A Spark of Life

Takeru sat as far from the fire as he could. He'd been afraid of the dark back home, always asking his mom to leave his bedroom door open so the hallway light could keep the night at bay. But he took comfort in the shadows now. In the shadows no one could see him unless he wanted them to and for once, he had nothing to fear from the darkness. It was the light he was wary of.

Taichi was in the light. Taichi whom he had once asked to be his brother instead of Matt and had looked up to and respected. He didn't want to believe that his friend had become a monster. He wanted to take what little comfort he could in the idea that someone had stolen their leaders identity, just as his friends did. But he couldn't help remembering that Matt had gone through some strange times too. Maybe the digiworld was finally going to drive them all crazy and Taichi was just the first victim.

He thought of Sora, wondering what could have happened to her. They'd wondered aloud about it that first day, but Taichi had snapped that she wasn't important. Only Matt and Mimi had mattered, he'd said, and they'd followed him like sheep.

Even the Digimon had been unusually subdued by their human leader. Looking at Agumon was the worst. The once happy, energetic Digimon was alone like none of them were, they all had their Digimon partners, if not all their human ones. But Agumon had Taichi.

Takeru was desperate to think of someway to get them all safely away from their once loved leader, but he was just some little kid, and none of the ideas held against the risks.

He sighed and slipped further into the darkness.

*****

Mimi tried to keep the panic at bay, the overwhelming terror that took the form of menacing black birds; but dark wings beat the air at the edge of her vision and disoriented her until she felt as if the world was spinning around her. She lifted her arms as if to fend them off, but they closed in, battering her with their wings and pecking at her face. She screamed, closing her arms around her midsection and bending forward to protect herself.

She sank to her knees on the cold tile, still screaming at the birds. The giant birds with the black wings and beady red eyes that stared into hers with such calculating intelligence that she knew they were looking into her soul, deciding how best to rip it apart.

One landed on her shoulder and her screams stuck in her throat. She spun around, striking out blindly with her fists as she landed hard on her back, catching the evil bird on some hard part of it's body. She felt a swell of satisfaction in her chest as it squawked and hit the floor.

Then she heard the voices...

Familiar and loved voices and she realized that it hadn't been a bird she'd hit. Her vision cleared slowly, the black wings disappearing as the creatures took their leave. But she didn't feel safe for a moment, knowing they were watching her, just waiting until she was alone again to descend on her and finish what they'd started.

When the dizziness and disorientation was gone, she saw that Sora was lying on the hard tile floor beside her, her face dazed and the side of her forehead slowly turning rosy. Matt and Taichi were standing over her, talking loudly and Matt was reaching down to help her up. Comprehension of what she'd done shot through her brain like electricity and she scrambled to her hands and knees and crawled over to where Sora was still lying on the bathroom floor to see if she was all right.

"Oh god, oh god, oh god…." She gently touched a finger to the spot on Sora's forehead where she'd hit her and felt tears spring to her eyes when her friend flinched away in pain. "Oh god, Sora I'm so sorry, I don't know w-what came over m-me!" She tried to explain, but Sora smiled kindly.

"I do." Mimi froze, her hand still extended towards her friend as she felt the blood drain from her face. She started shaking so hard she felt as if she'd fall apart and the black wings circled around her vision. Waiting.

But before she could panic, Sora took her trembling hand in her own.

: Mimi?: Sora's mind voice was similar to her real voice, except that it was softer, more melodic and loving, and it calmed Mimi like nothing else could.

: Mimi, I know.:

*****

Matt couldn't understand what had come over Mimi. True that he'd started it by giving into desire at the pool when he knew he should have run as far from her as possible. But she'd started getting over it. It had been three months since that one night and he'd taken cares to see that temptation never had another chance, making sure that neither of them were alone together anymore. But in the last few days she'd started running again. Distancing herself from the tightly bound group they'd formed, but mostly from him.

He was sitting in his room, staring blankly at the bare wall. There was a knock at his door and he jerked back into himself just as it creaked open and Sora peered in. He flinched when her eyes met his. She knew. He could tell by the way her brows were lowered and her brown eyes watched him accusingly.

"I suppose you're here to tell me what a bastard I am?" He asked her in dejection, leaning back until he was lying sideways across his bed. Sora moved fully into the room and closed the door firmly behind her.

"That's one of the reasons. How did it happen?" She inquired softly, easing down to sit on the bed beside him. He closed his eyes on a wave of guilt.

"I was down at the hot pools and saw her. God she was beautiful! I apologized for finding her and was leaving, but she asked me to stay and I thought it wouldn't hurt anything if I did. One thing led to another and the next morning… I woke up alone." Bitterness swept through him as he said the last. She'd had no right to do that. To act as if it had all been his fault because he sure hadn't heard her begging him to stop!

"Matt…" The hesitation in Sora's voice stopped his thoughts cold and he opened his eyes to pin her where she sat.

"What is it?" He demanded, sitting up and resisting the urge to shake her. Something about the way she was watching him hinted that what ever she was going to tell him was going to be earth shattering.

"I'm not sure if it's the right thing to do…" She bit her lip, suddenly uncertain in her coming.

"Dammit Sora!" He burst out angrily, clenching his hands into fist at his sides. "What is it?" Sora gulped. If she left now, he would suspect, and it wouldn't take much for him to figure it out. If he found out that way, he'd hate them both, she was sure of it. She sighed reluctantly.

"Mimi… Matt, she's pregnant."

*** Chapters to Come ***

Journey into Darkness

Abduction of Beauty

Face off with Flowers

The Clash of Power

A Feast of Evil

Dance of the Fearless

A Time for Friendship

Good-byes Can Last Forever