Disclaimer- I don't own Digimon or any other licensed products in this story. Don't sue, I'm broke.
I did it. Wrote my first kiss scene. You have no idea how hard that was for me. It was the most nerve wracking thing I've ever done.
I hope you see now why I had to post 2 and 3 together. I hate cliffhangers. It always makes me mad when I start getting into a story and I have to wait a month for the next chapter to find out what happens next. I didn't want to do that to y'all. This one doesn't have much action but it needs saying and I promise there will be more action in part 4. Part 4 will be kind of long so it will take me awhile. I humbly ask your patience. Please do write to me. (It gives me the extra incentive to write faster.)
~by The Silversage
Part 3: Revelations
Saturday 1:43 A.M.
Matt could
only stare in horror as T.K. rushed past him into the bathroom. Kari was lying on the floor, unconscious, in
a fetal position, clutching her bleeding arm. The bathroom rug under her was slowly becoming soaked with blood and
there were drops of blood on the sink, a small razor lying innocently on the
counter. T.K. wasted no time gawking,
grabbing a towel from the rack and gently freeing up her injured arm, pressing
the towel against it.
"Oh dear,"
Joe gasped from over Matt's shoulder before pushing past him. He quickly knelt by her side, checking for a
pulse. Matt finally broke from his
shock when he felt a hand squeezing his upper arm in a vice-like grip. He turned slightly to see Tai, with a
horrified expression on his face, watching the tragedy unfold before him.
"Mimi, call
an ambulance," Sora cried, pushing her towards the living room.
Joe gently
lifted the towel T.K. was holding down to take a look at the extent of the
damage, eyeing him out of the corner of his eye. He was both surprised and somewhat confused as to how 'in
control' the younger boy seemed to be over the whole situation, and at how he
hadn't seemed surprised at all when they had found Kari like this. But those were questions he'd have to save
for later. "She only fainted but we've
got to stop the bleeding before she loses any more blood." He spoke loud enough for everyone at the
door to hear him but his eyes were directed only at T.K.
T.K. didn't
back down from Joe's gaze which was neither angry nor accusatory but urging,
silently, for him to go ahead and come forward with any information that could
help. He knows, T.K. realized
carefully keeping his surprise from reaching his face. He knows I knew about this. He hesitated only an instant before giving
Joe a quick nod. He let Joe take over
holding the towel over Kari's arm and stood up, heading resolutely to the
medicine cabinet.
Joe sighed
softly as he watched T.K. rifle through the cabinet. He had been hoping he'd been wrong about T.K.'s involvement in
Kari's…incident. But he had no time to
dwell on that now. "Tai, where do you
keep bandages? And any sort of
antiseptic cream or spray would help." Tai slowly dragged his gaze away from his sister and Joe almost smiled
when he saw the determination and commanding look in Tai's face that had lead
them all through so much in the Digital World.
He crossed
the room briskly, pulling out a first aid kit from the linen closet and sat
down to help Joe wrap his sister's arm. He glanced up for a moment to see T.K. opening Kari's bottle of
Midol. "T.K., I don't think that's
going to do any good," he told him. Joe
and the others, watching silently from the doorway, followed his gaze to where
T.K. was shaking one of the pills out onto his palm.
"They're
not Midol," he answered not bothering to look at any of them. He stared at the pill in his hand for a
second. Can't swallow a pill if
you're not awake. His chest
constricted slightly at that thought but he pushed it aside and quickly grabbed
one of the small plastic cups next to the sink and filled it with water. He carefully pulled apart the two halves of
the gelcap and shook out the fine powder into the water. He gave it a quick stir with his finger and
handed it to Joe.
"What is
this?" Joe asked, accepting the mixture.
"Vitamin
K," T.K. answered tonelessly. Joe
nodded and lifted Kari into a sitting position carefully getting her to swallow
the water.
"What's
that supposed to do?" Tai asked worriedly.
"It's a
mild coagulant," Joe answered without looking up.
"Huh?"
"It helps
you clot. Stops the bleeding," T.K.
muttered repeating Kari's words to him from two weeks ago, not taking his eyes
off her. He missed the sharp look of
suspicion that both Tai and Matt in the doorway gave him and the confused
whispers in the hallway wondering how he knew where to find them. He had other worries on his mind.
He blinked
sharply, and desperately hoped he had just been seeing things. He watched his best friend closely, willing
himself not to blink. There! It happened again! She flickered, for a split second, like
interference of a television signal. Just
like in algebra. He bit his lip
thinking back to what she had told him before.
"The
dark mist. It keeps coming back…it
won't leave me alone."
He hadn't
understood. He truly hadn't completely
believed her when she told him the dark dimension was trying to pull her
back. He thought it was all in her head,
that he was dealing with some kind of depression of hers. I'm sorry, Kari, he apologized, I
didn't believe you. His inner
musings were halted when Tai lifted up his injured sister and carried her to
the living room. He got up and followed
mutely; his thoughts paused when he felt his brother's hand drop heavily onto
his shoulder when he passed him, falling into step beside him. The pressure was not meant to
reassure, and T.K. had no doubt that he had quite a bit of explaining to
do. He arrived in the living room, half
walking, half pushed by Matt, just as Tai was setting Kari down on the
couch. T.K. frowned when he noticed her
phasing again. The frown faded when Tai
stood up again, and stared right at him looking furious.
"All right,
T.K. Now what the Hell is going
on!" Tai demanded just short of
yelling.
Darkness. Kari slowly opened her eyes…and shut them
immediately. Ugh, too bright. She lay there on her stomach, trying to get
her bearings. Somewhere in the
distance, the sound of the crashing waves could be heard. Her hand contracted slightly around
something smooth and slightly sharp. Grass?! Wasn't I just in the bathroom? Deep down, she knew the reason. She was just refusing to acknowledge it.
Not really
wanting to, she forced her eyes open, only to come face to face with a pair of
vaguely familiar shadowy legs. Oh
God! As she tried to force herself
up she felt something cold and metallic touch the back of her neck. A searing, red hot pain…and all went black.
T.K. backed
up a step as Tai advanced on him. He'd
never seen Tai this angry before. He looked to Matt pleadingly for support, and blinked when he found his
brother looking just as angry.
"You knew
didn't you!" Matt yelled at him, "You knew she's been doing this and didn't
tell anyone?! What were you
thinking?! How could you be so
irresponsible?!" T.K. glared back, his
fists clenched at his side, trying not to think about how much his brother's
accusation hurt.
"Stop
yelling at him, you two," Sora said calmly, crossing the room to T.K., "You're
not helping any." She placed her hands
on T.K.'s shoulders and gently turned him to face her, forcing him to look at
her. "T.K., they're right you know,"
she continued gently, "If you knew Kari was in some kind of depression, you
should have come to one of us, or her parents. What if she had tried to kill herself with no one here to stop her?"
He jerked
out of her grasp angrily. "Kari_would_never_do_that!"
he hissed at her, "And she is not depressed." Sora took a step back; she had never seen the younger boy angry
before.
Matt shook
his head, turning away from his brother. His brother had always been so stable and mature for his age. He couldn't believe that T.K. could be in
denial like this. Especially now,
he mused sadly, glancing at the still unconscious Kari lying on the couch.
Tai had
been taken aback slightly when Matt had beaten him to the punch, yelling at
T.K. But he got over it quickly
enough. "Just how long have you been
hiding this?" he asked in a calm, quiet fury.
"Tuesday
before last," he answered softly, staring at the carpet.
Tai's eyes
widened slightly in shock. That's the
day Matt and I caught them on the couch. They weren't trying to have a romantic moment, she was probably
pouring her heart out to him, he realized grimly. And all I did was tease them. He felt his anger draining away only to be replaced by the same cold
fear he had felt every other time his sister had been seriously ill. "Why didn't she just come to me?" he asked,
more to himself than T.K.
"She didn't
want you to know," he answered, "She…asked me not to tell you. She…was afraid of…letting you down."
Tai closed
his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose trying to fight back his coming
headache.
"Umm…Tai?"
"What is
it, Mimi?" he asked tiredly, opening his eyes again. She was standing next to Sora twirling the cordless phone in her
hands nervously.
"I tried to
call for an ambulance but the phones are still out," she told him sadly, "I'm
really sorry."
"Not your
fault, Mimi," he answered glumly.
"Tai." Joe called him over to Kari's side. "Look, her pulse is pretty steady and the
bleeding's under control. She's fairly
weak right now but I should've been able to get her at least partially
conscious by now," he said softly, pushing his glasses higher back up his nose.
"What are
you trying to say?" Tai asked sternly.
"I can't
get her to wake up."
T.K. gave a
wry snort from behind Tai. "Of course
she's not waking up; she's not even here."
Everyone
looked to him in confusion. "T.K. …What
are you talking about?" Mimi asked gently voicing everyone's confusion.
He looked
down at Kari frowning softly. Another
flicker. "They've got her. They've taken her again," he muttered more
to himself then to the others, "I'm sorry, Kari. I didn't understand what you were trying to tell me."
"Who's got
her? What are you talking about?" Tai
asked in mounting confusion.
"She's in
the dark dimension. They've taken her
back to the Black Ocean," he said hanging his head down. "I'm sorry, Tai. I've let them take her again."
The others
exchanged looks of confusion. Tai
glanced at Matt for an explanation to which Matt shrugged. T.K. just wasn't making any sense.
"T.K., what
are you talking about? Kari's right
here," Ken finally voiced, watching his former enemy turned friend with true
concern. "Besides, you have to be in
the Digital World to reach the Black Ocean."
"We weren't
in the Digital World the last time we were there," he answered, "And what do
you mean 'what am I talking about?' She's phasing in and out right now," he cried in frustration,
staring past them to the unconscious form of his best friend and object of his
devotion.
His fellow
digidestined turned in unison, staring at their fallen comrade, trying to understand
what he was talking about, but seeing nothing out of the ordinary.
"Come on,
T.K.," Sora said softly, steering him to the easy chair, pushing him down into
it with gentle pressure. "I know you're
worried about Kari, but we need you to keep it together, okay?" she said in
concern, "For Kari's sake."
"But…,"
T.K. stopped as he glanced around the room at everyone watching him various
expressions of concern, sympathy, and pity. What's wrong with them? Can't
they see it?! His gaze fell back to
Kari's wavering form, not wanting to see their looks of pity. Kari, why can't they see it?
Tai turned
away from T.K. running his hand through his unruly hair. First Kari, now T.K.'s losing it. Can anything else go wrong?
"Izzy! Are you there?"
"Aaah!" Izzy jumped a mile before sitting back down
in front of his laptop; he had completely forgotten he had left it on. "Gennai?!"
"Izzy? Good. You're there. I need you to
gather the digidestined. We've got a
problem."
"They're
all here except for Davis," Izzy answered tiredly.
"Good. I've already reached Davis. I need T.K., Kari, Cody, Yolei, and Ken
here, pronto. We've got problems." The brown-haired man moved away from the
digiport screen to reveal several of the digidestined's very worried digimon…and
a pitch black sky
Izzy took a
double-take, noticing the time on the digiport before glancing at the starless
sky. "Gennai…it's-"
"Yes, I
know. It's mid afternoon here," Gennai
finished somewhat impatiently, "The sun just went dim all of a sudden and I
haven't been able to figure out why."
"Well,
we've kind of got problems of our own," Izzy answered quietly after receiving
an annoyed look from a pacing Tai. "Umm…it's Kari. She, umm…tried to commit suicide." He whispered the last few words but didn't miss how Tai flinched
when he said them.
"No she
didn't," T.K. muttered from his seat earning him a few concerned and pitying
looks from the others and one exasperated look from Tai.
"What?!"
Gennai exclaimed. "Hold on!" Izzy
backed away from his laptop as Gennai materialized in the stream of light from
the digiport. He glanced around the
room of silent, somber people, acknowledging the pacing Tai with a nod before
kneeling down next to Joe, waiting for him to finish taking Kari's pulse. "Oh my," he murmured softly, gently
fingering her bandaged left arm. "What
happened?" he asked, directing his question at Tai.
Tai's
shoulders tensed. "She locked herself
in the bathroom and umm…," he gestured to his arm and Gennai nodded. "We can't get her to wake up," he finished
sadly.
"And she's
not going to wake up till we find a way to the Black Ocean." T.K. shot, drawing
sighs of pity and impatience from those around him
"That's
enough T.K.," Matt hissed, effectively silencing his brother with a glare.
Gennai
watched the two glaring each other down puzzling over T.K.'s statement before
glancing back to Kari's still and flickering body. Could he possibly be seeing this?, he
wondered. This shouldn't be
happening yet. It's too soon for the
prophesy. He looked back up. "We have no time for this," he told the
bickering brothers. "The Digital World
has fallen into darkness and many of the virus type are taking advantage of the
current confusion. I think Kari's
condition does much to explain things, but I need you to help keep the digimon
in line until the light can be restored," he said facing the younger
digidestined .
"What does
Kari have to do with the darkness in the Digital World?" Cody asked.
"She has the crest of light, genius!" Yolei snapped, heading for the digiport. "Let's go, already!"
Ken gave
Cody an apologetic smile before following Yolei. T.K. stood to follow but was stopped by Gennai's hand gripping
his arm. "You stay," he said softly. T.K. nodded and watched his friends
disappear…only to be replaced by Patamon and Gatomon. Gatomon wasted no time in joining Kari on the couch, curling up
next to her, careful of her arm, watching her with anxious eyes. Patamon landed on the back of the couch
alternating his gaze between his two friends and T.K. "Now," Gennai began, drawing his attention away from the digimon,
"Explain to me why you believe Kari's in the Dark Dimension when she's lying
right there."
With a
sigh, he began retelling the events of two weeks ago, beginning with how he had
noticed Kari nursing her arm at lunch that day and ending with Kari's tearful
confession during their study date. He
spared no detail, not sure he even could in Gennai's presence, giving him
Kari's words verbatim. He kept his eyes
on Gennai so he wouldn't have to watch Tai's face shifting between guilt at not
having noticed Kari's secret sooner and hurt that Kari had confided in T.K. and
not him.
When he was
done, Gennai remained silent for a moment, steepling his fingers, deep in
thought. "T.K., what do you see when
you look at Kari?" he asked finally.
"Huh?" T.K. felt a warm flush creep up the back of
his neck, thoroughly confused.
The corner
of Gennai's mouth lifted, noticing T.K.'s reaction. "What are you seeing right_now_?" he clarified.
T.K.
shifted his gaze back to Kari, eyebrows furrowed in concentration, fully aware
that Gennai was watching him closely. "She keeps phasing in and out. Kind of like when a tv's losing the signal," he paused, waiting to be
shot down again. He was faintly surprised
to find Gennai listening closely. "It
started while we were trying to stop the bleeding. It only lasts a few seconds about every five minutes or so. The same thing happened the last time she
was pulled into the Dark Dimension."
"He's
right," Gatomon piped up from Kari's side, "She did start flickering like this
last time."
T.K. gave a soft sigh of relief.
For a while, he was starting to wonder if he truly was losing his mind. "It's different this time, though," he
continued. "Last time, it got worse
till she almost disappeared. This
time…it comes and goes."
"True. They did not take her bodily this time," Gennai explained, "This
time they've only taken what they need. The dark dimension is growing stronger."
"What are
you two talking about? We don't see
anything." Matt protested.
"The
effects of the Dark Dimension aren't visible to the human eye," Gennai
answered.
"Then why
can T.K. see it?" he asked glancing at his brother.
"I'm not
quite sure yet. He shouldn't be able to
see it." Gennai continued staring at T.K. a moment longer before shaking
himself from some inner dialogue. "You
say this happened before. How did that
happen?"
T.K.
groaned to himself as the others leaned forward, waiting for his answer. The two younger digidestined had purposely
played down the events from that day, not wanting to worry the older kids…Tai
especially. When this is all over,
Tai is going to kill me.
Kari let out a low moan and curled herself into a tight ball. Her entire body felt sore and her head was pounding like crazy. She forced herself to open her eyes for the second time that day…and blinked.
She was
lying on the floor in the center of a bright circle of light just large enough
for her to stretch out. She sat up
groggily trying to get her bearings. Wherever she was, it was dark. She couldn't see past the spotlight. She raised herself on her hands and knees to get up when her forehead
hit something solid. Rubbing her
forehead, she let out a soft curse trying to make out what it was exactly she
had hit. Tentatively, she reached out
with her hand only to be stopped by a smooth, clear surface. The hairs on her arms stood up and she could
feel the throb of energy from the wall all the way to her bones. She followed the wall full circle. I'm trapped!
"Enjoying
your cage?" a voice asked from the darkness.
Kari pulled back abruptly from the edge. "Who's there?" she cried. She gasped as a familiar looking creature, a living shadow with glowing yellow eyes steps up to the outside of the forcefield. It laughed harshly, watching Kari pull back to the relative safety of the circle's center.
"What do
you want from me? I already told you
guys I won't help you and I won't be anyone's queen!"
"I
am not one of those traitors you met before," he sneered, "They
have already been dealt with." Her eyes
widened, as understanding dawned on her. "Do not worry, Child of Light. You will not be harmed. At least
not yet. Your power is far too valuable
to us. And only one of the destined
pair need be destroyed in order for the Digital World to fall to us. It won't be long now. The other will be here soon."
Kari
frowned in confusion trying to figure out who he was talking about. She almost gasped when she remembered what
Azulongmon had said about the crests of Light and Hope. Hope! T.K.! They're going to hurt
T.K.!, her mind screamed. "You stay
away from T.K.!" she yelled at her jailer angrily.
"You be
silent!" he snarled back raising his arm threateningly to her. She was stunned to see the myriad of scars
on his inner arm, but somehow it made sense. "I have gone through enough trouble and pain to bring you here child,
and if it were up to me, I would have slain you instantly. Be thankful my master is more merciful to
you than I. Now," he said with an evil
glint in his eyes, "I must go prepare for our guest."
He turned
and Kari lost sight of him in the darkness but could hear him walking away. She hugged her knees to her chest and tried
desperately to hold back her tears. T.K.,
please don't come after me! They're
setting a trap for you!
Saturday 2:15 A.M.
"Let's go
through this again," Gennai frowned, "You were on the cliff and this 'portal'
just…opened up?" T.K. nodded. After he
had finished the tale, Gennai had begun trying to pinpoint how T.K. had
managed to follow her in. Their long
time mentor had admitted that he had never heard of anyone actually entering
the Dark Dimension of their own free will; it had a tendency to rather draw people in against their will. Gennai was broken from his concentration by
the heated whisperings of the two digimon on the couch. "Is something wrong?" he asked.
The two
stopped whispering almost guiltily. "Umm…we didn't see any portal," Gatomon finally admitted, casting T.K.
an apologetic glance.
"Yeah,
there was nothing there," Patamon added.
"So what
did you two see?" Gennai asked.
"Well, T.K.
was yelling for Kari at the top of that cliff, and then he just…jumped off,"
Gatomon said, "Patamon flew after him and I thought they were both nuts, but I
followed them anyway and when we landed we were in a different dimension."
T.K.
skirted around Gennai and the digimon and sat at the edge of the couch at
Kari's side, trying to tune out how he was the subject of discussion. He definitely didn't look to the older
digidestined who had long since stopped trying to understand and were now
glancing at T.K. like he had just grown a third eye. At any rate, he was feeling more and more uncomfortable. He reached out to hold Kari's hand. She's just so still. He bit his lower lip and tensed up when he
touched her. She felt…empty. That inner light, that incredible rush of
energy that was Kari, that he had always sensed and taken for granted from
her…was gone. He debated for a moment
whether he should tell Gennai about that but decided he already felt
like a big enough freak without adding more fuel to the fire.
He shifted
to face her better and took hold of her other hand, lacing his fingers through
hers, not really knowing why. Where
are you Kari?, he asked her silently. Distantly and very weak, he could just make out the faintest glimmer of
energy. A crest. Kari! He closed his eyes trying to focus on it.
"So, how do
we find this portal T.K. was talking about?" Tai asked after Gennai had
finished interrogating the boy.
"Frankly, I
don't believe we can," he answered.
Tai felt
the urge to just break out and cry; he
felt so helpless. He didn't as Gennai's
words caught up with him. "What do you
mean by 'we'?"
"I have two theories," he answered glancing over at T.K. who was sitting down on the couch, watching over Kari. "Kari may have inadvertently been the one who opened the portal." The other kids nodded in understanding. Kari's immense and mostly untapped power was an unspoken fact among them. "If that's true," Gennai continued, "then I don't know how we'll reach her unless by some fluke she creates another one."
Tai sighed
trying to keep his hopelessness from reaching his face. A smaller hand slipped into his and gave him
a reassuring squeeze. He looked down to
meet Sora's determined eyes. No,
there has to be some way.
"What was
the second possibility?" Izzy asked before Tai could open his mouth.
"It's
possible that T.K. may have opened the portal." The six digidestined gaped at him then glanced at T.K., then back
to Gennai.
"That can't
be. T.K. doesn't have any powers," Matt
said.
Gennai
shook his head gravely. "Hope and Light
are linked separately than the other crests. They hold the balance of the Digital World and as such also balance each
other. They are equal in both strength
and power. If he was the one to open
the portal, then we may be able to reach…" He stopped abruptly feeling a powerful wave of energy pass through
him. He jerked towards the couch to
where T.K. was sitting with his hands still linked with Kari's; the wave was definitely coming from the
boy. Before he could do more than
blink, the young digidestined suddenly slumped over, unconscious.
"T.K.!"
Matt rushed to his fallen brother.
