Author's notes: I'm dreadfully sorry for the horrible wait. Thanks again for reading and reviewing. The story is close to its end; there are still several more chapters to go. I don't know how many more. Anyway, this chapter has the Digidestines finding themselves in different locations. Each of them has to pass his or her own test to remain a Digidestine. However, I won't be explaining what each individual is going through; I chose to describe a few of them.
Chapter 32: Breaking Free From Fears 1
Tai's POV:
A new environment surrounds me. I asked myself where the Empress is and what happened to me and my friends. My head computed no logical answer. I was standing in the middle of a busy street. There were so many people passing me by. It was my neighbourhood, or so it appeared. There were a few differences, such as the commercial building straight across the street from where I stood; there used to be a public library there. 'Where am I?' I asked myself, and all I came up with was my neighbourhood. I examined the area again. I questioned a mid-thirty man where I was. He confirmed that I was indeed in my neighbourhood. 'But how is this possible? The others may have returned also.'
Matt's POV:
My head ached. I must have fallen from the skies. I found myself back in the real world, and right in front of Odaiba Elementary. 'I guess I don't have to do the Empress' test.' It was raining heavily. Fortunately there was no thunder or lightning. I raced into the school for shelter from the heavy precipitation. As I ran, my mind wandered. 'Where're Sora and the others? Could they have returned also?' I arrived just in time to see some of them in the hallways. "Tai!" I screamed in relief to see that he was okay. The others were all right also. No Digimon though. Tai did not reply. I shouted to T.K. who waved back and then he returned to talking to the others. All of them were acting so strangely. 'Did I do something to offend them? Why are they giving me the silent treatment?' I wondered as I approached them.
Izzy's POV:
'Why am I in my classroom? Where are the others? And what's my homeroom teacher handing out to everyone.' She came rather swiftly towards my table. I flinched a little. I looked curiously at her face, but she did not gaze back at me. Instead she placed a sheet of paper faced down onto my table and then marched away.
T.K.'s POV:
'Huh? Am I having a nightmare now? I could have sworn to have been with the others battling Mariana.' I discovered myself walking in a cemetery with a bouquet of flowers in my left hand. I didn't know who the flowers are for, and why I was there. All I knew was that my feet knew where they were taking me.
Kari's POV:
"Gatomon?!?! Where are you?" I repeated at the top of my lungs. I was all alone again, all alone in the Dark Ocean. "Tai! T.K.! Davis! Yolei!" I started yelling. I shouted all of my friends' names, but there was no response except for the rustling leaves and swaying branches of trees. A cold wind picked up and blew across my whole body, causing me to shiver in the darkness.
Ken's POV:
I found myself staring intently into a large mirror back at my base, or at least, the Emperor's base. I saw my reflection. I was again wearing the Emperor's outfit. Panicking, I looked down at myself to verify what attire I had on. I breathed a sigh of relief; I wasn't wearing the Emperor clothing. 'But why would the mirror show me this then?' I asked myself as I gazed back to the mirror. "Mirror, Mirror on the wall, am I the evilest of them all?" I joked.
Abruptly, a familiar voice replied, "Yes you are. You are indeed the evilest of them all!"
"Hey! That's not how it's supposed to go," I claimed as my eyes searched every corner of the room for the source of the voice. "Who are you? Where are you?"
Tai's POV:
I ran home like a cheetah. I opened the door and entered calling out my sister's name. My parents rushed worriedly towards me from the kitchen. "Tai," they said in unison, sounding a bit sad.
"Mom, Dad, where's Kari?" I inquired anxiously. They said nothing. My mom's eyes watered. Solemnly, my father finally answered, "Your sister had been gone for seven years, Son. Remember that fateful day when she was about five years old. She died because of illness."
"No, Dad. She survived. She did! She was with me just a few minutes ago, in the Digital World!" I blurted and my parents looked at me in concerned. "Kari!"
"What Digital World? That's not real. It's a game, Tai. You've been playing it ever since Kari left. You're hallucinating, Tai. We should let you see a doctor immediately," my father claimed as tears ran down my mother's cheeks.
"No! No doctor! I'm fine! I know Kari is still alive! My friends know that too. I will find them and Kari!" I shouted and exited the apartment room hastily. "Kari."
Matt's POV:
'Why are they arguing?' I thought to myself as my friends quarrel over silly issues, such as who owed who favours. "Guys, what's the matter?" I asked calmly. They stopped babbling.
"Who're you?" Von questioned, raising an eyebrow.
"How did you know my name?" Tai asked. At least Tai heard me.
"I don't seem to know you either?" Sora added.
"Huh? Guys—don't joke around. All of us are friends. We know each other," I stated, laughing nervously.
"This is my brother, Matt," T.K. said coldly. "He lives with my dad."
"Pleasure to meet you, Matt," they spoke, as though it was the first time they've met me. Unconcerned, they returned to their quarrels among each other, again ignoring me.
'How could they not know me?'
Izzy's POV:
'It's my progress report. EEK! I've failed to pass my courses to university,' I said mentally. "My overall average is forty percent. That's unbelievable and impossible!" I blurted out carelessly.
My classmates burst out of laughter. Several of them mocked me. "Why is he surprised that he failed miserably?" one of them whispered to the other while the other replied that I was the worst and stupidest student in the school.
'That's preposterous. I can't fail. I'm too brilliant to fail,' I thought as I glared at my progress report. The bell rang. School was over. Everyone but me exited the room. I was still in shock.
T.K.'s POV:
Gradually my legs came to a halt. I faced several tombstones. One of the inscription read Kari's name. Written on others were the names of all of my friends, and my family—father, mother and brother. 'How can this be? Tai and the others have died. Mom, Dad, and Matt has also died—all on the same day. Patamon's name isn't engraved though; he and the other Digimon may still be alive in the Digital World. I must find Patamon.' I placed the flowers down at my brother's grave. I then searched for my D-3 and D-terminal on me, but I couldn't find either of them. I pinched myself on my left arm to verify if I was conscious. It was real; I wasn't dreaming. 'Matt. Kari.'
Kari's POV:
'I'm delusional now. I must be. I remember standing against the Empress with my brother and friends,' I contemplated. 'I'm not in the Dark Ocean. I'm doing the Empress' test. I must be. My brother or friends wouldn't leave me all alone in the Dark Ocean even if I wanted to be in the Dark Ocean. It's got to be a trick.'
Ken's POV:
"I am the eternal darkness inside of you. I am the Digimon Emperor. I am Ken. I am you. I will always be," a voice spoke.
Ken couldn't pinpoint where the voice was coming from; it was all scattered in his mind. 'Mind over matter, Ken. Mind over matter, just like what Joe advised. Mind over matter. Don't listen to strange little voices that seem to be coming from everywhere. I am no longer the Emperor. The darkness inside of me was eradicated by the friendships I now have.'
"You're wrong, Ken. You merely tried to hide me. I will always be alive. The cruel things you've done in the Digital World are one of the many things that fuel me. You can never get rid of me. You are too tainted with evil. You should give in. All your so-called friends only wanted to stop you from destroying the Digital World; they're battling the Empress without you; they don't want your friendship or your help; they already have many friends; and why would they want to make friends of those who are not like them."
"Not like them?" I repeated.
"Yes, not like them. You are superior. We both know it. But they all see our superiority as the destruction of the materials they love. They are selfish; they only want what's best for them. They don't care about you; they just cared about what destruction you can cause to the things and people they love. Even your brother didn't care about you. He worried that you would wreck his beloved stuff. He's supposed to be your brother—he should have been more concerned with your well-being than the well-being of inanimate things."
"Sam is my brother! Davis and the others are my friends. Unlike you," I declared sternly.
"Oh really? Then why do you still see yourself as the Digimon Emperor in the mirror?"
"It's a cheap circus trick!"
"But, why does the dark spore in you blossoming?"
My eyes remained transfixed upon my reflection in the mirror. I saw the flower of the dark spore growing over my head. I ran my hands over my head, and there was indeed something sinister on my head.
Tai's POV:
I ran to T.K.'s house, knowing that Kari might be there. She's often there with T.K. and the others.
Knock. Knock. I waited for the door to T.K.'s house to open. It swung opened to reveal a cheerful T.K. who greeted me oddly, "Hello. Who're you looking for?"
"Kari. I'm looking for Kari. Is she inside?" I asked curiously as I tried to peek into the room.
"No. There's no Kari here. Do I know you? You look familiar."
"Hm? Of course you know me, T.K."
"I'm afraid I don't."
"But it's me Tai, Kari's brother," I reminded, but T.K. was clueless. He could remember me or my sister. "Do you have amnesia?"
"Of course not. You must be the one who's delusional."
"Then how do I know your name?"
"Good question. You read it in the phone book," T.K. said and slammed the door shut.
Knock. Knock. 'No one shut me out.' "T.K., open up. I saw Sora and the others there. Let me in, and I can prove that you know me."
The door again opened. This time it was Matt who opened it. "What is it, Tai?"
"GOOD! At least you recognize me, unlike T.K.," I said and forced myself into the room.
"Tai. You shouldn't be here. You should be seeing your doctor. Your parents just called to inform us about your hallucinations again."
"What? You can't believe them. I know what I know. I know that Kari is still alive," I mentioned seriously.
"You have to accept it, Tai, just like the rest of us. Kari is dead. She has been dead for seven years," Sora claimed bitterly. She was sitting with the others (no Kari) in the living room.
"For the last time, KARI IS STILL ALIVE!" Tai yelled at the top of his lungs.
"Excuse us," Matt said to the others when he pulled me out of the apartment room, "we'll be back."
"What are you doing, Matt?"
"I'm going to show you the truth, Tai."
Matt's POV:
'I gotta have faith. I know deep down my friends know me. I know that we've met before. They're not forgetful, and neither are they this mean. The Empress must have erased their memories. This is my test: to make them recognize me as their friend. It's the test of friendship. She's testing me if I'm worthy of my own crest.'
Izzy's POV:
"This is not real. I'm having a nightmare. I've taken several tests on my laptop, and the results are impossible. I am not a failure!" I bellowed in the empty classroom. Then out of nowhere, someone replied to my outburst.
"You will never be as brilliant as me," Ken said, entering the classroom. I stood up, looked at the entrance.
"You will never be as intelligent as us," Mariana and Willis said at the same time as they entered together.
"You will never know how much I know," Ange suddenly appeared and said.
All four of them walked closer towards me. Their faces were stiff, expressionless. "You've lost your ability to know. You cannot absorb any information," all four of them recited.
"AHHH!!!" I cried out as a migraine emerged. "STOP SAYING THAT!"
T.K.'s POV:
I had returned to my room. Nobody was home. The suite was deserted. I looked for my D-3 and D-terminal. They were nowhere to be found. I turned on the computer monitor, and began to read over the journals I've been writing ever since. I planned to write stories about the adventures of the Digidestines from these journal entries. I opened the most recent entry, and began reading it out loud to myself: "Today is the third anniversary of the annihilation of the Digital World. Huh?" I continued reading. "It has been three years since all of my friends and family [Mom, Dad, Matt] died trying to protect the Digital World. The Digimon Empress proved to be merciless and invincible. Under her reign, she managed to obliterate everything and everyone precious to me, including Patamon. I had escaped to tell the tale. Kari used her inner light to transport me, the person who she believed to be the only salvation to the chaos the Empress is causing, back to the real world when all the portals to and fro both worlds were shut down and when the world exploded. She lacked the energy, so she could only send one person back. She had chosen me. She was wrong. If I was the only hope left, I would have been able to save her and the others. I had proven to be a failure when the Empress herself got herself trapped in the Dark Ocean. I couldn't save her from her darkness either. The Digimon killed were not able to get reconfigured since it was the entire realm which was demolished. Patamon and the others were gone forever. Without light, there is no hope. All hope was lost." I stopped reading. Being the Digidestined chosen by the crest of hope, I always believed that I was the one with the greatest hope. And yet, ironically, by the journal entry I had last made, I was proven to be the one with the greatest amount of despair.
Kari's POV:
'This is freaky. I can barely see where I'm going. I must find the light in the darkness. Perhaps that is the way out of this mess, out of Mariana's demented tests,' I pondered as I continued walking mindlessly in the darkness. I didn't know exactly where I was going, but I felt that somehow I knew where I was going. I allowed my instinct to guide me. 'Perhaps I can find my friends waiting for me at a lighthouse. There has to be one somewhere here. I just need to find it.'
(A/N: I'm going to skip ahead to getting back to Tai and the others. You'll know why soon enough.)
Tai's POV:
Matt had brought me to a cemetery. I feared the reason why. Slowly I followed him as he strode around the gravestones. Abruptly, we came to a halt. He pointed to a grave. 'NO! It couldn't be possible! Kari.' My sister was buried there. 'How could she have died?'
"I'm sorry, Tai, for bringing you here. But you need to be reminded that Kari died years ago, and that you have to move on with your life. That's why T.K. ignored you."
"Well, tell me this, how could T.K. know about Kari without meeting her during the battle for the digital and real worlds if she had died before becoming a Digidestine, eh?" I asked stubbornly.
"What are you talking about, Tai? Everyone knew Kari when she was little, about two years before she passed away."
"The Digital World. We're all Digidestines. Why don't you remember, Matt?" I tried to look for my Digivice in my pockets, but I couldn't find it. There was no proof to show to my best friend that I held the truth. 'This is probably the Empress' sick virtual reality game. I know that the Digital World is as real as the whole I was born into. And Kari is STILL alive. I just need to find her or the Digimon. Perhaps she is in the Digital World. Maybe she's trapped there, and no one was able to enter the realm to rescue her. I will though.'
Matt's POV:
I kept telling my friends about the adventures we had shared together, about the adventures that brought us closer. They looked at me in bewilderment. They weren't convinced. And finding no Digivice was no help in the matter. My friends wore frightened looks on their faces. T.K. asked if I was feeling under the weather; I answered no. I was just fine. The problem was with their memories. They couldn't recall and I couldn't prove. I guessed that this was solely the Empress' test. 'Perhaps to pass it, I'll need to befriend them all over again.'
"Matt?" Sora asked, waving her right hand in my face.
"Yes, Sora?" I asked and she shrugged. "Guys, you wanna all go get a movie later?"
They stared silently towards me. Then, T.K. managed to say, "Why not go now? The rain has stopped."
"Super!" Yolei yelled excitingly, "As long as you're paying."
"Sure," I laughed humorously.
"Splendid!" Izzy said. "I hope it's educational."
"It better not be. Anything educational isn't fun," Davis whined, and everyone laughed.
Unexpectedly, everything and everyone around me began to flash quickly until the world around me disappeared. And a new setting emerged. I was lost in some type of maze. I growled in frustration.
T.K.'s POV:
'Could this be the future? My friends died in an attempt to save the Digital World from Mariana. Why did she transport me here and now?' I pondered deeply. 'I mustn't give in like I would have as mentioned in the journals. I will have hope. I must return to change the future. I must help stop the evil within the Empress. Somehow the Digidestines will succeed, just like we did in the past with Ken. I will return to finish off all my unfinished businesses. Without light, there is no hope. There will always be the light in my heart. And this will bring hope.'
With all these random thoughts flashing in my head, I was too busy to notice that the world around me began to ripple until the world around me became that of a maze. "Grrrr," I snarled when I found myself stuck in a horrible maze. 'I guess this is another step of the test.'
General POV:
The Empress remained within her base, monitoring each Digidestine as he or she takes the test on her computers. Already, Matt, Joe, Mimi, Sora, T.K., Davis, Yolei, Cody and Von had made it to the second level. To move on, all they need to do was to find each other in the maze. Tai and Kari were still in the first level, but they were close to succeeding. However, Ken and Izzy were having some trouble with facing their greatest fears.
Tai's POV:
"You shouldn't be so stubborn sometimes, Tai. You need to accept that when Kari dies, you have to move on. You can't live in the past anymore, Tai. That's what T.K. and the others realized a long time ago. And don't make excuses," Matt said, his tone of voice ascending.
I nodded in defeat. Some of things he mentioned were true. I shouldn't be denying Kari's death, even though deep within me I know she was still alive. But, I should instead hold the past with Kari close to my heart and embrace the future with optimism when she does pass away. Perhaps this is the lesson I was meant to learn from the Empress' foul test. "Until I see you again, Kari, good bye."
"Kari would have been proud to know that you won't be moping over her death, that you will live out the rest of your life in happiness," Matt spoke with a sincere smile.
I beamed back at him. "Thanks, Matt." I hugged him.
"You're welcomed, Buddy," he said happily before he and everything before me turned black.
'I'm coming, Kari,' I thought as the new setting resembled a beach in the evening.
Kari's POV:
I continued walking in the darkness until a figure materialized from white light appeared several metres away from me. I raced madly towards the figure in anticipation. As I got closer, I was able to determine who the figure belonged to.
"Tai!" I cried out happily as I embraced him tightly.
"KARI!" my brother shouted, rejoicing, "I've been looking for you. I'm been worried sick."
"Me too, Tai. I'm just so glad you're here. I missed you so much."
Immediately, Tai and I were teleported out of the Dark Ocean and into a different world. Now, we were both surrounded by winding green walls. "Let's find the others together," my brother said as he held my hand, reassuring me that I won't be alone again. "We'll have each other in our hearts, no matter what happens to either one of us, right, Kari?"
I nodded, smiling. "Always."
Izzy's POV:
'Where are they laughing at me? They're supposed to be my friends,' I thought angrily as my head continued to sting. "Everyone fails sometimes!"
"Not everyone," Mariana teased in-between laughs, "Only you."
"Grrr," I growled, snapping. "When I say everyone, I mean everyone."
"That's right, my child. Everyone does fail," someone agreed upon entry.
"Mom?!?!"
"From failure is victory," my mom spoke, smiling.
"That's right. We learn from the mistakes, and keep trying. If there is no failure, we will not know if we have anything to be proud of when we do succeed," I claimed passionately, and my friends stopped laughing at me. My mom nodded in approval. "Thanks, Mom," I said gratefully and grinned as my head stopped throbbing.
Everything and everyone besides me were pulled into darkness for a few seconds and then there was a blinding light which emitted rays to reveal a new surrounding filled with hedges that formed a maze. 'This must be the next stage of my examination.'
Ken's POV:
I knew I was doing the wrong thing. But I couldn't bring myself about to resist. The temptation of returning to the dark side and to give up fighting the evil within me was too great. I knew one day I would return to darkness. I believed I was never strong enough to overcome my inner demons. I always believed that I was always meant to be the Digimon Emperor, and that escaping my destiny was inevitable. And yet I felt a little twinge in my heart. I realized that I still had a conscience left, but I couldn't control what I was doing when I put on back the Emperor outfit and searched for the control panels. "That's the way, Emperor. Go to the controls, and join the Empress in world domination," the inner domineering darkness spoke, laughing maliciously as I continued making my way towards the main controls of the base.
General POV:
Inside the Empress' base, she and her Digimon fixed their eyes upon the screens. They watched as all of the Digidestines, except Ken, slowly making their ways to each other, using their Digivices and their hearts as their guides. "Ken's having a little trouble. Why don't we help him a little?" Wishmon begged slightly as she gazed into her mistress' eyes.
"I know, but, we mustn't, Wishmon. Neither of us is allowed to interfere. That will violate the rules. It's his test. He'll pass it; he has to."
"What if he doesn't?" Wishmon asked rhetorically.
"Then, he's not worthy of having friends or the crest of kindness," Mariana answered sharply as she looked away from the stare of her partner.
"But he's your friend," Wishmon pleaded.
"Duty comes first, my friend. It always does," Mariana replied coldly. 'But I'm sure Davis and the others will be able to help him.'
"Maybe I can help him," Wishmon suggested with her hopes up high.
"Don't you dare, Wishmon. I forbid you to do so. He will pass," Mariana scolded.
"Fine," Wishmon answered in defeat. She hated to anger her mistress. But she hated more to see her mistress worrying herself so much about the Digidestines passing her tests, and so Wishmon lied, "I'm going back to the bedroom to take a nap. Don't disturb me until they are at the final level of the test, Mariana."
"Alright, Wishmon. Have a good rest," her partner answered as Wishmon exited the room. 'You'll need your strength to battle them.'
Wishmon regretted lying to her own mistress, but she couldn't bear to see her mistress and Ken to suffer, so she cautiously tampered with the system monitoring Ken's progress and then began to download herself into another world, the world of fears, where Ken was.
To be continued….
A/N: I am terribly sorry. Forgive me… I'm horrible at updating… I take an eternity, I know… really, really sorry… so I made this chapter longer… and I will try to update sooner now that school's out and summer is here. Thanks for reading and reviewing… both are very much appreciated… Sorry if I left it hanging… but I'll get to typing up the next chapter ASAP… thanks, and have a wonderful summer.
