Hey guys we're back with another chapter. Sorry if it seems a little short but I think you're going to enjoy it. We're finally going to see our buddy Takuya and see just what kind of situation he's in right now.
WARNING: Some of the content ahead and in later chapters will contain gratuitous violence and disturbing imagery so we're going to boost the rating from T to M just to be safe.
I won't be doing my usual thing this time around just so it doesn't distract from the message up ahead but I'll get back to it the next go around. Anyway, let's get on with the show.
Chapter 30: Burn It Down.
Takuya moaned softly, his body aching. He felt stiff and drowsy. He tried to sit up, finding his movements restricted. Something held him down across his chest. Takuya opened his eyes, squinting in the brilliant fluorescent lights over head.
"Sir- sir he's awake!" Voices and the sounds of people shuffling about could be heard. Takuya strained to clear his vision and look at his surroundings.
A figure moved into his line of vision. "Hideous little freak of nature it is..." the figure mused with a deep, gruff voice. Takuya flinched at the word freak, feeling pain and sadness well in his chest. The man stroked Takuya's face with rough hands. He yelped at his touch, trying to pull away.
"It's too lively. Calm it down," the man instructed, backing out of Takuya's line of sight. He felt a pinch in his arm as another figure moved over him. They pulled an expelled syringe from his arm, and moved away. He suddenly felt sick and drowsier than before. His vision blurred and he passed out, still strapped down to a medical examination table.
Takuya gave another weak moan as he woke himself up again. He was still stiff and what's more, his arm ached from where the injection was administered. Takuya couldn't find the strength to move so he just laid there on the cold metal table.
The boy tried to get a better understanding of his surroundings but found nothing; he couldn't pick up any sound, all he could smell was the sterile cleaning agent. All he could feel was the cold metal on his back and the florescent light above him. Aside from that it was completely blank.
Where was he? Takuya tried his best to understand but he just couldn't figure it out and that terrified him. He tried getting up again but he was still strapped down.
Takuya tried summoning his flames but he felt weak, not even able to light a match light much less anything larger.
A door opened and Takuya made out the sounds of footsteps approaching him. "It's awake again. It looks like its vitals are stable though."
The same man from before moved into Takuya's line of sight. Takuya felt a shiver run up his spine as the man drew closer. "What a beast..." the man said, "How soon can we take it?"
A female voice rang out, clear and stern. "Not in the foreseeable future General. We're to study it, determine its origins and abilities. You can have it once we're finish with our analysis."
The man sputtered in protest. "You can't do that!"
"Actually, we can. Orders from your superiors. They want to have all the facts before trying to weaponize it."
Weaponize? Takuya tensed. They were planning to turn him into a weapon? That didn't sound good in the slightest. It also made him wonder how long have they been watching him? Planning to move in and take him?
The man sighed in aggravation and relented. "Fine. Just try to be quick about it. We have to be ready if more of those things decide to show up. You saw the destructive power those big ones had."
"We know, you don't have to tell us that. We'll try to be swift with our work." The woman replied.
Takuya groaned weakly, unintentionally getting their attention. He was struggling weakly against the restraints, panic slowly ebbing away at him.
"It's perfectly sedated, correct?" the man asked. "Of course. It won't be able to move for some time. We have nothing to be afraid of."
She ushered the man out of the room. More scientists entered and surrounded Takuya. "You heard the man, let's start with the preliminaries. I want blood for tests and samples, a full body scan and a physical."
Hands grabbed the boy, examining his body. Takuya whimpered softly as the scientist probed his body, taking blood sample after blood sample. They pulled and cut out hair from his mane and tail. Another one pulled his gloves and shoulder guards off his arms.
He paled as they started to strip him of his cloths. He knew they would invade his privacy eventually but so soon? He whimpered softly, closing his eyes tightly. Cold, gloved hands ran their fingers along his abdomen.
Takuya panicked, flames licked around his fingers. The scientists backed away, "Sedate him again!" Takuya whined weakly, feeling the sedatives take him over once again. He tried his best to resist but he eventually succumbed and everything went black.
"That was a close call." One of them muttered. "I didn't think it'd be able to make fire in its condition."
"We're aware of its capabilities. We just need to keep it tranquilized until we're ready for further testing." The female doctor told them and looked Takuya over carefully. "We need to get back to work."
The other doctors nodded weakly and slowly got back to work on their examination.
Kouji felt like he was going to be sick. His parents would be home any minute and he had already agreed to tell them from the get-go about his new found abilities. He knew they would accept him in the end, he mostly worried about the panic and possible freak out that would follow immediately after he told them.
His mother stood beside him, both waiting at the front door. Kouichi hung back in the living room, ready to diffuse any bad arguments that could arise.
The door clicked and swung open. "Kouji! Thank goodness, I'm so glad you made it home safely!" Satomi exclaimed, dropping her bag and hugging the boy.
"What the hell is going on in this city..." Kousei asked, looking at Tomoko for a response.
She shook her head, "Some creatures attacked the city- like Takuya, but pure evil. He's been taken..."
Satomi gasped, "That poor child..."
"T-there's something else..." Kouji began, "When Takuya disappeared... I..." he paused, gathering himself. He shifted into Strabimon to make a point, "I can do the same thing now..."
To say the least the couple was surprised to see that their son transform into a white wolf. They understood what happened to Takuya but it still came as a shock to find that Kouji could now do the same.
"H-how did this happen?" Satomi asked and approached the wolf boy to get a better understanding of the situation.
"I don't know… It just started happening after what happened in the city." Kouji responded, feeling uncomfortable under their gaze.
Kousei put a hand on his son's furry shoulder trying to reassure him but he still had questions of his own. "Are you going to be okay? Do you think those things will come after you too?"
Kouji shook his head uncertainly. "I'm not sure. Right now, I'm just worried about Takuya."
"Does his family know about any of this?" Satomi asked but stopped when she noticed her son tense up at the mention of the Kanbaras. From what she could see Kouji was suppressing the urge to growl.
"Presently no," Tomoko filled in, recalling the encounter with the boy's father. "Honestly, I'm not sure we should tell them unless they ask."
Satomi nodded, catching the edge in the woman's voice. "Then how can we help Takuya?" she asked softly.
The group fell silent, not sure how to proceed or what to do. They had no idea where he had gone, or who could have taken him. Kouji knew that his best friend needed him and it killed him inside not knowing how to help.
"Why don't we settle down, get something to eat and figure this out calmly?" Kousei suggested.
After a few murmured agreements, Mr. Minamoto went to prepare something for the family to eat. Kouji shifted back to his human form and followed his mothers into the living room with Kouichi. His twin offered him a small smile and laid a hand on Kouji's shoulder. "It'll be alright, brother."
"I sure hope so Kouichi…" His brother replied and sat down beside him on the couch.
"We'll find him somehow. We just need to be patient." The elder twin continued and sighed, looking deep in thought. "I suppose the first thing we need to do is help you train to prepare yourself for anything that might happen."
Kouji nodded in agreement. The training was their best option until they had a better idea of where Takuya was. It was better than simply doing nothing and hoping for the best. In addition, Kouji was never one for standing idly as a situation progresses.
"First thing tomorrow we're going to the training course. I want to see what I can do." Kouji stated to his brother.
Takuya woke hours later. He lay on a concrete floor in a simplistic room. He pushed himself upright slowly, his head aching. Where? He blinked and tried to get his bearings.
The room he sat in was stone cold and bare save for a simple mat in the corner of the room. He shivered from the cold, and moved to the mat, hoping it would offer a bit of comfort.
He minded several sore spots on his body, vaguely wondering what had occurred. At the same time he didn't want to know.
He was glad to at least had his clothes with him. Takuya was relieved to at least have these back after they disrobed him. It offered some relief but it wasn't enough to make him feel any better.
The boy was still alone in this strange place and still in a great deal of pain.
Takuya shuddered and curled up tight with his back to the corner and tried breathing a light flame into his hands to keep him warm. It was weak but it offered a little warmth, which was greatly appreciated.
A siren went off, startling the boy, as ducts on the ceiling opened up and released flame retardant into the room.
The substance extinguished the flames and chilled the boy to the bone. It stuck to his mane and tail and sucked the heat out of his body. He pulled at the sticky substance, trying to remove it. A soft whimper escaped him.
He was all alone, no one could come to his rescue here. His stomach growled with hunger. Takuya couldn't remember when he last had food. He vaguely wondered if his captors would provide food, hoping they weren't stupid enough to let him starve.
The sound of water flowing jerked him from his thoughts. He sat up slowly, looking around the room. He found the source to be a small hole in the wall on the far side of the room. The water poured from the hole, filling a small recess in the floor.
Takuya got up on all fours, and prowled cautiously towards the water. His lips were dry and cracked; the sheer thought of a drink excited him. He looked into the small basin, inspecting the water half expecting it to be drugged.
It smelled all right, and looked perfectly clear. Takuya deemed it safe enough to drink. The pool was too shallow for him to scoop water up into his hands. He had to resort to lapping it up like an animal. He felt humiliated; knowing someone somewhere was observing him no doubt.
Deciding that his thirst beat his humiliation, Takuya swallowed his pride and lapped up the water, guzzling it down in long thirsty gulps. He sighed weakly and pulled away from the pool.
The Digimon boy wiped his face dry and examined the room again in search of any food that might be left for him. With nothing to be found, Takuya curled up against the wall and closed his eyes, trying to imagine himself back home to an easier time before his life went to hell.
Things did seem to go from bad to worse for him. But now, it was a whole new kind of bad. He had no idea what to expect. These people could do whatever they want to him and there was nothing he could do about it.
Takuya whimpered and curled up tighter, holding his legs tightly against his chest. How he wished he could return his normal life again.
True to his word, the group had met up at the closed off area at Takuya's school. The field had remained untouched after their previous visit. Just like before, it offered the perfect place for privacy.
Kouji was first to arrive, having wanted to get started right away with his training. The sooner he had control over his new forms the better. His first exercise were to maintain and control his form changes.
"You ready brother?" Kouichi asked, having followed his brother from the house. The younger twin nodded. "Good, let's start by just getting control over your new form."
"Alright." Kouji inhaled and tried to transform into Strabimon. Nothing happened.
Kouji made a face. "What's wrong?" Kouichi asked.
"I... I can't do it..." the younger boy muttered.
"Just relax, and try again."
The boy scowled in frustration and tried a second time to evolve into the wolf Digimon.
Again, nothing happened; no bright light or sudden changes. Kouji stayed human and that just made the boy feel even more frustrated with himself.
"Okay, let's just take a moment." Kouichi started, trying to calm his brother down. "How did you digivolve back at the house yesterday?"
"I just… did it. I thought of trying to evolve and I evolved." the younger twin ran his fingers through his hair, attempting to recreate the scenario in his mind. "I just made it happen."
Kouichi sighed. He knew his brother was getting irritated with their lack of success. "Well, with Takuya he said he had to accept his new form before he could really control it. Maybe you still need to accept your new form before you can evolve at will."
The bandanna-wearing boy absorbed his brother's words and let the thought linger in his mind. Accepting his new form? Sure he was still a little shocked with everything that's happened but he thought he had accepted the facts already. Did he really still have issues accepting it?
"I don't think that's my problem is acceptance," Kouji said softly.
The elder twin sighed, "You're being difficult."
"I am not!" Kouji shot back heatedly.
"Maybe you're trying too hard," Kouichi sighed.
Kouji glared at his brother. "It can't be that!"
Kouichi held his hands up defensively. "Easy Kouji. I'm just trying to help. You need to calm down. Getting stressed out isn't going to help the situation."
The aggravated teen growled in response. He didn't notice, however, how his teeth grew sharp or how his eyes turned red. He did notice though how frightened his brother looked. "What?"
"Your eyes… and your teeth." The older brother answered nervously.
Kouji blinked and ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling the sharp points. "What the… how'd that happen?"
Kouichi shrugged, "I'm not sure, but clearly stress induces the Digimon side."
The boy snorted, "Clearly." He focused on making the teeth return to normal, finding it difficult to make them retract.
"Hey guys!" Tommy called, running up. The twins turned to see the younger boy running up to them, "How're you feeling Kouji?"
Kouji growled in response. Kouichi rolled his eyes, "He's having trouble."
"I am not!"
"He's having trouble changing into his Digimon form." Kouichi finished, ignoring his brother's dangerous glare. "And it's just agitating him."
Tommy nodded, accepting the older twin's reply. Kouji looked absolutely livid.
"Well screw you guys." The bandanna wearing teen muttered and tried again at evolving and failing once more. With each failure Kouji had, the angrier he seemed to get. "Damn it!"
"I think he seriously needs to calm down." Tommy stated to the older twin, who nodded in agreement. They sighed in unison and waited patiently for Kouji to calm down. As they waited JP had arrived, joining them.
The eldest stood beside the two and noticed the frustrated look on Kouji's face. "Is he going to be okay?"
"He might explode," Kouichi said nonchalantly. JP raised a questioning eyebrow to the elder twin's comment. "He can't evolve."
"I can so!" Kouji snapped eyes rimmed with red again.
JP flinched away nervously, "yikes?"
"You'll get used to it," Kouichi replied with a light shrug. "He's not after us, just can't seem to get his Digimon side to cooperate."
"If you say so..." JP replied, taking a seat next to Tommy, "How long has he been trying?"
"Two hours," Tommy said, "and he's gotten no where."
"Shut up!" Kouji snapped again and started fiddling with the D-Tector, mashing the buttons to try and make it do something. "Stupid piece of junk!"
JP awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "Should we do something? Before he breaks it?"
"I'm not sure if that's a good idea." Tommy muttered. "I've never seen Kouji get this angry before."
"You should have seen him when he was arguing with Mr. Kanbara." The older twin stated and shivered at the memory. "He looked like he would have bitten the man's head off."
JP gulped. "Damn. That must have been terrifying."
Kouichi nodded. "It scared the crap out of him. Mom was kinda scary too though."
"Seems like we know where Kouji gets his scary from then." JP observed.
The elder twin chuckled to himself, "Yeah, my mother... she's something else."
Kouji threw his hands up in frustration and shouted, "Why can't I evolve!?" He fell to his knees, hands balled into fists. He growled to himself in pure, frustrated rage.
"Time to calm him down," Kouichi stated as he went to his brother's side. He knelt beside Kouji and laid a hand on his back. "Brother,"
"What?" Kouji snapped.
Kouichi forced him to look him in the eye. "You need to get a grip and calm down."
"I am calm," the younger boy muttered, glowering at the futility of his situation. He sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Look, I just need some time to myself okay. All this talking's just distracting."
The boys watched as Kouji stepped away from them and further down to the soccer field. JP and Tommy had turned to the Kimura to see if he had any other input on Kouji's situation.
"Look, Kouji's making at least a little progress, let's leave it at that." Kouichi sighed weakly.
JP and Tommy turned to each other and they just shrugged. At this point what more could they do? It all depended on Kouji to master his Digimon form.
Kouji found a tall shady tree to sit under and crossed his arms across his chest. "Stupid D-Tector…" he muttered to himself and took out the device once more, sneering down at the small screen.
He pulled his bandanna from around his head and clenched it tight in his hand, feeling like he could rip the blue tiger striped cloth in his hand out of pure anger.
Just, what wasn't he getting? What was he doing wrong? What was he missing? What was keeping him from mastering his Digimon form?
These questions just picked and prodded at his mind and they just fueled his burning anger. And everyone's insistences for him to be patient only made it feel all the more unbearable.
He didn't have the time to be patient. As much as he wished he could, he just couldn't afford to be patient. Every second wasted is a second that Takuya may be enduring in helpless pain.
Just thinking about Takuya made his mind drown with worry. So many things could happen to their lost friend, and that scared him.
Kouji looked back down at the D-Tector. "Lobomon… KendoGarurumon…" he muttered softly, hoping to have a reaction from the spirits within. He knew they were in there and if he knew anything, it was that they would be able to give him the wisdom to overcome his inability.
He just needed one little push in the right direction.
