Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

What's Left of You

Chapter: 01

Lightning detonated with explosive force directly in front of Takato, flinging him backward and for an agonizingly long moment, his whole world shrank down to the sound of shrieking metal and brutal, crushing pain that seared across his arm before both vanished into empty blackness. He floated in that void, helpless and unable to tell the passage of time until something snatched hold of him in midair, jarring him back into a waking world of violent colors and screaming. His screams, both from his mouth and from nerves set afire, raw and bleeding against the shining, white and gold fur of a bipedal fox.

"R-Renamon!" he gasped out through the pain that clutched hold of him tightly, knowing who caught him as they descended to the ground. He couldn't say anything else however, losing himself to the eruption of pain that threatened to overwhelm him once more. With an effort, he forced back the black spots that popped up across his vision and craned his head around. He was lying on the ground now amidst the ruins of the streets of Shinjuku, and Renamon knelt over him, setting down a small, red-colored, ball-shaped creature with ears that resembled bat-wings. The tuft of her fur was a bloody mess and her ice-blue eyes were focused on him with alarm as she spoke to him. Whatever she was saying, he didn't have time to dwell on as the massive, broken ruins of a knight's lance, still tall and proud, crashed down to Earth, burying them in a cloud of dust and debris, causing a spiderweb of cracks to splinter along the street. Renamon grabbed hold of the pair once more, her body tense and ready to spring into action to protect both Takato and the red-ball monster. Takato bit down a cry as the dust wafted over them, setting off new sparks of pain as they brushed against exposed nerves.

Something, he could tell, was very wrong.

Guilmon… he thought, sitting up with an effort. Something happened to us… W-What…?

A gust of wind blew away the dust, revealing the towering, white and red lance, imbedded in the broken street, and as he watched in gaping horror, the lance burst apart into a shower of sparkling light.

Our data… he thought, his mind starting to feel oddly sluggish all of a sudden. That's mine and Guilmon's… What happened?

"You've been hurt," Renamon's voice broke through, and it took Takato a second to realize that he had spoken out loud. Clutching at his arm where it hurt, he looked at Renamon dazedly, a part of him for some reason not understanding what she was saying. He opened his mouth to ask, only to notice that something was amiss just off to his right.

His arm.

He stared blankly where his remaining hand was, slimed with red, clutching at the tattered remains of where his right arm used to be, reduced now to a bleeding mess with jagged, white bone poking out from behind strands of flesh hanging off the limb like refuse. Releasing his grip, he moved the stump, his eyes strangely fascinated by its almost alien appearance until he cringed upon its brushing up against the remnants of his sleeve. Gasping, he wavered where he sat, darkness once more bleeding across his vision, and his breathing became shallower and more ragged.

"G-Guilmon…?" he breathed shakily, panicking at the thought of his digimon partner's condition and he looked over frantically at the unconscious red ball – Gigimon, a form his partner took after using too much energy – counting his stumpy legs. All four turned up right where he expected them to be, and he relaxed, all the strength going out of him in one mad rush, leaving him a shaking mess.

"Oh, thank goodness…" he whispered, starting to sweat as he shook even more violently before falling forward. His vision blanked, and in the next moment, he saw Renamon carefully lowering him back to the ground, a scream tearing across the air in the distance.

"Try not to move," she urged. "Help is coming."

Help? For wha…? Takato's fading eyes fell on Renamon's blood-caked fur. Oh… That's right. I'm hurt, aren't I?

"S-Sorry for the mess," he mumbled apologetically, his eyes starting to become very heavy. Kami, he couldn't remember ever feeling this tired before. Not even for entrance exams.

"Takato!"

At the familiar voice, his eyes snapped back open and he turned his head toward it. Hurrying across the broken rubble and cracked street, a girl, roughly sixteen years of age with fiery red hair and frantic violet eyes, came running toward them, looking battered and rough around the edges. Her hair, normally done up in a ponytail, was undone and in disarray. Behind her followed others; a dark-skinned boy with a long-eared, cream-furred creature riding on his shoulder, all of whom also looked as though they had been through a fight. He smiled upon seeing them, relieved that they were okay. His friends, Rika, partner to Renamon, and Henry and Terriermon. They were good friends. The best he'd ever known next to Guilmon and very reliable. Whatever was going on, he could rest assured that everything was in good hands as long as they were around.

"Takato!" Rika shouted again as she dropped down to one knee next to him. He continued to smile goofily, feeling oddly lightheaded. He mumbled something even he couldn't understand and black began to bleed across his vision once more. He felt something jerk him, and he heard Rika's voice breaking across the dark, attempting to force it back. He drifted however, sinking below the shadows, but he could hear snatches of their voices, alarmed and full of fear.

"…ato! Stay with me! Don't…!"

"…gone into shock! Rika! Your belt! We need it to stop the bleeding!"

"…Kenta! Kami, where's Kenta?! Renamon! Find him and get him over here! If Takato dies…!"

Alarmed at the terror in their voices, Takato forced himself out of the darkness enveloping his eyes, his remaining hand grasping around until it finally fell on Rika's just as she finished tightening the belt around the makeshift tourniquet Henry improvised with the jacket of his high school uniform. Her eyes swung towards him, and all at once, the world felt to Takato that it had paused to take a breath. He struggled for something to say. His whole body shook and felt cold, and his brain felt like it had been stuffed with mud.

"Um…" he began, hoping for some kind of inspiration, but he just felt so tired. He needed to say something though!

"Are you all right?"

There. That felt about right…right? So why did she look so upset?

"T-Takato… Don't… Don't talk. You need… You need to…" Rika choked out, her voice nearly cracking in the process. Takato flinched as something damp plopped down onto his face. Raindrops? She was crying? With a struggle, he forced on an awkward smile, his eyelids drooping once more. He squeezed Rika's hand comfortingly, and she all but crushed his in return, as if she were afraid he would slip out of her grasp.

With a final squeeze and a sigh, he slipped into the comfort of the darkness, Rika's eyes following after him.

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A/N: This has been an idea that's been kicking around in the back of my mind for quite some months now. With the exception of injuries digital life forms pick up in battles, humans tend to be pretty well protected from serious harm, often getting no more than scuffed or dirt despite how serious the combat can get. So, I got to thinking about exploring what would happen when a Tamer is seriously injured and how they would react to it. So…yeah. Let's see where this goes.

Until next chapter.

-Crazyeight

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