Midnight Blossoms
_________________________________________________________
Personal Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
Note: This story begins roughly eight years after the end of season two. There are events that have happened in the interim that will be slowly revealed. I have also created a timeline and various other things such as a Glossary of characters at the end. It's all just standard Digimon stuff but I'll give a little background as to what has happened in the missing eight years.
And now, without further adieu, the story: ________________________________________________________________________
Before him appeared countless mirrors, each showing a separate reality. Images of himself were the showcase of each mirror. Professions he had no knowledge of invaded his mind with obtuse facts. Focusing, he drove himself towards the one reality he knew to be his. Despite the happiness and joy that radiated from the myriad other realities, he was not dissuaded from his duty. He had always held to that despite losing all else. As he reached towards the mirror, the scene about him dissolved and he found himself at a familiar spot.
____________________________
Breath misting in the cold December air, Takeru gazed around at his surroundings. As always, stepping into his native reality left him with a fading feeling of nausea. But it was nothing that he could not ignore. After all, some discomfort was to be expected especially when one had given up part of his being to the Digital World as he had. It wasn't a sacrifice that many made but his native world didn't hold much appeal for him anymore. He only ever returned here if he needed the other chosen, except for tonight. The bonds of friendship ran deep and he could no more ignore them than he could his duties.
"Something feels wrong." A voice chirped from above him.
Gazing up amusedly at the hamster/bat like creature above him, he replied. "I'll say, this is nowhere near Mimi's house." And then it struck him; all about him was quiet. He mentally kicked himself for not noticing that sooner. He hadn't been here for nearly two years but surely Tokyo could not have changed in that much time. Unless laws had become a whole lot stricter, this area should have been a bustling hub of activity. Right now, everything stood quiet. Skyscrapers rose all around him and were ominously dark. The only light came from the various streetlights that continued into the horizon.
Shrugging uncomfortably, Takeru gazed back up at the small Digimon. "I don't like this either Patamon. I'll make my way to Mimi's house. Stay close but out of sight, I have a feeling."
Patamon nodded and rose into the air flapping his wings. Gazing up, Takeru watched him disappear into the dark and then he started on his way.
___________________________
20 minutes earlier
Taichi Yagami cursed softly under his breath as the traffic light ahead of him turned red. He was already late for their meeting and the damned traffic wasn't helping matters any. Sora would kill him and Mimi wasn't likely to interfere despite not having seen him for nearly three years.
Tapping his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, Tai glanced up at the horizon. What he saw there made his breath catch in his throat. A large shimmering veil of light was spreading across the city. It was quite beautiful but also strangely unsettling. Reaching over, Tai thumbed on the radio inside his car. A loud voice issued forth talking about the local news. Tai only had to wait moments before they got to the event he wanted to know about.
'Meteorologists are still at a loss concerning the origin of the mysterious light's in the Tokyo sky. So far, we've heard all sorts of theories from Meteorites to Solar Flares but have not arrived at a conclusive theory. All we know is that early today, the phenomenon started over Shinjuku and has steadily been spreading all over Tokyo.'
Grimacing, Tai thumbed off the radio. He couldn't quite quell what he was feeling whenever he looked at the light. The only other time he had felt something like this was back in the digital world. Not one to disregard his feelings, Tai sped the rest of the way to the hotel where Mimi was staying. As it happened, everybody else with the exception of Takeru had gotten there ahead of him.
__________________________
Sora Takenouchi sighed as Miyako and Mimi launched into another argument on the merits of Western Fashion as opposed to Eastern clothing. Across the king sized hotel suite, she met Hikari's gaze and grimaced slightly. Hiding a laugh behind her hand, the younger girl got up from where she had been sitting and chatting with her partner Digimon. Her progress seemed agonizingly slow to Sora as she came and rescued her.
"So, how are your photography classes going?" Sora asked distractedly as she scoured the large room. All of the resident geniuses, Koushirou, Ken, Jyou and Iori, were sitting at one corner of the room playing chess. Their Digimon formed a small circle around them. The current match was between Jyou and Koushirou, which would probably last through the night. Both men liked to take their time thinking. Daisuke was sitting a little aside chatting with Veemon. Sora felt sorry for him. He was always the odd-man-out at these gatherings. The other boys didn't mean to leave him out but what they found fun didn't mesh with his idea of fun. About the only male companionship he had in this circle was Tai. 'Where the hell was he anyway?'
"He probably got held up in traffic," Hikari murmured softly at her side.
Blushing, Sora glanced back at the girl she had very nearly forgotten. Grimacing, she asked, "Am I that transparent?"
The younger girl smiled. "Probably only to me. I have known you longer then even Takeru."
And with that name, Sora found her thoughts inevitably drawn to the other Ishida brother, Yamato. He had been dead for six years now but she still thought about him, unable to forget. It wasn't fair but then again, life had lacked that quality for a while. She only had to think of Takeru to realize that.
Of all the chosen, Takeru had lost the most over the years. First, had been his parents and then his brother. And yet, he had not given up. If anything, his resolve had grown stronger. However, the various tragedies had taken their toll. He was no longer the innocent little boy that he had once been. Rather, he much resembled his deceased older brother, Yamato, personality wise. In fact, he was much the same now as Yamato had been when she first met him, cold, uncaring and unduly pessimistic. She supposed it had to do with how the two were so isolated. In Yamato's case, it hadn't been voluntary, for Takeru, it was. Not for the first time did she wonder why he had chosen to isolate himself from his friends.
"You're thinking of Yamato again." Hikari said sadly beside her.
Sora shook herself out of her thoughts. Thankfully, the phone bell to the suite rang at that moment. Mimi got up and answered it and after giving an affirmative, announced that Tai was on his way up.
And so, five minutes after seeing the strange light over the city, Tai made it to the meeting place.
________________________________
Thankfully, the streetlights were on. Without them, he would have been completely lost. As it was, he was only a little better then lost. Currently, he was standing at an intersection with little to no idea as to which way to go. The problem was compounded by the fact that his D3 refused to work. It was another weird occurrence this night. As he had walked through the city, he was sure that someone was watching him. The feeling had gotten especially strong as he stood here contemplating which way to go.
Finally tired of the cat and mouse game, he squinted into the surrounding darkness, barely held back by the streetlights and called out, "Why don't you come out of hiding?"
There was a brief silence, broken suddenly by the sound of someone clapping. In front of him where the road continued forward, a shadow detached itself and walked into the light.
"Hikari?" Takeru asked squinting at the figure. A feeling of unease filled him. The girl walked forward confirming her identity but he felt even more disquieted.
"Takeru," she called out, "it has been a long time. You should visit more often." Her voice was low, soft almost melodic as it lulled him into a trance. He could only watch helplessly as she walked closer and closer, finally reaching up to caress the side of his face.
From a distance he heard the flap of wings and then his name. Looking up confusedly, he called out, "Pata..." He got no further, as a second shadow seemingly flew up and knocked the floating Digimon from the air. Takeru turned away from Hikari as concern for his partner overrode all other thought. "What," he exclaimed trying to follow the fight, only to be met with a fist to the stomach. Almost doubling over, he backed up a few steps and stared astonished at the girl who had punched him.
Hikari, for her part, looked almost bored. "I guess seduction is out of the question now. Oh well, your loss." And saying that, she launched herself at him.
Takeru hastily stepped back, narrowly avoiding the kicks and punches Hikari was aiming at him. But, was this really Hikari, he wondered? The Hikari he knew was a fairly sane person, who, as far as he knew, did not entertain any homicidal tendencies. On the other hand, as he barely blocked a kick aimed at his side, she did fight just like Hikari. It gave him an idea. In the midst of letting her drive him backwards, he glided to the side and stuck out his foot. Down she went but before her back had touched the floor, he was on his way down as well. 'Just like Kari,' he thought grimly as, quick as a cat, she recovered and leapt atop him. As they rolled across the street, he spared a glance towards the other fight.
Patamon was faring little better. The other shadow as Takeru had suspected was Gatomon. In his current form, Patamon could do little more then evade the other Digimon and hope that she tired herself out. Thankfully, he had wings and was using them to keep himself out of reach.
That was all Takeru saw as he was forced to acknowledge the struggling, writhing form he was fighting. Finally though, his greater strength prevailed, as he had known it would. As fast as Hikari was, she had never been any match for his strength. The same restrictions apparently applied to this double.
Holding her hands above her head, he asked, "Who are you?" She didn't answer but tried to buck him off.
Suddenly he heard Patamon yell, "Takeru, look out." From his periphery vision, he glimpsed a white streak fast approaching. He threw himself backwards just as the small feline went speeding past the place he had been. Of course, this allowed the fake Hikari to get free.
Quickly, Takeru got to his feet. His partner floated down beside him. Belatedly, he realized that Patamon hadn't been doing as good a job of keep-away as he had thought. The little fellow was covered in scratch marks. "I think it's about time for us to beat a hasty retreat." He said watching Hikari get to her feet, a few steps away. He had squandered his chance to beat her. She would not fall for the same trick again and on her feet, his chances of winning were drastically reduced. He needed to get away and figure all this out. There could still be a chance that this was his Hikari.
Patamon responded to his words though and began his evolution. Moments later, a seven-foot tall Angel stood in his place. Flexing his wings, Angemon took to the air. Takeru flashed the girl in front of him an apologetic smile, than reached up and grabbed Angemon's outstretched hand and then they were flying away. A stab of pain lanced through his left shoulder but he paid it no mind. All he was concerned with at the moment was escape.
____________________________
"I suppose we should get started." Tai sighed glancing at everybody else. "He'll probably show up late as usual."
In the end, the vote came down to six to five, in favor of starting without Takeru. He earned himself twin glares from both Sora and Hikari for casting the deciding vote. The night was definitely off to a rocky start.
"So, what'll it be," he asked picking up two packages. "This Lord of the Rings crap from America or the drama Gokusen."
____________________________
The pain was getting worse and the frosty December air wasn't helping matters any. Grimacing, Takeru checked to see whether they were being pursued. Not seeing anyone, he motioned Angemon over to a nearby roof.
Sighing, he sank to his knees as they touched down. With his good hand, he probed his left shoulder and his fingers came into contact with the hilt of a dagger. Silently, he glanced up at his guardian and nodded affirmatively. The Angel stepped behind him and took the dagger in his hand. Takeru grunted softly as it was pulled out. Afterwards, Angemon ripped off the sleeve of Takeru's sweater and used it to bind the wound. Both knew that it was only a half way measure and that they needed to find some real bandages soon. However, for the moment, Takeru needed to recover his strength. The two companions settled down on the cold roof. After a moment Angemon reverted back to his normal form to conserve strength, flew forward and curled up in Takeru's lap.
"Takeru?" He grunted non-committal and the Digimon continued. "Why were you so slow to react when that girl approached you." After a moment, he added, "Are you alright, your face is getting red."
Blushing even harder, Takeru opened his eyes and glanced at his partner. "I don't know why." It wasn't true though; he knew exactly why he had hesitated. The whole scenario had played out entirely too much like one of his childhood fantasies. He grinned wryly, well until the kicking and the punching started and then they were rolling on the floor and not in the good way. For just a moment though, he had been too shocked to react.
Patamon stared in consternation as a small smile broke out over his partner's face. Humans could be so strange sometimes. Curling back on Takeru's lap, he went to sleep leaving Takeru with his thoughts.
His feelings for Hikari were... confused. He did not know exactly when his infatuation with her had started but it had not gone away. Unbidden, a memory came to him of the day his parents and Yamato had died. He had been shell shocked, unable to comprehend everything that had happened in the span of the past twenty-four hours. And then, she had come to him and had held him quietly. That pure act of compassion, had somehow gotten through to him and he had finally given vent to his grief. He had fallen asleep with her still holding him and in the morning had awoken to find she had not left his side.
That night had come dangerously close to shattering his resolve. In the end though, he had stayed true to the vow he had sworn. He had wanted revenge and would not be deterred by anyone. Still, every now and then he had cause to wonder what his life would have been like if he had not left that morning.
Takeru shook his head irritably, too unworthy, these thoughts of his. He had made his choice and it was better for everybody involved. The last thing he wanted was for Hikari to end up like his family. Still, Sumeragi was dead... NO, he couldn't, wouldn't doubt his decisions. Especially not now, when his membership in the Guardians was practically confirmed.
Groaning, he rose to his feet, cradling Patamon gently in his hands. Taking a deep breath he banished all thoughts of Hikari; there were other more important matters to deal with. For one, his D3 wasn't working at all and he had no way of pulling up a virtual map of the city and getting to the meeting place. This forced him to rely upon his memories. And they were dodgy considering he had not been in Tokyo for quite a while. He had only the most basic of knowledge concerning the area around the hotel. Closing his eyes, he tried to dig up more information from the depths of his mind.
An explosion, a few blocks away jolted him out of his trance. In his hands, Patamon stirred and awoke. A moment later they were both off to discover the cause of the explosion.
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The movie was half over and Takeru was still absent. What's worse was that the feeling of unease Tai had felt when looking at that mysterious light over the city had returned. It was also getting stronger. Extricating himself from Sora, he quietly apologized and made his way to the balcony window to catch a breath of fresh air. As he drew back the curtains, his eyes widened at the dark necropolis that stretched out beyond the balcony window. Quickly sliding back the window screen, he stepped outside. The entire city was black, as if hit by a power outage. Only, it looked a great deal more ominous because of the lack of noise and the absence of any vehicles. Even the expressway to the hotels left lay dark.
"Guys..." and then more authoritatively, "GUYS, come look at this." They were by his side almost immediately.
A moment of silence and then: "Is it a blackout?" Iori asked.
Koushirou shook his head. "Only if it's struck the cars as well."
Tai opened his mouth to speak but just then, the television went black behind them. A strange light from the sky followed this phenomenon. Glancing up, Tai yelled for everybody to scatter. Taking the only avenue of escape they could afford, the chosen leapt off the balcony. Seconds later, a huge fireball crashed into the balcony, raining debris down on the teenagers. However, by then their partners had evolved and carried them to safety. Unfortunately, that one fireball was not the last as the air was suddenly filled with them.
Tai cursed under his breath as Greymon dodged to and fro and lumbered down the deserted street. There was no chance of regrouping with the others. Whoever was up there had scouted their position well. He could only hope that the others remembered the location they had set aside for just such a crisis. They could regroup there and then proceed against whichever enemy was arrayed against them now.
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A/N: This Rewrite has cleared up a few grammatical errors in the first chapter as well as changing around the structure of a few of the paragraphs. It will all reflect better on the overall arc. ________________________________________________________________________
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Takeru Ishida: 19 years old
Special Powers: Healing/Conduit and Recipient
Wanders the Digital World, looking for those that killed his family.
Hikari Yagami: 19 years old
Special Powers: Shield and Telepathy/Conduit and Recipient
Took over leadership of the second team of chosen during the War with
Daemon.
Taichi Yagami: 22 years old
Special Power: Elemental Fire
Overall leader of both groups of chosen.
Yamato Ishida: Age - N/A
Deceased
Sora Takenouchi: 22 years old
Special Powers: Shield and Telepathy
Tai's second in command
Jyou Kido: 23 years old
Special Powers: Healing
Koushirou Izumi: 21 years old
Special Powers: Elemental Lightning
Mimi Tachikawa: 21 years old
Special Powers: Shield and Telepathy
Moved to America after the defeat of the Dark Masters.
Provides
a link between the Western Chosen to those in Japan.
Ken Ichijouji: 20 years old
Special Power: Healing
Second in command to Hikari Yagami.
Daisuke Motomiya: 20 years old
No special powers
Relinquished leadership to Hikari after freezing in battle.
Miyako Inoue: 20 years old
No special powers
Iori Hida: 17 years old
No special powers
Ryo Sumeragi: Age – Unknown
A renegade Guardian, Ryo Sumeragi allied himself with the Undersea
Master and targeted the holders of the crest of hope and light. Reasoning
that light cannot survive without hope, he targeted Takeru Ishida and
attempted to drive him to despair by killing his family. Met his death at
the hands of the Keeper of Hope three years after murdering his family.
Gennai: Age – Unknown
Prime Guardian.
The Guardians: A group that protects the Digital World from within and without. They
have a significant presence in the real world as well.
The Undersea Master: Source of Ultimate Darkness. Named in several of Earth's older
prophecies as the dread god Cthulhu.
_________________________________________________________
Personal Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
Note: This story begins roughly eight years after the end of season two. There are events that have happened in the interim that will be slowly revealed. I have also created a timeline and various other things such as a Glossary of characters at the end. It's all just standard Digimon stuff but I'll give a little background as to what has happened in the missing eight years.
And now, without further adieu, the story: ________________________________________________________________________
Before him appeared countless mirrors, each showing a separate reality. Images of himself were the showcase of each mirror. Professions he had no knowledge of invaded his mind with obtuse facts. Focusing, he drove himself towards the one reality he knew to be his. Despite the happiness and joy that radiated from the myriad other realities, he was not dissuaded from his duty. He had always held to that despite losing all else. As he reached towards the mirror, the scene about him dissolved and he found himself at a familiar spot.
____________________________
Breath misting in the cold December air, Takeru gazed around at his surroundings. As always, stepping into his native reality left him with a fading feeling of nausea. But it was nothing that he could not ignore. After all, some discomfort was to be expected especially when one had given up part of his being to the Digital World as he had. It wasn't a sacrifice that many made but his native world didn't hold much appeal for him anymore. He only ever returned here if he needed the other chosen, except for tonight. The bonds of friendship ran deep and he could no more ignore them than he could his duties.
"Something feels wrong." A voice chirped from above him.
Gazing up amusedly at the hamster/bat like creature above him, he replied. "I'll say, this is nowhere near Mimi's house." And then it struck him; all about him was quiet. He mentally kicked himself for not noticing that sooner. He hadn't been here for nearly two years but surely Tokyo could not have changed in that much time. Unless laws had become a whole lot stricter, this area should have been a bustling hub of activity. Right now, everything stood quiet. Skyscrapers rose all around him and were ominously dark. The only light came from the various streetlights that continued into the horizon.
Shrugging uncomfortably, Takeru gazed back up at the small Digimon. "I don't like this either Patamon. I'll make my way to Mimi's house. Stay close but out of sight, I have a feeling."
Patamon nodded and rose into the air flapping his wings. Gazing up, Takeru watched him disappear into the dark and then he started on his way.
___________________________
20 minutes earlier
Taichi Yagami cursed softly under his breath as the traffic light ahead of him turned red. He was already late for their meeting and the damned traffic wasn't helping matters any. Sora would kill him and Mimi wasn't likely to interfere despite not having seen him for nearly three years.
Tapping his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel, Tai glanced up at the horizon. What he saw there made his breath catch in his throat. A large shimmering veil of light was spreading across the city. It was quite beautiful but also strangely unsettling. Reaching over, Tai thumbed on the radio inside his car. A loud voice issued forth talking about the local news. Tai only had to wait moments before they got to the event he wanted to know about.
'Meteorologists are still at a loss concerning the origin of the mysterious light's in the Tokyo sky. So far, we've heard all sorts of theories from Meteorites to Solar Flares but have not arrived at a conclusive theory. All we know is that early today, the phenomenon started over Shinjuku and has steadily been spreading all over Tokyo.'
Grimacing, Tai thumbed off the radio. He couldn't quite quell what he was feeling whenever he looked at the light. The only other time he had felt something like this was back in the digital world. Not one to disregard his feelings, Tai sped the rest of the way to the hotel where Mimi was staying. As it happened, everybody else with the exception of Takeru had gotten there ahead of him.
__________________________
Sora Takenouchi sighed as Miyako and Mimi launched into another argument on the merits of Western Fashion as opposed to Eastern clothing. Across the king sized hotel suite, she met Hikari's gaze and grimaced slightly. Hiding a laugh behind her hand, the younger girl got up from where she had been sitting and chatting with her partner Digimon. Her progress seemed agonizingly slow to Sora as she came and rescued her.
"So, how are your photography classes going?" Sora asked distractedly as she scoured the large room. All of the resident geniuses, Koushirou, Ken, Jyou and Iori, were sitting at one corner of the room playing chess. Their Digimon formed a small circle around them. The current match was between Jyou and Koushirou, which would probably last through the night. Both men liked to take their time thinking. Daisuke was sitting a little aside chatting with Veemon. Sora felt sorry for him. He was always the odd-man-out at these gatherings. The other boys didn't mean to leave him out but what they found fun didn't mesh with his idea of fun. About the only male companionship he had in this circle was Tai. 'Where the hell was he anyway?'
"He probably got held up in traffic," Hikari murmured softly at her side.
Blushing, Sora glanced back at the girl she had very nearly forgotten. Grimacing, she asked, "Am I that transparent?"
The younger girl smiled. "Probably only to me. I have known you longer then even Takeru."
And with that name, Sora found her thoughts inevitably drawn to the other Ishida brother, Yamato. He had been dead for six years now but she still thought about him, unable to forget. It wasn't fair but then again, life had lacked that quality for a while. She only had to think of Takeru to realize that.
Of all the chosen, Takeru had lost the most over the years. First, had been his parents and then his brother. And yet, he had not given up. If anything, his resolve had grown stronger. However, the various tragedies had taken their toll. He was no longer the innocent little boy that he had once been. Rather, he much resembled his deceased older brother, Yamato, personality wise. In fact, he was much the same now as Yamato had been when she first met him, cold, uncaring and unduly pessimistic. She supposed it had to do with how the two were so isolated. In Yamato's case, it hadn't been voluntary, for Takeru, it was. Not for the first time did she wonder why he had chosen to isolate himself from his friends.
"You're thinking of Yamato again." Hikari said sadly beside her.
Sora shook herself out of her thoughts. Thankfully, the phone bell to the suite rang at that moment. Mimi got up and answered it and after giving an affirmative, announced that Tai was on his way up.
And so, five minutes after seeing the strange light over the city, Tai made it to the meeting place.
________________________________
Thankfully, the streetlights were on. Without them, he would have been completely lost. As it was, he was only a little better then lost. Currently, he was standing at an intersection with little to no idea as to which way to go. The problem was compounded by the fact that his D3 refused to work. It was another weird occurrence this night. As he had walked through the city, he was sure that someone was watching him. The feeling had gotten especially strong as he stood here contemplating which way to go.
Finally tired of the cat and mouse game, he squinted into the surrounding darkness, barely held back by the streetlights and called out, "Why don't you come out of hiding?"
There was a brief silence, broken suddenly by the sound of someone clapping. In front of him where the road continued forward, a shadow detached itself and walked into the light.
"Hikari?" Takeru asked squinting at the figure. A feeling of unease filled him. The girl walked forward confirming her identity but he felt even more disquieted.
"Takeru," she called out, "it has been a long time. You should visit more often." Her voice was low, soft almost melodic as it lulled him into a trance. He could only watch helplessly as she walked closer and closer, finally reaching up to caress the side of his face.
From a distance he heard the flap of wings and then his name. Looking up confusedly, he called out, "Pata..." He got no further, as a second shadow seemingly flew up and knocked the floating Digimon from the air. Takeru turned away from Hikari as concern for his partner overrode all other thought. "What," he exclaimed trying to follow the fight, only to be met with a fist to the stomach. Almost doubling over, he backed up a few steps and stared astonished at the girl who had punched him.
Hikari, for her part, looked almost bored. "I guess seduction is out of the question now. Oh well, your loss." And saying that, she launched herself at him.
Takeru hastily stepped back, narrowly avoiding the kicks and punches Hikari was aiming at him. But, was this really Hikari, he wondered? The Hikari he knew was a fairly sane person, who, as far as he knew, did not entertain any homicidal tendencies. On the other hand, as he barely blocked a kick aimed at his side, she did fight just like Hikari. It gave him an idea. In the midst of letting her drive him backwards, he glided to the side and stuck out his foot. Down she went but before her back had touched the floor, he was on his way down as well. 'Just like Kari,' he thought grimly as, quick as a cat, she recovered and leapt atop him. As they rolled across the street, he spared a glance towards the other fight.
Patamon was faring little better. The other shadow as Takeru had suspected was Gatomon. In his current form, Patamon could do little more then evade the other Digimon and hope that she tired herself out. Thankfully, he had wings and was using them to keep himself out of reach.
That was all Takeru saw as he was forced to acknowledge the struggling, writhing form he was fighting. Finally though, his greater strength prevailed, as he had known it would. As fast as Hikari was, she had never been any match for his strength. The same restrictions apparently applied to this double.
Holding her hands above her head, he asked, "Who are you?" She didn't answer but tried to buck him off.
Suddenly he heard Patamon yell, "Takeru, look out." From his periphery vision, he glimpsed a white streak fast approaching. He threw himself backwards just as the small feline went speeding past the place he had been. Of course, this allowed the fake Hikari to get free.
Quickly, Takeru got to his feet. His partner floated down beside him. Belatedly, he realized that Patamon hadn't been doing as good a job of keep-away as he had thought. The little fellow was covered in scratch marks. "I think it's about time for us to beat a hasty retreat." He said watching Hikari get to her feet, a few steps away. He had squandered his chance to beat her. She would not fall for the same trick again and on her feet, his chances of winning were drastically reduced. He needed to get away and figure all this out. There could still be a chance that this was his Hikari.
Patamon responded to his words though and began his evolution. Moments later, a seven-foot tall Angel stood in his place. Flexing his wings, Angemon took to the air. Takeru flashed the girl in front of him an apologetic smile, than reached up and grabbed Angemon's outstretched hand and then they were flying away. A stab of pain lanced through his left shoulder but he paid it no mind. All he was concerned with at the moment was escape.
____________________________
"I suppose we should get started." Tai sighed glancing at everybody else. "He'll probably show up late as usual."
In the end, the vote came down to six to five, in favor of starting without Takeru. He earned himself twin glares from both Sora and Hikari for casting the deciding vote. The night was definitely off to a rocky start.
"So, what'll it be," he asked picking up two packages. "This Lord of the Rings crap from America or the drama Gokusen."
____________________________
The pain was getting worse and the frosty December air wasn't helping matters any. Grimacing, Takeru checked to see whether they were being pursued. Not seeing anyone, he motioned Angemon over to a nearby roof.
Sighing, he sank to his knees as they touched down. With his good hand, he probed his left shoulder and his fingers came into contact with the hilt of a dagger. Silently, he glanced up at his guardian and nodded affirmatively. The Angel stepped behind him and took the dagger in his hand. Takeru grunted softly as it was pulled out. Afterwards, Angemon ripped off the sleeve of Takeru's sweater and used it to bind the wound. Both knew that it was only a half way measure and that they needed to find some real bandages soon. However, for the moment, Takeru needed to recover his strength. The two companions settled down on the cold roof. After a moment Angemon reverted back to his normal form to conserve strength, flew forward and curled up in Takeru's lap.
"Takeru?" He grunted non-committal and the Digimon continued. "Why were you so slow to react when that girl approached you." After a moment, he added, "Are you alright, your face is getting red."
Blushing even harder, Takeru opened his eyes and glanced at his partner. "I don't know why." It wasn't true though; he knew exactly why he had hesitated. The whole scenario had played out entirely too much like one of his childhood fantasies. He grinned wryly, well until the kicking and the punching started and then they were rolling on the floor and not in the good way. For just a moment though, he had been too shocked to react.
Patamon stared in consternation as a small smile broke out over his partner's face. Humans could be so strange sometimes. Curling back on Takeru's lap, he went to sleep leaving Takeru with his thoughts.
His feelings for Hikari were... confused. He did not know exactly when his infatuation with her had started but it had not gone away. Unbidden, a memory came to him of the day his parents and Yamato had died. He had been shell shocked, unable to comprehend everything that had happened in the span of the past twenty-four hours. And then, she had come to him and had held him quietly. That pure act of compassion, had somehow gotten through to him and he had finally given vent to his grief. He had fallen asleep with her still holding him and in the morning had awoken to find she had not left his side.
That night had come dangerously close to shattering his resolve. In the end though, he had stayed true to the vow he had sworn. He had wanted revenge and would not be deterred by anyone. Still, every now and then he had cause to wonder what his life would have been like if he had not left that morning.
Takeru shook his head irritably, too unworthy, these thoughts of his. He had made his choice and it was better for everybody involved. The last thing he wanted was for Hikari to end up like his family. Still, Sumeragi was dead... NO, he couldn't, wouldn't doubt his decisions. Especially not now, when his membership in the Guardians was practically confirmed.
Groaning, he rose to his feet, cradling Patamon gently in his hands. Taking a deep breath he banished all thoughts of Hikari; there were other more important matters to deal with. For one, his D3 wasn't working at all and he had no way of pulling up a virtual map of the city and getting to the meeting place. This forced him to rely upon his memories. And they were dodgy considering he had not been in Tokyo for quite a while. He had only the most basic of knowledge concerning the area around the hotel. Closing his eyes, he tried to dig up more information from the depths of his mind.
An explosion, a few blocks away jolted him out of his trance. In his hands, Patamon stirred and awoke. A moment later they were both off to discover the cause of the explosion.
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The movie was half over and Takeru was still absent. What's worse was that the feeling of unease Tai had felt when looking at that mysterious light over the city had returned. It was also getting stronger. Extricating himself from Sora, he quietly apologized and made his way to the balcony window to catch a breath of fresh air. As he drew back the curtains, his eyes widened at the dark necropolis that stretched out beyond the balcony window. Quickly sliding back the window screen, he stepped outside. The entire city was black, as if hit by a power outage. Only, it looked a great deal more ominous because of the lack of noise and the absence of any vehicles. Even the expressway to the hotels left lay dark.
"Guys..." and then more authoritatively, "GUYS, come look at this." They were by his side almost immediately.
A moment of silence and then: "Is it a blackout?" Iori asked.
Koushirou shook his head. "Only if it's struck the cars as well."
Tai opened his mouth to speak but just then, the television went black behind them. A strange light from the sky followed this phenomenon. Glancing up, Tai yelled for everybody to scatter. Taking the only avenue of escape they could afford, the chosen leapt off the balcony. Seconds later, a huge fireball crashed into the balcony, raining debris down on the teenagers. However, by then their partners had evolved and carried them to safety. Unfortunately, that one fireball was not the last as the air was suddenly filled with them.
Tai cursed under his breath as Greymon dodged to and fro and lumbered down the deserted street. There was no chance of regrouping with the others. Whoever was up there had scouted their position well. He could only hope that the others remembered the location they had set aside for just such a crisis. They could regroup there and then proceed against whichever enemy was arrayed against them now.
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A/N: This Rewrite has cleared up a few grammatical errors in the first chapter as well as changing around the structure of a few of the paragraphs. It will all reflect better on the overall arc. ________________________________________________________________________
DRAMATIS PERSONAE
Takeru Ishida: 19 years old
Special Powers: Healing/Conduit and Recipient
Wanders the Digital World, looking for those that killed his family.
Hikari Yagami: 19 years old
Special Powers: Shield and Telepathy/Conduit and Recipient
Took over leadership of the second team of chosen during the War with
Daemon.
Taichi Yagami: 22 years old
Special Power: Elemental Fire
Overall leader of both groups of chosen.
Yamato Ishida: Age - N/A
Deceased
Sora Takenouchi: 22 years old
Special Powers: Shield and Telepathy
Tai's second in command
Jyou Kido: 23 years old
Special Powers: Healing
Koushirou Izumi: 21 years old
Special Powers: Elemental Lightning
Mimi Tachikawa: 21 years old
Special Powers: Shield and Telepathy
Moved to America after the defeat of the Dark Masters.
Provides
a link between the Western Chosen to those in Japan.
Ken Ichijouji: 20 years old
Special Power: Healing
Second in command to Hikari Yagami.
Daisuke Motomiya: 20 years old
No special powers
Relinquished leadership to Hikari after freezing in battle.
Miyako Inoue: 20 years old
No special powers
Iori Hida: 17 years old
No special powers
Ryo Sumeragi: Age – Unknown
A renegade Guardian, Ryo Sumeragi allied himself with the Undersea
Master and targeted the holders of the crest of hope and light. Reasoning
that light cannot survive without hope, he targeted Takeru Ishida and
attempted to drive him to despair by killing his family. Met his death at
the hands of the Keeper of Hope three years after murdering his family.
Gennai: Age – Unknown
Prime Guardian.
The Guardians: A group that protects the Digital World from within and without. They
have a significant presence in the real world as well.
The Undersea Master: Source of Ultimate Darkness. Named in several of Earth's older
prophecies as the dread god Cthulhu.