Till The End Of All
By CyberDracomon
Chapter 10 of 26 - Jester
Patamon and Gatomon were again sitting in silence, but this time not from boredom. Instead it was by Patamon's choice, after hearing the secret Gatomon had been withholding he needed the silence to sort out all the new thoughts. Kari was going to die willingly, to save both worlds he called home, it was a fact he couldn't get over... He must have badgered on for at least half an hour about it not being the only way or not needing to take such risks, but it took all this time to realize it was the only way. Patamon didn't like it, he hated it... but he accepted it.
"...Are you okay, Patamon?" Gatomon asked, concerned about her friend beside her. Before she had been glad he had stopped talking about Kari's fate but his total silence had begun to worry her.
"...Yeah, I'm alright." He finally said. "It's just a lot to accept so suddenly..." Gatomon knew how he felt, when Kari confided in her this secret, it took nearly an hour of complaining and infuriated rambling to calm down and think about it, she still didn't accept it completely.
"Well..." She began. "I know what you're going through so if you need anything, I'm always here." Patamon felt a sudden comfort over him as she spoke those words, it was a nice feeling to have at the moment.
"Thanks, Gatomon, that's nice to know." Patamon said, smiling at her faintly. Gatomon smiled back, glad she was of some help in all of this and not just the bearer of bad news. She looked up at the sky, just now realizing night had fallen.
"They're taking a long time..." Gatomon said. "You think the path is really that long?" Patamon had almost forgotten that TK and Kari were walking toward the next temple now, too wrapped up in everything else that seemed to be happening all at once.
"Maybe..." He replied. "...You don't think anything happened to them, do you?" That thought hadn't crossed Gatomon's mind in hours and she wished Patamon hadn't mentioned it now.
"Of course not." She replied. "The path's supposed to be well hidden, right? Ragnadramon can't find it and there aren't any other Digimon that want to stop us." Patamon knew all of that, of course. Fear tends to be overpowering, though, especially about someone you care about.
"We don't know that for sure, though." He said. "Ragnadramon found us fairly well considering we had only been in the Digital World for a little while." Gatomon closed her eyes, wishing Patamon hadn't said that. She hadn't thought about that, how quickly he found them despite knowing nothing about where they would be in the Digital World or when.
"Patamon, let's not talk about it, okay?" She asked, hoping to get him off the topic. Suddenly Patamon felt bad about ever mentioning it, he didn't mean to upset her.
"I'm sorry..." He said, a bit of a timid tone to his voice. "I didn't mean to make you worry." Gatomon shook her head, opening her eyes again. She stood from her spot against the gateway's base, her head looking down to the ground.
"Don't worry about it..." She replied. "I've been worried all day, it's just too hard not to be worried. I hate this whole situation, we don't even know if they're okay, let alone getting close to the temple..." Patamon now felt ever worse, not just from his own fear for TK and Kari, but now because of how bad Gatomon was feeling. As helpless as he felt to help his human counterpart, he felt worse because Gatomon was right here in front of him and he still didn't know how to help.
Patamon stood from his seat, only one thing coming to his mind. He walked over to her, facing her as best he could with her head still down. He hesitated before putting his arms around her, one at her waist, one at her neck, holding her head against him. Gatomon wasn't sure what he was doing, but felt a sudden comfort over her. She closed her eyes, putting her arms around his waist. Patamon had done this as a friendly gesture, his only way of comforting his friend, but standing there with his arms around her, and now her arms around him, all the feelings he had been thinking about in the last few days caught up to him. They were understood now, though, his undeniable love for Gatomon only strengthening in this moment. Patamon resisted telling her then and there how he felt, knowing the timing was wrong for it. Neither Digimon wished to let go, both for their own, but very similar reasons, and felt no need to ever do.
After a few minutes Gatomon opened her eyes, then saw something out of the corner of them. It took everything she had to break their embrace to look over at the monitor that was all but forgotten about. It was glowing dimly, but more noticeable was the second indicator that they had been waiting for was now lit up, meaning the gate was finally open for them.
"Patamon, they made it." She said, a very relieved sound to her voice. Patamon looked over now, breathing much easier now that he knew things were okay. He walked over quickly, with Gatomon right behind him, both eager to enter and rejoin their human friends.
**********
Kari stood up from the small monitor that was set beside the end of the bridge they had been walking on for so long, hoping Patamon and Gatomon would be joining them soon. She and TK were now standing on a small land mass that was at the end of their long path. The whole area was still surrounded by clouds with this small, grass covered island floating among them. In the middle was the temple, very similar to the one Baihumon was located in, but with Azulongmon's image painted over the entrance instead of Baihumon's.
"Well, I activated the monitor." She said to TK, who was leaning against the railing of the end of the bridge. "Our Digimon should be joining us soon." TK heard every word but didn't care about a single one, his thoughts were still encompassed by Kari's sudden announcement. It wasn't fair, why did she have to die? Why did it have to be the only way they had? It was unbearable, he couldn't believe he had to deal with so much on top of the crisis the Digital World was in. He looked up at the temple, remembering how glad he thought he would be to finally see it, to be done with walking and to come closer to stopping Cataclysm. Now he hated the sight, he wished that path really had gone on forever.
Looking at TK, Kari seemed to realize what was going on in his mind, deciding something as she did. She reached into her pocket, drawing out her D-Terminal. She flipped it open and began punching in an e-mail to the real world. She needed to explain a lot and it was going to take a while without a keyboard, even if she had become proficient at typing with the device in her hands. It took a good twenty minutes to finish and finally send, in which time TK hadn't moved and the Digimon had yet to appear, both of which had her worried. Maybe it was for the best, though, she knew her e-mail wouldn't be the easiest for the receiver to read.
"TK?" Kari finally said, in hope of stirring TK a bit. "I just e-mailed someone in the real world, you might want to expect company soon." TK didn't see why she would bother to ask anyone to join them, like making him suffer wasn't enough.
"...Someone else coming to help you kill yourself?" TK said resentfully. There was a harshness to his voice Kari had never heard before, then again she couldn't blame him for acting so bitter.
"No..." She replied simply. "I just think it's better to have someone here that isn't so dragged down by my own fate. As it is you're too shaken to help me finish this quest." TK found it hard to believe anyone would be willing to actually let her continue, let alone help her do it. He turned around to face her, an angry look in his eyes.
"Of course I'm shaken up!" He said, almost shouting. "My girlfriend of 5 years shoots down my proposal because she's going to be dead in a few days! How do you expect me to act?!" Kari was surprised to hear TK snap like that, never hearing it from him before, but at the same time she had been expecting it since she told him. TK stepped back a bit, now realizing what he had just done. "Kari, I... I'm sorry, I didn't..." Of course he didn't mean to make such an outburst, but it couldn't be helped. TK turned away again, ashamed of his own reaction.
"My point exactly." She said, turning back to the monitor. She was expecting anything to come from that screen now, either her invited help or her Digimon.
It took a few minutes before the monitor lit up, indicating something was coming through. Kari was relieved to see the forms of Gatomon and Patamon appear in front of the monitor, both looking somewhat exhausted from the long wait.
"About time." Gatomon said, running up to Kari, who picked the feline Digimon up in her arms. "I burned a few of my nine lives waiting for you guys to turn that thing on." Kari was glad someone around here was in a good mood, but of course Gatomon had enough time to recover from the shock. Looking down at the feline Digimon, she figured it was as good a time as any to tell Gatomon at least some of what happened.
"Gatomon, I told TK..." She said to her Digimon. "He kind of left me no choice." Gatomon frowned a bit, but felt a bit relieved, not sure if it was the right thing to tell Patamon.
"I guess we're even, then." Gatomon replied. "I ended up telling Patamon, as well." TK turned around at the sound of his Digimon's name walking a bit closer to the group that was now present. Kari set Gatomon down, looking over to the orange Digimon that had appeared beside her own Digimon. He looked back at her, his large eyes sad at the thought of her fate. Kari couldn't help but feel bad that someone so innocent had to get dragged down with everyone else.
TK watched on, relieved Patamon was here now. Maybe he could help him talk some sense into Kari before she did something insane. He started to approach his Digimon when he saw something he couldn't believe. Patamon flapped up to eye level with Kari, then over to her, landing in her arms and hugging her as best he could with his wings.
"Thank you, Kari..." He said, a sad, but understanding tone to his voice. Kari paused for a second, surprised by Patamon's gesture. She eventually held him in response, somehow admiring the small Digimon for understanding. She wished TK could have the same sight as his Digimon, though.
TK watched the scene unfold, somehow feeling betrayed as he did. It was bad enough the love of his life was going to let herself be killed, but now his best friend and partner was condoning it? It was starting to feel like a nightmare he couldn't wake up from, everything seemed to make things turn for the worse with every passing minute.
"So what are we waiting for?" Gatomon said, looking up at her partner. Kari let go of Patamon, letting the small Digimon fly over to join his own partner. "We're all here now, let's go get Azulongmon's share of the power." Kari was glad her partner was still enthusiastic about the situation, but she shook her head in response.
"There's someone I emailed in the real world." Kari said. "TK didn't take the news well at all, so I thought it would be better to have someone along that wasn't in such a mind shock from all of this. I want them to get here before we go any farther." Gatomon thought about it before nodding, seeing the need for an extra travel companion. TK turned his head from Kari and Gatomon, looking back at the temple. Patamon had landed on his shoulder, but he wasn't sure if he wanted Patamon's company at the moment, too many thoughts clustered into his mind, it was making him doubt a lot and wonder about even more... Even worse, he didn't know how to stop it.
**********
At least half an hour had passed. Kari was still refusing to enter the temple until whoever she summoned had arrived, not even hinting if this company was even male or female. TK wasn't sure what to expect from this impending event, or who for that matter. It was probably Tai, Kari always did want her brother close when times became as bad as this. He had a sudden thought, if her intended guest was his own brother. What better way to keep him from getting in Kari's way or trying to stop her.
"Your guest sure is taking their time..." TK said resentfully. Kari couldn't blame him for his mood, but it was starting to get to her. She was starting to think her pick was becoming more and more appropriate.
"It's not like they check their e-mail constantly, they'll get here." She replied. TK looked back at Patamon, laying on the ground next to him. Maybe it was a good thing this mystery person was taking so long, it kept her out of the temple and away from any danger for now.
Unfortunately TK's luck seemed to be very low today as the monitor they had been watching came to life, Kari's arrival now on their way. A light emerged from the monitor's screen, releasing a pair of figures from it. The light was too bright for any of them to tell who, just that one was obviously a Digimon from their small size. As the light faded, TK immediately recognized his friend Davis standing in front of the monitor, with Veemon right as his side as usual. The two stood there smiling like this was a normal get together, TK thought Kari explained things in her e-mail.
"Thanks for coming, Davis." Kari said. "To be honest I'm surprised you did, I don't think I would have been able to go through with it." Davis shook his head in response, still smiling at her.
"You asked for my help, how could I say no?" He replied. Just then Davis looked over and noticed TK, standing at the end of the bridge and looking away from them. "Hey, TK! Since when did you start being such a loner?" TK had never been in a worse mood in his life and the last thing he needed was a ribbing from Davis. At this point he was just glad he didn't start screwing his name up again.
"He's been like this for hours, I don't see him getting better anytime soon." Kari explained. Davis's smile faded, now seeing how bad things were.
"Guess I know why your e-mail was so urgent..." He replied, looking on at TK. "Don't worry, let me and Veemon take care of things here." Kari smiled at Davis, glad he was going to help them out, then turned to Gatomon.
"Let's get the energy from this temple, it might be good to leave as soon as possible." She said to her Digimon. Gatomon nodded, eager to get home after such a hard day. Kari walked off and into the entrance of the temple, Gatomon right at her heels, leaving TK and Patamon with Davis and Veemon, who were already approaching the duo. Davis wasn't sure exactly what to do, though, Kari wanted Davis to join their quest, but also said TK would need a bit of a moral boost, something he wasn't sure he was good at.
"TK, come on, cheer up!" Davis said, realizing his opening attempt was fairly poor. TK couldn't believe he would ask him that now, unless he was completely oblivious to everything happening, which wouldn't surprise TK. Patamon had woken up from Davis's approach and looked up at his human partner, seeing an angered look on his face. The small Digimon decided this wasn't the time to be around and took to the air, gliding away from the two humans. Veemon watched Patamon fly off and started to give chase.
"Patamon, slow down!" Veemon said, finding more interest in talking to the orange Digimon than listening to the two humans. Now it was just TK and Davis, left in hopes of getting TK's attitude to improve.
"Davis, what are you doing here?" TK said, a bitter tone to his voice. Hearing that tone from TK almost scared Davis, knowing him for so long it was like a different person was in control of him.
"Kari asked me to help her out with this quest of yours." He answered. "She also said you weren't feeling your best so I thought I could cheer you up." TK seriously doubted that would be happening, unless Davis knew a way to stop Kari and still beat the Cataclysm.
"Then you'll be wasting your time." TK said, still looking away from Davis. "I don't want to be cheered up, I want Kari to stop this quest!" Davis stepped back a bit, deciding he was going at this the wrong way. After a minute he decided there wasn't really a right way to go about this, anyway, and would be better off making it up as he went.
"Come on, TK!" Davis said, moving in front of TK. TK didn't take long to turn away form Davis again, only getting further annoyed by his actions. "We haven't talked in a while, there's gotta be something else on your mind." This was getting unbearable, Davis had to know what was going on, but here he was, same happy tone to his voice, same smile on his face. TK thought Davis cared about Kari almost as much as he did, yet he didn't seem a bit concerned about her at all.
"No, Davis, there's not." TK said coldly. He tried to walk toward the temple to get away, only to have Davis follow just inches behind. "I just want to be left alone!" Davis wasn't ready to give up, but if he pushed any harder, he knew where it would end up. He paused before deciding his next move.
"Aw, come on!" Davis continued. "I can't just leave you here alone, besides I still want to talk to you." TK had enough of this and turned around, facing Davis with a cold glare in his eyes. The sight almost sent a chill down Davis's spine, it was one of those things you always thought was impossible.
"Don't you get it?!" TK shouted. "Kari's going to die and all you can worry about is catching up on things! Don't you care at all that she's going to die?! I thought you cared about her!!" TK snapped completely, swinging a fist at Davis. This was what Davis expected, though, moving his head to dodge easily. He quickly grabbed TK by the upper arms and pushed him as hard as he could into the temple wall, restraining him. The thud of TK hitting the stone wall alerted Veemon and Patamon, but neither was sure enough of what was happening to go over and see.
"I'm perfectly aware of things, TK." Davis said, done with trying to get through to TK in any normal fashion and now acting as serious as he had ever been in his life. "Kari was worried about you, that's why she e-mailed me, that's why she wanted me to come with you. She's just as worried about you as you are about her." TK tried his best to escape from Davis's grip, but he failed. Davis was bracing his hold with his legs, stronger than TK's arms from so many years of soccer.
"How could you be so heartless?!" TK shouted. "Don't you care that she's going to die?! I thought she was important to you!" Davis wished he hadn't been reminded of that. Of course he no longer harbored his crush over Kari but she was still one of his most important friends.
"Of course she's important to me." Davis replied, trying to stay at a calm, but still stern voice. "You think I want her to die? What she's dying for is more important than you or me, TK, or even your feelings for her." TK wasn't going to accept this, he wished he could just make Davis shut up, but he was still firmly pinned to the wall, helpless to stop him.
"You don't understand!" TK said, now trying to get his own message across. "Kari means everything to me, if this world ends or not, either way I lose Kari and either way my life ends then and there! I'd give my life a thousand times over to keep her from doing this!!" Davis felt an urge to release TK, but decided against it until his friend had calmed down.
"I know that, TK, I've known for years what you'd do for Kari." Davis replied. "Has it even crossed your mind that she's doing exactly what you would do if it meant saving her? She told me herself, as important as it is to save both worlds, she's doing this to save you!" TK suddenly stopped struggling, Davis's words hitting a nerve somewhere in his mind. Davis felt TK go a little limp and released him, letting TK lean against the wall, a wide, vacant look in his eyes. Davis wasn't sure if he had helped or not, but as long as TK wasn't so hateful anymore he at least did some good. At least that's what he thought.
**********
A few minutes later Kari and Gatomon reemerged from the temple entrance, Kari walking a little slower than before, still a little weak from taking in the energy of Azulongmon. She looked over at Davis, who was with Veemon on one side of the land mass. A second glance brought her to TK, with Patamon hovering in front of him. Something seemed different, though, TK seemed completely out of it. He was sitting against the temple wall, tucked up with his knees to his chest. Kari waked over to Davis, watching TK most of the time, Gatomon close behind.
"Didn't go as well as I hoped, I take it." She said to him. Davis nodded, looking over at TK. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his friend's mind, just in the last few minutes TK had been in two different moods that Davis had never seen him be in.
"It's strange, I felt like I was talking to a stranger." Davis explained. "He's not angry anymore, but I think the reality of it all just hit him, he's really depressed." Kari had hoped Davis would be able to cheer TK up, maybe even get him back in his normal state of mind, but this wasn't what she had in mind.
"Well we have to do something..." Kari said. "I can't finish this quest without him and if he's like this the entire time..." She was starting to run out of ideas, she knew how to cheer up TK but this was beyond anything she had to deal with before.
"Wish I knew what we could do." Davis said. He looked down at his Digimon, silent through all of this. "I don't suppose you have any ideas, do you?" Veemon looked up, broken from his own thoughts.
"Well, usually when you're upset I just get you a donut and you're fine." He replied. "Somehow I don't think that's going to work here, though." Kari couldn't help but find some humor in Veemon, the blue Digimon was deceptively innocent even at times like this. She looked at her own Digimon, hoping for another opinion. Gatomon caught her glance, looking up at Kari.
"Don't even look at me." Gatomon warned. "TK's beyond any help I could come up with." That was what Kari was afraid of. Four minds and TK seemed to be beyond any of them.
"Maybe all he needs is some time to think about things..." Kari said. She walked over to join TK, leaving the others by the monitor. When she reached him Patamon flew up and landed on her shoulder, apparently tired from floating so long.
"TK, we're going home." Kari said, trying to stir him. TK was glad to be getting away from the temple, out of the Digital World that wanted Kari dead. He stood up slowly and walked passed Kari in silence, his head still hanging low. Patamon made a move to go with him, but was stopped by Kari's hand that had found his back.
"Hang on, Patamon." She said once TK was out of earshot. "You know TK better than anyone, what does he usually do to get his mind off something?" Patamon had been thinking about that since TK had started acting this depressed, but he was surprised at what little TK did in times like this.
"Well last time he was really upset was when Matt moved to northern Japan." He answered. "He took a walk in the park for a few hours and came back a little more like himself, at least enough to act normally. He might just need time like that to think about things." Kari must know TK better than she thought, coming up with the same thing his Digimon had.
"Well it shouldn't be too late once we get back to the real world, maybe we can get TK to the park." She said. Patamon smiled faintly, at the very least he was sure he could take his own mind off things there. Kari turned and walked back to the group, Patamon still riding her shoulder. She hoped this would all turn out alright soon, if she had to leave TK she at least wanted him to understand what she was sacrificing herself for and how important it was. Thinking about it, she hated the thought herself, leaving TK, not being able to live her life with him as she had wanted to, but some things can't be avoided or refused, no matter how much you want to.
End Chapter 10
Next: Chapter 11 - Knights
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By CyberDracomon
Chapter 10 of 26 - Jester
Patamon and Gatomon were again sitting in silence, but this time not from boredom. Instead it was by Patamon's choice, after hearing the secret Gatomon had been withholding he needed the silence to sort out all the new thoughts. Kari was going to die willingly, to save both worlds he called home, it was a fact he couldn't get over... He must have badgered on for at least half an hour about it not being the only way or not needing to take such risks, but it took all this time to realize it was the only way. Patamon didn't like it, he hated it... but he accepted it.
"...Are you okay, Patamon?" Gatomon asked, concerned about her friend beside her. Before she had been glad he had stopped talking about Kari's fate but his total silence had begun to worry her.
"...Yeah, I'm alright." He finally said. "It's just a lot to accept so suddenly..." Gatomon knew how he felt, when Kari confided in her this secret, it took nearly an hour of complaining and infuriated rambling to calm down and think about it, she still didn't accept it completely.
"Well..." She began. "I know what you're going through so if you need anything, I'm always here." Patamon felt a sudden comfort over him as she spoke those words, it was a nice feeling to have at the moment.
"Thanks, Gatomon, that's nice to know." Patamon said, smiling at her faintly. Gatomon smiled back, glad she was of some help in all of this and not just the bearer of bad news. She looked up at the sky, just now realizing night had fallen.
"They're taking a long time..." Gatomon said. "You think the path is really that long?" Patamon had almost forgotten that TK and Kari were walking toward the next temple now, too wrapped up in everything else that seemed to be happening all at once.
"Maybe..." He replied. "...You don't think anything happened to them, do you?" That thought hadn't crossed Gatomon's mind in hours and she wished Patamon hadn't mentioned it now.
"Of course not." She replied. "The path's supposed to be well hidden, right? Ragnadramon can't find it and there aren't any other Digimon that want to stop us." Patamon knew all of that, of course. Fear tends to be overpowering, though, especially about someone you care about.
"We don't know that for sure, though." He said. "Ragnadramon found us fairly well considering we had only been in the Digital World for a little while." Gatomon closed her eyes, wishing Patamon hadn't said that. She hadn't thought about that, how quickly he found them despite knowing nothing about where they would be in the Digital World or when.
"Patamon, let's not talk about it, okay?" She asked, hoping to get him off the topic. Suddenly Patamon felt bad about ever mentioning it, he didn't mean to upset her.
"I'm sorry..." He said, a bit of a timid tone to his voice. "I didn't mean to make you worry." Gatomon shook her head, opening her eyes again. She stood from her spot against the gateway's base, her head looking down to the ground.
"Don't worry about it..." She replied. "I've been worried all day, it's just too hard not to be worried. I hate this whole situation, we don't even know if they're okay, let alone getting close to the temple..." Patamon now felt ever worse, not just from his own fear for TK and Kari, but now because of how bad Gatomon was feeling. As helpless as he felt to help his human counterpart, he felt worse because Gatomon was right here in front of him and he still didn't know how to help.
Patamon stood from his seat, only one thing coming to his mind. He walked over to her, facing her as best he could with her head still down. He hesitated before putting his arms around her, one at her waist, one at her neck, holding her head against him. Gatomon wasn't sure what he was doing, but felt a sudden comfort over her. She closed her eyes, putting her arms around his waist. Patamon had done this as a friendly gesture, his only way of comforting his friend, but standing there with his arms around her, and now her arms around him, all the feelings he had been thinking about in the last few days caught up to him. They were understood now, though, his undeniable love for Gatomon only strengthening in this moment. Patamon resisted telling her then and there how he felt, knowing the timing was wrong for it. Neither Digimon wished to let go, both for their own, but very similar reasons, and felt no need to ever do.
After a few minutes Gatomon opened her eyes, then saw something out of the corner of them. It took everything she had to break their embrace to look over at the monitor that was all but forgotten about. It was glowing dimly, but more noticeable was the second indicator that they had been waiting for was now lit up, meaning the gate was finally open for them.
"Patamon, they made it." She said, a very relieved sound to her voice. Patamon looked over now, breathing much easier now that he knew things were okay. He walked over quickly, with Gatomon right behind him, both eager to enter and rejoin their human friends.
**********
Kari stood up from the small monitor that was set beside the end of the bridge they had been walking on for so long, hoping Patamon and Gatomon would be joining them soon. She and TK were now standing on a small land mass that was at the end of their long path. The whole area was still surrounded by clouds with this small, grass covered island floating among them. In the middle was the temple, very similar to the one Baihumon was located in, but with Azulongmon's image painted over the entrance instead of Baihumon's.
"Well, I activated the monitor." She said to TK, who was leaning against the railing of the end of the bridge. "Our Digimon should be joining us soon." TK heard every word but didn't care about a single one, his thoughts were still encompassed by Kari's sudden announcement. It wasn't fair, why did she have to die? Why did it have to be the only way they had? It was unbearable, he couldn't believe he had to deal with so much on top of the crisis the Digital World was in. He looked up at the temple, remembering how glad he thought he would be to finally see it, to be done with walking and to come closer to stopping Cataclysm. Now he hated the sight, he wished that path really had gone on forever.
Looking at TK, Kari seemed to realize what was going on in his mind, deciding something as she did. She reached into her pocket, drawing out her D-Terminal. She flipped it open and began punching in an e-mail to the real world. She needed to explain a lot and it was going to take a while without a keyboard, even if she had become proficient at typing with the device in her hands. It took a good twenty minutes to finish and finally send, in which time TK hadn't moved and the Digimon had yet to appear, both of which had her worried. Maybe it was for the best, though, she knew her e-mail wouldn't be the easiest for the receiver to read.
"TK?" Kari finally said, in hope of stirring TK a bit. "I just e-mailed someone in the real world, you might want to expect company soon." TK didn't see why she would bother to ask anyone to join them, like making him suffer wasn't enough.
"...Someone else coming to help you kill yourself?" TK said resentfully. There was a harshness to his voice Kari had never heard before, then again she couldn't blame him for acting so bitter.
"No..." She replied simply. "I just think it's better to have someone here that isn't so dragged down by my own fate. As it is you're too shaken to help me finish this quest." TK found it hard to believe anyone would be willing to actually let her continue, let alone help her do it. He turned around to face her, an angry look in his eyes.
"Of course I'm shaken up!" He said, almost shouting. "My girlfriend of 5 years shoots down my proposal because she's going to be dead in a few days! How do you expect me to act?!" Kari was surprised to hear TK snap like that, never hearing it from him before, but at the same time she had been expecting it since she told him. TK stepped back a bit, now realizing what he had just done. "Kari, I... I'm sorry, I didn't..." Of course he didn't mean to make such an outburst, but it couldn't be helped. TK turned away again, ashamed of his own reaction.
"My point exactly." She said, turning back to the monitor. She was expecting anything to come from that screen now, either her invited help or her Digimon.
It took a few minutes before the monitor lit up, indicating something was coming through. Kari was relieved to see the forms of Gatomon and Patamon appear in front of the monitor, both looking somewhat exhausted from the long wait.
"About time." Gatomon said, running up to Kari, who picked the feline Digimon up in her arms. "I burned a few of my nine lives waiting for you guys to turn that thing on." Kari was glad someone around here was in a good mood, but of course Gatomon had enough time to recover from the shock. Looking down at the feline Digimon, she figured it was as good a time as any to tell Gatomon at least some of what happened.
"Gatomon, I told TK..." She said to her Digimon. "He kind of left me no choice." Gatomon frowned a bit, but felt a bit relieved, not sure if it was the right thing to tell Patamon.
"I guess we're even, then." Gatomon replied. "I ended up telling Patamon, as well." TK turned around at the sound of his Digimon's name walking a bit closer to the group that was now present. Kari set Gatomon down, looking over to the orange Digimon that had appeared beside her own Digimon. He looked back at her, his large eyes sad at the thought of her fate. Kari couldn't help but feel bad that someone so innocent had to get dragged down with everyone else.
TK watched on, relieved Patamon was here now. Maybe he could help him talk some sense into Kari before she did something insane. He started to approach his Digimon when he saw something he couldn't believe. Patamon flapped up to eye level with Kari, then over to her, landing in her arms and hugging her as best he could with his wings.
"Thank you, Kari..." He said, a sad, but understanding tone to his voice. Kari paused for a second, surprised by Patamon's gesture. She eventually held him in response, somehow admiring the small Digimon for understanding. She wished TK could have the same sight as his Digimon, though.
TK watched the scene unfold, somehow feeling betrayed as he did. It was bad enough the love of his life was going to let herself be killed, but now his best friend and partner was condoning it? It was starting to feel like a nightmare he couldn't wake up from, everything seemed to make things turn for the worse with every passing minute.
"So what are we waiting for?" Gatomon said, looking up at her partner. Kari let go of Patamon, letting the small Digimon fly over to join his own partner. "We're all here now, let's go get Azulongmon's share of the power." Kari was glad her partner was still enthusiastic about the situation, but she shook her head in response.
"There's someone I emailed in the real world." Kari said. "TK didn't take the news well at all, so I thought it would be better to have someone along that wasn't in such a mind shock from all of this. I want them to get here before we go any farther." Gatomon thought about it before nodding, seeing the need for an extra travel companion. TK turned his head from Kari and Gatomon, looking back at the temple. Patamon had landed on his shoulder, but he wasn't sure if he wanted Patamon's company at the moment, too many thoughts clustered into his mind, it was making him doubt a lot and wonder about even more... Even worse, he didn't know how to stop it.
**********
At least half an hour had passed. Kari was still refusing to enter the temple until whoever she summoned had arrived, not even hinting if this company was even male or female. TK wasn't sure what to expect from this impending event, or who for that matter. It was probably Tai, Kari always did want her brother close when times became as bad as this. He had a sudden thought, if her intended guest was his own brother. What better way to keep him from getting in Kari's way or trying to stop her.
"Your guest sure is taking their time..." TK said resentfully. Kari couldn't blame him for his mood, but it was starting to get to her. She was starting to think her pick was becoming more and more appropriate.
"It's not like they check their e-mail constantly, they'll get here." She replied. TK looked back at Patamon, laying on the ground next to him. Maybe it was a good thing this mystery person was taking so long, it kept her out of the temple and away from any danger for now.
Unfortunately TK's luck seemed to be very low today as the monitor they had been watching came to life, Kari's arrival now on their way. A light emerged from the monitor's screen, releasing a pair of figures from it. The light was too bright for any of them to tell who, just that one was obviously a Digimon from their small size. As the light faded, TK immediately recognized his friend Davis standing in front of the monitor, with Veemon right as his side as usual. The two stood there smiling like this was a normal get together, TK thought Kari explained things in her e-mail.
"Thanks for coming, Davis." Kari said. "To be honest I'm surprised you did, I don't think I would have been able to go through with it." Davis shook his head in response, still smiling at her.
"You asked for my help, how could I say no?" He replied. Just then Davis looked over and noticed TK, standing at the end of the bridge and looking away from them. "Hey, TK! Since when did you start being such a loner?" TK had never been in a worse mood in his life and the last thing he needed was a ribbing from Davis. At this point he was just glad he didn't start screwing his name up again.
"He's been like this for hours, I don't see him getting better anytime soon." Kari explained. Davis's smile faded, now seeing how bad things were.
"Guess I know why your e-mail was so urgent..." He replied, looking on at TK. "Don't worry, let me and Veemon take care of things here." Kari smiled at Davis, glad he was going to help them out, then turned to Gatomon.
"Let's get the energy from this temple, it might be good to leave as soon as possible." She said to her Digimon. Gatomon nodded, eager to get home after such a hard day. Kari walked off and into the entrance of the temple, Gatomon right at her heels, leaving TK and Patamon with Davis and Veemon, who were already approaching the duo. Davis wasn't sure exactly what to do, though, Kari wanted Davis to join their quest, but also said TK would need a bit of a moral boost, something he wasn't sure he was good at.
"TK, come on, cheer up!" Davis said, realizing his opening attempt was fairly poor. TK couldn't believe he would ask him that now, unless he was completely oblivious to everything happening, which wouldn't surprise TK. Patamon had woken up from Davis's approach and looked up at his human partner, seeing an angered look on his face. The small Digimon decided this wasn't the time to be around and took to the air, gliding away from the two humans. Veemon watched Patamon fly off and started to give chase.
"Patamon, slow down!" Veemon said, finding more interest in talking to the orange Digimon than listening to the two humans. Now it was just TK and Davis, left in hopes of getting TK's attitude to improve.
"Davis, what are you doing here?" TK said, a bitter tone to his voice. Hearing that tone from TK almost scared Davis, knowing him for so long it was like a different person was in control of him.
"Kari asked me to help her out with this quest of yours." He answered. "She also said you weren't feeling your best so I thought I could cheer you up." TK seriously doubted that would be happening, unless Davis knew a way to stop Kari and still beat the Cataclysm.
"Then you'll be wasting your time." TK said, still looking away from Davis. "I don't want to be cheered up, I want Kari to stop this quest!" Davis stepped back a bit, deciding he was going at this the wrong way. After a minute he decided there wasn't really a right way to go about this, anyway, and would be better off making it up as he went.
"Come on, TK!" Davis said, moving in front of TK. TK didn't take long to turn away form Davis again, only getting further annoyed by his actions. "We haven't talked in a while, there's gotta be something else on your mind." This was getting unbearable, Davis had to know what was going on, but here he was, same happy tone to his voice, same smile on his face. TK thought Davis cared about Kari almost as much as he did, yet he didn't seem a bit concerned about her at all.
"No, Davis, there's not." TK said coldly. He tried to walk toward the temple to get away, only to have Davis follow just inches behind. "I just want to be left alone!" Davis wasn't ready to give up, but if he pushed any harder, he knew where it would end up. He paused before deciding his next move.
"Aw, come on!" Davis continued. "I can't just leave you here alone, besides I still want to talk to you." TK had enough of this and turned around, facing Davis with a cold glare in his eyes. The sight almost sent a chill down Davis's spine, it was one of those things you always thought was impossible.
"Don't you get it?!" TK shouted. "Kari's going to die and all you can worry about is catching up on things! Don't you care at all that she's going to die?! I thought you cared about her!!" TK snapped completely, swinging a fist at Davis. This was what Davis expected, though, moving his head to dodge easily. He quickly grabbed TK by the upper arms and pushed him as hard as he could into the temple wall, restraining him. The thud of TK hitting the stone wall alerted Veemon and Patamon, but neither was sure enough of what was happening to go over and see.
"I'm perfectly aware of things, TK." Davis said, done with trying to get through to TK in any normal fashion and now acting as serious as he had ever been in his life. "Kari was worried about you, that's why she e-mailed me, that's why she wanted me to come with you. She's just as worried about you as you are about her." TK tried his best to escape from Davis's grip, but he failed. Davis was bracing his hold with his legs, stronger than TK's arms from so many years of soccer.
"How could you be so heartless?!" TK shouted. "Don't you care that she's going to die?! I thought she was important to you!" Davis wished he hadn't been reminded of that. Of course he no longer harbored his crush over Kari but she was still one of his most important friends.
"Of course she's important to me." Davis replied, trying to stay at a calm, but still stern voice. "You think I want her to die? What she's dying for is more important than you or me, TK, or even your feelings for her." TK wasn't going to accept this, he wished he could just make Davis shut up, but he was still firmly pinned to the wall, helpless to stop him.
"You don't understand!" TK said, now trying to get his own message across. "Kari means everything to me, if this world ends or not, either way I lose Kari and either way my life ends then and there! I'd give my life a thousand times over to keep her from doing this!!" Davis felt an urge to release TK, but decided against it until his friend had calmed down.
"I know that, TK, I've known for years what you'd do for Kari." Davis replied. "Has it even crossed your mind that she's doing exactly what you would do if it meant saving her? She told me herself, as important as it is to save both worlds, she's doing this to save you!" TK suddenly stopped struggling, Davis's words hitting a nerve somewhere in his mind. Davis felt TK go a little limp and released him, letting TK lean against the wall, a wide, vacant look in his eyes. Davis wasn't sure if he had helped or not, but as long as TK wasn't so hateful anymore he at least did some good. At least that's what he thought.
**********
A few minutes later Kari and Gatomon reemerged from the temple entrance, Kari walking a little slower than before, still a little weak from taking in the energy of Azulongmon. She looked over at Davis, who was with Veemon on one side of the land mass. A second glance brought her to TK, with Patamon hovering in front of him. Something seemed different, though, TK seemed completely out of it. He was sitting against the temple wall, tucked up with his knees to his chest. Kari waked over to Davis, watching TK most of the time, Gatomon close behind.
"Didn't go as well as I hoped, I take it." She said to him. Davis nodded, looking over at TK. He couldn't help but wonder what was going on in his friend's mind, just in the last few minutes TK had been in two different moods that Davis had never seen him be in.
"It's strange, I felt like I was talking to a stranger." Davis explained. "He's not angry anymore, but I think the reality of it all just hit him, he's really depressed." Kari had hoped Davis would be able to cheer TK up, maybe even get him back in his normal state of mind, but this wasn't what she had in mind.
"Well we have to do something..." Kari said. "I can't finish this quest without him and if he's like this the entire time..." She was starting to run out of ideas, she knew how to cheer up TK but this was beyond anything she had to deal with before.
"Wish I knew what we could do." Davis said. He looked down at his Digimon, silent through all of this. "I don't suppose you have any ideas, do you?" Veemon looked up, broken from his own thoughts.
"Well, usually when you're upset I just get you a donut and you're fine." He replied. "Somehow I don't think that's going to work here, though." Kari couldn't help but find some humor in Veemon, the blue Digimon was deceptively innocent even at times like this. She looked at her own Digimon, hoping for another opinion. Gatomon caught her glance, looking up at Kari.
"Don't even look at me." Gatomon warned. "TK's beyond any help I could come up with." That was what Kari was afraid of. Four minds and TK seemed to be beyond any of them.
"Maybe all he needs is some time to think about things..." Kari said. She walked over to join TK, leaving the others by the monitor. When she reached him Patamon flew up and landed on her shoulder, apparently tired from floating so long.
"TK, we're going home." Kari said, trying to stir him. TK was glad to be getting away from the temple, out of the Digital World that wanted Kari dead. He stood up slowly and walked passed Kari in silence, his head still hanging low. Patamon made a move to go with him, but was stopped by Kari's hand that had found his back.
"Hang on, Patamon." She said once TK was out of earshot. "You know TK better than anyone, what does he usually do to get his mind off something?" Patamon had been thinking about that since TK had started acting this depressed, but he was surprised at what little TK did in times like this.
"Well last time he was really upset was when Matt moved to northern Japan." He answered. "He took a walk in the park for a few hours and came back a little more like himself, at least enough to act normally. He might just need time like that to think about things." Kari must know TK better than she thought, coming up with the same thing his Digimon had.
"Well it shouldn't be too late once we get back to the real world, maybe we can get TK to the park." She said. Patamon smiled faintly, at the very least he was sure he could take his own mind off things there. Kari turned and walked back to the group, Patamon still riding her shoulder. She hoped this would all turn out alright soon, if she had to leave TK she at least wanted him to understand what she was sacrificing herself for and how important it was. Thinking about it, she hated the thought herself, leaving TK, not being able to live her life with him as she had wanted to, but some things can't be avoided or refused, no matter how much you want to.
End Chapter 10
Next: Chapter 11 - Knights
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