Author's Notes: Oh, this is winding down, do you believe it? One more chapter, and then an epilogue. And I have so many people on Author Alert. You really like me! I'm so amazing flattered by this, you have no idea. And I could really use you guys now. This chapter took me forever to do. I need support! Reviews. Review, and inspire me to continue this! You really have no idea how much I need it right now.
Chapter 13: Stand Up, and Be Counted
"Okay, for the record," Davis murmured, dark eyes darting back and forth, "this is officially creepy."
No one was going to argue with the statement. They were barely a block away from the ominous building that they were sure held Mimi, and there wasn't a single Ghastlymon in sight. The easy way actually made them more nervous than assured, which, most thought, was probably the idea.
"You know what this means," Izzy said, with black eyes narrowed. "They're either going to attack us when we reach the building, or when we get inside."
Ken nodded from behind him. "They're gathering so they can gang up on us. It's a good strategy, actually," he muttered.
"Now's not the time to be complimenting Trikmon's intelligence," Izzy snapped under his breath.
Ken blinked, taken aback. "I just-"
"Never mind," interrupted Tai, already able to tell where the conversation would go. "Let's just get there and do this. They're going to attack us anyway, so why hesitate?"
"Because there's twenty-two of us and probably at least one hundred of them?" Joe offered, not really joking.
"He has a point, Tai," Matt said, reluctantly. "There's no guarantee any of us will even make it inside the building against those odds."
"There's no guarantee about anything," Tai stated.
"I'm not leaving Mimi in there!" Palmon declared, her shaking hand tightening on her torch. "I'll go alone if I have to."
"You're not going alone," Agumon frowned. "Don't even think that."
"We're all going in, okay?" Tai said, turning to them with a scowl. "Listen, I know that they outnumber us by a helluva lot. I can't do anything about that. But do you know what's going to happen if we don't go in there? If we just stay out here? That tear's gonna get a lot bigger," he pointed an accusing finger at the rip in the sky. "And whatever Trikmon is planning is gonna happen."
"We understand that, Tai," Kari gently said. "But we should at least try to come up with some sort of strategy."
"What strategy is there, Kari?" Tai challenged, his eyes darkening. "Matt and I spent hours trying to come up with something. There's no way to sneak in there, and Trikmon certainly won't believe only a few of us came out to fight. If he sees even one of us, he'll know the rest of us are here. Any way you slice it, it's gonna be down to them and us."
"It doesn't have to be," Patamon spoke up from T.K.'s side.
"Hn?" Tai raised a brow. "What are you talking about?"
All eyes shifted to the small boy with the light red hair. He squirmed under their gazes for a moment, before shrugging and gripping T.K.'s pant leg for support. "We've been saying that it's us against them. And I guess, in a way, that's true," he nodded, his voice firming a bit. "But, we're not really alone at all, are we?"
"I'm not following," T.K. frowned.
Sighing, Patamon finally looked up, his true blue eyes clear. "Guys, am I really the only one to notice that we're surrounded by allies?"
Tai blinked, as confused as everyone else seemed to be. He gazed around in the dark, trying to understand what Patamon was saying. There was only blackness, with a street lamp here and there to pierce it with too-white, ugly light. Even the houses were enfolded in darkness, the lights inside off. The windows were all covered in blinds and shades, shutting at any chance to look insi-
Wait.
There was something wrong here. Tai narrowed his eyes, trying to pierce the dark. The blinds and shades were closed... but not all the way. Some shades were only three quarters down, and some blinds were bent. Eyes and fingers were peering through. Many pairs of eyes, and all focused on the torch bearing group in the streets. The children left behind in Trikmon's wake.
Tai's mouth twitched in a dangerously twisted way.
Of course.
"You shouldn't try to get out of bed," Wormmon insisted, flinching when she stumbled a bit as she stood up.
"There's no way they're getting Mimi without me," Yolei replied, fighting back a wave of nausea. "I'm part of the team."
"B-but you're not well!" the small boy persisted, trying to get her to lie back down. "And Ken-chan wants me to keep you safe."
After falling back asleep for another half hour, she had just woken up again. And this time she was far more awake, and far more inquisitive. For twenties minutes straight, Wormmon got the verbal grilling of his young life, as she demanded to know every little detail about what had happened during her time unconscious.
"I'm as well as I'll get," Yolei shrugged the warning aside, and walked past Wormmon. Well, it was more like stumbled past. "And you will keep me safe. You're coming with me."
He raised a brow. "Huh?"
She stopped at the doorway, one hand holding it for support. Slowly, she turned to him with a determined expression. "Listen, I want to help my friends. I want to be there for them. And you want to help Ken, right?"
He nodded without hesitation.
"Well, can't help him if we're here, can we?" Yolei declared, almost brightly. "So, we gotta go there. Right?"
He bit his lip in apprehension. Ken wouldn't like it if they left and Yolei got hurt again. And he didn't want to let Ken down. However, Wormmon realized, Yolei was going to go whether he wanted her to or not. He really didn't stand a good chance at stopping her. And he really wanted to help Ken. He knew something was going to go wrong there, and that Ken would need his help. He just knew it.
"Okay," Wormmon agreed finally, his blue eyes surprisingly confident. "Let's go."
"Perfecto!" Yolei grinned. She strode out the door with long strides, ignoring her light headeness. She could hear Wormmon's small feet padding quickly along to catch up to her. When she reached the staircase she turned to him, and smiled her brightest. "So, where exactly is this place we're going to?"
"Hm?" he blinked, surprised at the question. He scratched the back of his head in thought. "Well, I think it's on the other side of town."
"The... other side?" Yolei declared, her bright look being quickly replaced by one of horror. "You mean, we have to walk all the way there? In the dark? By ourselves?!"
"We don't have to, if you don't want to," Wormmon reminded her, quickly, not wanting her to fly off the handle.
"In the dark, just the two of us? No one to protect us?" her golden brown eyes widened at the thought, her hands flying up to clasp underneath her chin.
"Well, I'll protect you," he whispered, his eyes downcast as he scuffed one shoe along the floor. This human girl of Ken's was really quite silly, he decided. "Ken-chan did ask me to."
She looked down at him blankly for a moment, before exploding into another large grin. "That's right! You'll protect me!" She dropped to her knees, and hugged him tightly, a few seconds longer than she had intended thanks to a moment of vertigo. "You're so cute!"
"Uh... " Wormmon stood there frozen, not knowing what to do. "Thank you... ?"
"Well, c'mon!" Yolei suddenly jumped up, fists held defiantly in the air. "Let's do it!"
With that, the girl ran down the stairs, nearly tumbling a few times in her haste. Slowly, and a bit more cautiously, Wormmon followed, wondering just what sort of trouble he had placed himself into.
Many people say there are four elements. Earth. Air. Fire. Water. Each distinct, and each necessary for the balance of Nature itself.
The four elements rule the world, shaping it as they see fit. There are people who worry that the world is slowly being destroyed by humans. That Nature cannot defend itself.
Not quite true.
Ask the people in Pompeii, covered in hardened lava and ashes if Nature cannot defend itself. Ask the people in California who've lost homes and loved ones to radical earthquakes if Nature cannot defend itself. Ask an old, rugged fisherman who's seen seventy foot waves break apart solid boats like they were mere children's toys if Nature cannot defend itself. Ask anyone who has seen the devastation of drought or monsoon if Nature cannot defend itself.
Nature can defend itself just fine.
And it will be here long after every living creature dies out. It is infinitely strong, and filled with both compassion and bitterness. Treat it accordingly, and it might respond in kind. But never expect to beat it for long. It'll catch up. Nature is one bad mother.
So being, Nature is the strongest thing known to all kind. The elements unweilding, unbending. Almost unnerving with their strength.
Earth. Air. Fire. Water. The four elements of Nature.
Not true.
There are five elements.
One element that is always left out, always ignored and taken for granted. Yet, it is the strongest of them all. It makes all others pale in its brilliance. It is the epitome of beauty, and wise men hold it to their hearts like a war medal. For without this element, the human race would not have survived for very long.
The fifth element.
Spirit.
Where would any living thing be without the spirit? The spirit to win, the spirit to know, the spirit to love. The spirit to live. The world is nothing without it. Nature is dead without its spirit.
And right now, in the small, dark city of Odaiba, the human spirit is about to show itself, and earn its place as rightful heir to the throne of the animal kingdom. Mightier than the strongest lion, it is.
Fifteen minutes of fame. That's how the saying goes. But these children's moment of glory will not be recorded for other's to see. They will not be on the ten o'clock news, nor will they be on the front of some well known newspaper. They will be nameless, and faceless. They will never be known as the heroes that they are.
But they will be magnificent, and their fight shall shock the most important of all witnesses, and leave it in awe. The sheer might of their spirit to survive will overwhelm all odds, and though they are not Chosen Children, not "Digidestined," they will be mightier than any prophesied saviors.
They will be glorious, and Nature itself shall be forever impressed by this wondrous moment in human history.
"Pretty, pretty... " Trikmon crooned, his long fingers gliding through Mimi's pink hair.
He lounged in his twisted throne, a design of his own warped mind. The girl was kneeling next to him, face still detached, eyes entranced. The digimon smiled just barely, so only a fraction of his front teeth showed, not allowing for the view of their pointed, bottom ends. He looked almost human. He looked almost... handsome, with the stolen, pale face of a long ago dead boy. He turned in his seat, so that he could lean down, his face near Mimi's.
"I don't have any pretty things like you," he whispered, his voice like a squeaking, rusty wheel. He leaned forward, brushing his cold, dead lips against her forehead. "I think I'll keep you. Until you bore me, anyway."
In the corner of the room, huddled in the dark and tangled in thread, Gennai cringed for the girl's sake.
A noise outside brought Trikmon's attention away from Mimi. His head tilted up, painfully light blue eyes narrowing for a moment, before a feral grin oozed across his face.
"They're here," he sang, sounding disgustingly delighted. "Joy. I was
beginning to think I wouldn't have any fun tonight.
"Let's see how many of your precious Digidestined get through, Gennai,"
he looked at the sickly man in the corner. "Odds are, more than half of
them will be wiped out by my Ghastlymon before even one of them makes it
through the door."
"They'll make it," Gennai stated, confident as he could be in his bad condition. He believed in those children. He always had, he always would. No matter how dire the situation, he would never doubt they'd overcome. "They'll all make it."
"Well, let's find out, hmm?" Pointed teeth flashed in the dark. "I do hope they don't disappoint. I would hate it if they all died before I could play with any of them personally. Where's the fun in that? Right, my pet?" One long finger slid down Mimi's cheek.
In the corner, Gennai shuddered.
It started almost like a cheap horror movie. The Digidestined and their Gijinka digimon in the dark, torches in hand, nothing but blackness and the building near them. And then, after a long moment of intense silence, it all exploded, as a swarm of Ghastlymon swept out of the building.
The small band of friends were surrounded in mere moments, and in no time were in the fight of their lives. Acid flew, and fire scorched, as human and digimon alike battled for survival.
But it was really no contest. A mere twenty-two against hundreds. Was there any chance for victory with those odds? Slowly, but surely, the group began to fall against themselves, desperately trying to not trip over one another, but still protect all. It was useless, though. Huddled together, they were just an easier target.
And thus ended the great lives of the Digidestined, and their digimon.
... Or it would have, if Tai had not suddenly raised his torch, and shouted loud into the air, "NOW!"
It was as if the world itself shook off its axis. Like a stampede of light, countless children and teenagers stormed into view, torches held tightly in their hands. They shouted and cheered, cursed and insulted. With the all encompassing wrath of avenging angels, they swooped down and attacked the Ghastlymon with no apprehension, and no mercy.
And suddenly the tide turned. The children of Odaiba, banded together by their desperate yearning for their families, fought with one mind, and one heart. The whole was greater than the sum of its parts; when one child seemed to be in trouble, two helped out. They would have no martyrs in this fight.
But that didn't mean there wasn't a few snags here and there. Amidst the chaos, the Digidestined did their best to make their way to the building. Even with the assistance, though, they were still struggling to get there. Some more so than others.
"Get away!" Sora demanded, swinging her torch wildly at a Ghastlymon that had tried to attack her from behind. It shattered into bits of data, but as soon as it disappeared, it seemed that two had decided to make up for its failure. Sora stumbled out of the way, barely missing being hit on her legs with acid.
"Sora!" Biyomon cried, twenty feet away with her own problems. She dodged once more, then struck out, hitting the offending Ghastlymon that had been aiming for her head. "Sora, hang on! I'm coming!"
However, it seemed that Fate had other plans. Biyomon tried to make a mad dash to her partner, but a retreating Ghastlymon jumped into her way. With an infuriated grunt, she jammed her torch at it, setting it aflame. It quivered for a desperately needed moment, and disintegrated.
The distraction, Biyomon realized, cost her more than she thought. Sora was on the ground, frantically kicking off one of her shoes, which was now smoking from the light coating of acid it received. While she was saving her foot, though, she was now wide open to any attack the two Ghastlymon near her had in store.
There was no way Biyomon would reach her in time.
But she ran, anyway.
"Sora!"
The redhead tried to shuffle away on the ground, her torch held in front of her like a shield. It wouldn't help. Biyomon knew that. Her heart twisted.
"Sora!!"
The redhead shouted for them to stay away from her, trying to show no fear in the face of death. She'd still die. Biyomon knew that. Her emotions raged.
"Sora!!!"
The two Ghastlymon quivered, preparing for the fatal blow. The redhead closed her eyes. Biyomon's feelings stormed and pressed against one another, bending and cracking. She couldn't lose her partner. She couldn't lose her best friend. She couldn't. She wouldn't! Her emotions flailed like a hurricane, spiraled like a tornado, exploded like a-
"Giga Tempest!"
From the bowels of only God knows where, a concentrated bout of rage-turned-wind formed, collecting both Ghastlymon in front of Sora, and shattering them like they were made of glass.
When Biyomon finally reached her partner, Sora was looking at her with shock.
"Biyo, you just... " her voice trailed, too startled to finish.
"Couldn't let them hurt you," Biyomon explained shortly. "Cause, ya know... "
A smile ticked on Sora's mouth for a moment, a long ago conversation between two friends running through her head. "I know... "
Biyomon nodded, relieved. "Let's go."
"Are we there yet?" Yolei muttered.
"A few more blocks," Wormmon stated, holding her hand tightly. "I think."
"You're not sure?" she looked down at him, taken aback.
"Well, I know this is the way," he answered, not looking up at her. "But... I don't know how much farther."
She stared a few more moments, before sighing. "Oh, well. Not much we can do but walk some more."
"Mmm, hmm," he agreed. Wormmon looked up at her questioning then. "You like Ken-chan, right?"
"Hn?" Yolei blushed, face burning. "I-I guess so. Why do you want to know?"
"Cause Ken-chan wanted me to protect you," he replied, matter-of-factly. "And he never wants me to look after anything unless it's really important. So, you must be really important," he concluded.
"Oh," she said, blushing even harder. Really important. To Ken? Oh, indeed.
"Is he important to you?" Wormmon asked.
"I... " Boy, did this kid know how to ask the tough ones, or what? Yolei bit her lip and sighed once more, deciding to simply be truthful, instead of stuttering girlishly. "Yeah. Yeah, he's very important to me. Very."
"Well, that's good," the boy said, seriously. "I don't like it when people treat Ken-chan badly."
"I wouldn't do that," Yolei insisted, shaking her head.
"I know that," Wormmon shrugged. "That's why I like you. You're strange, but Ken-chan likes you, and you like Ken-chan. So, it's okay. Okay?" He turned to her, and smiled.
She found it infectious, and grinned in return. "Okay."
He couldn't find him anywhere. Where could he have disappeared to? He wasn't that small! Oh, God. Oh, God, please, let him be all right.
"Patamon! Patamon, answer me!"
Please, let him be all right.
He was going to die. Oh, yes, Yamato Ishida was definitely a dead man.
The blonde ran as fast as he could to the building, determined more than anything to get inside and destroy anything and anyone that got in his way. Mimi was in there. He wanted her back. Trikmon was in there. He wanted him dead.
But there was no getting in when one was flanked on all sides by four Ghastlymon. Matt tossed his torch between his two hands, blue eyes darting back and forth, waiting for one to strike.
"Step away from him."
The command was cold, with no room for argument. And the voice was familiar to Matt. With red eyes blazing, and white, blue streaked hair swaying in the late summer wind, Gabumon stared down the Ghastlymon.
"I said to step away from him," he repeated, coldly. " So, do it. Or I'll force you to do so."
The Ghastlymon ignored the warning, going back to Matt, taking slow, slurping steps towards him, until they were just out of his torch's reach.
Gabumon frowned. "As you wish... Icicle Lance!"
The air erupted with the sharp sound of cracking, as a stream of ice formed, splitting off into four pieces, hitting each Ghastlymon, and freezing them to a bitter death. Matt could feel frost clinging to his hair.
"Are you okay?" Gabumon asked, walking to his friend.
"Yeah," Matt nodded. Then, he narrowed his eyes and shouted, "Did you have to wait till they almost killed me?"
Gabumon blinked. "I was waiting for the right time."
"Screw the drama!" Matt rolled his eyes. "The instant you can do something like... like that, you don't wait for the right time. The soonest you can use it is the right time!"
"Ah," Gabumon nodded, sagely. "I have it."
"Good. Now let's get to that damned building."
Where was he? One moment, he was at his side, fighting. The next, he was in a thick crowd of children he didn't know, and none of them looked remotely like his missing friend. Oh, please, let him be safe. He had to be safe, he just had to be.
"T.K.! Where are you? I'm over here, T.K.!"
He had to be safe. He had to be.
"Veemon!" Davis shouted, panicked at the sight of his friend on the ground. "Veemon, move!"
Truth was, Veemon hadn't stopped moving. He just wasn't moving quick enough. He had tripped to the ground while dodging an acid shot, and his torch had snuffed out in the fall. Now all he could do was squirm and shuffle, avoiding being hit while he tried to get up.
And Davis, who so desperately wanted to help his partner, was too far away, and too busy defending himself and Jun, who was swinging away quite a bit herself.
"Veemon, c'mon!" Davis encouraged. "Get up! I'll be right there!"
Yeah, right. Not with the group of Ghastlymon that were surrounding him and Jun, he wasn't. And Veemon was well aware of that. He dodged another glob of acid, wincing as it hissed into the cement. This was not good. He didn't want to die.
Another dodge. This one a little too close for comfort.
Veemon scrambled. He really didn't want to die. He liked living. He was far too comfortable with the whole living process. And he didn't want to leave his friends. The other digimon. And Davis. Goofy, hotheaded Davis, who was also the most loyal human being one could ever possibly meet. With him, you had a friend for life. And the thought of losing that friendship scared Veemon to the core.
Dodge again. He discarded his damned jacket, feeling a strange heat radiating off of it, and knowing it was burning.
And what would Davis' reaction be to Veemon's death? The digimon used to always kid his partner in their half hearted squabbles, saying, "You'll miss me when I'm gone!" Davis would usually roll his eyes or dismiss the comment with a snort. But once, just this one time, he looked right into Veemon's eyes, and said with the most sobering of voices, "Yes. Yes, I will."
"Veemon, don't give up!" Davis shouted from his position. "I'll help you!"
Help? Yes, they both did that. Helping each other when they made mistakes. They did that often. But it was okay to make a mistake, when you had a friend right there who would help you fix it.
Dodge, dammit! Dodge!
Not being there for his friends, for Davis. That seemed so heart breakeningly unbearable. How could life be so cruel as to end too soon, so that those who still had it would have to mourn the person who lost it? Veemon didn't want to leave this life yet. Not when he had so many important friends here. Not when Davis wanted him to stay. Dammit. He wasn't going anywhere.
No more dodging.
"V Destroyer!"
Like a juggernaut, a beam of yellow flew, decimating the Ghastlymon in front of him, and still flying forward with the determination of an out of control train, annihilating the group of Ghastlymon attacking Davis and Jun.
The girl's mouth quirked. "Well, that was impressive."
"Whoo, yeah!" Davis whooped, pumping his fist in the air proudly. "Vena, Vidi, Veemon, baby!"
Loyal. Veemon smiled, standing up. His friend seemed so odd, but he was oh, so loyal.
Amazingly enough, Ken and Hawkmon were already at the entrance of the building when Matt and Gabumon arrived. The unlikely duo had simply paired off without a question in the beginning.
"Should we wait for the others?" the blue haired boy asked.
"No, let's just go in," Matt shook his head. "We don't how long it'll take for them to get here, and we might not have any time to waste."
Ken nodded in understanding.
"Wait!" Izzy shouted, Tentomon close behind. He skidded to a halt in front of them, slightly out of breath. "You're not going in there without me."
"Us," Tentomon corrected.
"Then let's proceed," Hawkmon said. "We won't do anyone any good loitering out here."
"Sakura Slash!" Everyone flinched, as a wave of pink energy flew, neatly obliterating a Ghastlymon that had been coming up behind Izzy. With a scowl on her pretty countenance, Palmon stormed up. "There's no way I'm not going in with you. Mimi's in there, and so am I!" She made her way past them with long, determined strides, and entered the building. Without turning to them, she shouted, "Well? You coming, or not?"
"Right," Matt said, eagerly striding in, his partner at his side. Next was Izzy, who brushed past Ken with a stiff grunt, followed by a sighing Tentomon. Frowning, Ken entered, looking back at Hawkmon, who motioned for him to go on ahead.
Before going inside himself, Hawkmon looked around at the fighting. The children of Odaiba were doing amazingly well. They fought like a team, for they all had the same goal; getting their families back. God willing, they would do just that.
"Wish me luck, Yolei," Hawkmon whispered, then disappeared into the building.
No one noticed what happened a few minutes after that. How a young man of the age of 11, with deep green eyes and dark brown hair walked into the building, and how young man near his age with golden hair and skin followed him. But if they had, they might have thought that those two would help tilt the tide to their side. That they would be the determining factor in the game.
But they would be wrong.
Next Chapter: Small Miracles
