Dreams End

Chapter 4-The Hatred of Knowledge

Neko Kamiya

***Disclaimer*** ~I don't own Digimon or any of it's characters.~***Disclaimer***

||This story was written over a four year period.

I'm simply posting it again, in order to *finally* finish it.

I just need closure on this fic.||

"Ugh!"Izzy proclaimed under his breathe, as he stepped into a pile of some odd sticky substance. He sighed inwardly as he scrapped his old, worn out army boots against the concrete walls of the subway line. 'Why are we partaking on this meaningless gathering mission? From the sound of these goods... God only knows what ludicrous concept Tai has in mind. I don't believe he's even told Sora everything. These items, I sense they are for something, I know what it is.....but I cannot entirely recall. It's so infuriating! If I only knew what the others were searching for, I could determine what it was! Of course, Tai did this intentionally. He must have arranged it so the products I would be retrieving would not disclose to me what his plans were. Tai seems to get smarter everyday. He leads us on to believe him to be a smidgen daft but he's really quite the genius..... well, perhaps 'genius' is too strong a word, but smart at very least. God, what else is he camouflaging under his ignorant act? Then again, he always seems rather smart, when it comes to his leader abilities. He seems to always make good decisions. Maybe I should just trust his judgement now, believe he's thinking about what's best for us, being a good leader. That's our Tai........'

"AHH!" Izzy scream suddenly, as he tripped over a train track, and face first into the muddy ground.

"You should watch where you're going, man!"Matt said with a chuckle, as he helped his smart friend out of the mud.

"Yeah..... I guess I was just caught up in my thoughts."

"Like that's something new! Good old Izzy, always busy thinking! Just remember us real people! Don't always get caught up in your own thoughts."

"I will try" Izzy said , with a forced grin.

"Okay, guys! We're pretty much there. We'll go top bound after this next turn. Stay close together, and nobody wander off. If this all goes smoothly, we should be back within then next two hours."Joe said, suddenly. He hadn't said a word since they had started walking down the subway line. The other two didn't say much either. Matt had been humming a song by a group called Placebo, who he swore to be 'one of the greatest bands ever' , even though Izzy and Joe only knew about them from Matt's many speeches about them.

"Great! It's about time we get out of here!" Matt proclaimed, with a little too much enthusiasm. Joe and Izzy both knew that Matt was just as scared as they were of what they now referred to as 'the top world'. Their old home had become such a terrible place, filled with mass destruction.

All three of the guys hated going there, and knew that whenever they did, the reasons were very important. They turned the corner and prepared to embark on the worst part of this mission, the search.

As they reached the top of the subway stairs, Joe signalled them to follow him. Matt and Izzy nodded slightly. Matt turned his head, to ensure Izzy had caught the signal. What he saw scared him more than anything else that had happen. Izzy, the calm, collected smart one of the group, had a glint in his eye. The look that now appeared on his face was of pure hatred. ' I wonder was up with that?' Matt thought, 'Izzy doesn't hate! It's just 'not conceivable'! I'll have to speak with him.....aw crap! I hate that 'share your emotion with me' stuff.' Matt sighed ' Oh well, I guess I have no choice, I'll just put it on my mental list of things to do that I normally would never. That list is getting rather long...'Matt turned and followed Joe's lead. ' No time for that now, let's just get this over with!'

Izzy notice Matt's concerned look ' So Sorry, Matt !' His thoughts were dripping with sarcasm and hate. 'So sorry you have to realize I'm a person too! Yes, I know it's hard to believe. Izzy, hate? Never!!' He blew a strand of his auburn red hair from his eyes. It had grown rather long, and lost some of it's spiked quality. His hair looked a lot like Matt's once did. He had trouble getting used to the longer hair, but he was starting to sort of like it. 'That's probably what you believe, what you need to believe. You need to believe that because I'm smart, I have no feelings. That way, you needn't concern yourself with them.' Izzy suddenly heard his thoughts, and snapped out of it. ' What am I thinking? Talk about self pity!' he kicked a pebble, and heard a small 'ping' as it hit an abandoned car. ' Maybe I'm too serious, maybe that's why this is bugging me so much. Hey... my thoughts seem to be lacking the usual excess of long, confusing words! And yet, I feel much more.......at ease. Maybe that was the problem!' Izzy chuckled very softly 'That's so very stupid! If I talk more...normally, I won't be angry? Well, that means if I grunt and groan like a damn primitive I'll be absolutely ecstatic! Sometimes, I have the strangest thoughts.'

Izzy suddenly snapped back to reality when he notice they were in front of what used to be his favourite electronics store. Their first location.

"In and out. Quickly." Joe barely whispered. They had gotten this far with no trouble, The mid- day sun was just rising. Most of the horror would occur after dark. Matt turn and saw an enormous Digimon attacking another giant Digimon not too far off in the distance. It had gotten to the point where he could care less what type they were, let alone remember. All he knew was they destroyed his home, family, and world. He rushed into the small electronics store.

The three boys split up within, each looking for one, small part. The store was a wreak. Almost everything was broken and charred. They didn't really expect to find everything they were looking for in that one shot, they'd have more stores to check out, and, if it came down to it, burned out shells once known as homes to raid.

About a hour later, Joe, Matt and Izzy ducked out of one, last store. They had retrieved all the parts they had been asked to retrieve. They began to slink to the closest sewage pipe. 'Well, that was easy' Joe thought. ' A little to easy.... we got in and out, got everything , and no attack? Not even a threat of an attack? Impossible!'Just as Joe finished his thought, the ground in front of them was hit by a fire ball, and burst into flames.

"I guess I thought too soon" Joe murmured." "This way!" He called to Matt and Izzy.

"We're right behind you! Lead the way." Matt said. They ducked behind a crumbling brick wall. Joe waited.

" I don't think they saw us." He finally said. " But, we'll have to stay put until they leave." The three young men slumped down, and sat, and waited in fear for the goliath monsters to leave.

They waited, and waited. Izzy closed his eyes, and crossed his legs. He fell deep in his spider webs of confusing and baffling thoughts. Joe was still tense, looking over the side of the wall, watching the Digimon battle. Matt , however, was strangely at peace. He sat and watched the sun set. His eyes fluttered shut. 'It's been so long, so very long since I've seen that. I mean, outside and all. There is something so relaxing about it. The air seems to change with the setting of the sun. It's calmer, serine.' A cool, gentle breeze blew by, as if to prove Matt's thoughts. 'I can almost feel her presence , as if she's here with me. Mimi.....' He pictured her sitting beside him, Her hair was being lightly tossed around by the soft wind. She brushed it back with her hand, and flashed him a sweet smile. 'It's so beautiful!' she whispered, in haunting, yet beautiful voice. She seemed so real. 'It's almost as if she's right here beside me!' Matt thought. He fought the urge to reach out and brush her hair from her face, knowing she wasn't really there, and that Joe and Izzy would think he had lost it. When he reopened his eyes, the sun was totally gone, and the moon was now out, the sky had become a blanket of soft, blinking lights.

"Can we leave yet?" Matt whined, softly.

"Almost...." Joe said, turning to him."They've just left....... as soon as their a safe distance, we'll go" About five minutes later, Joe decided it was safe, and they finally left for home.

Elsewhere, earlier.......

"Seems rather quiet today...... what luck!" Sora proclaimed. Her and Tai had worked rather fast, since they had known for so long what they were after.

"Thank God we're done, lets get out of here." Tai said, as he took Sora's hand.

"Good idea, this place gives me the creeps!" Sora looked around . Not too far off in the distance, she saw their old high school, or at least what was left of it. Her heart sank, as the reality of their situation once again became all too real. 'I had such high ambitions for myself.... how much I wish I could have attended University! It was my dream. I always wished I could be really smart , like Izzy. I was so sure that if I could just make it there, I'd achieve that dream. As of now, I haven't even graduated high school! How sad is that? What am I now? 19? 20? I should be there right now....... my dreams have been crushed forever........Why? Why do dreams have to end?'

"Let's get going, then" Tai said, but Sora wasn't listening. "Sora? Honey?" He followed her gaze to the high school. 'I can't believe that I was once a student there! That .....thing looks like a pile of rubble. So many things that used to be so real to us... now lay in ruins. Thank God we're no where near my old apartment building... I don't think I could stand see that........' He snapped out of his thoughts, and turned back to Sora.

"We have to head back now, It'll start getting dark soon, we still got to get back, and that'll take a good hour. We don't want to be out after dark." He said, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Hmh? Oh......yeah.........right" She mumbled. He wrapped his arm around her, and turn, guiding her away from the bad memories, and crushed dreams. She put her head on his shoulder, and wept softly at the sad truth that was their lives.

"Now, come on. There's no need for that!" Tai said, as he stopped, and wiped her tears away.

"I'm... I'm sorry , Tai." She sniffed "It's just........ it's all gone. What kind of future do we have? We live in the damn sewer line! What the point? Why go on?" Tai face suddenly filled with rage. He looked as if he would slap Sora. He snapped out of it, and the sweet, loving look that usually graced his face returned.

"There is always reason to go on. To survive. I'm not going to sit back and watch the human species be wiped out! We have a future. Sure, It's not quite the one we were hoping for. But you know what? The way I see it, as long as your in it, I have a great future." He grinned in such a way that Sora had no choice but to believe him 'Oh Tai... That smile of yours could melt any girls heart' Sora thought lovingly.

"You're right Taichi. I've been focussing on the negatives. I've still got you, and you're all I really need." Her head once again returned to his shoulder, and they started back to the nearest subway station.

Elsewhere.......

Kari and T.K. walked down the old, broken streets of their old town in silence. She lingered only inches behind him, as if his shadow warded off the evils surrounding them. The musty air seemed heavy, and the silence and emptiness of the once bustling street was eerily haunting. Just looking at the crumbled store fronts that Kari used to shop at made her shiver. 'Thank God I don't have to see my old apartment like this. The memories would be beyond unbearable. It's so hard to believe this place used to be so lively. To think , this pile of burning rubble was the down town marketplace!' They had just finished picking up their good, and were on the way back. She suddenly realized that they had gone off course.

"T.K..... weren't we supposed to go the other way?" Kari questioned softly. He didn't reply, his eyes slowly fluttered shut, signifying he was lost in his thoughts. Their surrounding became more and more familiar.

"Hey!" Kari said suddenly "I know this route! I used to take it when ever I was heading to....." She stop walking, and brought her hand to her face, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Oh no..... T.K.! Why would you want to go there? The memories..... They'll be way too much... way too much for you to handle."The young woman pleaded "Please, just turn around and ....."

"And what!?!" T.K. sudden screams cut her off, as he spun to face her, his eyes a mixture of fear, terror, and evil. "Just let the memories haunt me forever? Just allow Davis, my Parents and Angemon to die night and night again, minute after minute! My God, Kari! I can't live like that! I can't kill Davis again! I can't watch as my parents burst into flames, screaming my name.... .That screaming never stops , Hikari, it never stops.... The last thing they'd ever say... It's all I can hear, over and over............ 'Takeru.......help....'! It's constant! I can't deal with it anymore! I can't see Davis turned to me with that look of bewilderment, as if it was all somehow my fault! I can't see Angemon shield me from the blast, sacrificing himself for me every night! That's no life. I have to go back, I have to see that there was no way...no way..." He trailed off.

"To save them?" Kari suggested. He nodded slowly. She went over to him. "Takeru... You have to realize, you were lucky to get out of there alive. There was nothing you could do to save them."

"LUCKY?" He shrieked. He turned around , putting his back to her. The sun was just setting over the rubble. "How could you call this luck? I'm living in a sewer, knowing I'm the reason four of the most important people in my life are dead. My brother won't even talked to me, even though he's my only living relative! I have no luck. I....." He paused, looking up at he setting sun, as it dropped finally out of sight "I wish I had really died that day. I'm already dead inside."Kari grabbed his shoulder, and spun him around abruptly. Tears streamed down her face. She raised her hand and slapped T.K. square on his cheek.

"Never say that! If you truly believe everything is lost, than you're not half the man I thought you were! What happened to you Takeru? Why do you say things like that? How could you ever wish you were dead? Think of everyone who would miss you, how could you want to hurt them like that?"She screamed at him, she was shaking with fear and pain.

"Who? Who would care? No one, that's who. I'm all alone now. No one would be hurt by my death." T.K. proclaim, his eyes were cold. He seemed to spit these word out, as if he realized they would sting Kari, but just didn't care. She stared at him.

"Thank you, T.K." She finally said, her voice cold enough to match his gaze. "Thank you for showing me I really don't know you as well as I thought I did. To think... I thought I lov.... well, I guess that doesn't matter now, because you don't give a shit about me, now do you?"T.K. just stared at her, his expression frozen.

"DO YOU?!?" She spit at him. He turned around again. "Screw this." She said quietly, and turned to walk away.

"Fine then, if you're gonna go, just hurry up a go. I don't care where you go, just as long as you leave me alone." He said.

"Consider me gone. Bye T.K., hope you realize you'll never see me again. God knows I never want to see you ever."

"See if I care, Kari! You're old enough to make your own decision. It's about time you stop just following others. It's always either what Tai or I tell you to do. You'll soon realize you can't survive without one of us." Kari turned and stared at the man she thought she loved.

"What? How dare you! I have a mind of my own!"

"Oh yeah? You never seem to show it! It's always 'What should we do, T.K.? What are we gonna Do, Tai? Should I do this, or that?' I don't think you've ever made you own choice. It's about time. You're 16..or are you 17 now? Hard to believe you still do whatever big brother asks you to!"

"Shut up! I do not! I have my own mind, I make my own decisions! I've done so lots of times!"

"Oh? Really? When?"

"I don't have to prove anything to you, Takeru! And, any ways, look who's taking! Not only do you do what ever Matt tells you, you listen to MY brother too! And as for Davis, all you ever did was resent every decision he made! You always thought you should lead, but really, you couldn't have done any better! "

"You know that's a lie! All of Davis good ideas were mine to begin with! That guy never made a good decision! "

"Don't speak so ill of the dead, mighty T.K. ! He did say one thing, at least, that was more right then I'd ever know!"

"Oh? And what was that?"

"He told me you were bad news, and that I should just forget about you! Look! He was right."

"Oh come on, he only said that because he had the hots for you!"

"Shut up! Davis is dead now! Thanks to you"She said the last part under her breath.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" He shrieked at her.

"It doesn't matter, you don't really listen to me anyway!"

"What-did-you-say?"

"You killed him, okay? It WAS your fault, so you should feel guilty!"

"How... how dare you?!? Though, at least now I know the truth.. you do blame me for his death..... Guess I was wrong about you, too. Thank you for showing me the real you."

" No, Takeru. I don't blame you for his death, I know you killed him. You were always jealousy of him." 'What the hell am I saying? I'd never blame T.K. for Davis death! T.K. wasn't jealousy.....was he?'

"You... you Bitch!" He gathered his fingers in to a fist, and pulled his arm back.

"So? You gonna hit me now? I should have known you were really so awful. I hate you, Takeru" She said his name like it was the dirt she walked on. With that, she ran off into the night. He dropped his arm.

"Good riddens" T.K. said "My life will be better if I never see her ever again. She can go to hell for all I care" He continue on to his old apartment.

When he arrived at the sight of the burning rubble, he was astonished that he was still alive.

"I really should have died" He said to the wind. "It's almost inconceivable that I got out of this alive." He began to pick through the rubble, looking for something, anything.

"Crap, there's nothing! Nothing at all!" He fell to the ground "Good lord, what have I done?" tears were once again streaming down his face. "I've really lost everything now.... Oh Kari, why? Why did I say those things to you? You were really all I had left, and I killed our relationship too. Just like ever thing in my life, gone, destroyed. All my fault. You'll never forgive me, God knows I wouldn't forgive me, so who could blame you?" He suddenly realized he was kneeling on something soft. He picked it up and blew the dust off of it. "Oh dear..." The thing he was holding was a stuffed animal Kari had bought for his birthday, which was have been about two weeks before his apartment had been destroyed. It was a pig with angel wings that was holding hands with a cat with angel wings.

"I just couldn't help myself!" Kari said, as she handed T.K. the gift bag. He opened it.

"I know it's not real... manly... but it was just so perfect!" She said with a giggle. He smiled.

"I love it, Kari! It's beyond perfect! Just don't let Patamon hear you, he hates being compared to pigs!" She laughed.

"I figured it would be the perfect memory of the digital world adventures we had together. The four of us were like an unbeatable force."She smiled "fighting with you by my side... that was the best feeling. I always felt safe and confidant." He smiled back.

"Thank you, Kari. I'll treasure this forever."

T.K. picked up the two joined stuffed animals. As he did, the last stitch connected the two hands together fell out, and the winged-cat fell to the ground.

Well, That's the end of chapter four... Questions? Comment? Concerns? Complaints?

A few things to mention...

1. Guess you're wondering what's happened to Mimi, eh? Sorry, you're gonna have to wait for the next chapter... or maybe the one after that....(hee hee hee)

2. Takari fans! Do not worry! This is (hopefully) but a bump on the road to true happiness for our two lovebirds!

3.Oh! Izzy just got sexier! And, girls, he's single!(not for long.... he hasn't met me yet!*remembers Izzy's a fictional character, along with all the other sexy guys in this story* damn!)

4.Some people were concerned about Tai's actions. As you could see in this one, his tendency to 'snap' is just the pressure of being a good leader getting to him. Nothing to fret about! He's not going evil!

5.Amazingly, Tai and Sora's relationship seems to be much stronger than T.K. and Kari's! Notice that both faced the same problem, and Tai was able to turn it into something to bring them closer, while Kari blew it up into a fight. Maybe she could learn a thing or two from her brother.

An now, I'd like to thank reviewers, you guys are so sweet ! Thank you for liking this story so much! And extra thanks to those who keep on coming back for more. That's it for now! See you guys back soon (I hope.......)

,Neko Kamiya

This has been in memory of those Anime guys who have gone into the never ending world of reruns ...Heero ..Duo... Trowa.. Van.. Folken .....Tai....T.K... Matt.... Izzy..... love ya boys

PPS Watch Ranma1/2! Watch Ranma1/2! Watch Ranma1/2!(did it work? okay.. Let's try again..)Watch Records of Lodoss War! Watch Records of Lodoss War! Watch Records of Lodoss War!(how 'bout that time? Once more?) Watch Fushigi Yugi! Watch Fushigi Yugi! Watch Fushigi Yugi!(is this even working? Last one!) Watch Tattoon Master! Watch Tattoon Master! Watch Tattoon Master (oh...be warned about the last one though.... sick humour is a constant*and hilarious*)

|||Once again, this Fic was written over four years. I know the writing is dreadful, sorry. I just need to finally finish it. Fan Fiction deleted the first one since i broke some ruler without even knowing it, and i never bothered putting it back up. But, now, I just want to see it done. I worked so hard on this, back in the day... hope you all enjoy it.||||