Chapter 7
Joe paced anxiously as he waited in the office at the school. 'It's been nearly two hours since they went after Kari. I wonder why they haven't called yet. Are they still looking for her or did something happen to them? If something did I should be there, I'm the only one that knows any sort of first aid. But I can't go after them if I don't know where they are. I have to stay here and wait for Mimi to call so we can all go and get them.'
Joe looked around at the administrative offices in the school. Since he had gotten here it had been a hive of activity. He had gone straight to the principal and explained what had happened. The police and the children's parents had immediately been called. The Kamiya's had arrived first, followed by the Ishidas. The Tachikawa's and Izumi's had followed and finally his parents had arrived from the hospital. The police had arrived shortly after the Kamiya's and Ishida's had. They had interviewed both sets of parents and Joe as he was the only witness currently available. While he had done his best to describe as much as he could the police still did not have much to go on. A man in a nondescript white van was hard to find.
Adding to the worry of the police and parents was the fact that the rest of the children had run off after Kari. Now they had not just one but seven children to worry about. With nearly no knowledge of the situation the children were walking into the police and parents had little choice but to hope that the children would call quickly. While Mimi's parents had tried to call her repeatedly in the past two hours they had received no answer and were rightfully worried.
Her mother was decidedly frantic but had calmed quickly due to her husband's calm ministrations. In an unusual contrast the Kamiya's and Ishida's were unusually calm, although their eyes were red and swollen from crying. While the police had many patrols out searching for the children they had yet to find them. Well half of the Ishida's were calm anyway.
"Why are you all just standing around? My sons and his friends are out there hunting the man that took their friend and you useless cops are just standing around!" Mr. Ishida had stopped weeping and started yelling. From his point of view the children were doing a far better job than the police were at finding the children.
"Ease up Hiroki. They're doing the best they can. We have no idea where the children went and you yelling isn't going to help anything." Mr. Kamiya said in an attempt to calm his friend. "If anyone should be yelling it should be me. My daughter is the one that's missing." He said reasonably. "The only reason I'm not is because I know your son is going to find my daughter. Have a little faith in your youngest Hiroki."
Mr. Ishida opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by the unexpected noise of a phone ringing. Joe jumped as he quickly scrambled for his phone.
"Mimi? Have you all found out where Kari is?"
"Great! Where is she? Right I'll be there with the police and our parents as soon as I can. Hang on…what do you mean you're going in there?!"
The parents and police watched anxiously as Joe continued to argue with Mimi before finally hanging up. He looked around as he relayed what Mimi had told him. "They've found her but Mimi says they can't wait for us to get there."
"Finish telling us on the way Joe. We need to get going right now." The police detective interrupted. "Just tell us where they are."
"Right Izzy said they were at an old warehouse in the Industrial District."
TKTKTKTKTKTKTKTKTK
"Right what did you find?" Tai asked as they regrouped in the cluster of bushes. "Did either of you find a way inside. "All the doors were boarded up but we did manage to find a few windows that we could get into. They're small but we should be able to get inside without any trouble although it's going to be really dark down there. We just need to figure out where Kari is once we get inside." Matt said
"Alright then now that we have a way inside does anyone have a way we'll be able to see down there?" Tai asked "Well I have this small flashlight that my parents gave me for emergencies. Izzy do you have the one I gave you?" Mimi said as she pulled a pink flashlight out of her backpack.
"Mimi do you own anything that isn't some shade of pink? And yes I do." Izzy said as he continued typing away on his computer. "Well why would I want something that wasn't pink? Besides the one I gave you was pink too and you don't seem to mind." Mimi said innocently as the group looked on in disbelief. "Uh guys now is not the time. You two can chat about Mimi's color choices later. Right now we need to get to Kari." Sora said
"Right sorry." The two apologized and Izzy quickly returned to typing away on his computer. "Ok we have a way in and a way to see-" Tai began before he was interrupted by Izzy.
"Prodigious! I managed to find a copy of the blue prints for this warehouse. We can use that to find out where we are once were inside."
"Excellent Izzy! This is perfect. Let's go find Kari!" Tai shouted as he started to run off toward the warehouse. "Hang on a minute Tai. I wasn't finished. From what I can tell the upper level of the warehouse was used for manufacturing and the lower level was used to store the product."
"What are you saying Izzy?" Tai asked. "I'm saying that we should only need to search the lower level. This should really help us find Kari quicker and keep us from wasting time." Izzy explained as he quickly typed away on his computer before tucking it safely into his backpack. "Can I see your phone for a minute Mimi?"
"Sure but what for Izzy?" Mimi asked as she handed her phone to him. "I emailed the blueprints of the lower floor to your phone. If I modify the program on your phone I should be able to use it to track our location once were inside. Once we find Kari I'll email Joe out location so he can find us once the police and our parents get here."
"Alright let's go-"
"Hang on Tai!" Sora said as she smacked him on the shoulder. "You're forgetting that Mimi needs to call Joe so we can let them know where we are. And didn't you say TK was the one who was going to decide if we were going to go in there or not?"
"Uh right. Sorry I forgot." Tai said as he rubbed his arm. "Mimi call Joe and tell him where we are. TK are we going to go in there or are we going to wait?"
The children watched as TK closed his eyes for a moment. His voice trembled but his eyes were bright and determined when they opened. "We need to go in there and get her right now." Mimi nodded as she took her phone back from Izzy and quickly called Joe as the children ran toward the warehouse determined to save their friend.
The children slipped into the small window on the right side of the building. The room they dropped into was dark except for the small amount of light coming in from the window. "Luckily for us were small enough to fit in the window. The police and our parents will have to find another way in." Izzy whispered as he entered last and turned on his flashlight. The small but bright beam of light cast eerie shadows in the dark, dusty room. "Oh look at this place it's a mess. Doesn't anyone ever come and clean this place?" Mimi said as she too turned on her flashlight.
"Now is not the time Mimi." Sora gently reminded her. "We're here to find Kari. Worry about the lack of housekeeping later. TK can you lead us to where Kari is?" the redhead asked as she turned to face him.
"Yeah I just hope she's alright." He said as he absentmindedly rubbed at his neck. "Are you alright TK?" Sora asked in a concerned voice. "Don't worry I'm fine. We just need to find Kari and get out of here."
"Agreed." The group replied as they headed out of the room with TK in the lead. Tai was right beside him holding Izzy's flashlight while the computer genius used Mimi's phone to track their location. Mimi and Sora were in the middle of the group with Matt bringing up the rear with Mimi's flashlight in hand.
As the group moved through the warehouse they stuck closely together. Despite the two small lights and the fact that TK was leading them straight to Kari the darkness in the warehouse was still scary. As they walked the group could hear the noises of small animals running around. "Those are probably rats." Izzy whispered. "They tend to like to make their homes in abandoned places like these."
"Thanks for that encouraging bit of information Izzy." Matt remarked from the back. "Isn't it better to know that it's just rats than someone looking for us in here?" Izzy replied. Matt was silent as they were reminded of the dangerous situation they were in. TK stopped suddenly when they came to a room on the left side of the warehouse. Unlike the other rooms the door to this one was closed. As they walked up to the door the children could hear the voices of two men that seemed to be arguing with one another.
"Come on now just let me rough her up a bit. I just want a little drink and her blood smells so delicious." A rough voice said in an almost pleading tone. "I told you no. My client specifically requested that she be in unharmed." A smooth silky voice replied. "But you got to ta-" the rough voiced reply was cut off by the sound of something heavy hitting the floor.
Tai tried to open the door quietly but stumbled and fell into the room when TK pushed past him into the room. "Don't bother hiding. He already knows we're here. Don't you?" TK said his voice wavering slightly but determined. The man turned to face the children as they ran into the room. They could see past him to Kari who was bound to a chair in the middle of the room behind him. A small ray of light from the small window high on the wall illuminated the man just enough for the children to see him.
"Ah yes I was wondering when you would show." The man was tall and slender, pale skinned with dark blonde hair, he smiled at the children as he spoke revealing a pair of sharp fangs. His eyes however were what drew the children's attention. They were dark red, the color of dried blood. Azure met dark red as TK stared at the man with calm resolve in his eyes.
"TK!" Kari cried out as she heard his voice. His azure eyes broke from the dark red of the man standing before him to meet with Kari's own warm ruby. When he spoke there was no hesitation or fear in his voice. "Don't worry Kari. We're going to get you out of here and we'll all go home."
"HAHAHAHA! You really think you're going to get out of here alive boy?" The man laughed as he heard TK's brave words. "I know we are. You are not going to stop us." "Oh really and what do you think you children can do about it even if there are six of you?"
"Seven of us you mean." Joe said as he stepped into the room. "With the police and our parents right behind us. They should be here in a few minutes. I managed to slip in through one of the windows but they're going to have to break one of the doors down to get in." He whispered this last part to the group as the man laughed a high cold laugh his eyes moved to rest on Joe. "Do you really think that even the eight of you together could take me on and win? I'm feeling generous today since my plan is working so well I'll even free your little friend here to give you a better chance."
"What do you mean by plan? Kidnapping Kari was the plan wasn't it?" Mimi asked. "Ah you see my dear that is where you are wrong. She was just the bait." He said as he cut Kari loose. Mimi bristled at the thought of this man referring to her as 'his dear' and let him know it. "Hey where do you get off calling me something like that?! Even if I was old enough to date you I never would. You may sound like you're a charmer with that voice of yours but you're not! Besides I prefer redheads anyway!" Kari quickly ran over to TK and hugged him tightly as Mimi gave the man a piece of her mind as the rest of the group looked on in disbelief at Mimi's outburst. "I knew you would come and save me." Kari cried as she cried onto his shoulder.
"Of course I did. Always and forever remember?" TK said as he hugged her just as tightly. "Ah young love how touching. Sadly your little love story is going to be cut short. Take them now!" the man yelled as the door slammed shut behind the children. Dark shadows grabbed each of the children and pulled them apart. They fought as hard as they could but could not stand up to the strength of the dark beings.
"What the heck are these things?" Tai yelled as he struggled in vain against the shadow that held him captive. "These shadows are my assistants courtesy of the client that hired me for this job. He wanted me to capture each of you and I figured the best way to do that would be to lure you all here."
"What do you mean your client?" Matt yelled as he fought against his own captor. "AH\h you see that is privileged information. Suffice it to say that he doesn't want you children getting in his way when he puts his plan into motion. Ah yes but I am forgetting something aren't I as the shadows looked hungrily at the body of the man who had taken Kari. Yes very well go ahead and take your reward."
The children watched in horror as a thin tendril of darkness reached from each shadow to the body of the man. As the tendrils touched the body it was consumed by shadow and when the shadows receded the body was gone.
"D-d-did they just eat him?" Sora yelled in shock as she went limp in her shadows hands. "You are correct my dear. You see while I feed off the blood of humans these delightful creatures feed on their flesh. You see we really are the perfect combination. I'll drain you and they will dispose of your bodies and no one will ever know what happened to you." He turned to Joe as he laughed evilly. "Oh and don't bother wishing for your parents to come save you. They won't be able to find this room much less find you."
Hearing this the rest of the children ceased their struggling against the shadows that held them captive. All except for TK, and Kari, the two continued to struggle but to no avail. "Yes I think I should deal with you two first since you seem so eager to die."
"NO!" TK yelled as he continued to struggle. "I won't let you touch her again! You'll never hurt her or anyone else again! I won't let hurt my Light again!" With those words the Crest of Hope began to shine brightly on his right hand. The shadows recoiled in fear from the bright golden light that shone from his right hand. The shadow that was holding him was burned away by the bright light. TK ran for Kari as the shadows hands fell from him.
Kari and the rest of the children looked on in as the bright light shone forth in the dark room. 'That's right, he is my Hope and I am his Light and as long as we are together everything will be alright.' The Crest of Light began to shine at her thought. Its soft pink light shone brightly as it mixed with the gold of TK's as her shadow too was burned away.
Tai watched on as the light from the two children's crests burned away the shadows holding them. He watched in horror as he saw the man lunge toward TK and Kari in an attempt to kill them. A dark red blade had appeared in his hand as the man rushed forward. 'No! I refuse to let this happen. That's my sister and I won't let him hurt her!' Tai thought as he felt his chest grow hot. As he looked at his chest he was shocked to see a strange symbol there. As his heart grew hotter he heard a strangely familiar voice.
"Pepper Breath!" Agumon yelled as he appeared out of the light emanating from the mark on Tai's hand. The fireball caught the man unaware and knocked him away from his intended target. However this left Tai vulnerable and the shadow holding him raised its black blade to slit his throat.
Sora watched on in horror as she saw the shadow holding Tai raise its blade to kill him. 'No. Not him. Not my best friend. I won't let you.' She thought as her chest began to burn. As she looked down at her chest she was awed to see her own mark burning brightly right where her heart was.
"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon yelled as she appeared from the light. Tai was released from the shadows grasp as the green twister pushed the shadow away. He rushed toward Sora he saw another fireball come from that strange lizard that had appeared from his crest. The fireball once again burned away the shadow that held Sora captive.
"Blue Blaster!" Tai and Sora turned as they saw the shadow that had held Tai literally freeze and shatter as it hit the ground. The beam had come from yet another creature covered in blue fur. Matt moved toward them as they turned to see him with his own mark shining brightly on his right forearm.
" Electro Shocker!" "Poison Ivy!" The three looked on as they saw two more of the strange creatures appear from the marks on Izzy and Mimi's left hands. The strange flying beetle like creature had had used some sort of electricity to fry the shadow holding onto Izzy. The shadow had caught fire and ran straight into the one holding Mimi. A plant like creature used its long vines to pull Mimi away from the burning shadows. One last Pepper Breathe from Agumon burned away the shadow holding Joe as a seal like creature rammed it from the side pushing it directly in the path of the fire ball.
The six children turned toward the sound of TK's yell as they saw the man slash him across the chest. As the man raised his blade for the killing stroke Kari and TK both cried out. Kari jumped in front of the blade as it fell and the children all closed their eyes tightly as they waited for the sound of the blade cutting through her flesh.
The sound never came. The lights shining from TK and Kari's hand grew brighter and the sound of clashing metal was heard. When the children opened their eyes they saw to beings that could only be described as angels standing over the two children their own white blades held in their hands keeping the man from delivering the final blow. The angels twisted and forced the man's blade upward as their own slashed across his chest.
He cried out as the blades bit deeply into his chest, yet no blood flowed from the wounds. 'Agh…It seems that I am over matched. You may have won this battle but I swear to you I will come for you again and I will not fail." The man disappeared in a fog of darkness as the children and the strange looking creatures that had protected them rushed over to TK and Kari. Joe immediately got out his first aid kit and went to work on tending to TK. Kari knelt beside him and held his right hand tightly in her own. To the surprise of all of the children when Kari held TK's hand his wound began to heal. Joe watched in awe as the flesh knit together and the wound sealed itself leaving only a thin scar as evidence of the wound.
The group breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the wound heal. Tai turned to the creatures that had protected them and asked the questions they had all been wondering. "What are you, who was that man, how did you find us, and what in the world are these marks on us?"
A/N: Here is chapter 7. It's quite a bit longer than the previous ones. I really wanted to get through this and get to the next chapter which will explain things to some small degree and help move the story along. As always read and review. Oh and Miharu I have never seen someone review with so much enthusiasm. It is greatly appreciated.
