Trying to look as inconspicuous as possible, the Wongs and Shibumi walked along the sidewalk with their bound prisoner, which they hid underneath Shibumi's jacket.
All the while on their way through the city, they couldn't keep their eyes off the exceptional scenes happening in front of their eyes.
No traffic. No policemen patrolling the streets. No busy businessmen or lawyers hastening from meeting to meeting... the only construction workers they were seeing were Digimon, and most of the vendors and shops sold things such as toys, sweets, and other wares suitable for children. Compared to before, very few adults were on the street, and those were mainly looking out for the children. Every now and then, the dark silhouette of a Devil Digimon was gliding across the streets. Every time that happened, the three adults ducked in a secluded back alley... they had the feeling that those dark Digimon weren't just your common civilian. And then there was this exceptional tower rising in the middle of town...
"I don't believe this," Janyu whispered. "Japan's economy is completely flipped upside down. No policemen or lawyers, no businessmen, most of the construction work is taken care of by Digimon, as well as transportation... I mean, do you see any bus or train around here?"
Mayumi looked at the train tracks they were walking by and frowned when she saw a Trailmon speeding past them. Shortly afterwards, an Airdramon with several children on his back was flying over their heads. And she had the feeling that at the harbor, most of the ferries and other boats have been replaced with aquatic Digimon as well.
"Someone is turning Tokyo - no, all of Japan - into a paradise for kids," she realized. "And I think I know who that person is," she frowned when looking at the statue on top of the tower.
"But if Ai has truly turned into Lucemon now... what happened to the kids?" Janyu was very worried. "Suzie might have been turned into an adult... but at least she's at home, safe and sound. But what about Harmony? Or Henry, for that matter? And the other kids?"
"I tried calling Mie," Sheperdmon explained. "But it's almost as if her number doesn't exist. When I called Leomon, a man whose voice I couldn't recognize answered. When I asked for Leomon, he said that there was no Leomon living there. Only he and his two little kids..."
"Excuse me..."
The three adults stopped their conversation when they saw the small group of little kids standing in front of them.
A boy pointed at them and asked: "What are you doing? Why is he all tied up?"
Shibumi suddenly realized that while he had listened to Janyu and Mayumi, his jacket had slid off DemiDevimon's wrapped up body. The winged little devil glared at him.
Then he grinned. "Why, this is a new game, you know?" he told the curious children. "We tie him up and carry him all over town, and he has to try to get loose before we reach the goal." He gave DemiDevimon a friendly pat, which only made him glare even more. "Our little boy suuure loves this game, doesn't he?" He winked at the Wong couple.
"Oh, y-yes, of course!" Sheperdmon giggled. "A really funny game, right, hon?"
"Sure! It sure is!" Janyu grinned.
"Can I play too?"
Janyu blinked in surprise at the little girl who had said that. "Come again?"
She smiled. "If this is so fun, can I play too? I wanna try it. I looove lasso tricks!"
"Yeah, we can play cowboys!" another boy nodded.
Shibumi grinned sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "I'm terribly sorry, kids, but the rules say that there can only be one tied up at a time... you have to wait until his time is over."
Most of the kids went "Awwwww..." at once. Only one of the slightly older boys scratched his head in confusion.
"I don't get it. If you are carry him, why can't they carry two others?" He pointed at Mayumi and Janyu.
Shibumi gulped. "W-well, that's because..."
"Um, we're the referees," Mayumi grinned. "We have to make sure that he makes no mistakes. We are not allowed to carry any others."
"Yes, she's the main referee, and I'm the assistant referee," Janyu explained. "This is a pretty difficult job, that's why two referees are always needed."
"Aw, too bad..." another girl whined.
"Yeah..." a boy mumbled. "Sucks..."
"Hey, but we can play our own game," a Yokomon happily said. "We just need to appoint our own wefewees..."
"She's right," a Penguinmon exclaimed. "Anyone got a rope?"
While the kids began to argue who could be the first to escape from the ropes, the three adults quickly kept on walking.
When they were around the next corner, they let out sighs of relief. Shibumi quickly covered DemiDevimon with his jacket again. "Well, that was a close call..."
"Although I have to wonder..." Mayumi murmured.
"What, if this new game will become all the rage?" Janyu grinned.
She shook her head. "No. I wonder why it is that you big men come up with so funny games for children," she smirked.
Shibumi chuckled. "Let's just say it's a gift. What else do you expect from the Monster Makers?"
"That reminds me... I wonder what happened to our friends..." Janyu murmured. "Do you suppose they have turned into children as well?"
"If so, I doubt we'd get any help from them," Shibumi pointed out. "Let's bring this little rascal to your house, and then we'll see what we do."
Janyu and his wife nodded.
A sudden groan made them look around nervously. But all they could see was a small, grey shape lying next to a trash can.
"Is that... a Digimon?" Janyu wondered and came closer.
The little Digimon raised his head. "D-dad...?"
"Calumon?" Shibumi asked. "Is that you?"
"No!" Mayumi snarled. "Look closely, that must be this BioCalumon that Kei told Harmony and the others about."
"N-no... Mom, it's me," the Digimon muttered in a weak voice. "It's me, Henry..."
"Henry... Henry?" Janyu gasped. "The same Henry who was in Harmony's body? My... my own son?"
Henry smiled at him weakly. "The very same, Dad... something... something strange happened. Harmony wanted to attack Ai and BioCalumon, and... and she was absorbing the sin data from the Demon Lords... Harmony was caught in the fray, and I... I ended up in BioCalumon's body."
Sheperdmon gasped. "Does that mean... you're now sharing a body with... with that thing?"
Henry shook his head. "No... no Bio isn't in here anymore. I believe... Ai somehow absorbed him, together with the sin data of the other Demon Lords."
Shibumi sucked in some air between his teeth. "Janyu... you know what this means, right?"
A gloomy look had appeared on the face of Henry's father. "Yes... but she can't have them all, remember? Yamaki's girlfriend... she's not in town anymore."
"Right, right..." Shibumi nodded.
Henry looked from one adult to the other. "Ummm, Dad? What are you talking about?"
Janyu sighed. "Henry, we practically created the Digital World. We don't know all of the secrets the Digital World has to offer, but we still know quite a few things. Also about the Seven Demon Lords..."
"Yes," Shibumi nodded. "Do you know that Lucemon had always a special place among the Demon Lords?"
"Was... was he their leader or something?"
"Close, but not quite," Janyu said. "He was the force that held all the others together. Pride... can be the most deadly of sins. And when Lucemon is desperate and the other Demon Lords weak... he could absorb their powers."
"Yes," Shibumi said. "And every Demon Lord's powers are added to his own."
Henry shuddered. "And... what would happen... if Lucemon would absorb the power of all the other six Demon Lords?"
"There is a rumor," Shibumi explained. "A rumor that his Chaos Mode is not his true form. As powerful as Ai now is, she is still just an Ultimate. Now imagine how powerful Lucemon would be if she were to digivolve even further..."
"No one knows what Lucemon would look like in his true form," Janyu said. "But every Digimon who has heard of this legend speaks of it in terror."
"So... that means we must make sure that Ai never gets her hands on Riley, right?" Henry asked.
"Quite correct, son!" Janyu nodded. "As things currently are, we can be glad that Yamaki and his girls are somewhere on the other side of the globe..."
"What the heck?" the BlackGatomon snapped. "What's the big idea? Why are there no ships going to Japan?"
"I'm terribly sorry, ma'am," the Chinese man sitting in the ticket booth at the harbor said in heavily accented Japanese. "But there are currently no ships available."
Riley crossed her arms. "Well, than we just go by plane."
"I'm afraid that won't do you any good, ma'am," the ticket vendor sighed. "All the flights to Japan have been cancelled as well."
"But... but why?" Riley's white double asked from behind her. "Did anything happen?"
"Haven't you seen the news yet, ma'am?" the ticket vendor asked. "Something really, really strange is going on over there. A glowing sphere of light is surrounding the whole island, shielding everything that is happening inside from our view. Nobody can go inside, and no one has come out ever since that thing appeared. Contact with the boats and airplanes that tried to reach Japan just broke up. It's almost like they vanished into thin air."
Riley and Tally walked back to Yamaki, who was disguised with a heavy trench coat. "I've heard everything," he said and shook his head. "Unbelievable... has Japan become the next Bermuda Triangle or something?"
"Barbamon and the other Demon Lords... they must have something to do with this!" Riley hissed and bristled her fur. "I just know it!"
"I don't know..." Tally murmured. "Is he really that powerful? And creating a sphere of light isn't really his style... Maybe something terrible happened and the Sovereigns created this sphere to protect the rest of Earth from the evil inside..."
"Well, whatever is going on, I plan on finding out," Yamaki said. "I may be wanted by the police and army, but I am also a Japanese citizen, and maybe even responsible for what's going on. I say we try and get over there."
"That's right!" Tally smiled. "And maybe doing this will help you redeem yourself."
"Yeah, everyone's gonna be so grateful, they will all forget what you've done."
"I doubt it's going to be that easy, Tally," Yamaki smirked. "But at least I can prove to the rest of the world that I have changed ever since that time. But say, do you remember what that Nonaka girl told us after she helped us? Right before we left Japan, I mean..."
Riley scratched her black-furred head. "Uhhh... something about a computer game, or something? I don't really remember..."
"I do," her Gatomon sister said and narrowed her eyes. "She said that a magical game was responsible for the way you both acted. Yamaki, you don't suppose..."
"I don't know," Yamaki replied. "But given that we've been away for a pretty long time, who knows what happened back there? It might possibly be the same device which caused all of our other problems."
"But... does that mean Alice is trapped in there as well?" Tally gasped when she suddenly thought of her second sister.
But Riley shook her head. "No, don't you remember? Ivan called us from Russia a few days ago... and according to him, he and Kouki wanted to come back to Japan as well. From what he told me, Alice wanted to meet up with them in Beijing. He also said she sounded pretty nervous... as if something really bad has happened."
"Well, something bad has happened, all right!" Yamaki grumbled. "But if Alice expected this... maybe we should meet up with them as well. Maybe together, we can find a way inside that thing..."
"Yes, that was my idea as well," an all too familiar voice behind them spoke up.
They all turned around and instantly recognized the athletic, blonde man, the huge muscular Russian and the black-furred Gaomon.
Alice smirked. "We've been out of action for far too long. But now... it's our turn!"
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(Posted Fri, 13 Jun 2008 22:23)
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