Me: Aren't I getting more consistent?
Chloe: I guess.
Me: Here we go. I don't own Digimon and this chapter you're gonna hate.
Chloe: I'm gonna hate?
Me: Yes, you are. Now let's go.
Chapter 4-Division and Heartbreak
"Guys, was I dreaming or did I just see Agumon chasing a piece of garbage around." T.K. eyed the two boys curiously.
"Uh…yeah, you did see him. Guess that means that other people must have too." Davis answered sheepishly.
Sora smiled. "Oh, don't worry too much. I think we were the only ones who would've bothered to pay any attention to you guys."
T.K. shook his head. "I don't know; I still think someone else must've seen the fire."
Kari nodded. "I agree with T.K. Agumon may not have been easy to spot but I'd be surprised if no one saw those Pepper Breaths he was shooting." She looked at the trees surrounding them. "I don't know why…but I feel as if whoever saw him…is still around."
Quickly, Jacob and Jacqueline ducked behind a nearby tree. So much for finding information. Now they were stuck; in a minute, they would be found and then they would have to give a big explanation to why they were eavesdropping. The two huddled against the tree for a few minutes before Jacob heaved a sigh. "They're going to find us anyway. Let's just face them."
Jacqueline nodded. "Yeah."
Slowly, they stood up and walked towards the group. Tai noticed them and signaled to the others. They turned and stared at Jacob and Jacqueline, then at each other.
"Jacob?" asked Davis in unflattering disbelief.
Kari was equally startled. "Jackie?" Her eyes darted back and forth between the two of them. "What are you doing here?"
Jacob looked uncomfortable. "Sorry, but we couldn't help overhearing…your conversation. We saw your…Agumon or something running through the clearing. We were just passing by."
Jacqueline gazed at the Digimon. "I knew I wasn't hallucinating. You are real, aren't you?"
"As real as you are," replied Agumon brightly.
The group goggled at them. "You mean…you knew about them?" asked Tai in a hushed voice.
Jacqueline's green eyes flashed. "Yes. Jacob and I had both been seeing…Digimon like Agumon around. No one but us seemed to notice them or hear them. It's like they existed and yet they didn't exist." She gave a small gasp. "If you guys are friends with the Digimon then you must be…"
T.K. frowned. "We're the Digidestined. If you've been able to see them then there's something different about you."
Jacob hadn't been saying anything for a while now. Suddenly, he gasped and raised his head. "I have a strange question to ask you. All of you except you Jackie. Did any of you know Oikawa Yukioh?"
A gasp went through the group. Davis recovered quickly. "Oikawa? We knew him all right."
"Really?" Jacob's eyes looked eager. "You know him?"
"We knew him," Kari repeated sadly. "He's-he's dead."
* * *
Chloe stared at the ocean. It was peaceful, a lot quieter than most ocean waters. The waves rose and fell gently, lapping at the shore. Chloe sighed and shook her head and her mind floated to memories. She could almost hear the sounds of activity bustling around in the Pokémon World. She could hear the sounds, see the sights, and feel the excitement of every new adventure or journey. Her thoughts drifted to her friends: Ash, Misty, Brock, Tracey, and Pikachu. She could hear their voices in the distance: laughing, cheering, and having a great time. She couldn't believe how much she missed them. She missed Misty and her hot-tempered attitude and the even the jealousy Misty sometimes felt for her. She missed Brock's annoying girl-craziness and Tracey's obsession with his sketches. She missed Pikachu and she missed Ash most of all; his great sense of humor and the times they spent together were some of the things she cherished.
As Chloe drifted through her memories, a tear slid down her cheek. Angrily, she brushed it away. She knew she missed the Pokémon World and Ash and the others, but she had to get a hold of herself.
"You can't go back," Chloe told herself. "You have a new life now and crying won't bring you back there. This was your choice to come here so now deal with it."
* * *
Jacob walked home alone slowly. Well, that was pointless. He'd met the Digidestined and Digimon and had to promise not to tell anyone about them but he didn't get any new leads on Oikawa. Davis and the others just didn't want to talk about him, either because it was too painful or they were among those people that didn't like him. Angrily, Jacob kicked a small pebble down the road. Dad's sure going to be disappointed, he thought. Not as disappointed as me though.
He was so distracted that he didn't watch where he was going and he bumped into a girl. What was with him and bumping into girls? He looked up at the one he knocked into today: a beautiful 15-year-old. I have a knack for bumping into pretty girls too, he thought to himself. "Sorry for…"
"S'okay," the girl replied in a soft voice. It seemed musical, yet sad. "It was mostly my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going."
He smiled at her in a self-conscious way. "Uh, I'll be on my way now."
The girl grinned back. "Okay then. I was on my way to my friend, Kari Kamiya's house anyway."
Jacob's eyes widened. "Kari Kamiya? If you know her, do you know anything about Oikawa?"
"Oikawa?" the girl's eyes looked confused. Jacob got a good look at her eyes; mysterious yet amazing blue eyes. "Uh…actually I've heard about him from my friends, mostly from Cody Hida. You looking for him or something?"
Jacob, however, was stuck on the first sentence. "Cody Hida?! You said his last name is Hida right?"
The girl nodded, still confused. Jacob grinned. "Finally! An answer worth knowing!" He wanted to hug the girl but he knew that would only ask for trouble. "Thanks a lot!" He was about to run off when something stopped him. "Hey, look I don't even know your name."
She smiled a dazzling smile. "Call me Chloe and I'll call you Jacob."
Jacob blinked in surprise. "How-how did you…"
Chloe shrugged. "I just do. Bye!" She took off before he could ask her what she meant.
* * *
Catherine and Floramon looked at the city of Tokyo from atop of the tower. Even though she wasn't one for large high-tech cities, she had to admit, the city was amazing. "It's zo…different." The cars moved up and down the busy streets and the people on the sidewalks looked like paper dolls. "Floramon, what do you think of ze city?"
"It's amazing," replied her Digimon. Catherine smiled at Floramon. Most Digimon would only be interested in food or fighting but Floramon was more feminine in her own way. She was glad she had such a Digimon. "Catherine, I think I'll move over to the air conditioner. The view was nicer from over there." She hurried off.
Catherine sighed and turned back towards the view. I 'ope she doesn't attract attention. However, a cry of alarm made her turn around again. I knew someone would be frightened of a walking flower. Her eyes scanned the building and landed on Floramon. Floramon's vines had gotten caught in the air vent. She tugged on them and the vent broke off, causing her to fly backwards and slammed into the glass window. Crash! It shattered, sending flying pieces everywhere. Everyone turned and ran.
Catherine screamed and ran towards the broken window, dodging people as she passed. "Floramon!"
She looked through the window and saw Floramon clinging to the wired frame of the tower below. She wasn't hurt but it looked like she wasn't going to be able to hang on for long. "Floramon, don't worry! I'm coming!"
Floramon glanced up and saw Catherine leaning out. "Catherine, no! Stay there!"
"But…"
"Just stay there! I don't want you to get hurt!"
Catherine obeyed, yet she couldn't help thinking, What will I do?
* * *
Tai and Davis wandered through the busy streets together with Veemon and Agumon. They noticed that the people around Tokyo Tower were acting more hectic than usual. What are they so scared about? Both boys wondered. They decided that looking up at the tower was their best option.
Tai's eyes drifted across the top of Tokyo Tower and noticed something strange. One of the windows was broken and shattered glass had spilled out over the tower. Something was desperately hanging on for dear life up there and someone, a girl, could be seen trying to reach for it. He frowned and took out the mini-telescope he'd recently put in his pocket. Looking through, he could see a Floramon and…Catherine?
"Davis!" he shouted. "Floramon and Catherine are in trouble!"
"What!" Davis squinted up at the tower. "I can't see them, but we better get up there. They could be in danger!"
"It'll take too long to use the elevator," Tai observed.
"Then we should Digivolve!" shouted Veemon.
Tai stared at the Digimon in disbelief. "You'll be seen for sure! Are you guys willing to take such a risk?"
"Tai, one of our friends needs help and we're the only ones around here," Agumon told his partner. "We have to rescue them. It doesn't matter if we're seen so long as we help them."
Davis nodded and looked over at Tai. "What do you say?"
Tai was silent for a while. Finally, he looked up and nodded firmly. "Okay."
* * *
Catherine surveyed the room around her. It was completely empty. Well, it should have been empty after everyone had evacuated the building. She glanced nervously down at Floramon. The situation hadn't gotten any better and Catherine feared it was starting to get even worse. Someone help me, she thought to herself, tears running down her cheeks.
Agumon Digivolve to…Greymon!
Veemon Digivolve to…Exveemon!
Catherine saw bright light shining from the ground floor in the street. She stared at it in amazement. The light vanished and two Digimon stood in its place. One of the started flying up to her while the other held the tower steady. Catherine looked at the two boys sitting atop of the blue flying creature. She smiled. "Davis, Tai."
Exveemon landed and the boys hopped off. They ran up to her. "Catherine!" Are you okay?" asked Davis breathlessly. "You're not hurt are you?"
Catherine shook her head. "I am all right but Floramon needs help."
The two boys peered over the edge of the window and saw Floramon clinging to the tower. "About time somebody noticed me!" she snapped angrily. "This isn't what I call seeing the sights up close and personal!"
"Hang on Floramon!" said Davis. He turned to Exveemon. "See if you can reach her."
"Right!"
Carefully, Exveemon flew down towards where Floramon dangled onto the tower. "C'mon Floramon. Jump!"
"Absolutely not!" shouted Floramon indignantly. "I'd rather stay here thank you very much."
Exveemon shook his head. "Look, you can't stay up here forever. Sooner or later, you're going to fall. Don't worry, I'll catch you."
"And if you both fall then I'll catch you!" called Greymon from down below.
"See? You're going to be just fine!"
Floramon thought a bit and then nodded. "Okay, but if I die I'm going to haunt you for the rest of your life!"
"I'll take that risk," muttered Exveemon. He moved over a bit to reach her. "Okay, now jump!"
Floramon closed her eyes and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like I'm going to regret this and jumped. Exveemon caught her. "See, that was easy!"
"Easy for you," Floramon snapped angrily. "Now get me out of here!"
"Okay, okay, you don't have to bite my head off!" Exveemon flew down towards the ground gently. "Her temper's almost as fiery as Gatomon's."
The three teens at the top cheered happily as Exveemon landed safely on the ground beside Greymon. The tower began to sway back and forth. "Oh no!" yelled Tai. "This thing's going to collapse unless we steady it and melt the steel so it will stay put. Any ideas?"
Catherine and Davis both shook their heads. "We're doomed," Tai moaned.
"Cheer up Tai, I'm sure zere iz something that we could use," Catherine began to pace and was able to keep steady despite the swaying of the tower. "Zere must be something…wait, Greymon can hold the tower steady. 'E's strong enough isn't 'e?"
"Uh yeah but what will that do?"
"I get it!" shouted Davis excitedly. "Greymon can hold the tower steady and then since he breaths fire, he can use his Nova Blast to melt the steel to hold the tower."
Catherine beamed at him. "Zat's a pretty smart idea Davis."
Davis blushed a bit as Tai snickered. "Ah well, okay then. Let's see if Greymon agrees to it."
Tai nodded and called down to Greymon. "Hey Greymon! Think you can hold the tower steady until us three get down to the ground? I'll tell you what to do from there."
Greymon nodded and continued to hold the tower steady while Exveemon flew the three kids down to the ground. "All right, now use your Nova Blast on the tower's structure to melt the steel."
"You got it!" said Greymon. "Nova Blast!" A giant fireball shot from his mouth and melted the steel. It became soft and the tower started to wobble more than ever. A large piece of glass came tumbling down towards them. "Hey, watch out!"
Catherine looked up and noticed the glass hurtling towards her. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. "Catherine look out!" shouted Davis and he grabbed her arm and yanked her out of harms way.
Davis collapsed, exhausted. "Hey are you okay?" asked Tai worriedly.
He nodded. Catherine smiled at him. "You saved my life. Thank you Davis."
Davis blushed again, despite the circumstances. They watched silently as Greymon finished melting the steel and bent it into shape. "That oughta hold. Now let's get out of here before you guys attract attention." Davis muttered to the Digimon.
* * *
After running back to the park, the three kids stopped in the shade of a tree to rest. "Well," Davis panted as he looked at the other two. "You…can't…say it…wasn't a…dull…day."
Tai gave him a strange look. "Uh…yeah."
Catherine looked at the two of them and smiled. "Merci beaucoup for helping me."
"Um actually," Tai jerked his head to his friend. "Davis was the one who helped more than me."
Davis grinned sheepishly. "Aw well I don't deserve all of the credit."
"Davis being modest," Tai sighed and shook his head. "There's a first time for everything."
"Well you did save me so I guess you deserve some reward," Catherine remarked. "Will zis do?"
She walked up to Davis and kissed him. Davis's eyes bugged out and he stepped back as if he had just touched an electrical generator. Tai, Veemon, and Agumon burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" demanded Davis but they kept on laughing.
"Man, your face that's what!" Tai shook his head again and kept on laughing.
Catherine began to laugh too and Davis rolled his eyes. "I'll see you guys later, I think." He left with a sort of faraway look in his eyes.
Catherine turned to Tai and smiled. "I need to thank you for helping Davis save Floramon and for that time you saved me back in France."
"You don't need to do that," Tai protested with a sheepish smile. "It wasn't anything big."
Catherine laughed. At the same time, a strange impulse came over Tai, something he had no idea what. "Go ahead. Go on and kiss her. What harm will that do?"
Say what?
"Go ahead and kiss her."
Ummm…okay.
* * *
The evil creature in his fortress slowly targeted the boy. Now…let's see how courageous he is once he breaks his girl's heart. His glowing red eyes grew brighter. Back in the Real World, Taichi Kamiya's own eyes began to glow a steady red before changing back to normal…but not exactly normal.
* * *
Chloe and Kari were just turning towards the park, laughing and talking at the same time. Kari turned her head towards a tree near the clearing and a horrifying sight met her eyes. She glanced nervously at Chloe and tried to avert her attention from what she was about to see. Chloe looked curious. "What are you staring at?" she asked as she turned around.
"No Chloe don't look!" cried Kari, knowing she was too late.
Chloe stared at Tai and Catherine kissing in profound disbelief. For a minute, it looked as though she might faint. Tai and Catherine chose that exact moment to look in their direction.
Catherine looked surprised while Tai's mouth dropped open in shock. "It's…not what you think…" he stammered. "Really…I can explain…"
"You don't need to explain anything Tai Kamiya." Sparks of anger replaced the dazed look in Chloe's eyes. "I've seen enough."
Kari backed away and Catherine gazed at the two teens nervously before muttering, "I'll see you tomorrow." She left quickly.
Kari watched her go before turning her attention back to her brother. "Tai…what did you do?"
Tai blinked and looked away. Then Chloe did something so out of her character that they both jumped. Using her psychic powers, she made a twig rise into the air. Then she made it explode. Pow! Broken pieces flew everywhere.
"How could you Tai?! How could you?!" she yelled, her eyes filled with tears.
Tai shook his head. "I'm telling you, it's not what you think! There is nothing going on between me and Catherine!"
"Liar!"
"I've never lied to you. Never!"
Chloe balled her hands into fists, glaring at him. He might not have lied to her but why? Why did he kiss that French girl? Didn't he love her? He didn't really mean those words did he? I bet I'm nothing but a small speed bump in his fast-lane life. "Yeah sure. If you didn't lie to me then you obviously didn't tell me everything. I've been talking with T.K. He told me you two met in France and he said you saved her there and even gave her a little kiss. You fell in love with her. Before you met me. And now that she's back in your life you're probably going to fall head-over-heels and leave me, is that it?"
He shook his head. "It's not like that at all."
"Oh so what's it like Tai? Was I fun for a while but now you've moved on to the next best thing?" (A/N: Ouch)
"NO! How could you say that?"
"What a jerk I am," Chloe muttered bitterly. "I thought you were different. I thought you cared. I left my friends, my training, my home, my world, my life…just so I could stay with you guys! I trusted you Tai and now you've…you've…"
"Cut it out Chloe!" Tai shouted. "Why won't you listen to me? Can't you see that I'm trying to explain to you what's going on? There's nothing between Catherine and me. So she and I kissed; it didn't mean anything."
The psychic glared at him. "So she doesn't mean anything to you?"
He fell silent. Well Catherine's nice and all but…what am I saying? Something in his head began to tell him what to do. He couldn't control it. "She's crazy. Don't trust anyone but yourself. You are the one that is right. Don't listen to her." He shook his head and glared at her, his brown eyes flashing crimson. "Oh and T.K. doesn't mean anything to you?"
"What does T.K. have to do with this?" she asked exasperatedly.
"You guys kissed too and if I recall…it was only a few months ago. Are you saying that kiss and he doesn't mean anything?"
His girlfriend winked back angry tears. "So that's what it is?" she hissed. "You're jealous of something that T.K. and I did a while back and you wanted to get even? You disgust me."
That did it. "You know what Chloe?" Tai said in a voice shaking with anger. "You disgust me. You only see something and immediately jump to conclusions. You don't stop to think about the consequences. You only see what you want to see and hear what you want to hear. You pretend to be some innocent sweet girl who doesn't try to start anything. That's because you don't DO anything! You don't think! Maybe if you acted then you wouldn't be so blind! And…" He couldn't stop the words from coming out. "Maybe if you thought about your actions, you wouldn't have killed all those people like you did!"
The words shocked Tai as much as they had shocked Chloe. She looked like she'd been slapped. Kari gasped. They both look so…angry.
"I thought you loved me," Chloe said in a quivering voice. Her eyes became misty.
Tai looked at her in a cold way. "I don't know you."
The trainer took a step back, her bottom lip trembling. I don't know you. Those words hurt more than a knife in the gut. "I never knew…you felt that way…about me. But if that's what you think of me…someone who is blind, murderous, and unfeeling…then maybe it's better if you run off with your sweet Catherine. I'm sure she's a much worthier person than me eh?"
Tai blinked, coming out of his angry state. Oh my God, what did I say? How could I do that to her? "Chloe…I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Can't you see that I—"
Chloe backed away steadily, her hands pressed tightly over her ears. She screamed, "Stop it! I-I never want to see your face again. I hate you, do you hear? JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"
With that, she turned and broke into a run, ignoring the tears that trailed behind her. "Chloe wait!" called Tai and he would've gone after her if Kari hadn't grabbed his arm.
Kari stared at her brother right in the eye. "Let her go Tai. I think she's in enough pain as it is."
"Yeah, but…"
"Just let her go."
Me: (winces) Told you it was a painful chapter.
Chloe: (struggling to hide back tears) How…how could you do that…to me?
Tai: It wasn't me Clo! Blame everything on Caro! (glares at me)
Me: (sympathetic) I'm sorry, but the chapters are going to steadily get sadder. Review if you want readers! Don't hurt me.
T.K.: Like Tai and Chloe are going to hurt you?
Me: Yeah, exactly.