Innocent Games
Chapter Twenty-Five
Nightmares
The warmth of the fire did little to subdue the chill in her skin, the goosebumps of uncertainty rising while explosions and shouts rattled the walls around her.
"That's it!" Davis bellowed, charging toward the exit. "I can't just sit here. They need our help!"
Kari felt the same way, but she could barely find the energy to stand and poor Gatomon was just as weak. She didn't remember what happened after the Light pulled her from her memory and back into her real body, but after she woke and the initial adrenaline of the reunion with the others wore off, she was drained.
It was not the first time Kari had experienced the effects of the light's possession. When it took over, she felt encompassed by warmth and when it left, she was always drained, empty. Maybe when this was all over she could see if Izzy had any theories about how it used her and what exactly it was. She glanced at him and compassion welled in her eyes. Bruises lined his bandaged wrists, and his cheeks seemed to sink inward. He was resting with his eyes closed, but he was awake, cringing with each crash they heard.
"Davis," Ken called, sounding more alive than he had in days. "We'd just get in the way right now."
"No way, we're ready."
"Yeah, we're ready!" declared DemiVeemon.
"AHHHHHH shit!"
Kari turned to find Davis buckling at the knees. Andromon had apprehended him by his broken wrist.
"Aghhh, let go let go let go!"
DemiVeemon rammed his little head into the android's leg. "Let him go!"
"I have been commanded to keep you here."
Davis squirmed in pain and his voice cracked angrily. "By who?"
"Me," said Gennai, throwing his hood over his head. "Your digimon have all been through days of strenuous battle and ExVeemon and Stingmon were constantly on the front lines. I need you to stay put until I can return with the proper provisions."
"When the hell is that gonna be?" It was obvious by the look on Davis's face that his anger was directed more at the pain than Gennai.
"You can release him."
Davis cradled his wrist when Andromon relinquished his hold and shouted, "If we have to take out the bucket of bolts first, fine! I'm going to help my friends."
"Why are you in such a hurry to die again?!"
Yolei's shriek spread a heavy silence over their group. Kari watched her: all her fire and desperation directed at Davis.
He took a step away from the exit and seemed to wilt a little. "I'm not," he mumbled.
"We can still fight," Cody spoke up, gesturing to himself and Armadillomon. "And you and Hawkmon can too, Yolei. Tentomon, you can still evolve to champion, right?"
"Absolutely!"
"Then we'll split up if there's any trouble. Yolei, Hawkmon, and Tentomon can stay here to protect you. Armadillomon, Andromon, and I can go help the others."
"Don't forget," Gennai added, "There is a possibility that Animamon will attempt to send you back to his world. His biggest barrier to this is the Light. You must protect Kari at all costs."
Davis turned to her and the serious crease in his brow caused Kari to drop her gaze to Gatomon. She ran her fingers through white fur as her cheeks flushed. She hadn't asked for this, she didn't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for her.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, Gennai climbed out of their prison and disappeared into the dark.
Davis had climbed up the rubble again and Andromon's arm blocked him from continuing. "I'm just lookin! Geez!"
Yolei, who had turned red after the silence her outburst had caused, slowly walked to Kari's cot and sat down beside her. Her fingers curled into the sheets.
Kari pressed a hand over hers, trying her best to give a gentle smile. "Are you okay?"
Yolei shook her head and then she lifted her free hand, rubbing it beneath her glasses. "I keep thinking I'm going to wake up and he…" She gave a strange sad laugh. "I'm so messed up."
"No one expects you to be okay right now."
"Thanks."
A tense silence followed as they listened to the distant explosions. Kari still felt a chill in the air, and she blamed it for the trembling in her fingers each time another attack rattled their waiting place.
"I called him an ass in clothes," Yolei groaned, squeezing the bridge of her nose. Her glasses balanced precariously on the back of her hand. "That's the last thing I said to him before… before that thing came. He was trying to tell me… and I wouldn't let him." Her back shook a little and Kari squeezed her hand.
"And then Ken—Ugh! Why am I like this?" Yolei's fingers slip from her eyes into her hair, grasping it at the roots.
"Whatever you're feeling is okay," said Kari. "You've been through so much."
"I almost kissed him," Yolei breathed, so quiet that Kari wasn't sure she had heard her right. She wasn't even sure who she was talking about.
"Or he did," she continued, her voice sharp and abrupt this time. "I can't remember." Then she looked up like she had forgotten who she was talking to. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm telling you this right now. We were alone for so long and half the time we were fighting or talking about you and I… I don't even know what's real anymore."
Her hand moved to her chest, grasping the place where she'd been wounded.
"Did I really die?"
Kari wrapped her arms around her, squeezing her tight. "You're okay now."
"Is he really alive?"
Lifting her eyes, Kari found the boy in question beginning to pace furiously back and forth, so much like her brother would do when he worried. Her eyes watered.
"Yes."
"Are you mad at me?" Yolei asked.
It clicked then: that she had been talking about Davis all along. And what surprised Kari the most was how unsurprised she was.
"Of course not," she answered.
Yolei let out a strangled laugh which earned his attention. Confusion and concern knit together in his thick brows. When he caught Kari catching him looking, he went red and started to fiddle with the bandages on his wrist.
Kari remembered the rain and the innocent game that led to their kiss. It had been so much like the ones they played when they were little: racing each other down the street or seeing who could spin the longest before falling down. Davis had always been competitive, trying his hardest to win, but whenever she played, he'd stick by her side, losing just to keep her company.
For all his feigned pride, he never hesitated to sacrifice his own dignity when it came to those he cared about.
Or his life.
"I've never had to wonder with him," Kari said softly, so he couldn't hear above the battle sounds outside. "He's never been very good at hiding his feelings."
Yolei chewed on her lip.
"He keeps looking at you," Kari told her.
Yolei's eyes lifted and sure enough Davis had stolen another glance at her over his shoulder. He immediately played it off, knocking Ken's arm with his elbow and breaking into some conversation that made Ken look a little confused.
Yolei's eyes immediately began to water. "I had to watch him die."
"I'm so sorry," Kari whispered.
"Everyone left us."
"We didn't know…" When Kari could tell that didn't help, she said, "Ken never stopped trying to find you."
Yolei went pink. "He's had to go through so much already," she said, taking a deep breath. "I feel terrible."
"I think he's happy now," said Kari, looking at him.
There was a soft wistful smile on Ken's face, something so alive and genuine as he took in whatever Davis was saying. He had seemed like such a shell of himself before, too much like the boy that the Emperor had first left behind, but the real Ken was slowly coming back, letting the darkness roll in waves behind him while he looked ahead.
"Maybe," said Yolei, watching too.
"Well, I certainly am," said Hawkmon beside her. "We've come this far. We'll get you home soon, Yolei."
She gave a nod and bent down to tug him into her arms.
"Oh dear, you're squeezing again."
"I'm never letting you go," said Yolei.
"Pegasusmon and TK are returning," Andromon said suddenly from his position by the doorway. "Matt and Gabumon are with them, they've been injured."
"Can you see Tai?" Kari asked, pushing herself up. She set Gatomon down and she curled up like a housecat on the cot.
"No," the android answered.
When Kari tried to walk, her knees went weak and she felt Yolei grab her arm to support her.
Ken came and grabbed her other arm, helping her climb some of the rubble until they reached the exit.
"I'm sure he's fine," he said."They would've sent a signal if they needed help."
A nearby fire illuminated the flying horse and his passengers. For a moment relief stilled the shaking in Kari's hands as she saw the outline of TK's determined face, but it was quickly torn away as three sets of gaping jaws blocked her view.
…
...
It was just like a nightmare, Joe was sure he had experienced stress dreams that were nearly identical.
Four twisters moved eerily in the darkness lit only by flashes of flame and light, bending in a deadly dance and eating everything in their path. The steady roar of the spirals drowned out the sounds of the battle ahead and a group of airdramon soared through the skies on red wings like birds of prey. Their skulled heads and snake like bodies twisted in and through the tornadoes they had created.
Joe watched helplessly while the violent wind tossed Birdramon as if she were no more than a leaf in a storm. Just as her and Sora were about to collide with the ground, another gust of wind tossed them up again, whipping them with dust and debris.
"Hang on!" Joe shouted. The flames ahead gave off enough light for him to see Lillymon attempt to take out one of the airdramon, only to have to dodge a barrage of spears from its wings. Mimi wasn't anywhere in sight, but he knew Lillymon must have left her somewhere safe, probably with Tai.
The wind was so strong that Joe couldn't take another step forward and debris flung against his face like whips.
"We've got to do something!" Gomamon shouted from his arms, though the noise of the twisters made it sound like he was a million miles away. He ended up squirming out of his grip and before Joe had a chance to react, he digivolved into Ikkakumon and his huge furry body created a blockade against the wind.
Joe crawled onto his back and gripped his white fur in his fingers, and he wondered how long it had been since they had last fought together. Ikkakumon staggered into the violent storm and shot a harpoon torpedo at one of the airdramon, but the wind swept the attack too far to the right, missing the digimon completely.
Somehow through the chaos he could hear Sora's scream and he turned to see her falling alongside her partner who had reverted to her rookie form. An eternity seemed to pass as they fell through the sky while Joe and Ikkakumon stood helpless, too far to reach them. An airdramon was tearing through the wind after them, its jaw gaping wide and ready to catch up their helpless bodies.
"Ikkakumon!"
His digimon seemed to understand and within a moment a harpoon torpedo was flying through the air, turning in the wind. It miraculously collided with the airdramon, hitting it directly in the throat. Data scattered and twirled into the twisters just as Lillymon dived beneath Sora and Biyomon, catching them both midair.
"Yes!" Joe shouted and slapped Ikkakumon's back in approval. "That was amazing!"
"Just had to account for the breeze!" Ikkakumon growled back proudly.
Two of the tornadoes died away, following their creator to the grave, giving Lillymon the chance to escape their grasp, but three more airdramon began pursuit, attacking with blades of wind and cutting her off so that she had to change direction.
"Think you can hit one again?"
Ikkakumon took his stance, pushing against the wind to get closer. "Think? Ha! I know it!"
The torpedo he shot this time was just a little off, hitting one of the airdramon in the wing and sending it crashing to the ground. Once there, its wing dissolved to data and it fluttered against the ground in circles, disoriented.
The two remaining airdramon were gaining on Lillymon, who couldn't counterattack with her arms full. Even through the darkness, Joe could make out the concentration on her face as she pushed herself faster.
"Ikkakumon! Joe! Catch!" she cried as she finally reached them. Just as the airdramon caught up with her, she let Sora and Biyomon fall from her arms.
Joe's catch was anything but elegant. Sora's weight knocked him off his feet and they both fell in a heap in Ikkakumon's fur. Luckily for Biyomon, Ikkakumon had managed better and caught her in his flipper before carefully sliding her to his back. Lillymon, freed of her burden, turned on the airdramon and released her flower canon, immediately turning them both into data. The last tornadoes disintegrated and the debris they had carried fell to the earth.
"Good catch!" Lillymon complimented, beaming down at them.
"Sorry." Sora untangled herself from Joe's spindly limbs and picked Biyomon up, embracing her gently. "You okay, Biyo?"
The pink bird's eyes were rolling around in her head. "Dizzy."
Sora let out a relieved laugh, but her face soon turned serious at the sound of violent screeches. They turned to see more airdramon descending upon them while others were joining the battle that flashed in the distance. Lillymon took off to meet them.
"Sora!" Tai's voice called through the noise.
Joe could just barely make him out as he came over a mound of rubble. Mimi appeared right after, her long hair blowing in the wind. They were just two outlines in the dark, figures backlit by the explosions behind them.
"We're okay!" Sora cried back.
An airdramon escaped Lillymon's attack. The snakelike dragon came soaring at them, sending an onslaught of spears made by the air beneath its wings.
Beneath them, Ikkakumon transformed. His soft white fur shined with light and turned to a hard enormous shell lined with bolts and spikes. As Zudomon stood up on his hind legs to bat away the attack with his Thor's hammer, Joe clung to one of the metal bolts protruding from the ultimate's back and grabbed Sora's hand to keep her from slipping off.
"A little warning next time!" Joe shouted after he and Sora managed to pull themselves up onto Zudomon's shoulder.
"Sure, next time I'll try to remember to warn you before I save your lives," Zudomon grumbled before swatting another airdramon from the sky.
A stray devidramon had escaped the battle with MetalGreymon and joined the flurry of airdramon in their attacks. Its red eyes glowed in the darkness and Joe had to remind himself to tear his eyes away before it caught his gaze. Waves of dragon digimon flew between the two groups of chosen children, determined to keep them apart. Zudomon and Lillymon continued to take them down, but the numbers remained consistent, as if more digimon were replacing the ones that had been deleted. A small group bypassed Zudomon and shot through the air in the direction TK had escaped with Matt.
Joe felt completely overwhelmed. "Where did they all come from?"
Zudomon hammered the earth and bolts of lightning spread across the ground, obliterating the few injured digimon that had fallen in its path. "Someone must have let them loose. Fridgimon and Meramon were holding the airdramon captive. I hope they're okay."
"Fridgimon is gone," Sora mumbled.
Joe lowered his head for a moment as the battle raged on, remembering the icy digimon that had joined him and Mimi on their journey.
"He saved Matt's life," Biyomon added, her bright eyes watering. "We thought the digimon we had captured were out of energy. I don't understand why they're suddenly so strong again."
As if on cue, bright energy crackled in the air behind them and Joe turned to see Pegasusmon dart to the side just in time to avoid a huge beam. TK was clinging onto his brother with Gabumon's help, trying to keep his limp body on the flying horse as they dodged attacks from airdramon and a huge three-headed dinosaur that stood between them and the way back inside Animamon's prison.
"Get out of here!" Tai shouted at them. "There's too many of them!"
MetalGreymon appeared behind him, slashing through a devidramon.
"No!" Sora screamed. "We're not leaving you!" Another boom caused her eyes to dart back to where Pegasusmon was struggling to counterattack.
Tai tugged Mimi beneath MetalGreymon's body in order to avoid a devidramon's red beam and then he froze there, staring at them through smoke and flashing lights.
"I-It's okay," he yelled.
Sora turned to face him.
Joe could barely hear Tai's next words through an explosion, but they were willful and without a hint of bitterness.
"Go help Matt."
"We'll see you soon!" Mimi cried.
Joe raised a hand in farewell and felt a familiar pang of regret as Zudomon fought his way to Pegasusmon's aid. He remembered a younger Mimi watching him from the shore, but soon the waves of enemies between them became so thick that their separation would have been inevitable regardless of Tai's orders.
Joe felt Sora's hand on his arm, squeezing it for support. It was hard to tell it was for him or herself.
…
...
Despite the danger slinging through the air around them, Tai only felt relief. He couldn't really understand it. Battles lied in either direction, and darkness and destruction everywhere.
"To your right!" he instructed MetalGreymon as another devidramon swooped in.
The data scattered over them like snowflakes. Behind them, Ogremon and Centarumon had managed to bind up some of their injured enemies, but they were struggling to guard them as airdramon nose-dived like kamikaze pilots. Lillymon was buzzing ahead, maneuvering swiftly through the swarms of dragons, somehow evading their attacks and effectively dealing out her own.
The shelter that Tai and Mimi had taken beneath MetalGreymon's massive legs disappeared as two devidramon flew into his body, shoving him back.
"MetalGreymon!" Tai shouted, watching his partner struggle against the champions. He began to search the ground for some type of weapon, desperate to help.
MetalGreymon must've read his thoughts, because after throwing off one of the devidramon, he glared sharply at Tai, wordlessly demanding him to stay back.
Tai took a step forward anyway. Then the ground began to tremble beneath their feet.
"Is that an earthquake?" Mimi asked.
MetalGreymon's heavy body often made the earth shake, but these vibrations seemed steadier than his footsteps and they lasted too long to be the backlash of an attack. Tai squinted as he scanned the landscape lit only by flashing lights and sporadic fires. The shaking became more intense and a few of the fires seemed to glow brighter, bigger, then swing to the side.
"Uh, Mimi, do those fires look like they're moving to you?"
Mimi was already stepping backwards. "Those aren't fires."
As the flames drew closer, Tai could make out the outlines of the digimon that marched beside them. They were gray with huge rabbit-like ears and long tails, about the size of a small child and sprinting on all fours. It wasn't until one stood on its back feet that Tai recognized it as a gazimon.
It seemed to stare directly at him as the others forked off to follow Zudomon's trail. Besi, de it, one moving fire halted and its flames took on life. It was actually the fur of a huge feline, crouched and ready to pounce.
"It doesn't look like they're on our side," Tai groaned as his gaze danced through the rubble. He grabbed a burnt wooden beam and put a hand in front of Mimi, forcing her back.
The gazimon came charging first, extending its claws. Tai readied his stick and spread his feet in the stance Cody had taught him, but before he could deliver the blow a rock sped past him and clocked the digimon in the head, sending it sprawling on the ground. Tai could almost see the stars spinning around its huge ears. He turned to Mimi, eyes wide with shock as she dusted her hand off on her skirt.
She grinned. "I used to play baseball with Michael."
Before Tai could contemplate Mimi participating in any sport besides cheerleading, her smile fell and the hint of a warning was on her lips. The stick flew from his hands as the large flaming feline pinned him to the ground. Its huge metallic claws dug into his shoulders and its fangs were only inches from his face. Sweat began to bead on his body from the heat. Tai could barely hear the shouts from MetalGreymon and Mimi over the roar of its fiery fur. In just moments they would either come to his rescue or he was a goner.
Instead, the red and orange of the digimon's fur transformed into short auburn hair and the paws holding him down became hands that pushed off him.
.~*~~**~~*~.
A whistle is blowing in my ear.
"Ugh." I sit up and rub the back of my head, wondering if I have a concussion.
A hand reaches in front of my face. "You okay?"
"Yeah." I smile even though it hurts and take the offered hand. It's hot and clammy and slips against my palm. "That was a great tackle," I say, dusting off my jersey.
Through the grass and sweat, I smell flowers and my eyes flash up just as Izzy is running toward us.
"That was an impeccable take down, Sora," he says, kicking the dirt from his cleats.
"Sora?" I take a better look at the dirt-smudged face and, sure enough, Sora is grinning back at me. "What are you doing here? This is a guy's team."
"Coach informed the team we were changing to co-ed last practice, remember?" says Izzy while Sora keeps grinning. "The girls' team didn't have enough players this year."
"You look disappointed," Sora says, putting her hands on her hips. "Did getting taken out by a girl bruise your ego?"
.~*~~**~~*~.
"Tai!"
.~*~~**~~*~.
I falter for just a moment at the sound of my name, if that's even what I heard.
I feel like something is off, but I shift into a lean, crossing my arms like nothing is wrong. "Oh no, my ego is still intact, thanks. Everyone knows you aren't really a girl."
Sora raises an eyebrow. "Hm. What am I then?"
"A beast!"
She punches me in the arm.
"Ow." I rub my bicep with a pout. "See?"
.~*~~**~~*~.
"Tai, snap out of it!"
.~*~~**~~*~.
This time the call jolted him into some sort of consciousness. Tai suddenly remembered the fiery digimon that pinned him down, but somehow he couldn't break free of the soccer field.
And then he realized...
Animamon.
He thrashed, but he didn't feel any movement in his limbs. Pain burst through his temples as he fought for control, but Animamon kept pursuing his memories, flipping through them as if they were days on a calendar until he let one linger.
.~*~~**~~*~.
It's storming.
Jingling bells greet me as I open the door to the small gift shop. Behind me, Matt shakes drops from his umbrella and checks his spiked hair in the window before entering.
"If you don't find something here, I'm going home," he grumbles.
"Give me a break. I'm working with a limited budget." I frown and pull a tiny wad of yen from my pocket. "What did you get her?"
Matt shrugs. "A CD."
"Which one?"
"Uh… I kind of made it." Color creeps onto his cheeks. "You know, just a mix of songs I thought she'd like."
"Huh." I feel super awkward when Matt suddenly seems very interested in a display of key chains. "I got her one of those last year," I say, pointing to one with a soccer ball.
"Did she like it?"
"I guess so. She put it on her gym bag." I let out an exasperated sigh. "I hate shopping."
"What did Kari get her?"
"A stuffed bird, kinda looks like Biyomon."
Matt nods in approval and we continued to glance over the various trinkets. "I'm not really much help, Tai," he says after a minute. "I don't know how to shop for girls."
"Huh… Sora is a girl, isn't she?"
"You're a quick one."
"Ha ha." I laugh dryly while he goes down a different aisle.
Someone's screaming and I can feel my heart race, but I keep going, like I haven't heard it.
I stop in front of a display of fancy hair pieces. Ornate barrettes and pins decorate wigs, shining brilliantly. I imagine Sora in a kimono like the one her mom wears all the time. I pick up a kanzashi made of silk flowers and let out a low whistle at the price tag before setting it back down.
"Man, girl stuff is expensive."
I squat to get a better look at the bottom shelf where a few smaller pieces are. A gold and red hair clip catches my eye and I grab it. The price is right so I hold it out for Matt's inspection.
"Do you think she'd wear it?" he asks. "I hardly ever see her without a hat."
I turn it over in my hand and imagine the red and gold flickering in Sora's hair, like a sunset. It causes an uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach and I can feel my face go hot.
"I dunno."
Matt checks his watch. "It's almost seven. I have to get home. I told Dad I'd have dinner ready."
"Should I get it?"
"Do you think she'll like it?"
"Uh… sure."
Matt's cool gaze narrows. Then, with a slight roll of his eyes, he says, "Then let's go."
The hair clip bites into my palm a little as we go up to the counter to pay. And the pit in my stomach grows when I wonder if Sora will like her gift as much as I do.
.~*~~**~~*~.
"We have to go, Tai! Please!"
"I wasn't quick enough. He's hurt."
.~*~~**~~*~.
We're still pressed together in the roller coaster car. The outside of her thigh is warm on mine and I can still feel the ghost of her lips. She's chewing her fingernails, taking in everything I've confessed and my heart sinks. For the first time I really imagine what it must be like for Matt, to have her and lose her.
"He still loves you," I say.
Sora takes a deep breath and seems to shake all over.
"I'm sorry." My hands start to wring together, bouncing between my knees because if I don't keep them busy I might touch her again. "I shouldn't have kissed you."
Her fingers fall from her mouth. She watches me and I wonder what she's searching for when she whispers, "Don't apologize."
.~*~~**~~*~.
"Stop!"
Tai shot up so quickly that he almost rammed heads with the small orange dinosaur hovering over him.
"Agumon?" The name dissolved into a hiss as a burning sensation sent searing pain through Tai's shoulders and on the right side of his jaw.
"Oh, Tai!" Agumon's claws wrapped around him and Tai yelped, causing Agumon to release him and apologize profusely.
"Are you okay?" Mimi asked. "Lillymon destroyed the lynxmon, but you still got burnt."
Tai grimaced, daring to touch the burn on his chin. It was sticky and blistering and it stung like hell.
"I'll live," he muttered. "What happened?"
"I saw you go limp," Agumon whimpered. "I panicked and the devidramon took advantage, so I'm Agumon again. I was worried you were paralyzed like Matt."
"Hey, no worries, pal. You did great. I'm fine."
Mimi helped Tai to his feet and he faltered when he saw the scorched skin on her arm, angry and red.
"I tried hitting the lynxmon with your stick," she explained. "I'm okay. It's not as bad as yours. We need to try to head back; most of the digimon took off after the others. Can you make it?"
Tai nodded before swallowing heavily. "Animamon… he can get into our heads without touching us. I blacked out."
Mimi looked around the darkness, searching for their enemy as they began to slowly make their way across the battlefield. Lillymon was flying overhead, keeping the few remaining airdramon away with Centarumon and Ogremon's help.
"Do you think that's what happened to Matt?" she asked.
"Animamon is trying to take us out one at a time. I think he is getting everyone that can digivolve to mega out of the way first."
Tai didn't feel it was necessary to mention the memories themselves. He knew their purpose, and he was not going to allow that distraction to take his mind off taking Animamon down.
…
…
Three beams of energy combined into one twisting spiral, searing the earth as it cut off Pegasusmon's path.
"Attack his head!" Davis shouted.
Cody took shelter behind Ankylomon's leg as rocks and dirt flew into the air. He turned to the entrance of the prison where Davis, Ken, Kari and their digimon were watching the battle. Ken's fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles were white.
"Which one?" Yolei cried out from Halsemon's back as they flew around the huge champion.
"Any of them!"
Deltamon was fighting furiously to keep TK from reaching them, providing more of a problem than a champion should with its triple beams and sporadic attacks. Cody remembered this digimon when it had been under the control of a dark ring. Its triple heads had threatened to devour a group of Bakemon that were posing as the digidestined, convincing Davis to surrender to the Digimon Emperor.
Ken didn't take its reappearance well, but Davis had quickly laughed it off, slapping him in the back and making a remark about the 'good ol' days'. He'd been shouting out battle strategies ever since, determined to contribute.
Deltamon sent one arm into the air and the snake-like head on it snapped, trying to catch the flying horse in its jaw. Pegasusmon spent his time dodging rather than attacking, trying to protect the delicate cargo on his back.
Ankylomon swung his enormous spiked tail and hammered it directly into the skull on Deltamon's left arm, successfully cracking its jaw. A beam came out of the injured mouth like a kaleidoscope of light, shooting in all directions through the cracks in the bone.
Cody cringed. "Hold it still!"
Before Ankylomon could follow his instructions, a blade of powerful air sliced through the head, scattering it into bits of data. Deltamon hollered painfully.
Cody turned to Yolei and Halsemon. He only caught a glance at the rage and fear on Yolei's face before they were both dodging the beams from the remaining heads, Deltamon having forgotten his pursuit of Pegasusmon.
Then, in an instant, a powerful laser shot out and blew a hole through the gut of the now two-headed monster. Deltamon released a terrible noise before its data disintegrated.
Andromon's arm was smoking. "We couldn't afford to let him live," he said.
A horrified shiver ran through Cody's body. He ground his teeth and turned to Ankylomon, who still looked a bit shocked. In the air, Halsemon was solemn and Yolei seemed near hysteria.
The ground beneath them began to tremble and a violent wind whipped Cody's bangs. A tornado roared toward them, followed by an airdramon that attempted to pluck Pegasusmon from the sky. Halsemon quickly spun around and shot out his tempest wing attack, creating his own spiral to combat against the winding storm.
A sudden onslaught of digimon herded towards them. Moving fires and a stampede of smaller digimon followed by winged dragons were all bearing down on TK and his fallen brother. Cody faintly heard Kari screaming through the angry wind and explosions, telling him to run.
"Ankylomon," Cody said. "Do you think you can stop that stampede without…?"
"Sure thing, partner."
Ankylomon rose to his back legs, towering high in the air, and then with all his power he slammed into the earth and the ground collapsed into a deep chasm, taking a third of the stampeding digimon underground.
Cody could hear roars of frustration as they attempted to climb from the abyss without luck. There was a sharp buzzing noise overhead as Kabuterimon joined the fight, but there were still too many digimon working to keep Pegasusmon from reaching them. The distance was too far for DNA digivolution. Cody briefly wondered if that was part of the enemy's strategy, to keep them separated, the only two digimon who were still strong enough to DNA digivolve to mega level. With Ken, Davis, and Kari's partners all out of commission, he and TK were all that was left… and they still had Animamon to deal with, wherever he was.
A flash of lightning lit the dark sky and Cody could make out Zudomon sending bolts from his hammer and obliterating a group of digimon that continued to stampede toward a weary Pegasusmon.
Behind him, Davis let out a whooping holler, but Cody only tensed. He sought for Yolei in the sky and found her face desperate, willing to do anything.
Another great chasm had formed, but this one was not in the earth.
…
...
Pegasusmon was soaring dangerously close to the ground when he spun sideways, almost knocking Gabumon from his back. TK had to let go of Matt's shirt in order to catch the rookie by the pelt. The fur almost lifted up completely as TK tugged him to safety.
"Thanks, TK." Gabumon gripped Pegasusmon's mane and the flying horse gave a small whinny of protest. With his other hand, Gabumon straightened his pelt. "I hope no one else saw that."
"Hey, Gabumon! Your yellow was showing!" Zudomon laughed as he absently threw his hammer behind him, knocking it into a leaping lynxmon.
TK didn't know until now that it was possible for a furry lizard to turn that red.
"You guys okay?" Sora called from Zudomon's back.
"We're okay, but Pegasusmon is running out of steam!" TK shouted back. "Matt's still out cold."
"We need to find another place to retreat," said Pegasusmon.
TK scanned the rubble of Animamon's base and, with another flash of lightning from Zudomon's hammer, he could make out an entryway on the opposite end of where their prison was located.
"Over there!"
Their small group began to retreat. Dozens of gazimon and a few lynxmon were in pursuit while the airdramon swerved between them and the prison, making it certain that they could no longer reach their friends. TK looked over his shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of Kari through the scuffle, but he could only see Ankylomon and Kabuterimon locked in a struggle with more approaching enemy herds. He took in a deep breath and grasped Matt's shirt tightly as Pegasusmon picked up speed.
As they drew close to the entrance, TK could make out red markings on the large double doors, similar to the strange designs that were strewn across Animamon's skin. Pegasusmon's hooves collided with it and they flew into a large empty hallway, glowing with candlelight. Behind him, TK could hear the roar of the pursuing digimon and Zudomon's attacks. Soon the ultimate was at the door, swinging his hammer into the ground and causing the group of digimon to momentarily retreat. Sora, Biyomon, and Joe slid from his back and darted into the hallway.
"We have to block the entrance!" Joe shouted. "Zudomon, get in here!"
Zudomon's massive shell backed into the doorway, blocking it entirely. "I'm gonna have to become Gomamon again to fit. Pegasusmon, do you think you can collapse the supports in time?"
TK dismounted as his partner nodded his approval. He pulled Matt's limp body from Pegasusmon's back with Joe and Gabumon's help.
Zudomon sent out a final wave of lightening with his Thor's hammer before light surrounded him and he reverted to Gomamon. Sora scooped him into her arms and ran back to the group as Pegasusmon shot his Equus beam directly into the supports above the doorway. It cracked and crumbled loudly and the beams broke in half. Wood and stone fell into the entrance just as the pack of enemy digimon had reached it. Dust exploded into the hallway and they all coughed until it settled.
"I can walk you know," Gomamon grumbled from Sora's arms.
She set him down. "Those little flippers of yours aren't too fast on land."
One little flipper made a rude gesture and TK chuckled. The laughter was quickly subdued as the sound of frustrated roars and shifting rock came from the other side of the collapsed entrance.
"How is he?" Sora asked now that the mood had turned somber. She knelt by Matt's lifeless body and seemed hypnotized by his unblinking stare.
A small light engulfed Pegasusmon and then Patamon was flapping his little ears above them. "Heavy," he said.
TK took a seat on the ground next to her. "He's going to be fine."
The sound of a frustrated roar came through the rubble.
"We'll need to get moving soon," said Joe.
"Ugh," Patamon groaned, falling from the air and landing on the top of TK's head.
"I know a safe place."
TK bolted to his feet at the new voice and Patamon immediately puffed out a boom bubble, hitting the lone gazimon square in the nose, causing it to fly backwards. It sat up with tears leaking from its red eyes.
"I want to help!" it cried in a raspy voice.
"Yeah right!" Gomamon chirped. Biyomon and Gabumon joined him in fighting stances. "And so do your fifty brothers outside!"
"I'm not fighting for Animamon's cause anymore." The gazimon's long gray ears twitched violently. "He killed my best friend. He just absorbed the data right out of him! He used us for his sick experiments!"
TK met glances with Sora and Joe and then put up his hand, causing their partners to back down. "Then why are there still so many digimon attacking us?"
The gazimon stood, rubbing digital blood from its nose. "Animamon can be very convincing… his powers can drive you mad. Most of us don't even have the energy left to fight or don't want to. He's manipulating them somehow."
"And you just got left alone in the fortress so you could conveniently guide us to safety?" Gomamon snapped.
"I've been in hiding ever since Animamon absorbed…" The gazimon's tail flicked violently and the tears in its eyes became a fountain. "He-he was just telling Animamon about the state of the wall, but Animamon had to see for himself and then he just absorbed his data, he just devoured him!"
TK felt his nails dig into his palms and a burning sensation seeped into his chest, like a fire flickering speedily through fresh kindling. Another loud rumbling shifted rock and wood behind them.
"You said there was somewhere safe?" he asked.
The gazimon nodded, wiping away its tears with its clawed hand. "I've been hiding in one of Animamon's secret passageways. The others don't know about it. I found it by accident. The Child of Friendship can recover there."
"You know who he is?" Gabumon asked, stepping in front of Matt's limp form protectively.
"I used to work for Etemon," the gazimon admitted.
Gomamon threw a threatening flipper in the gazimon's direction. "And we're gonna trust this guy?"
"Yes." Biyomon flew between them. "I believe her."
"Her?"
Joe shielded his lips and leaned in TK's direction whispering, "How can you tell?"
TK shrugged.
"You loved him," Biyomon cooed gently. "The gazimon that Animamon absorbed."
The gazimon's ears flattened against the back of her head. There was another loud sound from outside and a few rocks rolled loose from the rubble and into the hallway. She fell on all fours and turned her back on them.
"You don't have much time. You can fight the others here or follow me. Your choice."
"That's not much of one," Sora said. "We're not in any condition to fight right now."
TK nodded in agreement and knelt beside her. Sora helped him heave Matt over his shoulder and they began down the dark corridor. It descended and the temperature dropped, cooling the sweat that was beading on his forehead. His thoughts drifted the group they left behind. It was obvious that their separation was Animamon's battle strategy.
The female gazimon was scurrying ahead, twitching nervously. When she reached a new corridor she stood on her back legs and opened a door on their left. TK noticed the same strange inscriptions from the front door adorned this one as he passed through into a dark room. The door slammed behind them and Patamon flew in front of TK defensively.
There was a flickering of flame ahead as the gazimon lit a small torch.
"I'm not trapping you," she assured them.
The room was windowless and bare. The only décor was a large poster bed covered with plain linens and bordered by dark heavy drapes. The gazimon shuffled under it, leaving them in darkness. There was a loud scratching noise and then a light reappeared beneath the bed and the gazimon reemerged.
"The secret passage is this way. It leads back to the other side of the fortress."
"Who's room is this?" Joe asked.
"Animamon's. I found the passage when I was sweeping. No one else knows about it."
TK resisted the urge to laugh and was unsure which image was funnier: gazimon sweeping or Animamon hiding out under his bed.
A thunderous bang vibrated through the walls.
"They've broken through," Sora said.
TK let out a loud puff of air as he lowered Matt to the floor. "Let's go."
Patamon and TK crawled under the bed after the gazimon and TK yanked Matt along by his ankles, shuffling backwards slowly. Joe came after them, groaning about dust allergies.
"You can jump down," the gazimon instructed, pointing her small torch into the hole in the flooring. "It's not far."
Patamon flew down into the dark passageway and chirped out a confirmation.
"Joe, can you lower Matt down to me?" TK asked.
There was a barely audible groan. "Sure."
TK hopped down, landing on his feet. The passageway was completely dark save for a small torch the gazimon held from above. Its firelight flickered against the stone walls so eerily that even Patamon looked scary.
Joe was huffing heavily as he lowered Matt by his armpits. Before TK got a good hold on his brother, Joe sneezed and Matt came sprawling down, knocking TK flat on his back. The gazimon hissed in empathy as TK groaned and Joe belted out a sheepish apology. Gabumon climbed down next and helped roll Matt off him.
"You guys okay?" Sora asked as Biyomon fluttered down the hole after Joe and Gomamon.
"Uh-huh," TK squeaked, still catching his breath.
"We aren't going to get too far with Matt in this condition," Joe said as Sora landed beside him.
The gazimon dangled from the ceiling and shifted the floorboards until their way in was completely blocked. She dropped to the floor, illuminating them with her small torch.
"I can get something that'll help him," she said, looking over Matt's paralyzed body. "I'll be right back."
"Wait!" Gomamon shouted, but the gazimon had already shot off, scurrying down the long passageway and taking their only source of light with her.
Sora knelt beside Matt and, as the last of the torchlight faded, TK could've sworn he saw her wipe away the pink tears that had rolled from his bloodied eye, but then there was darkness and all TK could think about was how to fight it.
...
...
Despite all that had transpired, the emptiness inside hadn't diminished, even his bones felt hollow. They seemed to rattle too easily as the final explosions of the battle outside began to fade. Exhausted from sitting, Izzy eased himself back onto his cot, and his gaze settled on the open ceiling above. The dark sky pulled him in like a black hole.
"That was great!" Davis's enthusiastic voice shouted in the distance. "They're running for the hills now!"
"They went after TK," Kari said shakily.
"He'll be okay, Kari," said Gatomon. "Patamon will protect him."
Their voices faded out like the sounds of battle had, settling somewhere in the back of his consciousness. Then he faded, drifted off into nothingness, swirled into the vortex of darkness. Something grabbed him, jolting his ascent (or descent, he wasn't sure which way he was going), forcing him to feel. To remember the past.
.~*~~**~~*~.
The steady click of the keyboard beneath my fingers helps filter out my thoughts. The code runs in lines across my screen, so complex it requires my concentration, leaving me no time to dissect the theories that have been hounding me since I learned the truth.
"Why'd you quit soccer?"
My fingers momentarily falter on the keyboard and I try very hard not to cringe as I continue, ignoring him.
"Yo, Izzy!"
"I had more important things to do with my time," I say without taking my eyes off my monitor.
Tai lowers his head and blocks the screen with his mop of wild hair. "What's so important about this? Looks like a bunch of gibberish to me."
I bat him away. "It's a computer programming language."
"Huh…" Tai plops himself on a seat beside me and readjusts the goggles on his head. He's really not supposed to wear them in school, but I suppose after hours the teachers let him get away with it.
I roll my chair around to face him. "Are you just bored or is there something else I can help you with? I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment."
He doesn't look the least bit offended. "You can tell me why you quit soccer."
"I already gave you my answer."
"Not buyin it."
I groan. "Everyone has their own choice of extracurricular activities. I'm more interested in spending my time programming than kicking around a ball."
"You did both before."
Before I overheard my parents admitting that I wasn't really their son.
I turn back to the computer screen and begin typing away blindly, making errors I'll have to correct later.
"Something's up with you," Tai declares, slumping lazily over the desk. "You're being more nerdy than usual."
"Well, you're more than welcome to acquire a less nerdy friend."
Tai sits up and slings an arm around my shoulders. "Aw, don't be like that. We just miss having you on the team, that's all."
I feel a wave of guilt, but then I remember the games and my parents in the stands.
"Sorry, Tai. It's just not something I want to do anymore."
His dark brown eyes watch me intensely for a moment and then his arm slips off my shoulders. He slaps me on the back. "Alright, if that's how it's gonna be, I'll respect that."
"Thank you."
He pushes against the desk with his feet, causing his chair to wheel backwards across the tiled floor.
"Well, I better get to practice before coach makes me run laps again." He stands and stretches his arms and then his face goes serious. "You know you can talk to me, right Izzy?"
I turn to my computer screen, wondering when he got so perceptive.
"I doubt you'd understand C++, Tai." I know it's a cop-out and it doesn't even make that much sense, but I cover it up by letting my fingers continue their flight across the keyboard.
"No," Tai says in a voice far softer than usual. "I guess I wouldn't."
Somehow, when the door clicks behind him and I'm alone to focus on my work, my thoughts fly back to the very thing I'm trying to forget.
.~*~~**~~*~.
Izzy's eyes opened just in time to see a laser in the shape of an X shoot over his head.
It disintegrated in a flash of light above him and a familiar scratchy laugh echoed across the room. Animamon hovered just below the opening in the ceiling, his pale clawed feet dangled beneath his black robe and his arms, covered in red markings, stretched toward ExVeemon who had shot the attack.
A crackle of electricity caused the hairs on Izzy's arms to stand up. Red lightning sparked around Animamon's fingers then it shot out, throwing ExVeemon backwards until he collided into the newly evolved Stingmon.
"You are still weak," Animamon declared.
"Well, we're not!" Halsemon shouted as he shot his tempest wing attack joined by Digmon's drills.
Beneath Animamon's hood, Izzy could make out his sharp smile. The attacks were shielded by red lightning and back lashed across the room. Izzy heard Kabuterimon buzzing from outside and crying out his name.
In what seemed like slow motion one of Digmon's drills, encircled with red electricity, came spiraling at him. Izzy was hoping he would feel whole again in death when something metal flew in front of the attack.
A boom, like the sound of an exploding generator, deafened him as the electricity charged drill embedded into the center of Andromon's wiring. The android writhed and smoked. Izzy's body trembled as data began to leak from Andromon's back around the tip of the drill that penetrated him, inches from his face.
"Andromon!" Kari screamed.
Izzy speechlessly watched the digimon crumple to the floor. He couldn't find the voice to thank him, didn't really know if he should. Was his life even worth saving now?
"T-take"–the robot's body jolted and sparked– "what ener-ergy I–I–I h-have–left."
The data flowing from Andromon's wound began to file toward ExVeemon and Stingmon, who both bowed in reverence as they absorbed the last of the android's power.
Then Andromon was gone.
Feeling flooded back from the pit of Izzy's stomach, streaming up into his chest, filling the emptiness. Tears clouded his view of where Andromon's disintegrating body had sat just seconds ago.
Animamon's open palms crackled and sparked and his hood rolled back, revealing his human-like face and eyes that looked at nothing. His feet met the floor.
"I will weaken and destroy your digimon allies one by one and take you all back into my world."
"No," Ken spat. "We'll finish you first."
Light from his digivice joined Davis's. Their digimon circled one another until the power was blinding. Paildramon emerged, pointing his side arms directly at their enemy.
Kari and Tentomon came to Izzy's side then, helping him up from his cot. Both barraged him with questions about his well-being, but he could think of nothing but the feeling of warm saltwater on his cheeks.
…
...
If there was nothing beyond this life, no place for the soul to spend eternity, no journey to heaven or hell, no reincarnation into a new being, then there was nothingness.
Matt's experience was none of these. Maybe even the atheists had it wrong. Maybe the soul lingered with the body, trapped in a shell of death and decay, watching its loved ones mourn before its vessel was burnt or buried and it was left to haunt its old footsteps.
If it weren't for the pain that screamed life, he would have thought that was what had happened to him.
His eyes hurt the most, wide and unblinking in the wind, forced open to dust and debris, watering so mercilessly that his tear ducts ached. One was so blurred by blood that his vision was completely clouded and it stung so terribly that he would give anything to rub the pain away.
Matt was so overwhelmed by the horrifying paralysis that he could only take in bits and pieces of conversation around him, but he remembered with vivid agony the despair on Sora's face when she thought he was dead.
Now the feel of her cool fingertips wiping away the tears on his cheek was the only thing that kept his mind sane.
It reminded him of a time he had come down with a horrible fever and, after refusing TK or his father's care, she had come storming in his bedroom and spent her free time babying him even though he said he'd rather be alone. Her hands were just as cool against his blistering forehead then, just as gentle running through his sweat soaked hair.
She was the only thing that helped him feel like he wasn't dying.
A sharp tingling sensation shot through Matt's fingers, like a limb waking up from sleep, heavy and fuzzy. It slowly worked up his arms until it cascaded through his chest and up into his face, then down through his stomach and legs. His eyelids immediately clenched shut and an involuntary hiss of pain pushed through his teeth.
Sora spoke his name so softly that he didn't think anyone else could've heard it.
It took all his strength to lift his hand from the ground.
He slowly reached up to touch the cool fingers sweeping back his bangs. It felt like he had slept wrong on his entire body and his limbs were heavy and unresponsive. He heard Sora's breath hitch. He dragged her fingers to his lips and just let them linger there, allowing the memory Animamon had infiltrated to haunt his thoughts.
In the darkness it was just the two of them and he was grateful that Sora remained silent. Her hand moved beneath his and her thumb slowly traced his lips. His tingling fingers encircled hers, grasping them as tightly as he could. She squeezed back.
Matt saw red flicker through his closed lids and Sora released him. The gazimon was back with her torch and she padded up quickly to his other side.
"He's awake," Sora whispered.
"He'll still need some of this if he wants to walk again anytime soon," the gazimon answered. "Drink up."
She pressed a cup against Matt's lips and a warm salty liquid spilled into his throat, making him gag and cough. The painful tingling began to subside and his limbs felt lighter. Two pairs of hands helped him sit up and he cracked open one eye to see TK's wide smile.
"You're okay," he said.
Matt rubbed the back of his fist against the eye that had been doused in his own blood. He couldn't open it.
"Y-yeah," he coughed.
"How's your head? Any disorientation?" Joe asked, and then as if feeling the need to explain, he continued, "Mimi said you were hit by some debris. She and Tai sent you back on Garurumon."
"I remember."
"Oh Matt!" Gabumon cried, grabbing him around the middle. "I'm so sorry, I fell and you – are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, just a little sore," Matt replied weakly, patting Gabumon's head. "How's your leg?"
"You remember everything?" Sora interrupted.
Matt looked at her for the first time through his opened eye. Her hair seemed redder in firelight.
"Most of it. I was awake, I just couldn't move anything." He wiped away the pink tears from his cheek. "It was Animamon. He was there."
The others exchanged glances.
"We didn't see him," Joe said.
"I didn't either," said Matt. "But he was there. He got into my head. It was just like when were in his world, except I knew what was happening this time. I couldn't see anything but my memories. They completely blinded me."
"Speaking of blind," Gomamon broke in, "Animamon is."
"He's what?"
"Blind."
"What?"
The gazimon nodded her head in confirmation. "He never told any of us, but after awhile you could tell. His eyes are so cloudy and he'd never look at anybody when he talked to them."
"It's why he needed our memories," Sora added. "It wasn't just to create a mix of our worlds; it was because he couldn't create anything but darkness."
Matt watched TK's jaw clench and he could easily read the anger rising there.
At that moment, the whole building rattled around them, and the gazimon stood tall on her back feet, twitching her long ears.
"That came from the prison."
TK jumped to his feet. "We have to go help the others."
Matt continued to watch him carefully until he felt a slender arm wrap around his back.
Sora's face was flushed. "Can you walk?"
With her and Joe's help, Matt was able to get to his feet. He cringed as the movement brought attention to his smaller injuries. His limbs felt odd and jelly-like. He took a step and stumbled.
Sora hooked his arm around her shoulders. "I got him," she told Joe. "Go with TK. We'll catch up."
TK had already begun storming down the dark corridor. Patamon was loyally perched on his head and the gazimon was scrambling to show them the way.
When Joe had jogged away with Gomamon, Matt thought he felt Sora press closer to his side. She was warmer now than before and her fingers were digging tightly into his side, pressing into his ribs. For a second Matt remembered all the times they had held each other, but soon the memory of their failed relationship returned and the words that were hanging on his lips died away.
"Do you think Tai's okay?" he asked instead.
Sora stiffened. "I hope so. He-he told me to help you."
Matt felt something inside him loosen, like a knot untangling. Then, before he could think of what to say, the stone passageway collapsed.