Annihilation

Part One: Dreaming of Enemies

Davis shrugged.

            "Beats me, maybe Kari will know."

             Yolei readjusted her glasses as she peered harder at the computer screen.  The digiport was still closed, and it had been for hours on end.

            "What makes you think Kari will know?  Or is that just your answer to everything?"

            T.K. laughed as he acted something that might occur between Davis and one of his teachers.

            " 'Daisuki, why won't you be quiet?'  'Beats me, maybe Kari will know.'  'Kari isn't in this class.'  'Uhh…then maybe Cody will know.'"

            Cody giggled helplessly.

            "But T.K., I'm too young to be in any of Davis' classes."

            "I don't know Cody; I think Davis is still taking basic math…"

            "Haha T.M., so I'm not the sharpest tool box in the tool."

            Yolei busted out laughing.

            "Well obviously!"
            While Davis was going over what he had just said, Kari walked into the room.

            "What's so funny?" she looked at her digipals oddly.  No one responded.

            Too busy trying to stop from laughing; Yolei missed the sudden shadow that passed through the computer screen.  The digiport light was still red, but something looked different about the digital gateway…

            Matt breathed in the fresh air and let it out slowly.  He hadn't been here in weeks because of his band, so it was a relief to get back to the non-polluted air of the digiworld.  Where's Gabumon? He wondered as he watched Sora embrace her pink-feathered partner.  I wonder if he's in trouble.  Matt shoved his hands in his pockets and shuffled his feet.  If he was-

            "Matt!  Come quick!"

            Running towards Tai's urgent voice, thoughts flew through Matt's mind.  What could be wrong?  This was probably just a joke, stupid Tai.

            The grassy plain he was running across transformed before his eyes and under his feet into a densely wooded area.  Matt slowed his footsteps to a dead stop.  What was going on?

            "Hey, Tai?  Where are you?"

            No response.

            "Tai?"

            He heard his own heartbeat in the silence as he took in his surroundings.  There were trees all around; and not just small trees.  The trees were huge, and their canopies thick so that no light shone through.

            No way.  But I was just outside in the open, broad daylight.  Where is Tai?

            The darkness around got gradually darker.  Soon the hand before his face was invisible and darkness swamped everything.  Even the trees weren't visible.

            "Tai?" he heard his voice, small and frightened, echo around him.  But he also heard something else, a voice or a whisper of some kind, too distant to place.

Davis pointed at the computer screen.

            "Whoa, what was that?"

            "What was what?" T.K. followed Davis' gaze. "I don't see anything."

            "I agree with T.K., Davis: there's nothing there."

            Davis grabbed his hair and pulled at it roughly.

            "Would you stop agreeing with T.K. for once and listen to me?!  There was something on or in that screen!"

            Yolei looked at the screen then at Davis.

            "Are you sure?  I mean, you tend to hallucinate once in awhile…"

            "I'm positive!  There was something there!"

Sora looked up from hugging Biyomon just at the instant Matt started running.

            "Hey, Matt, where are you go- never mind." She watched him sprint off, feeling helpless in every aspect.

            "Sora…you're squeezing me…too (gasp) tightly…"

            "Huh?  Oh!  Sorry Bi…I just got distracted.  Say do you know where Matt's going?"

            Biyomon preened her feathers nonchalantly.

            "No, but I really don't care.  You shouldn't either Sora, Matt can take care of himself."

            Sora paused and looked at her friend.

            "Uhhh…yeah, sure Bi.  But ya know, he is my boyfriend and all…"

            "Then he should be watching after you, not you watching after him."

            "Yeah, I guess your right Biyomon."  But still Sora looked longingly at the quickly disappearing form of Matt.  Where was he going?  Looking for Gabumon?  Maybe…

            "Hey Sora…?"

            "Hm?"

            "I think there's something wrong with the digiport."

            "Huh?"  Sora tore her gaze away from the long-gone Matt to look at the computer/television.  There was something wrong with it.  But what?  She couldn't quite put her finger on it.  But wait a second…doesn't that red light mean that…that it was closed!

The sound got gradually louder until he was breathing in the noise.  It was deafening and it shot a sudden fear through him.  Not knowing if it was his adrenalin kicking in, Matt started to breath heavily.  What was going on?

            Then it hit him, literally.

            Icy cold water slammed into his body with so much force he flew backwards.  The liquid rushed into his mouth and up his nostrils, causing him to choke and splutter. He felt the substance fill his lungs as he automatically tried to force himself upward.  But upward to where?  This place was filled with nothing but water, rushing, surging, choking water.  Everywhere.  He took a final worthless stroke, and then blacked out.

"I swear on my fricken soccer ball, something passed in that screen!"

            Davis pointed at the screen with a frustrated look etched permanently onto his face.  The gateway looked the same as before: a picture of some grassy plain (on which Sora and Matt had been standing, unbeknownst to them), the same red dot, and some Japanese writing.

            "Davis," Yolei gave an impatient sigh, "fine then, what did it look like?"

            A sweat drop appeared on Daisuki's head.

            "Uhh…"

             "Davis!" Cody yelled, "you're swearing something was there when you don't even know what it looked like?!"

            "I know what it looked like!  It was…uh…black."

            "Black!  That's all you can say about it!"  Davis gave T.K. an 'I'm-gonna-kill-you-after-this-is-done' look.

            "Davis, come on, there has to be some other word to describe it."

            Davis shook his head.

            "Sorry, Kari.  But the only thing I could tell was that it was black, fuzzy, and kind of jutting out at some points."

            "So…" T.K. mused over this for a second, "so it looked like when Wizardmon kept trying to get a hold of Gatomon, right?"

            "I guess so, yeah."

            Yolei rolled her eyes and turned her gaze back to the computer in front of her.  She let out a shriek.

"Oh my gosh, Biyomon!  What are we going to do?!  There's no way to get back…and…and Matt's gone…and there's no way to get back!"  Sora started to bite at her nails, a habit which she had never picked up until this instant. 

            Biyomon, however, didn't find it nerve racking at all to be stuck in the digital world.  For one thing, it was her home.  As she stood there watching Sora flip out, she felt a sudden boredom.  A boredom that she couldn't explain.  If VenomMyotismon came back and swallowed Sora whole, she wouldn't have cared nor felt any sorrow.  For some unknown reason she didn't mind feeling this way; in actuality it was relaxing. 

            Sora stopped biting her nails long enough to watch Biyomon acquire a distant gaze in her eyes.

            "Hey, Biyomon, what's wrong?"

            Biyomon didn't respond.

            "Biyomon, you're freaking me out, Biyomon?"

            She waved a hand in front of the dazed looking digimon.

            "Biy-" she felt a hand land on her shoulder and close tightly.

            "Hey Sora…I need to show you something, or rather, tell."

            Matt was dreaming.  It was like nothing he had ever experienced before.  The dream didn't make any sense at all, for the moment anyway.  Then of course, it might be trying to tell him something.  Although what that something was he was yet to find out. 

            He was standing with Cherrymon again.  He stood looking over the edge of the lake, watching Tai's reflection.  The two of them were older, in their school uniforms.  Matt reached out to break the water's surface, ruining the picture of Tai.  But he felt Tai grab his hand.  He tried desperately to get away, trying to get out of the vice-like grip.  Tai pulled hard, forcing Matt into the lake with him.  The water…wasn't water.  Matt fell, screaming as loud as he could; watching the jutting canyon floor near.  He took a deep breath, then-

            Matt's eyes popped open, greeted with the imaginary face of Tai.  What did it mean?  And most of all, where am I?

Cody started as the sound of Yolei's screech reached his ears.

            "Yolei!  What?!"

            Yolei had a hand over her mouth and her skin had gone pale.

            "L-l-look!"

            T.K. stretched over her to take a look at the screen.  What he saw made his stomach turn.

            There was a picture of Matt's head with a big, red 'X' through it.  Next to it was a Sora face, then Izzy, Mimi, Tai, Jou, Kari, and then, his eyes grew wide, his own face!  He looked back over the faces and noticed only Matt's picture had the 'X' over it.

            "What?  What is it?" Cody stood on tiptoes.

            T.K. ignored his question and looked straight at Kari.

            "Someone is killing us off."

Sora's heart pounded.  She recognized this voice; this was Tai.  But she didn't get the same feeling she always got around him, something was wrong.  She turned around slowly to look at the familiar face of Tai.

"Hi Tai.  When did you get-"

Tai put a hand over her mouth, quieting her.  He nodded towards the sleeping Biyomon; as if saying, "don't wake her".

Sora froze.  Something was definitely not right.  Searching Tai's eyes for some sort of answer, she found herself shivering suddenly.  She felt Tai's arm slip around her waist as he started to guide her away from Biyomon.

"Sora, as I said before, I need to show you something.  So stop shivering, okay?  You don't need to be afraid of me."

 Don't need to be afraid of you, huh? Sora thought bitterly.  Then why won't you take your hand off my mouth?

Izzy stepped into the computer room dramatically.

"You called?"

He did a little jig when he walked over to Yolei, drawing funny looks.

"I was trying to beat Tai's record of the most sodas drunk in one day when I got your call.  Did you know he's in the Guinness Book of World Records because of it?"

His grin faded slowly away when everyone seemed very uninterested.  After hiccupping several times, Izzy got down to business.

"So, you say there's some freaky homicidal maniac on the lose, huh?  Same old, same old.  Don't we ever get any bad news?" he looked around the room, flashing his teeth.  When no one responded to his pathetic joke, he sighed and shook his head. "Well, anyways.  What's up dogs?"

Davis shook his head.

"No, no, no.  It's more like-"

"Shut up you two!  Someone is killing the older digidestined and you're here discussing slang!  Come on!  Give me a break!"    

Izzy drew in a sharp breath.

"I'm insulted that you should think anyone could kill me, Yolei.  I'm too smart for that."

"I just want you to know Izzy, when your killed I'm going to laugh hysterically and take your place as computer club president."

Izzy lost his temporary drunk-like attitude at Yolei's remark.

"Ahem, right, well…do we know who the killer is?"

T.K. sat with red eyes in the corner.

"Well we know…*sniff*…that it isn't Matt…"

Izzy stole a glance at the screen.

"Hmm…well obviously not, maybe it's…hmm…no that doesn't make sense…I'VE GOT IT!"

Davis slid off the chair he was napping on after being rudely awakened.

"KARI!  I mean…what?"

Cody ignored the ignorant child as he got caught up in the excitement.

"Who?"

"It's…well…someone in the digiworld."

Yolei, T.K., Kari, and Cody fell over, leaving Davis totally clueless.

All right, enough is enough.  I don't know where he's taking me, but we're stopping, right here.

Sora whipped around and kicked Tai hard on his shin.

He let go of her immediately, in the same movement getting another hold on her arm and holding his shin.

"What the heck was that for?"

"You know what?  I've got some questions of my own.  Like: where are you taking me? And why are you holding me like I'm some sort of hostage?"

"Sora, have I ever told you how extremely beautiful you are?"

"Oh…now your going to play the little 'I love you gig' huh?  Well it's not going to-"

Tai pulled her close and kissed her, at the same time hitting a nerve on the back of her neck.  She passed out quietly in his arms and started to dream.

"Actually," Izzy explained to his spectators, "it makes perfect sense.  Matt was, well, supposedly killed in the digiworld, right?  So it's relevant that the person that killed Matt is in the same vicinity as him, catch my drift?"

Cody nodded.

"Your right of course, I'm sorry I doubted you," he bowed down respectively towards Izzy, making Koushiro blush faintly.

"Oh that's all right Cody, don't worry about it.  But what's scaring me is: Sora and Matt went to the digital world together, through my computer an hour ago."

"The room went dead silent.

Davis, who still hadn't caught on, shrugged his shoulders. 

"So, maybe Sora dragged him into the digiworld alone to kill him off.  She probably figured out her mistake about ditching Tai and decided to get out of the lousy relationship she had with Matt.  Not surprising, either.  Matt doesn't seem too bright, strong, protective and all the other good stuff a boyfriend has to be."

"Davis, clean out your ears or go get some glasses.  How could Sora, I mean, why would Sora kill Matt," Kari pointed at the computer screen, indicating the x-ed out Matt head.

"Whoa!  He really is dead!  Now Tai can have his girl!  Awesome!"

T.K. pinned Davis against the wall.

" 'Awesome'? That is not 'awesome'.  My brother is dead and your saying that's 'awesome'?  What the heck is wrong with you?!"

T.K. brought back his fist and slammed it into Davis' left eye.  Partially blinded, Davis fought back with the strength of desperation.  His leg caught T.K.'s and they fell to the ground at each other's throats.  Daisuki sunk his teeth into his enemy's leg, which turned out to be a mistake.  Takeru lashed out the leg being bitten, slamming Davis' head into the brick wall behind him.  Davis, having a head of steel, was not fazed by this at all; not even when the blood started to trickle down the back of his neck.  Daisuki stood up and laughed aloud as he kicked T.K., who was still lying on the ground.

"Haha, T.S., kiss my a-"

T.K. grabbed Davis by the foot and managed to throw him overhead.  He smashed into a table of computers, taking it down with him.  Twisting around in the cables and wires, Davis watched as the maddened T.K. came closer.

"Uh…love the hat…heh heh…"

T.K., looking very serious, gabbed Davis' shirt collar roughly and hauled him upright.  Davis, still recovering from the electrocution he had just been put through, didn't put up much of a fight.  Not enough fight to stop T.K. from dragging him over to the window.

Matt stared, wide-eyed, as Sora appeared in front of him.

"Sora?"

She opened her eyes slowly and tried not to pout too hard.  When she locked eyes with Matt, she fell apart instantly.

"Oh Matt!" she cried as she flung her arms around him, "it was horrible!  Tai, he-"

She looked at her arms suddenly, then at Matt.  She had gone right through him!

"Matt, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure, but…I think, well, I don't know.  I had this freaky dream, and," Matt stopped.  He gave Sora a quizzing glance, "what did Tai do?"

"Uh…he," she paused.  Should she tell him about the kiss?  No, he might ask what happened after that, she didn't even know that. "Forget that; where are we?"

"Where does it look like we are?" Matt extended his arms in a presenting sort of way.

Sora gasped.

"Are we, are we dead?"

T.K. kicked open one of the window sections and struggled to push the kicking and screaming Davis out of it.  Kari allowed herself a faint smile.

"Okay T.K., as much as I enjoy this, that's enough."

But T.K. wasn't listening.  With a final shove, Davis was out the window.

Yolei rushed up to the sill, pushing T.K. out of her way.

"Oh my gosh! DAVIS!"

Koushiro took hold of Takeru roughly.

"What the heck do you think your doing?"

But T.K. had finally snapped.  The mad beast that he had always restrained overtook his usual calmness.  He shoved Izzy down on the floor, grabbed one of the (still sparking) snapped cables and advanced towards him.

Cody, sensing the worst, snatched a wood shard from the broken table and rushed T.K.

In his maddened rage, all Takeru could see was Izzy.  Nothing else.  His thoughts were focused on shoving the cable into Izzy's mouth, when Cody came up behind him.  All of those kendo lessons really paid off as Cody smashed the wood into T.K.'s legs.  T.K. crumpled to the ground, and then Iori was on him.

"Forgive me, Grandpa," Cody whispered as he slammed the wood onto T.K.'s head.

Matt shook his head.

"I don't think we're dead, Sora, but if we are, then there's nothing we can do about it.  But something is really wrong here.  You saw me run off, right?" Sora nodded. "I had heard Tai's voice; he was asking me to come to him.  Well, I never found him.  In fact, his voice led me into some sort of trap.  The thing is, I heard him, I just didn't see him."

Sora gave him a confused look.

"Okay, what's so weird about not finding him?  He could have been hiding.  Besides, I saw him."

"But that's the thing.  When did Tai get here?  In fact, I remember him saying he had a soccer game."

"Your right, when I asked him when he had gotten here, though I never got to finish asking, he didn't answer."

"The thing is, Sora, I don't think he could have answered."

"What do you mean?"

"You see…well, first tell me exactly how you felt around him, and how you usually feel."

"Umm…now that you mention it, I truly didn't think it was Tai at all.  I mean, I didn't feel like, well, like I knew him."

"But it was Tai; just a copy."

"A COPY!?  How could Tai be copied?  Cloning isn't that far yet."

Matt gnawed at his lip.

"You see, that's the part I haven't figured out yet; ghees, now I know how Izzy feels."

He paced around for a while, ignoring Sora and mumbling to himself.

Tai this and Tai that; he must think Tai had a whole conspiracy against them.  Sora grinned suddenly.  Tai's not smart enough to plot a conspiracy.

Kari stood riveted at the scene in front of her.  Yolei was crying at the windowsill; Cody was bowed down by T.K.; Izzy was looking dazed; and T.K. lay unconscious.  Tears began forming in her eyes as all she could think about was being held.  She needed Tai here; she needed T.K. conscious; and maybe even Davis (whom might not be alive right now).  So the only person she could think of to want right now, that might be available, was Tai.  She let the tears flow freely as she called out her brother's name.

"Taaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiii!" she fell to the floor and curled up into a tight ball.  I need Tai, she thought, when really all she needed was to be pampered.  She had always been spoiled, had always had all the attention, and now…

"Kari?  What's going on?" Tai bent down beside Kari and laid a hand on her shoulder. "Kari, tell me what happened."

Kari uncurled, and looked up at her older brother, still in his soccer uniform.

"Tai," she sat up and flung her arms around him, "Tai, everyone is freaking out, and…and I think Davis might be dead."

Tai hugged her tightly.

"It's okay Kari.  Davis is fine.  I saw him outside as he was standing up.  He refused to let me help him get to the hospital.  He told me to come up here and kick T.K.'s you-know-what.  Then of course, I think someone already beat me to it."  He looked over his shoulder at the still knocked out T.K.  Tai heard Hikari giggle faintly.  At least he had lightened one spirit in this room; now for all the other ones.

He helped her up and kissed her on the forehead lightly.

"You going to be okay?"

She nodded, her gaze locked on T.K.'s still body.  She pried herself out of Tai's grip (*I have no idea why anyone would do that*) and walked over to Takeru slowly.

Izzy was already standing up and recovered from his little skirmish.  He gave a nasty look to the body of T.K., made a wide circle around him (as if T.K. would jump up and bite him like some sort of mad dog), and ended up standing by Tai.  He talked to him frantically for a moment, causing Tai to get a startled look.  Then they walked out into the hall, closing the door behind them.

Matt stopped pacing abruptly.

"Wait a second, what was that?"

Sora just looked at him blankly, or seemed to be looking past him.

"Sora?  Did you hear that?"

"Huh?  Oh, I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Matt held a finger to his lips and started to walk around.  Where to, not even Matt himself knew.

The place they were in (if it could be considered a place) was nothing but light.  So as Matt started to walk away from Sora, the outline of his body faded.  She could still see him, but he was gradually being swallowed up in light.

"Uhh…Matt?  I really think we should stay together."

"You can still see me, right?  As long as you can see me then consider us together. Now would you shut up?"
            Sora let out a disagreeing sound.

"Of all the people I know, I had to get stuck with you," she complained loudly.

"Shut up."

"No."

"Sora.  What do you want me to say?  Please?"

"It would be nice."

"In your drea- wait, there it was again."

"What?  I didn't hear anything."

He didn't respond.

Hmph.  Fine, he doesn't want to stay together?  Then we won't stay together.  Sora walked briskly in the opposite direction of Matt, until they were completely out of each other's way and sight.