Hey everyone! My name is Ty (Yes, just like Tai!) and I'm 16 years old. This is my first fanfic, but I have had a lot of writing experience in the past, so I hope that all of you will enjoy my story here! Many of you may be surprised a 16 year old remembers season 1, but believe it or not, I do, but vaguely. My love for digimon really came alive again when I watched the movie last year since I owned the movie on VHS. At this point I hadn't watched the movie or anything "Digimon" for about maybe 3 or more years, but for some reason something clicked when I watched it this time. I began watching it obsessively, and eventually found the show on Youtube, and it brought back so many memories :'( - the nostalgia I had for it was ridiculous, and I fell in love with all the characters again. The show not only was great that way, but it really helped me through a very hard time in my life. And I could go into all of the stuff with what I went through, how Tai became like an alter-ego for me, or what the show did for me, but you guys aren't here to listen to my rant!
Just a little background info about the story and this chapter: this is taking place after season 2 and after the second digimon movie where they fight Armagheddamon so the older kids are all 17 (with the exception of Joe who's older and Izzy who's younger.) There are gonna be some mature themes as well as romance but nothing that should throw off the rating; I do want this to be darker themed though. Also, when Tai's crest starts changing colors (you'll see what I mean in a minute) refer to the cover photo of this story to see what it would look like, or what it should look like.
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Chapter 1:
Tai opened his dark chocolate eyes. He was facing straight up, staring at his ocean blue ceiling. What a strange dream he had had.
He groaned quietly to himself as he tried to doze off again... That was until he realized what day it was; Monday. He looked at the clock resting beside his bed. It read 6:45am... All of a sudden his pupils dilated into golf balls and his bloodshot eyes sprung open. His bus would come in 5 minutes! He leapt out of bed and tumbled over the railing of the top bunk, crashing right onto the hard wooden floor. He heard his neighbors downstairs start howling with rage at the noise he had made.
Although Kari had her own room now, there was something nostalgic about remaining on the upper bunk in the beds. Now that he thought of it, there was a lot that he did that reminded him of his past. Deep in his heart Tai longed for the past, which had treated him so well. But it WAS his past, a flickering ember that died in the growing light. Of course the era of peace and happiness the world was in was great and all, but it seemed that his glory days were finished. He not only saved the digital world once, but also had a major role in saving it the second time around. In addition, he was the undivided leader of the Digidestined's international team. But all of these titles were just that, just titles that he clung to as his life passed him by. No title could bring back the adventures he embarked on; the friendships he had made... It just seemed that things had changed.
There was so little darkness in the world now, and he knew he should be happy if not proud that it was in part his doing. But he was angrier than ever and didn't know why. He hadn't really spoken to anyone in weeks, and he spent his afternoons staring at his ceiling. All he could see was this light everywhere; it was driving him crazy. But the light seemed almost overwhelming, as if it were concealing something. He had learned a lot as a digidestined, and so he no longer believed in coincidence or chance. As leader of his team he had to trust his instincts, he would be the first to sense if something was wrong.
'What was that thing Gennai told me long ago?' He thought to himself, 'Something about ba-'
But suddenly the vague memory escaped his thoughts... He slammed his fist against the wall. "Why can't I remember?! This isn't like me at all!"
"Maybe it's just not my day or something," he said out loud, "I've never been this unsure of anything... Look at you, Tai, you're falling apart... Wait... Why am I talking to myself?!"
He groaned as he stumbled into his bathroom and looked in the mirror. On any normal day he would look at his reflection and be confident in his appearance. He was very fortunate for his looks, and he certainly wasn't one to shy away from acknowledging it. But today he just leaned over the sink and slowly ran his fingers through his soft, brown hair. He looked up and gazed somberly into his own reflection, disgusted by the emptiness in his expression. But in his trance he failed to hear the school bus honking outside the apartment building. Chaos reigned in the Kamiya household when Mrs. Kamiya realized her son had missed the bus. Screams and furious shouts rang through the air, but the echoes faded as they reached Tai, who remained in his own world.
He sighed with discontent. He finally reached into his shirt and held the Crest of Courage in his hands. Unlike most of the other Digidestined, he had always kept his crest with him; it was a part of him, his identity.
It represented all what was lost in his past, and all of his hopes for the future. As he grasped it, he noticed something strange occurring. The golden sun idol in its center began to fade into black before his eyes. The light that it emulated was drained into a flood of shadows before his very eyes. The crest stopped its transformation as the sun symbol bled a midnight ebony shade, surrounded by a blue abyss, like an ocean in twilight. He trembled furiously as he saw the startling change. But as soon as he blinked the crest returned to its original state. He blinked again, expecting it to change once more.
Suddenly he got a sinking feeling in his gut. That didn't just happen out of the blue. A warning had been given, and it was up to him to act upon it. 'But what did it all mean?!' He thought to himself, 'It wasn't clear at all,' All he knew was that a darkness was coming, and he may be the only one prepared.
Mrs. Kamiya grumbled and cursed under her breath while they drove to the school. He gazed out the foggy car window; the gloomy surroundings only increased his internal suffering. Everything was tinted gray and soaked in humidity. The early spring morning reflected his own image of the world, filled with depression and longing. Eventually, they pulled into the Odaiba High School drop off area. To his surprise, Tai made it to school on time.
"Tai, hurry up I'm gonna be late to work," Mrs. Kamiya snapped. When he didn't move she banged her head down onto the steering wheel. She sighed softly and let go of her frustration. She could see that more fighting would do neither of them any good. "Look, Tai. I'm sorry about the morning. Just have a nice day, okay sweetie?"
"Um, yeah..sure." He gathered his things rather sluggishly and shuffled out of the white SUV. Little did he know that it would be the last time he would see his mom for a long time. He turned his shoulder to watch her drive into the distance, vanishing into the blanket of fog, leaving him alone, just like everyone else.
He strolled into his first period class right after the bell rang, not caring the least about his lateness. Tai shrunk down into his chair and lay his head down upon his arms.
He felt like Matt today, so dismal and Matt was his best friend, personality wise they were polar opposites. Tai was more like a cool day at the beach while Matt's persona reflected that of a barren wasteland. It seemed the only common trait they shared was that of being able to turn as cold as ice on people.
Tai frowned at himself for a moment. He was taking his own negative attitude and reflecting that onto everyone else. Matt really wasn't at all how he was making him out to be. Usually Matt was very funny, and a great person to hang out with. Though his seriousness was often seen as being a bad quality, it was often his most favorable were countless times when Matt's level-headedness had been just what he had needed in a situation. It just seemed that people got the wrong idea about him.
"Good morning Mr. Kamiya"
Tai suddenly jerked backwards and out from beneath his arms, startled by his teacher's presence.
"Wha-Oh hey Mr. O'Day"
"...May I see your homework..?"
Tai didn't realize that the entire class had their homework out and ready, and that now everyone in the room was dead silent... Staring at him. When he spoke it sounded so abnormally loud to his surroundings that it was like he was nearly screaming.
"Sure, umm gimme one sec." His heart was beating fast now, not from the danger he was so accustomed to but from pure embarrassment. It then hit him that in the distress of his emotional meltdown earlier he left everything but his backpack and his lunch at home.
"I uhhh don't have it" Tai stammered. He forced out a weak apologetic smile to make it seem that he was sincerely upset.
"You've surpassed your missed homework limit for the semester Kamiya. That's detention for this entire week and a makeup project which I doubt you'll do anyway considering you can't even remember to do the basic homework."
Tai was taken back a little at his teacher's rapid change in demeanor. Mr. O'day was, even on his worse days, a relatively nice teacher, so Tai was surprised by his nearly cruel gesture. A few kids in the far end of the room snickered as Tai tried to hide himself from the room.
It seemed that this pattern continued for the rest of the day. Class after class he received a detention here, a lecture there. His day certainly did not seem to be getting any better.
But finally, after a grueling first half of the day it was time for lunch. While usually Tai would head to the lunchroom with a bunch of friends, today he wasn't in the mood to really be talking to anyone.
He thought to himself, 'The last thing I need right now is-'
'Oh no.'
'There it is.'
'Quick turn around you idiot!'
There it was in front of his face... Matt and Sora...together... making out...
Sora jumped as she spotted Tai.
She tried pushed Matt off of her lips but he continued to resist her efforts, paying no attention to his surroundings.
Sensing her reluctance, he finally backed off, confused at her behavior until he looked behind him, seeing what was upsetting her. Startled, he pushed himself quickly off of her as he tried to keep his cool. He swept his golden hair to the side as he faced forward, yet completely avoiding eye contact.
"O-Oh hey Tai..." Matt said as he looked down at his shoes with his hands now back on his own head. He cracked an awkward smile.
'Shit...' he thought to himself.
His eyes darted to all of his surroundings, trying to find anything to break the awkwardness. He knew how heartbreaking this must have been for Tai. Tai had confided in him a few years ago how he had fallen in love with Sora. Yet only a few days after Tai told him this Matt and Sora became official. Well... In everyone's minds anyway. Matt never actually asked Sora to be his girlfriend.
But the part that really killed him was that Tai wouldn't express any anger towards him, in fact he was nicer than he ever had been before. Matt almost wanted Tai to blow up at him like his old self so they could fight this out; at least then it wouldn't be such a long suffering that was tearing them apart. He wanted to confront Tai about it, but the words would always escape him.
Tai had been acting so strange lately, that Matt rarely got the chance to speak to him regardless. Despite all the nice things Tai had done for him and Sora, he could tell that Tai's heart wasn't there. Tai bought Matt a congratulations gift, sent Sora flowers, threw them an anniversary party, etc.
If anyone else did this, Matt would be really freaked out, but Tai was known for being a bit over the top at times. He acted as if nothing was wrong, and Matt figured Tai must've gotten over his crush on Sora until he discovered what was really going on behind closed doors.
Tai didn't know he was listening, but he heard it the night of the party Tai threw for him and Sora. Tai left to "Go to the bathroom" conveniently as Izzy had also stepped outside. After they were gone for a good 15 minutes Matt left to see what was going on. As he walked through the dark hallways of the Kamiya household he entered Tai's room quietly because he heard voices emanating from the balcony. He heard Izzy speak first;
"Tai you have to get a hold of yourself! I know things haven't worked out the way we planned but there's nothing we can do about it now!"
Tai responded gravely and fought back expressing any emotion; he refused to appear weak or broken by whatever had happened.
"I know..." he replied, withdrawing himself from Izzy's concerned gaze.
"Then why are you so upset over it! Tai I've never known you to be a really emotional person so this is ridiculous!"
Izzy sounded completely exasperated. Sweat ran down his face as he panicked to think of someway to help his friend, who seemed to be more than devastated. Absolutely nothing seemed logical anymore.
Tai collected himself and wiped the tears from his bloodshot eyes. "It's because I can't even face them anymore. You don't understand how long I've liked her."
"You've been facing them this entire time! And you're the one who's been the most supportive of those two together, the rest of the group took it as a real surprise!"
"No Izzy," Tai said seriously, "I'm trying to act like nothing's the matter but really everything is. I'm hiding behind a mask and I can't even tell my best friend because I don't want him to think I'm trying to steal his dumb girlfriend."
"We'll isn't that exactly what you're trying to do..?"
"Fuck you"
Izzy sighed, he was getting tired of playing these games.
"Well, Tai I don't know why you told me about all this! I'm not exactly the one to ask about things concerning relationships; you should know me by now, I've always preferred machines over people anyway!"
Tai gave him an arrogant look.
"Well I needed help from someone and I put my trust in you! Thanks for not giving a damn!"
Izzy gulped and tried to rephrase his words. Tai really made him feel like he was being a total douche.
"Look, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean it that way. I just want what's best for you and right now and I don't know what to tell you. But what you have to realize is that you missed your chance a long time ago and you have to deal with the consequences. I hate to be upfront but you need to man up to your own actions."
Izzy cringed after that last line. He instantly regretted saying it when Tai shot him a look in the face that most didn't live to see twice. Traumatic memories erupted in his head as he recalled getting his face beaten in while he and Tai explored the sewers of the Dark Master's Industrial City. Izzy's tone of voice flew up high as he backed up slowly to the edge of the balcony and stuttered hysterically to try to fix his words. He didn't feel like getting thrown down 10 stories to his death.
"I- I Mean-!- Uhh! Heh - Heh What I MEANT To Say Is...!"
Suddenly Tai's rage washed away from his pulsing face. He gazed back at the ground and thought of the words he said to himself what seemed like forever ago.
"~A man must face himself before he can face his enemies~" He smiled gently to himself as his memory assured him that Izzy's words were true.
"You're right Izzy," he said admittedly, "I need to face myself before I can even think about Sora at all. Thanks for your help, really, it did more than you know."
Still in hysterics and catching his breath, Izzy waved his hands frantically in the direction of the door and said, "I -I really think we should head back to the others don't you?! They'll start looking for us an-and we can't let them see you in this state, right?!" Izzy didn't want to take the chance of getting Tai angry again.
Calmly, Tai replied, "Yeah, let's go. It'd be a disaster if anyone heard us."
Matt's ears were set ablaze after hearing all of that. He thought that Tai had gotten over his "little crush" but it turns out that it had only intensified over time. He honestly didn't suspect it at all at the time considering how supportive Tai had been to him and Sora. Actually, he should have realized something was wrong then... Tai, acting supportive? But that was just the problem; Tai was "Acting." He had been living a lie this entire time! Matt wasn't sure whether he wanted to wring Tai's neck or give him a hug.
'Okay maybe not a hug,' Matt thought. He had an appearance to keep up after all.
But Tai was absolutely devastated over it and there was nothing Matt could do without revealing that he had heard anything that night. Of course he had to watch Tai more closely from now on because he was certainly a huge threat to his relationship with Sora. Not only was Tai the closest of their group to Sora, but it wasn't like Tai had girl problems.
He was very charming and had an extremely flirtatious and likable personality. Actually, it got on Matt's nerves how sociable Tai was at times. The kid really needed to calm down, and Matt knew he could take Sora away in no time, he was sure of it. And then there was his looks; ever since he had advanced his soccer training he became frighteningly good looking. Tai's body was sculpted much better than his own, and after Tai really matured his face became very desirable as well. Matt gulped.
'It looks like the rivalry is beginning again,' he thought. He had hoped they were done with the childish rivalry they had when they were younger. He knew that it wasn't the last he'd hear of this, and that troubled him.
Suddenly, he realized that Tai and Izzy were getting up that moment and coming his way! His instincts took control over his body as he grasped the nearest object firmly in his hand. He only had one shot at this. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he focused in on his target. Then, from the shadows, he threw it at Izzy, who was opening the balcony door. Izzy was caught completely off guard and gave out a sharp yelp as he tumbled backwards into Tai, who collapsed just as well.
They groaned in pain as they laid motionless on top of each other. Matt couldn't help but laugh to himself as he snuck out of the room back to where everyone else was. Naturally, when Tai returned he acted like his normal self, the life of the party. And although no one else noticed it, Tai still had water in his eyes.
Only now could Matt really see how sluggish and depressed he looked, though nobody could tell it from the outside. Whenever others looked away his face dropped into one of despair.
Every smile was a lie.
Matt returned to Earth after having such a long flashback. He watched as Tai, in utter shock, was frozen in the moment. "H-hi.." Tai said passively as he concealed his face and slowly backed out around the corner he came from.
"What's up with him?" Sora asked as she leaned back onto Matt's lips again. Matt firmly placed his hand on her shoulder, holding her back.
"Matt, is something the matter?" she said, bewildered.
"Umm, no. No not at all. I just remembered I had something to do." He intentionally avoided any eye contact with her and stared solemnly off in the other direction. Matt walked away with his hands in his pockets and didn't look back. "I'll see you later Sora."
"Wait, Matt I L-" she began, but fell short. He was already turning the hallway corner, leaving her in the dark. A cold shiver ran through her body, as cold as the feeling Matt gave off when he walked away. Sora had her own doubts about their relationship; Matt could never express what he truly felt and it bothered her. They became decent friends in their first adventure in the digital world, but she knew deep down where her true feelings were. She doubted him, and he knew that. She really didn't even understand how they had started dating in the first place.
"...He never even asked me out..."
The realization of this caused her to doubt even more. She could barely recall his smile, let alone his laugh. He had gotten even darker over the past few years. It seemed that everyone had. They barely even knew each other.
"No, that's not right," she contemplated, "We're complete strangers!"
Sora walked alone through the empty hallways contemplating. If it wasn't for the common string that tied them all together, the life-changing event that occurred five years ago, they wouldn't have even been friends, let alone boyfriend and girlfriend! They had nearly nothing in common, and their relationship was failing. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed this sooner.
'God, I'm so stupid!' she thought, 'Maybe that's why everyone was so shocked when we told them we were dating. '
'Though Tai was surprisingly the only one who seemed okay with it.'
She stopped for a second... There was something "Off" about Tai's reaction to what happened, but she couldn't place her finger on it. However, her train of thought was derailed as she was about to catch onto what it was. She ignored it and returned to her earlier focus.
'He's been so sweet and thoughtful lately,' she thought, 'I wonder what was the matter earlier when he saw Matt and I?'
She promptly decided to go find him, he needed to be cheered up. And as Tai's best friend, it was her job to do it. She walked down the hallway in Tai's direction, unsure of what she would say to him when she caught up. But Sora knew one thing; she needed to find out what was the matter, it could reveal to her what was going on behind closed doors.
'Damn it,' Tai thought, 'Damn it, damn it, damn it. Stupid Matt and Sora.' Rage surged through his body as he stepped outside the school.
"DAMN IT!"
He slammed his fist into the exterior wall and not to his surprise it trembled beneath his fist. The pure energy that surged through his hand further enraged him as the wall shook under to his power.
"...Tai?"
"WHAT?!"Tai roared as he spun around, his face blistering with fury.
Sora shivered helplessly in front of him, beside herself with fear. Her eyes began to tear and she stuttered, "I-I-I c-came t-t-to~" but couldn't finish the sentence.
As soon as Tai realized Sora was there his expression turned from anger to shock.
"Sora! Please don't cry I'm SO sorry!"
She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
"It's alright Tai, calm down; I'll be fine." She took a deep breath and looked directly into the face of her lifelong friend. She looked into his eyes and still saw the image of the innocent little boy she always knew. It was hard to see him truly growing up, the memories of their past were too painfully beautiful to think about. She missed how things used to be.
"I came here to check up on you, and it seems I came at the right time!"
"Tai hid his face from her when she looked into his eyes and put his hands in his pockets. He couldn't look her back in the face for he knew that just his expression around her would give away too much; it was like she could see right through him, and he didn't want anyone tapping into his emotions.
"Yeah, well I- it wasn't like-"
"What has been up with you today?!" she interrupted, "First you freaked out when you saw Matt and I earlier, and now you're screaming outside and beating up walls?!" She rested a hand on his turned shoulder as he began to walk away. Instantly, he froze in his tracks and sparks flew through his body like fireworks. Her touch soothed him, appeasing all his tensions, letting them drift away into nothingness.
"Tai... I'm worried about you," she said uneasily. "I swear to God you're starting to lose it." She laughed a bit out loud at the silly thought that Tai was actually losing his mind. Little did she know how accurate she was.
Her smile was contagious and he couldn't help but laugh along with her. Just her presence was always enough to calm him down.
"I'm sorry Sora, today just hasn't been my day. But I promise I'll be fine you don't have to worry about me."
She looked at him, obviously unconvinced.
"Really!"
She nodded and suddenly her eyes lit up, "I have a great idea Tai! How about you let me treat you to some ice cream after school. Ice cream always makes everything better."
"I would Sora, but there's one little problem."
"What's that?"
"Well, I kind've got scheduled for like 3 detentions later so... yeah..."
Sora shot him a look expectantly. Obviously, this was no surprise to her. With a hint of sarcasm she replied, "Wow, 3 detentions in one day, that really is a problem..." She raised an eyebrow at him and the slightest hint of a smile appeared on her face.
He understood what she was implying and went along with it.
"I could always just, you know, skip 'em..." He smiled slyly back at her.
Sora broke into a light laugh, "Now that's my Tai. I'll meet you at the soccer fields after school okay?"
"Alright... I'll be waiting."
Sora stopped dead in her tracks...
'What..the hell ..did he just say...?'
(Author's note*** - to understand why what Tai said is so significant you have to have seen season 2 episode 38- the Christmas episode.)
Tai noticed her strange behavior after what he said. He knew exactly why she had stopped but decided to act clueless rather than admit that he intentionally played her emotions.
"Sora, is something wrong..?" he asked rhetorically.
"NOPE NOTHING'S WRONG AHAHAHA!"
She replied erratically and grabbed her hair fiercely with one hand like she was losing her mind. She kept laughing at nothing as she slowly walked backwards around the corner and into the building. She knew that line all too well. Flashes of her past swarmed her mind, engulfing her conscious in anxiety and stress. Sora had the feeling earlier that talking to Tai might reveal something, and although not everything was clear, she had a lead on what was going on. She knew it was time to further her investigations.
"Well that was...strange," Tai said to himself, even though he knew exactly why she freaked out on him.
'Maybe it wasn't right to have said that to her,' he thought, 'But she reacted to it! She definitely did! That means that she still remembers what happened last year!' Tai cringed as he remembered what had happened the last time he said that, the time of his rejection. He knew that she would only remember his exact words of she did have some kind of feelings for him after all... Or at least he thought so...
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted when he felt a soft vibrating in his pocket. He had a bad feeling of what it was but he reached in for his cell phone anyway. It was from Mimi..
'Unsurprisingly' he thought to himself as he slightly rolled his eyes and read the message.
Normally Mimi was notorious for sending terribly long messages in which she would certainly expect long ones back. This made it often very annoying to have conversations with her. Tai love Mimi, but she almost always came on too strong; even for him! Though occasionally she was just what he needed and the two of them were a dangerously exciting duo.
Tai laughed at the thought of him and Mimi hanging out alone with Izzy or Joe, who were too uptight to have any real fun. Yet all these thoughts couldn't mask the nauseating feeling he had in his gut. Mimi sent him a two word text message;
"Be Ready..."
This day could not get any stranger. He decided to text her back;
"Ready for what?! What's going on?!"
Since he was still outside he decided to run to the middle school which was only a few blocks away. This wasn't just an instinct or a feeling anymore. Tai was certain that bad things were gonna happen, and it was his responsibility to rally his team. He felt a disturbance in himself as he knew there was also a great one in the digital world. His crest gently began to glow under his shirt... It was time to go back.
Tai sprinted through the High School parking lot and into the middle school which was located less than a block away from the high school. He bursted through the main doors and almost trampled the greeter at her desk. She jumped backwards and yelped in surprise;
"W-Who are you!? Wh-What do you want!?"
Panting, he exclaimed, "I need to know where Kari Kamiya is- RIGHT NOW! It's an absolute emergency I'm her brother!"
"I don't care who you are," she snapped viciously, "I'm calling security right now, you don't just run into a school and demand crap from me! You can explain your story to them, for all I know you could be trying to kill her!"
Tai felt his blood boil inside of him as he seethed hatred through every pore. 'There is no way in hell this BITCH is gonna stop me'
"Lady, I need to find her now, this is an emergency, she's in serious danger!"
The greeter gave Tai a condescending glare, and waved her finger in the air as she snapped back at him.
"Hun, right now YOU'RE the only danger to anyone in this place! You're gonna stay right where you are so security can get you the hell out of my school!"
Upon saying this Tai walked up to the locked security door and stared right directly into it, gradually centering his focus.
The greeter pushed her chair backwards furiously and screamed at him while leaning over her desk, sending office supplies crashing onto the floor as she wreaked havoc on her belongings.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!"
Ignoring her tantrum, he leaned backwards and with one kick knocked the door right off its hinges.
"I don't have time for your shit!" he called back to her, "I'll find her myself!"
Tai ran through the halls frantically as the greeters' piercing shrieks rang out behind him, wailing for the guards to arrive. He began searching for the seventh grade section of the middle school.
The hallways were completely empty in the area he was in. The only noises that he could hear were the sound of his Jordans hitting the floor and the hysteria in his breathing.
But suddenly, an overpowering alarm blasted through the air, breaking the silence. His ears screamed for it to stop as he could feel the blood curdling through the veins in his temples. It was the same sound as the warning for a nuclear air raid, sending the entire school into a panic. Doors and walls jumped up and down violently and lockers would suddenly swing open, sending materials crashing upon the solid floor.
This was no ordinary alarm; something else was definitely wrong. It felt like something had exploded inside the building!
It became the scene of a disaster as Tai dodged falling books and tiles from the ceiling that gave way to the magnitude of the shockwaves running through the school. Tai screamed with rage as his shoulder was smashed by a pipe that swung out from the ceiling.
Though he was hurt, he grabbed the pipe and threw it with all his strength through a glass barrier that blocked off the staircase which lead to the upperclassmen wing. He smeared the blood from his shoulder over his face which only kicked up his adrenaline even more . Tai jumped feet first through the shattering glass and landed untouched at the foot of the steps. Sweat and blood ran down his body and into his shirt, not from the physical toll he was taking but the stress that was poisoning his thoughts. He was clueless as to what they were facing, and if there was really an enemy at all. He could be losing it completely as Sora had mentioned earlier, but he had never been so sure of something. His eyebrows curled with determination as he glided through the corridors faster than ever.
"NO," he stated, reassuring himself.
He flew up the flight of the stairs with groundbreaking agility. "It's real" he repeated to himself, "It's Real; IT'S RE-WHAAAAA!" He slammed into a helpless middle schooler who got in his way at the top. Tai tumbled over into the hallway and the kid flew into the brick wall, launching all of his belongings across the floor.
"WATCH IT KID!" he roared viciously.
"TAI?! Is that you?!"
The all-too familiar voice rang through his head as he saw a goofy safari cap slide in front of him off the kid's bruised body.
"TK!" Tai howled over the alarm as he gave the kid a massive hug, obviously soiling his nice clothes.
"TAI, WHAT'S GOING ON?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR FACE? WHY ARE YOU BLEEDING?!"
"I DON'T HAVE TIME TO EXPLAIN, BUDDY, WE GOTTA FIND KARI NOW! DO YOU KNOW WHERE SHE IS?!"
TK thought for a second as they ran together through the chaos. He didn't know what Tai was thinking but this better not be his idea of a joke. Tai was infamous for pulling these crazy stunts and while often they were funny, he couldn't stand when people got hurt in the process. He looked up to Tai in many ways but thought he was too reckless at times, even though in the recent years he became much more mature and level headed. He heard cries and uncertainty ringing throughout the classrooms they passed and knew that this had to be the real deal. There was no way Tai would be dumb enough to pull something this crazy; this time people were really getting hurt. Suddenly, he remembered where Kari was.
"Tai, wait I know where she is!"
"What?! Where?!"
"This way! Follow me; quickly!"
He ran to Kari's classroom and grabbed the steel knob on the door which lead to the room. He twisted and shook it with all his might but it was locked tight.
"Tai, it won't budge!"
TK screamed and pounded the door ferociously but nobody inside took notice due to the overwhelming sound of the alarm blaring in their ears and the bloodcurdling cries that shot across the classrooms. He could hear desks being toppled, kids getting knocked unconscious with falling desks and tiles, and everyone yelling at each other in the process.
"They can't hear us in there, Tai, it's hopeless!" He aimlessly screamed again for her to hear him. "KARIIII!"
"No, TK. It's not."
Tai approached the massive classroom door seething with determination and with one roundhouse kick broke it right off its hinges. TK's eyes widened in disbelief for a moment at the sheer power his friend possessed. No one else TK knew could have broken down that door, not even Matt.
The door flew swiftly off its hinges and came crashing down into two desks which crippled under its weight.
Kari gasped when she saw the door come down from across the room. But all it took was one glance at her brother and TK standing in the doorway to come to the dreaded realization of what was going on.
"Oh no.." she mouthed to herself and ran up to them, not even taking the time to grab her belongings; she knew she wouldn't need them where they were going.
Davis, who was in Kari's class, wasn't too quick to catch on, however, and came running only because Kari left the room.
"KARI" he whined, "Where are you goinggg!?"
The trio ignored Davis and kept running as fast as they could through the school. As the others kept moving only Tai stopped when they leapt ignorantly over the stale bodies of two security guards, buried under a tomb of rubble which fell from the ceiling. They looked more like corpses than living bodies, and Tai figured they were the security that the greeter had sent after him before the entire school went into chaos.
"Tai, what's wrong we need to get Kari out of here!" Cried TK as he spun around, evading a heaving ceiling panel.
"Shut up TG," Davis screamed, "*WE'RE* not getting Kari out of here! I AM!"
"Davis, YOU SHUT UP!" Kari scolded in the defense of TK.
"ALL OF YOU BE QUIET!" Tai yelled over them.
"TK," he said, "Get everyone to the main entrance, the security door has been, errr, unlocked." Tai winced as he recalled his fight with the greeter, and how he had broken the school security door right down. "These men could die if I leave them here, it's my responsibility to help them to safety. They wouldn't be in this situation if it wasn't for me!"
Kari became very concerned, "Tai, but the same could happen to you if we all don't get out of this building now!"
Davis ran over to him, "Yeah! Tai, let me help you!"
"NO!" Tai roared as he stood up and knocked Davis to the ground. He was always getting in the way of everything. Even after his adventures in the Digital World, Davis was as headstrong as always.
Davis tumbled and fell upon his back. His eyes began to swell as he cowered beneath the image of his mentor. Tai was very rarely so serious, but when he was, everyone around knew not to question him. Only Matt had the guts to say anything if he disagreed. Though even Matt had to summon all his bravery to challenge the Child of Courage. Tai could be truly terrifying when he was in this hostile state.
Tai turned his back to the younger kids.
"Go..."
As Davis and Kari scurried down the staircase, TK looked at Tai admirably for a moment. Tai was rough around the edges, but his heart was truly there, though it didn't always show. A small smile grew upon his face as he chased after the others before Tai could notice him standing there.
"KARI, this way!" Davis hollered as they fled down the stairs.
"Davis, the exit to the school is this way!" she cried. "You're going the wrong way!"
Davis knew that. He just didn't care. He just wanted to get away from TK so he could look like the hero. He knew his judgement was completely off, Kari or himself could get severely hurt... Or worse. But the mere thought of Kari being rescued by stupid TK clouded his judgement. In his mind it was completely worth the risk. And besides, they had been through worse than this... Hadn't they?
"No! I know a shortcut! Let's go!"
Kari looked behind her one more time, unsure of his decision. She let go of her fear though and ran after him.
Davis ran in a senseless direction. He made endless twists and turns, knowing still that the longer he took to get them out of there the more likely it was that they wouldn't make it out at all. The smoke that clogged the air made the running unbearable; not only could he not see, but even simply breathing became progressively more of a challenge. After minutes of running around the labyrinth, he turned around. Kari was nowhere in sight.
He was alone.
He was in complete vertigo, Kari was lost, smoke and debris were everywhere, conflagrations blazed at all sides. In sheer panic, he looked around frantically and sprinted in every direction. But his efforts were in vain and he found himself cornered by blazing fires. Davis clawed furiously at the flames that engulfed him and collapsed as he ran into a brick wall. Tears of desperation formed a river upon his face; there was no way out! He felt his head pulse intensely with blood and his skin began to burn. He screamed for help but it was hopeless under the power of the alarm.
He saw his complexion begin to turn charred and the pain was so intense that his brain could not even register it on a sane level. His flesh corroded and steamed before his eyes, mutating and spewing his blood across the floor. Was this it? After all his perilous adventures in the digital world, would his demise would be in this burning school? In one final breath he rose his head high and cried one last time, but a hand suddenly grabbed his own, and he felt his body being flung from the flames.
"Tai...?"
But then everything went black.
"Oh God, Davis Please wake up! PLEASE wake up!"
Kari's sweet voice rang through his head, purging itself through the despair he felt.
"Tai, come here! He's up! He's up!"
Davis' eyes were sprinkled with stars. He was eternally grateful that Tai had saved him and that Kari was unharmed. He spoke very weakly as he saw Tai kneel down next to him.
"Tai... You saved me... Thank you."
Tai smiled as he pushed Davis' brown hair off of his forehead,
"I'm not the one you have to thank, Davis."
Davis' stomach dropped. His entire body felt as if it was submerged in a vat of smoldering magma. It couldn't have been Kari that carried him all that way. His plan backfired completely. He ended up being the damsel in distress, looking like a complete wuss right in front of Kari. Not only did his stupid plan almost kill him, but TK was now a bigger hero than ever. He saw TK stand up a few feet away from him, completely avoiding eye contact. Davis forced out the most sincere "Thank you" possible, when really he wanted to wring the stupid blondie's neck.
"T-thanks TK," he stammered.
"Yeah, no problem Davis."
'Shoot,' Davis thought; 'TK saw right through that fake apology. There was no way he didn't, that look he gave me...' Davis cringed at the mere thought of it. But he ignored his own personal thoughts to pay attention to what the others were saying; he would redeem himself, and nothing would stop him from doing so.
"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOTHING HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED YET?!" Kari was definitely losing it, which was a rare and terrifying sight indeed.
"Look," Tai said sincerely, "I know it sounds crazy but I've had the feeling with me all day. Also, I got this crazy text from Mimi."
"Tai, TK and I got that too," Kari responded, "But it's probably nothing! You literally just blew up the middle school because of a stupid text! Do you realize what you've done?!"
"Kari, you don't understa-"
"What don't I understand Tai?! That now, because of you, people are hurt and an entire building is destroyed?! You don't think these things through, you never do!"
Davis gulped; this was gonna get ugly. Tai looked like he was ready to tear Kari apart, until TK stepped in.
Tai wanted to tell them what happened that morning with his crest, but the words refused to come out. He didn't exactly know why, but his instincts told him that it wasn't the right time to let them know that his crest itself had been acting strange.
"Kari, it wasn't Tai's fault that the building began to fall apart," said TK determinately.
"That's right!" Tai exclaimed. But then his face darkened for a moment. "Wait... It wasn't?"
"No, Tai. Not directly anyway. You did trigger the alarm and the lockdown, but while I was running around looking for Davis and Kari, I saw something interesting. There were fuses lying next to the central furnace, which was what caused the entire building to enter a meltdown! Somebody cut some type of power cord or power line which caused the fuses, and hence, the entire furnace to explode! I saw the cuts through the cords myself, it was sabotage!"
Tai and Davis simultaneously felt a spark ignite within them.
"SOMEONE TRIED TO HAVE US KILLED!" they screamed in unison.
TK responded emotionlessly. "Exactly; so you see, Kari, Tai's instincts were spot on. It's a good thing he came when he did, or who knows what would've happened!"
"You're right TK, I'm sorry" Kari said apologetically.
Tai made a rude gesture behind Kari's back when he didn't get an apology from her. However, Kari quickly realized her error.
"And Tai, I'm sorry I doubted you, I should've known better."
'There ya go, Kar,' he thought to himself. She finally calmed down and started to act like herself again.
"Don't worry about it Kari, I'm just glad that everyone is okay. Still it doesn't answer two of my questions; 1: Who tried to kill us and 2: We still don't know what was up with Mimi's text!"
"Hey," Davis interrupted, "I just realized that I never got that message from Mimi," Davis responded.
"Does Mimi have your number?" Kari questioned.
"I'm not sure, but I know for certain that she has Yolei's number and Yolei just texted me that she never received it as well. Neither did Cody or Ken. While you all were fighting just a second ago I sent them all a message asking about it. So it seems that only the original Digidestined are receiving Mimi's text..."
"Maybe," Kari replied, "But we only know that me, Tai, and TK received the message. The others we haven't heard from yet."
"Wait, I just got a text from Izzy," Tai exclaimed, "It's a forward of the same message Mimi sent to us! He's asking if I know what it's about!"
"That means that he got the text too!" TK exclaimed, "This is too much to be just a coincidence. There's gotta be some meaning behind all this..." TK looked up at the sky, as if waiting for some answer to reveal itself. They were stuck in the middle of a rock and a hard place; no one seemed to know what to do.
Tai stood up valiantly, the sun blazing behind his silhouette. His words rang with confidence; he knew exactly what needed to be done.
"We need to reunite the Digidestined. I know in my heart that there really is a threat to both worlds, and we've been called upon once again." Tai looked down at the younger kids beside him, "I don't know what will be waiting for us out there, but this may be our greatest challenge yet. Are you guys okay with going back?"
"If you're going Tai, then so are we!" Kari walked up to her big brother and gave him a hug. She looked up into his deep brown eyes, "Wherever you go, I'll be by your side. I won't let you down." They both looked across the empty fields of their schoolyard. Though their world was plunging again into darkness, at this moment everything felt alright. A gentle breeze carried the cool spring air across the empty fields while the blades of grass reflected the glimmer of the beating Middle School smoke resided behind them, out of sight, out of mind. Clouds broke into a cerulean sky in front of them, casting a serene light upon the earth. Everything would be okay.
Tai abruptly broke Kari's embrace with a quick jerk.
"I forgot! I was supposed to meet Sora at the soccer fields; we were gonna get ice cream today!"
TK felt a surge of irritation sweep over him and smacked face into his palm.
"Tai... Don't you think there are better times to be going for ice cream...:?" He asked rhetorically.
"TK, I wasn't planning on going for ice cream, don't be stupid. We need to know if Sora is involved in all of this as well."
"Then what are you guys standing around for?!" Davis hollered, "You need to get going quick and figure this thing out!"
"But Davis we can't just leave you he-"
"Yes you can! he interrupted, "You have to..."
"But what abo-"
"I'll be fine, Kari... I promise. There's no point in letting me slow you guys down. There's just one thing..."
"Tell me Davis, anything at all."
Kari knelt down next to Davis and put her hand on his chest. Her simple touch gave Davis the strength to pick his head up and gaze into her beautiful eyes, one last time.
"Kari... I know that this problem is out of my hands, and I have a strong feeling that you'll be returning to the Digital World very soon. I know that I may not see you again for a long time... Maybe never again..."
He averted his gaze to the horizon and gulped down his pride. He had to be willing to sacrifice his own desires for the good of the team and not delay them anymore.
"Kari..."
He had to do what Tai would do, even if it meant losing Kari. It wasn't just about him anymore; it was about the world.
"Please...Don't forget me..."
"We need to hurry up," Tai called out behind him, "It's no telling when we'll need to be ready for whatever Mimi was talking about!"
TK and Kari struggled to keep in range of Tai, who was sprinting swiftly across the fields, racing against the winds. Mid-run he spun around, "C'mon guys! We don't have time to rest!"
"Grab onto me Kari," TK said gently.
A quick glance into his welcoming eyes was all she needed to fall under his spell. She grabbed his soft hand tight and used his strength to carry on.
The trio moved from the middle school grounds up to the high school. The stadium soccer field was in sight now, standing high above the flat grass fields. A lone figure stood outside the entrance gate, her hair swaying in the wind. She called out to the others, "Tai?! And..." She squinted into the distance, "Kari? TK?!"
Tai's face lit up when he saw her, "Sora! Sor-," His expression transformed into one of sheer terror. His eyes screamed at their slowly impending doom, and his life turned into a blur. Mimi's message flashed back into his mind and finally it all made sense. Tai sprinted harder than ever before towards Sora, his feet tearing apart the frozen earth. He shrieked at the top of his lungs as he dived at her stunned body, "GET DOWN!"
She heard it before she saw it. Sora, bewildered, spun around to her imminent death. Her eyes closed and she opened her mouth to scream with her final breath.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH-!"
Tai's crippling force flung her down, slamming her face into the cruel ground as steel projectiles whizzed past her hairline. Her body was paralyzed under his, and she could feel her bones still trembling from the impact. Everything around her was in complete vertigo. A jet airplane had just grazed the top of the arena, sending bleachers and metal debris firing down like meteors to the Earth. Sparks erupted from the stands above their head as she turned the other direction only to see the field being set ablaze from the heat pouring out of the plane's exhaust. Sonic booms razed her ears as the jet turbines screamed to keep the plane elevated, creating sounds of which felt like tremors shooting through her skull.
"AAAAHH!" She howled in pain again and clawed maniacally at the boy on top of her. Tears flew out of her eyes and she screeched with all the air she had until her face turned deathly red. His powerful hand pulled her abruptly to her feet, bringing her close to his warm body as she almost lost her balance. She trembled furiously beneath his arms but clung onto them for dear life. She looked around her and saw pure devastation; bleachers and stadium fences littered across the schoolyard; smoke from the plane engines rapidly devouring any clean air in sight. Another crash erupted by the school building as the tail-end of the jet smashed into the structure. Wails and piercing cries rang from the direction. Bricks from the structure sent heaves of soil firing upward in every direction as they imploded into the ground. Sora felt herself being pushed suddenly to the ground once again in order to evade the meteor shower of soaring projectiles. She tumbled violently across the dirt as if she was swamped by a tidal wave, losing all sense of direction.
"SORA OVER HERE!"
Blinded, she scurried in the direction of the voice, sputtering up blood as she gagged under the suppression of the smoke. She crawled psychotically across the earth, dragging her face through dirt and filth as she stumbled and tripped through the chaos that surrounded her.
"STOP! STOP!" she heard a voice yell as she collided with the speaker. She felt two warm arms sweep her off her feet and off the ground. They caressed her skin with gentleness and security, and at that moment there wasn't a place in the world she'd rather be.
"You're safe now! You're okay! Thank God you're okay!"
Dazed still, Tai's voice fell from a yell to a soft whisper beneath the chaos. At this point, Sora felt as if she was dreaming, but she glanced back at the plane. It rolled across the school fields and looked like it was ready to take off again. She looked upon her carrier one last time; "Tai..?"
And then she drifted away in his arms. Tai shook furiously from the adrenaline pulsing through his veins. In the distance he saw the entrance gate to the plane lower to the ground and a blurry pink figure run down the ramp and towards the school. 'It couldn't be... Mimi?'
Suddenly Tai felt his crest tingle on his chest. A memory sparked in his mind, an image from his past. He now remembered what he couldn't recollect earlier that day, what Gennai had told him about balance. It seemed like just yesterday, he was only 12 years old and still knew little about the digital world even though he had already embarked on his own adventure.
Gennai spoke to him after the defeat of Apocalymon, "In the digital and human worlds, when one force, of light or of darkness, becomes too strong, the other will rise up to gain power once again."
"But Gennai," he asked, "Does that mean that we were...?"
"Yes... You kids were called to save our worlds because a great darkness was rising, sending both worlds into chaos. You were the rising light that brought balance back to our worlds, as all of the digidestined are. And you will be called upon once again if we are threatened in the future."
It was clear to Tai now... But this time he was sure that it wasn't an overpowering darkness that threatened their worlds... It was the light.
.
.
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WOOOHOOO - So that's it everyone! Chapter 1 is done! If you have any questions about what's going on PM me and I'll be happy to tell you. Just a recap on the events (since this may have been slightly hard to follow) After Tai and Sora talked outside the school- Tai ran to the middle school- wreaked havoc in there and got TK Kari and Davis out- Somebody blew up the furnace and tried to kill them all in the school- They ran back to the High School to find Sora- A crazy jetplane crashed through the stadium and onto the fields, which was the meaning of Mimi's text!
The beginning of the next chapter will reveal a lot more stuff to you guys on all the madness that's going on, this chapter was a bumpy ride!
Anyway, thank you so much for reading, please rate, review, follow the story, PM me, etc. Any feedback at all is great!
Until next time, thank you for reading!
~Ty