There'll Always Be
Hope: Part One
By: Sakura
Ding-Dong!
"Coming!" called Jun. She opened the door.
Outside the door stood a tall, blond teen, about sixteen-years of age, with
clear blue eyes. "Hiya, T.K.," said Jun. "Come on in." She left T.K. in the
living room, then went to a separate room across the hall. "Kari," she called.
"Your friend's here."
T.K. sat down on the sofa and waited for a
few moments. Kari poked her head through the doorway. Seeing T.K., she entered
the room. "Hi, T.K.," she said.
Standing up, T.K. walked over to Kari, and
gave her a big hug. Kari smiled, then with a little laugh, she said, "You're
early, T.K." Glancing at the clock on the wall, she added, "An hour early."
T.K. smiled sheepishly. "I just couldn't
stand the thought of being away from you any longer," he replied.
"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Kari
asked teasingly. "Maybe you just couldn't stand the thought of me being with
Davis."
T.K. laughed. It was well known now that he
and Davis had always been in competition with each other for anything that had
to do with Kari. From who sat next to her to who would be the one to protect
her. "Well," he said. "I didn't want to give Davis anymore time to make his
moves on you."
Kari smiled sweetly at T.K. and kissed him
lightly on the cheek. "Don't be silly," she said. "You're the only one for me,
T.K." Lightly pulling him closer to her using his shirt collar, Kari shook her
finger at him. "And don't you ever forget it."
"I won't," replied T.K., with a smile. Kari
let go of his collar and T.K. nearly fell over. Straightening up, he looked
into Kari's eyes, sparkling with laughter. He wanted to kiss her, and he would
have if Davis hadn't appeared.
Davis walked into the living room. "Hey,
T.K., how's it going?"
"Fine," answered T.K. He turned to Kari. "Are
you two finished your project yet?"
Kari nodded. "You two can go catch your movie
then," said Davis.
Kari looked at Davis. "Are you sure? The
project-"
"I'll bring it to school on Monday,"
interrupted Davis. He smiled wanly. "You guys better get going, you don't want
to be late…and…uh…have fun." He opened the outside door for Kari.
"Thanks a lot, Davis," Kari said, with a
bright smile. "You're the best! See you later." She walked out the door. T.K.
waved goodbye to Davis and followed Kari outside.
Davis slowly closed the door. "Yeah," he
muttered to himself with a sigh. "The best. But after T.K., of course."
~*~*~*~*~*~
The sun had set, and dusk was rolling in when
T.K. was walking Kari home after the movie had ended. On their way to the
Kamiya Residence, they passed by a park, with a small playground a few feet
away, where they stopped by for a few minutes.
They sat down on a nearby bench. Kari rested
her head on T.K.'s shoulder and he had his arm around her. Neither of them was
in a hurry to leave. Nor did either of them speak. They simply wanted to enjoy
the peaceful moment.
"You know, Kari," said T.K., breaking the
silence. "Maybe we should go back, or your parents will kill m-" He stopped
when Kari lightly pulled his head down and kissed him. They kissed for several
minutes before slowly pulling apart.
Afterward, Kari looked up at him and smiled
amiably. "You were saying?" she asked.
T.K. slipped his arms around Kari's waist and
kissed her forehead. "I'm in no hurry to leave, are you?" They both laughed and
lapsed back into a comfortable silence. They watched the dusky sky slowly turn
into a midnight blue.
Suddenly, the sky abruptly changed colours.
It went from a midnight blue to a flashing purple. Both DigiDestined stood up
immediately at this sudden change. The sky was getting brighter by the minute.
"What's going on?" asked Kari.
"I don't know." T.K. replied. The light
seemed to be emanating outward from a source located directly above the
playground. This point was most likely the center, and the light surrounding it
was nearly white. From that point, a rather warped hole appeared, opening up. A
figure slowly floated toward the ground. It landed with a slight thud, in a
crouch position. Its head was bent forward, completely hidden from view, and
it's arms and wings were crossed over. A long black staff was clutched in its
right hand.
T.K. and Kari looked at each other. They were
both mystified. Who was this character?
The figure lifted up its head, it's boring
into them. It was a Digimon, and, by the looks of it, a virus type. He had
long, silky, charcoal-shaded hair that fell down his back and rested on his
black wings. On his face was a light grey mask. His eyes, visible through the
mask, were a darker shade of grey, almost black. He stood up, his staff at his
side, and his wings stretched out. His eyes never left the two DigiDestined. He
continued to glare at them, yet never spoke a word.
Kari had had a light grip on T.K.'s arm when
the Digimon had appeared, but now she tightened her grip. "Ow," muttered T.K.
softly.
"Sorry," whispered Kari. She loosened her
grip. "Who is that Digimon?" she asked him. Studying the Digimon, T.K. was
surprised when he realized that it looked a great deal like Angemon, only much
darker and slightly taller. Instead of a cross pattern on his mask, he had an
"X". Not to mention that his eyes were visible through the mask.
The Digimon took a step toward them. T.K.
stepped back, an arm stretched out in front of Kari, and made her step back,
too. The Digimon smirked. "So, DigiDestined," he started, in a booming tone.
"You wish to know who I am?" He continued to step slowly towards them, and T.K.
continued to step back, with Kari behind him. The Digimon stopped for a moment.
"I am DarkAngemon," he said, introducing himself. "And," he added with a sneer.
"Your darkest nightmare come to life."
DarkAngemon swung his staff forward, pointing
it at T.K. "Dark Energy Blast!" From the tip of the staff, a small energy ball
formed, growing bigger, until it was the size of a tennis ball. He fired it.
The orb headed straight toward T.K.
"Watch out!" cried Kari. Before T.K. had a
chance to react, Kari pushed him to the ground. T.K. hit the grass and looked
up. He saw the orb catch Kari in her midriff, forcefully pushing her all the
way to the playground. She hit the post of the swing set and slumped forward.
She didn't move.
"Kari!" T.K. ran over to Kari. He placed his
hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. "Kari," T.K. said. "Are you okay?
Speak to me!" He held her tight in his arms. "Come on, Kari," he whispered
fiercely. "Please, wake up."
Kari moaned softly and opened her eyes. She
looked directly into T.K.'s worried eyes. "I'm okay," she said softly.
"Really." T.K. nodded, a relieved expression on his face.
Kari slowly got up. She suddenly winced with
pain and fell forward. T.K. caught her before she hit the ground. "You're
hurt," he said. "I gotta get you out of here." He scooped Kari up and carried
her. Kari lay her head on T.K.'s shoulder and drifted into unconsciousness.
Hearing a branch snap behind him, T.K. turned around. A few meters away stood
DarkAngemon.
DarkAngemon smirked at T.K. "So, you forgot
about me already. That really hurts my feelings."
T.K. glared at DarkAngemon. "It's not like
you have any!" T.K. put Kari down gently on the ground, then faced the Digimon
again. "Leave Kari alone!" he cried.
The dark Digimon laughed. "I had no
intentions of hurting your little friend," he said. An evil glint shone through
his eyes. "Yet." DarkAngemon clenched his fists and cried out another attack,
"Blinding Punch!" With that said, DarkAngemon flew straight at T.K.
DarkAngemon's fist made contact with T.K.'s
jaw. A burst of blinding light ensued. Another mask moved down over the
Digimon's face to shield his eyes. After the light diminished, the second mask
retracted back. DarkAngemon looked down and saw T.K. lying very still on the
ground. He smiled evilly. Time to finish-
A sound came from inside his mask, something
that signified he had to return to the Digi-World. "Blast it!" he thought. "But
I'm so close to finishing off the boy." The signal beeped more insistently. He
had to wait. He had to follow the plan that had been made. DarkAngemon looked
back down at T.K. and smirked. It didn't look like the kid was going anywhere
anytime soon. He'll have his chance again.
DarkAngemon looked up to the sky. He spread
his black wings and ascended into the air. DarkAngemon took one last look at
the DigiDestined. "Next time," he thought, "Next time we meet, T.K., you won't
be so lucky." The Digimon flew to the mouth of the space warp and disappeared
through it. The hole disappeared and the night air turned back to a midnight
blue.
After a long time, Kari awoke, slowly opening
her eyelids. Looking around, she couldn't see or even feel DarkAngemon's presence
anymore. But then again, she couldn't even see T.K. Using a nearby tree trunk
for support, Kari slowly stood up. "T.K.?" she called, with uneasiness. "T.K.?
T.K.!" Franticness was creeping into her tone.
Ignoring the pain she felt, Kari stumbled
about, in search of T.K. "T.K.," she cried. "Where are you?" Hearing someone
call her, Kari whirled around. A fist seemed to clench around her heart as Kari
saw T.K. lying motionless on the ground. It was T.K. that was calling her. Kari
ran over to him and helped T.K. to sit up.
T.K. tried struggling out of her grasp for a
moment, then sat still. "Kari?" he asked. "Is that you?"
Kari nodded. "Yes. It is. What happened to
you? Are you okay?"
T.K. shook his head. "My head really hurts."
Rubbing his head, T.K. opened his eyes and looked up at Kari. "Um, Kari?" he
said.
"Yes?"
"Where are you?"
Kari looked at T.K. quizzically. "I'm right
here, T.K.," she answered, squeezing his hand lightly. "Why do you ask?"
"I…I know you're here," T.K. said, his body
shaking. "But I can't see you!"
"He sounds frightened," thought Kari. "Don't
be silly," she said soothingly, trying to calm him. She held up two fingers in
front of T.K.'s face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
T.K. blinked several times and rubbed his
eyes. His grip tightened on Kari's hand. "Kari, I'm not kidding!" he cried. "I
can't see anything!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
The door slowly swung open.
Both T.K. and Kari tumbled into the foyer and
lay in a crumpled heap. They had had a hard time getting to the Takaishi Residence.
Kari had told him that she would help him home and that she would stay with
him, for his mother was out of town and he would be all alone.
Kari had entertained thoughts of going to see
a doctor about T.K.'s eyes, but what would she say? An evil Digimon from
another world came and took his sight from him? She shook her head, after all,
who would believe that?
Many people on the street had stopped Kari
when they saw her half-supporting, half-dragging T.K. on their way to his home
and asked her what had happened. She didn't like it, but she had to make up a
silly excuse that her boyfriend had an odd habit of falling asleep anywhere and
wouldn't wake up for hours. They didn't look like they bought the excuse, but
they left the two alone after that.
T.K. was having a miserable time coping with
the fact that he had lost his vision. And he was also mad at himself for
letting Kari get hurt, even after she had assured him several times that it was
her own fault. Kari stood up and flipped the light switch. She then helped T.K.
up and helped him hobble toward the sofa in the living room. Looking around,
Kari spotted the phone. Who was she going to call first? Tai or Matt? She
picked up the phone and tapped in a few digits.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"Where are you, Kari?" thought Tai, staring
out into the night sky from his balcony. It was well past midnight and Kari
still wasn't back from her date with T.K. She hadn't even called. This wasn't
like her at all. Mrs. Kamiya was worried sick and Mr. Kamiya was ready to kill
someone, namely T.K. Tai had spent most of the night reassuring them that T.K.
wouldn't do anything to harm Kari and she would be back before they knew it.
Ring! Ring!
"The phone!" cried Tai. He ran into his room,
tripped on the doorway and fell on his face. Hearing the phone ring again, Tai
scrambled up, ran into the hallway, and grabbed the phone before his parents
could. "Hello?" he said, panting softly. "Kamiya Residence."
"Tai?" came a timid, and rather
tired-sounding, voice.
"Kari?" he asked. "Kari! Where are you? Dad's
gonna kill T-"
"Tai, listen," she interrupted. "I need your
help. Can you please come to T.K.'s home?"
"What?" he said. "Now? But it's way past
mid-"
"Tai, please!" It sounded like Kari was about
to cry. "Please, Tai. I need your help. I…I don't know what to do…"
"Don't worry, I'll be there right away." he
promised.
"Thanks, Tai," Kari whispered softly. She
hung up the phone.
Tai stood there for what seemed like ages,
staring at the phone. What could have happened to them? He placed the phone
back in the cradle. Tai ran into his room, grabbed his jacket and slipped into
it. He flung open the front door and was about to leave when he heard someone
behind him.
"Tai?"
Tai turned around. Mrs. Kamiya was in the
hallway with Mr. Kamiya behind her. It was his mother who had called him.
"Where are you going, Tai?" She gasped. "Did something happen to Kari?"
Tai shook his head, a smile plastered on his
face. "Err…no. Her friend got sick and she went to stay with them to sort
of…well…take care of them. Isn't she such a great friend? I'm just going to go
over there and…uh…keep her company."
Mr. Kamiya nodded. "Give us a call when you
get there."
Tai nodded. "I will. Bye!" he called, running
out the door. Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya stepped outside and stood by the railing.
They watched their son run down the street at a very fast pace. He turned a
corner and was out of sight.