Resurrection 3, Part 4
At Rest
Cody Hida looked down at the tall boy, his eyes closed behind his glasses, his arms folded across his chest, and the dirt brushed off his jacket after he had fallen to the ground. He was lying on his back, lifeless now, as the other Digidestined were. Somehow, they'd all found the strength to carry their fallen friends, one by one, to the nearest cabin and it was there they laid them. Someone, he couldn't remember who, made the suggestion that they cross their arms and close their eyes. It was utterly amazing to Cody that they had been able to do it without losing control. They had managed to do it, calmly and reverently, despite the fact that each of their hearts was breaking. The grief hadn't quite hit Cody yet. There was only the dull, aching pain of his loss. Even as he stared down at his friend's body, he still couldn't believe, no matter how much he willed himself to understand the truth, that Joe Kido was dead.
He stifled a sniffle as he looked upon the tranquil face of the older boy. "You know what, Joe?" he asked the silent young man. "I always thought of you as my older brother. I mean, I never had any brothers or sisters, so I can't really relate to the others the same way. Even Ken had a brother, but he's… well, you know."
Cody started as he made the connection. Now he knew how Ken must have felt. Ken was about the same age when Sam was killed, and now Joe was gone, leaving him alone.
He choked back another sob and went on, bracing his resolve to say what he wanted to. "We first met that time in the polar area, when we came to help Gomamon. You were amazing, the way you pulled out those hand warmers and everything. You seemed so ready for anything. Good old reliable Joe. Later on, you helped me that time we found the Digiegg of Reliability. If it wasn't for you, I don't think I'd have ever felt like I deserved it."
He fell silent again, heaving a sigh, then continued. "I can't believe we
aren't going to be doing anything like that again," Cody went on. "I feel like I
did when my dad died. I don't really remember that much about him. I was really
young when he died, and I wish I knew him better. I feel the same way about you,
Joe. You and I were two of a kind. TK and Kari told me that you used to be
nervous all the time, but I can't picture it. You seemed like you were in
control all the time. I wish I'd had the chance to know you the way they know
you. I wish that I'd gotten to know you better, Joe…"
Ken looked at Izzy bemusedly. Each of the Digidestined were kneeling near their respective mentors, more or less, but each seemed to want to be alone. If he had known that Cody was feeling the same guilt as he was, that he hadn't known the older kids as well as he would have liked, he might have felt a little less embarrassed.
Still, he supposed he knew Izzy better than any of the others. Izzy was the first one to come and visit him after he had ceased to be the Digimon Emperor, and the two were kindred spirits, since they were both so intelligent and shy as well. Izzy had lent him that copy of My Brain, My Buddy as promised, but he hadn't returned it yet. And, now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what he would do with it. It was Izzy's book, but he wouldn't be using it now.
He twisted inwardly and looked away from the red-haired boy, who seemed so dignified and at ease now. When Sam died, it was the same thing. He wondered desperately about what Izzy would want, now that he was gone. In Sam's case, there were all the things left in their room, things that were once his. On one hand, the things he'd owned were useless to a dead person, but then, they were still his, weren't they? Then again, maybe Izzy would have wanted Ken to have his book. He tried to think about it, and came to the conclusion that Izzy, being the caring person he was, would have gladly let him have the book. Why?
"Because we were friends," Ken whispered, now starting to tear up, realizing how much he liked the computer genius. As smart as he was, Izzy had the experience and was the one who ended up teaching him. Still, Izzy encouraged him to continued learning, to try to understand the world around him better, and that, he supposed, was the legacy of this brilliant boy. To advance one's knowledge was a worthy goal, and he would never forget Izzy for it.
Now he was crying much more freely, and he felt something rub against his arm and gazed downward to see Wormmon looking up at him with concern.
"What's the matter, Ken?" Wormmon asked. "Did you know Izzy that well?"
Ken shook his head. "Don't get me wrong, Wormmon," he assured him softly. "I'll miss Izzy and I am crying because he's… But, it's more than that." He took a deep breath, and let it out heavily. "I'm wondering if I'm cursed or something. It seems like everyone who gets closer to me dies. Sam, you, and now Izzy."
Wormmon didn't have an answer, but only nuzzled Ken's arm again, embracing
his hand with his tiny little legs. And, at the moment, it was more important to
have a close friend nearby than to have an answered question. Ken knew in his
heart that even Izzy would agree with that.
Davis looked around at all his friends, both those still living, and those that were now dead, victims of Lazarusmon's attack. When the time came for them to say a word or two to their older counterparts, Kari had immediately went to Tai. He personally wanted to say some things to Tai, but Kari wanted to be alone with her brother, and he had too much respect for both of them to interfere. His second choice would have been Matt, but TK was there, and he supposed it was only right, since they were brothers. He wondered if he ought to be talking to her right now. He felt ill prepared to say his goodbyes to one he only knew through his hero. Still, Sora was a Digidestined, and more importantly, she was a friend.
Sora was laid on her back as well, and he noticed a stray strand of red hair the wind had blown onto her face. He carefully moved it with his hand, clearing it from her face. He cocked his head to one side, now seeing her in full view. With her eyes closed, her lips parted slightly and the tranquility that was about her, he realized how beautiful she really was.
That, for some reason, was the thing that had made him start crying. Davis had recalled something in the past couple days, but hadn't told anyone else yet. He remembered the first time he met Tai was shortly after he met Kari. He had kicked a can of soda that had splashed onto Tai, who, rather than getting angry, invited him to a soccer game. That was where he met several of them, but since the majority of them only played that one time, he only remembered Tai and Kari. Still, when he recalled it, he remembered Matt, TK, and Sora had come as well.
"That was when you started tennis," he laughed aloud, softly to the lifeless girl. "I remember Tai was so mad because you didn't want to play soccer with him anymore. I think it always bugged him that you and him stopped hanging out together as much as you used to. The thing that really bothers me is that you two never really talked that much with each other. You always came close to getting together, but nothing ever happened. Now, I guess, we'll never know what would've happened between you two."
He laughed again, holding Sora's hand. "I see why he liked you," Davis told her. "You're smart, good at sports, and you always cared about the people around you. Remember that time when we went to save Biyomon from that Old West town and met Starmon? I think seeing how much you cared for Biyomon and how much you took care of Yolei when we first became Digidestined was one of the coolest things about you. I don't know what things are going to be like without you, Sora."
Davis sniffled a little bit and accepted a pat on the back from Veemon. "Hey, Davis, don't be upset," he told him, his slight speech impediment always present. "Don't worry, you'll see her again when she gets reborn."
Davis looked to Veemon, realizing that his partner didn't understand. "It… doesn't really work that way with humans, Veemon."
Veemon looked puzzled. "You mean… they don't come back? Ever?"
Davis shook his head.
"Then, what happens when you guys die?" he asked.
"We don't know," Davis replied, choking a little. "We just know that when they're gone, they're gone."
Veemon looked at Sora, his brown eyes getting watery as well. "Gee," he
sighed, his voice now heavy, "I'm really gonna miss you Sora."
"I guess I never really told you, Mimi," Yolei was saying, "but you meant more to me than you'll ever know. The first time I met you, I felt an instant connection, like we were sisters or soulmates or something. You're so confident and beautiful and you could always be more open than I could."
Yolei wiped away a few tears before replacing her glasses. She gave Mimi a weak smile that rapidly deteriorated into a sorrowful frown, her lip trembling as she tried to speak. Mimi looked as she'd never looked to Yolei before. The girl who had once been so energetic and vivacious now had a look of frozen lifelessness on her face. The beauty of life that had once shown in her eyes was now gone. Even before she'd shut her eyes for her, they had gaped widely, blindly, devoid of the uninhibited emotion Mimi was known for. The change was too tragic to bear.
"I still want to be just like you someday," Yolei whispered as Hawkmon came
over, placing his winged hands on her arms. "That's how I'll remember you. I'll
do everything I can to be as good a person as you were."
"You were the best older brother I could ask for," TK told Matt, his voice breaking. He tried to get himself under control, but amid his tears and the choked sobs he was trying to keep down, it wasn't easy. Still, he compelled himself to keep it together for Matt's sake.
"When I was a baby, I can still remember you being there for me," he went on. "When we went to the Digiworld for the first time, you were there, protecting me with your life. Sometimes you took it too far, but you always made me feel special when you tried all you could to make sure I was safe. I was so young, but even when I felt like crying, you made me feel important and never let me give up. It was because of you that I got my Crest to glow."
TK stopped, once again feeling the hard lump in his throat, knowing that he was on the verge of blubbering like a little child. He used to cry all the time, but he had grown up a bit, and now he almost never cried. He felt like crying now, more than he'd ever felt like it in his entire life, but he refused to surrender to the urge, because he still wasn't finished speaking to his fallen brother. He took a breath, and tried again.
"I'm never going to be the same without you, Matt," he told him. "Without you around, nothing will be the same. Dad's going to be alone. And Mom. And… and me. I don't know how I'm going to make it without you, Matt. It's just too hard to do this on my own…"
Finally, despite his best effort, TK's grief got the best of him and the
tears came freely as he took his older brother up in his arms, his body heavy
and unresisting. He held him and didn't want to accept the fact that Matt Ishida
would never be there to guide him again. "I love you, Matt," he whispered. There
were a million things TK wanted to tell him, but that was the only thing he
really needed to say.
"I think you would have laughed at me if I ever told you this, Tai," Kari told her brother, "but I always thought I'd die before you did. You were older and you always jumped into things, so I didn't think you'd understand. But the truth is that you were always so strong. No matter what happened to you, you always came back stronger than before. When we fought Myotismon the first time, he came back and we didn't think we had a chance. But you and Matt's digimon were the ones that digivolved high enough to beat him. And when Demidevimon attacked you and I thought it was my fault, you came out through for me, and for all of us. I know that was a while ago, but I'll never forget how strong you could be, and I always assumed that you would live longer than me or anyone else I knew."
She turned to Tai now. She had been avoiding looking at him, unable to face her strong, older brother, who had gone through so much, but had been cruelly torn from her in the blink of an eye. Now, she felt she had to look at him, because he deserved to be remembered to his face. She would show him that she could still be strong enough to face the truth, no matter how horrible it was.
"The way you kept me safe from Myotismon, or when you came after me and that Agumon seven years ago at Heighton View Terrace, or when we were lost under Machinedramon's city, or--" she made herself stop, realizing that she was becoming hysterical. "I'm sorry, Tai. I'm so sorry I let you down. I wish there was something I could have done to stop him, but now, after everything we've been through, everything you did for me is over. Because I'm too weak, and I-- I-- oh, Tai!"
She threw herself upon the boy's chest, sobbing uncontrollably and hating herself for her weakness, but also knowing that Tai could never hate her, that he loved her as much as she loved him, and that he wouldn't want her to feel this way, blaming herself for what she could not help.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see TK, his eyes red, looking at her with the compassionate understanding of one whom had also lost a brother. She stood and hugged him close, and he returned it. "Oh, TK," she sobbed. "What do we do now?"
TK, voice broken and strained, simply replied, "I don't know, Kari. I just don't know."
They heard a little cough and saw Davis, his eyes also wet, standing nearby. "I… uh," he stammered. TK and Kari nodded and opened their arms and he came and joined in the embrace. Kari felt a tap on her shoulder and saw Yolei, with Cody holding her hand, and they too were let in the circle. Ken stood nearby, but made no move to indicate he wanted to join them, but Davis and the others made a space in the circle and Ken, relieved, went to them as well. The digimon came to them then and formed a circle around their human counterparts. The children stopped for a moment and took up their partners and held them in the circle.
And for a while, there was nothing but silence as they held each other,
united in their loss, the love they shared for those brave friends who had died
so suddenly bonding them together, each one eternally grateful that the others
were there, so that not one had to cope with it on their own.
When they stepped out of the cabin, it was the mid-afternoon. The wind was a little colder, but it was still a nice day. They all thought it somewhat strange that the sun should shine on a day like this, and wondered at the birdsong and the peaceful whisper of wind as it blew threw the trees. It was a beautiful day, in fact, and none of them could understand why the world seemed so content when six wonderful people had just died.
"So, now what do we do?" Yolei asked. "Should we call the police or something? And what do we tell our parents? And their parents! We really have to tell everyone the truth, don't we?"
"Yolei." Ken's voice was soft and comforting and his hand on her shoulder made her feel a little better and she calmed down.
Just then, however, they all heard Kari as she gave a startled little cry.
"What is it?" Davis asked. She didn't respond, but pointed out into the woods. They all looked in the direction she indicated and saw a small, black pool emerging from the woods. It was globular and amorphous and it moved along the ground just as Lazarusmon's shadow of death attack had. But it moved slowly, menacingly, as if it was taking its time and wanted to savor taking another victim. The digimon threw themselves in the way of their partners, but were surprised to see that the pool stopped short of the cabin steps.
"What is it?" Cody asked.
"It's dark energy," TK answered with certainty. "Just like the kind Lazarusmon used."
None of them knew what to make of that and wondered at the pools appearance, but none of them were prepared for what happened next: it began to change form and it took the shape of characters as it spelled out a question.
It asked, "DO YOU WANT THEM BACK?"
"Yes!" cried Kari.
The pool reshaped and said, "GOOD."
Then, it spelled out, "LAPTOP."
They all looked to Yolei. "You think it means Izzy's laptop?" she asked. "Why? What does it want with it.
The pool formed a new phrase, this time sounding a little more threatening: "LAPTOP. NOW."
This time, it made an arrow, pointing to the ground directly ahead of the cabin steps. They waited for it to say more, but it simply left the arrow and waited. Finally, cautiously, her eyes never leaving the pool, Yolei turned on the laptop and set it down in front of the dark arrow.
The dark energy rushed to the ground underneath it and swirled below it. It then shot up, surging through the laptop, causing the screen to blur and scroll, and for a moment Yolei thought that it had scrambled the thing's circuits, but when it was over, the screen appeared normal.
However, before she could retrieve the laptop, a window opened and a sound file began to play.
"Hello, children," said a hushed, familiar voice. They all realized with a mixture of rage and surprise that it was Lazarusmon. "I suppose you know who this is. I have taken your friends' lives, as they are necessary for my plans, but there is a chance to bring them back. I'm only giving you one chance, though. Normally, my section of the Digiworld is off limits to those traveling through the Digiport, but I'm giving you a chance to come after me. Just use the door you're given. Please accept my apologies and understand that this will all be over soon."
The window closed and then, before their eyes, a Digiport appeared and opened. The display through the window was dark and if one looked closely enough, one could see some kind of swirling movement. Those who had been near it, Ken, Cody, TK, and their digimon, knew exactly what they were seeing. The Dark Whirlpool.
"What do you think we should do?" Yolei asked.
"What else?" Davis retorted, as if the answer was obvious. "We go through! If we've got a chance to save Tai and the others, I say we do it! They'd do it for us!"
"I'd have to agree with Davis on this one," Hawkmon concurred, flashing a grin at Yolei. "I believe that we ought to stop him before anyone else is harmed."
TK nodded, but turned to Patamon. "You guys would be fighting him," he reminded them. "Are you sure you're strong enough to fight?"
"Sure!" Patamon squeaked confidently. "We've handled creeps lots tougher than him!"
"I'm with ya all the way," Armadillomon urged. The others also nodded, giving
their assurance and thus the whole lot of them turned to the Digiport, D3s in
hand. They were all sucked in, each one desperately hoping that they could
succeed in that haven of darkness.
The group found themselves standing in a massive circle. The ground was sandy and harsh, like the bottom of the sea, which was accurate, since they were, technically, at the bottom of the sea. Far above them was a pinprick hole of sunlight from the sky far overhead. All around them, the waters of the whirlpool rushed by them. They were pitch black and Cody shivered as he watched them, wondering if the strange figures he saw grinning at him from the blackness were real or of his imagination. He shuddered as he realized that they were almost certainly real and went over to TK, who seemed equally uncomfortable in this evil place.
"I've got this weird feeling," Davis mentioned. "It's in the pit of my stomach, like there's something wrong, but I don't know what it is."
"Welcome to my world," Ken laughed ruefully. "I felt this place when I came here as the Digimon Emperor. I tried to get rid of it, but sometimes I wonder if it's ingrained in me."
"Hey, man, don't talk like that," Davis told him, clapping him on the back. "You've got us to help you out this time!"
Davis sounded more confident than he felt. He was nervous as well, but he wasn't letting it get to him. He was the leader of this group, that was what Tai said. What was good enough for Tai was good enough for him, so if that meant being the one to bolster confidence, that was what he would do.
Still, there was something eating him. Something that had struck him during the battle with Lazarusmon that he noticed, but couldn't put his finger on. Whatever it was, it was important. He had to figure out and soon, because… because…
"He's here," Davis said aloud. He could feel his presence amid all these others, these dead digimon who had, for one excruciating second, all been crammed inside his head.
"Correct, Davis," Lazarusmon's booming voice came to them.
"All right, come out, Lazarusmon!" TK shouted. "You've got a lot to answer for and we're here to make you pay!"
"I don't blame you for being angry, TK," he went on, "but you don't yet understand what you're up against."
"We beat you once and we can do it again, for all our friends!" Yolei cried, feeling weird speaking to someone she couldn't even see.
"Ah, but that was something I had planned on," Lazarusmon chuckled. "When you defeated me, I was mortally wounded. I knew I could not defeat you, so I allowed myself to be driven to death's door. It is only at that time that I can use my Shadow of Death technique. It worked perfectly."
"You killed my brother!" Kari screamed in rage.
"Don't worry, little one," he soothed. "You'll be reunited soon. You see, I have learned much about the digivolving process involving you children from my past encounters with you. I have learned that the digivices allow you to easily transfer life energy to your partners. In essence, you share your life force with them. The digivices and D3s do it efficiently, and I tried to find ways to use it to my resurrected digimon's advantage. Both times, there were problems. Demidevimon was incompatible and was warped to the point of killing him. Gazimon was killed because he had linked his own life to the digivice. I, however, have found a way to use the life energy from a Digidestined without use of a digivice."
"You mean…" Cody stammered. "You've…?"
"I used my attack to drain the Digidestined of their life energy. The process was less efficient, so I needed them all. They had to be Digidestined, and since their digivices don't protect them from my power, I absorbed their energy to both save my life and to digivolve."
Lazarusmon exploded from the black, swirling wall and into full view. He stood high above them and announced himself in a horrid, thunderous voice. "You may call me SkullLazarusmon."
"I'll call you more than that if you don't give our friends' lives back!" Davis shouted.
"If you want them, you'll have to fight for them," SkullLazarusmon laughed, sending a chill down his spine. SkullLazarusmon was a huge, towering creature, at least twenty feet tall, and probably taller. Gone was his humanoid form, now he was a creature of bones. He was covered, from head to toe, in bony plates and skeletal claws. His head was a grinning skull, the teeth sharp and serrated. From his back was a long flowing cape, adding an air of dark nobility to this dark prince. He looked extremely powerful, and the very sight of him was enough to frighten his smaller foes. Now a Mega digimon, he looked infinitely more dangerous than he had appeared before.
"Guys!" Davis called to the digimon. They were ready and in moments, SkullLazarusmon was facing Paildramon, Silphymon, and Shakkoumon.
"Who's first?" he asked smugly.
Paildramon leapt into the air, the guns at his sides raised. "Desperado Blaster!" he attacked. The bullets ricocheted off SkullLazarusmon and he leapt up to meet him.
"Death Touch," he growled. A ball of red energy appeared at the tip of his clawed index finger and he jabbed forward with it. He struck Paildramon in the chest and, instantly, the combined digimon crumpled inward, falling to the ground as Chibimon and Leafmon. Davis and Ken ran to their regressed partners and picked them up.
"What happened?" Davis asked.
"He knocked all our energy right out of us," Chibimon replied wearily.
"They ought to consider themselves lucky," SkullLazarusmon boomed. "If they were normal digimon or if they weren't digilolved higher, they'd both be dead from that attack!"
Davis gritted his teeth, knowing that now there was nothing he could do now but watch. Still, something told him that there was something going on that he needed to see.
"Okay, Silphymon!" Yolei called. "We need someone faster, so just attack and keep out of his reach!"
Silphymon obeyed and flew nimbly around SkullLazarusmon, who, with all his bony protrusions, as menacing as they were, was too slow to keep up with him. When he saw an opening, he attacked. "Static Force!"
The ball of energy slammed into his arm, but it did little more than leave a trace burn mark and a little smoke. Still, Silphymon wasn't about to give up and moved about the lumbering SkullLazarusmon with ease.
The undead creature was prepared for this however, and suddenly shouted, "Deaht Grip!" causing a ring of blackness to shoot from his gaping mouth faster than Silphymon would have thought possible. The ring wrapped itself around Silphymon, stopping him in midair. He tried to fly away, but the ring held him tight and levitated him near SkullLazarusmon.
Davis watched as SkullLazarusmon pulled his immense arm back and punched Silphymon as hard as he could, sending him flying, much to Kari and Yolei's dismay, into the swirling black water encircling them.
Silphymon burst from the wall of water, digging his hands into the ground as strange, black figures pulled at his legs, as if trying to bring him back into the wall. Kari, Yolei, and Ken tried to pull him free of it, as Davis looked from them to SkullLazarusmon, studying his face. Finally, the trio lost their grip and Silphymon was pulled back into the whirlpool. They all heard him scream out in his twin voice before, in a flash, Salamon and Poramon were expelled from the water.
"Two down," SkullLazarusmon told Shakkoumon.
"Justice Beam!" Skakkoumon attacked, blasting the monster at full force with the beams from his eyes. The attack pushed him backwards, and he stumbled a bit, but didn't look particularly injured.
"Death Touch!" he countered. To everyone's surprise, the attack didn't force Shakkoumon to de-digivolve, but it did dent his hard exterior.
"It looks like my armor is resistant to that attack," Shakkoumon remarked. "Let's see if you can stand up to mine. Kachino Bombs!"
The disks Shakkoumon fired from his steely body exploded on contact, sending tiny fragments of bone as they damaged his plating.
"Excellent!" congratulated SkullLazarusmon. "But, I want this to be over, and if that's the best you had to offer, then you obviously have no chance. I'll end this now."
From all around him, streams of dark energy were drawn from the Whirlpool and they flowed into his body. He put his hands together, as if holding them up to guard, then brought his arms back. "Permanent Midnight!" he howled, and released a huge beam of dark energy that blasted Shakkoumon, washing over him to the point of blotting out his entire body, as huge as it was. Bolts of black lightning were expelled as he poured the seemingly endless attack onto his foe. When it was over, Shakkoumon, his steel hull cracked and dented, fell to the ground, where he regressed to Tokomon and Upamon.
All the children gathered around their fallen partners, who were obviously too weak to fight. Whatever happened now, one thing was certain: they would not be able to fight, no matter what came at them.
"You have been beaten, children," SkullLazarusmon said, not gloating but sounding somewhat saddened. "You may take comfort in knowing that you will soon be reunited with your friends. You did not defeat me, but you can take comfort in knowing that you can meet them in the next life."
They were all in a huddled little group, and they watched in horror as he reared back, preparing to send out another Permanent Midnight attack. They knew that it would obliterate them completely, that there would be no escape and no survival and they all gripped each other's hands as they braced themselves for the inevitable.
"Don't worry," he soothed. "This will be over very quickly."
Just as he was about to unleash the attack, however, a voice shouted, "Stop!"
SkullLazarusmon peered down and saw Davis staring up at him indignantly. "What is it?" he asked.
"I'll tell you what," Davis snarled confidently. "If you really are honorable, you'll give us a last request."
SkullLazarusmon was confused, but he felt it only right. He didn't want to kill them at all, in fact, but it was necessary. He supposed there was no harm, so he nodded.
"Don't kill us like that," Davis ordered. "I want you to kill us one by one, in a row, by jabbing us through the chest with your bare hand."
The entire group of them, SkullLazarusmon included, gaped at him.
"Davis, have you gone nuts?!" Yolei shrieked.
Davis looked to her with complete seriousness and, despite her objections, was quieted.
"Child, why would you ask for something so horrible?!" SkullLazarusmon demanded.
"It's my request, so do it!" Davis snorted. "Right now, while the others watch. Go ahead and kill me first."
SkullLazarusmon took a step back, utterly amazed that Davis would ask for such a thing. The others all rushed to Davis's side, but he brushed them off roughly, telling them to go stand nearby and watch, giving Chibimon over to Ken.
He looked up at SkullLazarusmon unflinchingly. "Go ahead."
SkullLazarusmon couldn't understand why he'd asked, but he couldn't say no at this point. Davis stood his ground, staring at him with hard, brave eyes. The huge creature pulled his arm back and braced himself. He looked over to the group of his friends. Not one of them had dry eyes and each one was exercising every bit of their control to keep themselves from begging Davis to reconsider. Still, SkullLazarusmon strengthened his resolve and thrust forward with one sharp finger as he rushed in for the kill.
Davis closed his eyes at the last second, expecting his gruesome end to come then, but breathed a sigh of relief when he felt nothing. He opened his eyes and saw SkullLazarusmon frozen inches from his chest, his claw-like finger quivering in the air like a timid animal.
SkullLazarusmon collapsed like a sullen child. "I can't do it!" he howled. "I can't kill you so cruelly in front of your friends in such a horrible way! Why did you ask for it?! I can't do it, I can't do it!" he repeated.
Davis chuckled a little bit as Chibimon hopped over to him joyfully. "I knew you couldn't do it," Davis told him. "I know what you have to go through and I know you hate violence. I saw it in your eyes every time you attacked. You winced every time you hit one of your digimon, because you hate hurting them. You were willing to hurt them and us to get rid of those voices, but you couldn't live with yourself if you had to kill us like that. You wanted it to be clean, but I wouldn't let you. You killed our friends as quickly as possible, but if you want to kill us, then you'll have to do it our way."
SkullLazarusmon sighed. "Isn't there another way?"
"Lazarusmon," he went on, "if you kill us, both worlds will be in danger. If the forces of Darkness are freed, they may not be in your head anymore, but they'll be out there in both our worlds. If you go through with this, millions more will die and it will be all your fault. You'll have to live with death all the time, knowing that this time, you killed them."
SkullLazarusmon let out a heavy sigh. "You're right, child," he admitted sorrowfully. "There is only one thing I can do. I've never had the courage to face it, but now, seeing what choice I have, I'm not afraid to do it."
He stood above them and they looked at him confusedly. "I will lose all my memories and never again return to what I was, but perhaps it will be for the best if I start again. Thank you for giving me the courage to do this, Digidestined. I am in your debt."
SkullLazarusmon shuddered for a second, then, in a brilliant explosion, six balls of white light emanated from his body. They swirled around above their heads and they all watched in fascination.
"What are they?" Cody asked.
"The lives of the older kids," Kari laughed. "He let them go!"
"Yes," SkullLazarusmon confirmed, his voice weak. "But without their energy, I can no longer sustain my own life. I will leave this misery here in the Dark Whirlpool, where it belongs. The core of my being will return to Primary Village, where I will begin anew. My only regret is that I won't remember you to thank you."
Those last few words were little more than a hoarse whisper. When he finished, the Digidestined watched solemnly as SkullLazarusmon's body began to literally fall to pieces, his bony plates dropping off one by one, clattering on the floor until he crumbled in on himself, his skeletal body disintegrating as it was deleted. The six orbs that were the life energy of their friends flew upward, out of sight as they soared to the sky.
"Do you think they went back to the older kids?" Yolei asked.
"There's only one way to find out," TK replied.
The six children and their digimon stepped out into the light of the setting sun, back on Earth. They walked up the steps and looked at one another unsurely. Kari reached for the handle to the door hesitantly. She held it, but then let her hand drop.
"I'm afraid," she confessed.
"We all are," Yolei told her, giving her a reassuring smile, "but we have to find out some time."
They opened the door and a sigh of deep disappointment escaped them. The six older Digidestined were still lying there, completely lifeless.
"It didn't work!" Kari wailed, rushing to her brother's side, taking his hand in hers, wringing it profusely.
"Ow, hey, Kari, that's my hand!" Tai yelled, sitting up straight.
Kari's eyes went wide and then, laughing tearfully, she threw her arms about his neck. "You're alive!" she laughed. "You're alive! You're alive!"
"When did you become Dr. Frankenstein, Kari?" Tai asked, bemusedly.
"Hey, keep it down over there," Matt grumbled, sitting up.
"Matt!" TK laughed, running over to his brother, tackling him joyfully.
"Geez, what is with you guys, we fall asleep and you go psychotic!" Matt grumbled, laughing in spite of himself.
"I don't know about you, but I really needed a nap," Sora remarked, getting up and stretching her back.
"Studies have shown that an occasional power nap can help maintain energy throughout the day," Izzy remarked, coming over to Sora.
"Do the studies say anything about being hungry when you wake up?" Mimi whined, rubbing her growling stomach.
"No," Joe moaned, still on the floor. "No, that's my teddy bear, you big bully. You can't have it, it's my teddy bear, it's mine!"
"Joe, wake up, buddy," Tai laughed. "No one's trying to steal your pwecious widdle teddy bear."
"Oh, that's good," Joe said groggily, "because if they were I'd--" he stopped
in mid-sentence as the others tried not to laugh. "Uh, I'd tell them that isn't
my teddy bear. You know, since I don't have one."
Davis and the others were walking to the bus stop, when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned and saw it was Kari, grinning at him warmly. He almost melted.
"What is it, Kari?" he asked dreamily.
"Well, I wanted to tell you that I thought it was a really brave thing you did back there, and because of you, we got everyone back. So…" she fumbled with the words and then, to Davis surprise, kissed him softly on the cheek.
Davis froze, a grin on his face, as Kari said, "That's for saving my brother."
As she walked away, Davis closed his eyes, flushed with pride. He was about to start walking again, when he felt another peck on his cheek. He opened his eyes, wondering how lucky he could get, expecting to see Yolei or maybe even Kari again. He turned and almost screamed when he saw TK standing there, grinning like the cat that just ate the canary.
"Yeah, thanks for saving my brother, too," he told him, slapping him on the back and continuing on ahead. Davis was frozen like a statue, his mouth agape and his eyes bulged as wide as they would go.
"What did you do that for?" Kari asked TK as he caught up with her.
"I was just messing with his head," TK laughed.
"It was fragile to begin with," Ken remarked, seeing that Davis still hadn't moved. "I think he's catatonic."
They went over and waved their hands in front of his face, not getting much
more response than an occasional blink. He remained that way on the bus ride
home and on the way to his apartment, where his behavior was explained as a
reaction to the latest horror film. His family, not sure what to do, smeared his
body with lotion and put him to bed, where he remained stuck to the sheets for
the better part of a week before regaining basic, normal functions in the form
of getting TK's name wrong.
The End
