~* Darkness Rising, Silence Falls *~
A Digimon 02 Fanfic by Bandit, ©2000
Chapter 4- Darkness Burrows Deep Within, True Evil Is Never Dead
~*~*~*~
"I've never seen anything quite like it," the vet mused, placing his stethoscope back in his bag and frowning up at the three women looking anxiously down at him. "The kitten appears to be in perfectly good health. I could find nothing wrong with her, save a little singed fur around her paw and face. You've already informed her that she received an electrical shock from this young lady's necklace," he said with a gesture to Mimi, who winced at the memory, "but that only accounts for the marks on the fur, not for this...condition.
"This kitten is unharmed, and very much alive...but she hasn't moved at all in the time I've examined her, and will not, from your accounts, be awakened by anything. The only thing even similar to this I've seen in years is post-traumatic shock syndrome: shell shock. But this surpasses even that form of unconsciousness." Shaking his head, he closed the bag and put it away. "We can keep her here for a few days, for observation, but I'm afraid that for now there's nothing we can do."
Sora swallowed hard, and her mother put a hand on her arm.
"Well...I suppose, if that's all you can do to help..."
"I'm very sorry, Miss," the veterinarian said, patting her hand. "It's hard to have a pet hurt like this. I assure you that anything we can do, we will."
Sora gave the vet a wan smile. He was a kind, reserved elderly man who reminded her of her granddad, and he was doing the best he could.
"Thank you," she managed, nodding to him. "I know she's...she's in good hands." Carefully picking up the kitten and giving her a gentle snuggle, she handed her to the vet's aide, who was waiting at his side. "Please take good care of her," she blurted, and hurried out of the room. Mimi followed her, while Mrs. Takenouchi stayed behind to arrange for expenses and so on.
Mimi found Sora slumped in a chair in the waiting room, head in her hands. Quietly slipping into the seat next to her, she patted her shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
Sora gave her a reproachful look, eyes full of tears. Mimi sighed.
"Sorry. I shouldn't ask obvious questions. How about this one; are you going to be okay?"
There was a short pause, then Sora sniffed and murmured, "I'll live..." She paused, and then dropped her face back into her hands. "She was my first pet," she wailed into her wet fingers, her voice muffled. Mimi gave her an awkward sideways hug from her seat.
"Is your first pet," she corrected, gently taking Sora's hands away from her face and smiling. Sora sniffled, but said nothing. "Oh, come on, girl," Mimi said. "Don't give up yet. You want Tai to gloat forever because his cat is better than yours?"
That got a smile from the girl, however weak and watery. "Miiko? Yeah, right," she said with a snort. "Kichi's cooler than that fat old pumpkin-cat any day!"
"There's the Sora I know!" Mimi joked, giving her hand a squeeze. "Now let's go get your mom. We can grab some lunch on the way home."
Sora sighed, but nodded. "Okay..." She started to say something, then stopped. Mimi's being so nice...but I still can't get the questions out of my head. We both felt somehow that Kichi was being hurt. How did we know?
How did I know? The question rang in Mimi's mind, all the way to McDonald's, all the way through an hour of picking at a quarter-pounder with cheese, her favorite, and all the way home. She put on a calm front for Sora, who obviously needed a rock to hold on to, but Mimi was starting to wonder exactly how stable this rock was going to be. Her mind was whirling, and she couldn't get the images of the dream out of her mind. Worse, that vaguely tired, sick feeling hadn't gone away-it had only gotten worse. She had also developed a faint but persistent throbbing headache.
I saw nothing in that dream...nothing but dusty dry land and gray sky. How did I know that something had happened? Not to Kichi, but to someone... I felt it! I felt her being attacked, or whatever happened to her. Why? How? Ohh, I need sleep... Yet she was vaguely afraid to go to bed. What if the dream returned? It was only a dream, she reminded herself. But then how did it tell me what happened to Kichi? She sighed, letting her face fall into her hands. I may not be in that dust desert, but I'm as lost as I ever was...
"Mimi?"
She looked up into Mrs. Takenouchi's concerned face. They were seated at the Takenouchi's kitchen table with cups of tea, while Sora lay stretched out on the sofa, watching TV listlessly with Kichi's bed-pillow hugged to her chest.
"Mimi, sweetie, are you all right? You look worn to bare ends. And you barely touched your lunch, or your dinner. That's not like you."
Pasting on the I'm-fine-thank-you-how-are-you? smile that she'd let drop while she was wandering in her own thoughts, Mimi shrugged. "I'm all right. I just have a bit of a headache, that's all. I'll take a Tylenol or something before I go to bed."
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Takenouchi pressed, still not quite convinced. Mimi nodded, wincing inwardly. She hated lying; after all, she was the holder of the Crest of Sincerity. But she didn't think, somehow, that Mrs. Takenouchi, with her down-to-earth, make-sure-to-lock-up-the-shop-before-you-leave sensibilities, would understand what she meant if she tried to explain her thoughts. She didn't even understand them herself, to be honest.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Takenouchi. I'm fine. Just tired."
"Oh, I'd forgotten. You two had a late night last night, didn't you?"
"Not so late as yours," Mimi said politely. Mrs. Takenouchi frowned.
"But not half so stressful as yours. Nightmares, sleepwalking, shell-shocked cats...it's a wonder you both haven't dropped off where you're sitting." Glancing up at the clock, she let out a little exclamation of surprise and dismay. "Well, look at that! While we've all been lying here, stewing in our own misery, it's gotten to be nine-thirty! We'd all better head off to bed, and that includes me. The more sleep for all of us, the better. I have a feeling we're going to need it."
Mimi made a face, but quickly went back to her smile as Mrs. Takenouchi blinked at her. "Ah...okay," she agreed lamely, a nervous feeling welling up in her stomach. Bed? No...she didn't want to go to sleep. She wouldn't. She would stay awake...
But her eyelids were already leaden-heavy, and she was so tired that she had to lean on Mrs. Takenouchi's arm to stay standing on the way to bed. She pajama'ed up quickly and fell into bed, her bear hugged tightly to her, as if it could protect her.
Some minutes later, a shaft of light fell across her face as Mrs. Takenouchi peered in on her. "The poor sweetheart," she chuckled. "Fast asleep already. Sweet dreams, child," she added, and softly closed the door.
I wouldn't give much chance of that. He chuckled to himself, pleased. All was going well-perfectly, in fact. Even the miserable child herself did not yet suspect; at least, not anything concrete, and certainly not the real danger. All she knew was a vague fear and a series of nightmares. All she will ever know, until it is too late, if I have my way. And he would. He knew it as well as he knew himself. The little strength he'd already gained was enough to begin the replenishing of his energies, to give him the means he needed to obtain more. And he would use those means...tonight.
The clock struck midnight.
The gems of the necklace lit up in their bloody glow, as Mimi slipped from the bed under a power not her own. The window was open, just a little, and she went to it, sliding it as far open as it would go and climbing out onto the fire escape. The night air was cold, but she didn't shiver, despite her brief nightgown. He was in charge now, and he could feel no cold. Yet...
Red light flickered around her hands, as he raised them to the night. And from the corners, the nooks, the crannies, the subways and the attics of Tokyo, the bats came, fluttering in the alley in a flock like flies around dead meat, their red eyes flashing answering lights at the lights blazing from the jewels of the necklace. They crowded around her, and lifted her into the air. He cast a flickering sphere of red light around them, and when it winked out, the bats and the girl they carried could no longer be seen. But from his vantage point inside the sphere, he saw Tokyo fall away beneath them, and as they drifted down into the back streets and the dark alleys to find his prey, he felt new life arise in him at this return to his element: the night sky.
He had cheated death; he had returned in the last form anyone would expect. Yet it was not his own. This half-existence, this life only in another's absence, was not enough for him. There were better things in store. True evil is never dead, he thought smugly to himself, and commanded his pets to dive.
~*~*~*~
A Digimon 02 Fanfic by Bandit, ©2000
Chapter 4- Darkness Burrows Deep Within, True Evil Is Never Dead
~*~*~*~
"I've never seen anything quite like it," the vet mused, placing his stethoscope back in his bag and frowning up at the three women looking anxiously down at him. "The kitten appears to be in perfectly good health. I could find nothing wrong with her, save a little singed fur around her paw and face. You've already informed her that she received an electrical shock from this young lady's necklace," he said with a gesture to Mimi, who winced at the memory, "but that only accounts for the marks on the fur, not for this...condition.
"This kitten is unharmed, and very much alive...but she hasn't moved at all in the time I've examined her, and will not, from your accounts, be awakened by anything. The only thing even similar to this I've seen in years is post-traumatic shock syndrome: shell shock. But this surpasses even that form of unconsciousness." Shaking his head, he closed the bag and put it away. "We can keep her here for a few days, for observation, but I'm afraid that for now there's nothing we can do."
Sora swallowed hard, and her mother put a hand on her arm.
"Well...I suppose, if that's all you can do to help..."
"I'm very sorry, Miss," the veterinarian said, patting her hand. "It's hard to have a pet hurt like this. I assure you that anything we can do, we will."
Sora gave the vet a wan smile. He was a kind, reserved elderly man who reminded her of her granddad, and he was doing the best he could.
"Thank you," she managed, nodding to him. "I know she's...she's in good hands." Carefully picking up the kitten and giving her a gentle snuggle, she handed her to the vet's aide, who was waiting at his side. "Please take good care of her," she blurted, and hurried out of the room. Mimi followed her, while Mrs. Takenouchi stayed behind to arrange for expenses and so on.
Mimi found Sora slumped in a chair in the waiting room, head in her hands. Quietly slipping into the seat next to her, she patted her shoulder.
"Are you okay?"
Sora gave her a reproachful look, eyes full of tears. Mimi sighed.
"Sorry. I shouldn't ask obvious questions. How about this one; are you going to be okay?"
There was a short pause, then Sora sniffed and murmured, "I'll live..." She paused, and then dropped her face back into her hands. "She was my first pet," she wailed into her wet fingers, her voice muffled. Mimi gave her an awkward sideways hug from her seat.
"Is your first pet," she corrected, gently taking Sora's hands away from her face and smiling. Sora sniffled, but said nothing. "Oh, come on, girl," Mimi said. "Don't give up yet. You want Tai to gloat forever because his cat is better than yours?"
That got a smile from the girl, however weak and watery. "Miiko? Yeah, right," she said with a snort. "Kichi's cooler than that fat old pumpkin-cat any day!"
"There's the Sora I know!" Mimi joked, giving her hand a squeeze. "Now let's go get your mom. We can grab some lunch on the way home."
Sora sighed, but nodded. "Okay..." She started to say something, then stopped. Mimi's being so nice...but I still can't get the questions out of my head. We both felt somehow that Kichi was being hurt. How did we know?
How did I know? The question rang in Mimi's mind, all the way to McDonald's, all the way through an hour of picking at a quarter-pounder with cheese, her favorite, and all the way home. She put on a calm front for Sora, who obviously needed a rock to hold on to, but Mimi was starting to wonder exactly how stable this rock was going to be. Her mind was whirling, and she couldn't get the images of the dream out of her mind. Worse, that vaguely tired, sick feeling hadn't gone away-it had only gotten worse. She had also developed a faint but persistent throbbing headache.
I saw nothing in that dream...nothing but dusty dry land and gray sky. How did I know that something had happened? Not to Kichi, but to someone... I felt it! I felt her being attacked, or whatever happened to her. Why? How? Ohh, I need sleep... Yet she was vaguely afraid to go to bed. What if the dream returned? It was only a dream, she reminded herself. But then how did it tell me what happened to Kichi? She sighed, letting her face fall into her hands. I may not be in that dust desert, but I'm as lost as I ever was...
"Mimi?"
She looked up into Mrs. Takenouchi's concerned face. They were seated at the Takenouchi's kitchen table with cups of tea, while Sora lay stretched out on the sofa, watching TV listlessly with Kichi's bed-pillow hugged to her chest.
"Mimi, sweetie, are you all right? You look worn to bare ends. And you barely touched your lunch, or your dinner. That's not like you."
Pasting on the I'm-fine-thank-you-how-are-you? smile that she'd let drop while she was wandering in her own thoughts, Mimi shrugged. "I'm all right. I just have a bit of a headache, that's all. I'll take a Tylenol or something before I go to bed."
"Are you sure?" Mrs. Takenouchi pressed, still not quite convinced. Mimi nodded, wincing inwardly. She hated lying; after all, she was the holder of the Crest of Sincerity. But she didn't think, somehow, that Mrs. Takenouchi, with her down-to-earth, make-sure-to-lock-up-the-shop-before-you-leave sensibilities, would understand what she meant if she tried to explain her thoughts. She didn't even understand them herself, to be honest.
"Don't worry, Mrs. Takenouchi. I'm fine. Just tired."
"Oh, I'd forgotten. You two had a late night last night, didn't you?"
"Not so late as yours," Mimi said politely. Mrs. Takenouchi frowned.
"But not half so stressful as yours. Nightmares, sleepwalking, shell-shocked cats...it's a wonder you both haven't dropped off where you're sitting." Glancing up at the clock, she let out a little exclamation of surprise and dismay. "Well, look at that! While we've all been lying here, stewing in our own misery, it's gotten to be nine-thirty! We'd all better head off to bed, and that includes me. The more sleep for all of us, the better. I have a feeling we're going to need it."
Mimi made a face, but quickly went back to her smile as Mrs. Takenouchi blinked at her. "Ah...okay," she agreed lamely, a nervous feeling welling up in her stomach. Bed? No...she didn't want to go to sleep. She wouldn't. She would stay awake...
But her eyelids were already leaden-heavy, and she was so tired that she had to lean on Mrs. Takenouchi's arm to stay standing on the way to bed. She pajama'ed up quickly and fell into bed, her bear hugged tightly to her, as if it could protect her.
Some minutes later, a shaft of light fell across her face as Mrs. Takenouchi peered in on her. "The poor sweetheart," she chuckled. "Fast asleep already. Sweet dreams, child," she added, and softly closed the door.
I wouldn't give much chance of that. He chuckled to himself, pleased. All was going well-perfectly, in fact. Even the miserable child herself did not yet suspect; at least, not anything concrete, and certainly not the real danger. All she knew was a vague fear and a series of nightmares. All she will ever know, until it is too late, if I have my way. And he would. He knew it as well as he knew himself. The little strength he'd already gained was enough to begin the replenishing of his energies, to give him the means he needed to obtain more. And he would use those means...tonight.
The clock struck midnight.
The gems of the necklace lit up in their bloody glow, as Mimi slipped from the bed under a power not her own. The window was open, just a little, and she went to it, sliding it as far open as it would go and climbing out onto the fire escape. The night air was cold, but she didn't shiver, despite her brief nightgown. He was in charge now, and he could feel no cold. Yet...
Red light flickered around her hands, as he raised them to the night. And from the corners, the nooks, the crannies, the subways and the attics of Tokyo, the bats came, fluttering in the alley in a flock like flies around dead meat, their red eyes flashing answering lights at the lights blazing from the jewels of the necklace. They crowded around her, and lifted her into the air. He cast a flickering sphere of red light around them, and when it winked out, the bats and the girl they carried could no longer be seen. But from his vantage point inside the sphere, he saw Tokyo fall away beneath them, and as they drifted down into the back streets and the dark alleys to find his prey, he felt new life arise in him at this return to his element: the night sky.
He had cheated death; he had returned in the last form anyone would expect. Yet it was not his own. This half-existence, this life only in another's absence, was not enough for him. There were better things in store. True evil is never dead, he thought smugly to himself, and commanded his pets to dive.
~*~*~*~