Disclaimer: Digimon is an entertainment franchise jointly owned by Toei Animation, Bandai, and created by Akiyoshi Hongo. In The Shadow of Light is a fanfiction idea imagined and created by yours truly, Ace Spiritwell. Please respect and support the official properties.
Author's Note: This is my first fanfiction in a long time and I'm not the best at spelling or grammar. I'd like to thank TheSenesX for proof reading this story and leonardo1123581321 for lots of encouragement thought out this entire year （＾ω＾） I hope you enjoy the story!
Chapter 1: The Present
Heroes are viewed as people who face the evil that threatens to destroy the life and peace of the world. They go on tremendous journeys, facing and conquering their own doubts and greatest fears, ultimately defeating the wicked of the world and bring back the peace. They are selfless, compassionate, brave and smart. They overcome the evil and rise to the top. Everyone wants to be a hero, to help the ones in need, contribute to society and keep everyone safe so we can all sleep at night.
Villains, on the other hand, are the corrupt ones of the world. They destroy cities, take countless lives and spread fear among us. Plotting to kill the Hero, challenging the Hero in their journey with daunting trials of doubt and fear, putting innocent lives in danger and kidnapping the damsel in distress. Villains are without a doubt selfish, arrogant, cunning and cruel people. Taking what they desire and leaving others without, people will always cheer as the Villain is defeated and imprisoned for the damage they have caused.
How do we distinguish the heroes from the villains?
Can the hero become the villain?
Can the villain become the hero?
Do they both pay for their actions?
Or do the lines blur?
Life is not black and white, much like the roles of a hero and a villain. A hero can take as many lives as the villain, and still never be charged. The villain; however, always faces judgement, is charged and punished for their actions. The reasoning for a villain's actions is sometimes unknown, and other times, no one cares what their reasoning is. The villain could be trying to protect their loved ones or save someone else; but no one would understand what lengths they've gone to, to make that possible.
The hero's actions could be for fame and fortune, public gratitude, or for their own personal benefit. The hero could potentially manipulate those around them to falsely believe the villain is the blame. The villain could be innocent, never having hurt a soul, but the hero's lies and false testimony can condemn the villain to imprisonment or execution.
What about the ones who are forced into the hero's role?
Then everything they love and treasure is taken away?
What effects do the actions of our society have on those who fight for us?
What happens to them when they become useless to us and discarded?
But what happens when you lose all control?
"Hey, Agumon? Why is it so dark?" Tai asked his partner as he looked at the ash grey clouds that filled the sky, blocking out any sunlight. Agumon looked up at the clouds and smiled at Tai.
"Well, it's still early in the morning, maybe the sun is sleeping," Tai raised an eyebrow at his partner and shook his head. Amused by his partner's dazed state, Tai let out a laugh.
"Don't think so buddy, it's mid-afternoon. Do you think it has to do with the darkness that Gennai told me about?"
The hot winds blew around the two as they started to trek down the hills of the Digital World. The sizzling sand blew up from the grounds and into the eyes of the pair. Tai covered his eyes with his sleeve, wishing he had the goggles that he gave to Davis.
Tai thought back to his earlier conversation with Gennai before coming to the Digital World. Digimon have been going missing, Rookies through to Megas had all been disappearing over the last three months. A new dark force had awakened and appeared to be gathering allies. The readings on this new dark force suggested that when it first appeared, was the same time the disappearances began.
Gennai had also told Tai how the gates to the Digital World had opened again after being closed for nearly one and a half years. Whilst he had always planned on going back, this wasn't quite the reason he was looking for. Nevertheless, Tai had decided to go check things out, and met Agumon, before the pair had made their way to a village on the Continent of Server.
The village had welcomed Tai and Agumon as heroes. Tai had recognised the village as the village of Koromon that he met back in his first adventure. They were celebrating the festival of the Sun and asked Tai and Agumon to stay. Agumon had joined in on the celebrations whilst Tai had started to ask the Koromons about the disappearances that had been happening. The Elder Koromon asked to talk to Tai alone and explained that they had celebrated the Sun festival for years and that the celebration went on for a week before ending on the 19th of the fifth month with a huge feast. Tai couldn't help but laugh.
At least someone was celebrating on his birthday.
The Elder Koromon then explained that a weapon of old had resurfaced. The weapon belonged to one of the first Digimon who fought for the freedom and peace of all in the first war of Light and Dark. This Digimon wasn't on either side and wanted the fighting to end. Upon asking the Elder what type of weapon it could be, Tai received a less than helpful answer of, 'no one knows'. Tai really didn't understand why the hell he was receiving a history lecture, although he had brought on himself, and he had yet to find a reason as to why the Elder was even telling him about this weapon. Turns out, the Elder simply believed that Tai could find the weapon and keep it from ending up in the wrong hands. Tai had let out an exasperated sigh due to the lack of information they were walking away with but had thanked the Elder for his time.
"Tai! You're going the wrong way," Agumon shouted at his best friend. Tai blinked twice, shaking his head as he emerged from his memories. He looked over, seeing Agumon behind him, whilst he had walked on ahead veering off to the left whilst lost in thought. The wind howled around him, as Tai looked at his friend. He smiled and ran over to Agumon, who smiled back as they continued to walk together.
"Right, sorry Agumon, I guess I got carried away." Agumon looked hard at Tai like he was trying to find something. Suddenly Agumon's eyes lit up and a big grin spread across his face.
"Thinking about your birthday Tai?" He asked. Tai couldn't help himself as a sweat drop appeared on his head. He then let out a laugh and shook his head.
"Not really, my birthday isn't for another week. Besides, I have more important things to worry about, like how on earth I'm going to find 'this mysterious weapon", making quotation marks in the air. "That the Elder Koromon so kindly lectured and entrusted me to protect."
"Well, that's elders for ya."
"I mean, seriously, how am I supposed to find something when I have no clue as to what it looks like?"
"I think you're letting your attention be split up more than it needs to. Didn't the Elder tell you that you'll know it when you see it?"
"Yeah but…"
"So don't worry about it. It'll come when it does, and for now, we can focus on the missing Digimon." Agumon left no room for arguments, and Tai found himself taking comfort in his partner's reasoning. At least now, they had a plan; find out what happened to the missing Digimon, and wait for the weapon to supposedly appear in front of him. It wasn't a great plan, but Tai felt reassured knowing at least they had something to go on. Agumon led the way through the sandy terrain, and Tai smiled, following his partner. They trekked on for a while until Tai stopped and raised an eyebrow at Agumon.
"Say, you said I was headed in the wrong direction before and you don't have the slightest clue where the weapon is, nor do you know anything about the missing digimon, so where on Earth are we going?" He asked his partner. Agumon looked at him and gave his signature grin.
"Firstly, we're not on Earth, and secondly, I heard of a really good place to get noodles so I wanted to try it out." Tai looked at Agumon in silence for a few seconds, letting his response soak in…
Then he faced palmed.
"Seriously, is food the only thing on your mind?"
"Hey! I haven't eaten since the party last night, and we left early this morning so I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast!" Agumon's somewhat defensive response proved that food was not a matter to be messed with.
Tai let out a sigh. He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a snack of some kind….it didn't really look edible.
"If you would like something to eat, feel free to have the liver sticks that Mum made." Agumon smiled at Tai, and grabbing the sticks he dug in. He held one out to Tai, but Tai politely refused with a nervous laugh, saying that Agumon could eat them all. Agumon shrugged.
"More for me," he said, continuing to eat.
'He's the only one who would willingly eat Mum's cooking,' Tai thought shaking his head.
As the two continued walking, Tai felt a pull to his right. Looking over, he saw the outline of an object in the distance. The pull towards this object grew stronger with every step Tai took. Spotting Tai walk off to the right, Agumon called out to Tai in annoyance; probably thinking Tai was abandoning their quest for noodles again.
"Tai! You're going the wrong way. The noodle shop is this way!" He whined to his retreating friend whilst pointing in the opposite direction.
Tai didn't answer and gestured for Agumon to follow him with his hand. The sand began to pick up, wind blowing in their faces as Tai and Agumon walked closer to the object. The object was still difficult to see in the far distance. The sky appeared inky-black, and Tai continued to journey towards the mysterious object in the distance.
"TAI! WE NEED TO PULL BACK! THE STORM IS GETTING WORSE!" Agumon yelled at the top of his lungs, the wind carrying his voice to Tai. Hesitating, the teenage boy looked back at his friend. Turning around he began walking towards the calmer skies where Agumon waited, but the object called to him. Feeling the pull at his back, it was too strong for Tai to ignore.
"I NEED TO CHECK OUT WHAT'S OVER HERE!" Tai yelled, not realising that his reasoning to checking out the object was lost in the loud winds around them.
"LET'S NOT! ANYWAY, IT'S TOO DANGEROUS FOR US TO CONTINUE HEADING THIS WAY. WE NEED TO MOVE ON!"
"I CAN'T!"
"TRY! ALL I'M GETTING IS SAND IN MY MOUTH AND I WANTED NOODLES!"
"AGUMON!" The rookie Digimon flinched at the way Tai said his name. Tai rarely used the leader-tone with the group, but when he did they all had a hard time saying no. Agumon ran to his partner's side, covering his eyes with his arm. As the duo got closer, the object they had been seeking finally stood before them, bringing them to an abrupt halt. It was clear that the object was a temple. Looking at each other, Tai and Agumon broke into a sprint and entered the temple, trying to get out of the storm. They leaned against the walls of the entrance of the temple to catch their breath and, in Agumon's case, to remove the sand in their mouth.
"Well… at least we're out of the storm," Agumon stated dryly. Tai looked around the entrance of the ivory coloured temple, Pillars lined the open entrance to the temple, covered in DigiCode that he couldn't read. Broken benches lined the walls but they weren't stable enough to sit on. Tai looked down into a dark hallway, still feeling a magnetic pull to go further inside.
Seeing Agumon plop to the ground, Tai said, "let's rest for a bit" then sat down next to Agumon, felling the uneven floor that was caused by many feet that entered the temple.
Turning to glare at Tai, Agumon first salty words were, "Still upset about those noodles. What was so important about coming here? We could be eating at this very moment!"
Tai smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head, making a mental note that he owed Agumon noodles.
"Sorry buddy, I…um.." Tai thought back to the pulling sensation he had but didn't know how to describe what he was feeling. "Do you remember the slight pull you and I got when we first found the Crest of Courage?"
"Yeah, we're connected to the Crest of Courage so it was calling out to us." Agumon tilted his head to the side, scratching his head with a claw.
"Well I felt a pull just like that, but it was stronger. I can still feel it, coming from that direction," Tai said, pointing to a passage that led deeper into the temple.
Agumon nodded, "Why didn't you tell me this before? I would have been happy to follow you without you giving me an order. I would have said we could skip the noodles."
"I gave you an order?" Tai said looking confused.
"Yep! You used your 'Leader-tone' with me. Me of all Mon!"
"Sorry buddy." Tai leant down, giving Agumon a hug. Agumon put his arms around Tai's neck, and when Tai pulled away, he felt an extra weight around his neck. Looking down, he saw a small pendant which now hung around his neck. It was made from brown string and was tied in a macramé style. In a little pouch at the bottom was a gemstone, black with flecks bits of red in it. Tai admired the pendant, amazed by the craftsmanship.
"It's…beautiful. W-why did you put it around my neck?" Tai said looking Agumon in the eyes, before noticing Agumon also had a pendant around his neck, identical to his own.
"It's Bloodstone. Gatomon and I travelled through a village market, she was helping me find a birthday present. We came across a shop that was selling gemstones and I saw that one. I asked the shopkeeper what it was, and she explained what the stone was to me. It represents purification, vitality and courage. I bought two straight away, and Gatomon suggested I make them into necklaces, so I took a class in macramé. The Digimon in charge was really nice and helped me make them. I was going to wait a week, but I get the feeling you should have it now," Agumon said, finishing his story.
Tai couldn't help but smile, holding the pendant. He knew it was going to be important to him and pulled Agumon in for another hug.
"Thanks Agumon! It's the best present ever. I'll treasure it forever." The two pulled away from their embrace, and smiled at each other, holding their pendants in their hands.
"Happy 16th Birthday Tai"
"Uh! This corridor is going on forever,"
"Just a little more Agumon, I can feel it,"
The footsteps of the two echoed throughout the temple as they exited the dark, narrow, uneven hallway into a musty smelling room, the only light coming from the torch that Tai was carrying. Tai and Agumon looked around the room in amazement.
Pillars circled the rounded room. A tattered tapestry and banners hung from the walls, lightly blowing in the wind coming through the cracks of the rough, stone walls. Sand filled the room, and the dusty are made the pair of friends coughed as they lit up the torches that were around the room. The storm could still be heard from outside.
"Wow, this place has been abandoned for years," Tai stated as he looked at the tapestry on the left side of the room. He held his torch to the artwork embroidered onto the fabric, the flame flickers as Tai could make out, what he guessed was a description of a battle that happened a long time ago.
"Izzy would've loved this place," Tai chuckled to himself. His smile left his face as he thought of his closest human friend. It had been a while since he'd hung out with Izzy. He was always too busy on his computer doing something and Tai respected that. But it wouldn't be too bad if Izzy could leave his computer to hang out.
Tai shook his head as he continued to look around the room. He saw more DigiCode written on the pillars like the ones on the hallways and in the entrance. Tai pulled out his phone and tried to take a picture of the code for Izzy but growled in frustration as his phone refused to turn on.
"Hey Tai?" Agumon called out. Tai looked over to see Agumon had made his way to the centre of the room, on a raised platform with a plinth in the centre of it. Making his way over to his partner he saw why Agumon had called him. The plinth was decorated with the eight crests that he and his friends owned. What was buried within the plinth was a longsword. Tai could feel the pull stronger than before. His eyes locked on to it.
"I think we found the weapon that the Elder Koromon was telling you about, why didn't he say it was a sword?" Agumon looked over to his friend with a raised "eyebrow."
"He said that no one knew what it was, the better question is why is the sword calling to me?" Agumon could help but chuckle.
"Who knows, maybe it's your destiny to pull the sword from the stone," Agumon said in a teasing matter smiling a goofy grin, Tai caught on and gave a big, goofy grin back.
"Who am I? King Arthur?"
"Probably! If that's so then I must be Merlin the Wise,"
"Ha, more like Merlin the Gluttony,"
"Hey! Just pull out the damn sword,"
Both of the boys started to laugh as Tai walked up to the plinth. His grin faded as he looked at the sword, he could have sworn that the sword was telling him to pick it up. He reached out his hand towards the handle. His finger barely touched the handle when a blast came out of the sword. The torches blew out as both Agumon and Tai were blasted towards the back wall, coursing some rubble to fall. Agumon pushed Tai out of the way of the rubble and the two coughed as dust and sand was kicked up in the air.
"What was that?" Agumon asked, awe present in his voice.
"I don't know," Tai whispered as he looked at the sword. It started to glow a warm orange, the same as his crest. The light was bright enough to chase away the darkness within the room.
Agumon came up and whacked Tai on his back and Tai looked at his friend, cross.
"Ow! What has that for?" Tai yelped, rubbing the back on his head.
"For almost getting us crushed," Agumon started, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.
"You said for me to touch the swor…" A humming noise stopped Tai in his tracks as he looked back at the sword. The warm orange glow had taken over the sword and it started to change shape. The two marvelled at the sword as the orange glow went away and the long sword was gone. A chokutō had taken its place.
"Wow, it just changed shape," Agumon walked over to it to get a closer look.
Down the blade, he could see DigiCode engraved in gold. The grip was wrapped in a beautiful burnt orange fabric with black diamonds decorating the grip. The guard and pommel were gold. The pommel itself was shaped into the crest of courage.
"...I think the sword belongs to you now Tai, It has the crest of Courage."
Tai walked over to the sword and looked it over.
"It would also explain the pull you were feeling, the sword was calling out to you."
Tai was in awe, he never had a sword up close before... besides the ones that Piedmon tried to kill him with, but they don't count.
So many questions flowed through his mind. Why me? What does the sword want with him? Why did it change shape? What was that blast? Does Gennai know about this? What should he do? Will it help him with the new evil that is threatening the Digital World?
Tai goes to pull out the chokutō again but stopped when he heard the echo of footsteps fill the room. Both Agumon and himself turned to the entrance to see a priestess digimon walk out of the shadows. Tai's eyes widen, he's never seen a digimon so beautiful before...Ok, Lilymon was a very pretty digimon, not that the two had anything on Sora.
Tai shook his head to get the image of Sora out of his head before turning his attention back to the digimon in front of him.
"Hello, I'm Tai and this is Agumon, who are you?" Tai asked politely, giving a warm smile. The digimon didn't reply, she placed a finger on her chin, her right hand, encased in a golden gauntlet, supported her left arm as she tapped her cheek.
Tai felt himself go stiff as the digimon looked at him with piercing blue eyes. The light danced around her face, showing her pale skin, highlighted by the purple makeup she was wearing along with a familiar mark on the digimon's forehead. The delicate air about her suggested something other than sweetness.
"My, my, You've grown up cute," The digimon said in a seductive, yet calm voice. Tai gave an uneasy smile as he rocked from side to side.
"Um, Thanks..."
"Lilithmon. I'm Lilithmon, gorgeous," The digimon, Lilithmon said. Her purple robes draped around her body, which was being shown off by the tight leather suit she was wearing underneath. Tai shifted from side to side, feeling unease. Sure, he had been asked out by other girls at his school, but he'd never really felt comfortable about it. He had tried to go out on dates with them but he always apologised to them, saying that he wasn't interested. They always understood, saying the girl who had his heart was very lucky.
"So, what brings someone like you out here?" Lilithmon asked, her voice echoing off the walls.
"I'm sorry, I can't really tell you," Tai replied, his eyes locked onto Lilithmon, hoping that she didn't know about the sword next to him. Tai wanted to grab the sword and leave but he didn't want to provoke Lilithmon to attack them.
Lilithmon's hand dropped from her chin down so her arms were folded. "Aw, that's a shame." She watched Tai as he stood in front of Agumon, not removing his gaze from her. Tai waited for her to continue her but he was meet with silents.
"Um, so what kind of digimon are you?" Tai asked. "Do you live around here or something?"
"I can't tell you that." She giggled.
Tai paused. A cool breeze brushed against his cheek. "Why not?"
She swayed on her feet and her mouth remained shut in a sharp smile.
"I think I want you by my side," Lilithmon said. The temperature of the room dropped several degrees colder than a desert should be around this time of day. Tai could see his breath. He started to push Agumon towards the entrance to the room behind them.
"I'm sorry, I don't think you're my type, anyway my heart belongs to someone else...And I'm not a digimon anyway," Tai apologized politely and kept pushing Agumon towards the exit. He was getting a bad feeling off Lilithmon and he knew Agumon could also feel it. He wasn't sure what was with her but he didn't want to find out.
"Heh heh, That wasn't a request," Lilithmon shot some kind of black shards towards the pair. Tai immediately pushed Agumon out of the way.
"AGUMON! LOOK OUT!" Tai was hit in the centre of his chest and was thrown into the opposite wall to them and was knocked out. Agumon ran over to Tai as fast as he could.
"TAI!"
Everything moved in slow motion for Agumon. He could only look on in horror.
"TAI!" He shouted as he ran to his partner's side. Agumon put a claw to his forehead and felt Tai's temperature drop. Removing his claw he saw crimson liquid on it, slightly pixelated.
'This isn't good. I need to get him back to the Human World and to Joe, he can help.' Agumon looked over Tai to see if there were any more injuries. When he saw none he felt relieved, then anger washed over him. He looked over to Lilithmon who was giggling to herself.
"He's an interesting one, I've never met someone who hasn't fallen for my charm before," Lilithmon stated, looking down at Tai's unconscious form.
"WHAT THE HELL! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" Agumon yelled at her, his rage boiling up inside of him. Not just at Lilithmon but himself as well, he's Tai's partner, he should have been the one to get hit.
Agumon looking into Lilithmon's eyes, he had expected them to look cruel and cold but there was something else. He couldn't place it but the look seemed familiar. Her eyes didn't change as a smile twisted upon her cheeks. She gave off an air of superiority and it sent a shiver down Agumon's spine.
Agumon stood up straight and spread his arms in front of Tai. In response to his actions, Lilithmon gave a small chuckle while shaking her head.
"If you give him to me, I won't hurt you and you can leave here without any hassle," Lilithmon offered with a calm voice, her left hand reaching out to grab Tai. Agumon just growled at her. He felt courage built up in him and started to feel stronger.
"Over my dead body!"
The Digivice on Tai's belt started to go off. A bright light came from it and Lilithmon covered her face and backed away from the light, hissing at it. Agumon felt Tai's courage, as well as his own, fill him up. The power kept on building and Agumon noticed that Tai's chest was glowing orange. He didn't realize that Tai could help him digivolve when unconscious.
"AGUMON! WARP DIGIVOLVE TO….WARGREYMON!"
As the light faded WarGreymon looked at himself a bit amazed. Tai managed to get him all the way to mega while unconscious. He was a little in awe. He looked over to Lilithmon, expecting her to be shocked, but instead, she looked amazed.
"Wow, you just went straight to mega. I shouldn't be surprised, he is a Digidestined after all," Lilithmon said in a hushed voice. WarGreymon was taken aback.
WarGreymon shook his head, without a second thought he scooped up Tai and flew up and out of the temple as fast as he could, breaking the ceiling in the process. The storm outside had stopped but the sky was still filled with harsh clouds. WarGreymon was grateful that the storm had calmed down, it made it easier to look around for a TV or any kind of portal he could use to get Tai out of here.
He looked down at his best friend and saw his face screwed up in pain and shivering. Whatever that digimon did had hurt Tai and had made him freezing cold. WarGreymon felt worry fill his system as he held Tai close to his body to keep him warm.
He flew for a while, seeing nothing but an ocean of sand. WarGreymon looked behind him to see if anyone was following them. When he saw no one he let out a sigh of relief.
"Nazar Nail!" A feminine voice yelled out. WarGreymon didn't have time to react as a gold gauntlet came down on his face. Screaming in pain, he fell from the sky and hit the ground hard. WarGreymon curled himself up to protect Tai from the fall. Looking up he sees Lilithmon in the air looking down on him.
"I don't want to fight you WarGreymon, but Tai belongs to me now, hand him over" Lilithmon ordered with a cold tone, looking at Tai with lustful eyes. WarGreymon couldn't help but growl at her.
"He's My partner! I'll never hand him over." He snarled at Lilithmon. The lady digimon gave a sigh and shook her head. Her face then turned into a sharp smile and looked down to him as if he was a bug.
"Fine, I guess you're my enemy." She chuckled, and with that, she launched at WarGreymon again.
WarGreymon dodged out of the way of some shards but a few struck him around the body. He took to the sky, his face was burning in pain, unable to stop with Lilithmon behind them. Lilithmon shot another attack for him to dodge again. The two weaved in and out of each other's reach at lightning speed. Sometimes Lilithmon's attacks would hit WarGreymon and he'd start to fall out of the sky only to recover and retreat further into the dusty terrain.
WarGreymon saw some greenery in the distance. If that greenery was trees, he could use them as coverage to hide where he and Tai were. It would also give time for WarGreymon to heal up before facing Lilithmon again.
As the green, lush, trees took over the landscape, WarGreymon used this opportunity to find a tree he could sit Tai in for a bit. He heard the snapping of branches and the cracking of rocks to know that the unwelcome opponent had arrived. He moved from tree to tree, trying to stay as quiet as possible, so not too alert Lilithmon to their position.
"Oh, WarGreymon~ come out, come out, wherever you are~" Lilithmon sang.
WarGreymon looked around to find which direction her voice was coming from as it echoed all around him. Walking backwards, he didn't realize the branch on the ground and stepped on it. A huge crack was heard throughout the thick forest.
"Found you," Lilithmon whispered into WarGreymon's ear.
He turned around only to be struck down. He groaned in pain and made a run for it. He couldn't fight back. If he did he'll have to put Tai down or in danger and he couldn't risk that.
A rumble in the sky was made and it started to pelt down. The ground became slippery and made it harder to run. WarGreymon scanned everywhere for one item he needed more than anything. Then out of the corner of his eye, he saw a TV. He couldn't help but smile. Finally, he and Tai could get some help. He made a beeline for it. He was so close. Then light blue shards hit WarGreymon in the back causing him to fall down. Tai fell out of his arms and rolled away.
Lilithmon looked at WarGreymon with annoyance as he stood in front of Tai. WarGreymon was about to intimidate her but his voice came out as rasped breaths. WarGreymon looked over to his unconscious partner to see him injured from the fight.
"WarGreymon, this will be your last chance. Hand over Tai and you'll live. I'll even make sure you live through everything that is coming." Lilithmon offered. WarGreymon just let out a growl.
Lilithmon shook her head in disappointment and muttered something about 'wasting a strong digimon' before giving a sharp smile. She launched an attack at the WarGreymon
"Phantom Pain!"
The attack hit WarGreymon in the chest and he cried out. His body was covered in a dark aura and he started to glitch. Tai's Digivice activated and the TV started to glow. WarGreymon fell backwards and the area was consumed by the light.
The sun was shining down on Odaiba during a warm, pleasant spring afternoon. Kids were leaving school and rushing to get home or to go to their club activities. Many students and parents alike walked in the streets talking about their day.
Kari was walking by herself towards her brother's school. While the Elementary and Middle Schools were combined due to the attacks from Myotismon, the High School was left separated due to the higher level of the schooling the students required.
Kari looked amongst the teens wearing the blue uniform, waiting to glimpse that familiar mess of brown hair. With her attention elsewhere, she walked straight into another student.
"Ah, I'm sorry," Kari said while bowing to show respect to the senior student. "I'm a little distracted."
"Kari? Is everything ok?"
Kari looked up at the familiar voice to see the blond keeper of friendship and her brothers best friend, Matt. A slight smile of relief filled her face.
"Matt! I'm so glad to see you. Have you seen Tai today?" Kari asked urgently.
A worried expression came across Matt's face. He took Kari's hand and walked her to the side of the gate so they were out of the way of the leaving students.
"No, he wasn't at school today. I thought he was unwell and stayed home." Matt was taken back as Kari looked to be on the verge of tears. He placed a hand on her back and started to rub it.
"What's happening? Is Tai ok?"
"I don't know! I've been trying to reach him all day! He won't answer his phone at all, no matter how many times I call him! I haven't seen him since yesterday morning!"
Kari's panicked voice made Matt rather upset at Tai. He always answered Kari's calls and if he missed them, he would call her back. Matt wanted to know what would make Tai think that it's ok to upset his younger sister? Matt pulled out his phone and dialled Tai's number. He waited for Tai to answer, but instead, the phone rang out and when to Tai's voice mail.
"This is Kamiya Taichi, I can't reach the phone right now, please leave a message and I'll call you back. Thank-you."
Tai's voice rang in Matt's ear before a beep. Matt hung up the phone and pocketed it. He looked down to Kari who was sitting against the wall of the school gate. He kneeled down and gave her a small but comforting smile.
"I'm going to go look for Sora. If someone would know where Tai could be, it's her. And if I can't find her, we'll go look for Izzy, ok?" Kari just nodded as she tried to call Tai again. Matt shook his head and ran back into the school.
He ran through the halls of the school searching for the red-headed bearer of Love. He looked in her classroom and the classrooms for the other classes, the cafeteria and the outside of the school. He managed to run into two of her friends that were separate from the Digidestined.
One of the girls refused to tell him where Sora was while the other said that Sora left early because her mother needed her to help with the flower shop. Matt thanked the two girls and ran back to Kari who was still trying to reach Tai via the phone.
Kari looked up as she heard Matt's footsteps and gave him a hopeful look as she searched for Sora. Matt felt like his heart was being stabbed with a hot knife when Kari's hopeful look faded from her face. He swallowed the lump in his throat and gave her another smile.
"Come on, don't give up hope. We'll go talk to Izzy and I'm sure he'll know what to do," Matt said encouragingly and helped Kari to her feet. Kari in return gave a small nod.
Matt let out a sigh and rubbed the back of his head.
'T.K., Davis and Tai are way better than me when it comes to getting other's hopes up,' he thought. He looked at Kari to see she was taking a deep breath.
"Sorry about that, I'm just worried," Kari said. "I'm just concerned with how Tai's been acting lately."
Matt raised an eyebrow. Had Tai been acting differently? He thought back to the last time he saw Tai. He remembered that Tai was feeling rather down about what happened at school earlier this week, nothing unexpected, but other than that he didn't really see anything wrong. What did he miss?
"Is he ok?" Matt asked in a sincere tone. Kari looked down at the flowers they were passing on the edge of the footpath and stopped walking. Matt looked over to her with concern. People walked all around them, acting like nothing was happening, just trying to get to where they needed to go. Kari looked over to Matt with a guilty expression.
"I don't know," Kari whispered.
"What do you mean?" Matt asked.
Kari started to walk again, taking over Matt. She hugged her arms as she let out a sigh. "Tai and I haven't really talked lately. So I don't really know what's going on."
Kari pulled out a rose gold locket around her neck. It was in the shape of the crest of light. Tai had it custom made for her birthday this year and she hadn't taken it off since. But she didn't tell Tai that. She opened it to a picture of her and Tai before they went to the Digital World that fateful summer.
"But he has been rather down and I think it's my fault."
Matt placed a supportive hand on her shoulder, trying his best to comfort the girl."I don't think that's true. Tai loves you. I doubt you're the problem."
Kari looked away from Matt.
The pair walked through the park that was blooming with life. The green trees swayed in the gentle breeze. The smell of freshly cut grass complemented the aroma of flowers that were scattered around the fields. The sound of laughter that came from the children playing around while parents chatted to one another while keeping an eye on their children. Matt and Kari saw a certain red-haired boy sitting on one of the benches, typing away on his trusty laptop. Hope filled Kari's heart as she ran over to the older boy.
"Izzy!" Kari yelled out.
Izzy looked up from his screen. "Hey guys. Have you seen Tai? I kind of reached a block in the new information I was going through about the code of the Digital World itself I discovered recently and decided to take a break and help Tai out with some homework he missed on Monday."
Panic ran through Kari's system as she heard those words. Her chest tightened, her breathing became uneven and tears started to fall down her cheeks. If Izzy didn't know where Tai was, who would? Izzy was Tai's closest friend! The hope that she had was now washing away.
Izzy and Matt noticed Kari's beginning of a panic attack and got her to sit on the bench. Matt filled Izzy in on what he and Kari had been talking about and Tai's sudden disappearance. Izzy told Kari to take deep breaths and to listen to the nature around her while Matt gave her physical comfort.
"Kari, could you please explain the situation?" Izzy asked in a calm tone, not to set the girl off.
"No one at home has seen him since he left for school yesterday and we can't reach him!" Kari said. "I don't understand. Why would he run away?"
She cried into her hands asking 'Why Tai? Why?' over and over again. The boys didn't really know what to do. Kari was clearly distressed and the best person to calm her down was the reason she was upset.
"Don't worry, I'm sure there's an explanation for this," Izzy said while giving a comforting smile. Matt gave a nod to agree with Izzy while rubbing Kari's back. Kari placed her hands in her lap, not looking at either of the older boys.
"Tai's a very strong person, I'm sure he's on the way home now," Matt said.
Kari shook her head, her eyes red and tears streaming down her face. Her hands curled up into a fist. "THIS ISN'T NORMAL! TAI WOULDN'T RUN AWAY LIKE THIS! WHAT HAVE I DONE?!"
Both of the elder Digidestined looked at Kari in shock. They knew that Kari could never hurt Tai in a way to make him run away. There's had to be another reason.
"You haven't done anything. We'll find him," Matt said softly. Kari didn't move or reply to Matt. Tears still ran down her face, her hand gripped firmly around her locket.
Izzy gave a small smile."I agree. I'm sure Tai's safe," Izzy said.
Izzy's laptop started to make beeping noises that pulled everyone out of their conversation. Izzy pulled up the laptop from the side of the bench and placed it on his lap. He tapped away at his keyboard. Matt and Kari moved off the bench and walked behind Izzy to see what he was doing. To everyone's surprise, a gate to the Digital World appeared on the screen
"Well, that's cliché," Matt said in a deadpan tone.
Izzy shook his head. "The Gate? But it's been closed for almost a year and a half now!"
Kari's eyes filled with hope. She wiped away her tears and gave a big smile.
"That's it! Tai went to the Digital World to cool off and now he's sending a message or coming back home!" Kari's voice was full of excitement.
Matt and Izzy both had guilty expressions come across their faces. Tai had asked them if they were free yesterday. When they both replied with no, Tai looked rather disappointed. The look on his face faded into a smile as he reassured them that it was ok and ran off to do whatever he was doing.
'When Tai asked me if I was free, I didn't know he was going to the Digital World. I would have come.' Izzy thought, he pictured a ladybug digimon calling out his name. Nagging him to get off the computer and be with his friends. He couldn't help but give a weak smile.
'Why the hell didn't he tell me? I would've dropped everything and gone with him!' Matt knew Tai could be indirect, but he must know that his friends are ready to help him whenever he needs them. Surely?
Kari tapped the elder digidestined on the shoulder and gave them a big grin. Matt could recognise her brother in that smile.
"Let's go to a secluded part of the park so Tai can come out without others watching," Kari said.
Both of the boys blinked at Kari's sudden enthusiasm. Matt felt a smile come across his face. He placed a hand on Izzy's arm and started to pull him up. Izzy shook his head and blushed a little at being so slow and finished getting up himself.
"U-uh, right! Let's g-go." Izzy stuttered as the group walked away from the main area of the park.
The group headered to an area they knew that not a lot of people came by. The digidestined used this area a fair bit to have meetings and to hang out away from prying eyes. When they got to the spot the gate on Izzy's screen changed from closed to open.
"Ah! The gate's open! everyone, step back!" Izzy yelled.
He placed the laptop on the ground and pushed the others back. A bright light filled the area, forcing the group to cover their eyes. A figure stumbled backwards out of the screen before falling onto their back. As the light died down, Kari, Matt and Izzy saw that the figure, wasn't Tai, but a certain dino-man digimon.
"WARGREYMON?!" Kari gasped as she ran over to the unconscious digimon. Izzy and Matt stood there in shock to see the Mega there.
"What? Why is WarGreymon here?" Izzy asked. He ran to his laptop and started to check for any other signs of life around where the Mega came out. Matt ran over to Izzy and saw the gate was covered in a black shadow. They couldn't tell where WarGreymon had come from.
"Shit!" Was all that Matt could say. Matt looked over to Kari to see how bad WarGreymon looked. He was covered in a grim aura and was glitching with shadows of his previous forms showing up around him. Kari placed her hand on his chest and a pink aura surrounded her hand before spreading to WarGreymon, taking away the dark aura and most of the glitch. Kari could see cuts and blood all over the dino-man with some shards in his armour.
"He's injured! We need to help him!" Kari cried out. She turned to the others for help.
"Joe! We need you here right now!" Izzy was already on the phone. Kari turned to Matt to see if he could help.
Matt pulled out his own phone and dialled. "Davis, call up the rest of your team. We're having an emergency meeting. Get here as soon as you can. I understand that you have things to do but this is important! I…talk to your coach and get a hold of the others, we...Kari needs you here." Matt had an authoritative tone in his voice. While it didn't have the same effect as Tai, it still did the job… Kind of. Kari smiled that her two friends were taking action.
Matt walked over to Kari while Izzy was calling all of the other digidestined. He kneeled down next to Kari and looked over WarGreymon. Kari watched him shake his head as he muttered about the fact that it shouldn't be hard to get the gang together in an emergency.
"Is he ok?" His voice was soft and full of worry. The smile on Kari's face faded once again as she looked over her brother's partner.
"No, he's covered in blood and glitching," Kari said.
Matt gave her a side hug. He took off his jacket and gave it to Kari, who started to clean up the blood off WarGreymon. Matt's sure his dad wouldn't mind if he ruined his school jacket so long as he explained the situation.
"If WarGreymon is here…" Matt couldn't find the strength to finish the sentence. Worry filled him as the image of his friend came to his mind, bearing the grin Kari had moments ago.
Kari looked up and filled the silence.
"Then where's Tai?"
And that is a wrap! The first chapter is done! This, along with chapter two was supposed to come out on Halloween but since this chapter was all finished I decided to post it a week early! The next one will be out on Halloween so keep an eye out for it! What's going to happen next chapter? Who knows but me ψ(｀∇´)ψ
Anyways, Follow, Favourite and Review if you like it! If you have any feedback please Review, it'll be a great help for me!