Chapter 29:
The Place Where Light Reaches
Akira opened her eyes, and tears fell from them.
Kodamon took her hand and squeezed it. “Akira…You had a really hard time.”
Akira smiled sadly. “That may be, but I don’t regret remembering. Take the bad along with the good, right? At least now I remember good friends who helped me along the way. I’ll never forget them again, if I can help it!”
Kodamon nodded.
Akira lifted a hand to her forehead.
“Is there more?” Kodamon asked agitatedly.
Akira nodded. “That was only part of it.” She closed her eyes again and let the remaining memories flow…
Loading Memory Dump…
Subject: Mitsuishi, Akira
Effective Dates: 12/23/2068, 8:26:01 PM
Locations: Location Unknown
Actions: Playback and Restore
Transmitting…
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“I’m Kodamon!”
Akira stared at the gray bear standing in front of her, with pink eyes, a purple hat and purple straps on her knuckles and shoulder. The exact same details as in Rion’s drawing.
“You’re real…” she murmured, “You’re actually real, and not just a drawing!”
Kodamon looked at her strangely. “Of course I’m real! I wouldn’t be here talking to you if I wasn’t!” She gave Akira a hug. “I’ve been waiting for you forever, and you’re finally here!”
“Akira!” a small voice rang out. Rion emerged from the bushes, followed by a red dinosaur.
“Rion!” Akira called out. Her eyes widened when she saw the dinosaur standing next to him. “Your friend… he’s real too!”
“This is Guilmon!” Rion said excitedly, “He calls himself a Digimon, and he’s been waiting for me his whole life!” Guilmon smiled and gave him a hug.
“We’re Digimon!” Kodamon exclaimed, “Digital Monsters.”
“Digital Monsters,” Akira murmured, “Digital, as in computers? Are we inside a computer?”
“You’re in the Digital World.”
Okay, that didn’t help one bit, Akira thought.
“It was the Digivices that brought us here,” Rion said, pulling his out of his pocket.
“But the question now is why,” Akira answered, “There has to be a reason.”
“Does there have to be?” Rion asked, “It’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us!”
Akira thought a moment, then smiled. At least she was away from Touma and her mom and the unholy mess that was the situation back home. “True.”
“Let’s go exploring!” Rion exclaimed with excitement, pulling on Guilmon’s claw.
Akira looked down at Kodamon. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.”
“Akira, watch out!”
Akira turned to see a score of energy blades heading for her, and gasped. Kodiamon bounded toward her in an attempt to shield her from them.
“Akira!”
The energy blades hit Kodiamon directly, knocking her across the ground and causing her to revert to Kodamon.
Rion and Guilmon looked on, worriedly. The swarm of Bakemon was growing, and they kept on coming with no end in sight.
“There’s too many of them!” Rion wailed.
“This is what we get for trespassing in a cemetery late at night,” Akira muttered, “Whose idea was this again?”
“Never mind that,” Kodamon answered weakly, eyeing the group of Bakemon in front of them, “What’ll we do now?”
Another group of Bakemon rushed at Rion and Guilmon, separating them. One approached Rion and reached out an emaciated hand, and an energy blade formed within it.
“Rion!” Guilmon attacked the Bakemon in front of him and fought through the crowd to get to him. He began to glow a bright red.
“Get away from me!” Rion shouted. His Digivice began to glow a light gray, which resonated with the reddish light emanating from Guilmon.
“Guilmon, evolve to… Growmon!”
Guilmon’s red form grew larger, towering over the tops of the trees, and white, shaggy fur grew on his neck. He let out an ear-splitting roar that sent all the Bakemon running.
The Bakemon began to combine together, and after a few moments, a giant Bakemon formed, its beady eyes glittering evilly.
Growmon turned to face the giant Bakemon and growled. He charged up a large ball of flame and shot it at the Bakemon.
“Exhaust Flame!
The flame hit the giant Bakemon and caused its white-clothed body to catch on fire. In a comical moment, the giant Bakemon flailed about, trying to put out the fire, then shrank. Scores of knocked-out Bakemon appeared in a pile, while the ones who were still conscious fled in terror.
“Yeah!” Rion taunted, “Go ahead and run! Serves you right!”
Growmon glowed brightly, then shrank, becoming Guilmon again.
Kodamon looked around. “It looks like they’ve all gone.”
“Good!” Akira said, exasperated. “Let’s get out of this awful place. It gives me the creeps!”
“You were amazing, Guilmon!” Rion exclaimed, giving him a hug.
Guilmon smiled, and his stomach growled loudly. “I’m hungry.”
“You’re always hungry, Guilmon!” Akira said, laughing.
“The Midnight Army?” Akira asked.
“They’re the main evil force that’s trying to take control here,” Jijimon explained.
“They’ve taken over every other server in the Digital World,” Babamon added, “except for this one. This is the only place left that’s still free!”
Everyone in the small hut fell silent as that fact sank in.
“But now there’s you!” Babamon said hopefully, “It’s been so many years since Chosen Children came to the Digital World…”
“...And every time they’ve arrived, the Digital World gets saved!” Jijimon finished.
“So that’s probably why we ended up here,” Akira said thoughtfully, “To save the Digital World from the Midnight Army.”
“Of course we’ll help you out!” Rion answered eagerly, “It’s the least we can do!”
Akira nodded. “Just tell us what we need to do.”
“Are we lost?”
Akira looked over at Rion, who had his Digivice out and was following a map of the area.
“What makes you think that?”
“We’ve been seeing the same trees and leaves for miles now,” Rion answered, “with nothing else in sight!”
They had been tasked with finding the four Meterostones that were spread out across this continent of the Digital World, and protecting them from the Midnight Army. They had found three of the four stones already – one in a pyramid with a sprawling maze, another in an ancient castle surrounded by snow, and the third underneath a beautiful village wrapped in rainbows.
According to the information they had, the last stone was supposed to be nearby. They were currently wandering through a forest of colored leaves. Beautiful, but monotonous. As Rion had said, there was nothing but trees and leaves.
Guilmon stopped suddenly, causing Rion to bump into him. “Whoa! What’s wrong, Guilmon?”
Guilmon pointed to a series of buildings in the distance. “What’s that?”
“They look like the kind of buildings at ITI, back home…” Rion said warily. “But in the middle of the forest?”
“Let’s check it out!” Kodamon said, running directly toward the largest building.
“Hey, wait a minute!” Akira spoke up, following her. “Kodamon!”
They reached the main building and were met with a large sign written in Digicode.
“’Digital Transfer Lab,’” Kodamon read.
“Transferring what?” Rion asked. He looked at Guilmon, who shrugged.
They entered the building and were immediately surrounded by tangled wires and dead computer equipment. The instruments in each room looked old, dusty and disused, except for the machines in a large, central area. There was a circular platform in the middle, covered by a cylindrical glass dome. Off to the side stood various computer consoles, all of them turned on.
“What is all of this?” Akira asked, her voice echoing across the room.
“Good question!” a voice rang out, “It’s definitely more than a pile of old junk!”
“Who’s there?” Kodamon blurted out, holding up a fist.
“Hey! Call it what you want, but don’t call it junk!”
Rion and Guilmon looked around nervously.
“If you’re looking for the Meterostone, it’s right under your feet!”
Akira whipped around to see a messy-haired boy appear next to her, followed by a girl with short brown hair.
“And if you’re trying to go back to the Real World, you’ve found the right place!”
A tanned, black-haired boy with brown eyes appeared. Rion looked at him in astonishment.
“Kuya?”
But it wasn’t Ryou. The boy was younger, closer to Rion’s age.
Two more apparitions appeared: a younger girl with violet eyes and mid-length black hair, then an older girl with the same violet eyes, longer black hair, and a familiar-looking pair of yellow goggles.
Akira gasped. She was looking at a younger mirror-image of herself!
“I’m Naoko,” the projection with the goggles said, “and this is my sister, Setsuko.”
“I’m Seiji,” said the boy with the messy hair.
“I’m Kou,” said the short-haired girl.
“And I’m Toru,” the tanned boy finished.
“Sorry if we startled you – it’s been so long since someone came by, I guess we got excited!”
“The five of us were sent to the Digital World long ago, and saved it from a catastrophe. We fought the same battles you’ve fought, and won them. And then we left a bit of ourselves in the computers here.”
“We’re here to help anyone who comes by with a mission to save the Digital World. I guess that means you two.”
“So let me get this straight,” Akira said, after the five projections explained more, “Finding the Meterostones and fighting the Midnight Army was just the beginning? There’s more?”
Naoko nodded. “Yes. There’s still Daemon, the leader of the Midnight Army left to contend with.”
“Daemon,” Akira repeated.
“He’s stronger than every other Digimon you’ve fought until now. Defeating him will require you to evolve beyond what you’ve reached already, to the Perfect level.”
“For that,” Setsuko added, “You’ll need these.” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a pendant with a gray-black stone. A carving of a strange, curved keyhole was etched on the stone. She handed it to Rion.
“This is a Crest. It takes the core part of your personality and energizes it, and allows your Digimon to Super Evolve.”
“Super Evolve,” Rion repeated, “So Guilmon can evolve again and get stronger?”
“Yes. But you’ll need to be careful. The power of your Crest means that you’ll walk the line between light and darkness. Don’t let yourself fall completely to the darkness, or you’ll become just as evil as the Digimon you’re fighting!”
Rion shivered. “I’ll try.”
“A Crest…” Akira murmured, pulling out the cracked blue pendant with the carving of a spiral star. “So that’s what this is.”
Naoko blinked, and took another look at the Crest, and at Akira’s Digivice. She nodded, as if realizing something.
“Your power is special as well. Your dedication, determination and enthusiasm for a cause makes you stronger. The more you believe you can do something, the stronger you’ll be, and the more likely that what you want to happen will happen. But it can also be a double-edged sword. Don’t let anyone convince you that you can’t do something. With your power, it could become a self-fulfilling prophecy and you’ll never accomplish anything.”
“But my Crest is broken!” Akira replied, holding it out and showing Naoko the cracks in the stone. “Will it still work? Can anything be done?”
Naoko examined it, and for a moment a grim expression appeared on her face. It was then replaced with a smile.
“Just believe it will work. That should do the trick, at least for a while.”
Akira looked at her strangely. “So you want me to ignore it?”
Naoko shook her head. “No. I want you to believe.”
“Uh… huh.” Akira stared back at her in confusion. It sounded a lot like being an ostrich with its head stuck in the sand. Completely oblivious to reality.
“So after we beat Daemon,” Rion said excitedly, “what happens then?”
Toru smiled. “Then you go home. The Digital World is saved!”
“Aww!” Rion answered, disappointed. “Go home?”
“Of course we have to go home, Rion,” Akira answered, “Your parents must be worried about you!”
“You can get back to the Real World by using this machine,” Kou indicated the glass chamber. “Just go inside, have someone press the button, and voila! You’re home!”
Her image and the others began to flicker violently.
“What's happening?” Rion asked.
“Our power's running out,” Seiji answered, his voice fading away. “We were programmed to tell you everything you needed to know and then disappear.”
As the five holograms faded away, Naoko suddenly turned to Akira. “Good luck on your final battle,” she spoke up, “Don’t give up! Believe!” She smiled, then completely disappeared.
The room grew silent, except for the humming of the computer consoles.
“Well…” Akira said, “No pressure, huh?”
Afterward, the small group went outside to get away from the intense feelings of the transfer lab. Rion and Guilmon were busy piling fallen leaves together and jumping into them. Akira and Kodamon stood nearby.
“So that’s it, then.” Akira said softly, “One more battle and then we can go home.”
“That’ll be good, won’t it?” Kodamon asked, “You won’t be trapped here anymore.”
Akira shrugged. “Maybe. But…” She gripped her Digivice and Crest and smiled at Kodamon sadly. “I don’t want to leave. I’ve been happy with you and Rion and Guilmon – happier than I’ve been in a long time. I don’t want to leave all of you.”
“Akira…”
“I know that when all of this is over we’ll have to go back. Our families must be worried sick. They need to know that we’re all right. But… I don’t want to leave you, Kodamon!”
Kodamon hugged her as tears fell down her face.
“It doesn’t matter how far apart we are,” Kodamon said, “We’ll always be friends.”
Akira nodded. They both looked over at Rion and Guilmon, who were still playing around in the leaves.
“I’m afraid for Rion,” Akira said, “He’s too young to be involved in something like this. It’s too dangerous.”
She and Kodamon looked at each other for a moment, then nodded. They slowly walked over to Rion and Guilmon.
“What’s up?” Rion asked.
“Rion… We need to send you home.”
“Akira!” Kodamon shouted. “Get your Crest ready!”
Akira blinked. “Huh?”
“I'm going to try to super evolve!”
Akira's eyes widened. “WHAT?!” she shouted, “Are you insane? You can't!”
“Guilmon's already done it!” Kodamon shot back, “He's stronger now because of it. Why can't I do it, too?”
“Kodamon-”
“He can't fight alone! I need to help!”
Akira glared. “Kodamon, my Crest is damaged! Have you forgotten?” She held it out, showing the cracks and splinters along the surface. “I don't know what'll happen if you tried to evolve past Adult level! It could... I don't know, it could just not work, or it could not give you enough power...” She looked back at her fearfully. “It could even delete you!”
Kodamon looked down. “I know that, but...” She looked up at her again, staring intensely. “We have no other choice. If this goes on-” She gestured over to the fight between MegaloGrowmon and Daemon , with MegaloGrowmon clearly weakening. “If this goes on, we're going to lose! And then what'll happen?!”
Akira's eyes were closed. She held her broken Crest in a shaking fist.
At that moment, Daemon hit MegaloGrowmon with a super-strong attack, knocking MegaloGrowmon off his feet and reverting him back to Guilmon.
Kodamon gasped, and turned to Akira. “Akira!”
Akira opened her eyes again. “All right,” she said in a pained voice, “Let's do it.”
Kodamon nodded.
Akira's Digivice and Crest glowed brightly, with a brilliant blue light.
“Kodamon, evolve to... Kodiamon!”
Kodamon's tall, slim, and powerful Adult form appeared, and was subsequently enveloped in blue light.
“Kodiamon, super evolve to...”
Kodiamon’s form changed, to a muscular armor-clad bear on all fours. The form was misty, gray and indistinct. Then, electricity cascaded down her body, and part of her form started to fragment.
“Kodiamon!” Akira cried, “No!” She shook her flickering, cracked Crest, willing it to keep working. “C’mon, c’mon!”
Kodiamon then returned to herself, and was enveloped in a golden light.
“Kodiamon, super evolve to… Helamon!”
The armor-clad bear reappeared, clearer and more distinct, with brilliant gold armor and golden fur. Energy cascaded again, and the golden light quickly turned red. The temperature around her increased.
“Helamon...” Akira murmured in awe. Then she noticed Helamon wincing in pain. The temperature around her became unbearably hot. Akira gasped. “Hold on!” She made a split-second decision, then quickly slotted her damaged Crest into her Digivice.
The Digivice gave a blast of cyan blue light, which shot toward Helamon and enveloped her. The light cooled her down, then dissipated. Helamon landed on all fours and roared.
“It worked!” Akira exclaimed, looking at Helamon, then at her Digivice and Crest.
Helamon looked up at Daemon with a glare, and pounced toward him.
“Solar Swipe!”
The flames hit Daemon square in the chest and he tumbled to the ground. He struggled to get up and he glanced at Akira cheering Helamon on, right out in the open.
He cackled. “Fool.” He lifted a hand and focused. A Dark Seed materialized in his hand and he fired it toward Akira, faster than Helamon could react.
The Dark Seed slammed right into the back of Akira’s neck, knocking her clear off her feet. “What was that…” she asked, picking herself up, only to land back down, screaming from the pain radiating from her neck.
Helamon threw more flames in Daemon’s direction, while at the same time staring at Akira in horror. “What did you do?” she bellowed at Daemon.
Daemon laughed. “I’ve just given her a slow and painful death. One that sucks the goodness out of her first, then solidifies the evil within her. She’ll never be the same again!”
Helamon roared and charged up another attack.
“Solar Swipe!” The flames, stronger than before, connected with Daemon and rippled through him. His form began to fragment, but not enough to delete him.
Helamon grimaced. Just a little more… Then she looked back at Akira lying on the ground and crying from the pain in her neck. Guilmon was not far away, still out cold. Helamon closed her eyes, and making a decision, opened them again.
“Akira!” Helamon shouted, “Get up!”
“I… can’t…” she murmured.
Helamon landed next to her and tried to help her. “Try!” Akira grabbed hold of Helamon’s neck and slowly pulled herself up, wincing at the pain.
“Go back to the lab,” Helamon told her, “Get to the transporter and go home!”
“But what about you?” Akira asked frantically.
“I’ll be fine! I need to make sure you’re safe! Go home and find Rion, and we’ll go from there!”
Akira frowned, clearly wanting to argue, but then nodded. She backed away, then turned and ran.
“It won’t do any good,” Daemon grunted in a pained voice, “She’s still going to die.”
“You shut up!” Helamon shouted, firing another volley of flames toward him. The flames hit home and Daemon’s form began slowly disintegrating.
Daemon laughed. “Kill me and you destroy the only way to cure her!”
Helamon hesitated a moment, then shook her head. “As if you’d give it to me willingly!” She focused, and suddenly shined a bright gold.
The air around her and Daemon and Guilmon began to shimmer and the temperature rose exponentially. A spherical energy barrier appeared around them.
“Solar Expulsion!”
A tremendous explosion rippled across the energy ball and the interior went up in flames as Helamon jumped away with an unconscious Guilmon splayed on her back. The energy barrier held, and Daemon’s form fragmented then completely disintegrated in the flames.
Helamon’s form glowed brightly, then reverted to Kodamon. A loud crack echoed through Kodamon’s mind as she felt the power of Akira’s Crest break down and disappear for good.
“Akira…” Kodamon murmured, “Thank you.” She wondered if Akira had made it home safely and if she and Rion were together. Then she heard a sizzling, crackling noise, and looked up.
Helamon’s energy barrier did not go away. It expanded.
“No way…” Kodamon said in disbelief. She looked on helplessly as the barrier reached the transfer lab.
“No, no, NO!” Kodamon shouted. “Stop! STOP!” The lab was engulfed in the flames, along with the rest of the buildings. Dark Digimon, stragglers from Daemon’s army, were deleted along with them.
The energy barrier finally stopped at twice the diameter it started at, then faded away.
“Akira!” Kodamon shouted, staring at the burnt remains of the lab. Tears filled her eyes. “Akira!”
Suddenly waves of electrical interference enveloped Kodamon. Her image began to flicker and fragment. Through the pain, all Kodamon could think about was Akira and if she made it home in time.
She shut her eyes and immediately lost consciousness…
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