Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Genesis ❯ The Whereabouts Of The Heart ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I don't own anyone. Slavery was a bad thing last time I checked.. Well after receiving some very insisting e-mails requesting genesis 3.... here it is... well guess what.. This is the very last part without direct taiora. I have been going nuts with ideas for them when they get back together... I have a few extremely fluffy things planned to alleviate from the gothic nature of this fic... but hey, be warned... still gonna be a dark fic... I would like to thank angel for the name of the young soldier. And though it is not going to happen yet I would like to thank whit (the writer ) for an idea that I guarantee will give us taiora lovers a new character to hate... (you'll see)

well here it is....

Mail me at: logan91235@aol.com

Genesis

3

by Logan

"The Whereabouts Of The Heart"

The army was as a black wall as they stood atop the cliff. The air was dark and seemed to smell of death as they looked out over the empty plain. It was vacant now yet on the distant horizons the banners of the opposing forces flew high within the still air. Now as the empire's army sat atop the ridge they looked onward to the sea of advancing men and digimon. There was thick fear in the air... it hung so heavily before them that it seemed as though it should be capable of smothering the shallow breaths. The digimon of various breeds stood at the side of their partners.. The air was thick as the sea of ultimate, and champion digimon stood at their side. They looked to their human counterparts for reassurance, yet found only doubt within the aspect of their eyes. Thus the air was silent... digimon by nature tend to be a bit more vocal then humans.. They could chatter endlessly about virtually anything, yet now they stood frozen... no words escaped their column lips as they looked forward to the advancing sea of death.

Many were new to war... both humans and their digimon had yet to know the true meaning of a word used only in text before this day... they had questions.... would they flee this battle or go forward onto it as titans of battle. They looked to one another in the hopes of seeing some strength with which they could suckle upon and distill courage from... they were organized tediously by element and range... tyranomon stood in the mid range alongside their human partners. Slightly before them in rank stood the Maramon units who were a more up-close fighter. Much was considered in unit placement... type being utmost... a floramon interlaced with a greymon would bring about swift incineration to the plant digimon during battle... thus they were placed carefully so as to play from their unit's strengths.

They knew the plan to this war.. The frontal units would assault head-on... they would move in artillery style as the long distance fighters would engage from a distance to cover the frontal units. The flying digimon would attack from the skies, as subterranean digimon would plunge upon them from the earth's crust. The secret strategy here would be the Snymon... assassins by nature they would go at the enemy from the back and sides. Their blades would seek out greater threats, and with the precision of a sniper's bullet take them out... it was a good plan.... but this force was a great one...

Lady Kamiya was not at this battle, but one of her generals was. He was known as Davis... a poor boy who was orphaned during the first assault of the emperor. He was slightly hot-headed, but his heart was in the right place. His face was scared from forehead to cheek over his left eye. It was said the wound was delivered personally by the emperor himself. A show of power... over a weak child who had spat upon his cape. Davis hated this man who would call himself emperor.... and every day as he touched his cheek which lay scared with a mark of hatred he remembered the feeling of helplessness as he recalled laying sprawled upon the ground clutching his blood soaked face.. His tears had mingled with his blood that day... he was alone in the world and as the emperor had walked by him, whip still moist with his blood he had been alone...

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Davis had laid there for seemingly hours...no one had stopped to help him for fear that the emperor would hear of it. That wound had made him an outcast... to all who knew him he was the empire's enemy, and collaboration with him meant you were capable of being killed for it. He cried as he curled into a blood soaked ball upon the cold ground. His mother and father were eaten before his eyes... a Tuskmon. His sister had been pulled from his arms and he had not seen her since... he had heard that all teenage girls her age were to be concubines for some of the emperor's favored knights or lords... he shuddered to think of what her life was like now... made from a kind hyper girl to a whore for the empire. He missed her... she had her faults, but jun had tried to protect him from the emperor's men... he still could feel her soft arms around him as she cradled the crying boy in her sisterly arms.. Then those arms were ripped away from him.. He mused at the idea of selling his soul for a chance to be held by his big sister agin...

"Are you alright?!?" a voice called to him frantically as he was pulled into a woman's arms. His eyes stayed closed as he pictured Jun there holding him. He was vaguely aware as the voice called to another with frantic words.

"Joe! We have an injured here! It looks like he has lost some blood!" Davis felt himself being examined by a pair of kind, manly hands. They touched his throbbing skin softly, as would a doctor. All the while the original arms still held him and stroked his hair lovingly as she murmured soft reassurances. His face was bandaged softly by the one called joe... The pain lessened lightly as some ointment was put to the wound prior to bandaging..

"Are you alright sweetie?" the womanly voice spoke.

He opened his eye to see the image of a beautiful young woman with crimson eyes smiling down at him. She had his blood on her cheek, yet seemingly un-bothered by it.

Davis tried to speak yet found that after hours of phasing in and out of consciousness on the hot ground had left him unable to form words his throat was dry and scratchy. She recognized his thirst and quickly retrieved a canteen full of water from her belt. He drank thirstily from the metal spout as she continued to stroke his soft brown hair. Joe had began to wash away the caked blood from his face with delicate movements...

A new face came to view before him, that of a girl his age who had a bandaged arm. She was cute he noticed... a shy girl who looked down on him with a warm smile. She spoke quietly to the woman...

"Will he be ok Sora? Can I help?"

She looked to the girl.

"Yes of coarse he will Yolie, why don't you go get some more water and maybe some food for him... I bet he's hungry after tanning all day out here." the girl nodded quickly with a giggle as she sprinted off through the crowd to retrieve some rations for him.

"Can you speak?"

"Yes...." he replied groggily.

"Good, do you have someone I can take you to?" she asked softly as she leaned him up against the brick wall at his side. He looked up to her sadly..

"No... I'm alone.." he said bitterly as he recalled the emperor's gleeful smile as he looked down on Davis. Sora saw this fire of hate within his eyes, and the way his fist clenched tightly as though it were strangling the emperor's imaginary throat...

"I see.... perhaps I have an offer for you...."

"Davis..."

"The emperor gave you that?....." she motioned to his face. He nodded in reply.

"And I bet you want to pay him back for it then. I'm lady Sora Kamiya of the burning dawn... here's my offer: you want to pay him back for what he has taken from you, from us all... well if you join us you can... I can feel something in you.... you're a chosen, like us, a digital human.... soon you will be a full fledged child of the digital... complete with digimon...

If you want, you're welcome to join our group. I can't offer you much in the way of money, but you'll get a roof over your head, an education, training in the digital arts, a chance for revenge, and.... a family" she glanced over to Yolie who had returned carrying an armful of food.

"Think it over.... if you want to join us Yolie can take you...." she rose up slowly, her dark cloak billowing in the hot wind. Joe smiled at Davis kindly as he tightened his long white medical coat before taking his place next to Sora. The two vanished into the crowd as shadows would into a sea of black.

Yolie smiled at Davis as she sat beside him. It was strange for the young man... since his family was destroyed he had been completely alone... Here he was sitting in the middle of Seles city with a girl he didn't know who was pleasantly chatting about everything from her surrogate brother izzy, his girlfriend Mimi, the burning dawn, and asking about his life. Davis tried to act like it didn't matter, yet as this girl talked to him he smiled lightly for the first time since his family was destroyed.

"My parents were taken... I guess I am lucky, he killed almost all of the others. But he took my whole family and put them into one of his slave camps... I haven't seen them since... the only reason I wasn't taken was because I was to little to be any good to them... so they let me go..." she paused as she motioned to her arm.

"After they broke my arm of corse...." she bitterly replied.

They spoke for hours of all things.. Lost loved ones. Pasts, presents.... and the last lingering hope for a future worth living. He had agreed to join them... he learned what it was to be a child of the digital, a friend, a warrior, a leader, and the object of Yolie's affection. It was strange for him as the months turned to years. He had found a digimon who became a fast friend. Learned how to fight as a knight of the burning dawn. And much to his astonishment fall in love. He had been attracted to a few of the girls here. One named Hikari being among them. yet somehow this girl named Yolie had brought out feelings in him that he had never dreamed he could have... she lessened the pain of his losses... and she seemed to have a higher tolerance to his acts of stupidity... but perhaps all it truly was about her that milked love from his heart of stone was the uncanny ability she had for making him forget the pain and simply enjoy the present.

He had changed much over the years... now he was a young man who was devoted to the cause and the team... lady Kamiya was now his mentor... she had always made time for him, and all the others. He was for the first time truly happy, and he would kill any who would threaten this happiness.......

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The empire's forces looked on with slight fear behind their eyes.. Davis was one of the best generals in the dawn, he could fight and kill with the precision of a machine. His forces drew nearer to the battlefield which hung darkly before them.. They were green to warfare where as his were not... a wave or murmurs suddenly rippled through the army as a lone figure began to make his way through the precessions. He walked with long dark strides as the men moved apart for him in a strange union of fear and respect.

He wore a long flowing black cape which matched his dark shirt and long pants. They were military style, yet not as the emperor's were. While ken wore ornate uniforms of trimmed gold and velvets this man wore a simple dark attire that would seem to make for comfort and for movement then it would to impress the enemy. He wore thick black gloves that snaked upward to his forearms. He wore little armor, an anatomically correct armored breastplate and two shoulder plates. At his side the blade remained seethed within the large leather bound scabbard. Its pommel was of demonic steel wrapped around a blade that was more feared then the entire empire... the sword was a gift from the emperor himself... and was feared for such a reason... the emperor's gifts were usually something to warrant terror......

He stood at the precession of men as a demonic god... this was a combination of many things.. His cape billowed forth as a set of demonic wings into the hot balmy air. His figure was an imposing one too. He was muscular and powerful in both appearance and actuality. He looked to them through the mass of long flowing brown hair which whipped forward as a thousand miniature raging tentacles. But then there was his face... or... his mask.... it was a grim sheet of steel shaped to that of a skull. It was a cold and sterile thing to glance upon... it's eyes were dark and hateful as it glared out over them. he had been named the demon of the empire by friend and foe alike. Though when the mask was gone he was the emperor's brother... a prince of the empire.

He had chosen his path as to how to serve his brother. He was a fighter, it was obvious from the beginning that he had a natural gift for combat that was never before equaled upon the earth's greatest warriors. He loved the delicate beauty of war. The dance within it... one force advances and the other is pushed back, then the situation is reversed... the subtle movements of combat as one circles the other in magnificent movements. This was what genesis was happy to do for his beloved brother. After a short time he had proven himself above all others. Perhaps he could claim the empire itself from his brother, yet he was above all loyal to his only family. He would give his life for his brother, and do so with true joy at the notion.

He looked before them as a figure of godly strength and power.. He was their leader... and in battle he was their god. He looked at them as each man's eyes found his in grim fear and admiration... it was the cost of the mask... the effect of it. For any who look upon the face of the demon prince are at his mercy. You were either for him or against him... and it came to be true to pity the latter... for they were already dead.

"We go forth as something more then men today... I look upon you and I see fear. You all have homes to return to so of corse you would be afraid of losing what you have. But hear me now children of the empire!

Fear is more lethal then any sword! It can kill you, or kill for you. These men who ride against us, they are men... nothing more. Humans and digimon bleed and die just the same. So now I offer you the one secret to how to survive this day. Cast off your humanity here and now! Humans are weak creatures, they are ruled by fear. So if you wish to actually live to see tomorrow you must make yourselves more then man.

Look to your hearts and find the true nature of mankind.. The darkness. It is what makes our souls truly our own. we are not men of peace, we are warriors... look to your hearts and feel the fire of darkness within. Embrace it, nurture it. Make them fear you... become shadows of men and come to them as something they cannot fight against... fear is your ally on this field.

Know that should you die upon this earth that you died for something greater then yourself... you didn't die for money, or power, you die for a dream which we call the empire. Our strength is in our unity... we are brothers today... family.... it's a word I know only through you. It is who we are... it is all we are... when you step onto this earth know that you must fight for our people. For that love of family you must embrace the darkness and fight as demons....

Know this... today you are warriors..."

He turned back to the field where the army stood waiting. Genesis smiled lightly behind the guise. He could see the storm as it thundered from across the hills... he looked to this wall of mounting death that was known as the burning dawn... they were as a vast sea of men and digimon who all towered before them. genesis had requested this battle... it was one of the losing ones...

He smirked softly...

"Day of destiny"

********************

the smell of steel was in the air... it mingled with the coppery taste and aroma of blood. Earth was shredded and burned in the hellish war that was now raging. The senses were never as account as they were in conflict. You could hear the cries of the slain as though they were musical notes in some great symphony of war. Steel rang out as it clashed with steel. Digimon roared out as they snapped up human after human in bloody bites.

Flames raged into the skies as pillars of flame. The earth screamed as it split open swallowing tyranomon and human alike. The chorus of Garurumon rang out into the heavens as the battle sang out. Seconds turned to hours as the ground became stunned with the corpses of empire and dawn alike. Faces painted the ground in morbid art as these hollow eyes looked out over the living with the same look of terror etched upon their lifeless features. Swords clashed against one another in an endless chorus of strife and agony. Where once there was a blazing day, now there crept a sinister dusk.

Men rushed headlong into swords which cut and impaled them. the air was thick with choking smoke as they struggled in vain for the ability to see the enemy. Some ran through the mob slicing out with their blades at any movement be it friend or foe. Giga cannons rang out through the screaming choirs as they exploded onto the army with great walls of flame and shrapnel. It was chaos in it's purest form, yet to one man it was poetry....

Genesis charged through the conflict sword in hand. He moved so fast that he couldn't be tracked. He would slash through a man leaving him in two halves without thought as he leapt upon a Monocromon's back before driving the steely tool into his spine. He was painted in blood and sweat as he raged against them. some stood aghast at his actions and simply took a break from the war to watch the onslaught of genesis. Some he impaled with his blade, others he crushed in his fist before tossing them aside as rag-dolls. He moved from one to another as a hand of god who would crush all that stood against him.

Davis had been using the newly discovered armor digivolving technique... he would change his warrior digimon from form to form in seconds.. As flamedramon he would shoot through the conflict reducing the empire to ash. Then he would shift to raidramon and simply run through them, using his spikes to sever and cut. Davis too was doing quite well. He had learned the twin blade technique. And now slashed through them with two swords acting and moving as one. He cut and slashed as though it were child's play. Yet as he looked upon the face of the war he froze.. A face... a steely mask he had known only to be that of genesis...

He looked to his men and then to the genetic demon he had come to know as the emperor's greatest knight. He watched in horror as this demon prince painted the ground a ghastly red.

He didn't have the forces to defeat genesis... the army itself was a joke, the dawn could destroy any of the empire's forces save this one man. He was sure that without genesis this battle would be over by now, yet with the knight it was impossible. Davis suddenly screamed out the retreat order, the call was in turn screamed out by each of the captains and with that the burning dawn was retreating. Davis was saddened by his loss at victory, yet he knew the true importance of this plan. He was meant mearly to distract the emperor while Takeru's forces caught the emperor's reserve forces unprepared... he had won on principal.. But he would have enjoyed turning this planned defeat into a victory as well.

Davis smirked as he saw the shadowy figure who stood at the edge of a hundred feet away. His blade glimmered in the light as he looked to Davis. Davis had expected this confrontation... genesis liked a challenge, and of all the men on this field he was the greater challenge he could get.... He was waiting for Davis to make the first move... but Davis had developed a little surprise for the prince of demons...

With a sudden bolt of golden light Davis's digimon shot into the sky. Genesis gasped as he leapt back to his troops with one backwards jump. All eyes were on the small digimon as he was engulfed within a golden radiance. The shimmering light swallowed up the tiny blue digimon within itself and from the radiance he came.. A powerful foe known only as magna-mon...

The words echoed in genesis's ears as he looked in horror at the surprise Davis had been saving for a special occasion... he had a new digital armor... and as he stared in shock at the golden magna-mon he realized he was in actual danger. "Magna explosion!!!"

Time froze for the empire's army as the pulse of golden fire exploded outward to them.. It filled the sky with its great destructive power.. As it drew ever nearer to the army of men who stood in terror at the sudden death that this attack meant, genesis sprung forward. He ran to meet the blast before his men would be within its range. As he stood at the head of the line he awed lightly at the sphere of golden light as it descended upon them.

Drawing his hands together in tight fists he felt himself evoke the genesis strain from within. Genesis was a power that was not fully recognized.. It could do things that were a mystery even to the only human who held the power within himself. He could call upon it not by will but by emotion and situation... thus his body began to radiate with a strange eerie purple light.

The empire's army cowered away from him... they had only heard of what he was capable of doing..

He screamed in agony as his body exploded outward with this dark light in a mimic of magna-mons's explosion attack. He screamed in agony that seemed to radiate from every direction. The blast of purple and black energy screamed through the sky as it clashed with the golden light. The glowing darkness radiated outward as a great sea of darkness. It swirled and churned with lightning as it met the glowing orb of gold with a rage. The men gasped as they felt themselves engulfed by the dark shield of energy.. It both terrorized and amazed them as they watched in horror as the golden light engulfed them...

It was calm... like the eye of the hurricane as they watched with wide eyes. The light faded away softly. And as the world around them came into view they realized that Davis had vanished and that they had been saved by the genesis knight. Their eyes found him there upon the ground. He was shaking lightly as he remained curled into a ball of icy cold flesh. Using the power was almost akin to dying from it. Every test of the limit he was capable of achieving resulted in him almost dying in the effort. He lay there shaking softly as he quivered in seemingly freezing cold. It was a strange result. The genesis was almost fatal to its user. The boy was now shivering from ungodly cold. It was not the cold of snow or of ice, but the cold of emptiness such as you would find within outer space. His skin was completely devoid of warmth as residual sparks of black lightning struck the ground in a harmless crackle.

One young soldier broke from his awkward silence and ran to him. He was a clean cut young man with soft brown hair. His face was a kind one, such a face you could only find within the sweet aspect of a child's eyes. He had fought and killed today, yet he still was as a child now... his only desire was to help. He didn't know what to do but he did know that he must do something. He wrapped the shivering young man within the cape then screamed out to the onlookers to get him something for warmth. He stared down over the imposing figure he had beheld before.. Yet now that he could actually take him in... the genesis was little more then his age. And for all his seeming strength, he lay there now helplessly. One word occurred to the young soldier.. He was a hero.... not a demon....

With a slow movement the young man reached to the smoldering skeletal mask. He slowly lifted it from his face to find two kind chocolate eyes looking to him appreciatively. The face was a kind one.. No malic or evil was visible within his kind eyes and tasseled brown hair. He mouthed out a shuddering thank you to the young soldier who smiled back kindly. He respected this genesis character... for all his talk of abandoning humanity, he was first to give his life for the lives of his men... an act that screamed of humanity... with a straining effort he helped genesis up, and began to walk him back to camp bearing his weight heavily upon his shoulders..... he didn't understand this prince of demons... but he did understand that this man was worthy of loyalty.

********************

"you're certain it was genesis?"

"No doubt about it... if ken can make more like the genesis then we are as good as dead

I lost some good people today... it had to be genesis....." Davis spoke softly.

The two young men walked down the long winding hallway which led into the deep bowls of the earth.. Soon the only light was that of the fluorescent bulbs as the two walked lower into the tunnel, far beyond the outside world. The tunnel was made of steel plating and titanium mesh, yet it still was darted by the occasional root which would hang down from a small crack in the plating. The tunnel sloped downward steeply then leveled out into a strait horizontal walk.. The complex was deeply submerged in the earth... yet from the stony bearings it snaked outward to reveal amazing berth. Much to the shock of new recruits the location of the base was submerged beneath the waters of tear's point.. It made sense... after the digital world merged with the human world certain things were different... tears point was always a deep seabed yet now it stretched considerably deeper into the crust of the digital earth. Also something else changed... in the depths of the digital ocean there had been a ruined deep sea research facility.. Yet now as the two worlds twisted and writhed to make one, certain things were rearranged. Now the facility existed within the waters of tear's point alongside the black tower of Datamon. Sora mused at how she had became so attached to this location... it seemed that no matter where she went destiny seemed to link her back to this place... it was the perfect hiding place for the burning dawn. No digimon good or evil would venture into these waters... thus this place was hidden from the emperor's gaze... how ironic that tear's point would once again come to represent the last hope for life against evil....

Davis looked up to face Takeru. Theirs was a bittersweet relationship. They were comrades in the fight, yet they were enemies at times. It was a strange relationship to say the least. They were of different backgrounds as well. Davis had turned bitter to the world after his world was destroyed. TK was from a background of mystery. Few knew exactly who the knight of light was... he had a mother who was still alive. She now ran a care center in the heart of the empire. TK rarely visited her for reasons clear only to himself.

Davis had asked once about TK only to find that his secrets were well guarded. Sora was the one who eventually told him some of the story. She did so hesitantly and with great care to censorship to certain parts.. Davis couldn't help but wonder at the young man.. He was so serious.. So collected. He was feared by many for he was among the strongest of the children of the digital. It was said that only lady Kamiya herself was his superior...

He was considered by many to be a handsome and strapping young man. Yet he never indulged any form of recreation that Davis had seen. Well that is of coarse assuming Kari didn't qualify as a form of recreation. Davis chuckled. But basically TK was a figure of authority around the group. Sora ran the show, but TK handled the daily occurrences. He became a thing of mystery to Davis.. How could any guy be that strict. He spent hours training on end and never once seemed to grow weary of it. His serious nature was something that took getting used to.. He tended to frighten the new recruits... he still creeped Davis out some times... he was asked once why he was so abrasive to everyone.... his only reply was that something was coming....

Sora had finally given in and told his secret to the young Davis.

"TK was the most innocent of us once.. He possessed an in-exhaustible hope for the world and for the people... I feel bad for him now.. He has lost hope in humanity. Sometimes I wonder why he is still following our cause. His loyalties lay with Kari, and then the rest of us... I think he has actually given up on humans, he is just here to protect his family... TK came back to this world still in many ways a child...

He was certain we could show the emperor the error of his ways and turn him good... he never gave up on the idea that ken was not a lost cause...until he saw what ken had done to him...

TK's father was crucified..." she choked out.

Davis froze as he looked at Sora, for the first time since he had known her he saw her shed one tear. Sora looked away sadly as she found herself recalling something she had tried to forget for years. Her eyes were dull as she looked into Davis's sympathetic brown eyes. The air was thick as she tried to continue slowly.

"We got there to late... he was already dead.... it was a slow death, and a painful one.. Crucifixion... it's one of the worst ways to die.

TK wouldn't let us bury him.. He insisted on doing it by himself... He never cried when he did it.. But he got this look in his eyes.. A darkness that has been there ever since that day... TK hasn't cried since that day.. Only Kari knows exactly what he feels... I think he died that day with his father, well at least the hope died... he loves Kari with all his heart, that's the one thing he has left, her.... you two would have once been friends... now... I think what ties us all together now is hatred for the emperor.... what he has taken from us all. Davis, we all have lost something... he just handles it differently. TK loves us all as his family, it's for that reason that he is the way he is...

He knows that the storm is coming, he just wants to be ready when it gets here..."

"So TK, ummm... How did you guys do?" Davis asked with a friendly chuckle as he tried to get some confirmation that Takeru was still alive...

"We won."

"You know man.... sometimes I feel I would get more from having a conversation with a rock." he replied exasperated as he threw his hands up in the air.

"Good... it might be nice for you to have a challenging intellectual conversation for a change."

Davis mearly growled in response as he continued to trot at the knight's side. TK looked back to him with a low chuckle as he began to speak more out of kindness then necessity.

"We were able to take an information officer hostage... if we hurry we can listen in while Kari interrogates him.... oh and Davis.. Sorry about your people... I'm sure they fought well..."

He replied as he hastened his pace.

"Ummm... thanks... I appreciate that..." he blinked in disbelief... was Takeru, just nice to him just then? He shrugged the thought off as he began to trot after TK who was already down the hall.

********************

two young men held the third back. He struggled against their grips heavily, as he tried with all his might to free himself of their strong grips. He was in his late teens and bore several scars across his thick and muscular frame. He was stripped of his shirt leaving him only in his baggy black pants. He struggled heavily as he kicked and strained to free himself from the clutches of the burning dawn. His arm bore the dark tattoo of the empire's insignia, which set him aside as a soldier for the empire.

TK and Davis entered the room silently as they glanced across the precession of faces to find a familiar one. Sora looked to them with a light smile as she ushered them to her side. The three smiled lightly as Sora patted each of their shoulders as a physical reinforcement that they had survived. TK smiled warmly at his "sister" while Davis scanned the room for Yolie only to find her making her way to them. he smiled lightly as he drew her into his arms and kissed her softly.

It was an action repeated with each day he would go off to battle only to return to her arms . Sora smiled softly to them as she whispered how grateful she was that they had both come back to her, TK looked to her softly and mouthed out as to where Kari was. Sora nodded and whispered that she would be here soon.

Yolie continued to softly kiss his scared cheek with immense love as she incoherently mumbled about what a moron he was for taking such a position when he could just as easily become an intelligence officer like her. He smiled back against her as he placed several loving kisses against her soft pink lips. He was oblivious to the sorrowful expression which had sweat over Sora's features as she watched the two young lovers.

The room grew still as the door slowly opened to reveal the frame of a young woman with long flowing chestnut brown hair with a light dusting of silver white across her front bangs... the prisoner paled as he looked at her.. Her soft brown eyes had began to shimmer with silver light as she slowly entered. Her gaze fell upon the restrained man with a great surge of divinity. TK smirked as he caught a side glance to him from those glowing silver eyes. Davis had only heard of what Kari was capable of doing.. She had always shown considerable control with her powers around him... needless to say it frightened him to watch her step forward with her hair dancing in nonexistent wind as her eyes burned with white flame. He glanced over to TK who much to his shock was glowing as well. His eyes shimmered with flame also, though less then Kari's it was still quite terrifying. The two lovers shared a link... hope and light were of the same lineage, and as the two were together they tended to show their power slightly more then they normally do.

Kari spoke in a voice that resounded through the room with a great commanding power. All but TK and Sora seemed thoroughly impressed by the sorceress of light. The prisoner snarled ferally as he looked to her..

"Release him...."

The two men immediately relinquished the soldier who looked puzzled momentarily, then suddenly leapt upon Kari. He was intent on killing her with his bear hands, yet as he drew nearer her hand shot up in a strange gesture. The assassin froze in place with a look of horror upon his features who were barley able to move more then an inch. TK chuckled lightly as Kari made a sharp gesture which hurled the man against the far wall.. He remained there, pinned to it as if he were a butterfly in a collection. He frantically looked around only to find himself at her mercy as though he was a doll to a child's whim. The sorceress smiled softly as she drew to the center of the room.

Her lips parted softly as she began to sing lowly. Her eyes closed lightly as she swayed to the soft song. It was a strange tune with low and mournful words that were gibberish to all but herself. The words carried softly through the air as she continued to sing the strange melody no louder then a low whisper. The room was utterly silent as Davis found himself witnessing some great spell of the sorceress. The song radiated through them... it was as though the words could pass through the ear and into the mind itself. The soft sounds of the music could carry through the air as beautiful specters... the song was beautiful as it reverberated through the room with low and sad melody... Davis watched as the prisoner was gradually released from Hikari's spell, only to find himself already in a new one. His eyes were closed peacefully as he swayed softly to the song of the young girl. Davis looked to TK for an answer the young blond boy smiled softly as he whispered to him.

"Kari has learned how to use her voice in a way which can produce a deep hypnotic trance. The words aren't what matters, it's the feeling Kari puts into it which can put you under. This is very effective because no one can fight the song...."

Kari smiled softly as she began to walk tword the young man. He was still swaying softly as a reed in the river. She was mearly inches from him as her hand suddenly shot forward clutching his forehead. He cried out as his eyes suddenly flashed a bright white light. Kari's eyes matched his as both sets of eyes burned with white fire. He began drawing in deep gasping breaths as he stared blankly with his sightless eyes.

"You in there kar?" TK smirked as he addressed the man's blank expression.

"Hey baby, fancy meeting you here" the man called out as he stumbled tword TK with arms open.

"Don't.... ever.... do that.... again........" TK shuddered as he recoiled from the image of the shirtless man coming on to him.

Kari smiled lightly, without removing her hand from his head. The man was completely at her mercy, and the mercy of a Kamiya is somewhat limited.... Kari had Taichi's sense of humor.. A fact that both saddened, delighted, and worried Sora... Kari grinned lightly before turning to a serious expression as the interrogation began... the man's body twitched lightly as Kari reached into his mind to take the knowledge locked within... the sorceress was a being capable of reaching into the minds of those with a weak defense... she could step into the minds of many as simply as one could step into a room. This man was nothing.... his greatest secrets were extracted with effortless action as Kari delved into the shadowy waters of this man's mind.

The process began to get more violent as the man began to writhe against her mystic touch. He was shaking as a leaf in the bitter winds as Kari ripped his mind apart in the hunt for data... she was feared amongst the empire.. For those who crossed the sorceress would come to know that she was not always a sweet young girl as she appeared to be on the exterior.. The lineage of the sorceresses was a story of evil and good which varied from time to time...

********************

Back in the beginning of the digital world there were the guardians of light, and those of the dark.. The two were as rival families... each of the twin sides warred against one another in a struggle which crept through history as a repeating milestone which led to events of pain and degradation... light versus dark.. The darkness was given a bad name long ago by those who chose to follow evil paths with it. Yet beyond the stigma, there is no good in light just as there is no evil in dark. They are mearly light and dark... yet these guardians hated one another.. And from their bloodlines the hatred stretched generations of protectors...

However two children would bridge this gap. One girl born as a high perishes to the order of light... and one boy who was born to the order of the shadow.. The story has been heard before. They meet by chance and yet through divine love they conquer hatred.. This story was a love story... the first true love story... the lovers had known that they would never be allowed to coexist within the war of light and dark. Thus they fled the digital world to the earth. It was said that they married and had a child.. A baby girl. This child was born of the union of the dark and the light... she was known as the first of the sorceresses..

Generations passed by and the line of the sorceress was blamed for the actions of certain descendants with the gift and the desire to use it evilly. Some were good and some were bad, yet the evil was remembered while the good was forgotten... over time the lineage was lost for a time... yet it was prophesied that a young girl born to be amongst the chosen children would come to embody the traits of the sorceress. This girl would be the strongest of both light and dark, though born to light the dark would exist harmoniously within her... Kari had been discovered to be the child incarnation of this sorceress.

Sora had never truly been sure how to handle Kari's destiny. She walked a fine line between urging her young "sister" to bury the gift or to nurture it. She had always wanted to do what was best for Kari... and to make Taichi proud of her. He was gone, yet she wanted to protect what he protected and to fight as he would have fought.

One such battle came in the form of TK.. She knew that they were growing up as one.. She had recalled it of herself and of Taichi.. Yet she feared what would happen to Kari since she was quite sure what would have occurred between herself and tai if he had told her sooner... she had always loved him, and she was fairly certain that she would have shared herself with him long before the day of destiny came to Taichi... now she stood unprepared... should she have tried to stop their relationship to escalating as high as it was already, or should she support them and simply insure that they were responsible as they "grew up" together.... in the end it was Taichi who had made up her mind.. It occurred to her once that she would have cherished the memory of making love to Taichi when he was still alive... she couldn't deny them something that she wouldn't have thought to deny in herself..

********************

the interrogation had concluded with a considerable amount of information on the empire's plans as well as certain interesting tidbits upon the current situations within the empire's inner workings. Kari had learned much from him... yet it troubled her to use this power... to take from the mind of another was almost like raping them... to defile their deepest thoughts.. Yet Kari had tried to be gentle with him as she took what she needed.. The result of her care was leaving the prisoner with nothing more then a three day migraine. Kari had retired early with TK who were happily enjoying some time together without missions or interrogations.. It was strange to see them both so mature, and yet within the other's arms so innocent at heart. Love was a great thing...

Sora smiled to a soldier who was patrolling the main hall as she passed him on her way to the surface tunnel. The air was sweet that day... it was never truly fresh air since they had been forced to hide within the waters of tear's point, yet tonight it seemed fresh from the salty sea. She glanced upward as she walked slowly down the plated steel catwalk. The cylindrical tunnel was made of strong glass which gave her a glance to the sea. The sun shimmered brightly from above the mirrorlike surface of the water. Soft drifting scarves of green and red sea-weed danced slowly on the currents of water. As Sora looked over she saw a small pod of dolphins who had taken up residence in the lagoon.. Though tear's point was connected to the sea these particular animals seemed more at home within the more calm waters of tear's point. She had always loved the tranquil bluish-green of the waters... her feet fell softly upon the steel grated floor as she mad her way to the surface. Her heart was heavy as she continued onward down the long stretching corridor.

As she stepped forth from the gaping opening within the tunnel's end her eyes took in the world around her. The air was sweet as it hit her lungs. She could feel the soft spray of the crashing waves against her lips.. As she basked in the glowing warmth of the sunset. She watched with sad eyes as the sun glimmered within the water just before it vanished behind the darkened horizon of rocky cliffs...

Sora was saddened as the sun vanished.. It was someone symbolic to her... the setting sun. this was her anniversary. She had taken the name of Kamiya on the same day she had taken his ring. It was her way of committing her heart to one alone.. Taichi had loved her for all his life. And she had failed him by failing to see it within herself that she was as deeply in love with him. Tears were common for her now... she mourned the loss of his touch. She had chosen to celebrate this day.. It was the anniversary of so many events..

It was the day Taichi had saved the world. It was the day she had realized she loved him. It was the day she was forced to say goodbye to him. She looked back to him more then ever on this one day. He was in her heart constantly, yet today was their anniversary. It was a day of joy and of pain.. It was the day she both found and lost him. It was the anniversary of her marriage to him. It was a confusing occasion.

"Oh Taichi, I miss you so much..." she spoke softly as she sat next to his monument. She reached over and lovingly stroked the cold stone monument. Her eyes closed as she imagined it was his cheek she were caressing.

"Oh tai... I would give anything to touch you again... I miss your arms... oh god I miss being touched by you, held by you.. It's sick really, here I am hopelessly in love with you even though you're gone, and technically we never even kissed.... I think it often... how could I, Sora Takenouchi love like this.. I have always hated love... it makes people fools, and it rips apart lives along with friendships... how could I love you like I do? How can I possibly long for you every day with this pain that I know to be love? Yet I can never wish it away.. How can I love without you... how could I live without you?"

Tai, I wish you were here, if for nothing else just so you could help me deal with this pain. It hurts every second of every day... it's like a knife in my heart, it never stops hurting... sometimes I just want to fall to my knees and cry. I miss you.. For you... for the smell of your hair to the way you laugh. I would give my life to hold your hand...

Oh well, I shouldn't be complaining to you. Oh hey, a lot of stuff has been going on since last time I talked to you.. Kari and TK are officially in love now. They tried so hard to keep it from us all for so long. It's kinda funny that they would try because we all knew they were in love. Too bad you're gone, I know you would have loved teasing them about it!" she giggled lightly until the implications of her words reached her. She paused lightly as she looked at the stone. He was really gone...

Sora had always talked to him when she was alone. It was more a way of lying to herself. She could almost fool herself into thinking he was there with her. He would be fighting there with boredom as she would rattle onward about the mundane details about the day. She smiled as she pictured his cute grin when she would catch him not really listening. Yet over time this action became a daily ritual.. She mused at the idea that she must be going crazy..

But still, even if she was fooling her self....

It was nice to have him there for her again.

Sora sighed sadly as she lay at the foot of the monument. She felt the gritty earth underneath herself as she breathed in the cool night air. Her mind danced against the backdrop of the stars in slow and magic waltzes with her true love of long ago. She rejoiced in these fictional ministrations as she glided softly within her memory and fantasy who was known as Taichi. The sky was a brilliant one, painted with countless diamond stars. As she remembered the boy which he was, and envisioned the man he would now be she celebrated their fictional love.

********************

The room was bare of all comforts save a bed and several other items of necessity. No art or decoration lingered upon the soft textile walls of this hut. It was the typical lodging of a soldier in the empire's army, yet this shelter seemed more primitive and isolated then all the others. Upon the wall there were no pictures as many of the other soldiers had attached to their temporary lodgings. Faces of loved ones who would be waiting for their soldiers back at home. Faces who would remind them where their hearts lay anchored... yet this wall had none, no grinning photos or other trappings which would indicate this soldier had anything worth living for. This soldier had no love within his heart.. It beat only by impulse, but without drive to live.

He lay there under the mountain of blankets. They were furs of various animals augmented by several additional donated blankets. They were warm as they encircled the sleeping boy. He had finally stopped shivering, yet he was still far from full strength. His soft brown hair hung against his brow which glistened lightly of perspiration. His thin lips were closed tightly as turned restlessly in his sleep. He dreamed... he had known these dreams since he first was conscious.. They were frightening dreams... not as much for their content as for the fact that they were familiar to him... they were more then dreams...

The images haunted him... he recognized the faces to some primal emotion attached to each.. Several he got the impression of family... one he got the image of hatred... and perhaps the most troubling was the face of a young girl... she evoked an emotion with which he had never felt.. As a fighter knowledge is life... what you don't know won't hurt you.... it will kill you. He didn't know this feeling... thus he feared it.. Yet as he saw this female he knew no words to describe her... genesis was a learned man.... yet his vast and expansive vocabulary could find no adjectives for her that were not stolen from a love poem.

His eyes slowly opened as he groggily glanced around his surroundings. Yet as he surveyed the landscape of the tent he saw a young man who sat sleepily dozing on one of the few chairs. Genesis slowly rose to a sitting position as he looked to the young man. He was the same young soldier who had made the effort to save him during the brief activation of the genesis strain. Compassion and kindness were very rare as of late... this young man had made a genuine action to help another without thought to the potential danger of the action.. Genesis could have just as easily struck out at him as he approached... the power was like lightning, it strikes out at any potential target. Had the shield not drained him of the residual power he could have reduced this young hero into nothing but ash upon the wind. Yet by fate perhaps he did not.

The young man wore a chain-mail shirt which was cut off at the arms as a muscle shirt would be. The cold cobalt grey links shimmered softly in the warm light of the room. He was no older then eighteen yet he looked as though he were already grown. His features were soft as he remained on the edge of sleep as he tried in vein to maintain his position of sentinel over the sleeping prince. Genesis chuckled lightly as he coughed softly. The young man shot up to meet his gaze as his eyes seemed to smile sheepishly. Genesis stood slowly with straining movements. He was still weak, yet the icy blade of death was no longer upon him.

"Sir. You're awake!" the young man uttered as he made an effort to help genesis to his feet. He was brushed off with no more then a gesture of his hand. Genesis stood and stretched lightly. His bronze muscles flexed softly as he stretched.. His companion mearly looked away as genesis began the task of rummaging through one of the large wooden trunks in such of attire. His long chestnut hair cascaded down his shirtless back as he continued the hunt for a shirt and pants. For all his skills it was obvious organization was not one of them. his muscles were sore and throbbed as he bore the pain. His tight abdomen clenched in the low throbbing soreness as he pressed on. The genesis strain was a powerful, it's effects were still obvious to the boy as he watched the prince of the empire grind his teeth as he pushed his body onward.

"Are you alright sir?"

He paused lightly. "My name is genesis... you can call me that if you wish."

"ummm... alright genesis... are you ok? You almost died back there..."

"It takes much more then that to kill me...." he chuckled lowly to his own joke. Yet as he pulled up a pair of faded jeans he turned back to the young soldier with a serious expression.

"Thank you... I do appreciate what you did for me back on the field... and for watching over me while I slept..."

The boy laughed heavily as he stared over the bewildered expression of genesis. " I didn't exactly get much of a choice on the matter. You do know you scare the crap out of everyone right?"

Genesis broke into a low laugh as he contemplated the truth behind the claim. "Yeah, I guess I do.. Who are you anyway?" he asked as he pulled up a chair from the corner of the room. He withdrew some rations and began to eat hungrily as he spoke. The younger boy looked at him in shock as he watched genesis devour a week's worth of rations in five minutes. He had never before seen someone eat like that, unless you count the eating habits of a greymon... and even then it would be a close competition.

"My name's Collin...."

"Nice to meet you Collin... so tell me.. What are you doing here?"

"Huh?" he asked slightly dumbfounded.

"Sorry.. But I have a gift at seeing the true nature of a person... it's not quite magic but it is pretty reliable... you are not a killer, yet you have a real gift for it.... you hate violence and yet you weren't hesitant in the least when it came to fighting... I can smell it on you...

You stink of contradiction.. It's almost as if you're running from something Collin... some demon perhaps?" the young man backed away lightly as he gazed into the knowing chocolate brown eyes of the genesis. It frightened him.. This boy was able to see into his soul. He debated running away, yet suppressed the urge as the genesis smirked lightly. He continued.

"You are running Collin... But what intrigues me is who's chasing you... and why you ran to the war.." his cold and omnipotent smile faded lightly as he cast a glance of concern to his young savior who was paling by the second. It was true what they said about genesis... he was more then human... and as Collin looked into those dark eyes he wondered if genesis were less a demon and more a god.

"You want to die don't you?"

The young man was silent.

"Why do you want to die? And why choose this death?

listen to me Collin... we all have demons... but I sense one stalking you.. And I owe you for saving me back there, so maybe I could save you... I'm good at dealing with demons... because I am one."

Collin glanced to the door, yet as his gaze returned to genesis's kind eyes he drew in a deep and hollow breath. With a deep sigh he slumped over in his chair. It was strange.. Genesis was rude and creepy as he spoke of demons. And it troubled him that this prince was able to read his mind seemingly. Yet for all the alienating qualities he possessed he also radiated with a strange aura of trust and confidence.. He was called many things... the prince of demons being among them... yet this demon was able to inspire a great sense of kindness. The air of his true personality permeated the small room as he looked to the young man with those kind eyes. If there was a great mystery here then it was originating not from Collin but from genesis himself..

The hours passed as the two spoke. Collin had known genesis by rumor and word of mouth. These words were horrific and dark ones. They described him as a demon who could burn the soul with a glance from his dark and blackened evil eyes. A creature who was lustful to death and regarded the living in the same way a lion regards a lamb... yet as the young soldier listened to this "demon" he found that the genesis was based in lies and fears. He was no devil who bubbled up from a pool of blood. The boy known as genesis was a kind one. He spoke softly and with great eloquence.

He listened to the story of Collin's life without bordom or regret. He listened to the boy as he spoke of the cancer which killed his girlfriend. He listened to it all.. The drugs, the depression... the death wish. In the end she was to blame. She had been too perfect.. Perhaps she had assimilated herself into his life too well. As a chain link fence merges with a growing tree over time the two unite as one. The fence remains intact while the tree continues to grow. Yet should one be removed both will be destroyed. The fence breaks, the tree dies. Thus Collin was assimilated into the world of the living dead. The body lives while the heart dies.

As the younger boy related this to genesis he caught something in the eyes of his new friend. It froze him as he saw it. He had just finished another emotionally ravaging series of descriptions of the emptiness Shannon left within his soul. Yet as he spoke he looked over to the eyes of his friend. Upon examination of the eyes he saw something that he was never prepared for. A single tear lingered on his cheek. Genesis was bearly aware of the tear.. Yet as Collin looked at it he caught a glimpse into what genesis was able to do for him. Reading the soul. Genesis was adept at this talent, so adept that it was questioned wether the genesis was the cause of this gift or wether it was the boy. Collin was no soul reader yet he could read something within the aspect of that lone diamond like tear. It was a fragment of a story... a love story... it was written upon the soft and kindly features of genesis's face. Perhaps genesis had two brothers now... one was the emperor. The second was him... Collin had described the loss as he would have described the loss of a limb. Something so a part of you now gone... yet now he saw genesis with the same look in his eyes.. Another of the living dead... living in body alone, but dead in the heart. Genesis had lost someone.. But his loss was different... Collin knew what it was that he had lost. His love had a name... and with that name, a lifetime of memories with which he could relive vicariously... genesis was born of the digital... he had lived once.. and with that life, loved once. And yet now he lived again but without the soul he had once possessed... that soul was his love for someone... and without it he was a shell... a kind and tender friend yes... but one with a void where his heart had once been...

"Do you dream genesis?"

"Sometimes.."

"Tell me friend, what do you dream about?"

He paused as he lead Collin outside to the night air around the camp. The stars shown brightly in the heavens. Around them there were the sounds of laughter and talk amongst the men. You could listen for miles and all the voices would unite together in one vast babbling stream of words and sensations. You could breath in the air and get the taste of the crackling logs atop the fire, or the scent of the dinner which sizzled slowly in the pan. The air, the earth, the heavens.

"Collin... this is my dream... humanity... my dream is to be one of them... not the demon,,, but the man who I was meant to be.... I know I wasn't born... I know that once upon a time I had a life... a family perhaps..... I dream of that life..." he paused as he felt his friends arm patting his back.

"My dream and what I dream are simple... I want the world I knew once... I want to know what that world was like. To taste the air which I can almost breath in... to drink the water and remember it as it had tasted before. I want to lay in the sun and feel it again.. I want... to be human... a real human." he smiled softly at the idea.

"You are what you are. The circumstances of birth are irrelevant.. It is what you do with the gift of life that counts... if you want humanity then all you have to do is join humanity."

"I was human once.... I know it must be true. How could every feeling in every one of my cells be wrong. I have scars from battles I can't remember.. I have dreams of faces... faces I knew... faces who knew me... you say all I have to do is join humanity? Well that is the one thing the genesis strain can't do... for me to be what I was meant to be, I must remember what I was once. I must know who I was... a man is made from his past experiences.. They shape him. I have feelings I can't explain and I know they are there...." he motioned to the starry heavens.

"Your answers are in the sky huh? Maybe you were a bird before..." he chuckled softly

"Maybe I was.. But until I remember I think I'll pass on trying to fly from cliffs." he grinned.

The two sobered as they looked out over the sky. It was amazingly beautiful... the heavens stretched out as open arms. The two young men looked out over the millions of diamond stars which shimmered in the velvety black of the sky. Genesis looked to Collin with a soft smile.

"Do you think Shannon is up there?" genesis asked softly.

"I think she is... in heaven." he replied softly

"Heaven?"

"Yes... you know that almost every religion has some form of a heaven? I wonder what type of Sora Shannon is in now...." he awed

"Sora?" genesis asked softly.

"Oh, sorry... I used to be a language student... Sora was what people used to call heaven centuries ago.. Sora is the place where heaven meets the sky. I always liked the word... it has a beauty to it.. The skies and the heavens bound together for all eternity.... Sora....." he awed.

Genesis looked to the sky in silent contemplation. He could see so much beauty in that sky... the speratic clouds which were now dusted in a soft coat of silverish light from the radiant moon above. The shimmering light rained down on him as though it were a shower of silver and ivory light. The sky which stretched forever, now seemed close enough to embrace.. It was as though heaven itself were no more then a long black blanket of stars and beauty with which we could wrap ourselves in. Heaven? Perhaps there was such a place... and perhaps it was at arm's length...

"Sora......" he repeated softly as he gazed out lovingly into the sky above him. The word struck him as a thing of true beauty... and also it struck him as a thing he had known once, long ago in a life once lived.

Life is a thing we love

it is the one thing that gives us an infinite spectrum of possibilities

we enjoy the pleasures of life while we recoil from its hardships

we cherish the joy and we shun the pains

we are drawn to the light while we resent the dark

lives vary considerably

some are hard and will crush us under its weight

some lives are simple, and in their simplicity devoid of depth

yet as we seek out the light and the pleasures and the joys we deny ourselves

life is a precious gift which was bestowed upon us for reasons unknown

we waste the gift if we fail to truly treasure it in its entirety

we are alive because we know both joys and pains

to truly embrace life you must embrace every aspect of it and treasure it all

a life half lived, is a life not lived.....

not the end....