AN: Ok! I know that I haven't posted in a while. All right, a long while. But I've been
really busy. And the spacebar on my keyboard is broken. Don't ask me how I'm making spaces now.
It'd be really hard to explain. However! I have already started working on the next chapter, so
it should be here soon. I don't want to type much because it's getting really annoying. So, I'll
say what I've got to say and go. First, I'll explain my little marks and stuff. These @*@ mean a
break in scenes. I.E. a shift in place or time. This *~* means the start and end of a flashback
or memory. Single stars will mean thoughts in paragraphs and italics or emphasis in speech. For
instance, *He never listens to me!* would be a thought, as it's an entire section. But "He
*never* listens to me!" would put an emphasis on 'never'. Get it? I hope so. Umm...I've gotta
clear a few thing up. Someone asked if this story was gonna be yaoi/yuri. The answer to that
is a big 'no'. I don't *write* that kinda stuff. I don't think that way. So, if you're seeing
that kinda stuff? You're digging too deep. Waaaay too deep. The guys are just *friends*. The
girls are just *friends*. The boys do *not* love any of the other boys that way. The girls
do *not* love any of the other girls that way. Ok? Ok. Also, I raised the rating to PG. Why?
Well, two main reasons. One: the story's gonna have dark-ish, bloody-ish stuff in it later
on. Two: I got tired of it being rated G. Good reason, no? ^_^; Well, gotta go.
Enjoy!
@*@
Mimi woke early the next morning and stretched, her body protesting every movement. It
had been months since she had walked for more than an hour, save all-day excursions to the mall,
and years since she had trekked all day in the Digiworld.
"It hurts." She whimpered softly to herself as she willed her body into a sitting
position. "I want my aspirin! I want my ice pack! I want my masseuse! I want...I want...oh, my."
Mimi's self-directed whining stopped abruptly as she caught sight of something sitting by the
lake. The body of water was at least twenty-five meters away from the spot Tai had allowed the
others to collapse. It was close enough that Mimi could see the lone figure that stared dully at
the water, but far enough away that he couldn't hear her. Refusing to let her gaze waver in the
least, lest he move and the moment be shattered, Mimi leaned over and poked Sora. Though the
Bearer of Love would have liked to simply ignore the poke and go back to sleep, it soon became
more than a simple prod. As Sora sat up to Mimi's incessant shaking, she mentally debated whether
it would be better to throw the over-enthusiastic girl over a cliff or drown her in the lake.
Deciding on drowning, Sora opened her eyes, and gasped. There, sitting by the lake, was the most
angelic figure she had ever seen. He sat alone on a rock, one of his long legs propped up by a
niche in the boulder, the other dangling listlessly, immersed in water up to the ankle. His chin
rested lightly on a wrist supported by the propped up leg, which caused his head tilt slightly.
His gaze was neither melancholy nor cheerful, but placidly indifferent. The early morning light
danced on the water that surrounded him on three sides, adding golden highlights to his light
blond hair. His eyes were azure as they gazed dispassionately at the water's surface.
"Oh, wow!" A surprised, female voice rang out, shattering Mimi and Sora's mood, but not
the boy's. "Is that *Matt*?" The other two girls blinked at the ogling Kari. A huge smile spread
across her usually calm face and her eyes danced. "He's *gorgeous*!" Mimi and Sora looked at each
other, then back at the oblivious Matt.
"Well." Mimi admitted finally. "He is rather cute."
"Yes." Sora agreed. "Rather." After a few more moments of appreciative silence, Kari
spoke up again thoughtfully.
"You know." She started slowly. "I think it's his eyes that pull the look together." Sora
shook her head.
"No, no, Kari. You wouldn't know this, because you're younger than I am, but a look isn't
*pulled together*. It's the combined effort of everything that makes a guy cute. Or really,
really cute, in this case. That hair, for instance, would look stupid on Tai. And imagine those
eyes in Izzy's head. It wouldn't work. It's all or nothing. And, right now, it's definitely all."
"Now, I don't agree, Sora." Mimi commented after awhile. All three continued to stare at
Matt as *he* continued to stare at the lake. "I think a look is pulled together, but you're right
in saying it isn't physical attributes that do that. It's all in the cloths. I mean, look at that
ensemble! Perfect match! Blue jeans, white tank top under shirt, dark green wind breaker. It's
perfect! Watch it when the wind blows. There! See? It's perfect! Imagine him in some golf-y
attire: checkered fluffy pants, slacks, pinstriped shirt. He wouldn't look as good, would he?
It's all in the cloths. They'll make or break ya."
"I'm not sure." Kari and Sora chorused. Mimi frowned slightly and continued attempting to
make the other two see the light, exactly as they attempted to do to her.
On the other side of the 'camp site,' Tai sat up and rubbed his eyes. Yawning hugely, he
slowly checked to make sure all were accounted for. Agumon slept on by his Digidestined's feet,
oblivious to the world around him. T.K. lay on his side, slightly curled, using one of his arms
as a pillow, the other draped over Patamon. Joe was on his back, his hands, which were folded
over his chest, twitching in rhythm to a dream. Gomamon lounged by the dreaming boys head. There
was a slight snoring sound, which emanated from Tentomon, who slept by Izzy. The boy himself
slept soundly, curled protectively around his precious lap-top. When he mumbled something about
computer programs and the odds of locating Gennai versus being slowly devoured by Digital
Monsters, Tai shook his head and moved on. Matt had taken last watch, so Tai didn't check for
his sleeping form. Raising his head slowly, Tai looked over to where the girls had slept the
night before. The three had their heads together, clearly talking about something. He blinked at
them, then turned to see what all the fuss was about. He did a double take at the unknowing
figure by the lake and sputtered for a few minutes. Then he glared, turned towards the other
three members of his side of the fire, and said at them, not caring that he was waking them up,
"*Look* at them!" Joe, always alert, shot up into a sitting position instantly. T.K., a
bit slower than Joe on his best mornings, of which this was not one, sat up groggily, muttering
something about making first bell. The Digimon and Izzy ignored him, though Izzy did curl a
little closer around his lap-top. Joe and T.K. blinked at Tai.
"What's the emergency?" Joe asked, clearly concerned. Nothing was attacking; no one was
being eaten or tortured; why had he been woken up?
"*They're* the emergency. Look at them!" T.K. shook his head slowly in confusion, a
slight frown on his still muddled face.
"Look at who?" The brown headed semi-leader pointed at the girls.
"Them!" T.K. blinked twice at the girls, then squinted at the figure by the lake. He sat
up straighter and grinned at Tai.
"Wazza matter, Tai? Jealous?" Tai turned red, either from embarrassment or anger, and
looked away.
"No! Of course I'm not jealous! Who would be jealous? I certainly wouldn't want all that
attention. All those girls. Staring at me. Talking about me. It'd make me nervous." Joe and T.K.
exchanged looks.
"Right, Tai." Joe commented soothingly. "You don't care that they're paying him more
attention now then they've paid the four of us combined for the last five years." Tai glared at
him, then at Matt.
"That's right. They are, aren't they? What's he got that we don't?"
"Nothing!" T.K. said happily. Tai and Joe looked at him.
"What are you talking about?" They demanded. T.K. make a motion at Matt, grinning.
"Look at him! He's tall. He's hansome. And all three of the girls agree."
"That's the point!" Tai and Joe shouted in unison, ganging up on him. T.K.'s grin
widened.
"Aren't you worried?" Tai asked seriously. "When we get back to our world, this'll
happen again. You remember what happened with that coffee-house girl!"
"Yea!" Joe agreed. "When we get back, every girl who ever thought we were worth the time
of day will see him and *die*. Blonde hair, blue eyes. The stereotypical perfect guy." Joe
sighed, having depressed himself. "We might as well take out little black books and *burn* them.
We haven't got a chance." Tai sighed, too. Then turned to T.K.
"After all that, I can't believe you're *still* not worried." T.K. grinned madly.
"Why should I be?" They stared at him.
"You're insane." Tai decided finally. T.K. shook his head.
"You guys are missing a big point here. Matt is my brother. Everything that makes him
the 'stereotypical perfect guy', as you put it Joe, is in *my* DNA. I'm gonna look just like him!
I'm gonna have to get *two* black books! I'll be swamped with girls! Waa-hahahahahaha-" T.K. was
cut sharply off as a rock sailed through the air and smacked him on the head, knocking him out.
All of the Digidestined, save Matt, who was unaware that he was the center of so much attention,
Izzy, who slept on still, and T.K., who was unconscious, stared at Kari. The girl glared at T.K.
"Stupid T.K.!" She exclaimed. Then she realized that the others were staring at her, and
blushed. She sat back down next to the other girls and stared at the ground. Mimi and Sora
exchanged a look. Sora grinned.
"Ooh...Kari...Don't you *want* T.K. to look like Matt?"
"Are you jealous that all those girls will look at him if he does?" Mimi questioned
innocently. Kari blushed a deeper shade of red and ducked her head.
"Kari likes T.K.! Kari likes T.K.!" Mimi and Sora chorused.
"I-I do not! He was being pompous, is all. Really." Mimi and Sora shared another look.
"Sure." Mimi said soothingly. "You knocked him out because he was being pompous. Right.
We believe you, don't we, Sora?" Sora grinned.
"Yea! And that's why you're all red! Because you overexerted yourself when you knocked
T.K. out for being pompous! That's it!" It was at that moment, as Sora and Mimi teased a badly
blushing Kari, as Joe and Tai hauled a barely conscious T.K. into a semi-sitting position, and
as Izzy and the Digimon finally sat up, vainly attempting to figure out what was going on, that
Matt turned around. He watched the antics of his comrades for a few moments, then sighed and
stood up. This movement caught the attention of the others, and they turned to watch as Matt and
Gabumon, who until that moment had sat by the blonde's side unnoticed, left their rock and ambled
back to camp. Silence descended like a heavy fog upon the camp as the pair walked over to the
smoldering embers that had been their campfire. Once there, Matt kicked dirt into it, hands in
his pockets. Gabumon pushed the boundary rocks into the ashes and Matt stepped on them,
sufficiently destroying the fire. His task done, Matt looked at each of the Digidestined in turn,
the tiniest hint of amusement in the depths of his azure eyes.
"So?" He began quietly after a few more moments of silence. "Are we going to hunt for
Gennai again today, or what?" Everyone looked at everyone else, and then Tai hopped up.
"Of course we are!" He affirmed enthusiastically. "I mean, what else are we gonna do?
It's not like Gennai's going to just show up behind me and say-"
"So, I see you kids finally made it." Tai blinked at the others and then turned as they
pointed.
"Ahh!" He exclaimed at Gennai, who had materialized behind the boy as he spoke. Matt
arched an eye brow.
"Do you enjoy catching us unprepared, or is always just a coincidence?" Gennai grinned.
He looked at the Digimon, who all, save Gabumon, stood in a group next to the group of all the
kids, save Matt. Those two stood off to the side, as par usual.
"I'm glad you Digimon found your Destined. It's going to be a rough battle, so you'd
better learn to work together." This last comment was directed more toward Matt than anyone else,
but the teen just shrugged and stroked the top of Gabumon's head once. To Gennai, the message was
clear: I've got the one that matters by my side. What else is there to be close to? The others
didn't know a message came with this rare gesture of affection from Matt. Gennai sighed and shook
his head.
"The new enemy isn't one your Digimon can beat alone. In fact, most of the work will be
done by you kids."
"What new enemy?" Tai demanded.
"The one who threatens the very balance of the Digiworld. Already he has the four Keys
guarding his gates."
"Keys?" Izzy questions. "How is it possible for a key to guard a gate? Keys unbar gates,
they do not preserve them."
"These Keys are not like the metal ones you use in your world to unlock doors and such.
They are beings of themselves, call Keys because they are necessary to life."
"Oh. Key as in essential, not key as in passe-partout." They all, including Gennai and
Matt, stared at Izzy.
"I'm not going to ask." Mimi stated finally. "I don't know where he got *that*, but I'm
not even going to ask. It isn't worth the lecture." The others nodded, and Gennai coughed.
"Anyway," he continued, "these Keys are necessities of life, and the one who has taken
them into his power is intent on using them to destroy you."
"Wait a minute." Izzy demanded. "These Keys, are they creatures native to the Digital
World or, as with us, are they imported from another dimension?"
"They are Digimon, and yet they are not." Tai sighed and rubbed his temples.
"Isn't the point of being our guide knowing this stuff?"
"Who said I was your guide? All I want is to live in peace and enjoy my retirement. It's
not *my* fault these evil things like to take over my neighborhood. I'm the victim in all of
this!"
"Yes, yes." Izzy prompted. "But what of the Keys? What can you tell me?"
"I can tell you only what I know."
"Which would be...?"
"Very little." Izzy sighed and looked miserably at his computer.
"Anything would help." He whispered in a small, defeated voice.
"I might be able to help you..." Gennai held out his holographic hand and a small disk
materialized above it. "This is a computer program I created when I learned of your arrival in
the Digiworld. When you enter the realm of a Key, this program will initiate and take you to that
Key, and, subsequently, a Gate. Once you've passed all four Gates, you'll face the last test: an
evil so terrifying, it will make the Dark Masters look like two-year-olds."
"Hey." Joe protested. "Have you ever baby sat a two-year-old before?" Turning to the
others, he explained. "Those suckers are *cruel*. I have twin cousins that are two and I've never
seen anything like it. The Dark Masters weren't *nearly* as bad as the twins." Gennai sighed.
"Fine. How about: it will make the Dark Masters look like babies?" Sora shook her head.
"I know a nine month old that could tear the Dark Masters apart with just her screaming."
"Fine!" Gennai exclaimed, exasperated. "It'll make them look like children!"
"Now, just a minute!" Mimi protested. "To some people, *we're* kids! Are you saying
*we're* worse than the Dark Masters?"
"Oh, for the love of-"
"All right!" Tai yelled, silencing the argumentative Digidestined. "All right. We get
the picture. This one is worse than the last one. A lot worse. What else can you tell us?"
"Um...all the Keys are female and the Evil One is male?"
"That's not helpful!" Izzy cried, aghast. "I want a *name*. I want *features*. I want
*attacks*. I want *details*!"
"Alas, I have no such information."
"But that's not *fair*!"
"Well." Mimi huffed. "I want my masseuse and I can't have *that*. I can't even have an
ice pack! That's not fair, either. Nothing in this place is ever fair!" She turned to glare at
Gennai. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this world sucks! No offense, Palmon."
"None taken!" Palmon replied cheerily. It all became too much for Tai, who cried out in
frustration,
"Can we *please* do something *useful* for a change? Gennai, if you're going to give that
disk to Izzy, give it to him! Izzy, if you're going to install the program and use it, get on
with it! If anyone has anything useful to say, say it now, because I want to get moving! Let's
go, people!" Matt raised his head and lifted one of his hands.
"I have a question." He said quietly.
"Than *ask* it, Matt." The blonde completely ignored Tai and spoke to Gennai.
"Two, actually. What type of Digimon is the first Key and what is her name?" Gennai
looked at Matt, as if debating whether or not to answer the question. "You don't like me," Matt
stated flatly. "I don't like you. If it was just you and me, I wouldn't expect an answer and
further more I wouldn't have asked. But *they* are here, too, and have momentarily forgotten that
we have to face down four Keys before we even *think* about the final bad thing. So answer the
questions, for them, not me: what type of Digimon is the first Key and what is her name?" Gennai
took a deep breath and then released it in a sigh.
"The first Key, as with all the other Keys, is Basic Digimon. That doesn't mean that they
are in Rookie from or anything, it means the data that they are comprised of is Basic. Basic data
exists before the 'monster' can be added, but as time wears on, their type is coupled with a
name. For instance, though the first gate keeper's name is Meloremon, her type is now Silence. It
wasn't always Silence, but it changed to that after she started working for *him*."
"What was it originally?" Izzy asked, fascinated.
"I can't say."
"Why not?" Tai demanded.
"If I call her by her original type, I'll invoke her, and she'll come here. You are not
yet ready to face her."
"How many other 'Silences' are there?" Asked Sora.
"None."
"How is that possible?" Izzy inquired. "Even our own, unique Digimon have others of their
same type."
"When Basic data takes shape, there is only enough for one. She is the only one of her
type."
"Then how is it there are four gate keepers?"
"The others are of a different type of Basic data. That is why they are called 'sisters'
but are not of one type."
"What are the other three?" T.K. asked.
"I'd love to tell you, but I forgot to pay my long distance phone bill. I have to go.
Have fun with this program, Izzy." He threw the disk at Izzy, who caught it and began uploading
it into his laptop. "I'll see you kids later."
"Wait!" Tai cried, even as Gennai disappeared. "How do we beat her?"
"You must beat her by not beating her," were Gennai's last, cryptic words to the
Digidestined. Tai looked at the others.
"'Beat her by not beating her'?" Mimi questioned softly. "What does *that* mean?"
"Where does he *get* this stuff?" Wailed Joe. "You can't beat someone by *not* beating
them! That's like when parents say ignoring a bully helps! It's all a bunch of-"
"I've got it!" Izzy cried suddenly. "The exact location of the Key. Here she is. This
dot on the monitor represents where she and the Gate are. If each inch represents two miles, and
we can travel approximately...uh-huh...in one week...and...hmm...in one day...it should take us-"
here he paused, -"two and a half days!" T.K. blinked.
"Um...is that enough time to figure out Gennai's riddle?"
"It'll have to be." Tai said darkly. "Come on, everyone, let's get moving." Slowly,
stifling moans and complaints, the others followed Tai as he led them to what could very well be
their doom.
@*@
When they broke for lunch later that day, things went as they normally did. The others
collected firewood and Matt made a fire. When Joe asked why Matt placed the wood so deliberately,
the quiet blonde cocked a half smile and replied,
"The sun goes down early in winter. I had to do something to keep myself warm until seven
thirty. I started out by just piling a bunch of wood in any old order, but that wasted matches in
the lighting. I went to the library and borrowed a book about building fires and learned how."
He shrugged. "They lighted the first time if I just rearranged the wood a bit. It saved matches."
"Ah." Joe said simply.
"Wait a minute." Tai started. "That was all great then, but why now? Agumon's Pepper
Breath will light anything. So why all the extra effort?"
"Habit." Pause.
"Ah." Lunch that day was very like dinner the night before. After they had all eaten,
T.K. had the feeling that something was missing. After a few minutes of thinking, he pinpointed
what it was and snapped his fingers.
"Hey, Matt," He began, turning to the tall blonde who didn't move in the least. But that
was to be expected. "I was just noticing," he continued, unfazed, "that you haven't played your
harmonica since we arrived. Did you leave it at home?" Matt's eyes flicked over in T.K.'s
direction briefly before turning back to the fire. His voice was quiet as ever.
"I have it." T.K. was more than a little confused.
"Then...don't you play anymore?"
"I do." T.K. stared at his brother, perplexed.
"But...if you have it...and if you still play it...then why aren't you?" Matt turned and
looked at his little brother for a tense moment. His eyes were deep blue, filled with shadows of
memories and totally unreadable. He studied T.K., as if deciding how best to answer, or how much
to say. He opened his mouth, then closed it, deciding that what he was going to say would be too
much. T.K. waited, expecting something, so Matt said, very coldly,
"Because." Then he turned back to the fire. T.K. was hurt.
"But...because isn't an answer." Matt's eyes flicked toward T.K. again, and he though of
how many times his father had said that to him, after that first year. *I hate,* Matt thought
slowly to himself, turning his eyes back to the fire, *the way people say that. Because is a
perfectly good answer. It says 'no more questions.' Dad didn't get it. And *he* won't get it. Why
bother with answers that no one will understand? Better to say nothing.* T.K. opened his mouth
again, wanting to ask more, wanting to *know* more, but Tai caught his eye and shook his head
slowly at T.K. Then he fixed Matt with what he hoped was an understanding look.
"Music is a sign that you're close friends with the people you're around, isn't it,
Matt?" The tall blond said nothing and did not turn. Tai sighed. "I know how you feel, dude."
Matt looked at Tai with open skepticism.
"You do?" Tai nodded emphatically.
"Sure. We all do." Matt arched one eyebrow, one of the greatest shows of any emotion he
had given during the last few days with the Destined.
"Hmm. Is that so?" Again Tai nodded.
"Yes." Matt shrugged.
"All right, then. How do I feel?" Tai blinked at him.
"Huh?"
"If you know how I feel, tell me. How do I feel, right now?" Tai winced.
"W-well..." Tai looked at the others, who nodded, encouraging him. He took a deep breath
and faced Matt. "You feel misunderstood. None of us have seen you in five years, and you feel
like we don't know the you you've become."
"You're lonely." Sora added.
"And a little scared." Mimi agreed.
"You do not think we have the capabilities to offer you assistance." Joe nodded at Izzy's
comment and added,
"You think that we'll make friends with you, that you'll get use to us again, and then
we'll go home and you'll never see us."
"You don't think we *care* enough to stick with you when this is all over." Kari added.
"You think we'll leave you. Just like everyone else always has."
"You trusted once." T.K. said softly. "And all it left you was hurt." Matt watched each
one of them in turn as they spoke.
"Is that it?" He asked softly when T.K. was finished.
"What do you mean?" Joe asked. Matt used a hand to indicate them all.
"What you just said. Is that what you think is wrong with me?" T.K. looked at the others.
"Yes." Tai said firmly, and the others agreed. Matt nodded.
"You're right. All of you are right. That *is* how I felt-" the seven of them smiled at
each other, "-five years ago. When we were in this strange world for the first time. It would
have been interesting if you came up with all of this then. Maybe in five years you'll know what
I feel now." He shrugged as they stared at him, slack jaw. "People grow. People change. Five
years ago I was misunderstood and lonely and scared and not too sure if I wanted people to
*trust* and call friends. Not anymore."
"Then why are you always so *quiet*?" Mimi demanded. Matt turned to look at her and
shrugged again.
" 'If you don't understand my silence, you'll never understand my words.' I don't know
who said that, but it's true. If you don't figure out what's 'wrong with me' on your own, you'll
never understand." Matt got up and walked away from his companions with Gabumon, ignoring the
stammered protests from the others. Walking over to a large tree, Matt sat down, Gabumon beside
him. The others watched as Matt distanced himself physically, an odd expression of his emotional
distance. They all looked at each other, then back at Matt. T.K. was hurt by his older brother,
but somehow understood that Matt just *telling* everyone what was wrong wouldn't be enough.
*When we were little,* T.K. though, *Matt would play for me when I was scared. Maybe he's not
playing *now* because he knows I'm not scared. Well, not really, anyway.* Even as T.K. thought
this, another part of him, the part that knew Matt better than any of the other Destined, was
telling T.K. that there was more to Matt's playing than a mere cure all for fear. That same part
summoned forth a memory. T.K. was five in the memory, and Matt was eight.
*~*
T.K. brought a little girl home with him, a new playmate, and was very proud of her when
he made introductions to his mom. However, when he introduced her to Matt, the older boy stopped
playing the melody he had been creating with his harmonica. It had been sparse weeks since the
divorce, and Matt didn't come over unless it was a Sunday. His musical talents were lost to T.K.
a great deal of the time, and the little boy was upset that his brother stopped.
"I'm sorry, T.K." Matt said soothingly as T.K. started to cry. "I don't know your new
friend, and I don't want to play in front of her. It messes me up." T.K. understood that on a
five-year-old level, but still didn't think it was fair. However, after several months of Sunday
visits, Matt did something unexpected. T.K. and his friend were playing, and a soft melody
suddenly filled the air, encircling the five-year-olds.
"What's that?" T.K.'s friend asked. "What's Matt doing?" T.K. smiled at her.
"He's playing his harmonica. Isn't that neat?" The girl smiled.
"Yea!"
*~*
*He wasn't comfortable around Kayla, so he didn't play. When he knew her, and accepted
her, he played. Can it be he's not comfortable around me anymore? I've got to know.* Stealing
himself, T.K. rose and walked over to his brother, allowing only Patamon to accompany him. He sat
down a few feet away from his brother as Patamon joined Gabumon and looked at the sky with him.
"I've really missed you." T.K. said finally, not looking away from the sky. "I was so
worried when I went to Dad's house and you both were gone."
"Not worried enough to look though, eh?" The off handed ease with which Matt uttered that
single sentence hurt T.K. more than a thousand rebuffs. He looked at his brother with shock.
"God no, Matt! I look for you for a long time!"
"Weeks?" Matt asked nonchalantly, continuing to stare at the sky.
"*Years*!" The honest shock and hurt in T.K.'s voice forced Matt to look at his brother.
"I never gave up on you, Matt. I kept telling them-" he said with a pause to point at the
Digidestined- "that you'd be back. After the first three years they thought I was dilutional.
Everyone- them, Mom, even my friends at school who never knew you- *everyone* told me you were
gone for good. I *knew* you weren't. I *knew* it." T.K.'s voice broke and he swiped at his eyes
with the back of his hand. Matt watched as the boy collected himself. After a few moments, he
continued. "When I saw you that night, I had just finished telling the others about the time you
taught me about the constellations. They all pitied me. Poor T.K., who's so obsessed over his
brother every little thing reminds him of Matt. And for the last six months it was true.
Everything that happened, I missed you. If I went out with Mom for ice cream, I'd wish you were
there. If I was writing a letter to a friend, I'd wish it was to you. Whenever we drove past the
airport or a music shop, I'd want to see you- just to *see* you- so badly it hurt. Mom was
worried, but I told her I was ok. All I had to do was see you, and everything would be fine. And
you *were* gonna come back, so everything *was* going to be ok. And I did see you and I *am* fine
now." Suddenly T.K. was done and had nothing else to say, so he composed himself again and
sighed. "Anyway, I didn't mean to lecture, and I wasn't hoping to change your opinion of me, I
just had to say that. I had to let you know that I never gave up on you, and I'm glad I didn't.
And...you're my big brother, Matt. No matter what happens, I'll always need you and...I just...I
love you, Matt. Nothing you say or do, nowhere you go, no matter how long you have to be gone,
even if I never *do* figure out the whole story, nothing will change that. And that's...that's
all I have to say." T.K. wiped his eyes again and started to get up. There was a slight rustling
sound and then something else. A strangely sweet sound, a music filled with a hundred emotions
and feelings that would never be sorted or defined. A melody of comfort. T.K.'s throat closed
suddenly and he sat back down, hard, allowing Matt's playing to fill his heart and run over, just
as the younger brother's tears did now. T.K. pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his
forehead on his knees as years of hope and belief were rewarded in a bath of music and tears.
Matt's song of acceptance played on.
The others watched in fascination as T.K. went over to Matt. At first the two just sat.
Then T.K. said something, and Matt's response seemed to startle the younger boy. The next time
Matt replied to a comment, T.K. seemed shocked, and hurt. The smaller boy spoke again, and Matt
looked at him. T.K.'s words, carefully selected at first, began to tumble out of his mouth, until
finally he broke, and his eyes filled with tears. They watched as Matt waited for T.K. to compose
himself. Once that was done, they watched as T.K. spoke again. His eyes filled periodically,
accenting the things he was saying, until he was finished. Then he wiped his eyes again and
started to get up. The unheard conversation must have been very important to Matt, for he
responded to T.K.'s movements in an unexpected way. He shifted his weight and pulled something
out of his pocket. T.K.'s face crumpled and he sat back down, laying his face on his knees, as
his older brother played for him. The sound of the harmonica, just as with the words of the
conversation, was lost on the other Digidestined, but that was all right. Whatever had happened
between Matt and his brother, was for Matt and his brother, and no one else. After Matt played
for a time, the whole while watching T.K., the younger boy looked up and smiled at his brother.
Matt put his harmonica down and slowly smiled back. The first shared smile in five years, it said
more than words ever could. Finally the two got up and walked, with their Digimon, back to the
others. They all smiled at the brothers, but only T.K. responded. Evidently, whatever
breakthrough T.K. had made with Matt did not extend to the other Destined. They all, including
T.K., saw this and sighed. Tai stood and brushed his pants off, then suggested that they continue
their trek. After a brief discussion with Izzy, the direction was picked and progress made.
@*@
In a cold, shadowy castle, a silent evil watched the progression of the Digidestined. One
of her, for surely it was a girl, shadows formed a semi-solid form.
"Missstresss..." It hissed. She turned just the smallest bit, acknowledging its presence.
"VenomCobrmon." She said, naming it. The thing slithered, for it had no legs, into the
light. It was a huge snake-looking entity, easily as tall as the tallest Digidestined when it
reared, longer because of its coils. "I trust you bring me news." The creature, the VenomCobrmon,
bowed its hooded head slightly.
"Yesss, Missstresss. The Dessstined are on their way here asss we ssspeak..." She shook
her head slightly.
"I am watching their progress, VenomCobrmon. I know that they are coming. Which is the
one who is both?" The VenomCobrmon bobbed its head, thinking.
"I have heard only one sssong, Missstresss Sssilenccce. It came from the tall one with
blond hair and eyesss of iccce. He ssseemsss to enjoy sssilenccce asss much asss musssic. He isss
ssstrange, Missstresss. He isss dangerousss." The one of darkness, the Mistress of Silence,
Meloremon, hmm-ed thoughtfully.
"They will be reaching the bridge soon. Halfway across, they will be in my domain. Once
the Ice Eyed one is little more than half way eliminate him. If more than he fall, I will reward
you for each one." The snake Digimon dipped its head again,
"Yesss, Missstresss," and was gone. Meloremon waited for a few more minutes, then became
one with the silence, uttering as she left,
"The challenge to my power...he who is both sides of me...I will make you one with
silence forever."
@*@
Matt was oblivious to everything save one huge problem: in order to reach Meloremon and
the first Gate, he would have to cross a bridge. A very long, very high, very rickety old bridge.
In reality, it was a string of boards that connected two cliff sides. Far below, far, far below,
the cannon floor was naught but water and white rapids. A fall from that thrice-cured bridge
would not be fun, and landing would be slightly worse.
"Ok." Tai began, interrupting Matt's slightly more than panicked thoughts. "Let's get
moving. Who wants to go first?" Composing himself, Matt put on his most unnervingly blank
expression and turned to face Tai.
"I don't care who goes first. I'll go last." Tai raised an eyebrow and looked at Matt
with skepticism.
"Why?" He asked warily. Matt shrugged.
"Because someone's got to do it, and I'd rather go last that first. No one to push me
from behind." Tai still looked uncertain, but found no reason not to let him go last.
"Well..." he began slowly, "I guess..." He shook his head. "Whatever, dude. Anyway, what
order are we going in until Matt?" They ended up going Tai, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, T.K., and
Matt. The Digimon went when their Destined did. No one, save Joe, seemed overly cautious of the
bridge, and Matt kept his fear of falling buried so deeply no one knew, so they all started
across the bridge. As his turn approached, Matt took deep breaths and attempted to calm his
frazzled nerves. Gabumon came over and leaned against Matt, offering his strength. Matt absently
petted him as T.K. started on the bridge. Matt took a last deep breath as T.K. and Patamon
reached the halfway point, and took hold of the bridge with two hands. Even after he had steeled
his nerves, it took Matt a few attempts to will his feet to move onto the bridge. Gabumon looked
back at Matt, his gaze filled with strength. Slowly, oh so slowly, Matt moved out onto the
dipping, swaying bridge. *Please.* Thought Matt. *Please don't let me fall. And don't let them
see I'm terrified.* Matt was a little over a third of the way across when T.K. and Patamon
reached safety. Matt didn't notice. A strong wind grabbed the bridge and rocked it violently.
*Oh, crap!* Matt thought, freezing in his tracks and putting a death grip on the ropes on either
side of him. Gabumon knew that Matt was panic stricken.
"Matt." He called, attempting to tear his Destine's frightened gaze away from the fall on
both sides and the rapids below. "Matt." He said again. "If you do not move now, the others will
know that you are afraid." Sufficient motivation having been provided, Matt forced himself to
move on. Gabumon reached the safety of firm ground and looked back as Matt past the halfway mark.
There was a snapping sound; the others cried out in fright. Matt was too surprised and shocked to
utter a word as the bridge dropped out from under him.
"MATT!" T.K. screamed as his brother fell. There was a sudden movement to the boy's
right; Gabumon attempted to throw himself over the cliff after his Destined in a last ditch
effort to save him. It took Agumon, Palmon, Patamon, and Gatomon to stop him. It took Tai, Joe,
Kari, and Sora to stop T.K.
"Let me go!" T.K. screamed. "Stop it! I have to get to Matt! LET GOOO!! MAAAAAAT!"
"Shut up!" Izzy snapped. "Shut up and calm down, T.K. If your level of hysteria rises
very much further, I am going to prompt Tentomon to shock you, and the rest of us will go and
locate Matt by ourselves." T.K. stopped struggling.
"What do you mean, find Matt?" He demanded. "How are you going to find-"
"There is a path," Izzy interrupted, "directly over there. Adjacent to those bushes."
T.K. strode over to the bushes in question and pushed them aside, revealing a small, single-file
trail.
"It leads down to the river bank." Izzy explained, still taping absently at his computer.
In an uncharacteristic display, Gabumon pushed T.K. out of the way and dashed down the path. T.K.
followed without hesitation. The others paused for a moment, then followed Izzy down the narrow
path. Once they arrived, Izzy reopened his laptop and began accessing Matt's location via his
Digivice. T.K. was already walking along the bank, hands cupped over his mouth, calling Matt's
name loudly. Gabumon was running little frantic lines up and down the shore line. After a very
few minutes, there was a splash, and the Digidestined and their Digimon turned to see Gabumon
swimming in the river, out to the center. Once there, he disappeared from view and for a shocking
moment, T.K. thought he had lost Gabumon, too. Then the wolf Digimon reappeared with something
in his mouth. As he struggled back to shore, Tai cried, aghast,
"What are you *doing*?! We're looking for Matt, here! This is no time to fish! We don't
have very much time to find-"
"MATT!" T.K. cried, running over to where Gabumon was struggling with a very limp, very
wet figure in the shallows. T.K. did not pause for a moment, but waded right in and took his
brother away from the exhausted Gabumon. Heaving Matt up, T.K. half dragged, half carried the
taller boy ashore, where all the others were ready to help. Tai grabbed Matt's feet and T.K. kept
possession of his brother's arms. The two of them brought him to a clearing as Joe barked orders
to the others.
"Sora! Go get some fire wood! Mimi, go with her! Kari, make sure Gabumon's ok! T.K., Tai,
bring him over here! Izzy, what can you tell me?" Izzy set up his computer facing the water
logged Matt and began typing furiously.
"Well, I'd like to say right now that I am extremely pleased I got this personal laptop
medical program installed in my computer over Christmas break. He seems to be all right, save a
few cuts and bruises. I suppose the water broke his fall. He's got a bit of water in his lungs
but that will go away with coughing. Hmm...that's odd..."
"What?" T.K. demanded. "What's odd? Tell me!" Izzy pointed to a picture on his monitor.
"His throat is inflamed. Sore."
"So?" T.K. asked curtly. "What does that mean? What's the matter with that? Is it life
threatening?" Izzy blinked at T.K., then said slowly,
"No...there's nothing wrong with that at all. He must have swallowed some water. Hardly
life threatening. It's just a little odd that it would enflame so quickly. But that does happen
for some people." T.K. nodded, satisfied. "It will undoubtedly calm down when he expels some of
the water in his system." As if in agreement, Matt sat up and began coughing. T.K. hurried over
to help, but Matt ignored the help, and turned on his side, facing Gabumon.
"You see, Gabumon?" He gasped brokenly between coughs. "I told you that-" cough, cough,
"mountains and cliffs were-" cough, "evil!" Gabumon sighed at this, content that Matt was unhurt,
and sat by the boy. They were quite a pair, the two of them soaked to the bone. Mimi, Sora, and
Kari set about making a fire to warm them from the frigid waters as Gabumon began pounding on
Matt's back.
"*Breath*, Matt." Gabumon commanded as he whacked at the boy. "*Breath*." Matt choked and
waived Gabumon away. The pounding ceased.
"Thanks a lot." He wheezed. "It's not enough that I fell from *that* monstrosity into
freezing, below zero waters, but the guy who's *supposed* to help me is trying to kill me by
beating me with his paws. That's just great. This day is beginning to royally suck." Gabumon
nodded.
"I agree." After that, the fire had started, so everyone made Matt and Gabumon sit very
close, warming themselves. Not that they protested. The water was cold and the fire was warming.
Matt and Gabumon cast their votes to stay exactly where they were for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately, that would have messed with Tai's schedule, and so they had to be going. Tai
rubbed his hands together.
"All right!" He began. "It's time to get moving. Back up the mountain, everyone!" There
were half stifled moans, and then a decided and curt,
"No." Tai turned to stare at Matt.
"No?" He questioned. Matt glared at him.
"*No*." Tai blinked.
"What do you mean, no?"
"I mean," Matt hissed between clinched teeth, ice eyes flashing dangerously, "no. No, I'm
not going to frolic back over to that...that *thing* and climb it. No. Never. Get a life. Dream
on. *No*." Tai stared at him for several minutes, and Matt glared back. When finally he opened
his mouth to say something, T.K. cut him off with a look. The small blonde knelt before his
brother, and Matt glared back, defiant. *I can see,* T.K. thought, slightly dazed at the level of
refusal Matt was at, and how quickly he had gone there, *why Dad had a problem with him. Oh,
boy.* When finally he spoke, it was very calmly and rationally. T.K. was hoping that this wound
defuse Matt's flat and utter refusal to cooperate.
"Matt," T.K. began in soothing tones, "I know that after a fall like that, you might be a
little...nervous about having to climb. But if we don't-"
"*Nervous*?" Tai asked, incredulous. "You're *nervous*? You won't climb a cliff cause
you're *nervous*?" Matt glared at the brown haired boy, and suddenly Tai grinned. "Ooh...you're
*scared*. Is it a fear of cliffs or of heights?" Matt refused to answer and turned to glare at
the mountain. Tai's grin widened. "Matt is scared, Matt is scared!" He sang in mocking tones.
Matt stood suddenly, causing Tai and T.K., who had both been rather close, in order to negotiate
and plan, to step back. Ice eyes flashing, Matt glared at Tai and jabbed a finger at the cliff.
"*You* take a plunge off a couple of those, *moron*, and we'll see how *you* feel about
*climbing*. *Jerk*." So saying, he stalked into the forest to cool down, and Gabumon let him go.
"Gee..." Tai said after a while. "I didn't think he'd be so *touchy* about it. Fall off a
cliff once and the guy goes all to pieces!" Gabumon sighed.
"It was not just once, Tai." Tai and the others blinked at him.
"Huh?" They asked as one. T.K. stepped forward and got down on eye level with the
Digimon.
"Has he fallen like that before?" Gabumon looked in the direction Matt had gone off in
and shifted uncertainly.
"I am not sure he wants me to tell you." T.K. put a hand on Gabumon.
"Please, Gabumon. I'm his brother. We're his friends. We need to know what's wrong with
him, so we can know what to expect of him. All right?" Gabumon still looked uncertain, but he
nodded.
"All right. But if I get in trouble for this, I won't ever tell you anything ever again."
T.K. nodded and Gabumon took a deep breath, looking after Matt. "Matt told you that his father
moved them a second time, further into the country, right?" They all nodded. "Well, what he
*didn't* tell you was that a few nights after they had settled in that second time, Matt's father
did something. I'm still not too sure what, either he said something or did something, but
whatever it was, it prompted Matt to write you a letter, T.K. This letter was to tell you that he
was all right and planning to see you again. Matt was going to run away. But his dad caught him
as he finished the letter and got really upset, and grounded Matt. That started a chain reaction. Matt was tired of his father, so he planned to run away. Mr. Ishida learned of Matt's plans and grounded him. That got Matt even more angry, so he grabbed his letter to you, and ran out on his father. Everything might have been ok, except…except it had been raining the last couple of days, and everything was wet and slippery and fogged over. Matt's father ran after him and tried to warn him about the cliff…but the area was so new, and Matt hadn't had the time to explore. By the time he saw the cliff edge…it was too late. He fell. Mr. Ishida tried to get to Matt but by the time the paramedics got there and Matt arrived at the hospital…Matt was legally dead for an hour. They say it was a medical miracle that he survived. Somehow his heart started back up and somehow he started breathing and somehow he had enough energy to heal and survive. I don't know how it happened," Gabumon lied, "I'm just glad that it did. And that's why he's afraid of heights. If you want to fall off a cliff, die, and then somehow
survive, *then* you can mock him, all right, Tai?" The boy hung his head.
"Well, I'm sorry...I didn't *know*."
"Well now you do," a brusque, soft voice commented from behind Gabumon, "and that doesn't
make you any less of a jerk." Gabumon's eyes widened and he turned to face his Destined.
"I did not ask you if I could tell them. Are you angry?" Matt shrugged and stroked
Gabumon's fur.
"They would've figured it out anyway. Better you than me." Gabumon sighed.
"L-look, Matt," Tai stammered, "I just wanna say that-" Matt flapped a hand at him.
"Complete and total fool that you are," he said, referring to the earlier comments, "I
ignore you." Tai blinked at him.
"What?" Matt turned to glare at the brown haired sometimes leader. He held up two
fingers.
"Two things, genius. One: I will never, unless my life is in danger, climb a cliff. Hill?
Sure. Mountain? Maybe. Cliff? Never. Two: If you taunt me, tease me, mock me, or pity me, I will
kill you. And I'm not kidding. Meloremon and her henchmen won't get a chance. I don't care if it
means a score of worlds are lost, I'll kill you. Got it?" Tai gulped and nodded. "Good." Matt
said. "Now, Izzy, without climbing that...that *thing*, how do we get to Meloremon's place?" Izzy
blinked then began giving out rapid-fire alternate solutions. None of them involved climbing, so
they were all ok with Matt.
@*@
AN: Well, what do you think? G'wan, review! Did you know that I have a 43/1 read/review ratio?
That's not good. I mean, I'm *glad* that I'm not being flamed, but c'mon! We authors work darn
hard! And a 43/1 ratio isn't really that uplifting! I mean, heck, I'm glad people are reading,
but why aren't you reviewing? Is my stuff really *that* bad? Well, even if it *is* that bad, I'll
be back with more! You'll never get rid of me! Wah-hahahahahahaha! And next chapter there's gonna
be some ACTION!!! Gotta go! REVIEW!!!!!!!! Till next time, buh-byes and alohas!
-Angle Baby
really busy. And the spacebar on my keyboard is broken. Don't ask me how I'm making spaces now.
It'd be really hard to explain. However! I have already started working on the next chapter, so
it should be here soon. I don't want to type much because it's getting really annoying. So, I'll
say what I've got to say and go. First, I'll explain my little marks and stuff. These @*@ mean a
break in scenes. I.E. a shift in place or time. This *~* means the start and end of a flashback
or memory. Single stars will mean thoughts in paragraphs and italics or emphasis in speech. For
instance, *He never listens to me!* would be a thought, as it's an entire section. But "He
*never* listens to me!" would put an emphasis on 'never'. Get it? I hope so. Umm...I've gotta
clear a few thing up. Someone asked if this story was gonna be yaoi/yuri. The answer to that
is a big 'no'. I don't *write* that kinda stuff. I don't think that way. So, if you're seeing
that kinda stuff? You're digging too deep. Waaaay too deep. The guys are just *friends*. The
girls are just *friends*. The boys do *not* love any of the other boys that way. The girls
do *not* love any of the other girls that way. Ok? Ok. Also, I raised the rating to PG. Why?
Well, two main reasons. One: the story's gonna have dark-ish, bloody-ish stuff in it later
on. Two: I got tired of it being rated G. Good reason, no? ^_^; Well, gotta go.
Enjoy!
@*@
Mimi woke early the next morning and stretched, her body protesting every movement. It
had been months since she had walked for more than an hour, save all-day excursions to the mall,
and years since she had trekked all day in the Digiworld.
"It hurts." She whimpered softly to herself as she willed her body into a sitting
position. "I want my aspirin! I want my ice pack! I want my masseuse! I want...I want...oh, my."
Mimi's self-directed whining stopped abruptly as she caught sight of something sitting by the
lake. The body of water was at least twenty-five meters away from the spot Tai had allowed the
others to collapse. It was close enough that Mimi could see the lone figure that stared dully at
the water, but far enough away that he couldn't hear her. Refusing to let her gaze waver in the
least, lest he move and the moment be shattered, Mimi leaned over and poked Sora. Though the
Bearer of Love would have liked to simply ignore the poke and go back to sleep, it soon became
more than a simple prod. As Sora sat up to Mimi's incessant shaking, she mentally debated whether
it would be better to throw the over-enthusiastic girl over a cliff or drown her in the lake.
Deciding on drowning, Sora opened her eyes, and gasped. There, sitting by the lake, was the most
angelic figure she had ever seen. He sat alone on a rock, one of his long legs propped up by a
niche in the boulder, the other dangling listlessly, immersed in water up to the ankle. His chin
rested lightly on a wrist supported by the propped up leg, which caused his head tilt slightly.
His gaze was neither melancholy nor cheerful, but placidly indifferent. The early morning light
danced on the water that surrounded him on three sides, adding golden highlights to his light
blond hair. His eyes were azure as they gazed dispassionately at the water's surface.
"Oh, wow!" A surprised, female voice rang out, shattering Mimi and Sora's mood, but not
the boy's. "Is that *Matt*?" The other two girls blinked at the ogling Kari. A huge smile spread
across her usually calm face and her eyes danced. "He's *gorgeous*!" Mimi and Sora looked at each
other, then back at the oblivious Matt.
"Well." Mimi admitted finally. "He is rather cute."
"Yes." Sora agreed. "Rather." After a few more moments of appreciative silence, Kari
spoke up again thoughtfully.
"You know." She started slowly. "I think it's his eyes that pull the look together." Sora
shook her head.
"No, no, Kari. You wouldn't know this, because you're younger than I am, but a look isn't
*pulled together*. It's the combined effort of everything that makes a guy cute. Or really,
really cute, in this case. That hair, for instance, would look stupid on Tai. And imagine those
eyes in Izzy's head. It wouldn't work. It's all or nothing. And, right now, it's definitely all."
"Now, I don't agree, Sora." Mimi commented after awhile. All three continued to stare at
Matt as *he* continued to stare at the lake. "I think a look is pulled together, but you're right
in saying it isn't physical attributes that do that. It's all in the cloths. I mean, look at that
ensemble! Perfect match! Blue jeans, white tank top under shirt, dark green wind breaker. It's
perfect! Watch it when the wind blows. There! See? It's perfect! Imagine him in some golf-y
attire: checkered fluffy pants, slacks, pinstriped shirt. He wouldn't look as good, would he?
It's all in the cloths. They'll make or break ya."
"I'm not sure." Kari and Sora chorused. Mimi frowned slightly and continued attempting to
make the other two see the light, exactly as they attempted to do to her.
On the other side of the 'camp site,' Tai sat up and rubbed his eyes. Yawning hugely, he
slowly checked to make sure all were accounted for. Agumon slept on by his Digidestined's feet,
oblivious to the world around him. T.K. lay on his side, slightly curled, using one of his arms
as a pillow, the other draped over Patamon. Joe was on his back, his hands, which were folded
over his chest, twitching in rhythm to a dream. Gomamon lounged by the dreaming boys head. There
was a slight snoring sound, which emanated from Tentomon, who slept by Izzy. The boy himself
slept soundly, curled protectively around his precious lap-top. When he mumbled something about
computer programs and the odds of locating Gennai versus being slowly devoured by Digital
Monsters, Tai shook his head and moved on. Matt had taken last watch, so Tai didn't check for
his sleeping form. Raising his head slowly, Tai looked over to where the girls had slept the
night before. The three had their heads together, clearly talking about something. He blinked at
them, then turned to see what all the fuss was about. He did a double take at the unknowing
figure by the lake and sputtered for a few minutes. Then he glared, turned towards the other
three members of his side of the fire, and said at them, not caring that he was waking them up,
"*Look* at them!" Joe, always alert, shot up into a sitting position instantly. T.K., a
bit slower than Joe on his best mornings, of which this was not one, sat up groggily, muttering
something about making first bell. The Digimon and Izzy ignored him, though Izzy did curl a
little closer around his lap-top. Joe and T.K. blinked at Tai.
"What's the emergency?" Joe asked, clearly concerned. Nothing was attacking; no one was
being eaten or tortured; why had he been woken up?
"*They're* the emergency. Look at them!" T.K. shook his head slowly in confusion, a
slight frown on his still muddled face.
"Look at who?" The brown headed semi-leader pointed at the girls.
"Them!" T.K. blinked twice at the girls, then squinted at the figure by the lake. He sat
up straighter and grinned at Tai.
"Wazza matter, Tai? Jealous?" Tai turned red, either from embarrassment or anger, and
looked away.
"No! Of course I'm not jealous! Who would be jealous? I certainly wouldn't want all that
attention. All those girls. Staring at me. Talking about me. It'd make me nervous." Joe and T.K.
exchanged looks.
"Right, Tai." Joe commented soothingly. "You don't care that they're paying him more
attention now then they've paid the four of us combined for the last five years." Tai glared at
him, then at Matt.
"That's right. They are, aren't they? What's he got that we don't?"
"Nothing!" T.K. said happily. Tai and Joe looked at him.
"What are you talking about?" They demanded. T.K. make a motion at Matt, grinning.
"Look at him! He's tall. He's hansome. And all three of the girls agree."
"That's the point!" Tai and Joe shouted in unison, ganging up on him. T.K.'s grin
widened.
"Aren't you worried?" Tai asked seriously. "When we get back to our world, this'll
happen again. You remember what happened with that coffee-house girl!"
"Yea!" Joe agreed. "When we get back, every girl who ever thought we were worth the time
of day will see him and *die*. Blonde hair, blue eyes. The stereotypical perfect guy." Joe
sighed, having depressed himself. "We might as well take out little black books and *burn* them.
We haven't got a chance." Tai sighed, too. Then turned to T.K.
"After all that, I can't believe you're *still* not worried." T.K. grinned madly.
"Why should I be?" They stared at him.
"You're insane." Tai decided finally. T.K. shook his head.
"You guys are missing a big point here. Matt is my brother. Everything that makes him
the 'stereotypical perfect guy', as you put it Joe, is in *my* DNA. I'm gonna look just like him!
I'm gonna have to get *two* black books! I'll be swamped with girls! Waa-hahahahahaha-" T.K. was
cut sharply off as a rock sailed through the air and smacked him on the head, knocking him out.
All of the Digidestined, save Matt, who was unaware that he was the center of so much attention,
Izzy, who slept on still, and T.K., who was unconscious, stared at Kari. The girl glared at T.K.
"Stupid T.K.!" She exclaimed. Then she realized that the others were staring at her, and
blushed. She sat back down next to the other girls and stared at the ground. Mimi and Sora
exchanged a look. Sora grinned.
"Ooh...Kari...Don't you *want* T.K. to look like Matt?"
"Are you jealous that all those girls will look at him if he does?" Mimi questioned
innocently. Kari blushed a deeper shade of red and ducked her head.
"Kari likes T.K.! Kari likes T.K.!" Mimi and Sora chorused.
"I-I do not! He was being pompous, is all. Really." Mimi and Sora shared another look.
"Sure." Mimi said soothingly. "You knocked him out because he was being pompous. Right.
We believe you, don't we, Sora?" Sora grinned.
"Yea! And that's why you're all red! Because you overexerted yourself when you knocked
T.K. out for being pompous! That's it!" It was at that moment, as Sora and Mimi teased a badly
blushing Kari, as Joe and Tai hauled a barely conscious T.K. into a semi-sitting position, and
as Izzy and the Digimon finally sat up, vainly attempting to figure out what was going on, that
Matt turned around. He watched the antics of his comrades for a few moments, then sighed and
stood up. This movement caught the attention of the others, and they turned to watch as Matt and
Gabumon, who until that moment had sat by the blonde's side unnoticed, left their rock and ambled
back to camp. Silence descended like a heavy fog upon the camp as the pair walked over to the
smoldering embers that had been their campfire. Once there, Matt kicked dirt into it, hands in
his pockets. Gabumon pushed the boundary rocks into the ashes and Matt stepped on them,
sufficiently destroying the fire. His task done, Matt looked at each of the Digidestined in turn,
the tiniest hint of amusement in the depths of his azure eyes.
"So?" He began quietly after a few more moments of silence. "Are we going to hunt for
Gennai again today, or what?" Everyone looked at everyone else, and then Tai hopped up.
"Of course we are!" He affirmed enthusiastically. "I mean, what else are we gonna do?
It's not like Gennai's going to just show up behind me and say-"
"So, I see you kids finally made it." Tai blinked at the others and then turned as they
pointed.
"Ahh!" He exclaimed at Gennai, who had materialized behind the boy as he spoke. Matt
arched an eye brow.
"Do you enjoy catching us unprepared, or is always just a coincidence?" Gennai grinned.
He looked at the Digimon, who all, save Gabumon, stood in a group next to the group of all the
kids, save Matt. Those two stood off to the side, as par usual.
"I'm glad you Digimon found your Destined. It's going to be a rough battle, so you'd
better learn to work together." This last comment was directed more toward Matt than anyone else,
but the teen just shrugged and stroked the top of Gabumon's head once. To Gennai, the message was
clear: I've got the one that matters by my side. What else is there to be close to? The others
didn't know a message came with this rare gesture of affection from Matt. Gennai sighed and shook
his head.
"The new enemy isn't one your Digimon can beat alone. In fact, most of the work will be
done by you kids."
"What new enemy?" Tai demanded.
"The one who threatens the very balance of the Digiworld. Already he has the four Keys
guarding his gates."
"Keys?" Izzy questions. "How is it possible for a key to guard a gate? Keys unbar gates,
they do not preserve them."
"These Keys are not like the metal ones you use in your world to unlock doors and such.
They are beings of themselves, call Keys because they are necessary to life."
"Oh. Key as in essential, not key as in passe-partout." They all, including Gennai and
Matt, stared at Izzy.
"I'm not going to ask." Mimi stated finally. "I don't know where he got *that*, but I'm
not even going to ask. It isn't worth the lecture." The others nodded, and Gennai coughed.
"Anyway," he continued, "these Keys are necessities of life, and the one who has taken
them into his power is intent on using them to destroy you."
"Wait a minute." Izzy demanded. "These Keys, are they creatures native to the Digital
World or, as with us, are they imported from another dimension?"
"They are Digimon, and yet they are not." Tai sighed and rubbed his temples.
"Isn't the point of being our guide knowing this stuff?"
"Who said I was your guide? All I want is to live in peace and enjoy my retirement. It's
not *my* fault these evil things like to take over my neighborhood. I'm the victim in all of
this!"
"Yes, yes." Izzy prompted. "But what of the Keys? What can you tell me?"
"I can tell you only what I know."
"Which would be...?"
"Very little." Izzy sighed and looked miserably at his computer.
"Anything would help." He whispered in a small, defeated voice.
"I might be able to help you..." Gennai held out his holographic hand and a small disk
materialized above it. "This is a computer program I created when I learned of your arrival in
the Digiworld. When you enter the realm of a Key, this program will initiate and take you to that
Key, and, subsequently, a Gate. Once you've passed all four Gates, you'll face the last test: an
evil so terrifying, it will make the Dark Masters look like two-year-olds."
"Hey." Joe protested. "Have you ever baby sat a two-year-old before?" Turning to the
others, he explained. "Those suckers are *cruel*. I have twin cousins that are two and I've never
seen anything like it. The Dark Masters weren't *nearly* as bad as the twins." Gennai sighed.
"Fine. How about: it will make the Dark Masters look like babies?" Sora shook her head.
"I know a nine month old that could tear the Dark Masters apart with just her screaming."
"Fine!" Gennai exclaimed, exasperated. "It'll make them look like children!"
"Now, just a minute!" Mimi protested. "To some people, *we're* kids! Are you saying
*we're* worse than the Dark Masters?"
"Oh, for the love of-"
"All right!" Tai yelled, silencing the argumentative Digidestined. "All right. We get
the picture. This one is worse than the last one. A lot worse. What else can you tell us?"
"Um...all the Keys are female and the Evil One is male?"
"That's not helpful!" Izzy cried, aghast. "I want a *name*. I want *features*. I want
*attacks*. I want *details*!"
"Alas, I have no such information."
"But that's not *fair*!"
"Well." Mimi huffed. "I want my masseuse and I can't have *that*. I can't even have an
ice pack! That's not fair, either. Nothing in this place is ever fair!" She turned to glare at
Gennai. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this world sucks! No offense, Palmon."
"None taken!" Palmon replied cheerily. It all became too much for Tai, who cried out in
frustration,
"Can we *please* do something *useful* for a change? Gennai, if you're going to give that
disk to Izzy, give it to him! Izzy, if you're going to install the program and use it, get on
with it! If anyone has anything useful to say, say it now, because I want to get moving! Let's
go, people!" Matt raised his head and lifted one of his hands.
"I have a question." He said quietly.
"Than *ask* it, Matt." The blonde completely ignored Tai and spoke to Gennai.
"Two, actually. What type of Digimon is the first Key and what is her name?" Gennai
looked at Matt, as if debating whether or not to answer the question. "You don't like me," Matt
stated flatly. "I don't like you. If it was just you and me, I wouldn't expect an answer and
further more I wouldn't have asked. But *they* are here, too, and have momentarily forgotten that
we have to face down four Keys before we even *think* about the final bad thing. So answer the
questions, for them, not me: what type of Digimon is the first Key and what is her name?" Gennai
took a deep breath and then released it in a sigh.
"The first Key, as with all the other Keys, is Basic Digimon. That doesn't mean that they
are in Rookie from or anything, it means the data that they are comprised of is Basic. Basic data
exists before the 'monster' can be added, but as time wears on, their type is coupled with a
name. For instance, though the first gate keeper's name is Meloremon, her type is now Silence. It
wasn't always Silence, but it changed to that after she started working for *him*."
"What was it originally?" Izzy asked, fascinated.
"I can't say."
"Why not?" Tai demanded.
"If I call her by her original type, I'll invoke her, and she'll come here. You are not
yet ready to face her."
"How many other 'Silences' are there?" Asked Sora.
"None."
"How is that possible?" Izzy inquired. "Even our own, unique Digimon have others of their
same type."
"When Basic data takes shape, there is only enough for one. She is the only one of her
type."
"Then how is it there are four gate keepers?"
"The others are of a different type of Basic data. That is why they are called 'sisters'
but are not of one type."
"What are the other three?" T.K. asked.
"I'd love to tell you, but I forgot to pay my long distance phone bill. I have to go.
Have fun with this program, Izzy." He threw the disk at Izzy, who caught it and began uploading
it into his laptop. "I'll see you kids later."
"Wait!" Tai cried, even as Gennai disappeared. "How do we beat her?"
"You must beat her by not beating her," were Gennai's last, cryptic words to the
Digidestined. Tai looked at the others.
"'Beat her by not beating her'?" Mimi questioned softly. "What does *that* mean?"
"Where does he *get* this stuff?" Wailed Joe. "You can't beat someone by *not* beating
them! That's like when parents say ignoring a bully helps! It's all a bunch of-"
"I've got it!" Izzy cried suddenly. "The exact location of the Key. Here she is. This
dot on the monitor represents where she and the Gate are. If each inch represents two miles, and
we can travel approximately...uh-huh...in one week...and...hmm...in one day...it should take us-"
here he paused, -"two and a half days!" T.K. blinked.
"Um...is that enough time to figure out Gennai's riddle?"
"It'll have to be." Tai said darkly. "Come on, everyone, let's get moving." Slowly,
stifling moans and complaints, the others followed Tai as he led them to what could very well be
their doom.
@*@
When they broke for lunch later that day, things went as they normally did. The others
collected firewood and Matt made a fire. When Joe asked why Matt placed the wood so deliberately,
the quiet blonde cocked a half smile and replied,
"The sun goes down early in winter. I had to do something to keep myself warm until seven
thirty. I started out by just piling a bunch of wood in any old order, but that wasted matches in
the lighting. I went to the library and borrowed a book about building fires and learned how."
He shrugged. "They lighted the first time if I just rearranged the wood a bit. It saved matches."
"Ah." Joe said simply.
"Wait a minute." Tai started. "That was all great then, but why now? Agumon's Pepper
Breath will light anything. So why all the extra effort?"
"Habit." Pause.
"Ah." Lunch that day was very like dinner the night before. After they had all eaten,
T.K. had the feeling that something was missing. After a few minutes of thinking, he pinpointed
what it was and snapped his fingers.
"Hey, Matt," He began, turning to the tall blonde who didn't move in the least. But that
was to be expected. "I was just noticing," he continued, unfazed, "that you haven't played your
harmonica since we arrived. Did you leave it at home?" Matt's eyes flicked over in T.K.'s
direction briefly before turning back to the fire. His voice was quiet as ever.
"I have it." T.K. was more than a little confused.
"Then...don't you play anymore?"
"I do." T.K. stared at his brother, perplexed.
"But...if you have it...and if you still play it...then why aren't you?" Matt turned and
looked at his little brother for a tense moment. His eyes were deep blue, filled with shadows of
memories and totally unreadable. He studied T.K., as if deciding how best to answer, or how much
to say. He opened his mouth, then closed it, deciding that what he was going to say would be too
much. T.K. waited, expecting something, so Matt said, very coldly,
"Because." Then he turned back to the fire. T.K. was hurt.
"But...because isn't an answer." Matt's eyes flicked toward T.K. again, and he though of
how many times his father had said that to him, after that first year. *I hate,* Matt thought
slowly to himself, turning his eyes back to the fire, *the way people say that. Because is a
perfectly good answer. It says 'no more questions.' Dad didn't get it. And *he* won't get it. Why
bother with answers that no one will understand? Better to say nothing.* T.K. opened his mouth
again, wanting to ask more, wanting to *know* more, but Tai caught his eye and shook his head
slowly at T.K. Then he fixed Matt with what he hoped was an understanding look.
"Music is a sign that you're close friends with the people you're around, isn't it,
Matt?" The tall blond said nothing and did not turn. Tai sighed. "I know how you feel, dude."
Matt looked at Tai with open skepticism.
"You do?" Tai nodded emphatically.
"Sure. We all do." Matt arched one eyebrow, one of the greatest shows of any emotion he
had given during the last few days with the Destined.
"Hmm. Is that so?" Again Tai nodded.
"Yes." Matt shrugged.
"All right, then. How do I feel?" Tai blinked at him.
"Huh?"
"If you know how I feel, tell me. How do I feel, right now?" Tai winced.
"W-well..." Tai looked at the others, who nodded, encouraging him. He took a deep breath
and faced Matt. "You feel misunderstood. None of us have seen you in five years, and you feel
like we don't know the you you've become."
"You're lonely." Sora added.
"And a little scared." Mimi agreed.
"You do not think we have the capabilities to offer you assistance." Joe nodded at Izzy's
comment and added,
"You think that we'll make friends with you, that you'll get use to us again, and then
we'll go home and you'll never see us."
"You don't think we *care* enough to stick with you when this is all over." Kari added.
"You think we'll leave you. Just like everyone else always has."
"You trusted once." T.K. said softly. "And all it left you was hurt." Matt watched each
one of them in turn as they spoke.
"Is that it?" He asked softly when T.K. was finished.
"What do you mean?" Joe asked. Matt used a hand to indicate them all.
"What you just said. Is that what you think is wrong with me?" T.K. looked at the others.
"Yes." Tai said firmly, and the others agreed. Matt nodded.
"You're right. All of you are right. That *is* how I felt-" the seven of them smiled at
each other, "-five years ago. When we were in this strange world for the first time. It would
have been interesting if you came up with all of this then. Maybe in five years you'll know what
I feel now." He shrugged as they stared at him, slack jaw. "People grow. People change. Five
years ago I was misunderstood and lonely and scared and not too sure if I wanted people to
*trust* and call friends. Not anymore."
"Then why are you always so *quiet*?" Mimi demanded. Matt turned to look at her and
shrugged again.
" 'If you don't understand my silence, you'll never understand my words.' I don't know
who said that, but it's true. If you don't figure out what's 'wrong with me' on your own, you'll
never understand." Matt got up and walked away from his companions with Gabumon, ignoring the
stammered protests from the others. Walking over to a large tree, Matt sat down, Gabumon beside
him. The others watched as Matt distanced himself physically, an odd expression of his emotional
distance. They all looked at each other, then back at Matt. T.K. was hurt by his older brother,
but somehow understood that Matt just *telling* everyone what was wrong wouldn't be enough.
*When we were little,* T.K. though, *Matt would play for me when I was scared. Maybe he's not
playing *now* because he knows I'm not scared. Well, not really, anyway.* Even as T.K. thought
this, another part of him, the part that knew Matt better than any of the other Destined, was
telling T.K. that there was more to Matt's playing than a mere cure all for fear. That same part
summoned forth a memory. T.K. was five in the memory, and Matt was eight.
*~*
T.K. brought a little girl home with him, a new playmate, and was very proud of her when
he made introductions to his mom. However, when he introduced her to Matt, the older boy stopped
playing the melody he had been creating with his harmonica. It had been sparse weeks since the
divorce, and Matt didn't come over unless it was a Sunday. His musical talents were lost to T.K.
a great deal of the time, and the little boy was upset that his brother stopped.
"I'm sorry, T.K." Matt said soothingly as T.K. started to cry. "I don't know your new
friend, and I don't want to play in front of her. It messes me up." T.K. understood that on a
five-year-old level, but still didn't think it was fair. However, after several months of Sunday
visits, Matt did something unexpected. T.K. and his friend were playing, and a soft melody
suddenly filled the air, encircling the five-year-olds.
"What's that?" T.K.'s friend asked. "What's Matt doing?" T.K. smiled at her.
"He's playing his harmonica. Isn't that neat?" The girl smiled.
"Yea!"
*~*
*He wasn't comfortable around Kayla, so he didn't play. When he knew her, and accepted
her, he played. Can it be he's not comfortable around me anymore? I've got to know.* Stealing
himself, T.K. rose and walked over to his brother, allowing only Patamon to accompany him. He sat
down a few feet away from his brother as Patamon joined Gabumon and looked at the sky with him.
"I've really missed you." T.K. said finally, not looking away from the sky. "I was so
worried when I went to Dad's house and you both were gone."
"Not worried enough to look though, eh?" The off handed ease with which Matt uttered that
single sentence hurt T.K. more than a thousand rebuffs. He looked at his brother with shock.
"God no, Matt! I look for you for a long time!"
"Weeks?" Matt asked nonchalantly, continuing to stare at the sky.
"*Years*!" The honest shock and hurt in T.K.'s voice forced Matt to look at his brother.
"I never gave up on you, Matt. I kept telling them-" he said with a pause to point at the
Digidestined- "that you'd be back. After the first three years they thought I was dilutional.
Everyone- them, Mom, even my friends at school who never knew you- *everyone* told me you were
gone for good. I *knew* you weren't. I *knew* it." T.K.'s voice broke and he swiped at his eyes
with the back of his hand. Matt watched as the boy collected himself. After a few moments, he
continued. "When I saw you that night, I had just finished telling the others about the time you
taught me about the constellations. They all pitied me. Poor T.K., who's so obsessed over his
brother every little thing reminds him of Matt. And for the last six months it was true.
Everything that happened, I missed you. If I went out with Mom for ice cream, I'd wish you were
there. If I was writing a letter to a friend, I'd wish it was to you. Whenever we drove past the
airport or a music shop, I'd want to see you- just to *see* you- so badly it hurt. Mom was
worried, but I told her I was ok. All I had to do was see you, and everything would be fine. And
you *were* gonna come back, so everything *was* going to be ok. And I did see you and I *am* fine
now." Suddenly T.K. was done and had nothing else to say, so he composed himself again and
sighed. "Anyway, I didn't mean to lecture, and I wasn't hoping to change your opinion of me, I
just had to say that. I had to let you know that I never gave up on you, and I'm glad I didn't.
And...you're my big brother, Matt. No matter what happens, I'll always need you and...I just...I
love you, Matt. Nothing you say or do, nowhere you go, no matter how long you have to be gone,
even if I never *do* figure out the whole story, nothing will change that. And that's...that's
all I have to say." T.K. wiped his eyes again and started to get up. There was a slight rustling
sound and then something else. A strangely sweet sound, a music filled with a hundred emotions
and feelings that would never be sorted or defined. A melody of comfort. T.K.'s throat closed
suddenly and he sat back down, hard, allowing Matt's playing to fill his heart and run over, just
as the younger brother's tears did now. T.K. pulled his legs up to his chest and rested his
forehead on his knees as years of hope and belief were rewarded in a bath of music and tears.
Matt's song of acceptance played on.
The others watched in fascination as T.K. went over to Matt. At first the two just sat.
Then T.K. said something, and Matt's response seemed to startle the younger boy. The next time
Matt replied to a comment, T.K. seemed shocked, and hurt. The smaller boy spoke again, and Matt
looked at him. T.K.'s words, carefully selected at first, began to tumble out of his mouth, until
finally he broke, and his eyes filled with tears. They watched as Matt waited for T.K. to compose
himself. Once that was done, they watched as T.K. spoke again. His eyes filled periodically,
accenting the things he was saying, until he was finished. Then he wiped his eyes again and
started to get up. The unheard conversation must have been very important to Matt, for he
responded to T.K.'s movements in an unexpected way. He shifted his weight and pulled something
out of his pocket. T.K.'s face crumpled and he sat back down, laying his face on his knees, as
his older brother played for him. The sound of the harmonica, just as with the words of the
conversation, was lost on the other Digidestined, but that was all right. Whatever had happened
between Matt and his brother, was for Matt and his brother, and no one else. After Matt played
for a time, the whole while watching T.K., the younger boy looked up and smiled at his brother.
Matt put his harmonica down and slowly smiled back. The first shared smile in five years, it said
more than words ever could. Finally the two got up and walked, with their Digimon, back to the
others. They all smiled at the brothers, but only T.K. responded. Evidently, whatever
breakthrough T.K. had made with Matt did not extend to the other Destined. They all, including
T.K., saw this and sighed. Tai stood and brushed his pants off, then suggested that they continue
their trek. After a brief discussion with Izzy, the direction was picked and progress made.
@*@
In a cold, shadowy castle, a silent evil watched the progression of the Digidestined. One
of her, for surely it was a girl, shadows formed a semi-solid form.
"Missstresss..." It hissed. She turned just the smallest bit, acknowledging its presence.
"VenomCobrmon." She said, naming it. The thing slithered, for it had no legs, into the
light. It was a huge snake-looking entity, easily as tall as the tallest Digidestined when it
reared, longer because of its coils. "I trust you bring me news." The creature, the VenomCobrmon,
bowed its hooded head slightly.
"Yesss, Missstresss. The Dessstined are on their way here asss we ssspeak..." She shook
her head slightly.
"I am watching their progress, VenomCobrmon. I know that they are coming. Which is the
one who is both?" The VenomCobrmon bobbed its head, thinking.
"I have heard only one sssong, Missstresss Sssilenccce. It came from the tall one with
blond hair and eyesss of iccce. He ssseemsss to enjoy sssilenccce asss much asss musssic. He isss
ssstrange, Missstresss. He isss dangerousss." The one of darkness, the Mistress of Silence,
Meloremon, hmm-ed thoughtfully.
"They will be reaching the bridge soon. Halfway across, they will be in my domain. Once
the Ice Eyed one is little more than half way eliminate him. If more than he fall, I will reward
you for each one." The snake Digimon dipped its head again,
"Yesss, Missstresss," and was gone. Meloremon waited for a few more minutes, then became
one with the silence, uttering as she left,
"The challenge to my power...he who is both sides of me...I will make you one with
silence forever."
@*@
Matt was oblivious to everything save one huge problem: in order to reach Meloremon and
the first Gate, he would have to cross a bridge. A very long, very high, very rickety old bridge.
In reality, it was a string of boards that connected two cliff sides. Far below, far, far below,
the cannon floor was naught but water and white rapids. A fall from that thrice-cured bridge
would not be fun, and landing would be slightly worse.
"Ok." Tai began, interrupting Matt's slightly more than panicked thoughts. "Let's get
moving. Who wants to go first?" Composing himself, Matt put on his most unnervingly blank
expression and turned to face Tai.
"I don't care who goes first. I'll go last." Tai raised an eyebrow and looked at Matt
with skepticism.
"Why?" He asked warily. Matt shrugged.
"Because someone's got to do it, and I'd rather go last that first. No one to push me
from behind." Tai still looked uncertain, but found no reason not to let him go last.
"Well..." he began slowly, "I guess..." He shook his head. "Whatever, dude. Anyway, what
order are we going in until Matt?" They ended up going Tai, Sora, Izzy, Mimi, Joe, T.K., and
Matt. The Digimon went when their Destined did. No one, save Joe, seemed overly cautious of the
bridge, and Matt kept his fear of falling buried so deeply no one knew, so they all started
across the bridge. As his turn approached, Matt took deep breaths and attempted to calm his
frazzled nerves. Gabumon came over and leaned against Matt, offering his strength. Matt absently
petted him as T.K. started on the bridge. Matt took a last deep breath as T.K. and Patamon
reached the halfway point, and took hold of the bridge with two hands. Even after he had steeled
his nerves, it took Matt a few attempts to will his feet to move onto the bridge. Gabumon looked
back at Matt, his gaze filled with strength. Slowly, oh so slowly, Matt moved out onto the
dipping, swaying bridge. *Please.* Thought Matt. *Please don't let me fall. And don't let them
see I'm terrified.* Matt was a little over a third of the way across when T.K. and Patamon
reached safety. Matt didn't notice. A strong wind grabbed the bridge and rocked it violently.
*Oh, crap!* Matt thought, freezing in his tracks and putting a death grip on the ropes on either
side of him. Gabumon knew that Matt was panic stricken.
"Matt." He called, attempting to tear his Destine's frightened gaze away from the fall on
both sides and the rapids below. "Matt." He said again. "If you do not move now, the others will
know that you are afraid." Sufficient motivation having been provided, Matt forced himself to
move on. Gabumon reached the safety of firm ground and looked back as Matt past the halfway mark.
There was a snapping sound; the others cried out in fright. Matt was too surprised and shocked to
utter a word as the bridge dropped out from under him.
"MATT!" T.K. screamed as his brother fell. There was a sudden movement to the boy's
right; Gabumon attempted to throw himself over the cliff after his Destined in a last ditch
effort to save him. It took Agumon, Palmon, Patamon, and Gatomon to stop him. It took Tai, Joe,
Kari, and Sora to stop T.K.
"Let me go!" T.K. screamed. "Stop it! I have to get to Matt! LET GOOO!! MAAAAAAT!"
"Shut up!" Izzy snapped. "Shut up and calm down, T.K. If your level of hysteria rises
very much further, I am going to prompt Tentomon to shock you, and the rest of us will go and
locate Matt by ourselves." T.K. stopped struggling.
"What do you mean, find Matt?" He demanded. "How are you going to find-"
"There is a path," Izzy interrupted, "directly over there. Adjacent to those bushes."
T.K. strode over to the bushes in question and pushed them aside, revealing a small, single-file
trail.
"It leads down to the river bank." Izzy explained, still taping absently at his computer.
In an uncharacteristic display, Gabumon pushed T.K. out of the way and dashed down the path. T.K.
followed without hesitation. The others paused for a moment, then followed Izzy down the narrow
path. Once they arrived, Izzy reopened his laptop and began accessing Matt's location via his
Digivice. T.K. was already walking along the bank, hands cupped over his mouth, calling Matt's
name loudly. Gabumon was running little frantic lines up and down the shore line. After a very
few minutes, there was a splash, and the Digidestined and their Digimon turned to see Gabumon
swimming in the river, out to the center. Once there, he disappeared from view and for a shocking
moment, T.K. thought he had lost Gabumon, too. Then the wolf Digimon reappeared with something
in his mouth. As he struggled back to shore, Tai cried, aghast,
"What are you *doing*?! We're looking for Matt, here! This is no time to fish! We don't
have very much time to find-"
"MATT!" T.K. cried, running over to where Gabumon was struggling with a very limp, very
wet figure in the shallows. T.K. did not pause for a moment, but waded right in and took his
brother away from the exhausted Gabumon. Heaving Matt up, T.K. half dragged, half carried the
taller boy ashore, where all the others were ready to help. Tai grabbed Matt's feet and T.K. kept
possession of his brother's arms. The two of them brought him to a clearing as Joe barked orders
to the others.
"Sora! Go get some fire wood! Mimi, go with her! Kari, make sure Gabumon's ok! T.K., Tai,
bring him over here! Izzy, what can you tell me?" Izzy set up his computer facing the water
logged Matt and began typing furiously.
"Well, I'd like to say right now that I am extremely pleased I got this personal laptop
medical program installed in my computer over Christmas break. He seems to be all right, save a
few cuts and bruises. I suppose the water broke his fall. He's got a bit of water in his lungs
but that will go away with coughing. Hmm...that's odd..."
"What?" T.K. demanded. "What's odd? Tell me!" Izzy pointed to a picture on his monitor.
"His throat is inflamed. Sore."
"So?" T.K. asked curtly. "What does that mean? What's the matter with that? Is it life
threatening?" Izzy blinked at T.K., then said slowly,
"No...there's nothing wrong with that at all. He must have swallowed some water. Hardly
life threatening. It's just a little odd that it would enflame so quickly. But that does happen
for some people." T.K. nodded, satisfied. "It will undoubtedly calm down when he expels some of
the water in his system." As if in agreement, Matt sat up and began coughing. T.K. hurried over
to help, but Matt ignored the help, and turned on his side, facing Gabumon.
"You see, Gabumon?" He gasped brokenly between coughs. "I told you that-" cough, cough,
"mountains and cliffs were-" cough, "evil!" Gabumon sighed at this, content that Matt was unhurt,
and sat by the boy. They were quite a pair, the two of them soaked to the bone. Mimi, Sora, and
Kari set about making a fire to warm them from the frigid waters as Gabumon began pounding on
Matt's back.
"*Breath*, Matt." Gabumon commanded as he whacked at the boy. "*Breath*." Matt choked and
waived Gabumon away. The pounding ceased.
"Thanks a lot." He wheezed. "It's not enough that I fell from *that* monstrosity into
freezing, below zero waters, but the guy who's *supposed* to help me is trying to kill me by
beating me with his paws. That's just great. This day is beginning to royally suck." Gabumon
nodded.
"I agree." After that, the fire had started, so everyone made Matt and Gabumon sit very
close, warming themselves. Not that they protested. The water was cold and the fire was warming.
Matt and Gabumon cast their votes to stay exactly where they were for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately, that would have messed with Tai's schedule, and so they had to be going. Tai
rubbed his hands together.
"All right!" He began. "It's time to get moving. Back up the mountain, everyone!" There
were half stifled moans, and then a decided and curt,
"No." Tai turned to stare at Matt.
"No?" He questioned. Matt glared at him.
"*No*." Tai blinked.
"What do you mean, no?"
"I mean," Matt hissed between clinched teeth, ice eyes flashing dangerously, "no. No, I'm
not going to frolic back over to that...that *thing* and climb it. No. Never. Get a life. Dream
on. *No*." Tai stared at him for several minutes, and Matt glared back. When finally he opened
his mouth to say something, T.K. cut him off with a look. The small blonde knelt before his
brother, and Matt glared back, defiant. *I can see,* T.K. thought, slightly dazed at the level of
refusal Matt was at, and how quickly he had gone there, *why Dad had a problem with him. Oh,
boy.* When finally he spoke, it was very calmly and rationally. T.K. was hoping that this wound
defuse Matt's flat and utter refusal to cooperate.
"Matt," T.K. began in soothing tones, "I know that after a fall like that, you might be a
little...nervous about having to climb. But if we don't-"
"*Nervous*?" Tai asked, incredulous. "You're *nervous*? You won't climb a cliff cause
you're *nervous*?" Matt glared at the brown haired boy, and suddenly Tai grinned. "Ooh...you're
*scared*. Is it a fear of cliffs or of heights?" Matt refused to answer and turned to glare at
the mountain. Tai's grin widened. "Matt is scared, Matt is scared!" He sang in mocking tones.
Matt stood suddenly, causing Tai and T.K., who had both been rather close, in order to negotiate
and plan, to step back. Ice eyes flashing, Matt glared at Tai and jabbed a finger at the cliff.
"*You* take a plunge off a couple of those, *moron*, and we'll see how *you* feel about
*climbing*. *Jerk*." So saying, he stalked into the forest to cool down, and Gabumon let him go.
"Gee..." Tai said after a while. "I didn't think he'd be so *touchy* about it. Fall off a
cliff once and the guy goes all to pieces!" Gabumon sighed.
"It was not just once, Tai." Tai and the others blinked at him.
"Huh?" They asked as one. T.K. stepped forward and got down on eye level with the
Digimon.
"Has he fallen like that before?" Gabumon looked in the direction Matt had gone off in
and shifted uncertainly.
"I am not sure he wants me to tell you." T.K. put a hand on Gabumon.
"Please, Gabumon. I'm his brother. We're his friends. We need to know what's wrong with
him, so we can know what to expect of him. All right?" Gabumon still looked uncertain, but he
nodded.
"All right. But if I get in trouble for this, I won't ever tell you anything ever again."
T.K. nodded and Gabumon took a deep breath, looking after Matt. "Matt told you that his father
moved them a second time, further into the country, right?" They all nodded. "Well, what he
*didn't* tell you was that a few nights after they had settled in that second time, Matt's father
did something. I'm still not too sure what, either he said something or did something, but
whatever it was, it prompted Matt to write you a letter, T.K. This letter was to tell you that he
was all right and planning to see you again. Matt was going to run away. But his dad caught him
as he finished the letter and got really upset, and grounded Matt. That started a chain reaction. Matt was tired of his father, so he planned to run away. Mr. Ishida learned of Matt's plans and grounded him. That got Matt even more angry, so he grabbed his letter to you, and ran out on his father. Everything might have been ok, except…except it had been raining the last couple of days, and everything was wet and slippery and fogged over. Matt's father ran after him and tried to warn him about the cliff…but the area was so new, and Matt hadn't had the time to explore. By the time he saw the cliff edge…it was too late. He fell. Mr. Ishida tried to get to Matt but by the time the paramedics got there and Matt arrived at the hospital…Matt was legally dead for an hour. They say it was a medical miracle that he survived. Somehow his heart started back up and somehow he started breathing and somehow he had enough energy to heal and survive. I don't know how it happened," Gabumon lied, "I'm just glad that it did. And that's why he's afraid of heights. If you want to fall off a cliff, die, and then somehow
survive, *then* you can mock him, all right, Tai?" The boy hung his head.
"Well, I'm sorry...I didn't *know*."
"Well now you do," a brusque, soft voice commented from behind Gabumon, "and that doesn't
make you any less of a jerk." Gabumon's eyes widened and he turned to face his Destined.
"I did not ask you if I could tell them. Are you angry?" Matt shrugged and stroked
Gabumon's fur.
"They would've figured it out anyway. Better you than me." Gabumon sighed.
"L-look, Matt," Tai stammered, "I just wanna say that-" Matt flapped a hand at him.
"Complete and total fool that you are," he said, referring to the earlier comments, "I
ignore you." Tai blinked at him.
"What?" Matt turned to glare at the brown haired sometimes leader. He held up two
fingers.
"Two things, genius. One: I will never, unless my life is in danger, climb a cliff. Hill?
Sure. Mountain? Maybe. Cliff? Never. Two: If you taunt me, tease me, mock me, or pity me, I will
kill you. And I'm not kidding. Meloremon and her henchmen won't get a chance. I don't care if it
means a score of worlds are lost, I'll kill you. Got it?" Tai gulped and nodded. "Good." Matt
said. "Now, Izzy, without climbing that...that *thing*, how do we get to Meloremon's place?" Izzy
blinked then began giving out rapid-fire alternate solutions. None of them involved climbing, so
they were all ok with Matt.
@*@
AN: Well, what do you think? G'wan, review! Did you know that I have a 43/1 read/review ratio?
That's not good. I mean, I'm *glad* that I'm not being flamed, but c'mon! We authors work darn
hard! And a 43/1 ratio isn't really that uplifting! I mean, heck, I'm glad people are reading,
but why aren't you reviewing? Is my stuff really *that* bad? Well, even if it *is* that bad, I'll
be back with more! You'll never get rid of me! Wah-hahahahahahaha! And next chapter there's gonna
be some ACTION!!! Gotta go! REVIEW!!!!!!!! Till next time, buh-byes and alohas!
-Angle Baby