Trigger warning: Light bloodshed, implied self-harm.
a/n: Hi! This could have been up this morning! But I kept getting distracted! Damn it! Also, it was getting kind of long, so I've decided to split this into two parts... which screws up my outline entirely, but hey, things never go the way I want them to.
With that being said, I would like to give shoutouts to Green Spaghetti for sending me a wonderful message and inspiring me to write, and ToastyToaster22 for giving me an idea on how to end Part 1. Thank you all for your comments, faves, and follows!
"I felt you escape into empty space where my heart can't feel. Down in that darkness, you met all of the things you feared; and I knew, I knew there was nothing I could do." — Stomach It, Crywolf (ft. EDEN)
Ch 21 || Don't Forget the Sun (Part One)
Hikari was breathless when they landed.
She did not fall—someone caught her arm to steady her the moment her knees buckled, and for a moment, she thought it was her brother. She blinked dazedly, inhaling deeply and feeling Tailmon press up against her pant leg.
"Are you ok?"
That was not Taichi.
A glance to her left showed her that it was Jou who was holding her upright. He looked a little green himself but his grip was strong. She blinked again, incredibly confused. "I'm... I'm fine. Where is Onii-san?"
Jou looked around as well. His expression immediately became uneasy, and she could see why. A thick fog permeated the whole area—Hikari could hardly tell what was in front of her. She reached out experimentally, but her outstretched fingers only groped air. Jou's hand remained on the small of her back, almost protectively. She felt Tailmon rub against her leg again.
Out of instinct, she knelt down to pick up the kitten digimon. There were goosebumps crawling up her arms, and the material of Taichi's t-shirt was thin, offering little protection against the cold. Tailmon was warm. She called loudly, "Onii-san?"
"I don't see him," Yamato's voice replied somewhere to her right. "Wait—Jou? I thought you said you'd stay back with others."
"I did," Jou said quietly. Yamato came into view, and Hikari saw him holding tightly onto Mimi's wrist. Their partners stayed by their sides, with Gabumon holding Yamato's pant leg in a death grip and Palmon holding onto Mimi's other hand. "I... don't know what happened. I made sure to stay away from the portal—"
"Guys, I don't see Sora, either," Mimi interrupted worriedly, her expression frantic. "Or Piyomon."
Hikari's stomach twisted and she called Sora's name without hesitation and once again for Taichi. She wasn't the only one to do so. A heavy feeling settled in her chest when there was no response.
What if...?
Then, hesitantly: "Hikari? Is that you?"
She turned upon feeling fingers brush against her skin, releasing a quick breath of surprise. The fingers instantly withdrew, and behind her, Ken's voice said hastily, "I'm sorry, I just... I can't see much here."
"There's too much mist," Wormmon added.
Hikari was extremely confused and concerned. So Taichi and Sora were nowhere to be found, but Jou and Ken were here? Not that she knew where "here" was. Her fingers absently toyed with the trinket hanging around her neck, and it responded to her touch instantly. She looked down at Tailmon as she asked, "Where's the girl?"
"I don't know," the kitten digimon said, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.
There was a tense silence. Hikari felt a knot begin to form in her stomach, tight and uncomfortable, and her grip on her crest tightened. This was not good.
A shadow. Tailmon hissed. Hikari whirled around so fast that she almost knocked over those who were close to her, gasping in shock. A familiar, small child materialized in front of her seconds later, shimmering in and out of the fog like navigation lights on a ship in a horrendous storm.
"I am here," she said emotionlessly and looked around slowly. "It appears the portal would not let the ones you call 'Onii-san' and 'Sora' through."
"Why?" Yamato demanded heatedly. "What's going on?"
"I am not sure," she said, still looking around. "I can only pull so much energy through a distortion. Perhaps that is why it rejected your friends. But that does not explain why you two have come in their place."
"So... they're safe?" Hikari whispered hopefully.
"Yes. They are still on Earth."
She breathed a sigh of relief, but the feeling was short lived as she glanced around again. The fog around them did not look like it would dissipate soon, and it was as unnerving as it was confusing. She could not ignore the horrible, foreboding feeling rising in her chest. "Where are we?"
"We are at the edge of Master's barrier," the child answered simply without looking at her. "I think it is best if we start moving now. Master's chambers are on the other side of the lake."
Hikari froze. Her knees trembled beneath her and a sudden chill swept through her. "L-lake?"
"You mean... the one Gennai brought us to?" Jou asked, uncertain.
"The one we went to when summer started," Ken said quietly. He was kneeling down to pick up Wormmon.
The child stared emptily at the fog as though she could see something they could not. She offered a slow, mute nod. "We are going to have to cross it to get to your friend."
"Then let's get going," Yamato said without hesitation. Even in the fog, Hikari could see the determination and worry in his eyes. "Takeru is—oof! Wh-what the hell?"
He had started to walk as he spoke, and out of nowhere, there was a splash. He'd stumbled into the water. Were they already that close to the lake? Hikari took a careful step forward and shivered when the tip of her sock became wet. She'd forgotten that they had left in such a haste that they hadn't even bothered to put on shoes, but her lack of footwear was the least of her worries.
Her grip on Tailmon tightened considerably. "How are we going to get across?"
It was Gomamon who stepped forward. "Let me digivolve, Jou."
Jou fished his digivice out of his pocket without missing a beat, and it wasn't long before his partner was encased in a familiar glow that temporarily caused the fog around them to fade. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the small girl wince heavily, but the light was gone shortly and Ikkakumon stood in its place. His ears twitched as he knelt down so he was eye-level with Jou.
"Let's go."
Yamato was the first to climb on. Hikari followed suit with Jou's help, and Ken and Mimi were next. Hikari watched as Jou started to reach for the little girl's hand, paused, looked incredibly uneasy, and eventually withdrew. She vanished for several seconds and reappeared next to Mimi, who grew pale but remained silent. Ikkakumon didn't hesitate to begin his journey across the water.
Hikari shivered slightly, drawing her knees up to her chest and keeping her hand on her crest. The other stroked Tailmon's fur at a rhythmic pace, skillfully avoiding her partner's gaze. It was still cold—an oddly familiar, but disturbing kind of cold, much like the sensations she felt before she decided to take a shower earlier that evening—and she couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching them. It was an unpleasant feeling.
Probably because this lake had seemed so inviting and warm when she'd come over a month ago, but now it was the opposite. Eerie. Dark. Ominous. Just like when Gennai had called them to the digital world. When she'd grabbed Takeru's shaking hand and ran... How could it have become so unsettling? Or was the relaxed ambiance all a façade? How could she not have noticed?
Her eyes examined the world around her slowly, but she wasn't sure what she was looking for. A shadow, maybe. It certainly felt as though something would reach out and pull her into the water, and looking over the edge at the murky water made her skin crawl. She was anxious and restless and wondered if anyone else felt the same. And she had no idea what was going to happen to them once they reached the other side...
Where are you, Takeru?
The question whirled through her mind over and over again and her throat closed up. Wherever her best friend was, she knew he was in trouble. The images from her vision flitted through her mind in distorted fragments, and she couldn't help but feel another wave of guilt wash over her. She didn't have time to be afraid. They were here to help Takeru, but Takeru was here because of them.
"You said you wouldn't do anything stupid," she muttered under her breath, her voice strangely thick and shaky. "You promised."
Someone whispered her name. She barely noticed that her fingers had ceased in their trek up Tailmon's spine. Sad honey-brown eyes stared at her suddenly, and her own eyes popped wide. She skidded backward without thinking and felt her chest tighten when she realized there was nowhere else to go but in the water.
A small cry of surprise and fear escaped her and hands caught her before she fell off. Steadied her. After a moment, she realized that it had been Mimi, and she didn't fight her friend when she wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled her in close.
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah," she whispered and nodded quietly, feeling her face grow hot when she realized her friends were staring. Her gaze landed on the being who had startled her so badly. "You... you changed again."
The girl's forlorn expression did not fade as all eyes shifted to her. "I am sorry I scared you. Your warmth is nice."
She'd said something similar about a half-hour ago. Hikari blinked, looking back at her crest. She didn't feel warm, not in this place. Mimi stayed close and she could feel Tailmon curl into her lap protectively, and the girl's small figure blurred like static. Empty sockets became a soft brown again.
"What's your name?" Mimi asked quietly, keeping one hand over Hikari's.
The child blinked as if surprised. "Wh-what?"
For the second time in less than an hour, she sounded incredibly afraid. Mimi repeated her question, louder this time, and after several moments of silence, the girl murmured timidly, "My name is Saya."
"That's a pretty name," Palmon said gently.
A few feet away, there was a nervous laugh. Jou said almost inaudibly, "Leave it to Mimi to befriend a ghost in a creepy lake at a time like this."
Yamato scoffed. "We don't need to know her name, anyway."
"Yamato," Mimi scolded, giving him a harsh look.
"What?" His gaze landed on Saya, cold and unforgiving. His arms were crossed. "You tortured my brother. You made him suffer. You're the reason we're here in the first place. He's just a kid. You know what kids are supposed to do during the summer? They're supposed to relax—they're supposed to have fun. You took that opportunity away from him. I have no interest in becoming your friend."
Mimi opened her mouth, but there was nothing she could say that would ease Yamato's aggression. Hikari's own chest flared with anger as she realized Yamato was right. Takeru was in danger—that was why they were here. And the thought of them being too late to save him made her heart throb.
But she glanced back at Saya, her anger quickly shifted into anxiety. Saya's face was grim.
"You are right," she whispered.
"Why him, anyway?" Yamato rounded on her again, his whole body quaking with rage. "What does your 'Master' want with him? What did he—"
"Master wants his soul."
Hikari stiffened, and there was a collective gasp. A violent, cruel shudder rippled through her, and she released her crest without realizing it. Fear pulsed through her entire body alongside her heartbeat, drowning out all of her senses. She barely noticed that Mimi had loosened her grip on her shoulders. Could barely feel Ikkakumon's fur underneath her, or Tailmon's weight in her lap.
His soul. Whatever Saya was working for wanted his soul. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew this already. Had figured it out hours ago. They had already tried to take hers. But hearing it out loud was much more terrifying.
All of his memories, his emotions, his fears... Everything that made Takeru, Takeru. Her best friend. Someone wanted to strip that of him.
They're going to kill him.
She couldn't let that happen.
"Why?" Yamato demanded, horrified.
"Master wants to rebuild what was taken from him," Saya answered quietly, looking down at her fingers. "He needs three things: the device which triggers his partner's evolution, his crest, and his soul."
"He won't just give those up," Yamato said angrily. "Takeru's a strong kid."
Saya's mournful eyes met Yamato's unwaveringly. "You forget how much time has passed. Now that Master has him in his clutches, it's only a matter of time before he breaks completely."
Hikari's fingers curled into fists almost subconsciously. Once again, her brain was overcome with images and voices, but this time, they weren't from her vision. They were from her dream:
"I'm sorry, Hikari."
His eyes were blank and glazed over as though he was under a spell. There were tears cascading down his cheeks in small, salty streams; and his whole body shook uncontrollably.
"I'm going away now."
Blood caked his arms in swampy dark blotches, rolling. Rolling. Down his wrists. Off his fingertips and into the black space which threatened to consume him entirely.
"I'm so tired... I can't take it anymore."
She was running, heart pounding and pounding as she tried to reach him.
"It's no use. He's gone, girl. He's mine. I have broken him. And there is nothing you can do to piece him back together."
She was unsure of why she was still shaking. At first, she had blamed it on the icy whispers of wind that slithered around her like invisible snakes. Or maybe it was that voice, disturbingly familiar and sinister. Or Saya's words. She rubbed her arms, trying to feed warmth back into her skin, and was thankful when Tailmon rested a gloved paw on her hand. But she could not look at her partner.
Yamato was right: Takeru would not simply give his soul away. But Saya had a point as well—weeks had passed and she and her brother had continuously broken through his wall without even giving him a chance to pick up the pieces.
She remembered what had happened a month ago when Takeru had called to tell them Yamato was hurt and the events that followed. Even back then, he seemed so vulnerable and afraid. He shook and shook in her arms like a small child, lost and confused. She could still feel the despair and lingering sense of panic deep in her heart—a small remnant of the hopelessness that Takeru felt—when she thought about her vision, of his memories of summer.
He was a glass jar cracking closer and closer to shattered with each lie he'd told; with each avoided confrontation; with each false smile; and she had done nothing to prevent further damage.
Takeru was only fourteen—barely seven months younger than her, and so exhausted and afraid that he had resorted to the call of a blade. She hated herself for not noticing. She'd thought it was strange for him to wear long sleeves in the summer and she never bothered to push it. If she did, though, would it have changed things? Would he still try to keep things from her, from his brother, from his team? He was only fourteen years old, and he was ready given up everything to save them. No way would she let him go through with that.
"You are crying," Saya said suddenly, and it took Hikari several moments to realize that she had been whom Saya was talking to.
Her hands remained still underneath Tailmon's paws, and she jumped in surprise when a thumb brushed away stray tears. Mimi had an arm around her shoulders again, and multiple pairs of eyes were looking at her with concern.
"You weren't the only ones who hurt him," she whispered, her voice strangely hollow and hoarse. One of her hands slid out of Tailmon's grip and found her crest. "There were more."
Saya nodded, looking away in shame. She took a step back and once more became the ghost who had haunted Takeru for weeks on end. "Master has other servants to whom he has promised rewards for doing his bidding."
"Rewards?" Mimi echoed in disbelief. "For hurting Takeru?"
Yamato glared venomously. "Who the hell is your Master?"
Hesitance. Saya said, "The moment I reveal his name, we will lose the element of surprise. He will know that we are here."
A cry of frustration escaped Yamato's lips and he turned to Jou with a murderous glint in his eyes. "Ikkakumon, is there any way you can swim faster?"
"I'm trying," the water beast said with a concerned and remorseful undertone. Jou petted his head almost comfortingly. "This lake... it's dark and it's draining my energy."
"I feel it, too," Ken murmured, and it was then that Hikari noticed how pale and shaky he looked. Wormmon was rubbing his head against the former Kaiser's arm as though he was trying to help keep him warm. "It's... it's cold—it's almost as if we're stuck in the middle of winter, rather than summer."
Hikari could feel Mimi shudder intensely. "It's like being held in a freezer or something."
"Like the Dark Ocean."
Hikari wasn't sure why she said it. The words just came out—rolled off of her tongue in a voice that lacked emotion entirely. She stared blankly at the fog surrounding them and was unaware of the looks of confusion and worry which she received in response.
"That was my first thought, too," Ken muttered, now clinging tightly to his digimon partner. "But it's... there's something different about it, I just can't think of what it is."
"Master did that on purpose to further protect his identity," Saya informed them quietly. "He wanted to throw Hope off guard. He was under the same impression, although I am not sure what caused him to figure out the difference."
"Takeru thought... the Dark Ocean was after him?" Hikari asked quietly. Why... why didn't he come to me when he first realized...?
She already knew the answer to that question but that did not make it hurt any less. She swallowed back another wave of guilt, which was accompanied by tears; and she had to blink hard several times to dispel both sensations.
"You're so stupid," she muttered without realizing it, and this time, when she spoke, her voice bled pain and aggression. She couldn't help it—he was going through all of this to protect her. To protect them. But he didn't even give them a choice to stand up and fight. "Stupid, stupid Takeru. We're supposed to be a team. We're supposed to be his friends. We're supposed to help each other out. Even if they came after us, we would have fought no matter the risks. He didn't have to do this all by himself."
Silence, as thick and foreboding as the mist around them, followed her words. She could hear Yamato seething quietly. Jou was biting his lip, eyes trained on Ikkakumon's fur. Mimi was rubbing Hikari's arm sympathetically but her gaze was glassy and unfocused. Ken seemed lost in thought as well, absent-mindedly stroking the skin on Wormmon's back.
"We are almost there." Saya's voice had become solemn again. "I do not know what is to happen once Master senses your presence, but be prepared. He..." She paused. "As soon as he sees me with you, he will most likely send me away. You will be on your own."
"Send me away"?
Hikari looked at her with wide, fearful eyes. "You mean...?"
Her expression was grim. "He will trap my soul in the same house that he threatens to trap Hope's."
Yamato sputtered. "House?" A slow nod. Yamato continued, "The one he told me about? That's where he is?"
"It is Master's lair," she replied, her gaze lost somewhere in the fog once again. "There is a portal inside one of the rooms."
"To where?" Jou asked fearfully.
"Hell."
Once again, everyone fell quiet. Hikari could barely breathe. There was a wordless, frantic conversation between eyes and facial expressions; and all Chosen present continued to sit in silence until Ikkakumon said, "The water is getting shallow."
Jou hummed in acknowledgment but his gaze was cloudy and unfocused as if he was lost in thought. Hikari had to pull at Ikkakumon's fur lightly to keep her place as he pushed himself out of the water. Mimi released her gently and together, they slid off of the water beast and onto the grass. Ken and Yamato did the same, and they looked around slowly, tense and prepared.
A weak, shuddering sob caught Hikari's attention immediately. Her head snapped up and she felt her heart constrict as though there were fingers wrapped around it. "Did you hear that?"
"Yeah," Tailmon said quietly, sniffing the air. Her eyes widened and she looked up at Hikari. "That's Patamon's scent."
Instinct drove her forward. But she made it about three feet away before a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. Ken said, "Hikari, wait!"
"The fog is still pretty thick," Gabumon told her, one of his warm paws coming to rest on the back of her calf. "We need to stay together."
A flash of light followed his words, signaling that Ikkakumon had changed back into Gomamon. She glanced back, taking in the digimon's tired, wary expression; and she frowned when Jou shrugged him onto his shoulders. He looked exhausted all of a sudden.
"Are you alright?" Jou asked quietly.
Gomamon nodded. "I'll be fine. I just need to rest a bit."
Yamato seemed to have the same idea as Hikari because as soon as the seal digimon was situated and comfortable, his eyes found Tailmon and his own partner. "Where's the scent coming from?"
Tailmon leapt out of Hikari's arms and her tail twitched the way it usually did when she was confused or irritated, and the brunette's eyes popped wide when she saw her tail ring glisten as though it had been caught in a sliver of light. The kitten digimon nodded her head to the right. "This way."
"Hey," Mimi started before Hikari could move again. "Grab my hand, so we don't get separated. You, too, Ken."
"...alright," she murmured, grasping her outstretched hand. She watched as Wormmon climbed onto Ken's shoulder so he could do the same. "Yamato?"
"Ok," he said stiffly. Very slowly, his hand slipped into hers, and she gave it a squeeze when she realized how clammy and tense he was. "Guess this means you get to hold mine, right, Jou?"
Jou chuckled, but the worried, fearful glint in his eyes did not fade. "Guess so."
Saya stayed by Tailmon's side, and the catlike digimon eyed her warily for several moments. She only relaxed when Gabumon and Palmon joined her, and Hikari kept her gaze trained on her partner's glowing tail ring. Everyone took a collective step forward. Two steps. Three steps.
As they ventured further and further into the fog, she couldn't ignore the looming sense of anxiety which wished to swallow her whole. She squeezed Mimi's hand out of instinct. Felt her heartbeat start to quicken: too hard, too fast.
Faster.
They were going to save Takeru and Patamon.
Faster.
They were going to save Takeru and Patamon.
Faster.
They were going to save Takeru and Patamon, no matter the cost.
"It's just beyond these trees," Saya said, her voice too loud, and too soft at the same time.
Another whimper. It, too, seemed so close, and yet so far away. Hikari pursed her lips and swallowed hard. "There's that sound again."
"I heard him, too," Gomamon whispered.
"Me, too," Wormmon said.
Then, without warning: "...Takeru! NO!"
Yamato ripped out of Hikari's grasp so quickly and violently that she stumbled. His name fell off of her lips but it was in vain; he was too distracted and running too fast for her voice to reach him. So she did the only thing she could think of.
She ran after him.
The harsh, ragged breathing and crunch of heavy footsteps that sounded behind her told her that she was being followed by the rest of her friends, and she pushed herself to quicken her pace. She was losing sight of him. "Yamato! YAMATO, WAIT!"
Yamato called, "No! I'm not going to wait any fucking longer—Takeru's here and he's in danger, and I'm going to find him even if it kills me!"
"You won't do much good all by yourself," Gabumon shouted, and it wasn't long before he was enveloped in a cocoon of warm light. Hikari closed her eyes to block out the intense cerulean glow, and it only felt like a brief second, but when she opened them again, she felt her heart start to climb up her throat.
"Wh-what...?"
The fog around them had lifted. Her feet slowed to stop without her consent, and she stared openly, heaving in shallow and unsatisfying gulps of air, at the sight resting before her.
Indeed, there was a house, and it was huge. It stretched higher than the trees, which circled it almost protectively, quivering under the cold wind's touch. The entire building was enclosed in a transparent, glasslike dome, almost like a snowglobe. But the scene frozen inside was far from comforting: there were thick black ribbons of darkness coiled tightly around its walls and windows like vines, pulsing as though they were alive. Her stomach rolled, foretelling a spell of nausea.
She'd barely noticed everyone else had stopped as well. They all froze in their tracks behind and beside her, and she could see Garurumon and Yamato stuck in place with shock as well barely fifteen feet in front of her.
"Oh, my god," Mimi whispered in absolute horror, bringing a shaking hand up to her lips as if she was going to be sick as well.
"It's... the air is so heavy here," Jou panted, almost green in the face. "I... I can barely... get a breath in..."
"Takeru is... inside there?" Ken asked quietly, sickly pale, eyes wide and webbed and afraid.
Wormmon started to climb up the expanse of Ken's leg and instructed, "Don't move, Ken-chan."
Tailmon backpedaled slowly so she was right next to Hikari, and her eyes searched the house's exterior suspiciously. She sniffed the air and gave a grim nod. "That's him."
"And Patamon," Garurumon added. "It's faint, but... I can smell them both. And—" The wolflike digimon stopped, nudging Yamato enough to coax him to take several steps back. He turned his head so he was facing Hikari. "This is too familiar. It's dangerous. Keep your distance."
"But he's in there—!" Yamato started.
"And if you go in there, you'll probably end up dead, so don't move a muscle, do you hear me?"
The solemn, apprehensive tone in Garurumon's voice sent a surge of dread through Hikari's body and she found herself shivering violently once again. She turned toward Saya, whose eyes were brown again, defining anxiety and terror. Her breath caught in her throat and she asked tremorously, "...is it always like this?"
"No," she whimpered, shaking her head frantically. "The final step in Master's plan... it has begun."
"What does that mean?" Hikari asked, unable to keep the fear out of her voice. There was a menacing dark red tint to the barrier surrounding the house and she traced it with her gaze. The black vines were still pulsing, and with each breath Hikari drew in, she could hear it growing louder.
They clenched and unclenched, shifting around slowly. Shifting. Shifting. Shuddering. The ground beneath her seemed to quake, and she wasn't sure if it was a figment of her imagination.
Tailmon stood on her hind legs, pushing Hikari back again with one paw. A low growl climbed up her throat, and her eyes were narrow. "How do we stop it?"
"We cannot," Saya said.
Hikari saw Yamato open his mouth as if to speak, but before anyone could utter a word, Hikari heard another scream. The sound resonated across the small field and ricocheted through the trees. Seconds later, a flash of orange shot through the air.
"Takeru!"
Patamon's little body had slammed so hard into the tree behind her that it took him several tries to figure out how to stand again. With four strokes of his wings, he was in the air again and seconds later, he was rushing off toward the house.
"Patamon, stop! Get away from there," Tailmon cried out, starting toward the little guy, but he had already been tossed backward again into the trees.
Somehow Hikari forced her limbs to move. She knelt down and wrapped her arms around Patamon so tightly that he had no escape, and she pressed him to her chest, instantly aware of how cold he was. "Patamon, you're hurting yourself."
Yamato had run up to her now, kneeling beside her with Garurumon by his side. "What happened, Patamon? Where is Takeru?"
"He has Takeru," the child digimon said frantically with tears in his eyes. He fought against Hikari's hold but she refused to release him. "Let me go! Let me go! He's almost gone, Hikari, I have to do something!"
Hikari felt her insides twist again. "Almost... gone...?"
Patamon was sobbing. Tears were rolling off his cheeks and into the grass, and it was then that Hikari realized the massive barrier encasing the house was slowly killing the plants surrounding it. Everything she remembered being a luscious green weeks ago was now rapidly turning yellow. Brown. Falling. Falling. Dying.
"His hope," Patamon wept. He was pale as a digimon could be and looked like he wouldn't be able to stand if she let him go, but still continued to struggle. "Piemon is stealing his hope! I can't... I c-can't feel him anymore... anymore... Takeru...! TAKERU!"
The air around her stilled. Hikari felt every ounce of air leave her lungs the moment Patamon uttered Piemon's name. Her heart was hammering away at her ribcage, thumping and thumping and thumping; and the dread that had been building and building in her stomach finally exploded, sending an unfamiliar feeling of numbness through the rest of her body.
She retraced with her eyes the house in front of her, and the more she stared at it, the more paralyzed she became. Her fingers remained frozen around Patamon's tiny form and the warmth of his fur was quickly fading.
Piemon...
Piemon.
She didn't want to believe it. She couldn't. HolyAngemon had taken care of him years ago. He was gone. He had to be gone. He was... he was...
"Oh, no," Yamato breathed out all of a sudden, sounding petrified. "No, Takeru, no, no, no, no, please, don't—"
Hikari looked up woodenly and she barely had time to blink before Yamato was on his feet. It didn't take her long to follow his panicked gaze.
He was small, almost like a speck, but Hikari knew who it was instantly: her best friend. Her best friend, standing at the top of the barrier, looking over the edge.
Taking one step forward.
It happened extremely fast. Screams echoed around her, including her own, and then there was a tremendous, deafening whoosh. A bright flash of blue blinded her, and then green, and then pink, and—
"WEREGARURUMON, CATCH HIM!"
Everything went white and every drop of sound seemed to disappear completely. Hikari struggled to stay standing and wondered when she had even pushed herself up in the first place. She felt weak and disoriented. And then, when all of the flashes faded and the dots in her vision slowly disappeared, she immediately wished to return to the chasm of colorless light.
Takeru was in Yamato's arms, eyes closed, and he was covered in blood.
There was a thin, long cut stretching from just below his left temple to his jawline. His cheeks were splattered with spots of dark red. His sweatshirt was tattered and frayed as though it had been snagged on something sharp multiple times, and there were several cuts which extended beneath the heavy article of clothing. The chosen of Light was sickened when she glanced at the lower half of his body.
She wanted to run over to him. To see if he was breathing. To wrap her arms around him and pull him to her chest. But her legs were incapacitated with shock. She could not move.
Yamato's face was awash with tears. "Teek? Teek, hey, open your eyes, damn it. Look at me." His shoulders shook as he pressed two fingers to his neck as if checking for his pulse. "Please, Takeru..."
Patamon crawled toward him, slowly and shakily, looking too weak to even cry. "Ta...Takeru...?" After a hiccup: "W-why won't he wake up...?"
Jou sat down slowly in front of Yamato, gently taking the child-level digimon into his arms. Gomamon rubbed his cheek against Patamon's in an act of comfort, and Tailmon did the same. Wormmon and Ken were slowly walking toward them but neither of them spoke.
Hikari felt her body tremble and she slid to the ground, her eyes locked on the bearer of Hope's grey and bloody face. Mimi whispered tearfully from somewhere beside her: "Is... is h-he...?"
"Not yet," a voice answered almost happily, "but he might as well be."
Piemon's body materialized in front of them without warning, and Yamato glared heatedly at him through his tears. But Hikari could still see the sliver of fear that hid behind that mask of hatred and rage. "If you think I'm just going to hand him over, you're in for a fucking surprise."
"Oh, how endearing. You think you can save your poor brother." Piemon knelt down in front of him as if he were a young child and grinned malevolently. "I have to say, I am disappointed in my dear servant. I did not expect to be interrupted like this. But it does not matter how feisty you get, little man. He and I made a deal. He belongs to me."
In one sweeping motion, Peimon wrapped his gloved hands around Takeru's still body and ripped him from Yamato's grasp. Yamato released a pained cry, powerless to stop him. He'd flicked WereGarurumon away like the digimon was a piece of stray food on his clothes.
"Besides," the frightening mega digimon continued as though this was a normal conversation; "once he wakes up, he will not be the boy you think he is. Not anymore, at least."
He heaved Takeru up effortlessly, with one arm resting under his knees and the other pressed against his back. Hikari had never seen her best friend look so lifeless. She must have blinked, because one second, Piemon was right in front of them, and the next, he was at least twenty feet away.
"What... what does that even mean?" Yamato asked, looking at Saya with horrified eyes.
"That is not your brother anymore," Saya said after a pause, her tear-glossed gaze sweeping over the two siblings to Hikari. Sorrow was written across her face. "It is mine."