wonder… What if we…” He mimed the action of his Crest slotting inside it.

Mana looked at him incredulously. “Are you insane? There’s no way! Remember what everyone said? Without another Crest, there won’t be enough of an energy boost to keep them as they are!”

“Think about how powerful they’ll be, though! They’ll both be strong enough to wipe anything out!”

“But in less than two minutes!?”

“We have to try.” Jun looked over at Patamon and Salamon. They nodded.

Mana sighed. “All right, whatever!” She pulled out her Digivice and Crest.

“Ready?” Jun asked. The two Digimon nodded. “Remember,” Jun added sternly, “you’ve only got a minute and thirty seconds!” They nodded again, without saying a word. Jun looked back one more time, made sure the windows were open, then shouted, “Go!”

The two Digimon sprang out of the open windows, and Jun and Mana immediately slotted their Crests into their Digivices.

Two bright blasts of light filled the sky as the two Digimon shot toward the horde that was swiftly following the car. Their forms were changing rapidly, but to what, no one could tell.

Tian watched everything, not having a clue what was going on.

“What’s going to happen after a minute and thirty seconds?” Mana’s dad asked nervously, turning from behind the wheel.

Jun didn’t answer.

Then, Mana looked up, and screamed, pointing directly ahead of them. “Dad, look out!”

Tian never did see what it was that Mana saw, because at that moment, her surroundings faded again, and she ended up somewhere else.

She was standing on a small, near-empty street, at the edge of a neighborhood she didn’t recognize. She looked up at a nearby street sign and squinted her eyes, trying to read it, but she couldn’t. It was very late at night. The only lights came from the small light poles on each block. She looked around, and saw a smoking, wrecked car to the side of the street, in front of one of the light poles. She could hear faint sirens in the distance.

Then, she heard a commotion from not far away. She looked in that direction, and saw a woman kneeling down on a curb, with a girl cradled in her arms. The woman was shouting something Tian couldn’t understand, and kept on shaking the girl, but the girl didn’t move. A small Digimon with large, green-striped ears stood nearby.

Tian gasped. “Terriermon!” She stepped closer and got a better look at the little girl. “Kei!”

Then, two dark Digimon jumped out, right in front of them. The woman screamed, and Terriermon stepped up.

“Blazing Fire!” But the two Digimon only brushed it away. They came closer, and Terriermon stepped back, trying to guard.

“Solar Swipe!”

Flashes of fire shot out, engulfing the Digimon entirely. Smoke filled the air, and from it, Helamon emerged, with Akira following close behind.

The two of them waited until the Digimon fragmented, then hurried over to the woman and Kei, who was still unconscious in her arms.

Akira went down to look at Kei. “It’s all right,” she said to the distraught woman, “She’ll wake up soon.” She and Helamon looked at each other for a moment, then nodded.

“Mom…” Akira said calmly, “Watch over Kei, okay? I have to go.” She then turned around and started jogging away.

“Wait!” her mother blurted out, “Where are you going?”

Akira stopped and turned around. “I have to make sure that there’s no more Digimon running around here.” She smiled a little. “Go back to the house and stay there. You’ll be safe, and Terriermon will be with you.” She looked at Terriermon, who nodded.

“But-”

“Don’t worry, I’ll explain later.” At that, she and Helamon ran off.

Tian watched the whole thing, wide-eyed and amazed. She still wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, and wondered again if she was dreaming all of this up. It wouldn’t be the first time.

Then, a strange feeling came over her, as if she was being watched. She turned around, and saw a boy standing a couple of feet away from her. He was tall and tanned, with black hair and dark brown eyes, and wearing a black T-shirt and blue jeans. He looked about her age. He was staring intently at her with a confused but awed expression, as if he couldn’t quite believe he was seeing her.

Tian took a few steps backward, just as surprised as he was. But before she could say a word to him, she heard a shout in the distance. The boy turned his head in that direction. As Tian was about to follow, everything started to fade out again…

When everything completely disappeared, she was left in blackness. Small wisps and remnants of fog lingered around. There was no sound, and an eerie calm pervaded everything.

“Hello?” she called out, “Is anyone there?” But her calls seemed to get swallowed up in the dark, endless void.

She walked around aimlessly for a while, then pulled out her Digivice to get her bearings. Nothing showed up. Then, the Digivice flashed once.

“Hello?” Tian called again.

“This way!” a voice rang out, “Come this way!”

Tian looked around wildly. “Where?” She wasn’t sure why she was listening to this strange voice, but it sounded calm and kind.

“Here,” the voice answered, “Follow this.” The Digivice flashed again, and a yellow beam shot out, cutting through the darkness like a beacon.

Tian ran, following the beam. The fog began to intensify, and everything slowly became lighter.

“You’re almost out!” the voice spoke again, “Keep going a little further!” After a few more steps, the beam faded.

“What now?” Tian asked.

“You’re close enough,” the voice answered, seriously, “Now all you have to do is reach out!”

“Reach out?” Tian replied, confused. Then, a cold wind blew out from nowhere, hitting her like shards of ice, threatening to blow her away completely.

“Hurry!” the voice called frantically, “Before I lose track of you! Just reach out your hand!”

Tian swallowed, and blindly jumped forward, her arms outstretched. Warm hands seemed to grip them and pull her out of the darkness. Everything got brighter and brighter, and the warmth was making her feel drowsy. The last thing she saw was the faint outline of a girl staring back at her and smiling…

Tian’s eyes fluttered open, and she got up slowly, the machine headset slipping off and falling to the floor with a clatter. She blinked a couple of times, and as her vision cleared, she looked around at her strange surroundings. She looked down to see a few bloodstained rags where her head had rested. Her hand suddenly went to her head, and she felt that it was only a little sore. She felt a warmth in her other hand, and looked to see her Digivice and Crest shining brightly. She smiled and sighed in relief.

Then, she heard shouts and blasts coming from the room above. She slowly got up and walked toward the noise, her hand tightening around her Digivice.

Battered, bruised, and severely weakened, Renamon collapsed to the ground. She glanced upward at MegaloGrowmon in desperation.

“Okay, MegaloGrowmon,” Rion called out, “Finish her off!”

Renamon saw the look on MegaloGrowmon’s face, and she knew he couldn’t do it.

“Come on!” Rion shouted, “What are you waiting for?”

Suddenly, a large wave of energy burst through the ruined doorway leading to the underground lab, hitting Rion in the chest and sending him flying.

Renamon felt a warm, familiar energy pulse through her, and she began to glow. A surprised smile came to her face, and she closed her eyes.

“Renamon, evolve to… Kyuubimon!”

Kyuubimon's golden, multi-tailed form appeared, and then glowed with further brilliance.

“Kyuubimon, super evolve to... Taomon!”

“Talisman of Light!”

The attack hit MegaloGrowmon head-on, and he immediately de-evolved. Rion staggered to his feet and stared at Taomon in disbelief.

“Impossible!” he said, weakly, “How did you-?” But he was interrupted by what he saw next.

From the ruined lab doorway, amidst the billows of smoke, Tian emerged, her Crest shining around her neck and her Digivice held out. For a moment, her gaze seemed blank, as if she was in a trance. But when she focused on Taomon, she blinked, and a look of recognition came to her face.

“Taomon!” she called out, smiling. She ran over to her and took her paw. A yellow light surrounded Taomon and she immediately reverted.

Rion stared at Tian in surprise. “So you made it out after all,” he muttered.

Renamon glared. “Disappointed, Rion?”

Rion… Tian looked carefully at the boy she had just met. She saw his cold, dark eyes, and realized where she had seen them before.

“You…” she spoke up, “It was you who attacked us in the forest, wasn’t it? You were the one who hit me on the head!”

Rion gave Tian a long look, with an unreadable expression that made her feel uneasy. Then, he turned away.

“Let’s go, Guilmon.” They started walking away.

“Hey!” Tian called out. Rion turned around and looked at her reproachfully. “Why are you so against us?” Tian asked, “What are you trying to do?”

Rion smirked at her, his eyes glinting. “None of your business. You’re lucky I’m letting you two go.”

Renamon’s face held no expression. “Not in the mood to kill us today?”

“The situation has changed,” he replied, “Getting rid of both of you right now just wouldn’t do. And besides, there’s only two of the Chosen that I really want gone, and none of them are you.”

“You won’t get any gratitude from us.”

“I wasn’t expecting any.” His expression grew harsh. “But if I see you two again, another time, another place, I’ll make sure you’re gone.” He and Guilmon then turned around and disappeared in a fading of black.

Tian stared at that spot for a moment, then turned toward Renamon.

“What happened?” she asked.

“It’s a long story…” Renamon answered. “Are you all right?”

“…Yeah.”

“Do you remember anything that happened to you?”

Tian frowned. “I remember being hit on the head and passing out…” She reached up to the back of her head and was surprised to find that nothing hurt. “And then when I woke up, I was in my aunt’s house, on the very day I went to the Digital World. It was as if nothing happened. But weird things started happening – fog would shoot out of nowhere sometimes, and I’d start disappearing whenever a computer was on. And in the end, a gigantic Digimon attacked the city. And then…” Her voice faded.

Renamon nodded. “I see. So that’s what Alchemon meant.”

“Alchemon?”

“The crazy Digimon who was working on you after you got knocked out. He had an entire operation running in here, experimenting on you. Whatever you thought happened to you, wherever you thought you were… It could have been a dream, or it could have been something he created, to make you think you were there.” She stopped to sort out her thoughts. “Your body was here, but your mind was somewhere else. It makes as little sense to me as to you. I just know that he was trying to use you to get to the Real World through your mind.”

Tian was silent, trying to understand it all. Thinking of everything as just a dream made her feel a little bit better, though the images were still fresh in her mind.

“How did you wake up again?” Renamon asked, startling her out of her thoughts.

Tian frowned. “It was weird. I remember almost being attacked by that Digimon, and then all of a sudden, my Digivice and Crest appeared in front of me. And after that, everything around me seemed to fade away. I saw a lot of things after that, but they went by so fast that I couldn’t understand them. Then it got dark, and I heard a girl’s voice, telling me where to go. Then, I reached out and… she pulled me out.” She smiled faintly. “I can barely remember her face…”

Renamon thought of the girl she saw, standing near Tian and putting something into her stiff, limp hand. Whoever that person was, Renamon hoped she would see her again and give her a proper ‘thank you.’

Tian, meanwhile, was looking at the remains of a large control console and caught a glimpse of something shiny sticking out from a slot. She went over to it and pulled out a small disc, no bigger than the palm of her hand. Parts of the surface were scratched from the computer damage.

“Strange…”

“What’s that you have over there?” Renamon called.

“Something from the computer.” Tian flipped the disc over to the label side, and her eyes widened when she saw what was printed on it. “My name’s on this! And it’s dated on the same day I left…” Her voice faded when she looked down and saw another disc on the ground. She picked it up, read the label, and was even more confused.

“‘Akira Mitsuishi’… And the date’s from almost a year ago.” She looked up at Renamon. “You don’t think…”

Renamon shook her head. “I don’t know.”

“Akira would know,” Tian replied, “Or maybe Jun could figure it out.” Her gaze shifted to the ruined walls around them. The echoes of falling masonry and crackling flames could still be heard.

“Come on,” Renamon said, taking Tian’s hand, “let’s get out of here.”

As he stood away from the burning remains of the factory, Rion pulled two small discs from his pocket and quietly fingered them, staring blankly at the names printed on the front – the same names written on the discs Tian had found in the ruined laboratory. Rion’s face held no expression, and he seemed to be lost in his thoughts. Guilmon looked at him questioningly.

“Are you sure you want to use those?”

Rion was silent for a moment before he replied. “If it’s necessary. The map data for breaking through the Edge has to come from somewhere. Akira’s old memories should be enough.” He closed his eyes. “The memories from that other girl… Tian… we probably won’t be able to use them – they’re incomplete.” He opened his eyes again. “I’m still not sure why we let them go.”

“Maybe because you’re having second thoughts about this whole thing?”

Rion scowled. “Of course not!” he shouted. Guilmon flinched. Rion took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. In his mind, he could see Tian, unconscious and hooked up to that memory machine, and that memory led to another – Akira surrounded by military men in a hospital, and Touma forcing a headset onto her.

He angrily beat those memories away. “Come on, Guilmon, let’s go.” Guilmon just looked at him sadly.

They were about to leave when a rustle of wind and a soft cackle caught their attention.

Rion turned around and his eyes widened in surprise. “Mataymon!”

“Long time no see…” Mataymon answered, the wind blowing through his dark robes.

“Mataymon,” Rion said agitatedly, his hands clutching the discs. “The data you wanted…”

Mataymon laughed. “Well done.”

“Huh?” Rion answered, confused. “But… it’s incomplete… We failed…”

“No need to worry,” Mataymon answered smoothly, “We have all the data we need. That girl… the child with the crest of Love… She remembered it all. The one memory that counts.” He laughed. “The journey with a beginning… and an end.”

When Tian and Renamon finally made it outside, the gray fog still clung to everything in sight, despite the heat of the burning factory.

“I’m really getting sick of seeing fog,” Tian muttered, looking around and seeing nothing but shapes. “How are we going to figure out where we are?”

“Tian! Renamon!”

Tian turned around, startled. Squinting into the fog sheets, she saw a couple of shadowy figures moving toward her. After a moment, they cleared up, and a feeling of relief washed over her. “Jun! Mana!”

The two of them were slowly walking toward her, Mana leaning on Jun and limping slightly.

“Tian!” Mana called out, “You’re okay!”

“We found your Digivice signal earlier,” Jun added, “over there.” He pointed to the burning factory. “When the whole thing blew up, we didn’t know if you made it out.”

Tian smiled. “We did. But it wasn’t easy…” Then, she looked at Mana’s swollen leg. “Mana, what happened to you?”

Both Mana and Jun looked at her leg, then looked at each other. “Long story,” Mana said sheepishly. Tian wasn’t sure if she wanted to know. Then, Mana eyed Tian carefully. “What happened to you? You look really pale!”

“Uh…” Tian hesitated. “Well… we had a run-in with a crazy old scientist, a giant red cyborged dinosaur, and an evil little boy.”

“Rion?” Jun asked suspiciously.

“Uh, yeah…” Tian replied, shocked. “He and his Digimon didn’t attack you too, did they?”

“Not exactly,” Mana answered, “but we think they’re the ones behind what’s happened to us already.”

“We overheard the kid talking to a lot of other Digimon,” Jun added, “and he said that they needed to catch and use one of us for some kind of weird procedure. Something called the Edge.”

Tian blinked, recent memories coming to mind.

Mana noticed her serious expression, and gasped. “Wait… don’t tell me he got you for that experiment, did he?”

Tian looked up at her. “I’m sure that was it.”

“What happened?” Jun asked softly.

Tian hastily explained everything.

“You got back to the Real World?” Mana blurted out.

Tian shook her head. “I think it was just in my mind. Renamon said that I was knocked out for a long time, and a mad scientist Digimon was using me to find a way to the Real World.” She shivered. “But nothing seemed to come out of it, though. And…” She hesitated. “Somehow… there was a girl who came and helped wake me up again, and… we were somehow able to get away…”

Jun opened his mouth as if he was going to say something, but closed it back and shook his head slightly. Mana gave him a funny look, while Tian didn’t notice at all.

“We also managed to take these with us,” Tian continued, pulling the two discs from her pocket and handing them over to Jun. “I think they might have something to do with that experiment, since one of them has my name on it. But the other one has Akira’s.”

Jun examined the discs. “Weird. I’ll see what I can do with them, once we’re all together,” he said, tucking them into his backpack. “In any case, we still have to find everyone and tell them what we know,” he continued, “If what you said about that mad scientist is correct, Rion and whoever else is leading the Midnight Army is going to try and invade the Real World.”

“But why?” Mana asked, “What do we have in the Real World that they’d want?”

Jun shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“No matter what reason they have, we can’t let them do it,” Tian spoke up, startling the others. After a moment of silence, she continued. “I’ve seen what happened–” she stopped and caught herself, “what could happen if even one of them made it through. No one would be safe. Not even our own families.”

An uneasy silence followed, then Patamon spoke up. “Have you and Renamon found any of the others?”

Tian shook her head. “We’ve only seen the four of you.”

Mana’s face fell. “Oh. That’s not good,” she said worriedly. “We were wondering if they were still around even after that blast we caused that blew everything else to kingdom come!”

Tian looked blank for a moment. Then, her eyes widened. “Wait a minute… you all caused that?”

The other two kids paled, and Jun took Mana’s hand and started walking away, fast. “We’ll talk about that later,” he told Tian hastily, managing a feeble smile.

Strangely enough, Tian felt like laughing. Those two were crazy, all right.

As they walked on, her thoughts drifted back to her–dream? Hallucination? Mental lapse? Whatever that ordeal really was, she wasn’t sure. It was nice to see her family again, even though it wasn’t real. But then she remembered what almost happened to them afterward, and that thought, more than anything, had changed her. No matter how bitter and homesick she felt, she had to stay and keep on fighting, or else when she finally figured out how to get home, there would be no home–or family–to go back to.

She then thought of the strange visions she had had, just before she woke up. Everyone back in the Real World, fighting dark Digimon wherever they went and trying to protect their families the best they could. Just like she had done. But were they real? Would these events actually happen, or were they just a projection of her own fears? She couldn’t think of any rational explanation, and silently decided to say nothing about the visions unless she truly needed to.

Then, out of the blue, she found herself thinking about the tanned, dark-haired boy she saw, standing on the street and looking at her as if she were really there. Maybe they would really meet someday.

She sighed and pushed that thought away. She put her hand in her pocket and stopped suddenly, feeling something else there besides her Digivice that she couldn’t place. She pulled it out, revealing a small, folded sheet of white paper. She unfolded it, and her eyes widened at what she saw.

It was a rough crayon drawing of three people holding hands – two little children on both sides, and another person in the middle. All three had smiles on their faces. And the person in the middle was unmistakably her.

“Tian!”

She looked up, quickly wiping her eyes, which had become a little misty. “Yeah?”

“You coming?”

“Yeah. I’m coming,” she called out. She folded the paper back up and put it back in her pocket without giving it another thought. She already had enough questions to stew her head over.

As she ran to catch up with them, a faint smile crossed her face.

Chapter Text

It was a quiet, warm summer night.

A night when things should be calm and normal, at an hour when everyone, parents and children alike, should be safe in bed, dreaming wonderful dreams.

And yet, Yuka felt that something was wrong.

“It’s that vision again,” she murmured to herself, staring out from the overpass she was standing on, looking at the clear, indigo sky.

She’d been here many times before, in her daydreams and nightmares. The place seemed familiar, and at the same time completely different. In real time, she knew of a place with the same kind of aura, the same mixture of feelings, but it looked nothing like this. Here, the roads were too cramped and the cars looked slightly antiquated. The buildings and apartments were smaller than the towering ones she was used to seeing.

A sudden explosion echoed in the night. From the corner of her eye, Yuka saw something down below burst into flames. She looked toward the orange glow. Amidst the glare, she could barely make out the form of a large, yellow dinosaur-like creature, walking around aimlessly. A little girl was riding on its back.

“Hikari!”

A little boy’s voice rang out, the sound bouncing across the buildings. Yuka looked around, but she couldn’t see who it was that called.

Then, the sky began to shimmer, as what looked like an aurora and a giant egg appeared in the sky. The lights in every building began to wildly flicker on and off, and anything electronic nearby began to go haywire.

Yuka shivered. She knew what was going to happen next.

There was a bright flash as the airborne “egg” cracked, revealing a giant, green parrot-like creature. The giant bird landed in the streets, facing the smaller, yellow dinosaur. Yuka caught a glimpse of a little boy running toward it and meeting up with the little girl. The girl was crying and clinging on to the dinosaur for dear life.

Then, in a flash, the giant parrot fired an energy ball at the yellow dinosaur, causing a cascade of cracked stone chunks to rain down on it. Yuka watched in horror as the dinosaur and the two kids were showered in debris. When the dust cleared, an even bigger dinosaur, orange with blue stripes and with a large, boned head, emerged, its arms shielding the two children.

After that, it was all-out war. Bolts and beams of energy raked across the sky. Stray shots slammed into buildings and totaled everything in their path. The roads and vehicles crumbled under the weight of the two fighters.

Suddenly, an energy beam collided with the dinosaur-like creature with a tremendous explosion, and the dinosaur crumpled to the ground. A beat of silence fell over the area, only to be broken by the ragged, hysterical voices of the two children, calling out for it to wake up.

Then…

The noise of a whistle resounded across the ruins…

“Yuka!”

Yuka’s eyes snapped open. She looked up suddenly, the whistle still echoing in her thoughts. Lopmon was perched on her shoulder, looking slightly agitated. Kei was standing in front of her, carrying Terriermon in her arms and staring at her with a puzzled expression.

“Are you okay?” Kei asked, “You’ve been quiet for a while, and you had this really weird look on your face. Is something bothering you?”

Yuka stared at her for a moment, then quickly shook her head. “No,” she answered hastily, “I was just thinking about stuff.” Then, a confused look appeared on her face. “What was it you were talking about just now?”

Kei sighed and smiled a little. “You weren’t listening, were you? Well, Terriermon and Lopmon and I were talking about Akira and Kodamon, and Seita and everyone else… Wondering where they are, how they’re doing…” Her face puffed out a little in mock annoyance. “And you were just walking along with us, not saying a word!”

“Oh.” Yuka turned away from her and looked straight ahead, seeing nothing but brittle trees and dried, brown brush.

Kei continued to talk, more softly, as if only to herself. “I haven’t seen Akira since before we were all split up,” she murmured.

“When she was working on Jun’s laptop,” Terriermon added.

Kei nodded slowly. “Yeah. And even then, she wasn’t herself.” Her arms tightened around Terriermon. “She hasn’t been herself for a long time. Not since…” She opened her mouth again, as if to say something more, then changed her mind. A near-hopeless expression appeared on her face. “Akira…” she murmured softly. Then the hopeless look intensified. “Daddy…”

Terriermon snuggled out of Kei’s grasp and hovered over to her shoulder. “Kei,” he said lightly but seriously, “Cheer up! Don’t let thoughts like that crush you!” Kei sighed, and didn’t answer.

Yuka was only half-listening to this, as her mind had wandered back to her daydream. She thought of the little girl, and the yellow dinosaur – a Digimon, she now knew, though not any kind she had seen herself. She thought of the boy, as well – how the girl would cling to him for protection. Her big brother, perhaps. Her nii-chan.

Nii-chan…

Yuka never really called Seita that, even though many of the adults said that she should. Seita didn’t care very much, so neither did she. However, there were some times, when she was really, truly scared and alone, when the unfamiliar honorific would slip from her lips.

Especially one day, five years before…

On a hot, summer afternoon, a three-year-old Yuka innocently held onto her big brother’s hand as they walked through the park. Eleven-year-old Seita walked along with her, a little miffed at having to take her along.

They passed the soccer field, and they suddenly heard a shout. A game had just finished, and one of the players jogged over to them, followed by another. Yuka smiled and waved, recognizing them as Akira and Tian.

Akira caught up to them, looking cocky, and said a few words. Yuka saw Seita’s expression go from bored to ticked off in a matter of seconds, and soon enough, he and Akira were having a shouting match from opposite sides of the fence. Tian had resolved herself to standing nearby in hopeless boredom.

Yuka, knowing that arguments like these could go on for hours, walked over to a nearby park bench and sat, giggling to herself. She looked down at the ground, legs flopping, until she noticed a group of shadows towering over her.

She looked up, and saw she was surrounded by a group of men in dark suits and sunglasses. One of the men held out a strange, electronic device. It flashed twice, and beeped softly. The men nodded, as if the device confirmed whatever they had suspected.

The men then turned to Yuka. She couldn’t see their eyes – the sunglasses hid them too well – but she could feel them staring her down, boring into her. She felt a sickening dread.

Then, the men all turned around, as if startled by a shout from behind. Yuka turned around, and saw Seita there, looking angry. ‘Get away from my sister!’ he shouted out, and charged toward the men. One of the men pulled out a gun, and slammed the handle on Seita’s head.

Yuka watched as Seita cried out and sank to the ground, struggling to stay conscious.

The men then turned around to face her again.

Yuka’s fear increased, and staring at Seita crumpled on the ground, she screamed.

“Nii-chan!!”

“Yuka,” Lopmon said nervously, “You’re doing it again. Staring into space. Are you sure you’re all right?”

Yuka blinked, and the last wisps of the memory faded. “Yes, I’m fine,” she replied, almost too quickly. Lopmon didn’t look very convinced.

They all walked on in silence, and soon, a frigid, cold wind began to blow.

Kei shivered. “Is it just me, or did it get colder?” she muttered, with almost no feeling at all, save for a slight trembling from speaking through chattering teeth.

A tiny white spot landed on Yuka’s cheek. She put her hand to it, and it felt cold and wet. She looked up, and saw more white flakes starting to fall from the sky.

“Snow…” she murmured. A small smile appeared on her face – the first one in a long while.

The four of them continued walking for a while longer. The day slowly turned to evening, and a full moon was visible between the clouds. The snowfall had stopped, and under the moonlight, the landscape gleamed a brilliant, powdery white.

The sight of it gave Yuka a strange sense of calm.

“I miss Mom,” Kei said suddenly, speaking up for the first time in hours.

Yuka turned around to look at her, concerned.

“I miss Mom,” Kei said again, “And…” Her face screwed up, as she tried to hold back tears. “…I miss Daddy too!” She looked around at the white, snowy landscape around her, and began to cry.

“Kei-” Terriermon began, but Kei didn’t let her finish.

“I want to go home!” she shouted miserably, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want to be here anymore!”

Yuka and Lopmon could only stare at her, at a loss for words to say to comfort her.

Then, a long, loud howl resounded in the distance.

Yuka looked up, startled by the noise. “Wolves?” She looked around her, but saw nothing but trees and snow and moonlight.

At the sound of the howl, Kei suddenly stopped crying. The color slowly began to drain from her face. Another wolf howl echoed through the trees, and she gasped. She began to shiver uncontrollably.

“Kei?” Terriermon said worriedly, “What’s wrong?”

Kei’s face had become a pale, stark white, and had a look of pure horror. She had wrapped her arms around herself, and she was shaking like a leaf.

Yet another wolf howl tore through the silence, and Kei stiffened. A terrified whimper escaped her lips.

“Kei!” Yuka ran over to her and shook her by the shoulders, trying to get her attention, but to no avail.

“Make them go away…” Kei murmured, in a ragged whisper. She sank to the ground, and her arms tightened around herself. “Mommy… Daddy… Make them go away…” Her eyes unfocused, and had a dull, faraway look in them.

Yuka stared at her, scared and confused. Why was Kei acting like this? In the short time Yuka had known her, she had never seen her so terrified.

When another howl was heard, Terriermon and Lopmon’s ears perked up, and after listening for a moment, they looked at each other in shocked realization.

“We should go,” Lopmon said anxiously.

Terriermon nodded. “Yeah. But-” His eyes flicked worriedly toward Kei, still sitting on the ground, in a fetal position.

Yuka knelt down next to her, and put a shaky hand on her shoulder. “Kei-”

But before she could say anything else, a whole series of howls sounded through the night air, and seemed to be getting closer.

Kei screamed in terror, shutting her eyes and covering her ears with her hands. “Someone help me!” she cried. “Get me out of here! Please! Make them go away!”

Then, Yuka heard a faint growling, coming from somewhere behind the brittle, dead trees. The pale moonlight shined through the trees, and Yuka could see tall, ragged shapes scurrying from one tree to another. They walked on two feet, and sometimes dropped to all fours. Glints of light from their beady eyes flickered, some red, others an eerie green.

Seeing this, the faint, nagging feeling of fear Yuka had immediately turned to dread.

Then…

One of the shadowy figures sprang from the trees and toward them, so fast that the frigid air seemed to crack. In the moonlight, Yuka could just barely see what it was – a wolf, but larger than any wolf she had ever seen before.

A tiny scream escaped her throat as the wolf Digimon came closer.

“Blazing Fire!”

“Blazing Ice!”

The sky lit up as both Terriermon and Lopmon’s attacks scored a direct hit on the wolf Digimon, but they had little effect. Two of the other Digimon swung their claws, and red and green energy blades shot out, knocking Terriermon and Lopmon out of the sky. Terriermon slammed against a tree, while Lopmon landed in the snow.

“Lopmon!” Yuka cried out, struggling to get to her. Her Digivice began to glow a bright pink. Lopmon jumped out of the snow easily, seemingly unhurt, the snow absorbing the shock of her fall. She began to glow as well.

“Lopmon, evolve to… Turuiemon!”

The fleet-footed purple bunny emerged, knocking out one wolf and uppercutting another.

“Swift Secret Punch!” The energy punches drove away a few of the Digimon, but the rest of the pack remained to gang up on her.

“They just keep on coming!” Turuiemon shouted, “Terriermon, help me out! Hurry up and evolve!”

No answer.

“Terriermon?”

“Terriermon!” Yuka shouted frantically, moving near Terriermon, lying unconscious in the snow. The blow against the tree had knocked him out. Yuka looked toward Kei, still curled up and shivering, oblivious to all but her fear.

Yuka could also see Turuiemon wearing out.

“Terriermon, wake up!” Yuka screamed, shaking Terriermon frantically. “Wake up!” After a moment, Terriermon moaned a little, and slowly got up, shaking his head.

“Wha’ happened?” he mumbled. A second later, he didn’t need an answer.

At that moment, green and red blades slammed into Turuiemon and knocked her down, reverting her to Lopmon.

“Lopmon!” Yuka cried out, carefully scooping her up. She looked up at the wolf pack, closing in menacingly. A renewed feeling of terror welled up in her, and she turned to Terriermon. “Terriermon!” she murmured loudly, “Evolve!”

Terriermon looked toward Kei hopelessly and shook her head. “I can’t,” he replied sadly, “Not when she’s like… this.”

Yuka then turned to Kei and shook her. “Kei!” She gasped at how cold Kei was. She was frozen, and did not respond to Yuka’s shaking. The dead, frightened look remained on her face.

A loud growl emanated from in front of them, then a deafening howl. Yuka turned as one of the larger wolves pounced into the air, green energy forming from its claws.

Yuka was so scared that she couldn’t move. As the green blades flew toward them, she could hardly breathe, and her heart was beating wildly.

At the last moment, she shut her eyes and screamed.

“Nii-chan!”

The scream echoed through the treetops, but even before it fully faded away, another replaced it.

“Fireball!”

From the corner of her eye, Yuka saw a bright red ball of energy collide with the wolf Digimon’s attack and destroy it in midair. She turned and caught a glimpse of another, different Digimon, but in the wan light from the moon, she couldn’t tell exactly who it was. The moonlight was then blocked by the shadow of someone crouching in front of her and Kei.

“Stay right there,” the shadowy figure whispered, with the voice of a young boy. “Don’t move.” Since it was dark, Yuka could not see the boy’s face.

The unknown child pulled out a small device, which shined and beeped. Yuka wondered if it was a Digivice, but it glowed an unfamiliar dark gray. The boy held out the device, and a dark gray light shot out of it, hitting some of the wolf Digimon and scattering the rest of the pack. The Digimon with him fired another shot, and a moment later, there was silence.

Yuka and Lopmon watched fearfully as the boy and his Digimon listened for a moment, then nodded, turning around to face them.

“Are they all gone?” Yuka whispered.

The boy nodded. “Yes.”

“Thank you,” Yuka replied gratefully.

“I don’t know what we would have done if you two hadn’t showed up,” Lopmon added.

The boy nodded at them again, dispassionately. The sky slowly brightened, as the sun began to rise. In the pre-dawn light, Yuka and Lopmon could see the two of them more clearly. The boy had black hair and soft, brown eyes, and was slightly taller than Yuka and Kei. The Digimon was a bright, red reptile with black accents and golden eyes, and looked oddly familiar.

Yuka and Lopmon looked at each other in surprise. They both knew the boy’s Digimon somehow, but from where, none of them were sure.

The boy and the red Digimon then moved toward Kei, still curled up and frozen with fear. Terriermon stood his ground for a moment, then quickly moved away as they came near

“Kei,” the boy said softly, kneeling down and laying a hand on her shoulder, “It’s okay. It’s all over now.”

Kei looked up slowly. Her dull eyes focused on the boy’s face, and slowly – slowly – there was a small spark of recognition. Her eyes brightened, and a smile spread across her face.

“Rion…”

Terriermon stared at Kei in shock. “You know him?”

“Rion!” Kei laughed and hugged the boy, almost knocking him over.

“Hey!” Rion laughed along with her. “I’m surprised you still remember me!”

“You come every year for vacation!” Kei piped up, “How could I forget you?”

A small cough interrupted her, and she turned around to see Terriermon, Yuka, and Lopmon standing nearby, looking puzzled.

“Oh… um, yeah!” Kei said hastily. “Everyone, this is Rion. He’s my next-door neighbor back home.”

Yuka’s eyes widened just a little. “Wow, really?”

Rion smiled at them. “And this guy here is my partner, Guilmon,” he added, patting Guilmon’s head. Guilmon blinked and looked up at Rion for a moment, then laughed and waved a claw.

“How come we never saw you when we got here, Rion?” Kei asked, “Did you just get here? Why didn’t you come looking for us?”

Rion looked down for a moment, then laughed and ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment. “Well… you see, I was alone when I got here, and for the longest time I thought that it was only Guilmon and me. I was actually surprised to see you here, Kei!”

“Really?” Kei replied. “Well, you’ll be more surprised to know there’s five more of us around here, besides me and Yuka – and their Digimon, too!”

Rion’s eyes lit up in surprise. “Really?”

“Yeah!” Kei replied excitedly.

During all of this, Yuka was shocked and terribly confused. Less than an hour before, Kei had been stone-cold terrified – of what, Yuka had no idea. But now, with this Rion person, she was her usual, bubbly self. It was as if nothing had ever happened!

Kei, meanwhile, was still chattering to Rion. “You remember Akira, right?” she continued, “She’s here, too!”

Rion hesitated for just a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I remember.”

His expression caught Yuka’s attention immediately. Somehow, when Kei had mentioned Akira’s name, Rion’s eyes had flashed for just a moment, and Yuka thought she had detected a bit of coldness. But it lasted for less than a second, then he was smiling warmly again.

At this, Yuka felt just a little doubtful about Rion. She then glanced over at Guilmon, and tried, without success, to figure out why he looked so familiar.

Lopmon had been observing Guilmon as well, and noticed how subdued he was during the rest of the conversation, even though he had smiled when Rion introduced him. He was very quiet, and for the most part, he looked sad and depressed.

All of a sudden, Kei shivered. “Brr!! I completely forgot how cold it was out here!”

Rion looked thoughtful for a moment, then spoke up. “I remember seeing someplace nearby where we could stay until it gets warmer.”

“You did?!” Kei blurted out hopefully.

Rion nodded and smiled. “Yeah. An old castle, maybe a mile or two away.” He pointed toward the west, away from the sunrise.

Kei cheered. “Let’s get going, then!” she said excitedly, “Before we all freeze to death!”

As she turned around to walk in that direction, chatting with Terriermon, Rion smiled again. This smile, Yuka noticed, really was different. It had more of an edge, and his eyes subtly changed from a soft, warm brown to cold black.

That expression set off warning bells in Yuka’s mind. It was creepy and unsettling, and only added to the doubts she had about him and Guilmon-

Guilmon! Yuka’s thoughts ground to a halt when she looked at him and remembered exactly where and when she had seen him before…

A time not too long ago… Akira, Yuka, Kodamon, and Lopmon were together, sitting near a clearing in the forest while the others pondered over computer data. Both Akira and Yuka were giggling over something. Then, Yuka abruptly stopped giggling and looked behind her.

“What is it?” Akira asked, looking at the same place and seeing nothing but trees.

“We're being watched...” Yuka whispered, shivering. Her crest began to glow.

Kodamon watched everything in surprise, and turned to see a light flash from the trees and a red energy beam slice through the air. It was headed straight for Akira.

“Watch out!” Kodamon thrust herself between the shot and Akira. The impact pushed both of them back a couple of feet.

As Kodamon got up again, another Digimon, red and black, stepped out of the bushes. When Kodamon got a clear look at the Digimon, she gasped.

“Guilmon...?”

Guilmon didn't answer. He sent an attack her way, but this time it missed.

Kodamon stared at him in disbelief. “Guilmon... what are you trying to do?”

As the memory faded, Yuka and Lopmon looked at each other and nodded, realizing the same thing.

They kept a close watch on Guilmon for a few minutes after that, until Guilmon himself turned to them. He glanced at them for a second, then at Rion, then back to them, as if making sure Rion wasn’t paying attention. Then, he looked up and stared directly at them – a stare full of fear and concern.

Yuka and Lopmon stared back at him in surprise. To them, it was almost as if he was sending them a sign, warning them of something. But of what?

Then, a moment later, the frightened look disappeared from Guilmon’s face. He nodded at them again, curtly, then moved forward to walk with Rion.

No one said a word until they arrived at the towering, black stone castle.

“I wonder who lives here?” Kei asked. They all turned to Rion.

“Don’t ask me,” he said indifferently, “I just saw it by chance.”

Yuka shot a careful glance at him, then looked up at the castle itself, with its ancient towers and turrets.

I don’t like this… she thought.

“Well, there’s only one way to find out!” Terriermon spoke up, gliding toward the door. Kei followed, placing her hand on the door to knock.

Surprisingly, the door opened at her touch.

Kei raised an eyebrow. “That’s funny,” she said softly as they all entered.

All was quiet inside. There was no one else in sight, and the rooms looked rather empty. One room had nothing but a lit fireplace at the far end.

“Ah… this is nice!” Kei said, creeping close to the fireplace and warming up her hands.

Yuka sat down without a word. She stared up, watching as the firelight cast long shadows across the ceiling.

“It’d be nice if we could stay here until the snow goes away,” Kei spoke up to no one in particular, “I don’t want to go outside when it’s like that! Too cold! Right, Yuka?”

She smiled, but it somehow seemed forced.

“Yeah…” Yuka replied faintly, still staring into space.

Terriermon looked up at Kei worriedly, remembering her strange behavior from earlier.

His thoughts were interrupted as Kei let out a very loud sneeze.

“Kei-”

“It’s okay, Terriermon, I’m fine.” Kei sniffled a little. “Just a cold, I guess. Of course – we spent all that time in the snow with no coats or anything…” Her smile faded a little. “Mom would go ballistic if she knew – she’d say I’d catch pneumonia or something… She was probably scared to death about it last time-”

“Last time?” Yuka spoke up for the first time in a while.

Kei froze, and stared back at Yuka with widened eyes. “I-uh… Never mind, that’s nothing!” she stammered, waving away the question. After a moment of silence, she suddenly stood up.

“I’m hungry,” she said forcefully, “I’m going to see if there’s any hot soup.” She walked a couple of paces, then stopped.

“What is it?” Terriermon asked.

“Where’s Rion?”

Yuka looked up suddenly, and took a quick glance around the room. Both Rion and Guilmon were gone.

“Rion?” Kei called out, “Guilmon?” Her voice echoed across the castle walls.

Terriermon looked around worriedly. “They’re gone…”

They all wandered around the castle, looking for some sign of the two, but in the end, they found nothing.

“I don’t like this place,” Yuka murmured, after they returned to the room with the fireplace. “I don’t think we should stay any longer.”

“Huh?” Kei looked at her like she was crazy. “But it’s still snowing and cold outside!”

“I think she’s right,” Lopmon answered.

“What?” Kei blurted out, “What do you mean?”

“This place…” Yuka whispered, “It feels wrong. Evil.” She stared back at Kei, frightened. “We never should have come here.”

“But-” Kei began, agitated, “what about Rion? And Guilmon? We can’t leave without them!”

Terriermon was about to say something when he spotted movement from the corner of his eye. Looking again, he saw someone standing in the shadows, one hand resting on a large switch. Immediately suspicious, he looked around, and to his horror, he saw several cameras, and small energy receptors placed on all sides of the room they were in, all pointed to their current position.

Looking back, he saw the shadowed person about to flip the switch. The person’s eyes gleamed evilly.

“Look out!” Terriermon yelled, trying to push Kei, Yuka, and Lopmon out of the way. But he was too late. The trap was sprung.

The four of them were immediately surrounded within a pillar of light. The pillar hummed, and like a heater, the temperature inside begin to rise slightly. Everything around them crackled with energy.

“W-what’s going on?” Kei blurted out, fearfully. She looked at her hands in shock, seeing them flicker in and out. She felt herself being pulled upward. “Terriermon! Yuka!”

Yuka could hardly speak, as an unknown pressure seemed to push her and Lopmon downward.

There was a sudden burst of energy, and the pillar disappeared. The room was empty…

Some time later, Rion stood alone in another room, staring intently at a series of screens and other electronic apparatuses that contrasted deeply with the ancient furnishings of the rest of the castle. A long, wooden table stood behind him, piled up with various objects.

His expression remained blank as he observed the two girls and their Digimon – Kei and Terriermon in one of the topmost towers, and Yuka and Lopmon in the basement. All of them were knocked out.

He then heard heavy footsteps moving toward him, and he turned around to face two large wolf-like Digimon, standing erect. One was slightly larger than the other, with green eyes, while the smaller one had red eyes.

“Fenrimon…” Rion spoke up, addressing the large green-eyed wolf. “And Lupimon.” He faced the red-eyed wolf.

They both bowed, not saying a word.

“It’s time to set the first part of the plan in motion,” Rion said, turning away from them. He then reached out, picking up two small computer chips from the long table, and flung them both at the two wolf Digimon. They caught the chips easily.

“Move out,” Rion commanded, “Track down the other two… and you know what to do after that.”

Fenrimon and Lupimon both nodded, then disappeared.

Rion then turned his attention toward the other objects on the table. Two small guns lay there, along with a large, wooden box.

He took a fleeting glance at the guns, glinting silver, then focused his full attention on the box.

He eyed the box curiously. From what he could recall, Mataymon had handed him the box, along with the other things on the table, but he never did mention what was in the box, or what purpose everything was for.

Slowly, carefully, he placed his hands on the box, and lifted the lid, looking inside…

His eyes widened, and fear and revulsion crept into his face.

With a frightened gasp, he promptly shut the box and pushed it away. He took a couple of steps back, shuddering and taking ragged breaths. After a few moments, he managed to calm himself down.

Glancing at the box and the two small guns again from the corner of his eye, Rion began to wonder, just for a moment, if he was doing the right thing.

Chapter Text

“Bye! See you tomorrow!”

The voices of departing students echoed through the corridor as Seita hurried up a long series of steps, a soccer ball tucked under his arm. By the time the staircase ended and he reached a door, loud chimes filled the air. As he opened the door, the bright afternoon sunlight caught his eyes and a refreshingly cool wind ruffled his hair. For the middle of July, the weather was unseasonably cool.

The entire school rooftop was empty. He scanned the area once, and smiled when he saw the person he was looking for.

Akira was there, standing with her back toward him. She was looking out at the scenery, with one hand clutching at the fence. The wind blew again, rustling the skirt of her uniform .

Seita approached her slowly, letting the soccer ball drop to the ground.

“What do you want?” Akira asked warily, still staring out at the sky. When she didn’t get an answer, she turned around to face him. “You asked me to come up here after school. Why?”

Seita stood behind her, one foot on the soccer ball. He stared at her silently for a moment, then spoke up.

“There’s something we need to discuss,” he said neutrally, rolling the ball with his foot.

“What is there to discuss?” Akira asked blankly, “It isn’t something I did, is it?”

No answer.

She looked at him suspiciously. “Is this about that letter a few days ago?”

“Maybe.”

Akira frowned at him. “I’m not telling you anything.”

“I want to know what your problem is.”

“I don’t have one.”

“Liar.” He continued to stare at her objectively. “You do. The way you’ve been acting for the past few weeks tells me that much.”

“Why would you care?”

“Everyone’s concerned. I’m probably just the only one stupid enough to confront you about it.”

Akira turned away. “I’m going,” she said listlessly, “This is just a waste of time.” She took a few steps toward the stairs, but stopped as the soccer ball slammed into the fence, directly in front of her, and rolled back.

She whipped around to face Seita. “What are you-”

She was interrupted as Seita kicked the ball at her again.

“What are you doing?” Akira asked shakily. Her blank expression became slightly annoyed.

Seita didn’t answer. He continued to stare at her and move the ball lightly with his foot.

“Why won’t you say anything?” Akira demanded, her tone becoming more irritated.

Kick.

“Seita!”

Seita stared back at her, a smile playing on his lips, and he kicked the ball back again.

At that, Akira glared. She locked on to the incoming ball, and in a blur, she rushed up to it and stopped it with her foot without even flinching. She turned her death-glare on Seita.

“Damn it!” she shouted angrily, her eyes flashing, “What is your problem?!” She kicked the ball at him as hard as she could.

The ball hit him on the side of his face, knocking him down.

For a moment, Akira just stared at him, speechless. Then, she hurried over to him.

“Seita…” she said shakily as she helped him up, “I’m sorry… I-I didn’t mean to hit you like that-” Her face was red with embarrassment.

“No problem,” Seita answered, rubbing the side of his face, “I like it when you all of a sudden hit me for no reason at all…” he added sarcastically, glancing back at her in mock-annoyance.

Looking at his face, Akira blinked, and a faint smile crept onto her face. She then started laughing, hard…

“Hey… Seita?”

Seita jerked suddenly, the voice bringing him back to reality. He turned in that direction, and stared directly into Akira’s eyes.

“What?” he replied, quickly looking away.

“Haven’t we seen this spot before?” Akira glanced at their dark, cavernous surroundings, suspicion growing on her face, “A couple of turns back?”

Seita looked around, thinking. “Uh… I’m not sure. Everything looks the same to me.”

A few steps in front of them, Kodamon let out a light huff. Her eyes were shut, and her arms were folded across her chest.

“No, really-” Akira replied, “We passed through a tunnel filled with a lot of small, white stones, and then we turned left and passed by a couple of markings on the walls-”

“Which none of us understood,” Seita interrupted.

Akira glanced at him sharply. “Then,” she continued, “we turned right and the tunnel’s ceiling suddenly got lower-” She raised an arm and her fingers touched the roof of the tunnel, “Which is where we are now. Again. At least twice.”

Seita shrugged. “Whatever you say.”

Kodamon remained silent, and a slightly annoyed expression crept onto her face.

“And then,” Akira continued, as they walked a little further, “we made another right turn, and then ended up at a spot where the tunnel forked…” She looked up, then paled. “…into three different pathways…”

They were standing in front of three different pathways.

Akira slammed a hand on her forehead. “Oh, great…”

A faint growl emerged from Kodamon, her eyes still closed, and her expression grew even more annoyed.

The four of them had been in this predicament for more than two or three hours, ever since Akira had recovered from her depression. They had decided to further explore the cave systems in order to find a way out without Rion discovering them.

Seita groaned. “Does this mean we’re lost?”

“No…” Gazimon spoke up, “Probably not. If we just use the Digivices again-”

Kodamon let out a faint, unnoticed, but irritated sigh.

“They didn’t work the last time, though,” Akira replied, “Nothing lit up, and the map didn’t show up, so we had to keep picking which way to go.”

“Wait…” Seita frowned. “The last few times we saw something like this, Gazimon was the one who picked the path to take… right?” He looked down at Gazimon questioningly.

“Uh…” Gazimon began, nervously, “I don’t know. Wasn’t it Kodamon who picked last time?”

The irritated expression on Kodamon’s face turned into a scowl.

“No…” Akira replied, “I think it was you, Gazimon.”

Gazimon crumpled a little. “Okay… so… The Digivices haven’t worked, and we’ve had to pick which pathway to go through, but…” His face screwed up from thinking. “We keep ending up in the same place, or some place that looks really similar…” His voice lowered, as he was talking more to himself, “But then if we’ve kept on picking different pathways every time, we should have-”

Kodamon growled deeply, and her eyes suddenly snapped open.

“Gazimon!” she shouted, “Are you trying to tell us that all this time we’ve been going around in circles?!”

Gazimon stared back at her faintly, and mumbled something unintelligible in reply.

“Why didn’t you just say something earlier, instead of just making excuses?!” Kodamon demanded.

“I wasn’t making excuses!” Gazimon shot back.

“Hey, hey…” Seita said faintly, trying to calm them down.

Akira sighed, and pulled out her Digivice, even though she knew it wouldn’t help. She held it out in front of her and slowly swept it past the three pathways in a wide arc. As she expected, nothing happened. Until-

There was a blast of pale-blue light as the Digivice shined.

“Huh?” Akira stared at the Digivice, then looked across to see where her arm was pointing at.

There was nothing but a solid wall.

Akira looked at the spot incredulously, slowly walking toward it, while the other three paid her no attention at all. The closer she got, the brighter the Digivice got, until she was close enough to touch the wall.

To her surprise, her hand went through.

Akira gasped, and repeatedly moved her arm in and out, her hand passing through the wall every time.

“Hey!” she called out to the others, “Look over here!”

Seita got there first, and gaped at Akira in surprise as she waved her arm in and out of the ‘wall.’

“How-?” he began.

“There’s something behind this,” Akira interrupted. She stepped through the illusion wall easily, and her eyes widened at what she saw next.

She was in a circular room, with various markings on the walls, and a giant, ice-blue stone hovering in the center. Bright, blue waves of energy erupted from the stone every now and then.

She stepped closer to the stone as the others entered.

“This is…” she began.

“A Meterostone, right?” Kodamon answered, “Like the ones in Andromon’s Pyramid and Wizardmon’s Village?”

Akira nodded.

“What’s it doing here, out in the middle of nowhere?” Seita asked. He looked around. “I don’t see anyone around – shouldn’t there be someone to guard it or something?”

“No clue.”

They spread out around the room, looking at the carved markings on the walls. Akira was especially drawn to one carving – a rough outline of a star. It was very unusual, drawn in a spiral with a single stroke, starting from the outside, moving completely around in a counterclockwise direction, and stopping in the center, leaving the right hand side unfinished.

Akira gazed at the carving, mesmerized. The longer she stared at it, the more everything else seemed to fade away. She didn’t notice it when her Digivice suddenly glowed and beeped wildly, or when a pale blue light appeared around her. A sudden warmth grew near her chest, and trancelike, she pulled her crest tags out from under her shirt. The empty tag glowed blue, and was warm in her hand. She could barely make out a faint, star-shaped image form within the tag, not unlike the one carved on the wall.

Then…

“Hey!” Kodamon yelled out suddenly from the other side of the room, “What’s this?”

Akira blinked. Her Digivice stopped reacting, and the blue light surrounding her immediately vanished. She looked down at the crest tag she was holding. It was empty.

She looked at the tag blankly, then looked at the wall, trying in vain to remember what had just happened. Kodamon’s outburst had knocked it out of her head. She shook her head, and jogged over to see what Kodamon had found.

Seita and Gazimon were already there. “What took you?” Seita asked.

Akira shook her head again. “Nothing. What did you find?”

Kodamon pointed to another opening, right in front of them. A long, curtain-like ribbon of energy covered the opening, shimmering blue.

“A door?” Akira asked.

“That doesn’t look like any door I’ve ever seen before,” Seita remarked.

Kodamon stared at it and around it thoughtfully, without saying a word.

“Hmm…” Gazimon murmured, stepping closer to the curtain. “I wonder what would happen if…” He lifted a foot and leaned closer.

“Wait a minute!” Kodamon said suddenly, as she saw Gazimon about to step through the curtain, “Gazimon, stop!!”

“W-what?! What is it?!” Gazimon stammered. His foot was still in the air, and he was wobbling madly, trying to keep his balance.

“DON’T STEP THERE!!” Kodamon bellowed.

“Huh? Why?”

“You idiot, look what it says!” she shouted back, pointing at a series of Digicodes etched into the floor.

Seita peered at them, confused. “What does it say?”

Kodamon sighed. “‘For emergencies only. Do not pass!’”

Immediately as she said it, Gazimon lost his balance and his foot crashed through the energy curtain.

At that, an enormous bluish sphere appeared, shimmering and glowing, completely enveloping the four of them. With them still inside, it reconfigured itself into a large beam, then abruptly shot itself out of the cavern and outside, traveling at a very high speed. Various objects zoomed past in a blur. Then, there was an unexpected lurch, and the beam stopped and disappeared, its occupants tumbling to the ground in a heap.

Akira got up slowly, noticing something white, cold, and wet under her hands and knees.

“Snow…?” She stood up and looked around, shivering. The others followed suit.

They were in the middle of a snow-covered forest. It was evening, and snow was lightly falling around them.

Kodamon looked around her for a moment, puzzled. When she saw Gazimon, though, her temper flared up.

“What did you do that for?!” she shouted, “I told you not to step through that!”

Gazimon glared at her with narrowed eyes. “Well, sorry! I had to stop myself from falling somehow!”

Kodamon growled. “If only you hadn’t-”

“Why are you so ticked off?” Gazimon demanded, his voice running over hers, “It was just an accident!”

“You-you-” She was about to say more when a strange drowsiness came over her. She wobbled, and her head began to spin.

“Kodamon…” Gazimon said cautiously, noticing her behavior.

“What?” Kodamon yelped, “What is it?” The drowsiness faded away, giving way to extreme irritableness.

“Can’t you just calm down and relax?” Gazimon asked edgily, “Just for a minute?”

“Relax? I’d relax if only you’d shut up and let me think!!”

“Hey!!” Seita yelled, getting in between them and pushing them away from each other. “What’s gotten into you two?!” he yelled again, “You’re getting just as bad as me and Akira, and we’ve already stopped!”

Kodamon glared. “He started it!”

Gazimon glared back. “Why can’t you just lighten up?”

Kodamon growled and clenched a fist. “Lighten up? Sure, I’ll lighten up!” Sparks shot from her fist.

“Bear… Fist-”

Akira’s eyes widened. “Kodamon, what the-stop!” She rushed in and yanked Kodamon aside. The energy punch launched off at an angle, slamming into a nearby tree. Clumps of snow tumbled down.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Akira yelled, shaking Kodamon by the shoulders.

“He was being annoying!” Kodamon shot back, “He wouldn’t shut up!”

“But that doesn’t mean you have to blast him to smithereens!” Akira screeched, “You could have hurt Seita too!”

“I wouldn’t have hit him! I was only aiming for Gazimon!”

During all of this, Seita and Gazimon did nothing but stare at them with wide eyes. An incredulous smile soon appeared on Seita’s face, and he started laughing. Moments later, Gazimon joined in.

“WHAT’S SO FUNNY?!” Akira and Kodamon both screamed.

That just made them laugh harder.

Kodamon glared at them both, but her anger had fizzled out.

“Moron…” Akira yanked out her Digivice and punched a couple of buttons. She stared at the small screen for a moment, then her expression grew more annoyed.

“What?” Seita asked.

“I have no idea where we are.”

“Huh?” Seita blurted out.

“Whatever that thing was we got trapped in, it sent us somewhere else,” Akira remarked with a frown, “The map’s working now, but it’s not showing anything familiar for miles!”

“A teleportation device?” Kodamon asked, “Maybe that would explain why it said ‘for emergencies only’.”

Akira shrugged. Then, she looked at the Digivice screen again. “Wait a minute…” Her eyes narrowed. “I think I see something!”

Seita pulled out his Digivice as well, and all four of them gathered around to see.

“There’s a couple of dots,” Akira added, “On the far side. They’re very faint.”

Seita looked closely at the dots. “Green…” he said, squinting at the screen, “… and pink.”

Both he and Akira looked up at each other and smiled.

“Kei!”

“Yuka!”

“How far away?” Kodamon asked, agitated.

“Not sure,” Akira answered. She pointed her Digivice around, and it lit up in a direction straight ahead.

“This way!” Akira confirmed. They all started jogging in that direction.

“Finally, we’re doing something!” Kodamon exclaimed gleefully. She rushed ahead of the others. Suddenly, her vision blurred, and she slowed down.

“Kodamon?” Akira asked, “Something wrong?”

“I-” Kodamon swayed a little, and put a paw over her forehead. The drowsiness from before had returned, stronger this time. She started to topple over.

“Kodamon!” Gazimon rushed forward to catch her. “Are you sick?”

“No…” Kodamon said faintly, “I-” She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and concentrated. When she opened them again, the drowsiness went away as abruptly as it came. “I’m fine,” she said finally, getting up.

“You sure?” Gazimon asked.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she said firmly, shooting a glare at him.

“Hey…” Gazimon retorted, “I was just worried, that’s all.”

“You don’t have to.” She took a few steps, then Akira stopped her.

“Maybe we should slow down a little,” Akira said, concerned. “Just in case.”

“But-”

“No buts!” Gazimon interrupted, “What if something happens to you again and you collapse? We won’t be able to go any further, and we can’t just leave you behind!”

“And besides,” Seita added, holding out his Digivice, “We’ll still be able to find Yuka and Kei, even if we just walk. They’re still on the map.”

Kodamon looked at all of them dejectedly, clearly outnumbered. “Oh… all right. We can walk.”

Snow continued to fall as they walked on and the night grew darker. The light from the Digivices was enough for them to see.

Akira shivered as she brushed snowflakes off of her Digivice’s screen. The two dots on the map shined brightly in a corner, and the distance in between had shortened.

She looked up at the cloudy sky, bright in spots from the partially hidden moon, and at the falling snowflakes. She caught a couple of flakes with her hand, and looked around at the whiteness of the ground and the trees surrounding everything. “I hope Kei is all right,” she murmured, “My mom told me once that Kei hates it when it’s wintertime and there’s a lot of snow. She said it brought back scary memories.”

Seita looked at her questioningly. “Of what?”

Akira shook her head. “I don’t know. Mom never really told me much about it – just that it was something that happened when Kei was three.”

Everyone was silent for a couple of moments. Then, Seita softly laughed.

Akira glared a little. “What’s so funny?” she asked sharply.

“Nothing,” Seita replied quickly. He looked ahead of him, focusing on the falling, white snowflakes. “Yuka loves it when it’s wintertime. If it snowed, she would stay outside for hours, no matter how cold it got, just to watch the snowflakes.”

Akira smiled. “Ah. Completely the opposite, then, huh?”

Seita nodded. “It’s summertime that she hates the most, even though she’s never said it outright.” His expression was troubled. “I guess it’s because she’s aware of so many things.”

“Like what?” Akira asked, “Ghosts? Evil spirits?” Her tone grew slightly skeptical before she caught herself. She then remembered a few of Yuka’s fearful remarks since they had arrived in the Digital World, and how Yuka could sense things like Digimon attacks just before they’d happened. “Or… Digimon?”

Seita shrugged. “Whatever they were, they would always be something that upset her.”

Akira only looked at him with concern.

“Yuka’s always had strange feelings like that, ever since she was little,” Seita explained, “When she was three, they would come to her when we’d least expect it, anytime we were around certain places. But in the summer, they would affect her the most.” He paused, trying to remember. “Sometimes we would pass by, say, Rainbow Bridge, or the old TV station with the circular dome, and then Yuka would all of a sudden start crying for no reason. We could never figure out why. But the worst time was when we were in Hikarigaoka.”

Akira looked toward him, recognizing the name. “You used to live there, right? Before you went to elementary school and moved to Odaiba.”

“Yeah,” Seita replied. “Well, one time, we went over there to visit friends, but right when we arrived, we had to leave, because Yuka just couldn’t stop screaming. She kept saying she could see monsters fighting each other, and buildings blowing up left and right, even though there was nothing around. I don’t think we ever brought her back there after that.” Seita was silent for a while, looking down, seemingly lost in his thoughts.

“And then, there were other incidents, not long after that,” he continued again. “Stuff would just happen to Yuka, whenever none of us were around. And she would only tell me about them, if she ever told anyone at all.” He closed his eyes. “She would run to me crying, and every time she would describe something so outrageous. I didn’t believe a lot of it, and whatever I did believe got me wondering why she was still in one piece after they all happened. I used to ask myself, ‘where was I when all of this happened?’”

At that, a memory came to him. He was suddenly eleven years old again, walking with a three-year-old Yuka in the park.

“You didn’t have to come, you know,” Seita said, “I’m going to be at Karate for a while, so you’re going to be bored.”

“It’s okay,” Yuka replied, “I didn’t want to be alone today.” She looked down, and her eyes narrowed a bit. “I had a dream last night.”

“Oh.” Seita kept on walking. Then, he thought about what she had just said and stopped, looking down at her with a surprised expression. “Wait… was it one of those dreams?”

Yuka didn’t answer for a moment. Then, she slowly nodded. “Yeah…”

As they passed the soccer field, a familiar voice called out to them. Seita looked over, and to his dismay, he saw Akira rushing toward them, with Tian following behind.

“Akira! Tian!” Yuka exclaimed happily.

Seita looked at them dully. “Yo.”

“What’s up?” Akira asked, after taking a couple of breaths.

“Nothing,” Seita replied boredly, “Just going to Karate class, and Yuka wanted to come too.”

Akira raised an eyebrow. “You’re still taking Karate with that mean old sensei?” she asked, laughing a little.

“Hey…” Seita’s expression immediately went from bored to ticked off. “Just because you picked a fight with him and got kicked out in your first week doesn’t mean he’s bad!”

“He is too,” Akira shot back, “Tian was in the same class, and she only lasted a month! Right, Tian?” She turned toward her. Tian just rolled her eyes and nodded dispassionately.

As Seita let out another retort, he was only somewhat aware that Yuka was slowly moving away from him. It wasn’t until Akira and Tian had left that he looked around and saw Yuka sitting on a bench. A group of strange-looking men with black suits and sunglasses surrounded her.

Startled and angry, Seita shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Get away from my sister!”

As the men turned around to face him, he was suddenly scared, but he swallowed his fear and rushed out at them. In a blur, he saw one of the men pull out a gun. The back of his head exploded with pain as the handle crashed down.

He collapsed, and he could hear Yuka screaming for him.

“Nii-chan!”

As his vision blurred and he began losing consciousness, Seita saw Yuka scream again, and… a strange, pink light blasted out from all directions, making many of the men stagger back…

A disembodied part of him wondered if he was dreaming or going nuts, and then, all was silent…

Seita sighed as the memory faded. That was an incident neither he nor Yuka could explain. When he had finally come to, the strange men had disappeared, and Yuka was still there, without a scratch.

“How long was this going on?” Akira asked softly, startling him. “Those weird feelings, I mean.”

“N-not very long,” Seita answered hastily, “When Yuka started school, those feelings went away, and nothing bothered her anymore…” His expression grew more pained, and he stopped walking. “At least until we all got here, to the Digital World.” He grimaced a little, then continued. “Now, so many things are happening to us, and to her, and I haven’t been able to watch over her or help her like I should, and she still ends up all right!” He looked up at Akira. “Sometimes I wonder if she ever really needs me.”

Akira stared back at him, taken entirely aback. “Seita…”

No one said anything for a moment. Seita was staring down at the snow on the ground, still thinking about Yuka and wondering if she was okay. All he could hear was the sound of the cold wind rustling through the trees, and the sound of his own breathing.

“Nii-chan!”

Seita looked up suddenly.

“What?” Akira asked sharply.

“I thought I heard Yuka just now…” he murmured, wildly looking around him. He was silent again as he listened for the cry to be repeated, but heard nothing else.

“Maybe it was just your imagination,” Akira told him gently.

“I don’t know-”

Seita was interrupted by a very loud yawn. They both turned around to see Kodamon walking slowly with her eyes half closed, and bumping right into Gazimon.

They both let out a shout, and Kodamon tumbled to the ground.

“Why can’t you watch where you’re going?” Kodamon said irritably, picking herself up.

“Me?” Gazimon replied testily, “What about you? You were the one walking around with your eyes closed!”

“Ah… not again…” Seita moaned, “You two-”

He was interrupted by something hard hitting him on the head and bouncing off.

“Ow…” He looked down to see what had hit him, but he was distracted by another object hitting him. “Ow! What the-”

They all looked up. In the pre-dawn light, several large round objects fell from the sky, just like snow. They were white, with black patches.

“Soccer balls?!” Seita exclaimed incredulously.

“Impossible…” Akira murmured. She picked one up, bobbed it with her head, and caught it again. It felt real enough.

She glanced at Kodamon and Gazimon standing nearby, silent and glaring, then glanced at the ball in her hands. She smiled, and let the ball drop to the ground.

“Kodamon…” she said with a twinge of excitement.

“What?”

“Heads up!” Akira gave the ball a swift kick, and it sailed through the air, landing near Kodamon’s feet.

“Akira, what-” Kodamon stammered.

“Kick it back!” Akira answered, smiling brightly.

Kodamon did so, looking terribly confused.

Akira caught the ball with her foot, then kicked it again. “Gazimon, here!”

Gazimon jumped up and bobbed it with his head.

Seita looked at Akira strangely, wondering what she was getting at. She answered him only with a wink.

He smirked, finally catching on. He walked over to another fallen soccer ball, and kicked it over.

They spent a few minutes kicking soccer balls back and forth, and in no time, both Kodamon and Gazimon were smiling.

“Isn’t it fun?” Akira asked brightly, taking deep breaths. She spied another ball sitting in the snow, and she kicked it over to Kodamon. “Incoming!”

Kodamon ran toward it, but she tripped and fell face-first into the snow. The ball landed on her head.

“Ow…” she murmured, getting up to her feet.

Akira took one look at her and started giggling. Gazimon joined in, and soon enough, all three of them were laughing.

Seeing this, Seita remembered that day on the school rooftop, and remembered the faint twinkle in Akira’s eyes when she laughed at him.

In the weeks following that incident, Akira had never really spoken to him again. He did notice Akira and Tian starting to hang out with each other again, just like they used to. Akira even started smiling and socializing more often, though most of the time she still remained cold and aloof.

But now, as he watched her laughing along with Kodamon and Gazimon, he knew. The fire in her eyes was there once again. She was back.

He walked over to Akira slowly, and put a hand on her shoulder.

Akira immediately stopped laughing. “What?” she asked nervously.

“Welcome back,” he said softly, beaming.

Akira stared back at him, blushing, then she suddenly gripped the ball she was holding and knocked him on the head.

“OW!” he shouted, rubbing his head, “Akira, why do you always hit me? In school, it’s with pencils or erasers, and everywhere else it’s with soccer balls!”

Akira laughed. “Because it’s funny!”

Seita glared at her a moment, then laughed. “I remember a soccer ball hit me on my way to the Digital World,” he said lightly, looking back at Akira with a smile. “If I didn't know you were already overseas, I'd think it was you who hit me!"

Akira looked back at him with an evil smile. “Oh really?” She rolled over a nearby ball and kicked it at him.

“Ack!” Seita scrambled away, narrowly missing it. “Stop it!” he shouted desperately.

“Oh, sorry,” Akira said dismissively, “I forgot you’re terrible at soccer.”

“Not terrible,” Seita defended, “Just not as good as you.”

Akira shot him a lopsided smile. “Is that a compliment?”

“Maybe,” he replied, smiling. “But there is one thing I’m better at than you.”

“And that would be what?” Akira asked, when he suddenly grabbed her wrist. “Hey-!”

In a few swift moves, Akira ended up kneeling on the ground with one arm pinned behind her back, and Seita stood over her, smirking.

“Karate,” he said proudly.

“Very funny,” Akira shot back in annoyance, yanking her arm back and getting up.

She was interrupted by a series of low growls.

“What was that?” Akira whispered.

Seita shook his head. “I don’t know…”

“Where did Kodamon and Gazimon go?” Akira asked nervously, “They were just here a moment ago…”

“I guess they’re still playing around.”

Akira looked around her, taking a couple of steps. Suddenly, she saw something from the corner of her eye, moving too fast for her to react. Before she knew it, a shaggy, clawed hand grasped her arm. She turned around in surprise, seeing only a pair of bright red eyes. Then, there was a weird red glow, and an excruciating pain ripped through her body. She screamed.

Seita whipped toward her. “Akira!” He sprinted toward her, seeing a tall, werewolf Digimon clutching at her arm. He stumbled and fell, and a hand gripped his arm, pulling him up. He looked up to see another wolf, with green eyes.

Through the agonizing pain that followed, Seita could hear both Akira and himself screaming, as well as the Digimon’s cackles of glee. The last thing he saw before passing out was the green-eyed Digimon’s evil smile and the glint of a silicon chip in the sunlight…

Some distance away, Kodamon and Gazimon were still amusing themselves with the soccer balls.

Kodamon looked up suddenly, dropping the ball she was holding. “Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?” Gazimon asked.

“A growl,” she said softly, “from somewhere in the trees.”

“I don’t know-”

He was interrupted by a louder growl, and a blast of green and red energy zipped past him, landing into the snow. He looked into the trees, and saw two wolf-like Digimon emerge.

His eyes widened. “Fenrimon and Lupimon!”

“You know them?” Kodamon asked incredulously.

“I know of them,” he replied fearfully, “They’re mercenaries. Them and their entire pack. They’re very evil, and very strong. Run into them and you’d be lucky to make it out alive!”

He was interrupted by two loud, painful screams in the distance.

“Akira! Seita!” Kodamon looked around her wildly. “Where are they?”

An energy blade slammed into a nearby tree, and Kodamon and Gazimon saw another wolf emerge.

“Bear Fist!”

“Electric Stun Blast!”

The two attacks hit the wolf Digimon directly, but nothing happened.

“They’re not working!” Kodamon shouted.

Gazimon looked behind them, and saw more of the wolf Digimon emerge. “Run!”

“But what about Akira and Seita?”

“Don’t worry about that right now!” Gazimon yelled, “Focus on getting out of this first! We’re no good to them if we’re deleted!”

They ran, dodging attacks, and occasionally throwing out electric blasts and energy punches. Kodamon stumbled, the drowsiness returning once again. Gazimon glanced at her in alarm, pulled her up, and continued running.

Kodamon growled in frustration, and shut her eyes, trying to concentrate. She felt the coldness of the snow underneath her feet. Then, a full, crystal-clear thought manifested itself.

“No…” Her eyes widened. “No, no, NO! Not now!”

“What is it?!” Gazimon demanded, dodging red and green blades.

“The snow…” Kodamon said faintly, “It’s wintertime here in this part of the Digital World. It’s been snowing like crazy the entire time we’ve been here!”

“So?!” Gazimon yelled, shooting off electric blasts, “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Don’t you understand?” Kodamon yelled back, “It’s wintertime! My… my hibernation instinct is kicking in!” Tears sprang from her eyes, and she roughly brushed them away. “No wonder I’ve been falling asleep!”

She opened her eyes again, long enough for her to notice a green energy blade hurtling toward Gazimon.

“Watch out!” But she was too late. The blade hit him, and he slammed into the snow, unconscious.

She turned around, and the light of a bright red blade was the last thing she saw…

Some time later, Akira woke up, disoriented and hurting all over. She sat up, and gasped as everything around her swayed. She looked around, and as her vision cleared, she got a better look at her surroundings.

She was in trapped in a net, up in a tree, more than thirty feet off the ground.

She let out a slight scream, and a hand clamped over her mouth, effectively shutting her up.

“Shh!!”

Akira looked toward the voice in panic. Seita was in the net with her. He removed his hand from her mouth and tilted his head down below, and Akira saw that they were surrounded by a large pack of wolf Digimon, similar to the ones that had ambushed them earlier.

“About time you woke up,” Seita whispered.

“What happened?” Akira asked. Seita didn’t answer.

“Where are Kodamon and Gazimon?” she asked again.

Seita shrugged. “I saw two of those Digimon carry them off, earlier. They were knocked out. I don’t know where they took them, though.”

“What do those Digimon down there want with us?” Akira whispered angrily, “Sneaking up on us like that…”

“Maybe Rion sent them,” Seita said darkly, “He probably knew we were looking for Yuka and Kei, and… we were sidetracked long enough for him to find us!”

Akira said nothing for a moment. She turned away, pulling at the net a little with her hands.

“I wouldn’t do that,” Seita muttered.

Akira ignored him and continued to pull, until a sudden electrical pulse went through her fingers and she winced.

“I told you,” Seita said, looking away from her.

“What’ll we do now?” Akira asked faintly.

“Just sit back and hope someone comes by to save us,” Seita replied.

Akira glared at him. “I’m serious.”

“So am I.”

Akira sighed and leaned back, bumping Seita lightly. Then, as if something had switched on in her head, she realized just how close they were to each other, and she blushed madly.

“Seita…” she whispered nervously, “Could you, uh… move over? Just a little bit?”

“What?” Seita asked suspiciously, “How could I? There’s not enough room in this stupid net for even one of us!”

“But-”

“And besides,” he added with a crooked smile, “I’m fine enough, just like this!”

Akira scowled back at him. “All right, whatever!” She shifted uncomfortably, and wondered how long it would be before anyone would come and get them down.

Rion was still standing in the electronic room of the old castle when he heard several light footsteps. He turned around, and was shocked by what he saw.

“You!” he exclaimed, taking a few steps back. “How did you-”

He was facing Akira and Seita. Or, at least, he thought he was.

‘Akira’ laughed. “You moron. Can’t you tell it’s us?” She concentrated a little, and her human guise flickered, revealing a shaggy, red-eyed wolf, standing erect. Then the disguise reasserted itself.

Rion gulped. “Lupimon?” He turned to ‘Seita’. “Fenrimon…”

“Of course!”

“It-it actually worked!” Rion stammered.

“Of course it did,” Lupimon replied, flashing her newly-acquired violet eyes. “All we did was distract them long enough for us to give them a full identity scan…”

“And then we extracted some code. It was easy,” Fenrimon added, smiling as he remembered the painful looks on Akira and Seita’s faces.

“Those chips you gave us,” Lupimon stated, “they handled those kids’ identity codes perfectly. Where’d you get them?”

Somehow, it unnerved Rion greatly, hearing her talk in Akira’s voice. “N-none of your business!” he said sharply. He walked over to the silver pistols and the wooden box and slammed a palm on the table. “Get over here and load these up, and get out!” He turned away as they approached.

Fenrimon picked up a pistol, then opened the box a crack. He laughed. “Dark Seeds and seed guns,” he murmured, amused.

“It’s been a long time since any of us have ever used these!” Lupimon added, “Mataymon must be getting desperate!”

Rion glared at them. “Just shut up and do your job, then get out of my sight!” he said lividly.

“Oh… angry, are we?” Fenrimon took a few steps toward Rion. He waved the seed gun nonchalantly.

Rion didn’t move.

“He told you to leave!” a sharp, frightened voice erupted from the other side of the room. Fenrimon looked, and saw Guilmon advancing toward him slowly, his eyes shining gold.

“Guilmon…” Rion shook his head warningly.

Fenrimon nodded, getting the point. “All right, we’re going.”

Rion glared at them. ‘Don’t screw up.”

“Whatever,” Lupimon shot an annoyed glance at him that, just for a moment, looked so familiar. Then, they both disappeared through the door.

Guilmon stepped closer to Rion. “Rion…”

“I don’t trust them,” Rion murmured anxiously, “Their methods are awful.” He looked over to the screens again, glancing at the ones showing Kei and Terriermon, and Yuka and Lopmon, and he sighed.

Chapter Text

“Bear Fist!”

A power-packed energy blast slammed into the wall, leaving nothing behind.

Kodamon glared murderously at the undamaged wall and tried again. “Bear Fist!”

Again, the energy blast left nothing on the wall, not even a dent.

Kodamon growled in frustration.

“Don’t hurt yourself,” Gazimon muttered, stifling a yawn.

Kodamon ignored him. She looked around at the tiny, windowless room they were imprisoned in. The walls were made of cold, dark stone, and there was no door. The only source of light was from a tiny, battered lamp hanging from the ceiling.

With a shout, Kodamon attacked the walls again. This time, her attacks bounced off. One of them slammed into her face, knocking her across the room.

“Ow…”

“Under any other circumstances,” Gazimon said lightly, “that would have been utterly hilarious.”

“Shut up!” Kodamon screamed, “You’re not helping at all!”

“Neither are you, with all that screaming,” Gazimon replied.

Kodamon let out a huff. “Well, at least I’m doing something – anything at all – to try and get us out of this death trap. What about you? Are you just going to sit there and rot?”

Gazimon didn’t answer. He leaned against a wall, eyes closed, and smirked.

To Kodamon, seeing that just pissed her off even more. She let out an angry roar, and kicked at the ground. “Oh, I have so had it with you!” she shouted, “You, this stupid room, and all those psychopathic wolves who put us in here to begin with! I swear, if I ever get out of here and see any of them again, I’ll kill them with my bare hands!”

“Uh-huh…” Gazimon murmured nonchalantly, nodding his head.

Kodamon angrily snapped her attention back to him. “YOU-”

“SHUT UP!!”

Kodamon yelped in surprise, as a portion of the floor shimmered and a small trap door appeared, revealing an enraged Fenrimon guard with his claws clamped over his ears.

“You’d better quit that screaming right now, and let me guard you in peace, or else I’ll rip both of your throats!” the guard bellowed.

At that, Gazimon’s eyes snapped open, and a feral smile appeared on his face. He sprang up, paws filling with electricity, and promptly clubbed the guard over the head.

“Electric Stun Blast!”

The guard wobbled stupidly for a few moments. Kodamon, finally realizing what was going on, blasted the guard with her own attack.

“Bear Fist!”

The punch smacked him in the face, and he promptly keeled over, unconscious. The trap door was still open.

Gazimon laughed. “Perfect!” Kodamon could only stare at him in disbelief.

They both jumped through the hole, landing in a large, darkened hallway. From the looks of everything, it appeared that they were in a large castle of some sort.

Gazimon looked back at Kodamon with a smug smile. “That was what I was waiting for,” he said proudly, “I knew that there had to be someone around to guard us, so I just waited around for that person to show up, and then attack him and get the hell out! Of course…” He smirked. “Your screaming and shouting and carrying on was just a plus. It got the guard in there faster than I ever imagined!”

“Humph!” Kodamon glared at him and turned away.

Gazimon laughed again. “So, does that mean I get a thank you, or some sort of apology?” he asked.

No answer.

“Kodamon?”

Gazimon turned in Kodamon’s direction, and saw that she had disappeared.

“Hey!” he shouted, starting to run, “Kodamon!” He looked around, and not seeing her anywhere, he sighed in frustration. “That idiot…” he muttered under his breath.

Meanwhile, up in the higher reaches of the castle, Kei and Terriermon were wandering down a deserted corridor. Kei walked silently ahead, her face like a thundercloud. Terriermon walked beside her, hesitant and insecure.

“Kei…” Terriermon murmured, after a long silence.

“I don’t want to talk,” Kei answered hotly.

“Listen,” Terriermon began, “I know you’re upset, but-”

“Of course I’m upset!” Kei shouted, “How could I not be? You’re basically accusing Rion of working with the bad guys, and tricking us all into coming here so we’d be trapped!” Her eyes narrowed. “He’s my friend, and I know he wouldn’t do something that terrible! And Guilmon’s nice!” She whipped around to face Terriermon. “You saw how nice they were!”

Terriermon took a deep breath. “I know what I saw,” he said firmly, “There was someone in the corner of that room, who set that trap on us. It didn’t just happen.” He sighed, and continued. “And I was able to get a quick look at the person’s face. It was a boy, with really cold, dark eyes. And it didn’t look like Seita or Jun.”

“So right away, you blame it on Rion.” Kei answered coldly.

Terriermon opened his mouth to answer, but stopped.

“Yuka and Lopmon didn’t trust Rion either,” Kei added, scowling. “They didn’t say anything, but I could see it in their faces!”

Terriermon fell silent then. There was no way he could convince Kei while she was in that state of mind, so he decided to try again later, after they’d gotten out of this mess.

If they could.

Terriermon shook off that hopeless thought, and kept on walking. Then, suddenly, Kei stopped, and Terriermon bumped right into her leg.

“Kei?” Terriermon asked, “What is it?”

“I thought I saw something…” Kei answered softly. There was a faint, disbelieving smile on her face. She took a couple of running steps, and turned around a corner, ending up at the edge of another long hallway. She squinted her eyes, and gasped.

“What?” Terriermon called out, catching up with her.

“Akira!”

Sure enough, Akira was at the far end of the hallway. She didn’t seem to have heard Kei at all. She was alone – Kodamon was nowhere in sight – and she was wandering around, slowly and calmly, with no sign of worry or agitation or stress.

Something about that bothered Terriermon. Why or how, he wasn’t quite sure.

Kei giggled, and took a couple of quick steps toward Akira.

“Wait a minute!” Terriermon shouted, “Kei, come back!”

Kei turned around for a moment, puzzled and a little exasperated. “Why? What’s wrong?”

“Don’t just go rushing in like that!” Terriermon said sharply, “You never know what could happen!”

Kei glared at him. “What are you talking about?” she replied in annoyance, “It’s Akira, right?”

Terriermon was about to reply, but Kei spoke right over him.

“So now you don’t trust Akira either, do you?” she spat.

“Kei-”

“Quit being so paranoid!” Kei interrupted, turning away and storming down the hall. She could still see Akira a few paces away.

At that moment, realization hit Terriermon.

Right now, Akira was acting calm and relaxed. Akira was never calm and relaxed, not at times like these, with a hundred terrible things happening to everyone all at once. She was also never alone – Kodamon was always with her. And as for her just walking around aimlessly, right out in the open…

It was as if she was just waiting for someone to find her.

It was a setup.

Terriermon looked back at Kei, just a few feet away from Akira. “Kei!” he shouted frantically, “Stop!! That’s not–” But Kei didn’t hear.

“Akira!” Kei shouted, running toward her.

Akira turned at the noise, and smiled. “Kei!”

Then, a split second later, her smile changed. It became a sneer, and for just a moment, her eyes glittered red. Her right hand twitched, and moved slowly toward something behind her back.

Terriermon gasped, and quickly glided toward the scene.

After that, everything was a blur – The violent beeping of a Digivice… a blast of yellow-green light…

All in the few seconds it took for Akira to pull something out and shoot.

“Watch out!” Galgomon rushed over to Kei and shoved her away, knocking her to the ground. The shot hit him square in the chest, with a massive shock.

“Galgomon!” Kei screamed, getting up and trying to catch him as he fell. Then, she looked up. “Akira-”

But she was interrupted by a silver seed gun pointed directly at her.

Akira laughed. “This was almost too easy, even if there was an interruption.” She smiled evilly at Kei, and her image slowly faded away to reveal a tall, shaggy werewolf with red eyes.

Kei’s eyes widened in shock, and she gave a tiny, fearful squeak. “You’re… you’re not Akira!”

The wolf laughed. “Of course I’m not.”

“Who are you, then?”

“Lupimon,” the wolf answered with a sly smile, “Assassin extraordinaire, and your worst nightmare!”

Kei was too terrified to comment on how corny that statement had sounded. “W-why are you doing this?” she stammered hysterically, “What do you want?”

Lupimon laughed again, waving the seed gun up and down. “Nothing really,” she replied, “I just want to give you a shot. You’re dreadfully sick, and I’ve been dying to know just how well the medicine in here will work on you!”

Kei looked at the seed gun in fright, then looked at Galgomon, with massive waves of energy and fragmented data enveloping him.

“Are you insane?!” Kei screamed at Lupimon, “That’s not medicine!”

“Perhaps not to you,” Lupimon replied pleasantly, “You’re filled all the way up with innocence, sweetness, kindness… And just one shot of these little seeds I have in this gun will drain it all out of you, and leave you miserable until you die!” She laughed – a high, cold, cruel laugh. “And that, to me, is the perfect cure!”

Listening to this, Kei's expression changed, from fear to a look of pure anger.

“You sick monster…”

Lupimon immediately stopped laughing. Her expression was blank.

“How can you say that and laugh about it?” Kei demanded angrily, “You're as loopy as your name says!”

At that, Lupimon pinned Kei to the wall and pushed the seed gun dangerously close to her throat. Her ‘Akira’ disguise flickered on for a moment, and Kei winced as she saw the evil look in her eyes.

“Just for saying that, I'll make sure you never make it out of this room alive!” Lupimon snarled.

“Stop it…” Kei pleaded, faintly. Tears fell from her eyes. “Stop trying to look like my sister…”

Lupimon smiled evilly, and aimed the seed gun at Kei again, just about to pull the trigger. Then…

“Bear Fist!”

A light blue energy blast came out of nowhere and knocked it out of her hand. Lupimon let go of Kei with a shout, and her ‘Akira’ disguise flickered off.

“Stay away from her!” a high, angry voice erupted.

Kei looked past Lupimon in the direction of the voice. “Kodamon!”

Kodamon was standing in the doorway of the room, the light shining behind her. “Get out of here!” she called out to Kei.

Kei didn’t need to be told twice – she got up, helped Galgomon up, and they both ran off.

“You won’t be terrorizing them any more, Lupimon!” Kodamon shouted. “This time, you deal with me!”

Lupimon laughed. “If you insist!” Her claws shined bright red. “I’ll deal with you… in the fullest sense!” She swung her claws in an arc. “Crimson Saber!”

Kodamon dodged the attack, and fired her own. “Bear Fist!”

The attack bounced off of Lupimon, not leaving a scratch. Kodamon growled, and fired again.

“Bear Fist!”

“Crimson Saber!”

The attacks collided in midair, but Lupimon’s broke through and hit Kodamon directly.

“Aaaah!” Kodamon skidded across the floor, and painfully tried to get up again. Mid-way, she looked up to see another red-bladed barrage moving straight toward her.

“Crimson Saber!”

Kodamon screamed and shut her eyes, expecting to die at any moment, but… nothing happened. She looked up to see a dangerously thin shield surrounding her. Gazimon was in front of her, struggling to hold Lupimon’s attack at bay.

“Gazimon!” Kodamon yelled hysterically, “What are you doing?! You’re not strong enough!”

“Neither are you…” Gazimon said under ragged breaths, “She was going to delete you… I couldn’t let that happen!”

“But, Gazimon-”

“You idiot!” he shouted, making her flinch. “Why did you take her on all by yourself? I’m here too! We’re a team! We should have done this together!” He staggered, and the shield flickered dangerously, but he managed to get up again.

“Gazimon…”

“Did you think…” he continued weakly, “that after everything we’ve been through… I’d just leave you alone?” He looked to her, still struggling, and managed a smile.

Tears streamed down Kodamon’s face. She looked back at him for a moment, amazed. Then, she roughly wiped away her tears, powered up her paws, and placed them against the shield.

“Let’s get this over with…” she said hoarsely, looking straight ahead.

Gazimon smiled again, relieved. “All right…” he murmured. His paws shined and crackled slightly with electric bolts. “On three… One!”

“Two!” Kodamon’s eyes narrowed as she stared at Lupimon.

“Three!” Gazimon and Kodamon’s paws lit up with electrical pulses and concentrated energy, and the shield immediately dropped, merging into the combo attack in a massive ball. In a brilliant light show, the power ball broke through Lupimon’s attack and slammed right into her, knocking her down.

“Yes!” Gazimon shouted.

“We did it!” Kodamon added with glee.

“Not bad,” Gazimon said proudly, giving Kodamon a high five.

But then, with a low growl, Lupimon slowly picked herself back up, glaring back at them murderously.

“Crimson… Saber!”

The red energy blades, larger than before, blasted toward Kodamon and Gazimon. Just before impact, Gazimon managed to thrust himself in front of Kodamon in an attempt to shield her.

They both screamed out as the blades sent them flying through the air, landing them on the cold, hard stone floor. None of them moved.

Lupimon cackled. “Too easy.” She turned on her heel, and swiftly ran off, leaving the two unconscious Digimon behind.

Meanwhile, Kei was quickly growing exhausted, struggling to help Galgomon while at the same time trying to move as fast as she could. Galgomon was still suffering from his Dark Seed injury, and occasional streams of wild electricity flowed from him. One of them shocked Kei, making her stumble and fall, pulling Galgomon with her.

Kei got up slowly, wincing, and took a few exhausted breaths. Then she looked down at Galgomon sprawled on the ground, and began to cry.

“Galgomon!” she sobbed, “I’m sorry… I should have listened to you before…”

“It’s okay…” Galgomon said weakly, “At least you’re safe…” His voice faded, and he took a couple of ragged breaths. Parts of his data flickered.

“Galgomon!” Kei screamed, hugging her tight, “Please, hold on! Please be all right!”

“Don’t count on it,” a hard voice said from behind her.

Kei froze. She turned around slowly, and saw Lupimon towering over them.

“I've delayed long enough,” Lupimon said, spreading her claws. “This ends now!” Her claws turned a deep red.

Suddenly, Galgomon’s eyes snapped open. Pushing Kei away, he lifted one of his cannon arms and a massive shot blasted out, thrusting Lupimon several feet away.

“I’m not down yet…” Galgomon murmured weakly, his cannon arm smoking. He was interrupted by another cascade of electrical interference.

“You-” Lupimon snarled, immediately springing up. She lunged at Galgomon, claws shining red.

“Watch out!” Kei screamed.

Just then, a sudden blast of yellow light erupted from around her neck. She gasped, and pulled out her Crest from under her shirt. It shined brightly.

At the same time, Galgomon felt a warm surge of energy, and smiled.

“Galgomon, super evolve to…”

Galgomon’s form changed, to become a more robotic version of himself, shining a deep, metallic green. Then, it short-circuited, causing a cascade of electricity. He staggered, partially reverting back to herself.

Kei gasped. “Hang in there!” she shouted. Her hands gripped her Crest tightly.

The Crest shined again, brighter and more brilliant than before. Galgomon’s half-evolved form took in the extra energy and shined just as bright.

“Galgomon, super evolve to… Rapidmon!”

The light faded away to reveal the robotic Digimon that Galgomon had tried to evolve to, but instead of being a metallic green, Rapidmon was now a brilliant gold, with traces of light pink, red, and magenta – the colors of a beautiful sunset.

Kei stared at Rapidmon in awe. “Pretty…”

Rapidmon raised one golden-cannoned arm, pointing it at Lupimon.

“Rapid Fire!”

A shower of golden missiles blasted from the cannon, many of them hitting Lupimon directly. She landed on the ground in a heap, and didn’t move.

“Yeah!” Kei shouted, “You got her!” She took a few steps toward Lupimon’s still form, just to make sure.

She was less than a foot away when Lupimon suddenly sprang up, teeth bared and claws unsheathed. Kei screamed.

“Crimson Saber!”

The red blades missed Kei by just a millimeter, slamming into the opposite wall.

“Rapid Fire!”

More golden missiles headed Lupimon’s way, and knocked her clear across the room. But even then, Lupimon didn’t weaken very easily.

Then, Rapidmon closed her eyes and focused. He glowed a bright gold, and a faint triangular-shaped light appeared in the air in front of him. The triangle grew brighter and brighter, almost blinding.

“Golden Triangle!”

The triangular light morphed into a brilliant beam of energy. It sliced through the air and right into Lupimon. She let out a scream, and dissolved into tiny bits of data.

Kei could do nothing but stare after that, at both Rapidmon and where Lupimon used to be. “Amazing…” She gazed at Rapidmon’s brilliant gold form in renewed awe, and smiled.

Then, with a flash of light, Rapidmon reverted to Terriermon. With a weak, sickened moan, he fluttered to the ground.

“Terriermon!” Kei shouted, running over to him and carefully picking him up. Terriermon looked back at her, weakly, and Kei was horrified to see the fragmented data and electrical cascades return with renewed ferocity.

“You’re… you’re still hurt!” Kei murmured in fright, “But why? Why didn’t your evolution heal you?”

“It’s because of the Dark Seed,” a strong, cold voice answered.

Kei looked up to see Rion standing there, with Guilmon. He stared at her, dark-eyed, with an unreadable expression.

“Rion…” Kei spoke up, “How- why-”

“I’m surprised that he’s lasted this long,” he murmured to himself, looking at Terriermon. “From what I heard, just one Seed means instant deletion for a Digimon. For a human… well, we don’t know.”

Kei merely stared at him, shocked and confused. A million questions swirled in her head.

“Damn Lupimon…” he said disdainfully, “She wasn’t supposed to shoot the Digimon. She was supposed to shoot the…” He hesitated, and looked back at Kei.

At this, Kei’s insides turned to ice. She stared back at him, horrified. “You…” she said faintly, “you’re behind all this?”

Rion sighed, and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were a lighter brown, Kei could see just a little bit of anguish.

“Of all the kids chosen to fight here… why did one of them have to be you?”

“Kowakunai…”

In the depths of the castle’s basement, Yuka and Lopmon wandered around, quietly. The only audible noise was from Yuka, murmuring the same phrase over and over in a sing-song voice.

“Kowakunai…”

It was a special phrase, one she hadn’t thought of in years, until now. As she walked, she could almost hear the very conversation that started it…

“Seita…” a three-year-old Yuka sobbed, clinging onto her brother for dear life.

“What happened?”

“The monsters…” Yuka cried, “The monsters came back! I could see them in the closet!!” She took a few ragged breaths. “I want to sleep in Mommy and Daddy’s room tonight!”

Seita held her for a few moments as she cried. A thoughtful look appeared on his face.

“I have a better idea,” he said finally, “Those monsters really like scaring you, don’t they?”

Yuka just shrugged.

“Well…” He smiled evilly. “Then you show them that you’re not scared. When you see those monsters again,” he began, “you walk right up to them, stare them straight in the eyes, and give them the scariest look you can give them.” He got up, doing everything as he spoke. “And then,” he continued, “you tell them this, as loud as you can…” He took a deep breath. “Kowakunai!” he shouted.

Yuka giggled.

Seita laughed. “Do that, and you’ll scare them ! You’ll scare them so bad they’ll never come back to bother you again!”

“But…” Yuka frowned, “What if it doesn’t work?”

Seita looked at her slyly. “Then you call me. I’ll beat the crap out of them!” He took a fighting stance. “Like this!” He demonstrated a few punches and kicks. “Hai! Hah! Hai-yah!” He then made a kick, overshot it, and wobbled. “Whoa!” He lost his balance and fell to the floor with a thud, with Yuka giggling.

“But what if you’re not there?” Yuka asked after getting her giggles under control.

“Of course I’ll be there,” Seita answered, ruffling Yuka’s hair. “I’ll rescue you from anything, whether you like it or not!”

Yuka smiled. “Kowakunai… kowakunai…”

“What’s that?” Lopmon asked.

“It’s something Seita taught me to say, a long time ago, whenever something bad happens,” Yuka answered, smiling to herself. “It means, ‘I’m not scared!’”

After that, she was silent again. Her expression changed from a smile to an almost-frown.

“But, you know…” she said slowly, “To tell you the truth, I am scared. I’m always scared.” She closed her eyes. “Before, when I was little, it was ghosts and monsters and nightmares I never understood. And now it’s Digimon.” She was silent for a moment, and laughed bleakly. “And now that I think about it, those monsters were probably evil Digimon too. They knew me even when I was little! Can you believe that?”

“Yuka…” Lopmon murmured worriedly.

“I’ve noticed a lot of things, too,” Yuka continued on, as if she hadn’t heard her. “Ever since we came to this place and met all of you. I’ve had weird feelings… bad feelings… stuff like that. It would always be right before something terrible would happen to us, and I’d never say a word.”

Lopmon thought about this, and remembered all the times when Yuka would look troubled and scared, and tell her it was nothing. “Why didn’t you?”

“I told you,” Yuka answered in a dead voice. “I was scared.” She laughed that same bleak laugh. “I seem to know everything, right before it happens, and I’m so scared that I can’t do anything about it, even when it does happen. Too scared to say anything. Too scared to act. Too scared to try and help.” She smiled sadly. “I’m even too scared to run, whenever I’m in trouble. I’m so weak, and I’ve always needed someone else to save me. The others must think I’m a bother.”

Lopmon stared back at her for several seconds, horrified. “But you’re not a bother!” she said forcefully. You’re an important part of the team! We both are! We’re the guardians of Light. Darkness can never touch us! We could…” She hesitated a moment. “We could even drive evil things away just by thinking about it, if we tried hard enough!”

Yuka looked back at her in surprise. It wasn’t like Lopmon to be so forceful. She shook her head. “It never felt like that to me,” she replied faintly.

“But it’s true,” Lopmon answered.

Yuka said nothing else in reply, and they continued walking. They turned a corner, and found themselves in a large circular room, carved straight out of hard, black rock. A large ice-blue stone stood at the center, hovering and blazing with bright, blue waves of energy.

Yuka stepped closer to the stone, eyes widened. “A Meterostone…”

“Another one,” Lopmon murmured, “Maybe that explains why it’s snowing outside…”

Yuka continued to stare at the Meterostone, not saying another word. Then, something else caught her eye. She frowned and narrowed her eyes, trying to get a better look.

“What is it?” Lopmon whispered.

Yuka squinted, and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

“Seita…”

She started walking away, slowly.

Seita was standing quietly at the far end of the room, alone. He didn’t notice her approach.

Yuka’s eyes narrowed. Something was wrong. Something major, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on it.

“Seita?” she asked softly.

Seita’s head went up, hearing her voice, and he turned around to face her. “Yuka,” he answered, smiling.

Calmly. Too calmly.

Yuka’s eyes widened, and she took a couple of steps back.

“Yuka, what’s wrong?”

“You’re not Seita,” Yuka said firmly. “Who are you?”

“What are you talking about, Yuka?” he asked, “Of course I’m Seita.”

“No.” Yuka shook her head. “You’re not. The real Seita would have been going crazy with worry by the time I’d see him again,” she stated. “And he wouldn’t be alone. Gazimon’s always with him. Or Akira, or anyone else.”

‘Seita’ laughed. “Smart kid.” His eyes flashed, and glowed a deep green. “You saw right through me. So…” He reached behind him.

Lopmon nudged Yuka and gave her a warning look. Yuka nodded fearfully.

“I guess that means,” ‘Seita’ continued, “I can just go ahead and finish you off!” He pulled out a silver gun, and his human disguise immediately faded away to reveal a shaggy, brown wolf Digimon.

“Blazing Ice!”

Lopmon’s attack knocked the silver gun right out of his hands, before he could shoot.

Yuka pulled out her Digivice and pointed it at him. “Who are you and what do you want?” she asked shakily. Her arm shivered a little.

The Digimon stared back at her with emerald green eyes. “Fenrimon,” he replied coldly, “and as for what I want…” He smirked. “You won’t live long enough to know!”

He suddenly rushed toward her, scooping up the silver gun. Yuka took a few frightened steps back, and stumbled to the floor. She stared at Fenrimon with panic-stricken eyes, and her breath caught in her throat. She was frozen, too scared to move.

I’m not scared … I’m not scared …

The closer Fenrimon got to her, the more panicked her thoughts became.

I’m not scared …

She saw Fenrimon aim the silver gun.

I’m scared … nii-chan…

She shut her eyes and braced herself for the pain that would come…

“Yuka!” Lopmon called, shooting toward her.

Yuka’s Digivice lit up, and a bright pink light surrounded Lopmon in mid-air. She landed as Turuiemon, just in time for her to grab Fenrimon’s wrist, slash the gun out of his hand and shove her long, steel claws dangerously close to his face. The silver gun clattered to the floor, in small, twisted fragments of metal.

Yuka opened her eyes and looked at Turuiemon in shock. Her eyes wandered toward the twisted remains of the silver gun, and back.

“If you’re going to fight,” Turuiemon intoned, “let it be with me.”

Fenrimon laughed harshly. “If that’s what you want!” He shoved away Turuiemon’s bladed hands like they were nothing, and blasted her away with a flash of green light.

“Emerald Saber!”

Turuiemon jumped up, and lunged toward Fenrimon, arm raised.

“Swift Secret Punch!”

The punch hit Fenrimon in the shoulder, but he just shrugged it off. He sent out another round of blades, which hit Turuiemon again.

Through all of this, Yuka did nothing but watch, terrified and rooted to the spot.

It’s happening again, Yuka thought frantically, she’s fighting her hardest to protect me… getting hurt… and all I can do is just stand!

She flinched as Turuiemon was blasted to the ground again. Turuiemon staggered, trying to get up again, but she was too weak. Fenrimon towered over her.

As Fenrimon raised his claws for one final blow, Yuka shut her eyes and screamed.

“Turuiemon!”

Suddenly, a bright pink light erupted from the crest around her neck.

The same pink light blasted around Turuiemon, making Fenrimon stagger back and shield his eyes.

“Turuiemon, super evolve to… Antiramon!”

The light disappeared, revealing a large, long-armed rabbit Digimon.

“Antiramon…” Yuka murmured.

Antiramon looked down at Yuka, and smiled, gently placing an enormous paw around her shoulders.

“It’s all right,” Antiramon said softly, “As long as you believe, everything will be all right. We’ll make it out of this.” She turned away from Yuka and stepped closer to Fenrimon. “As long as the light still shines, the darkness can never stay.”

Fenrimon rolled his eyes and laughed. “So cliché.” Bright green light erupted from his paws, and he once again swung them in an arc. “Emerald Saber!”

The green blades shot out, heading straight toward Antiramon. For a moment, Antiramon simply watched as the blades sped toward her. Then, very calmly, she lifted a paw and focused. A pink light shined from it, growing brighter and brighter. Then, right before the emerald blades hit her, she swung her brightened paw and released a massive ball of energy.

“Mantra Chant!”

The pink energy ball slammed into the blades, knocking them away, and afterward slammed into Fenrimon, hurling him across the room. He got up, unfazed, and hurled more blades at Antiramon. He missed her every time.

Fenrimon roared in frustration, then glanced at Yuka, who was staring speechless at the entire thing. He sneered, and sent a few emerald blades toward her.

Yuka turned around and saw the blades, but it was too late for her to do anything-

Until the blades simply stopped in mid-air and disappeared, as if they had collided with an invisible wall. Looking closely, Yuka could see a faint shimmer of pink light surrounding her, and she finally understood – Antiramon had sealed her in an energy shield.

Antiramon then lifted both of her arms, and she glowed a bright pink. Her paws flashed, and became sharp, silver crescent-shaped blades. She began to spin around violently, moving toward Fenrimon at breakneck speed.

“Ashipatravana!”

Fenrimon didn’t stand a chance – Antiramon’s wild pink tornado blasted right into him.

Yuka gasped as she saw Fenrimon sail into the air, and land with a sickening crunch. Fragments of damaged data and energy discharge cascaded over him. He opened his eyes painfully, without saying a word, and gave Yuka the most hateful, loathsome look she had ever seen. He took a few deep, tortured breaths, and closed his eyes. Then, he simply disappeared in a cloud of data.

Yuka watched as the data flowed away, and the shield around her disappeared. Antiramon glowed, reverting back to Lopmon, and she and Yuka looked at each other quietly, understandingly.

“I never knew you could be that strong,” Yuka said softly.

“It was because of you,” Lopmon answered, beaming. “Your courage, strength, power – whatever you name it – it helped.”

Yuka frowned.

“You might think you’re weak and you’re a scaredy-cat or a coward, but you’re one of the bravest and strongest people I know,” Lopmon continued, “You have… something, some power, that none of the others have. I’ve noticed it. You could be scared to death, but you let out so much light that it can scare away evil things for miles! And when that light reaches me…” Lopmon smiled. “Then I can be strong too, and wipe out whoever’s crazy enough to stay behind!”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Lopmon said reassuringly, “So don’t give up on yourself so quickly!”

Yuka smiled.

Then, one of Lopmon’s ears perked up, and she moved in front of Yuka protectively.

“Who’s there?” she said, sharply but softly. She stared into the shadows, where a small figure stood, concealed.

Yuka pulled out her Digivice. “Kei?” she asked shakily.

The shadowed figure didn’t answer.

Yuka gulped. “R-Rion?”

The figure then stepped closer, into the light. Seeing who it was, Yuka gasped, and she lowered her Digivice.

“You…” Yuka said softly.

A girl stood before them, taller than Yuka, with long black hair, and violet eyes. She wore clear-lensed yellow goggles.

“I came to make sure things didn’t get out of hand,” the girl said faintly, “But it seems you handled yourselves just fine.” She smiled at them radiantly. “Nothing less from the guardians of Light!”

Yuka looked back at her desperately. “But-”

Naoko shook her head, waving Yuka’s protest away. “Don’t worry so much!” she said brightly, “It’s just as Lopmon said. You’re strong in your own special way. As long as you believe in that hidden power of yours – as long as your light still shines – everything will turn out all right in the end.”

Yuka nodded.

At that, Naoko smiled, and turned away, walking toward the Meterostone hovering in the center of the room. She looked up at it thoughtfully, raised a hand, and placed it palm-first near the stone. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

The stone immediately grew brighter, and hummed for a few moments. Then it returned to normal.

“What are you doing?” Yuka asked, walking up to her with Lopmon.

“Making it warmer,” Naoko answered, smiling. “So no one will catch a cold!”

“So no one will catch a cold…” Yuka repeated, frowning. She was immediately reminded of Kei.

Then, there was a faint rumbling, and what sounded like bombs or energy beams echoing through space. The ceiling shook, and small traces of dust and fragments of stone fell. After that, silence.

Naoko looked up at the ceiling, a suspicious glare on her face.

“What’s that?” Yuka asked fearfully.

“Trouble.” She looked down at Yuka again, seriously. “I have to get going.”

“It’s Rion, isn’t it?” Yuka asked, looking down. “He’s the one behind all of this, right?”

Naoko didn’t answer.

“Let us come with you,” Lopmon said firmly, “If Kei and Terriermon are in trouble…”

Yuka nodded in agreement.

Naoko looked at them for a long moment, then nodded. “All right. Take my hands, both of you, and hold tight.”

They did so, and Naoko closed her eyes. She concentrated, and a large, shimmering blue sphere surrounded them all. It lifted a few feet in the air, and hovered there for a moment.

“Where are we going?” Yuka asked nervously.

“Up…” Naoko said softly, her eyes still closed.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, and the sphere became a beam, catapulting them up – through ceiling, floor, wall, and space. Everything they passed was nothing but a high-speed blur.

Then, they stopped, with a sudden lurch. The blue beam faded away, and while Naoko stood perfectly straight, Yuka and Lopmon wobbled, struggling to get their bearings.

They had landed in a large, cold room near the very top of the castle. It was empty, save for a few familiar faces – Kei, cradling a severely damaged Terriermon, a sad-looking Guilmon, and Rion.

“You again!” Rion shouted, glaring daggers at Naoko.

“Hello to you, too,” Naoko answered, staring back at him coldly. “You don’t know when to quit, do you?”

Chapter Text

It was an exhilarating feeling, to fly.

Akira laughed as she blazed through the crisp, cool air. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the wind was swift, but gentle.

After a while, Akira decided that she was dreaming, if only for the myriads of things happening that did not make sense. For one, she was flying. Without wings. And she was moving faster than was humanly possible. Trees, mountains, and clouds zoomed by in a blur.

Everything seemed awash in light, and from that light came a warmth that made her sigh and close her eyes in contentment.

Then, she felt herself moving downward, and her feet slowly touched bottom.

She opened her eyes, looked around, and found that she was standing in the middle of a forest with colored leaves. A warm breeze blew, lifting some leaves from their branches and carrying them away. A long path stretched in front of her, shrouded in mystery.

Suddenly, she was aware of someone holding her hand. It gave her a warm, tingly feeling. She turned, and saw Seita standing there, smiling at her.

For a just a moment, she wondered why he was there, but the warm, happy feeling she got from him washed away her doubts.

She looked at the path in front of her, and back to Seita, and then wondered if he would come with her if she decided to follow it.

Somehow, she felt that she wouldn’t mind if he came along.

She smiled at him, and took a step toward the path.

But then, something pulled her back.

“Akira…”

Akira was barely aware of it – a voice calling her from the distance. It sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on whose it was. She ignored it, not wanting this dream to end just yet.

“Akira…”

I can’t hear you…

“Akira!”

“Not yet, Dad…” Akira mumbled, “I’m still sleepy…”

“Akira, wake up!”

“No way… I don’t want to go to school today…” She turned over, eyes still closed, and bumped into something else. Her expression turned confused. What was that? In the confusion of her sleepy mind, she also felt that she was swinging around, very slowly. Then, she heard an exasperated breath.

Before she could figure out anything else, she was jolted awake by a violent pinch in her arm.

“OW!!”

She jumped in pain and fright, and her flailing arms slammed into something else-

“OW!! What in the-”

“Ouch-ouch-ouch!” Akira shouted, rubbing her arm violently. Her eyes snapped open, and she looked around wildly, wondering where she was.

After a moment, it all came back to her. Snowy woods. Soccer balls. An attack. And then the net-

She glanced around her sharply, squinting in the pre-dawn light. On one side, in the net with her, was Seita. He looked sleepy and irritated, clamping a hand painfully over one of his eyes.

On the other side, sitting on a tree branch, was Jun, staring at them in extreme shock.

“Uh… hi…” Jun mumbled stupidly, “…Did you have a nice nap?”

Akira’s eyes narrowed. “Jun, how-”

“Digivices,” Jun interrupted, smiling proudly. “Didn’t take very long for us to find you two, once you showed up on radar.” He pulled on a pair of rubber gloves, and pulled out a small pocketknife. “Hold still,” he added, “This might or might not hurt you – I’m not sure how much of a jolt this thing has!” He nodded toward the net.

“Where are the others?” Seita asked.

Jun motioned downward. “Down there.”

Akira and Seita looked down, and let out a startled shout.

From what they could see, it looked as if a small war had broken out on the ground. Taomon, Angewomon, and HolyAngemon were there, and they seemed to be shooting at everything in sight. Dozens of the wolf-like Digimon who had been guarding the net in the beginning were now running around madly, dodging shots and bright beams of energy while sending back some of their own. And a few feet away, Tian and Mana were hidden behind a cluster of rocks, staring up at the net in the tree.

Meanwhile, Jun had managed to cut a hole in the net without shocking anyone. Akira and Seita carefully scrambled out, and the three of them climbed down the tree, from a rope tied securely to one of the branches.

“All right!” Tian called out to the three Digimon. “They’re down! We’re finished here!”

Taomon was the first to return. “Perfect timing,” she said smugly, “They just started running for their lives.”

With flashes of light, all three Digimon reverted to their Child forms. Tian turned toward Akira and Seita, grinning.

“Had a rough night?”

“Tell me about it,” Seita muttered.

Akira looked around. As everything grew brighter, she noticed that the snow had stopped falling, and it was several degrees warmer than before. Most of the snow on the ground had already melted.

“We were wandering around here for a while,” Jun explained, putting away the rubber gloves and the knife, “and after a while, we noticed Yuka and Kei’s dots on our Digivices, maybe a couple of miles away.”

“But once it started snowing a lot, we found you two,” Tian added, smiling. “You were closer, so we thought we’d might as well rescue you first before we tried following them!”

Akira just stared at her. “Uh… thanks?” Tian laughed.

“Where did Kodamon and Gazimon go?” Mana asked.

Akira shrugged. “Those wolf Digimon ambushed us,” she answered, “And by the time we woke up again, we were up in that tree, and Kodamon and Gazimon were already gone.”

“They were probably taken to where Yuka and everyone else is,” Seita added. His eyes narrowed. “And I’m pretty sure we know who’s responsible.” The others nodded.

Akira pulled out her Digivice. “Let’s get going, then!”

“If you’re here to convince me again, you can just forget about it!” Rion shouted, pulling out his Digivice and pointing it at Naoko.

“I’m just going to let you know, there is still time for you to change your mind,” Naoko said evenly, “Mataymon’s only using you, you know. Do you really think he’s helping you as much as you’re helping him?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“If you ask me, I really think you should stop. You’re hurting a lot of innocent people in your crazy little revenge plan.” She glanced at Yuka and Kei, and at Lopmon and Terriermon.

Rion glared at her murderously. “Did you think I wanted to get them involved?”

Naoko glanced at Yuka and the others again, and shot them a quick warning look.

“You say you don’t want to get the other kids involved,” Naoko stated, “If that’s true, then why is it that everything Mataymon has you do ends up hurting everyone?”

“That’s not true!” Rion shouted, but he was beginning to waver. “I-I only wanted to hurt Akira and Kodamon, that’s all!” he stammered, “I didn’t want to hurt anyone else! They just kept on getting in the way!”

Naoko smirked. “Ah… so you do care after all!” she exclaimed sarcastically, “I was worried there for a moment. I was actually starting to think that Mataymon had turned you into an uncaring monster!”

“Shut up!” Rion screamed. He sent out a dark beam from his Digivice.

In a blur, Naoko acted. With one hand, she sealed Kei, Yuka, and their Digimon in a bright blue energy shield. With the other hand, she caught the dark Digivice beam and with a flash of light, bounced it back toward Rion.

“Fireball!”

The beam collided with Guilmon’s bright red-orange energy ball. Guilmon stared back at her, his eyes a hard gold.

He fired more shots, and in a gravity-defying leap, Naoko dodged them. She flipped easily in the air, cupped her hands together, and formed a ball of blue energy. The ball steadily increased in size until she finally let it go. It hit Rion like a tidal wave.

Rion was knocked off his feet. His Digivice fell out of his hand and skittered across the floor, glowing and beeping. Before he could get up again and get it, Naoko landed in front of him.

“I’m telling you…” she said forcefully, face to face with Rion, “Quit. While you’re. Ahead!”

“Exhaust Flame!”

Naoko saw the attack just in time to dodge it with a flip. In mid-air, she saw Growmon, surrounded by a fading red light. Growmon fired again, and this time, his attack grazed her shoulder.

Naoko landed on the floor with a thud, and clamped a hand on her shoulder. Electrical interference bristled there for a moment, then disappeared in a flash of light as she healed herself.

“Exhaust Flame!”

This time, Naoko dodged it, scooting across the floor.

Then, Growmon glowed again, a brighter red this time. Naoko looked around wildly and spotted Rion. He had retrieved his Digivice, and the Crest around his neck shined an eerie grayish-black.

“Growmon, super evolve to… MegaloGrowmon!”

“Atomic Blaster!”

The energy beam missed Naoko and headed straight for the kids behind the shield.

“Watch out!” Naoko shouted, moving toward the shield and MegaloGrowmon’s attack…

By this time, Akira and the others had finally reached the forbidding-looking castle. It was broad daylight, and they were currently hidden behind a clump of thin, stubby trees. They stared tensely at a small pack of Fenrimon and Lupimon patrolling in front of the entrance.

“It seems like they warned the others that we were coming,” Seita muttered.

“Now what?” Mana demanded softly.

Akira stared quietly at the Digimon near the entrance. “We’re going to need a distraction…” she whispered.

They all thought a moment, and eventually, one by one, many of them turned their glances toward Mana.

Mana gulped. “Why are you all looking at me?”

Seita smirked. “Just a hunch.”

Jun laughed softly. “Well… you could scream loud enough for them to notice you… and if you lead them away…” He nodded at the entrance. “We could get in easy!”

Mana gave him a dirty look.

“That could work,” Akira confirmed.

Mana stared around at everyone despairingly. Tian gave her a cheerful nod. Salamon smiled nervously.

Mana sighed. “All right, I get it. Come on, Salamon.” They walked slowly out from behind the trees. “But if something happens to us and we don’t come back, it’s not our fault!!”

They walked further toward the entrance, quietly enough for the Fenrimon and Lupimon guards not to notice them yet.

Then, Mana took a deep breath, and shouted. “Hey!!”

The guards turned around to stare at her with bewildered looks.

Mana gulped. “Yeah, we’re talking to you, you overgrown balls of fur! Come and get us!!”

For a moment, the guards just stood there in shock. Then, they all bounded toward the two, snarling and snapping.

Mana screamed, and she and Salamon ran off, taking all the guards with them.

At the same time, Akira and the others sped toward the entrance. Mana’s screams echoed through the trees, and a bright reddish-pink light could be seen from the treetops. Jun turned back for just a moment and sighed.

“Mana… I think you overdid it…”

Once inside, they were greeted by empty rooms and an unearthly silence. Akira and Seita pulled out their Digivices and swept them around. When they reached a certain staircase, the Digivices pulsed with light, and faint green and pink dots showed up. They both nodded. “This way!”

After clambering up a couple of flights, they all found themselves in a large, open room. The crumbling stone walls and floor suggested a war zone. And lying over to the side, almost out of sight, were Kodamon and Gazimon.

Akira and Seita immediately rushed over to them.

“Kodamon!” Akira called out, shaking the Digimon roughly. Kodamon moaned softly, and opened her eyes a crack. Next to her, Gazimon was just waking up as well.

“Are you okay?” Akira asked again, “What happened?”

“The Fenrimon and Lupimon attacked us…” Gazimon answered weakly, taking a hold of Seita’s hand. “They knocked us out in the woods and brought us here.”

“We were trapped for a while, but then Gazimon got us out,” Kodamon continued, “And then we found Kei, and-” She stopped suddenly, and her eyes widened. “Kei!”

Gazimon gasped. “Lupimon!”

Both of them looked around the room in desperation. “Where did she run off to?!”

Seita looked at them in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“The Lupimon leader!” Kodamon shouted. “She had Kei and Galgomon trapped in here when we found them! Galgomon was hurt, and Kei was terrified! And…” She swallowed, and looked straight at Akira. “Lupimon was running around here looking like you!”

Akira gasped. “What?”

“It’s exactly as I said! Lupimon tricked Kei by pretending to be you!” She shut her eyes, and tried to get up. “And she’s still around here somewhere!”

“Kodamon and I tried to stop her,” Gazimon added grimly, “And you can see how that turned out.”

“Did you see Yuka or Lopmon anywhere?” Seita asked anxiously. Gazimon shook his head.

Kodamon got to her feet, but wobbled precariously.

Akira made her sit down again. “Don’t try.” She looked at Jun and Patamon. “Stay with them.” They answered with a nod.

Then, she, Seita, Tian, and Renamon moved on, following the Digivice signal.

There was a blast of heat and an explosion of smoke as the Atomic Blaster impacted. Blocks of debris rained down. As the smoke cleared, however, it revealed a completely different scene than expected.

The energy shield was intact, and Yuka, Lopmon, Kei and Terriermon still remained behind it. MegaloGrowmon, however, was nowhere to be found. There was a massive hole in the wall where he used to be, and lying on the floor under the hole was Guilmon, out cold with a dizzy, wobbly expression on his face.

And, off to the side, Naoko was also on the floor, fatigued and breathing heavily. She opened her eyes, took a quick scan of the room, and an amazed smile appeared on her tired face.

“It worked…”

Rion switched his stare from Guilmon’s unconscious form, to Naoko, and back. “What the hell…” he murmured in a dangerously quiet voice, “…did you do?!”

“I slowed down the room’s clock speed…” Naoko said softly, picking herself up from the floor, “And I redirected the beam.” She smiled broadly. “I thought I wouldn’t make it in time.”

Rion did nothing but stare at her in disbelief.

“So…” Naoko said with a smirk, “Shall we continue this ridiculous battle, or will you just give up already?”

Rion glared defiantly for a moment, then let his gaze drop to the ground in defeat. He walked slowly over to Guilmon, still knocked out on the floor, and knelt down. He placed a hand on Guilmon’s head, his expression blank for a moment. Then he glared again.

He held out his other hand, and a dark, crystallized ball appeared.

“Listen up,” he said harshly, into the ball, “Your leaders are deleted. If you don’t want to end up the same way, then leave. Now!”

The ball disappeared, and Rion looked back at Naoko furiously. “I won’t forget this!” he shouted. He looked around one more time, and his gaze softened slightly when he saw Kei.

Then, he and Guilmon disappeared in a flash of dark-gray light.

At that, Naoko sighed, in both relief and despair. She waved a hand in front of Yuka and the others, and the energy shield faded.

“A-are you all right?” Yuka asked. Her voice shook.

Naoko took a deep breath, and nodded. “Just perfect.”

She then turned her attention to Kei. She was sitting near them, clutching Terriermon in a tight grip. She was very quiet, and her face held no expression.

Naoko put a hand on Terriermon’s head, and bits of electricity jumped from it. Then, slowly and carefully, she pulled Terriermon out of Kei’s grasp and laid him on the floor. Her hand hovered over Terriermon’s chest, at the point where the most interference was. She closed her eyes and concentrated.

Slowly, and with violent electrical shocks, a small, black sphere emerged. Yuka watched it pulse as it was being removed, and she could feel the cold and hatred radiating from it.

Then, Naoko’s eyes snapped open, and her hand quickly clamped over the black seed. She made a fist, and a sharp, blue light flashed. After several moments, the light faded, and Naoko opened her hand again, revealing nothing.

She then placed her hand over Terriermon, who was then enveloped with a softer blue light. After a few more moments, the light faded. The electrical interference and data fragmentation immediately disappeared.

“What was that?” Yuka asked finally.

“That…” Naoko answered, sighing, “was a Dark Seed. If a Digimon is infected with one, it usually means an instant, painful deletion. If a human is infected with one…” She hesitated. “If a human is infected with one, it causes a serious illness, and the person could very well die from it.” She paused again. “But if the person survives the disease, and the Dark Seed is still there, he or she will be completely changed. That person’s abilities would increase – he or she would get stronger and smarter – and eventually, be completely controlled by evil thoughts.”

Yuka merely stared at her.

“They’re terrible weapons,” Naoko added grimly, “I was hoping they wouldn’t be used again.”

“Will Terriermon be okay now?” Yuka asked, anxiously.

Naoko nodded. “Yes. Let him rest for a while, and he’ll be just fine.”

Yuka sighed in relief. “Thank goodness.” Then, she glanced at Kei, still sitting there and staring into space, and frowned. “Kei…”

Naoko looked down at Kei, concerned. She crouched down, and placed a hand on Kei’s shoulder. She shrugged it off and turned away, not saying a word. Her expression was blank.

Naoko got up, shaking her head. “Give her a little time,” she answered.

“What are you going to do about Rion?”

Naoko sighed. “I don’t know if I can help him anymore. If only he could figure out what his true feelings are, he’d be able to save himself and Guilmon – as it is now, he may be too far gone.”

“Kei believed in him,” Yuka answered, “Right from the start.”

Then, familiar shouts echoed off the walls.

“Kei! Terriermon!”

“Yuka!”

Naoko smiled, and turned to leave when Yuka stopped her.

“Will we see you again?” Yuka asked.

“When the time is right,” Naoko answered. “Until then, hang in there!”

Yuka nodded. “Right.”

Naoko smiled at Yuka and Lopmon again. Then, she turned and ran off, disappearing into the shadows.

“Yuka!”

Yuka turned around, and her face immediately brightened. “Nii-chan!” she shouted, rushing into Seita’s arms. They were silent for a moment.

“I’m sorry,” Yuka murmured finally.

Seita laughed. “What are you saying ‘sorry’ for?” He hugged her tight. I’m the one who should be sorry… for all the times I wasn’t there to protect you…

“Sorry for always getting into trouble,” Yuka replied softly, “and for always needing you and Lopmon and everyone else to get me out of it.”

Seita stared back at her, shocked and confused. “Yuka-”

“Especially you,” she continued, as if she didn’t hear him. “…Nii-chan.”

Seita looked at her for a moment, silently. Then, he smiled. “You don’t have to start calling me that,” he replied, “It sounds way too serious, and it’s scary coming from you!”

“But-”

“And don’t be sorry,” he continued, ruffling her hair, “I’ll rescue you from anything, whether you like it or not!”

Yuka giggled.

“Hey!” several voices called out from the end of the room. They looked up to see Tian, Jun, and the rest of the Digimon running to meet them. Mana and Salamon plodded behind them, exhausted.

Tian’s eyes lit up when she saw Yuka and Kei. “You found them!”

“The entire place is empty now, even the woods!” Jun said excitedly, “All of the Fenrimon and Lupimon have run off!”

“It was weird, though,” Tian added, “While you were gone, all the guards came back and caught up with us. They were going to fight us right then and there, but then something happened – I don’t know what – and they turned around and just ran, as if something invisible was chasing them or something…”

“And good riddance!” Mana shouted indignantly, “Because I never want to do this again! Next time, pick someone else to make a diversion!”

Mostly everyone laughed.

Meanwhile, Akira had hurried over to Kei, who was still sitting on the floor, faced away and staring out at nothing.

“Kei!”

Kei turned, and seeing Akira, she slowly got up. She took a couple of steps back, keeping her distance.

Akira blinked, and stopped a few feet in front of Kei. “Kei…” Her expression grew concerned. “What’s wrong?”

Kei didn’t answer. She stared at Akira blankly. A sudden surge of fear filled her, as a vision of ‘Akira’ glaring at her with evil, darkened eyes and pointing a seed gun at her throat lingered in her mind for a few moments.

Then, with great effort, she pushed the thought away, and tears fell from her eyes.

“Akira!” she screamed out, running toward Akira and landing in her arms. She began to cry.

“Kei…” Akira said, surprised.

“Don’t go away, Akira,” Kei sobbed, “Stay with me! Don’t ever leave me alone!”

Akira looked down at Kei, shocked and confused. She had never seen her act like this before. What on earth had happened up here, to make Kei so terrified?

“It’s okay,” Akira finally said, “I’m here.” She hugged Kei tighter. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Everyone was silent until Kei’s crying had calmed somewhat.

“Kei…” Tian said gently, “What happened to all of you?”

Kei was silent for a moment, then answered. “It was L-lupimon and… t-those other wolves…” she stammered softly, “They were…” She swallowed. “They were…” Her expression crumpled, and she buried her face in Akira’s shirt, threatening to cry again.

“They were trying to make us sick,” Yuka spoke up.

The others looked back at her, surprisingly and expectantly, and she felt a momentary dread. She glanced at Lopmon, who gave her a smile and a slight nod.

This time, Yuka thought, I won’t stay silent.

She took a deep breath, and began to explain.

When she finished, most of the others took the information in shocked and appalled silence.

Except for one person.

“That little-” Seita clenched his fists. “The next time I see Rion, I’ll kick his lights out!”

Kei moaned.

Akira hugged her again, and glared at Seita. “You’re not helping. Really not.”

“It’s not completely his fault, Seita,” Yuka added defensively, “Someone else is making him and Guilmon do all that bad stuff.”

Seita perked up. “What someone?”

Yuka shook her head. “I don’t know for sure. But it was someone else.”

After that, there was silence.

Kei sighed and sniffled a little.

“Akira…” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

“Isn’t there any way we can save Rion?” Kei asked sadly. “It hurts to think of him like …that. Evil, I mean. It hurts!”

Akira regarded her for a moment, troubled, then thoughtful. Then, she smiled. “We’ll find a way. I’m sure of it.” She put a hand on Kei’s shoulder. “Don’t lose hope!”

Kei stared back at her for a while, and a very faint smile appeared on her face.

“That’s more like it!” Akira exclaimed cheerfully. “And if you have any doubts,” she added with a smirk, “just kick ‘em away!”

Kei’s smile widened a little. “Kick ‘em away!” Then, her smile disappeared, and she hugged Akira again, as if she would never let go.

Akira sighed, still wondering at just how much Kei had been through since the last time they had been together. The more she thought about it, and about Rion, and about everything else that had happened to them, the more she was filled with a boiling rage.

“Come on,” she said crossly, “Let’s get out of here. This place makes me sick.”

Chapter Text

Subject: Shu, T.
Date: 7/27/2067
Time: 2:05 PM
Location: Odaiba, Japan

Begin transmission…

…

“So… ready to start?” Tian’s voice rang out through the empty lab.

“No.” Akira said flatly, setting her bag down. She put on a pair of lab goggles and pulled out several beakers.

Tian stared back at her, looking critically. “You know… you should put on some gloves. The stuff you’re working with is dangerous.”

“Uh-huh…”

“And goggles go over your eyes, not over your forehead!”

“I know that!” Akira glared and slapped her lab goggles over her eyes.

Tian raised an eyebrow. “You’re not taking this very seriously.”

“If you’re so strict about lab procedure, why don’t you do the experiment instead?”

“Hey, it’s your detention, not mine. I’m only here to supervise.”

“Geez…” Akira moaned, “This is such a waste of time. What kind of crazy teacher do we have, giving students ridiculous detentions like this?” She raged on, violently washing out beakers. “I could be working problems, or writing essays, or even scratching out lines on the chalkboard… but no – I have to spend three hours making hydrochloric acid!”

Tian sighed. “You wouldn’t be doing this at all if you didn’t explode your lab bench and destroy all the stock solution she made herself.” She was silent for a moment as she scanned the lab procedure the teacher gave them. “Now that I think about it, no wonder she told us we weren’t going to make this stuff ourselves. The procedure’s super-long!”

Akira laughed out loud. “Thank you,” she said sarcastically, “That makes me feel so much better!”

“Just be glad you blew up your lab station after you finished your experiment,” Tian shot back, “If you didn’t, you’d be doing that over as well!”

Akira let out a huff, and set out a newly-cleaned beaker full of pure HCl. “Whatever…” she murmured, picking up a beaker of water and intending to pour it into the acid-filled beaker.

Tian’s eyes widened, and she let out a shout. “HOLD IT!”

Akira blinked. “What?”

“Put… the water… down.” Tian said slowly.

“Huh?”

“PUT IT DOWN!!”

Akira gaped at her, but she put the beaker of water down.

Tian sighed. “Acid… to water…” she said tiredly, “Never, ever add water to acid. Do that, and you will absolutely blow something up!”

Akira let out a breath. “Tian…” she said shakily, “how do you know all this stuff?! No wonder you’re the top student in chemistry class!”

Tian shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it just comes from having a mom who works at a chemical plant all day and night,” she said with a twinge of bitterness. “I only know what we study in chem class – my mom practically lives and breathes it!”

Akira didn’t comment on that. Instead, she flopped down onto a chair, taking off her lab goggles.

“I will be so glad when this year is over,” she said wistfully, “I never want to do this stuff again.”

Tian laughed. “That would be a good thing. At the rate you’re going, you’ll kill yourself in an explosion in no time!”

Akira shot a glare at her, then laughed along with her.

…

…End transmission.

The laptop screen dimmed, and both Akira and Tian sighed as everyone else around them laughed.

“Hey…” Akira said faintly, “That’s not funny – it’s embarrassing!”

“Well…” Kei said cheerfully, “now we know not to let you near any chemicals!” She and Terriermon looked at each other and giggled.

Akira smiled. It seemed that the two of them had recovered quickly from their traumatic experience in the old, crumbling castle in the snow.

“After watching that, I remember that day,” Seita said, smiling evilly. “Two years ago, in the eighth grade. We had this evil chemistry teacher who would hand out experiments to do as punishment for anyone who acted up in her class. Akira used to get them all the time!”

“And I would always end up staying back with her, to make sure she came out in one piece,” Tian said, shaking her head. “And then,” she continued, “Seita would be coming home from practice at exactly the same time we would, so I’d have to listen to the two of them scream at each other all the way home!”

The others laughed, and Tian sighed.

“Y-yeah… That’s true…” Akira replied hastily.

“So I guess that’s why something like this was in your memory disc, Tian,” Jun stated, nodding over to his laptop, which was currently running one of the small discs Tian had found earlier, the one with her name written on it. “Akira would have probably forgotten about it, if she could!”

There was more laughter, and Jun went on looking at the screen.

“Hmm…” he murmured, studying the list of memory files. “What about these?” he asked, pointing to the ones at the very top. “They look different from all the others!”

“Like how?” Tian asked.

“Different location, for one thing,” he replied, pointing to the entries, “The dates are vague, and there’s no time listed.”

Shu, T. – 6/2058 – Nanjing, China
Shu, T. – 6/2058 – Nanjing, China
Shu, T. – 7/2058 – Shanghai, China ***njngchntmlndstspot2057-12prmlckpassphrs***
Shu, T. – 7/2058 – Sea of Japan

“The dates are from eleven years ago,” Jun continued, “Maybe those are your memories from when you were a kid?”

Mana turned to Tian. “Your family is from China, right?”

Tian did nothing but nod. Her face was pale.

Immediately, Akira and Renamon looked up in alarm. They shot glances at Tian and at each other.

Jun raised an eyebrow, looking confused, then turned back to the laptop. “There’s a weird code embedded into one of these,” he murmured, “I wonder if it’s important…” He moved the mouse cursor over the entry marked “Shanghai, China.”

“Don’t click that!” Tian said sharply. Everyone looked at her, surprised.

“Why?” Jun asked suspiciously.

“Uh…” Tian said nervously. “I… There’s nothing important in those,” she said hastily, “Looking through them all would just be a waste of time. Just like the one with the chemistry lab, remember?” She laughed, and shot a pleading glance at Akira.

“Yeah,” Akira joined in, immediately catching on. “It’ll be better if we looked through my memory disc. That way I can remember more stuff, and we’ll find out something important too. Right, Kodamon?”

“Yeah!” Kodamon nodded energetically.

Jun just stared at all three of them in confusion. “Uh… okay then…” He popped out Tian’s disc, and inserted Akira’s instead.

Immediately, a window popped up, showing a long list of entries, and a large world map on the right side of the screen. Bright blue dots highlighted areas in Japan and the United States.

“So… where do we start?” Jun asked.

Akira thought a moment, taking occasional glances at Kodamon, Seita, and Tian. “I’d say… the entire time I was in America, last year. From…” She thought again, calculating the dates. “From last April to this May. There are some things around then that have been just a great big blank.”

“Okay… so from April 2068 to May 2069…” Jun murmured, filtering the list. After a moment, he gave a low whistle.

“Wow…” he said, surprised, “I can probably see when those blanks happened.” He pointed to the screen. “Look at these.”

...
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/23/2068 – 8:20 PM – Washington, D.C, USA
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/23/2068 – 8:25 PM – Washington, D.C, USA
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/23/2068 – 8:26:01 PM – Washington, D.C, USA
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/23/2068 – 8:26:02 PM – Location Unknown
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/23/2068 – 8:26:02 PM – Location Unknown
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/23/2068 – 8:26:02 PM – Location Unknown
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/23/2068 – 8:26:02 PM – Location Unknown
...

The list continued on, repeating, until a few small changes occurred near the end:

...
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/23/2068 – 8:26:02 PM – Location Unknown
Mitsuishi, A. – 12/24/2068 – 8:26:03 PM – Washington, D.C., USA
Mitsuishi, A. – 1/17/2069 – 10:00 AM – Washington, D.C., USA
...

“What do they mean by, ‘Location Unknown’?” Seita asked.

No one could give an answer.

“Do you remember anything during these dates?” Jun asked.

Akira thought a moment, and snippets of fuzzy memories came to mind… of her with Kodamon and Rion and Guilmon… of an unexplained battle… of a massive explosion… pain…

“No,” she answered, “Not much. Nothing I can completely explain.”

“I remember something…” Kei said slowly.

“You do?” Akira asked, surprised.

“Those dates on the computer…” Kei continued softly.

“What about them?” Akira prodded.

“They were on the day school ended for winter break,” Kei started again, “And you…”

“I what? What was I doing?”

“You and Daddy had a big argument. I wasn’t sure why at the time, but I remember that when you came home, your wrist was wrapped up and you had Band-Aids on your face – I thought maybe you had a fight or something at school. But whatever it was, Daddy was mad about it. I could hear you two argue about it for the longest time, and then you came upstairs and told me to go out for a while, and shut yourself up in the bedroom.”

Akira nodded absently, looking down and listening. Everyone was quiet.

“Then, that night, Mom came home. She and Daddy were talking really seriously about something, and she sounded worried. Then she called you to come down. She asked you a couple of questions, and you got really upset, and… you just ran out the door.”

Akira let in a quick breath. “And…?”

Kei looked down. “And… we couldn’t find you. You just disappeared. You didn’t show up again until a few weeks after New Year’s.”

Jun’s eyes widened. “That explains the three-week gap in the memory list!”

“Was there anything else?” Akira asked, her pulse quickening.

“Well…” Kei hesitated. “When we finally found you, you were in the hospital, and you were really hurt… Mom didn’t let me see you at first, and she was crying so hard…” Kei’s voice trembled and her hands shook. Akira took them in hers and Terriermon cuddled against her.

“Why was Akira in the hospital?” Tian asked gently.

“Because… because the day after Akira disappeared, there was a huge explosion, somewhere near where we were living. It was late at night, and it woke up half the neighborhood. There was a giant fireball, high enough so that everyone could see it, and a couple of the neighbors were freaking out, yelling that we were being bombed…”

Mana gasped. “The D.C. Bomb…” she said faintly.

“What?” Jun asked blankly.

“The D.C. Bomb!” Mana repeated fearfully, “Don’t you remember – it was all over the news last winter! Someone set off a bomb in D.C. on Christmas Eve, right at the edge of a residential area! They never did figure out who did it, aside from the fact that it could have been terrorists.”

“Oh… right,” Jun said softly, and looked to Kei. “You saw it happen?”

Kei nodded, turning back to Akira with a stricken look. “We were so worried… We thought you’d died… The doctors said you’d been slipping in and out of a coma for weeks, and then when you finally woke up, you couldn’t remember anything! Well… you knew your name and who we were, but you couldn’t remember what happened to you when you disappeared, or what happened weeks before that.”

Akira’s thoughts flashed back to the hospital, with her, and Touma… and Rion.

“Partial amnesia…” Jun said softly.

“So this was the accident everyone was talking about, ever since you came back, Akira,” Tian stated, shaking her head.

“Mom never told you about it, even after you got better,” Kei added, “and she made me swear not to tell you either, but…”

Akira hugged her. “I understand. But I’m glad you told me anyway.”

“But this still doesn’t explain the ‘Unknown’ files,” Seita interjected, “If Akira was hurt in that explosion and was in the hospital for the entire time, the location should have shown up!”

Jun stared at the file list again, thinking deeply, “Only one explanation,” he finally said, in a serious tone, “Akira went to the Digital World.”

“What?” Seita blurted out incredulously. When no one answered him, he spoke up again. “Look, we all know that Akira went to the Digital World before, at some point or another, but how can you be so sure it was then?”

Jun frowned at him. “It’s obvious,” he replied, “That whole chunk of entries has the time listed down to the exact second, and since the Digital World is digital, working with microseconds and milliseconds, time must pass more slowly, which would explain why the time didn’t change.”

“Also,” he went on, “since the D.C. Bomb happened just a day after Akira could have gone to the Digital World, Akira must have spent just enough time in the Digital World to get caught in the explosion while coming back.”

“Uh… come again?” Seita asked, confused.

Jun sighed, and was about to explain again.

“No, never mind – don’t bother,” Akira interjected, “Anyway, so you’re saying that this was the time I got to the Digital World the first time?”

Jun nodded.

“…I see,” Akira replied, looking a little troubled.

“Do you remember much?” Kei asked.

Akira shook her head. “No. Just a couple of bits of things here and there, and a little bit of how I got back, but nothing about how I got there or why.”

Everyone was silent for a moment.

“Maybe…” Mana began, “if you saw some of those ‘Unknown’ files, it’ll help jog your memory.”

Akira nodded silently, looking determined.

Mana smiled, and turned to the computer. “Jun?”

He smiled back. “Let’s get started!” He clicked on one of the files marked “Location Unknown” and the file began to play.

Subject: Mitsuishi, A.
Date: 12/23/2068
Time: 8:26:02 PM
Location: Unknown

Begin transmission…

…

“I’m not leaving! You can’t make me!”

Akira sighed. “Rion, we’ve gone over this a hundred times – it’s for your own good!”

“I don’t care!” Rion glared back at her, his brown eyes flashing. “I’m not about to leave you and Kodamon and Guilmon to fight all by yourselves!”

“I don’t want you any more involved in this than you already are!” Akira shot back, “What we’re going to do now is much too dangerous – I don’t want you getting hurt!”

“But I have to stay!” Rion countered, “Guilmon needs me here! We have to fight together!”

“Rion-”

“NO!”

“Rion!!” Akira shouted, immediately silencing him. “Go home. It’s easier for all of us this way. If something happens to you here, what am I going to say to your brother or your dad, or your mom, once we get back?”

Rion glared at the ground for a while, and then, thinking it over, he sighed. “Okay. I’ll go home. But only if you come too!”

“Rion, you know I can’t-”

“Then I’m staying.”

“No, you can’t!”

Rion looked at her pleadingly. “You’re so worried about me – what about you? What if something happens to you after I leave, a-and you never come back…” His voice faltered, and he rushed over to her and hugged her.

Akira sighed. “Rion…” she said gently, “Don’t worry about me. Once all of us are done here, I’ll come back.”

“Promise?”

“Promise.”

Rion wiped his eyes and smiled, sadly.

The moment was interrupted by slight footsteps. They both turned around to see Kodamon and Guilmon.

“It’s time,” Kodamon murmured.

Akira nodded, and turned to Rion. “You ready?”

Rion stared at the ground, not answering.

“It’ll be okay,” Akira said brightly, “Remember what I said about doubts-”

“Just kick ‘em away!” Rion finished, smiling.

Akira smiled back. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

…

…End transmission.

Everyone was silent for a minute after the screen dimmed.

“Well…” Gazimon spoke up, “…that was helpful.”

“Rion again,” Seita said darkly.

“But he didn’t seem evil that time,” Mana spoke up, and turned to Akira. “He cared a lot about you…”

“Of course he does,” Kei said forcefully, “He and his big brother are almost like family to us, and Akira’s like a big sister to him too!”

“Then the next question would be why and how he got so bad,” Terriermon stated. “Akira, if Rion was good before, when you two got here the first time, then what were all of you fighting? Who was your enemy?”

At this point, Akira noticed Kodamon get up suddenly and start walking away from the large huddle everyone seemed to be making around Jun’s laptop.

“Akira?”

Akira turned back to Terriermon, and shook her head. “I don’t remember.”

“Well, we already know someone or something evil is controlling Rion and Guilmon now,” Jun confirmed. He turned to Yuka. “Yuka, are you sure you don’t remember who it was?”

Yuka thought a moment. “I don’t remember the name,” she said softly, “It was something weird and long, and started with an ‘M’…” Her face scrunched up in thought. “‘Mata’-something.” She looked down. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Jun reassured her, “We’ll probably find out soon enough.”

“Whoever it is, he’s probably still around, working behind the scenes,” Renamon replied, “Those other dark Digimon… Devimon, Alchemon, Fenrimon and Lupimon…”

“Black Tailmon and the Midnight Army…” Salamon added, scowling.

“They all had to work under someone, not just Rion,” Renamon finished.

“And whoever this enemy is,” Tian added, “they’ve got a pretty sick operation.”

“I’ll say,” Mana said angrily, “Not only are they trying to scare us out of our wits and blow us off the face of the earth, they’re doing it by all these freaky methods… messing with Akira’s mind, separating all of us and making Jun and me create an apocalypse just so we could move, using Yuka and Kei as guinea pigs for some stupid experimental disease…” She looked at Tian seriously. “And not to mention kidnapping you and making you a human GPS!”

At that, Tian glanced at the laptop screen, at the sparsely-dotted world map.

“About that,” she murmured, “We’ve already concluded that our enemy is somehow going to try to invade the Real World, using memories as a ‘map’, right?”

“Yeah,” Jun answered.

“Well, you’ve seen the maps on both discs – Akira and I have only lived and traveled in two countries for our entire lives – Japan and China for me, and Japan and America for Akira.” She and Akira exchanged looks, and nodded. “And even then, it’s only in a small area.”

Jun looked back at her, and nodded thoughtfully.

“Yeah…” Tian continued, “So in the end, it was useless – they went through so much trouble to get these memories, and they don’t even contain half the information they’d need for a global assault!”

“Maybe they didn’t know that…” Mana countered faintly.

“Probably not,” Tian replied, scowling. “They must have already gotten Akira’s memories at some point, since we have that disc, and Rion and whoever his boss is probably chose me at random just because Renamon and I happened to be there, and gave them another mind they could harvest…”

“Please don’t say it like that,” Mana pleaded, “It creeps me out!”

“Sorry.”

“So what now?” Seita spoke up, “All we know is that this enemy of ours is a sick and twisted person that likes to mess with our minds, break us up from the inside out, and use creepy kids as puppets!”

Kei kicked him.

“OW!”

“Rion’s not creepy!” she answered, “Or wasn’t, to start with.”

“Anyway,” Seita continued, “we know all about how this enemy works, but nothing about who it actually is!”

Everyone was silent again, until Patamon spoke up.

“We could check the database,” he suggested, turning to Jun. “There’s a Digimon Analyzer on it, right?”

Jun’s eyes widened. “Yes. There is.” He turned to his laptop, started up the database, and pulled out a computer wire. “Let me see your Digivice, Akira.”

Akira handed it over, and Jun plugged it in.

Immediately, images and data for various Digimon popped up on the screen, at a rapid pace.

Jun breathed in sharply. “Whoa…” He tried clicking on them, to slow them down, but it didn’t work. “There’s so many…” he murmured, “it’s insane!”

“The dates are crazy too…” Akira added, staring in shock. “1988… 1995… 1999… 2019…”

“Naoko’s data, maybe?” Tian asked.

Jun shrugged. “Maybe. But in any case, there’s no way we can look through all of this. It’s too much!”

“Wait!” Akira blurted out, pointing at the screen, “Look at these.” Images of familiar-looking Digimon flashed across the screen.

“Your data,” Jun confirmed. “They’re listed under ‘2068.’ Once we’ve reached the end of this, we’ll find out exactly who our enemy is. After filtering out the Digimon we’ve seen now, anyway.”

They waited, as the previous year’s data flooded the laptop. However, as the data neared the end of 2068, the screen flashed, and the laptop bleeped. An error message promptly showed up.

Overflow Error. Please Abort.

The disk is full or too many files are open.

Jun let out a frustrated breath. “I was hoping that wouldn’t happen. It’s too much data. The computer can’t take it!”

“Can you fix it?” Mana asked.

“Yeah, just give me a minute…” He restarted the laptop, unplugged Akira’s Digivice, and handed it back to her.

“Terrific…” Seita said sarcastically, “We have data on our unknown enemy, but we can’t get to it because the computer can’t handle it!”

“What about the rest of the memories?” Akira asked.

“We’ll try them,” Jun answered as the laptop’s OS finished loading up. He accessed Akira’s memory disc again, and clicked on the very last ‘Unknown’ listing.

There was nothing but static.

“Wha-?” Jun blurted out, confused. He clicked on many of the others, and the same thing happened. Static.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me…” Akira said with a frown, “Let me see them.”

She clicked on a few more, and aside from the memory they had already seen, they were all full of static. Critically damaged. She glared at the screen, pulsing gray and black with static snow. Then, her eyes wandered over to the CD drive. She pushed it, ejecting the disc, and glanced at the underside. After squinting a little, she gasped, and her annoyed expression turned murderous.

“Of all the ridiculous-”

“What?” Seita and Jun both asked, nervously.

“Look!” she shouted, shoving the disc into their faces. The underside was severely scratched up in many places, leaving only one small area unscathed.

“How ironic…” Seita muttered, “Everything just has to break down, and at the exact time we need them!”

“Dead end,” Jun concluded, sighing.

“What now?” Mana asked.

“We wait until Naoko appears again,” Yuka spoke up, “and she’ll tell us everything. She said so herself.”

“We all know the things she can do,” Lopmon added, “She can manipulate data to do anything she wants, and she always seems to show up at the right times, whenever we’re in trouble.”

“They’re right,” Jun added, “We find her, and everything will make sense.”

“But we’ll have to find her again soon,” Akira stated, “The enemy’s speeding things up, just like those holograms – Taichi and the others – said. Things are getting worse and worse here.” She glared and clenched her fists. “It burns me up, just thinking about all the stuff they’re doing to us, and to everyone and everything around us!”

“And even as we speak,” Jun added, “they could already be trying to get to the Real World!”

“Or thinking up new ways to get rid of us,” Seita remarked.

Akira nodded. “Or both.”

“And if they are trying to break through to the Real World soon, we’ll have to stop them here,” Tian added seriously, “Because if they do make it through…” She looked down. “Well, you know what would happen. No military in the world could stop them. We’re the only ones with a decent shot at it, and there’s only seven of us. Fourteen, counting the Digimon.”

“Man, this sucks,” Seita muttered, “I don’t like this. At all.”

“Neither do the rest of us,” Akira answered. She sighed. “I wish I could remember more, so we wouldn’t be jumping into this blind, but…” She put a hand to her forehead, and faint flashes of Touma and the hospital came to mind. “But that accident blocked up everything too well. I think my memory’s gone as far as it can go, understandably.” She glanced at Kodamon, sitting away from them and staring off into space. “And Kodamon’s the same, I guess.”

She was interrupted by a loud growl.

“Heh-heh…” Kei laughed hastily, putting a hand over her stomach.

Everyone laughed.

“All right, that settles it!” Mana sang out, “We’re stopping all this serious conversation and getting some dinner!” She got up, and looked up at the darkening sky. “We’ve been talking so much, we completely forgot how late it’s gotten!”

“Yay!” Kei exclaimed, “Dinner! What are we having? Candy? Chocolate bars?”

Mana laughed. “No… you and Yuka ate all the chocolate bars when we were still in the desert, to make sure they wouldn’t melt!” She looked through her backpack. “We have… wild berries, some crackers, and a lot of dried bread. And water bottles.”

“That’s it?” Seita asked skeptically.

“Uh…” Mana dragged Jun’s backpack over and started looking through it. “We can eat that, or…” She pulled out several sealed packages, and stared at them blankly. “…Or we can have ramen.”

Tian looked up suddenly, raising an eyebrow. “Ramen?”

“Yeah…” Mana said faintly. Then she scowled. “Jun!”

“Yeah?” Jun answered dully, staring at the laptop screen.

“Where did you get all these?” she demanded.

He took a split-second glance at the ramen packs she was holding, then returned his gaze to the screen. “Those? I packed them before we went to camp…”

“You…” Mana glared at him. “And all this time, we’ve been living on berries and bread and chocolate bars…” She let out a frustrated sigh. “Why didn’t you say something earlier?!”

Jun didn’t answer. He continued to stare at the screen.

“I think you’ve lost him,” Tian said, laughing.

“Oh, whatever!” Mana snatched up a couple of ramen packs and a small pot. “So are all of you just going to stand there, or are you going to help me cook these?”

Tian laughed. “Okay, I’ll tag along.”

“Come on, Yuka, let’s go!” Kei said happily, tugging Yuka by the hand. “Terriermon, Lopmon, we’ll need you too!”

“Good luck,” Seita said, sitting back and smirking.

“Oh, no – you’re helping too!” Mana called back.

“EH!?” Seita blurted out, “But-”

“No choice! We’re drafting you!”

“Crap.” He got up, and looked down at Akira. “You coming?”

Akira looked up at him, slightly distracted. “Um…” She hesitated a moment. “Maybe later.”

“Okay.” Seita smiled, and walked over to where everyone else was attempting to build a fire.

Akira sighed, and sat back, looking around at everything. Jun was being his usual self – staring at the computer and muttering to himself. Renamon and Gazimon were off to the side, talking in low voices, and Patamon and Salamon were listening in. Kodamon was sitting apart from everyone, strangely quiet.

“Akira.”

Akira jumped at the sound of Jun’s voice. “Yeah?”

“Come look at this.”

Akira moved closer to him and glanced at the screen of his laptop. The screen showed a familiar page of the database – the list and pictures of the Crests.

“Why are you showing me this-”

“Look near the bottom.”

Akira looked near the bottom of the page, and blinked. “Wha-?”

The nine shadowed spaces for the unknown Crests were shown. Eight of the Crests were still shadowed, but one Crest…

“Darkness…” Akira read off the screen, looking at a crest with a black, curved keyhole.

“The database has been unlocking stuff since that first time we all looked through it,” Jun mentioned seriously. “I’ve found data on the Black Gears, and a little bit on the Dark Seeds that Yuka told us about, and other things.” He nodded toward the computer screen. “This data appeared not long after we all found each other again. I guess that could be Rion’s crest… It seems to fit.”

Akira said nothing.

“In that memory,” Jun spoke up again, “when you talked about Rion ‘going home’, that probably meant sending him back to the Real World, huh?”

“Yeah…” Akira answered, “Why do you ask?”

“Nothing really,” Jun replied, “Just something I was thinking about.”

“Oh.” Akira was silent for a moment, her brow furrowing in thought. “You know… the first time I met Rion again, right before all of us got separated, I remembered a couple of things.

“We did send him back first, right before some huge battle we were going to fight. I don’t remember how it happened or who we were fighting. I went back to the Real World later on, while that battle was still going on. And on the way back, something happened, and I was hurting so much that I passed out…”

Jun blinked. “So I was right, then. The bomb went off just as you were coming back.”

“Maybe…” Akira replied.

“Hey…”

Kodamon looked up, and saw Gazimon and Renamon standing over her. Patamon and Salamon followed them.

“What is it?” Kodamon asked, getting up.

“Just wondering what was bothering you,” Salamon said, “You haven’t said a word since we saw Akira’s memory.”

Kodamon frowned a little. “It’s nothing… I was just thinking about stuff. About what happened to Akira in the real world. That… bomb and all. I never knew it happened.”

Salamon nodded understandingly. “Oh.”

“About that-” Renamon began.

“What?”

“When Kei described the bomb, it was a ‘giant fireball’,” Renamon continued.

“A fireball,” Gazimon added, “The shape of a sphere.”

“A sphere…” Patamon murmured. Then he blinked, and gave Salamon a significant look.

“Wait a minute…” Salamon said suspiciously, “You don’t think…” She turned to Kodamon.

“What?” Kodamon said nervously.

“Kodamon,” Gazimon spoke up, “What did you do at that point?”

“What are you talking about?”

“In that memory,” Renamon spoke, “you and Guilmon were about to fight someone or something. You two must have evolved up to at least Perfect level.”

“Yeah? So?”

“You idiot,” Gazimon blurted out, “How many of us here have a gigantic flaming fireball as a Perfect-level attack, besides you?!”

“Huh?” Kodamon asked. Then her eyes widened. “Wait… you’re not saying that I might have had something to do with that bomb, are you?”

Gazimon simply stared at her. “You mean you don’t remember anything?”

“Not that!”

A few of the other Digimon exchanged looks.

“Is it because something erased your memory too, or because you’re just forgetful?” Gazimon asked, smirking.

Kodamon growled and shot him an icy stare. “That’s not funny!” she snapped, “I really don’t remember! In fact,” she continued, “that whole memory we just saw… I never knew that even happened!”

“Then what do you remember?”

“Some things,” she answered, “More than Akira, but not everything. I can remember up to a certain point, and then it all goes blank. And all those memories are fuzzy.”

Gazimon sighed. “I don’t believe this…” he murmured, “Why didn’t you say something earlier?”

Kodamon’s eyes narrowed, and she looked down. “I-I never really thought about it until now…” she said nervously. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me…”

Salamon stepped closer to her. “Kodamon…”

“Leave me alone,” Kodamon whispered, “Everyone just leave me alone. I don’t feel like talking right now.” She turned away from them, and walked off.

From the corner of her eye, Akira saw Kodamon walk away with a troubled expression on her face. She wondered what could be bothering her, and made a mental note to ask her about it in the morning.

Her thoughts then went back to her conversation with Jun, and then to Rion’s angry explanations, the last time they’d met…

You sent me back first, but I stuck around long enough to find out what happened to you!

I saw everything. You came back, 24 hours after me, and boy, did you come back with a bang!

Kaboom! Half the street in flames! Some of the neighbors thought it was some sort of terrorist attack and that a bomb went off, but I knew it wasn’t that. The explosion was in the shape of a sphere…

Akira blinked. A sphere… A flaming sphere… She looked over to Kodamon, sitting near the edge of their little encampment, alone and facing away from everyone.

She thought of her other memories… with her, running into the transport chamber, trying to get home, worrying about Helamon and MegaloGrowmon and how the battle was going…

… And feeling that painful blast of heat before transferring out.

A chilling possibility ran through her mind. She continued looking at Kodamon, and remembered Jun’s words.

“The bomb went off just as you were coming back.”

Akira shuddered.

Somehow… I don’t think that’s how it went…

Chapter Text

Swish. Spin. Catch.

Swish. Spin. Catch.

The soft sounds of a yo-yo being released and caught were unusually loud as Rion hurled it around in frustration. Guilmon sat nearby, yawning and making occasional glances at the yo-yo.

They had been like this for a while, ever since their last assignment, at the old castle in the snow. It had ended in failure, with Fenrimon and Lupimon deleted and the kids getting away without a scratch. Another failure, on top of others.

Rion scowled, and spun the yo-yo harder. The more he threw it out and caught it, the more disappointments and annoyances came to mind, and the madder he got.

And underlying all of this was just one question.

Why?

“If you keep throwing it too hard, you’ll break it,” a voice suddenly said.

Rion looked up to see Guilmon staring at him innocently.

“The yo-yo,” Guilmon said again, “You looked so mad, and you were throwing it so hard. I thought you were going to break it.” All the while, his head was going up and down, up and down, following the yo-yo.

Rion sighed, and when the yo-yo came his way again, he caught it and shoved it into his pocket.

Guilmon pouted as Rion put the yo-yo away, and he stared down at the ground, letting out a sigh.

“I’m bored…” he murmured.

Rion stared back at him, hiding a small smile.

At one time or another, Rion had been just like him… cheerful and carefree…

Not anymore.

Rion wondered what Guilmon was thinking about right now. How did he feel about their situation? Worried? Angry? Or did he just not care?

How would Guilmon feel when all of this was over, and the rest of the Chosen Children were defeated? He would probably feel happier, wouldn't he?

That’s not true, a small voice in the back of Rion's mind said. You know it’s not true.

Rion stiffened a little. It was that voice again – whispering contradictory things in the back of his mind.

He’d been hearing it, off and on, ever since he had started fighting the other Chosen Children. It was a light, annoying voice, popping up whenever he thought certain thoughts. Sometimes, he’d wondered if he was going crazy. Or maybe that creepy, super-powerful girl-program was secretly monitoring his thoughts. Or, most likely, it was just his conscience running wild…

Sure, it’s your conscience, the voice replied, interrupting his thoughts. But do you ever listen to it? You’re so thick-headed, you wouldn’t notice a wrong thought even if it jumped at you and stabbed you in the heart!

Shut up! Rion scowled, and imagined himself kicking the unknown voice out of his mind, just as Akira had said-

Akira.

An image of Akira smiling at him surfaced in his mind, and he sighed in frustration. This line of thinking was getting him nowhere.

“I’ve had it,” he murmured, “I’m not thinking about this stuff anymore.” He pulled out his yo-yo again, and played around with it for a while, willing himself to calm down.

As he watched the movement of the yo-yo, and heard its familiar spinning, memories came to mind. A soft laughter filled his ears…

“Kuya! Kuya, do it again!” a five-year-old Rion giggled, looking at the yo-yo in his big brother’s hand. The rumbling of the school bus and the shouting and chattering of the other kids filled the air.

His eleven-year-old brother looked back at him and frowned. “Again?”

“Yeah!” Rion answered, “I wanna see it go up and down again. It’s so funny!”

“Well…”

“Please, Kuya?”

His brother sighed. “Oh, all right.” He smiled, and started the yo-yo again, managing every time to catch it before the bus went over large bumps. Rion laughed.

One boy, sitting in the seat in front of them, turned around and addressed Rion’s brother. “Hey, Ryou… why does he always call you ‘kuya’?”

“It’s Tagalog for ‘big brother’,” Ryou answered absently, “Ever since my mom taught him the word, he’s never stopped calling me that.”

“Isn’t it annoying, though?”

“No.” Ryou smiled. “Somehow, I like it.”

“You guys have the weirdest family,” another kid remarked, “Talking to each other and having different names for everything in like fifty different languages…”

“Not fifty,” Ryou answered, “Just three.”

“But still, it’s weird!”

Just then, the bus slowed down, and came to a rest at a street corner.

“That’s our stop,” Ryou mentioned, packing away the yo-yo and getting up. “See you tomorrow.”

Rion followed him, and they both got off, walking down the remaining couple of blocks to their house. The late November sky was cloudy and gray, and a cold wind blew.

“Do you think it’ll snow?” Rion asked, excitedly.

“No way,” Ryou answered, “It’s way too early. And it’d have to get a lot colder than this before we get anything close to snow around here! But…” He paused to think. “I heard that about ten or twenty miles from here, up in the mountains, it’s been snowing for a week.”

“If it snowed here,” Rion answered, “maybe Kei would want to play!” He smiled as he thought of the three-year-old girl who lived next door and always came over to play. “I haven’t seen Kei in a week,” he continued. “And Mrs. Nogami’s been all scared and crying all week. Maybe Kei’s sick with a cold? The flu?”

“Maybe…” Ryou answered.

As they passed by the neighbors’ house, Rion could hear a man shouting.

“Kuya…” Rion whispered, “That sounds like Mr. Nogami.”

“Huh?” Ryou stopped and listened for a moment. “You’re right.” He looked around, and spotted a couple of police cars in the Nogamis’ driveway. “I wonder what’s wrong.”

Rion noticed Mrs. Nogami standing near the front door of the house, holding Kei in her arms. Both of them were crying.

“Kei…” Rion murmured in surprise. He turned toward Ryou. “Kuya, what’s going on?”

Ryou shook his head. “I don’t know.”

As the two boys reached the driveway of their own house, the shouting got louder and louder. A small crowd of people began to flock toward the noise, and soon Rion could hear faint whisperings among them.

“So they finally found her…”

“Who?”

“The Nogami girl.”

“You mean the girl who was kidnapped last week?”

“The same.”

Rion blinked in surprise at hearing this, and he listened carefully as the whispers continued.

“I heard that someone at ITI was responsible.”

“What? ITI? The biggest computer company on the planet? What would they want with a kid?”

“Her father works for ITI, doesn’t he? Maybe he had enemies…”

“But does that explain why he’s chewing out the neighbors?”

There was more murmuring and whispering, too soft to hear, and then a few more people spoke up.

“That’s Minoru Araneta he’s yelling at…”

“Minoru Araneta? The president of ITI?”

“Of course.”

“How can they be fighting? They’re supposed to be colleagues, right?”

At that, Rion and Ryou had reached the front of their house, and Rion finally realized where the shouting was coming from.

Standing in front of their house was their father, and he was in the middle of a heated argument with Mr. Nogami. Their mother was standing near the edge of the driveway, watching the two enraged men fearfully.

“Mom!” Ryou called out, catching their mother’s attention.

“Ryou!” she answered, with the worried expression still on her face.

“What’s going on?” Ryou asked, “Why are Dad and Mr. Nogami shouting like that?”

Their mother was about to reply, when Rion suddenly ran off toward the two arguing men.

“Rion, come back here!” their mother shouted.

“Daddy!” Rion called out, running toward him.

The two men paid Rion no attention at all.

Touma was yelling in an accusatory tone, while Rion’s father did nothing but stare at him calmly.

“It was all your fault, after all!” Touma shouted, enraged.

Minoru stared back at him. “Do you have any proof that I was responsible–”

“The police have been suspecting that the kidnapping was linked to ITI,” Touma interrupted, running right over Minoru’s words. “Everything happened so neatly, it had to be an inside job!”

“That doesn’t mean anything.”

Touma glared at him. “And the computer systems that were found at the scene were all high-end and state-of-the-art,” he continued, “They were some of the best in the world… and they’re not even on the market yet!”

Minoru’s expression remained calm. “So?”

“What do you mean, ‘so’?!” Touma roared, “My daughter was found in the middle of nowhere with criminals that just happen to have ITI prototype computers lying around! How the hell do you explain that?”

Minoru shrugged nonchalantly. “The techs brought out some prototypes for field testing in that area, and a few of those were reported missing on the day the kidnapping happened,” he continued calmly. “The kidnappers must have stolen them.”

“Field testing?” Touma replied, his voice dangerously soft. He started shaking with anger. “Field testing?! In the middle of a damn snowstorm? What the hell kind of excuse is that?!”

“You’ve been acting pretty suspicious lately,” Touma continued after a moment, “That new project you started a few months ago? ‘Mobius Two,’ or whatever. You’re being awfully secretive about it. You’ve got entire labs working on stuff, and the techs won’t breathe a word about what they’re working on. You’ve got security guys running around all over the planet looking for who know what. You’ve been spending a lot of money, running up a big bill, and no one else on earth knows what you’re up to!”

Touma stopped for a moment, and his eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you trying to do? What does Kei have to do with all of you? What do you want from her? You had her kidnapped so she could get all mixed up in your secret plans, didn’t you? How else can you explain what’s happened?”

“Never mind about that project,” Minoru answered coldly. “It’s not your concern, and it certainly has nothing to do with your daughter!”

Touma stiffened, and glared murderously at Minoru for at least a minute.

Minoru stared back, not saying a word.

“On that day,” Touma said softly, “when the rescue squad finally found Kei, she was alone in a flimsy tent, in the middle of a blizzard. The kidnappers had already run off. They left her there for two days.” He looked up, rage in his eyes.

“Two days! Can you imagine how that must have been for her? How scared she must have felt, with no one around, no mommy or daddy, nothing – except freezing snow, ice, and wind, and wild animals and wolf packs… with no one around to ‘make them go away’?!” he finished with a shout.

He looked down at Rion, standing nearby. Rion gulped.

“Imagine Ryou or Rion in that position,” Touma continued. “You’d be angry too, wouldn’t you? As angry as I am right now…”

He laughed, a low, sadistic laugh. “It could happen to them too, you know. Just as easily as it did to Kei.” He smiled. “With a job as illustrious as the head of ITI, you’re definitely a powerful and influential person. There’s bound to be someone who hates you enough to kidnap your kids!”

At this, Minoru’s calm demeanor finally cracked. He scowled and his eyes flashed. “You leave my sons out of this.”

Touma sneered. “Too late for that. You’ve already harmed my daughter.” He turned away, walking back to his house. “It’ll never happen again, while I’m still around!”

A moment later, he ushered Kyoko and Kei into the house, and slammed the door shut.

No one spoke for a moment after that.

“Daddy?” Rion murmured softly, looking up at his father in confusion.

Minoru placed a hand softly on top of Rion’s head. He continued to stare straight ahead, with a grim expression on his face…

Rion’s eyes snapped open. He pulled up his yo-yo and caught it with a faint crack. He felt a warmth in his pocket, and he reached in, pulling out his Digivice. It shined brightly, and pulsed every now and then. It did not beep or make any other noise.

He looked around, and noticed Guilmon sitting next to him, snoring loudly.

He smiled, and his thoughts quickly returned to his… dream? Memory? Or both?

A memory of when he was five years old. When he and his mother were still living together with his father and older brother. When his family was still together.

The recollection had been vivid and crystal clear, to an impossible degree – there was no way he could have remembered everything so well, including all of the little details. He looked down at his Digivice, noticed how it was reacting, and wondered if it was somehow helping him remember.

He took a deep breath, and closed his eyes again, wondering if he’d remember more…

A week went by, and nothing else happened. School came and went, and Rion and Ryou’s parents went to work and back. Everything seemed perfectly normal, except for the fact that Kei didn’t come over to visit anymore.

On one afternoon, however, everything changed.

The day started out normal, with Rion and Ryou going to school and back. When they returned home, no one was home. The answering machine contained two separate messages from their mother and father, explaining that they would be working overtime that day and would not come home until late.

Ryou sighed and walked toward his room. Rion plopped down on the living room floor, bored.

After a few moments, Rion looked up to see his brother enter the room, holding an elaborately carved rattan stick.

“What’re you doing?” Rion asked.

“Arnis,” Ryou spoke up, “Filipino martial arts.” He held out the stick and eyed it carefully. “Mom said I could have lessons, and learn how to fight with this!”

Rion nodded. “Oh.” He got up and started walking away.

“Where are you going?” Ryou asked.

“Somewhere,” Rion answered, “I’m bored.”

“Oh…” Ryou twirled the rattan stick with his fingers, deep in thought. “Hmm… Maybe you could draw something. I think Dad still has a little bit of paper in his office!”

Rion’s eyes lit up at the thought of drawing something. He loved to draw. “I’ll do that!” he said cheerfully.

Ryou didn’t answer. He began to swing the rattan stick around, pretending to hit imaginary enemies.

Rion looked at him a moment. “If you keep doing that, you’ll hit something.”

“Sure, sure…” Ryou answered absently. At that moment, the stick swung behind him and slammed into the back of his head. “OW!!”

Rion giggled and walked on up the stairs. He walked over to his father’s office and turned the knob. The door was unlocked, and the room was very quiet, save for the humming of the computer.

Looking around the room, Rion could see that his brother had been underestimating grossly about the amount of paper left in it. There was paper everywhere – from neat, organized piles to just simply strewn about on the desk. The papers on the desk were covered in random scribbles.

Overcome with curiosity and forgetting the reason he came, Rion walked over to the desk, glanced at the scribbled sheets, and was amazed to see that a few of them contained more than just random pen and pencil marks. There were black-and-white sketches and line drawings of various symbols.

A coiled heart. Two linked circles. A teardrop. A sun with thin, pointed rays. A circle with two waves. And a sun with a large beam of light shining down.

Rion stared at the symbols for a while, not understanding what they were or what they meant. He then pushed the papers aside. He was about to reach for more when his hand bumped the computer mouse, causing the black screen to light up. Rion looked up, startled, and looked at the screen.

Two windows were open on the screen – one contained a list of text, while the other seemed to be running a diagnostic. Rion glanced at the list of text, and was puzzled by what he saw:

Mobius Two – Search:

Tian Shu – Shanghai, China, June 2058
Jun Aikawa – Okinawa, Japan, July 2064
Mana Saitou – Okinawa, Japan, July 2064
Yuka Kazama – Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan, August 2064
Seita Kazama – Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan, August 2064
Kei Nogami – Appalachian Range, Virginia, USA, November 2064

Confirmed Matches: 6
Unknown Remaining: 2

Rion blinked as he read Kei’s name on the list, with a date of less than a week ago. He had no idea why her name was there, or who the other people were. He thought about the weird sketches, and wondered what they really were. Why was all of this in his father’s office?

A strange mechanical noise caught his attention next. It came from a small, rectangular metal box, with a cord running from one side of the box to the back of the computer. The diagnostic on the computer appeared to be related to the box, somehow.

Slowly, almost as if he was hypnotized, Rion reached out and touched the box. Immediately, the diagnostic stopped, and a blinking cursor appeared on the computer screen, as if waiting for a response.

Rion didn't notice any of this, as he was focused completely on the box. He picked it up, and lifted the lid.

Inside, there was a large number of strange black spheres. They looked almost as if they were buttons or marbles, but were not. A mysterious gray-black light radiated from them. Rion looked closer at them, completely oblivious to everything else, and slowly reached a hand to pick one of them up. He almost did, until...

Until a few of them moved...

Rion let out a frightened shout, and quickly shut the box. Breathing heavily, he stared at the closed box, still clutched in his hands.

He was immediately startled by a loud crash from downstairs, followed by a familiar shout.

Rion looked up. “Kuya?”

At that, the office door burst open, and a large group of men streamed in, wearing black suits and sunglasses. One of the men, at the head of the group, wore a black ski mask over his head.

Rion stared at them fearfully as they scurried around the room, sifting through papers and books and making a mess of everything. It was almost as if they were searching for something.

None of the men seemed to have noticed him, except for the man in the ski mask. The man stared right at him, with deep, blue eyes. He glanced at the computer screen, with the text list and the diagnostic, and then shifted his gaze back to Rion and the metal box he was holding.

“Give me the box, little boy,” the man said in a frighteningly quiet voice.

Rion couldn't speak. He stared back at the man, terrified, and he clutched the box tighter.

“Give it to me,” the man repeated, more menacingly, “Now!”

“Leave him alone!” a loud voice exploded from the doorway.

Both Rion and the strange men turned. Rion's eyes widened.

“Kuya!”

Ryou stood in the doorway, breathing heavily, and clutching his rattan stick. Immediately, the computer sounded an alarm, and the diagnostic began to run wildly, printing out long lines of code on the screen.

“Let him go!” Ryou shouted again, in a mean, angry voice. “Or else!” His eyes began to flicker between a chestnut brown and a deep, cold black.

None of the men moved, and Ryou's expression turned ugly. “I said, GO!” he shouted. His eyes then turned completely black, and he swung out his rattan stick, slamming it hard across the legs of one of the men. The man went down with a shout, and Ryou hit another man in the back.

Rion watched everything in fright. His brother on a wild rampage, and the men trying painfully to stop him.

Then, he saw the man in the ski mask pull out a gun and slam the handle of it against the back of Ryou's head. Ryou's head snapped back, and his eyes widened, reverting from black to brown. He dropped to the floor like a stone.

“Kuya!” Rion screamed. He stared at Ryou's limp form desperately.

Ryou didn't move.

“Kuya...” Rion murmured in shock.

The man in the mask then turned to Rion again. “Now, give me that box!” he shouted.

“No, no, NO!” Rion shouted, terrified.

The man took the box and yanked it from Rion's grasp. Rion landed on the floor, and looked up as the man opened the box. His eyes widened when he saw what was in it.

“So this was what he was hiding,” the man said softly, “That weasel.”

He looked down at Rion again, and his eyes narrowed. He pulled out a glittering, silver gun, and loaded in one black sphere.

“He wants a field test, does he?” the man muttered to himself, “I'll give him one!” He pointed the silver gun at Rion.

Rion shut his eyes as uncontrollable fear filled him, expecting to die at any moment. But then...

Then... after a moment, he no longer felt afraid. He looked up at the masked man, holding the gun, and felt nothing but anger. Intense, uncontrollable anger.

The man stopped and stared back at Rion in surprise. The others stopped and stared at him as well.

Rion got up, and slowly walked toward them, his anger building.

The last thing he was aware of was the bleeping of the computer and a string of text on the screen:

Ryou Araneta (33%), Rion Araneta (67%) – Washington, D.C., USA, December 2064

Confirmed Matches: 7
Unknown Remaining: 1

After this, Rion’s consciousness flowed away… and he was no longer himself…

Some time later, when Ryou finally came to, he picked himself off the floor and looked around the room in surprise. The entire room was a mess, with papers torn and strewn about, and furniture knocked over. The creepy, black-suited men were gone. And in the middle of the room was Rion, standing calmly, with a blank, dead expression on his face.

“Rion…” Ryou whispered. His voice trembled.

Rion turned toward him, slowly. His eyes, at first, were a deep, menacing black. When he caught sight of his brother, though, his eyes slowly reverted to brown. A shocked and terrified look appeared on his face.

“Kuya…” Rion murmured. Tears flowed from his eyes, and he threw his arms around Ryou. “Kuya!”

Ryou hugged him back, and they both cried.

After a while, they could hear police sirens in the distance, slowly getting louder and louder until it seemed as if they were directly outside the house. Then, they heard a familiar voice ring out through the house, calling their names.

Ryou looked up at the noise. “Mom!” he answered, his anguished voice still choked with sobs.

Their mother raced in, her face ash-white with shock as she looked around at the mess strewn around the room. Then, she saw both boys sitting on the floor, crying.

“My God…” she whispered in horror. She rushed over to them and hugged them.

“Mom!” Both of them hugged back, sobbing hysterically.

“What the devil happened in here?” another voice murmured quietly.

Rion looked up sharply at the voice. “Daddy!” he cried out, launching himself at his father and hugging him fiercely. His father hugged back.

They all went downstairs and outside as the police made their way into the house. They stood in the driveway, and after a moment, Rion's father looked up and glanced toward the neighboring house.

Rion looked in the same direction, and saw Touma Nogami, standing outside with his back toward them. He seemed to be very busy with something.

Minoru’s eyes narrowed, and he stood up straight, pushing Rion away slightly.

“Stay with your mother,” he said softly.

Rion nodded tearfully, and his mother hugged him.

“Nogami!” he heard his father roar across the yard.

Touma looked up from what he was doing and walked over, giving him a murderous glare. “What the hell do you want?” he answered vengefully.

“My office. Tomorrow, eight o’ clock sharp,” Rion’s father said coldly, “We need to talk.”

Rion didn’t hear Touma’s reply. Just one look at the man’s angry face made him scared all over again, and he cried again, hugging his mother tightly…

“Rion!”

Rion’s eyes snapped open, and he suddenly got up, breathing hard. His yo-yo dropped out of his hand and fell to the ground.

“You were dreaming,” Guilmon said softly, “You okay?”

Rion nodded, partly to reassure Guilmon and partly to shake his mind clear of the fuzzy, fading memories.

Where did all of that come from? He couldn’t possibly have remembered all of that from five years ago, could he? Either that, or his imagination must have been working overtime…

A light squeeze from Guilmon’s hand interrupted his thoughts.

“I’m fine, Guilmon,” Rion answered, bending down to pick up the yo-yo and giving him a small smile. “Don’t worry.” He closed his eyes for just a moment, and further wisps of memory ran through his mind.

This time, the memories were from a later event, about a week after their house had been broken into. He could barely remember it – his mother and father and their soft, hushed voices flowing from a half-closed door…

“I’m leaving,” their mother said softly.

“What?” Minoru blurted out.

“I’m leaving,” she repeated, “I’m going back home to the Philippines. And I’m taking Rion with me.”

There was silence in the room for a moment. Then, Minoru spoke up. “This has to do with Mobius Two, doesn’t it?”

No answer.

“…I see.”

“It’s gotten too dangerous here, in this neighborhood, ever since you started that project. With the Nogamis’ daughter getting kidnapped… our house getting invaded…” There was a short pause. “I’ll feel much safer back home. And Rion will be safer too. He can’t grow up being scared all the time!”

Minoru gave no reply.

“I really don’t want to do this…” their mother continued, her voice trembling, “I don’t want to split us all up like this… but it’s the best I can come up with.” She sighed. “I would much rather we all just moved out, but I know you can’t leave. Your work is here.”

“What about Ryou?”

“He can stay here, with you. He has to stay – he’s starting middle school next year, after all.”

Again, there was silence in the room.

“Is there anything I can do…” Minoru said softly, “… to make you change your mind?”

Silence.

“No.”

In the other room, Rion was only slightly listening to the conversation. He was busy glaring at the picture he was drawing. Somehow, it didn’t look quite right. He got up, scattering his crayons, and padded over to Ryou, who was sitting next to the door, listening intently. He looked strange – both sad and scared – but Rion didn’t think much about it.

“Kuya…” Rion whispered. Ryou turned suddenly, and Rion handed him the half-completed drawing.

Ryou stared at it a moment. “You’re missing the tail,” he replied, in answer to Rion’s unspoken query.

“The tail?”

“Yeah. It’s a dinosaur, right? It needs to have a tail.”

“Okay!” Rion said cheerfully, and proceeded to draw in a tail.

“Rion…” Ryou murmured.

“What?”

Ryou regarded him for a moment, then continued. “No matter what happens to all of us… you won’t forget me, right?”

Rion looked back at him blankly. “I won’t forget you, Kuya. How could I forget you? You’re always here! I always see you!”

Ryou stared back at him sadly and turned away. Rion didn’t understand why.

At least, not until later.

Rion opened his eyes again, glistening with teardrops.

So that was it. That was why his family had never lived together in so long.

He scowled, and a newfound rage boiled inside of him.

He thought of the times he visited his father and brother in the States, and of the many long months in between that he had spent overseas with his mother. There were some times when he felt bitterly angry with his mother for deciding to live apart.

And there were other times when he felt rage against Touma for causing them to split in the first place.

It’s all Touma Nogami’s fault, he thought angrily. It’s all his fault that my family is split up. His fault that I can’t see Dad or Kuya more than once or twice a year.

He remembered every visit he made to the States, and how Touma seemed to always be around, looking back at him from the house next door, always with a disapproving scowl on his face. He remembered the few times he had spent with Kei, and again, Touma was always nearby, watching him like a hawk. Watching his every move, as if he was an experiment to be examined.

He remembered the incident with Akira in the hospital… with Touma ordering him to be sent away, while at the same time ordering Akira’s memory to be erased…

We all used to be happy. And then he comes to ruin it all, every time!

Rion shut his eyes and clenched his fists.

It’s not fair!

He thought of the situation he and Guilmon were in now, of all the other times they had failed, and of all the other awful things that had happened to them, and to Akira and Kodamon, both in the real world and the Digital World. With Touma at the root of them all.

We all wouldn't have ended up like this if he had just left us alone and minded his own business!

I'll bet he's the one behind everything – the Digimon attacks, the Dark Seeds, everything! He's the one responsible! He has to be!

Rion shut his eyes, angrily wiping away tears.

It’s all his fault!

Suddenly, a random thought occurred to Rion.

Wait…

Wait a minute… He thought back to that day he wandered into his father’s office, as a five-year-old… the day when the scary men broke into their house and tried to take the box he had found… the one with the freaky little black spots that moved…

He’d found a box of Dark Seeds. Just like the one Mataymon had given him to test on Kei and Yuka…

If Touma Nogami was really the person responsible for those Dark Seeds…

Rion gulped.

Then why would Mataymon have them too?

The thought of it turned his insides cold, and set off more doubts.

What was Mataymon planning? Rion realized that he didn’t know. He had been so intent on getting both himself and Guilmon stronger, that he had agreed to help the mysterious Digimon without question.

He wondered now if it was such a good idea to follow Mataymon after all...

His thoughts were interrupted by a blast of wind from behind him. A low, menacing laugh accompanied it.

Rion turned around. “Mataymon...”

“What's wrong, Rion?” Mataymon asked with a laugh, “Afraid?”

Rion glared and shook his head. “No!” He stared back at him, silently, expecting another assignment.

“You and Guilmon will not be getting a new task,” Mataymon answered, as if he had read Rion's mind. “I'm here to relieve you.”

Rion's eyes widened. “Relieve? You don't mean...”

“I am no longer in need of your assistance. I have other, stronger helpers than the likes of you!”

“But you can't!” Rion answered despairingly, “You can't just throw us away like that! You said yourself that we would get stronger if we helped you! Guilmon hasn't gotten strong enough yet. We're not done!”

“Silence!” Mataymon shouted.

Rion looked back at him, startled.

“I've been keeping a close eye on you, Rion,” Mataymon answered testily, “You haven't changed at all since the first time we met. You've become weak again.”

“That's not true!” Rion shot back. “I'm-”

“I cannot use those who are weak!” Mataymon interrupted sharply.

Rion looked down in desperation.

“I will speak to you again when you have regained the strength you once had,” he added sternly, “Until then, farewell.”

Rion's thoughts were in a jumble, thinking desperately for a way to get Mataymon to help him again. Somehow, he had to be stronger.

Guilmon had to be stronger. Stronger than Growmon or MegaloGrowmon. Better than his best. Better than perfect.

Then, Rion gasped, as an answer occurred to him. Of course.

“Wait!” he interrupted wildly, “Give us just one more chance!”

There was silence. Then, a moment later, Mataymon chuckled.

“Don’t laugh at me!” Rion shouted.

“You must be desperate, pleading with me like this,” Mataymon murmured.

Rion glared at him. “Guilmon and I can still defeat them. All we need is just one thing!”

“Oh? And what is that?”

Rion hesitated.

He thought of Akira, smiling at him as they talked about anything and everything. Comforting him when he was sad. Trying her hardest to protect him when he was in trouble.

His best friend. The big sister he never had.

Did he really want to hurt her that much?

But...

Akira had forgotten about him. During the times he'd really needed her, she was never there to help, was she?

He'd decided long ago that he’d never forgive her, right?

Right?

“Well?” Mataymon demanded.

Rion gulped, and pushing away any remaining doubts in his mind, he looked up at Mataymon. “Give Guilmon the power to evolve to Ultimate.”

Guilmon looked at him fearfully. “Rion!”

“It’s the only way,” Rion answered coldly, “If you evolve to an Ultimate form, you’ll be stronger than all of them put together! You could beat them easy!”

“But… but I-” Guilmon stammered.

Rion ignored him, and looked back at Mataymon fiercely. “You agree, don’t you?”

Mataymon didn’t answer.

Rion glared. “Answer me!” he shouted. His eyes flashed black.

Mataymon’s answer was equally cold.

“No.”

Rion’s eyes widened. “What do you mean, ‘no’?” he spat.

“Evolving to Ultimate will be impossible,” Mataymon answered, “It requires more power than you have, and more than I can give.”

Rion glared back at him, livid.

“And even if I could give you that power,” Mataymon continued, laughing, “there’s no way you or Guilmon could control it. It would control you!” His laugh grew louder and harsher.

“How can you say that?” Rion shouted, enraged. “How would you know unless we try?”

Mataymon didn’t answer. He just cackled, low and menacingly. His eyes, partly hidden by his dark cloak, violently flickered.

Rion stared at him, and his angered expression deepened.

“Oh… so that’s it, huh?” he said darkly, “It was all a conspiracy against me – just a plan to get my hopes up, and then at the last moment make them come crashing down! You’ve been against me all along, haven’t you? You’re just like all the others. Just like Akira!”

At that, Rion’s eyes turned completely black, and the black Crest around his neck glowed eerily.

“But not anymore. I’m going to change that, right now.”

He turned away from Mataymon. “Guilmon, let's go.”

“You'll never defeat them on your own, Rion,” Mataymon said mockingly, “Because of your weak resolve, they'll cut you down. They'll defeat you a million times over.”

Rion said nothing.

“Turn away from me, and you will regret it,” Mataymon added, “You'll never win.”

“Oh, yeah?”

Rion turned around to face Mataymon again, and sneered.

“Just watch me.”

Chapter Text

Kodamon shivered as she looked up at the menacing dark Digimon floating overhead. Black as night, the Digimon looked down at her, smirking evilly. The most evil Digimon she had ever seen.

Daemon.

He was strong. Much too strong. Even if Kodamon had evolved to Kodiamon, she would never be strong enough to defeat him.

But perhaps there was another way...

“Akira!” Kodamon shouted. “Get your Crest ready!”

Akira blinked. “Huh?”

“I'm going to try to super evolve!”

Akira's eyes widened. “ What?! ” she shouted, “Are you insane? You can't!”

“Guilmon's already done it!” Kodamon shot back, “He's stronger now because of it. Why can't I do it, too?”

“Kodamon-”

“He can't fight alone! I need to help!”

Akira glared. “Kodamon, my Crest is damaged! Have you forgotten?” She held it out, showing the cracks and splinters along the surface. “I don't know what'll happen if you tried to evolve past Adult level! It could... I don't know, it could just not work, or it could not give you enough power...” She looked back at her fearfully. “It could even delete you!”

Kodamon looked down. “I know that, but...” She looked up at her again, staring intensely. “We have no other choice. If this goes on-” She gestured over to the fight between MegaloGrowmon and Daemon, with MegaloGrowmon clearly weakening. “If this goes on, we're going to lose! And then what'll happen?!”

Akira's eyes were closed. She held her broken Crest in a shaking fist.

At that moment, Daemon hit MegaloGrowmon with a super-strong attack, knocking MegaloGrowmon off his feet and reverting him back to Guilmon.

Kodamon gasped, and turned to Akira. “Akira!”

Akira opened her eyes again. “All right,” she said in a pained voice, “Let's do it.”

Kodamon nodded.

Akira's Digivice and Crest glowed brightly, with a brilliant blue light.

“Kodamon, evolve to... Kodiamon!”

Kodamon's tall, slim, and powerful Adult form appeared, and was subsequently enveloped in blue light.

“Kodiamon, super evolve to...”

Immediately, something felt different. Drastically different. Instead of feeling warm and energized, Kodiamon felt cold and drained.

She could feel her body changing, but was unable to tell in which direction she was changing. Perfect? Or back to Child? For a moment, she thought she had reverted back to Kodamon, and felt a faint wash of energy flow through her, as if she had been run through a scanner or copier.

Then, she was Kodiamon again, and felt that familiar warm, energy-filled feeling. She smiled. It was working!

“Kodiamon, super evolve to...”

But then, she started feeling hotter, and hotter. Energy crackled and cascaded, and she felt a burning sensation. She grimaced as the pain increased, more and more, until it was almost unbearable. It was as if...

It was as if she was being burned alive...

Kodamon woke up with a jolt. She sat up, breathing heavily, and wiped cold sweat from her fur. She looked around and saw that it was still dark – the pre-dawn sky was colored a light blue-violet.

It was early. Way too early for anyone to be awake.

She got up, taking care not to wake Akira and Gazimon, who were sleeping near her. Gazimon snored as she passed by, and Akira shivered and mumbled something about soccer balls. Kodamon smiled a little, and slowly walked away.

After a while, she came to the edge of a high plateau, with nothing but an open sky, which was slowly brightening. She walked closer to the edge, amazed, and looked down at the view below her. Her eyes widened.

At that height, she could see all the places they had been on their adventure. The forests. The villages. The fields and gardens. The mountains of crystal, and beyond that, the desert. She could see the razed-over clearings caused by Jun and Mana's barrier overload, and the snow-covered trees, and...

She sighed. They had been everywhere, and yet had gotten nowhere. After what seemed like days and months of searching and exploring, the children and the Digimon had only found out a little bit of why they were here in the first place. They had discovered only a small fraction of what appeared to be an infinite mystery, with the answers locked in the past.

A past that Akira couldn't remember.

A past that, after a certain limit, Kodamon could no longer remember...

The cracking of a twig startled Kodamon out of her thoughts. She whipped around, her paw charging up with energy.

“Whoa!” a familiar voice called out softly, “It's me, it's me!”

Kodamon looked again, and saw Akira standing there, surprised, holding her Digivice in front of her as a shield.

She sighed, and let her paw drop. “What are you doing up so early?” she asked.

“I should ask the same about you,” Akira answered, yawning.

Kodamon looked troubled. “I couldn't sleep,” she said softly, “I've been thinking about a lot of things.”

Akira nodded. “I noticed. You didn't seem well last night.”

Kodamon said nothing, and stared out at the expanse below.

“It's an amazing view from up here, isn't it?” Akira asked, staring at everything in awe. “It's hard to believe we've been to all of these places.”

After a few moments of silence, Kodamon spoke up again. “Akira...”

“Yeah?”

“That time... when it was just us and Rion and Guilmon... did you have a Crest?”

Akira looked at her, surprised, then looked down, thinking. “I think...” She pulled her Crest tags from under her shirt. “I think I did...” She glanced at the Crest of Courage, frowned, and shook her head. “But it was a different one. It wasn't Courage. It was...” Her eyes wandered toward the empty tag for a moment. The memory of a light blue Crest flashed in its place for a split second, then faded away. “I don't remember which one it was.”

Kodamon's eyes narrowed. “I see...” she murmured. “Can you remember... did it work correctly? Was I able to evolve up to Perfect level?”

Akira stared at her Crest tags, thinking hard. “I... I don't know...” She looked down at Kodamon in alarm. “Why are you asking me, all of a sudden?”

“I had a dream,” Kodamon answered blankly, “A dream about the past. It was what woke me up so early.” She then proceeded to relate the dream to Akira.

By the end of it, Akira could only stare at her in shock.

“That time… when I tried to evolve and it hurt…” Kodamon said dully, “that’s the last thing I remember. Everything else is blank.” She turned to Akira, worry etched on her face. “My memories stop right there.”

Akira stared back at her. “Why?”

Kodamon shook her head. “I don't know.”

Akira looked down in silence, then spoke up again. “Well, then... what's the first thing you remember after that?”

“After that? Well...” Kodamon paused to think. “It was when I met you again... but didn't.”

Akira blinked, and thought a moment. “The game?”

Kodamon nodded. “I woke up alone, in darkness. I had no idea what had happened to me, and I couldn't remember much of what happened in the past. I could only remember you.”

Akira didn't answer. She just listened in silence.

“I looked around for you, but I never saw you,” Kodamon continued, “I kept calling out your name, but you never answered. There was nothing to see but blackness, and nothing to hear but my own shouting. And then...”

“And then?”

“And then I heard you. I heard your voice, and then the darkness faded away. I was in the Digital World again, alone, but not alone.” She turned to Akira and smiled. “I could never see you or touch you, but I could hear you speak to me. In my mind. No matter what happened, no matter how many battles I fought, you were always there.”

Akira smiled.

“And then one day, you finally came back,” Kodamon went on, “Somehow, I had a feeling you had forgotten some things too, just like I had. But at the time, I didn't care – I was just so happy to see you again!”

Akira's smile faded. “If we only knew...”

Kodamon nodded. “Some awful things must have happened to us, before, to make us forget that badly. In my case, it was probably that broken evolution. And in your case...” She faced Akira with a horrified look on her face. “That fireball...”

“Kodamon-”

“Whatever reason I had for doing that,” Kodamon interrupted, eyes glistening, “it must have been really terrible of me, wasn't it?”

Akira looked back at her, horrified.

“I'm sorry, Akira!” Kodamon wailed.

“Kodamon, that wasn't your fault!” Akira shouted, hugging her tightly. “I don't blame you for any of that,” she added. “It was something you had to do.” She gave her a bittersweet smile. “I was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Kodamon looked up at her sadly. “Really?”

Akira nodded. “Really. So stop feeling so bad!”

Kodamon looked doubtful for a moment. Then she smiled, and nodded.

Suddenly, the moment was interrupted by a tremendous explosion, far off in the distance. It was immediately followed by a series of loud, deep roars. The ground shook.

Akira and Kodamon looked up suddenly, startled.

“What was that?” Akira asked.

Kodamon shrugged. “I don’t know.”

They both looked around suspiciously. For a moment, everything was quiet. Then, another explosion and roar echoed through the trees, followed by a series of very familiar screams.

Akira gasped. “The others!”

“We have to get back to them!” Kodamon added, “Quickly!”

Akira nodded. “Right!” She started running, and pulled out her Digivice. “Get ready!”

“Gotcha!” Kodamon answered.

Akira's Digivice glowed, and Kodamon was enveloped in bright, pale-blue light.

“Kodamon, evolve to...”

Suddenly, a massive blast of energy shot out of the trees and slammed right into the both of them, sending them sailing into the air. Kodamon crashed into a tree and landed with a loud crack. Akira landed hard on the ground, her Digivice skittering away from her.

Akira sat up slowly, taking deep breaths. The wind had been knocked out of her.

“Kodamon!” she yelled, looking around desperately. She spotted Kodamon lying on the ground nearby.

“Kodamon!” she shouted again, crawling toward her. “Kodamon, are you all right?” She tried to shake Kodamon awake. Kodamon slowly opened her eyes and moaned.

“What... what was that?” Kodamon asked weakly. She sat up and immediately doubled over in pain. Electrical interference cascaded over her.

Akira stared at her in horror. “Kodamon!” She looked around for her Digivice. She spotted it nearby and scrambled toward it. But at the moment she knelt down to grab it, a shadow fell over her. She looked up, and her eyes widened.

“Rion!”

Rion looked down on her with darkened, black eyes.

Akira quickly reached out and grabbed her Digivice, but before she could pick it up, Rion slammed his foot over her hand.

Akira winced, and looked up at Rion again. She glared.

“What's the matter?” Rion asked mockingly, “Want me to stop?” He pressed his foot down harder.

Akira winced again and shut her eyes. She tried to pull her hand away, but the pressure from Rion’s foot was unusually strong. As the pressure increased, electrical sparks shot out from the Digivice, and it beeped wildly.

Then…

With a sickening crack, the Digivice shattered.

Akira let out a scream as pain shot through her hand and up her arm, followed by more electrical pulses.

Rion smirked, and violently kicked Akira’s hand away from under his foot. The action knocked her down to the ground.

“You should have seen it coming, Akira,” Rion said nonchalantly, “That Digivice was as old as the hills!”

Akira could do nothing but cry from the pain in her hand and arm. With vision blurred by tears, she stared desperately at the fractured, red-stained Digivice lying on the ground near her. Trembling, she reached for it with her good hand. It was cold, dark, and completely dead – not a single spark or beep issued from it.

Suddenly, she was aware of a loud humming sound near her head. She turned toward the sound, and was immediately faced with a glowing, black Digivice.

Rion smiled back at her, evilly, and focused the Digivice closer to her.

“This is it, Akira,” Rion said lightly, “After today, you'll never bother me again.”

He gave her a twisted smile, and pushed his Digivice even closer to her face.

“Sayonara…”

“Rapid Fire!”

Suddenly, a blast of green-gold missiles rained toward Rion, knocking his Digivice away and sending him flying a couple of feet.

Akira looked up suddenly in the direction the attack had come from, and saw a large, metallic green robot Digimon fly out of the trees. It zoomed over her head and landed nearby.

“Akira!” a familiar voice called out.

Akira looked toward the voice, and saw Kei emerge from the trees.

“Kei!”

“Akira, are you okay?” Kei asked worriedly, taking deep breaths from running.

Akira nodded weakly. “Yeah... Yeah, I'm okay...” She got up slowly, wiping her tear-stained face, and looked around. “Where's Rion?”

Rion was nowhere in sight.

“Rapidmon must have scared him off...” Kei answered. She looked over to Rapidmon, who was looking Kodamon over. Kodamon was still suffering from uncontrollable energy cascades.