Hi there guys. We're back again. You ready for another chapter? Let me tell ya, this one's gonna be rough on our favorite goggle head. It's a little short as well but we'll get a good view of what the boy's going through.

"SerenaTheHedgehog" - Sorry, that was just a typo. Took care of that. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

"BlueFlamedWolf" - Thanks! I'm amazed too with how far this story's gotten. It's also great knowing that you enjoy the fic so much. We'll be sure to keep the story goin' and we hope to hear from you next time.

"Akrisakara" - Yeah, Takuya's in a really bad spot. And it's only going to get much worse. Much much worse. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

"The Keeper of Worlds" - Kouji's really working hard to get this to work. Will he be able to master it in time to help our boy Takky? Who knows. WIth what we're going to see, who knows how long that boy will last.

"I have a dictionary here" - You don't have to worry about any kind of sex or anything like that. The rating's just changed for what we're going to see Takuya go through. If you guys think that it's tame enough, we'll bump it back down to T.

"DD Leader Dark heart of Water" - Those guys really have it rough huh? We just keep piling the shit on. And let's see, Zoe rubbing Kouji's ears... I'd say that would be better reserved for Tomoko or Satomi. Enjoy the chapter friend.

"Digi-fanCapp" - Well, we'd like to think we're good at the emotional stuff. FernClaw's a great angst writer and that definitely helps with the emotional manipulation.

"the-ice-cold-alchemist" - Well, that's man kind for you... or just the secret military faction. Military guys are often depicted pretty badly ya know. You'll see what I mean soon enough. Enjoy.

"DiaSphere" - A mark huh? Well, we tried with the - but if that's not noticeable then I'll try something else. Hope it helps.

"Digidestinedkid6" - Well, we wanted to give Kouji some time show just what he and the others are doing. This chapter however, is going to focus more on Takuya's condition. Hope you enjoy it.

"Spirit Dragoness" - Yeah, um, I'm pretty sure Takuya's all Digimon at the moment so they don't know any better and... they don't really care.

Okey doke. Now that we got through with this let's get going with the chapter shall we?

Chapter 31: Fallen.

He woke several hours later, feeling stiff and tired. He shifted uncomfortably, stretching slowly. The sound of a door opening made him sit up suddenly.

Part of the far wall slid open. Takuya instinctively backed up, feeling threatened. A scientist appeared in the doorway. Takuya hissed in fear as the man approached.

"Easy there, this won't hurt." He took out a long thin syringe. Takuya yelped, backing up against the wall.

The man lunged grabbing the boy and stuck Takuya in the arm. He cried out and struggled against the man's grip. He felt woozy.

Takuya tried his best to pull away but he felt his strength zapped from him and fell limp on the floor, his head hazy and unfocused. He didn't know what they were doing to him but he felt all too vulnerable.

The scientist watched Takuya for a brief moment with a notepad in his hands, jotting down the boy's reaction as the serum took effect on him.

He whined weakly as nausea took root in him. He managed to wrap his arms around his stomach as he tried to keep himself from getting sick on the floor. It was a terrible feeling that would not leave no matter how he wished it would.

"Interesting," the man muttered as he watched to poor creature suffering. He was fascinated with getting results, so much so that he felt no sympathy for the agonized boy.

Takuya whimpered softly as the man finished taking his notes. He reach out and pick the boy up by the scruff of his neck.

He groaned in pain, squirming weakly in the man's grasp. "Just stay still. It'll be over soon."

The small Digimon trembled with fear. What were they going to do to him? The man carried the boy out of the room and dropped him into a metal barred box on wheels. He closed the lid and began to push Takuya down the hall.

Takuya looked through the bars at the stark white hallway. They passed several doors before entering a pair of sliding glass doors at the end of the hall. The scientist unlatched the top of the crate and pulled the impaired Digimon out.

He dropped the boy on the floor and left the room, sealing the door behind him. Takuya looked up weakly, the room appeared bare and empty, but something about it felt sinister and deadly. He swallowed slowly, still fighting the nausea.

The boy sat against the wall for a moment, trying to regain his senses. He didn't know what was ahead of him but he wasn't ready to confront whatever was waiting in the darkness.

It was then that he noticed small red beams of light shooting forward, pointing at him. He was confused for a moment before he realized what they were. He was being targeted.

There was a sudden sound, a long series of loud pops. Takuya jumped to the side quickly, feeling bullets shoot right passed him. But they didn't stop. Takuya continued to jump and run as best as he could as he was continually fired at.

He missed his step and fell painfully on his face as the bullets shot over his head. He yelped suddenly when one of the bullets finally hit their target, bruising his arm.

Takuya held his arm and quickly scrambled back to his feet before he was shot again. It didn't feel like before. It didn't pierce his skin or hurt as bad as before. These weren't real bullets but it didn't matter, they would still hurt.

The machines continued to fire at him, bullets shooting through the air around Takuya as he tried feebly to stay on his feet and avoid each shot. The machines hunted the poor boy relentlessly.

The small fire Digimon struggled but he couldn't keep up his pace for long. He yelped and fell when a bullet shot into his leg. He hit the floor hard and when he couldn't pull himself back to his feet fast enough another spray of bullets shot at him, leaving large purple welts all over his body.

Takuya cried out painfully, trying his best to curl up and protect himself against the rubber bullets firing at him. It was too much. He prayed for the torture to stop, to be away from this hell. But his prayers would not be answered.

-the park-

Tommy sat on the bench in the park waiting, kicking his legs back and forth. He felt lucky that it wasn't as frigid today as it had been recently as snow still lingered on the ground around him. He took out his phone and began to play with it idly after he checked the time.

"He's late..." The young boy whispered to himself and wondered what kept his friend from showing.

Another fifteen minutes past and Tommy began to doubt he would show up. He stood to leave when someone called his name.

"Tommy! Wait! I'm here!" a boy his age called as he ran up to him. He hunched over, panting from the frosty air. "Sorry- I missed the first train..." the boy gasped.

"That's okay. What's up?" Tommy asked curiously.

The boy looked up. "Where's Takuya... Where is my brother?" Shinya asked, his voice wavering.

Tommy bit his lip, "I... Um..."

"Please, I… I have to know…" Shinya pleaded, trying to keep from getting too emotional. "I know you're the guys he would have turned to. You're his best friends. You have to know where he is."

Tommy adverted his gaze from the younger Kanbara's stare. He didn't know how to tell Shinya about everything that's happened to Takuya. Just what could he say? There was a good chance that Shinya might not take it well given how he was already getting upset.

"I have to know he's okay…" Shinya continued to insist, balling his fists tight. "He's been gone for a long time and… I'm really worried…"

"You are?" Tommy asked, looking at the boy.

Shinya nodded his head. "O-of course I am. He's… he's my brother. Sure we fight a lot but I still worry."

"You saw what he can do, right?" Tommy continued to question, wanting to gauge Shinya's answers and see where he stood with Takuya and his abilities.

"Y-yeah… he turned into that creature with the big orange hair." Shinya answered. "It was a little scary at first but… I think that was because he was fighting a scary looking demon with a creepy looking mask."

Tommy nodded. "That thing was trying to hurt your family," he explained softly.

"I know... But Takuya was fighting him! He was trying to protect us!" Shinya replied, "I-I'm not afraid of him... I just want my brother back..." he trailed off, lowering his gaze.

"Shinya... Takuya is... he's... he's missing..." Tommy started, deciding to be honest with him, "Remember that explosion downtown?"

The boy nodded slowly, "Was that Takuya?"

"No, it was another one of those monsters trying to hurt him. He fought and won but we haven't seen him since..." Tommy explained softly, "We're worried about him too."

"Did he run away?" Shinya asked, his voice cracking with anxiety.

Tommy shook his head, "No... But we don't know what happened... or where he is right now... He's stuck too Shinya, as that creature. He can't change back."

"H-he can't? But… but why? What happened to him?" The young Kanbara asked, feeling himself grow even more nervous with everything he's now learning. To hear that his brother had disappeared after the explosion and to hear that he was stuck as the creature, it was a lot for the boy to handle.

"We're trying to find him…" Tommy tried to assure his friend, seeing how he was beginning to panic. "We're working really hard to try and find him."

Shinya took a deep breath trying to calm himself down. They were looking for Takuya? "D-do you have anything? Can I help too?"

There really weren't any leads in search for Takuya. He just disappeared into thin air. "Well…" Tommy debated with himself. "We really haven't gotten any leads yet… but I'm sure he's okay though."

"You really think so?" Shinya asked, feeling himself on the verge of tears. "You really think he's going to be okay?"

Tommy nodded to further assure the younger Kanbara. "We'll find him somehow."

Shinya nodded and wiped his eyes. "Okay… is there anything I can do? Seriously, I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Um… yeah." Tommy nodded, though not sure what they could really do at this point. He just couldn't say no to his friend. Shinya seemed honestly worried about Takuya. If Shinya was willing to call him early in the morning to search for his brother then he must be telling the truth.

He thought about how the boy could help without getting in the way or raising serious suspicion, or worse, getting his parents involved. Shinya looked on anxiously before pressing the boy further, "Tommy."

"Well, definitely call me if Takuya contacts you or comes home," Tommy started, "And uh... You know you can't tell ANYONE about Takuya's ability right? It could get him into a lot of trouble."

"I know... Takuya looked really scary when he was fighting... He could really scare other people," Shinya concluded, knowing the severity of keeping the Digimon half a secret.

Tommy nodded, "Yeah, or the police might take him away and we don't want that..."

The younger boy agreed silently, "Anything else?"

"Not really right now, I mean we have to find him first. Then we can work on getting Takuya back home."

Shinya smiled a bit and hugged Tommy tightly, "Thank you!"

Tommy smiled and hugged the boy back lightly, "We'll find him. Don't worry."

Shinya nodded, feeling just a little more relieved with what Tommy was telling him. "Thanks Tommy, I… I really appreciate you telling me all this."

"Don't mention it." Tommy smiled at his friend. "Are you gonna be okay?"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry about it." The younger Kanbara answered and sighed. "It's good just to know that you trust me with all this… I know after what my dad did…"

Tommy stopped him. "It's alright. I know you care about your brother. I'm just glad at least you're still here for him. Takuya could use all the support he can get when we find him again."

"…was he really that bad?" Shinya ventured to ask shyly. After what had happened, Shinya couldn't really blame Takuya for not wanting to come back home. He figured his brother probably hated them.

"He was… really hurt…" Tommy stated though not sure how to proceed from there; Saying anymore would just break Shinya's heart.

"Does he hate us?" Shinya asked, his soft tone portraying his fear.

Tommy shook his head and answered quickly. "I don't think he hates you. He's scared but… I really don't think he hates you."

Shinya lowered his head, "It's horrible... He... He was trying to protect us... I just... don't understand..."

"It'll be okay Shinya... don't worry. If you need someone to talk to, I'll always listen!" Tommy replied brightly, trying to cheer the dour Kanbara sibling up.

"Thanks Tommy... Ya know, you're a lot like Takuya..." Shinya said softly, "That's something he would do."

Tommy just smiled, "Your brother is my role model."

Shinya perked up a bit and smiled back. "Just don't copy that temper of his," the young boy cracked, a grin slipping onto his face.

This made Tommy grin and laugh lightly, "I know that much!"

"I should probably get going. My mom would have a heart attack if I stay out too long. With everything that's happened, she's gotten so overprotective." Shinya explained with a bit of exasperation in his voice. "I guess that's understandable though."

"Yeah, my mom's the same." Tommy nodded. "They're just trying to make sure we don't get into any trouble."

Shinya sighed and folded his arms across his chest. "I guess that's what happens with monsters attacking the city…" he cast Tommy a nervous look. "Do you think there will be more of them?"

"Of the monsters, I'm not really sure." Tommy answered honestly. It seemed like things had quieted down since the last battle. There haven't been any other signs of a Digimon attack. Everything seemed to be calming down for the time being. "If there's another attack, I think we can handle it."

This made the young Kanbara curious. "How'd you figure?"

"Well… we've gotten used to this kind of thing." Tommy answered, though seemed unsure. Granted they had defeated a few Digimon over the past several months, but that was mostly due to Takuya's work in fighting them.

Kouji was still trying to get the hang of using his new Digimon form. It's a slow and steady process but it could take a while still before he could fully gain control over it.

Shinya tilted his head but didn't press any further. "Let me know if you hear anything!" Shinya said as they began to head their separate ways.

"I will!" Tommy called back as he headed back the way he came. It was kind of early but JP wanted him to come over to discuss the progress of Kouji's training and their lack of progress in finding Takuya.

He shoved his hands into his pockets and thought hard about everything that had happened since ShadowSeraphimon attacked the city. All Digimon related activity ceased to exist- including Cerberumon's movements. They hadn't been able to locate the demon dog anywhere.

That and Takuya seemed to have vanished without a trace, almost like he had been taken back to the Digital World- which honestly wasn't impossible at this point. Maybe that was the case, but something told Tommy otherwise. Why would Kouji become Strabimon if Takuya had been taken to the Digital World?

He sighed, "Maybe JP has a better idea..."

-unknown location-

The bullets ceased after what felt like an eternity. Takuya whimpered softly, his body shaking. He couldn't control his shivers of pain as he curled up tighter. Footsteps fell upon deaf ears as scientists reentered the room.

He was once more grabbed roughly and shoved back into a holding container and wheeled down the hall. Takuya was then dumped onto a cold metal examination table. Hands grabbed at him, forcing him to uncurl and be laid flat on the table.

Takuya yelped in pain as his welts were touched and prodded. Scientists scribbled on their clipboards as he reacted to their probing. This went on for a long time as well, until Takuya passed out from fatigue, and pain.

The poor boy woke up with a gasp. The scientists had taken him back to his room where they were containing him. His body ached with each movement and so Takuya lay there on the floor, crying silently to himself for what seemed like hours.

Takuya didn't have the strength to lift himself off the floor. All he could was wallow in his despair. He couldn't remember how long he had been in this place or what was happening in the outside world. It was as if he were deaf to the world.

There had to be a way to get away; a way out of this hellhole away from the painful tests and cruel prodding by sharp scalpels and needles. Takuya needed an escape and he needed it fast. He just couldn't take the pain anymore.

He tried to push himself upright, finding it nearly impossible to do so. His body had endured too much, and he was just too exhausted. Takuya closed his eyes tiredly; hoping sleep would take him away from this miserable place.

Agunimon had been silent this whole time. He had hoped the warrior could offer him some advice, a plan, or even a little comfort. The blonde warrior never said a word to the demoralized Digimon.

Takuya never felt so cold and alone before. He had no friends, no family, no one to show him a single kind act. It was a torturous solitude. The boy didn't know what to do. He was completely at the mercy of these people.

No matter what he thought of everything just seemed hopeless; they had beaten him to the brink of exhaustion so he could not escape on his own and no one knew where he was so his friends could not rescue him. There were no other options for him. He could only hope for a miracle to save him.

He heard a click, and the sound of something sliding across the floor. The scent of food reached his nose. Takuya lifted his head slowly, spotting the tray on the floor across the room from him. He couldn't tell what exactly had been provided for him.

The boy wasn't sure if he even wanted to drag himself across the floor to eat anything. His stomach growled loudly, protesting his thought of passing on the food.

Takuya groaned and began to sit up. He slowly made his way to the platter of indistinguishable mush. It smelled like meat and sort of looked like rice after it had be blended with gravy of some kind. He grimaced at the food, but at the same time began to eat it with gusto.

He didn't care for the taste or how it went down his throat. So long as it sustained him, Takuya would eat this slop. He felt ill for a moment, grimacing as the mush slid down his throat. It was hard to keep the stuff down, the taste and the texture making it hard to swallow in the first place, but eventually he had managed to consume every last morsel.

The Digimon boy sat against the wall and looked up at the ceiling. All he could do now was wait; wait for whatever happened next.

As he sat there, Takuya began to inspect his injuries, taking care of the more sore spots on his arms and along his back. He supposed he was lucky being full Digimon and able to cope with this kind of treatment. Had he still had his human data, his secret would likely be exposed.

Takuya shuddered at the thought, leaning his head back against the wall. His stomach churned, protesting the low quality of food in his system. He felt nauseous suddenly, bile rising in his throat.

Grimacing, he tried to fight the urge to throw up. He succeeded for a brief moment only to be struck with an intense wave of pain. The boy heaved and retched, shaking horribly as he did so. He swallowed a few times to prevent himself from emptying his stomach entirely and backed away.

His throat and nose burned from the stomach acid. Takuya wished desperately for water, anything to rinse away the foul taste in his mouth and smell in his nose.

The basin where he was given his drinking water was empty and he wasn't sure when his captors would bother giving him anymore water. And without the time of day who knew when Takuya would get another chance at water.

Takuya whined weakly and crawled over to the basin hoping that for the scientists watching it would be a sign showing that he needed water. Hopefully they would take the sign and show the poor boy some mercy.

The Digimon boy sat there for a moment to further emphasize his need. It took a good few minutes but eventually water was pumped into the basin.

Not wasting any time, Takuya got to his hands and knees and lapped up the water greedily. It was refreshing, a miracle that the boy was grateful for.

He wiped his mouth dry once he had satisfied his needs. Takuya then crawled tiredly to his sleeping mat where he curled up and promptly passed out. The boy suffered too much and couldn't take any more for one day. At least he assumed it was just one day.