Chapter 6
"So this is the cliff you meant?" Yolei said, glancing up at Hawkmon, who was hovering at her shoulder.
"Most indubitably," Hawkmon replied. "I've heard all sorts of unpleasant rumors about this locale in the last few hours. The entire Digital World is buzzing with stories about strange disappearances, and even tales of..." The little Digimon flapped closer, as if sharing a deep, dark secret. "Insane Digimon, coming from this area to attack others with no provocation," he said softly in her ear, looking nervously about them.
Yolei sighed. "I'm afraid that the rumors are probably true," she said unhappily. "Well, the best we can do is to destroy the virus and get rid of its influence once and for all. Ken?"
"Ready," Ken said with a nod to her. "Wormon, how about you?"
"I'm ready if you are, Ken," the diminutive insect Digimon agreed.
"Great, then Digivolve!" the humans chorused, and held up their D3's.
"Hawkmon, Digivolve to...Aquilamon!"
"Wormon, Digivolve to...Stingmon!"
"Perfecto!" Yolei exclaimed, and took a few steps toward the cliff. "Let's go!"
Ken frowned. "Um, Yolei, shouldn't we check the cliff first, to be sure it's safe?"
"Oh, right," Yolei said, and stretched out a toe carefully over the ground, then slowly set it down.
Nothing happened.
She took a few more steps out onto the cliff. Still nothing. "Okay, I think it's all right to come out here," Yolei called over her shoulder. Ken joined her, and they walked out to the edge of the cliff and looked over.
The side of the cliff was honeycombed with holes, and dark mist slithered in and out of them like giant, hazy worms through a rotten apple. Yolei grimaced, and Ken put a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's destroy this stuff," Yolei said, softly, but with anger and a hint of fear throbbing behind every word.
"I couldn't agree more," Stingmon buzzed, flying out over the edge of the cliff and blasting away at the virus. "SPIKING STRIKE!" He sent the pink energy blade flying like a missile, instead of daring danger by actually touching the virus. It was a wise move; the virus hissed like water on a hot frying pan and shrank away, large chunks of it dissolving into thin air.
"GRAND HORN!"
The virus melted away under the attacks; it seemed that even though there was a lot of it there, it wasn't very strong.
"Keep going, Stingmon!" Ken yelled, clenching his fists. "Don't give it a chance to recover!"
"Right! SPIKING STRIKE!" More virus faded into oblivion.
"If this keeps up," Yolei exclaimed, with a happy grin, "we'll be done here in no time!"
"I don't know," Ken mused, frowning. "This seems too easy, somehow. We'd better stay on our guard."
"Whatever you say," Yolei agreed. "But still, I think we're doing really well!"
"Yeah..." Ken murmured. Something was troubling him, niggling at the edge of his mind, but he wasn't sure what. Whatever it was, though, he had a bad feeling about it...
In the silent secretarial office of the music hall, which was closed for the afternoon, an abandoned laptop computer began to hum softly, as a strangely-shaped window appeared on the screen. Only a Digidestined would have recognized this window for what it was; a Digiport.
Twenty minutes before, this screen had glowed, sparked, and belched out a mass of black fog, which had quickly wafted out the window and into the street. Now, it shone with light again, but this time, what came out was not a fog.
"Where is she...?" Eyes that had once been a clear blue looked out the window to the street. "There..." An unpleasant smile spread across unwilling lips. "Hello, Kari..."
That wasn't the only Digiport opening in that area. A few minutes later, a trio of familiar forms materialized in the air in Izzy's room, then fell to the floor.
"Oof!"
"Ow!"
"Hey!"
"Davis?" Sora said, looking up from where she sat on the bed. "Davis! Cody! You're here!" She paused, confused. "Patamon? What are you doing here? Where's TK...oh, my gosh! What happened to you?" She goggled, shocked, at Davis' blood-streaked face.
Davis reached up self-consciously to touch his face; his nose was bleeding again.
"TK happened to me," he said bitterly. "I knew he was no good..."
"What? What do you mean, 'TK happened'?" Izzy blurted. "Don't tell me TK did that to you!"
Joe, who had just arrived, looked mildly ill at the sight of the blood. However, purpose flared in his eyes.
"Sora, where's your family's first aid kit?"
"In the hall closet," Sora said quickly, and Joe hurried off to get it. "Cody, this has got to be another of Davis' whoppers, right? I mean, TK?!"
"I hate to say it, but Davis is telling the truth," Cody said bleakly, rubbing his stomach. "TK went off to the lake while the rest of us were trying to communicate with you. When he came back, he was berserk! He hit Davis when he tried to stop him from going back to the real world...and me and Patamon, too, when we tried to help." Cody sighed. "I don't know what happened to him, but I don't like it one bit..."
"He went nuts, that's what!" Davis insisted. "It had to happen eventually-"
"The virus!" Izzy exclaimed. "That must be it! He was attacked by the virus!"
"What?" Davis and Cody chorused, confused.
"Whaddaya mean, the virus?" Davis added. "That thing that attacked our D-Terminals? How could that make TK go off his rocker?"
"It attacks living beings and twists their emotions around upside-down and inside-out," Sora said dryly. "Not to mention takes over their bodies and goes...on...killing sprees... Oh, man, TK..." Her face began to crumple as the situation hit her. "He's such a sweet kid...I can't stand to think about what this must be doing to him!"
"We don't know that he's even 'conscious'," Izzy said matter-of-factly. "For all we know, he's blacked out or something while the virus is in control."
Sora shook her head, biting her lip. "But maybe not," she said, very quietly, and blinked back tears. Suddenly, she looked up, thinking of something even worse. "What's Kari going to do?" she exclaimed. "What if-"
"Kari!" Davis yelled, sitting up very straight. "That's why we came so fast! TK went through the D-Port! For all we know, he's on the loose in Tokyo right now!"
"Oh, no," Izzy groaned. "I can't believe this..."
"What now?" Davis said suspiciously. He frowned. "Izzy, please tell me Kari is around the house somewhere, where we can keep an eye on her."
"Um..." Izzy said nervously.
"Okay, tell me that she's somewhere safe!" Davis insisted.
"Ah..." Joe said, coming in with the first-aid kit.
"At least tell me she's got someone *with* her!!" Davis yelled, beginning to panic. Sora shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears. "I can't believe this!" Davis bellowed, staring furiously at the older Digidestined.
"Here, tilt your head back and pinch your nose with this," Joe said calmly, giving Davis a pad of gauze. Davis glared at him, not taking it. "Look, Davis, you're not going anywhere until that bleeding has stopped," Joe said with surprising firmness, "so you might as well get it done with now."
"Oh, whatever," Davis said, snatching the pad and clamping it over his nose. "Bud da biddit by dose stobs beeding, I'b goig aftuh huw!"
"Huh?" Izzy said, for once in his life being the utterly confused one.
"He said he's going after Kari the minute his nose stops bleeding," Joe translated.
"I'm not arguing with him," Sora said firmly. "Kari's going to need some help, fast...and so is TK."
"I'm going with you!" Patamon persisted.
"Fide by be," Davis agreed.
"Cody, you can go find Yolei and Ken and help them," Joe said. "They're destroying the main hive of the virus in the Digital World."
"Right!" Cody said, getting up and holding up his D3. "I'm ready!"
"Good," Joe said, nodding.
"Where's Tai?" Davis said curiously, noticing his hero's absence.
"The Internet," Izzy said offhandedly, going back to his computer. "He's battling the virus."
"Shouldn't we check on him?" Cody said, a bit worriedly. Izzy shrugged a shoulder, obviously confident in his friend.
"Tai can take care of himself," he said calmly. "We've got more pressing issues to concentrate on right now."
Over on the bed, Sora sighed heavily, looking at the wall. She had a really bad feeling, had had one ever since she'd watched Tai disappear from sight into the computer. Her stomach churned, with a weird feeling that reminded her of the time she'd gotten a bloody nose of her own at soccer practice and had swallowed a lot of blood rather than get it on her uniform...a sick, empty feeling. Remembering, she gulped, hoping that this whole plan would work...
*I just *know* something's wrong, whatever Izzy thinks. Hold on, Tai...hold on...*
"So this is the cliff you meant?" Yolei said, glancing up at Hawkmon, who was hovering at her shoulder.
"Most indubitably," Hawkmon replied. "I've heard all sorts of unpleasant rumors about this locale in the last few hours. The entire Digital World is buzzing with stories about strange disappearances, and even tales of..." The little Digimon flapped closer, as if sharing a deep, dark secret. "Insane Digimon, coming from this area to attack others with no provocation," he said softly in her ear, looking nervously about them.
Yolei sighed. "I'm afraid that the rumors are probably true," she said unhappily. "Well, the best we can do is to destroy the virus and get rid of its influence once and for all. Ken?"
"Ready," Ken said with a nod to her. "Wormon, how about you?"
"I'm ready if you are, Ken," the diminutive insect Digimon agreed.
"Great, then Digivolve!" the humans chorused, and held up their D3's.
"Hawkmon, Digivolve to...Aquilamon!"
"Wormon, Digivolve to...Stingmon!"
"Perfecto!" Yolei exclaimed, and took a few steps toward the cliff. "Let's go!"
Ken frowned. "Um, Yolei, shouldn't we check the cliff first, to be sure it's safe?"
"Oh, right," Yolei said, and stretched out a toe carefully over the ground, then slowly set it down.
Nothing happened.
She took a few more steps out onto the cliff. Still nothing. "Okay, I think it's all right to come out here," Yolei called over her shoulder. Ken joined her, and they walked out to the edge of the cliff and looked over.
The side of the cliff was honeycombed with holes, and dark mist slithered in and out of them like giant, hazy worms through a rotten apple. Yolei grimaced, and Ken put a hand on her shoulder.
"Let's destroy this stuff," Yolei said, softly, but with anger and a hint of fear throbbing behind every word.
"I couldn't agree more," Stingmon buzzed, flying out over the edge of the cliff and blasting away at the virus. "SPIKING STRIKE!" He sent the pink energy blade flying like a missile, instead of daring danger by actually touching the virus. It was a wise move; the virus hissed like water on a hot frying pan and shrank away, large chunks of it dissolving into thin air.
"GRAND HORN!"
The virus melted away under the attacks; it seemed that even though there was a lot of it there, it wasn't very strong.
"Keep going, Stingmon!" Ken yelled, clenching his fists. "Don't give it a chance to recover!"
"Right! SPIKING STRIKE!" More virus faded into oblivion.
"If this keeps up," Yolei exclaimed, with a happy grin, "we'll be done here in no time!"
"I don't know," Ken mused, frowning. "This seems too easy, somehow. We'd better stay on our guard."
"Whatever you say," Yolei agreed. "But still, I think we're doing really well!"
"Yeah..." Ken murmured. Something was troubling him, niggling at the edge of his mind, but he wasn't sure what. Whatever it was, though, he had a bad feeling about it...
In the silent secretarial office of the music hall, which was closed for the afternoon, an abandoned laptop computer began to hum softly, as a strangely-shaped window appeared on the screen. Only a Digidestined would have recognized this window for what it was; a Digiport.
Twenty minutes before, this screen had glowed, sparked, and belched out a mass of black fog, which had quickly wafted out the window and into the street. Now, it shone with light again, but this time, what came out was not a fog.
"Where is she...?" Eyes that had once been a clear blue looked out the window to the street. "There..." An unpleasant smile spread across unwilling lips. "Hello, Kari..."
That wasn't the only Digiport opening in that area. A few minutes later, a trio of familiar forms materialized in the air in Izzy's room, then fell to the floor.
"Oof!"
"Ow!"
"Hey!"
"Davis?" Sora said, looking up from where she sat on the bed. "Davis! Cody! You're here!" She paused, confused. "Patamon? What are you doing here? Where's TK...oh, my gosh! What happened to you?" She goggled, shocked, at Davis' blood-streaked face.
Davis reached up self-consciously to touch his face; his nose was bleeding again.
"TK happened to me," he said bitterly. "I knew he was no good..."
"What? What do you mean, 'TK happened'?" Izzy blurted. "Don't tell me TK did that to you!"
Joe, who had just arrived, looked mildly ill at the sight of the blood. However, purpose flared in his eyes.
"Sora, where's your family's first aid kit?"
"In the hall closet," Sora said quickly, and Joe hurried off to get it. "Cody, this has got to be another of Davis' whoppers, right? I mean, TK?!"
"I hate to say it, but Davis is telling the truth," Cody said bleakly, rubbing his stomach. "TK went off to the lake while the rest of us were trying to communicate with you. When he came back, he was berserk! He hit Davis when he tried to stop him from going back to the real world...and me and Patamon, too, when we tried to help." Cody sighed. "I don't know what happened to him, but I don't like it one bit..."
"He went nuts, that's what!" Davis insisted. "It had to happen eventually-"
"The virus!" Izzy exclaimed. "That must be it! He was attacked by the virus!"
"What?" Davis and Cody chorused, confused.
"Whaddaya mean, the virus?" Davis added. "That thing that attacked our D-Terminals? How could that make TK go off his rocker?"
"It attacks living beings and twists their emotions around upside-down and inside-out," Sora said dryly. "Not to mention takes over their bodies and goes...on...killing sprees... Oh, man, TK..." Her face began to crumple as the situation hit her. "He's such a sweet kid...I can't stand to think about what this must be doing to him!"
"We don't know that he's even 'conscious'," Izzy said matter-of-factly. "For all we know, he's blacked out or something while the virus is in control."
Sora shook her head, biting her lip. "But maybe not," she said, very quietly, and blinked back tears. Suddenly, she looked up, thinking of something even worse. "What's Kari going to do?" she exclaimed. "What if-"
"Kari!" Davis yelled, sitting up very straight. "That's why we came so fast! TK went through the D-Port! For all we know, he's on the loose in Tokyo right now!"
"Oh, no," Izzy groaned. "I can't believe this..."
"What now?" Davis said suspiciously. He frowned. "Izzy, please tell me Kari is around the house somewhere, where we can keep an eye on her."
"Um..." Izzy said nervously.
"Okay, tell me that she's somewhere safe!" Davis insisted.
"Ah..." Joe said, coming in with the first-aid kit.
"At least tell me she's got someone *with* her!!" Davis yelled, beginning to panic. Sora shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears. "I can't believe this!" Davis bellowed, staring furiously at the older Digidestined.
"Here, tilt your head back and pinch your nose with this," Joe said calmly, giving Davis a pad of gauze. Davis glared at him, not taking it. "Look, Davis, you're not going anywhere until that bleeding has stopped," Joe said with surprising firmness, "so you might as well get it done with now."
"Oh, whatever," Davis said, snatching the pad and clamping it over his nose. "Bud da biddit by dose stobs beeding, I'b goig aftuh huw!"
"Huh?" Izzy said, for once in his life being the utterly confused one.
"He said he's going after Kari the minute his nose stops bleeding," Joe translated.
"I'm not arguing with him," Sora said firmly. "Kari's going to need some help, fast...and so is TK."
"I'm going with you!" Patamon persisted.
"Fide by be," Davis agreed.
"Cody, you can go find Yolei and Ken and help them," Joe said. "They're destroying the main hive of the virus in the Digital World."
"Right!" Cody said, getting up and holding up his D3. "I'm ready!"
"Good," Joe said, nodding.
"Where's Tai?" Davis said curiously, noticing his hero's absence.
"The Internet," Izzy said offhandedly, going back to his computer. "He's battling the virus."
"Shouldn't we check on him?" Cody said, a bit worriedly. Izzy shrugged a shoulder, obviously confident in his friend.
"Tai can take care of himself," he said calmly. "We've got more pressing issues to concentrate on right now."
Over on the bed, Sora sighed heavily, looking at the wall. She had a really bad feeling, had had one ever since she'd watched Tai disappear from sight into the computer. Her stomach churned, with a weird feeling that reminded her of the time she'd gotten a bloody nose of her own at soccer practice and had swallowed a lot of blood rather than get it on her uniform...a sick, empty feeling. Remembering, she gulped, hoping that this whole plan would work...
*I just *know* something's wrong, whatever Izzy thinks. Hold on, Tai...hold on...*