White Moon

Your hope turned to dust

Fear.

It struck sudden. Menacing. Unforgiving.

Sleep had become so valuable - a precious blanket of comfort to protect one from the monsters just outside. Now it proved far too vulnerable, torn to shreds by the creatures of shadow. The time of night was unknown. Darkness was near complete save for silver streams of moonlight striking across the walls of a quiet bedroom.

TK didn't know exactly when his mind had drifted out of the void of sleep, but now his consciousness was overtaken by pounding fear in his chest. His heart tolled loud and steady as if it were a timer counting down to some dreadful ultimatum. Terror had struck him cold.

He didn't know why.

Patamon lay ignorant and asleep, nothing more than a little knoll within the covers. Focusing on his breathing, TK attempted to calm himself, pressing his head deeper into his pillow. Blood thumped in his ears with a rapid pulse and no sign of respite. He tried deeper, slower breaths. Night terrors were nothing new to him; he'd been subjected to more than one since his first adventure to the Digital World. But most were triggered by a nightmare of some sort. Usually a dream regarding his partner. This, however, was unprecedented. Fear had seized his heart from the shadows with no prelude.

Now he knew why.

Of course he knew why. He didn't need a nightmare to remind him of the horrors that lurked in the dark. He had witnessed it firsthand only yesterday. Living darkness and malignant air. The memory of their attack still played vivid in his mind. Never before had he experienced such a sudden show of attention from his enemy. It was like they had never realized he was present until he was stranded within their midst. Were they not expecting him?

His heartrate wasn't slowing. If anything, the pace quickened further, rattling TK's body and mind with anxiety. It was almost as if their eyes were trained upon him in that very moment. He stared at a corner of his room that was yet untouched by the moonbeams through the blinds. TK could imagine a faded pair of red eyes piercing him from the dark. He clenched his hand into a fist where it lay on the bed, fingers dragging the sheets taut beneath him. Traces of light bounced softly over the pastel colored bedspread, highlighting the wrinkles of the fabric. His eyes followed the ridges of the sheets where they splayed out from between his fingers, and the little valleys inundated by shadow. It looked similar to a large, many-fingered claw lying open-palmed underneath his fist, ready to take his hand and drag him under.

TK shuddered as he watched the shadows grow blacker and blacker, shifting and swimming as if they were pools of ink. His mind filled with images of being lost in a sea of that swirling black where the shadows would converge on his tiny, insignificant light and drown it out.

When his eyes returned to that one corner of his room, he was shocked to see not one pair of red, but several. His imagination was running away from him as he lay in the dark. He needed light. TK slid out of bed as softly as possible to not wake Patamon. The moon outside was shifting as the night carried on, its gentle glow slipping away. TK followed it as it trailed off, but he knew the moonlight wouldn't illuminate his room all night.

Glancing at Patamon still blissfully asleep under the covers, TK stepped over to the light switch. With a silent prayer that the sudden brightness wouldn't wake the digimon, he flipped it on.

Darkness.

He tried again. Off, then on.

Nothing changed. He tried his desklamp, his computer. All non-functional. The light of his digital clock was gone. Even his phone wouldn't power on.

TK could hardly breathe as panic seized his throat. A chilled shiver ran through his tense body. He knew what this was: the same feeling he had in the elevator. The cold had been leaking into his room throughout the night, and had now sunk its talons in him. It was too soon. He didn't want to go back to that world. Stumbling over to his bed, he patted at the bundle of blankets where Patamon slept. Nothing.

His partner wasn't there. TK was alone in the dark. The moon was almost out of sight, and he knew what he had to do. Or at least, what his panic-crazed brain thought he should do. TK scurried out of his room, forgetting entirely about Matt snoozed on the couch. His brother's presence had been washed from his consciousness by the terror swimming around in his mind.

The power seemed to be out everywhere, but at least the rest of the apartment seemed substantially lighter than his room. It wasn't enough though; he knew the dark was spreading. He had to get out in the open, where the light of the moon could touch him unabated. Slipping a pair of worn sneakers on, he stepped out of the apartment and into the night. The cold bit him harshly, and he was grateful he had forgotten to take his jacket off before he slept; he certainly wouldn't have remembered to put it back on in his mindless rush. TK trotted across the open corridor, keeping close to the railing to ensure the light remained upon him. He had stopped in front of the elevator out of habit before remembering how he even reached the Dark World in the first place.

TK uttered a frustrated, breathless chuckle. "Heh, idiot."

The open stairwell at the end of the corridor would have to do. Running haphazardly down several flights, his lungs ached by the time he reached ground level. TK groaned in exasperation. Smoke as white as a summer cloud wafted from his lips with each breath. Now if only he could find a spot untouched by the dark. There was no way of knowing just how far off dawn was, but he knew he needed to find a place that would be safe until then. After all, the deepest shadows around him were clearly permeated with a soft red glow. He was still being watched.

The waterfront.

An ironic thought, he realized, but the beach park seemed to be his safest bet. No trees or obstacles to cast their shadows upon him as the moon continued its unwavering course. Sprinting across an empty street, TK made his way down to the beach's edge, grateful to see the silvery moonlit sheen upon clear waters. It was nothing like the swirling thick blackness that had taken over the shadows of his room. He somehow felt safe here, despite his preference to avoid water.

TK sat upon the sand, a few paces from the water. Now all he had to worry about was the cold. It wasn't particularly windy on this clear night, but the chill found him regardless. It slipped up his extremities with icy fingers, searching for his core. TK shivered uncontrollably as he felt the autumn air close in around him, clinging onto him. He tucked his legs up to himself, wishing he had a bigger coat to hide his entire body in. Even remembering his hat would have helped. But for now he would have to brave the cold. He pulled his arms in, letting the sleeves of the jacket hang empty. It wasn't much, but it was something to keep the chill at bay. He nudged the collar up around his face before bunching his shoulders and resting his chin on his knees.

This was crazy, he thought.

He rubbed his hands over his forearms to generate a trace extra warmth, eyes narrowing as he felt the bruises from earlier. His mind drifted back to his conversation with Matt the evening before, remembering how concerned his brother had been when he'd asked if anyone had been hurt in the Dark World. Revealing these bruises would have only escalated the fear that had already cloaked Matt's presence. TK couldn't do that to him. They were minuscule injuries anyway. No sense adding to the problem with something so insignificant.

Recalling that conversation seemed to brush away the clouds in TK's weary brain just enough for him to realize. Matt. He was still there, up in the apartment. TK closed his eyes with a small whine, his body tensing up with chagrin. He should have awoken Matt. Asked for help. As much as he had always tried convincing himself he didn't need it, his brother's aid would be more than welcome in this moment. TK nearly cringed in disgust. Why couldn't he could save someone else for a change.

Turning his body slightly, TK looked back up at his apartment building, towering high above him. It was too late to ask Matt for help now.

When his gaze lowered, blue eyes were abruptly captured by red. TK's breath caught with a quiet gasp as hundreds of eyes peered out from the darkness of the tree line. Dozens of those creatures had lined themselves up within the shadows that bordered the beach park, stretching far in either direction. Wherever he looked, they were there, save for the shoreline itself. He was trapped on the beach.

"Patamon…" He whispered, childish instinct telling him that maybe if he called, his partner would come. Fear stifled his voice. TK could hardly bear to make any noise while those shadows stared him down. Patamon's disappearance weighed heavily on his mind, but the horror of Blighted shadow hemming him in overtook his thoughts. There would be no searching for his digimon while his enemy stood sentry. It pained TK like a splinter of guilt working its way into his heart, but here he would have to stay until the dawnlight spilled over Odaiba.

The Blight could not reach him. TK desperately attempted to reassure himself. He was still in the light, untouchable. He moved his eyes away from the shadows and focused instead on the waters of the Odaiban Bay and the city of Tokyo beyond. It was a measly effort to put the Blighted ones out of his mind, knowing that even with his back turned they would be unable to advance. He tried to ignore how, with the power outage, the buildings of the skyline seemed to morph into gigantic visages of those beings. There was no light anywhere save for the moon and stars, shining ever brighter while the city lay in the deepest shadow. TK wrapped his arms tightly around himself. The white moon would protect him. He was safe.

TK's eyes drifted closed. He was safe.

Safe.

Drowsiness returned to his mind in a veil of fog. Whether it was the cold dulling his senses, or the sound of gentle lapping water lulling him to sleep, he didn't know. He didn't care. He was spent. Only once did his eyes slide half-open again in a lazy attempt to check his surroundings. TK didn't see much, too weary to even focus on anything in the faded moonlight. He just wanted to rest. It had been several days since his last true night's sleep. The possibility of waking up with a cold didn't matter to him. He was safe here, and so he would rest.

TK let his body keel over to the side, still keeping his limbs tucked close as he lay down. He brought his hands up inside his jacket, and popped them through the collar to prop his head up as a makeshift pillow. A couple hours like so would be manageable. Dawn couldn't be that far off by now, could it? Eyelids fluttered shut and TK's mind slowly drifted off in a blurred haze.

Guilt still remained in his heart, and his mind continued picking at the splinters, working them deeper instead of plucking them out. He thought of how sorry a sight he must seem, and how it all could have been avoided if he hadn't left Matt behind. If only he had thought to waken him. But then again TK hated having people fuss over him. It was so much easier to hide things away while the storm passed. Yet as he lay there, nestling his hands into the sand, TK felt regret taking hold. He felt its tug, felt the impulse to simply go home. To spill his feelings and fears in front of Matt. He hadn't been ignorant of Matt's concern for him, but he could hardly bear the thought of being a source of worry for his brother. Matt had more important things in life to bother himself over. In the end, here TK was, stranded out in the open, wishing he had only accepted the older boy's help. All that stress and concern, nullified by TK's subconscious decision to brave it alone. Even if he hadn't forgotten Matt was spending the night, he didn't truly want help until he was sitting stranded on the beach.

It was far too late, but TK only knew he would now gladly accept his brother's offer.

A skittering in the nearby sands drew TK from his thoughts. He stirred his eyes open slowly, curious at how sleep-laden they were. He didn't even remember dozing off. A rock sat two feet from his face that he couldn't recall either. TK stared at it with lidded eyes, too tired to question its arrival. It wasn't until the rock lurched upwards, revealing blood red eyes, did TK react.

He flung himself backwards with a surprised cry, watching what he now recognized as a head begin to pull itself out of the sand. Its process was slow and painstaking, accented by the creature's strained gurgling. The rest of the body followed – a dingy mess of charcoal skin and jutting bone. TK was sitting up now, and dug his heels into the sand to scoot himself away. A foreign palm collided with his back, and knotted his jacket into its fist. TK let out another exclamation, eyes and mouth open wide in terror. He twisted his body in an effort to identify his assailant, and didn't fail to notice numerous other shadows closing in on him. With his hands still tucked within the jacket, TK hooked his fingers around the collar and forcibly ripped it open along the zipper. He fell out of the coat just as the creature holding it yanked it back. The boy spun immediately as he stepped away. The creature was tall, towering high over him despite stooping over as if a gotsumon hung from its neck.

They shouldn't have been able to reach him, but the place where he rested had been cast in shadow while he slept. He wondered, if the moon had set, then were was the dawn?

A black claw sprung from the ground like a bear trap, snapping shut around TK's ankle as he backpedaled away from the creatures. Shouting out his horror, TK yanked hard on his foot. The Blighted grasp remained fastened. His panicked flailing only succeeded in losing him his footing. TK landed flat on his back with a tiny desperate whimper before resuming his attempts to free himself. The claw was slowly giving way as he tugged, but it's fingers did not release him. The arm it connected to was being drawn further and further out of the sand. TK realized he was pulling the creature to the surface himself. He resorted to kicking at the appendage with his free leg. He couldn't let himself be restrained, especially with another two dozen of these darkened creatures stalking towards him.

Taking a deep breath, TK rethought his strategy. Instead of struggling, he settled for simply returning to his feet, hoping the claw wouldn't pull him off balance. It didn't. With his stance regained, he thanked the black hand's cooperation by stomping upon its wrist with his foot, twisting his heel into its flesh. His boot would have been more effective, as the claw's initial reaction was to tighten around his ankle. But in the next instant, it weakened. TK took his chance to wrench his foot free and leap away from the hand.

He landed right in the arms of another Blighted shadow that had sneaked up behind. It seized him by the shoulders. The others were only a few paces away, meandering towards him as if they had all the time in the world. TK's heart sank at their indifference towards his struggle. One of the creatures stood before him, opposite the one holding him. It's glowing gaze was ravenous as it studied his body. He couldn't maintain contact with such eyes. TK flicked his head back and forth, looking frantically for an opening. He saw the edge of darkness, far out of reach where the moonbeams still bathed the sand. Confusedly, TK's attention drifted upwards towards the source of the shadow that had been cast upon his waterfront sanctuary. Up and beyond the creature in front of him, striking into the sky in twin silhouettes, was his apartment complex. And of the two, the very building he called home was the one that now stood between him and the moon.

TK stared at his apartment in disbelief, in betrayal. So the moon hadn't set, and the sun still far from rising. It had never occurred to him that the moon's trajectory would lead the light so perfectly away as to inundate him in shadow. He had never been safe.

Despair.

A collective whisper rose from the creatures around him as they paused. They watched him now in what seemed like awe. TK wanted nothing to do with them and their words. He needed to rediscover the light, and that meant escaping the shadow of his home.

TK struck at the creature behind him with his elbow, hard, and spun halfway around to follow up with a punch to the gut. A choked hacking was heard from the Blighted being, but before TK's second strike could land, the creature flung him away from itself. He made a run for it.

Icy claws halted his escape. The other Blight had sprung to action, catching his arm and shoulder as he ran from the first one. TK frantically tore away at the offending hands. His breath hissed through his teeth in short gasps, like a sprung leak. Another pair of hands seized his free arm, and together the two Blighted creatures bent his arms back until they were painfully taut. Panic was seeping freely from TK's lungs now as his fight became exponentially less effective. Claws upon his back, the two began to force him to stoop over, his head lowering towards the sand. Try as he might to resist, his locked arms were too dangerously close to snapping. He could imagine these monsters didn't need much provoking to harm him.

"Let me go," be demanded in a voice hardly above a whisper.

Despair.

It was their only response.

Despair.

The word tolled in his brain, strengthened by voices that seemed to be wafting up from the sands under his feet. TK stared, eyes slowly widening in terror as he spotted signs of something dark stirring beneath the sand. He made an attempt to force himself upright, but the claws upon him shoved him back down. They were holding him up as much as they were keeping him stooped.

A small, horrified noise escaped his throat as he watched black fingers begin to poke out of the shifting sands. They wiggled about like earthworms drawn to the surface by heavy rain. TK knew they were searching for him. He renewed his efforts against his assailants, attempting to push himself forward and away from them, but only succeeded instigating them to further press their weight upon him. Bent low, TK widened his stance to maintain his footing and steady his balance. If he could only hold on until the dawn. He would not relinquish himself to these creatures so easily. Especially not after nearly giving himself up in the Dark World only yesterday.

The Blighted fingers below continued to claw their way through the sand. They danced all around his feet, squirming as they searched. TK grunted as he struggled against the weight of his captors, if only as an effort to shift his feet away from the grasping claws. There were a hundred of them rising through the sands – ten pairs of hands appearing palms up, all bending towards the stifled child of Hope. Ten pairs of arms. Ten surfacing shadows.

TK gasped out a panicked whimper, turning his head to the side and letting his eyes roll upwards in a desperate glance at the hidden moon. He could see the glowing halo that surrounded his home, almost taunting him as a false beacon of safety. The night was still young; the dawn would not save him. He had only one last hope.

"Patamon," he breathed, his voice hardly louder than the sound of the shifting sands. "Where'd you go…?"

If only his partner could reappear in time.

The hands beneath him finally reached their prey. Jostling about as if competing with each other, they finally took hold of his ankles.

"No!" TK flung himself against his restraints, only to find that additional shadows had joined the two holding him. With several more claws biting down on his shoulders, they successfully shoved him down to the ground. The sand erupted.

TK nearly screamed at the sensation of dozens of hands upon him at once. They grasped at his clothes and his limbs with a starving fervor. Those above the surface released his arms, preferring to press upon his body to hold him down. From below, each claw that had found its purchase on him remained fastened and began pulling him down. And down. Down into the churning ground. The enshrouded beach was turning to quicksand. The boy lunged upwards, reaching out into thin air with an empty hope that something would find him and yank him to freedom. Arms wrapped around his stomach and across his chest, lassoing him back into their grasp. He could feel the ripples of shifting particles lap against his back as the sand steadily engulfed him. And among those ripples came brushes from more Blighted fingers as they latched onto him. TK flung his arms as if he were treading water, swinging at his assailants, searching for leverage. But he was on his back, sinking head first. There was nothing within reach but the creatures above him.

In desperation, TK grabbed at the shoulders of the nearest creature standing above him, and attempted to heave himself out of the sand. Instead, the Blighted shadow gave way, allowing the boy to pull its body down on top of him. Its added weight expedited the process. Though he was able to keep his head up, his chest was nearly buried in the sand, with the rest of his body well on the way. His legs were immobilized not only by several claws from below, but also by a handful of Blight holding him down from the surface. They sat perched upon his legs like vultures, stooped over and eyeing him hungrily. The creature lying across his chest now sat up and moved to straddle him. A circle of red eyes formed at the edges of his vision as he looked up – the remaining shadows surrounding him, gazing down upon his helpless body. TK was hyperventilating by now. Tiny whimpers escaped his panic-pumped lungs as his breathing grew more and more rapid. There were so many of them.

They were going to bury him alive. The creature sitting on him finally thrust its claws forward to clamp down on his neck. Stifling as the movement was, he was more scared at the fact that the movement was actively pressing his head into the sand. TK clenched his jaw and grasped onto the being's wrists in an attempt to alleviate the pressure. It drew the attention of the others standing over him. They collectively snatched his arms up and pinned them to the ground, where more hands from below grabbed him and secured him. The sand was past his ears now as he lay prostrate, and continuing to climb towards his face. The further he sank, the more creatures latched onto him.

TK knew he had only seconds left above the surface. He was utterly helpless, all movement restrained by shadow. Sucking in one last, labored breath, he did the only thing he could, and even that was a challenge thanks to the dark claws at his throat. He forced the words out with nothing more than a tiny, coarse squeak.

"Matt… help-!"

Though small, the very sound of his voice triggered a response from the Blight. Bursting out of the sand on either side of his head were two pairs of claws, and they slapped down on his face. With his eyes blinded and voice smothered, they forcibly dragged his head the rest of the way underground. His body was buried entirely. Numerous hands held him from all sides, as if a coffin of sand wasn't enough to secure him.

But ever so subtly, something pushed against him as he lay at their mercy. It felt like a cold gust of wind, or a gentle brush from an icy wave of water. It dissolved the presence of the Blight around him, leaving him floating in darkness. TK found he could breath, though the air stung his bruised throat. There was no light here. He was lost in an abyss, drifting along with surprising buoyancy. He kept himself very still as he floated along, not wanting to re-attract the attention of the Blight. TK couldn't feel their presence, but even that set him ill at ease. Their sudden departure was unsettling, but in their place came a familiar humidity. Moisture filled his clothes, causing them to cling to his skin. The boy lifted his head to examine himself in curiosity, but as he did so, his body came to rest on something solid. His weight had returned, and the darkness retreated back into the corners of his vision. What lay before him was a black ocean spread out to meet a depressing grey sky. The view was near opposite that of the beach in Odaiba.

He was back.

The Blight had dropped him in the Dark Ocean, and left him to drift to shore. No burial, no vicious attack. They had abducted him only to abandon him. He couldn't make sense of it.

"There you are."

TK's heart soared up and through the sky at that voice. Finally, he wasn't alone. He spun in an instant, stumbling to his feet and snatching the digimon out of the dismal air. "Patamon!"

PS

I was hoping to get back onto a more regular posting schedule buuut that's probably not going to happen. At least the chapters are getting a bit lengthier.

Feedback appreciated as always! Any questions in the reviews that I haven't answered personally will hopefully be addressed through the narrative. Gotta leave some surprises for later on in the story. There's still sooo much more to cover.

Til next time!