Disclaimer: I do not own Madoka or Digimon!
Chapter 16
"Where did Sora, T.K., Biyomon, and Agumon go?" Gabumon asked. "They didn't tell us where, come to think of it."
He, Matt, and Cody had been wandering the streets of Odaiba in search of the others, with no success so far. They had checked everywhere in town, from Fuji TV to the Daikanransha Ferris wheel, but no luck. No Sora, no T.K., and no other Digimon. The group slumped to a stop in front of the Ferris wheel, now at a loss.
"Maybe we should try Aomi?" Cody suggested.
"Matt! Cody! Look!" Gabumon pointed at the sky.
The two boys looked toward the sky to see a wide shape flying toward them at breakneck speed.
"Is that..." Matt squinted his eyes to make out the figure coming into focus. The Child of Friendship made out clawed feet and a person riding one of them. "It's them! Sora and Birdramon!"
"But where are T.K. and Agumon?" Cody wondered as the duo of Love made a nose dive toward them.
"Guys!" Sora sounded panicked as Birdramon landed in front of the boys and Gabumon. The redhead reached the point of tears, signaling bad news was forthcoming and possibly involved Agumon and T.K.. The trio gazed past her for a sign of them lagging behind...only to find neither his brother nor the lizard Digimon. That increased the likelihood of bad news.
"What's wrong, Sora?" Gabumon inquired.
Sora managed to swallow back her tears this time, but her panic never retreated. "It's...it's..."
"Calm down, Sora." Birdramon patted her shoulder with a massive wing.
That only increased the Child of Love's panic. "It's...T.K.."
Matt's eyes widened. "T.K.? What about him? What happened to him and Agumon?"
"T.K. started going crazy," Birdramon continued. "He killed Izzy and Tentomon and stole Tai's Grief Seed!"
"What?" Cody gasped.
"That's not all!" Sora was shaking now. "T.K. claims he has to kill magical people to save them from becoming witches and save the worlds from the powers of darkness."
"And you all will become witches," Gabumon added. "But only if you don't keep your Soul Gems clean, right?"
"Right," Cody confirmed. "T.K. knows that."
"And what happened to Agumon?" Matt asked.
"Agumon stayed to fight," Sora resumed her story. "But he hasn't caught up..." Sora burst into tears.
"Sora..." Birdramon wrapped her wing around her human partner.
"T.K..." Matt stared in the direction from where Sora and Birdramon had flown.
"Matt?" Cody said.
The Child of Friendship continued to stare in that direction, as if he could call his brother and reason with him. I know T.K. has a grudge against the powers of darkness, but I never thought it would get to the point where we're in trouble. I can't believe it. I just can't! However, Matt remembered the several times Kyubey had said that someone he cared for deeply would be the cause of his friends' deaths as well as his own. No, it has to be another magical person with the same abilities as T.K.. It had to be. It can't be T.K.. He has a grudge against darkness, but he would never kill his friends due to that. It has to be someone else.
…
"Fucking creature of darkness!" T.K. shrieked, having fried a familiar with one intense blast of magic. The familiar resembled a ball of ribbon that collapsed into shreds. The atmosphere, having been overrun with gifts and stuffed animals, followed suit to reveal the Rainbow Bridge.
The Child of Hope had been prowling the streets of Odaiba, killing familiars and witches. He didn't even care whether or not they dropped Grief Seeds at that point. He figured he was doomed like his friends, anyway, which was the reason he had done what he had done. To Izzy, to Agumon, and later to Sora, Matt, and Cody once he found them.
For now, he had to get through the creatures that stood in his way first, as he replenished his Soul Gem with Tai's Grief Seed one last time. T.K. had used it twice already throughout the day during his witch hunt, and considering the negative energy surrounding it, it was time to give it to Kyubey.
"Kyubey?" T.K. called.
"Takeru..." The catlike creature stepped out of one of the bushes.
"Time to dispose of this before it becomes a witch again." The Child of Hope held out the Child of Courage's Grief Seed.
"Is it really okay to throwaway your friend like that?" Kyubey asked, cocking his head.
"Hey, like you said earlier, there's no way to save Tai," the blond reiterated. "That's why I had to kill Izzy. To save him from turning into a witch, and I'm going to do the same to Sora, Matt, and Cody. It's best that they die peacefully instead of falling to the darkness."
"I see," said Kyubey as he opened the oval-shaped receptacle on his back to consume the bushy-haired teen's Grief Seed.
"I'm not going to stop until every being of darkness is dead," T.K. vowed as he hitched a ride on top of a truck to cross the bridge and continue his quest.
"It will not be long until Takeru becomes a part of the very darkness he is trying to destroy completely," Kyubey said, as the blond human rapidly retreated from sight. "Takeru, what you are trying to achieve is impossible. You will learn that yourself as you fall deeper into despair from your wish, Takeru."
…
"It has to be someone else, Sora," Matt said, holding the redhead's gaze intently. He, Cody, Gabumon, Biyomon, and Sora were all sitting in the Child of Love's room. They had been discussing how they would deal with T.K. all evening. At least, Sora and Biyomon had been. The Child of Friendship, however, had still not been convinced that his brother had been the one who killed Izzy and Agumon and stole Tai's Grief Seed.
"I know what I saw, Matt," Sora responded. "T.K. had Tai's Grief Seed and blood on his staff. He killed Izzy, and I'm certain he killed Agumon."
Matt sighed, taking a moment to process what she had been saying. "Okay. Let's say you're right, and T.K. did do all of that. I don't want to kill him; he's my brother!"
"Matt..." Gabumon patted his human partner on the shoulder.
"We need to discuss this calmly," Cody suggested. "We're being too tense about this."
"Yeah," Biyomon agreed. "We need to just calm down and start over."
Sora and Matt took deep breaths for a few moments. Biyomon's right; we just need to settle down and think about this rationally.
After what felt like a million deep breaths, Matt spoke again. "So, you're saying that T.K. killed Izzy, stole Tai's Grief Seed, then threatened to kill you, Agumon, and Biyomon at the Tokyo Tower?"
Sora nodded. "Agumon stayed behind to try to stop him, but I'm sure he didn't make it, and T.K. is still there looking for us."
"Say all of this happened. Like I said before, I can't fight my little brother," repeated the Child of Friendship.
"But Matt, if what Sora says is true, we're next," said Cody. "Besides, T.K. may not give us a choice if it is true."
Matt sighed. "I know my brother can get aggressive when it comes to darkness, but this is too far." Then again, his wish doesn't match up to what Kyubey said about it. He said T.K.'s power increases against dark beings. Not to mention that the way T.K. was said to be acting sounds too aggressive for his wish to be just to stand up to the powers of darkness. "If what you're saying is true, Sora, then T.K.'s wish has to be for something more. Maybe for the power to destroy the powers of darkness altogether."
"I wouldn't put it past him to want to do that," Cody said.
"I would not, either," said a voice nobody was happy to hear. "Because it is true."
Everyone directed their attention to Kyubey, who was perched on the window sill above Sora's bed.
"What's true?" Matt asked through clenched teeth. I'd pay anything to shut him up for good.
"Takeru's wish," the Incubator replied. "He did indeed make the wish to destroy all beings of darkness, which is impossible. However, Takeru does not know that, but that still does not save him from the ramifications of his wish."
"And that is?" Sora asked.
"Think about it, Sora," Kyubey continued. "He is sacrificing his friends to pursue an impossible goal and will eventually find you, Yamato, and Iori. That is, unless you kill him first. In a way, the price of his wish will be either his friends or himself."
Everyone's eyes widened at the catlike creature's explanation. I still don't believe it. I hope Kyubey's lying. I hope T.K. only made a wish to be able to stand up to the powers of darkness.
"I haven't told you this before," Cody interjected. "But it's time. Kyubey is right. T.K. made the wish for the ability to eradicate all beings of darkness. I overheard it from a distance not long after I made a contract with Kyubey. I was hiding behind a rock, and after T.K. made his wish, I saw him brutally murder MaloMyotismon." He then turned to Matt and Gabumon. "Sora, Biyomon, and Kyubey are telling the truth. T.K.'s on that path to vengeance now. His wish added on to that vengeance to the point where he's insane and only obsessed with his goal. And for what? To avenge Davis, Kari, and the others? I know they wouldn't have wanted T.K. to fall this low. I know it, especially when it's killed Izzy, Tai, and Agumon."
Everyone turned to Cody, bewildered at what they had just heard...and after they had lost friends at that.
"Cody..." Matt's shellshocked expression was the first to morph into anger.
"I'm really sorry, you guys. I really am," Cody said, looking down. "I know I should have told you all this sooner, but...I thought I would be able to handle it myself. To keep you all safe. But it's a moot point now that you all are involved.
"Why would you think that?" Matt snapped. "You knew all about this, and you kept it from us? Cody, we're your friends! Was the whole mysterious silence from earlier part of keeping us safe, too?"
Cody squirmed in his seat.
"Matt! Calm down!" Sora grabbed his arm to try to calm him down.
"No, Sora! Kyubey's not the only one keeping secrets and lying!" Matt shouted.
"The real enemy is Kyubey, Matt!" Biyomon added.
"Matt..." Cody held a hand out to soothe Matt. "Again, I'm sorry I kept this from you, but..."
"Now humans are fighting one another," Kyubey said, looking as emotionless and blank as ever. "You say that I mislead, Iori. It appears that I am not the only one."
"Stop it!" Cody cried, bursting into tears. "I may have waited until now to tell them, but it's just another reason for you to tell us how to break the contracts!"
"We have been through this too many times, Iori," Kyubey reiterated. "And my response to that remains the same. There is no way to undo a contract with me."
Matt grabbed the Incubator by the throat, rage in full bloom once again like a flower. "I'm going to sic Gabumon on you if you don't stop lying!"
"Yamato, I am not lying," Kyubey protested. "You, Sora, and Iori had chosen this life and should have known that it was a lifelong contract. You should have done well to ask. Moreover, you have made a wish, and I have granted it. To break a contract, the wish must be undone...and a wish cannot be undone. Besides, you should be proud to help in preventing entropy. Koushiro has not provided a lot of energy, for he died before he could be proven useful. However, Taichi has, and Takeru will soon contribute more."
"What in the hell are you talking about?" Matt demanded, bewildered and confused.
"Forgive me," Kyubey did not look the least bit apologetic despite those two words. "You see, Takeru is special from the wish he made because it granted him two abilities, making him one of the most powerful magical beings. However, he becomes the most powerful witch as well, granting us – the Incubators – more energy than ever to prevent entropy, or the heat death of the universe."
"So you mean to tell us...that we're just tools to satisfy the goals of your race?" Angry tears ran down Matt's face.
"You're sacrificing us!" Cody accused.
"That's cruel!" Sora added.
"Not sacrificing," Kyubey protested. "It is more like enlisting you to help save your universe."
"Don't worry, Gabumon. If we can't wring information on undoing the contracts out of Kyubey, then we'll kill him as many times as necessary until he's dead for good." Matt assured his partner as he dangled the Incubator over Gabumon.
"You will become witches long before that happens," Kyubey said.
"I didn't say I would do it," the Child of Friendship said, then nodded to Gabumon. "Get ready to digivolve."
"Do you not remember, Yamato? I have many spares, so it will be a waste of time. Besides, I would worry more about Takeru if I were you."
"I hate to admit it, Matt, but Kyubey's right," Sora agreed. "We need to worry about T.K. and when he finds us."
"You should listen to Sora in case she is telling the truth about your brother," the Incubator suggested.
"Why would I want to listen to you?" Matt snapped at Kyubey, then he loosened his grip on him. What if they're right? Kyubey did say T.K. made that wish, which means his killing Izzy and Agumon and stealing Tai's Grief Seed might be true. And in case it is, I need to be be ready. He released the catlike creature.
"You should really stop doing that," Kyubey advised as he slinked toward the window.
"Get out," Matt growled, and the creature hopped out of the window.
"We need to talk sense into T.K.," Cody said. "At least try to reach out to him before we do something we'll regret."
"He's already done something," Sora responded. "And he isn't regretting it."
"But I don't want to lose my brother," Matt argued.
"I know, Matt," Gabumon placed a paw on his partner's hand. "But if Sora and Biyomon are right and we can't talk sense into T.K., we will have to kill him."
"Please understand, Matt," Biyomon piped up. "It's to save both worlds."
"I understand, trust me," Matt replied. "It's just that... I can't fight my own brother."
"I know, Matt," Cody said. "Let's hope it doesn't come down to that."
Matt whipped his enraged gaze back on Cody. "Don't think you're off the hook for holding out on us like that. You still should've told us sooner."
"Again, I'm really sorry, Matt," Cody repeated.
"Sorry isn't going to bring back the friends we lost," the Child of Friendship said. "But it might bring T.K. to his senses."
"We need to find him first, though," Sora reminded.