It was midnight, and the silver light of the moon shone down on the
building and those who slept within, bathing the ground in it's eldretch
light. It was the kind of night that strange things could happen, and
tonight the opportunity is taken.
In the shadowed corner of the bedroom, a figure materialized and stepped
towards the bed. The moonlight fell on his armor as he looked at the two
figures sleeping quietly, their arms wrapped around each other. His eyes
went to the tall male with brown hair half-covering his face, his arms
wrapped around a smaller blonde male. He looked at the former for but a
moment, then reached into a compartment on his leg near the top of his
thigh and took out a pen-like object. Just then, the blonde stirred
slightly and opened his eyes. Quickly the stranger reached back into the
compartment, pulling out something that vaguely resembled a pen
flashlight, then he turned it on, pointing it into the eyes of the
newly-awakened male, who went quickly back to sleep. He then replaced
the sleep inducer and pressed a button on the first device, causing a
needle to pop out. Carefully he leaned over to the darker male and
jabbed the needle into his arm. It was then that he felt something was
watching him and he looked up, finding himself looking into a emerald
eye.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl, as his dark eyes looked into his
target's unreadable eyes while he retrieved the sleep inducer while
keeping the needle where it was. Before the male could move, the
stranger shone the strange green light in his eyes. Slowly the eyelids
fell back over the male's eyes and he went back to sleep.
The stranger removed the needle and pointed the other end of the device
at the wound. He pressed another button on the device, and it let out a
fine mist that immediately sealed the needle hole, stopping any bleeding
that may have occurred. His reason for being here finished, he stepped
back and allowed himself to fade back away......
In another part of reality, a man in dark russet armor sat at his seat
at the large hoop-like table, ran his fingers through his short-cropped
reddish-brown hair and sighed. At first he, the Seeker of Knowledge, was
reluctant to have called this meeting, but what he has found was too
astonishing to simply file away. He had to let the others know of this
discovery he found in the Shadow World. Glancing about the large
temple-like room, which was lit only by a large round glass-like area of
the floor surrounded by the table, he held out his right hand palm-side
up, and concentrated. The symbol on his hand glowed for a instant, then
a crystal sphere appeared, floating above his palm. He peered at it,
reviewing his notes for the upcoming meeting.
"Koushirou-san, are you sure the others will come? I mean, it probably
isn't that important.", said the beetle-like creature that sat next to
him. The Seeker grinned slightly at his companion's use of his old name.
It amazed them that no matter how long they have lived, the companions
have always treated their human partners the same way they always have.
It was comforting, in a way.
"Relax Tentomon, I'm sure the others will come. It's been rather quiet
lately. Besides, who wouldn't be interested in the discovery of five
potentials in close proximity to each other?", he replied.
Just then, he heard footsteps coming towards him. Turning around, he saw
a slender form in green and pink armor walking into the meeting-room,
followed by a fairy-like creature. He allowed himself a small smile as
she walked towards him.
"Greetings dear," he said. "I take it the others will be here soon
then?"
"Of course, koi," she replied, kissing him on the forehead. She then
settled into the chair next to him. "It's been real quiet lately, so I'm
sure that the others will be interested in whatever you found."
The Seeker nodded. The boundaries surrounding the shared worlds has been
quite secure lately, with only a few minor rifts which were quickly
repaired. It was during these times that The Eight indulged in their
various hobbies. He flushed slightly as he recalled one of the more
popular of them. He then composed himself and allowed a helmet shaped
like the headgear of a Egyptian god to appear on his head as others came
into the room.
First came in a muscular figure with brown manelike hair dressed in
almost archaic armor. He swaggered in and took his seat, leaning back
casually and putting his clawed feet on the table. He was followed by a
orange-haired woman wearing red armor who rolled her eyes when she saw
the way the Warlord was sitting. She sat next to him as a pink
chocobo-like bird flew in and landed next to her. Next was a tall, thin
man clad in blue armor and a headdress and cloak of blue wolfskin
accompanied by a large blue-striped wolf. Ocean-blue eyes scanned the
room before the Shaman put his hood down, revealing his blonde hair. He
then took a seat on the other side of the Warlord, giving him a
admonishing look. The wolf simply laid down near the entrance with what
appeared to be a grin on it's face.
Then a spot of light appeared in the entry hall and moved towards the
room. As it got closer, it was revealed to be shining from the cloak of
a young woman with dishwater-blonde hair and silver armor. Her companion
was a man with white wings, dressed in chain armor similar to that from
the Middle Ages. At their heels was a white cat-like creature with a
long tail. The Priestess and the Harbinger exchanged greetings with
those already in the room before taking their seats.
The last to come in was a tall, thin figure, the light glinting off his
dark scale-like armor and dark blue hair. His body screamed irritation,
and his annoyed look was apparent even behind his goggle-like visors as
the Watcher took his seat, muttering about his duty. The others grinned,
as they knew how he felt about his self-appointed duty to keep a eye on
the boundaries and check for any troubles that were likely to brew in
either the Digital World or Earth. Actually, it was everyone's job, but
he can be quite obsessed....
After a quick head-count, the Warlord took his feet off the table and
leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table.
"Well, now that we're all here, could you tell us about that new
discovery you found?", he said, turning to the Seeker, who replied by
nodding. He then placed his right palm on a crystal dome on the table,
causing the center of the floor to glow brighter.
"During the course of my investigations in the Shadow World, I have
found five individuals whose auric energy levels are higher than normal
for the inhabitants of that part of the paradigm. What makes them stand
out, however, is that they have been observed to work together to
achieve a common goal. Also, they have achieved their champion forms at
least 5 years earlier than normal for a Shadoworlder. It is my belief
that, with some additional training, they could be a formidable force."
"So who are these potentials?", the Harbinger asked.
"I was about to get to that," the Seeker replied. Just then, five beams
of light emerged from the center of the table, then formed into five
figures. Everyone looked at them while the Seeker continued.
"These individuals are rebel mobile suit pilots from the colonies,
currently fighting the present Shadow World government. They are very
good fighters, considering the odds they are up against. Of course,
having mobile suits, or Gundams, as powerful as theirs helps."
"And you are bring this up because..?", the Watcher asked.
The Priestess answered first.
"Because their war cannot possibly last forever...."
The Warlord nodded, then said, "So basically you are saying that we
should take them under our wings and form some sort of.... of..."
"Alliance?", the Shaman offered.
"Yeah. So, who's for it?"
One by one, each of the Eight raised his or her hand, each offering
their reasons.
"Alright then, it's settled. I'll contact Ruadelon-", the Warlord
started to say, but was cut off by the Shaman.
"Wait. We should have to choose which one of us is to train which
Potential. And I suggest we take this slowly. They may be Potentials,
but they think like humans, just like any other Shadoworlder."
"Yamato is right.", the Healer said. "Remember how we felt when we found
out that we were the Digidestined?"
The Warlord nodded. They knew how it felt to be thrust into a strange
situation, but they also knew that they were younger than the potentials
at the time, and thus were more open. How would these hardened youths
react if they were told straight away what they really were? This
question still hung in the air until the Watcher spoke up.
"And there's still the problem of training. How do we decide which one
of us is to train which potential?"
The Preserver snapped her fingers. "What about dreamwork?"
Everyone turned towards her, and she continued. "We can start out with
dreamworking, and when we are sure that they are comfortable with what
we are and what they are, then we can visit them and train them in their
powers."
There was a collective nod, as it sounded like a good idea. The
Priestess was the next to speak.
"Of course, if we are going to use their dreams to communicate with
them, a subconscious link will be needed."
"I see what you are getting at," the Harbinger said. "We all will try
with each of the potentials until each one of us connects with one of
them. It's a simple process of elimination."
The Watcher *ahem*ed. "But I don't think it's a good idea. I mean, we
have to look at each potential and try to match the mentor with the
potential. This linking sound like we're just choosing at random."
"Actually, the chances of linking are determined by either what one or
another needs, or whatever each have at common, so it is not really
random.", the Seeker countered.
The Watcher threw his hands in the air. "Okay fine. I guess I'll go
along with it."
"All right," the Warlord said, "Let's do it."
One by one, each of the Eight placed their right hands on the dome in
front of them and concentrated. A beam of light came from each spot of
the table and merged into a column of light in the center that reached
up to the ceiling. The creatures that shared the room with them looked
at this straight rainbow as it shimmered, changed into a solid white,
then disappeared along with three of it's sub-beams, and the Seeker,
Healer, and Harbinger each removed their hand from their dome and got
up.
"I take it the others have found their link," the cat said to the
Harbinger, who replied by nodding.
"All that they have to do now is learn about whoever they are linked
to.", the Seeker said. He then turned to leave, then stopped, looking
back at the table.
"I have a feeling that you aren't going to leave unless you are sure
your loved ones are okay," Tentomon stated.
"Of course," the Seeker replied. "We have done dreamwork before, but not
like this." He then looked down at his companion. "But how did you..."
Tentomon only replied by pointing, and the Seeker looked in that
direction to see the Harbinger standing not far from the Priestess,
looking at her with his arms crossed, while not far away the Healer
stood clutching her hands together, looking at the Warlord with a
unconcealed expression of concern on her face. The Seeker glanced at
the Warlord, who was clearly straining to make the connection.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl......
* * *
Trowa looked up from the computer monitor and rubbed his eyes. His
thoughts turned to the dream Quatre described to him. He realized the
near similarity to his own dream, but something told him there was
something more to this, such as the sore spot on his arm. So Trowa never
told Quatre of this, as he did not want to alarm him. Instead, he
searched the various databases in hopes of finding a answer. But,
despite hours of searching, the only thing he found that even remotely
resembled that night's experiences was some 20th century folklore about
aliens. It was a confusing dead end.
Suddenly, he clutched his head as a cacophony of sensations penetrated
his brain. He bit back his own cry, then slowly the number of sensations
dwindled to one, a feeling of... purity. Then that too faded...
* * *
"Emotion."
The Seeker was interrupted from his thoughts by that gentle whisper, and
he turned to look at the Preserver, who now had her hand off the dome
and was now holding it to her heart instead. She then whispered, "Poor
child....."
At this point, sweat was starting to form on the Warlord's brow, and the
Healer stepped forward to place her hands on his shoulders. The Seeker
gave only a glance at this tableau. His eyes settled on the more calm
form of the Watcher.....
* * *
Duo was busily making a few minor adjustments to Deathscythe when all of
a sudden his mind was flooded with strange sensations, causing him to
drop his wrench. But quickly these sensations faded, but one seemed to
linger a bit longer, a feeling of distant chill.....
* * *
The Shaman removed his hand from his dome and held it to his heart. He
had a glimpse of the pain in the heart of his prot�g�, and he knew that
he wore a mask to hide his true self, just like he did when he was
younger. He then looked around. He could tell that the Preserver had
found her own prot�g�, and that the Watcher and Priestess were
themselves still trying to link. He looked to his right, and he saw that
the Warlord was having a hard time making his own link, while the Healer
tried to comfort him silently. The Shaman stood up, causing her to look
in his direction.
"Is he all right?", he asked.
She nodded, then said, "I don't understand. Tai's the least trained in
dreamworking, and he isn't really empathetic. So why is he doing this?"
"I believe there is something in one of the potentials may drawing
him.", the Seeker replied, his arm around the Preserver, who was now
standing up.
"Could be.", the Shaman said quietly. "Could be...."
* * *
Quatre took a sip of his tea and leaned back in his chair. His thoughts
turned back to the to his dream, and what happened this morning. He
remembered the dark figure by the bed and the green light that ended his
vision. He thought it was dream, but something about it disturbed him,
so he told Trowa about it. Quatre was not surprised at the taller boy's
silence, but he could tell that something about the story has disturbed
him. 'Perhaps he had the same dream', the blonde pilot thought. 'But
then, was it a dream? It seemed so real at the time....'
He almost spilled his cup of tea as a sudden flood of sensations entered
his mind. He paused, it felt like something was trying to reach him.
Almost on a whim, he reached out mentally.....
And then he felt it. A almost overwhelming shaft of purity and energy
seemed to pierce his mind, practically banishing all of the other mental
sensations. And then it was gone, leaving him stunned.....
* * *
The Priestess suddenly pulled her hand back from her dome with a
surprised look on her face.
"Hikari, what is it?", the Harbinger said, rushing to her side.
"I don't believe it," she said, almost in a whisper. "He reached out to
me..."
Everyone else in the room, save for the Warlord and Watcher, were
surprised by this statement. The Preserver was the first to recover, and
she asked, "Is it even possible?"
"Could be", the Priestess replied. "It's the only way I can describe
it."
The Seeker rubbed his chin in thought. "Fascinating."
The Priestess then turned to look at the Warlord. "And how is he?", she
asked.
The Healer sighed. "It's hard to say.", she replied. " I don't even know
if he can link though. It looks like he was going to collapse any
second."
The Shaman hmphed. "I shouldn't worry as much. He's hard-headed enough
to manage.", he said with a slight smile.
The Priestess chuckled, then stood up and turned towards the Harbinger.
"It's real nice for you to wait for me."
The Harbinger blushed slightly, then chuckled. "Well, I'm not the only
one that's doing it."
The Priestess smiled, then entwined her arm with his. "Koibito, I think
it's time we got home. After all, I need time to prepare."
And with that, they and their feline companion left the room. The
Shaman, who has seen all of this, stood up and placed his hand on the
Healer's shoulder, causing her to turn towards him.
"It looks like he will be here awhile," he told her. "Why don't you go
on ahead of us? I'll take him home."
"But-"
"Listen, if this attempt hurts him, it is more likely to psychic damage
than physical."
"I guess you're right.", the Healer said. She then turned around, but
then turned back to the Shaman.
"But if he gets hurt....", she said in a ominous tone.
"Please don't. If he does, it will be because he pushed himself to do
it. I cannot force him."
The Healer nodded, then turned and walked out of the room, her own
companion following close by.
The Shaman sighed and looked around. There was only six now, and only
two haven't finished their links yet. 'This has gone surprisingly well',
he thought to himself. 'But I still worry about Tai. Even with his
inexperience, he still should have linked by now. Does the potential
have anything to do with it?'
* * *
Wufei was meditating at the base of his Gundam when he suddenly felt
something. It seemed to him that there were two sensations in his head,
then one of them was gone, and he felt something like the steady pulse
of the ocean, which also faded. Shaking his head, he got up...
* * *
The Watcher released his grip on his sphere and breathed out one word.
"Duty."
The whisper carried through the room, and he looked up, meeting the eyes
of both the Seeker and the Preserver. At that moment, he realized why
they were still here and he blushed.
"Really, you shouldn't have stayed.", he said, grinning.
"Actually, this is the the first time we tried to establish a
subconscious link in such a manner.", the Seeker replied. "I guess we
were all a bit worried at the time." He then glanced at the Warlord. "Of
course, there are still some problems."
"And besides," the Preserver added, "we all live on the same 'island'.
So I think we should all go at the same time. Don't you?"
"But what about-" the Watcher started to say, before he was cut off by
the Shaman.
"It's alright. I already told someone else this. I'm taking him home."
At this, the Watcher nodded, then stood up. "I guess I should see you
guys later then." He then left, followed by the Preserver and her
companion. The Seeker lingered for a brief moment, looking at the two
still seated. He then followed the others, leaving the two and the wolf
alone in the room.
The Shaman folded his hands under his chin and looked at the Warlord,
who was still trying to make his link.
'I'm not surprised that you are still forging on,' he thought. 'It's
your determination that's kept us all going, even after all these years,
even... back then.' He closed his eyes. 'The years also have mellowed
you out as well, made you calmer, more willing to listen to your
friends. In fact, I think it wasn't until your death-merge with Agumon
that you have occasionally reverted to your old impulsive self.'
"Something tells me," he said aloud, "that your potential may have the
same strength of will you have."
The Watcher trudged his way along the rocky shore towards his lair, his
head heavy with thought. He thought back to his new duty, the young
potential.
'Something here does not make sense. I mean, it's been, what, 300 years?
I'm sure that quite a few potentials have popped up during that time,
and Ruadelon's taken all of those in. So why can't we let him handle
it this time? He still knows more about the Shadow World than we do.
Hell, he's the one that put the barrier up around it in the first place,
allowing us access because we are the guardians of the paradigm, and I'm
not surprised he did so. He can be very through when we wants to be.' He
shook his head. 'And he has done a pretty good job of finding and
training them. Of course, there were a few... interesting cases, like
the Agumon-type that thought she had become a mahtou no bishojo because
she had accidentally discovered her power.' He chuckled as he remembered
that they had to send in the late Agumon to explain to her such things
as the true nature of her powers and that Ruadelon wasn't a 'youma'. He
then resumed his mental ranting.
'So what makes these potentials different from the others, the fact that
they are soldiers in the middle of a freaking war? That they have
achieved their champion forms earlier than anyone else? I just don't get
it.'
Just then, he stopped and looked up to see a small white seal-like
creature looking down into a small tidal pool ahead of him. He knew he
was almost home so he quickened his pace. When he got close enough, the
creature turned and looked at him, lifting a pair of goggles from it's
eyes.
"Hi Jyou," it said in a cheery tone of voice, moving from where it was
sitting. "What was the meeting about?"
The Watcher plopped down where the creature was and let out a sigh. "The
meeting was held because Koushirou found a bunch of kids in the Shadow
World that are potentials, and we thought it would be a good idea if we
train them to use their inherent talents. We decided to use dreamwork to
contact and inform them, and you know that means?"
The creature nodded. "Don't tell me, you had to subconsciously link with
one of the potentials."
"We did it all at once, so that each of us linked up with the potential
that... well, it still seems random to me."
"So, this is what the group's gonna do when it ain't protecting the
paradigm, ne?"
"Not all of us are doing it," the Watcher replied. "You see, there are
only five of those potentials, so there are only five of us doing the
mentoring." The Watcher sighed, then added, "And I'm one of them."
"I see", the creature said as the Watcher looked into the now-glowing
tidal pool. A moment later, the creature pointed at a image in the pool
with a claw. "Is that-"
"Yes, Gomamon. That's the one I got stuck with."
Gomamon hmmmmed, looking at the dark-haired figure shown in the pool. He
then looked back to his companion. "Jyou, I have a idea."
The Watcher looked up. "Hmm?"
"Listen, I know how you get when you have a duty to perform. You'll go
nuts trying to watch both the boundaries AND the potential like a hawk
at the same time. So I was thinking, what if I keep a eye on him for you
while you do all the dreamworking. How's that sound?"
"And just how do you plan on doing this?", the Watcher asked. "The
scrying pool can only be used by one of us at a time, and I don't think
you can access anyone else's scying device."
"I don't plan on using anything like that. I'm gonna go to the Shadow
World and hang out with him."
"You WHAT??", the Watcher squawked, leaping from his seat. "Gomamon,
this young man is a mobile suit pilot in the middle of a hard war! You
are gonna get killed!"
Gomamon raised his paw. "Jyou, may I remind you of something?"
"And that would be?"
"We are both over three hundred years old. I'm positive that I developed
enough smarts to know when to stay out of the way. And besides, I can
throw in a little training every now and then. After all, both he and I
are Digimon, only he doesn't know it yet."
The Watcher sighed and threw his hands up in the air. "Fine, you win.
Just remember that I can't always come to your rescue."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence", the seal-like Digimon said. He then
turned and padded over to a small stone house not far from where they
were. "I gotta pack a few things. Don't forget to tell the kid about
me!"
"Sure", the Watcher replied, sinking back down next to the scrying pool.
'I really should be used to these goofball situations', he mused. 'I
mean, after the Challenge (1), just about anything, even invasion by
extra-dimensional entities intent on devouring Earth, the Digital World,
or both at the same time, is normal. But I still feel like we're going
behind Ruadelon's back here. I know that he has given us all a backdoor
to the Shadow World, and it's a part of the paradigm. But as far as I'm
concerned, he is the sole guardian of that world, and I still think we
should have just let him handle it.' He then got up and headed for the
water. "But that's all behind us now. I just hope we are doing the right
thing."
The Watcher then dove into the sea to his own lair.
"STUBBORNNESS!", the Warlord managed to gasp out, collapsing across the
table and rousing the Shaman from his reverie. Yamato (2) was on his
feet in seconds and stood over the prone figure on the table, gently
shaking him. "You okay?", he asked, concern coloring his voice.
Tai slowly opened one eye. "Yeah. I'm fine. Just a bit tired from trying
to link with a hardhead." He then slowly got up and staggered slightly.
"But I did it. Barely, was a pain in the ass, but I got my link."
Yamato gently grabbed his partner's shoulders. "I knew you can do it.
But you scared us when you were doing it. We thought you were gonna get
hurt."
Tai grinned. "Hey, I've been through too much to let a little mental
projection do me in. But thanks for the concern." He then looked around.
"Damn. I took that long?"
Yamato nodded. "It's been awhile since the rest of us left. We should be
getting ready soon ourselves."
"You're right," Tai said as he allowed himself to be supported by his
blue-armored partner when they went towards the entry. "So, we taking
the Blue Wolf Express?"
"I heard ya, Tai. I heard ya," the wolf replied as it got up and
stretched. "It took you long enough. You two ready?"
"As ready as we'll ever be Garurumon," Yamato said as he leapt on his
companion's back. Tai followed and wrapped his arms around Yamato's
waist as they rode out of the room.
* * *
Tai staggered into his bedroom and collapsed on the bed, still exhausted
from his linking ordeal. He did not realize what he has got himself into
until he tried to link with one mind in particular. He was practically
the last to do so, although he had located his straight away. He could
not believe the strength of will his potential had.
He sighed, closing his eyes and placing his hands behind his head. Yes,
he had his link, but he didn't think it would be enough to do much other
than track him down. 'What to do....', he thought.
His train of thought was cut short by a voice in his head.
<Um, Tai?>
"Yeah, Agu?", he replied, speaking to his former companion.
<Shouldn't you be getting ready or something?>
"I'm not sure it would work for me. As I remember, one of the things I
have to do in order to prepare is to be completely alone, and with this
deathmerge, well, it's kinda hard for me."
<You can ignore me, right?>
"Agumon, I think it has something to do with the presence of other life
essences. Besides, you usually shut off your link to my senses everytime
me and Yama-kun-"
<I get the picture already!> Agumon said, cutting his host off. <So what
are we gonna do?>
"Well, I know the guy's name, and I will always know where he will be.
So," he chuckled, "Let's cut to the chase."
End Part 1
1: Challenge of the Dark Selves, a Talisman fic still in the
conceptstage
2: Okay, okay, you know who's who by now, so I'm using their human names
for the rest of this chapter. Using their titles was getting awkward.
I know, I know. The Gboys only have a minor role in this part, but I
swear, the next part will be centered on them.