Hello! Here is Amaya-CheshireNeko! So here is my first fic! How it is my first time writing a fic I'm not exactly used to write about characters already existent, but I'll do my best! And I've read several fics, so I imagine I'll do it decently.
Now I wanted to warn you that this fic takes place during their summer vacation. The film about "Revenge of Diaboromon" DID NOT happen here! This fic happen at about the same time as it (I think it happens in the summer holidays, don't it?), so I gave these ages more or less to them: Joe - 16 years, Tai, Matt and Sora - 15 ; Mimi and Izzy - 14; Yolei - 13, Kari, TK, Ken and Davis - 12; Cody - 10
Anything you see that I wrote wrong let me know, please! Oh, and one more thing! I want to thank Digital Savior the idea for this fic. Thanks a lot, you could help me finally put an idea on paper (or computer) and finally write something! Really thanks!
Well, that's it. I hope you enjoy my fic!
The first thing Kari realized when she started waking up was that her bed was different. First she began to feel cold, making her realize that her blanket was gone and a light breeze was blowing. Second, she felt that her bed that was very soft, now seemed to be somewhat rough and tough.
The second thing she noticed was a small noise coming from somewhere close to her. Even with closed eyes Kari tried to decipher what that noise was and she quickly recognized it. Ahh, these are waves! She thought happy with herself for having discovered what that mysterious sound was. She shifted a little in her "bed" and was ready to go back to sleep when something finally clicked in her head.
Wait... waves? She quickly sat up, suddenly feeling wide awake, and looked around frantically. Her fears were soon confirmed when she recognized the outline grayscale. The Dark Ocean...She thought bitterly as she slowly rose up.
Panic began to grow slowly and she quickly moved away from the forest that stood on her right. "No... No. I remember going to sleep, I can't be here!" She said to herself as she watched the environment carefully. "I know! This must be a nightmare!" She exclaimed. "I'm just remembering when I was taken to the Dark Ocean!" She kept saying in an attempt to cheer herself up a bit and possibly wake up from this nightmare.
"Is it really a nightmare, Child of Light?" A voice asked with apparent amusement.
Kari immediately froze at the same time she felt the temperature drop a few degrees. That voice... She knew that voice. She has surely heard it somewhere before. But where? And when?
The voice laughed. "I see that you don't quite seem to remember me. Well, it doesn't matter now. Soon I'm going to get free from this prison and this time you won't be able to stop me." The voice then gave a grunt that seemed almost like an angry growl. "If it weren't for these Crests..."
Crests? Is it talking about our Crests? But what do they have to do with that voice? And why is it talking about them? We gave them to the Digital World a long time ago!
"Come on, Child of Light, this isn't that difficult to understand. You being so connected with your crest should realize it sooner," the voice said, its tone beginning to sound irritated. "Don't make this game so boring."
Everything was silent for some time making Kari think that maybe this mysterious being was gone but when she heard again that same laugh her hopes were shattered. "Pay attention to your path, Child of Light, because I'll make you lose every single one of those you consider precious. And beginning with Courage."
At these words Kari felt her blood freeze. The image of her brother smiling went through her head. No... No... It can't be...! Did those words mean that something would happen to her brother? But then another image entered her mind. Davis... Courage. If this voice was still talking while it thought about the Crests it probably was talking about Tai, although Davis was also connected to it as he had acquired the Digiegg of Courage... She felt a pang at the thought that something bad could happen to any of them.
The voice began to laugh even louder as if it knew what was going through her mind and was actually enjoying it. A picture of her brother and Davis laughing together was passing in Kari's head. Soon she began to feel dizzy and even when everything went black for her, she still could hear that laugh echoing in her head one more time before she lost consciousness completely.
"No!" Kari cried as she sat in her bed. She began to pant while she looked wide-eyed to her blanket.
"Kari... Kari. Are you okay? What happened?" A familiar voice asked by her side.
Turning her still wide eyes, Kari found herself face to face with her brother who was watching her with great concern written on his face. Slowly her breath began to calm down and she finally began to notice the environment of where she was in.
Her bed... her blankets... the lamp from her room... the warmth of her cozy room... her partner, Gatomon, who was on her other side, also looking at her with concern... her brother...
Slowly she felt a warm hand close over hers and quickly begin to warm her cold fingers. Lowering her gaze to her hand Kari realized the other hand belonged to her brother and that he was trying to make her release the blankets from her bed (when had she begun to grasp the blanket so tightly?). Soon she realized that Gatomon was keeping a paw on her leg in a comforting gesture.
"You had a nightmare, didn't you?" Tai sighed. "You haven't had one this bad since a long time ago. What happened?"
Her brother's words quickly reminded her of everything that happened in the Dark Ocean. A short phrase repeated itself in her mind: 'And beginning with Courage.' Kari started to feel that pang in her heart and looking at the face of her brother, well and near her, she couldn't stand it no longer. In a sudden movement she threw herself into Tai and began to embrace him strongly.
She heard him let out a surprised gasp before hugging her back. She squeezed him again. So the whole thing was just a nightmare. Nothing was real. Just a nightmare...
"U-umm... Kari... I'm glad you're glad to see me but, you know... I need my lungs to breathe and right now they're being crushed," Tai managed to utter even when receiving that bear hug.
"Sorry," Kari said with a small giggle as she let him go. She took a deep breath and exhaled shakily. Tai's expression, that had relaxed a little when he received his sister's hug, became worried again.
"Kari, you didn't answer me. That was a nightmare, right?"
She was silent for a moment. Now that she was calmer and could remember her dream she didn't know what to do. 'And beginning with Courage.' Should she tell her brother everything that had happened in her nightmare? Maybe... after all, he – or Davis - had been threatened there... But that was just a bad dream! That way she would make her brother more concerned with her (because instead of worrying about himself his concern would certainly be directed to her)! And the worst was that she had a bad feeling that it wasn't just a mere dream.
"Kari?" Tai's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Come on, talk to me. You didn't say anything but 'sorry' since you woke up." She opened her mouth to answer but he cut her off. "And don't tell me it was nothing. I heard you rolling and grumbling when I went to get a glass of water. Gatomon and I have been trying to wake you up for a long time before you finally opened your eyes."
Kari turned to look at the watch she had on her bedside table and saw the time - 3:17 AM. She immediately felt guilty for keeping her brother up at that hour but she knew he would be upset if she apologized. Sighing she decided to tell half the truth.
"I dreamed about the Dark Ocean." Hearing this name made Gatomon immediately hiss, remembering their encounters with this place. "It was just some memories, nothing more. So don't worry." She finished saying dropping a small weak smile. Turning her eyes upward, she looked at Tai. He was looking to the side with his eyes darkened, clearly thinking - or remembering - something (probably of when Kari and Gatomon told him of their "visits" to the Dark Ocean). His serious look turned to Kari and when their eyes met Kari realized that he hadn't been deceived by her attempt at a smile, nor by what she said - and by the way she was looking at Kari, she could tell that neither Gatomon had been.
They were silent for a moment. Then Tai suddenly moved and hugged Kari, surprising her. Overcoming the surprise Kari hugged him back, still feeling a little shaky.
"Don't worry Kari. I won't let anything happen to you." Tai muttered while still hugging her. Kari was able to get the hidden message in that sentence easily. I know you're hiding something, but I won't press you now. But don't worry, if something bad happens, I will surely protect you. Kari nodded while taking advantage of the warmth of her brother (she was still feeling cold because of the Dark Ocean). She finally managed to totally relax. It was amazing how her brother could give her a sense of security even without knowing the whole situation. This was something that only he could do and it always comforted Kari (well, there's one more person who can do this. Kari thought and the image of a blond boy with blue eyes and a white hat crossed her mind before she quickly dropped this thought off. Now was not the time for that).
Tai looked at Kari and gave her a big smile. "Okay. Now try to cheer up a bit. Tomorrow we'll have a busy day in the Digital World."
Kari looked confused at her brother for a second until she remembered what he was talking about and managed to make a cheerful smile, making Gatomon finally relax a little more and making Tai's smile increase. That was true. She had forgotten that! They had arranged to meet with the other Digidestined in the Digital World that day! They planned to visit the Primary Village and enjoy the beginning of their summer vacation. This was a rare occasion to them because usually someone always had to do something, besides the fact that Mimi lived in the United States. So Kari couldn't help but smile. That afternoon would probably be pretty fun.
"Sure." She replied with a smile. Tai got up from her bed and looked at Kari carefully for a second before putting his hand over her head.
"Sleep well. We all need energy to tomorrow." And with that he smiled slightly too before sending a discreet look at Gatomon (something Kari didn't see) and then he finally left Kari's room closing the door behind him.
When he left her room Kari's smile slowly dropped until she was with a small grimace on her face.
"Kari, what really happened?" Gatomon's voice caught her by surprise, causing her to turn her gaze quickly to the feline digimon that was still on the bed beside her.
Quickly deciding that she had no problem in telling her partner about what exactly had been her dream, she opened her mouth and the words came out more easily than Kari had thought they could. When she finished the two were silent for a moment, Kari remembering her dream and Gatomon silently thinking.
"Why didn't you tell Tai this?" Gatomon asked.
"You know how he is Gatomon." Kari sighed. "If I had told him he would start worrying about me because I was worrying too much about him! He wouldn't even think of himself, even if he is the one in danger."
"Do you really think that voice was serious? Because you all gave the power of your Crests to the Digital World a long time ago!" Gatomon remarked.
"I know... I'm also confused by this. But it still didn't quite seem like a dream to me. And that's what worries me." Kari said.
"And if he talked about 'Courage' then he may be referring to Davis as well." Gatomon reasoned.
"Yeah..." Kari mumbled, a worried expression on her face. "Gatomon... what if something happens tomorrow while we're in the Digital World?"
Gatomon was silent for a moment before answering with another question. "You think something will happen?"
"I don't know... I surely hope not, but it would be quite a big coincidence that I have this dream the night before we go to the Digital World, don't you think?"
"You're right..." Gatomon scowled. "Kari, we'd better tell it to someone else."
"Not to Tai," Kari answered quickly. "I still don't want to tell him anything. If we're more certain on this subject I'll speak with him, but without much evidence it will only make him concerned with me."
"What about TK and Patamon?" Gatomon asked and despite the seriousness of the situation she couldn't help but smirk.
Kari saw the wicked smile barely hided on her face and her face quickly gained a light color of pink. She tried to pretend nothing had happened and just nodded. "Okay. So we'll talk to them tomorrow."
"Then good night Kari." Gatomon said with another smirk before rolling back into the bed to sleep.
"Good night." She said before returning to lie down and cover herself with the blankets. With that Kari finally got back to sleep peacefully without knowing that the next day would be more hectic than she thought.
