Mistakes
by Laura Kamida
Rated PG-13 for Violence and Language
by Laura Kamida
Rated PG-13 for Violence and Language
"MIMI! STOP!"
Kari charged down the steps full speed in pursuit of Mimi. It seemed that after the strange encounter they had just shared, Mimi had taken off like a lightning bolt, too fast for Kari to catch up.
Kari felt her chest tighten up, and her mind raced. She couldn't stop herself from running, but her breath was getting shorter and shorter, as her lungs were becoming more and more constricted. Black splotches were overpowering her vision, but she saw a powerful white glow overtaking both, and she pitched forward, her eyelids fluttering shut.
As her limp body rolled down the final stairs into the large central room of the fortress, it glowed with a muted white light, almost as an afterthought, and her lips mouthed one last word.
~*~
"Kari!?" Sora gasped, ready to rush over to the younger girl. However, she looked to her adversary, Mimi, who looked at her with cold hazel eyes narrowed dangerously and a maniacal grin plastered on her face. It was a frightening sight, especially since she had seemed to morph since they had crossed paths only a short time ago. She carried herself completely differently; her newfound lank, angular features that made her look helpless and almost anorexic before were now being used to make her look like a fierce cat on the prowl.
Mimi's hair, which had never had a strand out of place before, was now laying askew all over her face and shoulders, as if she didn't care at all about it anymore. Her haphazardness was unsettling, and the hungry, waiting stare that she gave Sora as she started to walk towards Kari made her shudder.
"I wouldn't turn my back if I were you..." Mimi said with a savage smirk as she eyed the newborn Sora held.
Sora, for the first time, felt genuinely afraid of Mimi, and it showed in her face, her tired eyes widening and her arms clutching Rose tighter. She looked back to Kari for only one second, seeing her mouth one word ever-so-slowly, and the soft whiteness about her that she hadn't even noticed before ceased, making the girl appear dark and lifeless.
Sora didn't even have the chance to gasp before a flash of lightening lit the room, and everything in it, and suddenly it all went black. She screamed involuntarily as she felt Mimi's form slam against her. Then, nothing seemed to move at all. Everything seemed to stand still - Sora could not even feel her own heartbeat anymore. The lightning flashed outside again and Mimi's form was illuminated for a split second... Then senses started to come back.
First - the darkness. Sora, in all the rush, became dimly aware that she was in a state of pitch blackness, and everything else was too. Then, the screams. Her own, those of her child, the triumphant, banshee cries of her enemy. The feeling of hands grasping her shoulders, hitting her, beating her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
Finally, all the torches around the room flickered and roared back to life, and Sora, seeing Mimi on the attack, grasped her composure again, fiercely kicking with both of her feet. Mimi flew backwards about a foot and landed on her feet, unfazed by the attack.
Sora stood up, feeling something rushing through her blood, something she could not identify at the moment but it was something she had lost once, and now found again. It made her strong, it made her proud, and it made her courageous.
She gritted her teeth to the other woman.
"Hit me with your best shot," she growled defiantly.
~*~
Izzy flew down the steps, not stopping, his pulse thumping so loudly he was sure it was echoing off the walls... but he couldn't hear it. He could hear nothing but the sound of his sneakers hitting the stone floor as he moved like the wind... on a mission.
"MIMI!" he screamed. "MIMI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Finally, he skidded to a stop at the end of the stairwell, as he saw the two women standing, facing off, their forms alike, and yet, so different. Sora, standing righteously, holding her child, glaring at Mimi as if to banish the evil from her very sight; Mimi, standing, so smug and sure of herself, staring coldly at Sora.
He saw Matt and Takeru emerge from the downward staircase, and Joe, leading a small army of the
Destined Digimon, come forward from a different set of ascending steps. They each looked at each other, then to Izzy, then to the women, and finally, Takeru saw what none of them had seen yet...
"KARI!" he screamed, and ran forward. Not caring about the evil in front of him, he raced by Mimi and kneeled at the side of his young companion. He lifted her, and cradled her gently in his arms. "Oh, please... no... Kari..."
As her eyes gently fluttered open, Takeru held her fiercely, rocking her back and forth as much to comfort himself as to comfort her. "Oh, Kari..." he whispered as she weakly wrapped her arms around him.
Izzy's attention reverted back to the women.
"Keep away from my child," Sora hissed at Mimi, clasping Rose tightly against her.
"Maybe I'll kill that one too," Mimi said with an evil cackle. Sora's mouth fell open, and she stared, gaping at Mimi. "... H-how could you...." ... She let out a blood-curdling scream. "I should have listened to Tai!" she cried. "He knew all along it was you, Mimi, but I refused to believe him because I thought you were my friend!"
Mimi's lips curled up in a satisfied grin. "Yes... it was all I needed to work my spell on all of you. Distraction. It was brilliant, my first work as the Digimistress of Evil... kill the child of the 'mother' ... and destroy her faith in herself. The spell I cast to make it born prematurely was... divine inspiration."
"You bitch! How could you do this to me!?"
"It is destiny."
"I thought we were friends!!!" Her face contorted in a mix of boundless anger, sadness, and betrayal.
"This is bigger than friendship."
Finally, it was the breaking point. "...... I'll KILL YOU!" Sora screamed, charging forward.
"Don't worry, Sora. I'll do it."
Izzy didn't have the chance to think about it before he could hear Sora's scream of jubilation.
"TAI!" she shrieked, running toward the door that Tai had just thrown open and falling into his arms. Izzy was almost envious of her euphoric sobs as the tall brunette man held his "wife" and new daughter close to him as Sora cried unabashedly.
"Wha...?" Kari said, dazedly. "T-Tai!?"
"Yes," Takeru said softly. "It's him..." Takeru's grin stretched from ear to ear as he hugged Kari tightly once and then let her go again. She stood up, and wobbling, started to walk over to Tai.
"Thank you, Kari," Tai said, breaking away from Sora and hugging his little sister tightly. You did it.... I would have been dead if it wasn't for you and that spell of yours."
"Anytime, Tai... and by that I mean don't you ever die again or I will beat you."
Tai smiled a little and kissed Kari's forehead.
"Sorry to break up this little family moment," Mimi said sarcastically, "but I killed you once, and I can do it again. Even more easily this time."
Tai narrowed his eyes. "Just try it, Mimi... You've taken all the shame out of hitting a woman."
With that, Tai leapt for Mimi. "NO!" Izzy screamed, but it was too late. Tai ploughed right into her and they both went sprawling to the ground, where Tai lifted his arm, and, making a fist with his hand, was about to bring a blow that would crush Mimi's head between his hand and the ground.
"Wait..." Izzy whispered, but he couldn't move, watching Tai and Mimi fight. Mimi, however, extended her arms to prepare for her signature Blood Rage attack, and her hands, engulfed with fire, reached out and pushed Tai away. Tai's yell came out as a slow, almost inhuman roar of pain as Izzy's mind worked half as fast as it should have.
He had to save Tai. And there was only one way to do it. And he could save Mimi too. He looked in his hand. He wasn't sure when he had done it, but he had drawn out the knife that Tai had given him.
With a battle cry, Izzy ran and knocked Tai out of the way of a fireball that Mimi shot from her hand. He landed on top of Mimi, looking at her carefully for a second as her eyes studied him, her face contorting in confusion.
You can do it... his mind told him, and he lifted the knife high above his head and plunged it into Mimi's chest. He closed his eyes as he felt the blade go through her skin with a sickening gurgle of blood. He did not open them even as he felt her hands desperately clawing at his, trying to remove the weapon from her body.
Finally, he pulled it out and thrust it aside, still looking at her. "Ugh!" she breathed, forcing out the breath as her face took on a look of shock, her hazel eyes fluttering and finally closing, and her face looking demure once again.
Izzy smiled at her, and touched her cheek gently. Mimi groaned softly, holding her hands over her wound, her eyes blinking open and closed. "Wake up, Mimi," he said quietly. She opened her eyes wide, only to greet him with a look of cold contempt.
Izzy gasped. "Impossible!" ... She was still under the evil control! "Mimi... you can't leave me now... I have to right this..." He had not made it right, and she was going to die before he could make her herself again. "Don't leave me..." he repeated, only to get a scowl in return.
He held her tightly. ".... I love you..." he whispered, his tears flowing freely. Thinking this was his last chance to express his feelings, he allowed himself one kiss on her cheek, a tear from his face tracing its way down to his mouth and moistening his lips against her skin.
Her body tensed up, and Izzy pulled away to look at her. She opened her eyes wide and looked at him, the warmth and caring that he had grown to love about her returning slowly. "Me... I... it.... broke the spell... My.... love?"
"Izzy... you're alive...? .... You - you saved me... Thank you," she whispered.
Izzy's face slowly turned to a smile, and then into a face of pure delight. "PRODIGIOUS!" he screamed. But his celebration stopped as she coughed up a mix of blood and saliva. "W-what? ..." his face went pale. "Oh... oh no....."
Another...
Mistake.
"I don't think I'm going to make it home..." she whispered to him.
"Mimi..." he replied. "I'm -- I'm so sorry..."
"No," she whispered gently. "Don't be sorry, Izzy. You did what your instincts told you to do to save everyone... and me too. Thank you..." She drifted off, her breathing shallow and slow, her heartbeat slowing down.
"No!" Izzy demanded. His voice softened and his eyes filled with tears. "No, Mimi," he whimpered. "Please... no..."
Her eyes took on a blank glaze, and Izzy picked up her lifeless body and held it close. "Mimi... I'm sorry." He couldn't stop his tears from flowing. He cried for her, his first love, his true friend, his... victim. Sorry wasn't enough. He couldn't find a way to say that he didn't mean for this to happen, that he would give his life gladly just for her, that her laying here, her face empty, her body limp and unmoving, her very being drained out of her, by him, made his heart feel like a heavy stone that someone had burdened him with. So all he could do was hold her and weep.
"I -- I don't know what to feel..." he whispered.
The Crest of Knowledge suddenly began to glow. Izzy gently put Mimi's body back down on the floor and held up his Crest so he could see it. The light bursting from it blinded him, and he shielded his eyes. He took it from around his neck and it seemed to float on its own. It fell right against Mimi's chest and started to bond together with something else. Her Crest.
The Crests glowed with brighter light than anyone had ever seen before. It was real, yet it was unbelievable. It was calm, and yet fierce, it was cold and hot and brought forth every sensation. And this magic that had been created between Izzy and Mimi, this magic that love had created, the magic within their hearts and souls forever entwined healed her wound.
"It's a miracle..." Sora whispered, as she and Tai made their way to each other and held each other tightly, Rose in between them. They smiled at each other, and kissed gently.
A little farther off, Matt stared at them. It's just like I imagined... The light... The three of them... ... But he was not sad anymore. The light and hope had bound together the fragmented pieces of his heart and he could see a light at the end of the tunnel. There is something out there for me... Something wonderful...
Joe stared into the light. This was love. This was the real thing. Did he have the right to tamper with this? Did he have the right to fight for Mimi when Izzy loved her this much and she loved him back? No... What he and Mimi had was a friendship that went down the wrong path... that had developed when they desired someone to call their own... That wasn't love... Not really.
Suddenly there was a crack of thunder. They gasped, and suddenly there was a tall, dark, almost humanoid figure cloaked in a cape of darkness standing before them.
Mimi let out a shriek. "No!"
"That's him..." Izzy growled. It was he that had put Mimi into the life of servitude for all these years. "It's OK, Mimi... He can't control you anymore."
"I never even knew his name..." Mimi whispered.
"I AM YOUR MASTER!" the Digimon roared. "NEVER FORGET THAT!"
"It is too late..." a smaller Digimon said, stepping out of the shadow of its master. It walked with a limp, as if being under years of abuse. "You have given her your energy, and for what? You didn't watch her and now she has fallen into the hands of the one she loves. And you've lost her forever."
"Serimon!" the taller Digimon yelled in rage. He swept one hand and backhanded the smaller Digimon. It went flying into a wall and slowly slid down, hitting the floor, and then bursting and dissolving into billions of pieces of data. "That is what I do when my servants disobey me," he said threateningly.
"Well," Mimi said bravely, "I'm not your servant!"
The Destined Digimon started to Digivolve, and leap forward at the enemy. Although he was weakened from giving his strength to Mimi, he fought them all off with ease. Even the Mega level Digimon were thrown down effortlessly by the adversary.
Wargreymon fell to his knees, and slowly morphed back into Koromon, who sat on the ground, heavily breathing, unable to even move. The huge Digimon took the opportunity and lifted his leg high, ready to bring it crashing down for the killing blow.
Luckily Tai ran to Koromon with the speed of a bullet, diving and rolling out of the way of the attack just in time. He kneeled, holding the In-training tightly in his arms. "I thought I was a goner," Koromon said innocently. Tai only hugged him tighter.
The last Digimon to stay in a higher level was Lillymon. She ducked and wove through the Digimon's attacks with ease, as if she had been prepared for this battle already.
"Lillymon?" Mimi called.
"This isn't the first time we've battled, Mimi..." Lillymon admitted ashamedly. "I never realized it was him controlling you, but I knew he was evil. I... I just wish I had figured it out sooner..."
"His name is Psymon," Izzy said. "...and he used a psychic hold on you to keep you his slave." Mimi looked at him. "I found a book in a chamber in the upstairs room of the fortress... It had everything in there... From the moment he found you, sitting at my grave... until he drained his power to make you strong enough to defeat us."
"FLOWER CANNON!" "He knew that if you and I were near each other, our energies would even out. He thought if he gave you power, that the evil energy he gave to you would make me evil, make me his slave as well. But it didn't work out that way, did it? Every time you were near me, I would feel something - but you did too. And it overpowered his hold."
Psymon knocked the beam of energy away with little worry. "MIND GAMES!" he roared, sending forth a bright blue beam that was thick enough to capture Lillymon within it. She froze, pain evident on her face, as Psymon looked at her with a cruel look of superiority in his eyes. He let her fall, her unconscious body hitting the stone floor with a sickening thud.
"Lillymon!" Mimi cried, running to her fallen friend. The fairy slowly changed back into the little plant, Tanemon. Mimi picked up the Digimon.
"And as easily as that - you will be my slave again, you poor excuse for a human." Psymon extended his arms, collecting cerulean psychic energy in his hand.
"No!" Mimi screamed defiantly, her Crest glowing a bright green on her chest, contrasting against the red she wore. She straightened her own arms, locking her elbows. "BLOOD RAGE!" she yelled, her hands glowing red and then bursting into flames.
"No, no, NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Despite Psymon's pleas, Mimi charged forward, attacking the evil Digimon with the attack that he had given her. She leaped, ploughing into him and shoving him against the wall.
As he exploded into data bits, Mimi's eyes started to flow freely with tears. When he was gone, she slumped against the wall, and then onto the floor. Izzy started to run to her, but stopped dead in his tracks.
Joe was already beside her, and he held her, his eyes holding a look of concern for her. He hugged her tightly for the first time in so long, and his own eyes started to swell with tears. Izzy looked around - all of his friends had tears in their eyes, even Tai.
Mimi wrapped her arms around Joe, first burying her face in his neck, and then resting her chin on his shoulder. She looked to Izzy, closing her eyes for a moment.
When she opened them again, he could see her lips mouth the words "Thank you..."
He could only muster a nod.
~*~
"I finally figured out why I was the only one to make it home," Izzy told them. "The way home is not through some portal, some door, not this time. It has to come from your soul. It has to come from the qualities which make us unique in the first place. Tai... courage. Sora... love. Kari... light. Takeru... hope. Matt... friendship. Joe... reliability. Mimi... sincerity. And I have to show knowledge. You have to find it within yourself. You have to get that quality within you. Perfectly balanced. And it will lead you home. Somehow... before I went through that portal, when my mind was spinning I knew that something wasn't right with it... I knew that some component from the heart was missing from that program..." But no one was really listening anymore.
How can I show courage when I am afraid to show my true feelings...? How can I show love when I wanted to kill Mimi, one of my closest friends...? How can I show light when I don't know how to use it...? How can I show hope when I had given up on myself in Mimi's dungeon...? How can I show friendship when I betrayed one friend who I thought was dead and violated another's vulnerability...? How can I show reliability when I accused a friend that depended on my support...? How can I show sincerity when my life for the past years has been a lie...? I can show knowledge... even if I don't know that much about life, or love, yet. Izzy's chest started to shine with a purple glow, and he closed his eyes, a satisfaction evident on his face. Mimi looked at him, and then all the other Digidestined did as well. Then Takeru's chest burst with gold light, and soon after Kari's glowed with pink light. In turn, all the other Digidestined glowed with their respective light, and finally, as Mimi's Crest exploded in a green shade, the whole group was engulfed in white light, and they disappeared from the Digital World.