There'll Always Be Hope: Part One

There'll Always Be Hope: Part One

By: Sakura

Ding-Dong!

"Coming!" called Jun. She opened the door. Outside the door stood a tall, blond teen, about sixteen-years of age, with clear blue eyes. "Hiya, T.K.," said Jun. "Come on in." She left T.K. in the living room, then went to a separate room across the hall. "Kari," she called. "Your friend's here."

T.K. sat down on the sofa and waited for a few moments. Kari poked her head through the doorway. Seeing T.K., she entered the room. "Hi, T.K.," she said.

Standing up, T.K. walked over to Kari, and gave her a big hug. Kari smiled, then with a little laugh, she said, "You're early, T.K." Glancing at the clock on the wall, she added, "An hour early."

T.K. smiled sheepishly. "I just couldn't stand the thought of being away from you any longer," he replied.

"Are you sure that's the only reason?" Kari asked teasingly. "Maybe you just couldn't stand the thought of me being with Davis."

T.K. laughed. It was well known now that he and Davis had always been in competition with each other for anything that had to do with Kari. From who sat next to her to who would be the one to protect her. "Well," he said. "I didn't want to give Davis anymore time to make his moves on you."

Kari smiled sweetly at T.K. and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "Don't be silly," she said. "You're the only one for me, T.K." Lightly pulling him closer to her using his shirt collar, Kari shook her finger at him. "And don't you ever forget it."

"I won't," replied T.K., with a smile. Kari let go of his collar and T.K. nearly fell over. Straightening up, he looked into Kari's eyes, sparkling with laughter. He wanted to kiss her, and he would have if Davis hadn't appeared.

Davis walked into the living room. "Hey, T.K., how's it going?"

"Fine," answered T.K. He turned to Kari. "Are you two finished your project yet?"

Kari nodded. "You two can go catch your movie then," said Davis.

Kari looked at Davis. "Are you sure? The project-"

"I'll bring it to school on Monday," interrupted Davis. He smiled wanly. "You guys better get going, you don't want to be late…and…uh…have fun." He opened the outside door for Kari.

"Thanks a lot, Davis," Kari said, with a bright smile. "You're the best! See you later." She walked out the door. T.K. waved goodbye to Davis and followed Kari outside.

Davis slowly closed the door. "Yeah," he muttered to himself with a sigh. "The best. But after T.K., of course."

~*~*~*~*~*~

The sun had set, and dusk was rolling in when T.K. was walking Kari home after the movie had ended. On their way to the Kamiya Residence, they passed by a park, with a small playground a few feet away, where they stopped by for a few minutes.

They sat down on a nearby bench. Kari rested her head on T.K.'s shoulder and he had his arm around her. Neither of them was in a hurry to leave. Nor did either of them speak. They simply wanted to enjoy the peaceful moment.

"You know, Kari," said T.K., breaking the silence. "Maybe we should go back, or your parents will kill m-" He stopped when Kari lightly pulled his head down and kissed him. They kissed for several minutes before slowly pulling apart.

Afterward, Kari looked up at him and smiled amiably. "You were saying?" she asked.

T.K. slipped his arms around Kari's waist and kissed her forehead. "I'm in no hurry to leave, are you?" They both laughed and lapsed back into a comfortable silence. They watched the dusky sky slowly turn into a midnight blue.

Suddenly, the sky abruptly changed colours. It went from a midnight blue to a flashing purple. Both DigiDestined stood up immediately at this sudden change. The sky was getting brighter by the minute. "What's going on?" asked Kari.

"I don't know." T.K. replied. The light seemed to be emanating outward from a source located directly above the playground. This point was most likely the center, and the light surrounding it was nearly white. From that point, a rather warped hole appeared, opening up. A figure slowly floated toward the ground. It landed with a slight thud, in a crouch position. Its head was bent forward, completely hidden from view, and it's arms and wings were crossed over. A long black staff was clutched in its right hand.

T.K. and Kari looked at each other. They were both mystified. Who was this character?

The figure lifted up its head, it's boring into them. It was a Digimon, and, by the looks of it, a virus type. He had long, silky, charcoal-shaded hair that fell down his back and rested on his black wings. On his face was a light grey mask. His eyes, visible through the mask, were a darker shade of grey, almost black. He stood up, his staff at his side, and his wings stretched out. His eyes never left the two DigiDestined. He continued to glare at them, yet never spoke a word.

Kari had had a light grip on T.K.'s arm when the Digimon had appeared, but now she tightened her grip. "Ow," muttered T.K. softly.

"Sorry," whispered Kari. She loosened her grip. "Who is that Digimon?" she asked him. Studying the Digimon, T.K. was surprised when he realized that it looked a great deal like Angemon, only much darker and slightly taller. Instead of a cross pattern on his mask, he had an "X". Not to mention that his eyes were visible through the mask.

The Digimon took a step toward them. T.K. stepped back, an arm stretched out in front of Kari, and made her step back, too. The Digimon smirked. "So, DigiDestined," he started, in a booming tone. "You wish to know who I am?" He continued to step slowly towards them, and T.K. continued to step back, with Kari behind him. The Digimon stopped for a moment. "I am DarkAngemon," he said, introducing himself. "And," he added with a sneer. "Your darkest nightmare come to life."

DarkAngemon swung his staff forward, pointing it at T.K. "Dark Energy Blast!" From the tip of the staff, a small energy ball formed, growing bigger, until it was the size of a tennis ball. He fired it. The orb headed straight toward T.K.

"Watch out!" cried Kari. Before T.K. had a chance to react, Kari pushed him to the ground. T.K. hit the grass and looked up. He saw the orb catch Kari in her midriff, forcefully pushing her all the way to the playground. She hit the post of the swing set and slumped forward. She didn't move.

"Kari!" T.K. ran over to Kari. He placed his hands on her shoulders and shook her gently. "Kari," T.K. said. "Are you okay? Speak to me!" He held her tight in his arms. "Come on, Kari," he whispered fiercely. "Please, wake up."

Kari moaned softly and opened her eyes. She looked directly into T.K.'s worried eyes. "I'm okay," she said softly. "Really." T.K. nodded, a relieved expression on his face.

Kari slowly got up. She suddenly winced with pain and fell forward. T.K. caught her before she hit the ground. "You're hurt," he said. "I gotta get you out of here." He scooped Kari up and carried her. Kari lay her head on T.K.'s shoulder and drifted into unconsciousness. Hearing a branch snap behind him, T.K. turned around. A few meters away stood DarkAngemon.

DarkAngemon smirked at T.K. "So, you forgot about me already. That really hurts my feelings."

T.K. glared at DarkAngemon. "It's not like you have any!" T.K. put Kari down gently on the ground, then faced the Digimon again. "Leave Kari alone!" he cried.

The dark Digimon laughed. "I had no intentions of hurting your little friend," he said. An evil glint shone through his eyes. "Yet." DarkAngemon clenched his fists and cried out another attack, "Blinding Punch!" With that said, DarkAngemon flew straight at T.K.

DarkAngemon's fist made contact with T.K.'s jaw. A burst of blinding light ensued. Another mask moved down over the Digimon's face to shield his eyes. After the light diminished, the second mask retracted back. DarkAngemon looked down and saw T.K. lying very still on the ground. He smiled evilly. Time to finish-

A sound came from inside his mask, something that signified he had to return to the Digi-World. "Blast it!" he thought. "But I'm so close to finishing off the boy." The signal beeped more insistently. He had to wait. He had to follow the plan that had been made. DarkAngemon looked back down at T.K. and smirked. It didn't look like the kid was going anywhere anytime soon. He'll have his chance again.

DarkAngemon looked up to the sky. He spread his black wings and ascended into the air. DarkAngemon took one last look at the DigiDestined. "Next time," he thought, "Next time we meet, T.K., you won't be so lucky." The Digimon flew to the mouth of the space warp and disappeared through it. The hole disappeared and the night air turned back to a midnight blue.

After a long time, Kari awoke, slowly opening her eyelids. Looking around, she couldn't see or even feel DarkAngemon's presence anymore. But then again, she couldn't even see T.K. Using a nearby tree trunk for support, Kari slowly stood up. "T.K.?" she called, with uneasiness. "T.K.? T.K.!" Franticness was creeping into her tone.

Ignoring the pain she felt, Kari stumbled about, in search of T.K. "T.K.," she cried. "Where are you?" Hearing someone call her, Kari whirled around. A fist seemed to clench around her heart as Kari saw T.K. lying motionless on the ground. It was T.K. that was calling her. Kari ran over to him and helped T.K. to sit up.

T.K. tried struggling out of her grasp for a moment, then sat still. "Kari?" he asked. "Is that you?"

Kari nodded. "Yes. It is. What happened to you? Are you okay?"

T.K. shook his head. "My head really hurts." Rubbing his head, T.K. opened his eyes and looked up at Kari. "Um, Kari?" he said.

"Yes?"

"Where are you?"

Kari looked at T.K. quizzically. "I'm right here, T.K.," she answered, squeezing his hand lightly. "Why do you ask?"

"I…I know you're here," T.K. said, his body shaking. "But I can't see you!"

"He sounds frightened," thought Kari. "Don't be silly," she said soothingly, trying to calm him. She held up two fingers in front of T.K.'s face. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

T.K. blinked several times and rubbed his eyes. His grip tightened on Kari's hand. "Kari, I'm not kidding!" he cried. "I can't see anything!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

The door slowly swung open.

Both T.K. and Kari tumbled into the foyer and lay in a crumpled heap. They had had a hard time getting to the Takaishi Residence. Kari had told him that she would help him home and that she would stay with him, for his mother was out of town and he would be all alone.

Kari had entertained thoughts of going to see a doctor about T.K.'s eyes, but what would she say? An evil Digimon from another world came and took his sight from him? She shook her head, after all, who would believe that?

Many people on the street had stopped Kari when they saw her half-supporting, half-dragging T.K. on their way to his home and asked her what had happened. She didn't like it, but she had to make up a silly excuse that her boyfriend had an odd habit of falling asleep anywhere and wouldn't wake up for hours. They didn't look like they bought the excuse, but they left the two alone after that.

T.K. was having a miserable time coping with the fact that he had lost his vision. And he was also mad at himself for letting Kari get hurt, even after she had assured him several times that it was her own fault. Kari stood up and flipped the light switch. She then helped T.K. up and helped him hobble toward the sofa in the living room. Looking around, Kari spotted the phone. Who was she going to call first? Tai or Matt? She picked up the phone and tapped in a few digits.

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Where are you, Kari?" thought Tai, staring out into the night sky from his balcony. It was well past midnight and Kari still wasn't back from her date with T.K. She hadn't even called. This wasn't like her at all. Mrs. Kamiya was worried sick and Mr. Kamiya was ready to kill someone, namely T.K. Tai had spent most of the night reassuring them that T.K. wouldn't do anything to harm Kari and she would be back before they knew it.

Ring! Ring!

"The phone!" cried Tai. He ran into his room, tripped on the doorway and fell on his face. Hearing the phone ring again, Tai scrambled up, ran into the hallway, and grabbed the phone before his parents could. "Hello?" he said, panting softly. "Kamiya Residence."

"Tai?" came a timid, and rather tired-sounding, voice.

"Kari?" he asked. "Kari! Where are you? Dad's gonna kill T-"

"Tai, listen," she interrupted. "I need your help. Can you please come to T.K.'s home?"

"What?" he said. "Now? But it's way past mid-"

"Tai, please!" It sounded like Kari was about to cry. "Please, Tai. I need your help. I…I don't know what to do…"

"Don't worry, I'll be there right away." he promised.

"Thanks, Tai," Kari whispered softly. She hung up the phone.

Tai stood there for what seemed like ages, staring at the phone. What could have happened to them? He placed the phone back in the cradle. Tai ran into his room, grabbed his jacket and slipped into it. He flung open the front door and was about to leave when he heard someone behind him.

"Tai?"

Tai turned around. Mrs. Kamiya was in the hallway with Mr. Kamiya behind her. It was his mother who had called him. "Where are you going, Tai?" She gasped. "Did something happen to Kari?"

Tai shook his head, a smile plastered on his face. "Err…no. Her friend got sick and she went to stay with them to sort of…well…take care of them. Isn't she such a great friend? I'm just going to go over there and…uh…keep her company."

Mr. Kamiya nodded. "Give us a call when you get there."

Tai nodded. "I will. Bye!" he called, running out the door. Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya stepped outside and stood by the railing. They watched their son run down the street at a very fast pace. He turned a corner and was out of sight.