Bittersweet Symphony

Bittersweet Symphony

(Author's Note: This story (its dark, I warn you) takes place in the future. So Takeru is older, at least in his upper teens. Just so you know, okay? And they're all back in the real world, no way to get to the Digiworld again, got it? Okay!)

(Author's Note II: This is a Songfic set to "Bittersweet Symphony" by the Verve/Verve Pipe/Whatever you want to call them.)

(Author's Note III: This is a gift fic for The Infamous Boss Reo!)

A single pinprick of light flared into existence somewhere in front of Takeru, followed by two more bursts. The accompanying thunderclaps echoed through the young man's brain, rebounding off the walls of his mind. And then he felt the white-hot needles tear through his flesh, spinning him around. Distantly, as in a dream that one is just waking from, he could have sworn he heard people screaming. A single thought entered his mind as his body collapsed limply to the ground: I was only trying to stop him…

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life

Try to make ends meet

You're a slave to money then you die

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down

You know the one that takes you to the places

where all the things meet yeah

Takeru was vaguely aware of the people surrounding him, feeling his neck, dabbing at the throbbing wounds in his chest, but he didn't care. I'm gone…there's no hope for me…It was then that his mind wandered back to the Digital World, his friends, his adventures—and Patamon. Unbidden, a lone tear crept into his eye, further blurring his vision.

No change, I can't change

I can't change, I can't change

But I'm here in my mold

I am here in my mold

But I'm a million different people

from one day to the next

I can't change my mold

No, no, no, no, no

Patamon…where are you? The small Digimon had always come through for him before. Against Devimon, protecting him from DemiDevimon…Digivolving into MagnaAngemon to save Takeru as a child from plummeting to a horrible death, defeating the last Dark Master, Piedmon. Yet here, now, Patamon couldn't help him.

Now he was floating, deprived of virtually all sensory perception. A bright white light began to immerse him, drawing him towards it, irresistibly. In the real world, however, he dimly noticed the men hoisting him onto a stretcher, in the back of an ambulance. He didn't care, after all. He was dying. But…what about Patamon?

Well I never pray

But tonight I'm on my knees yeah

I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah

I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now

But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

He'll never know…Would Patamon always be faithfully waiting in the Digiworld, for a someone that would no longer arrive to play with him, to laugh with him, to just be friends with? What if the others found a way to get back into the Digiworld, later? Patamon…loyal, faithful Patamon…would still be there, waiting, and hoping?

Or were Digimon mortal? Were they merely just bits of data, to be reconstructed when they were deleted? No…Patamon had a soul, that much Takeru was sure of. All of their Digital companions had personalities, they were people—not merely data. When the time came, Patamon would die, and then would be reborn at the Primary Village. But that Patamon would never, COULD never be the same as the companion that Takeru had known. Because souls could never be the same.

No change, I can't change

I can't change, I can't change

But I'm here in my mold

I am here in my mold

And I'm a million different people

from one day to the next

I can't change my mold

No, no, no, no, no

I can't change

I can't change

His time was drawing near now, Takeru was sure of it. Patamon…would he be happy, knowing that Takeru had gone out bravely, a martyr? Or would he just wail and wish his friend was around? Takeru had always relied on Patamon to comfort him, to tell him things that were fine, especially when Yamato wasn't there. But now Yamato was no where around, and Patamon was gone. He would die alone…completely alone.

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life

Try to make ends meet

Try to find some money then you die

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down

You know the one that takes you to the places

where all the things meet yeah

Ever since the kids had left the Digital World forever, Takeru had relied on memories of Patamon to get him through times which tried his very soul. Somehow, the familiar feeling of his friend being nearby, even if it wasn't real, comforted him. Did Patamon do the same in the Digital World? Would he try and remember the blond kid who had been his partner, who had been his friend, when the road got hard?

You know I can't change, I can't change

I can't change, I can't change

But I'm here in my mold

I am here in my mold

And I'm a million different people

from one day to the next

I can't change my mold

No, no, no, no, no

Now, Takeru could feel the light, the misty cold hands of Death tugging at him, coercing him to let go. But Takeru refused. The one thought of Patamon was enough to make him want to cling to life. Patamon never had given up, and neither would he. He would make it, he knew he would! He was the one with the Crest of Hope, wasn't he? Hope would be enough…hope would get him through…wouldn't it?

I can't change my mold

no, no, no, no, no,

I can't change

Can't change my body,

no, no, no

The struggle was useless, it was now clear to Takeru. His breathing was getting shallower, becoming harder to take a breath with every second. Death's call beckoned him all the while, and then he knew that Patamon wouldn't have wanted his best friend to be in this pain, to just let go from the life he was clinging to by a thread.

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down

Been down

Ever been down

Ever been down

Ever been down

Ever been down

That you've ever been down

That you've ever been down

And as he floated away, away from the struggle, the pain, and to warmth and happiness, his mouth moved one final time. Maybe, just maybe, these words would reach Patamon, wherever he was, and to tell him. Maybe that wish would come true…just maybe…

"I loved you…"

(A/N: Tearjerker, huh? Well, I have some more bad news. On Monday, I leave for summer camp for four weeks, so this will be my last fanfic for a while. Ah well, I'll see you all in four weeks! Till then, this is 7 of 11, signing out! Oh, and always review!)