Chapter 31
The Return Home: Part 1
The next morning, Tai was eager to open his eyes and see his home world. When he did open his eyes, he felt a weird feeling in his stomach. Everything in the room was so much bigger and….wait, this wasn't his room. It wasn't even close. He went to stand up, but feel very weird. When he looked himself over he saw he was back inside of the cat body.
He saw that he had been sleeping at the end of a bed with yellow sheets. He looked around the room again; this wasn't his and Kari's room. But if he was back home, then whose room was he in?
He heard a yawn and turned around. When he saw the person sitting up in the bed, he would have gasped if he could. It was Sora! Not just any Sora, but his Sora! He just stared at her as she sat up. When she saw him, she smiled. "Hi, Tai."
His heart froze. She knew it was him, but how?
She got up out of bed and walked over to him. "Okay," she said, "I know you're not really a cat, and don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. You had just traveled across dimensions, and as soon as you fall asleep, you'll be back to normal. Another reality traveler named Ryo told me this before he left this world."
"Ryo told her!" he thought, "She doesn't know it's the Tai from this world. I've got to tell her somehow."
He jumped off of her bed and ran over to Sora's desk. He grabbed the pencil with his teeth and wrote on a piece of notebook paper that was lying on the desk. "It is Tai from this world."
Her eyes opened wide, "Tai, is it really you?"
He nodded and wrote with his pencil. "Sora, I love you."
She looked him directly in his cat eyes. When she did, she saw him, the real Tai. "Okay, that's good enough for me," she said, hugging him, "Oh, where have you been? I've been so worried about you! You're parents were so scared too!"
She put him down on her bed and sat down next to him. "A few days ago this kid named Ryo came to me with this cat and told me that if I wanted to see Tai again, I would have to keep this cat safe. It took a heck of a lot before I believed him. He told me that Tai's from other worlds might come into this body every night, I'd have to take care of them because he was going to help you. " She shook her head, "You don't want to know what I had to go through, but it doesn't matter, because you're back!" She hugged him again, "Oh, Kari's body is in some kind of coma. She went into that coma right before Ryo left, and no one knows why."
"What?" Tai thought.
Sora smiled. "You're probably hungry, huh? Come on, let's eat some breakfast."
As Tai followed her out, his mind was full of questions, "Why wouldn't Ryo tell me that Sora was taking care of the other Tais and that they had to go into the cat's body? Could it have something to do with Kari? Did he do something to her?"
He followed Sora into the kitchen of her apartment. Sora was opening a can near the counter. She placed it into a green saucer and put it on the floor. "Here," she said. Tai just stared at her.
"Mom doesn't know what's going on," she said, "If she saw you eating at the table, she'd have a fit."
Tai just walked over and started to smell the food. He looked back at her. "You have the body of a cat, and I don't want you to get sick. Eat the cat food."
Tai eat the food quickly. It tasted like tuna fish and meat. He licked himself clean, then turned to look at Sora. She was eating her breakfast. She noticed that he was looking at her. "When I'm finished eating, I'll sneak you over to the hospital to see Kari."
Mrs. Takenouchi walked out of her room a second later. She was wearing a dress suit. "Good morning, Sora," she said.
"Morning Mom," Sora smiled.
Her mother walked over to Tai and petted him. "Good morning, Miko," she smiled.
She turned to Sora. "Don't forget, you promised to work at the shop today."
"Oh, but Mom, I was going to see Kari today."
"You can see her after you're done," she said, "I have to go to the bank today to see if I can switch our loan to another. It's very complicated bank stuff, so I won't bore you."
Sora looked at Tai. "But Mom…"
"You can see Kari after I get back. I should be done early in the afternoon. I understand that you want to see your friend, but you have been there all week."
Sora sighed. "All right." She grabbed Tai and walked into her room. She closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry, Tai," she said, "I guess we'll have to wait."
"What about Sara and Sam?" he thought, "She might not know about them, if they're even here. They said they were going to take male Kari to their home world. Maybe I'm the only one that got back home." He suddenly felt very alone.
He turned around and saw that Sora had taken off her pajamas. She suddenly remembered that Tai was there, so she covered herself up. Her face started to blush. "Tai!"
The cat turned away. When he looked back, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a blue t-shirt. "Why don't you just hang around here for a little while?" she said, "I'm going to be downstairs until Mom gets back." She walked over to the television on her desk and turned it on. "There, so you don't get bored. The um…" she blushed again, "The litter box is in the bathroom. I'll be back soon." She left.
When Tai and Kari left their home world to start their trips across reality, the Digidestined were keeping their eyes on the children who had been infected with the Dark Spores by Oikawa. They didn't know that Dark Ryo and Hypnos soldiers were also looking for them.
A young boy with brown hair was walking down the sidewalk when he past a tall, blond man wearing sun glasses. The boy knew that he was looking at him, but kept on walking. The man followed behind him until the boy ran into a playground. He was about to jump onto one of the swings, when a blond, 11-year-old girl grabbed him, and quickly put a cloth over his mouth and nose. The boy passed out instantly.
"I don't think anyone saw us," the girl said.
The man nodded. "Great, Tally. We've got to get him back to Dark Ryo quickly."
Yamaki lifted the boy onto his shoulders and started walking. When they passed a group of people, Tally looked at Yamaki. "Dad, is he going to be okay?"
"Sure, your brother's just asleep, that's all."
The group of people didn't think anything more about it.
Hidden inside of a house in the mountains, Oikawa was looking up at a large screen that displayed an overhead view of Tokyo with more than a dozen blinking lights. One of these lights just vanished.
"That's another one," Oikawa shouted.
"Another what?" Arukennimon asked.
"Another one of the children I infected with the Dark Seeds has had his or her energy sucked out. Someone is taking my power, and I want to know who!" He looked at Arukennimon and Mummymon. "Find out, now!"
"Yes sir."
Tai jumped off of Sora's bed and walked into the living room. He was so bored. He hated being a cat the first time, and the second time wasn't any better. He walked over to his dish and ate some more, then walked back into Sora's room to watch more t.v. After what seemed like forever, he heard the door open. He jumped back down and walked into the living room. It was Sora.
"Sorry, Tai," she said, "Mom was a little longer then she thought. Just let me get showered and dressed, and we'll go."
Tai waited out side of her room. When she came back out she was wearing a pink t-shirt and a pink skirt. She went into the kitchen counter. He ran in after her and looked up. He miss judged his position, and when he looked up he was able to see up her skirt. He turned away a second before Sora looked at him. "Okay, we're ready." She reached down and picked him up. She placed him into a backback. "They don't allow animals in the hospital. Okay, let's go."
Sora carried Tai out of the apartment and down the street. They passed a dark alley filled with rats and small dogs. A few minutes after Tai and Sora had passed it, the alley exploded in a blast of light. The rats and dogs ran out as a human girl landed onto the ground. She had red hair, and was wearing a black dress and cape. She stood up and looked around.
"So," she said, "This is the world where they went, huh?" She grinned, "Yes, I can feel it. There is a powerful darkness here! If I could take that power, yes, I must have it!"
Dark Sora mentioned to her clothes. Her dress flowed over her body, becoming a pair of tight jeans and a yellow tank-top. Her cape flowed into her back and became a denim jacket. She walked onto the sidewalk. "I must have that energy! And I will!"
At the hospital, Sora quietly snuck past the nurses and into the elevator. She pressed the button for the 27 floor. She was alone in the elevator, so she started talking to Tai. "Don't worry, we're almost there."
The doors opened again as she walked into the hall. When she reached Kari's room, she was surprised that there were other people already there: two teenage girls, one with black hair, and one with blond, and a young man. "Hi," she said.
The blond-haired girl nodded. "Hi, Sora."
"How do you know my name?"
The man walked over and closed the door to the hospital room. "You can let Tai out now," he said.
Sora looked at them with a suspicious look. "Don't worry," the black-haired girl said, "We're friends. My name is Sam."
"I'm Sara."
"I'm Derwood."
Sora felt her backpack start to shake. Sora opened it and lifted Tai out. He jumped out of her arms and into Sara's arms.
"Okay," Sora said, "I guess you're who you say you are."
"We traveled with Tai across realities," she said.
"What?" Sora asked, "Did you know Ryo? He gave that cat body to me to take care of!"
"Really?" Sara asked, looking at Sam, "Did he tell you that?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Hey," Derwood said, "Kari's waking up."
Sara and Sam ran over to the hospital bed. Kari opened her eyes and looked around the room. When she saw Sora, she gave a yelp and almost fell onto her back. "Kari, it's okay!" Sam said, helping her onto her feet, "It's okay, you're back home."
"Home?" she asked, she looked at herself. Despite being in a hospital gown, she was in her own body! "I'm back home! I'm back home! Wait, where's Tai?"
Sara held Tai out. Kari looked at him and smiled. "He's back as the cat?"
Sara nodded. "Don't worry. We've got something in mind for tomorrow. He'll have a human body soon."
"What exactly is going on here?" Sora asked.
"We'll tell you soon," Sam said, "Once we get Kari out of here and meet up with our other two friends, we'll explain everything."
Dark Sora walked along the edge of one of the roofs, staring at the city below. "This is just like the city back home. I'm still amazed that how different parallel realities can be, but still so different. But where is that power source? I must have it!"
She grinned to herself as she turned around and saw another teenager girl on the roof, dressed entirely in black. "Well, its you."
"Excuse me?" the other girl asked, "Have we met before?"
"Not really. You're Alice, aren't you?"
"That's right. Now, you're not the Sora Takenouchi from this world, are you the Sora from the Emperor Tai world?"
"That's right," she said, "And I know you all too well. You're the one that traveled with, 'Emperor Tai' in the desert when he faced Apocalymon!"
Alice's face turned to confusion. "W..what? What are you talking about?"
Dark Sora stared at her, then laughed. "You don't remember, do you? Ha ha ha!"
"Stop that!" Alice shouted. She hovered into the air. "This is a warning. Stay out of our business, or you'll be sorry! While I don't know exactly what happened when Master Ryo visited you, I guarantee that what you witness wasn't anything near the power he has!" She vanished in a blast of black light.
Dark Sora chuckled. "Well, it looks like she is having problems remembering her past too." She crossed her arms and looked down at the city again. "I'll have to be careful not to be detected by Dark Ryo. I'll have to keep my power low enough that he can't find me, but I'll never find him either. I'll just have to wait until he uses his power first, then I'll just locate him." She started laughing again, "I'll have that power!"
Sara and Sam brought Sora, Kari and Tai to an abandoned warehouse where a group of other teenagers were waiting. The Digimon were there too.
"Kari!" Gatomon shouted, running over to her, "You're okay!"
She grinned. "Oh, Gatomon, I'm so glad to see you again!"
Agumon's looked around, "But where's Tai?"
Kari smiled as she placed the cat into Agumon's arms. "That's Tai."
Agumon lifted the cat so he could look into his eyes. "Tai? What happened to you?"
"In a few minutes," Sara said, "Kari and Tai, there are three others here."
Kari turned to look at two human looking creatures that were about half her height. One was a male, with long brown hair and small bat wing-like ears stick out of his head. He wore torn red pants and a torn red t-shirt. He had a red dinosaur tail that stuck out of his tail bone. "Takato?" Kari asked, "Is that you?"
"Yeah. I am a perfect fusion of Takato and Guilmon. You should see Rika."
Kari looked over at the other human/digimon. This was a girl with long brown hair and two fox ears. She wore a sleeveless yellow body suit and had a large bushy tail. "Rika?" Kari chuckled slightly.
The fox girl crossed her arms. "Laugh all you want, but it's not going to change anything."
"Sorry," she giggled.
Sara mentioned to another figure. "One more person."
Kari and Sora looked at the person and gasped. The person standing there was a girl, but one that was an exact duplicate of Tai.
The girl shrugged slightly. "You know, this is a little weird for me too."
"Sorry," Kari said, "You're the sister of the Tai that's…having problems, aren't you?"
Female Tai nodded. "Yeah, but, I'm here to help you so we can save Kari..my brother's life."
Kari turned to Sam. "Does this mean you took the other Kari to your world?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah. Henry and Suzie are watching him. Hopefully he'll be okay until we get his Light powers back."
"Okay," Sara said, "Now that we're all here, let me explain what's going on."
She quickly retold everything that had happened up to that point, including Dark Sora and her strange tournament. Sora shuttered. "I can't believe that there's another me out there that's such a…"
"Witch?" Kari asked.
"Well, I was going to use the 'b' word, but I guess that works too."
"Our biggest problem right now is finding out what Dark Ryo is planning," Takato said, "So far, we've been able to determine that he is looking for kids that have a small amount of time and space powers inside of them."
"You mean the Dark Spore kids?" Sora asked, "A lot of them have gone missing. We just thought it was Oikawa taking them."
"We've noticed that there's a lot of this time and space energy in North America too." Takato continued, " If Dark Ryo keeps teleporting over there, then there has to be something there that he wants."
"So, we're going over there?" Sora asked.
"Tomorrow," Sara said, "We've got to move Tai out of that cat body. We can't create a body, so we're just going to move his body into Female Tai's body."
"What?" she gasped, "You mean…?"
"You'll still be in control," she said, "Just, you'll have a passenger."
Female Tai struggled for something to say, but just sighed. "Alright, if it means getting saving my brother, I'll do it."
"Once we find Ryo, we can have another body created for Tai."
Kari nodded. "And find out why he put me in that coma."
"Alright," Takato said, "We'll head out tomorrow and the first step to beating Dark Ryo once and for all!"
to be continued….
I know this wasn't anything spectacular; it was really just an introduction to the final story arc. So please keep reading.