"TAI!" Sora was screaming out his name. It was hard to see. The sand and wind were blowing around her. She felt someone hold her in place and wondered when Mimi got so strong. She could see Tai and Greymon's digivolved form being sucked towards Etemon.
"Birdramon Help him!" Sora yelled and she was unsure she could keep her footing in the sand. And then in a blink, the wind stopped. Everything stopped and Sora slowly opened her eyes.
"What happened?!" Mimi asked and Sora realized it wasn't Mimi holding her. She straightened up and looked at the person. Her eyes went round
"Thank TK." TK nodded and slowly released Sora.
"You okay? I thought you might run out there." TK admitted and Sora shook her head.
"Im fine really." TK stepped back and Sora looked at the digimon and the others.
"Is anyone hurt?" She asked and she watched everyone who was looking at her shake their heads.
"Tai?" Sora looked for the voice. She saw Kari sitting on the ground with Tokomon in her arms. Sora looked out into the desert.
Tai and Greymon were no where to be seen.
"Tai?!" Joe yelled and slowly everyone started to move.
"Tai! TAI?!" Matt yelled and Sora could hear the panic. Birdramon dedigivolved and Biyomon came over to Sora.
"Sora you okay?" Her partner asked and Sora nodded unsure if she could speak. Tai was gone. Her knees buckled and she kneeled on the sand.
"Guys this is crazy Tai's here we just have to find him." Joe said and Sora looked up at him. She had no emotion in her eyes and she could see, Joe didn't believe his words either.
"TAI!" Matt called again and Garurumon dedigivolved to Gabumon.
"Wheres Agumon?" Gabumon asked. No one answered him. Sora watched Matt. He was standing in front of them yelling at nothing.
"Don't be an ass! Tai!" Sora closed her eyes. Was he really gone? She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up seeing Kari looking down at her.
"He's okay. I think he just needs to find his way back." Sora didn't understand and this started to anger her.
"What do you mean? You mean you know where he is?!" Sora snapped and Kari stepped back.
"No, no! I don't I just have a feeling he's okay." Karis words were a little shaky and Sora didn't trust that.
Sora ignored Kari and looked to Izzy.
"Izzy! You can find him right?! I mean he still has his digivice. How did you guys find me?" Sora was feeling desperate and she stood. Izzy stepped back.
"I, uh, I can't. My computer its dead." Izzy said and Sora could hear he was sorry. She knew it wasn't Izzy's fault. But this only made the situation more real and it scared Sora. She was angry.
"Well fuck! What about the digivices!" She pulled hers out and looked at it.
"Come on! Everyone look! We have to try!" The others except Matt slowly followed suit. Sora saw nothing on her device and was crest fallen to hear no signs from the others that they could see him.
"No this is bullshit! This isn't supposed to be how it happens! Tai's not supposed to be gone!" TK walked over to Sora.
"I know Sora but maybe Kari is right maybe he is okay." Sora almost spat in TK's face.
"No, no we have to, we have to move and we have to find him and we have to find him!" No one spoke. Sora's out burst lingered in the silence. Matt still did not address the group.
"Where is he?!" Sora asked after a moment of silence. She saw Kari open her mouth and then close it.
"How can you be so calm?! Kari this is your brother!" Kari seemed hurt and TK stood in front of her. He seemed to know better then to speak and Sora had to admit not seeing Kari in her line of sight made her less of a target. Sora felt bad, for a moment. No one deserved her anger but she was so scared.
"It should have been me." Sora mumbled and she sat in the sand.
"Datamon should have just done away with me. None of this would have happened." Sora felt tears roll down her cheeks. The rest of the digimon dedigivolved and yet no one moved or spoke.
Why? Why did he have to disappear? He could be- she stopped her train of thought. Dead was what she feared and suspected. Who survives something like that? Sora concluded in her head. Another tear rolled down her cheek. She heard soft movement towards her. Someone put a finger under her chin and she looked up. Her brown eyes met blue.
"Did Datamon hurt you?" Matt asked and Sora shook her head. Matt removed his finger from under her chin. He then brought her wrist up and into view.
"This looks like it hurt." Matt commented and Sora could see a bruise forming on her wrist.
"Just Datamon, trying to separate Tai and I. I'm fine." Sora allowed Matt to hold her wrist but she couldn't look at him any more. She felt numb.
"I'm wondering if we should move." Izzy broke the silence. Matt let Sora's wrist drop and he turned to face Izzy.
"Er, yeah. We should." He stood tall and Sora wondered if they should leave.
What if Tai comes back? She thought and she felt a warm head rub her stomach.
"Come on Sora." Biyomon purred and Sora smiled at her partner. She felt good having her partners affection. Sora looked at their group and suddenly recoiled from Biyomon's touch.
"Yeah lets go." Sora mumbled and she stood. She didn't look at anyone else. She just allowed Matt and Gabumon to lead the way.
Sora kept her head down as the group walked. She kept looking in the sand for a sign, some sort of part of Tai that would indicate he was okay.
"Whoa!" Some of the others spoke and Sora looked up from the ground. She saw a lush forest in front of them.
"That kind of came out of nowhere." TK commented.
"Im hungry Joe." Gomamon said and Sora realized she hadn't eaten in some time. She felt her stomach churn and pictured a burger.
"Shit, I don't have the food." Sora stopped along with everyone else.
"What do you mean you don't have the food? Joe its in your bag." Mimi commented. Joe sighed,
"I gave the bag to Tai." Everyone was quiet.
"Why?" Matt asked after a moment.
"I figured Sora and Biyomon would need something." Sora's lips parted. She was touched Joe had thought about her. She then felt ashamed and looked at her feet.
"Come on were exposed here there has to be something ahead. Maybe some fruit or something." TK held Tokomon as he took the lead. Everyone followed in relative silence. The forest was cool and almost calming. Sora could hear the sound of bugs rustling in the trees and bushes around them. Mimi then sat on a rock.
"I think this is as far as I want to go." She stated. No one disagreed. The group slowly made a camp around Mimi. Biyomon was able to make a fire with her sprial twister. A job that had been exclusively Agumons. Sora winced.
"Izzy and I are gonna see if we can find anything to eat." TK said and Sora watched Izzy, TK and Tentomon walk away. Sora felt uncomfortable. She was hungry and tired and she could feel a headache coming. She pushed her fingers against her temples.
"Here." Sora looked next to her and Joe was holding a water bottle.
"I thought this was in your bag?" Sora asked and Joe nodded.
"It was but i took it for me and Matt. Part of the rescue plan was Matt and I luring the digimon away. I figured we might get thirsty." Sora nodded and took the bottle from his fingers. Joe then sat next to her. She uncapped the bottle and took a drink. She was definitely thirsty and really had to stop herself from drinking all of it. She brought the bottle from her lips and held it in front of her. She then put the cap back on and handed it to Joe. Joe took it and Sora felt him staring at her. She tried to ignore it as she watched Biyomon fluff her feathers.
"Sora?" Joe spoke quietly. Sora looked at him.
"Are you okay?" He asked and Sora took a moment to answer.
"Yeah. I mean no but yeah I'm good." Sora then moved to stand and Joe gently grabbed her arm and pulled her back down to her seat.
"You're worrying me. Did Datamon do anything to you?" Sora shook her head.
"No, no. It was weird he made a copy of me. He had me strapped to a table and there was another table and then there I was. It was a lifeless version of me but it was me. Datamon thought he could use my crest-" Sora stopped. She quickly dug into her pocket. She pulled out her tag and crest.
"Oh Sora look at yours." Mimi cooed and Sora was just noticing the others were listening.
"Yeah my crest." Sora mumbled as she stared at the necklace.
"Its the crest of love." Gomamon commented and Joe looked at his partner,
"How do you know that?" He asked. Palmon answered.
"We digimon have seen those symbols before." Sora felt uneasy looking at her crest.
Love? who could ever love me? She thought.
"So then what happened?" Kari asked and Sora realized she hadn't finished.
"Oh right, well he, Datamon, thought that if he gave the copy my crest and digivice he could control Biyomon and use her to defeat Etemon." Sora looked at her partner. She was glad he hadn't succeeded. She didn't want anything bad to happen to Biyomon.
Don't get attached, a voice inside her said and she straightened up.
"Tai came in. He got my crest and digivice from Datamon. Then I don't know how it happened but the ground under me was gone and I was falling into a dark pit. I would have fallen if Tai hadn't caught me. He struggled to pull me up and then Datamon came and tried to pry Tai's hand off of mine. Tai was quick though, he tossed me my digivice and crest and I was able to make Biyomon digivolve." Sora looked at the others.
"Then you guys know the rest." She rolled her shoulders back feeling a little uncomfortable with people looking at her. She looked at Joe who said nothing. She wondered if he would speak if there wasn't an audience.
"I'm glad you're okay Sora." Kari said and Sora looked into her eyes.
She looks so much like him. Sora was feeling bad for yelling at Kari she thought she should apologize.
"Hey we found some food!" TK's voice was louder than Sora was expecting and she jumped a little.
"Good work Teeks." Matt complimented and TK and Izzy and Tentomon dumped some bananas in the middle of the circle that had been formed while Sora spoke.
"We didn't come across anything dangerous." TK reported.
"Nor did we find a way to charge my laptop." Izzy sighed.
"But we did find these though, this was all we could find." Tentomon added and Sora suddenly felt ravenous. Joe handed her a banana.
"Eat." He instructed and Sora unwrapped the fruit and took a bite.
"Tokomon!" Sora watched TK give a bite to Tokomon. The little digimon grew bright and suddenly Patamon was hovering next to TK. TK dropped the banana and quickly gathered his digimon in his arms
"Patamon!" Patamon nestled into TK's neck and TK looked alighted.
"Told you I'd be back." Patamon cooed and Sora could see TK's eyes well up as he hugged his friend. Sora felt touched by their moment. She looked over at Biyomon and wanted to reach out to her. She instead kept her arms to herself and focused on her banana.
"I think I need to use the bushes. Kari? Sora?" Mimi had her hands on her hips and Sora actually wanted some time with just Mimi and Kari. She handed Joe her banana.
"Uhmm yeah." She dusted her shorts off and paused as she was about to put her crest around her neck. She thought better of it and put it in her pocket.
"Come on Biyo." Sora called and she followed Mimi, Palmon and Kari away from the boys.
"Don't go too far!" TK called after them and Mimi waved a hand back at them.
"I think there is too much testosterone around." Mimi commented as they moved away from the group.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked and Mimi folded her arms over her chest.
"Its flattering, but the boys all want to protect us. I mean who saved them from almost frying up on that ship? Us." Mimi said and Kari smirked.
"They just care." The youngest teen commented.
"Sure, sure. Thats all very nice but I sometimes prefer less coddling and more empowerment. We are pretty strong women." Sora chuckled despite herself. She wasn't sure how Mimi did it but somehow, she felt her mouth twitch and a smile spread on her lips.
"So do you really need to use the bushes?" Sora asked and Mimi nodded.
"Oh yeah, I've had to go since last night but there wasn't really a private spot to go. I thought I was gonna pee myself when we were hiding from Etemon."
"How'd that happen?" Sora asked and they turned into a grove of bushes. Mimi slipped behind a taller bush.
"Well Matt and Joe had lead all those digimon away from the pyramid. And Etemon went after them. Tai and Izzy managed to get into the pyramid and I thought I should help. So I went after Joe and Matt. Etemon quickly drained the digimon and suddenly we had no defence. We had a small window of opportunity when Etemon was distracted and we ran. We hid behind a pillar and Etemon came close trying to find us. I think Joe thought I was really scared which I was but I honestly thought I was going to pee! I was trying so hard to hold it." Mimi went silent and Sora and Kari shared a smirk. Mimi then stood and stepped towards Sora and Kari. Sora felt her own bladder seize and looked to Kari who had the same look on her face.
"I gotta go too." Sora said and Kari nodded. The two quickly found their own bushes to hide behind.
"I'll keep guard Sora." Biyomon announced. Sora smiled and then focused on her task at hand.
"I think he's okay by the way." Mimi said. Sora stood tall and did her shorts up.
"Who, oh you do?" Sora replied cluing in Mimi was talking about Tai. Mimi put a finger to her chin.
"Yeah, his story's not done yet. He's got lots more to figure out so he has to come back." Mimi said matter of factly. Sora was so jealous of Mimi. Mimi was confident and content in her skin,
how can I be like that? Sora wondered.
"That's what I feel. I'm really sorry if I don't seem upset Sora. Believe me I am but something feels okay. Like he is okay." Kari said as she emerged from her own bush. Sora wanted to feel comforted. She looked from Mimi to Kari and then to Biyomon and Palmon. The digimon seemed content and Mimi and Kari sounded so sure of themselves. It made Sora's skin crawl. She nodded.
"Thanks you guys. Kari I really am sorry I snapped on you." Kari nodded and gave Sora a small smile.
"Hey Sora theres a lake over here." Sora stepped forward now noticing Biyomon had moved away from them. The girls followed and saw there was in fact a lake.
"Anyone want to freshen up?" Mimi asked and Sora saw Kari's cheeks burn.
"Uhmm I'll keep watch if you two go for a dip." Sora scrunched her nose. She then remembered how reserved Kari was on the boat. Not wanting anyone to see her back. Sora shook her head.
"Okay Kar. You keep watch." Kari nodded and stepped back. She then gave Sora and Mimi a thumbs up and Sora quickly discarded her clothes. Sora then entered the water. It was cool but not too cold. She heard the splash of water as Mimi jumped in as well.
"Ahhh," Mimi sighed and she laid her head back into the water.
"This part of our adventure, is pretty nice." Mimi said. Sora nodded. Sora floated on her back a moment. She looked up at the sky seeing the sun in the distance. She felt almost happy but then Tai creeped into her mind again. Her nightmare was there too and all the things she was going through before the Digital World. Sora felt her stomach knot. She started swimming around. Trying to exert her energy. She heard Palmon splash with Mimi. She could hear Biyomon talking with Kari. She could hear too much. And yet not enough. She couldn't hear the sounds of Tai leading, she couldn't hear the sounds of comfort that she craved from home. She felt like she was trapped and her mind started to spiral. She looked over at Mimi and Palmon and saw they weren't looking her way. Sora breathed in and she held her breath and went underwater. She floated down below the surface. The water was muffling all sound and she finally felt almost free. She craved to be under the water for eternity. To feel like she belonged, like she mattered. She blew out the rest of her air forming bubbles in front of the her face. She then closed her eyes. Her chest tightened and she felt her lungs lurch they wanted air. Sora didn't want to give them any. She wanted to stay down below the surface. She wanted to live in the water. It was starting to get more painful , being underwater. Sora almost gave into her instincts but she was trained. She'd suffered like this before and she welcomed the pain like an old friend. She closed her eyes once again. A hand grabbed her arm forcefully and suddenly her lungs could breathe. Air filled them as she surfaced and Sora let out a huge gasp.
"Sora!" Mimi put both hands on Sora's shoulders.
"What the hell happened?!" Mimi asked and Sora took a minute to catch her breath and focus her eye sight. Mimi was looking at her, no Mimi was staring sternly at her. Or maybe she was scared? Sora couldn't quite tell. Sora wiped the front of her face,
"What do you mean?" She spurted out and Mimi went wide eyed.
"You weren't breathing. You were under the water for almost 2 minutes! I thought you were drowning!" Mimi said and Sora realized she really scared Mimi.
"Oh I didn't mean-" Sora stopped and Mimi looked at her hard,
"What? You didn't mean what?" Mimi asked and Sora shook her head.
"Sorry I don't know what happened." Sora lied. She knew what she had been doing. She was trying to silence and drown out the pain and fear and the anxiety. She was trying to rid herself of everything that hurt her. Sora promised no one would know her pain. So she just shook her head.
"I think I'm just a little more shaken up from today." Mimi's face relaxed and Sora was relieved to see she accepted Sora's words.
"Well come on lets go to shore." Mimi didnt release her hold on Sora and Sora felt like a child. She also felt bad that Mimi didn't trust her. They reached the shore and Kari and Biyomon squatted next to Sora as she sat on the grassy bank.
"Sorry I think I'm really tired." Sora said and she felt Kari and Mimi share a look.
"You want to go lie down Sora?" Biyomon asked and Sora nodded.
"Sora?! Mimi?!" The girls all looked at each other wide eyed. Matt was coming. Sora quickly jumped back in the water and Kari ran to run interference.
"Don't come over here Matt!" Kari yelled. And Sora kept her body in the water. She could hear Matt respond.
"We're getting worried! Are you guys okay?" Mimi huffed and yelled,
"We're girls and we're fine!" Sora shook her head but was glad Mimi spoke.
"Just don't come any closer. No one is hurt." Kari explained and Sora still couldn't see Matt. She then heard him again.
"I don't get it what's wrong?" Mimi then huffed.
"We're naked Matt! We wanted a swim and now we're in the water naked. Now if you want to leave us a towel or your shirt so we can dry off that fine otherwise leave!" Sora was wide eyed and embarrassed at Mimi's outburst. Sora put a palm to her forehead she hated feeling embarrassed.
"Just take this and let us know if you need us." Matt said after a moment of silence. Sora wasn't sure if he had left until Kari turned around. Her cheeks were red and she was holding something in her hands.
"He erm, gave me his shirt for you two." Mimi stood up and walked over to Kari.
"Wonderful, see the boys are good for something." Mimi then dried her self with Matt's shirt. Kari rolled her eyes and smirked and Mimi tossed the shirt to Sora. Sora got out of the water and used it to dry her shoulders. She then could smell Matts scent lingering on the shirt. She held it up to her nose and inhaled. She loved his smell. There was something safe about his scent. She quickly dropped the shirt feeling ashamed. She then picked up her clothes and put them back on. She stood tall and looked to see Mimi was now dressed as well. Sora bent down and picked up Matt's shirt.
"Ready to go back?" Kari asked and Sora nodded. Kari turned and lead the way with Palmon and Biyomon on either side of her. Mimi put a hand on Sora's arm
"You promise you're okay?" Mimi asked and she had a concerned look in her eyes. Sora hesitated then quickly smiled,
"Yeah I'll be even better after some sleep." She said and Mimi relaxed.
"K, just don't scare me like that again." Mimi said and she started to walk ahead. Sora nodded,
I'll try. She thought and she followed the girls back to their camp.
