Trying To Come Back To Reality
[A/N: I've got weird ideas…]
[Disclaimer: I don't own.]
"I haven't heard from Agumon for the past month." Tai said with a heavy heart. His brown eyes stared woefully out the window at the deluge of rain. "I haven't heard a peep from Biyomon." Sora put in. She and the other Digi-destined, minus Shinji, were at Tai's apartment, planning their movement of attack.
"So have you even tried out those Weapons?" Izzy asked from the chair, looking at the younger kids on the floor. "We haven't seen Myotismon since Strider appeared." Davis said softly, "We don't know where he could be, and when our digimon touch their Warrior Weapons, nothing happens."
"We'll I'm just sorry to hear that." a deep voice said from nowhere. Without warning, Myotismon stepped out from the shadowy corner behind TK. Everyone jumped at the sight of the Ultimate level digimon.
"Good God!" Tai panted, "How did you get into the Real World?!" Myotismon only grinned, not replying to Tai's question. "Have you seen Agumon or Biyomon at all?" Sora asked, worried. "Not one feather or burnt wall." Myotismon said, half as a joke.
"So how come we haven't been able to use our Weapons?" Demiveemon asked. "One, your partners have never been in any danger up until now." the vampire explained. He strode to the tiny digimon and tapped his nose with a grin, "That and you aren't very good at handling Weapons."
Everyone crashed to the floor, or wherever they were sitting. "Any news on Strider or Tari?" Izzy asked. "Nothing except something rather odd." Myotismon replied, "Tari has stopped making the merchant digimon pay the tribute." "What for?" TK asked. "She's probably gotten all their money anyway!" Davis snapped, "Now c'mon! I want to use the Weapons!"
Tai sweatdropped and said in an undertone to Matt, "Geez, pushy little dork, isn't he?"
But then, there was a strange beeping. Everyone looked at their digivices/D3s, and finally, they found it was Izzy's digivice that was beeping. "Izzy, you've got to come to the Digiworld, quick!" Tentomon's voice shrieked over the inter-dimensional link, "Strider's here! And he's got a challenge for all of you guys!" The group heard a humming sound, and then Tentomon let out a weak gasp. The link broke off into static.
"C'mon!" Tai ordered, taking his position as leader once more, "We've got to move!" The group turned to his computer, and held out their digivices.
They arrived in the exact area Tentomon had sent the transmission from. All the digimon, excepting Agumon and Biyomon, were staring at the two figures before the Digi-destined. They were each in a defensive stance, leaping in front of their partners when they re-materialized into data bytes.
Strider was standing behind Tari, his red eyes narrowed to slits. Tari herself had a self-satisfied smirk on her face, completely calm, and Blackgatomon in her arms. "If I find that you've done something to Agumon or Biyomon…" Tai growled. Myotismon held his arm in front of the large-haired teen, stopping him from making a foolish move.
"If you've even made Biyomon loose a feather, or Agumon a scale, I will destroy your little pet over there." the vampire said, his blue eyes as slits as well. Tari let out a cruel laugh. She glanced at Ken once, with a disapproving look, and snapped her fingers.
On command, Strider slowly pulled out something from behind him, held in a small pack. Everyone let out a horrified gasp at the thing in Strider's hand.
Agumon's chopped-off, clawed hand was inside a jar, floating in a strange solution. Mimi looked as if she was going to be sick, and Kari held her hand in front of her mouth.
"And one more thing…" Tari snapped her fingers once more. Strider reached behind his head with his friend hand, and slowly untied the red cloth that covered his face. Before Strider removed the mask, Tari said, "Now you said that if Strider had injured Biyomon or Agumon in any way, you would destroy him, correct?" "Give me three seconds and I will." Myotismon growled.
"Do you want to destroy him now?" Tari smirked, stepping aside from Strider. The red cloth caught on a breeze, and floated away. The group's eyes grew wider than ever before. The small hairs on the back of Myotismon's neck stood on end, and his eyes watered with tears.
Strider was not Strider at all. It was…
Shinji.
Mimi gasped, and turned to cling Joe's shoulder. The horrid thought of what the Ninth Digi-destined had done…
Shinji tilted her head to one angle, smiling in a sick way. There was a cut mark on her left cheek, from something.
"YOU LITTLE BITCH!!!!!" Myotismon screamed in sheer rage, tears running down his pale face, "I'LL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT!!!!!" He rushed forwards, and then froze.
Shinji, still under the Dark Mind's power, stood before Tari, holding Cypher at the vampire's neck. A frown was on her face, and a smirk on Tari's. "You see, she's under my utter control." the thirteen-year-old smiled.
Myotismon remained frozen, then flipped backwards and stood in a fighter's stance. "You older kids get out of the Digiworld." he whispered, "Take your digimon." "But-" Sora breathed. "Do what I said!" Myotismon snapped, "Do you want anymore digimon to suffer Agumon and Biyomon's fate?!" Sora's tears fell silently, but she and Tai led the group back towards the TV. Tari let them leave with a calm look.
"You six get out your Weapons." the Ultimate digimon continued. Without thinking, everyone grabbed their Weapons, and the kids activated them.
"Oh no you don't!" Tari snapped. She clapped her hands twice, and a red energy surrounded the entire group. "We aren't fighting down here!" she laughed, "We're going to fight on my turf!" The energy extended to the sky, and the group felt a sudden rise.
With a flash, they appeared in a lit, huge chamber. Tari was gone, but Shinji was standing before the group. She had her arms crossed, a smile on her face. "Where are we?" Myotismon asked with a strange calmness. "The Empress' Floating Fortress, just about ten thousand meters above the ground." the controlled teen replied in the same calm tone.
"So what's the difference between here, and ten thousand meters below?" Davis asked. Shinji grinned and said in a soft tone, "This place has walls." Davis was about to ask what difference THAT made, when 'Strider' leapt to the side, and clung to the wall. She climbed away, and disappeared into shadows. "What the-" TK snapped.
"You forget." Gatomon hissed, looking as alert as her once-master, "Tari trained Shinji to be an assassin." "So?" Cody asked. "In the Digiworld, assassins are trained like ninjas in your world." Veemon put in, "She knows how to move around easily."
"RIGHT YOU ARE!" Shinji's voice yelled. With a sudden movement, Hawkmon tackled his partner to the polished metal floor. A crescent of black energy cut through the shadows and slashed into the metal where Yolei had been standing. Sneering, Hawkmon pulled out his spear, and activated it…
"HAWKMON WARRIOR DIGIVOLVE TO…"
The feathers melted away into human-like muscle, and the tiny form of Hawkmon grew to be as tall as Myotismon. His body was covered by lightweight, but powerful armor, with thick cloth underneath. His blue eyes remained, and his hair was deep black. If he weren't a warrior, most human girls would find him appealing. However, that really didn't matter to Yolei. She liked the new look, A LOT.
"SERUGAMON!" the new Warrior digimon cried out.
The agile ninja-type digimon stood in front of Yolei, holding his spear in a hard stance. Yolei smiled a little, and jumped to her feet. She too activated her Weapon, and tapped the pendant on her neck. It gleamed a bright maroon for a few moments. A red circle appeared on Yolei's forehead, and green streaks down her now-bare arms. Her glasses faded, and she could still see from special programming. Her aviator clothing disappeared and was replaced with red armor, much like Serugamon's.
"Cool!" Kari let out a quiet approval. Then, with a quiet hissing sound, Shinji dropped from a hidden place and caught Kari in a tight hold. She had one arm around the girl, and the other holding Cypher at her neck.
"KARI!" Gatomon let out a cry, pulling out her strong bow…
"GATOMON WARRIOR DIGIVOLVE TO…"
Gatomon's form became like Angewomon's, but without wings, and with powerful white armor. It covered her shoulder, part of her torso, and her legs. A quiver of light arrows appeared at her back, and her hair was tied back, a shimmering gold.
"JAREAMON!" the archer digimon yelled.
"GET AWAY FROM HER!" Jereamon screamed. She drew an arrow and let it fly with deadly aim. It ducked past Kari's left shoulder, aiming towards Shinji's heart. But Kari was let go, and the arrow hit the wall. "Are you all right?" Jereamon inquired. "OK!" Kari breathed.
She pulled out her bow, tapped the pendant, and disappeared in a white flash. Her arms were covered in the same white armor, as were her legs. Her red eyes were covered by wraparound glass with a pink tint, and a pink diamond appeared on her cheeks. A quiver of energy arrows appeared at her side.
"WOO-HA!" Davis bellowed. He liked how Kari looked in her armor. "DAVIS, MOVE!" Veemon yelled. Davis looked behind him, and let out a girlish shriek. Shinji was posed to strike with Cypher, but Veemon yelled, "V-HEADBUTT!" and she was knocked back a good few meters. Veemon grabbed his sword hilt in anger…
"VEEMON WARRIOR DIGIVOLVE TO…"
Veemon's small blue body grew taller. His frame became more muscled, and bright orange armor covered him as it did as Magnamon. His blue and white skin was covered by a cool blue jumpsuit, and the sword let loose a wild, blazing white energy blade.
"SEKIOMON!" the dragon warrior cried.
Davis let out a whoop, and grabbed his sword hilt as well. The strangely-gemmed ring on his right hand gleamed a bright purple, and Davis' armor went up. He was a bit of an opposite of Sekiomon, for his armor was a cool blue, and the jumpsuit was a bright orange. A blue streak ran on Davis' forehead, and an orange star on each cheek.
He didn't have time to taunt with TK, and stood in a ready stance with Sekiomon.
"Patamon!" TK called. The little digimon nodded, and took his sword.
"PATAMON WARRIOR DIGIVOLVE TO…" he shouted, "YOSHOMON!"
TK smiled and pressed the golden gem in the headband. The light flooded over his body, and lit up every crevice in the room. If anyone had seen her, Shinji's eyes were straining against the light, and she was ready to leap at TK.
Unbelievably flexible golden armor appeared on the entirety of TK's body, and his cool blue eyes were covered by wraparound gold-tinted glass. Golden diamonds appeared on each of his cheeks.
Yoshomon and TK stood side-by-side, looking as experienced warriors.
"KEN!" Wormmon yelled. The wondrous soccer player looked up to see Shinji headed straight for him, and couldn't move one decameter. Wormmon jumped in front of his best friend, and grabbed the bow at his back.
"WORMMON WARRIOR DIGIVOLVE TO…"
Wormmon's centipede-like body grew more humanoid, and grand green armor covered his body as if he were Stingmon. His sky blue eyes remained, and his hair was a light purple. His hands clutched tightly at the bow as a quiver of energy arrows appeared at his side. As Ken looked at him, it was like his big brother, Sam, had come back for just a little while… There to protect him…
"YUKINOMON!" the Warrior digimon cried.
Ken stood behind his partner and stared in awe as Yukinomon simply batted Shinji away and fired an arrow after her. It nicked her shoulder, but she disappeared in the shadows again. Ken smiled, and pressed the deep pink button on the wristband he wore. The bright light of his Crest covered his body, and his armor went up.
Shoulder pads of dark gray appeared, and shin guards of the same color appeared. A quiver of energy arrows arrived on his back, and a dark pink square shown on his forehead.
The two Warriors of Kindness looked like brothers defending each other. They both had a sure smile on their faces, like they knew their victory was close.
"I'LL KILL THE LAST BEFORE HE STARTS!" the controlled teen yelled, flying out from the shadows. "CODY!!" Armadillomon cried. He dashed forwards, and drew the katana…
"ARMADILLOMON WARRIOR DIGIVOLVE TO…"
Samurai armor came to Armadillomon's form as it grew to be like Stingmon's. The katana now seemed right in his gauntlet-wearing hands.
"SERYUMON!" the samurai digimon yelled.
Seryumon's blade clashed loudly against Cypher, and Seryumon forced Shinji back. "Now Cody!" the Warrior digimon ordered. Cody nodded, and drew his katana, pressing a button on the wristband he wore as he did…
A flood of deep blue-purple light coated Cody's body as his armor came. He too wore a samurai's armor like his partner, and the group was finally done. Everyone's armor was up, and all the digimon had Warrior-digivolved.
The chamber was entirely lit up, and the group finally spotted Shinji. "How did she get all the way on the ceiling?!" Davis wondered. "She's coming down one way or another!" Ken roared. He and Yukinomon drew arrows and fired with deadly aim. The arrows missed, but only by a hair. Shinji dropped from the ceiling, and Davis caught a glimpse of another, curved blade. He understood how she had been moving around.
With a grin, he ran forwards, his sword ready for drawing blood. But he didn't anticipate Shinji drawing Cypher in response. Her blade clashed against Davis', and she dropped behind him. Sekiomon ran forwards and slammed himself into the eighteen-year-old, sharply smacking her away from his best friend. He could have sworn he heard something cracking, not breaking, but Shinji still attacked.
"They should know that anything under my control will keep fighting until they drop dead." Tari sneered from her private chambers.
TK defended as best he could against his former ally, and the many strikes that hit were deflected by the strong armor. Through the gold glass, readings of energy levels and power readings bleeped in his mind, and from what he could make out, Shinji's were the most erratic.
Yoshomon dashed in to help TK, and the two forced her back. Kari and Jereamon were firing arrow after arrow at the dangerous assassin, but few even came close. Ken and Yukinomon were helping Kari and Jereamon, but as before, even the added arrows were helping little.
Cypher finally clashed against Cody's katana, and the two engaged in a fierce war. Seryumon didn't have a clue on what to do, and froze. Ken and Kari stopped firing, for they didn't want to hit Cody.
"Little brat!" Shinji hissed between attacks, "I will destroy you!" Cody strained against the trained fighter, but held his own. He was trained in swordplay, and knew more than she did. In a sense, they were equally matched.
Then, just when he forgot he held a katana, and thrust in for the kill-blow, Shinji was tackled to the ground. Myotismon dragged her to her feet, but held her from attacking any further. "Foolish vampire!" she hissed, "Do you WANT me to destroy you?!" "No." he held her tight, despite her struggling, "I want you to come back to reality!"
Everyone except Davis understood where the Ultimate level digimon was heading. "Try to remember back when we fought together!" TK encouraged. "Think back to when you fought Piedmon and the other Dark Masters!" Ken tossed in. "And think about when you met up with us for the first time!" Yolei kept it up. "And when you met the original Digi-destined!" Kari cried, "Remember Tai and Matt and Sora and Joe and Mimi and Izzy and all the digimon!" Shinji hardly listened, and continued to strain against her partner's grasp.
"Remember the day I told you how I felt." he suddenly whispered in her ear. That set something off.
"What the-" Tari murmured. The power readings on the Dark Mind were beginning to fade rapidly. Too quickly for her to stop.
Shinji stopped struggling and turned to look over her shoulder. Myotismon's face was concerned for her, but with a warm smile to help her memories.
Tari snarled deep in her throat at the dropping readings. "Well, I never thought I would have to use this." she muttered, flipping up a glass panel and pressing a button.
"I'm warning you to back away from her if you don't want any blood on that nice armor of yours." Tari's voice said through an intercom. With a crackle, electricity surrounded Shinji's left arm, and she let out a pain-filled scream.
"What the-" Myotismon let his partner go, and she fell to her knees. The electricity tore through her skin, crawling up her arm from the Dark Mind's mark.
"In a few seconds, I'm going to forcibly remove the Dark Mind, which you have seemed to override somehow." Tari's voice continued nonchalantly, "When the Dark Mind enters you, it doesn't hurt at all. But when I want it to… Oh does it hurt."
The group could see why. The mark, and the Dark Mind itself, were being torn from Shinji's body, being ripped out from her arm. The unpleasant sight made Yolei turn and bury her face in Serugamon's chest. Shinji could not stop her agony-induced scream of utter pain as the Dark Mind was torn out of her arm, leaving the skin and muscle like raw meat. She finally passed out from the pain, and a deep gash being opened in her forehead.
"You have no one to blame but yourselves if that insolent whelp dies." Tari's voice finished with a sigh, "Now get out of my base before I destroy you." Blood pooled around Shinji's arm, as well as an inky black goo. Swiftly, Myotismon dashed forwards and picked up his partner gently.
Knowing what to do, the group ran towards a TV, so strangely placed in the corner, and launched themselves back to the Real World.
"Fool!"
"Idiot!
"Incompetent moron!"
Tari's sneering face stared down at his bowing form. "I'll kill you once I'm done taking over the world." she sneered, walking away. Strider looked up with contempt and hatred in his eyes.
"I think I'll destroy that Hida kid pretty soon…"
"CODY!"
Shinji woke up a yell, bolting up into a sitting position. Fire-like pain ripped through her left arm, and she let out a strangled cry, moving her right hand to press against the pain. But that hurt even worse, and she gasped through clenched teeth.
"Calm down!" Joe's voice urged. Shinji looked up slightly, only to see the worried faces of the Digi-destined, all the In-Training digimon, and her partner. There wasn't any urge to destroy them… What was going on?
"Are-are you OK?" Yolei asked shakily. Shinji looked at Yolei with a confused look. The purple-haired twelve-year-old was shaking, sitting in a chair and clutching a tired Poromon. Even though the red glow had faded from Shinji's eyes, they didn't know what to expect. Then she realized that the room the whole group was in was white, and expertly wrapped bandages were around her whole left arm and forehead.
Could she be in a Digital World hospital? No, it was too quiet to be a digimon's hospital. And Tari would never do something to heal her wounds quickly…
Perhaps she was in a Real World hospital? But why? After killing Agumon and Biyomon, why in the world would her once-allies save her pathetic life?
"Tari ripped up your arm pretty bad." Joe offered, his face rather white, "Even the doctors that have seen bad accidents didn't like the look of your arm."
Joe was… He was speaking in a kind tone… To her?
Tai had been silent for the most part, and seemed perfectly normal. Sora was crying against Izzy's shoulder. Then, Tai strode to one side of the thing Shinji was sitting in.
With a frown, he pulled his fist back and slugged Shinji right in the left side of her mouth. With a collective gasp, everyone jerked forwards. Shinji fell to the side slightly, catching herself with her unharmed right arm.
Bed-sheets. She was in a Real World hospital after all…
A throbbing red mark blossomed on her cheek, and she looked back at Tai. Tears were flowing down his angry, sorrowful face.
"That was for killing Agumon and Biyomon." he said in a strong voice. But his lip trembled, and he knelt suddenly. He linked his arms around his friend's neck and sobbed against her shoulder. "And this is for coming back to us." he sobbed.
The eighteen-year-old stared silently. Tai and Sora… They didn't hate her for destroying their digimon? Tai shook with loud sobs against his friend.
After being under her control for so many months, she had forgotten what it felt like to be happy, to be sad or angry. She had forgotten how to feel…
But a strange feeling overwhelmed her heart and her eyes felt watery. The wetness from her eyes slid down her cheeks.
Tears?
Was she crying?
But how? She wasn't in any pain, and no one had struck her. What was she crying for?
Was she sad?
No. It wasn't that. Could it be…
Happiness? Was Shinji crying because she was happy? But why was she happy?
Was she happy to be alive? No.
Was she happy to be back with her friends, and her loving partner? Yes!
Yes, that had to be it! She was crying because she was happy to be back with her friends and loved ones!
"Tai, I'm-I'm sorry." she said in a soft, weak tone. Tai pulled away suddenly. "I'm sorry for what I did to Agumon. And I'm sorry for what I did to Biyomon."
Tai choked and smiled. He latched his arms around her neck again and sobbed with happiness.
Mimi smiled and hugged Joe. Kari started to cry, and pressed herself against TK. Yolei laughed, shivering and crying.
And finally, Shinji understood what she had been trying to do ever since she was under Tari's control.
She had been trying to come back to reality.