Dark Reflections: Suffocation of Mist

by Creedogmon

edited by Godeerc VanDrey

Category: Digimon

Genre: General, Action/Adventure

Rating: PG-13 (It gets a little graphic)

Language: English

Summery: A week goes by without any indication of the group's powers. However, the story is yet to start unfolding.

A/N: This has nothing to do with the Digimon characters. They are my own characters, but because it's part of the Digimon World, I have to put it in this section. Later on, digimon will appear, but don't expect to get your daily dose of Tai (or Matt) (or Sora or T.K. for that matter).

Chapter 2: Suffocation of Mist

Justine and I jump out of the Reyes van onto the front schoolyard. It's been a week since our return from the DigiWorld, and, if it weren't for the digivices and crests we have, there would be no indication that we ever traveled there.

I see Daniel and Matt talking with a mutual friend of ours, James Warren, in the front schoolyard. He was the primary witness for Matt's disappearance, but he quit talking about it last week. Everyone stopped talking about it. That's the way it is in junior high, I suppose. Almost anything's old news after a week. The report on our disappearance was local news for only one night. As I approach, James seems to excuse himself and walk to the side of the building. This gives me a chance to talk with them privately.

"So, nothing?"

"Nada," comments Daniel.

"Zippo," adds Matt.

"You still got your crest on?"

Matt looks around and whispers, "Yeah, the fact that I still have it makes me wonder if I'll still need it."

The conversation is abruptly dropped as James returns.

"Whoa, you talkin' smack about me while I was gone?" he jokes, noticing the sudden gap in conversation.

"Oh, yeah. We were having a Jim Bob-bashing party. You missed all the fun." Matt jokes. The tension dies. We don't ask why he left.

The bell rings, so we go to class. Algebra, despite my missing week, was easy. But Gym is looming on the horizon. Daniel, Jessica, and I make our way to class. For them, it's still unnerving approaching the gymnasium, where they disappeared two weeks ago.

"Jessica!" Haley Queens calls. "What's going on, Girl? You've been quiet recently."

"I'm kinda tired all the time. Plus, there's that."

"That? Okay, the whole kidnapping thing. Sorry, but that's getting to be old news."

See?

"Hey, baby." Josh Barrakson calls.

"Josh, shut up." Haley answers, aggravated on cue.

"C'mon, don't be hating my best bud. He's just messing with you." Blake Statehedd comments. This is one of Blake's cleaner comments. Taping his normal conversation and editing it for content usually produces a blank tape, if you catch my drift.

"Hey, Dork! Think fast." I duck.

An arm goes sailing over my head.

"Fast enough?" I remark to Stuart Dora, who is not exactly my best friend, to say the least.

"I suppose. I'll get you next time."

I exhale deeply. Evil digimon, piece of cake. Stuart, that's another story.

I'm the last one to change clothes for P.E., because my locker got stuck. I run out right as Mr. Adams takes roll.

"As you know, we'll be doing fencing today."

Cheers. We usually get simple stuff like prisonball…

"Can't we just play prisonball?" I hear Haley whine. I smile.

"Well, Chris, since you think it's so funny, why don't you go first? I'm sure Stuart would love to spar with you." I force myself not to have an expression.

Mr. Adams is a nice guy, but he's a jock. So is Stuart. He's not what you'd call muscular, but he's good at sports.

I put on the mask and feel the sword. It's rather light. Mr. Adams shows me a few swipes. "Try to stay on your feet." he advises and walks away.

The sparring starts out okay. I have to take the defense a lot, but I'm glad for quick reflexes when I get a little adventurous and take a swipe.

Then I get a hard strike from Stuart. I almost lose my grip, but pull back just in time. He speeds up the pace. He's got the evilest smile on his face. He's playing tough. I try to look at Mr. Adams, but he's chatting with the cheerleading coach, as usual. He only checks occasionally to check to see if Josh and Blake don't burn down the gym. Or that Haley hasn't seriously injured herself. I do my best to hold back against Stuart. I decide there's something wrong when the blade brushes my arm. I look at Stuart angrily when I notice something. He's not Stuart anymore. He's… me. I see the familiar blue widow's peak, but it's darker than mine is. He's wearing a robe like the Caretaker. I slash hard, pushing him back and look to the side. "Am I getting you now?" he jeers.

The class doesn't notice. They're disinterested. Except for Daniel and Jessica. I dodge and roll over towards them. My evil twin follows. That when I notice something. Jessica's in deep concentration. Her crest is glowing beneath her shirt. She's creating a mirage.

"Chris, what's going on?" I hear Daniel whisper.

"I don't know." I swipe at my shoulder is the last straw. I feel my crest get warm and see it glow. The next swipe hit my dome aura. Time now in slow motion and armed with preternatural skill, I advance, with a very aggressive swipe. The ringing of crashing steel fills my ears. I get a good shot at his leg. He retreats, but I feel the cut on my own leg. The leg of my robe feels heavier, absorbing the blood.

Realizing that my opponent is some kind of evil Caretaker clone, I take a dozen forceful strikes that hold him to the wall. "Who are you?" I ask him.

"I'm you."

"Liar!"

"No, I'm the Avenger of Conceit." He takes another swipe at me, and I have to dodge, freeing him. "Suffocation of Mist!" he cries. I have to dodge the water stream, but I get knocked over.

"Protection of…" I almost cry, but instead, grab my sword, feeling the sting of my thigh. I pin him to the wall again, my sword at his throat. "Daniel, take it."

"What?"

"Grab it."

"But…"

"I feel the pain I inflict on him. If I try to stab him, I'll give up and he'll get me. I'm letting go in five seconds. If you don't grab it, he'll get it and cut both our throats before you can blink. Four…"

Daniel grabs it immediately, but doesn't move it. I continue, "Kill him. Three…"

"But won't it kill you?"

"Maybe, but we're better off with only me dead. Two…"

"I'm not…" he starts to loosen his grip.

"He'll take it… before you can blink. One…" He shoves it in. I gasp for air.

The Avenger falls. My aura, robes, and sword, along with his, disappear.

Mr. Adams comes up to me. "Very good job, Chris."

I look over and Stuart's on the ground, his sword lying on the floor several feet from him.

Jessica, giving me a look, "It was a long fight, but you got him with a nice underhand swipe."

Stuart sneers at me, "Well…?"

"Looks like you're zero for two." I reach out and help him up. He squeezes my hand hard.

Sharply, he tells me, "Take care."

I look around, and he gives me a knowing look.

I grab Daniel and Jessica on the way out.

"Way to J.J. By the way, Stuart knows somehow."

"I miraged him too. He saw the fake fight. It was tricky, thank you very much."

"You're good." I tell her, tilting my head.

Daniel's eyes go wide, "Your hair!"

I feel my head. Sure enough, my widow's peak is back. "It's just paint. Someone in art left it in the sink. I must have gotten it there when I washed me face." I say deliberately, giving them a look.

We dress out and head for our next class.

"Hey," I hear from behind me. Behind me is Diana Owler, my best friend and short-distance pen pal.

"I'll catch you later." I tell Daniel and Jessica as they walk off.

"So, Christopher, what's going on?"

"Not much, I beat Stuart Dora in fencing."

"Way to go?" she compliments, though not knowing whether to. "What's with your hair? Coloring is not like you at all."

"Paint from the sink in the gym. Some art student must have left it there. What class you got next?" I change the subject quickly. Too quickly, I think.

"Well, for three more weeks until the end of school, I have Creative Writing. I've told you several times."

"I was out for a week. You forget things without being reminded." I grin, but she becomes silent. Diana took my disappearance hard.

She changes the subject, as quickly and abruptly, "Well, I'm working on my next letter. I'll get it to you as soon as I can."

"'Kay, well, I got to get to Spanish. Bye, Diana."

"Bye, Christopher."

Diana looks around as I walk off and sets down her backpack while she hides in a corner, kneeling down to open her backpack. A brown, upright-standing, three-foot tall eagle pops out.

In a British voice, it speaks, "Diana, what is it?"

"Christopher didn't have a widow's peak before. He's lying about the paint."

"Well, why would he do that?"

"Why would he have a digivice attached to his belt loop?" she says, fingering the golden-yellow D-3 in the water bottle pouch of her own backpack.

"What are you thinking, Diana?"

"I'm thinking that he wasn't kidnapped last week. I'm thinking he was in the DigiWorld."

"How did he get there? I can't even get there, and I'm from there. I came here without a return address so to speak."

"I don't know, but we'll find out eventually. You tell me there's no reason for me to have you if there weren't some kind of big trouble brewing."

Diana rubs her neck, devoid of any kind of necklace.

: : :

A/N: And the plot thickens. I'd ask all sorts of Rocky and Bullwinkle cliffhanger questions and give two pun-filled alternate titles, but then again, why would I want to?

(Sonriso) - Hmm, evil twins. I think somebody's been watching a few too many soap opera, yes?