Chapter 28:
The Edge of Forever
Darkness. Silence. A complete lack of being.
This was the world Akira woke up to when she finally opened her eyes.
“Where… am I?” Her voice sounded oddly muffled.
She looked out across the darkness, seeing nothing at all but herself, and her expression turned confused. She stared down at her hand and moved it around. No pain. Where there was once blood and a gaping wound, the palm of her hand was clean and unmarked.
She shook her head and closed her eyes, trying to remember what else had happened. After a moment, it all came back.
A surprise attack… A corrupted, enraged Rion… Guilmon warp evolving into a heartless, destructive monster… The Digital World crumbling into ruins…
… And a pillar of light.
Where was she?
“Kodamon!” she called out, looking around her. She saw nothing but darkness, and heard nothing but her own voice.
“Kodamon!” she called again, her voice becoming more frantic.
For a few terrifying moments, there was nothing but silence. Then, there was a muffled reply.
“Akira!”
Akira looked around frantically in the darkness as something large and furry bumped right into her. “Kodamon!”
“Are you all right, Akira?” Kodamon asked anxiously.
“I’m fine. And you?”
“Just perfect.” Kodamon moved her limbs smoothly, with no sign of electric interference.
Akira looked around them at the penetrating darkness. “Where are we?”
Kodamon looked at her surroundings pensively.
“I know this place...” she murmured.
Akira whipped around to face her. “You do?”
Kodamon nodded. “This was where I ended up, after that fight with Daemon. A dark place...” She held out her paws. “Nothing to see and hear but ourselves.”
“Well, why are we here?” Akira asked, “Why did that weird light take us here?”
“To heal.”
Akira and Kodamon looked around, startled at the voice. “Who was that?” Akira asked.
Suddenly, there was a bright, pale blue light, and a figure slowly appeared from the darkness. When the light faded away, Akira and Kodamon gasped.
“Naoko!”
Naoko smiled at them, a soft, serene smile. “You're in Formatted Space,” she said, “Nothing digital exists here, unless I wish it. It was the safest place I could take you so you could get better.”
“Why just us?” Kodamon asked, “The others were in danger too!”
Naoko shook her head. “The two of you were so critically damaged, and in order for you to recover, you had to have no interference. From anyone.”
“But…” Akira spoke up, “We’re all right now, aren’t we? Our injuries are healed.” She looked at Naoko hopefully. “You can send us back now!”
Naoko shook her head. “Not yet.”
They both stared at her, shocked.
“Why not?!” Kodamon shot back.
“Everyone else is in trouble!” Akira added forcefully, “We need to get back and help them out!”
“I can’t send you back until you've fully recovered.”
Akira stared back at her in confusion. “Fully recovered?”
“When you've finally remembered everything.”
Naoko then placed her hand on Akira's forehead. She closed her eyes, concentrating deeply, and a strange, pale blue light shined from her hand.
Akira felt a warm surge of energy run through her head. “What are you-”
“Don't worry,” Naoko answered serenely, “It's all part of the recovery process.” She removed her hand from Akira and repeated the same steps with Kodamon.
“Once the healing is complete, you'll be able to remember everything that's happened to you, from the beginning,” Naoko added, “Every memory that had been erased or blocked will be restored. And then...” She paused. “Then will you be able to return.”
Akira thought for a moment, and her eyes widened. “But wait a minute,” she said, “We'd still be in trouble, even if we came back! Without a working Digivice-”
Naoko shook her head. “Don't worry about that right now. Everything will be fine.”
“But-”
“Trust me.”
Akira fell silent after that, staring back at Naoko worriedly.
“How long will it take?” Kodamon asked.
Naoko smiled. “It could take forever,” she said enigmatically, “Or it could take no time at all...”
At that, her image slowly disappeared into the darkness.
“It all depends... on you.”
Akira was about to reply when a sudden, strange feeling came over her. Random thoughts, sights, sounds, and other senses went through her mind, unbidden.
She was remembering things.
In her mind’s eye, she could see a multitude of events that had happened in her past – some unfolded slowly, while others went by in a blur. She saw things from her own perspective, while at the same time seeing them from an expanded, all-seeing point of view. She noticed things then that she had never been aware of before – small things that happened in the background and major things that happened when she wasn’t paying attention at the time.
She closed her eyes, and let the memories flow through…
Loading Memory Dump…
Subject: Mitsuishi, Akira
Effective Dates: 4/21/2068, 11:00 AM – 12/23/2068, 8:26:01 PM
Locations: Washington, D.C., USA – Location Unknown
Actions: Playback and Restore
Transmitting…
…
Akira stood outside the house, looking up and down the street, trying to commit the look of the neighborhood to memory. She looked past the treetops and toward the skyline, just barely seeing the outlines of tall brick-and-glass buildings and skyscrapers.
The warm spring breeze blew, ruffling her hair.
She sighed. The view was nice, but it would take some getting used to. Even after a week or two of sightseeing and familiarizing herself with the neighborhood, it was still very difficult for her to adjust.
She continued to gaze blankly out into the distance for some time, until she was surprised by a yank on her hand.
Kei appeared next to her, giggling. “Good morning!”
Akira smiled. “Good morning.”
Kei stretched out and twirled around the porch. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”
“Yeah.”
Kei looked out at the house across the street and gasped. “Rion!” she shouted, running off the porch and across the street. Akira followed her, and saw her pounce and embrace a little boy with black hair and chestnut brown eyes.
“Rion!” Kei exclaimed, “You’re back!”
“My summer break just started, so I’m visiting,” Rion replied, “I’ll be here until June!”
“That’s great!” Kei answered. Then, looking past Rion, she called out, “Hi, Ryou!”
“Hello, Kei,” an older boy answered, walking up to them. He looked to be Akira’s age, and had the same black hair and brown eyes as Rion.
“Akira, this is Rion, my neighbor, and his big brother Ryou.” She turned to the two boys. “This is my big sister, Akira!”
Akira nodded politely to both of them.
“Rion lives in the Philippines most of the year, but he comes to visit during summer and winter breaks,” Kei continued, “And he and Ryou know Japanese like you do, so you won’t feel lost!”
She turned to Rion and Ryou and explained, “Akira just got here from Japan, and things are still a little weird for her here!”
Akira laughed. “Kei!” She turned to Rion and smiled. “Nice to meet you, Rion-chan!”
Rion made a face. “Not –chan. It sounds too sissy.”
Akira looked at him in amusement. “Rion-kun?”
“Still too weird,” Rion answered seriously. “Just call me ‘Rion’ – it’s easier!”
Akira looked at him weirdly for a moment, then laughed. “Okay... Rion!”
Rion smiled. “And I’ll just call you ‘Akira,’ if that’s okay with you.”
Akira nodded. “Sure.”
“Come over whenever you like,” Ryou said cheerfully, “We can help you out with anything...” He hesitated. “As long as it isn’t computer-related!”
Rion and Kei laughed. “That’s sad,” Kei said, giggling, “Your dad is the head of the largest computer company on earth, and you can’t even use a computer without breaking it first!”
Ryou laughed nervously. “Yeah, well…”
Akira smiled a little. “I could probably help you out, at least a little. I’m no expert, but I at least know how to use a computer properly!”
Ryou stared back at her with embarrassment, not saying a word.
“Kuya might suck at computers,” Rion spoke up, “but he’s really good at languages. He can speak Tagalog and Japanese better than I can!”
Akira blinked. “Really?”
Ryou nodded. He then noticed a thoughtful look on Akira’s face. “Is there a problem?”
“Huh?” Akira looked toward him suddenly. “Um… no.”
“She’s just thinking about school,” Kei spoke up, “She’s been worrying about it all day!”
Akira frowned. “Kei…”
“You’re going to go to school here?” Ryou asked seriously.
Akira nodded. “It’s not something I’m looking forward to at all. I can’t write or speak English all that well, and...”
Ryou nodded. “Well, I guess I could help you there. Since you’ll be living around here, you’ll probably be going to the same school I’m going to.” He smiled. “We might end up in the same classes!”
Akira smiled back. “So you’ll help me with English, and I’ll help you with computers!”
Ryou laughed. “It’s a deal.”
“What are you drawing?” Akira asked Rion one day after school. She and Ryou had just finished an English review.
“Stuff,” Rion said absently, continuing to draw.
“Can I see?”
Rion stopped drawing for a moment, and looked at her intently. He held up the picture he was drawing, eyeing it critically, then he put it down again and continued working on it. “In a minute,” he replied, “I’m almost done.”
A moment later, he finished, and handed the paper over to Akira.
“What is it?” Akira asked, squinting at the paper, looking confused.
Rion gave her a funny look. “It’s a dinosaur.”
“A dinosaur…” she murmured. She looked up at him, laughing. “A red dinosaur?”
“Hey,” Rion shot back, insulted, “He can be red if I want him to be!”
Akira laughed again. “I know. I’m just messing with you!”
“He’s really important to me, too,” Rion added in a low voice, “I’ve known him ever since I was little.”
Akira raised an eyebrow. “An imaginary friend, you mean?”
Rion looked around cautiously, and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone about this, not even Kuya. I don’t want him to laugh at me!”
“I don’t think he would,” Akira answered, “He never laughs at me whenever I get my English homework wrong, or if I say something that makes no sense. Not like everyone else…” Her eyes narrowed, and for a moment she looked troubled. Then she smiled. “He wouldn’t laugh at you.”
“Just don’t tell him,” Rion pleaded, “Please?”
“Okay.”
Rion looked around again, then continued in a low whisper. “My friend is really strong. He can breathe fire, and blow up anything that stands in his way! And then, if he runs into anyone stronger than him, he can change, and get bigger and stronger, and blow them away too!”
Akira smiled. “Really?” she asked, humoring him. “But won’t he attack you too, if he gets stronger and stronger?”
“No,” Rion said proudly, “I’m his friend, so he’ll never attack me! He’ll protect anyone, if they’re his friend. You too, because…” He hesitated a little and stared down at the floor nervously. “…Because you’re his friend too.”
Akira stared at him for a moment, just a tiny bit flattered. “Wow. That’s nice.”
“Don’t tell anyone, okay?” Rion asked fiercely, “I’ve only ever told you about him.”
“I won’t tell anyone,” she replied, grinning at him. “It’ll just be our little secret, right?”
Rion nodded. “Right!”
Akira sat on the floor near Kei’s bed with her laptop perched on her lap, hurriedly typing up a last-minute assignment. She tried not to think about the violent argument she and Touma had just had, or the fresh bruises on her arm.
As she typed a couple of sentences, she gasped as a sharp, painful cramp pulsed through her bruised arm. She quickly slapped a hand over it.
“Akira…” a small voice said sleepily.
Akira’s eyes wandered in the direction of the voice. Kei was sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes and squinting.
“What’s wrong?” she murmured.
“Nothing!” Akira said through her teeth. Her hand tightened around her arm. “Absolutely nothing!” After a few moments, the pain in her arm faded away, and she took a deep breath. “Go back to sleep,” she said softly.
Kei murmured something unintelligible, and rolled over, going back to sleep.
Akira turned her attention back to her laptop, and was about to resume typing her homework when she noticed a message appear on the screen.
“New email message received,” Akira whispered, frowning. She clicked the notice, and the message displayed on the screen. She took a moment to scan through it, and her expression grew even more baffled. “What the hell is this?”
Displayed on the screen was the strangest message she had ever seen:
無限
∞
א
1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, …
6:06:06
α Ω
AGTCTGAC
CGU, CGC, CGA, CGG, AGA, AGG
θ
Following the strange collection of symbols, numbers and letters was a large spiral, curling outward in a clockwise direction. Immediately following the large spiral was another, very small spiral, with “x2” written beside it. Following that was the outline of a star, drawn in the same spiral-like manner.
Below all of this were two typed lines:
Find the answer… and it will take you far.
Beyond the edge of forever… and to the place where light reaches.
Akira stared at the e-mail message, confused as ever, then looked at the contact information to see who had sent it. There was no trace of a sender’s e-mail address, or even a subject. There was one file attached to the email, named infinity.exe. Upon clicking on it, it showed a dialog box asking for a password.
She frowned. Then, glancing at the clock, she closed the file, saved the email for later, and continued on with her homework, trying to put the strange message behind her.
“This sounds like one of those stupid ad campaigns my dad does every year for ITI,” Ryou stated a few days later, looking at a printout of the strange message. The two of them were at school, and had just finished an assignment.
“Ad campaigns?” Akira asked, tapping her pencil on the desk.
“Because of the company’s name,” Ryou continued. “Infinity Technologies, Inc.” He made a face. “The ‘going beyond infinity’ thing is getting so old…”
“I don’t know…” Akira murmured, drawing stars and spirals on a scrap sheet of paper, “It seems like a lot more than just advertising, at least to me.” She scribbled out a long equation. “It’s actually something interesting. I’ve been looking through a lot of books for the past couple of days, trying to find all the stuff in that message. Algebra, calculus, biology…” She laughed. “A lot of math and science that, normally, I wouldn’t dare touch!” She looked down at all the scribbles she had made on the paper. “It’ll be a lot harder to figure out how to relate all these weird things together, though.”
Ryou frowned at her. “You’re really taking this stuff seriously, aren’t you?”
Akira shrugged. “It wouldn’t hurt to. At least it keeps me from constantly thinking of how to avoid that… that… you-know-who at home!” She scowled.
She was about to say more when something suddenly hit the back of her head. “Ow!” She turned around and was face-to-face with a large backpack. She looked up to see who was carrying it and saw a big, tall girl looking down at her, grinning evilly and walking away slowly. The girl mouthed a very rude word, and walked over to join a group of girls in the corner, swinging her bag as she moved. All of them stared back at Akira with evil smirks.
Akira glared at them murderously. That particular group had been giving her a hard time since the day she transferred in. They constantly teased her – making fun of her accent, laughing whenever she made a mistake in speaking or writing, taking advantage of the fact that she was isolated and virtually friendless – with no one else to talk to besides Ryou.
She hated them all. Especially the ringleader – the large girl who had hit her with the backpack.
“That moron...” she said in annoyance.
“Akira...” Ryou said in a warning tone.
“Actually, 'moron' is way too good for her,” Akira added scathingly, “She's so rude and annoying and mean, she should be called stuff like these...” And she rattled off an entire list of rude words in Japanese.
“Akira!” Ryou said disapprovingly.
Akira sighed, and leaned back in her chair, staring into space. After a moment, she laughed softly. “You know... the only other person I ever called 'moron' was my neighbor. Because for years, he always argued with me, and always got on my nerves...”
“Really?” Ryou asked.
“Yeah...” Akira looked down at her desk, staring at nothing in particular. A fond smile appeared on her face. “It's been six months already...” she murmured, “I actually kind of miss him...”
With that thought in mind, Akira got up and turned in her assignment, ignoring the furious whispers of her enemies, sitting in the corner and glaring at her behind an enormous foreign-language dictionary. Ryou stared back at her, a thoughtful look on his face.
Another afternoon, a few months later, Akira stopped by Ryou's house and found Rion sitting at the dining room table, drawing and coloring.
“Rion!” Akira exclaimed.
Rion looked up at her and smiled. “Hi!”
“When did you get here?” Akira asked.
“Last week,” Rion answered, getting up to hug her. “I’ll be here until after winter break!”
Akira smiled. “Great!” Then, she looked at the paper and crayons on the table. “What are you drawing this time?”
“Oh...” Rion glanced down at his drawings. “Just the same old stuff.”
Akira looked at the table and saw another drawing of his red-tinted dinosaur friend, completed. Then, she looked at the picture he was currently working on.
“What's this?” she asked, frowning.
Rion drew a little more of it, then pushed it closer to her. “It's... um...” he murmured, “It's another friend.” He smiled. “A protector for you!”
The picture showed a cute, gray teddy bear with pink eyes, a purple hat, and purple bands around its paws and across its shoulder.
“A... protector for me, huh?” Akira murmured, staring down at the picture thoughtfully.
Rion nodded. “Yeah. She may look like a cute, harmless bear, but she's strong too! Just like my friend!” His eyes wandered to the drawing of the red dinosaur, and then back to Akira.
“You'll need a protector,” he said softly, “so you won't be sad and hurt all the time.”
Akira looked back at him, surprised. “You… you don’t have to worry about me, Rion,” she answered, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I’m fine.”
“I’ve heard them,” Rion whispered.
Akira frowned. “Heard what?”
“The shouting,” Rion replied, “The arguments. I’ve heard them all week – every night since I came back to visit. I hear them even when all the windows and doors are closed.”
“Rion-”
“It’s him, isn’t it?” Rion said in a dead voice. “He hates you too, just like he hates Kuya and me.”
Akira was about to reply when Ryou walked in, glancing around and looking a little agitated.
“Rion,” he spoke up, “did you see a small stack of papers anywhere?”
Rion shook his head.
Ryou sighed. “I thought I left it somewhere around here. Could you help me find it? It’s something really important…” His voice faded when he saw the paper strewn about the table, filled with Rion’s crayon sketches.
“Wait a minute…”
Ryou picked up Rion's drawings, eyeing them suspiciously. Then, he flipped the papers over. He groaned.
“Rion, you drew all over the back of my biology report!”
Rion and Akira gasped.
“S-sorry, Kuya!” Rion stammered.
Ryou sighed. “That's okay,” he said wearily, “I'll just have to reprint them.” He turned around and started to walk toward their father's office, when he suddenly stopped and slapped a hand on his forehead. “But I left my data drive at school!”
Rion moaned and put his head down on the table. “Again? You always forget!”
Akira stared at the both of them, thinking. “Maybe...” She turned to Ryou. “Could you scan them?”
Ryou thought a moment. “That could work.”
A short time later, Akira and Rion were standing in front of the large printer in the office. Ryou had walked away to look for extra paper and printer ink. Akira carefully lifted the lid of the scanner, loaded in the first page of the report, clicked “Scan” on the computer, then “Copy.” She did the same for the next few pages.
“Kuya’s taking an awfully long time,” Rion remarked as the images of text loaded, “How long does it take to find ink and paper?”
Akira shrugged and loaded in the last page. “Let him take his time. We’re not in a hurry.” She retrieved the copied pages from the printer and stacked them neatly.
“Akira...” Rion murmured. His voice was unusually quiet.
Akira looked up at him. “What?”
He motioned over to the computer screen. “Look...”
Akira glanced at the screen, and her eyes widened at what she saw.
Multiple lines of data quickly appeared on the screen, so fast they could barely be read. A faint image of a red dinosaur appeared in the background, and the data lines reshaped themselves to fit the image. Then the image brightened and increased in resolution.
“What’s going on?” Rion asked fearfully.
“I don’t know…” Akira answered faintly, looking at the screen as if hypnotized.
The red dinosaur disappeared, and was soon replaced by more data lines and the faint image of a gray bear in the background. The data lines reshaped themselves, and the image brightened and cleared.
Then, as the second image disappeared, a loud, shrill alarm erupted from the computer.
Rion gasped. “Turn it off!”
The noise snapped Akira out of her trance and she focused on the computer screen, hastily moving and clicking the mouse.
“Akira!”
“It’s not stopping!” she answered, frantically trying to close the scanning program. Finally, having no other choice, she dove under the computer desk and pulled the plug.
“Finally found them!” Ryou exclaimed as he entered the room and plopped a ream of paper and a cartridge of black ink onto the computer desk. “It’s crazy where Dad hides these things...”
He looked up to see the frantic looks on Akira and Rion’s faces. “Is something wrong?” he asked, throwing a concerned glance between them.
“Uh…” Rion began, “no…” His eyes wandered toward Akira’s. “Nothing’s wrong, Kuya.”
“We just had a problem with the scanner,” Akira replied, quickly regaining her composure, “But I got it working again, and everything’s fine now.” She bent down to pick up the copied pages that had fallen to the floor. “Here you go, all fixed!” She handed the papers to Ryou, beaming.
Ryou smiled. “Thanks. You’re a lifesaver!”
“No problem,” Akira replied, smiling back.
When Ryou left the room, Akira and Rion looked at each other and breathed sighs of relief.
A week later, Akira visited Ryou and Rion again. As she knocked on the door, she struggled with a heavy, textbook-filled backpack, which she carried on only one shoulder. Her left arm was in a cast and sling, completely immobile, and there were bandages on her forehead and cheek.
Ryou opened the door, smiling when he saw her. “Akira!” Then, he saw the cast on her arm, the bandages on her cheek, and the heavy gauze peeking out from under her oddly blue-tinted goggles. His smile faded. “What happened to you?”
Akira looked away. “It's... not something I want to talk about...” she said dejectedly. She shot a quick glance at Kei's house, then back to Ryou.
Ryou nodded understandingly, and led her inside.
Akira entered the house just as Rion walked by, carrying a small, brown cardboard box. He looked up at her and gasped.
“Akira-” he blurted out, “you-”
Akira smiled feebly. “Accident over the weekend.”
Rion stared back at her suspiciously, then shrugged and looked down at the box he was holding.
“What’s that?”
He shrugged. “It came in the mail today, addressed to me,” he replied, “And there’s no sender.” He walked over to the dining room table and shook the box lightly, hearing a faint clatter. He opened the box, and a small object fell out. He picked it up.
It was a black electronic device. It had a small digital screen with a circle of strange symbols around the rim, and had a narrow slot on the top.
“Some kind of weird digital device…” Akira murmured.
Rion smiled. “A Digivice!”
“You make up the weirdest things,” Akira replied, laughing. “But what is it for? And why did someone send it to you?”
“Don’t know.” Rion looked at it again, and slipped it into his pocket.
Akira sighed lightly, then picked up her bag with her good arm. She placed it on the table and started taking out books.
“Ryou,” she spoke up, pulling out an exceptionally large book. “What do you know about neck injuries?”
Another argument. Another hateful spat.
Akira roughly wiped away her tears. If this went on for much longer, she wasn’t sure if she could stand it.
She wobbled a little, her head throbbing like mad. She moved over to the desk and fell into the chair. She pulled off her goggles, stared at them blankly for a moment, then angrily flung them across the room. They collided with a large candy tin that was sitting on the dresser, knocking it down with a crash.
Akira sighed and put her head down on the desk. She remained there for a while, doing absolutely nothing else.
Then, a sparkling, pale-blue light suddenly caught her attention, shining from the corner of her eye. She looked up, turning in the direction of the light. Curious, she got up and walked toward it.
The strange light was coming from two small objects, scattered on the floor near the dresser. The candy tin lay nearby, its lid forced open from the fall. From the angle, it seemed as if the two objects had come from inside the tin.
Akira picked up both objects and gave them a closer look. One of them was a Digivice just like Rion’s, only this one was a pale blue color and looked well-worn. The other was a pendant with a light cyan blue stone. A carving of a strange, spiral-shaped star was etched onto the stone. Looking closer, Akira could see cracks marring the surface of the stone.
“Akira!”
Akira jumped. “Yeah?”
“Come down now! It’s time for dinner!”
“Right…” Akira sighed, and looked back at the Digivice and the cracked pendant. They were no longer shining brightly. She took one more glance at them before shoving them in her pocket and walking downstairs.
Over the next few weeks, Akira could not get the mysterious items out of her mind. She constantly wondered what on earth they were, having done some research and discovering no further information about them at all. At the same time, her schoolwork suffered, and her teachers were becoming concerned.
“Akira?”
Akira looked up suddenly, and met the puzzled gaze of her teacher. “Yes?”
“Are you all right?” the teacher asked, “I asked you a question three times, and you didn’t answer.”
“I’m sorry, I-”
“Never mind,” the teacher continued, “Just be more prepared next time.”
That was embarrassing, Akira thought later as she walked through the halls. Spacing out in the middle of class like that…
Lost in her thoughts, she almost walked right into two other girls.
“Can you move?” Akira asked slowly, “Please?”
The two girls didn't move.
Akira let out a soft sigh, and walked over to the side, trying to sidestep them. When she passed by them, though, the bigger girl suddenly reached out and grabbed Akira's left wrist.
Akira gasped as a dull pain went through her arm. It had only been a week or two since her arm had healed, and the cast had just been removed.
She turned toward the girl in alarm. “What are you doing?”
The girl tightened her grip on Akira's arm. Akira shut her eyes and winced.
“You thought you were so smart,” the girl snarled, “Calling me all kinds of garbage and getting away with it, just because no one understood you!”
Akira winced again, and glared back at her, without saying a word.
“But not this time,” the girl added venomously, “Now I know. I know every damn curse and insult you’ve ever called me…” Her hand tightened. “And you’ll pay for every single word!”
Her grip tightened again, and Akira let out a sharp cry.
“Hey...” the smaller girl said worriedly, “Maybe you should stop it. You're really hurting her!”
“No way!” the bigger girl spat, “Not until she says she's sorry!” She looked Akira in the face, and her eyes narrowed. Her hand around Akira's arm tightened even more. “Not until she screams it out!”
Still without saying a word, Akira stared back at the girl's angry, livid face. In a flash, she was reminded of Touma. In her mind’s eye, she could see every time he had argued with her, and every time he had hit and hurt her. A burning rage filled her.
“I'll never give you that pleasure!” she shouted, shoving the girl away.
The girl let go of Akira's arm and slammed against the wall. She then rushed over and smacked Akira across the face, hard.
Akira landed on the floor, bumping her head hard, and the big girl rushed at her again and started beating her.
The other girl’s eyes widened in shock, and she looked around wildly. “Security!” she shouted frantically, “Security!”
“Shut up, you snitch!” the big girl screamed.
Meanwhile, students and teachers streamed out of the classrooms. Many of the students crowded around the scene and let out excited shouts.
“Fight! Fight!”
Ryou ran out of class, wondering what all the fuss was about. He squinted his eyes, trying to see between the tight crowd of students. He saw a large girl furiously beating another student, who was on the floor. When he looked closer at the student and saw who it was, he gasped.
“Akira!”
He fought his way through the crowd, but he was slow in getting toward her. By the time he got there, one of the security guards had finally gotten to the scene and pulled the enraged girl away, kicking and screaming. The other students scattered. Akira, still on the floor, remained limp and motionless. There were bruises all over one side of her face, and on her left arm.
“Akira!” Ryou called out, running toward her. “Akira, are you all right?” He gently laid a hand on Akira’s head. Akira stirred, and her eyes fluttered open.
“R… Ryou…” she murmured weakly.
Ryou sighed in relief. “You okay?”
Akira nodded slowly. “Yeah.” She took his hand, and he slowly helped her up.
Their teacher ran over. “Akira!” she called out, worried. “Are you okay?”
Akira nodded.
The teacher glanced at the bruises on Akira’s face. “Ryou, take her to the nurse, will you?”
Ryou nodded. “I will.”
“Thanks.” The teacher turned to Akira. “I’m going to call your mother and stepfather, to let them know what happened.”
Akira’s eyes widened in fear. “You-you don’t have to call them,” she stammered, “I’m fine, I promise! They don’t need to worry!” In her agitation, she quickly and abruptly moved her left arm, and winced.
The teacher shook her head. “I’m sorry, Akira, but they have to know.”
“But-”
“Don’t worry about it,” Ryou said softly, leading her away. “You need to get those bruises tended to.”
Akira was silent for a while as they walked to the nurse’s office. Then, her eyes watered, and tears fell from her eyes.
Ryou looked toward her, concerned. “Akira?”
At that, Akira began to cry. “I hate this place!” she shouted, “I hate it!”
Ryou stepped closer to her and hugged her tightly as she gasped and sniffled.
“I want to go home…” Akira said softly, hugging him back. “I can’t stand this anymore…”
Hours later, Akira slowly opened the door to Kei’s room. The argument she had just had with Touma still rang in her ears, and she took a ragged breath. Her throat was raw from shouting, and her eyes were still wet with tears, but she didn’t care anymore. She didn’t care about anything anymore.
Kei heard her come in, and turned around to face her. “Akira?” she murmured fearfully. “I heard you and Daddy shouting at each other just now… and…” She swallowed. “Is everything okay?” She took a closer look at Akira and gasped.
“Akira… your face… y-your arm-” Kei babbled, “What happened?”
Akira didn’t answer her. She just looked down at the ground with a hopeless expression.
“Akira…?”
“Kei…” Akira whispered, “Can you go for a little bit?” Her voice trembled.
Kei took a few steps toward her, hesitantly. “Akira-”
“Just go!” Akira shouted, shutting her eyes.
Kei flinched.
“Please…” Akira said softly, her eyes still closed. “Just go. Leave me alone for a while.”
After a moment, Akira heard Kei’s soft footsteps move away from her. The door was opened, and Akira heard a small sniffle and a sob before it closed.
With that, Akira slowly walked over to the desk and sat down. With a ragged breath, she put her head down on the desktop.
“I’m such an idiot…” she murmured tearfully.
Some time later, Akira was slightly aware of someone calling her name. She sat up, rubbing her eyes. The call was soon repeated, and Akira recognized the voice as her mother’s. She got up, shivering, pulled on a sweatshirt, and left the room.
When Akira reached the bottom of the stairs, her mother was waiting for her, with a look of disapproval on her face. Touma was standing next to her.
“Mom?” Akira asked warily, “What is it?”
“I got a call from your homeroom teacher this afternoon,” her mother answered quietly. She glanced at the cotton and bandages on Akira's face, and then at the gauze on her left arm, sticking out from under her sweatshirt. “She told me you got into a fight.”
Akira looked down and didn't say a word.
“She told me that it wasn't entirely your fault, so I won't hold that against you. However...” Her eyes narrowed. “She brought to my attention something else.”
Akira looked up in surprise. “Something else?”
At that, Kyoko pulled out several sheets of paper, looking as if they had come out of a fax machine. A series of rough sketches, intricate symbols and scribbled equations were scattered across the pages.
Kanji. Hebrew and Greek letters. Mathematical symbols. Long series of numbers and letters. Spirals. And stars...
Akira froze. “W-where did you get those?” she stammered.
“Your teacher,” her mother said sternly, “She said that for the past few months, you were doodling these everywhere – on the backs of your tests, in your notebooks, everywhere... whenever you had time!”
Akira opened her mouth to reply, but her mother interrupted.
“Tell me, Akira,” she said in a dangerously quiet voice, “Who put you up to this?”
“What?”
“It was your father, wasn't it?” Kyoko spat, “Or your grandmother. Hell, maybe even both of them! Is that right?”
“What are you talking about, Mom?” Akira asked frantically, “What do Dad or Grandma have to do with this?”
Kyoko let out a frustrated breath. “Oh, Akira... you don't know. You just don't know! You don't know what they're capable of! Your father... your grandmother...”
“I don't understand!” Akira shot back, “Those drawings... they were just harmless stuff I was doing, whenever I was bored! Brain teasers, that sort of thing. Just a couple of puzzles I wanted to solve!”
Kyoko glared. “Who gave them to you?”
“No one!” Akira answered, “They just came in an email, with no return address!”
At that, Kyoko glanced over at Touma, who was staring at Akira stone-faced and not saying a word. Then, her gaze focused back on Akira.
“How do I know you're not lying?” she asked.
Akira looked back at her in horror. “Mom, why would I lie about something like this?!”
Kyoko's eyes narrowed. She was about to reply when a loud beeping sound erupted from Akira’s pocket.
Akira gasped, and reached into her pocket, pulling out the small, pale-blue Digivice. It shined with a brilliant blue light, and it was beeping uncontrollably. A similar pale-blue light shined at her chest. She reached under her shirt and pulled out the mysterious star-carved pendant. With its cracked and splintered surface, it shined brightly, but with a flickering, unstable light.
As Akira stared at both items, her eyes widened in shock.
Her mother was just as surprised. “A-Akira...” she stammered, “What...”
Touma, on the other hand, stared back at Akira in hatred. He took a few steps toward Akira.
“Give those to me, Akira...” he said menacingly.
Akira stared at him, trembling, and took a few steps backward.
Kyoko looked at him, fearfully. “Touma...”
“Give them to me!” Touma shouted.
Akira slowly shook her head.
“Now!”
“NO!” Akira shouted, turning away from him. She ran over to the door, yanked it open, and ran off into the cold, dark night.
“Akira!” her mother shouted after her, hurrying to the door.
Akira ran as fast as she could down the darkened street, the only lights being from the streetlamps and from the two strange devices she clutched in her hand. By the time she reached the end of the street, she heard a familiar shout.
“Akira!”
Akira turned around to see Rion rushing toward her.
“Rion!” she called out, “What are you doing here?”
Rion stopped abruptly and took several deep breaths. He held out his own Digivice, which was shining with a bright, grayish light and was making a similar beeping noise.
“What's going on, Akira?” Rion asked frantically.
“I don't know...”
At that moment, the lights and noises from the Digivices suddenly increased. The freezing air around them immediately became hot and stuffy. Bright lights flashed around them, almost turning night into day.
Rion clutched at Akira in fright. “Akira!”
Akira held onto him tightly. She felt dizzy and lightheaded, and through her narrowed eyes, she could barely make out a giant wave, coming out of nowhere and towering over them...
In a flash, the light, heat and waves disappeared, leaving behind nothing but an empty, darkened street corner. There was no sign that anyone had ever been there.
Not even two scared kids...
…
End of Memory Dump.
Restoration Complete.
Waiting for further instructions…
Waiting…