Gennai materialized in front of the Digi-Destined, who were still in the midst of loud laughter and joy. "Everyone, it is time," the Watcher said. This simple statement gained the attention of all of the children.
"Time for what?" Jonathan asked, his laughter fading as his eyes narrowed. He suspected he knew what this was about, but wanted to be sure.
"Time that you know the truth. Miss Ryutori revealed things she shouldn't have, didn't she?" Gennai answered. There was silence as they all nodded. "Then let's begin. Before your team came to the Digital World, Tai, a group led by Akira came here."
"Who the hell's Akira?!" Blair snapped.
"He's my brother," Kiri's voice was soft as it echoed through the clearing. She walked into plain sight, Viximon asleep in her arms. The sword hilt glinted on her back. Her eyes had black circles under them."He led a group into the Digital World before Tai and after another group, an International one. They were the oldest to go through."
The look that crossed everyone's faces was that of stunned shock. They hadn't realized that the International Digi-Destined they knew weren't the original world wide team.
Gennai remained unperturbed. "You know an awful lot don't you?" he asked.
Kiri smiled sadly. "I know everything about the past Gennai. Having the friends I have, not to mention the ability to defy the borders, it tells you a lot of things."
"I see." He paused. "It's a good thing you and I made that vow then, wasn't it?"
Again, that dead smile appeared. "I suppose it is for you. All those things that went wrong, you weren't willing to take responsibility for them."
"I was not-"
"I didn't say you were." Jonathan caught it, a glimpse of fury in Gennai's eyes.
"Are you jealous of Sinead?"
She shook her head no. "I actually feel very glad for her. Everything worked out, despite the circumstances."
"You treat her with more respect than your own team." Watching them both, Kari felt a vague sensation of sadness. She didn't know what it was or why and it tore her heart.
Kiri shrugged. "You've been holding their hands. The dangers they faced could have been much worse than they were."
"We were not-" The thirteen-year-old cut in.
"It was not what you were after, no. Nor am I saying that they were not at risk. However, you cannot deny that you kept a very close eye on them after what happened with the previous group."
"We didn't expect there to be such difficulties." She scowled lightly. Is that what they call all of those things? A difficulty?
"You didn't expect the Digimon Emperor either. At least, not who it was. Humanity throws a spin on things, doesn't it?"
Gennai tried to reason, "They had been destroyed and wielded little power at the time. It was unexpected that they would be strong enough to actually rebel again."
"They had rebelled before and miraculously survived the war they had wrought. I'm more bothered by the fact that you didn't do anything to them for the past six years when you knew they were planning something."
"Neither team was suited to combat them!"
The teen snorted. "We certainly aren't. Quantity doesn't mean anything when the worst you have to face is yourself! Crazy and corrupted darkness aside, the way that they see themselves as unable to be in the wrong and that light is always good is what will be preyed on! That noble straight path worked on MaloMyotismon, Apocalymon, Diablomon, and all the others because that was something they understood little to nothing about! Our enemy understands that and lives off of those very emotions! We will, in essence, make it worse."
"What in the world are you talking about?" Blair snapped, feeling completely out of the loop.
Kiri sighed and for a moment, her body blurred. "I suppose I can say it now, can't I?"
He gave a reluctant nod."Yes, you may."
Kiriko nodded and looked up at the sky. "Six years ago, Akira-nii-chan was sealed away in the gaps between the worlds by the Demon Lords. Their leader resides in the Dark Ocean and is a creature which grows stronger with the very emotions we feel all the time."
"And you know this for certain how?" Jonathan couldn't help the skepticism.
"She fell into the Dark Ocean with her cousin and personally saw it," Gennai supplied, a quiet misery in his voice. "Miss Ryutori is quite lucky she isn't dead."
Kiri laughed icily, the sound shrilly childish. "Dead? I'm lucky I'm still here right now! You would have killed me ages ago if I hadn't kept my mouth shut!"
For the first time since he had appeared to them, Gennai actually looked unsettled."That was not my intention!"
"It might as well have been," she countered, her edges phasing again. "You threatened to replace the Catal Unit inside my unstable body even after seeing my data! That wouldn't have just killed me, that would have been the end of the Digital World."