Chapter VI

Crisis And Consummation

Yuna knocked softly on the doors of the Yagami apartment, nervousness slowly churning the depths of her stomach. Maybe she should have called first, let Kari know she was stopping by. It was late in the afternoon, almost nightfall really. Kari might think it was an odd time for a friend to stop by and get reacquainted, especially with no previous notice having been given. It had been a while since they had seen each other.

Why am I so nervous? I'm going to visit a friend, nothing else.

But she knew she was lying to herself. She wasn't here to see Kari. No, she wanted to see a different brunette. His face had been on her mind ever since she had bumped into him on the subway the night before. If only he would be there. If nothing else, maybe Kari could arrange something…

The door opened, catching her off guard amid her thoughts. And revealed a young man with blonde hair and clear blue eyes.

"Oh, hi Takeru."

T.K. blinked in surprise.

"Hi…"

Yuna smiled in amusement at T.K.'s apparent discomfort. They hadn't even been introduced as far as she could remember. Yuna knew who he was by Kari's description. She had heard the mantra many times. But T.K. obviously never heard of her before.

"I'm sorry, I don't think we've met before. I'm Yuna, Kari's friend. She told me about you before, so I made a guess that you were him. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

T.K. glanced over his shoulder, and Yuna distinctly heard several voices emanating from the living room.

"She's in there, with my brother and his girlfriend and Davis."

Yuna nodded, she knew Davis, and had seen Matt and Sora before. But Tai apparently wasn't part of the company.

T.K. called out across the kitchen.

"Kari, someone's here to see you."

He turned back to Yuna, and motioned for her to enter.

"Yuna!"

Kari's voice ran out with surprise as she entered the kitchen and caught sight of her friend.

Yuna smiled nervously.

"Hello Kari."

Gennai sat back in his chair, his mind still reeling from the catastrophic situation that had just been revealed to him. He looked to Tai and Agumon with wide eyes, unsure for once in his long life on a course of action. Even when the Dark Masters had taken over the digital world all those years ago, or when Apoclomon had reemerged from the Wall of Fire there had been a plan, some prophesy or idea to give hope in the darkest of situations. But what Tai had just calmly explained to him…

He looked to Tai again. For a young man who had just delivered news of Armageddon, he was strangely unemotional. Not a trace of fear or anger, or anything that indicated he understood the full implications of their situation. Gennai mentally reviewed the list of bad news: the Sovereigns were out of the fight, the Benign Powers weakened, Oikawa barely holding on to the world's defenses and the Dark Axis…

He had searched the archives for information of this dark artifact, and the results of his search had shattered what little confidence he had been able to gather up until then. He had read the description aloud.

"A weapon of darkness possessing great power, capable of subverting the powers of light if they become susceptible to its influence. This dread item absorbs energy, slowly destroying the source and transferring the energy to any creatures of darkness who taps into it. As a byproduct to this process, it releases darkness into the surrounding territory."

He looked up to Tai, but the destined of Courage appeared unphased.

"Don't you understand what this means?!"

Tai continued to stare into Gennai's eyes.

"Yes."

Gennai blinked, a vein on his forehead pulsing in anger. Then he exploded.

"Then why are you taking it so calmly!? Damn it Tai, you're the one who enlightened me to the situation! The digital world's defenses are crumbling, both worlds are about to be swallowed up in darkness, your friends are under its influence and are about to be destroyed by its dark properties and you sit here as if you didn't care! You're the only defender we have left! So why did you come and tell me these things if you think there's no hope?!"

Gennai regained control of himself and lowered his voice.

"You can still go back and try to win them over again, make them into the team you used to be."

Tai and Agumon turned their heads slowly and looked at each other. Tai had passed on Courage's message to his partner. They both understood what was needed of them. But Gennai… didn't need to know yet. No one did. The digidestined couldn't be won over yet, even if they could be they were too weak to do anything. They would only get themselves killed. Tai knew that this was his responsibility. There was no other option. It had to happen this way.

"We came to you because you needed to know. You have to understand the situation and how it came down to this, so you can help the others recover when the immediate danger passes."

Gennai shook his head in confusion.

"'When the immediate danger passes?' How will it pass?"

Tai smiled slightly and rubbed Agumon's head.

"Don't worry. We'll take care of it. The darkness won't triumph tonight."

Tai and Agumon stood and began walking toward Gennai's front door.

"Take good care of them, Gennai."

Gennai struggled to his feet.

"Wait! Tai! You can't go, not now! There still might be a chance, we have to choose our acti…"

Tai's voice cut him off mid-sentence.

"They've already been chosen. Good luck."

Gennai stood open mouthed as Courage and his partner stepped out into the darkness, setting their faces toward where dark clouds were forming on the horizon. Nightfall was approaching.

Thank you for everything Gennai. I'm sorry I can't tell you what is coming, but I know that you and the others will play your part. It's time for me to play mine. Goodbye old friend.

Far in the distance a section of the sky erupted into blackness, like a gaping hole.

Phantomon watched impassively as a tornado of darkness descended from the rapidly spreading dark hole in the sky.

The Axis was descending.

Punching its way through the brittle defenses of the digital world.

Overcoming the light of the setting sun.

Spreading its power out, seeking…

It landed within a rocky plain, a valley surrounded on all sides by mountains of impressive height. Immediately the plain was plunged into darkness, all color quickly fading, sucked into the dark epicenter of the vortex. Phantomon could see it now. A black crystal, easily the size of a large car. Beautiful and cold, like black ice.

It was here, the master's plan was advancing.

Phantomon turned to the dark digimon that stood watching with him.

"It has begun."

Evil grins of approval appeared at his words.

"Fangmon!"

The digimon indicated flashed his monstrous teeth.

"Courage will undoubtedly be on his way here. He is yours."

Fangmon's eyes shone with a horrible joy. Without a word he turned and strode down toward a mountain pass, the only entrance into the valley.

Phantomon watched him go, then turned back toward the Axis at the heart of the darkness. Slowly at first, but then steadily faster, colors began rising out of the digital world's surface.

The Crests.

Sincerity.

Friendship.

Love.

Responsibility.

Knowledge.

Hope.

Light.

They were being drawn toward the Axis. Unwillingly, they were drawn. As the dark crystal began to consume the energy of the Crests, the darkness began to spread faster. Faster!

Phantomon felt the power. Felt his own power increase in response. Skyrocketing. Invigorating. Inebriating. He drank it in.

Soon, when the Crests ran dry and died, enough energy would have been harnessed for the master's return.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Yuna."

Sora smiled as Kari introduced her friend to the party gathered in the living room. Matt and Davis nodded to her in a friendly way, but she sensed that they were slightly impatient. Her visit must have interrupted a conversation, one that something instinctual told her must not have been very pleasant, although they seemed to hide it well.

Yuna smiled shyly at the digidestined in the room, and attempted to explain her presence. She decided it was best to come out and admit the real reason she was here. It would be too awkward trying to get the information she wanted and at the same time avoid telling them her motives.

"I was looking for Tai. I wanted to thank him for helping me out on the subway last night."

The others started a little, quickly hiding looks that she couldn't quite place. Aggravation? And maybe guilt?

Sora in particular looked distinctly uncomfortable, but she spoke in a normal voice.

"That's funny, we were just talking about him ourselves…"

"Really?

"…Yes."

"Will he be here tonight?"

Kari shook her head.

"He wasn't planning on it. But… I could give you his number if you like."

Yuna's face turned red.

"I don't know…"

Davis gave her a cheeky grin.

"Well, you did want to talk to him enough to stop by for a visit. Must have been some help he gave you. Funny, Tai and a girl his sister's age."

Yuna felt her face burning at Davis' words. Clearly the younger chosen of Courage had no shame. She glanced over to Kari, who seemed very surprised at Davis' words.

"Is there really something between you and Tai?"

Everyone in the room was looking at her, in either amusement or surprise. This wasn't going as she had hoped.

"No, not really. I mean… I just wanted to see him again."

Davis still seemed to think the whole situation hilarious.

"Wow, that's great. Never it of Tai. Guess he's not really the…"

His voice trailed off as he suddenly caught sight of Kari's face. The chosen of Light had suddenly stiffened, her face turning white and her expression one of intense horror.

"The darkness!"

Everyone in the room looked at her in alarm, moments before her eyes turned dark and her body fell to the floor.

"Kari!"

T.K. lunged forward towards her but only made it half-way to her side.

Davis and Yuna stood in shock as T.K., Matt and Sora cried out in pain and also collapsed.

Within the D-terminals of Davis, Yolei and Cody, the digimentals of Friendship, Love, Sincerely, Responsibility and Knowledge shattered. Only the digimental of Courage continued to glow softly.

And the darkness grew stronger.

Phantomon stood watching the Axis, surrounded by his Company. Within the dark crystal the Crest symbols stood suspended, slowly being drained of their power. Phantomon felt the darkness flowing through him, and knew that although he might still be an Ultimate digimon, the power from the Axis made him as strong as a Mega.

He looked at the newly digivolved members of his Company.

LadyDevimon.

SkullMerimon.

DexDoruGreymon.

SkullGreymon.

Each one possessed the powers of digimon a level greater than what they appeared. The equivalent of five Mega.

Nothing left in the digital world could compare.

And when their master appeared, a Mega in his own right… the power he would wield!

Yes.

Phantomon nodded his head in satisfaction.

It was almost time.

Davis and Yuna stood in the lobby of the hospital, along with Cody, Yolei and Ken, their faces drawn with worry. Davis looked at Ken in disbelief.

"All of them?"

Ken gave a defeated gesture.

"I called Mimi's cell phone in America and got Michael. Same thing happened. They were at the movie theater and she collapsed, just like the others."

Cody spoke up.

"It has to be something to do with the digital world. We should go and investigate."

This time Yolei shook her head.

"The gates are closed. I already tried. I was going to bring their digimon to them when I heard what happened, but I couldn't even access the gate program, much less open it."

Davis exploded.

"So we can't do anything! That can't be right. There must be something!"

Yuna had been silent up to this point, her thoughts far away.

"What about Tai?"

The others stopped and looked at her, surprised and somewhat distressed at the mention of his name.

Cody spoke first, though not in answer to Yuna's question. His voice sounded pained as his mind finally put last night's meeting into perspective.

"That's what Tai was trying to warn us about."

No one spoke.

They all realized…

Maybe this could have been prevented.

Cody continued on.

"We wouldn't listen, we wouldn't help, so he probably went…"

He didn't finish his sentence. He didn't need to.

All around the entrance to the valley were signs of conflict, scorched rock and claw marks. Piles of debris litter the ground, and faint wisps of data blew about the shadows, slowly ebbing towards the dark vortex that marked the Axis' position.

From within the valley's center came the sound of combat. Evil laughter roared through the darkened valley, screeches and curses punctuated by heavy impacts. But the darkness hid everything.

Suddenly, at the very center of the darkness, a bright flash of orange blazed forth, followed quickly by a blood chilling cry of rage and hate. Then the valley exploded outward as the vortex of darkness and the orange light both seemed to detonate at once.

When the eruption had passed the valley had changed drastically. The darkness was gone, all but some shreds of shadow, like drifting fog, and a massive crater where the center of the darkness had been.

And out of the crater sped seven bright flashes. The Crests, weakened and damaged, but free once again. The sound of their passing overhead, if anyone could have heard them, held tones of thanksgiving, but also of mourning. Victory is always bought at a price.

It had been hours since the digidestined had collapsed, and Yuna had spent the whole time waiting with Davis and the others. Then everything had changed. One moment Yuna was sitting in the hospital lobby, anxiously waiting for news of the stricken digidestined. The next moment all she saw was white.

She was floating in a sea of emptiness, but for some reason she didn't feel scared. She felt calm. There was some sort of reassuring presence here. Even if she couldn't see the source, she could still feel it.

"Yuna."

She glanced in all directions, trying to find the speaker.

"Who are you?"

She could feel the smile in the voice as it replied to her query.

"Can't you tell?"

A figure bathed in orange light appeared before her. The light was so bright… She couldn't see his face, just his silhouette. But the voice…

"Tai?"

"Yes, and Courage."

Yuna didn't understand, but if it was Tai she had to tell him about his teammates.

"The others…

"I know, they'll be fine. Don't worry."

"How do you know?"

"I know."

They were both silent for a while before she spoke again.

"Where are we?"

"Well, you're sleeping in the hospital lobby right now…"

She could see his face now, or at least the outline of his facial features.

"And were are you?"

Tai/Courage didn't respond. After a moment she spoke again.

"Tai, I don't understand what's going on. Everything is happening so fast."

He reached out his hand and touched her shoulder. She felt his strength, potent and powerful. Courage.

"It will be alright Yuna. The danger has passed for a time."

She looked into his eyes and saw… satisfaction… and sadness. She wanted to ask him what was wrong. His expression was so foreign, so unexplainable. But before she could begin he spoke.

"I need to ask you to accept something from me, Yuna."

He paused for a moment until she nodded for him to continue.

"I need you to be Courage, for the digital world, and for the digidestined."

What?

"My task is complete. I can't protect them anymore. I would entrust my power to Davis, but he has fallen away too far. It will take time for him to recover, just like the others. That's why I need you. You have an affinity to my power, and even if you don't know it, you are strong."

Yuna couldn't speak.

"Will you do this for me? For my sake? For the sake of both worlds? Please, Yuna?"

His eyes were so bright, pleading silently, his hand on her shoulder still comforting.

What could I do? I don't even understand what he is asking of me.

She spoke in a whisper.

"Yes… But I don't know how…"

He smiled.

"You will know."

With that, she felt him remove his hand from her shoulder, and instead place it on her forehead. She gasped at his touch. Then the power that she had felt through his hand on her shoulder began to flow into her.

Her sight began to swim before her, but she could still feel Tai's smile as she drifted away from him.

"Thank you."

"Yuna! Wake up!"

Yuna opened her eyes with a start.

Tai!

It wasn't Tai. Yolei beamed down at her, relief evident on her features.

"They're awake! They woke up just a few minutes ago, and the doctors say that they're going to be fine!"

Her dream! Tai had said that they were going to be fine!

"That's great! Do they know what was wrong with them?"

Yolei shook her head.

"No, the doctors couldn't even tell what was wrong when they were unconscious. But it had to be something to do with the digital world. When they regain their strength, we'll go and investigate. We'll figure it out."

Yuna nodded. Her conversation with Tai was still foremost in her mind. She had to take some time to think about what he had told her.

"Can I see Kari?"

Yolei shook her head gloomily.

"No, the doctors aren't letting anyone in to see them tonight. They want them to sleep for now. But tomorrow, maybe."

Right, but I think Kari should know about what Tai said.

But maybe not. After hearing the younger digidestined talk about the meeting they must have attended the night before, maybe she should think about what Tai had said before sharing it. She wished she could ask him about it. After all, it wasn't everyday that this sort of thing happened.

"Well, if everything is fine, I'll head home."

Yolei smiled at her.

"Thanks' again for all your help. It was nice of you to stay with us this long."

Yuna stood up from her seat and began to walk toward the door.

"I'm glad I could. Kari's my friend."

Yolei was about to return to Kari's hospital room when something on the back of Yuna's belt caught her eye. An orange and white device with a black screen.

"Hey!"

Yuna stopped in the doorway and looked back questioningly.

"Why didn't you tell us you're a digidestined?"

"What?"