~*Project: Moment*~
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Chapter 10- Eclipse Rising*~
Hours later, an almost-silent shadow slipped into Tai's room. Cat-footedly quiet, Sora paused and looked down at Tai's sleeping face, lit with moonlight streaming through the window. The bedside clock read 3:27 AM. A tear fell on his pillow, and Sora bent to gently kiss him one last time, then slipped out of the room again.
Tai stirred, but didn't wake up.
Stopping to place a piece of folded paper, borrowed from a kitchen cabinet, on her pillow, Sora went to the doorway, and looked down at the side table where a small plastic card lay. Hesitantly, she picked it up, and turned to the door.
"I'll leave it in the gatehouse for you, Tai," she whispered to the peaceful silence of the apartment, blinking back tears. "I'm sorry, and I don't want to do this, but I have to go...there are people depending on me, people who need me. I'm so sorry..."
She slid the card through the lock, and the door swung open. Clutching the master key in her hand, Sora walked out into the darkness of the hallway and closed the door behind her.
Now her steps quickened, as she fled the sadness that hung over her like a shroud, and the horrible, seemingly inescapable uncertainty rising inside of her once again.
"I'm doing the right thing!" she whispered to no one, desperation in her voice, as she broke into a run. The maps were easy to follow, and she made her way quickly toward the main gate. "I know I am!"
*Then...why are you running?*
Sora shook her head hard, sending tears flying, and kept going, ignoring the dratted voice. "I want to get it over with. It will be easier for both of us this way. I'm not abandoning him!"
*No one said you were...except you.*
The thought stung. Sora had had long practice in ignoring that voice, though. It had been torturing her for three long years…and now, more than likely, the rest of her life as well.
Swallowing hard, she slowed her steps to check one of the maps Joe had shown her. Reading it quickly, she heard footsteps approaching and ducked around the corner. A pair of men in lab coats walked by, talking in undertones. They didn't see her, and as soon as they were out of sight, Sora began to run again…
She reached the glass door that Joe had taken her out of much sooner than she had expected...but then, by the look of the maps, he'd taken her on a very roundabout route, probably to spare her healing body a lot of stair-climbing by taking the glide-walks. As it was, she was beginning to get a stitch in her side, but she was determined not to let it stop her.
"The moment of truth," she murmured, looking at the door. "If this card doesn't work, then I'm trapped here..."
*But do you really want to go?* that little part of her mind quietly asked.
"I guess..." Catching the hesitant tone in her voice, Sora narrowed her eyes and set her jaw defiantly. "Yes." Walking up to the door, she slid the stolen card through the lock and held her breath…
A small green light lit up above the card slot, and the door opened with a soft click and a sinuous sliding sound. Letting out her held breath in a drawn-out sigh, Sora lifted her chin, wiped her face dry on her sleeve, and walked out into the courtyard, letting the door slide shut and lock itself behind her…
He stood on the top of Spiral Mountain, twelve years old all over again. The wind blew around him, but he wasn't afraid. Next to him was Sora, smiling at him from under that crazy blue hat of hers. Birdramon wheeled overhead. Though the sun shone, the breezes whipped their hair around their faces as they gazed at each other. They leaned forward, and he realized that Sora's crest was glowing… Their lips met.
Suddenly, a clap of thunder shook the mountain, and Birdramon flew across the sun, extinguishing it and plunging them into darkness. The shaking threw his feet from under him, and he fell, tumbling head over feet, down and down...and landed with a bump. Blinking, he struggled to see, to find Sora... Then he realized that they weren't on the mountain anymore. Small points of light glimmered in the darkness above him, and he recognized the walkway that crowned the arch over the front door of HQ. As his eyes adjusted, he saw Sora standing before him, older now, her hair still wafting around her face in a breeze he could no longer feel. She was her present self…yet she still wore her crest, and it glowed with a bright red light that threw ruby-toned shadows across her face.
"Tai…" she whispered.
"Sora," he said, and stood, reaching out to her…but she shrank away from him.
"I'm sorry, Tai," she said, her face sad and distant.
"What?" he said, confused and a bit frightened.
"I'm sorry," she said, and began to back away from him.
"Wait! Come back!" he cried, really afraid now.
"People depend on me…"
Her lips hadn't moved; the words seemed to echo around him from the very stars themselves.
"People need me…"
"I need you!" he pleaded, taking a step toward her, arms outstretched, but she was almost to the edge of the walkway.
"I'm so sorry…" Her eyes still locked with his, she grasped the railing tightly with both hands, lifted one foot onto it... The darkness below seemed to stretch for miles.
"No!" he yelled, and ran toward her, trying to stop her, to make her see…
Her eyes widened, bright with tears, and she drew back, her balance wavering as her remaining foot left the cement...his outstretched hand touched her shoulder, and the light of her crest winked silently, instantly out as she lost her balance and started to fall, her eyes wide with fear-
In the same split second, an explosion shattered the air around him, and he stumbled back, throwing up an arm instinctively to shield his face. When he lowered it, trees surrounded him on all sides. Before him lay a jeep on its side, blazing with leaping flames. Two human forms were silhouetted in stark black relief against the conflagration, one male and one female. The woman was running toward the jeep, trying to reach it, as the man chased after her, desperate to stop her.
Yuki, he thought, trying to save the data we captured... A feeling of doom swelled in his stomach. The back of the jeep was still intact. That explosion couldn't have been the gas tank. It must have been the backup tank kept in a compartment near the hood...which meant...
TK, Yuki, get out of there! The words formed in his throat, but he couldn't cry out, couldn't move, couldn't close his eyes. As he stared helpless at the scene before him, a second explosion engulfed the jeep in a roar of flame, throwing shrapnel into the air. The vehicle shattered, blowing molten chunks of steel and glass in all directions. Time seemed to slow, searing every detail of the scene into his mind.
Yuki, caught in the edge of the blast, screamed as she was hurled to the ground by the shock wave; TK stumbled back, nearly falling as well, and then reeled as a chunk of scrap metal caught him full across the temple, snapping his head back with the force of the blow. He dropped to his knees, his hands covering his face. Yuki was curled on the ground, trying to shield herself from the flying debris; a piece of half-melted windshield shattered across her upraised arm, and fragments filled the air around her like deadly rain, glittering in the light of the explosion. She screamed again, cradling her arm, and in that moment a piece of metal struck her in the face, silencing her.
It was over in less than ten seconds.
The enemy slunk into the fringes of the wood, chuckling. Regaining the ability to move, he ran across the grass, ignoring the smoldering junk littering the ground, ignoring the twisted remains of what had once been the jeep, just trying to reach his friends.
At the actual time, shock had kept him from fully realizing what it all meant; only that numbness had prevented him from panicking, allowing him to step into control, radio for help, check for vital signs, all on automatic drive while his mind wheeled in circles, struggling to make sense of what was happening...
The dream left him no such 'comfort'. His heart hammered in his chest as he stopped between the two bodies; Yuki, motionless among the blackened rubble that was strewn along the ground, her golden curls singed and matted with red where they lay across her face, her arm in ribbons, her face torn; TK, kneeling, whimpering, shoulders hunched, only half conscious as he struggled to stay upright, his hands pressed tightly to his face but unable to hide the blood seeping from between his fingers to trickle threads of scarlet across his skin...
His stomach rebelling, his throat tight, Tai swayed, longing to start running away and never stop until he died. Why had he escaped? Why had nothing touched him? Why had Fate left him with this guilt, to stand unhurt as his friends bled? His eyes turned to the forest, and he saw Sora standing at the edge of the trees, looking back at him with accusation in her eyes...
"Sora, I couldn't help it! It wasn't my fault..."
He froze; a whirring rumble was echoing from the sky, making his skin prickle with fear. There was no mistaking that helicopter-like rumble...
"Sora, look out! Run! Sora..."
She bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, Tai..."
He struggled to reach her, but he couldn't move in the suddenly waist-high grass. Behind him, a roar caused him to spin around; an Ogremon with club raised snarled down at him, bringing the bulky weapon down with a brutal strength. Sora's voice echoed in his ears as he stumbled back and fell down an endless hole that opened in the earth, black and bottomless.
"I'm sorry...I have to go...I'm sorry..."
"SORA!"
Tai sat bolt upright in bed, sweating and gasping for air as he kicked his covers away. Slowly, he let the nightmare fade, trying to breathe steadily and deeply. When his heartbeat was normal again, he reached over to flick on the bedside lamp, sighing with relief as the light illuminated his room and chased the fragmented shadows into the corners. Somehow, he didn't feel like going back to sleep. His sweat-soaked sheets weren't helping, either. Sliding out of bed, he decided to go for a drink of water.
"Funny," he murmured, opening the door to the hallway and walking quietly into the bathroom. "I haven't had a nightmare about that accident in months. I wonder what set it off...and why would Sora be in it?" He splashed water on his face, shivered, and dried off with a towel. "That's the last time I sleep in my clothes," he muttered, looking down at the rumpled 'smartsuit' he wore.
Then a soft sound caught his ear, coming from the open bathroom window. He frowned, turning his head to look outside. That was impossible...he was awake now!
The sound became louder. A soft, whirring rumble, like dozens of helicopter blades...
Tai's breath caught in his throat.
"Oh, shit," he whispered, and tore out of the bathroom, heading for the living room and the telephone.
As he reached the doorway, he stopped dead.
Sora's bed was empty.
His stomach turning inside out, Tai stared at the neatly made blankets. A slip of paper lay on the pillow, and he picked it up, his hands shaking, and slowly unfolded it...
Dear Tai-
I can't put into words how hard this is...it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I know you don't deserve to have this happen to you, but I can't stay here...
"No..." Tai whispered, his eyesight blurring with tears before he could finish the note. His throat closed, and it was hard to speak... Suddenly, he crumpled the paper in his fist, whirling away from the empty Hide-a-bed. "Dammit! NO!" he yelled, his voice hoarse, and threw the note across the room. It refused to be thrown; instead, it fluttered silently to the floor at his feet, and he gazed at it, his head spinning...
The helicopter sound had grown louder, and Tai suddenly realized the full situation. If Sora was out there with those things...
Tai bolted to the bed, touching the pillow. It was still warm. He swallowed and slowly raised his head to look out the window, out over the courtyard. The main gate stood tall and firm, and at its foot a slender figure was making her way toward it...
"Sora..." he whispered. He could still catch her, still warn her-
His thoughts froze as the rumbling grew suddenly much louder, and a strange, insectlike shape began to appear, rising from the far side of the gate to hover above the wall...
Then another...
Then dozens...
"SORA!" Tai yelled. She froze, and whirled to look back at the empty courtyard...
And in that moment, the first Swoopmon dove over the wall and began to head straight for her. She turned, saw it, and let out a scream, fleeing back toward the complex buildings with the Digimon in hot pursuit. Tai swore and did a dive of his own for the telephone, dialing Command.
Lights began to come on all over the complex as people were shaken out of their beds by friends or officers, stumbling and half-awake as they rushed to their posts.
Joe ran down a hallway to his med wing, pulling on his coat...
Missy sat up with a curse as her roommate began to scream hysterically...
The first explosion went off when a Swoopmon dropped a Stinger Bomb attack on the Textiles building...
TK nearly ran into the doorframe as he stumbled into Kari's room, the house shaking from the nearby bombing...
Davis fumbled for his boots as the rest of the guys in his Defense Team dorm did the same, scrambling for battle...
Yukiko woke up in a cold sweat, the sound of further bombing dredging up terrible memories, her scars aching dully...
And in a dark room that held the shielding controls for the HQ, a pair of watery gray eyes narrowed.
"It's begun..."
__________________________________
Coming soon- Chapter 11: Red Sky By Morning
(AN) That's more like it, folks! (5 reviews!) Keep this up, and you might just get to find out what exactly has 'begun' sometime in the next few days! *hint hint*
Major suspense coming up! Also, a few more examples of the second reason why this fic is rated PG-13! (The first is profanity, the second...well, you'll find out.) Read at your own risk, but be warned...there are surprises on the way, and not all of them are pleasant. Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter of Project: Moment! -Bandit O_o
A Digimon Fanfiction by Bandit
~*Chapter 10- Eclipse Rising*~
Hours later, an almost-silent shadow slipped into Tai's room. Cat-footedly quiet, Sora paused and looked down at Tai's sleeping face, lit with moonlight streaming through the window. The bedside clock read 3:27 AM. A tear fell on his pillow, and Sora bent to gently kiss him one last time, then slipped out of the room again.
Tai stirred, but didn't wake up.
Stopping to place a piece of folded paper, borrowed from a kitchen cabinet, on her pillow, Sora went to the doorway, and looked down at the side table where a small plastic card lay. Hesitantly, she picked it up, and turned to the door.
"I'll leave it in the gatehouse for you, Tai," she whispered to the peaceful silence of the apartment, blinking back tears. "I'm sorry, and I don't want to do this, but I have to go...there are people depending on me, people who need me. I'm so sorry..."
She slid the card through the lock, and the door swung open. Clutching the master key in her hand, Sora walked out into the darkness of the hallway and closed the door behind her.
Now her steps quickened, as she fled the sadness that hung over her like a shroud, and the horrible, seemingly inescapable uncertainty rising inside of her once again.
"I'm doing the right thing!" she whispered to no one, desperation in her voice, as she broke into a run. The maps were easy to follow, and she made her way quickly toward the main gate. "I know I am!"
*Then...why are you running?*
Sora shook her head hard, sending tears flying, and kept going, ignoring the dratted voice. "I want to get it over with. It will be easier for both of us this way. I'm not abandoning him!"
*No one said you were...except you.*
The thought stung. Sora had had long practice in ignoring that voice, though. It had been torturing her for three long years…and now, more than likely, the rest of her life as well.
Swallowing hard, she slowed her steps to check one of the maps Joe had shown her. Reading it quickly, she heard footsteps approaching and ducked around the corner. A pair of men in lab coats walked by, talking in undertones. They didn't see her, and as soon as they were out of sight, Sora began to run again…
She reached the glass door that Joe had taken her out of much sooner than she had expected...but then, by the look of the maps, he'd taken her on a very roundabout route, probably to spare her healing body a lot of stair-climbing by taking the glide-walks. As it was, she was beginning to get a stitch in her side, but she was determined not to let it stop her.
"The moment of truth," she murmured, looking at the door. "If this card doesn't work, then I'm trapped here..."
*But do you really want to go?* that little part of her mind quietly asked.
"I guess..." Catching the hesitant tone in her voice, Sora narrowed her eyes and set her jaw defiantly. "Yes." Walking up to the door, she slid the stolen card through the lock and held her breath…
A small green light lit up above the card slot, and the door opened with a soft click and a sinuous sliding sound. Letting out her held breath in a drawn-out sigh, Sora lifted her chin, wiped her face dry on her sleeve, and walked out into the courtyard, letting the door slide shut and lock itself behind her…
He stood on the top of Spiral Mountain, twelve years old all over again. The wind blew around him, but he wasn't afraid. Next to him was Sora, smiling at him from under that crazy blue hat of hers. Birdramon wheeled overhead. Though the sun shone, the breezes whipped their hair around their faces as they gazed at each other. They leaned forward, and he realized that Sora's crest was glowing… Their lips met.
Suddenly, a clap of thunder shook the mountain, and Birdramon flew across the sun, extinguishing it and plunging them into darkness. The shaking threw his feet from under him, and he fell, tumbling head over feet, down and down...and landed with a bump. Blinking, he struggled to see, to find Sora... Then he realized that they weren't on the mountain anymore. Small points of light glimmered in the darkness above him, and he recognized the walkway that crowned the arch over the front door of HQ. As his eyes adjusted, he saw Sora standing before him, older now, her hair still wafting around her face in a breeze he could no longer feel. She was her present self…yet she still wore her crest, and it glowed with a bright red light that threw ruby-toned shadows across her face.
"Tai…" she whispered.
"Sora," he said, and stood, reaching out to her…but she shrank away from him.
"I'm sorry, Tai," she said, her face sad and distant.
"What?" he said, confused and a bit frightened.
"I'm sorry," she said, and began to back away from him.
"Wait! Come back!" he cried, really afraid now.
"People depend on me…"
Her lips hadn't moved; the words seemed to echo around him from the very stars themselves.
"People need me…"
"I need you!" he pleaded, taking a step toward her, arms outstretched, but she was almost to the edge of the walkway.
"I'm so sorry…" Her eyes still locked with his, she grasped the railing tightly with both hands, lifted one foot onto it... The darkness below seemed to stretch for miles.
"No!" he yelled, and ran toward her, trying to stop her, to make her see…
Her eyes widened, bright with tears, and she drew back, her balance wavering as her remaining foot left the cement...his outstretched hand touched her shoulder, and the light of her crest winked silently, instantly out as she lost her balance and started to fall, her eyes wide with fear-
In the same split second, an explosion shattered the air around him, and he stumbled back, throwing up an arm instinctively to shield his face. When he lowered it, trees surrounded him on all sides. Before him lay a jeep on its side, blazing with leaping flames. Two human forms were silhouetted in stark black relief against the conflagration, one male and one female. The woman was running toward the jeep, trying to reach it, as the man chased after her, desperate to stop her.
Yuki, he thought, trying to save the data we captured... A feeling of doom swelled in his stomach. The back of the jeep was still intact. That explosion couldn't have been the gas tank. It must have been the backup tank kept in a compartment near the hood...which meant...
TK, Yuki, get out of there! The words formed in his throat, but he couldn't cry out, couldn't move, couldn't close his eyes. As he stared helpless at the scene before him, a second explosion engulfed the jeep in a roar of flame, throwing shrapnel into the air. The vehicle shattered, blowing molten chunks of steel and glass in all directions. Time seemed to slow, searing every detail of the scene into his mind.
Yuki, caught in the edge of the blast, screamed as she was hurled to the ground by the shock wave; TK stumbled back, nearly falling as well, and then reeled as a chunk of scrap metal caught him full across the temple, snapping his head back with the force of the blow. He dropped to his knees, his hands covering his face. Yuki was curled on the ground, trying to shield herself from the flying debris; a piece of half-melted windshield shattered across her upraised arm, and fragments filled the air around her like deadly rain, glittering in the light of the explosion. She screamed again, cradling her arm, and in that moment a piece of metal struck her in the face, silencing her.
It was over in less than ten seconds.
The enemy slunk into the fringes of the wood, chuckling. Regaining the ability to move, he ran across the grass, ignoring the smoldering junk littering the ground, ignoring the twisted remains of what had once been the jeep, just trying to reach his friends.
At the actual time, shock had kept him from fully realizing what it all meant; only that numbness had prevented him from panicking, allowing him to step into control, radio for help, check for vital signs, all on automatic drive while his mind wheeled in circles, struggling to make sense of what was happening...
The dream left him no such 'comfort'. His heart hammered in his chest as he stopped between the two bodies; Yuki, motionless among the blackened rubble that was strewn along the ground, her golden curls singed and matted with red where they lay across her face, her arm in ribbons, her face torn; TK, kneeling, whimpering, shoulders hunched, only half conscious as he struggled to stay upright, his hands pressed tightly to his face but unable to hide the blood seeping from between his fingers to trickle threads of scarlet across his skin...
His stomach rebelling, his throat tight, Tai swayed, longing to start running away and never stop until he died. Why had he escaped? Why had nothing touched him? Why had Fate left him with this guilt, to stand unhurt as his friends bled? His eyes turned to the forest, and he saw Sora standing at the edge of the trees, looking back at him with accusation in her eyes...
"Sora, I couldn't help it! It wasn't my fault..."
He froze; a whirring rumble was echoing from the sky, making his skin prickle with fear. There was no mistaking that helicopter-like rumble...
"Sora, look out! Run! Sora..."
She bowed her head.
"I'm sorry, Tai..."
He struggled to reach her, but he couldn't move in the suddenly waist-high grass. Behind him, a roar caused him to spin around; an Ogremon with club raised snarled down at him, bringing the bulky weapon down with a brutal strength. Sora's voice echoed in his ears as he stumbled back and fell down an endless hole that opened in the earth, black and bottomless.
"I'm sorry...I have to go...I'm sorry..."
"SORA!"
Tai sat bolt upright in bed, sweating and gasping for air as he kicked his covers away. Slowly, he let the nightmare fade, trying to breathe steadily and deeply. When his heartbeat was normal again, he reached over to flick on the bedside lamp, sighing with relief as the light illuminated his room and chased the fragmented shadows into the corners. Somehow, he didn't feel like going back to sleep. His sweat-soaked sheets weren't helping, either. Sliding out of bed, he decided to go for a drink of water.
"Funny," he murmured, opening the door to the hallway and walking quietly into the bathroom. "I haven't had a nightmare about that accident in months. I wonder what set it off...and why would Sora be in it?" He splashed water on his face, shivered, and dried off with a towel. "That's the last time I sleep in my clothes," he muttered, looking down at the rumpled 'smartsuit' he wore.
Then a soft sound caught his ear, coming from the open bathroom window. He frowned, turning his head to look outside. That was impossible...he was awake now!
The sound became louder. A soft, whirring rumble, like dozens of helicopter blades...
Tai's breath caught in his throat.
"Oh, shit," he whispered, and tore out of the bathroom, heading for the living room and the telephone.
As he reached the doorway, he stopped dead.
Sora's bed was empty.
His stomach turning inside out, Tai stared at the neatly made blankets. A slip of paper lay on the pillow, and he picked it up, his hands shaking, and slowly unfolded it...
Dear Tai-
I can't put into words how hard this is...it's probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I know you don't deserve to have this happen to you, but I can't stay here...
"No..." Tai whispered, his eyesight blurring with tears before he could finish the note. His throat closed, and it was hard to speak... Suddenly, he crumpled the paper in his fist, whirling away from the empty Hide-a-bed. "Dammit! NO!" he yelled, his voice hoarse, and threw the note across the room. It refused to be thrown; instead, it fluttered silently to the floor at his feet, and he gazed at it, his head spinning...
The helicopter sound had grown louder, and Tai suddenly realized the full situation. If Sora was out there with those things...
Tai bolted to the bed, touching the pillow. It was still warm. He swallowed and slowly raised his head to look out the window, out over the courtyard. The main gate stood tall and firm, and at its foot a slender figure was making her way toward it...
"Sora..." he whispered. He could still catch her, still warn her-
His thoughts froze as the rumbling grew suddenly much louder, and a strange, insectlike shape began to appear, rising from the far side of the gate to hover above the wall...
Then another...
Then dozens...
"SORA!" Tai yelled. She froze, and whirled to look back at the empty courtyard...
And in that moment, the first Swoopmon dove over the wall and began to head straight for her. She turned, saw it, and let out a scream, fleeing back toward the complex buildings with the Digimon in hot pursuit. Tai swore and did a dive of his own for the telephone, dialing Command.
Lights began to come on all over the complex as people were shaken out of their beds by friends or officers, stumbling and half-awake as they rushed to their posts.
Joe ran down a hallway to his med wing, pulling on his coat...
Missy sat up with a curse as her roommate began to scream hysterically...
The first explosion went off when a Swoopmon dropped a Stinger Bomb attack on the Textiles building...
TK nearly ran into the doorframe as he stumbled into Kari's room, the house shaking from the nearby bombing...
Davis fumbled for his boots as the rest of the guys in his Defense Team dorm did the same, scrambling for battle...
Yukiko woke up in a cold sweat, the sound of further bombing dredging up terrible memories, her scars aching dully...
And in a dark room that held the shielding controls for the HQ, a pair of watery gray eyes narrowed.
"It's begun..."
__________________________________
Coming soon- Chapter 11: Red Sky By Morning
(AN) That's more like it, folks! (5 reviews!) Keep this up, and you might just get to find out what exactly has 'begun' sometime in the next few days! *hint hint*
Major suspense coming up! Also, a few more examples of the second reason why this fic is rated PG-13! (The first is profanity, the second...well, you'll find out.) Read at your own risk, but be warned...there are surprises on the way, and not all of them are pleasant. Keep your eyes peeled for the next chapter of Project: Moment! -Bandit O_o