795 words :D. Had to work with it a bit, but I think it did wonders. This time we'll be getting a glimpse into Davis's POV. The first part is set around the end of Preceding Overwrite, so he's about 13-14 there. This entry also fills a couple of challenges: Challenge 19 of Monthly Restrict (use the letters j,q,x, and z at least once every 500 words) and there's enough fluff/sappiness here to count for the 28 Days Challenge as well :P.

Data Fragment 25: Pendulum

"Dead?" Davis croaked. "All of them…? Can't be. They can't be all gone…What happened, Kari? Who did this?…The flu? You're telling me that after the Digital World and Myotismon and everything, the thing that gets everybody is the goddamn flu?…I'm sorry Kari, I shouldn't have yelled, it's just…Yeah, I'm fine. Are you okay? I'll come home as soon as I…Yeah, maybe I'm safer over here, but I…I don't want you to be alone, either…I'll come as soon as I can, okay? And if you need to…talk or anything, just call, alright?…Alright, bye."

DemiVeemon hopped into Davis's lap. "What's going on, Davis? Is Kari sick? Are there bad guys to beat up?"

Davis only hugged DemiVeemon close, despite his surprised squeaks and further questions. The teenage DigiDestined kept his gaze locked on the grandfather clock's pendulum, trying to hypnotize himself into thinking that everything was okay. That once his visit to Australian relatives was over, everyone would be waiting for him. Alive.

"Davis?"

"J-Just give me a minute, buddy…"

IIIIII

Davis had his suspicions as the years went by. It probably did have something to do with the Digital World, something Kari was unwilling to say. It angered Davis sometimes. Out of the original DigiDestined, they were the only two left. Couldn't she be honest with him, at least? But every time he spun up the courage to confront her, he saw her haunted eyes and fragile smile, and his resolve dissolved. She would tell him on her own someday. Maybe. Even if she didn't, nothing changed. Davis had to be there for her, because everyone else was gone.

Everyone…Were they watching over them? Or had they moved on? Davis never knew whether to believe Christianity or reincarnation, or anything at all. Regardless, he carried on, because that was what they would have wanted.

Ten years of assumption upturned in moments. Here was Matt, leagues of people following, smiling as he sucked everyone into a space between worlds. Colors and shapes exploded everywhere, sending Davis careening and swinging like he was a pendulum. There was a feeling of being compressed, and suddenly he was a kid again, and so was Willis, and everyone else who had previously been an adult.

The translucent paths split, remerged, and then split in new ways constantly. Davis quickly lost his friends, as they were all sorted into different tunnels. Eventually it was only him, as his lone path flooded with light.

Davis landed roughly in a grassy plain, startling all nearby Digimon. Matt was there too, breaking the ring around the light-boy's neck. Koji, that was his name. Davis had glimpsed the boy only briefly before, when he dropped off Takuya. So much had happened since. Where was Kari in all this darkness and chaos? She hated both.

Koji gasped and woke when the collar shattered and he became enveloped in a viscous vapor once more. The boy abruptly thrashed free and bolted, running on all fours. Matt and his partner, now a Garurumon, chased after him with unnatural speed. Davis almost wanted to giggle at the absurdity.

"Davis?" Veemon asked. "What's going on?"

"Hell if I know," Davis answered, struggling to regain control of himself. Here he was in the Digital World once again. The place Kari seemed so desperate to keep him out of. But why? This world looked healthier and happier than ever. And Matt…was that Matt? He should doubt it immediately, yet…

"Davis!"

Davis automatically reacted the voices he hadn't heard in a decade, and nearly got tackled by Yolei. Cody wasn't far behind, and behind him was TK, who looked a little nervous. Hawkmon, Armadillomon and Patamon eagerly greeted a shocked Veemon.

"You're really here!" said Cody.

"Took you long enough," said TK with a smirk. "Everyone's always talking about you."

Davis had trouble even articulating words as his old comrades encircled him and Veemon. This couldn't be real, right? Yet this felt too…whole to be a hollow hypnotism. He wished Kari was here with him, so maybe she could smile, really smile. "You guys…I-Is everyone here?"

"Just about," said Yolei. "Well, everyone goes in and out on missions and stuff, but we all live here, yeah. Aw, c'mon, you aren't gonna cry are you?"

Davis had only been vaguely aware of his eyes growing moist. "N-No way! It's just…I…" Dammit, his tears and nose ran anyway, as if he was still a kid. As if that time with the grandfather clock never happened. "I-I-I couldn't save any of you! I never even got a chance! If…If I had been there…"

But his words caught, because there was another outside the fairy ring of friends. He was transparent, flickering, overrun by static, his dark eyes brimming with a melancholy ire.

"…Ken?"

IIIIII

...Let's see how much that last bit messes up Remi XD.

In all seriousness, me and Remi are going to try to update our collab fics at least once a month. It's no guarantee, but hopefully it'll helps us post more frequently.

I hope you guys enjoyed this, and that it cleared up a couple things regarding Davis (Or at least for those who didn't read Preceding).