Dedication:
Here you go Kate…it's not NEARLY as good as that Kekari that you wrote…but I hope you like it!~*The sound of a Heartbeat*~
Prologue
Victory was hanging in the air; you could see it everywhere; in the brilliant rays that the sun cast upon the world; the calm waters of the ocean; the cheerful chatter of Digimon voices; and the bright smiles plastered onto the faces of the Digidestined. Apocalamon had just been defeated. The creator of the Dark Masters…gone. The Digiworld was now free of all evil.
But there was one thing that hinted at a problem…the frown on Gennai's face as he looked upon the Digidestined and their Digimon.
Tai was the first to notice it, as he turned from Mimi towards the projection image of Gennai. Upon seeing the frown plastered onto Gennai's face, a frown crossed over onto Tai's face, as well.
Mimi noticed this, and, walking up to him, slipped her arm through his.
Tai smiled down at his girlfriend before turning back to Gennai. "Something's wrong." It was not a question.
"Yes…" Gennai's voice crackled with static. "I'm afraid I have some bad news."
Matt let out a groan. "No. Don't tell us. I can already guess. There's some other evil Digimon that's trying to terrorize the Digiworld."
"No. You are free to go home. All evil in the Digiworld is defeated…for now."
"Then what's wrong?" TK queried, confusion showing in his bright eyes.
Gennai cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm afraid…that you must go back home…"
Tai interrupted him. "But that's what we want! Isn't it?"
"Yes. Now don't interrupt! But there's a catch. None of you…none of you," Gennai repeated, looking over the whole group and letting his eyes linger on Mimi and Tai, standing together, before continuing. "None of you will remember anything about the Digiworld. Nor will you remember any of the lessons that you were taught. Or anything about each other that you did not know before you came here."
As the meaning of Gennai's words sank into his mind, agony ran through Tai's whole body. No! No, no, no! Tai pleaded silently in his mind. No! I don't care if I don't remember the others…but Mimi…I love her so much…I'll never have known her…never have known the happiness when I'm around her…NO!
Tai was just about to speak his thoughts, but Gennai did not give any of them time to comment on this, as, in the next instant, they were no longer there. The last thing that he felt was Mimi's hand pressing against his. The last thing that he remembered…or rather…didn't remember, was his eyes falling upon a large stone. Engraved on the front was one strange word. Goo-dar. The last sound he heard was the sound of Mimi's heartbeat. And then, nothing.
~*~
Part 1
"I said hurry! Don't keep me waiting! I'm Mimi Tachikawa!"
An enraged voice shocked Tai Kamiya out of his trance, and he whirled around, looking for the cause of the commotion. As he watched, a young girl came running out of the nearest store, her long brown hair flying behind her.
As she walked by him, he turned to watch her, his hands self-consciously sifting through his thick brown hair. The girl brushed past a handful of curious on lookers, and out through the main entrance of the shopping mall.
Shrugging his shoulders, Tai began to lazily wander over the way that she had just left. He had to get home…his younger sister, Kari, was at home alone, and he had to get home to check up on her. But he also wanted to find out more about this…Mimi Tachikawa.
He found her sitting on a bench just outside of the main doors, silently watching the parking lot in front of her, a large shopping bag lying near her feet.
Trying to look un-interested, Tai walked past her, then turned back to look back at her over his shoulder. She looked…angry…
So, casually strolling back the way he had come, he sat down next to her, being careful not to look at her to often.
Finally, he spoke. "So. Anything wrong?" he tried to keep the curiosity out of his voice.
The girl turned slightly towards him, her eyes slowly memorizing his face. "Do I know you?" was the only answer he got.
Tai gave a shake of his head, then cleared his throat. "So. Is there anything wrong? You seemed pretty…angry…back in there," he nodded back towards the mall, repeating his question.
"What does it matter to you?" she asked, tossing her head, which caused her hair to fly over her shoulders, glistening in the sunlight. She seemed to consider something for a few seconds, then turned back to him, holding out her hand. "Mimi Tachikawa," she introduced herself.
Tai accepted her hand, trying not to notice the tingling sensations that ran up and down his spine at her touch, which were followed by a vague feeling of recollection.
"Tai Kamiya," he responded, giving her his own name, while his eyes searched hers.
"Are you sure I don't know you?" Mimi inquired a second time.
Tai smiled. "I'm sure…" he let his voice trail off. Was he really sure? There was something familiar about her…
At that moment, with a scattering of small pebbles and dust particles, a car pulled up by the curb of the sidewalk. Mimi glanced over Tai's shoulder at it, then stood to her feet. "Um…see you later?" Mimi asked, glancing over her shoulder.
"Yeah…I guess," was Tai's reply. He sure hoped that he would be able to see her later. And as she walked away, he could only hear one thing. It sounded like the sound of a heartbeat.
~*~
"Hey, Kari!" Tai greeted his sister cheerfully, flinging himself down on the couch and groping around for the remote control.
"Hello. Did you have fun?" Kari asked in that quiet way of hers.
"Yeah. I saw some girl…she looked and seemed so…familiar. She said her name was Mimi Tachikawa…" he was rewarded with a surprised look from his sister, which was completely changed into a deep look of…concentration…as if Kari, too, knew the name from somewhere.
~*~
"Hey, Sora!" Tai called with a wave of his hand.
Sora looked up and smiled briefly, before returning her attention to the soccer game that her team was involved in.
Tai turned his own attention to his group of friends, trying to remember just what they had been saying.
"…And did you hear? You know that Tachikawa girl…"
At the mention of the name Tachikawa, Tai's head snapped upward, suddenly interested, and listening tentatively. Still reeling from the shock of having heard her name at such an unexpected time, Tai missed a few words of the exchange between his two best friends.
"…gets her father to go ballistic at my mom…" Tai turned his attention back to his friend, John's words, just in time to catch the last part of his sentence.
"Man, that sucks!" Dylan agreed, pushing his thatch of blond hair out of his eyes.
"…What were you talking about…I didn't hear that last part…" Tai began, but stopped when he noticed that his two friends were not paying any attention to him. Instead, their attention was directed to a lone figure that stood a few feet away in the shade of a large tree. So, Tai, too, turned his attention in that direction.
As he looked closer at the girl, he realized that her long brown hair and the way that she stood were familiar…
"It's her!" John hissed, pointing. Without a word, he and Dylan began to stealthily creep up towards her.
"Your gonna pay for what your father did to my mom!" John suddenly burst out, his face bright red from anger.
Mimi's head shot upwards, and a panicked expression crossed onto her face. She darted a glance to both sides, and then over her shoulder, looking for a way to escape.
"Not so fast!" Dylan reached out to grab one of her arms roughly. Mimi winced at his touch.
"Hey! What do ya think your doing?" Tai suddenly interrupted, glancing from Mimi, to John, to Dylan, and then back to Mimi again.
"You know what she did to John's mother!" Dylan looked at Tai in exasperation.
Tai shook his head. "No. I'm afraid I don't." and with that, he reached over, grabbed Mimi's arm, and dragged her away.
"Okay. Now, I want to know what happened." Tai crossed his arms expectantly, ten minutes later, after having reached his apartment.
Mimi glanced around, her gaze bouncing from one thing to another, not saying anything.
"I'm waiting…" Tai was beginning to sound impatient.
Mimi sighed. She lifted her gaze to Tai's face. "You know…yesterday…you saw me. I was…angry…at some cashier person." She stopped, then continued. "When I got home, I looked in my shopping bag and pulled out the receipt. She charged me ten dollars over what my purchases really cost! I told this to my father, and he totally, like freaked! So he called the manager of the store. When the manager heard the name "Tachikawa," he immediately talked with the woman who had made the mistake! So her son was getting all freaky on me, since I got his mother into trouble! And no one will believe me…they all think that I'm just some spoiled brat." Mimi finished glumly, looking down.
"I believe you," Tai offered.
Mimi shot him a thankful look. "But that's not all. Lately…in the past couple of days, I've been getting weird…images…of these strange…creatures…" Mimi shrugged. "Some kids heard about it and started teasing me about it."
"I still believe you," Tai told her.
"Why?" was the only answer that he got from the girl that stood in front of him.
"Why shouldn't I trust the holder of Sincerity?" Tai suddenly blurted out without thinking.
At this, he received a strange look from Mimi. "Um…excuse me? The holder of Sincerity? What do you mean by that!?"
"Um…nothing!" Tai tried to explain. "It just kind of…slipped out!" But his thoughts swerved towards a different thought. Sincerity. Why did I say that? Sincerity? He shot a quick glance at Mimi. Well…she does seem sincere…
~*~
Tai threw himself down onto the couch, reaching for the remote control, and motioning for Mimi to sit down beside him. The house was deserted. Turning the TV on, Tai began to flip through the channels.
"Um…thanks for helping me out, back there. It must have taken courage to stand up to those too…but what else would you expect from the holder of Courage?" Mimi began, trying to strike up conversation. She was rewarded with a strange look from Tai.
What? Holder of Courage? Mimi was totally confused. "I mean…sorry. I wasn't thinking," she tried to explain. He must think that I'm so weird…She thought in dismay. After he was so nice to help me and let me come over to his place, since I forgot to bring my house key with me…It was then that she remembered. But what did he mean by 'The holder of Sincerity'? Something weird is going on…
"Hey, something wrong?" Tai questioned, sending her a sidelong glance. While thinking so deep in concentration, Mimi had completely spaced out.
She glanced up. He's so sweet…she couldn't shake the feeling that she was falling for him…but it was weird. Because she didn't feel the flutter that an attraction should leave. Instead…it felt like she had loved him for a long time, already…
"No…I was just thinking," she replied softly. Tai nodded, before turning his attention back to the TV.
As he pressed the channel button, a flash of some guy in a weird cape slid across the screen, before disappearing as the channel changed.
"Hey! Turn that back!" Mimi demanded, leaning forward. Tai didn't say anything, but changed the channel back, anyway.
"…seem to be taking over downtown Odaiba…" the reporter on the news program droned on. "Just why, though, no one knows," the woman concluded.
Mimi and Tai exchanged strange looks. After several seconds of silence, Tai stood up, reaching a hand out to Mimi to help her up. "Come on," he said. "Let's get going!"
"Where…" Mimi began to ask, but she forgot to ask the rest of her question. Because she was right at that moment staring deeply into Tai's brown eyes. She hadn't noticed the exact color of his eyes before…
Neither of them moved, just staring into each other's eyes. Mimi could feel something inside of her melt, as her heart beat double time. She could feel herself spiraling downwards…
At that moment, a queasy feeling overcame her, and she knew that the spiraling feeling she felt wasn't just herself falling for the brown haired, brown eyed boy that stood in front of her. Something was wrong. Something was seriously wrong. But she didn't get to find out, right then. Because at that moment, everything blacked out.
~*~
"Mimi! We need your help! Come quick!" The speaker wasn't human. It was some kind of strange, green creature…and then, she…if it was a she…disappeared.
The blank, white sky wavered blindingly, seeming to fly up, then down, up, and then down again. At one moment, it was a million feet above her, at the next, just millimeters from her face. She couldn't see anything but that white sky. She could feel herself spiraling downwards…just to feel herself rising back upwards, to fall back down again.
At that moment, a tan and brown blur filled her vision, replacing the white sky of nothingness. As seconds passed into what seemed eternities, the blur slowly came into vision, forming into the worried face of a concerned, brown haired, tan skinned boy.
"Mimi?" his voice was so far away…it seemed that she could barely hear it. "Mimi?" the boy asked again. The voice was closer, this time.
"Mimi? Mimi, are you okay?" Ah. Now she could actually make sense of the voice…someone was saying her name. Who was it? She strained her eyes to see the face of the boy, trying to remember his name…
"Tai?" Yes. That was his name. Tai. Her boyfriend…What? My boyfriend? I don't have a boyfriend…with that, Mimi was completely shaken back into reality. "Tai, what happened?" she demanded. She couldn't shake the feeling that he had meant something to her once…
"You…you just…blacked out! I don't know what happened! Can you remember anything?"
Mimi forced herself to think, even though it caused her head to throb. Something…some kind of creature…a flash of something green swam through her mind. That was it!
"Some…some kind of…plant…some creature…Pal? Pal Mon? That's it! Palmon. It was named Palmon. I know her from somewhere…I know that I do!" Mimi struggled to sit up, then tried to stand to her feet, but Tai held out his hand to keep her from standing.
"Palmon…" his voice seemed to have a far away tone in it. "And…Agumon…and six other creatures, kind of like them…" he shook his head. "Mimi, we're going crazy. I could swear that I used to know an orange dinosaur name Agumon!"
"But you did, Tai. You did. Can't you feel it? There were six other kids, too. And six other creatures. Can't you feel it?" she repeated. She moved to stand up, again, and, this time, Tai didn't attempt to stop her.
Tai once again held his hand out to her. "Come on. We have to get going!"
"Where? Where are we going?" Mimi protested.
"If you're feeling okay, then we're going to down town Odaiba. And, if I'm right, the six others who should be with us, will be there," he finished grimly. "We need their help. Something strange is going on, and I intend to find out what it is!"
And as he stood to his feet, that sound once again pounded in his ears. The sound of a heartbeat.
~*~
"Sora!" Tai shouted, waving one hand wildly in the air. His other hand was clasped tightly around Mimi's. Kari stood on his other side. He couldn't leave her alone, at home. She had showed up just as he and Mimi were about to leave. And besides…it felt more…right…with her there. Almost like…she was supposed to be there.
Sora was standing with a tall, blue haired boy with glasses. The boy kept reaching up to push his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose, to keep them from falling off.
"Hey, Sora. Hey, Joe." Tai greeted them. Joe? How do I know his name?
Joe immediately spoke his thoughts. "Do I know you? How do you know my name?"
"He just does, Joe," Mimi replied. It's all coming to me…I can feel it all…but where are the other 3? I'm sure that Sora and Joe…whoever they are…are supposed to be here…I just don't know why!
"And I suppose you're the computer genius?" Tai smirked jokingly, glancing at Joe's glasses.
Joe didn't reply for a moment. He looked as if to be deep in thought. "No. That would be Izzy…" he immediately stopped as his voice trailed off into nothingness.
"Joe, who's Izzy?" Sora questioned gently.
"Okay. Something weird is going on, and I think we all know it. I also think that we all know that we are all apart of it," Tai began. Everyone nodded. "Nod if you agree, but say "No" as loud as you can if what I say does not match with what you feel." He took a deep breath. "We all know each other from somewhere?" everyone nodded.
"Something about strange creatures?" Mimi asked softly. She was greeted by a series of nods.
"The feeling that we're missing someone…or more than one "someone"?" Sora continued. Nods. Again.
"The feeling that we have to stop that…monster…on TV?" Tai stood, waiting for someone to shout "No" as loud as he or she could. But the only thing around him was the sight of everyone nodding.
Taking a deep breath, he spoke. "Then, do we all agree that we have to find whoever is missing?" he asked. Once again, everyone nodded, no one daring to break the silence.
"The feeling…that something that you can't exactly remember…almost like a memory that you've never lived…is hanging in the back of your mind?" Nods. Once again. "Come on! We're gonna find out exactly what's happening!" Tai exclaimed.
He seems to know exactly what to do…Mimi thought. Almost like he's the leader…
"Wait. We need to be sure that we'll be safe…" Joe began, but Mimi cut him off.
"Good old reliable Joe!" she chuckled. This earned her five questioning glances.
"Okay…what did you mean by that?" Joe asked, his face blank; void of expression.
Tai took a deep breath, glancing at Mimi, and almost getting lost in her large amber eyes. "I guess we should tell them everything?" he whispered, just loudly enough so that everyone could here. Mimi nodded. This led into an explanation of everything that had happened, so far.
"…And I just have a feeling…that each of us…all of us…have some kind of trait…" Mimi let her voice trail off.
"You mean like when you called Tai the "Holder of Courage"? And when he called you "The Holder of Sincerity"? And that stuff about "Good old reliable…"?" Kari questioned, immediately beginning to sort everything out.
"Come on!" Tai urged, seeming impatient. Mimi smiled at him, slipping one arm through his. He smiled back.
~*~
"No! Leave him alone! He's just a little kid!"
At the sound of the angry voice, Mimi whirled around. "Who's there!?" she demanded.
"Matt! I can take care of myself!" a new voice argued back.
Tai glanced at Mimi. Mimi looked back at him. Then, together, they both looked at Sora, Joe, and Kari. Sora and Kari were already running in the direction of the voices.
"I'll kill you both! I must! You may find out who you are, if I don't!" suddenly, a third, much more sinister voice shouted in rage and desperation.
"That creature!" Tai gasped. "He's going to kill someone!" with that, he took off after Sora and Kari.
"I think you mean…My…Myo…" Joe groped for the word.
"Myotismon!" a fourth voice shouted. "Its name is Myotismon!"
Whirling around, Tai was faced with another scene. A boy, maybe a year younger than him, with spiky red hair, was being dragged in the opposite direction, a ghost like creature holding onto each of his arms.
"And if you wouldn't mind, you guys, I could use some help!"
As the boy shouted this last sentence, everyone looked questioningly at Tai. Tai took a deep breath. What do I do? It's like they think I'm their…leader! Wait a minute…of course I'm their leader! "Okay. Joe, Sora, take Kari and help Matt and …" Tai groped for the second boy's name. "T…T…TK! Help Matt and TK! Mimi and I will save…" this time, he couldn't find the name.
"Izzy," Sora replied quietly. "You'll save Izzy!"
"Right! Try to be at my place in…" Tai leaned over, glancing at a watch that was strapped around Mimi's wrist. "…An hour!" Spinning around, he grabbed Mimi's arm and dashed after the boy that Sora had called Izzy.
~*~
Tai quickly threw himself down under a low hanging tree, pulling Mimi with him, holding her close to him, so as not to let her get hurt. As he peered through the green leaves, he watched as a ghost like creature, just like the ones that had dragged Izzy away, floated by, not taking any notice of him or Mimi.
"Come on," he breathed close to her ear, before stepping away from the tree. Mimi stepped tentatively behind him. Slowly, they took one step, then another, and another, moving forward all the time. As they came up around a corner, Tai held up one hand to motion for Mimi to stop. Cautiously, he poked his head around the corner. What he saw made him draw back in surprise.
Izzy lay on the ground, bound and gagged. No one was guarding him.
Mimi began to move forward to help him, but Tai held her back. "Wait. It's too easy…there has to be some kind of catch…" but there was nothing around to hint at a conspiracy.
So, pulling Mimi with him, Tai resumed his slow move forward. Upon reaching Izzy, he quickly knelt down. Mimi followed him. Within minutes, Izzy was free and stumbling to his feet with the help of Mimi and Tai.
"I've caught you! Mwahahahahahahaha!" a sudden laugh made Tai whirl around, only to face the same creature that had dashed across his television screen.
"Who is he?" Mimi demanded fearfully.
"Myotismon! That's Myotismon!" was Izzy's weak reply.
Tai pushed Izzy towards Mimi. "Take him! Get him out of here! Find the others! I'll hold him off!" he demanded, turning to face the enemy that he could not remember.
"I…I don't want to leave you alone…" Mimi tried to protest. But she never got to finish her sentence.
"Crimson Lightning!" Myotismon screeched. Tai hurled himself towards Mimi, knocking her to the ground before she could get hit. Izzy, luckily, was far enough away to be out of harm's way.
"Come on!" he shouted above the rising wind. He grabbed Mimi's hand, hauling her up, and starting to run. "Izzy! Come on!" But Izzy was still unstable on his feet, as the rope that had bound his wrists and ankles had been tied to tightly. Turning back, Tai grabbed one of his arms, while Mimi grabbed the other. Together, they began to drag him away.
"Faster!" Tai demanded, casting quick glances over his shoulders every few seconds to see if Myotismon was gaining on them.
"Tai, look! Over there!" Mimi pointed, hope blazing in her eyes.
Tai's eyes followed in the direction of her pointed finger. They were reaching the banks of a small lake. Beached on a length of rough sand, was a small boat, big enough for maybe 4 people. "Towards the boat!" he hissed, not wanting Myotismon to hear him. "Quick!" What seemed like eons was actually just seconds, and they had soon reached the small boat. With Mimi's help they had soon loaded Izzy into the boat.
"Quick! Get in!" with that, He swung Mimi in beside Izzy, then, casting a glance once more over his shoulder, he pushed the boat away from the rocky beach, jumping in at the last possible moment.
Luckily, the wind was blowing in just the right direction, as it whistled all above and around them. Tai reached desperatly for the oars of the boat, dipping one, then the other into the water.
"Let me help," Mimi begged, reaching for one of the oars. She hated to see him working alone to say Izzy and her. Tai willingly gave up one of the oars, concentrating on just the one, while Mimi manned the other.
"I'll get you! I will! I just don't feel like wasting my time crossing the lake! I'm not letting you get away! I'll get you, you Digi-destined brats!" Myotismon called futilely into the air. Almost none of his words reached the three in the boat, as the wind was growing stronger with each passing second. But they did clearly…oh, ever so clearly, make out one word. Just one: Digi-destined.