Hey guys, so I finally decided that I needed to write an epic multi-chapter for Digimon as well. Updates will be more spontaneous in this due to real life and my Cyberchase fanfic ongoing. This is written for the Novel in Prompts challenge and the prompt for the first chapter is 'hard'. I hope you enjoy this story. Thanks to WhiteEevee for both betareading all my stories, including this one and being an amazing support to this crapfest newbie. Loads of thanks to you – I love you honey! ^_^
1. Another Line
Who are you?
What are you?
Why are you there?
Voices whispered in her ear as she twisted and turned in her sleep. It was just a bad dream, but it felt like more. It felt like much more. Something was calling, but she didn't understand. She didn't know...
Don't run away, princess. Embrace me. I'm the only one who understands.
Sweat trickled down Mimi's face. "No... I don't know you... Go away." She sat up in bed, shaking. What was that? It wasn't like her to have nightmares, but it felt real. It really felt like something was there.
Putting on her slippers, Mimi tiptoed to the window. Nothing was there. Was it really just a bad dream after all? She didn't know. She didn't want to know.
The brunette decided to try and sleep again, but this time, things were different. It was like the world around her disappeared.
Mimi opened her eyes. She was not in her bedroom. Where…?
It looked like the digital world. The place was as beautiful as always, a lush green forest and the smell of the ocean.
"Mimi," the voice from her dream said, and Mimi let out a yelp.
"Go away!" Mimi cried, breaking into a run. " Who are you? Just leave me alone. "
Hands grasped her by the wrists, yanking her forward, and the brunette girl came face to face with another girl. She stared for a moment. It was her face. But how could that be? There couldn't be two of her.
"I am you, Mimi," the girl said. "You aren't in the digital world, though. You're in my world."
Mimi put a hand to her mouth as the scenery disappeared and a dark ocean appeared. She shivered. She knew what world this was as well. "The Dark Ocean. Is the Dark Ocean your world?"
Her look-alike laughed at her. "You're so naive. I belong to a world that is neither the Dark Ocean nor the Digital World. This is known as the World of Mirrors. But we're tired of being trapped in this world you know."
"We?" Mimi asked in a small voice. Her heart raced wildly in her chest. Was she still dreaming, or was this real? She didn't know anymore. It sure felt like she was awake, though she hoped this was just a nightmare.
"We want to get out of here," the other said, a chilly smirk on her features. "We want to conquer the world, using the power of the DigiDestined. The Digital World, the Real World, the Dark Ocean. We want all those worlds as ours. Wouldn't it be fun, Mimi? You should understand wanting everything after all."
Mimi glowered. "That's selfishness! My friends and I will never let you get away with that!"
"You won't be around to tell them," was the simple reply. "From now on, this is your home, Mimi. As for me… I think I'll call myself Miku." She pulled Mimi closer. "I wouldn't try to escape. This is all but a bad dream, after all, Mimi." A dark claw reached out towards them.
Mimi struggled to break free, but Miku's grip only tightened further as she pushed her towards the dark claw. "Guys! Help me! Sora, Joe, Tai, a-anyone! Someone, please! Get me out of here!"
"No one's coming." Miku's breath tickled at Mimi's ear, and tears filled the girl's eyes. "It's ok, Mimi. You won't be missed." She pushed Mimi a little further before letting go.
The dark claw wrapped around Mimi's small body. She let out a scream as darkness clouded her vision. The last thing Mimi heard was a cackle of laughter before her world went black.
Mimi was not the only one plagued by nightmares. Davis Motomiya twisted and turned, sweat dripping down his face. It was odd. Nightmares were something that was foreign to him, considering he was one of the most hopeful of the DigiDestined. But now…a dark voice disturbed his sleep.
Your friends. The ones who have always mocked you. Never really thought of you as leader. Are they really worth resisting my call? You belong in our world, Davis Motomiya. Ken, T.K., Kari… Nobody really needs you.
That wasn't true. Ken trusted in him blindly and had followed his word as leader many times without really questioning it. T.K.… He wasn't sure, but he knew the blond boy respected him. Right?
Or maybe he does think he's better than me?
No! How could he even consider that? T.K. was his friend, his comrade, and no matter what some stupid voice said, that would not change. He had to open his eyes and wake up from this crazy nightmare…that was the only way. Except he couldn't seem to open his eyes to the light. Every time he tried, all he saw was darkness.
"Leave me alone," Davis tried to growl, but it came out more as a weak plea than a strong demand.
If I leave, you may lose everything. Even that pretty angel who was your heart's desire. Give in, Davis Motomiya.
Davis was about to refuse again, but this time, he realized he could open his eyes. What he saw when he opened his eyes was something he never even expected to see. A person…no, him. It looked exactly like him… What was going on? How could there be two of him? He looked around again and saw he was no longer in his bed either, but a dark forest with odd looking trees. A shiver ran down his spine when he realized the trees had no leaves on them. This place was seriously weird.
"Is there something wrong?" his look-alike practically hummed. "I mean, you seem alarmed."
Davis scowled. "Why have you brought me here? Who are you? Why do you look like me!"
The other him chuckled. "I am you. Or I will be, at least. I'll be using your power to take everything. As you can see, my world is quite dull and boring. I want a little fun. You can call me Dai. After all, I am greater than you."
Davis clenched his fists, even though he felt weakened by the effects of this world. It almost felt like he was being drained, but there was no way in hell he would ever give up.
"I won't let you!" Davis snapped. "Veemon and I will stop you!"
Dai smirked. "I don't think you'll be able to."
He raised a hand and a dark claw appeared out of the ground underneath Davis, grabbing a hold of the boy. Davis choked and spluttered, trying to break free, kicking, smashing his fists. He tried, but nothing seemed to work.
"Let me…" he tried, but his voice died in his throat. Davis felt as if he were choking and his vision was getting blurrier by the minute. No, this couldn't be happening…they had beaten worse things than this, right? Then why couldn't he even break free? Maybe Veemon would come bursting through here any minute now and end this nightmare.
"No one will come," Dai hummed, placing an ice-cold hand to Davis's cheek. Davis shivered. "I'm honestly sorry to do this to you, Davis, but it's not about how you play the game, it's whether you win or lose. And unfortunately…you lose."
The claw slowly moved towards an abyss of darkness and Davis squirmed more, trying to desperately break free.
"Good night, Davis," Dai said, sounding almost pitying, yet amused at the same time. "I'll say hello to your angel for you." With that, the claw threw Davis towards the abyss.
A sharp, cutting pain filled Davis and the last thing he heard were his own screams before his world went black.
Tennis practice had just finished, and Sora was tired. She sat down on one of the benches, drinking a bottle of water when her cell rang. The number was unknown, but from the looks of it, it was an American number. Sora raised an eyebrow, wondering if Mimi had changed her cell again and forgotten to let her know about it. Her friend was great, but she could be a little airheaded sometimes.
Oh well. Sora thought to herself with a giggle. It makes her special. She pressed the answer button, holding the phone to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hello, Sora, it's Mrs. Tachikawa," a panicked voice said from the other end.
Sora's eyes widened. Mrs. Tachikawa sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. "Mrs. Tachikawa, is everything alright? Is Mimi okay?" Concern surged inside her.
"No, Mimi's… Mimi's not okay, Sora." Mrs. Tachikawa's voice broke down into sobs. "She's in the hospital. She won't wake up."
Sora bit her lip in worry. "What? Why? Did she have some sort of accident?"
"No," Mrs. Tachikawa said. "She was fine last night. But this morning, she wouldn't get up and she was sweating so much. We tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't, so we called the hospital. She's not waking up at all, Sora. Even the doctors don't know what's wrong with her. They said they've never had a case like this before."
Panic gripped Sora, her heart racing. She didn't understand why Mimi wouldn't wake up. This couldn't be happening. Not like this, not so suddenly. But what could she do? Mimi was a whole coutry away. Was there any hope of helping her from here? No, she had to do what she could for her friend, no matter what it took.
"I'll talk to Joe," Sora finally said, her voice shaking a little before it steadied. "We'll do all we can, Mrs. Tachikawa. I'll let all my friends know. I'm sure we can do something for her."
"Thank you." Mrs. Tachikawa's voice was barely above a whisper but Sora managed to hear her anyway. The phone disconnected.
Oh, Mimi, what's happened to you?
Sora felt her fingers trembling and her heart hurt. What if Mimi was—? Why couldn't the doctors explain anything? She didn't understand. She didn't seem to be able to comprehend what was happening.
Calm down, she chided herself. She probably just fell sick with the flu. No matter how much she tried to convince herself Mimi would be fine, her gut instinct told her something serious lay beneath the surface.