All occupants of the room stared at Heartmon.
"Within the keychain?" Queen Minnie asked in wonder. "How is that possible?"
"Who knows," Leon shrugged. "Heartmon is a digital life form... maybe Ansem was able to save his data on that keychain like on some data storage medium."
Sora scratched his head. "Data... what?"
Mickey sighed. "Like on a floppy disk or a CD," he explained.
"Aaah..." Sora nodded, not really understanding. But... could you blame him? His home islands weren't exactly known for their highly developed technology.
"And what happened to those keychains?" Kari asked. "I mean, if what you said is true, shouldn't they still be where this Ansem guy stored them?"
"I thought so too," the king nodded. "But I wonder what really happened that day, when Xehanort betrayed his master and turned himself and the other five lab assistants into Nobodies..."
"Ya know, maybe they got eaten by the Heartless," Goofy suggested.
"Quit speaking nonsense!" Donald quacked angrily. "Why would a Heartless eat something like that?"
Cid tapped his forehead thoughtfully. "Ya know, I think our lop-eared friend ain't half wrong about that. Think about it, those keychains are fragments of a digital heart, right? So what if the Heartless released by Ansem's apprentice found those by accident and tried consuming them."
"That would also explain why Xemnas never bothered to use them for his own purposes," Leon nodded.
Riku shook his head. "Well, the big question is: What on earth would happen if a Heartless would try to consume such a keychain like a heart?"
"I can't really say for sure," the king said. "Ansem the Wise was the only person with the necessary expertise in that area. But I would assume that they wouldn't be lost to darkness completely, because they're only part of a heart."
Gatomon had a hunch. "Would it be possible that one of those Heartless consumed one of the keychains, and it rested within its body for a long time? What would happen if that Heartless would be destroyed?"
"Might be," Leon shrugged. "I guess if that happened, the corrupted heart of the Heartless would be released as usual, and the keychain most likely along with it."
Gatomon nodded. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Because this keychain appeared right after we saved our friend Ken from that big armored Heartless."
"I got it!" Sora smacked his fist in his palm. "The Heartless have consumed the keychains during their assault on Radiant Garden, they grew more powerful after consuming more hearts and during all that time, the keychains remained within their bodies... which means we just have to search for those other stray Heartless and defeat them, so the keychains are released again."
"What for?" Cid asked simply.
Sora raised a finger. "Becaaauuuusse... um..."
"You don't have a clue, like always," Riku sighed.
"But I am... well, I was the bearer of the Crest of Light..." Kari spoke up. "Maybe it was no coincidence that this keychain found its way to me."
"Not a bad thought," Mickey said. "Maybe the other keychains will try to find a way to their rightful bearers, too."
"If that's true, they would most likely also appear back in our home world," Gatomon said. "Except for Kari and our friend T.K., all the former crest bearers are still back at home."
"Yeah," Kari nodded. "My brother Tai owned the Crest of Courage, my friend Sora the Crest of Love..."
"You mentioned some sort of eggs earlier," Aerith interrupted her. "Right? Are those similar to the crests?"
"Um, not really," Kari explained. "T.K. and I own the same Digi-Armor-Eggs that match with our old crests, but the other eggs found other holders... Younger Digidestined, about as old as T.K. and I are." She smirked. "Tai always used to call them the 'new generation of Digidestined'."
"Well, then I wonder if those keychains found you because of your crest or your litchi egg," Goofy pondered.
"That's Digi-Egg!" Donald reminded him.
"A-hyuck! Yes, that's what I meant!"
Kari sighed. "Guys, as interesting as this conversation has been... I really have to find my friends, you know? Me and Gatomon weren't the only ones to disappear through that Gateway of Light."
"Is there any way we can find them?" Gatomon asked.
"Well, that's tricky..." Cid grumbled. "If that Gateway of Light is anything similar to the corridors of darkness those Organization freaks have been using, there's no telling where they might have ended up."
"We can still search for them, using our Gummi Ships," Mickey said when he saw the disappointed faces of his two guests. "After we managed to defeat the Organization, we constructed five more vessels, similar to the Highwind."
"That's our ship!" Sora grinned and pointed as his chest.
"Hey, you used the name I came up with for our raft!" Riku suddenly shouted.
"I know, what's the problem?"
"You just take my idea to use it for your ship? You've got some nerve!" the white-haired boy huffed.
"Stop that!" Kairi scolded. "Kari's friends need our help, and they need it now. We have no time to argue about the name of a ship. Your Majesty, would it be possible to search for her friends in groups? We don't really know where to search, so that might be the best way to find them."
"Maybe you're right," Mickey nodded. "And if they are the future holders of the keychains, we might need more information about them. Leon, would you go back to Radiant Garden and search through Ansem's old data? Maybe even a little clue would help us."
"We're on it," the de facto leader of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee nodded. "I might not be within the DTD memory, but perhaps Tron has heard about something like that before."
"All right, then the rest of us split up and help Kari search for her friends," Sora grinned. "A big adventure, just like in old times!"
"But this time, I'm coming with you!" Riku grinned and playfully nudged his friend's shoulders.
"Okay!" Mickey nodded. "Minnie, you and Kairi can stay back here and..."
"Just a moment!" Kairi spoke up. "Why do I have to stay behind?"
"Kairi, we'd love to take you with us," Donald said. "But it's very dangerous, you know?"
"I don't care!" the red-haired girl replied. "I don't want to stay home again and wait for a long time until you come back." She looked sternly at Riku and Sora. "You taught me how to use my new Keyblade, right? So I know how to take care of myself. I'm coming with you, like it or not!"
Kari couldn't help it: She grinned. This conversation reminded her too much of her own discussions with Davis.
"Well, I have to admit, she actually made some progress with her Passion Flower," Riku said.
"Passion Flower?" Donald and Goofy asked simultaneously.
"The name I chose for my Keyblade," Kairi explained proudly and summoned it out of thin air. "The name fits, don't you think?" Donald and Goofy nodded when they saw the flowery pattern that was spreading all over Kairi's colorful Keyblade.
"All right, then come along, I don't mind," Sora sighed. "Still, I'll be worried..."
Kairi grinned and bopped him on the head with her Passion Flower's handle. "Silly! Do you think I wouldn't be less worried about you?"
"So, it's settled?" Queen Minnie asked with a sigh. "You'll leave again?"
"Someone has to help those kids," Mickey said to his wife. "If we don't do it, who else is gonna do it? You know my policy!"
"Yes," Minnie sighed. "Help others, then you might ask for help!"
"Exactly!" Mickey nodded. "But don't you worry! I'll be back soon!"
"Then I guess I'll just go and tell Chip and Dale to prepare the Gummi Ships," the queen said with a heavy heart.
As she left the room, the king let out a sigh himself. "It's not easy, leaving her behind all the time. But someone has to take care of the castle, after all."
"I... thank you all for your help," Kari spoke up. "I really appreciate it. If only we had a clue where to search for them..."
"We just have to believe in ourselves," Sora tried calming her down. "I learned that no matter how dire the situation is, there's always a way out of it."
"Yup, ya gotta be funny all the time, like us," Goofy grinned.
Kari giggled. Those fellas really were silly sometimes... but they also knew how to cheer her up.
Aerith smiled down at Heartmon, who looked back at her with a confused expression. The little guy really didn't understand half of what has been said.
"So, Heartmon," she said after picking him up from the table. "Ready to go home after so many years?"
"We're gonna go home?" the little Digimon cheered. "Yay! I'm gonna see Daddy again!"
Aerith looked at Leon with a worried face, and the warrior raised his hand to his forehead with a groan. Now how would they tell Heartmon that his 'Daddy' Ansem was no longer among the living...?
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(Posted Fri, 26 Jan 2007 14:59)
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