Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The black train screeched to a stop outside the seaside town and a boy stepped out.

He paused, turned back to the train, spoke, and then listened. Then he turned his gaze on the world. It only took one look at the barren dunes to tell him why he was here.

People he had yet to meet called this place “The Dark World”, but to his eye the world wasn't dark or black so much as gray. Hollow. Color existed but it was painfully muted. The sound of waves carried through the air, but the noise was flat and dull. The scattering of trees had greenery the dead color of dried paper. The mess of silent beach houses were worn and decrepit. The saltwater scent in the air was stale and torpid. The sky was a mottled black and white that was devoid of clouds and lacking in a sun or moon or stars to cast light. Indeed, no true light shone here, and even the ever-present shadows that covered the world were vacant and empty.

After a moment the boy reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. After another moment shadows flickered across it and it wasn't a cell phone anymore. An indicator on the device blinked into life pointing in a direction. The boy swung the device and shouted as he started running and now he was a streak of black, real black, charging through the faded world.

---

The last thing Yagami Hikari remembered was saying good night and lying down to sleep. Then she was here, looking out over the churning waves of the ocean. Was she dreaming? Maybe, but there was no comfort in that. She was still here. And they were still here. They had to be.

She remembered this place all too well, she remembered being called here to this shore, this hollow town and this ocean with its endless black waves. She remembered the gray, the only semblance of color in this pale, washed out world. And she remembered the creatures of this world, the ones that had looked like Digimon but had revealed themselves to be something... else.

Now she was here again. And she was alone. There was no sign of Tailmon, or her brother, or Miyako, or Takeru, or Daisuke. Just her, looking out over the waves.

On some instinct Hikari turned and started walking away from the shore. Then, in the corner of her gaze, she saw one of the things and started running. It hadn't taken long after the first for more of the not-Digimon to start appearing everywhere. The things seemed to rise up everywhere around her, emerging out of patches of half-cast shadows. They shuffled after her, reaching out from byways and shattered doors and open windows and oozing after her over mismatched picket fences. Hikari kept moving, kept running, fleeing through the night. She took a quick dash down an alley and fled through a loose cluster of the things before they could wall her off, but then had to take a sharp right as a wall of the creatures stood before her. It took her two frantic dashes and three more blocked off turns to realize she was being herded, coaxed back towards the shore like a lamb to the slaughter and by then it was too late.

They were all around her now, the shadowy things. The strangers vaguely resembled the Hangyomon they had pretended to be, but seeing their true forms Hikari doubted very much whether these things were actually Digimon. Maybe they weren't anything at all.

They were humanoid creatures, hunched over with fins and flippers and they carried strongly the fishy scent of the sea. Their identical silhouettes made them seem almost ill for they were all lanky, pot-bellied, graceless things. Beyond that, however, they were nothing but shadows and water: black shapes without any features or details save for a strange shimmering quality like the surface of the sea. The only solid thing in the creatures were their eyes, yellow ones with slitted pupils sunk into deep black recesses on otherwise blank faces.

Hikari stared around at the black things as they slower moved in on her. In absolute silence they had corralled her onto the beach and now they were closing in, step by step. Unlike the last time there were no charades being played, no talk of gods and war and children, and no option to turn down their desires, whatever they were. There was nothing but a mass of bodies, slowly piling in on her.

The last time Takeru had come to find her, and Tailmon had been there and evolved and frightened off the featureless things. Now though? Nobody knew where she was. It must have been the dead of night in the real world. No one was coming for her, nobody knew she had been called, and nobody was here to fight these things. The creatures were made of shadows but they were horribly solid, along with everything else she remembered Hikari could recall clearly the powerful grip one of their clammy arms had fastened on her arm when they had begged her to become their bride.

There was no one to help her. The creatures were going to catch her and then...

And then a meteor struck the beach.

At least that was Hikari's first thought as the force of the impact blew her back, that a meteor had suddenly somehow come crashing down onto the beach scattering the bone-white sand into the air. But if it was a meteor that didn't explain the sudden flurry of moving shapes, the mess of sounds, the groans and cries and even roars, all punctuated by the sound of splashing water.

Hikari scrambled desperately to her feet and with barely a second's hesitation she ran, coughing up dust, one arm covered over watering eyes, hoping against hope in the confusion she could escape. Hikari was prepared at any moment to feel a clammy arm on her leg, or her arm, or even around her neck, but to her own surprise no half-made shadow reached out to capture her. Instead she kept running, stumbling through the dust, feet slapping puddles of black water, till she reached the inland edge of the beach, away from the melee. Only when she was sure she was free of the mob did Hikari turn back.

There was another figure there, something besides the murky creatures. Something fighting the murky creatures. This one actually looked like a Digimon, unlike the shadows it fought this being had solid body with real detail to it. In the mess of combat Hikari caught glimpses of ornate dark-colored armor fringed with gold, (real gold! real color!) the black staff, or no the spear that it used to tear through the shadows, and once or twice it slowed down long enough to let her see that the helmet it wore was molded in the shape of a roaring lion.

By the time Hikari had gotten clear the fight was at least half done. Hikari watched as the newcomer systematically fought its way through the shadow things. She stared in horrified fascination as the Digimon jammed its weapon into the chest of one creature and then ripped it free. Rather than be torn or bleed or even disintegrate like a Digimon the thing seemed to just... spill. Whatever substance was there was gone in a second as the creature collapsed into a puddle of ugly water like it was a punctured balloon.

Faced with something that could fight back the creatures, once cold, terrible, and relentless, suddenly seemed fragile and clumsy. Hikari felt a strange twinge of sympathy for the wretched shapes as they were cut down one after another. The black Digimon thrust and spun its spear in a flurry of violently effective motion. One creature made an off-balance lunge and died instantly when the black Digimon countered with a blow right through its head. Several more shuffled forward at once and were dispatched in short order when the Digimon cut a wide, powerful sweeping slash across their chests. Another creature made a clumsy swing that missed as the black Digimon leapt up and backwards, driving his spear through the neck of different shadow on the way down.

A strike through the shoulder, two blows through the stomach, a low sweep cutting through the legs – Creature after creature died, spilling dark water onto the sands. The mass of shadows had nothing to their side beyond the weight of numbers, and that was nothing against the skill of their opponent.

And then the fight was over. No words were exchanged but just the same Hikari could palpably feel it like a switch being flipped. A moment later the handful of remaining shadow things froze as a unit and began to slowly jerk away from the black Digimon as though pulled away by a hook. As one they shuffled backwards into the ocean and under the waves. The Digimon, standing in a pool of brackish remains, stood silently and watched as the creatures retreated as silently as they had come.

Then the Digimon turned to Hikari. Her gaze was drawn to the eyes behind his mask, the only part of his body that wasn't covered by armor. She could see them clearly now that the fight had ended, like the rest of him somehow his eyes had real color here. In those brownish eyes she could see a faint expression of, what was it? Curiosity? Concern? Sorrow?

Hikari woke with a start and yanked upright. The clock across the room gleamed 3:28 in the morning. Everything was still there in apartment 1206, just like it had been when she had gone to sleep a scant few hours ago. Down below she could see the desk covered in books and papers, her mid-sized dresser, the little side table with her D-Terminal and D-3, the closed door to the closet, and the calendar on the wall with the date circled in. Everything was quiet... Until her brother gave a titanic snore, loud enough to be heard from the room over. A moment later she heard him shuffle and then flop over. Hikari giggled a little and relaxed. No matter how old he got Taichi was still a messy sleeper. Maybe he always would be. It was a relief to suddenly be back and safe, to be able to laugh like that.

“Hikari?” Tailmon asked quietly from the foot of her bunk. Apparently her spell of movement had roused her Digimon from where she'd been sleeping. Tailmon pawed over to her on all fours and then stood upright to look at her. “Are you all right?”

“It's fine Tailmon, I just had a bad dream,” Hikari said. She wasn't sure if this counted as lying, after all it HAD been a bad dream whatever else it had been. It even felt like a bad dream with the way its finer points were already fading from her memory. Unfortunately too much was left behind. The dark world, the creatures, that lion-masked Digimon...

“Are you sure you're okay?” Tailmon's eyes gleamed with real concern and it hurt Hikari a little not to tell the truth, but it would be even more painful to panic Tailmon by telling her about a scary dream. If Hikari had told her she would have had to stay up late into the morning to convince Tailmon she was okay. And that conversation might wake up her big brother and then he'd have his own turn worrying himself sick over her. And what if they told the rest of her friends? Daisuke and Miyako and Takeru and probably Ken and maybe even Iori would all run over even in the middle of the night if they got wind there was an emergency, even a false alarm. No, it was better to stay quiet.

So Hikari said “Yes, I'm sure I'm okay. Let's just go back to sleep.”

Tailmon looked up at Hikari with her big blue eyes. She could say a lot with just a look. This look said plainly that she didn't believe Hikari and wasn't sure if she really was alright. Tailmon's glance said that she knew Hikari bottled things up, that she could tell when Hikari was hiding something after long experience, that she would still be worried about Hikari even if the girl didn't say what was wrong, and that it hurt her a little that Hikari wouldn't confide in her and trust her. It was a look that reminded Hikari that Tailmon's life's mission was to be by her side and help her and protect her and that she did that mission gladly because she believed in it and because she cared about Hikari and she'd do anything she could to help her.

Hikari looked away. Then a moment later she used getting back under her covers and closing her eyes as an excuse to keep looking away.

“Good night, Tailmon”

Tailmon stayed there looking at the back of her head for a few moments more. Then she pawed her way to the edge of the bed and curled up.

“Good night, Hikari.”

---

And just like that she was gone. Once the shadowy creatures had left the Light girl with her long gloves had taken only a couple of seconds to fade away like static on a dying screen. Hopefully she was back where she had come from. Hopefully she would wake up at home in her own room instead of being in a hospital bed barely not dead. That was an unpleasant thing to think, but of course it had come to his mind.

Now he surveyed the seas. There was nothing now, just lapping blackish waves on an empty shore. After another moment looking out over the ocean he closed his eyes, putting sight aside to focus on what he could feel. It was a vague thing, reaching out and trying to sense something this way. A Digimon's sense was an instinctual thing, not quite based on sound or on smell or on touch but somehow all of them at once and something else. Listening to the waves, feeling the flow of the night coming from out across the water he could tell there was still something there, maybe even more than one something, but for now all was quiet. All that was left was knowing in some vague yet certain way that whatever happened with the ghosts and the girl was over, at least for now.

In a moment the strands of code faded away and Kimura Kouichi was himself. Again. Still.

That girl who had faded away, Kouichi was pretty sure he knew what had happened to her, pretty sure it was the same as the thing had happened to him. Still it was strange, somehow, seeing it from the other direction. This time he wasn't the one who was a half-real wandering spirit. Still, even if she wasn't fully there why hadn't she fought back? Those echoey things were even less real than she had been, and Kouichi of all people knew how well a ghost could fight.

Kouichi looked around one last time at the hollow beach, the empty town, the forbidding forest. There was still nothing. So, with nothing else to be done Kouichi flipped open his phone to read the message he'd received on it one more time. Then he closed it and held it out as his digivice again, pointing it forward into the gloom.

This took an entirely different kind of sense, and all of his friends described it a little bit differently. Slowly Kouichi turned in place feeling the tension from the tip of the device, feeling for the familiar fabric on the veil of night. It didn't take very long to find the right spot and so Kouichi swung his arm down tearing into the world. Darkness, real darkness from a real night fell onto the beach, like the opposite inverse to light shining through a window. Kouichi flipped his digivice around to face him, and a moment later Lowemon stepped into the Digital World.

---

And Scene.

Greetings to everyone in the exciting world of Ao3! I posted this fanfiction a while back on FF.net, but never posted it here mostly out of awkwardness. By the time I started posting here I was a couple of chapters into this one and I wasn't sure the best way to import it, I didn't exactly want to just dump it all at once after all. However, after a pitiably common tech support failure happened I decided it was probably time to bring it on over here. My intention is to post about a chapter a week here until I'm caught up, with the bonus being that I'm going to be doing a little bit of revision and extra tightening up try and make the version you people are reading here the most definitive version of the story, you lucky scamps.

As for the story itself, I've had the idea for it for a long time. A really really long time. As in, this was an idea for a story I had prior to Digimon Savers which is practically prehistoric in the information age. When I came back to fanfiction a couple of years back I reread a number of my old favorites and finished a couple of stories that were still in progress way back in the day, but ultimately none of them quite told the story I wanted to see. Ultimately, I realized that if I wanted to see that story written I'd have to do it myself, and so here I am trying to write the story I guess only I can. I am, after all, nobody but myself and so I guess I have to take it upon myself to write the story I want to see written. That is how fanfiction works, right?

As should be obvious this is merely the beginning of the story. I hope if you've read this far you'll come join me further down the road.

Next: Across Dawn

Chapter Text

Across Dawn

Hikari tried to put the previous night behind her. She tried to put aside thoughts of the harrowing dream, the black Digimon, and that awful world. She tried to put aside her worries and greet the new day with cheer and optimism. Today was going to be a great day! Sure summer homework was no fun, but she'd be meeting all her friends that afternoon to work on it together, so there was no reason to be down and gloomy about a spooky dream was there?

Hikari's practiced, positive manner gave no indication to her family she was worried at all. Indeed it was so convincing that she'd almost convinced herself nothing was wrong by the end of breakfast. Almost. She tried again to convince herself everything was totally fine in the bathroom and again as she gathered her things and her partner to head out. When that failed to silence the worried little voice in her head Hikari made a promise to herself that she really would tell someone about her dream if all this Dark World trouble popped up again. After all, her previous visits had always been one-time things, a spooky call at school, the machine in the Kaiser's base, getting lost in a forest so she had no reason to believe this was anything different, really. Really. Really. And if it did then... Well she'd worry about it then which was fine because it wasn't going to happen. Really.

That didn't do nearly enough to convince the little voice in her head, the worried voice that sounded so much like Tailmon had just hours ago, but it was a compromise the voice would accept. And that's all she needed because everything was fine. Walking out the door Hikari repeated it quietly to herself, "everything is fine".

---

Digital technology is not stagnant and so neither is the Digital World.

In the span of four years between Takeru's first visit and Lowemon's mid-morning arrival the Village of Beginnings had expanded far beyond the point it could be fairly called a "village". It had expanded even beyond being called a "town". What Lowemon looked down upon from his perch on the upper slopes of Mount Panorama was The City of Beginnings, a sprawling, shining, unkempt cluster of buildings home to a riot of different Digimon. Like so much of the Digital World the City of Beginnings was a funhouse mirror reflection of a Real World idea; an exaggerated vision of a modern human metropolis realized through the eyes of Digimon.

Even from a distance Lowemon could see all the places in the city wouldn't make sense to a human. On the edge of town a skyscraper stood alone surrounded with a vast, empty parking lot. The only paved road in the city went straight through a building. Nonsensical street signs were plastered on walls and poles pointing in random directions, some indicating straight up or down. In the middle of town stood a railroad crossing gate with no railroad to go with it. Telephone poles rose all across the city with wires that connected nothing in particular. One portion of the city had dozens of little storefronts and stalls tossed about in careless zigzags. Another part of the city had been built along carefully ordered streets but with no coherence for design allowing a classical Japanese Inn, an American-style fast food restaurant, and a Grecian temple to stand side by side. And of course there was the far north edge of town where dirt and grass gave away to mattress fabric and the towering buildings became giant stacks of blocks, but Lowemon suspected he wasn't going to be headed in that direction.

That it made no sense from a human's point of view was obvious and said a little bit about the Digimon who had built it and quite a bit more about Digimon in general. Every Digimon had some knowledge of human objects and human ideas, it was written right into the zeroes and ones of their code. However for a Digimon there was a huge gulf between knowing something and actually understanding something.

The Digimon who had built the City of Beginnings were undoubtedly intelligent and well-meaning, but they were also Digimon who had never been to the Real World and had only a limited understanding of the things they inherently knew. These builders clearly knew what you would find in a city, but this knowledge didn't stretch as far as knowing why those things were in a city. No doubt some enterprising Digimon had put up all the road signs under the assumption that having them was necessary for a place to be called a city. Nevermind that there were no cars in the City of Beginnings, that there were no useful roads for them to drive on had there been cars, that many Digimon wouldn't have been able to fit in those cars if they had existed, or even if they were the right size that many Digimon could simply fly or climb or leap from place to place with less hassle, heedless of the non-existent roads or their signs. What mattered was that this Digimon had known you needed a lot of street signs in a city and so had dutifully put them up.

And here was Lowemon, a Digimon who was often a human and was therefore uniquely equipped to look down on the City of Beginnings and understand it.

Lowemon looked up from the city to take another glance at the little piece of paper. It had been from a human's scratch-pad, so in his hand as a Digimon it seemed almost comically small. The map had been copied down exactly as it had been given, but it was still much too simplistic to give good directions for a city as sprawling as the City of Beginnings. Going down into the thick of things certainly wasn't going to make it any easier to find his destination, but on the other hand he was getting nowhere from up here.

"I hope you weren't thinking of heading into the city, were you?"

The speaker's deep voice came from no warning from behind Lowemon. Lowemon was tensed to strike on reflex as he spun round, but held himself back. Devidramon, his senses provided, an Adult wicked dragon Digimon. The Devidramon's four gleaming red eyes, long clawed arms, and tattered leather coverings weren't friendly looking in the slightest, and Lowemon was a human-type while Devidramon was a beast-type, but if a fight broke out Lowemon was sure enough of his strength that he'd be okay. More importantly the Devidramon had settled down to talk instead of striking first. A fight avoided was already won.

"I was, actually. Why do you ask?" said Lowemon, evenly.

"I was going to warn you that you might want to think again. That city doesn't take kindly to our kind," said the Devidramon, his long tail flicking back and forth.

"Our kind?" Lowemon asked.

"Yes, our kind. You know, dark Digimon," the Devidramon put heavy emphasis on the last words. It was impossible to read expression in his eyes, but the Devidramon seemed to be giving Lowemon a quizzical look. "Did you just evolve? You have to know the reception we all get around here."

"No, it's... No nevermind. Thank you for your warning but I have business down there I have to attend to," said Lowemon.

"Nothing bad I hope? If you cause trouble you're going to make it harder for the rest of us, you know," the Devidramon was still looking at Lowemon with what seemed to be skepticism.

"No, nothing like that. There's someone down there who needs my help. It's something I need to do."

"Really? They want help from you? Well suit yourself. What I was going to say is that if you're thinking of staying on File Island for a while you'd be better served spending time at Overdell Cemetary, that's the sort of place Digimon like us are welcome," As he spoke the Devidramon turned to indicate towards a gray cape jutting out of the north shore of the island all the way off in the distance. Even from so far away Lowemon could see a cluster of what looked like small buildings where the dragon pointed.

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you for your offer, but for now I need to head into that city," Lowemon said.

"Suit yourself then. I'm Devidramon. A lot of Digimon around Overdell know me, if you do end up around there tell them I sent you and they'll help you out."

"I'm Lowemon. Thank you again," Lowemon nodded politely and began his descent.

The Devidramon kept an appraising look on Lowemon's retreating figure for a while longer, then, flapping his tattered wings, he flew off towards Overdell and away from the city below.

The path downwards off the squat little mountain was easy enough, and a quarter of an hour more spent crossing rolling green hills put Lowemon at the outskirts of the city. Crossing under an archway that was halfway between a shrine's gate and a pair of telephone poles put Lowemon on a dirt road that was one of the city's main winding thoroughfares. He was here, now he just had to find where he was going.

Mid-morning was coming up on late morning and the City of Beginnings was alive and moving. It wasn't quite as loud as the Akiba market had been back home, but this city was also much more spread out and there were many fewer Digimon hawking their wares.

Lowemon walked onward down the road further into the city, one Digimon among many. On the outskirts of town a meat farm was overseen by a Vegiemon bouncing up and down excitedly over a bumper crop. There was a construction site overseen by a Tankmon in a hardhat barking incoherent orders at a couple of confused Guardromon and an empty Mechanorimon. A couple of blocks of the mid-city was given over to a grassy plain playing host to a Tyranomon, a Garurumon, and a couple of Monochromon. At one point a freestanding fountain depicting a Shellmon sat in the center of the road. A Geckomon and a handful of Otamamon were singing loudly on a stage standing between two tall apartment blocks. Near the railroad crossing a Minotaurmon in a beret presided over a food cart offering American-style hamburgers.

Lowemon passed all of them with no comment. Occasionally he glanced at his map, fruitlessly trying to match it to the sprawl of the city. Silently walking unfamiliar streets with a tiny scrap of a map came with it a strong sense of Deja vu. It seemed so long ago he'd been wandering through that neighborhood looking for that one particular nameplate...

Every so often, when Lowemon took a moment to re-examine his map he caught a glimpse of something. It was while stopping for the trackless railroad crossing and looking at the map again that Lowemon saw it again out of the corner of his eye, much more blatantly than before.

Among the small crowd of Digimon was an Elecmon herding a little flock of baby Digimon. Coming up towards the railroad crossing Elecmon had been chatting animatedly with the herd of bouncing balls, but the cheery talk ended immediately when he looked up. Lowemon pretended not to see the way Elecmon pulled the group back in alarm, nor the way Elecmon shushed all the babies, nor the way Elecmon carefully guided the baby Digimon far to the other side of the road and took a cautious stance, well away from the scary stranger.

"Our Kind." "Dark Digimon." "They want help from you?" "You will be received with hostility."

Elecmon taking care to keep the babies far away from him had been the most overt part of it, but Lowemon had felt the city's collective mistrust since almost the moment he'd crossed under the arch. It hadn't been loud or showy, but it had been there. A quiet muttering, a sidelong glance, a gap in the crowd a little bit too large...

In a backwards way this was almost comforting. This was something that Lowemon, that Kouichi recognized. This was that well-meaning crowd of people politely worried that maybe you were in the wrong place, and concerned that perhaps it would be best that maybe you should go back to whatever godforsaken backwards slum you belonged because you obviously didn't belong here among the upright well-to-do people.

The careful glances and whispers put him in mind of those times he'd gone with Kouji to walk his dog. Kouji loved that dog, an enormous German Shepherd almost as long as Kouji was tall. Walking his dog and talking about it were some of the only things that made Kouji really eager to smile, so Kouichi loved to go with his brother and smile with him. That smile also kept Kouichi from bringing up the way the neighbors reacted to them, or rather to him.

It was the contrast, probably, that got people buzzing. One one hand there was Kouji of the distinguished Minamoto clan who could trace his lineage to the imperial dynasty. He wore fashionable clothing, brand new athletic sneakers, and a bandanna around his head that practically gleamed. On the other hand there was some impoverished youth wandering with him through the upscale Meguro neighborhood in a secondhand jacket, old worn out shoes, threadbare slacks, and wearing a ratty baseball hat. Some child of poverty clearly unworthy of spending time with Kouji, who was almost a prince! What on Earth could Kouji see in that stranger? But there was muttering here and there about how strange it was that both boys should look so alike, they could have been twins some of them said. The third time the brothers had passed one particular elderly couple while out walking Kouichi had heard the old lady chatter a bit too loudly about how the poor boy must be a decoy to fool kidnappers, but it would never work because that boy looked nothing like Kouji!

Kouji never noticed, Kouichi was sure of that. They'd been together for only about a year, but Kouichi knew enough about his twin brother to feel sure he'd have spoken up. Kouji was absolutely loyal and outspoken when it came to his friends and family. Kouji wouldn't have stayed silent in the face of the concerned, polite abuse coming from that nice old couple or any of the other neighbors he lived around, and Kouichi didn't feel the need to inform his brother what they said. Part of that was that he didn't want to ruin their time together, but it was also that he didn't begrudge his brother that ignorance. Kouji grew up in that neighborhood and he really did belong there, the rich scion of one of the Minamoto's many branches wearing his well-made clothes and walking his well-kept dog down a well-maintained street. Shabbily dressed Kouichi really did stand out. No doubt black-clad Lowemon stood out just as much.

If the City of Beginnings had it in for dark Digimon there was nothing to be done. Lowemon could hardly hide his element what with his jet-black armor, and his other forms gave no better alternative. If Kouichi was to be a Digimon at all he would have to be a dark Digimon. It hadn't been his choice to become the Warrior of Darkness anymore than it had been his choice to miss that elevator or fall down those stairs, but it was what had happened and it was who he was.

And, if he had to, he'd do it all over again.

Well, he'd been warned so there was no use wasting time worrying about it. The railroad crossing gates had finally come up so it was time to keep looking.

It took maybe another half hour of searching through the maze of the market district before Lowemon finally found a tangle of streets that resembled the ones on his map. Sure enough, on a side street a few turn-offs from the main road Lowemon found his destination. It was a two-story building whose ground floor was given over to a restaurant with a large attached in-door patio with glass walls like a green house that had been set up as a dining area. A small sign on the front door apologized because the restaurant would not be open for lunch that day. A large sign hanging over the entrance read "Digitamamon's Nice Restaurant".

Lowemon stepped forward and knocked on the door. Footsteps came a few moments later, followed by a professionally even-tempered voice.

"My sincere apologies but we're closed for lunch today."

"I'm not here for lunch," Lowemon said, "I was told to come here, and that you would be expecting me."

"You're our boarder? Oh my apologies again sir," there was some rustling as the doornob turned, "it's nice to meet- Oh."

The speaker's voice trailed off as the door opened and he got a good look at Lowemon. Lowemon in turn got to get a look at the owner of the voice who was indeed a Digitamamon complete with the gleaming eyes peeking out from within the gray eggshell, thick green lizard legs, and who knew what else. Lowemon was considering giving some sort of vague apology for existing when the Digitamamon caught up with his thoughts and continued. "I see why I'd be the one to get a call to put up a lodger. Come on inside and I'll show you around."

Lowemon followed Digitamamon inside looking around at the inside restaurant as he did. The floor was made of flat but irregular flagstones and covered over with a carpet leading to the reception desk. The walls were brick and hung with posters, notices, and playbills. Colorful potted plants filled in the vacant corners of the room and around a large print of the menu that was perched on an easel. A few steps down from the entrance was the dining area, aglow with the noon sun that came in through huge bright windows and down onto the careful arrangement of neatly made tables. After a sweeping glance, Lowemon concluded that Digitamamon's restaurant was indeed nice. Another glance came to rest on a little niche just inside the dining room with an old piano.

"It's not much," Digitamamon said, "but I'm rather pleased with this place."

"It's very pretty," Lowemon said, honestly as the pair moved into the back of the building.

"Thank you! You came at a good time, Bakumon is out seeing about a shipment, so we're closed for right now. You saw the dining room, The kitchen is down that hallway," the egg Digimon tilted its whole body to indicate the direction, "the stairs are back there," a tilt the other way, "and your room is on the second floor, it's the door at the end of the hall. If you need to leave in a hurry for whatever your business is you can use the back door down there."

Once in the privacy of the back hallway Digitamamon turned around and tilted itself back to look at Lowemon's face. Digitamamon himself had no face to speak of, but the Digimon's gleaming eyes were animated all the same and now showed a kind of thoughtfulness. It took a few seconds for Digitamamon to decide on his words.

"Do you know how long you'll be staying here?"

Lowemon had assumed Digitamamon was going to ask why he was here. Perhaps the egg Digimon was carefully avoiding the subject, which was fine by him. Lowemon wasn't totally sure how he would have answered that question.

"I think maybe a week or so, but I can't say for sure yet. Hopefully it won't be much longer than that. I'm sorry to have to intrude on your hospitality," said Lowemon. This was the polite thing to say and moreover it was true, so a moment later he followed up with a late bow.

"Oh no, it's no problem at all!" Digitamamon's voice was back to being cheerful, friendly, professional, and maybe a little bit too loud. "It's not everyday an aging ruffian like me gets a request like this! I'd be happy to be able to help you out, just say the word."

"Thank you, it's only that I wish I could pay you back for giving me a place to stay."

"Oh no, it's fine, don't worry about it. Besides, I run a restaurant! It's not like I'd expect a guest to work for me, and even if I did I'm not expecting you know anything about the business..."

"I do," said Lowemon, as Digitamamon was graciously trailing off.

"Pardon?"

"I do know about restaurants. And I think I could be able to help."

"Well that's very kind of you, but between me and Bakumon we don't really need any more staff for my little place. It's truly gracious of you to offer to help, but I'm not sure what I could have you do."

"I can play the piano," Lowemon said.

Digitamamon stopped trying to politely decline and seemed to really look at Lowemon for the first time since they'd seen each other at the door. "Really? Ya can do that? Where'd ya nab that kind of data?" Digitamamon's practiced, professional voice broke into a rougher tone.

"That isn't important, but it's true and I can. I can show you if you like. And I want to pay you back for this. If it's something I can do, I want to do it," Lowemon said.

"Well, I guess I'll consider it... I mean if you really want to, on the side for it's own sake," Digitamamon said, haltingly.

"That's fine, you don't need to pay me anything since you're already giving me a place to stay, if I can pay you back in some way that's more than enough for me," said Lowemon.

"I see! Well that's fine and very kind of you to offer, I'm rather surprised a Digimon like you would play...Er, no, wait, I didn't mean..." Digitamamon hastily stumbled over his last words.

"No, it's fine. I don't think many Digimon learn how to play an instrument that isn't their own."

"Ah, yes, that's what I meant," Digitamamon said, immediately accepting the white lie as an olive branch. "We're going to be open for dinner, if you'd like to perform I'd certainly be gracious. In the meantime can I get you anything?"

"No thank you. I should probably get going. I need to get started," said Lowemon.

---

The plan had been for everyone to meet at the library a little before noon then maybe go out to a late lunch or even dinner after working on summer homework, but that hadn't happened. A volley of e-mails had gone from D-Terminal to D-Terminal relating the many reasons why the various Chosen Children would be late.

Miyako had been the first, relating the need to unpack a huge shipment for her family's store that had come unexpectedly early, and by the way she was borrowing Iori to help because he'd been coincidentally walking by at the time. Takeru had chimed up next, revealing that his father had accidentally left something behind at his home and absent Yamato he was going to go across town to pick it up and then deliver it at the TV station. Daisuke, who had initially been absolutely certain he could be there, then followed up to confirm he'd suddenly been called over by the Soccer club for some nebulous emergency planning meeting and absolutely would not be there. Finally Ken had sent a simple note saying only that he was sorry and that he would be late.

All of this left Hikari in limbo. She had no pressing issue preventing her from meeting up, and that irony meant she was now all on her own, not counting Tailmon. Regardless, there was nothing stopping her from going to the library working in silence, but right there on that gorgeous summer day somehow going all by herself just felt wrong. And besides that she was nearly done. It would be nice to finally get finished a full month early, but part of the point of going out to do homework was being together with everyone. If she finished up it would be awkward to just hang around. That was a good enough reason for her to hang back and enjoy the sunshine in the park, so she did.

The park had a name, but it was a boring one, something like "Odaiba Municiple Public Park Number 3". To be honest, though, it wasn't a very exciting park either. There were some hanging bars and a spinning globe and a swingset, but it was sparse and a little bit rusty, and worst of all disappointingly urban. The whole play area was on hard concrete tile which made Hikari vaguely uncomfortable in consideration of the climbing bars, and the only real nature were the trees and bushes confined to manicured little plots. On the whole it looked like it was just a block of the city where someone had left a jungle gym, so it was really no wonder people rarely came here. At least that meant Tailmon could come out of her bag and stop pretending to be a stuffed animal.

Yet somehow, at the same time, it was their park, "the" park. It's where Hikari had gathered with her brother and the rest (minus Mimi) that first day when Daisuke had gone to the Digital World and become a Chosen Child. Somehow, this unexciting little park had become a place they all knew even if they didn't give it a name or even spend much time here. When important things were happening they met up at school or in someone's apartment or in the Digital World. On the other hand when they were celebrating they usually met at the cable car park where the eight of them had come home at the end of their first adventure. Yet they still came here, on occasion. The plus side of being in the middle of the city was that the park was conveniently located, and that was why Hikari and her generation had all picked this place to group up before going onward towards the library. In fact, the group only ever seemed to meet here when they were going to do something else.

It was a liminal place, this park. You didn't meet here for its own sake, you came here to start something, and, indeed, this park was the starting point for their second adventure.

This is a place for beginnings. The realization hit Hikari with an odd twinge. The call had come last night in that dream, and now she was here, waiting. For what? Her friends? Someone else? Something else? Was something going to start? Something to do with that awful world? Had it already started last night? What was beginning?

Hikari did her best to breath through the sudden rash of panic. Breath, hold yourself steady, maintain composure. It was just an odd coincidence she was here now, nothing else, nothing besides a curious observation that put her on edge. It was just one of those odd things she picked up on, odd things she would somehow just realize and know deeply. She knew, somehow, inside of herself, that this place was a starting point, but that didn't mean anything was going to happen. She was fine, sitting here on a somewhat shady bench with Tailmon sprawled out beside her. It was just a coincidence, serendipity, nothing more.

A week later, Hikari would reflect she had been right about at least one thing: it had been serendipity.

---

More than anything, Kouichi wanted to see his brother.

It hadn't even been 24 hours and Kouichi already desperately missed Kouji. Since they'd met last summer the boys had talked almost every day, by phone if not face-to-face. Most days they hadn't said much more than "hello", but even that would have been enough right now. Kouichi had known he'd be alone here, but it wasn't until he'd come to this other Tokyo to realize how alone he really was. And how much he'd come to cherish his brother's voice.

Wandering around Odaiba, Kouichi had more than once found his hand on his cell phone and more than once had to force himself to let go of it. It hurt every time to let go, a grinding, stabbing needle of worry that jammed right through his heart, but Kouichi forced himself through it to anyways. He had no idea which would be worse, to call Kouji's number and get no answer, or for someone to pick up on the other end. Either way it wouldn't help, Kouji wasn't here.

What would Kouji say if he were here? Well that was easy actually, Kouji would say Kouichi was chosen so obviously he was there for a reason and Kouichi was smart and talented and better at making friends than Kouji was (assuming he remembered to smile for once), so he should just trust his instincts and things would probably work out. Of course that was easy for him to say, or for Kouichi to imagine him saying. Kouji was at ease wherever he went, he had the self-confidence to never worry about being out of place. The brothers shared faces, but anyone could tell at a glance Kouji was cool and Kouichi wasn't. Everyone said Kouichi worried too much, and sure enough here he was worrying.

At first, Kouichi had thought it would be easier being in Tokyo among people instead of around Digimon in the Digital World. The Digimon in the City of Beginnings had been on edge around Lowemon, wouldn't it be easier to just be in Odaiba were being one ordinary kid among many wouldn't get a second glance? But Kouichi wasn't an ordinary kid. Ordinary kids weren't sent to other worlds on missions of grave importance. Kouichi was here for a reason, but right now in Odaiba's sea of faces he couldn't have put words to what that reason was.

Of course he was here to find that girl and try and keep her safe and so it had seemed like a good idea to come here, to visit the other Tokyo where the girl had been from and then... And then what, really? Tokyo was home to ten million people, the island of Odaiba alone had thousands and thousands of them, and Kouichi was just going to pop in and find one girl among who knows how many? A girl whose name he didn't know, a girl he'd only seen once, a girl he knew next to nothing about. And how did he even know she was in Odaiba? Sure he'd ended up here when he'd come from the digital world, but did that mean anything? How could he be sure she was here and not in Shinjuku or Ikebukuro or Setagaya or Shibuya? And if he did find her, a needle in a thousand haystacks, what then? Go up and introduce himself? Which himself? What on Earth had he been thinking to come here?

Nobody spared a second glance for Kouichi, and that more than anything was what reminded him he was alone. No matter how big a crowd he'd never fit in here. This wasn't his world, his home with his friends and his family where he knew people and knew what he was doing. Kouichi was a stranger, nobody noticed him and nobody cared. He was just some kid, somebody else's problem. If something happened to him here who would miss him? He'd be no more than an anomaly, a footnote in a weird magazine. Anyone who cared about him was a world away.

It was almost funny, in an ugly way, a Digimon always belonged in the digital world but a human couldn't always fit in among other humans. Right here, right now, being ignored was so much worse than being hated. If people hated you then you existed, you weren't just a a fleeting shadow.

Kouichi wandered. He couldn't say where he was going, if he was following some instinct or just moving to move or just moving because he couldn't bear to stay still. It took him barely 20 minutes before he was certain he wouldn't find this girl, but he was also certain he didn't want to turn back, so he kept moving.

Kouichi passed ceaseless crowds at both seafront and storefront. He crossed gleaming walkways and in front of massive buildings. He passed by the rail station and the big amusement park. He crossed small streets and took a walkway over a large road. Once or twice he cut through a mall, but soon enough they were so full the crowd was maddening. Step by step, one foot in front of the other, Kouichi walked.

There were other kids here, of course. Some were running and laughing and playing outdoors in parks, others were walking with their families on errands, and many more standing or sitting or waiting in lines. Kouichi kept his eyes out for them of course, he was supposed to be looking for the girl (even if he had stopped believing he'd find her). As Kouichi wandered across the man-made island he couldn't help but wonder if some of them were also Warriors like him and the girl, and moreover wonder about what this world was really like. The message he had received said this world had Warriors, but it had also said the world was "familiar, yet distinctly different" and that its Warriors fought in a way different from his friends. As he walked wherever Kouichi had plenty of time to ponder what that really meant. In his world there had been the ten warriors based on the ten elements, was that how they were different? The girl's element was "Light", but were the other elements the same? Or maybe her element had really been "Holy" and rather than elements of the world the warriors here represented different families of Digimon? Were their spirits different? Did they use them differently somehow? Maybe some only evolved into Human-Types and others only into Beast-Types. Or maybe they didn't evolve at all somehow?

After nearly an hour of walking aimlessly the knot of anxiety in Kouichi's gut had relaxed enough for a little perspective. Yes, this trip had been a waste, but it was fine because there would be plenty more chances. For one thing Kouichi could probably still protect her as long as he kept an eye out for the shadows from that other world, if he kept up his watch he might even be able to follow those things right to her. For another thing the girl was one of this world's Warriors, maybe Kouichi would be able to find out more about her from the Digimon.

Kouichi was about ready to head back to the digital world and maybe ask Digitamamon or even Devidramon about this world's Legendary Warriors like he probably should have done to start with, when he saw a line of water fountains running down the sidewalk. It wasn't a particularly hot day, but being under the sun for so long had still left him tired, sweaty, dusty, thirsty, and a little achey all the same, so Kouichi crossed down a block and a half of warm summer concrete. The water had an unpleasant metallic tinge to it, and it was barely cool let alone cold, but after criss-crossing the city, Kouichi gulped it down gratefully. He had filled up a fourth mouthful of water and was turning to go when a glint of gold caught the corner of his eye. Kouichi turned his head, and choked.

It was her! The girl! She was in a t-shirt with a neckerchief and wasn't wearing those long gloves, but it was unmistakably the same girl with the short hair and brown eyes from the previous night sitting on a bench sorting through a backpack in a little parklet just down the way. Kouichi stared. He could practically hear his brother's "I told you so."

Kouichi started walking towards her, still staring in amazement. He stopped at the edge of the park where his astonishment redoubled when he realized what was next to her. From a distance it had looked a little like a stuffed animal, but no, as Kouichi watched he saw it move and blink. There was no mistake, lying backwards across the seat of the bench next to the girl was a Digimon. It was a Tailmon, a Beast-Type Digimon in the shape of a white cat wearing yellow gloves and with a suitably long purple and white tail that was wrapped with a Holy Ring. As the Digimon lay on its back its tail flicked back and forth, the gleaming ring catching the light of the sun when it passed in between the shadows cast from the tree branches overhead. The girl sat completely at ease with her companion. Occasionally she would gently stroke the cat's belly or scratch behind its ears.

Kouichi couldn't help but stare. Then he looked around, utterly baffled. A nearby stop light dutifully turned from red to green. An unassuming lamp post sat there silently. Cars honked in the distance. The light in a storefront window way across the way stayed lit. After a moment Kouichi took out his cell phone and flipped it open. Nothing happened. It was just a Digimon, here in the real world. But that couldn't... This wasn't how anything...

"It's okay! Tailmon is a good Digimon!" The girl's voice cut through Kouichi's thoughts. The girl had seen Kouichi staring. Her words came a little bit too quickly and a little bit too loudly, but more than that she sounded worried. Maybe even a little scared.

Kouichi caught the direction of her gaze at his hand, closed his phone and put it away in his pocket. The girl seemed relieved.

"I'm sorry, I was just surprised to see someone with a Digimon," Kouichi said, lamely. The girl nodded understandingly.

"Tailmon is my friend. I know that after everything that happened some people don't always believe that, but it's true so you don't have to worry. She's my partner," the girl said the last word in English, did that mean something special? The Tailmon had leapt to its feet, its eyes keenly focused on Kouichi appraising him warily.

"I'm not interested in fighting, but I am here to protect Hikari," said the Tailmon. The Digimon spoke with the mature and dignified voice of an older woman, and raised a paw to her side, between Kouichi and the girl.

"Tailmon..." the girl seemed sheepish.

"It's okay," Kouichi said to Tailmon, "and I think I understand what Tailmon means, you're important to her, right?" the Tailmon nodded made an approving noise. Kouichi's eyes moved from the Digimon to the girl. Her eyes met his and she smiled.

"Sorry about that, but thank you. For believing me. I'm Yagami Hikari," she said sweetly.

"Kimura Kouichi," he nodded politely to her.

Kouichi took a tentative step forward to the bench, then looked towards Tailmon and waited. After a moment's consideration the cat relaxed her stance and sat down. Taking this as approval, Kouichi walked the rest of the way and sat down next to Hikari with the Digimon between them.

"I'm sorry about that, Tailmon can be overprotective sometimes, but she's very precious to me." Hikari said.

"No, I understand," Kouichi said, "I know someone who can be just like that when he's with the person he likes. His name is Junpei, and he's crazy for a girl I know named Izumi..."

Kouichi had imagined all the things he would have liked to have asked and said to the girl when he finally met her, and he had even more questions after seeing a Tailmon (her Tailmon?) and hearing her mention "Everything that happened" but face-to-face with Hikari what they actually did was start talking about their friends.

Kouichi talked about Junpei, friendly, reliable, popular Junpei who had big bones and an even bigger heart who was head over heels for another friend, Izumi, and would panic at the thought of her ending up in trouble or spending time with someone he didn't know, even though he always gave into Izumi in the end and everyone agreed he was worried over nothing and making a fool of himself. Hikari giggled appreciatively and began to talk about Daisuke, who was a good and reliable, if over-excitable, friend who also fawned over her on and off. She admitted she felt bad about maybe leading him on too much, but Hikari also said she hadn't wanted to hurt him by being blunt about it and that she really did admire him. He was warm-hearted, forgiving, and an excellent soccer player besides. Kouichi was surprised to hear about Daisuke's habit of wearing a pair of goggles talking about how similar he sounded to Takuya, a rising soccer star himself. Kouichi related Takuya as similarly passionate and courageous, but also insightful and analytic. Takuya was an older brother figure to their younger friend, Tomoki, who loved video games and electronics and was a lot more grown up than you'd think the first time you saw him. Hikari contrasted Kouichi's friend with a story about Iori, also a friend who was also a few grades younger who was taciturn, intelligent, and serious minded. By Hikari's account Iori was practically a samurai of old, incredibly dutiful and faithful. That lead Kouichi to bring up Kouji, who also lived by his own personal code. Kouichi related how his twin brother never forgot a favor he was owed, and while solemn and even a little intimidating was also kind and supportive to people he cared about (he hoped inwardly that his melancholy wasn't too noticeable in his voice). Hikari nodded approvingly hearing about Kouji and spoke of Ichijouji Ken (had Kouichi heard of him? he's not like how he seems on TV, no? Nevermind then) who was kind-hearted and ached over some of the (unspecified by Hikari) bad things he'd done despite having done more than enough to make amends (Kouichi silently sympathized). Seeing that speck of gloom Hikari tried to lighten the mood by bringing up Miyako, her best friend and Ken's probably girlfriend who was flighty and disorganized and amazing with boundless energy who seemed to know something about everything and be good at anything she put her mind to. By Hikari's account Miyako was a mood-maker of their friend group and that had Kouchi returning to Izumi who was also an incredible girl, a returnee from Italy with striking blond hair who was vibrant in a way nobody else he knew was and did whatever she thought was interesting. That lead finally to Hikari talking about Takeru, also blonde haired, one of her oldest friends who was an unfailing gentleman being polite, smart, even-tempered, and understanding to everyone, leading Kouichi to say he'd like to meet someone as incredible as Takeru someday.

It was a little ways into the afternoon now, the sun was right at its peak, the shadows from the trees had thinned out, and Tailmon having satisfied herself to Kouichi at some point was lying on her back occasionally being stroked by her partner. Having shared stories and marveled at each others friends, so similar and yet so different, Kouichi and Hikari had finally hit a lull in their conversation.

"Do you know about the Digital World?" Hikari asked after a while.

Kouichi thought for a moment. "I've heard it's another world where the Digimon are supposed to come from, but that's all... Why? Have you ever been there?"

Hikari nodded. "I have. And that's right, it's where Digimon like Tailmon are from. It's a beautiful place. Me and Tailmon have been working together to protect it."

Looking back a little later Hikari wasn't sure why she had asked the question, why she had started talking, and why she kept going. Usually she didn't talk about about the Digital World to outsiders, and Kouichi, however nice he was, was still a stranger unconnected to Digimon or the Digital World or the Chosen Children.

Maybe that had that been why? Because he was an outsider? A handsome stranger? He did look a little bit like Ken, and Miyako was always ready to brag about how good looking her (mostly) boyfriend was.

Maybe. But maybe it had been something else. Maybe it had been in how he talked and how he listened. Kouichi had a gentle voice and a kind smile, and he really knew how to listen to what Hikari said. The way he had talked about his friends, people who were all so different from each other, and the way he listened to her talk about her own friends made him seem like someone who was worth talking to, someone who was understanding.

Maybe it was even more than that, maybe it had been the way he had been willing to accept Tailmon so easily. People were still scared of Digimon, so it had been a relief he hadn't panicked or called the police on her. And he even seemed to understand Tailmon when she talked about her mission, and maybe a little bit about them being partners. Maybe he could understand even more?

Maybe it was in his eyes. He had pretty blue eyes, that was true, but more than that occasionally she caught a glimpse of something in them like, what? Duty? Purpose? Conviction? It was something she usually only saw in her fellow Chosen Children, a look wholly distinct from her other school friends. Kouichi's eyes made it seem like he could understand what it was like fighting to protect something, what it was like to try and keep a whole world safe.

Or maybe it wasn't any of those things, not his voice or his words or his eyes, maybe it was in his entire feel as a person. Something about sitting there and talking with Kouichi felt comforting. Being there on that bench under that tree in that moment sitting next to him made the sound of the rest of the world seem much farther away. The roar of engines, the voices of people, the crying of cicadas, they all seemed so distant on that bench in this moment. The thin shadows seemed deeper and cooler now, the shade around him felt so much more inviting. Right now, near Kouichi and Tailmon she felt safe. And maybe that was why she started talking.

But all these thoughts came afterwards, right there in that moment she started talking about it. Them.

"But," Hikari went on, "there's another Digital World."

Tailmon's eyes shot open, staring hard at Hikari. "That world, the other world, it's awful. It's a dark world, with black ocean. There's no sun or moon, it's nothing but shadows," Hikari shivered, "I'm supposed to protect the Digital World, but I'm scared of that place. It called me once and the creatures in it and I'm scared. They aren't Digimon. If they call me, I'm not sure I could come back this time and they want me and I don't know why or what they'll do so I..." she trailed off.

"I am here to protect Hikari" , suddenly the Digimon's words made so much more sense to Kouichi. Maybe the girl did need extra protection, maybe she really wasn't strong enough for how important she she was. For an instant he wanted to say who he was, say what he had done there in the bleak world last night, but Kouichi pushed that thought down. After Devidramon and the Digimon of the city the grim warning in the message on his phone was even more stark: " In this world you will be received with hostility..."

Hikari stared downward, her arms crossed tight on her chest. Tailmon still stared, hard, at her, afraid in a wholly different way. She looked so so pale. Kouichi put a hand forward and hesitated, struggling for words. He opened his mouth to say something and in the moment the words that fell out were the first to come to mind:

"A world made of darkness sounds tragic. Darkness is the soil of worlds, but it will never grow into anything without Light."

Hikari turned at him, mouth hung silently half open, eyes sunken in blinking back fearful tears.

Silence fell again. Tailmon looked from Hikari to Kouichi and back again. Hikari rubbed her eyes and was about to say something when her pocket beeped. Pulling out her D-Terminal she opened it with a click, leaning it down so Tailmon could see it as well. In a moment the color was back in her face like nothing had ever happened. Smoothly, Hikari gathered up her Digimon and her bag.

"I have to go meet with my friends, they're the ones I told you all about," Hikari gave a polite nod and a worn-through smile, "It was really nice to meet you Kouichi."

Then she stood up with Tailmon hanging out of her bag and walked away.

---

And welcome back to chapter 2. Looking over all of this again to make corrections and expansions here and there, man it feels so long ago that I finally got this out. I was so excited, and honestly I still am.

As for what's in this chapter I'll say I remember writing it being an interesting exercise because doing research for it underlined how little we actually know about the lives of the Frontier kids and therefore how much I had to invent. A lot of people run with the idea they all live in Shibuya, but sadly that isn't accurate. The only person whose residence we know about for certain is Takuya, and he explicitly does not live in Shibuya - That's why he had take a train to get there at the start of the first episode. We can also assume Kouji doesn't live in Shibuya as well, he was also on a train to there as well. As for the rest? Unknown. I personally imagine they live all over Tokyo, but we really just don't know.

As for the bit about Kouji being related to the royal family, that's almost certainly canonically true. The surname "Minamoto" (spelled exactly the way it is for Kouji) was explicitly given to members of the Imperial family who were not in the line of succession. That fact would almost certainly be known to the average Japanese viewer (it would be like an American show giving someone a surname like "Kennedy" or "Washington") and with that context it probably does speak a little bit to how Kouji is characterized in the show, and provides an intriguing possible contrast to what little we see of Kouichi's life in the Real World (and boy howdy am I running with that!) It also provides a hypothetical line of inquiry for understanding how the twins ended up in the situation they were in at the beginning of the series. And knowing that about the stature of the Minamoto clan we can also ask some intriguing questions regarding what kind of relationship their biological parents might have had, what happened between them, and why each would seemingly go as far as to deny the existence of one of their own children. But again, we really just don't know.

At this point story we are still in the establishing scenes, so if you have the wherewithal to keep going with me hopefully I'll see you next time!

Next: Sparks Fly

Chapter Text

Sparks Fly - First Part

So that was Hikari, this world's Warrior of Light. She was nothing at all like Kouji, either as a person or as a Warrior. Kouji's light was just like him: exacting. Firm, keen, principled, steady, sometimes even harsh. His light was the light that flashed off of a swinging sword, the gleam you saw looking down the barrel of a gun. Hikari's light felt nothing like that, in that moment she seemed so fragile...

Kouichi wanted to kick himself. Right now he hated being a Digimon. Those shadows were after her, she was running scared, and all he'd done was scare her even more!

The hell of it was he knew what he'd said was true, he just couldn't say what it meant. When he was a Digimon he was no different from the Digimon that had built that city. The words that fell out of his mouth proved it. He had said something he knew, absolutely knew in the fiber of his being, without being able to understand it. Or at least understand it well enough to put it into words.

It was the wrong thing to say, duh, obviously, and now that Kouichi had put his foot in his mouth everything was impossible again. For a moment he'd seriously thought his one-in-a-billion meeting with Hikari would turn things around. Now she thought he was a freak. She was right there, arms crossed, shivering, tear-stricken, begging for comfort. She needed someone to help her, not to say something like THAT. It was the right moment to tell the truth and he'd blown it.

No, it was worse than that, he'd failed her. What he should have done was reassure her, put a hand on her shoulder, tell her that he'd help, that Tailmon would help, that her friends would help, that it was going to be okay.

Kouichi clenched his fists. That day, THE day, the day they'd met, really met, he was where Hikari had been. He'd been sitting in a train car, unsure of anything, afraid of the dark, afraid of HIMSELF. That time it had been Patamon who'd come up to him to try and make him feel better. Why couldn't he have just been like Patamon?

Kouichi stood up.

This wasn't the end. No, not like this. Even if he screwed up, even if he couldn't be there in that moment he couldn't give up, he wouldn't give up. This wasn't it, even if Hikari would never speak to him again he was still a Digimon and there was still a lot he could do from the Digital World. And maybe there would be another chance to see Hikari. To apologize. Maybe even to be who she'd needed in that moment.

Kouichi grabbed his phone and started walking.

---

"What really happened last night?"

Tailmon hung from the front of Hikari's bag as the girl walked down the sidewalk. It was a brand-new messenger bag she carried slung over her shoulder. One side of the bag had a cute little harness with holes for arms and legs designed to fit a stuffed animal and which now comfortably carried Tailmon. The bag had been an early birthday gift from her brother, he'd even gone ahead measured her Digimon just to make sure Tailmon would fit. The idea was that Hikari could comfortably carry Tailmon out in the open by making the Digimon look to the rest of the world like she was just a cute toy. And it worked! Except when she talked.

"Nothing! I told you, it was just a bad dream," Hikari said quietly after quickly looking around.

"Then why did you talk about that world with that boy?"

"There's no reason, I just, I thought Kouichi was smart and interesting and I wanted to know what he would think about-"

"You can't expect me to believe that, Hikari, you would never talk about that place just for just for fun. I could tell something was wrong, last night, did they call you? Did that world…"

"NO!" Hikari shouted. She jumped at the sound her own voice and looked around. A few pedestrians had turned to her after her outburst, but after a few moments of there being nothing more exciting than a worried girl they all just as quickly went back to walking. Hikari hurried onward down the sidewalk. She cleared her throat, and continued with a restrained voice, "What I meant is that nothing like that happened. You're worrying too much, Tailmon. So... what did you think? I mean about Kouichi?"

"Hikari, how can I protect you if you aren't going to tell me anything?"

"It's fine. Nothing happened. Do you think Kouichi would get along with Ken? They both seem very kind, and Kouichi reminds me of him a little bit."

"Hikari…" Tailmon turned up to look at her partner. Hikari gave a practiced smile and kept walking. The cat Digimon looked down and sighed. If Hikari wanted to be she could be just as stubborn as her brother. If she said nothing was wrong there was nothing Tailmon could do, ESPECIALLY if something was wrong.

"He's a liar," Tailmon said flatly.

Hikari blinked. She had reached an intersection and was waiting for the light to turn green. The only person around was a haggard looking businessman urgently muttering into a cell phone. A couple of cars crossed back and forth down the road. She looked down.

"A liar? How do you mean? What was he lying about?"

"He was lying about Digimon," Tailmon said, Her voice calm and certain. "He said he didn't know about Digimon or the Digital World, but you can't fool my gut or my nose. He was there for long enough that I could definitely tell. That boy, Kouichi, he smells like a Digimon."

"But if he lives around here maybe he met a Digimon once when they came through, like last year?"

"No, I don't mean like that. The scent of a Digimon was fresh on Kouichi, like it is on you or like it would be on Daisuke or Takeru. And it's not just that," Tailmon went on, "he also understood we were partners. Most humans don't get that, they've never heard of a humans having a Digimon partner and don't know what it even means or how it works, but he didn't ask any questions at all. I think he didn't have to ask because he has his own partner Digimon."

"Really? I guess he must have been close to a Digimon recently if you're right about his scent," Hikari said gingerly.

"I am."

"But you think he's a Chosen Child? What if he just came across one of our Digimon partners?"

"He didn't. I know what V-mon and Agumon and all the rest of them smell like and I didn't recognize the scent on him."

"But that doesn't mean HE has a partner Digimon. Maybe the Digimon belongs to one of his friends? And wait, if there was a new Chosen Child wouldn't we already know about him? And if you're right why didn't Kouichi say anything?"

"I suppose it's possible that he isn't the one with a partner, maybe it could be his brother's, but I wouldn't bet on it. Call it a 'Digimon's intuition' if you like. And either way he could be brand new. None of us knew about Ken when he first met Wormmon, and we didn't know there were Chosen Children in America until Mimi met Michael. There are people like you all over the world now, Hikari, so why can't there be other Chosen Children in Japan none of us have met? And why didn't he say anything?" Tailmon shook her head, "I have no idea. Maybe he doesn't get along with his partner Digimon? He could just be surprised that you and I are friends."

"Not getting along with your own partner? That would be too sad..." Hikari said gazing downward. "But I don't know… I don't think he was surprised by the two of us getting along, it seemed like he was surprised just to see a Digimon at all…"

Cicadas chirped. A car horn honked from somewhere to the right. A rustle of wind carried the click-clack of a train going down the rails.

"Do you think I can trust him, Tailmon?" Hikari asked.

"What? To keep it secret that you're a Chosen Child? Probably. He didn't have any problem with me. And it's too late to worry about that anyways," Tailmon grimaced. "There's definitely something that feels weird about him. Something about that boy feels off and that makes me nervous. I wish I knew what he was lying about it, maybe then I could tell if he's an enemy..."

"An enemy? That's not right, Kouichi doesn't feel like an enemy at all," Hikari said with sudden certainty.

"He doesn't feel like an enemy? What did he feel like to you then?" Now Tailmon sounded curious, even eager.

"I... I don't know, but it felt," Hikari hesitated for a moment. Tailmon was looking up at her expectantly and nodded her on. Hikari took a deep breath, "I felt like Kouichi was a good person. He seemed scary for a moment when I first saw him, like I SHOULD be afraid of him for some reason, but when we started talking I felt like... Like he was a friend and it felt like he was different from us but he still wanted to help me. And maybe he is lying, but maybe he has a reason for it? Maybe there's something he can't say even if he wants to?"

From off in the distance a ship's bell clanged and a foghorn sounded. The man on the phone grumbled something about the red light and started punching in a new number.

"You know," Tailmon said quietly, "he reminds me a little bit of you, Hikari."

"Huh? How?"

"It was just the way he felt. He reminds me of... Someone. Someone else. I know I've met someone that reminds me of that boy, who was it?" Tailmon paused, staring off into the distance chasing a thought. After a moment she shook her head. "Maybe it will come to me. As for Kouichi, I'll trust your judgment, and I always will Hikari. Still, even if he isn't an enemy you should be careful around him, I know he's lying and--"

The light turned green. Hikari started walking yanking Tailmon out of her warning.

---

The shelves of the Inoue family's general store, Ai-Mart, creaked and groaned, fully laden with food and supplies. Out front, Takeru and Iori sighed and moaned from three full hours of moving boxes.

"Momoe! You said it would be EASY!" Miyako stood a few steps through the door, yelling at her older sister behind the counter.

"No I did not! I said it would be EASIER! Mom told you we got three shipments in at once! You should know what that means! And stop yelling when we have customers!" Momoe yelled back as she scanned and bagged goods for a boy and his mother at the counter, switching instantly to a cheerful smile, "that will be 3046 yen."

"It was bad enough you overworked ME, but you also got my friends involved! Even Takeru when he came by! How can I look them in the face after you used them as unpaid labor?"

"YOU invited them!" Momoe yelled as she angrily counted out change.

"Because I didn't know it would take so long or be this hard and I didn't know because YOU didn't tell me!" Miyako's shoulders were spread, legs wide, hands on her hips, leaning all the way in, the right posture to show she was ready for a good, proper, and protracted row.

"It's fine, Miyako, it wasn't that-" Iori began quietly, having taken a step into the store, but Miyako frantically waved him down with one arm to shush him.

"So what do you want me to do, Miyako?" Momoe hadn't noticed, being halfway through passing a shopping bag over the counter, she was trying her best to smile and nod to the handful of customers in the store in between shouting her lungs out.

"I want time and a half for my shift today," Miyako's eyes gleamed, her voice businesslike. "Even besides the TERRIBLE labor you put my friends through I already told you I was busy today so I want overtime pay for my unexpected working hours."

"Fine! Get out of here and stop yelling."

"So we have a deal! See you later sis!" Miyako turned practically skipped out of the store.

"Was that really all about money?" Takeru asked incredulously as he and Iori followed along behind Miyako out on the sidewalk.

"Mostly! Momoe was still a meanie for not telling me we got in all the heavy stuff today, but a girl's got to make money somehow right? How else am I going to afford a really nice present for Hikari?" Miyako turned left out of the store, shouldered her bag and began walking briskly. After a moment she turned back, "well? You do know what you're going to get Hikari for her birthday, right?"

"Well, it's not like I DON'T have an idea," Takeru said, sheepishly. "But, I mean, it's just that it's been a little hard for me to find exactly the right thing…"

"I'm afraid I'm still trying to come to a decision as well" Iori said.

Miyako rolled her eyes.

"Boys... It isn't that hard to buy a present for a girl you know. Get her something nice and pretty that you know she'll love."

"Well that's just the thing..." Takeru tried to begin.

"It's very impressive you've already decided on a gift though," Iori said, when Takeru couldn't find a way to end his sentence.

"Of course it's impressive," came a muffled voice from Miyako's bag, "you should expect nothing less from a person of Miyako's caliber."

"You said it, Poromon, I AM Hikari's best friend after all," Miyako's walk turned into a proud strut for a few steps, before she hit a rough patch of pavement and stumbled.

"Are we allowed to talk now, Iori?" Came Upamon's voice from the boy's own bag.

"And what about me?" Chirped Patamon, "can I come out of your backpack Takeru? It's stuffy in here."

Takeru laughed. "Not yet, there are still too many people around and someone might see you. We aren't that far away so it won't be much longer"

"Alright…" Said Patamon, sounding dejected.

"So what are you getting Hikari for her birthday, Miyako?" Iori asked.

"Top secret," Miyako said, turning to waggle a finger and wink conspiratorially, "I happen to have deep, special, inside information that has allowed me to identify the perfect gift for her. However, I may have some information that I am free to-"

Glass shattered! Metal screeched and tore! Something exploded, a gust of burning air, smoke rising! Loud slams and crashes! Sirens wailed! People screamed and ran! Someone, somewhere shouted the one word:

"MONSTERS!"

A moment later all three Chosen Children heard their D-Terminals beep. For a moment, they froze. Then all three of them spoke at once:

"How could Digimon have --" "-- Have to help them before --" "-- Brought my laptop in my bag!"

Their eyes met. Then, Iori, Takeru, and Miyako started running.

---

After the sixth time that a convenient looking side street or alley had turned out to be full of people Kouichi officially gave up looking for a convenient place to Dive back to the Digital World.

Odaiba was certainly living up to its reputation as a tourist trap. Tokyo's shining man-made island with its gorgeous amusement park and gleaming shopping centers was apparently in full swing this afternoon. Yes, it was certainly a very nice afternoon to spend outside on the waterfront and Kouichi was stuck here no thanks to the fair weather. After starting off ready to go make a difference, hitting a wall like this had turned conviction into frustration.

After catching himself fuming Kouichi sighed and took a deep breath.

"You can't be a good hostess if you're full of bad feelings. If you're in a bad mood you have to learn to force yourself to let it go. Days like those are always the hardest, but being a grown-up means you have to do things you don't like sometimes."

Mother had said that to him once, when grandma was near the very end. That night mother had been crying so hard that her eyes were red and raw and she had tear stains that streaked all the way down to her shoulders. And yet, after hours bent over a table covered in tissues and while she was still wracked with sobs, mother got up and washed her face and put on makeup and smiled and got ready to go out to work that night. Kouichi had asked her how she could still smile and that was what she had said to him. At the time Kouichi hadn't understood her answer, or rather maybe hadn't believed it. In that moment her words were just another thing adults said, another excuse for leaving things as they were and why things weren't better. And of course it hadn't made him happy, mother worked too hard and he was afraid, then and now, that she'd run herself ragged and end up sick and in the hospital herself (though at least some things had quietly gotten a little better over the last year).

Looking back now? Kouichi understood now. Fighting to protect the Digital World a year ago, fighting since then to maintain the boundary of the Real World, this last year had made Kouichi start to really appreciate his mother's words even more. Sometimes you did have to do something, even if it was a bad day. And he wasn't a hostess, but it turned out you couldn't be a good Warrior if you were full of bad feelings either.

So Kouichi tried to let go. Of course it was easier said than done, but the first thing to do was to refocus. Try to be positive. Relax a little. Breathe. Kouichi was here for a reason and after meeting Hikari he felt like he could actually say what it was now, and why he was here.

Angry to gloomy to resolute… All of his friends had told him he was too serious at least once, though it was especially rich that one time he'd heard that from Kouji. All right, try to lighten up a little then. If the middle of the city was no good try someplace else. So Kouichi turned and walked away from the urban sprawl.

Among all the exciting buildings and the big amusement park and the television station and whatever was going on in this world's version of the Tokyo Big Site, Odaiba also had picturesque parks made of rolling emerald lawns stretching right up to the edge of the ocean. If he was going to be stuck in Odaiba at the very least Kouichi could go be stuck someplace nice, and it took a surprisingly short walk to reach someplace nice.

Kouichi parked himself on a bench looking out over the ocean. In front of him was a cobbled path that traveled along a guardrail next to the water. Behind him was an expansive field of grass. To the left and way down the path was the Fuji TV station with its distinctive big bulb. From the right Kouichi could hear the shrieks and laughter of young children.

He breathed out.

This place, the other Tokyo still didn't feel quite right. Kouichi still didn't belong here, his mother, his brother, and his friends weren't here. And no matter how many times he tried Kouichi still couldn't quite get past Hikari's Tailmon. It should have been impossible. It WOULD have been impossible back home.

The message in Bokomon's book had been absolutely clear and depressingly accurate, if a Digimon were to enter into the Real World it would create a distortion that would eventually bring the world to ruin. Kouichi had seen that for himself this last year. The pathway between the worlds should have been closed after their battle with Lucemon, but the tyrant's ambitions had carved a lasting scar into the fabric of the world. Even if the Digital World had been restored, a path was now open, a path that had never been intended to exist, and that path allowed Digimon to travel between the worlds. Some came by accident, some tried to do it on purpose. Some who came through were good Digimon who came by happenstance or for some misguided reason, others were violent or wicked Digimon who reveled in the destruction they caused.

Either way it always came to the same result. In the presence of a Digimon the world began to break down. Electronic devices of all sorts malfunctioned around a Digimon. Televisions stopped working, displaying static or flickering images. Phones dialed at random. Streetlights flickered off and on before they eventually burst. Stoplights went haywire. Emergency sirens would start blaring, there would be power outages, rolling blackouts… Eventually anything electronic burned itself out. The only Digimon that could exist in the Real World were Hybrid Digimon, Digimon that were also human enough to not distort the world. Digimon like Agnimon or Wolfmon. Or Lowemon.

And so the new generation of Legendary Warriors had a new battle, a battle to protect their home and preserve the balance between the worlds.

Kouichi had spent the last year with his friends doing everything they could to keep Digimon like Tailmon out of the Real World. They did this to preserve the harmony and stability of both worlds, and so it was completely impossible according to all of his knowledge and against all of his instincts that Hikari could just go out for the day with her Tailmon friend.

So he was second-guessing himself? Of course he was second-guessing himself! Everything he thought he knew about the world was suddenly wrong. Apparently at least one of this world's Legendary Warriors had a Digimon friend who hung out with her and also acted as her bodyguard even in the Real World. Something that ridiculously impossible had Kouichi questioning his place in this world.

So much for letting go.

Looking out over the ocean Kouichi felt a sudden crawling feeling go down his spine. How could he be sure he wasn't going to become a danger to the harmony of the world? Not by choice, of course not, never… But that hadn't mattered in his world. Good, honest, heroic Digimon still had to be sent away. Their presence, them EXISTING was enough to wreak havoc on the world. It was different here, what it was TOO different? What if Lowemon, what if he was accidentally a danger?What if all those Digimon in the City of Beginnings were right about him and he actually was…

Someone screamed. People ran, panicked, shouting, yelling, shrieking!

He heard the word:

"MONSTERS!"

Kouichi grabbed his phone on reflex and ran towards the din.

Across the beautifully manicured field people ran scared. A man in a suit fled, his tie flapping in the sudden wind. A younger man tripped over his feet. A huge shadow washed over him and the man rolled onto his back, looked up, and scrambled to pull himself onward, crying in fear. A mother clutched the hands of her two daughters, she shouted desperately to be heard over the buzzing and the screeching, dragging her girls away from an abandoned picnic blanket under the shade of a tree.

High overhead was a massive, eyeless praying mantis at least six meters long. Its grass-green body showed clearly in the light of the sun, but what caught the light even more clearly were the huge metal sickles on its forearms.

Snimon, Kouichi recalled. Junpei had fought one, though the one he had described had been much smaller.

Up above, the Digimon flew in erratic circles, its wings buzzing loudly sending leaves and petals into the air. Then it shrieked and swung its massive blades, throwing sickle shaped waves of deep red light into the ground. Where the attacks landed they flashed and exploded throwing grass and dirt into the air with a roar.

Kouichi had seen this before with other Beast-type Digimon that had crossed over into the Real World. Thrown into a whole new world some Digimon just went on a rampage. A place like Tokyo could be overwhelming to a Digimon, especially one that had been suddenly dragged from its home. The city was huge and bright but also gray, it was loud, full of vehicles and people talking and crashing and movement, and it had the scents of ten million humans all crammed together. Faced with all of that all at once some Digimon lost control and went on a rampage, just like this Snimon. So far it was attacking at random, and so far nobody had been hurt, but it was just a matter of time…

No. He had to stop this right now. This wasn't his world, but these were still people who had lives, precious lives that were worth protecting.

So Kouichi let go his hesitation.

The boy swung his cell phone forward with his right hand, catching a streamer of darkness from his shadow. In a moment it transformed into his familiar black digivice. Kouichi raised his left hand conjuring a circle of gleaming code. Then, in a polished motion he brought both together.

"Spirit Evolution! Lowemon!"

For a moment all of the shadows in the park swung towards him, offering their deference to the newly evolved Warrior of Darkness. Lowemon looked up at the wild Digimon and drew his spear.

High up above the Snimon paused from flying in aimless circles. It suddenly sensed something it knew. A Digimon. It turned around toward Lowemon. A tiny black thing, a third its size. Easy. It chittered. Prey.

The Digimon swung both of its scythe blades throwing its Shadow Sickles down at Lowemon, and then dove at him with its huge body. Lowemon's spear flashed twice, his first swing cutting clean through one attack, his second swing deflecting the other off to the side. Lowemon raised his spear to challenge the charging Snimon, but his eyes widened in horror when he saw the second attack fall down near a group of fleeing people. Where it landed the blade burst with another loud explosion. Someone screamed. Lowemon swore.

I can't fight here, there are still too many people around!

The Snimon screeched and barreled down on Lowemon, blade arms at the ready to crush and dice him. Lowemon leapt hard to the right, out of the way. The Snimon swung, but too late! Its blade missing Lowemon's ankle by less than an inch.

The insect Digimon slammed through a park bench and through the seaside railing with a crash. Buzzing its wings, it turned in a clumsy half circle coming up around for another attack.

Lowemon focused, thrusting the other Digimon out of his mind to think about the shadows. Even as he did so the insect rose into the air, it held its left blade high, the sun gleaming wickedly off its edge.

The park on this bright day was full of shadows. Remember, a human's shadow had two arms and two legs, find the direction that had the fewest of those shadows.

The Snimon flew forward and swung its arms throwing more attacks down to the ground. Lowemon jumped back, once, twice, thrice, then four times and then a fifth time dodging to the side again. The Snimon shrieked with disappointment as the black Digimon slipped out of its blades, but it quickly flew up into the air again to try for yet another pass.

That direction had too many humans... That direction was over the ocean...

Snimon swung its blades again and Lowemon dodged to the side yet again. The insect screeched in frustration. How long could he keep going? How long before it landed a lucky hit, or worse it lost interest in him? What if the Snimon decided it really wanted to hunt a human…

That direction? There weren't many human shadows but, no, those shadows were cars, cars meant people. That direction still had too many, but there… Trees, birds, a butterfly, garbage cans…

Lowemon raised a hand up at the insect and gave it a taunting gesture, come after me it said. Then he turned and ran.

Up above Snimon screeched. Frustrating prey. Rage and anger. The black one would feel its blades. It knew how to hunt prey across fields like these. Pen it in. Dive. Delete. Kill.

Chasing after Lowemon, Snimon threw its Shadow Sickles wildly, slash after slash hitting the ground and blasting grass and dirt everywhere.

Lowemon ran, weaving back and forth between the blades raining from the sky. All around him the ground burned with the falling slashes. The huge Digimon screeched overhead. Lowemon kept his eyes forward, tracking his pursuer and its blows by the shadows they cast.

Every time the insect swept from side to side his heart missed a beat, certain he had dragged this on for too long, that the Snimon had gotten tired of this game and soon he would have to chase down the other Digimon before it found a victim. After only minutes and far too long Lowemon was there, the dead zone without shadows. Nothing but grass a hundred meters in any direction. It was time to put an end to this, one way or another.

Lowemon came to a stop and turned to face the Snimon bearing down on him. The insect chattered in joy and dived down, both sickles raised high. It swung down, throwing the weight of its whole body into the attack. Lowemon held his spear lengthwise and braced himself, catching the razor-sharp tips of both scythe blades.

The blow hit like thunder, shockwaves scattered blades of grass in every direction. The sheer weight slamming into him pushed the smaller Digimon back, his black greaves leaving skidmarks through the churned up soil.

But Lowemon remained standing.

Snimon raised its sickle arms and shrieked again. It swung down its blades again and again and again. Each time Lowemon swung back parrying the blow, each strike clanged off of his spear. Snimon threw another Shadow Sickle and Lowemon confidently knocked it out of the air. The Snimon reared back and screeched, raising its blades high for a final decisive strike and slammed them downward.

Its arms sunk into empty earth.

" Ewig Schlaf! "

Lowemon's spear struck true, falling from above it had piercing down through the Snimon's back.

The insect screeched in pain and confusion. It saw the point of the spear running through its chest, it's jaw clicked, it started to turn its eyeless face back towards Lowemon, then it was no more.

After a moment the massive insect's body faded to black and the shining ring of its DigiCode appeared. Lowemon breathed a sigh of relief. He could still protect the boundary of this world. Lowemon drew his digivice and step towards the defeated Snimon.

"Rogue Digimon who threatens this world, be reborn at the end of your long night. DigiCode Scan!"

Lowemon watched with some satisfaction as the egg that had formerly been Snimon dropped through the ground leaving a slight, rippling distortion in the world as it passed. And then it was gone, back to the Digital World to be reborn and live again.

No sooner had Lowemon relaxed when he heard voices coming up behind him, still faint and in the distance. There were two of them, humans, judging by their shadows. Lowemon hurriedly devolved and turned around to see two men walking up the gentle slope of the park towards him. The man in front was half turned to his partner who was fiddling with a television camera. Thankfully, neither seemed like they'd been paying attention to him.

"What kind of reporters would we be if we didn't even try?" The first man said. This man was well into middle age, tall and a little gaunt with brown hair. His face was thin with narrow features and he had bags under his sharp, small eyes. He wore a salaryman's dress shirt that was wrinkled and stained with what must have been years of wear. His voice was serious and no-nonsense, rough in a way that took even more years to achieve. This was exactly the sort of man that mother spent her evenings serving drinks to.

"I'm telling you Mr. Ishida, it doesn't work like that! No matter what camera I try it always fogs up with noise when I try and film one of those monsters. Until someone can figure out- wait- hang on... There it goes!" This man was younger looking with a much newer shirt and glasses, his voice had lifted into a gleeful shout. "Now I've got you this time! This time I can get some real footage of… Oh." He looked up through the lens for the first time seeing Kouichi, then turned the camera from side to side confused.

The first man, Mr. Ishida, turned to follow the cameraman's lens and spotted Kouichi.

"Tell me young man, I don't suppose you've seen any monsters fighting around here?" Mr. Ishida said, as he approached, his voice sounding surprisingly warm.

"Monsters?" Kouichi asked, trying his best to sound innocent.

"Yep, that's what I said, monsters. We had a report called in about monsters terrorizing this park, and seeing as it's right in our backyard, we came to take a look and do some reporting seeing as we're reporters and all. Oh, right sorry, I guess I should've introduced myself up front," the man took out a press ID and gestured at the building behind him, "I'm Ishida Hiroaki, I'm a reporter with Fuji TV back there."

"Kimura Kouichi," he bowed automatically. The man's voice was pleasant, but his eyes were steely. They were scrutinizing Kouichi very carefully. The boy suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable. "Is... Is it normal for there to be monsters here? Like, should you be out here looking for them? I mean, you said you were a reporter wouldn't you think it was…"

"A hoax?" Mr. Ishida finished for him. He chuckled. "A few years back I would've said yes but after everything that's happened… Well... But if you're new in town welcome to Odaiba, the monster capital of Japan. You'd think it would be Shibuya or Shinjuku, right? Well, it's not as bad as it was in the heyday when the invasion happened, but sometimes giant monsters still show up around here. And we're always the ones who get called about it for some reason. I suppose the TV station did get demolished in the Odaiba Blockade Incident, and so I guess that means people think we're experts all the sudden." The man shrugged. His smile held, but so did the sheen in his eyes. "At least it means that your Fuji TV reporters are always first at the scene."

Kouichi's head was spinning. What kind of world had he landed in? An invasion? A blockade? He suddenly felt very small. The reporter's eyes seemed like they were looking right through him. Like the man knew something about him. Had he devolved fast enough? Had the man somehow seen him stop being a Digimon? Right now he wanted to be somewhere else far away.

"You get calls about monsters...?" It was the best he could manage at the moment.

"That's what I said, we've got phones ringing off the hook right now, there's been a ton of monster sightings all across the city."

It took a few seconds for Kouichi to process what the man had said, but when he did he stared up at Mr. Ishida in alarm. "There are other Di-Monsters around than the one that was in the park?"

"That's what it seems like, it sounds like a bunch of them came over, just like last Christmas." Mr. Ishida said. For some reason his gaze softened a little bit.

Kouichi began to turn away, then he paused and gave a nod to the older man.

"I'm very sorry, but I just remembered that I have something I need to do. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you anything about monsters." Kouichi turned and began to run.

It made him look suspicious, but in that moment he didn't care. Another Digimon on the loose was more important, and that meant he had to go. And more than that, Kouichi could just go! Even if the reporter started asking around about him he would never find him, this wasn't his world, nobody knew who he was.

For the very first time since he had arrived in Odaiba that thought didn't make Kouichi feel sick to his stomach.

---

"Er, should we go after him? I don't need to be a veteran reporter like you to know the kid was holding something back," the cameraman said.

"No, I don't think so. I think that boy is probably just a good kid trying to do the right thing the best way he knows how. You have to respect that in somebody. And I don't want to get in his way, especially if my gut is right."

"Uh, your gut? Is this your famous "Reporter's Instinct"? What does your gut say, sir?"

"It says he knows what he's doing," Mr. Ishida gave a rueful little smile and shook his head. "You know how our shows always say "don't try this at home"? It's the same thing here. You should always leave the serious work to a pro."

"A pro? He's a professional? At what? Monsters? No offense sir, but he's just some kid."

Ishida Hiroaki just chuckled, watching as the boy crossed the horizon into the city and was gone.

---

In my very original outline I imagined this chapter and the next would be one singular chapter, but as I wrote it I realized there was no way that was happening. I split it in half for the most part to have more to show for myself in my story by being able to update it a little faster, but in hindsight I'm keeping it separate because I think it's easier to digest a long story over more individual chapters. Pacing and all that.

Given more hindsight and a wider perspective I would say I learned a few things from the decision to split this chapter, both about the story and about my own writing. For starters I discovered I was a wee bit optimistic when it came to how I initially sketched out the story. Actually telling this story in a way I liked turned out to require more words than I thought it would and I've had to rethink how I'm dividing up my story. Chalk it up to the learning process, this was the first fanfic I ever properly wrote and published and it's only through writing this and my others that I've gotten a better sense of how my own work output flows. Frankly, Digigamigakari probably should've been four chapters, but that is that story and this is this one and I'm not intending to make that mistake again.

To everyone reading this and enjoying this story, thank you so much. Be it with comments or kudos, I'm extremely moved you've chosen to grace this little project. Thank you so much for your kind attention.

To Be Continued

Chapter Text

Sparks Fly - Final Part

It was mid-afternoon in Odaiba and the prefecture of Tokyo, was sunny, warm, and full of life.

There were also monsters on the loose. This was a worrying and dangerous concern.

It was not, however, a new concern.

The residents of Odaiba largely responded to the sudden appearance of dangerous monsters with a kind of practiced panic. People fled. People hid. People locked their doors. People called family and friends in fear of their safety and to share dire warnings.

And then, as they always did, the monsters started to vanish. One moment there was a huge Tyrannosaurus tromping down the street, another moment it was gone. A huge fiery black bird that flew past an apartment building suddenly vanished in a flash of light. A relieved businessman called his wife to let her know that he had gotten away from some kind of giant praying mantis and would be home soon.

Soon enough life was close enough to being normal again that people felt safe enough to start telling jokes. A middle-aged woman out shopping suggested to the cashier that maybe the monsters wanted to see the Rainbow Bridge when it lit up but had gotten their time zones mixed up. A salaryman in an office building sighed and wished aloud that the monsters had come tomorrow so he wouldn't have to give another dumb report. A terrified Russian tourist was reassured by the chef in a small restaurant on the ground floor of an apartment building that things like this just happened, and that these days it would usually just blow over.

"Monsters eventually just go away," the chef explained, patting the man's arm.

Eighteen stories above them on the roof of the building Lowemon had closed his eyes and was focusing on the city spread out around him.

After defeating the Snimon in the park Lowemon had also been forced to dispatch another violent Digimon, a Fangmon that had been racing down the street slamming recklessly into parked cars. As violent and destructive as the beast Digimon was, it had been no match for Lowemon. But after that Lowemon hadn't been able to find any other Digimon.

One by one the obviously nonhuman shadows had started to vanish. Clearly Hikari and her fellow Warriors had also sprung into action at the sudden appearance of the other Digimon. But at the same time this wasn't over. A Digimon could sense other Digimon, and so Lowemon knew there were at least a couple left somewhere in the city.

Lowemon could feel the afternoon sun up above him, its warm light the source of all the city's shadows. But Lowemon didn't need the sun to see, he didn't need light to look out over Odaiba. He could read the entire city just from the shadows it cast. Humans and cats and dogs and trees and cars and power lines and streetlights and buildings, all of their shadows were mirrors reflecting life, light, and the living. He could see it clearly even with his eyes closed, a vast portrait painted in the thousand hues of black only he understood. Over the pitch black canvas the wind blew, made cool from the height and sea and bringing with it the sounds and smells of Tokyo. There was the salty scent of the ocean, the foul smell of car exhaust, the faint scent of plants and flowers, and the varied scents of food and drink. There were also the sounds that carried on the wind; sound effects playing in the theater of shadows. Cars and trucks and trains, voices talking and shouting and laughing, birds chirped, the hum of power lines, the whirring of machines, the loud roar of an air conditioning unit as it kicked into life, the flapping of vast wings…

Lowemon turned and jumped. In seconds he was across the street and three stories up on top of another towering apartment building. His boots hit the gravel roof and kept going across it as he jumped to another building and then another. Wind whistled in his ears, his own shadow a tiny speck far below, his eyes focused forward without fear.

Half a dozen buildings further Lowemon touched down in front of his target. He blinked in recognition.

"Devidramon?"

The gargoyle-esque Digimon turned about restlessly. The creature shifted from standing on his rear legs, to dropping onto all fours, to falling back on his haunches. Devidramon's long neck craned from side to side, his four red eyes rolled about in every direction. The Digimon's mouth opened and shut, his wings flapped out of sync with each other, his tail lashed violently.

"Devidramon!" Lowemon called loudly.

The other Digimon shook suddenly and then froze, two or three of his eyes rolled downward and seemed to see Lowemon for the first time.

"You, you… Are you? How? You… Lowemon? You were…" The dragon Digimon slurred his words, and his eyes had started to roll around again, but he could talk still and that alone meant there was reason to hope...

"That's right, I'm Lowemon. We met this morning on File Island in the Digital World, do you remember?" Lowemon spoke as calmly and clearly as he could, stepping slowly towards the larger Digimon with his hands raised.

"Yes… This morning on the mountain…" Devidramon managed, with what must have been intense effort, to get three of his four eyes to focus on Lowemon.

"Do you remember this morning? You gave me advice about going into the city. Do you remember it? Can you remember what you said to me? Focus on my voice; stay here with me here."

"The city, it it, I said that it… did not… Did not like Dark Digimon, Dark Digimon species like us." The Digimon spoke haltingly with his deep voice, but some of the the light in Devidramon's red eyes seemed to be returning.

"That's right, you warned me about the city. And I told you that I had something to do there anyways. Easy now, do remember what else you told me?"

"Yes... yes I do! I told you that if you wanted to stay you should come to Overdell cemetery. I remember, I told you that if you needed anything you could ask for me…" The dragon's eyes had all come back into focus on Lowemon now. The Digimon had stopped thrashing about, but his voice was still unsteady, his body still shook, and his tail still fidgeted around. "Where… Where are we, Lowemon?"

"This is the Real World, the world where humans live. Do you remember how you got here? Do you know what happened?"

"I was, I was out on the cape, I was fishing, then… The water shook… Everything was spinning and spinning, then I was…"

"You ended up here," Lowemon finished gently for Devidramon.

"This is where humans come from? There are so many… How can they live here?" The dragon Digimon shuddered suddenly and growled. "The noise…"

"Humans are different from Digimon," Lowemon said simply. "Just stay calm for me, it'll be okay."

"But this place… With the noise... And the smells! And the sounds! And these giant things! Rock towers! And there's no- No peace! None!" Devidramon suddenly dropped to his knees and covered his ears with its long clawed arms.

"Devidramon! Are you okay!? Stay with me! DEVIDRAMON!"

"I- I have to… I must… This place... Can't... Have to... RRRAAAAAAAH!" The black dragon reared back and screamed, jaws wide and flecked with saliva, eyes lolling about wildly, its entire body suddenly shook and lunged forward.

Lowemon jumped back as Devidramon flailed his claws blindly all around, then he shrieked mournfully and spread his tattered wings. Lowemon's eyes narrowed. He tensed, ready to dive into the fray before Devidramon could lift off. He would probably have only one shot at this so…

There's no room for a Warrior to hesitate. Strike now.

Lowemon leapt forward between the dragon's swinging claws, both of his gauntlets charged with crackling black energy. In less than a second Lowemon had grabbed both sides of Devidramon's head with his hands, forcibly channeling a surge of dark power through the other Digimon.

Instantly, Devidramon fell still, his arms dropped limply to his side as everything went black.

The noise was gone. The maddening lights and the ever present wailing cry of thousands and thousands of creatures was finally gone. It was like he could breathe again, like he had been holding his breath for hours and had only finally noticed it and could finally let it out. It was like he had been underwater for so long he was choking and had finally reached the surface, gasping and wheezing for air. The tight knot of stress in his chest began to slowly unravel; the tension in his arms and legs and wings slowly ebbed away. His tail was still. Devidramon relaxed. He was at peace again.

The black dragon wondered for a moment if he had died, was this it? Just blackness and silence? But no sooner had the thought crossed Devidramon's mind that he heard a voice, quiet and kind.

"Are you okay now?"

"Lowemon? Is that you? What happened? Where are you?"

"Don't worry, I'm right next to you. I know it must have been painful for you to suddenly arrive in the world of humans. You were about to lose control, so I did this to stop you. I can help you get used to this world, if you'll let me," Lowemon's voice seemed to be right next to Devidramon, but still there was nothing but black.

"Let you? Of course, but what is this? How did you do this?"

"That's not important right now. I'm going to bring you back slowly, so you can get used to to the Real World."

And true to his word he did. First came the familiar sounds of nature, sounds that Devidramon recognized. Wind blowing, waves, water splashing, and the quiet hum of electrical wires. Then came some of the faint smells, grass and engines that carried on the breeze. Then a little light flickered in, sunlight no brighter than the flicker at the end of a tunnel. And then more, bit by bit. A few distant voices became a nearby voice became many nearby voices. The scent of engine exhaust doubled than tripled than quadrupled. The great sprawl of the city slowly came into view as if it was being lit up by a long sunrise.

And all this time Lowemon spoke calmly about what he was doing. Before every step he spoke of what part of this world he was now going to unveil, and after each step he asked Devidramon if the dark dragon felt alright and was ready to move on or if a larger Digimon needed more time. Not once did Lowemon's voice waver, not once did he sound impatient or annoyed or frustrated or anything but kind and determined to help Devidramon no matter how long it should take.

Finally, Lowemon pulled his hands away from Devidramon and the whole of the world returned.

Devidramon blinked his four eyes and fell back into a crouch. Right as his full sight had come back Devidramon thought he had seen a human child in place of Lowemon, but now under the sunlight that thought was foolish. Lowemon was no doubt as much a Digimon as he was.

"Do you think you'll be okay now?" Even now, Lowemon's voice confirmed he was more than willing to start all over from the beginning if it would help.

"I think I will be okay," Devidramon said. "This world doesn't feel overwhelming anymore… But what was that, Lowemon? What was that power?"

"That? That was the Power of Darkness," Lowemon said. And he said it so matter-of-factly...

"Impossible, that power healed me," Devidramon protested.

Lowemon shook his head. "I barely did anything. All I did was give you another chance. Whether you could or not was up to you." He seemed, sad? For who?

"You did much more than that, Lowemon," Devidramon looked down at the warrior Digimon with something like awe, "that power purified me. But… The power to purify, that power is a Sacred Power…"

Lowemon said nothing, instead he closed his eyes. Devidramon continued to stare. After a moment the dragon began to ask something, something about what the two Digimon should do now now or how Lowemon got here or to question why Lowemon knew about the world of humans, but Lowemon held up a hand to silence Devidramon. After another moment Lowemon nodded to himself and drew forth a small black device.

"There. I know this world is unpleasant for most Digimon, but this won't take long. If you can hold on for a little longer I'll return you back to your home in the Digital World."

Devidramon's jaw dropped.

"That's… That's a Holy device, a digivice… Lowemon WHO are you?"

Lowemon looked up at Devidramon. He considered for a moment, and decided on the truth.

"I am Lowemon of Darkness, one of the Legendary Ten Warriors who inherited the power of the Spirits to protect the harmony of the Real and Digital worlds. When Digimon cross over the boundary to the Real World it is our mission to return them to where they belong, for the sake of both worlds. Now I know you must have other things you want to ask me, but for now let me complete my duty to you."

Lowemon held out his digivice, pointing it toward Devidramon. Then he began to walk in a long circle around the great black dragon. As he walked, a streamer of shimmering DigiCode appeared, trailing from the sparking tip of his digivice and hovering weightless in the air. Lowemon drew a circle of DigiCode all around Devidramon, taking care to fit his wings and tail as well. Then, after some 30 careful steps, Lowemon returned to where he started and brought the tip of his digivice back to where he had begun. Immediately the circle of code came to life, bobbing and spinning around Devidramon all on its own. Lowemon raised the digivice up.

"Stray Digimon who has crossed from your world, return to your home along the path of night. Digital Dive!"

Lowemon swung down his digivice, slicing through the circle of code. Instantly the shining code turned to raw, liquid darkness and dropped onto the roof the Digimon stood on. Flowing like water, the inky streamers spread quickly inward from the circle Lowemon had traced until there was no more stone and concrete beneath Devidramon, only blackness. Then the dragon began to sink into the dark. At first he pulled back in alarm, but then from the other side of the dark circle the unmistakable shape of File Island came into focus.

"Is this really the path between worlds?" Devidramon asked, uncertainly.

"Yes. Each of us have different roads, this one is mine." Lowemon seemed almost apologetic now. And yet, his words did seem to reassure Devidramon as the dragon Digimon visibly relaxed while he sank downwards.

"I owe you my life for this, Lowemon. I'll never be able to thank you enough for this," Devidramon said as their eyes were level with each other.

Lowemon said nothing, but as Devidramon fell through the world he thought he could imagine Lowemon smiling. But of course he wore a mask so there was no way to tell.

Lowemon turned from the gate (which had vanished completely, leaving behind only gray concrete) and closed his eyes once again. There was maybe one or two other Digimon left in the city? Maybe three?

The black Digimon cast about reading shadows, looking for something that wasn't a human or a real-world animal or a car or a building or anything else that would be normal in the city. No sooner than he had started he found something. And not even that far away! A tall shadow with two arms and two legs like a human, but unlike a human this shadow had broad wings. Devidramon had said that Overdell was home to dark Digimon on File Island, perhaps this was another one of them? Had a Devimon been stranded in the human world?

Lowemon took a running start and jumped diagonally across an intersection to a lower building, then crossed that building and leapt down to the street.

Lowemon landed, light as a shadow. As he turned towards the winged Digimon, hovering in the air, he saw that his guess was ALMOST right. It wasn't a Devimon, it was an Angemon.

Which might have been better actually, Angemon was a holy Digimon with a heroic nature, and as a Human-type Digimon he would be less likely to go berserk. All that meant Lowemon could probably talk things out which-

Lowemon drew his spear on reflex and swung, parrying Angemon's staff and blocking the other Digimon's sudden attack.

Angemon fell back a couple of paces readying his Holy Rod before him. Lowemon matched him, dropping down into a combat stance. That was when he saw the small group waiting a ways behind the angel Digimon.

Three humans and two more Digimon. One of the Digimon was a Shurimon, a Human-type Mutant Digimon, the other a Digmon, a Beast-type Insect Digimon. The Shurimon stood at attention behind a girl with glasses and violet hair holding a laptop PC in her arms, the Digmon stood to flank a smaller boy with a bowl-cut of hair and a severe expression. A third human stood a couple of steps ahead of them, he had blonde hair, blue eyes, a plain white hat, and a look of intense anger on his face.

"Angemon!" He shouted, and the Digimon responded, moving to attack.

Angemon charged forward, quarter staff out for a powerful thrust. Lowemon braced and countered with his own thrust. He could feel the impact of his spear meeting the staff, the air rippled, the blow sending shockwaves through his body, but he could handle this. Keeping himself steady, Lowemon lunged forward, knocking away Angemon's weapon.

The angel retreated flying back and up, but then flew back down in a wide loop to shoot at Lowemon. Angemon flew forward, parallel to the ground as a white streak cutting through the air, his staff still held tightly in front of him.

Lowemon steadied his spear, ready to catch Angemon's next thrust, but was caught off guard when the angel suddenly dropped even lower. That moment of confusion was enough for Angemon to dive past Lowemon's spear and suddenly change his grip and shoot upwards, throwing all the white Digimon's speed and momentum behind a rising strike.

Reflex alone pulled Lowemon back, even that wasn't fast enough: the tip of Angemon's Holy Rod clipped the lion maw of his helmet breaking off a fang.

Angemon swung down again, the force of gravity behind him, but Lowemon had caught up and managed to dodge backwards leaving the staff to smash through pavement. Angemon, now on the ground, pulled his staff out of the crater of his strike and stepped forward.

Though Angemon wore a mask there is no doubt that at this moment both Digimon locked eyes. Angemon shifted the grip on his rod. Lowemon rebalanced his spear in his hands. His attention was on Angemon, but his mind was on the ones Angemon seemed to be guarding...

Three kids with Digimon… Partners?

"Iori is a couple of years younger than us, but he always seem so stern."

"Miyako wears glasses and has violet hair, she's amazing with computers."

"Takeru has pretty blonde hair and usually wears his favorite fishing hat."

This couldn't be a coincidence, he could never be that lucky. Hikari's descriptions for her friends matched perfectly. This was yet another worst-case situation…

Angemon flapped his wings and shot forward, throwing a flurry of blows the tip of his staff. Lowemon dodged the first blow with the tilt of his head, dodged the second with a tilt the other way, pulled back from the third, and was just out of range of the fourth and fifth. By the sixth he was ready and with spear in both hands Lowemon spun his weapon turning it into a whirling shield to deflect the angel's blows.

Lowemon held his defense, carefully stepping back one foot at a time, focusing everything on holding steady against the onslaught. Each strike made his spear shudder but did no more than that. Angemon's rapid blows came at the expense of power and even after nearly four dozen strikes Lowemon's stance remained unshaken.

In frustration, Angemon pulled back and put his all into one single powerful thrust with the strength to break through the black Digimon's guard, and missed as Lowemon turned cleanly to the side. Angemon pulled back trying to regain his balance, but Lowemon transitioned cleanly from spinning his weapon into an upward swing right at the angel Digimon's wrist.

The strike knocked the Holy Rod right out of Angemon's hands. The quarterstaff spun through the air before landing and embedding itself in a patch of grass by the side of the road, nearly half a soccer field's length away. Lowemon held his spear up and once more carefully backed away from Angemon, keeping the other two Digimon in sight.

The two Digimon and three Warriors still held back. The girl and the younger boy (Miyako and Iori?) and their respective Digimon seemed unsure what to do. Angemon glanced over his shoulder at the blonde boy (Takeru?), he seemed to get some kind of instruction because he nodded and flew up into the air.

"Sir Angemon! Take this!" Lowemon spun at the sound of the voice behind him, the ninja Digimon Shurimon had suddenly appeared next to Angemon's weapon. Shurimon wrapped a vine arm around the staff then spun and tossed it through the air to Angemon, who caught it with ease.

"Thank you Shurimon. Fall back, I'll finish this." The plant Digimon nodded and vanished, reappearing a moment later in a puff of leaves next the girl with glasses.

The white Digimon's wings shined. He raised his rod high and and spun it, faster and faster and then...

" God Typhoon! "

...Let loose a cyclone of holy wind, curving down at Lowemon below.

Lowemon crossed his arms and focused his power into his chest. An attack to meet an attack.

"Endlich Meteor!"

The blast of searing dark power pierced right through the whirlwind scattering it into nothing. Angemon spun to one side to dodge, avoiding the counterattack. Almost. Lowemon's attack clipped one of the holy Digimon's wings.

A handful of angel feathers fell to the ground like glittering leaves.

"Who IS this guy?" The girl, Miyako (maybe?), said. She had her laptop open and balanced on one hand as she tried to type something in it with her other hand.

"I am at a loss, but that Digimon DOES seem to be more dangerous than the others…" Shurimon said.

"Yeah, that guy seems pretty strong, you think we should go help out, Iori?" The Digmon said.

"He stopped moving…" Iori said, quietly.

"Angemon! Don't give up! Go for it!" Takeru shouted.

Angemon held out his right hand, his Holy Rod held tightly in his closed hand. The weapon glowed and transformed entirely into light. The Holy Ring around his wrist shined as well. All that light gathered into his fist, gleaming with a brilliant aura. Angemon pulled his arm back and readied a punch. The shadows lengthened. Lowemon could feel it, this would be the big one…

"Heaven's Knuckle!"

A stream of burning light rained down on Lowemon like a falling star. When the holy light collided with the Warrior of Darkness it exploded sending smoke and debris everywhere.

"Did that do it?" Miyako asked, uncertainly. Shurimon had leapt directly in front of Miyako when the attack had landed to shield her from the shockwave. Digmon had done the same for Iori, but Takeru had held his own against the force of the attack in a show of sheer determination.

"It had to," Takeru said, his fists were clenched tight.

As the smoke began to thin, two points of red light came into view at the center of the blast. As the smoke cleared they were the red eyes of a sphinx's impassive face held in the black Digimon's left hand. Lowemon let his shield drop to his side. He was singed and scratched, but otherwise unharmed.

Takeru stared at the black Digimon, then his mouth curved into a snarl.

"Angemon!" He shouted. Takeru had yanked out what was unmistakably a digivice, holding it out in front of him.

Lowemon's eyes went to the boy, Takeru's green digivice looked different than his did, but that wasn't surprising. But the blonde had it out now, did this mean that the boy was going to join the fight alongside his bodyguard Partner?

"Dark One," Angemon's stern voice interrupted Lowemon's thoughts. "You are an interloper who does not belong in this world. For the sake of harmony, lay down your arms and return to the dark place you belong. Surrender, or face divine punishment!"

Lowemon bit back something nasty.

The angel had CLEARLY underestimated him. Angemon had attacked assuming it would be an easy win, he had looked down on Lowemon for his element and assumed he was beneath him. Maybe the angel had thought the fight would be so easy that his Warrior Partner wouldn't even need to get involved. That would explain why the blonde boy hadn't bothered to lift a finger to help. And even if he was used to it, Lowemon still didn't like being looked down on. When he was a human he had to knuckle under and endure it, but he had some pride as a Digimon, some pride as a Warrior in who he was and what he had done and in his mission. This Angemon from another world knew nothing about him and scorned him anyways.

But who cared? Angemon wasn't who was important, Angemon wasn't why he was here in the first place, Angemon wasn't why Lowemon had fought those wild Digimon, why he had saved Devidramon. And it wasn't just Angemon's arrogance that had given him this heaving knot a frustration, no it wasn't the Digimon's high and mighty attitude that had him biting back words. No, it was much simpler.

Why hadn't he said something sooner?

"Then I surrender," Lowemon said, he made a show of letting go of his spear and shield and holding his hands up. "I don't know if you'll believe me when I say this, but I really don't like fighting, and I'm not interested in becoming the enemy of the Legendary Warriors."

Angemon was instantly speechless. The angel had obviously never imagined Lowemon would ever cede the fight which made this whole ordeal even stupider. The other two Digimon seemed similarly confused.

"That's good, I think? Isn't it? Uh… What did he say about warriors?" The Digmon asked.

"Clearly he has heard of our fearsome martial prowess, and has chosen wisely to avoid further engagement," said the Shurimon.

"Well, that just means it's easier for us!" Said Miyako, fishing for something in a pocket. "Now if you'll just wait a second, Mr. Digimon, I'll just, hang on, okay! We can send you back to the Digital World-"

"No!" Takeru shouted. All eyes turned to the boy, still standing apart from the others. "We can't trust him! This is some kind of trick! It has to be!"

"I'm not so sure, Takeru, I think that Digimon might be telling the truth," Iori said quietly walking up towards him.

"No, he's just trying to fool you. I know it, we can't trust a Digimon like that," Takeru called back. "Don't let him get too close to you, he'll attack if you let your guard down!"

"Well, I mean I guess maybe? But maybe if I-" Miyako started,

"This is pointless. If you want me gone from the Real World then fine, I'll leave." Lowemon turned and made a show of deliberately walking away from the Warriors and their Digimon. But a few steps out Lowemon stopped and turned to look over his shoulder.

"And you may even be right. Maybe Digimon like you and I are intruders into the Real World. But I know you're wrong about one thing, Angemon: no matter what kind of Digimon I am, I am the one who chooses how I live and I choose where I belong. The sun shines down the same on both of us."

Lowemon dropped to one knee. Turned away and hidden from the others, he drew his digivice and put its tip to the sunbaked street. Shadows streamed from the device forming a black circle around him and then pooled inward turning into a round, black puddle. Then, in the blink of an eye, Lowemon dropped through it and was gone from the world.

The three Chosen Children and their Digimon partners stared.

"Where is he?" Takeru asked in disbelief.

"I think he's gone, Takeru," Angemon said.

"Without a Gate?" Miyako said.

"Maybe, uh, he just hid somewhere kinda fancy?" Digmon said. "What if he's underground or something?"

A D-Terminal started beeping. Iori flipped his open.

"It's Koushirou, he says that all the Digimon have been returned to the Digital World. He says 'good job' and that we should meet up at the Computer Club room to report."

The assembled group stared a little longer.

---

About 20 minutes later Hikari knocked on the schoolroom door.

"Digi Digi!" came a voice from inside.

"Mon Mon!" Hikari and Ken said together.

Sliding open the door confirmed that the Odaiba Middle School's computer room was just as disorganized as always. The Computer Club's PCs were, as usual, arranged in a loose circle around the edge of the room. Koushirou sat at one of them, furiously typing away on a keyboard. Miyako stood next to him bent over his shoulder. Iori sat on the floor nearby next to his and Miyako's Partners who were both snacking on some kind of candy. Takeru paced back and forth at one side of the room, Patamon stood on a desk next to him looking worriedly at his human. Daisuke leaned against a wall on the other side of the room, Chibimon bouncing about his feet. He waved at the newcomers.

"Ken, Hikari, you finally made it!"

"What's going on?" Ken asked as he looked around. "Did something happen? Everyone seems on edge."

"Apparently when all the Digimon came through, there was this weird dark Digimon that Angemon couldn't beat," Daisuke said with a shrug.

"Angemon couldn't? What kind of Digimon was it?" Hikari asked, as she and Ken let out their respective Digimon and moved over to near Koushirou.

"We don't know, that's the thing," Koushirou said. "None of the Digimon recognized him, so I've been working to copy the data from their D3's to see if we can get any information on that black Digimon from the Digimon Analyzer."

"That is a strange. Digimon can usually recognize each other," Ken said.

"I've noticed that as well, but Armadimon didn't recognize the Digimon no matter how hard he tried," Iori said.

"Nope! NosirreeBob! Never seen him before in my life," Armadimon confirmed.

"And it's the same thing for Hawkmon and Patamon, but even if they couldn't recognize him I know that black lion Digimon was dangerous," Takeru said.

Hikari froze.

"There we go!" Koushirou said. "Let me turn on projector and I'll display the analyzer data for our mystery Digimon."

Hikari held her breath as the projector warmed up and started to whir and hum, she knew exactly whose picture would appear on screen, she knew exactly that her horrible dream hadn't been a fluke, that those things were coming for her still and soon everyone would know…

The projector's light hit the screen and Hikari's breath came loose in confusion.

Miyako tilted her head to look from the projection screen to Koushirou's computer screen and then back and then back again. "Uh, Koushirou, sir, are you sure you got all that right?"

"I should have, there aren't any errors in the log, so why…" Koushirou trailed off and started to mutter to himself.

Right in the center of the analyzer page where there should have been a picture of the Digimon there was a garbled mess of pixels like a damaged image file. The profile box below the scrambled picture, meanwhile, was completely empty, and the box that should have contained the Digimon's level instead had a line of corrupted and unreadable text.. And yet, there were several bits of the Digimon's profile that were filled in properly in clear Japanese.

"Lowemon, Vaccine type, a Warrior Digimon," Miyako read out, "special attacks are Endlich Meteor and... 'Evig Shraafu?"

"Ewig Schlaf," Ken corrected, "it's German for 'Eternal Sleep.'"

"A Vaccine type like Angemon? That's impossible!" Takeru yelled. He flew around the desks to see for himself.

"That does seem unusual given your description of the Digimon," Koushirou said. He went back a screen on the analyzer. "Maybe if I go back and load the data from the master list… No, it's the same thing."

Koushirou clicked back and forth from the broken profile to the index several times when Miyako suddenly chimed in. "Hey wait! Koushirou, look at that! This Lowemon has three different entries. Maybe one of them will work."

The boy at the desk clicked through them, but:

"No good, they're all the same," Koushirou sighed. "I wonder why there are multiple redundant entries in the analyzer, what kind of error would make it do something like this?"

"They aren't the same," Iori said. All eyes turned to the younger boy as he stood up, stepped forward, and pointed at the projector screen. "The Digimon's attribute was different in all three profiles."

Koushirou scrolled back, opening all three entries side-by-side. Sure enough, the attribute had changed. All three profiles had the same broken picture and the same empty profile box, but one said Vaccine, one said Data, and one said Virus.

"Hida is right," Ken said simply.

"That's not possible," Takeru said.

"Maybe that guy can change his attribute or whatever? So what? Does it even matter?" Daisuke asked from his side of the room, hands behind his head.

"It matters because it shouldn't be possible. A Digimon's attribute is a consistent aspect of their data. In many, but not all, cases it can be used as a predictor of their behavior," Koushirou said.

"So it's something that can't be changed?"

"Not normally. There are instances wherein a Digimon's attribute has varied from the norm like due to outside modification on their data, but in all such cases it had a clear physical effect on the Digimon's body. Furthermore, even in those instances a Digimon's attribute was set when it evolved, it wasn't able to alter its attribute at will. I assume from your description nothing like that happened during your encounter?"

Miyako shook her head. "Not at all, he just had the same black armor the whole time Angemon was fighting him"

"But how can we tell that the Digimon's attribute was correct when so much data is missing? How does the analyzer gather data to begin with?" Ken asked.

"I believe it has to do with what you said, Ichijouji, about Digimon being able to identify each other. The Digimon analyzer is able to read our Digimon's scanned data and pull up information based off of that. Or maybe it pulls from a central database that our Digimon also use? I'll have to look further into this…" Once again Koushirou trailed off and started muttering to himself.

"Well okay, if that isn't gonna work, can someone just tell me what happened already?" Daisuke's voice was pitched up in annoyance.

"I agree, maybe we can learn something if you share what happened," Ken said more evenly.

"Sure!" Miyako perked up immediately, "I had a pretty good view the whole thing, we had just sent a Monochromon back to the Digital World and we weren't sure if there were any Digimon left when all the sudden that black Digimon, Lowemon or whatever, just drop down right in front of us! And then…"

Miyako, with some interruptions by Takeru and one or two additions from Iori, explained the rough outline of the fight. She covered Angemon's initial attack, the two Digimon trading blows, the way Lowemon had disarmed Angemon, how Shurimon provided help ("my excellent shuriken style ninja arts" as Hawkmon said, holding up a feathery finger), and Lowemon's attack completely overpowering Angemon's God Typhoon. However, when Miyako got to the part about Lowemon blocking Heaven's Knuckle, Tailmon suddenly cut in:

"The attack had no effect?"

Tailmon had climbed onto a desk and was looking across at Patamon with her sharp blue eyes narrowed.

"It barely did anything," Patamon answered.

"At best, I would say it scratched him," Hawkmon provided from the floor.

"Looked like he could've taken 'em all day," said Armadimon, next to Hawkmon.

"And that's important because Angemon is a holy Digimon, right?" Daisuke asked.

"That's right, Angemon's Sacred power is supposed to be effective against dark Digimon like him, only an incredibly powerful evil Digimon wouldn't be affected by an attack like that." Takeru's fists were balled up tight.

"How strong was he, Patamon? Could you get a sense of that Digimon's level?" asked Tailmon.

"I'm not sure," the little Digimon stood on his hindlegs with his forepaws crossed. "He didn't feel like an Adult Digimon, but he didn't feel like a Perfect or an Ultimate either, somehow…"

"And he couldn't have been a Child Digimon, either," Iori said.

"But that Lowemon, I think he was holding back. When we crossed weapons I could tell he was really strong… If he really wanted to, he could have beaten me. I think he might've been able to beat all of us there…"

"All right, but, what happened?" Daisuke asked. "If this guy was so strong he beat Angemon-"

"He DIDN'T beat Angemon!" Takeru interjected, turning to glare at Daisuke.

"All right, if he was strong enough that he COULD HAVE beat Angemon, maybe" Daisuke corrected, testily, "what happened? He didn't just leave, right?"

"No, he did. He just left," Miyako said.

"What?"

"Yeah it was weird, Angemon gave him a speech about how he would protect the world and then Lowemon just surrendered and said he didn't like fighting and some other stuff. I was getting the gate ready on my laptop to send him back to the Digital World, but Takeru thought it was a trick-"

"It WAS a trick," Takeru insisted.

"-so Lowemon got annoyed and so he just turned around and said something about how he was just like Angemon and did something and, vanished, I guess?" Miyako finished.

"Where did he go?" Ken asked.

"I believe he returned to the Digital World," Koushirou said. "As best as I can tell from tracing Digimon signals, there aren't any Digimon left in Odaiba but the six in this room."

"And that's also supposed to be impossible, right?" Daisuke said.

"No, it isn't. Demon could do it," Takeru said.

The words hung in the air as he said them like a dark cloud. Koushirou stopped typing and steepled his fingers. Miyako looked up from the computer screen to stare worriedly at the broken image on the projector. Ken looked at the ground. Iori focused his stern gaze on Takeru who was still quietly fuming. Hikari held her arms across her chest and shivered, Tailmon hopped down beside her to put a paw her partners leg. Daisuke looked around and took a few steps forward.

"Well maybe it's not that bad, maybe Lowemon is a good guy." Daisuke suggested to clear the air.

Takeru wheeled on Daisuke again. "Wrong. He's not and he can't be, a Digimon like that is our enemy, Daisuke!"

"Geez, calm down, I was just asking, Takeru. Didn't you say he surrendered? That he didn't want to fight us?"

"And I told you already, it was a trick! He was trying to make us let down our guard for sneak attack."

"Why would he need a sneak attack if he was beating Angemon already?"

"That Digimon DIDN'T 'beat' Angemon!"

"But Patamon said-"

"Enough already you two!" Miyako shouted. "You aren't getting anywhere arguing like that, cut it out and stop yelling at each other!"

"I agree," Ken said. "We simply don't know enough about Lowemon to know what kind of threat he represents."

"All right then, what do we do now?" Daisuke asked.

"I think in discussing Lowemon we've all been distracted from a more important question," Iori said. All eyes turned to the smaller boy. "Why did the Digimon cross over into the Real World? Finding out why that happened may be more important than an encounter with one specific Digimon."

"Maybe Lowemon was responsible for that as well," Takeru said. "If he can travel between worlds maybe he's the reason why."

"Are you just gonna blame everything on this one Digimon from now on?" Daisuke asked, his voice somewhere in between mocking and incredulous. Takeru was about to explode again but Koushirou quickly started talking.

"I may be able to find that out, actually. After the world tour last Christmas I began working on a modification to the Gate Sensor program to be able to track more kinds of travel between both worlds and measure disturbances in the boundary between them. The program is on my computer at home, and it's still in a prototype stage so it's too inefficient to be useful in a real-time situation, but if I input the data from this afternoon I might be able to gain more information about why this all happened. At the very least, if the source of the distortion is a specific place in the Digital World I should be able to find out where it is."

"Well okay then!" Miyako said cheerily. "Until Koushirou can figure out what happened there's no point fighting about it. And until the program finishes I hereby declare that the Chosen Children are on standby! Dismissed!"

Takeru was about to say something heated, but as he opened his mouth he seemed to think better of it. "You're right, Miyako. If that Digimon did go back to the Digital World we'll need the help of Koushirou's program to find him. I just wish I knew what he was doing right now…"

---

Lowemon ran a finger along the varnished wood of the restaurant's piano. There wasn't a speck of dust on the instrument, and he wondered idly if someone had been maintaining the piano or if pianos just didn't get dusty in the Digital World.

Three steps lead down from the entrance of Digitamamon's restaurant to the pretty glass enclosed patio that was the dining area, and immediately to the left at the bottom of those gentle steps stood the piano in a rounded little enclosure. By the time that Lowemon had returned from the Real World and begun to examine the instrument, other Digimon had begun to file in for dinner. Bakumon, a floating little tapir Digimon, acted as waiter leading the guests in and seated them at the various round tables and took orders.

Lowemon was not particularly surprised when both the chairs and the tables grew and shrunk slightly depending on the Digimon who sat around them. He was also not particularly surprised when he finally took a seat at the piano bench and felt both it and the instrument grow larger to match his frame. He was not surprised at all that the book of sheet music on the music rack contained a bizarre mixture of music, or that many of the songs were not actually supposed to be played on the piano at all. However, after flipping through probably more pages than the thin booklet should physically have contained, he found a song that was for the piano that he actually recognized from the Real World. His Real World.

The black Digimon had received one or two curious, if not furtive, glances from the customers, but those stopped when he began to play. Lowemon started with a quick warm-up to make sure the piano was working properly, and when he heard it was he launched directly into the song proper. The music flowed with surprising ease, each note came effortlessly after the previous and lead onto the next in perfect time. In fact, the song played so well it made Lowemon uncomfortable.

After more than a year Lowemon was used to being a Digimon, even comfortable being a Digimon. Digimon lived and worked and dreamed no differently from humans, but Digimon were still fundamentally not human. Digimon had different bodies with different senses and different abilities formed differently from humans who could do things humans couldn't. Digimon grew in a way completely unlike humans and Digimon lived in a world far apart from the world of humans. A Digimon is not the same as a human, and being a Digimon was not the same as being human, so in order to use his powers to the fullest Lowemon had to put aside being human to be a Digimon. He didn't become a different person, but he did become a different kind of being. When Kouichi evolved he became a Digimon in mind and body, but by the same token when Lowemon devolved he became a human in every way. And Lowemon had long since accepted the differences between his two states of being. He'd even wholeheartedly embraced them and been proud to feel like he understood the worth of both of his overlapping lives. Nonetheless, no matter how comfortable Lowemon was with being a Digimon, he still spent most of his time as a human. Playing piano and taking lessons on it were not things he did when he was a Digimon.

The next movement also came effortlessly. Back home that sequence of chords always frustrated him. It sounded so simple when you heard it in a recording, but the movement of the notes was so finely tuned and so precise that even the most casual listener could hear the slightest mistake. And make mistakes Kouichi had, yet he always came back to try the song again.

"First try to play like a child, then a student, then like a machine, and after that you can start to play like a musician."

His teacher had said that to them once, what felt like ages ago. Kouichi's piano teacher was thin and balding. He had a head like an boiled egg and a face wrapped with tight little spectacles, but he had a smile that was almost impossibly wide. When he listened to his students play he beamed so widely it almost seemed like the top of his head could flip off entirely. And after every song, or sometimes even after an individual movement (or line, or measure) he would flash that smile of his and praise his student, and then patiently point out Kouichi's mistakes and make suggestions for how his pupil could improve. He had other things he liked to say to try and encourage his students, things like how the journey was more important than the destination, or how experience was more important than talent, or how even the greatest of all musicians practiced ceaselessly even at the height of their skill.

Don't be discouraged by failure, take your time, practice makes perfect… They were all things he had said to try and encourage his students. And now remembering his words felt like a punch to the gut. Because Lowemon knew all too well that he was not this good at playing the piano when he was a human. He had not practiced, and now he was playing perfectly. It was a fluke, some weird twist of fate that the Digimon he became had the natural reflexes, timing, and manual dexterity to imitate this song so well.

Lowemon moved into the last quarter of the song, frustrated and flawlessly. The point his teacher had made was that hitting all the right notes with the tick of the metronome was not the same thing as playing music. Doing something perfectly was not always the same thing as doing it correctly. If it was, Lowemon wouldn't have become Angemon's enemy. He'd done everything like he should have that afternoon, everything absolutely perfectly. No human civilians got hurt on his watch, he'd sent back every rogue Digimon he could find, he'd managed to save Devidramon without a fight, and he'd still become the mortal enemies of Hikari's friends. He'd been warned he wouldn't be welcomed before he ever came to this world, but still... The look in the blonde haired boy's eyes had been... Ugly.

It was better that he hadn't revealed himself Hikari.

If his brother were here it probably tell him to lighten up, and then Kouichi (in whatever form he was) would smile and say something like "look who's talking". Why on earth was it him and not Kouji (or Wolfmon) who had been sent here?

The song came to an end, and Lowemon was startled when the Digimon at the restaurant applauded. A Yaksamon clapped loudly, a Vegiemon called something eager and unintelligible and whipped its tendrils together, a pair of Kiwimon tapped their beaks on a table, and Bakumon, fresh off of bringing in a meal, patted its forepaws in delight.

Lowemon stared around for a long moment, then he turned back to the sheet music and rifled through looking for another song. Like it or not, he was here and there was no changing that. The Digimon surely didn't care he was making a mockery of the music, they were having a good time living their lives. Maybe just this once the right thing to do was to just keep playing.

And so he did. The second song was an easier piece to perform, one he could have done as a human. It was far from his favorite song, but he felt a little bit less guilty playing it to mechanical perfection. The third song was a little bit harder, but it was one that Lowemon had managed a number of times when he wasn't a Digimon. He went through the opening, a pleasant up and down, back and forth leading into the next sequence of notes that rose higher and higher and slowly higher, upwards to a-

"Oh yeah? Say that again to my face, will ya! I dare ya!"

"What? Ya didn't hear me the first time? Are ya dumb AND ugly?"

-Crash.

Lowemon pushed the piano bench out, stood up, and turned around.

Standing in the middle of the dining room at a table were two Flare Lizamon, arguing. Loudly. The two fire Digimon were yelling and roaring, waving their claws and spitting insults at each other. The ever present flames on their bodies were burning hot and bright, rolling and rippling down arms and legs like magma. The gunmetal helmets both Digimon wore were starting to turn red with heat, indeed the entire room had begun to heat up uncomfortably from the crackling flames. To his side, Lowemon could see that Bakumon had come out of the back room clumsily holding a fire extinguisher in his paws.

Lowemon stepped forward into the inferno, taking a moment to push the two Digimon's table with its flammable white tablecloth away from the quarreling dragons. "Excuse me…"

Both Digimon ignored him. Lowemon slammed a hand on the table, rattling bowls and dishes.

"Excuse me!" Lowemon said, louder and more forcefully.

"What do you want?" "Who the heck are you?" Both Flare Lizamon responded at once.

"My name is Lowemon, I am a friend of this restaurant. In that capacity, I apologize but I must ask you to leave," Lowemon bowed properly as he spoke. "I'm afraid you are bothering the other guests."

"Yeah! You heard him! Get out of here!" Said the Flare Lizamon on the left.

"You butt out of this, it's none of your business!" Said the Flare Lizamon on the right.

"I'm afraid I must disagree, like I said I'm here as a friend of the restaurant. My concern is that all of the restaurant's guests have a pleasant experience. Though it pains me to single you out, you are causing them all a great deal of distress."

As he spoke, Lowemon gestured around the room at the other Digimon. The Yaksamon in the back had opened a window and was poised to leap through it, the three Kiwimon had ducked behind their table and were peaking their beaks out nervously, the Vegiemon was sweating and panting and attempting to fan itself with its vines. The Flare Lizamon on the right deflated a little, the flames on his body burning lower, until he saw his counterpart sniggering at him. Immediately its body blazed white-hot again.

"I told you, this isn't about you or them or anyone! This is between me and him! And you aren't gonna get in my way!"

Lowemon nodded. "I'm sorry you feel that way. Very well then, if you aren't willing to reconsider I'm afraid I will have to eject you. Bakumon, if you would please get the dining room door."

"Eh?" the Flare Lizamon turned from Lowemon, to Bakumon who had nodded and quickly floated over to pull open the double doors, and then back to Lowemon. "Alright, you want to start something too? You think you're hot stuff? Well too bad! I'm way too hot for you to handle!"

The Flare Lizamon lunged at Lowemon thrusting his right claws at the black Digimon. With fluid ease, Lowemon caught the Flare Lizamon's arm and pulled hard, heaving the dragon Digimon overhead and slamming him against the floor. Then, without letting go of the fire Digimon's arm, Lowemon began to spin Flare Lizamon around and around through the air.

Flare Lizamon howled and flailed, the restaurant spun around him, air rushed past his face, tears vaporizing on the flames of his face, his stomach churned. The black Digimon had a grip like iron. "Let go! Let go! Let me go!" He pleaded.

Lowemon let go. The Flare Lizamon sailed through the air, end-over-end, right out the door, crashing into the back wall of the building opposite. After a moment, gravity caught up with the hapless Digimon and he fell on his head with a clang.

"Once again, I apologize it had to come to this, but I'm sure Bakumon can get you a box for the rest of your meal." Lowemon said without hostility, standing at the door. The holy Digimon nodded and hurried off. Lowemon dusted off his hands off impassively, his darkness had smothered most of the heat from holding the flaming Digimon.

"Hah! That's what you get!" Said the other Flare Lizamon from beside Lowemon.

"I'm afraid I'm also going to have to ask you to leave, sir," Lowemon said, turning.

"What? Why me? HE's the one who started it!"

"Maybe so, but I insist nonetheless."

The second Flare Lizamon opened his mouth to argue, but then looked at his double sprawled out on the ground and then back at Lowemon's firm gaze.

"Can I get a box to go, too?"

"Of course. I'm sure this restaurant will be glad to have you back, some other night, as long as you can respect your fellow patrons."

The Flare Lizamon mumbled a word of thanks, helped his counterpart to his feet, received the leftovers of their meal in a bag without a word, and walked off into the darkening night with only a single, short, backwards glance.

"It seems like I got here too late," said a new voice from behind Lowemon. He turned and found himself eye to eye with a Leomon.

"Well what's it matter? The problem's solved and now you're around for once, Leomon!" Digitamamon had emerged from the front door of his restaurant, a chef's hat perched on the tip of his eggshell and with an apron tied around what was probably his waist.

Lowemon bowed apologetically at the sight of the restaurant owner. "I'm sorry if I was out of line there, but I was worried that-"

"No, no, you were great! Another minute and I'd have gone out there to smack em around myself! Only reason I wasn't out sooner was I was calling Leomon here, he's always great to have around when trouble's brewing, and it's the only way to get him to come around these days!" Digitamamon playfully nudged the lion man with his egg. "By the way, you were great on that piano! If you were sticking around I'd hire you full-time!"

"Then I take it that this is your mysterious guest, Digitamamon?" Leomon asked. His eyes were focused keenly on Lowemon.

"Yep! This is Lowemon, funny thing ain't it? I guess I just can't get away from lions," Digitamamon's body made a jerking motion that might have been a shrug. Leomon chuckled.

"Maybe so. May I ask you something, Lowemon? I only saw the last part of it, but you ejected both of the Digimon who were fighting. Only one of them started the argument, why did you send the other one off as well?

The young boy had had to put a thick encyclopedia on the folding chair to be high enough to reach the table in the little storage room, but he was used to that by now. Laid out neatly on the table was his schoolwork, a textbook, a composition notebook, and an old pencil case. He was supposed to be doing his homework, but he wasn't looking at it. Instead, the boy was leaning back as far as he could in his seat to try and see out through the little crack in the door. When that wasn't enough to see, he kicked his dangling legs out and dropped neatly onto the floor, then he snuck up to the door and peeked outside.

Through the sliver of light he could see the restaurant, the few small tables along the walls opposite the bar. Two men were fighting, he had heard them, and now he could see them. Both of them were in business suits, both had their ties undone, and both of them were very red in the face, from shouting and from something more. One of them suddenly stood up and said something the boy had been taught never to say to the other man. And then she came out from behind the bar and smiled pleasantly and put a hand on both of their shoulders and nodded at them. The boy gasped as the standing man drunkenly threw a punch, but she merely stepped to the side and the man tripped over his own feet and fell on his face. Then, she leaned down and handed the man a moist towel to wipe off his face and helped him to his feet, spoke with him softly, and patted him on the back. Then she turned the other man and gave another smile and said something else, and when he complained she said another different thing and smiled again. The other man heaved an exaggerated sigh, stood up, put an arm under the first man, and the two of them stumbled out of the restaurant into the night.

"Why did you tell both of them to go home?" The boy asked, sometime later. "Didn't only one of them start the fight?"

"That may be true, Kouichi, but it takes two people to have an argument," his mother said.

"It takes two people to have an argument," Lowemon said.

Leomon nodded approvingly. "Wise words. Very wise indeed."

"See? You two are so alike it hurts!" Digitamamon said.

"Will you be busy tomorrow morning, Lowemon?" Leomon asked.

"I don't believe I will be, why?" Lowemon said.

"I'm a member of the File Irregulars, a group of Digimon who are dedicated to ensuring the peace of this island. I've heard you won't be staying with us for very long, but I would be honored if you would consider joining us while you're here. You don't have to decide right now, but I would be grateful if you would come to our morning meeting tomorrow."

"I would be honored to come, but are you sure you want to Digimon like me?"

"I am. The moment I looked into your eyes I could tell you had a heart that beat with justice, and after seeing you in action and hearing your words just now there can be no doubt. Whatever else you are, Lowemon, you are an upright Digimon of just the sort this city needs."

"Haha, there you go again talking like an old man Leomon," Digitamamon cut in. "I remember you giving me that speech before you asked me to join back in the day!"

Leomon smiled. "And I wasn't wrong about you, was I? You may have had the exterior of a ruffian, but you had a noble and heroic heart in the end. It feels so long ago, now, when you were with us. We still have room for you if you ever wanted to come back."

"That's sweet, but I told you I'm retired from that. I'm an ex-heroic ruffian now! If you'll excuse me this former 'hero of justice' has to make dinner for a bunch of hungry Digimon."

As Digitamamon went back to his kitchen, Leomon turned back to Lowemon. "We'll be meeting at 700 hours in gear savanna south of the city."

"I'll be there. Until then, I have another set to play."

---

"Are you okay, Hikari?" Tailmon asked. She knew it was probably futile, but she asked anyways.

"Of course I am," said Hikari, unsurprisingly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

It was the evening, Hikari had come home, had dinner, reassured her brother everything was okay with the Digimon incident, had a bath, turned off her lights, and had climbed into bed and was about to lie down. Tailmon sat at the foot of the bed just like she had early that morning.

"You didn't say much at the meeting, earlier."

"I guess I didn't have much to say." The girl didn't meet Tailmon's eyes.

Tailmon grimaced. She was frustrated, not surprised. "Well, what did you think about Lowemon. Do you think he's an enemy?" Tailmon had expected Hikari to be evasive and give another nonanswer. Instead, the girl suddenly turned ashen. "Hikari?"

"I don't know," she managed. Tailmon saw the flicker of a tear in the dim light.

"Hikari! You know something, right? What's happening? Please, just tell me what's wrong!"

"It's nothing," Hikari said desperately. In a flurry of movement she ducked under the covers and turned away from Tailmon. "I'm fine, okay!"

Tailmon stood there a little while longer.

"You know I will always be there fore you, Hikari, no matter what."

Hikari said nothing.

She was not okay.

---

Iori was mostly through his nightly rituals when his D-Terminal beeped. He flipped it open and found a message from Daisuke.

*What was up with Takeru today? He seemed really pissed off. What did this Lowemon guy do to make him totally lose it?*

Iori thought for a second, going carefully through that afternoon's action. Takeru had taken a very aggressive stance right from the beginning, but if there was one thing in particular…

*I think Takeru believes that Lowemon was taunting him. Right before that Digimon returned to the digital world he stated that he could choose how he lived and that both he and Angemon were equal in the eyes of the sun.*

*Weird. That made him angry? I don't get it,* came the reply from Daisuke shortly. Then a few moments later another came in: *well, whatever. Keep an eye on him, okay? Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid.*

Iori allowed himself a minute to appreciate the irony of that statement.

---

Doing a Digital Dive was different for everyone. Takuya described it in terms of heat, moving from one warm place to another. Tomoki said he saw it as a passage of crystal. Izumi saw the open sky. Kouji experienced it in terms of streamers of light, and by contrast as Warrior of Darkness, Kouichi naturally navigated by shadows. They were not merely guideposts he used to travel, they were themselves his path.

Shadows were cast not just by people and places but by entire worlds. In the space between them one world cast a shadow into another world. It was easy to go from this Real World to this Digital World and back, much easier than it was at home. Were the worlds just naturally closer here? But tonight when he left the Digital World he wasn't intending to go back to the Real World, no he went in completely the opposite direction. He was going back there.

When he had left behind this world's Warriors to the return to the Digital World that afternoon he had seen long jagged shadows that had been falling away from the Real World. Seeing them he knew immediately that those shadows, those paths, weren't cast by the Digital World. No, they came from behind it, beyond it. That dark world had reached out for the Real World, piercing right through the Digital World. No doubt those desperate grasping shadows were how they had snared Hikari, and the violent force of those shadows punching through the Digital World were probably why Digimon had been flung from their homes.

Following the path of those fading shadows led to that dismal place on the shore once again. With a flap he touched down on the roof of one of the weathered beach houses that overlooked the dark ocean. Everything was still as deathly quiet as it had been after Hikari had vanished. Nothing was happening. Rather nothing could happen, at least not yet. No, actually it was astonishing that anything happened in the first place. This empty place was… Maybe he had been too generous when he said he'd be here for a week.

He watched the inky tides of that ocean wash onto the chalky sand of the shore for a little while longer. There was nothing tonight and would be nothing tonight. With that, he flew up and out, away from that faded world.

---

Returning to this chapter for revision was a little bit hard. It has some of what I consider to be my best work, and some work that I'm a little less proud of. I went back and forth a lot on how to revise this, and I had about a page and a half of heavily edited stuff to insert, but I ultimately decided to keep it close to my original posting. My thinking was that this is meant to be a revision, not a complete rewrite, and if there's a couple of weak spots, well that's how it goes I guess. That waffling is not the only reason it took a month instead of a week to get this out, but it's part of it.

As for the story itself, that ends the first day of Black Stranger out of a planned seven. I said in my original author's notes on the original posting that I was surprised by that, I honestly thought I would've gotten much further along into the story by this point, but once again the joke is on me. The scene in the computer lab especially surprised me, it just kept going way past the point I thought it would because the characters kept talking. Incidentally, I think present-day me would have split this into two chapters as well, but again c'est la vie. Incidentally, that's another reason this took so long to come out, I kept going back and forth on whether or not I should split this chapter for AO3, before once again going with falling on my sword.

And incidentally, I'd like to once again thank everyone who's left kudos and to ElaineBlueville who was exceedingly kind enough to leave a comment. All of you mean more to me than you can ever know.

Next - Illumination

Chapter Text

Preemptive Author's note: this chapter does not take place in strict chronological order.

Illumination

The Second Day

The alarm clock rang a little bit after dawn. It looked like a tiny Clockmon, but Kouichi barely noticed as he switched it off with a clap and pulled himself out of the Digimon-sized bed. He rubbed his eyes before peering out the window at a bright, sunny morning. It took him about that long to remember he was still in this other Digital World.

Had it really only been a single day since he'd arrived in this world? It felt unbelievable, but it had barely been 24 hours since he'd climbed down from the black Trailmon into that gray world and first seen Hikari.

After running around all day and fighting and traveling between worlds and only getting maybe 5 hours of sleep he felt... actually not that bad? He didn't feel tired at all. But on the other hand he felt like he should be tired. Probably the confusion came from going back and forth between being a Digimon and not being a Digimon. When Kouichi was Lowemon he didn't get tired easily, especially at night. Probably it was normal for a Digimon like him to get on with so little sleep. It was like that piano, Kouichi was used to being a Digimon and fighting as a Digimon, but LIVING as a Digimon? That was another story. That was new.

Kouichi shook himself out of that thought. Looping back around the edge of the room he put on his jacket and hat, and grabbed his cell phone from the bedside table. Then he considered some more.

So, what was the plan for today? Yesterday he got lucky when he'd run into Hikari and learned a little bit more about her and her friends, but just as quickly his luck had run out. If he was going to be any help to her he'd need some kind of real plan. Kouichi sat back on the bed and rubbed his temples. Nothing was coming to him. Actually, no, it was the exact opposite of that. It wasn't that nothing came to him, nothing meant he had no ideas but actually he had tons of them! He had all sorts of ideas! Dozens upon dozens of ideas! The problem was he had no idea. He was completely clueless about what was actually going on in this world, both of them.

Kouichi's thoughts slid back to the reporter in the park. That man had said a lot of unbelievable things. "Odaiba blockade incident", "monster capital of Japan", "just like last Christmas". And he had chuckled once or twice as he talked, like a dozen Digimon crossing into the Real World was just a passing fancy. Once again, Kouichi's instincts said no way, that wasn't possible. Back home Kouichi and Kouji and Takuya and all the rest had spent the year since their adventure in the Digital World protecting their world from exactly that. Digimon back home were weird rumors, urban legends, stuff you saw in gossip rags or weird websites online. And they stayed that way because of the hard work and struggles of the Legendary Warriors.

So what was up with Hikari and her comrades? Were they new? But Takeru and his group seemed like they knew what they were doing. So had something gone so badly wrong that the existence of Digimon had gotten out? Or maybe instead something had gone right and Digimon didn't need to be secret anymore? But that couldn't be right, Hikari was afraid something bad would happen when he saw her partner. And what about those Digimon "partners"? Were they actually hybrids too? Was that why they could stay in the human world? Had Hikari and her friends somehow separated their human and Digimon selves?

All those questions and more rattled around and around in Kouichi's head, but he shook himself for a second time. Then he glanced at the clock. He was out of time to worry, it was time to go back to living as a Digimon. He had a meeting with Leomon and the "File Irregulars".

"Spirit Evolution! Lowemon!"

He had freaked out Hikari, Takeru hated him, but maybe he could do a little bit of good here in the Digital World and for the time being maybe that was good enough.

---

A world away, Hikari woke up and had breakfast with her family just like normal. Her father fled out the door not long after she sat down, but that was normal. Her mother rolled her eyes and took his dishes to the sink, just like normal. While their mother was away her brother gave a reassuring smile and said that if they were really in trouble that her team could call him and the rest if they ever needed backup. Hikari smiled and thanked him and said she was fine and everything would be okay.

She could feel Tailmon's eyes boring into her as she told that lie.

Across town, all of the rest of her friends were also getting ready for the day.

Daisuke got up out of his messy bed and had a messy breakfast while yelling messily at his sister when she called him messy. Then the two of them talked about birthday presents, both given and received, and between barbs and scorn the Motomiya siblings debated the best possible form Daisuke's planned present could take.

Miyako got into a series of extremely heated discussions over finances and salary and certain promises made the previous day. After much fighting and negotiation and after calling in several favors owed, Miyako agreed to a truce with Momoe in which Miyako downgraded her demands to time and a quarter in return for a choice gift card from a particular boutique that her elder sister had been hanging onto.

Ken and Iori had nowhere near as exciting breakfasts. Ken had a quiet meal with his parents where he informed them of what had happened the previous day across the water in Odaiba. Iori had an even quieter meal punctuated by his grandfather laughing at a cartoon in the newspaper. Takeru had a similarly quiet breakfast, his mother had gone in to work early that morning so it was just him and Patamon.

Takeru was also the first to bring up the subject of duty, via group email. He sent an early message to Koushirou asking for a progress report and got a reply to all saying it would take about 12 more hours for the scan to finish. Takeru wrote back to fret about what might be happening behind everyone's back and ask if there is any way to do it faster. Koushirou said no. Miyako chimed in with a message (in between shouting matches with her sister) saying he should calm down and find something to do to take his mind off his worries. Hikari took her advice and suggested meeting up for a study group, like they had intended to do yesterday before the Digimon had appeared. It was a safe suggestion, and everyone agreed to meet around noon to try finish their respective summer homework assignments.

---

Leomon was waiting for Lowemon a little ways outside the City of Beginnings on the great rolling plains of the Gear Savanna. After exchanging greetings Leomon took the lead out south through the windswept expanse of grass. A brisk 10 minutes walk finished at a ring of trees on a little hill that suddenly popped into existence seemingly from out of nowhere ("poor draw distance," Leomon explained, nonchalantly).

Crossing into the circle, Leomon nodded to a handful of other Digimon and he turned back to Lowemon.

"Allow me to introduce you to some of File Island's volunteer peacekeepers, the File Irregulars. And to you lot, this is Lowemon. As I said before I'm recommending him as a short-term member. After what I saw last night I can vouch for his character."

"Good morning to you then, Lowemon, I am Andromon," the cyborg Digimon said with a nod. His voice was even, but his organic mouth was set into a ponderous frown.

"Well, if you say he's all good I'll buy it, Mr. Leomon. I'm Ogremon the younger, but you can just call me Ogremon," the green Digimon gave a toothy smile and pounded his chest. "If you're joinin' up that means I'm not the newbie here anymore! But hey, if you need any help you can count on your big brother Ogremon!"

"Glad to have you!" said a Garurumon cheerfully, his voice echoing. Lowemon automatically noted that this Digimon was the only beast-type in the group. Like so much about this world he was starting to wonder if that actually mattered here.

"Lowemon… Where have I heard that name…" a Meramon was the last Digimon in the group. He was tapping his fiery chin thoughtfully, but then his black eyes suddenly flashed with recollection. "Wait, hang on, you're Lowemon? You're the guy who sent Flare Lizamon packing?"

"I am. Digitamamon is giving me a place to stay, and the two of them were causing trouble. I wanted... I want to be able to pay back my debts," Lowemon said.

Meramon waved it off, "you don't have to give me any excuses for smacking either of those two idiots around. Take it from a long time resident of around here, though, you made one big mistake."

"I did? What?"

"You tossed one Flare Lizamon out on his ass, but you didn't crack the other over the head. I heard him gloating about how he was smart enough to get out of there last night. He's going to be a real pain in the ass for a couple of days."

Lowemon blinked, then he shrugged, "I guess if I see him I'll beat him up for you, then."

Meramon laughed, "I think I like you already!"

---

The new branch of the Tokyo Public Library in Odaiba was an odd mix. On the outside it was a pretty, European-style impressive stone building that was only now, a year after its construction, showing the bleaching and pitting that came from the saltwater air. Meanwhile, the inside had kept better with bright white plaster walls and gleaming faux marble floors and spotlessly clean carpets, but none of those were able to hide the unmistakably musty scent of age from the vast stacks of well-read books.

The Chosen Children filed in around noon as planned, met in one of the library's quiet reading rooms, and compared notes on their notes and their respective summer homework statuses. After careful consideration it was decided that the six of them would split into two groups. Daisuke, who perpetually needed help with math, would stay in one of the study rooms on the ground floor to work with Ken and Miyako (And the Digimon, who were easier to keep from attracting attention in a private room) while Hikari and Takeru would go upstairs to the periodicals section with Iori, both to work together on a long assignment and to help the younger boy double check some newspapers for homework of his own.

Daisuke complained about this arrangement, albeit quietly. It WAS a library after all.

"It's only for a little while, and you do have trouble with this, Daisuke," Ken said supportively from the chair beside him.

"Yeah, and if your grades keep sucking they'll kick you off the soccer team, right?" Miyako said from Daisuke's other side, much less supportively.

Daisuke's pencil slammed to a halt. "For your information my grades aren't that bad, EXCEPT when I have to do long division," Daisuke said, testily.

"That's why I said to memorize the steps for it, already," Miyako said.

"It's not that easy!"

"Then practice them with someone!"

"Who? Jun? She's always busy chasing some guy. Plus, she'll laugh at me if I try!"

"Maybe you can ask Chibimon?" Ken cut in quietly, gesturing the other two to keep their voices down.

"No way, Chibimon's great but he can't do any math stuff like that," Daisuke said, arms now crossed.

"What's up, Daisuke? I can't do what?" The little blue Digimon asked curiously as he popped out from under the round table and climbed up on Daisuke's lap.

"See, I'll show you. Hey Chibimon, what's 4500 divided by 125?"

"36," the Digimon said immediately. "Why?"

"No real reason…" Daisuke muttered as he turned red and stared very hard at his workbook as Miyako exploded with laughter.

"You really shouldn't laugh at him…" Ken said.

"Yeah, I know you're right," Miyako said, but she said it much too cheerfully and only after a deep breath to choke down her giggles. "I'm sorry. And I know you Daisuke, you have been working hard. But next year you're going to be in middle school and as your senior it's my job to be worried about you."

"It's middle school, not rocket science," Daisuke said, his tan cheeks still flushed. "And anyways, if you want to worry about someone worry about Takeru. What was up with him yesterday? Didn't he seem kind of crazy?"

Miyako was halfway to making a crack about changing the subject, but instead she stopped and frowned. "Maybe a little… But he gets like that sometimes you know. Remember with Black War Greymon? Takeru was really intense when we were trying to stop him last year."

"I'm actually a little bit concerned about Yagami myself," Ken said. "During the meeting yesterday she seemed scared for some reason."

"Hikari? Well, she gets like that around dark Digimon… but, actually, come to think of it she was really quiet yesterday. Usually she always agrees with Takeru, I guess she was freaked out," Daisuke said, pushing up his goggles rub his forehead.

"Hmm..." Miyako folded her arms and closed her eyes. After a moment she made a frustrated noise. "Hikari always bottles things up so it's hard to figure out what she's thinking. If there is something bugging her she'll probably just deny it if we ask. We'll probably just have to wait for her to say something on her own."

"I just hope she says something before something bad happens," Daisuke said.

---

An important fact that had apparently slipped Leomon's mind was that the morning meeting of the File Island Irregulars was also a morning training session. The exercise on the menu for that pretty Midsummer day on File Island was an endurance building course, specifically a run across the outer bounds of the Gear Savanna. Andromon mentioned (loudly, over the sound of his whirring servos) a few minutes into the training session that their final destination was going to be Dragon Eye Lake near the edge of the Unwavering Forest, about 20 kilometers from their starting point, give or take.

Lowemon didn't mind the sudden exertion. It was a gorgeous morning under a warm sun and a half marathon run in the Digital World was so much better than a morning of fretting and uncertainty in the Real World. Right now it was much better to be a Digimon.

He was even happy with what sort of Digimon he was for maybe the second time since he'd come to this world. The morning was warm, not hot, but 20 minutes under the sun with no shade anywhere around made even a Digimon sweat. Except for Lowemon, who was his own shade.

"Not bad! We're two thirds of the way there!" Leomon called from the front, his voice barely strained from the running. In fact, if the beastman Digimon hadn't been sweating profusely there would be no way to tell he was exercising at all given his powerful and ceaseless strides.

"How are you two newbies holding up back there?" Meramon yelled from off to one side. The flame Digimon had obviously no problem with the heat, in fact the sun had agreed with him so much he'd had to split off from the group to avoid singeing them. A little before the halfway point his flaming body had stoked itself so high it had started tossing off little fireballs in odd directions. (According to Andromon it had taken 5% longer for this to happen compared to their previous run, a new record.)

"I'm *huff* just *huff* fine!" Ogremon (who was not fine) yelled back from beside Lowemon.

"Are you sure? Should we slow down?" Garurumon sounded worried from his spot on the other side of the group, opposite Meramon.

"I've *huff* still got this! *huff* *huff*. I'm Ogremon the strong! I can push through! I don't need anyone's help! I can do it on my own! *huffhuffhuff*"

Lowemon said nothing from next to the gasping ogre. Instead, his shadow twitched, turning from its customary place opposite the sun overhead and spinning around to behind him. It lengthened, twisted itself around, and cast itself across Ogremon's back falling like a cape over his shoulders and drowning out the sun. Immediately, the green Digimon relaxed.

"6 kilometers to go!"

---

Going through newspapers with Iori and Takeru felt awkward to Hikari. Iori always acted much too mature to be doing the sort of busywork summer assignments that were handed out in elementary school, but here the three of them were digging through old weather reports to fill out the missing days in his activity diary.

In theory, asking the student to record the things they did every day was meant to keep them engaged with their schoolwork for the whole of the summer break and furthermore asking the child to record the weather every day was meant to keep them honest so they would have to work on their diary every single day. In practice, most students missed a day or two (or more) and so came to the library or somewhere else to try and find the weather report in the newspaper for the days they missed. Hikari had never needed to, but Takeru admitted he'd had to play catch-up the year they first went to the Digital World and Hikari knew that her brother had done the same thing for a number of years running. Judging by the number of other elementary school students in the periodicals wing scrambling through old newspapers they all seemed to be in good company.

Hikari was actually surprised Iori had missed any days at all, but she didn't press the issue with the face the boy was making.

At the same time she and Takeru were also working on a totally different assignment with surprising amount of overlap. The keyword on their worksheets was something called "media literacy" and their task was to pore through recent newspapers and answer a bunch of seemingly unimportant questions about things like how many articles talked about this thing or that thing or how often this other thing appeared at all.

Hikari was absolutely certain this kind of approach wasn't good at teaching anything to anyone, yet, at the same time, she couldn't really bring herself to dislike doing this particular bit of busywork. If nothing else it kept her from worrying about other things.

"Maybe it's supposed to be like if we do it enough times we'll just remember? Like with flashcards?" Takeru said when Hikari wondered aloud what this was for.

"Maybe, but my brother was always awful at doing flashcards. He had to say it all out loud or he wouldn't remember it," Hikari said. "What kind of studying works for you, Takeru?"

"I'm not sure. I've never had much of a problem with school stuff," Takeru said with a shrug. "I can just read the part of the book once or twice and do fine on the test."

"Well, but, what I mean is that it doesn't feel like it's very helpful to write down how many times the newspaper brings up the Rainbow Bridge dedication ceremony," Hikari said."I'm not sure if I'm learning anything from doing this like I should be.."

"You've thought a lot about this, Hikari, haven't you?"

"If you had to learn about what goes in the news, what would you do, Takeru?"

Takeru gave a smile. "I'd ask my mom, or my dad if he wasn't busy."

"Oh, you mean because they're reporters," Hikari said after a beat.

"Right, but, for someone else I'm not sure. Like I said schoolwork isn't hard for me, I can just get it right the first time."

"That's impressive Takeru, I can't do that. I have to study to get good grades."

"And if we are supposed to learn something from the bridge maybe it's how many times they bring it up? The paper started mentioning it two months before it happened, and if you look at the dates we marked down there was an article on it every week until it actually happened. It was like that for the new Ferris wheel, and the new ferry as well. I bet all of the questions are like that, for regular city events like that there's an article on it once a week until it happens. For unexpected stuff they write about it for about two weeks after it happens usually, at least that's how it was after the big storm in April: there were articles about it every day for two weeks. Same thing with the Digimon stuff last Christmas, every day for two weeks then it goes quiet."

"Really? You noticed all that out just by answering the worksheet questions?" Hikari didn't try to hide she was impressed.

"Yeah, sure. It's easy for me to get stuff right. Here, if you need an example look at this thing in the newspaper, it's the anniversary ceremony of the new government building opening, that's a regular boring thing so they probably did it once a week starting two months before. If this was a question on the worksheet I wouldn't even need to look that one up."

"I'm not so sure I could do that…" Hikari said.

"You can trust me on this one Hikari," Takeru said with a smile. "Like I said, I can get stuff like this right easily."

"Maybe, but I would still want to double check, er if that's all right with you."

"You want to go and look at the newspapers to see when they talk about the ceremony? Well sure it's all right with me, why wouldn't it be?" Takeru said, his face brimming with easy confidence.

And so, Hikari stood up and walked back toward the stacks. When she got to the door she turned and looked back at Takeru who flashed another smile.

He was right though, Hikari reflected walking across the hall through to the other reading room, about him being right. Takeru was usually right. Whenever she was unsure she could always turn to Takeru to have the right answer. They all could, whether it was schoolwork or life stuff or Digimon stuff, Takeru was always on top of it. He always knew what to say and what to do, his idea was always the best one, and his confident voice was almost always the deciding vote.

That was what set off Daisuke. Daisuke was always ready to go charging in, Digimon blazing, but Takeru always had a better plan and everyone sided with Takeru. Even Daisuke did in the end, if only because he had to. Daisuke liked to call himself their leader while pointing to his goggles, but really it was Takeru who was actually in charge and he was actually in charge because he was always right. Some of it was experience, some of it was his positive outlook and balanced perspective, but at the end of the day everyone followed Takeru.

Daisuke probably wouldn't have noticed a pattern in the newspaper articles Takeru had, not because Daisuke was dumb or anything but because Daisuke was someone who wanted to see for himself. Daisuke couldn't leave well enough alone and he was always charging ahead. If Daisuke was here he would probably be right next to Hikari and not just because he would want to try and prove Takeru wrong, he would do it because it was doing it and Daisuke always liked to do things. And maybe that did make Daisuke their leader, Daisuke was always running out ahead. Daisuke rushed forward and everyone followed him, even if it was usually Takeru who pointed out which direction he should go.

And that was probably fine, her brother and Yamato were always at odds and would always argue about what they should do, but Taichi had always told her how important Yamato was and how much he relied on the blonde haired boy to make sure he was going in the right direction. If Daisuke was taking after Taichi, then maybe Takeru was taking the place of his brother? But that didn't feel quite right. Taichi and Yamato fought a lot but it was because they were so alike, both of them were forthright and courageous and direct and even impulsive, but Takeru was more even-tempered than Daisuke or either of the older boys. On the other hand, one thing all of them had in common was their confidence. And Hikari envied that.

Crossing by the racks of newspapers and magazines, Hikari felt like a bad friend. Takeru was probably right, and she knew he was probably right, and he knew that she knew he was probably right but she was still going to fetch another stack of newspapers, and why? It wasn't that she didn't trust him, because she did, Hikari literally trusted Takeru with her life when they fought side-by-side, so why didn't she trust him to get something right on a silly assignment? But still, something nagged at her.

There was something in the back of her mind gnawing away at her, a feeling that, what? It was a sense of something, some strange apprehension she couldn't put into words, a curdling feeling that was falling through her like ink through water. It was that something was, that Takeru was, that there was just…

Hikari froze, fear shot right up her spine, her vision blurred from clenching pain behind her eyes, dread grabbed her heart and squeezed. And then the confused jumble of emotions all fell away and suddenly she felt oddly... Oddly reassured. Like clouds covering the burning sun.

Hikari looked around nervously, she was standing at the open space halfway between two tall shelves full of papers. To her right was an empty table. To her left, against the wall between the two shelves was a reading desk covered in newspapers, and sitting at it was a boy with dark hair. For a moment, Hikari had the odd thought that the midafternoon shadows cast by the bookshelf seemed eager to fall on him. Then she recognized him and said his name.

The boy started, bolting up out of his seat to turn and face her.

"Hikari?" Kouichi asked.

---

*CLACK* *BAM* *SCHWING*

"Howzabout this one!?"

*CLACK* *CLACK*

"Not bad! But not good enough! Here I come!"

*SLAM*

"UWAAAAAH!"

It was around 11 in the morning at Dragon's Eye Lake and the File Irregulars had now gotten into the second phase of training. After a rest period and some breakfast the assembled Digimon had started pairing up to spar. Apparently a couple of matches had been decided in advance for that day and as the spur of the moment newcomer Lowemon merely watched from the side.

And speaking of Leomon, the first fight of the day had been between him and Ogremon, and judging by the cheers from the other Digimon, Lowemon guessed this wasn't the first time they'd fought each other. It also sounded like this wasn't the first time Leomon had won their fight decisively, this time picking up the win with a vicious uppercut out of the blue that sent Ogremon soaring through the air. The Oni Digimon landed with a crash, a moment later his bone club landed with a splash somewhere in the middle of the lake.

"Oh not again!" Ogremon moaned.

"Bad luck," said Leomon, shaking his head as he helped Ogremon back to his feet.

"Who's going to get it this time?" Meramon asked. "Besides me I mean, obviously. Do we need to call in Mori Shellmon?"

"I can get it, it's my turn" Garurumon said.

"Take care not to provoke him this time, Garurumon" Andromon called.

"I'll try, I didn't mean to set him off the last time after all."

"Who exactly is 'he'?" Lowemon asked as the wolf Digimon dove into lake.

"Seadramon," Leomon said. "He's a Digimon who lives in this lake, normally he's placid and rarely comes out of the water, but he's also territorial and quick to anger. If you keep your distance you're probably fine, but he also has a history with Garurumon. They fought once, a long time ago when Garurumon first evolved. If you want to know more you should ask him, Garurumon always says it was an important moment for him so he should be the one to tell that story. Alright, while we're waiting, Meramon, are you ready to go?"

He was, leading to the second match: Meramon versus Andromon. That it was lopsided was the point, Leomon said quietly to Lowemon after Andromon shrugged off Meramon's Burning Fist. Meramon had arranged to fight the much stronger Digimon as a means of pushing himself and his training, and Lowemon had to admit that the blazing Digimon seemed satisfied a couple minutes later when he was left sprawled out on the grass, having failed to scratch Andromon's chasis no matter how hard he tried.

Another a minute later Garurumon emerged from the lake, Ogremon's bone club in his jaws. And, as a dog is want to do, Garurumon shook himself throwing water in every direction.

"Whoa! Hey! Watch it! Digimon down over here!" Meramon shouted.

"Sorry…" Garurumon said delivering the bony bludgeon.

"Oh come on, you were asking for it," Ogremon said.

"I was asking for a passionate battle to burn brighter! Not to get doused!"

"And on that subject, it's open challenge time. Does anyone want to go next? If nobody else does, I will say I would be interested in seeing how you fight, Lowemon, I'm having difficulty getting a good reading on you," Andromon said, maintaining his usual even tone.

"I'm not sure," Lowemon said. All eyes were suddenly, uncomfortably, on him. "I would be willing, but I have no real experience fighting along with any of you, yet. I would hate for someone to get hurt by accident."

"Nah, that's no big deal, if Leomon says you're good you'll be fine," Ogremon said, misunderstanding his words.

"In that case, let me be your partner, I'm quite confident in my skills" Leomon said, understanding his words.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. In fact, now that I think of it, this might be a good opportunity for me as well," Leomon said, a gleam showing in his eyes. "One of our reserve members, Centarumon, is an archaeologist who travels across the world searching for mysterious artifacts. While exploring a set of ruins recently he recovered part of a manual for an ancient style of swordsmanship. It's incomplete, but according to the writing it's… well, I think a chance to spar with you would be a golden opportunity. What do you say, Lowemon? To the first hit, weapons only, no special attcks?"

"Well, I don't really like fighting, but if you want to then I accept. Especially under those terms."

And so the two Digimon squared off. Lowemon conjured his spear, then with the flick of his hand he spun it so the spear's sharp tines would face away from his opponent. 10 meters away Leomon stood with knees bent ready to leap forward, his right hand rested on the handle of his sword.

Off to the side Andromon looked from one face to the other.

"If both of you are ready to begin then on the count of three you will begin. One… Two… Three-"

Leomon drew his sword in one quick motion. In three more swift moves he switched it to a reversed grip, then he shot forward.

For a moment, Lowemon just stared. That movement was, it couldn't be... how?

Leomon swung, Lowemon ducked back.

Right

Leomon pushed forward in and threw another swing from the right. Lowemon dodged backwards again.

Left

Leomon swung again from the left. Lowemon parried, knocking the blade away from him.

Up and from the left

Leomon recovered in an instant and switched to a forward grip, swinging diagonally at Lowemon's left side. Lowemon pulled to the side and thrust at his opponent's broad chest, but in the blink of an eye the other lion Digimon spun his sword to catch the thrust with the flat of the blade, taking the impact to launch himself back out of reach.

Dodge and above

Leomon bounded forward into range. Lowemon obligingly thrust the shaft of his spear into the feint, and right on cue Leomon leapt up for a jumping slash from above. Without missing a beat, Lowemon ducked low and pulled his spear up, catching its blunt handle into Leomon's chest as he was coming down.

"The match is over!" Andromon said. "Lowemon is the victor!"

Lowemon dismissed his weapon and stood up, then he bowed properly. "Thank you for the match."

For a moment, the other assembled Digimon stood in stunned silence. Ogremon's jaw had fallen open, even moreso than normal, yet he was the first recover.

"Alright! Amazing!" The ogre jumped up and cheered. "I knew he could do it! It was all thanks to my excellent mentoring as his senior!" He said jerking his thumb towards himself. "Ow!"

That last shout came because Meramon clocked Ogremon on the back of his head. "Moron, you really didn't see what happened?"

"Eh? What?"

"Yeah, that was strange…" Garurumon said.

"Strange how?"

"Well fought, Lowemon," Leomon said, sheathing his sword he stepped forward to hold out his hand. "But it wasn't much of a fight on my part, was it? You knew every move I was going to make."

"He did?" Ogremon chirped.

"Obviously," Meramon said, shaking his head.

"You're right, I did," Lowemon said, accepting the handshake. "The way you fought, that style of swordplay, it's identical to the style practiced by my twin brother."

"Your twin brother? Hmm... Centarumon didn't think there were any Digimon who practiced that style anymore, but I suppose if the data was able to be salvaged it's possible it would still be in use. But, the tablet called it the 'Fang of Sirius' named after the Celestial Wolf. I had thought it was a light-aligned sword school and that was why I was eager to try it, but if your brother uses it then Centarumon must not have translated it properly."

He was eager to try it in a safe environment against a Dark Digimon Lowemon thought. But what Lowemon said was: "no, your friend was correct. My brother, Wolfmon, is a Light-species Digimon. We hatched from the same egg, but we evolved… Differently. As you can see."

"I see," Leomon said. And to his credit there was no hostility or indignance or disbelief in his voice, merely an honest curiosity. "And is he around here? If he's as strong as you and has a good heart like yours I'd be eager to have him become a member of the Irregulars as well."

"No he's far away right now. And for strength, I think he's far stronger than I am, but he tells me that he thinks I'm stronger than he is," Lowemon said. It was a struggle keeping his voice straight, it was only the second day of their separation and it already felt like an eternity.

"Don't sell yourself short there big guy," Meramon said cheerily. The other Digimon had moved in to be closer to the fighters. "Even if you knew how he was going to swing his sword, it still takes a lot of skill to beat old Leomon, he's a veteran from the bad old days! Ogremon here couldn't do it."

"Hey!"

"Twins is it?" Andromon stroked his metal chin with one of his long arms. "Two Digimon hatching from the same egg is rare but not impossible. And I've heard of they they can evolve very differently, but usually that happens if they are separated from each other."

"That's right, we only met for the first time about a year ago. He didn't even know I existed until we came face-to-face, but we became close after that."

This wasn't the first time Lowemon had needed to tell this story, and like every other time he'd told someone how he met his brother he'd kept it vague. He never lied outright about his family, but he always carefully omitted a number of things. The broad details were all there, of course. To anyone who would ask he would always share the minimum that they were twins who had been separated shortly after birth and had only met each other last year. Sometimes Kouichi mentioned he had an accident that day, sometimes he mentioned what he and Kouji had believed about their family (his brother would probably never quite forgive their father for that), sometimes he mentioned his grandmother's dying words that awful awful day or that Kouichi had been shadowing his twin the day they'd met. Sometimes he would even go as far as to vaguely say something like "they didn't get along at first", but he didn't, he wouldn't, ever expand on that one, not even to his mother. And he felt guilty about that, but on the other hand there were only a handful of people who could understand the whole story and who would believe what Kouichi said if he told the whole truth, and, well, they had all been there with him.

So, here and now, Lowemon left it at that with just those two sentences.

"Geez, and after meeting you had to split up with him? That's rough," Ogremon said clapping a sympathetic hand on Lowemon's back. "My big bro lives around here, I feel like I ought to go thank him for putting up with me. We aren't blood like you, but still."

"Thank you, it hasn't been that long but I already miss him so much..."

"Well, sorry to end it on that note, but we're done for the day. Thanks everyone for coming, and thank you as well, Lowemon. We may not be the same as family, but as long as you're on File Island you have friends in all of us," Leomon said with a smile.

"Absolutely," Andromon said, he was also finally smiling.

"Here, here," Meramon said, clapping. "If there's anything we can do while you're on your own out here just shout."

And so, right before noon, the group of Digimon split up. Leomon and Ogremon returned to the city, Andromon headed off towards a gray structure on the other side of the island, and Meramon went north back towards the same mountain Lowemon had departed from the previous day. Garurumon didn't leave, instead he yawned and sprawled out on the grass in front of the lake. Lowemon also didn't have anything to do, there was no reason to go the Real World and it would be hours before he would have to play piano at the diner. Given that, the Warrior of Darkness in his black armor lay down beside the great big wolf to enjoy a sunny day. A little instinctual voice reminded him that sleeping out in the open under the bright sun overhead meant that he would be at a disadvantage if a fight broke out, but Lowemon shushed it to appreciate the end of a shining morning.

"You know, when you talked about your brother you sounded a little like Yamato," Garurumon said after a little while.

"Who's that? It doesn't sound like a Digimon name," Lowemon said sleepily.

"He isn't, Yamato is a Chosen Child, a human. He's my partner."

Lowemon, on the edge of nodding off, shot upright. It was the exact same word, in English and everything. Suddenly there was something to do, something happening. Suddenly this mission wasn't impossible anymore. "Your partner? You had one?" Lowemon asked with barely disguised eagerness..

"Yep! And Yamato is still my partner, when you become partners with a human you stay partners. That doesn't change. Even if they're not around you don't just suddenly stop being partners or anything."

"I've heard about Digimon having partners before," Lowemon said, because it was completely true. "But what does it actually mean?"

"Hmm..." The wolf Digimon tightened his muzzle. "It's tough to put into words, but I guess the way to say it is we're connected, I'm there for him and Yamato is there for me. I support him and he makes me stronger so I can fight for him and protect him because he can't fight Digimon."

And there it was from the text message he had received two days ago: " The warriors there share your mission to safeguard the Real and Digital Worlds, but their method of fighting is unlike you and your comrades."

Even hearing this and reading that Lowemon still had to ask, "Your human partner can't fight at all?"

"Nope, not at all. Humans are interesting, they're really smart and know lots of things, but they're fragile compared to us Digimon so it's the job of a partner to protect their human and fight for them."

"So you're partners because he needs a way to fight?"

"It's not about the fighting! I mean, yeah I guess I am here so he can fight… But that's not the point. It's, we're partners, that means we're a team. We're even; we're in it together. Even if I'm fighting for him to help him out for what he was chosen for, even if that's what I'm here for and it's some kind of duty I'm fine with it because I know Yamato is also there to help me. Yamato, he's my friend and that'll never change. If Yamato's in trouble I'll always be there to help, but if I'm in trouble I know Yamato will always be right there for me. Being partners means that, it means I always want to be there for him because it means he always wants to be there for me. Does that make any sense? It's hard to say it right."

The metal beast roared, howling with rage it flailed a massive arm shaped like an excavator's claw at the shining figure below. Glancing at the houses to his left and right, he gritted his teeth, turned his sword, and steadied himself for the brutal blow. But instead of a massive claw, what came crashing down was a streak of black that smashed into the side of the mechanical dragon and sent it tumbling over. The white Digimon below gaped in surprise and recognition at the black Digimon above as their eyes met. He began to say something, but both their heads turned as the reeling creature pulled itself to its feet.

The two Warriors returned to the fray, from below a piercing ray of light and a storm of missiles slammed the dragon, from above a burning red cross tore into its side. Then, to finish, light and dark united their two strongest blows into one deadly stroke, tearing the body of the rogue Digimon into ribbons.

Not long after, two brothers shared a drink from a vending machine.

"I thought you had a practice exam today?" Said one of them, the one who wore a bandanna and a sharp expression.

The other shrugged, and smiled, his face was identical but he had much softer eyes. "I've never had much of a problem with school stuff or studying. I just get it right the first time, remember? And besides, I can always go to another practice exam, this was more important. We're in this together, right? So I want to be there for you when you need me, Kouji."

"I think you said it perfectly," Lowemon said.

"Really?" Garurumon blushed a little. "Well thanks, it's not something that's easy to put in words."

"Yeah, I know," Lowemon said softly. More loudly, he said "Leomon told me this lake was important to you, he said it was where you evolved the first time."

"That's right, it was the first night Yamato and his friends spent in the Digital World. It feels like it was ages ago, but I still remember it all super clearly, we all slept in an old cable car on that island out in the middle of the lake and all the kids took turns keeping watch. I remember Yamato told me to go sleep next to his his little brother to keep him warm," Garurumon said wistfully.

Lowemon blinked. "How could you fit in the cable car?"

"Huh? Oh! Right! That was before I evolved, I was still Gabumon then. I was Gabumon most of the time on our adventure, most of us were in our child forms. It took a lot of practice and training on my own to be able to stay evolved like this, like how Tailmon can, she's another partner Digimon. And if Yamato was around I could evolve more and become even stronger! When I'm with him I can evolve all the way up to being an Ultimate."

"That's… Impressive," Lowemon said. For a moment Lowemon had been mentally comparing Garurumon and the other "partner" Digimon with the Angemon the Warriors had met in the Digital World who was travelling with the other four kids, but they haven't been able to make that Angemon evolve. Actually, now that he thought of it, they could make Digimon evolve? Was that what the boy (Takeru?) had been doing when he pulled out his digivice? Maybe Lowemon had gotten off easily…

"But what I was saying to start with is that what happened with you and Wolfmon sounds a little like my partner and his younger brother. They aren't twins, but their parents got divorced when they were younger and they barely saw each other for years. It was a big deal when they came to the Digital World together, it was the first time they could be around each other in years. That night, the reason I evolved was because Yamato put himself in danger to protect Takeru."

"Takeru?" Please don't be...

"Yeah, that's Yamato's brother's name. He's also a Chosen Child, by the way. His partner is a Patamon. I think their names are supposed to mean something when you put them–"

But Lowemon wasn't paying attention anymore. There's no way that name was a coincidence, just like the day before he wasn't that lucky. Takeru, the blonde haired boy Hikari had talked about, the one with the Angemon, the Digimon who evolves from Patamon. The one full of hate. It felt like he'd finally figured something out about this world, about what he was doing, about why Tailmon was there, about the other children and their Digimon, but his silver lining had a cloud on it. He'd known it already, of course, but hearing it straight out was still painful.

"When did you meet your partner?" Lowemon asked suddenly, cutting off Garurumon. Out of the blue a new idea had suddenly forced itself into his mind.

"About four years ago, during the summer, why?"

"And did you ever go to the human world?" The blonde haired man had mentioned 'the Odaiba blockade incident' so casually...

"I've been there a few times with Yamato, why?"

"It's, I guess I'm just curious, that's all," Lowemon lied.

"Well, okay then, did you want to hear about it?"

"No, I was just curious. I think I just I remembered something I have to do…"

"Sure! No problem. And like Leomon said, if you need anything I'll be glad to help out."

Lowemon thanked Garurumon, excused himself, found a quiet patch of shadows, devolved, dived back to the human world, got to a map, navigated his way to Odaiba's library, found the periodical archives, and started pulling out as many old newspapers from the summer of 1999 as he could.

It wasn't anything Garurumon had said specifically that had made Kouichi come here, but the wolf Digimon was the last straw. Garurumon had merely been the latest in a long line of confusing, frustrating, and even dangerous encounters. The partner Digimon had been a huge help in explaining how the Warriors in this world did things, but as a visitor he still wasn't completely sure what they did and what they were like and he was tired of getting into trouble and tired of being left in the dark (Kouichi ignored the irony of that thought).

And so here he was in the library looking at old newspapers and his logic was thus: The reporter yesterday had talked about Digimon as though they were a somewhat regular appearance, meaning they had been appearing for some time. When and why? The 'why' might have been explained by something Garurumon had said, he had called his partner a "Chosen Child". That name, that word, "chosen" implied something had to choose them and for a reason. Lucemon had also used that phrase once, he once called the Warriors "Chosen Children", and they had been chosen by Ophanimon and Spirits to save the Digital World, their Digital World. It was possible that if this Digital World had been faced with a crisis it couldn't resolve on its own then some force in it had also called out and chosen human children to save it. If that was the case and there had been a conflict like the fight against Cherubimon and Lucemon and it had spilled out into the Real World like the man had implied, well then it stood to reason that kind of world shaking conflict would be in the newspaper. And the when? Garurumon had provided a starting point, summer, four years ago in 1999.

And sure enough he found it. And when it rained it poured, he had found a lot of it.

Kouichi hadn't expected to see the whole story, he hadn't expected a great big exposé on everything Digimon and how they worked and evolved and had partners and all the rest of it, but he also hadn't expected the wild stories in the paper going into the first week of August, 1999. Bizarre weather patterns across the world. Network disruptions. People hallucinating monsters. People NOT hallucinating monsters, people SEEING monsters fighting in the streets or in Tokyo Bay. Conspiracy theories about the terrorist bombing of an apartment block. A rash of anemia patients across the city. Tokyo Tower half melting. Fog suddenly covering Odaiba separating it from the rest the world ("the Odaiba blockade incident"). Odaiba suddenly reappearing with a chunk of its waterfront leveled and witnesses saying it had been caused by monsters fighting each other. Ghost creatures suddenly spilling out across the world. The sky tearing open revealing another world!

The boy was deep into an article speculating on the events that destroyed the TV Tokyo building when-

"Kouichi?"

The boy jolted to his feet and spun towards the voice. He recognized it, and said her name.

Hikari stood there with a moderate smile and a politely puzzled look in her eyes.

Kouichi, meanwhile looked like a deer in the headlights. To Hikari's eyes he looked right on the edge of panic, like he wanted to just dissolve into the shadows…

Looking at his face, all of Tailmon's words came back to her. "He's a liar." "There's definitely something that feels weird about him." "You should be careful around him." But once again, her Digimon's words just didn't feel right. When that sudden, inexplicable dread had left her it had been replaced with more than just relief, more than just that strange sensation of safety. Instead it became something more like satisfaction or vindication, a sense that finally one of her innermost desires had come true. A desire so deep she couldn't even put it into words. Some strange, sad tangle deep in her heart, some kind of mournful, resigned fear felt like it came undone just by looking at Kouichi.

"You know, he reminds me a little bit of you, Hikari"

After a couple of frantic, silent moments Kouichi's eyes resolved themselves into, what? Apology? Resignation? Concern? It was hard, somehow, to actually read the light in his eyes, hard in a way Hikari couldn't quite explain.

"I'm sorry for yesterday, for what I said," Kouichi said, going so far as to bow. "I didn't mean to scare you when I said that, sometimes I get weird ideas and if you don't want to hang around me... I understand."

"What? No, you're fine. What you said, it was, I think maybe you were right. And I'm sorry too, I didn't mean to lay something so heavy on you." Hikari took a cautious step forward, like the other boy was a cat that might suddenly bolt. "You have a lot of newspapers, are you doing your homework here too, Kouichi?" She smiled, "it's alright, my big brother was always like that."

"Your big brother? I mean, no, I've already done my summer homework, this is something else," Kouichi said. After a moment he seemed to make up his mind about something because he stepped to one side and gestured at the desk. "I was just curious after I met you. I guess I wanted to know more about what was going on. I'm not sure if it's any good but I wasn't sure where else to start."

Hikari looked down at pile of papers. There were pictures of monsters, scoop about monsters, first-hand accounts of people who saw monsters, experts weighing in on monsters, mass delusion? Monsters are real? Monsters are real! Monsters. Monsters? MONSTERS!

"You wanted to know more about Digimon?" Hikari said.

"That's right," Kouichi said. "My mother always said if I didn't know something I should go and find out about it before doing anything else. I'm not sure if all of this is any good, but I also wasn't sure where else to start."

"Why didn't you ask your..." she paused. "You don't have a Digimon partner of your own?"

"No, not at all. Before I met you and Tailmon I didn't even know people could have Digimon partners," Kouichi's whole face reflected nothing but honest curiosity, at the same time Hikari felt a weird flickering something poking out from behind his words.

Hikari felt, no actually she didn't know how she felt. It had been there yesterday, but meeting again it was even stronger. Being around him, hearing his words, it made her feel jumpy, alert, aware in some new way. The problem was she couldn't figure out what or why. She felt weird. She was all squirmy and jittery just from being here. If she could reach out and– "Why?"

It was just one word, but it struck true. It hit him hard, harder than she thought it could. And Hikari was surprised, surprised that it hit at all. It was such an innocuous question, but in a moment his face clouded over and there it was again, that strangely familiar look she'd seen in his eyes the previous day. "Because... because I had to know for sure. I don't want to make more mistakes, about something that matters."

"Something that matters? But you said you didn't have a partner, what do you mean? Does one of friends have a Digimon partner?" Tailmon's words were still ringing in Hikari's ears. He smells like a Digimon

"I had heard about Digimon before, from the stuff that happened, of course," Kouichi still seemed nervous, his eyes kept flicking to the right, but as he spoke his blue eyes came back to hers with that same quiet strength behind them. "But after I met you and Tailmon yesterday, I realized I didn't know anything about Digimon after all. The way you talked about her, it made it seem like she was important to you. And I mean it when I say I don't want to make mistakes about something like that. I think I told you I only met my brother for the first time last year, but when we met I... made a mistake and I nearly lost him because I didn't really know anything about him. After that happened, after we met up again, I promised myself I would never let that happen again."

Hikari smiled. "Thank you. I wish more people were like you Kouichi. Maybe if they were, our worlds could come together in peace and harmony." She let the words hang there. Hearing him talk made Hikari all the more certain Tailmon had gotten worked up over nothing, there was just no way that Kouichi, that anyone who said those things, could be her enemy. And yet, her partner's words were still pecking away at her. Even if she could excuse everything else...

"This might be a strange question, but yesterday Tailmon said that –"

"Oh, there you are, Hikari," came a smooth voice from behind her. Hikari turned too fast to see Kouichi blanch and take a reflexive step back.

"Takeru!" Hikari said, as loudly as the library permitted.

"Iori finished up and you were gone for a while so I came to find you. Is everything okay? And who's this?" Takeru asked, looking over Hikari's shoulder at the other boy who had taken a step to the side, putting Hikari between himself and the blonde.

"This is Kouichi," Hikari said pleasantly. "I met him in the park yesterday while I was waiting for all of you before, well all that happened. We talked for a while, he's very kind. He's someone who wants to get along well with Digimon. And Kouichi, this is Takeru. I told you about him yesterday."

"Um, hello," Kouichi said awkwardly.

"Hmm..." Takeru scrutinized the blue haired boy, from his face to his old jacket to his slacks to his worn sneakers. "Having met somewhere before?"

"I… Don't think so," Kouichi said.

"You just seem kind of familiar," Takeru said, stroking his chin. Then he shrugged it off with a smile. "Ah well, like I was saying, everyone's done with their homework so let's head back, Hikari."

"Okay!" Hikari turned and gave a nod Kouichi. "I hope I can see you again sometime."

And that was that and they were off.

---

15 minutes later the Chosen Children had split into three parties. The first party was comprised of Daisuke and Ken who had wandered away to do something unspecified. Well, it was supposed to be unspecified. Given Daisuke was a completely miserable liar it had taken no effort for Hikari and the rest to figure out it had something to do with her upcoming birthday. At the very least he had managed to avoid giving away the details of what was going on, just that it was going on.

The second party consisted of Takeru and Miyako who were both heading home to the apartment building they both lived in.

"Oh ho…" Miyako scoffed with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "And what was this mystery boy like?"

"I'm not sure. Hikari said he was kind and liked Digimon, and it seems like she told him about us, but he didn't really say anything. He just seemed really nervous."

"I suppose it makes sense," Miyako said with a shrug. "I guess me and Hikari really do have a lot in common."

"What makes sense? And what do you have in common?"

"Taste in men. Kind, nervous, smart, likes Digimon, even the features all check out. He sounds just like MY kind of guy, and what that means is that you better hurry up and make a move already, Casanova, or Hikari's going to find an official boyfriend," Miyako nudged Takeru in the side. "Time's a wasting."

"No way," Takeru protested. "And besides, we're not like that."

"Oh yeah? With all the longing looks and all the times you rush to her rescue? Well you could've fooled me loverboy." Miyako said with a smirk.

"Well, just call me a master of disguise then," Takeru said with his own smirk.

A moment later, the two of them burst out laughing.

"So is Yamato going to be here in time for Hikari's party?" Miyako managed after she had stopped giggling.

"Yeah, he should be home from the band tour by the end of the week," Takeru said, still smiling.

"Perfect! And you won't have to keep running errands for your dad anymore."

The next few minutes spun in a cheerful small talk between the two friends until they reached the apartment complex. Miyako, who could talk about any number of things in just that small length of time never noticed Takeru's smile didn't quite reach all the way to his eyes.

Elsewhere, Hikari and Iori were also walking to an apartment complex. Hikari to go home, Iori to return a book he had borrowed from Koushirou. During the walk Hikari had related to the younger boy some of what had happened while he had been on his own of library, more specifically why she had split from Takeru. To her mild surprise the serious boy had agreed with her about leaving Takeru to see if his prediction had been right.

"Even if all of the questions were like that, it would still be the right thing to do to look up the answer. My grandfather says it's important to double check if you don't know the answer, and even more important if you think you do. He says that if you're overconfident you'll become too complacent and if that happens you will never find out if you're wrong until it's too late. And if it takes too long, he says, you'll have to unlearn what you think you know, and doing that is harder to do that than to correct yourself and get it right in the first place."

"Do you think that Takeru was wrong?"

"I think anyone can be wrong. I've been wrong before, and so have you, and so has Takeru."

It was an awkward note to end a conversation on, but that note was where the conversation ended when the elevator opened and Iori stepped out on his own. He gave a small wave to Hikari as the elevator door closed and the elevator continued upwards towards the Yagami family apartment.

"He's right, you know," Tailmon said softly from her place at the front of Hikari's bag. "Anyone can be wrong about something, or they can be right about something."

"Do you mean about Kouichi?"

"About anything. I trust you Hikari. I'll go along with what you say."

"But what if I'm wrong?"

"But what if you're right?"

---

Three important things happened to Lowemon that night, but like many important things he didn't realize exactly how important they were at the moment they happened.

The first was an idle question from Digitamamon, the lunch special was tomorrow, was he doing anything and if not could he play a set? Word had already spread that the mystery boarder was a piano master and that was luring in customers from across the city. Lowemon politely argued against such a title, but also said he would be more than willing to play assuming nothing came up.

The second important thing came in the form of a petite green and tan Digimon.

"Oi, you're Lowemon, right? Gots a letter for ya!" chirped a Terriermon wearing a mailboy's hat and a tiny messenger bag. The petite beast Digimon had strode up to Lowemon at the end of his set at the piano, when dinner was winding down and cheerfully held up an envelope.

"Thank you," Lowemon said automatically, flipping the letter over. His name was listed on the back, but there was no indication of the sender or a return address, just the English letters 'NSo' stamped in purple ink on the envelope.

"No problem guvnah, and can I say that was some right nice playing there? Cuz it was. Cheers mate!" said the Terriermon. As it walked away it waved both a paw and one of its long ears.

Lowemon nodded and flipped open the envelope to reveal a letter written in Digimoji of the utmost formality with thick, but mechanically precise strokes.

Warrior Lowemon,

I want to start by thanking you. I am certain now that if you hadn't been there to rescue me I would not be alive. I owe you a debt I fear I will never be able to repay, and for more than just my life. Yesterday was a revelation to me for I saw for the first time that even under the sun a dark Digimon could stand with their head held high.

I still don't know what to make of you. I thought at first you are a victim of bad fortune, a dark Digimon who'd evolved too recently to understand how the city would treat you. But when I fell between worlds and met you again I saw that you wielded the power of darkness with a skill and mastery I have never seen in ways I could not have imagined. I know not of who you say you were, I have never heard of the warriors you spoke of or the spirits you say called upon you. I would not have believed you and your words about your mission if I had not seen what you could do with my own eyes, but I did and now do believe, I must believe.

You are an inspiration to me now, Lowemon, and I believe you will be an inspiration to all of us who dwell in Overdell. I have always believed it to be our fate crawl in the darkness. I have always believed we were cast out, cursed to be the enemy of the holy powers of light, but I have seen now you walk a different path. For too long my heart had been resigned to sorrow and fear that there was no righteous path for me to walk, but now I know this to be untrue.

If it would suit an august Digimon like you, I would be grateful if you should come and aid me to begin following your path. And if there is anything I could ever do to aid you in your sacred duty I will gladly join your cause.

Devidramon

Lowemon carefully returned the paper to its envelope and put it away. Then he closed his eyes and thought for a long time. That was the first time he did so that night. Lowemon did it a second time later, at the third important thing deeper into the night and further into darkness.

Once again, he landed on the rooftop of a wooden house and looked out over the black ocean, charcoal waves over chalk sand. This world felt endlessly sad. Hollow. Desperate. Dangerous.

He closed his eyes. Yesterday, this world had felt spent. Exhausted on a level and in a way that was different from the usual exhaustion the lapping waves radiated. Now, though, the gray world felt taut. Languishing though it was, now there was a sense of, if not potential, then anticipation. There was so little substance left here, and yet it had condensed itself down like a spring ready to fire. Or a trap ready to shut.

Something was going to happen, and he would have to be there to stop it.

He watched and waited for a while longer in the dark world. Nothing moved. Perhaps the creatures didn't know he was here, but more likely likely the formless ones were distracted pouring all of their energy into whatever this next attack was and couldn't waste their time or focus to pay attention to him. On the other hand, even if they knew he was here there really wasn't much they could do without a real shape. There was the shadow of something almost real way down in the depths, but other than that…

Was there something else out here with him? Once or twice he thought he sensed a shadow out of place, but as soon as he picked up on it the shade was gone.

As he flew back upwards towards the other Digital World he couldn't help but wonder, who would want to stay there in the fading dark? Not even the shadows from the depths of this ocean seemed content to stay in that unborn husk of world.

---

Koushirou's email arrived around dinnertime. After an exhausting analysis of all available data from yesterday the Gate Sensor had determined Ground Zero for yesterday's runaway Digimon to be a familiar location: File Island.

Immediately, Takeru took charge, and in no time at all it was decided that the Chosen Children were going on a mission to the Digital World tomorrow at high noon.

That means everyone should have an early lunch before we go, Takeru wrote, before signing off.

---

And so ends day two, and with that most of the set up is done. The next chapter will be a big one, after which point I will have officially caught the revised AO3 version of the story up with the FFN version. Following that updates will become more sporadic, as I will have to actually write those chapters which, well C'est la vie.

As I mentioned in a comment, the reason this particular story has kept with me for so long is that I was (and still remain) excited about potential of characters engaging with an established world in a decidedly different way. Perspective is kind of the byword for all of my stories, the ability to insert an outside context to pre-existing stories is the thing that I think I appreciate the most about fanfiction and the thing that most directly inspires me to write. Using Kouichi as a protagonist allows me the opportunity to tell a story set in the world of Adventure from a drastically different viewpoint than the ones given in the show itself. As the story summary asks, what is it that he sees in a world that is wholly different from his own? And if I can do that and also make it a character piece and also use it as a platform to share some of my observations and also use it to fire a shot across the bow, or maybe I can have my cake and eat it too for once.

Once again, thank you to everyone who's left kudos and to ElaineBlueville who has been exceedingly kind. I love receiving comments on my work, and I do sincerely appreciate everyone who has left feedback for me both here and on FFN. Thank you all so much for your kind attention.

Next - Through the Forest of the Night

Chapter Text

Through the Forest of the Night - First Part

The Third Day

On the morning of his third day in the other Digital World Kouichi woke bolt upright, sweating, and gasping for breath.

A quick look around confirmed he was still in the bedroom on the second floor of Digitamamon's diner. Kouichi rubbed his forehead and winced. It was that dream again…

The young warrior had gotten used to most of the changes to his life he'd inherited over the past year, almost all of them actually, but still it was only almost all of them. He'd reaped so many blessings since he'd met his brother, but the last one, this one, wasn't something he would've chosen for himself.

Kouichi remembered his dreams.

His dreams no longer faded into the morning mist after waking up, they stuck with him beyond the veil of sleep. Since the Digital World, Kouichi remembered what he saw while he was sleeping and remembered them no differently than what he encountered while he was awake.

No doubt this was a side effect from accepting his charge from the darkness and garbing himself in shadows. Shadows, darkness, the night, the moon, reflection, dreaming, they were all connected, weren't they? And Kouichi kept watch over them. He stared into the abyss of the night, and in its depths he saw kindness, decency, understanding, and acceptance.

But he still stared. He still saw.

It was no surprise to his brother that Kouichi had nightmares. I mean, obviously, right? After everything that happened? And Kouji never asked about them, he never pressed Kouichi about his dreams, but that was also because Kouji probably thought he knew what those dreams were about and that meant he was mistaken.

Kouji probably thought it was about them- fighting... But no, mercifully that wasn't where Kouichi's mind went when he slept.

No, what Kouichi remembered with entirely too perfect clarity were his "predecessors" from the castle at the Rose Morning Star. They were ones who didn't make it, the ones who couldn't become the Warrior of Darkness. He remembered them, those flat silhouettes. They used to be Digimon, but now they reaching, broken, moaning, screaming things.

And sometimes when he dreamed about them he was one of them.

Well that was an ugly note begin the morning on. It wasn't even like the bad dreams came all the time. Those dreams were never common enough that Kouichi had to dread going to sleep, but still, it meant that particular gift was a mixed blessing.

Kouichi cast his mind back over the last 24 hours, trying to tease out a reason he would have ended up back there in his sleep... Was it digging through the newspapers? Meeting Hikari and remembering why he was here? Gazing out on the black ocean in that mournful husk of a world?

He shook himself and grabbed his phone. Something was going to happen today, Kouichi was absolutely sure of that. When he evolved to Lowemon that certainty grew. The shadows were quivering. When he closed his eyes and gazed inward, into the abyss, it gave him a sign.

As Lowemon headed out to get an early start on the day one last little question pecked at him: what kind of dream did Hikari have last night?

---

"You're going?" Taichi asked from the dining table. Hikari had diligently made herself an early lunch, just as she had been instructed, and had grabbed both her partner and her bag.

"Mm-hm, we're going to try and find out what happened with the Digimon the day before yesterday," Hikari said. Along with arranging her things she also had arranged her face in preparation for her big brother's question.

"Yeah I heard. And you're going to File Island too, it feels like it's been forever since we ended up there. I remember the first night we spent in the Digital World was on that one cable car."

"You told me all about that. And that cable car is important to me too even if I wasn't there for with you, after all that was how we left the Digital World after our first adventure."

"Is that why you want to have your party there?" Taichi asked.

Hikari nodded, "there are a lot of important memories there, for all of us."

"Well, be careful. I remember I was really worried about you when we spent the night there. I thought you'd be worried sick about me when I didn't come home."

"But you did come home that day, big brother." Her words made Taichi laugh.

"Well, I'm still worried about you, after all you're my one and only little sister. Make sure you come back safe."

"You don't have to worry about that, that's what I'm here for," Tailmon said the front of Hikari's bag, "I'll protect Hikari with my life."

"Tailmon," Hikari said softly.

"I know you will, Tailmon. And remember, if anything happens give me a call and I'll drop anything to come help you guys. All of us will, you just have to ask and we'll all come help." Taichi's eyes and his easy smile radiated confidence, the same strength and courage Hikari had always looked up to.

"I will," Hikari gave her most practiced smile. "I know you'll always be able to come and help me if I need it."

As Hikari left her apartment she tried to figure out what she was lying about. The odd buzzing at the back of her skull told her that something she said had been even less true than she'd meant it to be. She shivered. She had a bad feeling about today.

---

"Alright then! Chosen Children, roll out!" Miyako shouted "Digital Gate open!"

And with that six humans and six Digimon left the computer lab in the Real World in a flash of light. The sensation was almost like falling; almost but not quite. Falling implied gravity and therefore solid ground and the possibility of landing, but there was no such thing in the space between spaces. At the same time, there was a rushing feeling, a buzzing tingling, ringing that vibrated from head to toe, and a sense like the world had fallen away and they were all dropping downward, whether or not there was a down at all for the seconds it took to cross between worlds.

For Hikari, at least, it felt like she was riding a streamer of light to the Digital World like a fireman's pole, but she'd never brought that up with her friends. It simply hadn't occurred to her that they might have experienced something different from her.

The landing was less serene, while Ken and Miyako managed to land on their feet they were bowled over when Daisuke crashed into them from behind followed shortly by V-mon and then Hawkmon. Hikari also stumbled coming out of the portal, but she was caught by Takeru, who was then tripped by the sudden emergence of Armadimon. Last through the gate was Iori, who immediately went to work tending to his seniors.

"I wish someone could figure out whether or not it's going to be a bumpy ride BEFORE we end up in a huge pile again," Daisuke muttered, as he tried to untangle his and Ken's legs.

"Believe me, I've tried," Miyako snapped, "OUCH! Not there!"

"Sorry," said Ken and Hawkmon simultaneously.

"Are you all right, Hikari?" Takeru said, as he leaned down to help her and Tailmon to their feet.

"I'm fine," Hikari said, even as she rubbed her elbow.

"If you're sure," Takeru's voice was, as always when he spoke to her, kind and understanding, "now that we're here we should probably head towards the Village of Beginnings, we might be able to ask Elecmon or one of the other Digimon who live around there if there've been any suspicious Digimon hanging around the island."

"You mean Lowemon," Iori supplied from the back.

"Right, but I was thinking it over and I think Daisuke might be correct, Lowemon could be working for another evil Digimon-"

"That's not what I said," Daisuke muttered.

"-so until then we should stick together. The Village of Beginnings should be over there," Takeru gestured as he turned, "right on the other side of that... City..." He just stared.

"All right, since you know the area do we go around the city or is there some path through-" Miyako paused, reading Takeru's bewildered face. She glanced between him, an equally puzzled looking Patamon hovering next to him, the city and back. Then she turned to Hikari, "that city wasn't there the last time you two were here, was it?"

Hikari shook her head. "No, the last time we were here, back when we took our picture together, the Village of Beginnings was much smaller."

"I guess a lot can change in a few years," Ken said.

"Well, if that's the place we're supposed to go, what are we waiting for? Let's check it out!" Daisuke called.

"Hold on a minute-" Takeru started as Daisuke bounded off, but stopped when Miyako and then Ken (with their Digimon in tow) raced after him.

"We'll cover more ground if we split up! Keep in touch by email!" Shouted Miyako, waving an arm as she ran.

Takeru blinked, then he laughed and shrugged. "I guess we'll split into two teams then?"

And, as he, Hikari, Iori, (Patamon, Tailmon, and Armadimon) came in from the outskirts of the city Takeru smoothly pointed out that really, Daisuke probably had the right idea and moreover he and Ken could probably handle things if worst came to worst and Miyako knew how to manage in a crisis. Hikari, smiled politely and nodded, but she did so on autopilot. She almost didn't hear him talking as she stared all around her in wonderment.

The Digimon city was overwhelming. Building after mismatched building, Digimon after Digimon, there were so many different buildings and so so many Digimon packed together... It was enthralling. Sight and sound and smell, it made her head spin. But beyond the dizzying, even overwhelming sensations coming in from every direction, beyond the overload, beyond everything else, the city was inspiring.

For so long going to the Digital World meant fighting. She, Hikari and Tailmon and all the others, had struggled for their lives so many times, many more times than she could remember off the top of her head, and sometimes thinking about that made her want to cry. Here it was, an entire other world full of splendor and wonder, so why was it that it had to be filled with such sorrow? Why was there always conflict and fighting and killing? Why did this beautiful world have to be tarnished by grief? It always felt like a miracle to find a place in the Digital World that was peaceful, even now on the other side of their adventures. And yet, here was an entire city full of Digimon living together in peace on a scale Hikari had felt scared to imagine.

Hikari had seen a vision like this in a dream once, half a year ago on New Year's Eve at the end of 2002, and it was even more painful for being an illusion. This, this was so close to it that she caught herself pinching the back of her hand through her gloves (more than once even!) to make sure it wasn't a dream.

Everywhere she looked Hikari saw another new Digimon. There was one in every building, around every street corner, moving alone or in crowds. There was a Centarumon, a Minotarumon, a group of Geckomon, a Veggiemon, a Flare Lizamon, a Tankmon, a Tyrannomon, a green Shellmon, a blue Agumon, a brown Yukidarumon, a striped Unimon, and dozens more she had never seen before in all her time around Digimon.

As they passed by all of these Digimon, living together in peace, treating each other as friends and colleagues and neighbors Hikari had to keep on poking and prodding herself make sure she wasn't sleeping because this was it, this was the city on the hill she'd always been chasing. This was the place she had always wanted to see. Here it was in front of her, a glimpse of the better world to come full of peace and harmony and understanding between humans and Digimon. A world where they could live side-by-side as friends and equals.

Hikari knew all of her friends wanted something like that, a world of harmony, but she also knew this vision was so much more prominent in her soul. It meant more to her than it meant to anyone else. That fact wasn't a black mark against them, not at all, but it was still a fact that all the other Chosen Children had something they wanted to work towards, be it a career or a goal or something else, something in the forefront that pushed this vision into the backdrop of their dreams. Hikari was different though, this WAS her dream, this WAS her career and her goal and her ambition and what drove her all at once. She wanted this, for the Digital World, for the Real World, and everywhere in between.

This vision was everything for Hikari. It was perfect, and she would give anything to see it grow and endure. Anything.

And as she thought this, as Hikari turned all around staring at building after building, Digimon after Digimon, her thoughts turned to Kouichi. For some reason, whenever she thought about him that deep desire for a better world seemed to twinge and unwind. Being around him made her dreams feel a little bit closer. And yet she still struggled to say why. Even if her partner was right, even if he was connected to the Digital World, what was it about him that made her overwhelming feelings settle down?

Lost in thought, Hikari didn't hear Takeru saying something until Tailmon gently poked her ankles with a glove.

"Hikari? Earth to Hikari?"

Hikari jolted back to reality, "What? Sorry, what happened?"

"I was just saying that maybe we should start asking some of the Digimon living here if they know anything about Lowemon. He might even be hiding out around here somewhere, lurking in the shadows."

"Oh, I see. I hadn't thought about that…"

"With a city this big, it's got to have some rough neighborhoods. I mean, it stands to reason right?"

"Does it?" Hikari asked, suddenly afraid of the answer.

"Well obviously, it comes with the territory. If you get this many people, or Digimon together in one place there's always going to be some kind of criminal underbelly," Takeru said.

"Unfortunately, Takeru is right," Iori affirmed solemnly, because Takeru was right, of course, as always. "Justice only becomes necessary when people gather. My father said that once, a long time ago." The younger boy looked up at her strangely, "is something wrong, Hikari?"

"No, I'm fine," she was holding her voice as steady as she could. She was surprised Takeru and Iori didn't hear the tinkling of glass as she stared around at the white city with a surge of fear. "I'll be just fine."

---

As Lowemon stepped down into the dining room of the restaurant and turned to the piano he reflected that maybe this city was a little bit too much like a human city.

He didn't need to be a hypervigilant Warrior Digimon to note the way all eyes in the patio swiveled towards him as he stepped out from the hallway. He was the wrong kind of Digimon in the wrong kind of place, and all the patrons had tensed up as they noticed his presence. A quick guesstimate said about 60% of the Digimon in the room were leaning towards flight, and the other 37% were angling towards fight. The sole exception was a Vegiemon who had been there two nights ago and whose vines were twirling with anticipation.

When it's time to perform, all there should be is you, your instrument, and the music.

Those were more of his teacher's words. And after he'd said that he'd smiled that overly wide smile of his and said he knew it was easier said than done, but that once you'd gotten to that level and were focused on the music the rest of the world just faded away, like the lights had gone out everywhere but over you and the piano. He said the goal was to be comfortable enough in the moment, confident enough in your skills, and passionate enough about the music that having an audience didn't matter; you were your own audience so perform for yourself and for the act itself. Do it to the best of your abilities for no other reason than your own passion and for the sake of doing it.

Well Lowemon could get behind that, and he'd even experienced exactly that kind of Zen state playing back home (once), but that was then and this was now. The problem was the same as that first night, when he was a Digimon he could go through the motion of the music without even trying. It wasn't something he even needed to focus on, and so his mind wandered.

The dining room was a couple of heads shy of 30 Digimon, and with the exception of the returning Vegiemon every single one of them had immediately read him as a threat. They had all sized him up and estimated their odds if a fight broke out, but to someone or something's credit (the reputation of the diner? Curiosity coupled with the word-of-mouth about the mysterious "master pianist Digimon"? The unspoken understanding of how to live in a city?) they had all stayed at their tables and let him begin to play. Lowemon wondered darkly what would've happened if the Digimon patrons had been able to get a better read on his power, no doubt having an abnormal level as a Hybrid and a Variable attribute made it hard to pin him down.

And yet, while it was frustrating that he was immediately a subject of scrutiny and concern Lowemon couldn't be all THAT angry about it. After all, he'd done the exact same thing as he'd stepped into the room; Lowemon had done his own quick, reflexive, threat assessment of the Digimon in front of him and concluded he was in no immediate danger. Perhaps it was sad to say but that was just something inherent to Digimon. A Digimon who was a Combat Species like him was perpetually on the lookout for potential enemies, and Digimon who weren't were constantly scanning for potential threats. Some Digimon were predators and some were prey, and Lowemon was a lion.

Of course that wasn't the whole story. Digimon were more than wild animals or fighting machines. That fact showed itself by the way they were able to come together to create a city and more immediately in Lowemon's attentive audience. By the end of the third verse the Digimon in the diner had all begun to murmur to each other about how the music was brilliant or marvelous or sublime or magical.

Humans didn't do that, not like that. Humans rarely read each other for fight or flight and likewise seldom did they enter a crowd on the lookout for enemies that they might have to battle to the death. Instead when they gathered in groups humans saw those with them and above them, and dismissed those below them. There were some people that humans paid attention to, people with the presence and authority and importance to command all eyes and all ears. And there were some people that humans put out of their mind, the waiters, the servers, the people behind the desk, the person in the corner, the child staring hungrily through the window, the kid in the worn out clothes sitting at a lone table behind the screen, the boy staring in from the adjacent train car…

For all the flaws Digimon had in their fighting instincts, Digimon paid attention to each other. Digimon were aware of other Digimon who existed. Digimon could be moved by love and art and sorrow and fear, no different than humans, but what was different was the way Digimon accepted each other's existence as a baseline. If a human was surprised by those they reviled and ignored too often they found a way to excuse those feelings so they could keep nursing their grudges and keep looking down on others and treating them as less than human. A human could push forward believing a hatred that was pleasing to them and carry it through thick and thin. Digimon didn't, just as Lowemon remembered his dreams so did Digimon remember their experiences.

Digimon could be violent or foolish or bizarre or stubborn or corruptible or wicked, but a Digimon was always a Digimon to a Digimon, even an evil Digimon. The same thing couldn't be said for most evil humans.

Lowemon carried that lesson with him even when he was a human, so did Agnimon and Wolfmon and all the rest of them.

Maybe Hikari and her friends had the right idea after all, she could learn from her Digimon friends and her Digimon friends could learn from her and the other humans they fought for. Maybe they really weren't all that different from the Legendary Warriors.

And that thought ended the Coda of the first song for the afternoon. There was a small smattering of applause as Lowemon turned the pages of the songbook to find another piece to play.

---

It wasn't much of a surprise when Daisuke sent an email complaining he was hungry and hadn't eaten.

Hikari had giggled at the message. Iori had frowned. Takeru had tilted a hand and rolled his eyes in amused disbelief. "Same old Daisuke."

*I did warn you. You have been keeping your eyes open for Lowemon, right?* Takeru's reply said.

*Of course I have!* *We've been over at the shopping district!* *I was looking for ingredients for my birthday present!* Came Daisuke's replies in a flurry. *Wait! Forget I said anything!*

Hikari and Takeru shared another amused look.

"Daisuke is really serious about becoming a Ramen chef, huh" Takeru said approvingly. "Knowing him he's going to go all out with it."

"I'm looking forward to it," Hikari said.

"Only four more days," Takeru muttered as he started typing something into his D-terminal.

"Has your family finished the preparations already, Hikari?" Iori asked.

"Dad and my big brother already made all the arrangements for it. I want to go over to see it again tomorrow, assuming everything works out."

Hikari's D-terminal chimed with Takeru's group reply: *Well, did you find anything out while you were there? There must've been a lot of Digimon around*

A half minute later a response came, but from Ken instead of Daisuke.

*We met a couple of Digimon who had seen Lowemon around, they told an interesting story about him. We should probably meet up and discuss what we've learned.*

*Yeah! For lunch!* Daisuke agreed.

*Have you got an idea where we should meet up?* Iori sent.

There was a tellingly long pause before Daisuke's response came in, *I'll get back to you on that*

"I guess we have something else to look for," Hikari said hopefully. Maybe looking for a restaurant would give her time to breathe.

The investigation so far had been a challenge for her poker face, not the least because Hikari honestly wasn't sure if she even wanted to find the mystery Digimon Takeru was hunting for. On one hand, Takeru said Lowemon was dangerous and of course he was right about these kinds of things, and there was no getting around the fact that Lowemon had attacked them. On the other hand, the Digimon he described, it was the one from her dream, right? The black lion warrior? But that Digimon had saved her, right? But how could he have been there in that dream in that place and then appear in the Real World and then be in the Digital World again? Maybe if they found him they could find out, but if he was that strong Lowemon could be just as bad as the creatures from the dark world. But if he was fighting against them maybe they could figure out some way to use that to their advantage, but would it work? And if so, then what?

Hikari wanted to know, but Hikari was afraid of finding out. Even worse she couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling she was missing something…

If Takeru noticed that her head was spinning and pounding he didn't comment on them, so it was as good as certain he hadn't noticed. Maybe her smile was holding, or maybe he was too caught up in his own crusade to pay attention to her. Had he looked her in the eye since they had set foot in the city?

Hikari forced a smile, slowed her pace by a step, shifted slightly to the side, pulled her arms in, and tried very hard to not attract the attention of her friends as she did it. And it seemed like it worked, Takeru and Iori didn't turn their heads as she fell behind, though regrettably Tailmon caught on quickly and turned to give her a worried look with her big blue eyes and that just made her feel even more guilty.

There wasn't any winning here, was there? Whether they found Lowemon or not Hikari was stuck. If he was that Digimon, if he was from her dream, she had been called. And she had said it wouldn't happen again to Miyako, and now she'd let her best friend down.

Turning off a sprawling main street, the group stepped into a little park full of telephone poles that popped into existence in the middle of what had previously been a street of storefronts. As usual, Takeru led the way casually walking up to the various Digimon to ask for restaurant recommendations that took Japanese Yen. He struck out on his first two tries until he got to a white-and-green beast Digimon wearing a hat and carrying a little bag was sitting on a bench splayed out in a random spot between three telephone poles.

"Hey, that's a Terriermon, like Wallace's partner," chimed Armadimon.

"That's right, I wonder if that Digimon is a courier?" Iori said observing its attire as they stepped closer.

"So you say you lot are all looking for a kip you can pay for right and proper?" The dog Digimon spoke with an exaggerated accent, "well can't says I blame you given the time of day. Right head on your shoulders I tell you what!"

"So, um," Patamon, flapping in the air, turned to look at Takeru, "did you get that?"

"More or less. What sort of places you recommend around here?"

"Well, the red bistro is a classic that trades in any kind of coin, but it's going to be jampacked on account of the noon. And if you've only got coins with holes in I can't very well send you off to the fish shop, or the burger coaster. We got a nifty noodle shop just hop skip and a jump away, and I won't know if it strikes your fancy, but Digitamamon's diner is an unsung champ and they've got a whopper of a musician Digimon playin piano for the lunch rush-"

"Oh that sounds nice," Hikari said, catching herself by surprise.

"It does sound interesting," Takeru said turning to look at her, "but I don't know… Digitamamon again? Even if he has turned over a new leaf since what happened with my brother and Jou, we haven't exactly had much luck with his last few restaurants."

"'His last few'? You alright mate? Not got yourselves confused? Digitamamon only started in on the grub business a couple months back, he hasn't ever got any other restaurants to his name."

"Are you sure about that?" Iori asked.

"Course I am!" The Terriermon chirped. "I remember carrying his registration forms when he opened it up!"

"I guess we haven't met this Digitamamon then," Takeru supplied, "well, I guess it's worth a shot then. And you DO know we can pay in Japanese yen, right?"

The answer was yes and so with directions in tow and an email sent the three children and their Digimon crossed the park, took a path to the left through an arch, hopped over a tiny stream, and walked down a gentle slope into a thicket of buildings. The path was a straight shot as a bird would fly, but on the ground the alley was thin and awkward full of boxes and detritus and strangely placed streetlights and old electronics and other forgotten things. The disorderly buildings standing tall in every direction cast strange shadows downward creating a facsimile of dusk across the path. Hikari had to steady herself at least once as she trailed behind Takeru and Iori on their descent.

First came the sound, then the smell. The smell was of American-style diner food, hamburgers, meatloaf, hashbrowns, homestyle French fries, salad dressing, and fried chicken. The sound was of the rich, deep tones of a piano; notes ringing out with a tight rhythm rising gently and falling gracefully in beautiful waves. It was the music of a refined dance: two notes going back and forth upwards like steps on a ballroom before twirling into a rising spin of notes, then the inverse as the two notes danced forward and then fell down. The music came in a spiral inward and outward, up in a spin and then down and around to unwind.

For a moment, the six just stopped to appreciate.

"It's really good…" Takeru said to himself.

"It is, isn't it?" Patamon said next to his head.

"The hardest thing to do is to make it sound easy," Tailmon supplied from below.

"It almost sounds like it should be sad, but it isn't," said Hikari distantly.

"We should go head on in them, right Iori?" Armadimon chirped. Even he was taken by the dance carried on the wind.

"Right, there's no reason just stand around," Iori agreed.

Down a little further and a left turn and the Chosen Children stood in front of Digitamamon's eponymous diner standing where the shadows converged. Takeru remained in the lead walking up to the restaurant's glass patio as the unseen pianist finished one song and began in on another, this one light and upbeat.

The notes this time tinkled with innocent joy in a gleeful dance through the air. This was music for frolicking, music that called sunshine and bright smiles and gorgeous days where children laughed and played without a care in the world. It was music that made Hikari's real smile leak through her carefully polished mask.

"It's amazing how fast music can change," Tailmon said. "It's the same piano, but you never know what it is until it gets played. It's like a Digimon." Hikari looked down at her partner curiously, to which Tailmon just held up her gloved paws in a kind of shrug. "It was just a thought, depending on how you play it an instrument it can turn into a lot of different things depending on who it is."

"Then it's all about how it's used?"

"It's about who's using it." Tailmon gave her partner a searching look. "What's wrong Hikari?"

"I-no, it's nothing," Hikari said shaking her head as she tried to patch her smile. "We should go on in, Takeru-"

But what she was about to say about Takeru fell dead away when the boy shouted, a wordless cry of rage.

"You!" It was the only clear word that emerged from his fury. One finger, dripping in accusation, thrust outward casting a long shadow under the hanging lights. Takeru held it outwards, out towards Lowemon.

The black Digimon barely seemed to notice the boy glaring at him. If the brown eyes under his crested helmet hadn't flicked once to the side it would have seemed like Lowemon had completely overlooked the Chosen Child, but beyond that slight motion there is nothing else. Lowemon simply continued to sit quietly at the bench before the piano, the fingers of his ebony gauntlets nimbly dancing across the ivory keys.

The cold shoulder made Takeru hesitate, but then he redoubled his rage in a new outburst. "I knew you had to be here somewhere around here, turn around and face me!"

"I can see you quite well from here," Lowemon said quietly, the eyes under his helmet remained focused straight ahead at the gray spread of sheet music. Takeru turned his blazing eyes from the Digimon's face to the lion heads mounted on his helmet and shoulders. Their eyes gleamed faintly with an eerie red light.

Overhead, a ceiling fan spun around and around, the whirling shade cast by the fan blades were lengthened and exaggerated by the midsummer sun.

"You got away easy last time, but this time it'll be different. You have A LOT to answer for…" Takeru pulled his hands back, fists were clenched. His voice was lower now, but it still leaked unrestrained contempt.

"What do I have to answer for?" Lowemon said as he continued to play his piano. The song had crossed over the bridge into another colorful verse, but the Digimon's voice had sharpened.

"Don't play dumb, it's for the problems you caused in the Real World the day before yesterday. I know you're the reason those Digimon crossed over!"

Lowemon closed his eyes and shook his head. With so little of his face exposed the warrior Digimon's expression was unreadable in the penumbra of his black helmet.

"So? Have you got anything to say for yourself?" The Digimon in the dining room had all started to back away when he began, now there was a void of space in the restaurant around the piano's alcove.

"What would you like me to say?" Lowemon said, still sharper. The song was moving towards its end. There were only about 15 bars left on the song, after that-

"That you came to the Real World, and you're the reason all those Digimon were stranded."

"I had nothing to do with those Digimon traveling to the Real World." 11 bars. The windows at the back of the restaurant opened easily and were large enough, but that led to a narrow alley. The side door was a straight shot, but that led to a footpath with more traffic, more Digimon who would be caught up in the fighting. Straight up?

"But you DID come to the Real World," he sneered. The boy's words were triumphant and venomous in equal quantities.

"Even if I did, why do I have to 'answer' for it? I have the right to choose how I live, no different from you or your Digimon partner." 6 bars. A grim specter fast approaching.

"We are nothing alike," Takeru said, with sudden, deathly calm, "you won't be able to insult me anymore. I'm going to put a stop to you before anymore innocent Digimon get caught up in your evil."

"I told you the last time we met that I didn't like fighting, but if you're going to attack me I will defend myself. I'd prefer to fight somewhere besides the city, but I don't think you're interested in finding another place to do this." 2 bars. You could really stretch out the last few measures of this song, it didn't last forever but it gave few more seconds to try and figure something out. Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried Lowemon kept hitting the same wall, Takeru was here to fight and nothing else. He meant the world to Hikari, seeing him twisted this far by rage was, well uncomfortable. And uncomfortably familiar.

"Not after you played a trick on us last time. We have to stop you here and now." And that was final.

The cheerful song reached its last three notes, then two, then one and tapered off into a final falling chord. Lowemon stood up and turned to look down at the blonde haired boy. He had pulled his green digivice out of his pocket, the Patamon hovering next to his head had been giving him a worried look, but when their eyes met the little Digimon nodded.

"Takeru? What happened? The music stopped and-" Hikari rounded the corner towards the alcove with her Tailmon in tow. Her steps were slow, even fearful and her voice quivered ever so slightly. As she turned to face him, Lowemon's sharp instincts noted all the things in her features that said plainly she did not want to be here. It was in the way her lips twitched, the way her smile didn't quite make it all the way to the corner of her eyes, the way she held her arms tight over her stomach, the way she paused a quarter of a second too long before every step, the way her posture was pulled back and tight, and the way her gaze was tilted downward instead of looking ahead.

And when her downward gaze caught sight of Lowemon's knee she pulled back suddenly, like she'd been punched in the gut.

Hikari stared up at Lowemon in frozen horror. She took a step back involuntarily, her mouth dropped open, the whole of her face crumpled into numb despair. Their eyes met, in them Hikari once again saw, what? Concern? Dismay? Fear? Maybe even sympathy?

Whatever it was, the Chosen Child of Light turned from it and ran, down the hallway, left, right, left, straight, and then down, down, down, she was falling without gravity, falling without a bottom, falling without end through white and black into gray and ash and cold and sad and dead.

"Did you get what pages we had to do for homework?" Maki asked from the next seat over.

"It was 67 through 73," Hikari answered, without looking as she slotted her schoolbooks into her bag.

"Yeah, 67 through the end of the chapter; there isn't much left after all," Reika said, fanning herself.

"Well I heard it wasn't going be on the test, so it shouldn't be too hard," Maki said leaning back.

"You should still make sure you get it right," Hikari replied.

"You never know, the teacher might throw it in as a bonus question," Reika added.

The bell rang. School was officially over. Hikari picked up her bag and as her classmates passed called out, "Did you see-"

"Are you busy after school, Reika? The new accessory store right by the station finally opened!"

"That's the one that-"

"That's the one that they started building last fall, right? Why do you think it took so long?" Reika said, shouldering her bag.

Maki shrugged, "no idea, want to check it out?"

"You know it!" Reika replied. Hikari tried to protest something, but the two girls walked out laughing leaving her at her seat. For a moment she stared before she looked around.

"There you are!" Hikari's smile returned as she turned to the door, that loud confident voice could only be Miyako.

"Miyako, did you hear about-" Miyako kept going past her to the next row of seats.

"Coach Iwakura wants you for something, Daisuke," she said testily.

"Me? Why? And why'd he ask YOU?" Daisuke's own loud voice and breathtakingly honest features suggested it was the last part he found most objectionable. Being called by the middle school soccer coach suddenly was fine, but getting the news from Miyako was obviously a bridge too far.

Miyako rolled her eyes behind her glasses and theatrically held up her hands, "well I don't know! He came by the computer lab for some reason to tell me. Who knows why, it's not like you're even a member."

"Like that's the problem," Daisuke muttered. "Well fine, I better go see him. And thanks I guess."

"Yeah yeah," Miyako said as she headed to the door with him.

"Daisuke, I-" but again, Hikari's words fell on deaf ears as the two of them left without so much as a glance in her direction.

At first, Hikari made to follow them, but as she crossed to the classroom door Hikari turned around and blinked. A moment ago she'd thought- but there was no one here anymore. Everyone must've left already, but she could have sworn…

Hikari shivered.

Stepping out into the hallway, Hikari forced herself to breathe. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. There was probably some ordinary reason for what was happening. Something she was just overlooking. Something that had slipped her mind. Maybe there had just been fewer people in class than she remembered. Maybe some of them slipped out early. Maybe she'd been too quiet. Maybe they'd just been really focused on something else.

Takeru. She had to find Takeru. Takeru would never overlook her, he'd always pay attention to her. It was right after school and today he was on cleaning duty, that meant that he'd be on the first floor at the janitor supply closet.

Hikari tried hard not to run in the halls. She'd been taught years ago it wasn't safe to do that because you might slip and fall or run into someone and get into an accident and that had always been good enough for her because Hikari had already had quite enough of hospitals, thank you very much, but today? Today was a challenge. Hikari managed to not run, but she did walk only a few steps short of a jog.

Hikari looked left and right and left and right as she crossed the hallway driven by a nameless dread. Fear and uncertainty made for miserable company. Fear and uncertainty locked themselves in your guts and gnawed at your spine. They made you question everything, and worse than everything else fear and uncertainty made you question yourself. Had this floor always had so many classrooms? Were there always that many fire extinguishers? How far along were the restrooms? Was the stairwell that far down? Had the sky been that color of gray earlier today? Could you always see that building from the side of the school? Did she know that girl over there? Was there someone else she could ask who she was forgetting? Shouldn't there be more people around? Where were the teachers? Should it be this quiet? Was there somewhere else she usually went after school? Something she had to do? Actually, what had happened today? Where was her bag? Had she picked it up? What had she put in it? What day was it? How did she get here? How long had she been here? Had something happen to her? Was she losing her mind? What was it she was forgetting?

Hikari's heart was beating uncomfortably fast as she descended the stairway. Her skin felt cold and clammy. By the third flight of stairs she knew something was wrong, even if she couldn't remember all those other details, she knew how many steps it took to go down a floor in her school.

By the fifth flight of steps Hikari finally broke out into a run. It was dangerous to run down the steps, but she was long past that point and she was certain she was already in danger.

By the eighth flight of steps Hikari was panting. Her heart felt like it was exploding, she was gasping barely able to keep up with it. Her head was pounding, her knees were trembling, her vision blurred with panic and tears.

By the thirteenth flight of steps Hikari was shouting, crying out for someone, anyone, everyone! Takeru! Daisuke! Taichi! Miyako! Takeru! Takeru! Her feet clattered, the metal railing dug into her hand, the whole world was shaking.

Around the corner, down down down until, there! The door! Hikari leapt over the last three steps, stumbled, clambered, pulled herself forward and crashed through it out onto the ground floor hallway.

Hikari shook, and finally broke down into terrified tears. In every direction were gray hallways, dim corridors with lights turned off. Endless closed windows gazed out over nondescript gray concrete buildings under a gray cloudy sky. An endless length of classrooms and closets and restrooms; of school and building.

Even as she shuddered, Hikari started to move. It was nothing conscious that drove her, no deep thought or plan pushed one foot in front of another, nothing but raw fear.

Hikari ran. She ran until her lungs burned, until the blood pounded in her ears, until her feet were blistered, until her eyes ran out of tears. She cried out again and again, name after name of her friends, her family, her companions, Taichi! Takeru! Miyako! Daisuke! Takeru! Takeru! She called out to him, again and again and again until her throat was raw and her mouth was dry, and still she called out any name she could think of, any person she could imagine, anyone she remembered.

The hallway kept going, and going and going. She turned down crossings at random, right and left and right and straight and left and left, but the empty building never ran out. She turned and turned and turned, but all she found was more gray nothing.

And, as her knees buckled, Hikari cried out for someone, anyone, anything real here. A light in the dark, something real in the endless web of shadows...

Instinct alone drove her to turn left suddenly and push through one of the doorways to nowhere and to cross into a new lightless hallway going downward. Here it was black, not the endless empty gray, black. Dark. Hikari slowed, panting. The same survival instinct that had pulled her in here was now pushing her to leave, but that instinct grappled with her fear and her desperation, and those forces wrestled it into the ground.

"Hello?" Hikari called with a voice still quaking with fear. There was no reply. Hikari looked behind her at the world in gray. She gulped, stepping forward slowly.

To her own surprise, after three classrooms the dark hallway came to an end. To her own horror, there was a shape near the wall.

"Takeru?" She pleaded.

The shape came closer. It was a boy, and it wasn't Takeru. It was...

She knew him, Hikari was absolutely certain she'd seen this boy before, but where, she couldn't remember where she'd- what couldn't she remember? Why couldn't she remember? Who else couldn't she remember? Looking into his face Hikari was suddenly overcome with a sense of grief. She was crying all over again, like she'd found new tears to shed for all the people she'd just now realized she'd forgotten and lost.

The familiar boy took another step forward and reached out a hand. Hikari held hers out, but as they were about to meet she suddenly saw the boy's eyes.

They were pitch black.

As the world rippled around her like water in a pond, as Hikari fell ever downwards her last thought, a thought that bubbled up like from that moment at the edge of sleep, was that it wasn't his eyes that were black, it's that the inky blackness she saw was merely a reflection of-

But she got no further and thought no more.

---

I'd like to apologize for taking so long to post this chapter, it really should've been up a lot earlier, especially because it required many fewer revisions than some previous chapters, but c'est la vie sometimes. And I am truly sorry for that.

I had initially planned for this chapter to go on a little bit longer, but I eventually realized that this particular scene transition also doubled as a hell of a cliffhanger to leave off on, and actually framed the next chapter better, so there you go. I know for a fact everyone reading is probably going to have questions about the thing that happened to Hikari, and the answer is actually simpler than you probably imagine. To cut across I'll just say it's nothing good...

And on that note, this fanfic is now officially caught up to the original posting on FF.net. Hypothetically this would mean updates would slow down as I now have to actually write the next chapter, but considering how unproductive I was at reposting it here that doesn't really mean all that much…

In the meantime I would like to give a shout out to everyone who left comments and kudos, including one guest and DraconicMistress, as always I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope you will continue to enjoy it. As I've said before, thank you all for your kind attention. Hopefully I'll be able to see you all soon!

To Be Continued

Chapter Text

Through the Forest of the Night - Part Two - Burning Black

Hikari woke up face down in the dirt.

Her eyes fluttered open, she climbed up on hands and knees, and a moment later she cried out.

It was gray, it was all gray. Gray in every direction.

She was back in the Dark World. Beneath her was gray soil, and around her were the gray trunks of gray trees. The spotty patches of grass poking out of the ground had only the barest hint of green in their sickly blades. The whole forest stank of saltwater undercut with the scent of seaweed that had washed ashore and begun to rot.

"Tailmon?" Hikari begged feebly, but her Digimon wasn't there. "Takeru? Daisuke? Kou-" she had to stop herself from her last call, after all what could he do?

Hikari turned around and around and around looking for, well anything, but there is nothing to see. Just more trees, just more grass, just more dead forest.

She swallowed. The creatures from this world were going to come for her, right? I mean, why else would they have called her? They wanted her for… Something. And Hikari had no interest in finding out what grisly thing they wanted from her. She shook her head and began to walk, glancing about nervously.

It was surprising, actually, that they hadn't come already. Had she managed to get away from them somehow? Maybe when she was, when she had- How had she got here in the first place? The last thing she remembered was seeing Lowemon and running away from him and then, and then what? She remembered being afraid and running and going into a dark room, but trying to remember anything more than that just rewarded her with a splitting headache.

It felt like she had just fallen from the sky, but a tiny little voice inside of her said it had probably been even worse. However she'd been dragged and pulled out of the Digital World must have been horrifying.

However it had happened, maybe something had gone wrong and she'd gotten a head start on the creatures? All the more reason to hurry, they were probably after her already.

---

"I can't get a response from either Hikari or Takeru," Iori said. He looked up from his D-terminal to gaze at the looming gray forest stretched out in front of him, "but it stands to reason that the two of them are somewhere in there."

"This place gives me the creeps," Armadimon provided in a helpful tone. "You think we should go in Iori? We might get lost…"

"I think..." Iori looked down, off in the distance waves crashed against an unseen shore. "I think we may already be lost."

"Whadya mean?"

"I mean I can't get in touch with Daisuke or Miyako or Ichijouji either. I think we were pulled in as well."

"Yeah, everything went funny there for a moment. What happened? How did we get here?"

"I don't know, for a moment I," Iori swallowed, "I thought I saw a graveyard, the one with my family's burial plot, but there were more headstones there... And I saw, I think I saw Mr. Oikawa's grave."

"You all right Iori?" Armadimon's big green eyes were almost painfully worried.

Iori nodded slightly, "it only just for a second. I'll be fine. I don't like it, but I think we should go in. I don't think we'll find anything good just waiting around."

---

"Hikari! HIKARI!" Takeru shouted her name into the void. "Hikari! Are you there? Where are you? Hikari!"

Takeru kept shouting. He kept shouting as the world looped. He kept shouting as the forest closed in.

"Hikari! Where are you? Tell me where you are Hikari! Tell me so I can save you Hikari! I have to save you Hikari!"

Takeru kept shouting. He kept shouting no matter how many trees he passed. He kept shouting even though nothing replied to his desperate words, not even the wind in the trees was there to reply to him.

"Hikari! Is this HIS fault Hikari? Is he why this happened Hikari? Is he there Hikari? I'll find you Hikari! I'll find you and when I do I'll stop him Hikari! I'll take you away from him! I'll get rid of him forever Hikari!"

Takeru kept shouting. He kept shouting even though he was all alone. He kept shouting into the black, shouting over the squelching of his footsteps as he tracked inky water behind him.

"Hikari! Where are you? I have to-"

---

When Hikari heard the waves she began to run.

For what felt like only a few vanishing moments when she'd started walking this world hadn't felt like the place from her nightmares. It had been dreary and sad and somehow cramped, but her fears had started to run down a tiny bit. But that was over with.

Now she was running.

From the first step Hikari had felt wrong; she felt exhausted before she even began. Only fear kept her going after about the twelfth step. It was fear that kept air choking through her ragged lungs, fear that pushed one strung out leg after another, fear that kept her eyes focused through the throbbing pain in her forehead.

It was fear that pulled her forward when she stumbled over an exposed root, fear that pushed her to dash past the first line of misshapen shadow things, and fear that let her find the strength to pull away from one of them when it grabbed her arm.

And it was fear, ultimately, that cut the legs out from under her and paralyzed her when the creatures finally penned her in after her muscles finally gave out after minutes of frenzied, panicked struggling.

Once again Hikari found herself surrounded by the empty creatures with their gangly arms and pot bellies and sunken-in eyes and choking fish stench. Once again they crowded in around her, reaching out for her.

And once again the sky fell.

"Schwarz Donner!"

It was more than one meteor this time, black thunderbolts hurled themselves down through the air sending grass and soil and inky black water splattering everywhere. In seconds an entire line of black creatures was gone, destroyed utterly.

There was shrieking, crashing, slamming, mechanical clacking, and a great roar from above as a great black beast hurled itself through the trees ripping through the shadow monsters like a cannonball. The creature landed, slid sideways, and then immediately leapt forward with golden claws outstretched to tear through another cohort of watery things. It pounced again, claws gleaming crimson, and then again through another rank of the shadows, and then once more.

Finally, the great black lion landed and paused. There were no more of the creatures to kill. It slowly turned to look down at Hikari, still lying frozen on the ground in a ring of spilled black water. Its brown eyes surveyed her. There was a clear intelligence behind its eyes, a focused and powerful one which was considering her carefully. There was the glimmer of instinct in them, the sheen of a hunter that was sizing up its prey, but even deeper than that the eyes carried, what? Triumph? Conviction? Maybe even concern? Whatever there was, they saw right through Hikari like she was made of glass.

Hikari slowly climbed to her feet despite her muscles aching and protesting. The Digimon remained completely still.

Looking at it now that it was stationary, there was no doubt the Digimon was a lion, one carved out of gleaming obsidian and detailed with golden filigree. Its body was punctuated with the metal rivets and mechanical parts that were so common to Digimon, and deep crimson gemstones were set into the armor of its forehead, chest, and legs. In different circumstances a world away Hikari might have called its body pretty, even artistic, but here what stood out over everything else was that it had color. This armor, a true black rising and cutting through the darkness, it was the same armor that flickered at the edge of recollection whenever she tried to remember the dream that had started this all.

"You're- are you, who are you...?" Hikari couldn't find the words, and what was supposed to be a question ended as something like a plea.

"Kaiser Leomon," the Digimon said with a firm voice. He turned his body and lay down. He looked back at Hikari, "get on. We're going."

"Where?"

"Out from here."

Hikari blinked, and for a moment allowed herself to stare. A black lion, this Digimon had to be... After all who else? Coincidences happened, sure, but not like this, no way. That meant... But he had come for her, right? When she'd cried out, called out even though she hadn't meant to, and this Digimon had come. It had torn through the shadows, a darkness that severed the night, and now it was here waiting for her.

Her heart was still pounding with anxiety and adrenaline and mismatched emotions when Hikari walked to the side of Kaiser Leomon and gingerly climbed on to the back of the black Digimon. To her surprise the mechanical body of the Digimon transformed itself to accept a passenger. Stirrups rotated out to hold her legs, and clasps for her hands quietly slid out of his shoulders. Beneath her, the black metal gave slightly to cushion her, at least a little bit. She'd barely gotten seated when Kaiser Leomon set off at a trot that quickly became a run.

Hikari had had a bad feeling when she'd woken up that morning, but this was far beyond anything she could have imagined. This all felt like another bad dream, but every time her steed hit a rough patch or made a sudden turn his metal body shook and her muscles protested in turn with aches and pains that were all dreadfully, painfully real.

All around her the sickly forest shook. Stale wind rushed past her face, the taste of salt caught her tongue. Even as it rushed past her the world felt still, maybe even frozen.

Hikari and her mount didn't pass unnoticed either. More of the shadows emerged from here and there, be they lurking just behind the trees or peering out from the shade cast by the jagged branches, but none of them dared come within reach of Kaiser Leomon's claws.

For his part the black Digimon paid them no mind. He must have seen them, but he dismissed them as he thundered onward through the blank forest. Kaiser Leomon moved with complete confidence through the forest, his powerful strides never hesitated.

His darkness completely eclipses theirs, the thought came in a flash . Here in the dark, he could be a king. Hikari shivered. What was she riding on? Where was he going? And what did he want with her? But it had to be better here than there, right? So once again her fear held her down.

As he ran Kaiser Leomon would turn, seemingly at random. To the left, the right, straight, a wide looping hairpin, an S shape. Over roots, under branches, through sickly bushes and barren shrubs. The world around Hikari seemed even less real from her perch.

Up above the sky remained gray, sunless, moonless, and starless, a splattering of paint blotches. Hikari shook, her throat was dry and her arms felt wooden. "Out of here" he'd said, but could he take here there? Was there an out of here? The darkness stretched out forever, and would the black king beast even let her escape from the dark?

Kaiser Leomon turned ninety degrees to the right and ran forward. Only a few moments later he spun and doubled back.

"Where are we going?" Hikari asked at last. Her throat was dry and voice shook.

"Out," said Kaiser Leomon.

"But you just-"

"There are no straight lines here," the beast interrupted. "This world is like a mirage or an optical illusion. It looks like it goes on forever, but that's just a trick. This forest, this world, is actually tiny, like a town in a snow globe – but if you don't know the way you'll end up going in circles. That's why they could find you, no matter how far you ran you never went anywhere."

Hikari stared around her. Every tree branch, every leaf, every gray blade of grass looked exactly the same. "How can you tell where you're going?"

"The shadows."

Hikari stared around again. Every dismal shadow in this dead place also looked exactly the same. It was infinity. "How-"

"No fake shadow can hide true Darkness," Kaiser Leomon said, his voice suddenly passionate.

"But this world is-"

"Just a mirage like I told you," he said, cutting her off. "I would have thought the Warrior of Light would know the difference between the shadows of this place and real Darkness. I guess I was mistaken," he sounded not so much angry as, disappointed?

"But, the darkness, I," Hikari shook, "I'm scared of it." it felt shameful to say for some reason, especially to him.

"You've never understood it," Kaiser Leomon's voice was definite.

"How could I?" Hikari's voice sounded feeble even to herself, "How can I when I'm supposed to be, supposed to be…"

"Do you want to?"

"Understand it? How can I?"

"It's easier than you think. Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Close your eyes, and look forward. What do you see?"

"Nothing!"

"No, not nothing. That's Darkness. It's not some distant thing either, that darkness has been with you your entire life."

"But that's different, that's not what I'm talking about at all!"

"What's different?"

"That darkness is just there, it didn't come from something," Hikari protested.

"Yes it did, it came from you," Kaiser Leomon said.

Hikari tried to protest. She wanted to explain what was different, how it was different, to talk about the enemies they had fought, the power they'd had to oppose, but the words just didn't come to her. Instead she just swallowed. She had a queasy feeling the Digimon beneath her knew more about the dark than she could imagine.

Left turn. Right turn. Right turn. Left turn. On and on. Still Kaiser Leomon kept moving tirelessly and Hikari had the curious thought that maybe the Digimon could run forever, as long as it was here.

Eventually, something changed - for the worse.

The first sign was the sound. Everything sounded slightly wrong in this world, noises all sounded like they came from slightly too far away, or were slightly muffled, or echoed in a way they shouldn't. As Kaiser Leomon ran the whipping wind had whistled in that way that was just a little bit wrong, a bit too shrill, but as he turned a corner suddenly it was gone, replaced with the sound of flowing water.

His footsteps also changed, instead of thundering on dirt and grass they started to squelch like the forest floor had turned to mud. Then they started to splash, throwing up the scent of salty brine. When Hikari leaned to the side to look she gasped, the forest floor had vanished under a layer of black water.

The shadowy things had also emerged in force, at first Hikari had seen only one or two every so often, but now as the water rose there seemed to be one beneath every tree. And still they did no more than watch. Their jaundiced yellow eyes stared out with a blank expression of, what? Hunger?

Kaiser Leomon slowed to a halt and growled. "I had a feeling it would be like this, but I was hoping I was wrong."

"What? Why are they all here?"

"The path through leads to the tide's highest point. I imagined all of this was some kind of desperate ploy, but I didn't give them enough credit. They were planning this."

"Planning what? What's happening?" Hikari asked as she turned her head around desperately, but even as she asked those words the cold tingle at the base of her neck signaled that she knew the answer already. Something very bad was happening.

All at once the shadow creatures raised their long arms and began to chant. Their words weren't Japanese, or English, or any language Hikari had ever heard. In fact, these words didn't sound like the speech of humans or Digimon at all. The voices came from every direction, their cries were guttural, not so much sung as croaked. The strange words echoed from every direction, hanging in the air in choking blanket of sound.

The water began to vibrate. Waves rippled inward, converging in on a single point straight ahead.

The voices rose, the shadows' cries reaching higher and higher into a mad crescendo, until finally all of them cried out in unison, one word over and over and over again:

"Dagomon! Dagomon! Dagomon!"

"The one that's closest to being real is coming," Kaiser Leomon said softly.

The waves rose higher. The dark water turned blacker. A vast shadow blanketed the gathered water.

"It's huge," Hikari whispered.

"No," Kaiser Leomon corrected, "just deep."

The creatures continued to chant and cry, so loudly Hikari pulled her hands from the grips to cover her ears and cower.

"That won't help you. It's coming if you look at it or not, and it's worse if you try and turn away." Kaiser Leomon said knowingly. His voice had a strange tenderness to it, but Hikari could feel the Digimon's body tense up beneath her as he took a step back.

The desperate wailing coming from the shadow things had hit a fever pitch, voices rising, voices crying, voices begging, pleading, screaming…

"Dagomon! Dagomon! Dagomon!"

The waves were sucked in slightly, they fell back for a moment, then it emerged. The black waters of the Dark Area erupted in a volcanic spray, rising high into the air as an enormous shape rose out of the darkness.

Only the top half of the horrid creature had pulled itself out of the depths, a misshapen mountain dripping with black water. Like the rest the world the shape was colorless, but instead of gray like its worshippers the being was a dingy, matte black. Its head was bulbous, its face a mass of tentacles, and its shoulders had spikes or teeth or maybe more jagged tentacles emerging from them. Its long arms had the consistency of frayed ropes tied over and over each other in weathered knots, but they bulged and writhed like trapped snakes. Chains or beads or something stranger dangled from its body and along its slithering arms, barely visible against its imposing silhouette. Tattered leathery wings emerged from its back looking pathetically minute compared to its massive ungainly bulk. The only sign of intelligence on the enormous monster were its eyes which gleamed a deep, true, violent crimson.

"That must be their old god," Hikari said, remembering the words of the shadow creatures from a year ago. The advent of the creature had stripped away her fear, after all what use was it? In front of it the whole world felt cold. All that was left after that was resigned numbness.

Kaiser Leomon's body suddenly crackled with heat. A piston at his back slammed down over and over.

"Schwarz Donner!"

The Digimon opened fire, launching bolts of black and gold from its mouth at the huge shape. The thunderbolts hit the thing like stones striking a pond. Kaiser Leomon's attack blew holes through it splashing water in every direction, but the god's silhouette merely flowed back over itself closing up the damage in mere moments. Kaiser Leomon growled.

"It's no use," Hikari had to fight the strange urge to laugh. "There's nothing we can do."

"No? I heard you fought to protect the Digital World, did you get this far by giving up?"

"No, but that's-!"

"Just another shadow that's a little more solid than the others," Kaiser Leomon said. His confidence still stunned Hikari, how could stare at the abyss without blinking?

The shadow began to move, its right side writhed and undulated, squirming itself into the shape of a grasping hand.

Hikari winced and looked away, the way the god's tentacles moved was nauseating and her eyes watered to look up at the thing. "What are you going to do?"

"There's a way through this, but it depends on you," the Digimon said quietly.

"Me? How can it?" she cried.

"I have another technique, but uses my whole body. To use it with you on top of me you'll have to join with my darkness."

"I can't!" Hikari practically screeched, "if you need me to get off–"

"Don't! The water is a lot deeper than it looks," Kaiser Leomon warned.

"Then I, I can't!"

"I know you can."

"How? How can you know?"

"Another Warrior of Light did it once before." Kaiser Leomon said with a voice heavy with recollection.

"How? But I'm not, I can't be her," Hikari squeaked.

"I know, you aren't him, and that's fine, but I know you can do this."

Up above the god had begun to move in earnest, the long twined arm began to reach down towards Hikari and Kaiser Leomon, like a curious child reaching for a particularly interesting insect.

"I don't know how," Hikari said helplessly.

"Do you want to?"

"If it will... Yes!"

"Then start by closing your eyes. Have you done that?"

"Yes but how-"

"Now, what do you see?"

"Nothing-!"

"But there is something there, you know that even if you can't see it. As long as you keep your eyes shut anything in the world could be out there in front of you. Anything you can imagine, good or bad, could be there. Until you open your eyes to let the Light in all that there is is you, your mind, and your heart. That space between you and the rest of the world that could be anything or everything, that's Darkness," Kaiser Leomon's voice had changed somehow, not how it sounded but how it felt. With Hikari's eyes shut the Digimon seemed different. Younger, closer perhaps, and familiar from a place outside of her dream. His voice sounded like an invitation, like he was a friend from a long time ago who was eager to share something important he'd learned that he was passionate about.

The salty, fishy stink was getting closer, the great deep thing's hand was still reaching out.

"Darkness accepts everything and allows anything. It's the soil of worlds, the backdrop of dreams, the start of ambition, and the beginning of ideas. You don't have to like it, you don't have to submit to it, you don't have to give in to it, you just have to accept it," Kaiser Leomon said softly.

"I can't," Hikari said.

"You don't know that."

"But, the darkness is evil."

"No, that's just what you expect it to be."

"I'm supposed to represent Light."

"You still cast a shadow."

"I'm afraid of it."

"Everyone's afraid of the unknown, but we have to reach for it anyways. Please trust me Hikari, even if it's just this one time."

Hikari heaved a deep breath. "What do I have to do?"

"Keep your eyes closed, but stay looking forward so you don't get lost. Don't be afraid if you see yourself, your reflection is also your shadow. Remember there's nothing in your darkness that didn't come from you, and nothing will happen in there until you do. If you need me, I'll be there for you. Now, on the count of three. One... Two..."

Kaiser Leomon's body vented darkness in every direction, blotting out the world. The ruby gems on his body began to glow. Hikari felt her body start to dissolve in a strangely painless way, though her mind remained solid and her sight, if that was even the word with eyelids shut, stayed steady even as the rest of her disappeared. The dead god reaching for them from up above hesitated for a moment mere inchs from Kaiser Leomon, but that moment was one too long.

"Three! Schwarz Koenig!"

Polished darkness in the shape of a black lion surged forward like lightning and struck Dagomon with a roar.

And a splash.

The ocean was old before it was young. It was dying before it had even been born. So much fell into it from the long shadows cast on it from a world away, but it had nothing, not even shadows to its own name. It wanted and it took but it never received. It wasn't cold because it had never been warm. There was no grand design here, no deeper meaning, no vast conspiracy; it simply was, if just barely. It was a land of twilight, lacking light but therefore only almost dark. And at its depths was the creature that the voices had called for, the one shaped like something impossible and unknowable. What better shape was there for a world so thin that even death could die?

Dagomon, the thing from the deep, had spotted her and it turned and threw a tentacle upwards reaching after her, but it was so, so far away. As it clutched and grasped and lunged from the depths up at her she felt a strange emotion well up inside her. It wanted her light and it would do anything to have it and consume it and that thought should have terrified her, but looking down into the abyss of the outer dark all she felt was a kind of pity, and even stranger a sense of disappointment. She shook her head.

"Let's go." She felt a hand extend out from behind her as she heard his quiet voice. She nodded and turned to take it, letting it take her out from the false shadows in the depths and into the darkness.

For a moment, she saw infinity. All that there was, all that there ever could be, would be, it was all here in the dark. Everything she feared was here, so was everything she fought, but so was everything she loved, everything she believed in, everything she dreamed of. That perfect vision of hope and understanding she'd always struggled for was here, it was the perfect dream of harmony and brotherhood she held to even as it was tarnished by sad understanding and lived disappointment. But now it was here before her, free from the cruel chains of light, free to be what she wanted it to be. If she could just grab onto it…

"It's not real until it casts a shadow," came the voice from her side, gently guiding her onward past utopia. She felt her tears fall away into the black waters beneath the two of them.

"But it's there! It's really there!" She laughed even as she cried, the black-painted world suddenly shining brilliantly without light.

"It's really there."

Kaiser Leomon crashed through the form of Dagomon like a cannonball blasting a hole through the lumbering shape. Water splattered in every direction, the waves rippled and shook as the beast screamed horribly. Its shadowed body once again tried to regenerate and patch the massive wound that had been blown through it, water flowed in backwards filling in the missing part of its chest, but then it froze and shuddered.

The black Digimon paused and looked back over his shoulder at Dagomon. "Time's up, the tide is going out."

And, like a fountain turning off, Dagomon dropped straight down through the water and vanished.

Satisfied, Kaiser Leomon once again began to run through the forest. "Are you okay?" He asked, "you did have to take a dive into the deep end just now."

"I think I'm okay," Hikari said. "It's just, that was a lot." Her eyes were still closed.

"It was. That was everything all at once."

"You saw it too, right?"

"It's what I'm fighting for," his words didn't surprise Hikari at all. His darkness had been so warm...

"Can it happen? Can we make it happen?" Hikari asked.

Kaiser Leomon didn't respond at once. "I don't know. But it's there, that means it must be possible. And if we don't do it, who will?"

Hikari rode in silence for a minute more, then, regretfully, she opened her eyes. She was still here in the forest, still here in this grayscale world. Hikari looked forward through gloom.

Left.

Kaiser Leomon shifted and turned to the left.

Right, then right again.

Kaiser Leomon turned to 2 o'clock, then a few moments later turned more sharply to the right to weave in between two trees.

Hikari blinked. How in the world had she not seen it before? The path was staring her right in the face all along! She raised an arm to trace it with a finger, but then she stopped and just stared. As usual in the Digital World she was wearing her gloves, the long, pink fingerless gloves she usually wore in the spring with the back of the hand open to help the fabric breathe. Long, fingerless, pink. Pink.

Hikari looked down at herself in disbelief, she had color.

"What? How?"

Kaiser Leomon nodded slightly as he ran. "If you look into the abyss it looks back into you, right? Having color here is proof you've been accepted by it, like I said there's a difference between shadows here and real Darkness. Once you can see that, things change."

"It does feel different now," Hikari said, craning her head from side to side, "was it always this empty? It's like the backdrop on a stage."

"I don't know. Maybe it was something more, once. But I know one thing," Kaiser Leomon went on, "this forest is done for. Pretty soon there won't be anything left of it."

Hikari turned to look over her shoulder. When she looked at it now it seemed like the whole forest was shrinking away like a deflating balloon. "Is that, the big one, is it gone?"

"You mean 'did we kill it?' No, it's still alive. And this isn't over yet, they're still going to be coming after you for little while longer at least. I think that big one, Dagomon, will be the last one left at the end."

"That's..." She started, but Hikari couldn't find the right word for it. Was she afraid? Yes, she was still afraid of the creatures here, but there were so many other emotions she couldn't pull them apart much less explain them. Disappointment, frustration, guilt, indignation, pity, resignation, weariness... It made her head spin trying to keep up with everything she could see and feel now.

"Easy now, I told you that you dived into this headfirst. You don't have to rush it, your shadow isn't going anywhere." Kaiser Leomon paused for a moment. "You know, I think yours really likes you."

"...That's a good thing, right?"

"I think so, but I'm biased. The Darkness gave me everything I ever wanted and then some, and even now I get so much from it."

"Will it have something for me?"

"Haven't you already gained something from it?"

Hikari thought to respond, but thinking back on what she'd seen filled her stomach with butterflies all over again and she choked up. Another emotion rolling around in her chest was elation, elation and liberation. All of a sudden she felt like she could do something again. She felt like she could dream again.

"What now?" she asked.

"We leave," Kaiser Leomon said.

The first change once again was the sound. All of a sudden Hikari could hear birds chirping. A moment later a gust of warm wind blew. Leaves rustled, proper leaves properly rustling unlike the dried sandpaper of the Dark World. And the scent was gone, instead of stale seawater the wind carried the invigorating scent of the forest. Finally, almost as an afterthought, as Kaiser Leomon turned a corner and came into a clearing the world was suddenly in color again. The Digimon came to a halt and settled down in a grassy clearing shaded by a deep green canopy.

Looking down at her mount now, Hikari could see that the shadows of the forest clearly adored him. The long shadows of the tree limbs all seemed to gently brush the mechanical lion.

Hikari climbed down from Kaiser Leomon's back, unsteadily. The moment her feet touched the ground she suddenly felt her exhaustion come back with a vengeance. She stumbled, but managed to keep on her aching feet.

"Thank you, for... Everything" she could only end lamely. Kaiser Leomon seemed to shrug. Hikari hesitated for a moment before asking, "you are, him, right?"

Instead of answering her, the black Digimon was suddenly wrapped in a cocoon of shimmering barcodes.

"Kaiser Leomon, Slide Evolution! Lowemon!"

As the DigiCode receded, Hikari just nodded. "I knew it." She felt herself smile.

"Be careful Warrior of Light, this isn't over."

"Are you going to stay?" Hikari's voice was hopeful.

"I'll be here until the end of this, but for now I have to go. Your comrades are coming and I don't want to get into another fight with them."

"Wait, please! You should stay and meet my friends, it'll be better if we can all work together," Hikari reached a hand up towards him. Lowemon's eyes flickered with, what? Regret? Frustration? Sorrow?

"It's too late for that," he said quietly.

"I know that they think you're a bad Digimon, but if I can just explain things I'm sure they'll understand!"

"I want to-" but Lowemon suddenly leapt backwards.

"Silver Blaze!"

Pegasmon's attack crashed down where he had been standing barely a second before.

"Get away from her!" Takeru yelled out from above on his partner's back.

"Hikari! Are you okay?" Tailmon had dropped down from next to him and ran to her side. Hikari stared as Lowemon leapt high up onto a tree branch and then vanished into the forest's shady canopy.

"We have to go after him!" Takeru shouted.

Pegasmon shook his head. "It's too late, he's already gone Takeru." The blonde haired boy swore.

"He won't get away next time, I'll make sure of that."

Hikari shook. For a moment she wanted to scream, to rage and yell at Takeru for ruining everything, but his determined face staring off into the forest ended that impulse as soon as it began. It was rare that the Chosen Child of Hope's eyes blazed like that. Hikari sank down, falling on her knees. She simply didn't have the strength, Light's Chosen Child was utterly exhausted.

"Are you okay Hikari?" Takeru had also dismounted his partner and come to be by her side, his shadow falling away from her, cast as it was by the summer sun shining down behind her. Hikari followed it with her eyes stretching out from behind his back down to the soles of his shoes. Then she looked down, at her own shadow spread out like a tapestry across the grass.

It was still there, her very own darkness. For a moment, Hikari imagined she could see it smile.

With a Herculean effort Hikari managed to tilt her neck back and look up at Takeru. "I'm okay," she said.

And for the first time in what felt like an eternity she didn't have to force herself to smile.

---

It's been interesting reading other stories as I write this just because I keep stumbling on stories with ideas similar to my own like a kind of literary convergent evolution. There's a couple of stories that have been fascinating to look at because they have concepts weirdly close to mine, and one with a plot turn that feels like was plucked out of the future of this particular fanfic, but of course they always veer away eventually. That one particular, inadvertently prescient one for instance has a central plot premise that I find head scratching and kind of frustratingly objectionable, but at the same time that's why I'm writing my own story after all. When I first published a couple of years ago I said one of my motivations was because I never did find a fanfic that perfectly matched the ideas I'd like to see explored, and so I had to make it myself.

And speaking of which, yeah this took a little while. Part of that is the infinity of vagaries that is IRL, but part of that is also the prominence of this chapter. This is a big deal, important chapter and I put a lot of work into making it and in trying to convey all the important points and all the character turns, and the intrinsic hell of it is that I'm still not sure I got there. Or, to put it another way, the barometer for whether or not I succeeded has a little bit to do with you in the audience reading this story. I'd love to hear your thoughts; be it yay or nay I'd like to hear if I got close.

And speaking of reviewers, thank you so very much to Blackdrake on FFN, my various guests, ElaineBlueville and DraconicMistress on AO3, and everyone else who favorited, bookmarked, or left a kudos. You all mean a lot, and I'd love to hear from you again.

To Be Continued

Chapter Text

Standard Disclaimer: This work is a non-profit derivative work. I claim no ownership to Digimon or its characters.

Through the Forest of the Night - Part Three - Towards Dawn or Dusk?

The next few minutes were a blur for Hikari. There was a lot of yelling and shouting and people pulling her up and carrying her and a parade of riding Digimon throwing shadows across the savanna grass and… Hikari really had taken a dive off the deep end, by the time she had managed to pull herself back to the present she was back in the computer lab in the Real World with a blanket over her shoulders and a mug of hot tea pressed into her hands. Hikari took a grateful sip of the tea (green, a little bit too sweet) and managed to pull herself back into the here and now.

Daisuke was speaking. He'd apparently taken the lead to explain what had happened on his side of things to Koushirou. The first part of the story eluded Hikari, she caught up right as the goggleboy explained they'd suddenly caught wind that her group's digivice signals had reappeared coming from the Unwavering Forest outside the city. Takeru confirmed that Daisuke, Ken, and Miyako arrived not long after him, and that a few minutes later Iori emerged from the forest riding Ankylomon, and then the group had gone back through the gate.

There was some back-and-forth here, as Miyako and Takeru discussed an apparent difference in the length of time they'd been gone (Miyako said barely 20 minutes, Takeru swore by it being hours), but when that wound down all eyes turned back towards Hikari, expectantly.

Hikari suddenly realized they had been waiting for her. And, as she took another sip of tea, she also realized she'd been preparing for this since the moment she'd seen Takeru's face twisted up with rage. Hikari swallowed the mouthful of sweet-bittersweet liquid and began.

While going over it again many years later to help write his book, Hikari would gently remind Takeru that she hadn't actually lied about what happened that afternoon. She pointed out everything she said had indeed happened, that she had woken up alone in the forest of the Dark World (back when that was what they still called it), that she had seen the Deep Ones, that she had started running, that she had been cornered by them, and that she had been rescued by Kaiser Leomon who had carried her out of the lightless forest. Hikari acknowledged she hadn't given a full and complete accounting of everything that had happened that day on that day, of everything that she had said and done and heard and felt only minutes ago, but she hadn't lied. And she said she had a reason. Two in fact:

The first was that she was still reeling from it all. Her head was spinning and she was bone tired and achey and what she wanted to do most of all was go home and have some quiet time to sort out her thoughts and then get some sleep. If she had told them all the whole story Hikari knew it would take hours for them to let her go home and there would be even more voices rattling around in her head in the meantime. She didn't need that. And even though she wasn't able to avoid a shouting match she was sure it would have been a lot worse if she'd opened up.

The second reason was more direct and much sadder. On that day in July Hikari didn't think anyone would believe her. When Takeru protested that surely he would have listened Hikari only shook her head and pointedly reminded him of what happened only a few days later.

And so it was in the computer lab that July that Hikari told about half of her story. She related a little bit of what Kaiser Leomon had said about the Dark World being warped (though not about it being full of fake darkness), related that he had used a powerful attack to fend off a huge shadow creature (though not what that attack had entailed), and that he had said it wasn't over yet and that he wanted to help her and her friends and didn't want to fight them (but regretfully Hikari couldn't relate how she had felt his shadow to know he was telling the truth). Hikari was glad that nobody interrupted her, and she was also glad she didn't have to look any of them in the eye. That was the other thing she would tell Takeru years later, she didn't feel good hiding things from her friends and her partner. Hiding something like that always made her feel like something was squeezing on her heart, but she just didn't have the courage to let go.

And then came the row.

Hikari had been hoping she could get away without starting an argument, but as Tailmon pointed out one of her best qualities was that she always imagined the best in others. So it was that despite what Hikari wanted, her friends were shouting at each other almost as soon as her story came to an end.

Takeru was first out of the gate. Then and there he swore the next time he saw Lowemon he would get rid of the black Digimon for good. Daisuke objected. Lowemon had saved Hikari and had said he wanted help them, that meant he was a good guy. It wasn't even a minute before they were yelling at each other.

"I told you! He's trying to trick us!"

"Yeah, some trick, fighting all those monsters to save Hikari."

"Well then why did he run away?" Takeru yelled.

"Because you attacked him!" Shouted Daisuke.

"I had to!"

"No you didn't!"

"You have no idea what you're talking about, Daisuke, you weren't there back when we were fighting Vamdemon and the Dark Masters."

"And you weren't there when we met one of the Digimon who saw Lowemon a couple of days ago," Daisuke sounded a little like he was crowing.

"And what was he doing?"

"Saving the day."

And with that said Daisuke launched into an account of how he, Ken, and Miyako had met a Yaksamon who had seen Lowemon step up to bounce a pair of unruly patrons from Digitamamon's diner before they could burn the whole place down, winning the appreciation of the locals and the city's peacekeeper.

"I'm not surprised," Takeru said darkly. "A dark Digimon like that would obviously resort to violence."

"What? Violence?" Daisuke was staring in disbelief.

"Right, he attacked a pair of customers at the restaurant. Maybe that Digitamamon isn't a good guy either, or maybe he's being threatened by Lowemon."

"Are you listening to yourself? Lowemon kept that restaurant from getting SET ON FIRE!"

"Well, maybe attacking people like that is how it is for some Digimon," Takeru generously allowed. "But if that's how it is that just means he's smart enough to keep a low profile."

"For what?" Daisuke was incredulous.

"Whatever evil thing he's doing! He is our enemy, I KNOW I'm right about this. And if he can freely evolve like that he's even more dangerous than I thought he was."

"Well as long as you're not paranoid or anything," Daisuke sneered, which just set off Takeru yet again.

The next couple of minutes were very loud. Takeru roared he was right. Daisuke yelled at him he was wrong. After a couple of rounds of shouting they pulled in the other Chosen Children in the room. Takeru rounded and dragged in Ken accusing him of understanding the dangers of the powers of Darkness which just made the other boy wince and shrink. Daisuke called it a low blow, Takeru said it was proving a point, and for his part Ken quietly pointed out that in general, Takeru was probably right.

"But not definitely," Daisuke said without missing a beat.

"Well, I mean, I don't know, I… I'm sorry-"

"You don't have to apologize," Takeru interrupted, "what happened to you just proves my point."

"Alright, that does it. You need to say you're sorry to Ken right now! You're acting like a huge jerk," Daisuke said, stepping sideways to get in between the blonde haired boy and Ken.

More yelling. Takeru gave a short apology before saying he wasn't going to apologize for being right. Daisuke called him insensitive for going there in the first place. Takeru said it was important. Daisuke said it was cruel. Ken tried to say it was okay but Daisuke overruled him by saying Takeru was WAY over the line. Miyako told both of them to shut up so she could think, she'd been poring over the Digimon Analyzer with Koushirou (who was trying to escape notice, remembering Taichi and Yamato's spats all too well) and had found another useless profile. Kaiser Leomon had a page on the Analyzer's record (singular this time) but it was just as unhelpful as Lowemon's was. It had attack names (Schwarz Koenig and Schwarz Donner), a type (cyborg), and an attribute (vaccine, Takeru was incredulous) but no profile or picture once again.

Takeru tried to marshal this all as more evidence that Lowemon was an unknown danger, but when he appealed to Miyako she cut him off immediately and told him to pipe down so she could try and do something useful. Daisuke made a snide comment and they were off yet again. Takeru yelling, Daisuke shouting, Miyako intruding testily, Ken trying to rein in both of them even as he mostly agreed with Takeru, with Takeru using that as proof he was right and Daisuke saying it was just proof he was a jerk.

Around and around and around it went.

"Well what about you Iori?" Takeru rounded on the younger boy, "you were there with me two days ago, you know how dangerous Lowemon is, right?"

"I-"

"Tail Hammer!"

Ankylomon's attack struck hard and home with a thunderous clang. The black shape of Lowemon went flying in a wide arc through the air, crashing into a tree trunk with a sound like a thousand chopsticks snapping at once.

"Gotcha this time!" Ankylomon rumbled.

Iori watched as his Digimon partner bounded towards the fallen shape. He pulled himself into a skid and leapt into the air.

"Megaton Press!"

Ankylomon slammed down, smashing with all his weight onto the black Digimon, pounding Lowemon over and over again. Underneath him, the Warrior Digimon feebly shook and struggled against Ankylomon's assault, but after taking blow after blow he began to slow down. Sensing the end, Ankylomon reared back for one final hit onto Lowemon's crossed arms-

"Dunkel Sarg!"

-but his forepaws landed on empty grass.

"Eh? What?" Ankylomon spun around in confusion as the shape below him dissolved into black mist.

"Up there!" Iori called, pointing. Up above, on a high tree branch, Lowemon had silently reformed from the darkness.

"Of all the highfalutin tricks… Get yourself back here!" Bellowed Ankylomon.

Lowemon ignored him and turned away.

"Wait!" Iori called, "what were you doing with Hikari?"

The dark Digimon paused, seeming to consider if words were worth it, but then he turned to look back over an ornamented shoulder. "Rescuing her. She needed my help to get out of that world."

"You're saying you saved her? Why?" Said Ankylomon.

"Because I wanted to help her. Do you and your partner need a reason to do the right thing?"

"What? No, but I mean..."

"Then why do you think it's different for me? People shouldn't need a reason to help someone in trouble."

And as Ankylomon struggled for words and as Iori silently watched, Lowemon jumped from his perch and vanished once again into the shadowed canopy of the forest.

"Should we go after him, Iori?"

"No, right now going to help Hikari is more important."

"You think he's on the level?"

Iori thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I don't know enough to say for sure."

"I don't know enough to say for sure," Iori said, shaking his head.

That cut Takeru off midstream. It took him a couple of seconds to rally. "You mean you aren't sure how much of a danger he is then, right?"

"To a certain extent. Right now I don't know what's really going on with Lowemon. None of us do."

"But-" Takeru tried to interrupt.

"If Lowemon is our enemy," Iori continued, raising his voice over Takeru, "we don't know anything about who he is, where he came from, or what he's actually trying to do. And on the off chance that he isn't our enemy," the boy raised his voice again to hold the floor, "the same thing is still true. We still don't know anything about him in either direction."

"I, yeah I guess you're right," Takeru admitted.

"You know, I think I've figured out what this is all about," Daisuke said with a smirk, "you're always trying to be the one to save Hikari and you're just angry because this weird mystery Digimon you don't like beat you to the punch."

Daisuke's sardonic grin evaporated in an instant as Takeru grabbed him by the collar and pulled back back to throw a punch.

"I am NOTHING like him Daisuke! Nothing at all do you hear me? NOTHING AT ALL!"

"Okay okay, geez!" Daisuke called flailing his arms in front of him, "it was a joke, okay? Just a joke!"

Takeru considered for a moment and then let go of him. "It wasn't funny," he said coolly. Takeru turned to consider nearly a dozen startled pairs of eyes staring at him. "What?"

"Um, are you all right?" Miyako asked, staring at him.

"I'm fine, but we still need to figure out what we're going to do. Iori is right, we should probably go back to that diner tomorrow and try and find out more about Lowemon." Takeru turned from face to worried face. "Is there something wrong? If anyone's got a better idea I'd love to hear it."

"No it's fine, it's just-" Miyako began.

"What did you see when we were pulled into that world, Takeru?" Hikari asked. All heads turned to look at her. After giving her account the Chosen Child of Light hadn't uttered a peep until that moment.

"What are you talking about, Hikari-" Miyako began.

"N-nothing. Nothing at all." For the first time that day Takeru hesitated. He gave an unconvincing laugh. "There wasn't anything. I didn't see anything at all."

"Oh." Hikari seemed disappointed. Her eyes flickered oddly, was it frustration? Sorrow? Maybe even pity? But then her gaze dropped back into her mug.

"Why are you asking him, Hikari?" Iori asked, scrutinizing her.

"It's nothing. No reason." Hikari shook her head.

An awkward silence fell. Daisuke, Ken, and Miyako shared a confused look. Iori was pensive. Hikari's gaze stayed firmly on the ground beneath her. And Takeru... Takeru seemed almost haunted by the question.

Koushirou looked up from his computer, he was fishing for something to say when the door clattered open.

"Hikari! I came as soon as I could, what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

Hikari looked up and smiled. "It's okay, I'm fine now," she said to her big brother.

"Are you sure? You're not hurt anywhere, are you? Are you feeling okay?" Taichi's face was alive with concern as he crossed over to her side and dropped down to her eye level and put out a hand to feel her forehead.

"I'm all right, just a little tired."

"Well then let's go home so you can get some rest, we don't want you getting sick so close to your birthday!" the older boy held out an arm. "Come on, I'll help you up." Hikari nodded and obliged him. When she left so did the sound in the room. In its place was yet more awkward silence.

"It's just like Taichi to swoop in out of the blue like that," Daisuke tried, hoping to clear the air. It didn't quite work.

"Yes, I suppose it is," Ken said, and then nothing more. Daisuke grimaced.

"Did something happen that you didn't want to tell Hikari about, Takeru?" Iori asked.

"No, nothing at all like that," the blonde replied slightly too fast. Iori's frown suggested he was not quite convinced, but Takeru's easy smile and relaxed, casual lean made it clear that line of questioning was over. "Anyways," he continued, "like I said we should meet up tomorrow and go back to Digitamamon's restaurant. One way or another I'm sure we'll find something out. See you all later!"

The remaining Chosen Children watched as Takeru strode out the door with an exaggerated gait as Patamon struggled to keep up.

"What was that all about?" Miyako asked, incredulously.

"Search me," came Daisuke. "I was all worried about Hikari, but she seems… Kind of okay now I guess? And Takeru is freaking out now? He completely lost it there! What the heck happened in the Dark World? What was that Hikari said about crossing over?" He turned to Iori, "You were there right, what are they talking about?"

The serious boy shook his head. "I don't know. I was in the restaurant and then without any warning I was suddenly in the other world. I think I might have seen something that looked like a graveyard for a second, but it was only for a moment. And the sudden change was so disorienting I can't be sure it was really there."

"A graveyard, huh? So what? Do you think they're being haunted by ghosts or something?"

"Get real Daisuke," Miyako rolled her eyes.

"No, I'm serious, maybe something weird happened to both of them," Daisuke protested.

"When it comes to that world," Ken shook a little bit as he spoke, "there are far too many things that would make Takaishi worse, but Yagami seems almost like she's at peace," he paused, "but that seems impossible. I just can't imagine anything good happening from going there."

"Gah. I wish either of them would just spit it out already and stop scooting around it," Miyako grumbled, "it's annoying. And now I'm getting worried about whatever they're worried about. If they could just say what they mean this would be so much easier."

"Not everyone can be as forthright as you can be, Miyako, it's one of your strengths."

"Oh Ken, you're making me blush," Miyako trilled.

Daisuke rolled his eyes. "Well I guess I'll leave you two lovebirds, see you all tomorrow!"

---

Iori's ponderous frown followed him from the computer lab, across Odaiba, up the elevator, back to his apartment, and was still on his face late into the evening. This wasn't out of the ordinary for the serious boy so it passed without mention from his mother and grandfather.

On the other hand, it didn't pass by the attention of his partner, but it was only while he was alone that night, sitting on his bed getting ready to finally turn in that Upamon asked what was bothering him.

"What kind of Digimon do you think Lowemon is?"

"Huh? Izzat what you've been thinking about so hard? Well he's a Dark Digimon isn't he?"

"Right, but that's not what I mean. I'm thinking about him because Lowemon seems totally different any other Dark Digimon we've ever seen."

"Because he was acting like a good guy?" Upamon hopped up into his partner's lap, and Iori began to pet the bouncing ball Digimon as he stared out through the window.

"It's not just that. Even if Takeru is right about him, Lowemon doesn't act like any of our other enemies. All of the other people and Digimon tied to the darkness were violent or cruel, but Lowemon isn't. He doesn't rampage around like Chimeramon did, he's strong but doesn't seem to want to fight us which is totally different from Demon or Vamdemon, and he doesn't…" Iori thought for a moment. "He doesn't seem sad."

"Sad?" Upamon's eyes twinkled with curiosity.

"Right. Sad. Black War Greymon was born from darkness and he always seemed unhappy, like just being a Dark Digimon was painful for him. All he knew how to do was fight, right up until the end. It was the same for Mr. Oikawa, he never really acted like he was happy about anything. Even when it seemed like he was winning and he was getting closer to the Digital World his smile seemed miserable. I only met him a couple of times but it felt like he was hollow and maybe that's why Vamdemon could possess him. Lowemon isn't like them though, Lowemon seems like he has something like-" Iori frowned as he mulled over his words for a couple of seconds, "like he has a strong conviction or something he believes in."

"That sounds just like you Iori! But d'ya think he's telling the truth?"

"I don't know enough to say for sure." Iori said, shaking his head.

"And that's what you said to Takeru!"

"I still stand by what I said. Lowemon's actions don't make sense one way or the other. He's powerful enough to travel between worlds and freely evolve on his own and he knows who we are and where we are, but he seems unwilling to launch an attack against us. And he said he wanted to help Hikari, and it seems like he knows more about what's happening than we do, but he also always runs away from us. I don't know if we can trust Lowemon, but I also don't know if we can assume he's someone we have to defeat. Perhaps Daisuke is right and Lowemon is an entirely different kind of Dark Digimon."

"Takeru sure seems to think he's a bad guy."

Iori closed his eyes. "Takeru told me once that he didn't hate the darkness, what he really couldn't forgive were the people who used its powers to victimize others and create tragedy and sorrow, but…"

"But?"

"My grandfather once told me that it's impossible to hate the sin and still love the sinner. Hatred of one turns into hatred of the other. I know he's right, I've felt it; after fighting against him it took me a long time to forgive Ichijouji for what he had done and to be willing to believe he had changed. I think I understand Takeru's feelings: after what happened to Patamon I know he's afraid of losing someone he cares about again. I know he just wants to make sure Hikari is safe, he obviously cares a lot about her, but even so I'm not sure... " and once again, Iori paused mid-sentence and this time for much longer. As his partner looked at him curiously, the boy slowly and carefully following that thought all the way to its conclusion. It wasn't pleasant. Only after going over it twice from start to end did he finally continue:

"I'm not sure that Takeru could accept being wrong."

---

"Is everything okay Takeru?" Patamon asked. The little floating Digimon hovered over his partner's shoulder as the blonde haired boy tore pencil against paper. Takeru didn't answer.

It was supposed to be journaling, free writing, a reflective exercise to get the creative juices flowing. Instead it was an attack, hacking away at the sheet with a spike of graphite.

"...Absolutely no way. Nothing but an illusion, trying to scare me, divide and conquer. No way. Definitely no way. It's another one of his tricks. We have to find him, otherwise. No way. She couldn't be. After all, they just met the other day right? She said he was a stranger in the park. But then why? At the library? What was he looking up? He didn't have a worksheet… Did they, did she plan it? No way. Absolutely no way. Right? But when we were at the diner, when everything, we all got weird and I saw the two of them, but no way. They're not, Hikari isn't... Isn't? She can't be, there's no way that the two of them are… Hikari is mine, not his. We're together, he's not part of this. Why did Hikari ask-"

The alarm rang. 30 minutes were up.

Takeru put down his pencil and closed the notebook. He smiled, reassured his partner everything was going okay, talked about putting a stop to the problem tomorrow, smiled again, got up and went to brush his teeth.

Patamon didn't look relieved. He looked scared.

---

Evening for the displaced Warrior of Darkness repeated as it had for the last couple of days. A turn on the piano, a period of unpleasant but probably necessary reflection on himself and the instrument before him, and a light exchange with his host. Digitamamon was blasé about Lowemon fighting the Chosen Children, apparently he'd had a run in with them a long time ago but had ultimately managed to bury the hatchet after one of the children had helped him recover from an unrelated injury. The Perfect Digimon said he was just glad they had decided to take it outside to settle it (it was settled, right? Lowemon admitted it probably wasn't, but the egg accepted him when the black Digimon said he really didn't want any trouble). A couple of furtive questions confirmed that none of the Digimon that afternoon had seen the world turn itself upside down, which was probably for the best. All of the Digimon of the city were trying to live their best lives, right? They didn't need to be dragged into the last gasp of a dying world.

Night for the displaced Warrior of Darkness also repeated itself, after preparing himself he took another voyage into the depths.

Once again he landed with a flutter of wings on the roof of one of the gray-bleached houses to look over the ocean. The waves still rolled to the same dismal timbre. The sound of waves was usually soft and soothing, but here it was the labored breathing of a terminal patient.

The black Digimon took a glance over his shoulder on an odd lark, and did a double take and stared.

The forest was gone. At first glance the grass and trees looked like they were where they had been earlier that day, but closer inspection shattered the illusion immediately. No sound came from the woods. Distant and warped as the noise had been, the wind here still made the leaves on the trees flap and rustle. That sound was gone. So was the scent. The forest had smelled like rotting leaves, but it had smelled. Now there wasn't a trace of that stench.

And as for sight... If he really looked at it the whole of it seemed so obviously fake, moreso than the rest of this world. It was like someone had replaced the forest he and Hikari had escaped from with a matte painting, but the full effect was something like cheap wallpaper put up in a hurry. If you didn't pay any attention to it your eyes might just glide past it, but once you saw it you could never un-see it.

That just begged the question of why. Even in a world as warped and twisted as this one that sort of thing wasn't natural. No, this world wasn't fully real, but when the scenery on a stage fell over someone still had to pull it upright. Did the creatures here do it? Dagomon and his flock of shadows? Why? To hide that the world was weakening? From who? Anyone sensitive enough to notice that would see through it immediately. If the beings here were trying to hide what had happened to the forest they had done a terrible job of it. Who were they fooling? Or was there anyone there were trying to fool?

Maybe the fake forest wasn't there as some kind of trick. Maybe it wasn't a matte painting but a memorial. Maybe the smokescreen had been put up by the creatures as a headstone for the forest, a remembrance for a piece of the world that could have been something, once, but had since fallen away into the inky depths of the ocean and then into the void.

But as he contemplated this thought he shook his head sadly. It was even more depressing if the shadows here had left it as an epitaph. How long did a gravestone last if you built it on quicksand? Soon it would follow the forest into the abyss with the rest of this world.

---

Hikari finished toweling off and tossed it on the laundry pole as she walked out onto the balcony and cast her gaze into the night.

Tokyo stretched out in front of her, a sea of lights across the water, twinkling in the darkness. She closed her eyes, holding an image of the world before her in her mind. Then she opened her eyes again. Hikari did this several more times, trying to match what she saw with her eyelids opened and closed. She never got it exactly the same. There was always a detail wrong, with her eyes closed there was always a building she couldn't remember, a streetlamp that wasn't there, a shadow out of place... But it was the same with her eyes opened. The image of the city she held inside her didn't match what she saw when she looked out at it, and when she looked out at it she couldn't hold onto the city she imagined she could see.

Where do people keep their dreams when they wake up?

That strange thought had been rolling around in her head since she escaped from the forest. Most people didn't remember their dreams when they woke up. If you couldn't keep a dream when you woke up and if you couldn't see it when your eyes were open then where was it?

"It's not real until it casts a shadow"

"Your shadow isn't going anywhere."

"You know, I think yours really likes you."

"Haven't you already gained something from it?"

It was funny the question was sticking with her only after she'd learned the answer. Hikari had been so focused on the light, the thing that showed the world as it was, that she'd lost track of her dream, the world as she wanted it to be. A dream wasn't real until the light could shine on it. Before then it was too fragile to stand up to the glare. The light protected the world, cut through wickedness, upheld peace, reaffirmed order, encouraged harmony, and pierced deception and illusions and for that reason laid bare dreams. And so since you couldn't see your dream with your eyes open you put it somewhere dark for safekeeping.

Hikari had always been afraid of the idea that everyone had a darkness lurking in them, including herself, but for the first time she was glad she cast a shadow. Now she knew what it was for.

"What are you doing?"

"Wha-" Hikari was jerked out of her thoughts by Tailmon. The Digimon had leapt up onto the rail beside her and was looking at her quizzically. "I'm just thinking... About things," Hikari offered vaguely. Her partner didn't seem reassured, but Tailmon didn't press her. Instead, the cat turned to look out over the field of lights.

"Do think it's pretty?" Tailmon asked.

"I do. How about you?"

"I don't know. I suppose I would, but seeing all those lights out there reminds me of a long time ago. I remember once I traveled to a little town on the plains where every single house kept a fire burning through the night. Sometimes when I see this city I remember looking down on that village from high above on a hilltop, I remember we were so far away all we could really see were those little points of light. All that was before I met you, back when I was still with Wizarmon." Hikari glanced down at her partner in surprise. Tailmon almost never talked about that chapter of her life. The Digimon shook her head. "I don't know why I remember it so clearly but I do. And it's been so long I don't even know if that memory is happy or sad anymore."

"Whether it was or not, it's a world inside you that isn't there anymore," Hikari said.

Tailmon turned to look at her. "Are you sure everything is okay?" The Digimon asked.

Hikari nodded. "I am. I think I really am."

"That's a relief. I know something was bothering you, and then when that happened," Tailmon hesitated. She looked scared. "I'm sorry I couldn't be there, I really, truly am. I was running through the darkness for what felt like hours, terrified that I wouldn't be able to find you and afraid I was going to lose you. You have no idea…"

"Tailmon..."

"And that means that I owe a debt of gratitude to Lowemon for saving you. I don't know how or why, but I know that Digimon helped you. If you say he's a friend then I'll believe you, I always will Hikari. But I hate this. I should have been me who saved you, and I couldn't and for that I can only apologize. I failed you."

"No you didn't, you were-"

"No, it's true," the Digimon said definitively, "I wasn't there for you when I should've been. But I won't let that happen again. I don't know what's happening, but I want you to know no matter what that I will be by your side, Hikari. You are my light in this world."

Hikari couldn't find any words to say, so she picked up her Digimon partner, gave her a tight hug, and then walked back in from the balcony towards her bed, and towards the end of the night.

---

And with that, Day 3 is over. As always I want to give a shout out to everyone who left a review or a comment or a favorite or a kudo or a bookmark or a follow anywhere at all. As always it means the world to me. Thus a shout out to Solemini, Syncoir, K, Imtesfa11, and everyone else who showed your support. It does mean a lot to me.

As for this chapter in particular, this is a cool down period. Nonetheless the characters continue to move. In the wake of the escape from the forest the characters take stock and take sides, and I do wonder if people will read me as being overly harsh or critical with this chapter. It's always fascinating to engage with fans and fan authors to get a sense of the various ways people have read characters over the years. I had an interesting conversation about a month ago with a person who had a viewpoint on a Digimon character that was deeply at odds with my own understanding of them. The character we discussed does not appear in this chapter and the full context is not particularly salient, but I do wonder if my own particular portrayal will get someone similarly to the other side of the fence for me.

So yeah, Takeru. He's going to get worse before he gets better, but know that he will get better. I chose to deliberately cut away at the start there for a reason to make that clear. I'm not here to sink any ships nor am I here to bash a character, I'm the wrong person to talk with about the former and with regards to the latter I think it's not particularly interesting. This isn't meant to bash him, oh no I'm here to do something with him… Following a recent rewatch of 02 I do have some observations about him, as it were, but here and now is probably the wrong time and place to give a longform essay on the character, both because this is the wrong format and because it's a little bit early. The night is still young and I've yet to my hand, and more than that the story really is ultimately about Kouichi and Hikari.

And on that note, I hope to see you next time for whenever the next chapter comes.

Next - Convergent Points

Chapter Text

Standard Disclaimer: This work is a non-profit derivative work. I claim no ownership to Digimon or its characters.

Convergent Points - First Part

The Fourth Day

"DigiCode, that's why this world feels different! Nobody's said anything about DigiCode!"

It was the wrong time for that thought, buried as Lowemon was under at least a ton of stone bricks and steel girders.

Lowemon's body was on fire, the weight above a spear piercing his spine. Beneath him the rocky gravel bit into his knees and gloves like needles. His whole body was long past aching; his muscles were screaming. For the eighth time he shifted slightly, trying to lighten the impossible load. For the eighth time he was pushed a little bit further down. Lowemon grunted to himself, he gritted his teeth and for another year-long second he held.

Then came the next second of blinding pain, and then the next second. The next second of holding up the rubble, the next second of gravity breaking his back. Lowemon choked in another dagger of air. His lungs shook, his chest trembled. Another second. The air burst out of his lungs again. Another second. He gasped in another mouthful. Above him the steel creaked and shook. Another second.

The worst part of it were his instincts. Every moment gravity crushed his back was a moment he had to squash his gut. Every nerve, every reflex, every fragmentary processing routine was telling him to GET OUT! NOW! And it would be so easy! Even a child knew you couldn't bury a shadow. Even a child...

"It's going to be all right," Lowemon had to get it out one syllable at a time, each one bringing a new burning feeling in his lungs, "we'll get you out of here, I promise."

It took Lowemon everything he had left to sound even remotely convincing. The tiny trio of baby Digimon looked up at him, their innocent eyes shaking and wet with tears.

"They're looking for us right now, I promise. I know it's scary, but we'll be okay. There will be a tomorrow after this, and you'll be able to grow up into big, strong Digimon. So don't be afraid because we'll get out of this. We'll get out of this..."

Lowemon wasn't sure the three of them could understand him. As long as he'd been a Digimon Lowemon had never been a baby Digimon, only a baby human. Sometimes Lowemon- Kouichi tried to remember back to then. Sometimes he even imagined he could remember a time when he and his brother and father and mother were all together, but it was so very long ago.

Hopefully if, no not if, when, they got out of this the little ones would be none the worse for it. Hopefully when they were all grown up today would be little more than a fragmentary dream. Time didn't heal every wound, but it scabbed over plenty of them.

Another second. Lowemon once again considered evolving. Kaiser Leomon was physically stronger and standing on four legs he could more easily bear the weight, but he was also so close to the ground... Lowemon wasn't interested in finding out what might happen if he evolved with three tiny Digimon a hair's breadth from his face. Well if that didn't work he could- well no that way wouldn't be any better now would it? Same problem. He was being crushed, he had no margin for error.

Another second. More grinding aches, more burning pain, yet more parts of his body screaming in agony.

Another second. You could only take it in seconds, it was far too long to do it any other way.

Another second. Lowemon felt the rocks shift and settle again, pressing him another centimeter down. His instincts were still screaming at him, yelling at him to get out. It was time to fold, time to get out and save yourself. Exercise some discretion and leave! Use Dunkel Sarg and get out of there already. Sometimes you can't save them, you can't save everybody. Sometimes it's all you can do to save yourself. You did everything you could, if you just apologized-

SHUT UP! It is NOT over yet!

"You knew it was going to end like that." It wasn't a question.

"Even if I did, I still had to try."

"Why?"

"Because... Because I want to. Because someone came for me," his eyes met his brother's as he spoke. "Someone saved me when I needed it. I know what it's like to be lost, and I also know what it's like to be rescued and get a second chance. I want to be able to give that to someone else if they get lost."

"I- You should thank Takuya for that." He blushed a little, but that was Kouji for you. Kouichi smiled.

"Thank you, for helping me come home."

Another second. "We're going to get through this. There are people who care about you, and me, all of us. We've got a place to go back to, so we'll get through this. I'll make sure there's a place for you to go back to."

One of the tiny Digimon, only a centimeter under him looked up into Lowemon's eyes. The stream of tears from its little eyes slowed.

Another second. Somewhere in this pit of anguish Lowemon had reached resignation. That kind of feeling usually wasn't a good thing, too often it meant giving up, but not here. Lowemon didn't care anymore. One way or the other he'd reach the edge. Whether help arrived or not he would have no regrets. Buried in the rubble though he was, that weight wasn't on his shoulders.

Another second. Then another second. Then another. Then-

First came the breeze and with it the barest hint of savannah grass came gliding through the darkness. Then came the sound, a noise besides the crunching of steel and pounding of heartbeats. Something shifted above them and the blazing pain in Lowemon's back dropped by a degree. Voices floated down from above, shouts and grunts of exertion. Someone called out, a stranger:

"Botamon! Punimon! Poyomon! Are you there? Are you okay? Please, say something!"

Immediately the three baby Digimon began to squeak and chirp. A moment later the rubble shifted again and a thin ray of sunlight cast down on them.

Lowemon's neck felt like molten iron and it took a tremendous act of will just to turn his head to look out of the hole. Above him was the frantic face of a red Digimon he recognized (Elecmon, a Beast-type Digimon). It took the Warrior a second to place where he'd seen the Mammal Digimon: it had been the first day when he'd just arrived in the city. It was Elecmon who had seen him and pulled the baby Digimon away in fear at the black stranger. Here and now, though, Elecmon didn't even seem to notice Lowemon. For at least this moment worry had blotted out fear.

The rubble shifted some more, another hole opened, another slab was pulled away. "Are you okay in there?" It was Leomon's voice this time, clear and strong.

"Not- really-" Lowemon admitted. His voice was shaky but now at least he was only being crushed half to death.

"You've done well to hold on, it'll only be a moment more. Come on you lot, put your backs into it!"

There were noises, probably, loud crashing ones. There had to be with so much rubble, but all Lowemon heard was a ringing in his ears and the beating of his heart. It took him a few moments to realize the weight was off of his back. Lowemon could finally breath again. The burning pain didn't vanish instantly, but it did finally start to fade out around the edges. What remained were the ashes of agony set to slowly die out.

Slowly, unsteadily, Lowemon climbed to his feet. All around him the brightness and voices and noise of the city flared up again in their overwhelming splendor. For at least the moment nobody was looking at him, rather all eyes were on the tiny bouncing balls at his feet. For part of that moment Lowemon remembered waking up in a hospital bed surrounded by shouts and cheers and being embraced from every direction by friends, and family. He smiled. Then, still woozy, Lowemon took advantage of what was left of that moment to shuffle off to the far side of the building site.

As he leaned heavily on a building frame he heard a voice from behind him: "is the hero of the hour escaping? Perhaps trying for an air of mystery?" Lowemon turned back to see Leomon. The beastkin's arms were folded across his chest and he had a searching look in his eyes.

Lowemon shook his head, "It's nothing like that."

"Then what?"

"If I stay here things will be awkward."

Leomon laughed. "Then let it be awkward! I know what this is about, Elecmon ran to me in a panic the first day you arrived and I shrugged him off. As far as I was concerned you weren't his problem or mine. I said actions spoke louder than words and I was right!"

"So you know it's fine then if I-" Lowemon began.

"But sometimes," Leomon interrupted, "sometimes we need to remind people of that. Sometimes it's worth showing all the folks around here that there are three innocent lives who wouldn't be here if we had chased you out of the city."

"I didn't do anything special, anyone could have saved them."

"But you did save them." Leomon paused, "And what you did was special. Not just anyone would have done what you did, or could have done what you did for that matter. You sell yourself short Lowemon; you aren't just any Digimon. Actions do speak louder than words, but we can talk for a reason. Would it really be that bad to have a little pride in what you do? It might help you build a good reputation."

"That's not why I helped them."

Leomon clapped a hand on his shoulder. "I never said it was, but it might make things easier for you if you spoke up for yourself. Out of every Digimon in the city I would think you know what makes us scared of the dark."

"Because everything is inside it, good and bad," Lowemon replied automatically.

"Right, so why don't you stop lurking in the shadows and come out show us you're one of the good ones!"

Lowemon thought to protest, but couldn't find the words and he barely had the energy to go looking for them. Besides, Leomon was right, and every reason he could think of to get away fell flat when he tried to give a voice to it. Maybe it was worth talking himself up once in a while. Why not?

And maybe, just maybe, they would even believe him.

---

Hikari woke up the next morning feeling disappointed. The day before her entire world had changed. Everything she thought she knew had turned itself inside out. She'd gone to bed feeling electrified, butterflies in her stomach, anxious energy thrumming in her chest, her head still buzzing with all the implications of what she had learned. About eight hours of sleep later and she'd woken up feeling totally normal. It wasn't as though she'd forgotten the day before of course, it was just that on the other side of dawn her epiphany had lost some of its sheen.

It was just something that was "normal" now and that felt like a shame.

The beeping from her D-terminal provided another reminder of what was normal. The message was from Takeru and he made it absolutely clear: they were going back to the digital world right away.

Hikari swallowed. She wanted to say no and have nothing at all to do with Takeru's misguided crusade, but she couldn't just say no to him. He'd ask why and be outraged and turn towards her with that look in his eyes and - She couldn't. If only she had her brother's courage. Hikari's hands shook as she typed and deleted words over and over again trying to find the magical sequence of characters that would tell Takeru she didn't want to go with him to find Lowemon, because she...

Her fingers stopped. She did want to find him. Hikari stared at his name. She did want to meet the black Digimon again, she wanted to ask him question after question, to listen to him speak, to tell him things, she wanted just to be near him again, in his shade.

But Takeru would never let her, and if she snuck off Tailmon would have no end of worries, already her Digimon was looking at her curiously. It would never work out.

Mercifully another email chimed in. It was from Iori and he said no. The boy wrote that there simply was no reason to go so early. A moment later Miyako agreed, it was the middle of the morning rush and her sister was giving her the stink eye and you don't even want to know what happened when you got in the way of Thursday shoppers.

Hikari was surprised a moment later by another e-mail, her own. She barely remembered typing the message saying she wanted to see the park before the celebration. And that didn't make any sense, after all the park wasn't going anywhere and neither was the cable car and Hikari was starting to panic, seeing in her mind's eye all the messages questioning her and asking what was really going on and probing her about why she didn't want to chase the mysterious Digimon and did she know something and-

"Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense. What about the afternoon then?"

Hikari blinked.

Daisuke replied it would be fine with him if everyone else was good with it. Ken suggested around 3 PM. Nobody seemed to have an objection, so plans were set. Hikari slumped back in her seat, she was completely exhausted before breakfast.

---

There was simply no way around it: Kouichi was overdressed.

Nobody told you how muggy Odaiba was in the summertime. With the benefit of hindsight this wasn't a surprise, Odaiba was its own island after all and that meant there was always water nearby to make it humid. And of course nobody wants to advertise their worst traits. Take the Japanese rail for instance: the Metro never talked about being jammed in like sardines or about the ticketing machines that were always broken or about how dangerously high their stairs were... But still, the way Odaiba constantly fell over itself to advertise every other little thing about itself made it twice as annoying that this tiny little detail about the weather had probably "fallen through the cracks". No, when Odaiba talked about Odaiba it was always about the Ferris Wheel or what was happening at the Big Site or especially the Rainbow Bridge, it never ever talked about the way your clothes would be hot, sticky, and wet in 30 seconds flat.

How in the world did Hikari stand it? Or any of the rest of them? Kouichi wasn't even that far from home (geographically, he was still a world away) and it felt like everything was 20 degrees hotter out here.

On the other hand Odaiba did have nice parks. If it had been even a little cooler this whole excursion might've been nice. Maybe when he got home Kouichi would see if this park was in his world. Of course, even if it was there there was at least one landmark in Hikari's Odaiba that couldn't be in Kouichi's Odaiba... Right?

Not for the first time Kouichi wondered what it was that made their worlds different. He and Hikari spoke the same language, Tokyo's skyline had all the same buildings, it seemed to have all the same newspapers, and the man from the TV station said he worked for a channel he recognized and came from a building he'd seen before. Not for the first time Kouichi wondered if there was another of him in this world, or if there was another Hikari back home.

Not for the first time Kouichi wondered if he actually wanted to find out.

The path lead up the hill unfortunately. Hills had that magical quality of making bad weather worse, in the winter hills made you sweat even if it was freezing and in the summer they made the wind die out and the sun twice as hot.

At the very least being out under the sun was better today. Unlike his first day here Kouichi knew where he was going.

"How does your partner and the other humans travel between worlds?" Lowemon had asked. It was a question worth asking. One he would have asked even if he wasn't trying to shadow this world's Legendary Warriors. Garurumon didn't bat an eye

"They can open Digital Gates."

Lowemon stared. "Really? Just like that?"

"Yep, just like that. Yamato and everyone else have got a special thing called a digivice that proves they've got a Digimon partner and they can use that to open a gate from their world."

"From anywhere?"

"From any computer in their world to any monitor in ours, and you can go just about anywhere on either side with a Digital Gate. I know some humans with partners use it to travel all over the Real World."

"It must be nice…"

"It's really convenient! I should know, we didn't have that on our first adventure!"

"How did they get to this world, then?"

"Well, Yamato was at a summer camp but then they were pulled here when they got their digivices. They all landed not too far from here. That's what makes File Island special to us."

Kouichi hadn't said anything then, but he'd understood.

After entirely too many seconds the boy's destination came to view: a great big metal box that was completely out place. There could be no doubt about it, the object sitting in the middle of the wide path was a cable car. Of course there were no rails beneath it or cables above it, to all the world it looked like the cable car had just fallen out of the sky one day. And indeed it had.

The first place Kouichi had gone after his Dive had been back to the library to finish looking through what happened in the summer of 99. It turned out Hikari had interrupted him right at the end of that story, or rather her story. After the sky had torn open witnesses below saw a string of flickering images. There was a mountain spiraling into the sky which had quickly torn itself apart, segment by segment. There were dancing lights, inhuman shapes, a vast golden object in a void confronted by a group of children and monsters, an immensely bright flash, and then it was all gone and the sky in the Real World was clear once again. Just like that the monsters were gone.

Kouichi had needed to go digging for one last little detail and eventually found it in a short public interest column noting simply that a cable car had inexplicably appeared at a park in Odaiba. There had been something about the article's author looking around for where it might've come from and what the city management were going to do about it, but Kouichi had skimmed over that. Compared to the end of the world a mystery cable car was a curiosity and nothing more. After the rest of that summer it was a drop in the bucket. Obviously the newspaper reporter didn't think it was important, but he also couldn't have known it was important. Kouichi did. Kouichi had conducted his own interview.

"They went back on one of the cable cars, one of the ones we slept in the first night Yamato arrived in the Digital World."

"It started running and it flew up into the sky, into the eclipse. All us Digimon ran after them for as long as we could, right to the water's edge."

"Everyone was waving and they were crying and we were crying. Mimi lost her hat, but Palmon caught it, she wore it every day until it fell apart, then she cried about it even more."

"It was different then. We didn't know if we were ever going to see our partners again. Even if I don't see Yamato very often nowadays, it's fine just knowing we can. We aren't separated anymore."

Stepping up to the car made Kouichi shiver. The open doors, the unpowered headlights, the sunbleached plastic seats, the beige paneling, it set a strange tingling feeling down his spine. This was where it had ended, whatever had happened to Hikari and Takeru and Garurumon and his partner. He was walking over-… No it wasn't a grave, this was no tombstone, nobody had been lost, but this was still an ending. It was where their summer had come to a close.

Hikari had come home on this cable car. Kouji had come home on a train. Kouichi hadn't. He was so close, yet so far.

Kouichi was a year ago in the moment when he climbed the step up through the doorway, so it took him a couple of seconds to see what was in front of him in the present.

"Hikari?"

"Kouichi?"

She was wearing her usual Real World outfit, a T-shirt and shorts with a scarf around her neck, but it took yet another moment to process this fact. Even with the sun bearing down on her with its clarifying rays the girl was inexplicably faint. Ephemeral even. Kouichi had contrasted Hikari to Kouji in his mind dozens of times now and that was always the most striking difference. Kouji stood out. He was permanently in the foreground of wherever he went. Hikari always seemed like she was about fade away.

Hikari stared at him for a moment, probably for as long as he had blankly stared at her. But then she flashed a sweet, put upon, not entirely fake smile and nodded to him.

"It's nice to see you again," she said.

Kouichi glanced down. He was not surprised to see her Tailmon guardian "partner" looking up at him with undisguised suspicion.

"The same to you," he said.

The two of them just looked at each other for what was probably less than a minute. Hikari's brown eyes were alive with, what? Curiosity? Concern? Was that... Hope?

"Are you also here because of Digimon today?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," Kouichi replied. "I heard that this was an important place for people with Digimon."

Hikari nodded. "This was how we came back from the Digital World four years ago. It's important to us. I remember, some days when it was really bad and I could hear it clearly I came here. This cable car being here proves that everything we did, all the times we fought, all the pain we felt, and all the people and Digimon we met were real. It proves everything really happened and," she glanced down at her partner, "that I did finally get to meet Tailmon."

"A lot happened," Kouichi said.

"A lot happened," Hikari agreed.

"And it's important this is here because you can't show it."

Hikari paused and tilted her head curiously. He smells like a Digimon. She was about to ask a question, the obvious one, the ridiculous one, but changed her words the last second. "Do you have one?"

Kouichi shook his head. "You can't just show a Spirit. It doesn't work like that, not anymore. It's like the wind, you have to feel it."

"Or a shadow, where you can't say what it is because it is what it isn't." Hikari smiled. Her real smile was much weaker than her practiced smile, but also much kinder.

The two of them stopped to survey the empty cable car.

"Why did you come here today?" Kouichi asked.

Hikari paused. She was fishing for a half-truth. "I wanted to see it, to make sure it was all still here," and since that was ridiculous she paused to pull in another detail, "my birthday is coming up. I'll be celebrating it here, this Sunday. When is your birthday, Kouichi?"

"It's in November. Are you looking forward to yours?"

"I think so- I mean I am! Daisuke was really insistent, you remember Daisuke, right? From what I told you about him? Anyways, he was surprised to find out about it. He thought it was in February or March."

Kouichi cocked his head, "Why?"

"Because I didn't celebrate it last year. Well I mean, I did, but it was just me and my big brother, and my parents. It wasn't with any of my other friends."

The same question followed again: "Why?"

"I," and it happened again. Hikari just seemed to shrink. "Last year there was so much happening. We were fighting and, and I just didn't think I- that it was very important."

Kouichi looked at her as Hikari dropped down into a seat on the cable car. Her arms were crossed, her head tilted forward, her eyes downcast. It was an eerily, even painfully familiar sight. It was the same as the first day they'd met. Déjà vu prickled along the back of his neck remembering his own time sitting lost in a train car. It shouldn't be like this.

"Did you get a birthday present from your brother last year?"

The question dislodged Hikari from her funk. She looked up at him. "Yes, of course, it wasn't much but I really liked it."

"I never got a birthday present from my brother last year," Kouichi said as he dropped into the seat across from her.

"Never?"

"Never."

"Does he not like you? You made him sound like-"

"No, that's not it, but for a really long time we didn't know about each other. Our parents divorced when both of us were young. The first time we met each other was last summer," Kouichi said. Yet again he'd sanded down the miracle of their meeting. The funny thing was that Hikari was probably the first outsider he'd met who would have understood the full story. And maybe Hikari knew that: she was used to half-truths. Perhaps that's why she just glided past it.

Her shadow really did like her.

"Maybe he just didn't know when your birthday was?" Hikari asked.

Kouichi smiled. "That's impossible."

"Why? I mean if he only met you last summer then maybe he didn't know when-" Hikari paused, catching on. "Oh. Right."

"We're twins," Kouichi agreed.

"But he didn't get you a present for your birthday?"

"Nothing."

"Didn't that make you unhappy?"

"No. Not at all. And I didn't get him a birthday present either. I just couldn't think of anything Kouji would want. And he said he couldn't think of anything I'd want. But I was glad. I was hoping I wouldn't get anything from him. Everyone says we aren't really alike so I was happy we had that in common. "

Hikari studied his face for a moment. Then, quite suddenly, both of them laughed.

"That's so weird!" the girl's face was beaming red.

"That's what everyone says," Kouichi shrugged it off with mirth. His eyes closed for a moment, "and he did get me something."

"He was there with you," Hikari said.

"And I was there with him," Kouichi agreed.

Hikari leaned back and gave a glance at her partner sitting beside her, "Do you think-" she shook her head, "no they wouldn't."

"I don't think most people do."

"It's about, about what's important. What you have to do. What only you can do. Last year on my birthday I was so worried about what was important that I didn't-"

"But you are important, Hikari." The pale girl froze and stared across the car at him as though his words were the most incredible thing she'd ever heard; a wholly alien thought. "There's nobody in this world the same as you," Kouichi continued, "nobody can be who you are. No one else in this world is."

"That's... But it's not me- there was nobody else so I was just..." She trailed off. Words failed her and once again Hikari seemed like she was about to flicker and fade away. But Kouichi remained fixed on her. His own eyes held her tight.

He smiled. It was a soft smile, lips gently folded, one that carried both a trace of sadness and a quiet understanding. Kouichi had been here before, too. And he shook his head. "We're more than just what we were chosen to be."

It was a drop of water that fell through her and rippled. Hikari looked across the displaced cable car at the boy in green and red as though seeing him for the first time. Whatever she saw pushed her, compelled her. "Are you," Hikari glanced down her side at the Digimon beside her again, Tailmon looked back curiously, "I mean are you the-"

"Hikari! Are you still here?"

Hikari froze midsentence, and turned to give a smile "Takeru! We're over here!" She was on her feet and leaning out the open door fast enough that she didn't see Kouichi's expression crumble.

"Oh? You and Tailmon and..." Takeru trailed off, standing at the doorway looking up and across the car to the other boy. "You were," he paused for a moment recollecting, then his mouth curved upward, "you were at the library the other day, weren't you?"

"Yeah, I was," Kouichi said lamely as Takeru climbed into the car. The boy was alone this time, without his accompanying Digimon and wearing the same outfit as yesterday, a blue and yellow shirt and greenish shorts with a white fisherman's hat. It shouldn't have made him look imposing. Kouichi mustered the best facade he could, one he'd seen his mother wear on the job many times. "I should be going now anyways so-"

"What brought you here today?" Takeru asked evenly. Kouichi clamped down hard. He hadn't been fast enough.

"I was just, curious," Kouichi managed. It was a long ingrained reflex to keep things vague, though he knew as he said them those words wouldn't work. Not here. Not with him.

Takeru's blue eyes looked him over more closely. "You were curious? About the cable car? That's all? That's really the only reason you're here?"

"Well, yes." It did not help this was absolutely and completely true. It was much easier to to get away with a halfway honest lie when you didn't have to start from the whole truth.

"Did you find what you are looking for?" Takeru grinned as he spoke.

"I'm not sure." Kouichi had tried for a moment to tell himself he didn't need to be this guarded around the other boy, that Takeru had no way of knowing who else he was or that they had come to blows before. As far as he could tell humans didn't evolve into Digimon in this world and that meant he was safe. But he wasn't.

"I see." said Takeru.

Because Takeru wasn't smiling. The sides of his mouth were upturned and his lips formed a shallow "u", but it wasn't a smile. A smile had to cross your face reach your eyes or it wasn't a smile, it was just someone tilting their lips and showing their teeth. Takeru's smile died before it even reached his cheeks. The expression in his eyes was something very different. The hunt was still in the boy's eyes. Kouichi had seen that kind of not-smile before. Some nights it would appear on the faces of customers right before the trouble started.

This was going to be bad. Kouichi didn't know the what or the how, but it was going to be bad. Takeru was here to fight. Kouichi wasn't afraid of getting in a fight, even when he wasn't a Digimon, but it was also the last thing he wanted. When people fought each other it left wounds that hit deep in places you couldn't see. And those blows scattered in every direction hurting so many other people. Even if they didn't come to blows there were too many ways this confrontation could go south.

You will be received with hostility. Those words flashed through Kouichi's mind as Takeru took a casual step forward towards him. There was no way he could have guessed how hostile he would be.

If his back had been turned to Kouichi the young Warrior would never have guessed the look in Takeru's. The boy in the hat moved with enviable certainty, like this was nothing special or important or particularly different from his average day-to-day. That unburdened halfstep Takeru took could have been a friendly gesture if he had been smiling, or if his eyes had been warm, or if his fists weren't clenched.

Kouichi braced himself for whatever was going to happen next, but then fortune smiled:

"Why did you come all the way out here, Takeru?" Hikari asked.

The boy in the hat spun, surprise dissolving his grimace. "Um, well," Takeru began, looking for a half-truth of his own. It took a moment. Compared to Kouichi and Hikari he was a novice. "I guess I just wanted to check it out myself." Takeru put on a smile. He could put on a good smile even when he was off balance.

It still wasn't real, but Hikari accepted it without question. "Sometimes it almost seems like a dream."

"Yeah, so much happened t- between us," Takeru agreed, shooting a sidelong glance at Kouichi.

Hikari smiled back for a moment, then frowned, "oh, I wasn't too long was I?"

"Not at all. It's still a couple more hours until Ichijouji said he'd be ready. Then we can finally settle the score with Lowemon."

Kouichi blinked. As he spoke Takeru's attention had been entirely on Hikari, and pointedly ignoring him which was- Right, of course. Kouichi had known it, he'd thought it to himself only a moment ago, but hearing it out loud was what made it real. Takeru had no idea who else he was... But then why was the other boy so- but no, that didn't matter. "I should be going now," Kouichi hazarded, "I know you have to do go something important so I'm just going to leave now." He raised an arm in surrender and stepped down out of the cable car.

Takeru started to say something, something like "Wait" or "Get back here", but he only managed a syllable and a half before he glanced at Hikari beside him and froze. The brown eyed girl looked back at him with, what? Confusion? Uncertainty? Maybe even the barest trace of skepticism...? Looking back at her Takeru could only watch out of the corner of his eye as Kouichi hurried away.

"Did you really just happen to meet him?" Takeru asked, his voice was impressively calm.

"That's right."

"And he just happened to be there at the library?" The boy's voice betrayed no trace of skepticism behind his not-smile.

"We're just," Hikari pondered for a moment, "on a similar path."

Without thinking, Hikari ran a hand over her forehead and pulled it in surprise back. It gleamed with sweat. Had it always been this hot in the tram car? The summer sun suddenly felt so much worse. In an instant the shade had gone.

Takeru stood silently. He hadn't responded out loud to her words, but if Kouichi had still been there he would have noticed the boy's smile dwindle even further. He also certainly would have seen the way Takeru's eyes darkened and the way his hands clenched tight enough to turn his knuckles white. But Hikari was the only other human there, and Hikari did not notice any of those things.

And that was perhaps the most fundamental difference between Yagami Hikari and Kimura Kouichi: Kouichi was a boy who watched the shadows.

---

Astonishingly enough I am not dead. That's just how it goes sometimes though...

I have absolutely no excuse for the long delay between chapters. It shouldn't have taken this long, but it did and well, I can't really change that now. Time just doesn't work that way. What's more frustrating is that I can't exactly say "the next one will come out faster" because a lot of things are about to happen in my life, at best all I can give is the vagueness of "I hope the next one will come out faster". And I do, I really genuinely truly do.

As for this chapter it's another handful of character pieces, as it always has been, and a place to indulge my own particular hangups and corpus of fanon, as it always has been. For instance: we actually do not have a date of birth for any of the characters in this chapter. In fact it's actually somewhat noteworthy that almost nobody in the franchise has been given a birthday. Plenty of other shows will give characters a listed birthdate just as a bit of flavor, but in the canon we never got one for either Hikari or Kouichi (and also therefore Kouji, of course). For Hikari I chose sometime in the Midsummer purely for narrative convenience, for Kouichi I went with November because it's moderately likely. Statistically more people are born at the end of the year than the start.

Putting all that aside I want to once again thank everyone who's read this story so far, and everyone who has left kudos and comments and feedback. It means an incredible amount to me that you would spend your time and energy engaging with my story, and I am truly both thankful and sorry to everyone who has been waiting on me for so long. Thanks yet again to kitsunePOP, Syncoir, Diasphere, ElaineBlueville, Silver_Melody, Dromus, ShelbyRB, FlameingDarkness, San Wolves...

And a very extra EXTRA thank you very especially to DawnSeraph.

Hope to see you sooner than later for the next chapter. Until then...

To Be Continued

Chapter Text

Standard Disclaimer: This work is a non-profit derivative work. I claim now ownership to Digimon or its characters.

Convergent Points – Part Two – Who We Are in The Dark

As a general rule of thumb the best place for someone to hide is a location where others will not choose to seek them. For this reason it is tremendously helpful if you are being hunted to know in advance when and where people will be hunting for you so you can choose to be elsewhere. This undeniable fact was the silver lining to Kouichi's cloud.

And so it was after he beat a hasty retreat and returned to the Digital World that Lowemon very deliberately did not return to The City of Beginnings and instead cast his gaze to the small but still very distinct cluster of gray buildings to the north. They had stuck out to him a few days ago when he’d first arrived, and they stuck out just as much now. If File Island could be likened to a vibrant color portrait then its northern cape had been doused in paint thinner. At least that meant Overdell Cemetery was easy to find.

As he approached, Lowemon's eyes narrowed slightly and he began to weigh odds on the Digimon of Overdell. Had they really chosen the cemetery for a home? Naturally some of them probably had, it seemed a reasonable place for undead Digimon of all stripes, but...

In the Digital World, well the other Digital World, his Digital World, the eastern continent had been known as the Dark Continent, a place that was as dark and gloomy as its name suggested. Yet the Dark Continent had also been full of life and its own kind of light. The stars shone brightly there, The dense canopy grew wide and deep but its undergrowth was full of color. Fireflies flickered through the forever night, crickets chirped, the moss glowed a sleepy green hue, and there were Digimon of all kinds who thrived in darkness. Cherubimon’s castle, marked by the Rose Morning Star, had gleamed with the burnt pink of dusk and been all the more radiant shining in the deep night.

Chiaroscuro, that was the word. The Dark Continent was a place with its own balance of light and dark. The darkness there was alive, it moved and thrived and shone. Even from this distance Overdell looked different. Surely some of that gray came from it being cemetery, but its color was also uncomfortably similar to the fading Dark World Lowemon had visited almost half a dozen times now.

For a moment Lowemon's thoughts darkened remembering the oversaturated city behind him and seeing the washed out graveyard in front of him. He imagined the whole of that withered cape falling into the sea and being lost just like the dark forest had been. Would anyone on File Island mourn?

It was an ugly thought and Lowemon tried to put it aside as he approached the outer walls of the cemetery. The bleached gray stones stood worn, but stood all the same. The black Digimon paused to look up at the wall and held his hand to the cool gray stone. He could probably jump over it, or climb up it, or break through it, but none of those options were appropriate right now so he put aside that reflex and turned to walk alongside the wall running his hand along it. He was, after all, here by invitation. A guest. And so Lowemon did the sensible thing and went to look for the front door.

A short walk brought him to the wrought iron gate that was the proper entrance of Overdell Cemetery. The iron bars were decorated and reinforced with a pattern of metal thorns. They were also pitted and worn in such a uniform way that Lowemon suspected these gates had never been new. This was the Digital World after all, a place where ancient ruins could be brand-new and modern cities centuries old. Time was a tricky and unreliable thing here given the age of an object was simply another variable to be adjusted.

Lowemon stepped forward and rapped his knuckle against the gate, for politeness's sake if nothing else. To his slight surprise something answered his knock: a flickering blue candle's flame blossomed out of thin air, slowly growing into a roughly humanoid shape.

Ghostmon, his instincts recognized, Child-level, Human-type, Ghost Digimon. The Digimon floated over to the front gate and looked up at Lowemon curiously.

"My name is Lowemon, I met Devidramon a couple of days ago and he said I was welcome here. May I come in?" The ghost Digimon didn't speak, but it seemed like Devidramon's invitation was good because the Ghostmon floated up to the gate and flipped up the latch before pulling it open. "Thank you," Lowemon gave the best smile he could behind his mask. In response the ghost vanished.

As its name suggested when Lowemon stepped through the gate into Overdell he found himself in a graveyard. All around where rows and rows of somber, weathered tombstones. Lowemon paused at one of them and knelt down in the gray grass to see whose name written on it but couldn't; the grave was worn smooth. Tombstones existed to remember people, their names and lives. You made graves out of stone because stone lived far longer than any person could, but time was cruel. Time could make even stone forget.

Of course there was always the chance this grave was nothing, Digimon didn’t leave bodies so chances were that the headstone had never actually been raised for anyone or anything and was simply set dressing for the graveyard. But Lowemon still brought his hands together. Even if the tombstone was for nothing and nobody he still said a prayer for the lost and the forgotten. They were the true children of the dark.

"Thatsa real human-y thing you're doing there, stranger."

Lowemon turned. The speaker was a Bakemon: Adult level. A Human-type Ghost Digimon, but its floating, cloth covered body slid very close to being a Beast-type. Not a particularly strong Digimon on its own but it had the power to cast curses which could still be dangerous. Like the rest of the Digimon on File Island, however, the hovering ghost didn't seem interested in fighting.

"You don't tend to the graves here?" Lowemon asked.

The ghost waved its ragged sheet-arms. "Why? Noone's buried here."

"So you don't?"

"'s no reason to," said the Bakemon.

"No reason..." Lowemon stood up. He looked down at the nameless headstone and up at the Bakemon. By all rights a Bakemon counted as a "Dark Digimon" and it was a ghost besides, and yet...

But he didn't say anything. Instead Lowemon resumed walking past the rows of tombstones up towards the gray buildings further up the hill. As he did, Bakemon floated along beside him.

"You must be new 'round here huh? I don't think I've seen a Digimon like you before, but you look right with your armor and stuff and heresabouts we get all sorts."

"My name is Lowemon, and I'm just passing through. I'm staying at the city."

"Yikes, that no good place? You must be a real brave kind of Digimon. I'd love to go, but I’m scared to death of all them down there." Lowemon glanced over at the ghost, but there was no hint of irony in its beady black eyes. "What's it like over down there?" Bakemon asked after a moment.

"Busy," said Lowemon.

"I'll bet, I hear it's ten, eleven... 43 times bigger than Overdell!"

34 Times Lowemon thought. "How long have you lived here?" he said.

"one, two... A while! Lotsa us came here when the Digimon Kaiser was around. File Island got lucky and never got a Dark Tower! Prolly too little to bother for. But anyways, lotsa Digimon moved here. That's when the city got big I hear."

"The Digimon Kaiser?" Yet another important sounding name, yet another thing he didn’t know.

"Some human-y bad person who tried to take over the world. Really spooky. I heard he died or somethin’ a year back, for sure he hasn't been around since. Say, what did you say your name was again?"

"It's Lowemon," said Lowemon.

"Lowemon... Wait, you're Lowemon? The Lowemon? That Lowemon? The Lowemon who saved Devidramon?"

"I didn't really-" but Bakemon grabbed Lowemon's hand and shook furiously.

"I heard what you did! You're amazing! Amazing-zing! Devidramon told everyone all about how amazing you are! Amazing!" Quick as a flash the ghost Digimon flew around behind Lowemon and shoved him forward up the hill towards the cluster of buildings higher up on the cape, all the while shouting, "Everyone! He's here! He's Here! It's Lowemon! Lowemon's here! He's here!"

Much to the Warrior's chagrin, Bakemon's shouting was loud enough to wake the dead as well as the rest of the little settlement. Digimon emerged from every direction out of every entrance of every building, and then some. The first to respond to his calls were the Ghostmon from earlier, a Soulmon, and a couple of other Bakemon, all of who flew through the solid wall of a tiny shack. A Pipismon and a half dozen Soundbirdmon flew out from the canopy of a slate gray tree. A Dracmon, an Impmon, and a Pico Devimon all came running out from brick-shaped building followed closely by a Wendimon and a Dark Lizamon. A gated Mausoleum disgorged a Matadormon flanked on both sides by a pair of Boogiemon. A cloud of tiny Evilmon flew up and out of a cellar door. Finally, through the wide double doors of a western style church, the familiar shape of Devidramon came loping into view.

"I don't believe it, you really came!" called Devidramon, delighted, flying forward to land at the head of the crowd.

"I did," Lowemon replied, edging slightly backward out of the circle of gawking Digimon. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Well it's what you said, it sounded like you were-" Devidramon hesitated, looking away. His tail lashed, "you were doing something. More important than us."

“I was-”

"Then this is the rumored Lowemon?" the interrupting voice came from behind the Warrior, curt and sharp like a knife.

"Yes! He's the one who saved me from the Real World!" Devidramon called over Lowemon’s head.

"Then let’s leave no room for doubt. Draw."

Lowemon grabbed his spear and swung, catching the jagged blade shooting towards his neck. Steel clashed, rang, echoed, died, and fell into silence.

The two Digimon locked eyes, Lowemon in his filigree black armor against a human-type Digimon garbed in a pale, deathly white. A tattered cloak fluttered out from behind him flapping with paper talismans, a frayed cage of cloth wrapped his lanky right arm, and from his left side hung a hefty red book. He wore a fabric mask that covered most of his face underneath a threadbare blue turban wrapped over sandy blonde hair. There was a single, vertical cut in the turban band in the center of his forehead, and from it something small and red gleamed from within that cut, the exact same red as the serrated knife that gleamed in his left hand as he pressed it against the head of Lowemon’s silver spear. Neither pushed forward, both held against each other and their ground.

"I am Baalmon, witness to Overdell," he said. The white demonkin Digimon spoke evenly, one impassive black eye peering out from under his facemask. "they say you're Lowemon the Holy Digimon. Are you?"

"I am Lowemon of Darkness."

"So I’ve heard. Devidramon talks about you like you're a saint."

"I don't deserve to be called that. I was just a passing Digimon. He was in trouble and I could help him so I did."

Baalmon's eye narrowed almost imperceptibly, he pushed his blade forward, lifting the spear a centimeter up "and now you're just passing through here."

Lowemon pushed him back down. "I didn't want to stay in the city this afternoon."

"Only this afternoon?" Baalmon chuckled. "Interesting. You're holding back."

"So are you."

The corner of Baalmon's eye tilted upward in the barest hint of a smile. "I keep my gun up my right sleeve. What would happen if I pointed it at you and pulled the trigger?"

"I would draw my shield and block it," Lowemon said matter-of-factly, his hands sliding further up his spear to push forward. "What would you do then, Baalmon?"

The white Digimon shifted his grip. "I'd uncoil my Dashenbian , disarm you, and move in to take you down. What would you do the Lowemon?"

"I would use an attack to force you back and then retrieve my spear."

"Only after that? You wouldn't use your special attack before that?" Baalmon tilted his head forward, bringing his eye closer to Lowemon.

"No. There's no reason to do it before then. I don't like fighting pointless battles and I don't want to see anyone get hurt."

"But you're still here in front of me," observed Baalmon. "My knife is at your throat and you're fighting back."

"I am." said Lowemon, "sometimes there's no choice but to fight."

"You want to live."

"Life is too precious to waste."

"Have you always focused so much on defense?"

"No, not always. I fought with two swords once, a long time ago."

"What changed?"

"I remembered who I was, who I was meant to be."

“And now you fight, always looking for a chance to escape.”

“I fight battles looking for a way to end them.”

“Even if that’s running away?”

“Gladly, if it’s a battle I don’t need to fight.”

“Ho, so you fight without a warrior’s pride?”

“No, I fight without arrogance. I have my pride, my conviction, but I don’t think you’re my enemy, Baalmon. Defeating you wins me nothing.”

"Hmm..."

Baalmon took a slow, measured and deliberate step backwards letting his knife falling to his side. Lowemon in turn drew his spear back. As he did so the Warrior Digimon became aware that the Digimon of Overdell had arranged themselves in a wide semi-circle behind him. They'd been jittering, watching the clash with worried, nervous energy. All of them were staring at Baalmon, awaiting his final judgment.

The white Digimon rolled his eye. In a showy and exaggerated movement - wholly unlike his lethally clean swing - Baalmon drew a paper talisman from among the dozens hanging from his cloak and tossed it to Lowemon. "The fact you're holding that," he said as the warrior Digimon caught it, "proves what anyone with eyes should already be able to see." When the other Digimon didn't react Baalmon continued, "This Digimon is acceptable to my vision... Far more than the rest of you lot," the Demonkin added, under his breath.

If the other Digimon heard his comment none of them responded to it. Instead the Digimon of Overdell gathered closer around Lowemon. Baalmon's verdict brought a cheer or two, but there was no applause, no grand celebration, no ceremony to stand on. There was nothing more than simple acceptance. In Overdell Cemetery Lowemon was a stranger no more.

"What do you do here, Baalmon?" Lowemon kept his focus carefully on the white Digimon and away from the sudden crowd. He was glad to be accepted, of course he was, it was far better here than in the city surrounded by hostile, suspicious faces... But the other half of the problem hadn't changed. Just like in the City of Beginnings there were so many Digimon in the crowd and every eye was on him...

"I am Baalmon, witness to Overdell, but I'm repeating myself. I am here to watch over the lives of those who crawl in the dark, and I will continue to watch over them until the end of this world. When it is time for the last battle to be fought I will dye myself black and join the fray."

“On whose side?” Lowemon asked.

Baalmon just smirked. Then he fixed his gaze on Lowemon again, "Were you there when the world ended?"

Lowemon should have been surprised, but instead he just shook his head. "I wasn't. My comrades had to carry on without me."

"Your comrades?" The words came from a familiar voice behind Lowemon. He turned towards Devidramon, "You mean the other 'Ten Warriors' you told me about?"

"Yes, but at the start of the conflict many of them had turned their back on our mission," It took me so long...

"But you didn't, right? You were one of the ones who fought to protect the Digital World!" Devidramon exclaimed, the black dragon's deep voice had an almost child-like eagerness to it. It would be too much to let him down, to puncture his dream right as it was starting to take shape.

"I fought to protect the Digital World. By the end of the battle all of us had come together as one." This wasn't a lie.

"Who are the other warriors?" "What sort of Digimon are they?" "Are there any other Digimon like us?" "How did y'all meet?" "What did you do to get chosen?" Devidramon's excitement broke open the floodgates and questions poured in from all sides, and he was choking.

Breath! Focus on your breathing! Take it one step at a time, answer one at a time, one at a time...

Lowemon did try that, he did try to pick one single voice in the crowd to focus on, to take control of the situation and provide order. It was something he could do, something he should do, something he didn't do. There were too many of them, loud, eager voices bearing down on him from every direction. Shouting, crying out, yelling, his head was spinning. Every eye was weighing him down. If it was a fight that was one thing, but this was a completely different challenge. Choose one, any one, any where, any question, any of them! He didn't make it that far. Fortunately, mercifully, another Digimon flew into the fray.

"Bake! Bake bake bake bake!" called a Bakemon.

It was a good point, and to Lowemon's relief the other Digimon realized it.

"Sorry, I guess we did come on too strong," said Devidramon, sheepishly. Lowemon didn't reply, instead letting the other Digimon of Overdell Cemetery shift their collective focus away from him.

"Should we draw lots to go first?" asked an Evilmon.

"Nah, way to big a pain," replied an Impmon.

"How about Rock, Paper, Scissors?" asked a Dracmon, cheerily.

"It would be tedious for all, and impossible for some," replied Matadormon, pointedly clicking his bladed fingers.

"Well, we'll figure something out," said Devidramon.

Baalmon rolled his eye.

---

Fate is fickle and capricious, but sometimes when you roll the dice you just get lucky.

About 20 years in the future Takeru would reflect on their transit to the Digital World, type that phrase on his computer, pause, frown, and then delete it for mixing metaphors.

The point he was trying to express was how differently that day’s transfer had been from the day before. Instead of landing in a heap the Chosen Children and their Digimon partners had touched down in an orderly group with no scrapes or bruises. Takeru in that moment was quite pleased with their stroke of luck. Several hours later when the group returned to the Real World Takeru would complain bitterly it was the only good thing that happened to them on their entire trip to the Digital World.

But that was then and this was now. At the present moment Takeru was looking out to the City of Beginnings quite pleased with himself.

"We should start back at Digitamamon's diner to see if Lowemon is still there, and if he isn't we can start by asking the Digimon there. There were a lot of Digimon there and they didn't do anything about him so they must have been intimidated by him. We have to track down Lowemon for the sake of all the Digimon at the diner as well."

"Well as long as you're so sure," Daisuke muttered.

Takeru turned to say something, but Miyako pointedly walked between the two of them, pausing for a second to give a sharp glance at one of them, then the other, and continuing on with an exaggerated shake of the head very loudly muttering about boys.

"Until we know the full truth behind Lowemon finding him will be a good first step," Iori said, following behind her.

Hikari followed after him, giving Takeru a reassuring smile.

And Takeru, for his part didn't fire back. Instead he smiled as he stewed. Takeru could stew with the best of them, carrying his bitter feelings down from the hill and towards the ornate arch standing at the entrance to the city. About twenty years later Takeru would look back on that day with Hikari and note with some embarassment that neither one of them had been open about their respective feelings.

The path into the knot of alleys where Digitamamon's restaurant stood was a curious mix of mundane and adventurous. On one hand it was about a half hour's walk through a city by six children (and as many Digimon) who lived in Tokyo, one of Earth's densest cities. Navigating down streets, between buildings, through side paths, and in and out of alleys, across parks and lanes, under walkways, along sidewalks, and out through a procession of side roads was nothing new for anyone involved. On the other hand the City of Beginnings was a city in the Digital World so the streets zig-zagged down a path completely unlike anywhere on earth. The side path they took ran between a Christian church and a building shaped like a giant tea pot, the overpass they crossed was buried so deep in the earth they had to step carefully over the guardrails to not trip, and the park the Chosen Children cut through ran off towards the horizon but was only a meter wide.

And that was before getting into the truly alien locales. On the other side of the spindly park was an alleyway that could never have existed on Earth. The Real World was a place where the laws of physics held sway and the light simply did not behave the way it did here. In truth the path they took actually stretched as wide as a soccer field, but the children all silently agreed this path could only have been an alley. Part of that came from the trash cans and the refuse lying around and the palpable scent of urban must, but the feeling also came from the deep shadows that covered the wide path as though the buildings on either side had been crowded right up next to each other.

So it was an alley. There was some broad discussions about it, V-mon wondered somewhat reasonably how all the trash cans got here when the buildings were so far apart, Tailmon posited that maybe the trash cans had always been here, Ken suggested that maybe they’d appeared when the city had grown, but it was Miyako who brought up the impossible darkness. "That’s interesting, but what about the shade? It doesn't really come from anything," and Hikari hadn't thought to stop herself from blurting out:

"Maybe it comes from us."

That got a number of curious looks. Confusion from Daisuke, incredulity from Miyako, concern from Ken, and a look somewhere in between worry and mistrust from Tailmon. Iori's impassive face didn't change, but for a moment he seemed ready to say something; there was a question butting up against his taciturn frown, but it got no further and the younger boy merely shook his head slightly.

Takeru did not turn his head. Instead he slowed down to match Hikari's pace near the back of the group to give her a concerned smile. "Are you okay Hikari?"

"Of course. Why?"

"Well, it's just, you seem different today. Did that Digimon, Lowemon, did he do something to you? Something you haven't told us about?"

And for the first time in who knows how long, Hikari, who drilled herself so thoroughly on keeping a mask on, had no idea what expression she wore. "No, it was nothing like that. He helped me. He really did."

Takeru made as if to say something, but instead bit his lip. His face held more than a frown, but less than a scowl.

"We'll find out about him soon enough, Takaishi," said Ken, looking over his shoulder. Wormmon, sitting on his other shoulder, matched his concerned look.

"Yeah! So stop moping around and c'mon!" Called Daisuke.

And this time it was Takeru who was at a loss. "I’m not moping! I mean, I’m not, right?"

"If you really have to ask…" Miyako rolled her eyes.

And now it was Takeru, suddenly flushed, who almost had something to say that didn't quite make it past his lips.

Through the wide alleyway, up a flight of stairs over a cube shaped building, an underpass beneath a spherical building, a walkway around pyramid, and finally past a clump of two dozen telephone poles the children arrived at the remarkably normal backstreet where Digitamamon's Nice Restaurant stood.

The sign on the door said "Closed" in English characters. The hours on the door helpfully explained the restaurant was not open between the hours of 2 and 5 PM. A glance at one of the 17 clocks on the building four doors down said 3:50. Daisuke still walked up and knocked on the door. "Hello? Anyone in there?"

No, he's not. Hikari stared at the long shadows cast by the slowly waning afternoon sun. They cast across a plastic crate full of empty bottles, a disconnected AC unit forgotten in a corner, an old radio with a snapped antenna, and over a girl in pink and white with long gloves. These shadows merely fell. Around Lowemon they were jubilant; they danced. Here and now they were merely flat. Places where the light was obscured and didn't reach.

That was disappointing, but – Hikari glanced at Takeru. She could relax a little.

Tailmon looked up at her.

A Bakumon had arrived at the entrance and opened the door slightly to look up at Daisuke. "My apologies, but we are currently closed. We'll happy to serve you after we reopen for the evening," it said in its most professional voice.

"I know that, we just want to talk with the owner," said Daisuke.

"I see," the Digimon said. "No solicitors. Thank you, but we are not interested."

"That's not what I'm here for either!"

"We are currently up-to-date with our property filings and city sanitation standards."

"We're not here for that either!"

"If you're interested in writing an article about our restaurant we will be delighted but request that you schedule with us in advance."

"That's not it either!" Daisuke cried out.

"We're here to track down a dangerous Digimon," Takeru said, shoving himself in front of the narrow opening.

"That sounds serious. Do you have a warrant?" Asked the Bakumon.

"Well, um, no, but..." Takeru hesitated.

"Well if there's no hurry then please come back after 5 PM and we will be happy to assist you then."

"But it can't wait! You have no idea what he's like! We can't just let him –"

"Okay, I've had enough, Let me handle this," Miyako said shoving the other two out of the way, "You there, I want me speak to your manager," she said, pointing an accusing finger at the little Digimon.

"Like I said," cracks were starting to form in Bakumon's customer service voice, "we will open at 5 PM and we will be happy to serve you, "

"That's ridiculous! You're here right now!" Miyako shoved a foot in the doorjamb and started pushing.

"Yes, but," Bakumon frantically started pushing back.

"So let me in! The service here is terrible! The last owner would always let us in early!"

"Ma'am, please, there was no previous-" panic was setting into the Holy Beast’s voice.

"Back in my day restaurants knew how to give good service and respected their customers! Nowadays things have gone to the dogs! Gone to the dogs! Once upon a time people knew what good service looked like! Now it’s gone! Gone to the dogs!"

"Ma'am! I'm sorry but-"

"Gone STRAIGHT to the dogs! Straight to the dogs!"

"All right what the hell is going on out here!" Shouted another voice from inside the restaurant.

Bakumon spun around as thumping footsteps approached, "Digitamamon, sir, it's just that these humans really wanted to talk with you and..."

"Humans? Here?" The egg glanced at them as the door fell open, "How in the... Oh. Oh..." Recognition set in as the eyes peeking out of Digitamamon's eggshell scanned the children more closely and much more carefully. "Well, this is awkward. I 'spose you aren't here early for dinner?" It was a question asked with the resignation of someone who already knew the answer, but who had to bring it up because hope sprang eternal.

"No, we aren't," Takeru said firmly, smothering it it.

Digitamamon gave a low grunt. "Well, ya might as well come inside. No point yelling out here on the street. Go watch the stove, Bakumon, I'll handle it from here. Oh, and double check the timer won't you? So things will be on time. You know, just in case."

The inside of the Perfect Digimon's restaurant had changed very little from the previous day, there was the pleasing stone path, the overheard fan, the pleasant fragrance from multiple potted plants around the front room, and the easel with a menu written in chalk next to a waitor's booth - yet the only member of the group who recognized this was Iori. Yesterday Hikari had only seen the ground, and Takeru had only seen red.

"Where is he?" Takeru had restrained himself, asking this only after Digitamamon had come to a stop.

"If you're asking about Lowemon he's not here. He went out."

"To where?"

Digitamamon turned and once again scrutinized the blonde-haired boy. "I dunno, it's his life isn't it? That one comes and goes how he likes. He just said he'd probably be out all afternoon, if not longer and not to wait up. If you ask me I think he's avoiding you, but before you say nothing he's not like what you're thinking. Lowemon's nothing like before."

"Before when?" chimed Miyako.

"Before the city. Back in the old days before this place really got built out. I dunno when or where Lowemon heard about it, but he probably did. That one knows how to listen."

"Lowemon is no different than he was," Takeru said quietly, acid on his tongue.

Digitamamon met his gaze, then shook his body "No, I think he is. Devimon never looked anyone in the eye, he'd always look right through you. No one was a person to him; every Digimon on this island was just another tool for him to use. Lowemon isn't like that. He looks you in the face, really looks at ya, you can see it in his eyes. And he listens. Really listens, he takes it all in. And another thing: back then Devimon was scared of you, but I figure Lowemon ain’t."

"He keeps running away from me."

"Yeah he's avoiding ya, but is that because he's afraid? Or is it 'cause he's got better things to do?"

"Like what?" Takeru snapped.

"Heck, I dunno, I don't really know him, but I do know there's a reason he came to town. And a reason he'll be gone pretty soon. End of the week I think he said."

"Then we don't have a lot of time to stop whatever it is he's trying to do! We have to find him!"

"Well suit yourself, but however ya want it he ain't here," Digitamamon said definitively. And that was the crux of it, and it was what finally gave pause to Takeru. Even with a head of steam there was no getting around the fact the black Digimon was simply not in the restaurant. Still, a kind of desperation had the boy turning to look at the dining room and the polished piano, and again to look down the back hallway and into the kitchen. He even made towards the back stairs and glanced at the egg Digimon, hesitating for a moment. "See for yourself if ya like, just don't make a mess," Digitamamon said, and, under his breath as Takeru mounted the steps, "not like that'd stop ya."

"How do you know about Devimon?" asked Ken, when it became clear that Takeru wasn't coming back soon.

Digitamamon gave a lurch that roughly approximated a shrug. "I knew him. I was here when he was around way back when. He wasn't very nice." The egg said that with precise diction and a frigid tone. The Perfect Digimon gave another look at the assembled group sans Takeru. "I was gonna to say you knew that already, but it looks like the rest of ya weren't here back then."

"I thought you were from the folder continent?" Said Daisuke.

"Nope, not me. I saw that Digitamamon's restaurant on Spiral Mountain, never met 'em though. We actually took shelter there once, back in the day. ‘Course at that point it was all hollowed out, and that wasn't a nice time either, but it stuck with me. I think it's why I made my own little place, everyone deserves somewhere to relax and take a load off."

"What about Bakumon?" asked V-mon.

"You mean how come I got a Bakumon for a waiter like that other Digitamamon? Same deal, different Bakumon. Weird coincidence, sure, but that's it. I found Bakumon out on the beach one day, little guy would just spend all day starin' out at the ocean. He didn't know what or how or why he was waiting for, he just did, just sat there. I took 'em in just so he'd have something to do with himself, I said everyone deserves a place, right? But he still just goes and zones out there sometimes."

"What does Lowemon do here?" asked Iori.

"Here? Sleeps. I think. Probably. Maybe. Never thought to check, really. Why would I? Sometimes he plays the piano. He's real good at that."

"And?" Miyako insisted.

"And nothing. I told your friend, I don't really know what he gets up to. He comes and goes. It's his life ain't it?"

"The sun shines down the same on all of us," Hikari muttered to herself.

"That sounds like him," Digitamamon said, "sometimes when he's on the piano he gets all think-y and serious and worried, still plays beautifully though. And he got a letter the other day that had him pondering hard over something. I dunno why he's hanging around here but the way he is it stands to reason whatever it is is real important. Lowemon, that guy don't smile much."

"Huh? He's got a thing on his face, how can you tell?" Daisuke asked.

Digitamamon brushed it off, "itsa Digimon thing. I don't need to see his face to see his face." The perfect paused for a moment and turned back to Hikari. "You've got the same kinda face too now come I think of it."

"I do?" "She does?" Hikari and Tailmon replied at once, "What do you mean?" "How can she?"

The egg stumbled back a step, "whoa, whoa easy there, I didn't mean just you little lady, I meant you all. All y'all. Heck, prolly all the humans that come to the Digital World, you've all got the same kinda vibe, somehow. Like you're a step to the side of us Digimon. You're in between things is how I feel. Dunno how else to put it"

"I... see." Hikari said, as Tailmon swiveled towards her and then at the rest of the Chosen Children. The Chosen Child of Light was suddenly very, very relieved that Takeru had charged off up the stairs. Hikari didn't want to imagine how Takeru's face would have twisted if he had been here.

"Sorry, when you mean "between" do you mean because we go between worlds? Is Lowemon like us because he can go to the Real World?" Miyako asked.

"What? He can?"

"That's right, we encountered him in the Real World several days ago," Hawkmon said.

"Huh, I'll be. But I'm not that surprised, somehow," Digitamamon paused, "if anyone could, and there was that thing that... but nah. It wasn't that, though maybe that's part of it? But that's not all of it. And I dunno how to say it better than you all seem... Different? But not like different because you're a human and not a Digimon, different because you're not not a Digimon even if you aren't a Digimon. Lowemon, he's a Digimon all right, and he's not a human, but he's not not a human sometimes. Like I told ya he gets some weird look in his eyes sometimes, like he knows he doesn't know something, or knows what he doesn't know?"

"Well that's," Ken began.

"Really confusing!" Daisuke finished.

"Howdyathink I feel about it?" Digitamamon rolled his eyes, "I'm no good at talkin'! I can cook and I can fight but I'm no good at talking. That's what I have Bakumon for!"

Tailmon stepped forward. The Holy Beast paused, looking back at the humans and Digimon crowding the Diner. Then she turned towards Digitamamon and asked a question with the voice and weight of someone who knew they were at a perilous threshold. Nonetheless she asked it:

"Does Lowemon have a human partner?"

Immediately, all eyes turned towards her. "Uh, Tailmon?" Armadimon asked.

"You said that Lowemon was a Digimon who felt close to a human, right? And our partners are humans who are close to Digimon right? All of us, Digimon and humans, together as partners we make a pair. Two halves of a whole. We're a bridge that goes between both worlds. So if Lowemon has a human partner perhaps that's why he's different from other Digimon. And if he has a partner that could explain how he came to the Real World to begin with, he had someone to build a bridge with him."

"Never thought of it like that, maybe?" Digitamamon allowed.

"That would explain how he was able to evolve, and how he got to the Real world," Miyako said.

"But would it explain how he left the Real World?" Iori asked, "He didn't use a gate like we do. And how could he evolve if his partner wasn't around?”

"Maybe he's using some kind of special transforming Digimental! That's probably why his data was so weird," Daisuke said eagerly.

"The analyzer has never had trouble getting the data on any other Armor Digimon," Miyako cut in immediately, "even the weird ones from Valentine's Day."

"You said you weren't going to mention that!" Daisuke snapped, he was instantly beet red.

"Oh, right, sorry," Miyako said, glancing at Ken who was awkwardly looking away. "But still! It never mattered if a Digimon was an Armor Form or not, whether it was Fladramon or Holsemon or even Magnamon, the Digimon analyzer knew them all."

"It even has an entry for Chimeramon," Ken said quietly, also flushed.

"Ken-" Miyako began.

"That just proves he's an entirely new threat," everyone else turned to Takeru as he descended the stairs on high, his strides were confident, his eyes sharp, "whether or not he has a partner. So, did you see someone else there yesterday, Hikari?" he turned to look at her as Patamon flew after him, "was there another human in the Dark World?"

"I, no, there wasn't, I mean I don't think-"

"Are you sure? There wasn't someone hiding somewhere? Someone out of sight?"

"No, not that I-"

"Someone behind the trees or something? You didn't happen to see anyone else there? Someone else you knew?"

"Hikari said she didn't see anyone!" Daisuke stepped forward a little as Takeru walked directly at Hikari.

"I'm talking to Hikari," Takeru dismissed him, "Are you absolutely sure there was nobody else with you yesterday?"

"I-"

"Whoa, come on," Daisuke sai-

"I AM ASKING HIKARI WHO SHE SAW!" Takeru's yell came like an explosion.

Then silence fell like ash.

"What seems to be the problem in here?" came the measured voice of Leomon from the entrance of the Diner.

---

Impmon called the cool circular, underground room a "kiva", a word Lowemon had never heard before and which he recognized only insomuch as the word parsed as being used correctly to his ears. A Digimon's language parser was really more impressive in theory than in practice since it did nothing to actually define a word if it wasn't in their vocabulary pack. Of course a Digimon could fill in the blanks and learn a word by its context, but that wasn't that impressive; so could a human.

The kiva itself was a large round room seemingly carved out of gray stone with two large steps circling the room about a third of the way towards its center. The effect was to create a pair of long benches going around the room which Overdell’s Digimon had perched themselves across.

The room itself had been located down a flight of stairs beneath an outside cellar door set into the ground at the side of the largest building in Overdell Cemetery, a place the Digimon here called “The Grey Lord’s Manor.” A Pico Devimon had loudly whispered to Lowemon that they called that because of a rumor that Vamdemon himself had once lived here, something Matadormon immediately dismissed (“He never set foot on File Island, it was ‘beneath’ him”), and astonishingly this time Lowemon had some idea why this mattered so much after delving into the newspapers. Someone had been responsible for a spate of sudden anemia attacks in 1999.

As Lowemon found a seat on the cold stone a quarter of the way past the entrance on the lower level, the rest of the Digimonof Overdell argued. Moving to the kiva for a meeting was about the only thing everyone had agreed on after a lot of arguing and after several flagrant attempts at cheating in various contests, and now there was much ado about picking a winner in some way that couldn’t be cheated or faked and that would be fair to everyone (One of the Bakemon, who could only say “bake bake”, was quite reasonably pointing out that shiritori wouldn’t be fair). The prize, so hotly contested, was the right to ask Lowemon a question first. The Warrior of Darkness was nonplussed.

This was not how he had expected his visit to the cemetery to go. No, Lowemon hadn’t been entirely sure what he was getting into, and to be painfully honest the main reason he’d come to Overdell was just to avoid Takeru and his piercing glare, but this? To suddenly be the center of attention? Someone held up as so important that Dracmon was seriously pitching a no-holds-barred battle royale just for the privilege of talkingwith him? Not even that, just for the right to ask him a question? No, even worse, just for the privilege to ask it first? And some of the other Digimon were agreeing? Lowemon could just imagine his brother asking him what he thought was going happen, and while he wasn’t sure he also knew at least the answer was not this.

And yet…

And yet Devidramon had been beyond thankful in his letter, he’d been reverent. Devidramon had written a letter not to him, Lowemon the Warrior Digimon, but to the dragon’s real life savior. The virus type had not minced words and they came just short of worshiping the very ground Lowemon stood on. And maybe it was Lowemon’s mistake not to appreciate that. The Warrior of Darkness barely thought about it these days, but “Warrior of Darkness” was a title with heft and pedigree. It wasn’t that he treated his duty casually, on the contrary Lowemon (and Wolfmon, and Agnimon, and Fairymon and all the rest) took his mission deathly seriously, but it was also something that came naturally to him as a Digimon. It was simply another fact that he carried with him, just another thing he accepted when he evolved, another truth that followed him as surely as his shadow. But there it was, he was Lowemon, inheritor of Darkness, successor to Ancient Sphinxmon, one of the Real World’s Ten Warriors. That meant something, but more than that he, Lowemon meant something to Devidramon and probably to Overdell. When Devidramon looked at him for the first time he saw his shadow.

And he could feel Wolfmon nudging him from behind.

Lowemon’s gaze cast itself slowly across the room, past the excited, jabbering crowd and eventually landing on Baalmon who had quietly settled himself across the room on the stone bench. The watcher sat in the middle of the crowd but hadn’t bothered with the feverish debate. As he glanced up his eye met Lowemon’s. The white Digimon gave only twitch of his eyelid, but he understood. His sight truly was exceptional.

“Tell me, Lowemon,” Baalmon began, leaning casually to one side, “what is your evolution stage? You’re a hard one to get a read on.” his voice was intentionally loud enough to be heard through the room but the tone was one of idle curiosity like the thought had just popped into his mind and as though the three dozen other Digimon filling the room had simply slipped under his notice.

All eyes turned to Lowemon, who very deliberately avoided noticing them beating down on him in favor of looking squarely at Baalmon. The whiteclad Demonkin gave a slight tilt of his head, his eye glancing to both sides at the many expectant faces and then back at the black Warrior. The room had swiftly fallen silent at his question. The floor is yours, Baalmon’s gaze said, make it count. Lowemon could almost hear the faintly mocking tone in his voice.

“I’m a Hybrid form Digimon.”

“That isn’t a normal form,” Baalmon stated, factually.

“No, it isn’t.” Lowemon said. He left it there so he’d have the time to weigh his words. In a few moments he would be asked the obvious next question and he wanted to get ahead of the curve. It wasn’t so much that he needed to hide his form, or his attribute, or his element, or most other things about him as a Digimon, it was that there was so much he could say about himself and he needed to figure out what parts actually mattered.

“How do you become a Hybrid Digimon?” came the deep voice of a Wendimon squatting on its haunches on the upper level. “Could I evolve into a Digimon like you?”

“It would probably be impossible,” Lowemon admitted, “my evolution isn’t a natural evolution. A Digimon can only evolve into a Hybrid using the Spirit, that is the crystallized power, of another, very powerful Digimon. I, Lowemon evolved using a Spirit inherited from one of the ancient Ten Warriors.” Once upon a time this would have been the complete truth, and really he hadn’t lied so much as he’d left out the last, little detail. Again, Lowemon felt no real need to hide things about himself as a Digimon, but only about himself as a Digimon…

“Who the heck are the Ten Warriors s’posed to be?” Called Impmon.

“The Ten Warriors were our predecessors in the ancient Digital World who embodied the power of the ten elements. They fought against the tyrant Lucemon and sealed him away, but after the battle their powers were spent and they left behind their Spirits so future generations could inherit their powers to protect the Digital World.”

There was murmuring around the room, murmering and questions. Questions that came in like hail. “Your predecessors?” “Have you ever heard of this?” “Who’s Lucemon?” “Ten Elements?” “Are there really that many elements?” “Are there really only ten elements?” A Bakemon called something not quite intelligible, the flock of Sound Birdmon hanging on the ceiling generated confused chimes, but it was Devidramon who tilted his long neck to look down at Lowemon and ask the question:

“I’ve never heard of any of these things, where is it you come from, Lowemon?” the dragon hesitated before asking what was obviously a rhetorical question: “Are you from a different Digital World?”

Lowemon took a breath, then nodded. “I am.” He had braced himself for an explosion, for the Digimon to flood the room with overwhelming noise and excitement. He’d promised himself he’d wait out the furor, that he’d weather the tide and hold out for the furor to settle before going on, but the waves didn’t hit like he’d expected. For one moment there was shouting and exclamation, he held on, trying to hold back panic, but it fell back. The voices resolved themselves, into eager, singular questions, one at a time:

“How did you get here? Didya cross the firewall?” asked an Evilmon flapping up in the air.

“I rode a Trailmon, a kind of vehicle Digimon with tracks that pass between worlds.”

“What’s your Digital World like?” yelled Dracmon through cupped hands.

“It’s not the same as this world, but not that different. Digimon are still Digimon there.” Lowemon took another look around the room at the many eager eyes staring back, “I think my Digital World has Digimon of every species of here, maybe even every Digimon on this island. I’ve met most of them, at least.”

“But another Lowemon couldn’t evolve here, huh?” mused an Impmon, very loudly, arms behind his head, “Kinda weird, isn’t it? And it doesn’t seem fair...”

“It isn’t,” Lowemon admitted.

Matadormon clicked his fingers from where he leaned against the wall, a sound like scraping metal. The Undead Digimon ran his blades along the sharp metal of his face and turned downward. “You say your world has all the same Digimon, but how they live is different, is it not? I’ve been trying to sink my teeth into what’s different about you, for it is there down to your very walk. Now I see that it is quite simple: You do not walk in fear because the Digimon of your world do not fear you, do they?” From his seat Baalmon’s eye turned up in a smile.

“You’re right. Before I came to this world I was told it would be different in that way, the message I received said that I would be ‘received with hostility’. When I first met Devidramon he warned me, but I was still surprised by the Digimon of the city.”

A Boogiemon gave a loud, hacking laugh. “I wish I could be surprised by those city creeps.” There was a general chorus of agreement and even a couple of cheers at that. Lowemon said nothing. He could have said more, to properly commiserate, to talk about how this had surprised him but not been new to him, but his experience in that realm came from when he wasn’t Lowemon. This was simply another thing he didn’t need to share.

“Is it true you have a Digivice?” asked a Soulmon.

“I do. Each of my comrades has one. We use it to scan and purify data, and to return lost Digimon to where they belong,” Lowemon said, and evolve he didn’t say.

“But I thought only humans with partner Digimon had Digivices. You don’t have a partner, do you?” called a Pipismon, hanging on the ceiling.

The answer, of course, was no, but the question had crossed Lowemon’s own mind many times these last few days, starting from the moment he’d seen Hikari and Tailmon sitting on a bench in a Real World park. For a little while he’d entertained the idea that maybe Tailmon and the rest of those Digimon had somehow been offshoots of their human halves, or speculated that their Spirits had been reborn in the exact same way Lowemon’s former spirit had been revived, but that didn’t seem true at all. The humans here didn’t seem to be able to fight at all, and the Digimon seemed differently distinct. They were connected, but the way they overlapped was different from the way Lowemon and his counterpart in the Digital World were connected.

And all of that had stuck with him, leaving the faint dizziness of dissonance. The feeling wasn’t envy for Hikari or dissatisfaction with himself, it was more of a feeling of deja vu. Those times he’d seen one of Hikari’s friends with their partner Digimon had brought on the sense that he was seeing something incredibly familiar and wholly foreign. Yet Lowemon instinctively recognized it, he understood Tailmon when she said she was there for Hikari, he understood what Garurumon said about his partner and their connection, he understood the unspoken nuance shared between Iori and Ankylomon. Maybe in another lifetime if he had been born in this world he could have had a partner Digimon, or even been a partner Digimon…

“No I don’t,” said Lowemon. He had a brother, friends, comrades, but he didn’t have a “partner” like they did. He was himself. It left an odd taste in his mouth for sure but it wasn’t something to be sad about, nor was it something to be happy about. It just was. But it was in a way that stuck with him, that pecked at him. That left such an odd feeling in its wake.

“Nah, I guess not,” agreed Pipismon.

“Who are the other nine warriors?” asked Matadormon.

This was easy, so easy Lowemon of Darkness got caught out. He named them: Agnimon of Fire, Chakmon of Ice, Fairymon of Wind, Blitzmon of Thunder, Grottomon of Earth, Arbormon of Wood, Ranamon of Water, Mercuremon of Steel, and Wolfmon of Light “my brother.”

It slipped through so easily Lowemon didn’t even realize what he’d said until Dark Lizamon[*] called it out: “Your brother is the Warrior of Light?”

Lowemon nodded, “He is.”

“And you work together?” The flame Digimon had suddenly crouched down from its perch on the upper step to stare intensely at Lowemon. Its black flames burned low.

“We do.”

“And this is normal?” interjected Matadormon stepping forward, “It isn’t a special dispensation for you and your station?” the Undead Digimon was clicking his bladed fingers again.

Lowemon looked around the room. He imagined the Digimon here back home. Back with Yaamon at Togemon’s school, or clashing with Black Were Garurumon at the races, or living in the Dark Continent alongside Sepikmon, or even laying down their lives alongside Zanbamon and Gran Kuwagamon. “No, it has nothing to do with my title, that’s how it is in my Digital World.”

“Geez, must be nice,” Impmon said.

“Maybe,” Lowemon paused, looking up at the striding tiny demon, “but it’s possible a place like this wouldn’t exist in my world either.”

“Eh? Whadya mean?”

“My world isn’t divided by element or attribute, but by body type. Wars have been waged across the whole span of my world between Human-type Digimon and Beast-Type Digimon. When Lucemon descended in the ancient Digital World he was seen as a savior because he ended the fighting, at least for a time. His cruelty was so extreme that it united the whole world against him. That was the only time my Digital World was truly united and when he was defeated the fighting resumed. Even the Three Great Angels who rose up and sought to maintain peace in the world once fell prey to in-fighting because of it, in part. There are some places in my Digital World where it would be unimaginable for a humanoid Digimon like you, Impmon, to live peacefully alongside Devidramon or Dark Lizamon.”

Impmon wheeled around to look up at the black dragons, “What? Why? Just ‘cause they’ve got four legs and I’ve only got two?”

“Yes.”

“That makes no sense.”

“You’re right,” Lowemon nodded, “it doesn’t.”

And that gave the musty underground room some pause. The Warrior of Darkness could see it playing out in their eyes and hear it in the quiet mumbling as the isolated, forsaken Digimon in their bleak little outpost imagined being carved up and split apart and being even more alone. It wasn’t pleasing, but it was also, comforting to see the Digimon of Overdell in disbelief.

“No way, I’d never do that,” Impmon said.

“Lowemon,” Devidramon’s deep voice trembled. It was painfully quiet. “when we first met I saw you tense up, In your world, would we have been enemies Lowemon?”

“Maybe. Not if I had the choice,” Lowemon hated admitting it, but-

“But you are not the one who strikes the first blow,” Baalmon inserted smoothly. “I see you, Lowemon. You are strong and have earned the right to make that choice.”

“Baalmon?”

“I admit I was skeptical of Devidramon,” the white Digimon glanced upwards at him for only a fraction of a second, “but you are rather different than I imagined when he raved about you. I thought you were a naive savior at first, or a blundering fool, or a would-be demagogue,”

“That I was a threat,” Lowemon interpreted.

“But you are merely a warrior. Well, not ‘merely’ one, you are an exceptional warrior. One with strength enough to live as you choose, to choose to stand alone.”

“I’m not alone, Baalmon, I’m one of ten. Even if they aren’t with me we’re still connected to each other. I could never have come this far if I was alone.”

Baalmon shrugged, “it doesn’t really matter how you came to be strong, you are strong. You have power, the skill to wield it, the discipline to shape it, and the will to use it. You have the strength to break your bonds, to live free, and to walk whichever path you want to follow. You, Lowemon, don’t lock yourself in a cramped tomb out of fear for the sun.”

“I’m not that special.”

“And you even mean it!” Baalmon laughed. “I thought you were a fool, and you are! I was just wrong about what kind of fool you are.”

“Don’t call him a fool!” roared Devidramon. Instantly, Baalmon’s laughter stopped. “Lowemon is-” but the white Digimon calmly turned to look up at Devidramon, who flinched. The demon’s cold eye sharpened. Baalmon’s steely gaze was now a cruel needle of undeniable contempt, his free arm reached down to slowly run a hand along the red book strapped to his side. All eyes stared at it. Devidramon trembled.

“What were saying Devidramon?” Baalmon’s voice was spitefully smooth. The Digimon’s eye was narrowed, but his words were flat. Dismissive.

“Lowemon is…” Devidramon shivered, the dragon had pulled himself backwards on reflex, his wings were shaking, his tail down flat on the floor. He couldn’t meet Baalmon’s gaze. “Lowemon is… Is, are there other places in your world Lowemon?”

“There are places without fighting in my world,” Lowemon said, gently. His own combat instincts had kicked in and his left hand had crossed over to thumb the ring on his right index finger. It probably wouldn’t come to it, but he was ready to fight for real, even if it was against a Demon Lord.

“So it doesn’t have to be that way? We wouldn’t have to fight?” Devidramon was clutching desperately to anything.

“I said Overdell might not exist in my world, but it could.” Lowemon rose to his feet. “My world has places where Digimon of different types can live in peace and harmony. My brother told me once of how he and some of my other comrades were able to end the fighting between two warring factions of Digimon and restore peace to their island. Since our battle with Lucemon the Ten Warriors have been working hard to bring peace to the world and make more places where Digimon can live in harmony. Peace is always possible, even after a thousand years of fighting. That’s what I believe.”

There was soft murmering in the underground room. “Could it happen here?” asked an Evilmon.

Lowemon nodded. “Of course it could.” She saw it in the dark.

“Yeah, but your world’s got you, and those other guys,” said Impmon dejectedly.

“What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You’re some big important guy with a big mission and a destiny who went and saved the world! People wanna listen to you. We don’t got anyone like that here.”

Lowemon wanted to disagree on reflex, but caught himself. As he looked around the dim, gray, underground room he’d caught a flash of blue. They were eyes clouded with real hatred. Not many humans had a gaze that burned like that. He’d recognized the feeling behind it, once outside the flower shop when he’d…

He blinked.

“That doesn’t have to be true,” said Lowemon.

“Why can’t we?” said Devidramon, at the same moment. He glanced down. Lowemon nodded up at him. “You heard Lowemon, right? Things are changing in his world, Lowemon and his brother can work together and they’re fighting for peace! So what if they’re special Hybrids with special spirits? What makes them different from us?”

“They’re strong. You’re not,” said Baalmon to dismiss him... But then his presence changed. Baalmon was now, somehow, much more there. He wasn’t a slender and dangerous shadow, in a moment he was wholly in the room and Lowemon could see what was casting him. The Demon stood up and once again turned towards Devidramon, who had reflexively started backing away. “Tell me, what do you want Devidramon? Do you desire power? The might to change the world? You’re hardly the first dweller in the darkness to raise their fist to the sun. Do you want that? The power to reshape the world with your claws?”

“That’s…” Devidramon hesitated, his eyes flicking around the room. Lowemon nodded to him, encouraging him. He’d finally recognized what had been Baalmon. This wasn’t nice, but it also wasn’t a fight. It was a question that needed to be answered, one way or the other. And he wanted to believe in Devidramon. He still felt a twinge of sympathy seeing Digimon of Overdell staring up at the dragon so intensely, but also for the crowd who were looking away. He knew that as well, the need to look away and not see. It was better to look up than at shape standing down in the center of the room.

“Do you intend to wage war against the dispensation of the world?” Baalmon’s voice asked again.

“No! That’s not-”

“Oh? But you want power don’t you?”

“Yes, but-”

“Why? What would you do if you had Lowemon’s power? This ‘Spirit’ of his?” he was striding forward.

“I don’t know,” his tail lashed, he was up against the wall “but-”

“You don’t know? But you still want it, yes?”

“Yes, I mean, no-”

“No?”

“It’s not his power that I want!” Devidramon wailed, shrinking down.

“No? It’s not? You don’t envy his strength?”

“I do! But It’s not-”

“Not what? What do you want Devidramon?”

“I want, I want Lowemon’s, I want his, his…”

“His what?”

“His… His pride! I want to be like Lowemon and be proud of myself! I want to have his honor! I want his dignity! I wish I could save Digimon like he does and be strong and sure and upright!”

“So, rather than wanting his power what you really want is his character?” His voice was deep, slow, methodical. Cold. Heavy. Weary. Thoughtful.

“Yes! I want to be like Lowemon!”

“Why?”

“Because…” Devidramon froze, caught up in the vast eye’s predatory gaze. But there was no relief from the gaze, no further back he could shrink. It was bearing down on the heart of things. The black dragon gulped. “Because Lowemon... Lowemon gives me hope.”

“Hmmm,” And it was gone. Baalmon was merely a white shadow giving a low hum. He walked back to his stone seat and dropped back into it, like nothing at all had happened. “Say more.”

“Say more? What more? What do you want me to say?” Devidramon stared. Fear had fled in favor of confusion, no frustration. It burst out of him. “Lowemon, he makes me think that I, that we could all be more. I didn’t choose to evolve into a Devidramon. Some days, no most of the time I hated it. I didn’t want to be like this, I didn’t want to be tossed out of the city, I didn’t want everyone to stare at me and be afraid and whisper behind my back! I never asked for this! I never wanted this! But I thought I was stuck like this, doomed to be hated by everyone. Somewhere along the way I gave up on trying to be anything else or even trying to evolve anymore. I thought this was all I’d ever be, just someone the whole island hated until I died, but seeing Lowemon in the Real World was the first time in ages I felt like I had a choice! I thought I knew everything about Dark-species Digimon, but Lowemon is totally different. And if he’s like this maybe I can be too! I don’t have a “Spirit”, but maybe I can change and evolve into a totally new kind of Dark Digimon too! Is that so wrong? Is it wrong I want to have hope?”

“No, it isn’t” Lowemon said, definitively. “Hope belongs to the Dark.” All eyes were on him once again as he stood up and walked forward, but this time his anxiety was far away. The words unspooled, a truth pulled from the core of his being. “Some people say that Light and Hope are intertwined, that one can’t exist without the other or even that the two of them are one and the same, but that’s wrong. Hope goes where it needs to, and it grows where it’s absent. Hope grows from the Dark, it emerges in prayers whispered before midnight, it stands resolute in our darkest hours, and it emerges from anyone still struggling when everything seems lost to the night. Hope doesn’t need Light because people don’t need Hope when their futures are bright, they need it when the path seems lost.”

“I never thought about it like that…” Devidramon said.

“You, and every Digimon here are heirs to what could be. You aren’t condemned to always lurk in the darkness, everyone here can choose what you want to be and where you want to be, even if it seems impossible. Your fate is still up to you. If you want to change your species, even your element that’s fine, because you can; your potential is unmatched in the entire world. The difference between an Angel Digimon and a Demon Digimon is slim, one species of Digimon wouldn’t exist without the other in contrast to it. It’s said that Devimon might have once been an Angemon, but it can happen the other way; a Devil can become an Angel, or any other kind of Digimon there is. It all comes down to what you choose.” Lowemon turned slowly around the room, past Ghosts and Beasts and Phantoms and the Undead and Devils and Dragons and Demons, his world or not they were his peers, his fellow inheritors of the sphinx’s legacy.

“Everything and every element in the world, in every world, is intertwined with paths crossing between them. When the spark of life touches Darkness, everything is born. From the Dark comes Hope and gives rise to Light, Light creates action, Fire kindles courage joined with Wind to rise up, Thunder crosses the sky to connect us like it connects heaven and Earth, Water’s kindness allows for Wood to grow with honesty and integrity, Steel creates wisdom and fortitude, Ice reflects transience, and in the end melts away and all returns to Darkness – but that’s only one path. There are as many connections between the elements as there are Digimon, every element is part of one vast spectrum flowing together, but it always starts and ends in Darkness. Take pride in that and take pride in yourself, in who you are.

The world begins with you.”

---

Something Something “best laid plans” or something. It’s funny, looking back I actually finished up the first draft of this chapter exactly one year to the day after my last update. This time, however, I actually have had a significant uptick in terms of productivity so I might have part 3 out before 2026! C’es La Vie.

Everyone does their writing in a different way, and for me one of the consequences for how I write (I’m an Intuitive Plotter, thanks Ellen Brock) is that often what I write is new to me. I do know where I’m going and what the point of it is, but the path I’m taking to get there isn’t always clear. This chapter is one that underlined it for me, all the stuff that happened here was planned and outlined, but Tailmon’s highly reasonable suspicion was not one I had intended to voice until just about the exact point in the chapter where it happens, but it fit cleanly into that scene and into where I knew I was going and what was happening in the scene. My work is also in flux just based on what I’m reading and thinking about and engaging with at any one time, there’s one particular bit of the chapter in Overdell that emerged directly from something I read that I disagreed with enough to be functionally vaguetweeting, assuming you are literally me and have all of the context in my weirdo brain (and it’s not for the first time TBH). And speaking of Overdell, Baalmon’s presence was also a surprise. I realized he fit well but it took a couple of drafts to really figure him all the way out (also at least a third of the reason he’s here is because of DawnSeraph, who I really will never be able to thank enough).

Speaking of thanks, I want to thank ElainBlueville, Buiest, ShelbyRB, Kiri_Kaitou_Clover, ZAFT_Convoy, Grabdog, Dromus, KitsunePOP, MajesticSky01, rinodude (I did manage to get it out soon!), LightningForce123, and everyone else who liked, followed, favorited, and followed it.

Also shout out to Kazari for their translations, the contents of one is referenced obliquely in the text. That was sure a thing that happened boy howdy.

Hoping to see you all soon, until then…

To Be Continued