Chapter 36:
Echoes in the Fog
The fog spread densely across the soccer field as a group of teenage boys lounged around at the edge.
Seita rubbed his cheek absently as a teammate apologized for hitting him with a soccer ball (“Just didn’t see you, man!”) He nodded, incredibly distracted. The only thing he could think about was Akira’s screaming right before they left the Digital World.
“What’s up with you?” another teammate asked.
One boy smirked. “If I’m right, it’s because Mitsuishi left again and didn’t tell him!”
“Mitsuishi? From the Odaiba girls’ soccer team? I didn’t know they were together!”
“They are and they’re not. They just refuse to admit it!”
“Hey guys! Coach’s canceling practice,” another boy called out. “We can’t play in soup like this!”
“Come on,” someone else thumped Seita on the shoulder. “Quit moping. You’ll see Mitsuishi again!”
Seita felt a tug on his hand, and he looked down at Yuka. “Let’s go,” she said, “We need to check on Mom and Dad!”
He picked up his soccer gear and walked, shaking his head. Get a grip, Seita, he thought, Focus. She’s fine. She has to be fine. Naoko wouldn’t have let us come back if Akira wasn’t all right.
They walked past a bush, and Yuka quickly looked around. “Okay,” she whispered, “It’s safe to come out!”
The bush rustled, and a Pagumon and Chocomon hopped out.
“Hey,” Pagumon bounced off Seita’s head and landed in his arms. “You were a little out of it back there. You okay?”
“Yeah,” Seita replied, “Just… worried.”
“I’m sure everyone else got back all right,” Chocomon said, hopping into Yuka’s arms.
“Let’s hope so,” Yuka replied.
The fog grew deeper and deeper as they approached their house. When they got inside, their mother looked up, relieved.
“Thank goodness you’re back!” she said, “The city just issued a warning not to go outside-” She was interrupted by both Seita and Yuka hugging her fiercely. “Are you okay?” she asked, puzzled.
“Yeah, just…” Seita said.
“It feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve been home,” Yuka answered.
“Dear?” their father walked over, “Are the kids back yet? That fog advisory-” He was the next one to be bombarded by hugs. “You seem pretty glad to see us,” he said, laughing. “Was it something we did?”
They were interrupted by the calm but chilling notes of the Emergency Alert System playing from the television.
“This is the Tokyo Police reporting possible terrorist activity in the Odaiba area. If you are in the Odaiba area, go inside, stay inside, and take the following precautions-”
“Terrorists?” their mother repeated. Their father shrugged. Seita and Yuka looked at each other worriedly.
Suddenly, there was a screeching noise from outside, and a loud pounding on the door.
Everyone backed away as the pounding grew stronger, causing the door to rattle in its frame. Then, with a splintering sound, the front door was slashed in half, and a group of Bakemon streamed inside.
Seita and Yuka’s mother screamed, and their father slowly backed away. Pagumon and Chocomon, unnoticed before, jumped to the forefront and began to glow.
“Pagumon, evolve to… Gazimon!”
“Chocomon, evolve to… Lopmon!”
“Electric Stun Blast!”
“Blazing Ice!”
The attacks bounced right off of the Bakemon, not leaving a scratch. Gazimon jumped back, and with a growl, charged up another attack. He glowed again, and fired off the attack just as he evolved to Leomon.
“Fist of the Beast King!”
The attack shattered a couple of Bakemon and prompted the others to flee. Afterward, Leomon and Lopmon approached Seita, Yuka and their parents.
“Are you all right?”
Their parents backed away, frightened.
“Don’t worry!” Seita assured them hastily, “They’re friends. They won’t hurt you!”
“We need to go,” Yuka said, “Before the Bakemon come back.”
Their father looked at both of them, then at the Digimon. “Let me get the emergency bag first,” he said.
“Where are we going?” their mother asked.
Their father came back with a bag slung over his shoulder. “To the nearest shelter we can find.”
They went outside, and found the entire neighborhood crawling with ghosts. Groups of Bakemon were chasing people out of their homes, and other people were taking cover in their cars.
The family ran over to their own car, but were met by a screeching Fantomon. With a swing of its scythe, it sliced the car in half, causing it to explode.
Leomon shielded everyone as he glowed again. When the smoke cleared, GrapLeomon appeared.
The explosion had ripped through the garden wall. Seita ran through the debris with Yuka, trying to lead their parents along. GrapLeomon and Lopmon followed.
“Hurry!” Seita shouted, “We have to get away from here, quick!”
“What’s going on?” their father asked, “What was that… thing?”
“We can’t explain now!” Seita answered tersely, “We just need to get you someplace safer!”
Yuka tugged at their mother’s skirt. “Come on, Mom. They’re coming! I can feel it!”
GrapLeomon stopped for a moment, then turned around. “Watch out!” he shouted, pushing Seita and his father out of the way. A black beam shot out of nowhere and hit him in the chest.
A group of Fantomon appeared, cackling. Two of them headed toward Yuka and her mother.
The two of them screamed, but Turuiemon appeared just in time, with a flash of pink light. She jumped in front of them, blocking the attack with her arm.
“Swift Secret Punch!”
The Fantomon fell away, and Turuiemon helped the two up. “Let’s go,” she said calmly.
They ran, approaching Akira’s house, when the car exited the driveway and stopped directly in front of them. The door opened to reveal Akira’s father in the driver’s seat, and grandmother Nami in the front.
“Everyone get inside!” he shouted, “Hurry!” Seita, Yuka and their parents got inside, while GrapLeomon and Turuiemon remained outside, trying to drive away the ghost Digimon.
“Go!” Turuiemon shouted, “Leave everything to us!” She glowed again and evolved to Antiramon before punching out another ghost.
As the car drove away, GrapLeomon and Antiramon ran alongside it, keeping swarms of Bakemon and Fantomon away.
“Where are we going?” Seita asked.
“Seita…” his mother cautioned.
Seita sighed. “Thank you for saving us, Mr. Mitsuishi.” he mumbled.
Akira’s father gave a slight smile. “Call me Takashi.” He looked back at the road. “We’re going to meet up with an old colleague.” He looked over at Seita and Yuka. “I’m sure you know what’s happening.”
“Can someone please explain it to us?” Seita and Yuka’s father asked, exasperated.
Seita and Yuka looked at each other, then both of them took turns explaining.
The car soon slowed down to a stop in front of a house in the same neighborhood Seita recognized as Tian’s. GrapLeomon and Antiramon had caught up with the car, and quickly reverted to Gazimon and Lopmon. Takashi and Nami got out of the car quickly and walked over to the house, and Seita and Yuka followed, despite their parents’ protests.
As they approached the house, a group of Bakemon suddenly appeared. Gazimon and Lopmon assumed fighting stances, but they were too weak to evolve again.
Suddenly, a group of small purple bags shot out of the bushes and slammed into the Bakemon, exploding on them with loud snaps, and eventually driving them away. The bushes rustled and moved to reveal a woman with short, black hair and glasses. She looked like an older version of Tian, and manned an automatic baseball launcher with more of the purple bombs loaded in.
“Mrs. Shu?” Seita asked, warily.
“If you want to build bombs without getting arrested by the government,” she said, “go with nitrogen triiodide. Very sensitive and explodes on contact!”
“Taira,” Nami said, walking up to her.
“It’s been a long time…” Taira said, “Nami, Takashi. I had a feeling you would come.” She looked over at Seita and Yuka standing with Gazimon and Lopmon. “The Chosen Children have appeared again, haven’t they?”
Nami nodded.
Taira sighed. “And let me guess. Tian and Akira are also involved.”
Nami didn’t answer.
“I was afraid of this,” Taira answered, shaking her head. “Since the beginning.”
“Have you contacted everyone?” Nami spoke up.
Taira let out a hysterical laugh. “’Everyone’ is only five of us, since Tao-rin died. Four, excluding Kyoko.”
Takashi frowned, and Nami barked out a laugh. “Hah! Kyoko. She’ll come around now, after all that’s just happened.” She was silent for a moment, then spoke up again. “How about Souichi?”
“Souichi?” Taira repeated, “He’s-”
She was interrupted by a loud motor revving up. A red motorcycle drove up and stopped. The rider pulled his helmet off to reveal a man with messy brown hair.
“I came as soon as you called me,” he said, walking up to them. “The city’s crawling with Digimon in this fog. Have you found the Chosen Children yet?” He looked over at Seita and Yuka with their Digimon and did a double take.
“There’s more of them, Souichi,” Taira said, “Tian is one of them, as well as Nami’s granddaughter.”
He sighed. “You shouldn’t have let her go to China, then,” he said, exasperated. “With things the way they are right now, we won’t know if she’s safe or not!”
“None of us knew it would happen like this!” Taira answered testily, “And Tao-rin’s family insisted that she go. It’s been 11 years-”
“That’s no excuse!”
“Look,” Taira spat, “You may be my big brother, but that doesn’t mean you can tell me how to run my life-”
“HEY!”
All of the adults turned around to face Seita.
“What- Who-” Seita stammered. He took a deep breath. “Just who are all of you? How do you know about Digimon and the Digital World?”
“That, young man, is a very long story,” Nami answered gravely, “And plenty of time to tell it once we’re someplace safer.” She stared at Taira and Souichi. “Enough fighting for now. We need to get the children to a safer place. She looked around. “The fog is lifting. That may buy us some time.” She glanced at Souichi. “Do you have any place in mind?”
Souichi thought a moment. “The old Fuji TV building,” he replied, “It’s abandoned now, but it’s still sturdy.”
Nami nodded. “Then let’s go.”
Taira turned around and walked back to the house. “I need to make a call,” she said, not looking at anyone.
When everyone arrived at the Fuji TV building, the fog had lifted entirely. The entrance was unlocked, and after looking around to make sure there was no stray security, they all entered quietly.
Takashi and Taira went back outside, opened the trunks of their cars and started pulling out scores of old computer equipment. Souichi pulled out a couple of laptops from a large backpack. Even Nami was holding an ancient laptop in her gnarled hands.
Seita, Yuka and their parents watched as the four of them set up shop.
“Who are these people?” their mother asked softly, “They’re like a secret society, or a cult, or-”
“I wouldn’t exactly call us that,” Taira replied, overhearing. “We’re more like guardians, watching the world in case the next Great Shaking happens again.”
Souichi snorted. “Such a hopeless romantic.”
“Hey, if I remember correctly,” Takashi said, “you wanted to call us the Infinity Cyberinvestigation Agency. What a mouthful to say!”
Taira snickered.
“No, no, that’s all wrong,” Nami interjected. “They’re just a group of overgrown kids I recruited to do my bidding and take over the world!” She winked at Seita and Yuka.
“Akira suspected you knew about everything,” Seita told her. “Just wait till she sees all this!” His smile faded. “If she’s okay.”
“Don’t underestimate Akira,” Nami said gravely, “She’s stronger than you think.”
“Will you tell us everything?” Yuka asked.
Nami was silent for a moment, thinking. “I’ll tell you everything when all of you are together again. You all need to know, and I’m not going to repeat myself.” She looked at both of them seriously. “Just know that we’re all here to help you. We’ve known this was coming for a long time, and we’ll support you as much as we can.”
“Can you help us get to America?” Seita asked, “Akira’s there, and so is ITI.”
Nami didn’t answer. The ancient laptop sat open on her lap, and she quickly typed in a few commands. An error message appeared with a loud bleep. She frowned, then dug into a pocket, pulled out a pair of well-worn glasses, and put them on. She typed again, and the same error message appeared.
She sighed as she closed the lid of the old laptop. “I could use a better Internet connection than the crap in this building, and what better place to go than ITI’s main campus!”
“You’re coming too?” Seita asked, incredulously.
Nami put on a look of genuine grandmotherly concern. “Well, of course, dearie. As soon as Souichi can arrange it, we’ll all be on our way.”