k2: Starting from here the chapter will be getting longer and more intense so readers beware. This story is rated PG-13 for a reason and involves violence, but much later on in the story.
MK: Unless you count violence as the authoress attempting to kill her fave char around every turn.
k2: Will you just shut up already?
MK: (thrusts 'V' for victory hand gesture in the air) On with the story!
111break111
What now?
Rated: PG-13
drama/romance
Chapter 2: Matt's dilemma
111break111
TK
Matt, Matt!
I heard my name, but it sounded so far away. I couldn't think. My mind was blank, numb. All I could se was where TK had been, where he was. There had been nothing I could do, nothing at all. All I could do was…watch. Watch as my brother vanished.
Pain slammed into my cheek and my vision turned red for a moment. I rocked sideways and landed on the ground, shocked. Slowly I lifted myself, shaking the numbness away, and rubbed my sore cheek.
"What happened?" I heard my father rasp. My gaze shifted to him, kneeling on the ground next to me, fear and concern reflecting his eyes. My mother sat on the ground, numb, staring as blindly as I must have been at the spot TK had been.
"I…I don't know…." My answer was shallow; I knew what would come next. Dad had asked me as if I would know, as if I should know.
"What do you mean you don't know!" My father demanded as I expected. "You reacted as if you knew exactly what was going on!"
At that point my mother snapped out of her trance, responding to my fathers hysterics. She watched, for a moment, as my father raged, tears falling down her eyes. Eyes that were focused on me, eyes that showed a level of pain I never thought I would ever see within. "I want to know what you meant, Matt! What did you mean by 'not again'? I want answers and you're the only one who can give them to me so don't tell me you don't know what just happened!"
Anger welled within me. Fear contracted my throat. I understood how he felt. I knew he was shocked, upset, scared. But there was no reason for him to take it out on me!
"I don't know!" I cried out, "The specifics are different, this has never happened before! Not like this! Only to Kari has it happened and there is no reason for it to happen to TK! I admit, dad, TK was taken from me twice before! That's what I meant by not again! How do you think this makes me feel? Twice dad! And both times I felt like a failure for not being there to protect him! You have no idea how that feels, no idea the fear of watching as your little brother is torn away from you, not twice, but now three times and being unable to do anything to protect him! And worse of all, this time I don't even know who it is that is trying to get him!" I felt tears running down my face now, the dam holding them back breaking in the wake of my speech. My last sentence came out softer then before, tiny to me ears. Barley a whisper but with enough emphasis to make it harsh. I swallowed; a lump had formed in my throat making it difficult. I continued with one last, barley audible phrase. "I don't even know how I can even save him this time."
Dad stared at me. He looked so helpless right then, so…small. The look in his eyes was a look of total despair. I had dashed his one hope of understanding the moment I said I didn't know.
"I'm sorry, Son."
HE said then, "I was wrong…to yell like that. Its just…Tk…."
"I
know, Dad." I replied. I understood. He...he didn't have to
finish.
And then Mom was speaking, taking both of us by surprise. Her voice was both quiet and even as she spoke, there was no room for argument.
"Matt, gather your friends and tell them to meet at my house. I want TK back as soon as possible."
I nodded my head and looked down at my watch, a gift from Izzy and Yolie. It was a two-way communicator for Tai and me and I could send short text messages to everyone else via there D-tecters. I pressed a button on the side of the watch, waited two beeps, and saw Tai's cheerful disposition appear on the digital face.
"Hey Matt, what's-!" He caught on quickly, seeing the expression on my face. "What's wrong?"
"Tai, TK…he's gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone?"
"Just now. He vanished in my arms. There was pain, his head! It was like…I dunno…like something inside him was being destroyed! There was a light, it flickered and died. TK broke and…faded."
Tai paled, his eyes flicked to the side. His face disappeared from the watch and I heard him yelling for Kari.
"What?" Kari's voice reached out to me through the watch and I breathed a sigh of relief, only to shake my head in exasperation as Tai began to ramble endlessly to Kari, only furthering her confusion.
"Oh, thank god Kari." Tai stated and then he was back, Kari demanding to know what he was talking about.
"I don't get it Matt." Tai stated, "Why TK?"
"What about TK?"
"In a minute Kari!"
"I don't know." I stated, "But he's gone.
"Tai, what is Matt talking about?"
"In a minute Kari!"
My wrist was suddenly yanked around and I found my mom, determination engraved in her eyes, holding my arm.
"Tai I told Matt to
call you."
"Uhh…." I couldn't see Tai's face, but I
could tell by the way he sounded that he was taken aback. "And?"
"Umm, well…I told him to arrange a meeting at my place. Where do you usually hold them?"
"Hold
what?"
"Meetings."
"Uhh…wherever we can."
"Good then. It works
out."
"Mom, you're hurting my arm!" I yanked my arm from
her grasp and rubbed my wrist. She looked at me apologetically,
holding her hands to her chest. I shook my head and returned to Tai.
"Is that okay?"
"Sure, I guess. I'll have Kari contact Yolie and the others on the D-terminals."
"I'll get-."
"Matt,
just go home."
"What?"
"I'll get everything set up and tell everyone where to meet. Get back to your moms place, relax. You can do all the explaining once everyone is there."
I sighed and nodded my head, thanking him silently. Tai may be a lunkhead at times but when he had to be he proved just why he was, essentially, the leader of our little group. I watched as his face disappeared from my watch, probably to explain to Kari, and then turned back to Mom and Dad.
"They'll be there." I stated, "Not quite sure what you have in mind, mom, but they'll be there."
"Why was Tai so worried about Kari?"
I looked at Dad, remembering that he wouldn't know, and ran my hand through my hair. "Awhile back she disappeared. Some digimon who knew she held the crest of light snatched her. They wanted her to help them destroy their Dark Master or something like that anyway. TK was the only one able to find a way to bring her back, the only one that even realized there was even a problem.
"I didn't realize TK was so close to Kari." I looked at mom quickly. She was still huddled within herself but now she was staring off into nothing, a faraway look in her eyes.
"Uh, yeah…they do seem to be quite close."
I saw Mom stand up on shaky legs and watched as Dad stood with her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. She leaned into him, then, and allowed him to support her. I closed my eyes, feeling the lump form again. If it had to take a crisis to get them back together I'd rather they stayed divorced.
111break111
Silence. One so profound it was deafening. The eeriness of the situation was not lost on the young man that lay in the midst of it. His consciousness swam around within it, curious. Frightened. Angered.
HE opened his eyes slowly, fully expecting a wash of bright light, to find they were already opened. His mind raced, fearful that he'd gone blind, making his head, already full of pain, hurt still more. HE went to rub at his temple, only to find that his hands refused his commands, the feel of cold metal restraining them at his sides. He quickly made to sit up but his torso and ankles were held just ad fast.
He swallowed convulsively. Wherever he was the one who put him here wanted him to stay here.
His fear slowly ebbed away, replaced by the anger he felt only seconds ago. HE allowed himself to look around, realizing he hadn't gone blind. It was just dark. Very dark. So dark that it seemed to cling to his skin like the mist from a dense fog. One that was cold, prickling your skin and sending shivers throughout your body. A darkness that just dripped with evil, flooding his instincts with the stench of it.
"So." A voice rasped quietly near his ear, "The child of hope as finally awoken."
He turned his head, quickly, towards the voice only to find empty air. "You were out for a long time." His eyes widened as he found the voice in his other ear.
Quickly turning his head again he cried out furiously, fearfully, "Who are you?" Nothing. The owner of the voice wasn't there. Was he going insane?
Laughter. His anger flared.
"Where am I? What is it you want?"
"Nothing for the time being." The voice was everywhere, nowhere. The room echoed. "You're just one major piece to my plan."
"What plan? Why do you want me?"
"All in due time child." The voice was mocking him, talking to him as if it cared. And, as it continued, the voice grew more and more malicious. "You are not ready to hear the entire plan just yet. I shall gain great pleasure from watching your reactions to the events that are about to take place."
111break111
k2: Yeah, I know, it's still a cliffie. But hey, at least you get to go straight over to the next chapie, right?
