Chapter 52:
Coma
When Seita opened his eyes, he was surrounded by dark nothingness. He looked around, his eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.
“Gazimon!” he called out, “Kodamon!”
Thick fog rolled, enough to cover the sky in darkness, if there even was a sky.
Seita took a few steps, then bumped into something short and furry. “Huh?”
“Ow!” Gazimon yelped, landing on the ground.
“Sorry,” Seita said, pulling him up.
“Where are we?” Gazimon asked, looking around wildly.
“We must be in the Edge,” an ominous voice said directly behind him.
“Eeeeyaaagh!” Gazimon jumped a foot in the air from fright. He quickly turned around. “Kodamon, don’t do that!”
“I didn’t know you were that afraid of the dark,” Kodamon replied, smirking.
“Shut it!” Gazimon retorted.
“The Edge, huh?” Seita murmured. He looked around, seeing nothing but shadows and fog.
“From the looks of it, we’re pretty far in,” Kodamon said.
They wandered around aimlessly for a while, until a faint drumming noise echoed in the distance.
“What’s that?” Gazimon asked, perking up his ears. He motioned the others toward the sound.
The drums got louder, and several lantern-lit streets emerged from the fog. Handmade booths lined every street, and the ghostly silhouettes of people dressed in colorful yukata and animal masks walked down them, their wispy voices adding to the eerie hustle and bustle.
“A festival?” Seita asked, “In this fog?”
Amidst the ethereal people wandering the streets were also several Digimon, standing around and staring into space. Their forms were staticy and gray, like an old, worn VHS tape.
And sitting on a bench in the midst of it all, with her arms hugging her legs and her face buried in her knees, was Akira.
“Akira!”
Akira slowly lifted her head at the shout, and stared at the three with only mild recognition.
“Kodamon…” she whispered, “Gazimon…” She looked up a little higher. “Seita…”
“I knew you were okay!” Kodamon bounded into Akira’s arms. “I knew it!”
Akira hugged Kodamon hard, and replied, “How did you guys find me?”
“Naoko sent us to find you and bring you back,” Seita said, “Your body is lying in a hospital bed in the Real World right now.”
“But somehow, your mind ended up in the Digital World,” Kodamon added, “In the Edge, to be exact.”
Akira looked away. “I see.” She got up from the bench and walked over to a tree, putting a hand on the trunk. “I’ve been here for so long, I’ve forgotten how quickly time passes here compared to the Real World. How long has it been?”
“Just a few days,” Kodamon answered.
“It feels like it’s been years,” Akira said, “Years of being stuck here, not being able to get out.” She looked around at the festive atmosphere with a frown. “If it isn’t ghost-people or phantom Digimon, it’s my memories coming to life to haunt me.”
“Mommy, look!” A little girl’s voice rang out.
Akira and the others looked over to see a very young Akira, perhaps about five years old, holding a piece of paper in one hand and tugging at her mother’s shirt with the other. They both looked blurry and staticy around the edges and were sepia-toned, like an old photograph.
“This is Coronamon,” the young Akira said, showing Kyoko the picture. “And this is Lunamon!”
“I see.” Kyoko frowned at the picture.
“Coronamon is Nanna’s Digimon,” young Akira continued, “And Lunamon is Nanna Setsuko’s Digimon.” She smiled. “And you know what Nanna told me? She said that when I get older, I might get a Digimon too!”
Kyoko glared, and shook her head. “Akira, honey, Digimon aren’t real!”
“They are too,” young Akira shot back, “Nanna said so!”
“Your grandmother is lying to you,” Kyoko said firmly, “Digimon are just a story, make-believe!”
Tears fell from young Akira’s eyes. “But-”
“She shouldn’t be filling your head with nonsense like this,” Kyoko said, plucking the drawing from young Akira’s hand and crumpling it up.
Young Akira wailed, and ran away.
The image faded away, replaced by the bustling street.
“Man… your mom…” Seita murmured, “Such a…” He called her a rude word, which earned him a kick from Kodamon. “Ow!”
Akira shrugged, and started walking down a random street.
“Where are you going?” Kodamon asked.
“There’s something I need to do first,” Akira said, looking over her shoulder at them. “Come on.”
The other three looked at each other, then followed.
As they walked down the street, they passed more ghost-people dressed in animal masks and yukata, and more phantom Digimon standing around. They also passed more memories, of Akira interacting with her father and grandmother, hanging out with Tian, arguing with Seita, fighting with Touma…
When Akira suddenly stopped, the others found themselves in front of a large temple, which had a long line of torii leading from the entrance. No light shined within – it was as if the torii absorbed it all.
Akira walked forward. “Let’s go.” She entered the tunnel of torii without batting an eye. The others followed, feeling a little uneasy. They walked on, completely in the dark, with the sounds of the festival echoing distortedly around them.
Finally, they reached the temple shrine, lit by a single lantern. Akira walked up to the shrine, rang the bell, and made a wish.
Immediately the noises stopped.
Akira opened her eyes and looked around, a hopeful look on her face.
The silence was then broken by the sounds of Digimon screeching and growling.
Akira sighed. “Every time. Every time I wish to get out of this place, this happens! With all of you here, I thought it’d be different...” She turned and ran back through the torii. “Let’s go!” she shouted, “Hurry up!”
When they exited the torii, they saw that the streets had changed slightly. The ghost-people were gone, and the phantom Digimon that were previously frozen had now come to life.
An Ogremon bounded up to them and roared, swinging his club. Akira deftly dodged the club and ran, barely missing the flame from a nearby Meramon.
“Don’t let them touch you!” Akira shouted, “You’ll lose a piece of yourself!”
Another phantom Digimon lunged in front of Kodamon. Kodamon dodged, then punched a fist toward it.
“Bear Fist!”
The attack bounced off of the phantom Digimon, not leaving a scratch.
“Just keep running!” Akira shouted back, “Attacks won’t work!”
As the street forked, the four of them split up, Akira with Seita and Kodamon with Gazimon.
Akira took Seita around sharp corners and through winding back alleys, all with the certainty of knowing the roads like the back of her hand. When the sounds of attacking Digimon faded, Akira stopped, bending over to catch her breath.
“Are they gone?” Seita said haltingly.
“Yes,” Akira replied, taking deep breaths. “They don’t chase for very long.”
“This happens every time you try to leave?” Seita asked incredulously.
Akira nodded.
“Why not just walk away?”
“It won’t let me,” Akira explained, “Whenever I reach the edge of the festival, there’s an invisible barrier that keeps me inside.” She was silent for a moment. “I don’t understand how you guys were able to get in.”
Seita opened his mouth to answer when he was interrupted by a little boy running across his path.
“Huh?” he said, looking at the boy closely. He looked strangely familiar…
“Hey!” the boy called out. Two little girls looked his way.
Seita gasped, immediately recognizing a young Akira and Tian. So the boy must be his younger self...
“Guess what?”
Young Tian groaned into her hands. “Not this again…”
“What?” young Akira asked warily.
“I just joined the Odaiba boys’ soccer team,” young Seita said proudly. “Now we’ll really see who’s better than who!”
“Why are you always making things a competition?” young Akira demanded.
Young Seita shrugged nonchalantly. “Survival of the fittest.”
“I bet you don’t even know what that really means,” young Akira said mockingly.
Young Seita laughed. “Neither do you, stupid!”
Young Akira glared. “I’m not stupid!”
“Akira…” young Tian said warningly.
“If I had a soccer ball with me, I’d kick your stupid nose off your stupid face!” young Akira shouted.
“Who’s calling who stupid?” young Seita retorted.
“Guys!” young Tian shouted, “Settle down, or I swear I’ll get both of your dads and put you both in time out!”
“Tian-”
“You wouldn’t!”
The argument continued as the three kids walked further down the street. Akira and Seita watched them in silence until the shouting faded out of earshot.
“Why did we fight all the time?” Akira asked gently.
Seita looked back at the memory of their child-selves shouting at each other. “I… don’t know. I guess it was in our nature.”
“I wish it wasn’t,” Akira answered, “I wish we could start all over, as friends.”
“I think we already have,” Seita responded, “This whole adventure has changed both of us, don’t you think?”
“Hmm.” Akira made a noncommittal sound. “Maybe.”
They continued walking in silence. When they reached a small lake with a bridge over it, they stopped over the bridge to admire the scenery.
“Seita…” Akira said suddenly.
“Hmm?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever said this, but thank you.”
Seita blinked. “For what?”
“For always being there. When I needed help, and even when I thought I didn’t, you were always there, by my side. You never left me alone.”
Seita smirked. “I never will. You’ll never be rid of me!”
Akira laughed.
Seita slowly drew Akira into his arms, and her laughter faded. She stared back at him questioningly.
Seita leaned forward, and planted a soft kiss on Akira’s lips.
Akira’s eyes widened. “Seita…”
“I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time,” Seita said, “I… I love you, Akira.”
Akira said nothing for a moment, then she gave him a dazzling smile. “I had a feeling,” she said softly. “I’m glad to know I was right.”
“When all of this is over,” Seita continued, “Could we spend some time together, just the two of us?”
“Like on a date?” Akira said lightly.
Seita turned slightly red. “Yes.”
Akira nodded. “I’d be glad to.”
“Hey!” A shout echoed in the distance. “Akira! Seita!”
Akira sighed and reluctantly pulled away from Seita. “I guess they finally found us.” She turned toward the shout and waved. “Hey!”
Kodamon and Gazimon appeared, running toward them.
“Akira!” Kodamon said, “We found a way out of this place!”
Akira blinked. “You have?”
“A hole in a fence that’s big enough to walk through,” Gazimon added. “Something simple, but it looked suspicious enough that we figured it wasn’t part of the scenery!”
“Come on,” Kodamon said, pulling Akira by the hand. “Let’s see if we can get you out of here!”
The two Digimon led them to a darkened area on the far outskirts of the festival. A chain-link fence stood in front of them, with a large hole cut into it. Bits of static lingered on the other side of the hole.
Kodamon and Gazimon ran right through the hole in the fence. For a moment, they disappeared, then Kodamon’s head reappeared through the hole.
“Akira!” Kodamon called out, “Come on through, the hole’s fine!”
Akira put a hand out, and taking a deep breath, walked quickly in front of her. As she came right up to the opening in the fence, her hand slammed into a wall of nothing. She closed her eyes, pushing hard, then slammed the rest of her body against the invisible wall. Sighing, she stopped.
“No luck,” she said.
“But that’s impossible,” Seita said incredulously, walking in and out through the hole in the fence with ease. He turned toward Akira and held out his hand. “Come on.”
Akira took his hand, and he walked through the opening. As their joined hands reached the opening, a massive force pushed their hands apart, sending Akira flying.
“Ow!” Akira picked herself off of the ground as the other three walked back through the fence opening to rejoin her.
“See what I mean?” Akira said, looking downcast. “This place… it’s like a prison!”
“There has to be a way for you to get out,” Seita said, pacing the ground. “There has to.”
“Seita,” Akira said, pointing at his hands. “Look.”
Seita looked down at his hands and saw them flicker in and out. The flickering soon spread to the rest of his body.
“No…” Seita said frantically, “Not yet! We need more time!”
“What’s happening?” Akira asked.
“The Projection machine,” Seita said, “It’s calling me back!”
There was a burst of energy as Kodamon and Gazimon were lifted into the air, their outlines glowing an eerie blue.
“Naoko!” Kodamon called out, “Don’t bring us back yet! Give us more time!”
“It’s no use…” Gazimon said softly.
“Akira!” Kodamon shouted, tears in her eyes.
There was a blip of static as Kodamon and Gazimon disappeared from the Digital World.
Seita grabbed hold of Akira’s hand as he was lifted into the air. He struggled not to let go as the Projection machine pulled him away.
“I’ll come back for you!” he shouted, as his grip on her hand loosened. “Don’t give up!”
“I won’t!” Akira shouted back as she struggled to keep a hold of his hand.
Their hands slipped away, and with a violent flicker, Seita disappeared.
Seita slowly opened his eyes to find himself back in the Infinity Lab. Tears of frustration sprang to his eyes, and he slammed a fist onto the side of the cot he was laying in.
“Damn it!” he shouted, “I was so close!”