Mistakes
by Laura Kamida
Rated PG-13 for Violence and Language
by Laura Kamida
Rated PG-13 for Violence and Language
Two lonely, hazel eyes stared into the mirror at the reflection within, brimming with tears. There was something different about her, something that had changed after all these years, and she barely recognized her own face in the mirror looking back at her. Exactly who am I? her mind asked, as she ran her slender fingers through her long, light brown hair. There was something missing in her life, something vital and important. Why am I here? she pondered, looking around the room that had become her home. There was the vanity where she was seated, where there was makeup and a mirror and everything she could have dreamed of when she was younger... There was the big feather bed with the elegant canopy... There was the beautiful plush carpet and the soft curtains... But underneath all of that this room was her prison. I miss my friends, her subconscious whispered. All of these luxuries were nothing, because she had no one to share them with.
She sighed loudly as tears started to fall from her eyes, tracing their way down her cheeks until they softly fell onto her clothes. "What kind of life is this!?" she asked herself out loud. She lived in suspended moments, not knowing where one memory stopped and the next began. "I don't know what today is," she started, "I don't know what I did, what I felt, what I thought, what I ate yesterday!"
"... I just want to go home."
~*~
"Lillymon!" Sora exclaimed. "You're back!" Her hold tightened on Tai. Similar cries were uttered from the rest of the Digidestined. All except for Izzy. He was too busy nursing his pride and his wounds to worry about the Digimon that had approached. He stole a glance over at Joe. Joe, the one that he thought would be his ally when it came to dealings with Mimi. Joe, the one who made the ridiculous accusation that he was loyal to and helping Mimi.
Izzy wondered if it was so stupid after all... Sure, he hadn't even seen Mimi, and therefore hadn't helped her, but if the opportunity arose? He tried to convince himself and everyone else that she wasn't the guilty party in the first place, but if he found her... would he help her? It was a question better left unanswered in Izzy's mind for now.
He turned his body to Lillymon and the others, just in time to hear her speak the last thing that he wanted to hear.
"I've come to lead you to Mimi," she said gravely.
~*~
As Tai looked around at the faces of the other Digidestined, it seemed that they were all as shocked as he was about the newest revelation. Sora looked at him and back at Lillymon, her eyes wide with shock. Matt looked surprised, yet suspicious, and with good reason. Neither of the men had trusted Lillymon, Tai distrusted her from the beginning, and after Lillymon had distracted them just as Mimi was capturing the kids... He had been silently against her. Izzy looked like his world had just crumbled, like the one person he could rely upon had just betrayed him, his eyes were wide with a kind of sudden disappointment. Joe's face was expressionless, as it usually was these days. He was deep into his own thoughts.
"Why - I mean, what made you change your mind, Lillymon?" Tai stammered.
"She's too dangerous now," Lillymon said. "I can no longer keep her at bay. She's stepped over the line. Far over. She tr - deliberately - tried to kill me. And," she added softly, "Takeru would be dead now if it weren't for Kari."
Tai gasped and covered his mouth with one hand as his mind clicked. He had pushed Kari and Takeru's plight to the back of his mind with thoughts of Sora and the baby, and had almost forgotten. His heart tightened in his chest - Kari was in trouble and he was standing around doing nothing. Why can't I set my damn priorities straight!? he thought viciously to himself. His mind went black, and in the silence that was his mind at the moment, his conscience venomously whispered to him: Who do you really care about more, Taichi Kamiya? Sora or Kari? He gasped aloud. It was a question he couldn't answer. Didn't dare answer. He couldn't prioritize the love of his life over his sister, or his sister over the love of his life. Kari was blood. Sora was soul. He couldn't live without either of them, and didn't want to.
"Kari!" he whispered, his voice cracking. "Oh, God, what have I done!? Kari!" He turned away from the others and took a few steps.
"Tai!" Sora called, spinning around and following him. She dodged in front of him and tried to look into his soulful brown eyes. But he refused to look at her. Because, if he looked at her, he would be immersed in her strength and it would make him feel complete again. But he deserved to feel the guilt for Kari being imprisoned. It was his fault, and he needed to feel the hurt for it. "Tai," she repeated in a whisper, putting her arms on his shoulders and pressing her forehead against his. He could feel her warm breath on his face and she had forced him to look into her eyes. "Tai, you have to stop punishing yourself over this."
"I can't, Sora," he said. "Kari is in trouble because I didn't save her. It's all my fault - "
"You're only one man," she said gently, cutting him off. "You can't do everything."
"I have to save her, it's my fault she's not here, safe and sound. I have to save her because I'm her big brother and she's my responsibility. I have to go right now and find her!"
"... And we'll all go with you," Matt interjected. He looked around at the other Digidestined, his gaze finally falling on the youngest. "All of us."
Izzy suddenly felt the ringing in his ears that he had felt when Tai attacked him in the sewer system in Machinedramon's city. It hadn't been so long ago in Izzy's life, a little over a month, maybe... But in Tai's life... more than six years had gone by. He probably wouldn't remember it if Izzy reminded him. Tai had punched him in the face because Izzy was trying to put their health before Kari's...
There are other people's lives at stake here besides mine... Izzy thought to himself. I understand now that I have to let them find Mimi... even if I love her... Because Tai needs to find Kari and Matt needs to find Takeru... and I can't just let my feelings stand in the way of that. Matt's right. We all must go. That's what Mimi would want us to do.
"All of us," Izzy echoed softly, his voice sounding detached.
Tai slowly smiled. "All right," the brunette said with fake resignation. "We'll all go." He turned to the Ultimate level Digimon and said strongly: "OK, Lillymon! Lead the way! On to the fortress!"
~*~
The Digidestined were all traveling by the proud-to-be-useful Digimon; Matt quickly cleared a path on the ground, on Metalgarurumon. Tai was holding Koromon while he and Sora rode Garudamon. Joe, holding Gomamon and his medical bag, was sitting on Kabuterimon's back with Izzy. Izzy was cold and quiet, obviously fuming on the inside about what Joe had said back in Odaiba, even though Izzy was not fighting against the Digidestined anymore about Mimi. Now, if it had been Matt or Tai that had been accused, he would currently have a black eye. But no... Izzy was vastly different. Izzy was like him: calm, silently angry, the type not to explode, but to bake in his fury.
Suddenly, Izzy gasped loudly. Joe whirled his head around from his view of Izzy to see what he was so appalled about... In the mountains, nestled deep within the dangerous cliffs and rock outcrops, was a sinister looking castle.
"That's Mimi's fortress..." Lillymon explained gravely, swooping down and hovering over Joe and Izzy.
"Lillymon?" Izzy began. "Why did you bring us here? What is your plan to deal with her?" He paused for a moment, and then looked deeply into Lillymon's coal-black eyes. "Do you want her dead?"
Lillymon didn't answer the question right away. She paused, looking at Izzy. "No, Izzy, I don't want her dead... I just want this whole thing over. I want her back to normal. She's destructive to everyone, and even herself. You have to understand, Izzy... She's just not the same old Mimi anymore. She's... evil."
Izzy sighed in exasperation. "Why does everyone keep saying that!?"
~*~
"...Talk?" Takeru gulped. Was Kari breaking up with him? ... But they weren't even technically together yet, were they? What did she want to talk about? Girls... I could live a hundred years and I'd never understand them, Takeru thought peevishly.
Kari didn't answer his question, however. Instead, she gave a gesture to be quiet, and shielded her eyes against the sun. "I see something!" she whispered excitedly. "Maybe it's my brother!"
"Maybe..." Takeru said, drifting off. Great, just great. I never get the chance to be the hero...he thought dejectedly. First, I can't protect Kari when we get kidnapped. Then, after Mimi attacks, Kari saves me! Then, when I finally get the chance to protect her while it's just the two of us, Tai and Matt come along... I wish, just for once, I could be the lifesaver around here...
"TAI!" Kari screamed, breaking Takeru's train of thought. "TAAAAIIII!!!! TAAAAIIII!!!! TAAAAAAIIII - !"
Takeru cut her off by covering her mouth. "SHHH!" he said. "What if it's not them!? What if it's Mimi!? Or some evil Digimon!?"
"It's them," Kari said angrily, shaking herself loose from Takeru's grip. "I know it is," she said strongly. "It's Tai."
"KARI!" Tai's voice called. It echoed through the cliffs and bounced off the rocks. "Kari... Kari... Kari..." the echoes whispered all around them. Kari smiled smugly.
Takeru looked at her and rolled his eyes. Just like Tai... he thought. Just like Tai...
~*~
"NO! This CANNOT happen! The Digidestined cannot be reunited on this mountain. If it is so... the prophecy.... and then..."
"Master..."
"I'll have to take the chance. It's the only way. There's only one person strong enough to get the two children away from the others..."
"But Master..."
"Quiet! Don't dispute what I say!"
"But Master..." the lowly slave Digimon said as his master stormed out of the room. "He is out there on that mountain..." he told himself softly. "The one she loves."
~*~
"TK!" Matt screamed at the top of his voice as Metalgarurumon took off in a flying leap. The agile Digimon quickly scaled the steep cliff and was almost to the spot where Takeru and Kari were standing. His heart and mind flooded with love and relief - Takeru was safe! "TK!" he called again.
Matt watched as Tai handed Koromon over to Sora and jumped off of Garudamon's back. He ran to Kari and Matt half-smiled as the older brother scooped his little sister up in his arms and twirled her around in the air.
No... There was something off in the distance. Matt couldn't see it, but his instincts told him immediately what was happening, and his heart and chest tightened; he could barely breathe. "TAI!" he screamed desperately.
Tai turned to look at him, but Matt was pointing in the other direction, his hand quivering. Tai spun around and looked in the sky. "No...!" he said softly.
The serpentine Digimon flew from the sky, screaming like a bullet from its gun, and sharply turned, zooming around them. The bluish violet scales of the Dragomon shimmered in the sun, and as it darted through the air between Tai and the kids, a red aura surrounded Takeru and Kari and they were dragged into the air after it."NO! TK!" Matt roared, pushing on Metalgarurumon to climb faster. Tai broke out into a run, and letting out an almost inhuman yell, he hurled himself toward the Digimon and latched onto its tail.
"No, Tai, stop!" Sora called futilely. Matt whirled around to look as the pregnant young woman flew toward Tai, and his heart started to beat rapidly. He turned back to Tai, and winced as the tail of the Digimon slung Tai into one of the rock outcrops with a sickening thud. "TAI!" Sora screamed again.
~*~
Izzy's chest tightened as the Dragomon passed him by. It was as if his heart had suddenly turned cold, his soul was blackened by the Dragomon and its rider. Could it be? he thought as Kabuterimon started to fly away from the Digimon and toward Tai and the others, who had gathered around to tend to his injuries.
When they were close enough, Joe leapt from Kabuterimon's back and landed neatly beside Matt, who was standing, looking down at the fallen leader. Izzy, however, could not make himself jump off of the Digimon. Instead, he turned and urged Kabuterimon to pursue the Dragomon.
"Izzy," Kabuterimon argued, "There will be plenty of time for revenge later! Right now we have to help Tai!"
"This isn't revenge, Kabuterimon.... It's Mimi. Fly as fast as you can. I want to catch up to her." He couldn't explain the sudden cold feelings in his heart, but he was fighting back against them. Perhaps there was a connection ...?
Suddenly, Kabuterimon stopped flying and hovered in the air. "Kabuterimon? What's wrong? Why aren't you flying?"
"I can't go any further, Izzy," the large beetle said with anguish. "There's something... holding me back, and I can't get past it."
Izzy's eyes followed as the dark Dragomon and the rider disappeared, carrying Takeru and Kari with them. His heart beat rapidly, and he felt himself clear up, but it was like something had been taken away from him as they changed into a little dot in the sky.
~*~
The human boy... He felt the cold and evil in his heart for a moment... Is it possible, then, that he could be changed? Perhaps there is more to this love that meets the eye... But there is always the danger that if the boy could be changed, so could the girl... and the feelings in her heart would be lost forever. Even gaining the boy wouldn't be worth losing the girl... They cannot be anywhere near each other... ever again.
~*~
Joe gently moved Sora to the side to he could try to treat Tai's injuries. He didn't seem to be too badly hurt, just knocked unconscious. Sora, however, looked worse. Her face was pale, and pain was obvious in her face even if she didn't want to voice it.
"He's fine," Joe said, kneeling over the young man.
"Fine!?" Sora snapped angrily. "How can you say he's fine!? He's just... laying there, almost dead, and all you can say is he's fine!?" "Sora," Joe said gently, placing one hand on her shoulder, "calm down. I know what I'm doing... he wasn't badly hurt. I just need to bring him around." He took an herb mixture out of his medical bag and held it under Tai's nose.
After a few seconds, Tai's eyelids fluttered. Sora gasped, and hugged Tai tightly as he sat up. She sat back, and then a look of regret crossed her beautiful features.
"Uh..." Tai said groggily. "Thanks, Joe."
Sora slowly turned toward Joe. "I'm sorry I yelled at you, Joe... I just... I just..."
"I understand," he said quietly. "You don't have to apologize. It was a natural reaction to what was going on." He stood up. "This is not the time to stand around talking," he said authoritatively to everyone. "We have to go find Takeru and Kari and do what needs to be done so we can all go on with our lives, finally."
Izzy slowly walked over to the group, and Kabuterimon was hovering lazily in the air behind him.
Joe looked again at the pained expression on Sora's face, and decided that whatever they did, he would need to keep Sora close in case something should happen to her. "Alright," he continued. "We need to split up to look for Kari and Takeru. Once we get to the fortress, Matt, you and Tai go one way, and Sora, Izzy, and I will go the other."
"No," Sora said firmly. "Where Tai goes, I go."
"And I don't think Tai and I should travel together, seeing as how we're the ones with the Mega Digimon," Matt said. "You come with me, Joe."
"Then I'll go with Tai," Izzy said, looking at Joe icily. He still hasn't forgiven me for that!? "Let's go then!" Tai yelled, jumping up proudly. Joe sighed. He tried to make it so he could keep an eye on Sora, but no one ever listened to him... Tai was the leader.
Matt, almost to reaffirm Joe's thought, nodded and followed Tai's gaze to the castle. "It's time for the counter-attack," he growled.