Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Or Heroes of Olympus. Or most of these witty sayings, for that matter...
Author's Note: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "absent".
Happy Odaiba Day, everyone! Actually, it's 20 minutes past Odaiba Day my time, but give me a little bit of a break. It took me longer than planned to edit this chapter. Plus, I spent a bit too long squeeing and worrying over the whole Digimon Adventure 03 announcement today. ISN'T THAT GREAT? But also terrifying. Very scary. It's mostly scary because I have all of these head canons that I have fallen in love with - TK plays basketball, Mimi moves back to Japan, Davis experiments his cooking onto the digidestined - that that I'm afraid are going to end up completely not true! But I guess we'll see.
I am working on trying to get Guilmon more in character. I've gotten some feedback on him, and so I am actively trying to fix him up. Hopefully he'll start to become the digimon that we know and love. It just takes practice; that's what I always say. But even so, I hope you...
Enjoy!
Chapter Ten
Kari awoke feeling like she'd been trampled by a troupe of dancing Tyrannomon. Her chest hurt, and she had to struggle to breathe. She peeled her eyes open and was immediately met with a picture of Elecmon surrounded by several baby digimon.
So being in Primary Village hadn't been a dream.
"How are you feeling?" someone asked.
Kari tried to focus. She was lying in a bed that was half her size, leaving her legs hanging off the end and resting on the floor. Tai, Gatomon, and Gomamon sat next to her. Joe and Agumon sat at a small table in the center of the room. On the other wall was a poster of a cartoon Ogremon pouting with his arm in a sling. The caption read: Don't be Ogremon! Be Healthymon! Be careful when you play!
"Where—?" Kari tried, but she felt like she was talking through a mouthful of cotton.
"You're in the Primary Village clinic," Gatomon explained. "We brought you here when you collapsed."
"Here, Kari, this might help." Joe handed her a cup of ice water. She took a sip.
Tai sat forward. "Do you remember what you saw?"
Kari felt immediate dread, thinking he meant the dream about the demon. Then she realized Tai was talking about what happened with Homeostasis.
"Something's wrong with the Digital World's balance," Kari said. "It… she… told me that Gennai has been captured and that his absence is making it hard to understand what's going on in the Digital World. She said that dark times are ahead."
"Anything about TK and Patamon?" Gatomon asked.
Kari felt her heart sink at the mention of her absent boyfriend. "No…" She swallowed. "Just that his disappearance and Takato showing up here is connected." She forced herself to focus on other things. "What happened to Gennai?"
"We're not sure," Tai said. "All Centarumon knows is that he hasn't heard from him in about a month."
"That's how long Homeostasis said she's been out of contact with him as well."
"Who?" Agumon asked.
"The entity," Kari explained. "That's her name."
Gomamon raised a furry eyebrow. "Some name."
"And then what happened?" Gatomon asked.
Kari hesitated.
"Kari," Tai said, using what Kari liked to call his big brother voice, "what made you pass out? What happened?"
I could tell them, she thought. But then it would lead to other questions that she really didn't want to answer. She nearly had explained it all back at the clearing, but just as she was about to, the demon had appeared to remind her to keep her mouth shut. It was like she was being watched. She knew her dreams were being haunted; she had no way of knowing if they could see her while she was awake as well.
No. If she was going to save TK, she was going to have to do it on her own. It would probably lead everybody to hate her, but it would be worth it. Or so she told herself. She could practically see TK frowning in disappointment in her head, but she quickly pushed the image away. She wouldn't be seeing anything from him ever again if she didn't listen. What was she supposed to do?
"Hey," Gomamon said, looking a bit alarmed. "No need to cry. We'll figure it out!"
Kari wiped her eyes, trying to get control of herself. This wasn't like her. She was used to keeping her emotions in, trying to sort things out quietly and calmly. Crying over things was always more Yolei's style, but here she was, taking a page out of her best friend's book. "I'm sorry… I… I don't remember."
"You don't remember what happened?" Agumon repeated. "Then why are you crying?"
"I just miss TK," she whispered, trying to cover for the blubbering mess that she had become. Almost everybody looked convinced and sympathetic, but she knew better than to meet Gatomon's eyes. Her digimon partner knew her better than that, and she felt like the worst person in the world lying to her.
She sat up in bed. Her forehead ached like someone had driven a spike between her eyes. Joe handed her two aspirin, which she downed with the water. Her gaze trailed to the window, and her eyes widened.
"It's night already?" she asked.
"Just after dinner," Tai said. "You slept right through it. We didn't think taking you back to the Real World until you woke up was a good idea."
"And it looks like Takato and Yolei are back from wherever they went," Joe added, staring out the window as well. "We should probably go hear what they found out."
x X x
The digidestined were spread out in a circle around a campfire along one of the hillsides of Primary Village. Kari spotted Takato in the midst of the circle next to Yolei. Davis was nearby, sitting between Veemon and Cody, with an attentive look on his face as the others filled him in on all that he had missed while babysitting the digimon. The others were passing around snacks from the Inoue convenience store.
Kari took a seat next to Tai, and Sora passed her a chocolate covered rice ball. "Ken got some food from Yolei's convenience store while I made phone calls to all of our parents," she explained.
"How'd they react?" Tai asked.
Sora shrugged. "They were confused, but I don't want to get their hopes up… or have them worried. We still don't know what any of this means."
"But surely it means something!" Biyomon said.
"It means we're all really confused," Agumon added.
"Yolei," Izzy said, cutting off Biyomon's reply, "I'm curious how your trip with Takato went. Find out anything informative?"
Kari turned to look at Yolei, but her eyes landed on Takato instead. She hadn't mentioned what Homeostasis said about him not belonging, and she was starting to wonder if it was the right thing to do or not. What if this bit of information led him to finding out his identity? But what if it distracted all of them from what was really important?
I really need to stop thinking so much.
"Not really."
"Not really?" Davis repeated. "What'd you go off to do then?"
"Just checking something out, Davis!" Yolei snapped. "And it turned out to be for nothing, so leave me alone!"
"Jeez…"
Takato shifted awkwardly next to her, but he didn't offer any further information either.
Mimi sighed sadly. "This is all so depressing. Didn't we figure out anything?"
"Like anything on TK?" Matt asked quietly. His blue eyes looked practically sunken in the firelight.
"Yeah, why wasn't he here?" Palmon asked. "Wasn't that the whole point of us coming here?"
"Not exactly," Kari said. Her voice caught on the lingering disappointment at the information. "According to Homeostasis—"
"The Entity," Gatomon supplied.
"—we were meant to find Takato, and through Takato, we should figure out what happened to TK."
"What happened to TK," Matt repeated. "Not where he is?"
"That's what she said."
Everyone turned toward Takato, who seemed to shrink under all of their stares. "How am I supposed to lead you to anything when I don't remember what I had for breakfast yesterday?"
"Ah, that's no big deal!" Armadillomon said. "I never remember what I had for breakfast!"
"What about the stuff from your pockets, Takato?" Guilmon asked, his big golden eyes looking almost scary in the glow of the campfire. "Maybe you wrote down where you left him."
"Uh… I don't think I left him anywhere, Guilmon…" Takato said awkwardly, but he dug into his pockets all the same. He pulled out a crinkled deck of cards and several pieces of paper, most of which had singed edges. "And there's nothing about TK on any of this stuff anywhere… I already checked."
His cheeks tinged pink, as if he just remembered something embarrassing, but nobody called him out on it as he hastily put the items back into his windbreaker pockets.
"More than likely, it all ties back to Gennai," Izzy said. "I received an email just a little while ago that confirms this." His laptop sat open in front of him, illuminating his face white compared to everybody else's firelight red.
"What's it say, Izzy?" Sora asked.
"From the looks of it, it's two prophecies," Izzy explained.
"Two?" Tai repeated.
"Don't they realize we get tongue-tied over just one," Matt added.
Izzy's mouth twitched in a smile. "From the looks of it, one prophecy talks about the overall problem that is going on right now in the Digital World while the second prophecy is a bit more detailed, talking about our very next threat. It's similar to how there was a prophecy that foretold the eight of us original kids coming to the Digital World and defeating the impending darkness while there also being a prophecy explaining how we would defeat VenomMyotismon."
"But we don't usually get to hear these prophecies, Izzy," Ken said. "What's different this time?"
"My guess? A lot," Izzy said. "And it's only going to get more confusing from here."
"Great!" Tai groaned. "Well, let's get this over with. Let's hear them, Izzy."
He stopped. "I can't."
"Izzy!" Tentomon complained. "We're dying from suspense over here!"
"What's wrong?" Cody asked.
Izzy glanced toward him. "The being who sent me these prophecies told me not to reveal one of them until the time was right. I can only guess now isn't it."
"Well, how will you know when it's the right time?" Biyomon asked.
He shook his head. "I don't know."
An uneasy silence settled on the group. Kari could see from their faces that several of them were struggling not to either strangle Izzy or demand the information now. Kari was a little relieved. She was starting to hit information overload, and any reprieve at this point was welcome.
Wormmon broke the silence. "Well, what's the second one say?"
"Right," Izzy said, trying to regain his composure. "This one is just as vague as you would expect, but what I can guess is that it's in reference to one of our current problems: Gennai being taken." He shot Matt an apologetic look. "Not TK."
Matt looked about as disappointed as Kari felt.
"And," Izzy continued, "I believe it may be pertaining to Takato. This could, potentially, be what Homeostasis was referring to… about Takato leading us to the information that we seek. If he listens to the prophecy, anyway."
Izzy paused, as if giving Takato a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him; there was so much pressure, Kari expected him to buckle under it all. Yet he looked brave and determined. He set his jaw and nodded. "Of course."
"We can handle anything!" Guilmon agreed.
"Gennai needs to be saved to stop some sort of evil from rising," Izzy said. "And he gave a deadline of the winter solstice, only four days from now."
"The winter solstice," Centarumon spoke up from his place between Tentomon and Armadillomon, "is a time of great importance. It is not only a time when your world is closest to its sun… but it's also a time when your world is closest to every other world out there, the Digital World included. The solstice is a day when breaking through barriers is at its easiest. It is a day when evil can rise."
The way he said it, rising sounded absolutely sinister – like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did with bread yeast.
"Thank you for that rather dramatic statement," Hawkmon huffed.
"The important thing," Izzy said, "is that we have a prophecy that should at least point us in the right direction for once:
Tamer of the Digital Hazard, beware the earth
Darkness's revenge, the chosen shall birth
Justice and Passion shall break the bind
And forgotten memories will begin to unwind."
"What does that first line mean?" Kari asked. Then she realized she'd broken into the silence, and everyone was looking at her. "I mean… Tamer of the Digital Hazard? I've never heard of anything like it."
"Well, the symbol on Guilmon's stomach looks a bit like a biohazard sign," Joe said. "And if this prophecy is for Takato, they could be referencing him."
"But tamer?" Gatomon looked like she wanted to cough up a hairball. "What do we look like? Wild dogs?"
"And do we really want to birth darkness's revenge?" Cody asked. "We may be stirring up more trouble if we pursue this. I don't know if we really want that with everything else going on…"
Takato leaned forward. "I don't have much of a choice. Gennai knows where my memory is. I need it back. I need to know how to get home. And we can't just ignore someone that has asked for our help!"
"I'm with you, Takato!" Guilmon announced.
"Nobody is saying that you shouldn't go," Sora said. "Just that maybe you should be cautious. I mean… Why beware the earth? And what would some evil digimon want with Gennai?"
No one answered.
Ken took a deep breath. "Well, one thing's for certain… You can't go alone."
"We should all go," Cody said. "You never know what we might come across."
"That would make the most sense," Armadillomon agreed.
"No," Matt said. "I'm not stopping in looking for TK, not even for Gennai. He can hate me all he wants, but my brother comes first."
"Then I'll go with you, Matt," Gabumon said.
"It's connected," Yolei blurted out. "We all know it's true. Takato showing up, TK's disappearance—it's all connected."
"But how?" Mimi asked. "How is any of this related to one another?"
Yolei looked like she wanted to answer, but she couldn't.
Matt shrugged. "You might be right, Yolei, but if this is connected, I'll find out from the other end—by searching for TK."
Tai's shoulders slumped, like he'd just heard something he had been dreading all evening, and the weight of that dread was like a heavy anvil he had to carry alone. "Alright. Then we'll split up. Half of us will go with Matt, and the other half will go with Takato."
Kari wanted to call out that she wanted to go with Matt, but she held her tongue. She couldn't forget the demon's threat; she knew where she had to go, who she had to go with. She just couldn't bring herself to volunteer leaving the search for TK, no matter how much she knew Yolei was right.
Izzy closed his laptop. "It may not be that simple."
"What do you mean, Izzy?" Palmon asked.
"The prophecy said: Justice and Passion shall break the bind. I believe that Justice and Passion may be referring to actual people, similar to if it had said Knowledge and Sincerity instead."
"You think it's referring to crests," Sora realized.
"But then whose?" Biyomon looked from Sora to Izzy. "Nobody has the crest of Justice or Passion!"
"Not as far as we know anyway," Gatomon said. "Take Takato for instance. He could easily have one of these crests, and we wouldn't have a clue, because he can't remember a thing. He could also be part of a new team of digidestined who we haven't met who have these crests, but there's no way to know without his memory."
Takato shifted uncomfortably.
"It's possible," Izzy agreed, "but given the wording, I'm willing to bet that Takato isn't the Justice nor Passion described in this prophecy, and given the circumstances, I'm willing to also bet that the two people that are being referred to are sitting right here with us."
Then Davis gave a small gasp. He'd been so quiet, Kari had almost forgotten he was there, which was totally not like Davis.
"I know who they are," he said.
The group stirred. Veemon and Ken tried to pull him back into the seat that he was practically bouncing out of, but Davis resisted.
"No, I do! It's Cody and Yolei."
The group studied him for a moment. Kari was sure that Izzy was going to tell Davis that he was wrong, but then he smiled. "I'm impressed, Davis. I came to the same conclusion."
"What?" Yolei sputtered out. "You can't be serious!"
"Izzy, are you sure?" Cody asked.
"Am I sure? No. But, well…" Izzy looked from them over to Davis. "Do you want to explain it?"
"Uh…" Suddenly, Davis didn't look so confident. "It's just… everybody except the three of us has crests, and Justice and Passion… they're cool and all, but they're just not… me." He shrugged. "Process of elevation."
Veemon nudged him in the side. "Davis, I think you mean elimination."
"Right. That."
Yolei still didn't look convinced, but she spoke anyway, "Well… then I guess that means Cody and I will go with Takato."
"And me," Ken spoke up. "I'll go."
"Me too!" Davis announced. "I'd like to kick whosever butt is behind this. Kari?"
Everyone turned toward her. Kari tried to respond, but her words completely failed her. She knew that she had to say yes. That's what she was told, after all, but she also knew that the group was probably expecting her to decline. The second she opened her mouth, she felt that they would all know the truth: She was a liar.
She needed to go on this journey for reasons that went way beyond Takato or Gennai – and if she did go, she'd end up betraying everyone here, including the very person she was trying to save. She heard that voice from the dream: Do our bidding, and you may walk away alive. How could she make a choice like that – between helping her boyfriend or helping Takato?
"Kari?" Gatomon said quietly, "you don't have to go. We'll understand if you want to help look for TK."
Finally, she found her voice. "No," she whispered gravely, as if she were speaking at her own funeral. "No, I need to go with Takato."
"That settles it then," Tai said. "We'll head out tomorrow morning."