"Huf..huf..huf" Mimi wheezed. It had been far too long since she walked anywhere, let alone for this long. It had been about half and hour since they left the safety of Genei's cabin, and now were trudging through the mid-day sun. The others seemed not to be bothered by the heat and brightness. Mimi, however, could barely stand it 'no..i can't complain.. I've already been too much of a bother.,. i can make it...' she was dehydrated, her throat gasping for moisture. 'I'll just slow down, and next time we pass some water, I'll take a quick gulp.'
Suddenly, Matt was beside her. "You need to drink something." He handed her his canteen. She smiled, and took a long gulp.
"..thanks." She said. He smiled back, and walked a bit faster to catch up with Tai. 'I can adjust to this..slowly.. Slowly... silence the voices...' mimi considered as she too quickened her pace. 'Everything i ever wanted is here now. I can just forget the past, and look into my future...eventually. I can do it... i hope..'
"She's looking better today" Tai whispered to Matt.
"Yeah...but...she still not herself...she's trying so hard to be her again... it's really putting a strain on her.."
"We'll just have to make sure we don't push her too fast. She'll adjust all in good time." Tai smiled.
"Yeah..."Matt turned to look at Mimi. She was trudging forward, though anyone could see the weakness that radiated from her entire being."..i wish we just could have left her at Genei's. It's so painful to see her like this..."
"I know. But..now that she's here..it's better she be part of this, don't you think, Sora?"
"Yep. She's just as deserving as any of us...if not more so..to witness this." Sora said, linking arms with Tai.
"Yeah..." 'What do they mean by 'this'?' Matt wondered 'they know what were doing? Well..i guess they must... otherwise..hmm..but..what could it be? I wonder if they think we can..'
"How you holding up?" T.K. said, breaking Matt's train of thought.
"O.K. Better, I guess."Matt shrugged. The two brothers fell back a bit, so that the group was moving a few feet ahead of them. Kari had gone over to help Mimi out when T.K. had started to talk to Matt.
"So.." T.K. stared blankly forward, smiling slightly.
"So.." Matt replied. There was a long, uncomfortable silence. Finally, T.K. sighed and spoke.
"This is weird, huh? It's like nothings different..even though everything is.. And yet here we are..all of us... back in the digital world, like nothing happened. Like were just kids again, back when we were always trying to get home. Back when we had a home to go to.
Every night, I miss that.. It's so much more painful just being here, and knowing it's not the same, and that it's never going to be the same. Isn't that just so ... weird? We've all experienced so many things since then, nothing will ever be the same again... and everyone keeps on saying how since Mimi has come back, we're a team again..but that's not true. We'll never be like that again, will we? And even if we were, our team is always going to be one member short."He pointed to a gap between Ken and Cody, closed his eyes, and smiled
"If I close my eyes, i can see him walking there, laughing, just like he should be..."his eyes popped opened. A frown crept onto his face.
"But I eventually have to open my eyes and realize how different things are now. He's gone, and no matter what, he's not coming back. Davis died a long time ago, but so did all of us. We all died when this all started, it's just taking the rest of us longer to accept that." He sighed and stopped walking
"we'll never be the people we once were ever again. All we are now ..just hollow shells of what we once were...there's no getting the real us back, Matt. We just have to solider through this."
Matt was silent. He let it all sink in."...T.K..."
T.K. laughed nervously. "Sorry...got a bit carried away..too many sleepless nights..you know, you get to thinking all these depressing thoughts..before I knew it I was just spewing all them out..I'm really sorry..this is a happy time, right? Everything's right again..."
"No, it isn't. You're right. Davis..Davis is gone.. I think the rest of us, the older bunch..we sometimes don't really think about that when we say stuff. We hardly knew him, and we ..I..I'm sorry that we don't treat his life with more respect. You're right, our team will always be lacking without him, the younger generations is short a leader .."
"He was a person Matt, not a executive position. We miss him as a friend, not his keen guidance." T.K. said bitterly.
"I know, I... I'm saying this all wrong... I'm no good with words...I'll ..I'll just try harder to understand what all this is like for you, and the others. I've never lost a teammate, and the only one I've ever misplaced just came back...but...you're right.. Everyone here..they're more than just my teammates, they're my friends. They are my family. The only family I have now, and when i think about it like that, i realize just what a hole Davis has left on all of our lives, i can't even imagine how deep the cuts are in your lives, the lives of his true friends... but I'll try harder..." Matt looked long and hard at his brother. He notice just how much he had change. Somewhere along the way, he stopped being a child, and became a man. He hardly recognized his cynical adult that used to be his younger brother. "...we are all so different..." he whispered. He look towards Mimi "..hopefully not too different..."
"Our bonds are stronger than the effects of time Matt, no matter what, we've all changed together. Evolved. As will our relationship. No matter how much we change, I'm still your brother, and you're still mine. These people..will always be our teammates...and our dearest friends... and most of all, anything we once felt...could be again..." He smiled. "I better go..thanks for listing to me, bro..." He put one hand on Matt's shoulder, and walked off towards Kari.
"Yeah... you're welcome ...'bro'"
Matt looked almost longingly at his brother. 'When did all that happen? How did i miss T.K. growing up? ..I've..I've been so out of it..for so long..it's not fair..we have all missed out on life. Sometimes I wonder if this has been worth it...' his thoughts trailed off as he took in his surroundings. He could never get over how crisp the air was in the digital world. Free of pollution, it seemed like he breathed in life, peace. Best of all, it gave him strength.
"Look at all them." Izzy said, smiling.
"Hmm?" Joe asked, only half paying attention. He was more focussed on the bracelet on his arm.
"Them! It's like watching a bunch of teenagers!"
"Umm..Iz? We ARE teenagers!"
"...are we?" Izzy did some rough calculations. "I'd say young adults, at least..early twenties..late teens.. Unless..hmm..what year is it?"
Joe rolled his eyes "never mind, Izzy. It's not important."
"Yes. soon...perhaps soon none of this will matter." Cody said, quietly.
"Ah! God! Don't DO that!" Izzy jumped.
"Very sorry." Cody glanced at him, then continued walking alone.
"Strange kid... so quiet..and very creepy.." Izzy said, scratching his head.
"He was always quiet..but..hmm.. You almost feel bad for him. The rest of us at least have some sort of friend base. Cody's always been a loner." Yolei said, as her and ken joined up with joe and izzy.
"Very disturbingly dark prophet." Joe shuddered "what does he mean soon none of this will matter?"
Ken shrugged " Who knows?"
"I know this path..." T.K. whispered, stopped. "..it seems so familiar... like I've travelled through this way before.. Like it meant something..." Suddenly he grinned and broke into a run "Come on Kari! You're brother.. He ... follow me everyone!" Tai just smiled as T.K. ran out in front of him and turned the corner into the woods.
"We're not going through the woods are we?" Yolei whined. "Somebody get T.K. outta there so we can continue on..."
"He's figured it out, Yolei. We are going through there. T.K. might even have made it there my now." Sora said, smiling.
"Wait up T.K.!" Kari called out, running into the woods after him
"What the hell is going on Tai?" Matt said. "What kind of dream are we chasing here?"
"A dream of freedom, Matt. We will stand tall once more..." with that he followed his sister through the trees, Sora in tow.
Everyone glanced at each other.
"Shall we, then?" Ken said, grabbing Yolei's hand walking into the woods.
"Well, Tai hopefully knows what he's doing... come on guys!" Izzy said, as he, Joe and Cody set off into the trees after them.
Mimi smiled softly at Matt, and, upon noticing everyone else was already gone, blushed.
"we...we should follow them" Matt stuttered, stepping towards her.
You know i want you
"Yeah... otherwise we might get lost..." Mimi said quietly, looking into Matt's eyes. He took her hand. She winced, but as he tried to back away, she drew him back. "It's okay... " she reached up and brushed his hair out of his face "..if it's you. I'm not scared .. I feel safe."
too much
Matt drew her closer to him, embracing her. "Mimi... you don't know how much i wish that were true..."
you know it kills me
Tears began to form in Mimi's eyes. "Me too... I mean, it is...it will be.." She buried her face into his chest. "...soon"
your fault
Matt cradled her face in his hand, gently wiping away her tears. "I sorta wanna kiss you right now."
i want to scream i want to cry
Mimi grinned " and I sorta wouldn't mind if you did." she said, wrapping her arms behind his head. Matt leaned forward...
just to save myself
just one last time
Breakdown, Joydrop
"Matt! You coming?" Izzy called, thrashing out of the woods. Matt drew back, and turned to face Izzy. "...Opps..."
Matt looked from Izzy to Mimi then back again "She..um...slipped?"he said hopelessly.
Izzy grinned "yeah, right, where have i heard that before? Sorry guys..but you better hurry! Tai's moving pretty fast, we don't wanna lose them."
"Come on, Meems, we better go..." Matt said, taking her hand. She paused slightly, her hand twitching.
"...Let's." she said finally, gripping his hand tightly and grinning. They followed Izzy into the woods.
"There's not much of a path... i know this bit, but I had Ken leave some markers for us up ahead..." Izzy said, pushing tree branches out of his way. After about two minutes of walking, they came to the first marker, a strip of fabric tied to a tree. Izzy grinned. "Let's pick up the pace... i left them here around five minutes ago, they can't be that far ahead" The three broke out into a run, passing three more markers.
"Race ya to the next marker!" Matt said, letting go of Mimi's hand. She laughed.
"Come on! That's not fair! You got a head start!" She called ahead, running faster. The wind swept her hair from her face, she was laughing as she ran.
"Hey! I think the woods end here!" Izzy called back. Soon he disappeared behind several trees into the blinding light just ahead.
"Pick up the pace Meems, 'else I'm gonna win!" Matt called, turning back to flash her a grin. Then he too disappeared from sight. Seconds later Mimi reached the light.
'Once i pass through here...I'll leave this darkness behind...' She thought, wiping away the sweat from her brow. She drew in a deep breathe, closed her eyes, and ran through the last of the foliage.
When she opened her eyes, she saw Matt standing still about an inch in front of her. "O!" she squeaked, trying to stop, but ending up just running into him softly. He reached his arm back and drew her forward, holding her close to him. She suddenly saw what had made him stop dead in his tracks. She gasped.
"Welcome" T.K. said "To Primary Village."