Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Digimon Trinity

Chapter: 163/ Interlude 21: Reunion

Renamon deposited Rika just outside the door to her home and the girl broke into a run almost immediately upon touching down.

"Mama! Grandma!" she called out half in panic, reverting to the name she used for her mother in her childhood.

"Rika!" Rumiko's answering cry echoed dully from within the house. A second later, it repeated more loudly and a door slid open. Rumiko dashed out without any shoes and ran up to her daughter. Falling to her knees, she swept the girl into her arms and Rika found herself grunting in surprise at the strength in them.

"Oh, Rika! I'm so glad you're all right!" Rumiko said, her voice on the verge of breaking down. Rika felt something damp touch her cheeks and realized her mother was crying.

"It's okay," she said, smoothing down her mother's back. "It's okay. Are you all right? Grandma said that Davis…"

"He went looking for you," Rumiko sniffed, drawing back. Rika now saw the smeared mascara that lined her mother's face. "He…He ran into trouble and… Oh, Rika." Breaking into a sob, she crushed Rika to her again. Rika let her cry and continued to massage her back.

I've never seen her so worried. Is this what it means to be a Tamer? she wondered. It's more than just being in danger. It's other people worrying that you might not come home at the end of the day.

She bit her lower lip at the hot swell of pain that welled up in the back of her throat and she squeezed her mother all the more tightly. She suddenly felt as if a tremendous weight had fallen over her and she remembered Takato's earlier words about how they were going to the digital world. They seemed so easy then to agree to. Seeing her mother so distraught now left her with uneasy doubts sitting in her heart.

I can't leave her, can I? Not without letting her know how I feel.

Her grip about her mother tightened briefly and then, with great reluctance, she withdrew her arms and pulled back. She couldn't let herself be consumed by doubts now. Besides, she knew full well that if she didn't go – if she let herself be taken by sentimentality then she couldn't protect her family. The Devas had Calumon now and with their stated intention of taking over the world, it was certain they would be back. Staying home would not change that.

"How…How is Davis?" she asked.

Rumiko sniffed and looked up at her. Her lips trembled and then she turned away. A thousand thoughts whirled through her head about her daughter. About the digimon that she was partnered to. About how her own mother and Davis knew about her being a Digidestined – or Tamer – and never told her. She wanted to say so many things but right now…she found herself unable to find the words. There was just too much happening at once.

And Davis…

Rumiko closed her eyes tightly and fresh tears spilled forth.

###

"Davis has Cerebral Edema," Ken said to Izzy over the phone, seating himself back down across from Sora. Sora's expression was one of tight worry. "Swelling in his brain. Joe's working on him now and I don't know how long it'll be before we find out something. Matt…" He glanced over at Sora. "Here. I'll let her fill you in."

He passed the phone over to Sora, who took it gingerly.

"Hey, Izzy," she said, her voice sounding like a frog was stuck in it. Her eyes welled up with tears and her hand trembled. Yet she was doing her best to sound as though she were in control. "Matt…" She took a breath to steady herself and ran her free hand along her knees. "Lillymon set his arm. Um… He's hit his head too, but not…not as bad as Davis."

She bowed her head and she coughed to clear her throat. "The doctor says he should be okay, but he's going to be out of action for a while."

Out of action for a while. Ken cringed inwardly. She sounded so academic. Like she was back in the war, giving another battle report. As if the importance of her husband was measured only in his ability to fight.

That's not true though, he reminded himself. She's trying to keep a level head and she knows what's coming. She knows Izzy will need to factor Matt's health into his equations when it comes time to plan for the next encounter.

The next encounter. Those words sat heavily in his mind. Portals were showing up throughout the city. He had no idea about their extent. Izzy was still getting too much interference from Juggernaut's effects to be able to get anything accurate. That could mean anything from dozens to hundreds in number, in sizes ranging from a subway tunnel to a raindrop.

But if they are big enough, then that means we have a way to the digital world. That means…

What…did it mean, actually? They still had very little idea about the nature of the Sovereign and their Devas or where they were located in the digital world. Or even if they were located in the digital world at all. He glanced down at his hands and did a quick headcount with his fingers.

Myself, Sora, Kari, Cody, Joe, and Izzy. Mimi too, if we're crazy enough to have her come along while she's pregnant. Maybe Yolei too. And the Tamers. That looks to be about all we can get together. Maybe some of the other Digidestined from other countries but…

He paused at that. The Digidestined community wasn't what it used to be. Many countries sat on them now like a prized commodity. In a way, he supposed they were. All the blessings of partnership aside, they were also weapons to be pointed at someone. He doubted governments cared if those someone's were the forces of Darkness or each other.

And here I am, thinking of our partners and ourselves as if we're weapons too. He glanced at the still sleeping digimon, his expression softening. I'm here thinking about how we can't break out Imperialdramon. I'm thinking about the Tamers and how they can bolster us while they're still so young.

He was jolted out of his thoughts by Sora as she held his phone back out to him. Blinking, he looked up at her. Her lips were pressed together into a thin line so tight that they were going pale.

"Izzy's going to call a meeting," she said, her voice strained. Ken nodded and took his phone back. Sora watched him as he pocketed it.

"You're giving me that look," he said.

"The one where I'm waiting for you to tell me what's going through your mind?" Sora asked, tilting her head to one side. Ken looked back at her and after a moment, she nodded.

"What can I say?" she asked, leaning back in her chair with a heavy sigh. "I'm the team's mom."

"You know, you could be selfish for a change and tell me what's going on through your mind," Ken riposted. "I think we already know what's going through my mind."

Sora hugged herself and looked down at her lap, not saying a word. Ken took a sip from his now lukewarm coffee.

"Matt and Tai always did say that trying to get you to talk was like pulling teeth. If I were the Digimon Emperor still, I'm pretty sure I could manage both."

Sora looked at him sharply and then, after a moment of confusion at his deadpan expression, suddenly let out a small, light laugh.

"Don't you think that this is a bad time for jokes?" she asked, blushing in shame.

"I remember how during the war we had to joke around about all kinds of horrible things to get by. None of them were appropriate." Lowering his cup, he ran a finger along the rim. "I don't usually do it, but you looked like you needed something to laugh about and to wake you up a little. This isn't the time to keep things bottled up, and from what I remember, things never went well when you did that."

Sora frowned, but nodded reluctantly. She remembered how, before the war, she withheld knowledge and how it led to the steady loss of their partners. How as they grew and reached their potential, their digivices turned to stone and their digimon disappeared from their lives. Izzy, with the help of Gennai and Menoa, eventually solved the problem, bringing back the partners they lost, but only after the Darkness made their move on the now vulnerable Earth. Not a day went by where she wondered how different things would have been if she had spoken up and let everyone know what was coming. How many lives could have been saved.

Perhaps TK wouldn't have lost Patamon…

She opened her mouth to speak, but movement from out of the corner of her eye caught her attention. Turning, she saw Rumiko, Rika and Seiko entering through the hospital doors.

"Well, if Gatomon were here, she'd say something like, 'Look what the cat dragged in,'" Sora said, relief flooding her at the sight of Rika and her family. Getting up, she looked at Ken. "I'll be back."

Ken nodded and leaned forward in contemplation. His eyes fell on Rika as Sora approached and he was left wondering what happened on their side of the fighting. From this distance, she looked relatively fine.

He considered his phone, wondering if the interference had cleared up enough now for him to message her. He couldn't approach her openly while her mother was still in the dark.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, he thought, taking out his phone and quickly typing up a message.

###

WarGreymon exploded from out of the earth, sending rock and dirt flying out into the air. Moments later, Etemon's chariot, towed by the massive Monochromon rode out after him. They quickly ground to a halt and the cabin door swung open with a loud hiss of hydraulics.

"Fresh air at last!" Etemon shouted, leaping out of his mobile base and striking a pose. "Yeah, baby! Nothing finer, nothing sweeter than the taste of clean and crisp and fresh O-2! Well, except for me of course, but I can make it fine!" Turning around, he folded his arms over his chest and nodded to his fellow travelers. "What do you say, Li'l buddies? Could I make a song about it that'd be a guaranteed number one hit?"

"Only if you can explain why you're making such a big deal about breathing air in the digital world," Tai said, hopping down and stretching his legs. Etemon snorted.

"I was just trying to appreciate some of the finer things in that crazy existence you call life, li'l buddy. Besides, we have oxygen here too, even if we don't need it. Come on! Don't you know anything?"

Tai grinned and shook his head. Some days, he could never understand Etemon.

"If I've learned anything over the years, it's that I don't know a lot of things," he said, taking a look about him. "And I definitely don't know what the deal was with that weird storm. At least it seems to be over now."

"I'll say," Etemon nodded before turning to Rei. "Roadie! Do you got a read on the sensors?"

"There's still a lot of interference fuzzing things up," Rei reported from within Etemon's carriage, her fingers flying over the control panel. "But things are also a lot clearer now without the storm in the way. Let's see…"

She frowned and leaned forward in her chair, as if by doing so she could make the computer readouts clearer than they already were.

"It looks like the shockwave we were picking up earlier is gone," she reported. "Whatever it was that was being transported, it looks like it finished doing that. But…" Her frown deepened. "The other problem that we picked up is still ongoing. The destruction like what happened in sector 30."

Typing a few more commands, she called up a map of the nearby sectors. One of them was a great black spot of emptiness. Two more directly next to it looked as though something had been gnawing on them.

Etemon ran a hand along his chin as WarGreymon approached from behind.

"This ain't good," he said. "Whatever's happening, it looks like it's getting the job done pretty quick. It hasn't been all that long since the one sector was destroyed completely."

"It's spreading like a virus," Tai noted before blinking. "Er… Sorry, Etemon."

"Don't worry about it, son." Etemon chuckled and planted his hands on his hips. "All right. Saddle up everyone. We've got to get there pronto to see whatever it is we can see and… Hey, Roadie. What's with the blinking light on the screen?"

Rei called up a sector not too far away from the destroyed sector.

"It looks like some kind of dimensional distortion. It could be related."

"Then let's roll!" Etemon said, climbing back into his chariot.

"WarGreymon!" Tai said. "Could you scout ahead and check it out?"

"Roger!" the Mega said, flexing his arms. "Rei! Plug me in again!"

Hopping out of the chariot, Rei took a cable and planted one end in WarGreymon's back and the other to the chariot. Set up, WarGreymon took to the sky, the cable lengthening swiftly behind him as he soared.

"See anything yet, li'l buddy?" came Etemon's voice in WarGreymon's mind.

"Yeah, can you see it?" WarGreymon asked, his sharp, emerald eyes peering ahead. He saw a plume of darkness shooting down from the sky like an upside-down volcano. He had seen the like of this before, during the war.

"There's no mistaking that," came Tai's voice now, coming swiftly to the same conclusion. "That's Darkness' work! WarGreymon!"

"I'm on it!" the Mega said, flexing his claws within his gauntlets. Power began to gather in the palms of his hands and soon enough fire flared to life. Bringing his hands together, he began to form the sphere that was the focus of his primary attack, the mighty Terra Force.

Whatever it is you have planned, it stops here, he growled mentally. Hoisting his arms over his head, the sphere expanded in one sudden rush, becoming a giant sun held between his palms as easily as though it were a beachball. He felt the power flowing within its surface, heating his palms, eager to escape and destroy. His eyes tracked the flow of darkness and he saw a figure begin to take shape on the ground. He paused, waiting to see what it was. Whether he needed more power to destroy whatever was coming from the Dark Ocean.

The flow of shadows faded and there stood two figures. WarGreymon balked abruptly at the sight of them and his Terra Force vanished all at once.

"WarGreymon!" came Tai's confused exclamation from his tethered connection with Etemon's chariot. "What's wrong?"

"Tai… Your sister is down there!"

"Kari is what?!"

###

"Let me go! Let us go!"

Kari's mind was awash in panic, manifesting in the rapid slamming of her heart within her chest. She screamed, but there was no sound. As the darkness devoured the light, so did it with sound. She flailed about, trying to find Gatomon, but she saw and felt no sign of her.

"We told you," spoke up one of the dark voices from before in the depths of her mind.

"We can't let you go," said another. "We need you to save the digital world."

"Chaos comes."

"It threatens the natural order of things."

"Your order. Our order."

"The balance between the Light and the Dark."

"This cannot be allowed!"

The multitude spoke as one in a ferocious, angry voice now, and Kari felt herself falling downward now. She bit her lip, trying to keep herself from throwing up.

"We cannot allow another to settle the conflict in their favor," the voices continued. Kari felt her feet touch something solid. Earth lay beneath her. The darkness held onto her until her balance had stabilized.

"But more… Our existence is threatened. Darkness is eternal, but without the Light, our end comes swift. And our home is already being destroyed."

Kari gasped as the shadows began to retreat from her.

Their homes… They're being destroyed?

"Lost. Lost." A new voice, mournful. "The black waves falter and are drained into the abyss. No more shall their sound echo upon the air. There is only sand now and the endless graves of an ancient world. The world made by humans before there was ever a digital world."

What do you mean?

The voices gave no response as now light shone about her, revealing a stony outcrop overlooking a vast swath of open, green land littered with broken boulders and fallen trees – a land that had weathered some tumultuous storm. Above her lay clean, blue sky etched with the mesh of the analogue world and the occasional cloud that hinted at nothing but a bright, sunny day. The air itself, warm and comfortable, promised only a fine, late spring.

"Find the key inside…" came a whisper, as soft as a dying breath.

What do you mean? Kari asked the quiet again, and for a change she found herself hoping that the voices would return to answer her questions. None came from them. It seemed that, having brought her to the digital world, they no longer had any reason to stay.

"Ohhh…"

"Gatomon!" Kari whirled about at the sound of her partner and she found the feline struggling to sit up. Dropping to one knee, she lifted her partner up. "Gatomon, are you okay?"

"I feel like I took a tumble again in the drier," the feline groaned, shaking her head. Kari smiled with relief and ran a hand over the feline's long ears.

"You look a little better than you did then at least," she said.

"I wish I felt like it," Gatomon scowled, casting her blue eyes about. "Where are we?" She sniffed, looking perplexed. "The digital world?"

"Looks like it," Kari nodded.

"I don't get it. I thought they were going to take you to the Dark Ocean."

"I thought that too. It doesn't make sense. But they said they needed me to save the digital world." Her brown eyes softened slightly, remembering their words. "Something's disrupted the balance between the Light and Darkness and now it looks like if one goes down, so does the other. The digital world too."

"Did they say what it was?"

"Chaos."

"Well, that's as helpful as an unopened can of fish," Gatomon huffed. "I don't know. I think they're just trying to see if they can draw you back to their side."

"Maybe…" Kari said noncommittally. She could see it happening, but doubt gnawed at her. The first time that the Darkness had drawn her to their world they certainly played on her empathy. They were desperate to fight off the encroachments of Ken and other powers and they saw her as a force that could benefit them. Afterward, they had simply taken what they wanted from her by force. There had been no games. No attempts to use her desire for good as a means to their ends. Just her anger and despair.

This time it had been desperation all over again, yet they took her no further than the digital world.

Why?

As if in answer, a shadow loomed over her and Kari spun about. Looking up, she saw the massive figure of WarGreymon coming in for a landing.

"Kari!" the Warrior of Courage called, swooping down and skidding to a halt. "So, it is you!"

"A-Agumon?" Kari stammered out, completely taken aback by the digimon's recognition of her. Could it really be him? She backed away uncertainly. Given recent events, she wouldn't have put it past the Dark Ocean to present her with a programmed replica of her brother's partner to lull her into a false sense of security.

Gatomon apparently thought much the same as she hopped down from Kari's arms and assumed an aggressive posture, claws out and fangs bared.

"Back off!" she growled.

WarGreymon looked at her, baffled, and raised his claws in a placating gesture. A glow surrounded him and he soon reverted back to his Rookie form of Agumon.

"Hey, take it easy, Gatomon. Don't pop me like you did Tai's soccer ball. Don't you recognize me?"

Gatomon narrowed her eyes at the Rookie, peering closer as if she were reading his code. A second later, she lowered her claws and looked relieved.

"Sorry," she said. "You wouldn't believe the day we've had."

"Gatomon… That's really…"

"Unless my malware is out of date, yeah," Gatomon quipped, "it's him. Agumon, what's going on? Where are we?"

"Um…" Agumon raised a claw and scratched the top of his head. "I kind of wanted to know that myself. I was hoping you knew since you were… Well. Never mind. Come on. Let's go meet up with the others. We can get caught up while we have hot fudge sundaes."

He looked up at Kari. "Tai misses you a lot, by the way. He…" He frowned. "Tai, I'm just telling her…" He folded his arms together and sighed. "Well, it's not my fault. You didn't bother writing."

Agumon frowned suddenly. Reaching behind him, he took out a black cable that was plugged into his back.

"Come on. Let's go see Tai and you can give him an earful for not talking to you."

Gatomon and Kari exchanged uncertain looks, but Agumon payed their hesitation no mind. He was already plunging off ahead of them, coiling the cable as he went.

"Come on!" he called. "Let's go! Time's a wasting! And so is the food!"

Gatomon scrunched her eyebrows together at that. "Yeah, that's definitely Agumon alright. He's almost as one track Guilmon."

###

Tai hadn't even bothered waiting for Agumon to return. He took off at a run as soon as it became clear that he was bringing Kari to him. A dumb move, considering the distance that his partner had flown, and one that had been swiftly corrected when Etemon caught hold of him, hauled him back to his chariot and then set the Monochromon off at a run. The King of Rock drove them hard, and within short order, they drew up beside the trio.

The Digidestined of Courage jumped out of the chariot before the door had even finished swinging open and now, he stood there, his sister across from him. He found himself at a loss for words. The weight of the years since his abrupt departure to the digital world fell on him heavily. So much time gone. So many birthdays missed. It felt like a great gulf stood between them. Although he checked up on her every now and then, it still stunned him how much she had changed. Longer hair and plainer clothing that said very little about who she was. Very far from the mischievous, teenage girl who liked to dress stylishly. His eyes fell on her face, and he saw in her eyes anger and love all mixed in with one another. A conflict that struck him as old as the battle between light and darkness.

She has lines on her face, he thought, seeing how age had begun to settle in her. But that wasn't the sort of thing you said to your sister after so long apart from her. Oh man, what do I say? What can I say?

"Tai…" she said softly, taking an uncertain step towards him.

"Kari…" Tai replied. He pressed his lips together and rubbed the back of his head, his mind trying to come up with something. Man, this was so much easier with Matt and Izzy.

"Um…" He floundered and finally blurted out, "You've gained weight."

Kari blinked in bewilderment and her approach froze. A second later, her face twisted up into anger.

"That's… That's all you have to say?"

"Um… Well, no. It's just the first thing I had to say." Tai threw on a cheesy, helpless grin that lied loudly. Behind him, peeking out from the chariot, Etemon snickered.

"You done messed up, son," the King of Rock said.

Traitor.

Gatomon's eyes flickered over to the Ultimate and she exchanged a look with Agumon.

"Is that…?" she whispered.

"Milleniummon's joke," he replied quietly. "He means well."

"Well, my brother apparently doesn't," Kari said. Marching right up to him, she swung her hand up and slapped him across the face with a loud, meaty smack that echoed upon the air. From within the chariot, keeping out of sight, Tai heard Rei cry out. Etemon winced beneath his sunglasses and waved a placating hand toward her.

"One surprise at a time, Roadie," he urged. Kari's eyes flickered over to him with a raised eyebrow, but soon returned her attention to her brother.

"Yeah, I deserved that," he said, rubbing one hand on his reddening cheek. "You want to do the other one too? You know, so I'll have a matching set?"

For an instant, Kari looked as if she were seriously considering it, but that second passed. Her eyes shining with tears, she threw herself at her brother and pulled him into a powerful hug. Burying her face into his chest, she let out a loud sob that told the tale of all her lonely years of fear and frustration that, until now, she hadn't shown to anyone else save for Gatomon.

"Stupid brother," she cried, pounding a fist against his chest. "Stupid brother. Stupid, stupid, stupid big brother!"

Tai folded his arms about her and held her like that as she shook against him. Time seemed to stop as the Kamiya siblings were at last, finally reunited beneath the light of the digital sun.

8