Chapter 21:
Under the Pale Moon
It was a quiet, warm summer night.
A night when things should be calm and normal, at an hour when everyone, parents and children alike, should be safe in bed, dreaming wonderful dreams.
And yet, Yuka felt that something was wrong.
“It’s that vision again,” she murmured to herself, staring out from the overpass she was standing on, looking at the clear, indigo sky.
She’d been here many times before, in her daydreams and nightmares. The place seemed familiar, and at the same time completely different. In real time, she knew of a place with the same kind of aura, the same mixture of feelings, but it looked nothing like this. Here, the roads were too cramped and the cars looked slightly antiquated. The buildings and apartments were smaller than the towering ones she was used to seeing.
A sudden explosion echoed in the night. From the corner of her eye, Yuka saw something down below burst into flames. She looked toward the orange glow. Amidst the glare, she could barely make out the form of a large, yellow dinosaur-like creature, walking around aimlessly. A little girl was riding on its back.
“Hikari!”
A little boy’s voice rang out, the sound bouncing across the buildings. Yuka looked around, but she couldn’t see who it was that called.
Then, the sky began to shimmer, as what looked like an aurora and a giant egg appeared in the sky. The lights in every building began to wildly flicker on and off, and anything electronic nearby began to go haywire.
Yuka shivered. She knew what was going to happen next.
There was a bright flash as the airborne “egg” cracked, revealing a giant, green parrot-like creature. The giant bird landed in the streets, facing the smaller, yellow dinosaur. Yuka caught a glimpse of a little boy running toward it and meeting up with the little girl. The girl was crying and clinging on to the dinosaur for dear life.
Then, in a flash, the giant parrot fired an energy ball at the yellow dinosaur, causing a cascade of cracked stone chunks to rain down on it. Yuka watched in horror as the dinosaur and the two kids were showered in debris. When the dust cleared, an even bigger dinosaur, orange with blue stripes and with a large, boned head, emerged, its arms shielding the two children.
After that, it was all-out war. Bolts and beams of energy raked across the sky. Stray shots slammed into buildings and totaled everything in their path. The roads and vehicles crumbled under the weight of the two fighters.
Suddenly, an energy beam collided with the dinosaur-like creature with a tremendous explosion, and the dinosaur crumpled to the ground. A beat of silence fell over the area, only to be broken by the ragged, hysterical voices of the two children, calling out for it to wake up.
Then…
The noise of a whistle resounded across the ruins…
“Yuka!”
Yuka’s eyes snapped open. She looked up suddenly, the whistle still echoing in her thoughts. Lopmon was perched on her shoulder, looking slightly agitated. Kei was standing in front of her, carrying Terriermon in her arms and staring at her with a puzzled expression.
“Are you okay?” Kei asked, “You’ve been quiet for a while, and you had this really weird look on your face. Is something bothering you?”
Yuka stared at her for a moment, then quickly shook her head. “No,” she answered hastily, “I was just thinking about stuff.” Then, a confused look appeared on her face. “What was it you were talking about just now?”
Kei sighed and smiled a little. “You weren’t listening, were you? Well, Terriermon and Lopmon and I were talking about Akira and Kodamon, and Seita and everyone else… Wondering where they are, how they’re doing…” Her face puffed out a little in mock annoyance. “And you were just walking along with us, not saying a word!”
“Oh.” Yuka turned away from her and looked straight ahead, seeing nothing but brittle trees and dried, brown brush.
Kei continued to talk, more softly, as if only to herself. “I haven’t seen Akira since before we were all split up,” she murmured.
“When she was working on Jun’s laptop,” Terriermon added.
Kei nodded slowly. “Yeah. And even then, she wasn’t herself.” Her arms tightened around Terriermon. “She hasn’t been herself for a long time. Not since…” She opened her mouth again, as if to say something more, then changed her mind. A near-hopeless expression appeared on her face. “Akira…” she murmured softly. Then the hopeless look intensified. “Daddy…”
Terriermon snuggled out of Kei’s grasp and hovered over to her shoulder. “Kei,” he said lightly but seriously, “Cheer up! Don’t let thoughts like that crush you!” Kei sighed, and didn’t answer.
Yuka was only half-listening to this, as her mind had wandered back to her daydream. She thought of the little girl, and the yellow dinosaur – a Digimon, she now knew, though not any kind she had seen herself. She thought of the boy, as well – how the girl would cling to him for protection. Her big brother, perhaps. Her nii-chan.
Nii-chan…
Yuka never really called Seita that, even though many of the adults said that she should. Seita didn’t care very much, so neither did she. However, there were some times, when she was really, truly scared and alone, when the unfamiliar honorific would slip from her lips.
Especially one day, five years before…
On a hot, summer afternoon, a three-year-old Yuka innocently held onto her big brother’s hand as they walked through the park. Eleven-year-old Seita walked along with her, a little miffed at having to take her along.
They passed the soccer field, and they suddenly heard a shout. A game had just finished, and one of the players jogged over to them, followed by another. Yuka smiled and waved, recognizing them as Akira and Tian.
Akira caught up to them, looking cocky, and said a few words. Yuka saw Seita’s expression go from bored to ticked off in a matter of seconds, and soon enough, he and Akira were having a shouting match from opposite sides of the fence. Tian had resolved herself to standing nearby in hopeless boredom.
Yuka, knowing that arguments like these could go on for hours, walked over to a nearby park bench and sat, giggling to herself. She looked down at the ground, legs flopping, until she noticed a group of shadows towering over her.
She looked up, and saw she was surrounded by a group of men in dark suits and sunglasses. One of the men held out a strange, electronic device. It flashed twice, and beeped softly. The men nodded, as if the device confirmed whatever they had suspected.
The men then turned to Yuka. She couldn’t see their eyes – the sunglasses hid them too well – but she could feel them staring her down, boring into her. She felt a sickening dread.
Then, the men all turned around, as if startled by a shout from behind. Yuka turned around, and saw Seita there, looking angry. ‘Get away from my sister!’ he shouted out, and charged toward the men. One of the men pulled out a gun, and slammed the handle on Seita’s head.
Yuka watched as Seita cried out and sank to the ground, struggling to stay conscious.
The men then turned around to face her again.
Yuka’s fear increased, and staring at Seita crumpled on the ground, she screamed.
“Nii-chan!!”
“Yuka,” Lopmon said nervously, “You’re doing it again. Staring into space. Are you sure you’re all right?”
Yuka blinked, and the last wisps of the memory faded. “Yes, I’m fine,” she replied, almost too quickly. Lopmon didn’t look very convinced.
They all walked on in silence, and soon, a frigid, cold wind began to blow.
Kei shivered. “Is it just me, or did it get colder?” she muttered, with almost no feeling at all, save for a slight trembling from speaking through chattering teeth.
A tiny white spot landed on Yuka’s cheek. She put her hand to it, and it felt cold and wet. She looked up, and saw more white flakes starting to fall from the sky.
“Snow…” she murmured. A small smile appeared on her face – the first one in a long while.
The four of them continued walking for a while longer. The day slowly turned to evening, and a full moon was visible between the clouds. The snowfall had stopped, and under the moonlight, the landscape gleamed a brilliant, powdery white.
The sight of it gave Yuka a strange sense of calm.
“I miss Mom,” Kei said suddenly, speaking up for the first time in hours.
Yuka turned around to look at her, concerned.
“I miss Mom,” Kei said again, “And…” Her face screwed up, as she tried to hold back tears. “…I miss Daddy too!” She looked around at the white, snowy landscape around her, and began to cry.
“Kei-” Terriermon began, but Kei didn’t let her finish.
“I want to go home!” she shouted miserably, tears streaming down her face. “I don’t want to be here anymore!”
Yuka and Lopmon could only stare at her, at a loss for words to say to comfort her.
Then, a long, loud howl resounded in the distance.
Yuka looked up, startled by the noise. “Wolves?” She looked around her, but saw nothing but trees and snow and moonlight.
At the sound of the howl, Kei suddenly stopped crying. The color slowly began to drain from her face. Another wolf howl echoed through the trees, and she gasped. She began to shiver uncontrollably.
“Kei?” Terriermon said worriedly, “What’s wrong?”
Kei’s face had become a pale, stark white, and had a look of pure horror. She had wrapped her arms around herself, and she was shaking like a leaf.
Yet another wolf howl tore through the silence, and Kei stiffened. A terrified whimper escaped her lips.
“Kei!” Yuka ran over to her and shook her by the shoulders, trying to get her attention, but to no avail.
“Make them go away…” Kei murmured, in a ragged whisper. She sank to the ground, and her arms tightened around herself. “Mommy… Daddy… Make them go away…” Her eyes unfocused, and had a dull, faraway look in them.
Yuka stared at her, scared and confused. Why was Kei acting like this? In the short time Yuka had known her, she had never seen her so terrified.
When another howl was heard, Terriermon and Lopmon’s ears perked up, and after listening for a moment, they looked at each other in shocked realization.
“We should go,” Lopmon said anxiously.
Terriermon nodded. “Yeah. But-” His eyes flicked worriedly toward Kei, still sitting on the ground, in a fetal position.
Yuka knelt down next to her, and put a shaky hand on her shoulder. “Kei-”
But before she could say anything else, a whole series of howls sounded through the night air, and seemed to be getting closer.
Kei screamed in terror, shutting her eyes and covering her ears with her hands. “Someone help me!” she cried. “Get me out of here! Please! Make them go away!”
Then, Yuka heard a faint growling, coming from somewhere behind the brittle, dead trees. The pale moonlight shined through the trees, and Yuka could see tall, ragged shapes scurrying from one tree to another. They walked on two feet, and sometimes dropped to all fours. Glints of light from their beady eyes flickered, some red, others an eerie green.
Seeing this, the faint, nagging feeling of fear Yuka had immediately turned to dread.
Then…
One of the shadowy figures sprang from the trees and toward them, so fast that the frigid air seemed to crack. In the moonlight, Yuka could just barely see what it was – a wolf, but larger than any wolf she had ever seen before.
A tiny scream escaped her throat as the wolf Digimon came closer.
“Blazing Fire!”
“Blazing Ice!”
The sky lit up as both Terriermon and Lopmon’s attacks scored a direct hit on the wolf Digimon, but they had little effect. Two of the other Digimon swung their claws, and red and green energy blades shot out, knocking Terriermon and Lopmon out of the sky. Terriermon slammed against a tree, while Lopmon landed in the snow.
“Lopmon!” Yuka cried out, struggling to get to her. Her Digivice began to glow a bright pink. Lopmon jumped out of the snow easily, seemingly unhurt, the snow absorbing the shock of her fall. She began to glow as well.
“Lopmon, evolve to… Turuiemon!”
The fleet-footed purple bunny emerged, knocking out one wolf and uppercutting another.
“Swift Secret Punch!” The energy punches drove away a few of the Digimon, but the rest of the pack remained to gang up on her.
“They just keep on coming!” Turuiemon shouted, “Terriermon, help me out! Hurry up and evolve!”
No answer.
“Terriermon?”
“Terriermon!” Yuka shouted frantically, moving near Terriermon, lying unconscious in the snow. The blow against the tree had knocked him out. Yuka looked toward Kei, still curled up and shivering, oblivious to all but her fear.
Yuka could also see Turuiemon wearing out.
“Terriermon, wake up!” Yuka screamed, shaking Terriermon frantically. “Wake up!” After a moment, Terriermon moaned a little, and slowly got up, shaking his head.
“Wha’ happened?” he mumbled. A second later, he didn’t need an answer.
At that moment, green and red blades slammed into Turuiemon and knocked her down, reverting her to Lopmon.
“Lopmon!” Yuka cried out, carefully scooping her up. She looked up at the wolf pack, closing in menacingly. A renewed feeling of terror welled up in her, and she turned to Terriermon. “Terriermon!” she murmured loudly, “Evolve!”
Terriermon looked toward Kei hopelessly and shook her head. “I can’t,” he replied sadly, “Not when she’s like… this.”
Yuka then turned to Kei and shook her. “Kei!” She gasped at how cold Kei was. She was frozen, and did not respond to Yuka’s shaking. The dead, frightened look remained on her face.
A loud growl emanated from in front of them, then a deafening howl. Yuka turned as one of the larger wolves pounced into the air, green energy forming from its claws.
Yuka was so scared that she couldn’t move. As the green blades flew toward them, she could hardly breathe, and her heart was beating wildly.
At the last moment, she shut her eyes and screamed.
“Nii-chan!”
The scream echoed through the treetops, but even before it fully faded away, another replaced it.
“Fireball!”
From the corner of her eye, Yuka saw a bright red ball of energy collide with the wolf Digimon’s attack and destroy it in midair. She turned and caught a glimpse of another, different Digimon, but in the wan light from the moon, she couldn’t tell exactly who it was. The moonlight was then blocked by the shadow of someone crouching in front of her and Kei.
“Stay right there,” the shadowy figure whispered, with the voice of a young boy. “Don’t move.” Since it was dark, Yuka could not see the boy’s face.
The unknown child pulled out a small device, which shined and beeped. Yuka wondered if it was a Digivice, but it glowed an unfamiliar dark gray. The boy held out the device, and a dark gray light shot out of it, hitting some of the wolf Digimon and scattering the rest of the pack. The Digimon with him fired another shot, and a moment later, there was silence.
Yuka and Lopmon watched fearfully as the boy and his Digimon listened for a moment, then nodded, turning around to face them.
“Are they all gone?” Yuka whispered.
The boy nodded. “Yes.”
“Thank you,” Yuka replied gratefully.
“I don’t know what we would have done if you two hadn’t showed up,” Lopmon added.
The boy nodded at them again, dispassionately. The sky slowly brightened, as the sun began to rise. In the pre-dawn light, Yuka and Lopmon could see the two of them more clearly. The boy had black hair and soft, brown eyes, and was slightly taller than Yuka and Kei. The Digimon was a bright, red reptile with black accents and golden eyes, and looked oddly familiar.
Yuka and Lopmon looked at each other in surprise. They both knew the boy’s Digimon somehow, but from where, none of them were sure.
The boy and the red Digimon then moved toward Kei, still curled up and frozen with fear. Terriermon stood his ground for a moment, then quickly moved away as they came near
“Kei,” the boy said softly, kneeling down and laying a hand on her shoulder, “It’s okay. It’s all over now.”
Kei looked up slowly. Her dull eyes focused on the boy’s face, and slowly – slowly – there was a small spark of recognition. Her eyes brightened, and a smile spread across her face.
“Rion…”
Terriermon stared at Kei in shock. “You know him?”
“Rion!” Kei laughed and hugged the boy, almost knocking him over.
“Hey!” Rion laughed along with her. “I’m surprised you still remember me!”
“You come every year for vacation!” Kei piped up, “How could I forget you?”
A small cough interrupted her, and she turned around to see Terriermon, Yuka, and Lopmon standing nearby, looking puzzled.
“Oh… um, yeah!” Kei said hastily. “Everyone, this is Rion. He’s my next-door neighbor back home.”
Yuka’s eyes widened just a little. “Wow, really?”
Rion smiled at them. “And this guy here is my partner, Guilmon,” he added, patting Guilmon’s head. Guilmon blinked and looked up at Rion for a moment, then laughed and waved a claw.
“How come we never saw you when we got here, Rion?” Kei asked, “Did you just get here? Why didn’t you come looking for us?”
Rion looked down for a moment, then laughed and ran a hand through his hair in embarrassment. “Well… you see, I was alone when I got here, and for the longest time I thought that it was only Guilmon and me. I was actually surprised to see you here, Kei!”
“Really?” Kei replied. “Well, you’ll be more surprised to know there’s five more of us around here, besides me and Yuka – and their Digimon, too!”
Rion’s eyes lit up in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah!” Kei replied excitedly.
During all of this, Yuka was shocked and terribly confused. Less than an hour before, Kei had been stone-cold terrified – of what, Yuka had no idea. But now, with this Rion person, she was her usual, bubbly self. It was as if nothing had ever happened!
Kei, meanwhile, was still chattering to Rion. “You remember Akira, right?” she continued, “She’s here, too!”
Rion hesitated for just a moment, then nodded. “Yeah. I remember.”
His expression caught Yuka’s attention immediately. Somehow, when Kei had mentioned Akira’s name, Rion’s eyes had flashed for just a moment, and Yuka thought she had detected a bit of coldness. But it lasted for less than a second, then he was smiling warmly again.
At this, Yuka felt just a little doubtful about Rion. She then glanced over at Guilmon, and tried, without success, to figure out why he looked so familiar.
Lopmon had been observing Guilmon as well, and noticed how subdued he was during the rest of the conversation, even though he had smiled when Rion introduced him. He was very quiet, and for the most part, he looked sad and depressed.
All of a sudden, Kei shivered. “Brr!! I completely forgot how cold it was out here!”
Rion looked thoughtful for a moment, then spoke up. “I remember seeing someplace nearby where we could stay until it gets warmer.”
“You did?!” Kei blurted out hopefully.
Rion nodded and smiled. “Yeah. An old castle, maybe a mile or two away.” He pointed toward the west, away from the sunrise.
Kei cheered. “Let’s get going, then!” she said excitedly, “Before we all freeze to death!”
As she turned around to walk in that direction, chatting with Terriermon, Rion smiled again. This smile, Yuka noticed, really was different. It had more of an edge, and his eyes subtly changed from a soft, warm brown to cold black.
That expression set off warning bells in Yuka’s mind. It was creepy and unsettling, and only added to the doubts she had about him and Guilmon-
Guilmon! Yuka’s thoughts ground to a halt when she looked at him and remembered exactly where and when she had seen him before…
A time not too long ago… Akira, Yuka, Kodamon, and Lopmon were together, sitting near a clearing in the forest while the others pondered over computer data. Both Akira and Yuka were giggling over something. Then, Yuka abruptly stopped giggling and looked behind her.
“What is it?” Akira asked, looking at the same place and seeing nothing but trees.
“We're being watched...” Yuka whispered, shivering. Her crest began to glow.
Kodamon watched everything in surprise, and turned to see a light flash from the trees and a red energy beam slice through the air. It was headed straight for Akira.
“Watch out!” Kodamon thrust herself between the shot and Akira. The impact pushed both of them back a couple of feet.
As Kodamon got up again, another Digimon, red and black, stepped out of the bushes. When Kodamon got a clear look at the Digimon, she gasped.
“Guilmon...?”
Guilmon didn't answer. He sent an attack her way, but this time it missed.
Kodamon stared at him in disbelief. “Guilmon... what are you trying to do?”
As the memory faded, Yuka and Lopmon looked at each other and nodded, realizing the same thing.
They kept a close watch on Guilmon for a few minutes after that, until Guilmon himself turned to them. He glanced at them for a second, then at Rion, then back to them, as if making sure Rion wasn’t paying attention. Then, he looked up and stared directly at them – a stare full of fear and concern.
Yuka and Lopmon stared back at him in surprise. To them, it was almost as if he was sending them a sign, warning them of something. But of what?
Then, a moment later, the frightened look disappeared from Guilmon’s face. He nodded at them again, curtly, then moved forward to walk with Rion.
No one said a word until they arrived at the towering, black stone castle.
“I wonder who lives here?” Kei asked. They all turned to Rion.
“Don’t ask me,” he said indifferently, “I just saw it by chance.”
Yuka shot a careful glance at him, then looked up at the castle itself, with its ancient towers and turrets.
I don’t like this… she thought.
“Well, there’s only one way to find out!” Terriermon spoke up, gliding toward the door. Kei followed, placing her hand on the door to knock.
Surprisingly, the door opened at her touch.
Kei raised an eyebrow. “That’s funny,” she said softly as they all entered.
All was quiet inside. There was no one else in sight, and the rooms looked rather empty. One room had nothing but a lit fireplace at the far end.
“Ah… this is nice!” Kei said, creeping close to the fireplace and warming up her hands.
Yuka sat down without a word. She stared up, watching as the firelight cast long shadows across the ceiling.
“It’d be nice if we could stay here until the snow goes away,” Kei spoke up to no one in particular, “I don’t want to go outside when it’s like that! Too cold! Right, Yuka?”
She smiled, but it somehow seemed forced.
“Yeah…” Yuka replied faintly, still staring into space.
Terriermon looked up at Kei worriedly, remembering her strange behavior from earlier.
His thoughts were interrupted as Kei let out a very loud sneeze.
“Kei-”
“It’s okay, Terriermon, I’m fine.” Kei sniffled a little. “Just a cold, I guess. Of course – we spent all that time in the snow with no coats or anything…” Her smile faded a little. “Mom would go ballistic if she knew – she’d say I’d catch pneumonia or something… She was probably scared to death about it last time-”
“Last time?” Yuka spoke up for the first time in a while.
Kei froze, and stared back at Yuka with widened eyes. “I-uh… Never mind, that’s nothing!” she stammered, waving away the question. After a moment of silence, she suddenly stood up.
“I’m hungry,” she said forcefully, “I’m going to see if there’s any hot soup.” She walked a couple of paces, then stopped.
“What is it?” Terriermon asked.
“Where’s Rion?”
Yuka looked up suddenly, and took a quick glance around the room. Both Rion and Guilmon were gone.
“Rion?” Kei called out, “Guilmon?” Her voice echoed across the castle walls.
Terriermon looked around worriedly. “They’re gone…”
They all wandered around the castle, looking for some sign of the two, but in the end, they found nothing.
“I don’t like this place,” Yuka murmured, after they returned to the room with the fireplace. “I don’t think we should stay any longer.”
“Huh?” Kei looked at her like she was crazy. “But it’s still snowing and cold outside!”
“I think she’s right,” Lopmon answered.
“What?” Kei blurted out, “What do you mean?”
“This place…” Yuka whispered, “It feels wrong. Evil.” She stared back at Kei, frightened. “We never should have come here.”
“But-” Kei began, agitated, “what about Rion? And Guilmon? We can’t leave without them!”
Terriermon was about to say something when he spotted movement from the corner of his eye. Looking again, he saw someone standing in the shadows, one hand resting on a large switch. Immediately suspicious, he looked around, and to his horror, he saw several cameras, and small energy receptors placed on all sides of the room they were in, all pointed to their current position.
Looking back, he saw the shadowed person about to flip the switch. The person’s eyes gleamed evilly.
“Look out!” Terriermon yelled, trying to push Kei, Yuka, and Lopmon out of the way. But he was too late. The trap was sprung.
The four of them were immediately surrounded within a pillar of light. The pillar hummed, and like a heater, the temperature inside begin to rise slightly. Everything around them crackled with energy.
“W-what’s going on?” Kei blurted out, fearfully. She looked at her hands in shock, seeing them flicker in and out. She felt herself being pulled upward. “Terriermon! Yuka!”
Yuka could hardly speak, as an unknown pressure seemed to push her and Lopmon downward.
There was a sudden burst of energy, and the pillar disappeared. The room was empty…
Some time later, Rion stood alone in another room, staring intently at a series of screens and other electronic apparatuses that contrasted deeply with the ancient furnishings of the rest of the castle. A long, wooden table stood behind him, piled up with various objects.
His expression remained blank as he observed the two girls and their Digimon – Kei and Terriermon in one of the topmost towers, and Yuka and Lopmon in the basement. All of them were knocked out.
He then heard heavy footsteps moving toward him, and he turned around to face two large wolf-like Digimon, standing erect. One was slightly larger than the other, with green eyes, while the smaller one had red eyes.
“Fenrimon…” Rion spoke up, addressing the large green-eyed wolf. “And Lupimon.” He faced the red-eyed wolf.
They both bowed, not saying a word.
“It’s time to set the first part of the plan in motion,” Rion said, turning away from them. He then reached out, picking up two small computer chips from the long table, and flung them both at the two wolf Digimon. They caught the chips easily.
“Move out,” Rion commanded, “Track down the other two… and you know what to do after that.”
Fenrimon and Lupimon both nodded, then disappeared.
Rion then turned his attention toward the other objects on the table. Two small guns lay there, along with a large, wooden box.
He took a fleeting glance at the guns, glinting silver, then focused his full attention on the box.
He eyed the box curiously. From what he could recall, Mataymon had handed him the box, along with the other things on the table, but he never did mention what was in the box, or what purpose everything was for.
Slowly, carefully, he placed his hands on the box, and lifted the lid, looking inside…
His eyes widened, and fear and revulsion crept into his face.
With a frightened gasp, he promptly shut the box and pushed it away. He took a couple of steps back, shuddering and taking ragged breaths. After a few moments, he managed to calm himself down.
Glancing at the box and the two small guns again from the corner of his eye, Rion began to wonder, just for a moment, if he was doing the right thing.