The human spirit is stronger than anything that happens to it.-C.C.Scott
Episode 5: The darkness untold
Mya
"My feet hurt, can we stop walking?"
"Mimi, we can't stop. If we do we won't start up again."
"Sora…please?" We trudge along in the blazing sun and the choking humidity. We seem to have wondered into a deep, thick jungle. It looks like something out of the Jungle Book, just a lot worse. My feet and legs ache with the pain of 20 men and some women, too.
"Sora…" I begin but she tells me one second. She must be to busy talking to Tai! I roll my eyes as she begins to chat it up with the 'leader' as we sweat like pigs. I turn my head to the left and see Daggdramon and some other poor digimon panting and sweating. Then I turn my head to the right and see Matt holding a sleeping T.K. I smile a little smile and return my concentration to getting Sora's attention.
"Sora," I persist.
"Yes?"
"Can we please rest?"
"I can't say…"
"WHY?!"
"Because it's…"
"I know, yeah, yeah, Tai right?" I'm getting sick of that name. I pick up a little speed and walk over to Tai. "Tai, can we stop walking?" He looks at me.
"We've got to keep walking or we'll never get anywhere."
"And just where are we going?" He stops walking and looks around. Everyone else stops walking and is sitting on the ground. He seems to be thinking. "Well?"
"Uh, we're going…going…"
"You don't know, do you?"
"No, not really."
"Well then why can't we rest?"
"Well I…"
"Most of us are resting already."
"Umm."
"Sit down, Tai." He sits down, kind of dumb struck, but still sitting. I walk over to Matt who is sitting on the ground, still holding a sleeping T.K. I sit down next to him.
"Hey." He says.
"Doesn't he make you hot?"
"He doesn't make me any cooler."
"Why don't you lie him down on the ground?"
"Cause' I can't find a good spot."
"That one next to you looks good to me." He looks at me then at the spot next to him. He rolls T.K. on the ground.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"So what were you and Tai talking about?"
"Don't ask, it's too hot." I hear Joe talking to Mimi.
"Hey, Mimi, is it hot out here or is it just you?"
"What was that Joe?" Mimi asks with a clueless look on her face. Matt and I laugh and return to talking.
"I wonder what the next bad guy is going to look like." I say.
"I bet ya no better than the last one." Matt replies.
"Yeah." I look over again at Daggdramon and the sweat that was running down her furry head.
"Bet ya not too frightening at first, but then almost kills us."
"That would suck."
"Really would."
"Yeah, well, now that I'm here, we'll probably kick his ass."
"That reminds me, how did you become a Digi-destine?"
"Oh, well…"
"You never lived in Highten View Terrace."
"I know that."
"Well."
"My uncle used to live there, and I visited him there too."
"Really."
"Yeah, on the night of the attack, I just happened to be there. I saw Greymon and Parrotmon fight and well, the rest, as they say, is history."
"Makes sense."
"Come on! We're moving!" Tai's voice yells and breaches our quiet atmosphere. I stand up slowly as Matt picks T.K. back up. I hear a stifled moan and the low growl of many tired Digimon. Tai waves us forth as he runs off ahead.
"Is there no end?" Daggdramon mumbles forcefully baring her teeth in Tai's direction. We walk slowly because most of us are tired. Patamon lands on T.K.'s head, curls up, and goes to sleep.
"My feet hurt." Palmon moans.
"Come on, we have to keep moving!" Tai yells as we fall behind, "We're almost out of here!"
"Herumph." Daggdramon says and bows her head, while spitting on the floor.
***
Many hours have passed and we are now in the desert, things just keep getting better and better…
The sun beats murderously down on our backs as Tai shouts commands left and right.
"Keep moving! We can't rest! This is no time to lie down…"
"Sora," I whisper in a low, tiny voice.
"Yes?"
"Time please…"
"6:30."
"Sun will be going down soon." I say and look up to the sky. The evil, bright orange of the warped, beginning to set sun casts a vice orange shadow on the entire desert. "Is there something wrong with Tai?"
"I don't know, but if we keep on like this some is bound to…Mya, what in the world are you doing?" I have kneeled down in the sand and I'm digging my hands in the sand. I sit there looking at all the group, and then I feel an uncontrollable burst of voice shoot out of my mouth.
"I can't walk anymore!" I yell. They all turn and look at me.
"We have to keep walking!" Tai yells.
"Look at you! We're all here dyeing from dehydration and all you can think about is walking!"
"If we don't walk, we'll never leave the desert!"
"We've been walking for hours on end and we've still haven't left the damn desert!"
"A good reason to keep walking!"
"I think being the 'leader' has gone to that head of yours, as if it ain't big enough already."
"I'm doing what's best for the group!"
"Look at T.K. and Kari, there baking. Are you really doing what's best for the group? Or are you doing what is best for you?" A hushed gasp runs through the group, as the other kids look on frightened, yet interested. I hear some mumbling in the crowd.
"This is so weird…"
"I think the heat got to both of them…"
"I haven't seen anything like this since Matt and Tai fought…" Tai looks around, a startled look on his sweating face.
"You don't know what your talking about!" He manages to spit out.
"Leave him alone, he's trying to get us out of here." Agumon says to me. A little startled to hear him say something, I'm taken back. I don't say anything, but I hear another voice.
"And she's trying to do what's best for the group." I turn my head to the left and see Daggdramon standing next to me.
"And what's best for the group is to get out of here."
"Not really." Daggdramon says and crosses her arms. She looks of to the floor and snorts.
"So what is?" Agumon snorts. Daggdramon looks up and sniggers.
"What do you think? We're all tired, we need to stop, put one and one together…"
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" O.K., this is going too far.
"Well, not to put it bluntly…"
"O.K. you 2, Tai and I can solve our own problems…"
"Grrrrrrrrrr…" Daggdramon lets out a low, menacing growl that seems to bother Agumon. He snarls, and follows after Tai who had started walking again. Tai turns his head back to all of us and scowls,
"You can stay if you want…but don't count on surviving." He turns and walks off at a fast pace.
"Is that a threat!?" Daggdramon growls baring her teeth. I cover her mouth and rise to my feet.
"Tai wait!" Sora yells and starts to chase after him. I stop her briefly just to whisper…
"Bring him back…" Then she darts off following him.
"Now, was all that really necessary?" Joe asks me politely. I walk of to sit of somewhere in the sand.
"He deserved what he got." A voice pops up from behind my head. I turn it and see Daggdramon standing there with her hands on her hips. "He was acting like a jerk."
"He was acting kind of weird…more than usual…" Geeze, I'm going soft.
"Don't go soft on me." She says and walks away to talk to Gabumon. I sigh a large sigh and shake my head. She said just what I was thinking…
"Interesting fight." Matt has come and sat next to me without me knowing. I guess I was too deep in thought.
"I don't think so."
"I thought you liked ticking Tai off."
"I do, but that's beside the point. Wasn't he acting a little strange to you?"
"Not really, just the same bossy Tai we all know and hate…well maybe not Sora, but still."
"…I don't know…what about Agumon?"
"That was a little strange…"
"I thought that was a little strange."
"Well their gone, and Sora's going to bring them back."
"I guess…"
"Look on the bright side, you showed him a thing or two." With that he get up and walks away leaving me alone to my thoughts. Though…they're quite empty…
***
It's late now, and most of us are asleep in the desert. That's right, we haven't made any progress in the last few hours of the day. Most of us fell asleep after the ordeal, well, not T.K. he's been asleep the whole time. I sit awake, alone in the darkness, with only Izzy's computer and the fire for company. Since I'm up, I'll use the computer. I open the yellow lab top and see the three booting up pineapples and the main screen. I see the same options I did the last time: Mp3s, Web, Word, Play a digimon game, and a new button, call Gennai. Tonight, I'll listen to some nice, quiet Mp3s. I use his little mouse ball to click on Mp3s and see a list of songs. I scroll down the list to find a title I'm familiar with. To my surprise, I find a song called Love me and I click on it. The music comes on quietly and fills in the quietness. I lean back a little on a rock that was conveniently placed behind me. I sigh and close my eyes. I start to fall asleep, but I remember I'm up to wait for Sora. She hasn't come back yet, and I'm kind of worried. These kids grow on ya. To keep awake, I'll talk to Gennai. I click on the Talk To Gennai option and a colorful beam shoots out of the computer and the short, bearded man appears wearing a nightgown.
"What, who, oh you. Who are you?"
"I'm Mya, The ninth Digi-destine."
"Oh, you're the girl. Sorry, they don't talk to me much. What's up?"
"Ummm…"
"Nothing, just bored?"
"Yeah."
"That's O.K. Hey, want to chat about the digimon?"
"OK. Oh, that reminds me. Today, my digimon…"
"Daggdramon."
"Yes, she said exactly what was on my mind. She also hangs out with Gabumon a lot, kind of like…oh never mind."
"I was waiting to tell someone this…I really thought it would be Izzy, but you will do." I frown an small one but continue to listen, "A while ago, the digimon were programmed to fit the digi-destine they we're assigned to. Now, they started of as individuals, and will always be, but after being with the digi-destine for a while, they have adapted many traits and habits of the children…"
"But Daggdramon's only been around me for a little while…"
"Yes, child, but let me finish. Yet, the digimon seem to have melded with you children. You kids are definitely more special then most of us believed." Us? "The digimon unconsciously can slip in and out of your mind and think what you think. They sometimes will feel some of your emotions, not all, but some. They tend to show them in different ways then you humans portray them." You humans? "Hence Daggdramon and you. You show your emotions toward Matt and she shows them to his digimon, Gabumon."
"How did you…"
"I know more than you think, and I know you think a lot." OK, this is starting to get weird, is he peeping into my mind? "Don't worry, I can't read minds," Shiver "but you can learn a lot from a digi-destine by taking a good look. I also can see you're tired, so let me leave you so you can get some sleep. Good bye now." With that, the beam disappeared and left the faint sound of the song playing. I lean up against the rock and look up to the desolate desert sky. No trees are around to protect the stars from my gaze. Hum, this song is longer than I though. At least I know now. Knowing, it seems knowing some things got me more questions then I came with. Who's us? You humans, what's that supposed to mean? Is he not a human himself? How can you know stuff about me, all of us, by just looking? I'm mind melding with Daggdramon? Daggdramon likes Gabumon? What would the children look like? That's odd…My thought process is interrupted with a long, to the point scream and Sora running at me. She is holding her left arm and her mouth is open in a silent scream. I stand up as she darts over to me. She's sweating and significantly startled.
"Sora? What's wrong?"
"Tai…" She puffs.
"What about Tai?"
"Wrong…something terribly wrong…"
"I knew it! He was just acting too bossy and not as stupid…"
"NO! That's…not…it…" She shows me her arm. I see a huge bite mark and blood running down the side. I look at her face in stunned horror; she looks as if she's seen a ghost.
"He…he did this…?"
"NO! It…it wasn't him…"
"Who, or what…"
"A horrible monster…big shadow like thing, hovering over him…large slits for eyes…a long, tortuous mouth with rows and rows of teeth…"
"Oh dear…"
"It…I…he was hanging lifeless in the shadow…pale skin…closed eyes…blue electric lines flowing from Tai to the thing…it was horrible." She starts to cry and hugs me. "It saw me…I ran, and it caught me. It tried to eat me but only managed to bite my arm…" The blood trickles down my back as her arm presses into my overalls.
"What about Agum…"I stop short. I remember what Gennai said about sharing feelings…
"Agumon was a heap on the floor. He was knocked out…"
"We should wake everyone and get them out of here…"
"Yes, good idea." I run over to the group and start shaking the people. Eyes open to the darkness and complaints arouse.
"What the hell, I was having a good dream…"
"What about?" I ask.
"Uh um, Why did you wake us up? Hehehehehe."
"Shut up Matt! We've got to get out of here." Sora snaps at him.
"5 more minutes mommy…"
"Sorry Joe, I'm not your mommy, and we've got to leave."
"Good morning Mya!"
"Not now T.K., get Patamon and get up." Finally, we're all standing with our Digimon in arms.
"All right, we've got to get out of here..." I start.
"Why?"
"Why now?"
"I have to pee."
"Let me finish…Sora had a run in with some kind of terrible monster…" I look in Sora's direction for support. She is now shaking more than ever. "Sora," I whisper to her, "What's wrong?" She points of in the distance ahead of us. I turn my head and see Tai standing there, but something's wrong with him. A dark, shadowy haze looms around his body. His eyes are reddish-brown and his goggles and shirt are red. His hair is the same brown it always was, but it slightly redder.
"You don't look glad to see me." He says shooting a glare in Sora's direction. She's still trembling but she smiles a small smile. " And you," He shoots me a look of pure hatred, "Think your so great, eh. Now that Mya's here, we're all gonna' be saved! Let me tell you something, girly, I rule this pack and there ain't nothing you can do."
"Tai, your whacked," I say.
"No, I'm perfectly fine, it's you who is really whacked!"
"What are you…"
"Enough talk, I came he to solve some unfinished business." He hasn't taken his eyes of me, "I've come with a friend…Wargreymon, show your self!" From out in the distance, Wargreymon came darting forward stopping right behind Tai. He growls baring his teeth. He had the same black shadow and the dark wings of an evil angel. They flap vigorously blowing sand at all of us. He has blue scaly skin and deep red eyes.
"Tai…are you OK?" I ask.
"Never been better, now that your gonna leave." I start to walk toward him, but Wargreymon shoots a fire blast between him and I. I jump back and fall to the ground. He steps through the fire as Daggdramon digi-volves and I rise to my feet. Sworddramon steps behind me. I turn my head just in time to see Wargreymon pounce on her and knock her to the ground. I turn my attention back to Tai who's laughing. He looks toward me, as a rich person would do to a hobo, still laughing. Eyes full of pity like for one who was going to die. Behind me I hear strangled roars and slashing claws. Then I hear yet another digimon digi-volveing.
"Gabumon warp digi-volve to…Metalgarurumon."
"Hey, I didn't tell you to…"
"I don't have to do everything with you command, Matt." With that I spin my head around only to se Metalgarurumon leap into battle and a bone crunching sweep lift me into the air.
"Forgot to tell you…" Tai starts to say, "I have telepathic powers." He laughs again, and then drops me to the floor. I flop to the ground as Sora and the rest rush over to me. Just like that, we all swept up into the air with one flick of Tai's wrist. To my right, Sora is flailing about, hands clamped together in front of her. Matt, to my right, has his hands at his neck pulling at some invisible force strangling him. I, on the other hand, am unfortunately bound upside-down, the force losing strength around the bindings of my ankles.
"Tai, come on! You don't want to hurt us!!" Sora yells, blood still dripping down her arm. Tai looked at her, anger still imbedded in his eyes.
"Sora…" He says very slowly with a quiver in his voice. He throws his head to one side, turning his gaze to behind him.
"Come on Tai! Get a grip!" Joe yells somewhere suspended in the distance. Tai turns his face back to us with a scowl imprinted on his face. Then I hear a low, deep, menacing, evil, spiteful, flat out mean voice growl from inside Tai.
"Yes, wretched human, feed of your anger! Don't listen to that girl." All of a sudden. Tai wrenches back, hands clasped on his head as he drops all of us to the floor. Due to the wind or some wonderful fact of wonderfulness, I land conveniently on Sora and Matt.
"Ugh…"
"Umph…Get of, your heavy!" I climb off of them and weakly rise to my feet. As if on cue, Wargreymon and Sworddramon roll by with Metalgarurumon pouncing at them and shooting beams. Lillymon and Megakabuterimon dash after shooting beams and fire. Then, they come back, Zudomon smashing after them with his hammer and Garudamon shooting beams at them. Humm…that is very odd. Then I turn my attention back to Tai. He seems better now, hands at his side, eyes closed. Sora and Matt rise to their feet and also seem a bit weak.
"Hey…" I whisper to Sora and Matt. They walk over to where I'm standing. "Listen, since Tai is of guard, we should get him now."
"And how do you suppose we do that?" Sora asks.
"Simple we…we…"
"We tackle him! He only got two hands, so one of us is sure to hit him." Matt interjects. He seems very proud of himself. This place keeps getting weirder and weirder…
"Good idea." I say. He chuckles and smiles, "Amazing I didn't think of it." He seems even more proud, if that is even possible.
"Can you stop talking and put that plan into action!" Sworddramon yells, obviously still scraping with Wargraymon. I turn my head to see her, but she looks different. She grew about a foot, and is wearing different clothes. She is wearing a pair of big gray pants and a white, small kamono with a blue belt. She also had a blue thing on her head that flap in some light wind. She had no more hair and her teeth are very menacing. She had two huge, curved swords. She no longer looks friendly, but is scowling. Humm…that must be Samuraimon. Just then, Wargraymon tackled her. Sora slaps my shoulder and I turn back.
"OK, on 3!" She says, "1…"
"3!!!!" We all dash toward him. As if he sensed us, his eyes open and he thrusts his hands outward. Matt and I are tossed into the air, as Sora lands a clear hit. They get thrown back, as I fall to the floor…again. When they land, Sora takes a good clear shot and his face and makes contact. His head is thrown to the side and she hits him again. Wow, that must hurt. Again, two digimon roll by, with the rest chasing them. This time, Garudamon and Wargraymon duke it out and Samuraimon rides on Metalgarurumon slicing and shooting. Sora lands one more hit and then everything goes quiet. A brisk breeze picks up and a low, deep sucking sound comes from Sora's direction. This time, I'll chose to stay on the floor, till I'm picked up or rudely tossed in to the air again. Besides, my legs feel like two pieces of spaghetti. Instead, I'll turn my head in their direction. Yet, much to my dismay, instead of seeing some sort of good sign, I see Sora and Tai flung next to me by some big, shadowy, black thingy…On a lighter note, Tai's back to…well, just this once I'll use the word…normal.
"GRRRROWWWWWLLLLL!!!" The thing growls at all of us. I say all of us, because if the rest weren't dropped on me, they're scattered somewhere near by…I hope, "Arg, useless human…I should have know you'd be too weak!" He looks at Tai, who is being cradled by Sora…go figure. It 'looks' at the rest of us. I hastily close my eyes and put my head down in hope that he'd think I was dead, hope it works. I hope a lot.
"Oh please, please save us…" I whimper to my self. Suddenly, something hits me in the side of the head…it's small, furry and…oh no…round.
"Sorry, Mya…he's too strong…" it whispers in my ear.
"It's OK, it's OK…" I mumble.
"Ah, you look strong, you could kill them…" It says and flies of somewhere.
"Celestial Arrow!"
"Hand of Fate!"
"Flower Cannon!" I feel something slimy climb in my ear and lie on my brain. I rise to my feet, though I still feel like a wet noodle. Next thing I know…I can't see a thing but darkness and myself, I can't feel anything either…odd isn't it. I hear a voice in my head.
"Hum, yes…strong indeed…" The me in my head looks around furiously and yells in some incomprehensible language. Sounds like…oh forget it, I don't know, "Maybe too strong…" The me yells again, but know I can kinda hear what it's yelling…
"I want to go home! Go away! Mama! Dada! This is so weird! Big Pimpin, spending cheese…" On and on and on with more complaints, things I would say when I was little and things I would say now.
"Ahhh…much more power than expected…"
"What do you like? A whole lot of foreplay…I'm Slim Shady…"
"This could be great…"
"If at first you don't succeed! Dust yourself of and try again…Let me see that thong…"
"But, not much sense…" Hey, what's that supposed to mean?
"It's so hard! Wanna be like pun! Maria, Maria, she fell in love in the digi world…" Ahhhh…my head hurts…Leave me alone, go away…this is my brain…
"Ah, resistance is worthless…" Please…leave…(no diggity, no doubt…)
"Go away!" I yell…some how…I snap back to reality and fall to the floor, the shock of the encounter still fresh in my brain. I feel as if I had been drowned and some how, now, just took a breath.
"I need a body…" It yells. I open my eyes to the shocking site of the big, black thing standing in front of me and the rest of the digi-destine around me, well not
Tai, he's lying somewhere near by.
"You think…" Sora stutters.
"Yeah probably…" Matt replies. They obviously understand something that I don't, and I don't like being left out.
"What the, what are you talking about…" I squeak.
"That thing came after Sora and I a while ago…we have to think good thoughts to get rid of it."
"But some how, it's changed…"
"I bet you Matt can think of some good thoughts…" I whisper under my breath so only Sora can hear me.
"This is no time for jokes!" She snaps though I see she fighting back a very deserved laugh.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! I need to REGENERATE!" It yells and disappears in to a puff of smoke. Now that he's gone, Sora will run over to Tai and make sure, he's OK. Sora runs over to Tai and cradles his head. How typical…
"How typical." Dordimon says. She must have got up.
"You can say that again, Dordimon, but don't, OK?" I pick my head up on to my hands and stretch out my legs.
"OK."
"I think I should see if he's all right. It only seems fare since his 'girlfriend' nearly pounded him into the ground."
"Do what ya want, but I still think that…"
"He's a jerk?"
"No, that she drools over him too much."
"You can't talk, Dordimon."
"Well, neither can you."
"I wasn't planing to."
"Yes you were."
"No."
"Yes, you were about to say something."
"You just aren't going to let me have last word, are you?"
"Nope." With that, she waddles of somewhere, probably to thank Gabumon, or whatever he is, for saving her furry, little butt. I rise to me feet and start my long, five-foot journey to go see Tai. As I approach, Sora drops his head and gives me an unexpected smile.
"I came to see if Tai was OK. After that drop…I wouldn't be so sure." Acting as if she didn't know she dropped he, she pushes him into a sitting position and smiles again.
"I'm fine, thanks for asking. OW, that hurts!" He says rubbing the back of his head. He turns to see me and seems fairly shocked.
"Oh, that's good to hear…"
"Yeah…" There is a long silence, a long, uneasy silence, like we both have something to…to say. Well…OK, I might have a little more to say then he does…but still…
"Look…did you really, I mean really mean what you said about me?"
"Well, no…as much as you thought I did, but damn, you do get annoying sometimes. Just, you came here and like clear out of the blue, everyone had respect for ya, respect I had to work for…so it's a bit frustrating."
"Understandable…I think. It's just probably because you all were used to this place when I came along, unlike when you came here of course."
"Most likely…"
"Yeah." More silence… "Look, I'll try to act a little more…"
"Respectable to you leader?" He says raising an eyebrow as if he was hoping I would something like that.
"Let's not push it, Tai. Just know, if you act out of line, I will tell you." I pat him on his head and start to walk away. I hear footsteps and turn my head to see Sora standing behind me.
"Nice of you to talk to him…and not try to umm…just that was nice of ya."
"OK Sora. Go back and tend to your punching bag."
"Ha Ha." She says and returns to Tai.
"OW! DAMN SORA!" A loud yell.
"Sorry…" As I walk, Joe and Mimi chat it up about some sort of Chicken or something, Izzy is using his little computer and typing, T.K. and Kari went back to sleep and the digimon have gone to sleep also. I sit in the desert sand and yawn. Matt walks over to me, followed by Sora. Oh, she left her snukums.
"Mya…I have a question." Matt says.
"What is it?"
"Well, while you were 'possessed', you started sing parts of songs…"
"Why were you singing 'What Chu Like'?" Sora yells.
"Sora, what do you know about Da Brat?"
"More than you think! Why were you singing it!?"
"Well, umm…No…"
"Why were you singing the 'Thong Song' also?! Oh, wait…I get it now…" She looks at me in the eyes, "Whatever goes through that head of yours?"
"What? I don't get it. I like those songs." Matt interjects
"Never mind, Matt."
"Never mind what?"
"Forget about it." I say.
"Forget about What?!" He ask, very, very lost…how unfortunate.
"Go talk to Tai, Matt."
"Why?"
"Come on Matt…" Sora grabs his shoulder and starts to take him to where Tai is sitting.
"He's more like his brother than I thought.*" I yell to Sora as she starts laughing.

*If you don't get that joke, refer to ch. 1, enter the 9th digi-destine.