Hello, and welcome back to my personal hell! On today's episode: remembering I'm actually writing a goddamn fic! -_-
I guess...prepare for pain. I'm about to hurt all your faves and hurt mine even more. Buckle up.
Iori awoke to a sharp pain in his side. Slowly, his eyes fluttered open. He realised he was lying face-down on the ground. With some difficulty, he pushed himself up on his knees, clutching his side as he did. He remembered Vamdemon—or was it OkamiVamdemon now?—appearing from nowhere and trapping them in a strange darkness. The next thing he remembered was being thrown through the air. After that, everything was blank.
He must have hit the ground hard. He ran his hand over the sore spot in his abdomen and winced at the pain. It seemed his ribs were bruised, but thankfully not broken. Though his whole body ached, he was able to stand.
His eyes roved over the ground, searching for his partner. Armadimon was nowhere to be seen. As he looked around, he did not recognise any of his surroundings, nor did he see any of the others. A pang of fear hit him at the thought; he wondered where they were and if they were alright. Still, he steeled himself and found his determination. He had to find out what was going on.
His first priority was to find the others. He had to know they were safe. They must have been scattered about the Digital World in an effort to keep them separated. Did OkamiVamdemon mean to hunt them down individually?
He had to find them...
He winced as he tried to step forward. The ground was unstable at best, and nearly every move he made was met with a falling stone or crumbling surface. He silently thanked his grandfather for teaching him Kendo for all these years; without that training, he likely wouldn't have had the reflexes to react to the ever-changing terrain around him.
He finally managed to land on solid ground. He fell to his knees, clutching at his ribs. Every breath was a strain, and he found himself much more easily winded. He looked back to the debri-filled landscape behind him and a sadness weighed down on him. Was this what the Digital World had come to? How many innocent Digimon were left without a home, without anywhere safe to hide? How many were injured, or worse...?
He pushed the thought from his mind. He couldn't think like that. He had to keep going, to find Armadimon and the others, and fight OkamiVamdemon. It was what he was Chosen to do.
What use would it be, though? Hikari and Takeru had already fought him with the older Chosen Children, only to have him come back more powerful. When they had defeated VenomVamdemon, and they thought he was finally gone for good, he had simply possessed Oikawa-san and used him to become BelialVamdemon.
Did defeating BelialVamdemon three years ago mean nothing? Did Oikawa-san die just for the evil that had possessed him for so long to come back once again? Had his sacrifice to repair the damage to the Digital World been in vain?
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Iori said aloud. "I won't let Oikawa-san's sacrifice mean nothing." He pushed himself to his feet, brushing his hair out of his eyes, and looked out over the Digital World. He wouldn't let it stay like this, not while he was alive.
All he had to do was stay alive...
"Hello? Can anyone hear me?" Junpei had almost worn out his voice at this point from yelling. He sighed heavily. He'd been walking for hours, but he hadn't found anyone.
"Hello?" he called again. There was no answer. "It's no use..."
He stopped for a moment to lean his back against a tree. Everything about this world was foreign to him. He didn't recognise a single landmark anywhere. Though, with how everything was torn up right now, he wasn't sure any recognisable landmarks would be standing anyways.
He shoved his hands into his pockets and surveyed the area. He was standing atop a hill, looking out over a valley that appeared to have a lake in the middle of it. He squinted, looking into the distance; it didn't look like things were too bad that way. The sky was getting dark—well, darker—and he'd need a place to sleep for a few hours. Maybe that place would have some shelter.
"You there," he heard a voice say. "Junpei, is it?"
He wheeled around, searching for the source of the sound. He looked down to see a red bird-like Digimon staring up at him expectantly. He jumped back, startled.
"No need for alarm. I am Hawkmon, Miyako's partner."
"Oh, right." He felt somewhat sheepish now. "Is she with you?"
Hawkmon hung his head, looking disheartened. "I was going to ask you the same question."
"I'm sorry," Junpei replied. "We can look for her together if you like."
"Well, company does seem better than being alone, given the state of things. Very well then, I shall accompany you."
"I was planning on heading over there to that lake," Junpei said, pointing toward it. "It doesn't look too broken up over there, and if we don't find anyone we might at least be able to make camp for the night."
"A capital idea." They walked in silence for a time. Junpei looked around; he was right. The land was mostly untouched here, which was a welcome sight after some of the other places he'd seen today.
He turned to Hawkmon and, to fill the silence, said, "Miyako was the one with the purple hair, right?" The Digimon nodded. "She seems pretty cool."
"She is exceptional," Hawkmon replied, as if correcting him. "While I am sure she can handle herself quite capably, I do wish to find her."
"I'm worried about everyone too," Junpei said quietly. They reached the bottom of the hill now, and the trees opened up to a sandy beach. It seemed a number of Digimon had taken refuge here. Some looked to be injured, while others were less roughed up and were taking care of them.
"It seems we might be needed here," Hawkmon noted. "As you said, night will be here soon. Perhaps we should see what we can do to help."
"I guess that's all we can do right now." The two nodded to each other and set to work. Junpei busied himself building a fire, which a number of the refugee Digimon gathered around. Hawkmon helped some of the more able-bodied Digimon gather some food, which Junpei was more than happy to cook for them all. All the while, more and more Digimon were pouring in from every direction, seeking shelter and safety from the destruction around them.
"Thank you so much!" said a Koromon. "You've been such a big help to us all."
Junpei smiled. "No need to thank us. It's part of being a Chosen. We take care of the Digital World and all the Digimon."
"That's right," Hawkmon agreed. "Although, I will admit that it would be much easier with Miyako here..."
"Who's Miyako?"
Junpei whipped around, elated to hear such a familiar voice. "Neemon?!"
"Junpei! Bokomon, come quick, it's Junpei!"
"Bokomon is here too?" From behind a bush, Bokomon appeared. He and Neemon threw themselves at Junpei, who held his arms outstretched to the both of them. They embraced happily. Then, Bokomon looked up at him and said, "Where are the others?"
"I don't know. We were separated."
"I see..." Bokomon looked thoughtful for a moment. He looked over to Neemon, who stared blankly at him and said, "What?"
"The girl. I wonder if she knows anything."
"But she's still sleeping," Neemon said.
"Girl? What girl?" Junpei perked up immediately. Bokomon motioned for him to follow and said, "This way."
Bokomon led them away from the fire and toward a small gathering of Digimon. They were all sitting in a circle around something. In the midst of them lay a girl, unconscious.
"Miyako!" Hawkmon rushed forward and glued himself to his partner's side. She was bruised in several places on her body, and her face had a rather large cut on it.
"She landed not too far from here and we all carried her," Neemon said. "She was asleep the whole time."
"Is she another Warrior?" Bokomon asked, looking to Junpei.
"No," he replied, shaking his head. "No, she's a different kind of Chosen. Hawkmon here is her partner."
"Partner? Hmm."
"Look, she's waking!" Hawkmon cried. Miyako stirred, her eyes opening slowly. She groaned, barely moving, and Hawkmon leaned in and said softly, "Miyako, speak to me."
"H-Hawkmon?" Her voice was hoarse, and she tried to sit up. She winced, clutching at her sides.
"Miyako, are you alright?" Hawkmon asked.
"I think I broke something." She traced her hand along her ribs and grimaced. "Yeah, that's definitely broken." She reached a hand up to feel her cheek and closed her eyes for a moment, as if she were silently counting to ten so as to not freak out.
"Hey, we made a fire over there," Junpei offered. He held out his hand to her and added, "I'll help you." She nodded, and he slung her arm up around his shoulder and helped her to her feet. She winced again, instinctively clutching at her side once more.
"Sorry," Junpei said. He moved slowly, easing her toward the fire as gently as he could. Once there, he helped her sit down again, for which she thanked him.
"How are you holding up?" she asked.
"I'm fine. I must have landed somewhere a little softer than you, I think."
"Lucky you." She grimaced, leaning against a large rock for support. "Have you seen any of the others?"
"Just you and Hawkmon. Well, and Bokomon and Neemon."
"Who?"
"They're friends of ours from the Digital World we went to."
"Ah. I'm glad they're alright." She tried to stand, adding, "We should find the others as well."
"It's getting dark," Junpei pointed out, "and you're in no condition to go anywhere right now. Get some rest, and we'll find them in the morning."
"Ugh. You're probably right." She nodded, leaning back against the rock once more and closing her eyes. Hawkmon settled in next to her, keeping an eye on her as she fell asleep.
Junpei stood, looking out over the makeshift refugee camp that had sprouted up in the last few hours. Most of the Digimon were asleep at this point, including Bokomon and Neemon. A few remained awake, keeping a silent watch on the area. Junpei absentmindedly stoked the fire, his gaze wandering toward the sky. There were no stars, and no moons—just a vast expanse of inky emptiness.
Was this the future of the Digital World? Where once there were billions of stars, there was now nothing. The ground was constantly rupturing around them. Would it all be destroyed?
No. Not if he had anything to say about it. He was one of the Chosen Children, a Legendary Warrior. It was his job to make sure that didn't happen. He'd find the others; he'd already found Miyako and Hawkmon, and Bokomon and Neemon too, which was a good start. Then, when they were all together again, they'd fight OkamiVamdemon and save the Digital World.