Annihilation

Part Seven

"Mister, Hikari loves you. Did you hear me mister? Hikari loves you."

"I know, but thanks, kid. Tell her that she had her chance. That whole time when I waited on her hand and foot is over. She can go get a new – what? You lied?" Davis' face burned with color. "Oshitiotama! Go back to your mother and get her to smack some sense into you."

The little boy giggled and walked off, fading away in Davis' dreamland.

Davis looked down at his hands and smiled. A miniature doll of a girl was there, wearing a puffy dress with matching shoes to go with it. A pain in his leg throbbed suddenly, knocking him off balance. He waved his arms around, dropping the doll, and he fell over, onto his hard, wooden floor.

"Ouch…"

He looked around, dazed. "Uh…wha-"

Jun burst into his room, slamming the door into the wall behind it.

"DAVIS!! Get out here right now! There's something on the news that you should see."

Davis fumbled to his feet, still not fully awake. "What?" His mind was still swarming with questions from the dream like: why did he call the little boy a "butt-head"?

Jun pulled him by the arm to a position in front of the television.

"Listen!"

-I repeat, officials have just announced the disappearance of six children. Among those six are: Taichi Yagami, Yamato Ishida, Sora Takenouchi, Mimi Tachikawa, Koushiro Izumi, and Hikari Yagami. And yes, Taichi and Hikari are related. Brother and sister in fact. If you have any information, please contact the number at the bottom of your screen. The announcer paused briefly. Mimi Tachikawa was here visiting her friends in Odaiba. Please, any information at all would help.

Davis stared at the screen blankly, not seeing it or the 1-800 number at the bottom. Should he call? He had seen Mimi with his own eyes in the whirlwind. He even faintly remembered searching for her. But what about all the others? Where were they? He blinked, noticing how clear his vision became.

His sister gave him an odd look. "Do you know anything? I mean, you do know that girl Hikari, right? Davis? Are you all right?"

He shook his head slowly and turned back towards his bedroom. He needed to think alone. But to think he needed to be fully rested…

Courage. Courage is needed here. Tai sighed as he looked around himself. Sora and Mimi were alive, even though he didn't know when Mimi had gotten there. But he was positive it was Mimi. No one else would wear that ridicules outfit. It looked like scraps of clothing…

The scenery around had changed drastically, with little or no grass peeking up from the dead earth. And it was certainly warmer. But what had happened?

He stared hard at one of the two carcasses on the ground. Some sort of nuclear weapon? But who had ever heard of it changing the climate?

His eyes shifted to Sora. She looked so pathetic as she sat there crying. He remembered the last thing he had thought of, before Kahandro had frozen him. Soul mates seemed so stupid right now. He had just wanted that to be his last thought. Like in a movie how the last line is always perfect and touching. That's what he wanted his life to be like: a movie. No pain at all. And if pain was included, it was all acting. No one ever really got hurt.

And crying. How did they pull it off? He could never cry because a cue card said so.

Tai experimentally raised his hand. A pain shot up his wrist. His blood was still trying to circulate. He looked back over at Sora and decided to try calling her.

"Sora! Hey!"

Her head lifted slowly, as if not believing that someone could still speak. It seemed morally wrong to yell out after such a painful silence.

Mimi was also shocked. She stared at Tai as if he had yelled out during a sermon at church.

"Uh…Tai? Is that…you?" Sora left her eyelids closed, knowing it would be useless to open them.

"Yeah. What happened? Are you hurt?"

Sora started sobbing once again, hiding her face in her hands.

"Oh Taichi-san! It was horrible! Matt…he's…he's…"

"Dead." Mimi finished her sentence solemnly. She walked over to Sora, her footsteps surprisingly light after such a dark statement. "And so is Izzy."

Tai studied Mimi's face. She understood better than all of them what had just happened. The sureness in her voice and her change of attitude assured him of that.

"Mimi, could you explain to me what happened. If it's not too hard of course…"

Tachikawa smiled and placed a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"Something happened that could never be taken back. And, Tai? Do you know where we are?"

Tai shook his head. "Looks like we'll have to live off of the land until someone finds us."

"Not a whole lot of land to live off of…" Mimi sat down beside Sora and put her arm around her. She started whispering encouraging things.

Tai flexed his arm somewhat. "You didn't explain fully what went on, Mi-"

"YOU DON'T EVEN FEEL BAD?!!"

Two pairs of eyes went to Sora.

"YOU – YOU DON'T CARE?! MATT AND IZZY ARE DEAD AND YOU DON'T EVEN GIVE IT A THOUGHT!"

"Uh, I'm sorry. I'll try to be a little more compassionate. Besides Sora, if they're dead, then they're dead; but do you want to die as well?"

Sora lowered her head and shook it.

"I didn't think so. Now stop crying about what was lost and think about what we have."

"I can't see."

"What?"

"I can't see."

Tai pushed himself off of the ground with a cringe and walked towards her.

"What do you mean? You can't see literally, or you can't see why?"

"I can't see. Everything is black."

He kneeled down beside her and tried to find her eyes.

"Look at me."

She looked at him, opening her eyes a sliver.

"You don't see any colors at all? What about now?" He waved a hand in front of her face.

"No. It hurts, too."

Tai dropped his hand in exasperation. "What happened?"

Mimi sniffed and looked towards Izzy (or what was left of him). "I'm sorry, Tai. I just can't tell you. It's too hard."

So, Sora, the one least likely to explain the situation without crying, got through her side of the story without a tear. Including the part of Kahandro's carcass.

Tai looked towards it, somewhat happy that Sora couldn't see it.

The once bright blue body was a wet black, with little bits of red showing where blood had escaped arteries. Whether it was the face or the bottom of Kahandro he was looking at, Tai couldn't tell. But for some reason, he didn't feel like looking at Izzy's body.

"Was anyone else here?"

Mimi shook her head. "Just Izzy, Matt and I showed up. Wow. And to think that I'm the only one left alive. Don't you think that God should've chosen Izzy to live instead?"

Tai sighed and looked away. "God works in mysterious ways…" he mumbled.

Sora stood up, her knees shaking awkwardly. Tai rushed to hold her.

"Look, you shouldn't be walking around. It's probably best if you stay in one spot and try to regain your eyesight."

"What if it doesn't come back?"

"Then," Tai looked towards Mimi, "it will come back. I'm sure of it."

She laughed a little. "You lie…you have no clue at all."

"I'm not a doctor, but I play one on T.V."

T.K. ran full speed towards the school. He mumbled stuff about being late all the time as he sprinted through the doors just as the bell was ringing. He raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time.

"Why does Spring Break always end on a Tuesday?"

He skidded to a stop at his locker, throwing his backpack to the ground.

"Come on, come on…Mr. Hakamichi's gonna be pissed…"

He slammed the locker door closed and ran down to the end of the hall…right into his instructor, Mr. Hakamichi.

"Uh…uh…"

"Well, mister Takashi is late again. What a coincident. Mister Motomiya is also." His instructor's eye twitched with scrutiny. "Could this be by accident?"

"No…I don't know where Davis is."

"You weren't supposed to answer that…"

"Oh. Well, uh, ohio gazimus and all that good stuff…see you in class."

He stepped through the classroom door, and walked to his desk with his chin held high.

Where could Davis be? He has a big soccer game today…maybe he's out practicing? No. It doesn't make sense that he would skip school just for practice. Is something happening that I missed?

T.K. dug in his pockets (lets just say he has really big pockets, 'k?) and pulled out the D3. He flipped it open and clicked on the icon that read 'messages'.

Nothing.

He looked around at the kids next to him. They were all staring at him.

"Uh…heh heh. Ohio!"

They mumbled the greeting back, giving him funny looks.

He sweatdropped and put the device back.

Obviously he had been left out once again. He bitterly opened his notebook, wondering what Kari and Davis had talked about that one day before.

Yolie stopped and stared at Ken.

"You, you're back already?"

"Well, yes. I said the visit would end before school started."

Yolei blushed deeply. "Oh, well, I thought that you meant before school started as in…next year."

"That's okay. Everyone makes mistakes. I mean, look at me for example. That whole Digimon Emperor thing is (blah blah blah blah blah) *words fade into Yolei's thoughts*

I wonder why he's always talking about this. You'd think that he'd want to forget about it. I haven't seen Davis today. Wonder where he's at…probably out playing hooky with his new girlfriend Kari…I can't believe that Kari actually kissed him! Well, I can't believe that I was eavesdropping as well…I bet Cody would never do that. Great, now I feel guilty. Hm, I haven't seen Kari eit-

"…so now you understand why you shouldn't feel bad, right? Right? Yolei?"

"Hm? Oh! Yeah, thanks for clearing that up. It's amazing how you talk about that stuff so easily. I mean, I would never talk about the horrible mistakes that I made, because, well, just because! Like this one time…*fades into Ken's thoughts*

Well that was pretty contradictory. Shouldn't I be getting to school? Maybe I'll pass Kari along the way…I hope so. She's so…wonderful and interesting. Definitely the opposite of what's standing in front of me. How did she get purple hair? I have that big game with Davis playing today. I bet Kari will be there cheering on Davis. Oh…but Yolei will probably be there too.

He groaned out loud by accident.

"…and then – did you say something?"

"Uh, no. But shouldn't we be getting to school?"

Yolei gasped. "Oh! You're right! Well, o na na!"

"Um, sayonara."

(Yolei's Thoughts) What a bore. I bet he wasn't even listening to what I was talking about! I hate people like him! He would be the worst husband in the world!

(Ken's Thoughts) I can't believe her! There are things more important than just talking! She's going to make me late for class! She would be the worst wife in the world!

Tai stepped out onto the burnt soil. Too many things had happened without him knowing. He cursed silently, looking back at Sora and Mimi.

They were watching him.

They were waiting for him to do something, to encourage them. He looked at the moon and wondered if they were on Earth at all. If they were in the digital world then they would have already seen some digimon. A pain rain up his legs. Mimi…Sora…they couldn't do anything to protect themselves. If he wanted to…no. He needed to protect them, not hurt them.

He took another step forward, crushing a dead stem. The crunch traveled up to his ears and a word formed in his mind. Food. How were they going to get food? And where?

Shelter. Water. All the things for basic survival were not present. The only thing out here was dirt and some more dirt. You can think of something Tai…you have to. If Izzy were here…

But Izzy wasn't there. He was dead. Just like Matt. Just like Tai's courage.

Wind ran through his hair, but it wasn't a refreshing wind. It was a wind that carried death and a sense of defeat.

"I can't do this anymore…"

Tai looked at the stars; they were shining too bright for the occasion. His gaze fell once more and his eyes sparkled. I need someone to lean on, too…

"What do you think is wrong with Tai, Sora?"

"What do you mean? What's happening?"

"It looks like he's crying."

"Oh…well," Sora let her head fall, "maybe this is all too much for him."

"But we're all going through the same thing."

"Well, I guess he feels like he needs to protect us. Don't you feel that way? Mimi?"

Mimi didn't respond. Instead, she got up and walked towards Tai. His somewhat hunched back was facing her, and his feet were unmoving.

"Tai? Is something wrong?" she continued to walk towards him.

His back straightened up immediately. "Uh, no. Why?"

Mimi stopped by his side and looked at his face. "You just seemed so distant."

"Oh!" Tai forced himself to laugh. "Nothing is wrong! I was just thinking. That's all."

"Oh…if you say so…"

He watched her walk back to Sora, the glisten in his eyes coming back.

Why can't I tell them my true feelings?

Alone and weak, a small digimon crept towards Tai. Its tail was down and its mouth open.

Tai turned back around.

"Tokomon?"

"Kari's missing?! What…why…"

"I just heard what was on the news, okay?"

Yolei stood with her mouth agape looking at Davis. T.K. was pacing around now, trying to clear his mind.

"I don't get it! Who would abduct Kari…and why!"

"Look, the same goes for Tai, Sora, Matt, Mimi, and Izzy. I even saw Mimi being, um…abducted I guess you would call it."

"Really? What happened?"

"Cody, it's kinda hard to explain."

"Just try your best."

"Okay. Mimi came into my apartment while no one was home except me. We had, ah, a little fight, and then she went out the door. Well, I heard her scream so I ran out there. And when I got out there…um, some sort of whirlwind was happening and Mimi was inside of it.

"I tried to help her, really. But I got thrown off of the veranda. Then this little brat comes up to me and he's like: are you okay mister? And I'm like-"

Yolei tapped her foot impatiently. "We get the point."

"Oh, yeah. Okay, when I got back up to my apartment, she was gone. Just like that. I searched for her and everything. But she had just disappeared."

Ken looked around the computer room, studying each person's face. They all were deep in thought, but to him there was really nothing to think about.

"Davis, name the people who are missing again."

"Um…Kari, Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, and Mimi."

"Now which one of those stands out to you?"

"Um…"

Cody smiled. "Kari."

"Exactly. I think that the older digidestined were abducted to go to the same place, but Kari on the other hand-"

"Was just abducted."

"Right, Cody. But now we have two cases to figure out."

"Who abducted Kari and who abducted the older digidestined."

"But what about Jou?"

"Maybe he's the one who abducted them all." Davis snickered at his own remark. Yolei passed him a glare.

"That's not what I meant."

"I don't know about Jou. It could be that he's the abductor. I mean, he couldn't possible get rid of all the older kids, but he could definitely hold Kari down if he wanted to."

"No way. My Kari's way to good for that."

"We're just looking at all the possibilities here."

"Maybe Kari went back to the Dark Ocean where I found her."

Ken shuddered. "Don't mention that name. Besides, I think Kari has been over that stage for a long time now."

"I say we give Jou a call."

Cody walked meaningfully over to the phone.

"Call his cell, Cody. You'd have a better chance of reaching him."

They watched as Cody picked up the phone and started pressing some numbers.

Ken turned back to Davis. "Did anyone else see the whirlwind?"

"Uh, no. But there was no one else around."

"Did the news mention anything about it?"

"No."

"Then…"

Yolei cut him off shortly. "Then that means that people didn't see the whirlwind, which was probably what happened to Matt, Tai, Sora, and Izzy to make them disappear, which means that the whirlwind took them to the digital world!"

She sat back, and, panting, folded her arms across her chest. "Well?"

"You're…assuming quite a bit there…"

"He has his cell phone off."

Everyone ignored Cody for the time being.

"Do you think it could be true?"

"I for one think we should check the digital world for the older kids."

"But Davis, what about Kari?"

"Well…how 'bout we split up into two groups? Both of the groups will need a brainiac so Cody and Ken will be split up. Is everyone okay with that?"

Ken nodded, and the others followed his example. Davis stood up and a ring of determination was in his voice.

"All right, it's settled! T.K, Yolei, and Cody will go to the digital world, and Ken and I will search here for Kari."

"Hey! I said Jou has his cell phone off!"

"Uh…okay…and Ken and I will also search for Jou. Agreed?"

Four heads nodded in unison.

Davis walked alongside of Ken, swinging his arms. He hummed a little ditty, sometimes mumbling the words 'ko-i-shi-ta-ru!' (Translation: 'I'm in love'). Ken looked straight ahead, his eyebrow twitching with annoyance. Finally he snapped.

"DAVIS WILL YOU SHUT UP!"

The headstrong leader backed down, cutting his noise level down by half.

They continued walking, Davis dragging his feet in the back.

"Uh, hey, where are we going?"

Ken stopped.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean: Where…are…we…going?" He said it like Captain Kirk off of Star Track, enunciating with his hands as well as his voice.

Ken paused. "Uh…I…I don't know."

"Riiiiggghhttt…well, I'm gonna go find Jou then…"

"Oh yeah! That's where we were going! To Jou's school!"

"Um…and where would Jou's school be, Mr. Brainiac?"

"I…I don't know."

Davis threw his hands up. "GREAT! JUST GREAT! It's only the first hour…hour, and we're already lost! You're the genius here! GET US TO JOU'S SCHOOL! OR HIS HOUSE! IT DOESN'T MATTER WHERE, JUST AS LONG AS WE GET THERE!!" 

"WELL YOU'RE THE LEADER! WHY DON'T YOU LEAD!!?"

Davis opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing. They stood staring each other down, their fists clenched tight.

Finally Davis relaxed his hand and sighed.

"You're right. I'm the leader. I should be the one to lead."

Ken dropped his arms and smiled. "You're absolutely right."

Davis gave him a look.

"So…lead on."

"Yeah, I think I will."

"Tokomon? Oh my God. A- Tokomon…"

The tiny digimon sat on its "haunches" and let its tongue loll out.

Tai squatted beside it, reaching a hand out. "Hey, are you o- AHHHHHgaghha…"

He pulled his hand back and covered it with his left hand.

"You…stupid little…"

"Tai? Are you okay? What are you screaming about?"

Tai lifted his hand and acknowledged the blood running down his right hand. It completely covered it.

The Tokomon ran its tongue over the red blood on its fangs, a strange smile on the digimon's face appearing.

Tai mouthed the word 'bitch' at it, holding tightly onto his injured hand.

Mimi ran up, leading Sora by the hand.

"What the? Tokomon?"

Her eyes fell upon Tai's hand and she fainted almost instantly. Sora let go of her hand and stared blankly ahead.

"Tai? I think my vision is coming back."

Tai had his hand in a vice-like grip and he was gritting his teeth. The blood was running down his arm and he could care less about Sora's problems or accomplishments at the moment.

"Oh! I see some light! I see some light! This is great! My vision is coming back! I know it is!"

Sora blinked several times. There was an irreplaceable smile on her face that even Tai with his injured hand had to look upon it and also smile. Then her smile faded and she closed her eyes slowly.

"Never mind. The light is gone now."

She sat down hard and put her head in her hands.

Tai heard an explosion to the left of him. He closed his eyes tightly when the mushroom cloud ripped through the sky, sending off a blinding ray of light. The Tokomon beside him streaked off towards some unknown safe haven where it would never be seen again and Tai was once again left alone. Sora grabbed her skirt and pulled it down when the wind reached them. Several words ran through Tai's mind as he sat there with an explosion to the left of him, but only a few did he ever remember thinking of. War. Radiation. Death.

Nuclear War Heads lead to radiation, and radiation leads to death. But there was no way that Tai could be sure there was any sort of war going on. Maybe the dragon wasn't finished yet. Maybe it came back every now and then…

Sora let out a scream that was carried off by the wind. Mimi was still unconscious. Tai turned his head to look at the two and right then he realized that being a leader never left, but the skill got rusty at times.

He held his hand up to cover his face. They need me now…

"Are you guys ready?"

Yolei and Cody nodded together, their digivices held at arm's length.

"Okay then…" T.K. swallowed slowly. "Okay…"

He wasn't ready though. He didn't know what to expect. He wanted to think that this was all a prank made up by Davis that the others just happened to follow along with, but he knew that couldn't be true. Then again he might find all the older kids, including his brother, waiting for him at the digital world.

With a shaky hand he raised his digivice. He was sure about one thing though. He didn't want to go to the digital world. A lump in his stomach had told him so.