Chapter 10:
The Crystal Mountains
As tall crystal peaks towered over them, the kids wandered through the only safe passage available to them, a pathway surrounded by clear crystal that cast reflections like a giant hall of mirrors. The weather was mild, far removed from the extreme heat on one side of them and the extreme cold on the other side.
All through this, Akira had been unusually silent. Seita had been trying to get her to talk to him again and tell him what was bothering her, but she ignored him. Her face was like a mask. After a while, Seita was about to lash out at her in frustration.
“Drop it.”
Seita jumped in surprise, and saw Kei glaring at him.
“You're not going to get anything out of her that way,” she continued, “She'll just shut you out until you leave her alone.” She looked down and spoke softly, almost to herself, “The year she stayed with us, whenever Mom was away, Akira would shut herself up in her room every chance she got, and refuse to talk to anyone for weeks.”
Seita looked at Kei suspiciously. “How come? What happened to her?”
Kei glared at him again. “Did I say something?” She turned around and walked away.
Seita glared back at her. Jeez, they're exactly alike! They never give anyone straight answers! He looked at Akira, walking in front of him, and wondered what was going on in her mind.
After a while, the group came to a large, open space. The path ahead branched out in two places. Akira stopped, looking first to the left, then to the right.
Seita swallowed, taking a risk to speak to her again. “Which path do we take?”
Akira slowly walked away from him, eyes still on the paths. “I don't know yet.”
Yuka eyed both paths, silent, and her gaze rested on one path. She pointed at it. “I don't want to go in there.”
Tian looked at it. It was the path to the right. Compared to the left, it was darker and mistier. She glanced at Renamon, who stared at it and nodded to her. “I don't think we should, either,” Tian confirmed.
Ignoring the conversation around her, Akira walked closer to the paths, Digivice in hand. Toward the left path, the Digivice glowed brightly. Toward the right, however, the light flickered on and off and the Digivice beeped uncontrollably. Akira stared at it, a very faint frown on her face.
“Now that's strange...”
“Should we split up?” Jun asked. “Some of us go left, the rest go right?”
“I really don't think we should,” Tian replied, a bit more forcefully than she had liked. She turned toward Akira, silently pleading.
Akira stared at her and swallowed hard, feeling suddenly light-headed. Her mind felt so full. She knew Tian wanted her to go left, and it was probably the best and safest decision. But she was strangely drawn toward the right path. Why did the Digivice behave the way it had toward it? Something about that area attracted her, and she didn't know why.
Akira shook her head wearily. “We don't have to split up. All of you can go left, but-” She turned and pointed, “Kodamon and I are going right.”
Tian quickly walked toward her. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“Akira, I -”
“Don't worry about us,” Akira continued, “We'll just see what's there, and catch up with you. But until then...”
Tian looked into Akira's eyes and got nothing but a cold stare. She sighed, defeated. “I understand.”
“Good.” Akira turned away and took Kodamon by the paw. Kodamon turned toward Tian, worried. Tian just smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.
She turned away and faced the others. “We're going left. Akira and Kodamon will follow us later.” She waited until mostly everyone filed ahead of her, then grabbed Seita by the wrist and pulled him aside.
“Hey! What are you -”
“Shh! We need to talk.”
“What about?” Seita replied in a huff.
Tian looked at him sternly, and pointed to the right. “The two of them should not be alone like that. I want you and Gazimon to go with them.”
Seita stared at her incredulously. “What? Why?” At this time, being near Akira was the last thing he wanted to do. “I don't think Akira wants to talk to me, much less let me keep her company!”
Tian raised an eyebrow. “Really? And I thought you two were finally getting along!” she said sarcastically.
Seita shot a nervous glance down the path, and turned back toward Tian. “But why me? Why don't you stay with her instead?” he demanded softly, “You are her best friend, after all.”
Tian sighed. “Because aside from me, you are probably the only other person who can save her if something happens.” She pointed a finger in his face. “And I have a large group of kids to worry about.”
“But-”
“Seita, you know something's wrong with her! Can't you feel it?” She took a deep breath. “And this place... something about it – it just feels wrong! Whatever it is, it's affecting her more than the rest of us. If something were to happen to her – if she loses herself to this place... she might not come back.”
Seita was about to reply, then he remembered the dead look on Akira's face the last time he'd spoken to her. He swallowed, then nodded.
Tian let out a deep breath, realizing she had been holding it. “Thank you.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “It'll be okay. You have Kodamon and Gazimon to help you, remember? And don't worry about me. I can take care of everyone else!”
She smiled and walked away, leaving a bewildered Seita behind. She caught the look on his face and laughed to herself.
Honestly, you and Akira need to wake up! You may argue and nag at each other, but from what I've seen... I think she would would much rather talk to you than to me. Maybe... She closed her eyes.
Maybe, given time, she'll explain to you what she has refused to explain to me for over a year.
“Something wrong, Tian?”
Tian's eyes snapped open, and she turned to see Mana next to her, looking concerned. “No, nothing's wrong,” she replied. “Come on, let's catch up with the others.” As they walked, she thought a moment and smiled to herself in wonder. It's funny, how you could get so caught up in other people's problems that you end up forgetting your own...
“Is that how you've dealt with your troubles, then? By pushing them away?”
Tian froze. Her breathing accelerated as she looked around wildly. Who said that? She looked at Mana. “Did you hear something?” Mana shrugged and walked on ahead. Tian started to jog after her and the others.
“You should be nervous. Agitated. Upset. You have given yourself and everyone else so much heartache.”
Tian shivered. The voice sounded very familiar. What was going on?
“You were a troublemaker from day one!”
“Renamon!” Tian shouted, her pulse quickening. Renamon appeared next to her, puzzled.
“What happened?”
“I – I don't know,” Tian stammered, “I heard someone talking to me. I don't know where it's coming from... I think... inside my head?” She looked at Renamon. “I hope I'm not going crazy!”
Renamon put an arm around her shoulders. “I'm sure you're not.” She looked up and closed her eyes. “I think it's this place. We shouldn't be here.”
Suddenly, the ground shook, and crystallized rocks began to slide from a mountain peak. The rocks hit the ground directly around where Jun and Mana were standing.
Tian gasped and ran over to the rock fall. “Mana! Jun!” She could hear coughing from underneath. “Patamon! Salamon! Is everyone all right?”
“We're fine!” Jun called back, “Nothing hit us.”
“We're trapped in here, though! No one can move these rocks!” Mana added.
Tian thought a moment. “Can Patamon or Salamon evolve?”
“We can't!” Salamon replied, “Something's blocking us!”
Tian paced in frustration, then relaxed. “Listen,” she said calmly, “I'm going to take the girls and get help. We'll find Akira and Seita. Will you be okay in there until we get back? ”
“Yeah,” Jun replied, “There's an air pocket in here, so we can breathe okay. We'll be fine!”
Tian breathed in relief. “Okay.” She started walking around, trying to find Kei and Yuka.
“You see? You did it again! You were supposed to watch over everyone, and look what happened! You're such a disappointment!”
Tian whipped around in surprise, hearing the voice echo in her mind again. Her eyes narrowed. Who are you?
“No!”
Tian jumped, and saw Kei sitting on the ground with her eyes shut tight, hands covering her ears. “No! Stop it! Stop hurting her! Leave her alone!”
“Kei...” Tian put a hand on her shoulder, but Kei pushed it away.
“Go away!” she screamed, getting up and running away. Terriermon followed, shouting her name.
Tian started to run after them when she looked around again and couldn't find Yuka or Lopmon anywhere. She started to panic. “Renamon, what's going on? What's happened to everyone?”
“What's happened? You should know!”
Renamon's senses perked up – she could 'hear' the unspoken, emotionally-charged thought pattern! Tian shut her eyes and covered her ears with her hands. “Renamon...” she murmured shakily, “Someone... help...”
Renamon wrapped one arm around Tian and charged an attack with the other. “Whoever you are,” she shouted to the air, “show yourself!” Her eyes narrowed. “You can't hide forever!”
“You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Always running to someone else to solve your problems!”
“Who are you?” Renamon shouted. She gazed at a crystal rock-face, reflecting Tian's pale, stricken form within her arms. A misty figure began to appear in the reflection.
“Why can't you admit that you've done wrong and take responsibility?”
The figure in the reflection suddenly became clearer, revealing a woman with short black hair, brown eyes, and glasses . Tian gasped and blinked in disbelief.
“...Mom...?”
Renamon looked at where Tian was staring, and frowned. Her mother...?
“You only hurt everyone that you run to for help! Your friends. Your relatives. ...Your father.”
Her mother's figure changed slightly, becoming several years younger. The clothes she was wearing were streaked with blood, none of it her own.
Tian took a sharp breath, and tears began to fall from her eyes. “No!” she screamed out, sinking to the ground. “That wasn't my fault! I was just a kid!”
She wrapped her arms around herself, shut her eyes… and memories began flowing back.
Eleven years earlier...
A five-year-old Tian woke up suddenly to a shout and a violent banging of the front door.
She yawned and rubbed her eyes, wondering who would be visiting so late. She had only been sleeping for an hour.
She blinked, and looked around at the piles and towers of boxes strewn about the room, and felt a twinge of excitement. They were moving soon. Her father had just gotten a new job in Japan, and they were going there in less than a week.
She was about to lie down again when she heard a rather loud conversation start up outside her bedroom door. Wondering what the fuss could be about, she got up and crept over to the door to listen.
“I just heard from some of the people in town – the secret police is after you!” a high, worried voice blurted out. Tian, listening carefully, identified the voice as her aunt’s.
She heard her mother gasp.
“What?!” her father replied incredulously.
“They’ve been making inquiries about you,” her aunt continued, “I don’t know why… but it can’t be anything good. You have to leave, now!”
“This can’t be happening…” her father murmured, with a hopeless tone that she had never before heard from him. “How could they have caught on to us so quickly? How did they find out?”
“What do you mean, ‘find out,’?” her aunt demanded, “What have you been doing?”
No one spoke.
“Are you involved in something shady?” her aunt continued, “Or…” There was silence, and then a soft gasp. “You haven’t… you’re not one of the rebels, are you?! Have you been passing information?!” Her voice grew more panicked. “We’re in the middle of a civil war... and doing that… Oh, if they find you, they’ll kill you!!”
“It’s nothing like that!” her father shouted, “You’ve got it all wrong!”
Tian’s eyes widened, and she slowly opened the door a crack.
“Don’t think about it any more,” her mother answered shakily, “Just tell us when they’re going to show up.”
Her aunt sighed in defeat. “Twenty minutes. Maybe less.”
Peering through the door crack, Tian could see her parents look at each other with an expression she didn’t quite understand. Then, she saw her mother hurry away, heading straight toward her and opening the door. Tian took a few quick steps back, barely missing being hit by the door.
“You're awake!” her mother said, surprised. Tian nodded, confused.
Her mother sighed. “Okay, go put your shoes on. We have to leave.” She picked up a bag and started stuffing various things into it.
Tian ran to the hallway and put on her shoes. She came back, whispering softly. “We're leaving? Now? Where are we going? Mama?”
Her mother didn't answer her. She had finished packing and slung her bag on her back. Her father appeared beside them a second later, carrying another bag.
“Daddy, what's happening?” Tian asked, “Where are we going?”
“I don't know where we're going. Yet.” He had a calm, yet troubled look on his face.
“Can I take my toys with me?”
“No!” he said sharply. “It will slow us down, and if we waste time, we'll be caught. You understand?”
Tian nodded, but she didn't understand.
“Will you be okay?” her aunt asked worriedly, “I can drive you over to the airport, or the train station, or anywhere else. Just so that you get away from here as soon as possible!”
“No, no…” her father replied, “Just go home, and don’t get any more involved with this.” When he saw her about to protest, he continued, “Please. Go home, and you can tell them truthfully that you have no idea where we went!”
“But-”
“Just go!” her mother said sharply, “Don’t worry about us. You have a family to take care of, right? You have kids to watch over! You can’t get involved and put them in danger too!”
Her aunt gulped, and nodded, blinking back tears.
“Be careful…” she whispered, “And good luck.” She hugged them both, and gave Tian a kiss on the cheek. “Take care…”
Her father pushed her. “Now, go!”
She nodded, and ran off, stopping only to wave at them.
When she was finally out of sight, Tian’s parents looked at each other and nodded.
Tian shivered and held her mother’s hand tightly as they ran out the back door of the house and into the night.
Renamon stared at Tian worriedly. There was a pained look on her face. Renamon shook her, trying to get her attention, but nothing worked. Tian seemed to have retreated into her own little world. Renamon heard an eerie laugh and turned to face the mother-reflection, which had an evil smile plastered on its face.
At that moment, Renamon realized what was going on. She growled at the image of Tian's mother. “Devimon!”
The image smiled at her evilly.
Renamon lifted an arm and began charging an attack. “Get out of that hideous disguise and face me properly!”
The image stepped out of the crystal, to become a winged demon, black as night.
“So you're behind all this...” No wonder the place had felt so cold and eerie and wrong.
“It took you long enough to figure it out,” Devimon hissed, “I created an unpleasant environment in order to keep you all off balance, and it allowed me to probe the minds of the children you were supposed to protect... to bring out their greatest fears and darkest secrets!” He cackled, then dodged as hundreds of icy arrowheads zipped past him.
“Why?” Renamon shot back. “It wasn't enough just to attack us with black gears and the Midnight Army?” She charged up her Fox Leaf Arrowhead again.
Devimon sneered. “Exactly. You and those children of yours are becoming a thorn in my side! We are so close to gaining complete control of this server and being able to set the next part of our plan into action, and you are all that stand in our way!” He dodged another shot of arrowheads. “Besides,” he laughed into Renamon's angry face, “it's much more satisfying to see those children rot from the inside out!”
Something in Renamon snapped, and she blasted a hurricane of arrowheads toward Devimon, dodging his own attacks. She kept on firing, but none of it had an effect on him. She looked at Tian in desperation. Tian was curled up into a ball, still trapped inside the nightmare of her mind.
Tian, Renamon thought furiously, You have to fight this! I need your help! Devimon's too strong... I can't do this on my own!
“Daddy… I’m tired…” Tian moaned, her feet dragging on grains of sand. The rumbling of waves and the smell of salt filled the air. “Can we stop?” She looked around and saw nothing but gray sky, gray sand, and gray sea, covered in gray fog.
It had been several days since Tian and her parents had evacuated themselves, and by that time, she was exhausted, and her feet were hurting like crazy.
Her father smiled. “Sure, we can stop.” He dropped the heavy bag he was carrying and sat down on the sand. Tian plopped down beside him, and looked around again, squinting through the fog. The faint outlines of a few ramshackle buildings and moored boats were visible.
“When is Mama coming back?”
“After she gets tickets for the boat.”
Tian’s eyes lit up. “We’re going on a boat?!”
He nodded. “Yup. Better watch yourself, so you won’t get seasick!”
Tian scowled. “I won’t get seasick!” Her father laughed.
Tian laughed along with him, then stopped. She raised an eyebrow. “Why didn’t you go with Mama to get boat tickets?”
Her father didn’t answer. The expression on his face was troubled. After a moment, he smiled and answered, “Because you were getting tired, and I was getting tired, and your mother can go for days without getting tired!”
Tian giggled.
The two of them were silent for a while after that.
“Tian…” her father murmured.
“What?”
“Are you scared?”
Tian blinked. “Huh?”
Her father continued. “After everything that’s happened to us, are you scared?”
Tian looked down for a moment, and slowly nodded.
“Do you understand why these things are happening?”
Tian slowly shook her head, still looking down.
“…I see.”
Her father was silent after that, and no one spoke. The only sounds that could be heard were the waves breaking along the shore.
“Tian,” her father spoke up again, breaking the silence.
“Yeah?”
“If anything happens to me or your mother…” he began, looking very serious, “there’s something important you must remember.”
Tian’s eyes widened. “If anything happens…? What’s going to happen?”
“Don’t worry about it now,” he answered, “It’s only just in case.”
Tian thought about it for a moment, then looked up at him seriously. “What do I have to remember?”
“These words…” Her father took a deep breath, and recited:
“All journeys have a beginning and an end. The end is close at hand, but the journey has only just begun. The times of trouble will soon come, and then only spirit will save us all.”
Tian listened, and tried reciting the phrases over and over.
“…and then only spirit will save us all,” she finished, with a breath.
“Right.” Her father smiled. “Can you remember that?”
Tian frowned. “I don’t know…” Then she brightened. “But I’ll try!” she answered cheerfully.
“That’s the spirit!”
Tian giggled, and got up. She stretched, letting the wind whip through her, and walked over to the edge of the shore, feeling the water tickle her feet.
“Don’t wander too far,” her father called out, “Stay where I can see you!”
Tian, however, was only half-listening, and soon wandered far enough so that she could barely be seen through the fog.
Just then, she heard a shout. She looked up and saw a group of soldiers with great, big guns. They were talking with several men, dressed in black suits and sunglasses. One of the men was holding a small, electronic device. He looked straight at her and pointed to her, saying a few unintelligible words. The soldiers nodded, and started jogging toward her.
Tian was terrified. She turned around and ran as fast as she could, but the warm sand under her feet was slowing her down.
“Daddy!”
Her father turned toward her, and his eyes widened in shock. He ran toward her and took her hand, pulling her along. After that, everything became a blur.
A feeling of panic. Hurried breathing. Being held by a warm, strong hand. Bullets whizzing by. Then, a sharp cry and a shudder. The next moment, landing on the sandy ground, staring into a pale, sweaty, pain-etched face.
“Daddy!” Tian screamed.
“Tian…” her father said weakly, “…remember what I told you…” He coughed violently, and specks of blood came out. “Remember those words at all costs… never, ever forget them…” He held her hand tightly. “Understand?”
Tian nodded in fright, and her fingers wriggled – he was squeezing her hand much too hard.
“Don’t forget…”
Her father’s eyes slowly closed, and he fell silent.
Tian’s eyes widened. “Daddy…?” She shook him. “Daddy?”
He didn’t move.
Tian froze, and stared at his inert body in shock. She became light-headed, and her eyes fluttered closed. She could feel someone lifting her up and carrying her away, and she could hear someone else screaming, somewhere nearby...
When Tian woke up, some time later, she found herself in the bottom of a boat. Her mother was sitting next to her, her clothes covered in red.
“Mama?” Tian asked, “what happened?”
No answer.
“Where are we going?”
Still no answer.
“Where's Daddy?”
A soft gasp, then her mother turned away, hands over her mouth.
Tian blinked, and looked the other way. She closed her eyes, and the tears started falling.
Devimon laughed as Renamon collapsed, exhausted and in pain from being hit with dark energy.
“You want to know something?” Devimon mocked Renamon, “You're going to be destroyed anyway, so I might as well tell you – my mind manipulation refused to work on quite a few of those annoying children. Two of them are so normal that no memory of theirs would truly hurt them. Another one worries more about the person he likes than about himself, but has surprisingly good control over it – he'd fought me off without even knowing I was there. His sister is so full of light that I can't stand within ten feet of her. But...” He smiled evilly, “I'll find other ways of getting to them.
“What I'm really amazed at,” he continued, “is how well my plan has worked with some of these children. Especially this one, full of guilt, despair, and hopelessness,” He looked to Tian's curled-up form. “There are two others like her. You may have seen what happened to one...”
Renamon remembered Kei's pained reaction, and her rage increased.
Devimon continued, “That little girl's memories seemed to offshoot from her sister's... I haven't started to probe her thoughts yet, and I'm already sensing waves of darkness from her!” He laughed. “I can't wait to start dissecting her mind and see what she's been through!”
Renamon closed her eyes and tried to stay conscious. It was getting harder and harder for her to think straight. All she could think about at that moment was getting Tian to wake up. She tried to mentally reach out to Tian, and got a faint answer. An image of Tian at the edge of a deep, yawning abyss. Renamon could sense feelings of despair.
Tian, Renamon urged her, fight back! Don't let yourself go over the edge! Devimon is just doing this to weaken you!
She probed deeper and caught feelings of loneliness.
Tian, you're not alone! Your friends are here! I'm here. Let me help you get over this! I don't want to see you this way!
Renamon could feel another emotion. Guilt. It had been buried in Tian's mind and heart from the very beginning, and Devimon's manipulation had brought it out into the open. Renamon's eyes widened in fear, and she could hear the dark thoughts Tian directed at herself.
“It's all my fault. It's all my fault that Daddy's gone and Mama won't talk to me anymore.”
Tian! Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault! You had no control over this!
“It’s my fault!”
No, it’s not !
A year later, Tian was an ocean away, in Japan, and starting a new life.
On one warm summer day, Tian stood at the front of a crowded school classroom, as a first-year transfer student in Odaiba Elementary.
She stared at the students in the classroom as the teacher wrote her name on the chalkboard. The students stared back at her, except one girl in particular, with short, close-cropped black hair and violet eyes. She was the only one who was smiling.
“Class,” the teacher said, “This is Tian Shu. She's come to us from a place called Nanjing, in China.” When the teacher mentioned China, the entire class became quiet. She ignored this and continued, “I want you all to be nice to her and make her feel welcome here. She has been through quite a lot.”
A vision of a misty beach came to Tian, unbiddingly, and she fought an urge to scream at the teacher.
The teacher didn't notice, and began looking for a place to seat Tian. “Let's see... the seat beside Mitsuishi is vacant. You can sit there.” She pointed to the seat next to the black-haired girl. Tian sat down, and the lessons began.
The girl smiled at her again. “Hi!” she whispered cheerfully, “I'm Akira.”
Tian stared at her and didn't answer.
“I remember you,” Akira continued, “You and your mom just moved into the house down the street, right?”
Tian shrugged and said nothing.
Akira looked back at her, concerned. She remained silent, and after thinking for a moment, she smiled. “If you want,” she whispered, “I can show you around after school. We could go get ice cream, or we could go to the park and play soccer, or we could study together... if your mom says it's okay!” She smiled again.
Tian frowned, then gave a slow smile. “It's okay with her. Thank you!” Her mother barely spoke to her now, and probably wouldn't care where she went as long as she came back before dark.
Akira smiled back and returned her attention to the teacher.
Not long after, Tian had adjusted to school and she and Akira became best friends. She had begun to forget the horrible things that happened to her and her family. Until one day, during break, when the classroom TV was on and was showing a news story about the continuing situation in China. When she saw the soldiers, she froze, and remembering the incident on the beach, a tear fell from her eye. “Daddy...” she whispered.
By this time, her father’s death had been officially written off as an accident – the death of an innocent bystander in a police raid on a nearby seaside town, but with numerous rumors that it was a cover-up for the murder of an enemy of the state. Tian didn’t know what to believe. The only thing she knew was that her actions on that day had helped it happen.
With that last thought, Tian began to cry.
It's my fault, she thought. It's my fault that you're gone. Why didn't I listen and stay put? Why did I wander away? If only I had stayed near you. If only I didn't slow you down. If only...
The tears came faster. She didn't notice the teacher ask what was wrong, or Akira's hand on her shoulder, or Akira talking to the teacher and leading her away. When she looked up again, she was in the bathroom, and Akira was hugging her.
“If you don't want to talk about it,” Akira told her softly, “you don't have to. But if it will help you stop being sad...”
Tian hiccupped, and looked up again to see a sad smile on Akira's face. She took a deep breath. “...Something bad happened to... someone I loved... and... and I... it was my-” She started crying again, even harder.
Akira hugged her tighter. “It's not your fault. Whatever happened, it wasn't your fault. You didn't have any control over it. It's the government’s fault.”
Tian sniffled and looked at her, surprised. “How do you know that?” She hadn't told anyone about what happened, in detail, not even the teacher.
“Just a hunch,” Akira smiled. “Things happen, a lot of times, that you have no control over. No matter how much you try, you can't do anything about them, and because of that, it's not your fault.” Her expression changed, and when Tian looked at her again, there was a pained look on her face.
Tian frowned. “Who told you that?”
Akira brightened again. “ My grandma, ” she said softly. “She said to always remember that, especially if something happened between-” She stopped suddenly, and closed her eyes.
“Did your grandma also tell you how inappropriate it is to talk about situations like this without a guidance counselor? Which is where I sent you two in the first place?”
Akira and Tian whipped around and saw their teacher's head poking through the bathroom door.
“If we did, the counselors would have asked too many questions, and Tian wouldn't have said anything,” Akira said pleasantly. “The same as if it were me. You send me there every other week for anger management, and the same thing happens. Absolutely nothing.”
The teacher sighed. “Come on then, go back to class. And Mitsuishi, please try to watch your mouth. You're getting too smart for your own good.” She walked ahead of them.
Akira stuck her tongue at the teacher's back. Tian smiled, and they both laughed.
Tian had begun to relax a bit more, and Renamon felt her thoughts become lighter. Tian slowly opened her eyes and looked at Renamon. She smiled.
“Thank you.”
Renamon smiled back, and began glowing. Tian heard a beeping noise, and pulled out her Digivice, glowing a bright yellow. She looked at Renamon and nodded.
Devimon looked down at them, confused, before he was hit with a blast of light.
“Renamon, evolve to... Kyuubimon!”
The light faded to show a large, golden fox with a long, segmented tail. She lifted it, and blue fire began forming from the tips.
“Fox Flame Dragon!”
The flames hit Devimon head on, and he staggered back. He glared at Kyuubimon. “That was most unexpected.” He shifted his gaze to Tian, who glared back at him. “Another child escapes me...” He suddenly smirked. “But not for long. You haven't seen the last of me yet! I'm off to see how your little friends are doing without your support!” He laughed and flew away before Kyuubimon could hit him again.
Tian watched him escape, his last words filling her with fear. She looked at Kyuubimon. “He got away...” she said faintly.
“Relax and rest a little. We'll go after him soon enough,” Kyuubimon replied.
Tian breathed out slowly, calming down. She ran a hand down Kyuubimon's fur. “You're amazing...” she murmured.
“I'm glad you came back to yourself,” Kyuubimon said, “You were scaring me back there.”
Tian sighed, a smile playing at her lips. “Everyone was right, I can't keep feeling guilty over things I can't control. It's just... I don't want anything bad to happen to the people I care about. If there's anything I could do to protect them, I would do it.”
“And you do,” Kyuubimon answered, “You're a pillar of strength for the others. If they don't go to Akira for help or support, they go to you. You're like their big sister!” Tian smiled brightly.
“Hey!”
They turned around to see Jun and Mana running toward them. A very tired Patamon and Tailmon followed. Tian stared at them in shock.
“Wow!” Mana gasped, looking at Kyuubimon. “Renamon evolved?”
“Yeah... it's a long story...” Tian said distractedly, “How did you get out of there?”
“Well...” Jun hesitated, “This may sound crazy, but there was this stupid voice in my head telling me that I put everyone in danger because I thought too much about my own problems and not enough about others. So... I did something about it.”
“Yeah!” Mana added, “There was a stupid voice in my head saying that I was useless because I complained more than I helped. So, I looked for things that would be useful for any crazy plans Jun would have for getting us out! And then, when we found out that Salamon could evolve again...”
“...You know the rest.” Jun finished. “Not that we didn't think you would get help for us – we knew you would. We just needed to get those voices to shut up!”
Tian stared at them some more, then smiled. She was relieved that Devimon's mind games didn't affect them as much as she feared. Then she grew serious.
“We have to find the others,” she said, “There's an evil Digimon, Devimon, running around here and messing with our minds. He tried it with you two, but I can see nothing really happened. And then... he got to me...”
Mana looked at her with concern. “Are you okay? What did he do to you?”
Tian swallowed. “It was horrible. But I'm okay now, really!” She tried to smile. “But I'm worried about everyone else. Yuka and Lopmon disappeared, and Kei... She's going through what I was going through...” She closed her eyes. “Seita and Gazimon are okay, I hope. Akira... I don't want to know.” She shuddered.
If what Tian had experienced was bad, then what would happen to Akira, whose inner demons were just as strong as hers?
“We have to find them. Now.”