Disclaimer: I so 100 percent of the way do not own Digimon...if I did, all
the loner boys would be paired with the goggle heads...as that has yet to
happen, then I don't own it, do I? So don't even think about suing me! :P
Author's Note(s): I'm so sorry for making you guys wait so long for this chapter to come out. Between school and work, and home/family matters, I've had a LOT to do...BUT, that doesn't mean that I wasn't thinking of the plot for this chapter-I definitely was doing that! So here I am with time to myself and I'm able to type it all out so hopefully I can get it out to you guys so you can read it! I also had trouble with my muses-they left me- they decided to take their own vacation and left me hanging for awhile...so now that I've got some good ideas, I can start writing once more! So shall we begin, yes? -just don't forget to review!!! You've all been SO awesome about doing it! You have no idea how happy an author is after she's had a couple of bad days in a row and then checks her inbox to see reviews of people telling her how wonderful the story is...^-^ Seriously though, all of you reviewers rock, without you guys being so interested in this fic, I don't think it would have gotten as far as it has...*grins*...so thank you! (At the VERY end of this fic, very last chapter, I'll have a chapter full of thank you's for everyone...it's just the way I do it, but I really do appreciate you guys cheering me on.)
Warnings: YAOI/SLASH ahead. If you have gotten this far without figuring out that I've made Takuya and Kouji a couple, I'm impressed-really, I am :P...if you've gotten this far and haven't figured that out and don't LIKE the idea of male/male coupling, than LEAVE NOW because the further we get into this story, the MORE Takouji takes place and gets fluffier...(Hence, if you don't like the thought of two boys kissing, this is not the fic for you!) And also there's going to be some Zoey bashing here in this chapter and maybe in the next one as well, so if you like her character, you've also been for warned...-_-;; (sorry, Zoey's NOT my favorite-in fact, she's my LEAST favorite character...I can't help but bash her in my own fic...)
Rating: PG13
Yaoi couples: Takuya/Kouji Non Yaoi: hints of JP/Zoey
Chapter 9: Thunder Spirit-part I
JP was moping. He couldn't help it, he really couldn't. Here he was, standing with two other boys that they'd just met-and they also had their spirits-even little Tommy had gotten his before him! How did that work out? He drew little designs in the dirt with the toe of his shoe, and sighed as he watched while Takuya and Kouji went off to 'discuss' the matter of traveling with them. He could see why Takuya liked Kouji-Kouji was definitely handsome. He was watching the dark haired teen as he and Takuya stopped a few feet away by a giant oak tree and leaned against it. Takuya was talking, but Kouji didn't move...
From behind him, he heard Zoey sniff arrogantly and he rolled his eyes. As much as he hated to admit that he thought Zoey was really pretty, she was acting like a royal brat lately. He didn't know what had gotten into her when they'd all been introduced to Takuya and Kouji. JP was actually kind of hoping that they'd choose to join them...at least then he'd have someone new to talk too. He didn't even mind if the two were together as a 'item'...as Zoey had called them. He just wished that Zoey would get her head up out of her ass and realize that he was trying to flirt with her...he wondered if that would ever happen at all, or if the blond would just continue being as stuck up as she had been lately-it was starting to drive him nuts.
I JP thought gloomily, as he continued to watch Takuya and Kouji talk.
"I hope they travel with us..." Tommy whispered at him, and JP nodded. Zoey must not have heard, or if she had she wasn't saying anything about it. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at the other two boys, still tapping her foot impatiently as though they were delaying her from doing something important.
"So do I actually...it would be fun to have more people to talk too." JP admitted, and Tommy smiled as he looked at Takuya and Kouji.
"Hey JP?" JP looked down at Tommy as he adjusted his hat.
"Yeah?"
"When Kouji said they were an 'item'...what does that mean?" JP nearly face faulted to the floor as he started to sweat-how could he explain to someone as young as Tommy what 'gay' meant? Not like it was a bad thing or anything, but...well...for someone 10 years of age, he wasn't sure if Tommy would understand it or not. Besides, wasn't that something that parents were supposed to discuss with their children anyway? He sweat dropped and tried to find the right words to tell Tommy what 'item' meant. But before he could, Zoey beat him to the punch-she must've overheard Tommy's question.
"It means they're 'together' Tommy. They're together in a way that a boy and a girl should be together." Tommy frowned, and than smiled.
"So you mean they're like, boyfriend and girlfriend, but instead they're both boys?" He asked cheerfully and Zoey growled and walked away, but JP nodded.
"Yeah, that's kind of what that means..." He whispered as he watched Zoey's retreating back, and he heard Tommy giggle a little bit. He looked down at him and asked him what was so funny, but all Tommy could do was shake his head for a moment as he caught his breath.
"No, nothing...I think they actually look really cute together." Tommy winked at JP as JP eyed him curiously. For some reason, Tommy seemed to understand the whole situation a lot better than he did, and he asked him why. Tommy shrugged.
"My older brother-who's in college now-is that way too-he has a boyfriend..." As he said this, Tommy only smiled. He didn't seem embarrassed at all about the fact that his older brother was gay.
"In fact, I think that Takuya and Kouji would get along with him really well...Takuya reminds me a lot of him...it'd be neat if we all got to meet one another's families when we got home, right?" JP nodded, loosing himself in his own train of thoughts, but smiled down at Tommy none the less...
~***~
"So...?" They'd crossed the clearing and Kouji had leaned up against the trunk of a huge oak tree they'd spotted.
"So what?" Takuya sighed. Why was Kouji acting so differently now? Was it because the other kids were there with them now? Was it something he had done? He frowned a little.
"So are we going to travel with them or not?" Kouji just shrugged.
"You're not being much of a help Kouji." Kouji seemed to glare at him, and Takuya, shocked took a step back. Kouji's expression softened then...he realized that Takuya wasn't used to seeing this side of him. When he was around people like JP and Zoey, he tended to close himself off.
"I'm sorry." Kouji said, reaching out and grabbing Takuya's shirt as he pulled the brunette close to him. He sank down to the ground so that he was sitting cross legged and Takuya followed suite, sitting in his lap, with his legs over his left knee. He grinned as the brunette fidgeted once, and then finally leaned his head up in a sideways position against his chest.
"Comfortable?" Takuya grinned back at his question.
"Yes, thank you." Kouji shook his head and hugged Takuya a little closer to him.
"The only thing is...is...that I'm not very good around a big group of people...see, my dad and I moved around a lot, and I attended so many schools that I never really made any close friends...until you came along..." Takuya glanced up at him, and cuddled closer. Kouji didn't mind at all about his display of affection.
"But it's only three other people..." Takuya said, gesturing toward them with his right hand, his left hand entwined with Kouji's right one.
"I know...but...I...don't trust Zoey a lot...she's..."
"A big pain in the ass?" Kouji chuckled as Takuya practically finished off his sentence for him and nodded.
"Yes, a big pain in the ass...I think she keeps on eyeing you...and that's kind of pissing me off." Takuya grinned.
"So I'm only all yours huh and no one else's? You can't share me?" Kouji laughed and kissed the brunette on the forehead.
"All mine." Takuya chuckled and kissed him back.
"So, now we've really got to decide...are we going to continue to travel alone and leave JP and Tommy in the hands of Zoey?" Kouji sighed again, not sure what to do or how to answer Takuya's question as he glanced off in the direction of JP and Tommy, who seemed to be having a conversation of their own...Zoey must've wondered off at one point...not like he cared or anything...he didn't, really.
"What do you want?" Takuya's eyes opened wide as Kouji asked this, and he shook his head.
"I-I don't know, I mean...it'd be nice to have some company for awhile but I also like just traveling alone with you..." Kouji smiled at this, and then the two of them sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying one another's company.
"Well...what we can do, is we could travel with them for awhile, and then if we get tired of them we can just separate...I mean, they've come this far on their own without us, right? And from what we know so far, Zoey and Tommy both have their spirits..." Kouji allowed his voice to trail off, and Takuya took his time to think, before slowly nodding at his suggestion.
"Yeah...that sounds like a plan...if you're willing to do it, I think it would be fun to travel with them for awhile-we can just ignore Zoey." Kouji chuckled.
"Besides, it seems like JP's got a crush on her anyway...I think once she realizes that, she might leave the two of us alone..." Takuya stood up then, brushing the dirt off of his pants and extending a hand to Kouji as he accepted it and stood up with the brunette's help.
"So, do you want to tell them?" Kouji asked, and Takuya nodded as he started to walk toward JP and Tommy, but Kouji placed a quick hand on his shoulder and stopped him for a moment.
"One more thing Takuya...just to warn you I might...not act like I normally do around them, like I do when it's just you and me...I might be distant. So don't feel like I'm ignoring you or anything, because I'm not..." Takuya nodded again and smiled as he grabbed Kouji's hand and held it tightly.
"I know, and I understand. We can have our 'private' moments at night..." He said with a playful grin, and a mischievous look in his eyes and Kouji couldn't help but send the same look back to him.
"Alright, as long as you understand." With that, he followed Takuya back to where JP and Tommy were now sitting, playing a game of paper, rock, scissors. They looked up when the two boys arrived, their eyes holding a questioning look in them as they held their breaths, wondering what their decision was.
"So...?" JP asked, as Takuya grinned at him.
"So, we've decided that we're going to go ahead and travel with you guys...but...only for awhile." He added, and Tommy's expression-which had turned into one of sheer joy-started to fall.
"We just want to see if we can travel with you guys-you know?" Takuya added hastily, seeing the expression change on Tommy's face, and both of the other boy's nodded and stood up.
"Then let's go and tell Zoey...we should head out and hike for awhile before dark falls..." JP muttered, heading off in the direction that Zoey went out toward, when Neemon suddenly dashed over to them, jumping up and down and waving his hands at them. Takuya and Kouji eyed the small Digimon skeptically.
"What's wrong Neemon?" Tommy asked, and Neemon took a second to 'compose' himself, his eyes still huge.
"They've got Bokomon and Zoey!" He gasped, acting as though he had just ran a hundred mile marathon or something.
"What?!? Who's got Bokomon and Zoey?!?" JP screeched, as Neemon tried to figure it out-the other's sighed.
"I...don't know how to explain it...but...bit, plant like things!" Takuya and Kouji eyed one another and shook their heads.
"Can you take us to them Neemon?" Takuya asked, and Neemon looked fearful for a minute, then sighed and sweat dropped.
"Alright, alright...I'll take you to them...man, and I barely escaped them! It's like a mon eating plant or something!" As he quickly lead the way, the other's followed.
Slowly the clearing turned into a forest-and as they kept on walking, they saw no sign of Bokomon or Zoey. Kouji frowned, thinking how ridiculous this was...was Neemon acting this way because he had thought he had seen something and in reality he and the other two had gotten lost and Zoey hadn't wanted to admit it?
"Neemon, are you sure you're leading us in the right direction?" He asked, a scowl starting to replace the frown, as Neemon nodded eagerly.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure, I'm positive..." He continued leading them for quite awhile, sniffing the air every once in awhile...when his ears started to turn down, Kouji sighed in frustration...knowing what was coming...
"Um...actually, no, no I'm not that positive at all now-I thought it was this way..." Even JP groaned, feeling like he wanted to throttle Neemon. He understood now why Bokomon did it so much.
"Neemon, it seems like we're just wondering around in circles..." Takuya volunteered, trying to help, but Neemon shook his head. None of them saw the plant like vines slithering on the ground as they made their way toward the group...
"No, it's not the same..." Neemon insisted, and when Tommy yelped they all turned to where he had been standing...wait a minute, had been standing?!? Instantly JP started to panic, and even Takuya had to admit it was a little nerving being in a shadowy forest-the sun didn't quite reach through the trees-and having two of your peers gone-now even maybe three...
"Um...Tommy?" He called out, but didn't get any answer. He was definitely starting to feel worried now.
"Where is he?" Kouji asked, looking around him as though Tommy were playing a game of hide and seek. JP shook his head and shrugged, a nervous sweat starting to appear on his forehead.
"I don't know...he was here...I swear he was just here!" JP claimed, and Takuya groaned.
"Will you calm down JP?!? We'll find him, we'll..." Takuya had been facing Kouji and was turning around to face JP when he blinked and realized that JP wasn't even there any longer-he had disappeared like Tommy had-and now he too was feeling the panicky feeling that JP had probably felt earlier.
"Man oh man...Kouji, what do you think could've happened to them?" He whispered, and when he didn't get any response, he whirled around-to find no Kouji. His mouth feel open as he cried out Kouji's name a few different times...even Neemon had disappeared...what was going on?!?
He smiled a little to himself as he remembered that evening last winter. It had snowed, and Shinya had wanted to go to the park and play with his friends...so Takuya, being the good older brother that he was, had offered to take him so his mother could make dinner and do some other things she needed to do. They'd had a fun afternoon-Takuya had even met up with some of his friends from the soccer team, and they'd had a snowball fight with Shinya and his friends, splitting up into even teams so that some of the bigger kids were with some of the little kids...as the afternoon had dwindled away though, there were only a few kids left-and most were getting ready to go home. It had started to get dark, and Takuya didn't know where Shinya was. He had kept on trying to find him as he looked for him, not knowing where his little brother had taken off to...he remembered that someone else had found him and was helping his little brother look for him...
But now he didn't have anyone else to help him find his friends...
He was so trapped in his thoughts as he continued to search for them, that he didn't feel the vines that wrapped themselves around his ankles. He let out a surprised yelp as he was suddenly violently dragged upward...into the trees...at one point he remembered banging his head hard against something, and then his mind fell into darknes...
~***~
"Takuya...?" He heard someone calling his name...
Groaning, Takuya slowly opened his eyes, and glanced upward into a pair of worried looking blue gray ones. Kouji...he knew that voice...he slowly grinned up at him and tried to sit up, but groaned.
"Relax, you took quite a hit on the head." Kouji whispered soothingly, and Takuya looked around, realizing that they were up in the trees somewhere, up high...and trapped, locked up in a cage made completely of-vines? He couldn't move very much, because the cage was a little on the small side. But at least he was with Kouji-he didn't know where the other's were, he couldn't see them anywhere. In fact, as he continued to glance up at the sky, he noticed that it was actually clouding now, looking like it was ready to rain...again.
He groaned a little bit more as Kouji helped him sit up fully. He couldn't stand...standing was practically out of the question. Kouji glanced at him with another concerned look.
"What happened?" Takuya asked, and Kouji was silent for a moment as he nibbled a little bit on his lower lip.
"Um...I'm not sure myself actually. I know that I was dragged off by those vine like things and I think that JP, Zoey, and Tommy were also dragged off. I haven't seen them yet...then I was put in here and I saw them drag you in. You were unconscious before that..."
"I don't remember what happened though...by 'they,' do you mean those plant like things?" Kouji nodded at Takuya's question.
"How long have we been stuck in here?"
"About a few hours..." Takuya gasped.
"I've been out of it that long?!? I don't even remember hitting my head or anything..." Kouji just shook his head, unsure of how to reply to that. They snuggled up to one another, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
Until they heard a scream...
Takuya's head popped up from where he had been resting it once more on Kouji's chest, and his eyes opened wide.
"That was Zoey..." Kouji frowned as Takuya said the obvious-there was after all only one girl in the group-and he doubted that Tommy or JP-or even Takuya or himself for that matter, could scream that high.
"Yeah, I wonder what's going on...I wish we could be released from this stupid cage..." He mumbled, and Takuya nodded, and then gasped as suddenly it seemed that Kouji's wish was coming true-the vines started to unravel themselves, steadily one by one. But instead of leaving them completely alone, they once again wrapped themselves around the two boys, dragging them away from one another as they started to struggle.
"NO!" Takuya hollered, continuing his struggle as he was taken away from Kouji, but he saw as he struggled to look behind him, that the vines entwining Kouji were dragging him along the same path and lessened his struggling a bit.
"What's going on?" He yelled behind him, and he heard Kouji grunt as he continued to struggle, then gasp.
"Too-tight...!" Takuya glanced again at Kouji, noticing that the raven haired teen was having problems breathing...
"Stop struggling Kouji!" He told him, and for a second Kouji glared at him, before relaxing his muscles. Takuya realized that he was fine-but only because he wasn't struggling as much as Kouji had been. Kouji took in a deep breath of air as the vines slightly loosened, allowing him to breathe again.
"Ugh...I hate these things..." Takuya gave Kouji a grim look as Kouji said what he was thinking...it wasn't very fun being dragged along by live plants...
"I wonder where they're taking us?" He breathed out, as Kouji shook his head and struggled a little, but groaned when the vines strengthened their grip once more, and forced himself to relax again.
Eventually Takuya's question was answered, as a large village came into view. He raised an eyebrow as the vines continued to carry him and Kouji past the plant made huts and to something that resembled a temple.
"This is getting too weird..." Kouji muttered, and as soon as they had reached the 'stairs'...once again made from the plant-like vines, they were dropped, landing hard on the ground. Both boys grimaced, and stood as they rubbed their sore spots.
"Um...is anyone here?" Takuya hollered out as the vines quickly retreated, their jobs having been done. Even Kouji was looking around, wondering what was going on.
"I knew we should've continued to travel by ourselves...this is just way too weird..." He muttered.
"Yeah, well at least look on the bright side-we're still together and they-whoever they is, haven't separated us yet." Takuya pointed out, and as much as Kouji hated to admit it, Takuya was right.
"So where's everyone else?" Kouji asked, and Takuya shrugged, not knowing...until he heard JP muttering and complaining as he was struggling like Kouji had. Tommy was behind him, being dragged by the same vines that had held Kouji and Takuya earlier. Like the two of them, the other boys were dumped on the ground as well, grimacing as they stood, but glad to see Kouji and Takuya.
"Man, what's going on? Tommy and I were stuck in the same cage, and it was miserable...way to small if you ask me." JP complained, grinning sheepishly at Takuya and Kouji as Tommy shook his head.
"Yeah, but you took up most of the space JP! I was feeling squished...but I'm sure that if Takuya and Kouji were in the same position as we were, they probably didn't mind it half as much as I did!" He teased, and Takuya found himself turning a bright red. He glanced at Kouji to find the boy smiling weakly, also blushing.
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in. At least we were comfortable." Kouji pointed out, and Tommy stuck his tongue out at him.
"So...what are we supposed to do, just walk right on in or something?" JP asked, nodding in the direction of the 'temple'. Kouji shrugged.
"I'm not sure...we were just pretty much dumped here the same way you were..."
"Did you guys hear Zoey screaming?" JP asked, and both Kouji and Takuya nodded.
"Yeah, we did hear her screaming-why hasn't she shown up yet?" Takuya wondered aloud, but before any of the other boys could answer his question, a sound vibrated in the air-something that resembled the sound of beating drums...
"Um...what's going on?" Tommy asked, looking just as confused as the other's did. The vines came up from behind them again, and Takuya shrugged one off his shoulder. It was strange though-this time the vines didn't seem to be 'trapping' them in their grasp, instead they seemed to be guiding them.
"I think that these plant things want us to go in there." Takuya said, in reply to Tommy's question. They couldn't very well turn around and walk away-they vines were creating some sort of barrier, that even if they wanted too, wouldn't allow them. So instead they had to continue walking forward into the darkness of the temple made from...well, plants.
"This is creepy-way too creepy." JP muttered, as outside thunder boomed in the distance, and Takuya heard the rain start-at least here, they were dry. If he and Kouji had been left where they were originally, they'd probably be soaking wet by now...
JP jumped a little as more thunder sounded in the distance, and Takuya sent him a look that was of part amusement and part worry.
"You okay there JP?" JP nodded, fidgeting as they continued to make their way into the center of the temple, which was where the vines seemed to want them to go.
"Yeah, oh yeah, I'm just fine..." Again the thunder echoed through the walls and JP jumped once more. Kouji grinned a little.
"What JP, afraid of thunder and lightning storms or something?" JP growled a little under his throat. He hated admitting his fear...but Kouji had guessed it, and he really didn't have much of a choice now.
"Yes, I am...want to make something of it?" He grumbled, and Kouji just held up his hands in resignation and shook his head.
"Nope. But that would explain why you're so jumpy suddenly, that's all." He grinned at Takuya, who found himself grinning back and edging closer to him. The vines didn't seem to mind this, so he placed his hand into Kouji's, and kept it there. Tommy had moved over from where he had been walking next to Kouji, and grinned up at him as Takuya glanced down and mouthed a thank you. Tommy nodded.
"Where are we going? My feet are getting tired..." JP complained, not quite liking the silence, but no one didn't really know how to reply to that. Fortunately for them though, their question was answered when they stepped into the center arena of the temple, and their mouths dropped at what they saw.
"ZOEY?!?"
They all said her name in unison, and it would've been amusing had the situation not seemed as serious as it was.
It was indeed Zoey, dressed in a pale green dress that reached down to her feet-which, were now bare-and had only one strap going across her right shoulder, leaving her left shoulder bare. Her hair looked washed and clean, so that it shined in the darkness. And she was smiling...she looked happy.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute...how come Zoey gets treated like royalty and we get treated like prisoners or something?!?" JP questioned, and Zoey raised her eyebrow a little as she giggled.
"Because silly, I'm a girl...and girls do a better job of ruling, that's all...I suppose you're being well treated then, hmmm...?" She asked, and as she asked this, Takuya found himself getting angry.
"Like hell we are! We were trapped outside in cages made of vines, cages that were way to small for us! We couldn't even stand up! I don't call that being 'treated well'." Takuya fumed, and Zoey just gave him a wicked look.
"Well, then I suppose at least you and Kouji were comfortable? And you might want to thank me, because if I hadn't told them to put you and Kouji together you both would've been separated." She mused, and now Kouji felt the same anger that Takuya was feeling.
"What do you mean by that?!? Can you somehow control these vines that've been dragging us everywhere?" Zoey smiled and nodded.
"Oh yes, they're very loyal to me..." Takuya rolled his eyes.
"Zoey, we've only been separated for about three hours and you've already become a princess or something and have subjects you can rule over?" JP groaned, and Zoey nodded.
"Oh, yes...yes I do...now, aren't you going to ask me why I brought you all in here?" Kouji and Takuya both grimaced at her question, and the look in their eyes said 'no way in hell,' as did JP while he shook his head. So Tommy, looking from one to the other and than back up at Zoey, sighed.
"Zoey?"
She smiled sweetly down at him.
"Yes Tommy?"
"Why did you bring us here?" He asked softly, and Zoey's smile widened.
"Because I only wanted to make sure you were still alive, that's all. And I want you to meet a new friend of mine...guys, meet Vineramon, Vineramon, these are the guys." The boys all gasped as a Digimon nearly twice their size stepped out from the shadows. He was...nothing but a plant...he reminded Takuya of something like a mutant-half plant, half human...he shuddered at Vineramon's appearance.
"Now then, since you've met Vineramon you can be off..." Zoey clapped her hands twice, as the vines snapped into action and once again wrapped themselves around everyone. She still had that wicked looking smile on her face though as she eyed Takuya and Kouji...who had started to struggle again, not believing what was going on.
"Oh, and my bad...release him." She said, pointing at Kouji as the vines seemed to bristle with complaint and drop him. He fell, landing gently on his feet and glared up at where Zoey was now standing, getting up off of her 'throne'.
"You can take the rest away...I'm sorry Takuya, you get to spend a long, lonely cold night all by yourself...Kouji's my guest....he gets to stay with me." And as the vines started to drag the other Digi destined away, with Takuya struggling and JP feeling like he was ready to cry, Kouji silently cursed himself...he hadn't known what Zoey was up to until now. He had had the feeling that she'd been eyeing either him or Takuya-or perhaps the boy of them-when they'd first me...and now it looked like she wanted him. He sighed as the other's were taken away back to through the darkness and into the stormy weather outside, then turned to face Zoey, his eyes hardening as she descended down the steps toward him.
"You know I'm not interested in your... company." He snarled, and Zoey blanched for a moment, thinking of how to reply to it for a second.
"Oh, I know that you don't...but maybe I can get you to change your mind...maybe a night away from Takuya, and with me will help you." Kouji shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest and giving the blond haired girl before him a defiant look.
"Over my dead body. I love Takuya, not you or any other girl that'll come my way...besides, JP likes you Zoey..." Zoey sighed and shook her head.
"Yes, but I don't want JP." She whined.
"You can't get everything you want Zoey." Kouji warned her. He had learned that lesson a long time ago in his life.
"Mmmm...but maybe I can...if you don't at least accept to spend one night with me...I'll have to just let those vines do something horrible to Takuya..." Kouji glared at her.
"You...wouldn't." She smiled.
"Want to make a bet? I control them...I can tell them to do anything I want them too. If I want them too 'accidentally' strangle Takuya to death, than strangle him they would." Kouji grimaced and than he sighed in defeat...he didn't want anything happening to Takuya...and he somehow knew that Zoey wouldn't give up unless she had him to herself for the night...
"Zoey, I'm not even interested in girls! I never have been!" He protested, but Zoey just shook her head.
"Just one night...please?" She pleaded, and Kouji sighed and shook his head.
"Alright...alright...just...don't hurt Takuya." He whispered, hating the defeated feeling that was starting to rise up in his chest, and she smiled and skipped a little, clapping her hands once. Vineramon came up then, and stood right next to her.
"Vineramon, show Kouji to my-our-quarters...I'm going to check on the prisoners real quick..." She said with a giggle, as Kouji felt a strong arm guide him away from Zoey toward another section of the temple.
"Zoey! Don't hurt Takuya or I swear I'll make you pay!" He hollered, struggling but finding it to no prevail...Vineramon was stronger than he was...
As soon as Kouji disappeared from view, Zoey laughed a low, evil laugh that didn't sound quite like herself-maybe because she wasn't herself.
"Oh Kouji...I'm not going to hurt your little koi...I might mess with his mind a little bit, maybe make his love for you suffer...but I'm not going to hurt him...besides, I need him for my plan...need him, and you. For revenge is so sweet..." As Zoey laughed again and headed outside, the room turned dark...but what Kouji or any of the other Digi Destined hadn't seen in the room, was the real Zoey...hanging by vines, being forced to watch it all...she struggled, oh yes, she had fought against the one pretending to be her with all her might...but in the end she had lost...screamed even in pain as the vines had wrapped themselves around her and pierced her with their thorns, drawing blood.
Now she started to cry...her friends had just been there...and she was there...but not there...someone else was pretending to be her...Zoey- the real Zoey-only hoped that one of her friends-maybe even JP-would realize that the 'Zoey' wasn't really Zoey...but something else. Zoey would've never hurt Takuya or Kouji that way...the way that the fake Zoey wanted too...sure she had been mad at them at first, but...not anymore.
Zoey silently vowed, as she continued to struggle against the vines that held her prisoner.
TBC
AN: Bwahahahahaha! Another chapter out for me! And this one will probably be a two parter, because I didn't feel like having it all happen in one chapter-besides, it's fun torturing you guys with cliffhangers like this! :P (I've had it done to me one too many times lately with Takouji fics that I've been finding-so all you Takouji author's that're out there reading this, GET UPDATING! ^_~) Oh, and in the last fic, the song lyrics that I used were from Evanescence's 'Fallen' CD...the song was My Last Breath, in case if I didn't say it in the disclaimer last time, I don't own the and was just borrowing them for my fic because I thought it fit perfectly there...^-^ If you like dark, goth music, go and check them out because their CD IS really good...
ANYWAY, here's a sneak peak for you for the next chapter because I made you all wait so long...don't forget to review please!!!!!!!!!!! ^-^
~***~
Takuya was cold...freezing actually...and the pouring down rain didn't help him much. Not only did he not know where Zoey had the vines take JP and Tommy, but with Kouji back at the Temple with Zoey...he shuddered. He knew that Kouji didn't prefer girls...he knew it...but he also knew that this would test their relationship. He had to trust Kouji, he had to trust that he wouldn't do anything against his own will...but what if...what if somehow Zoey did something to him? Did something to him to make him forget who Takuya was, and his feelings for him?
The brunette stifled a cry, and tried to unstuck the sob that threatened to escape him. His body shook, but not from emotion but from the cold that was soaking it's way through his skin. He tried to rub his hands up and down as he tried to warm himself, but...but he wished that Kouji was there to warm him up instead. He knew that if the raven haired teen was there with him, he wouldn't be half as cold or as uncomfortable as he was now.
Without warning though, the vines unwrapped themselves, causing the cage to slack as they instead wrapped themselves around Takuya's body...he was getting used to this by now. Now it was only because Zoey commanded them to do so-which meant that she had something planned for him.
Takuya shivered as the vines started moving forward...at first he thought that they were going to take him to the temple where he had last seen Kouji...but instead they moved in another direction, and further up. There was a few huts to where he was taken too, and he didn't see any Digimon...or any sign of Zoey either. Instead, he saw the Digimon that had stepped out of the shadows...what was his name again...Vineramon?
"What do you want?" Takuya asked coldly, his arms crossing over his chest...partly for the look of defiance, and partly for the fact that it helped keep him warm.
"You." Takuya raised an eyebrow as he heard the Digimon's slippery voice for the first time.
"Me?"
"Yes, you. Your help actually is what I want."
"Uh huh...yeah, you want my help and yet I get stuck in a cage, and I'm soaking wet?" Vineramon looked at him for a moment, before ushering him inside one of the huts.
"Come inside." Takuya hesitated before accepting the offer, and stepped inside...to his surprise, a warm fire was set and roaring, the hut warm. He was glad he had accepted Vineramon's offer then as he sat in front of the fire and held his hands out to it. Vineramon stood a little bit away, in the shadow watching Takuya for a few minutes as he warmed his numb hands and removed his red outer shirt, placing it a little closer so to let it dry.
"Warm enough?" The Digimon startled the brunette, who nodded.
"Good."
"You know...I don't know if you're just being nice to me because Zoey ordered it and is going to do something horrible to me later, or if you're just being nice to me because you're just generally that way and don't like to show it." Vineramon offered Takuya a small, wry smile.
"Think what you like. Actually my people were once very kind and generous, but a cold and corrupted spirit came, and stripped that all away. Now most of my people are either gone or deceased...or slaves taken away to work for the spirit..." Takuya's eyes opened wide...by spirit did he mean a spirit like one of theirs?
"Um...what kind of spirit is this exactly?" Vineramon sighed.
"You might not understand...even we're not sure where it came from, we really aren't. But what we do know, is that it can possess your very heart and turn you into a cold person...it'll basically make you become the opposite of what or who you really are. It turned many of my people insane- it'll use you, corrupt you, and than drop you." Takuya shuddered.
"That sounds...awful...dreadful..."
"There is another spirit that we know of, one that'll be able to defeat the evil one...but we have yet to find it or even figure it out where it is...could you help us?"
"Why do you want my help?"
"Because we saw you and the others fighting the Sneemon...our vines can travel many other places and they were watching you...they believe that you can help lift this curse on our village." Takuya sighed.
"I-I guess we can try...but...I'm going to need some help." Vineramon nodded.
"Of course, your friends you mean...the chubby one and the small one?" Takuya choked on his laughter, and only nodded instead.
"JP and Tommy...the chubby one and the small one...yeah, those'd be them...is there any chance that you might be able to get them here?" Vineramon nodded.
"I shall try and do as you ask young one...but...I'm not sure...I've got to somehow get beyond Ms. Zoey's control...it wasn't easy doing it to get you out...let me see what I can do. In the meantime, I want you to stay in here until I come and get you." As Vineramon turned to leave, Takuya watched him go...but went after him, wanting to know one more thing.
"VINERAMON!" The Digimon turned around and saw Takuya at the doorway of the hut, a questioning look in his eyes.
"Kouji...my friend-the one that was forced to stay behind with Zoey- can you...can you help him? I mean, I know he's not interested in her at all, like she might be interested in him...if you can't bring him here like you might be able to do with JP or Tommy, can you at least watch over him for me? Until I can find a way to rescue him and your village?" Vineramon seemed to consider this for a moment, before slowly nodding his head.
"I will do my best young Takuya. But I can't promise anything...but if you manage to save my village, I will make sure that your friend is safe." Takuya nodded as he turned around and started to leave once more...he barely heard what Takuya said next, but he still heard it.
"He's more than my friend...I love him..." Takuya whispered, and he didn't hear what Vineramon said upon his departure:
"You're going to have more than him that you're going to have to save Takuya...Zoey isn't all she seems to be...but your heart is in the right place...and so is hers-you just have yet to see it...keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
Author's Note(s): I'm so sorry for making you guys wait so long for this chapter to come out. Between school and work, and home/family matters, I've had a LOT to do...BUT, that doesn't mean that I wasn't thinking of the plot for this chapter-I definitely was doing that! So here I am with time to myself and I'm able to type it all out so hopefully I can get it out to you guys so you can read it! I also had trouble with my muses-they left me- they decided to take their own vacation and left me hanging for awhile...so now that I've got some good ideas, I can start writing once more! So shall we begin, yes? -just don't forget to review!!! You've all been SO awesome about doing it! You have no idea how happy an author is after she's had a couple of bad days in a row and then checks her inbox to see reviews of people telling her how wonderful the story is...^-^ Seriously though, all of you reviewers rock, without you guys being so interested in this fic, I don't think it would have gotten as far as it has...*grins*...so thank you! (At the VERY end of this fic, very last chapter, I'll have a chapter full of thank you's for everyone...it's just the way I do it, but I really do appreciate you guys cheering me on.)
Warnings: YAOI/SLASH ahead. If you have gotten this far without figuring out that I've made Takuya and Kouji a couple, I'm impressed-really, I am :P...if you've gotten this far and haven't figured that out and don't LIKE the idea of male/male coupling, than LEAVE NOW because the further we get into this story, the MORE Takouji takes place and gets fluffier...(Hence, if you don't like the thought of two boys kissing, this is not the fic for you!) And also there's going to be some Zoey bashing here in this chapter and maybe in the next one as well, so if you like her character, you've also been for warned...-_-;; (sorry, Zoey's NOT my favorite-in fact, she's my LEAST favorite character...I can't help but bash her in my own fic...)
Rating: PG13
Yaoi couples: Takuya/Kouji Non Yaoi: hints of JP/Zoey
Chapter 9: Thunder Spirit-part I
JP was moping. He couldn't help it, he really couldn't. Here he was, standing with two other boys that they'd just met-and they also had their spirits-even little Tommy had gotten his before him! How did that work out? He drew little designs in the dirt with the toe of his shoe, and sighed as he watched while Takuya and Kouji went off to 'discuss' the matter of traveling with them. He could see why Takuya liked Kouji-Kouji was definitely handsome. He was watching the dark haired teen as he and Takuya stopped a few feet away by a giant oak tree and leaned against it. Takuya was talking, but Kouji didn't move...
From behind him, he heard Zoey sniff arrogantly and he rolled his eyes. As much as he hated to admit that he thought Zoey was really pretty, she was acting like a royal brat lately. He didn't know what had gotten into her when they'd all been introduced to Takuya and Kouji. JP was actually kind of hoping that they'd choose to join them...at least then he'd have someone new to talk too. He didn't even mind if the two were together as a 'item'...as Zoey had called them. He just wished that Zoey would get her head up out of her ass and realize that he was trying to flirt with her...he wondered if that would ever happen at all, or if the blond would just continue being as stuck up as she had been lately-it was starting to drive him nuts.
I JP thought gloomily, as he continued to watch Takuya and Kouji talk.
"I hope they travel with us..." Tommy whispered at him, and JP nodded. Zoey must not have heard, or if she had she wasn't saying anything about it. She had her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at the other two boys, still tapping her foot impatiently as though they were delaying her from doing something important.
"So do I actually...it would be fun to have more people to talk too." JP admitted, and Tommy smiled as he looked at Takuya and Kouji.
"Hey JP?" JP looked down at Tommy as he adjusted his hat.
"Yeah?"
"When Kouji said they were an 'item'...what does that mean?" JP nearly face faulted to the floor as he started to sweat-how could he explain to someone as young as Tommy what 'gay' meant? Not like it was a bad thing or anything, but...well...for someone 10 years of age, he wasn't sure if Tommy would understand it or not. Besides, wasn't that something that parents were supposed to discuss with their children anyway? He sweat dropped and tried to find the right words to tell Tommy what 'item' meant. But before he could, Zoey beat him to the punch-she must've overheard Tommy's question.
"It means they're 'together' Tommy. They're together in a way that a boy and a girl should be together." Tommy frowned, and than smiled.
"So you mean they're like, boyfriend and girlfriend, but instead they're both boys?" He asked cheerfully and Zoey growled and walked away, but JP nodded.
"Yeah, that's kind of what that means..." He whispered as he watched Zoey's retreating back, and he heard Tommy giggle a little bit. He looked down at him and asked him what was so funny, but all Tommy could do was shake his head for a moment as he caught his breath.
"No, nothing...I think they actually look really cute together." Tommy winked at JP as JP eyed him curiously. For some reason, Tommy seemed to understand the whole situation a lot better than he did, and he asked him why. Tommy shrugged.
"My older brother-who's in college now-is that way too-he has a boyfriend..." As he said this, Tommy only smiled. He didn't seem embarrassed at all about the fact that his older brother was gay.
"In fact, I think that Takuya and Kouji would get along with him really well...Takuya reminds me a lot of him...it'd be neat if we all got to meet one another's families when we got home, right?" JP nodded, loosing himself in his own train of thoughts, but smiled down at Tommy none the less...
~***~
"So...?" They'd crossed the clearing and Kouji had leaned up against the trunk of a huge oak tree they'd spotted.
"So what?" Takuya sighed. Why was Kouji acting so differently now? Was it because the other kids were there with them now? Was it something he had done? He frowned a little.
"So are we going to travel with them or not?" Kouji just shrugged.
"You're not being much of a help Kouji." Kouji seemed to glare at him, and Takuya, shocked took a step back. Kouji's expression softened then...he realized that Takuya wasn't used to seeing this side of him. When he was around people like JP and Zoey, he tended to close himself off.
"I'm sorry." Kouji said, reaching out and grabbing Takuya's shirt as he pulled the brunette close to him. He sank down to the ground so that he was sitting cross legged and Takuya followed suite, sitting in his lap, with his legs over his left knee. He grinned as the brunette fidgeted once, and then finally leaned his head up in a sideways position against his chest.
"Comfortable?" Takuya grinned back at his question.
"Yes, thank you." Kouji shook his head and hugged Takuya a little closer to him.
"The only thing is...is...that I'm not very good around a big group of people...see, my dad and I moved around a lot, and I attended so many schools that I never really made any close friends...until you came along..." Takuya glanced up at him, and cuddled closer. Kouji didn't mind at all about his display of affection.
"But it's only three other people..." Takuya said, gesturing toward them with his right hand, his left hand entwined with Kouji's right one.
"I know...but...I...don't trust Zoey a lot...she's..."
"A big pain in the ass?" Kouji chuckled as Takuya practically finished off his sentence for him and nodded.
"Yes, a big pain in the ass...I think she keeps on eyeing you...and that's kind of pissing me off." Takuya grinned.
"So I'm only all yours huh and no one else's? You can't share me?" Kouji laughed and kissed the brunette on the forehead.
"All mine." Takuya chuckled and kissed him back.
"So, now we've really got to decide...are we going to continue to travel alone and leave JP and Tommy in the hands of Zoey?" Kouji sighed again, not sure what to do or how to answer Takuya's question as he glanced off in the direction of JP and Tommy, who seemed to be having a conversation of their own...Zoey must've wondered off at one point...not like he cared or anything...he didn't, really.
"What do you want?" Takuya's eyes opened wide as Kouji asked this, and he shook his head.
"I-I don't know, I mean...it'd be nice to have some company for awhile but I also like just traveling alone with you..." Kouji smiled at this, and then the two of them sat there for a few minutes, just enjoying one another's company.
"Well...what we can do, is we could travel with them for awhile, and then if we get tired of them we can just separate...I mean, they've come this far on their own without us, right? And from what we know so far, Zoey and Tommy both have their spirits..." Kouji allowed his voice to trail off, and Takuya took his time to think, before slowly nodding at his suggestion.
"Yeah...that sounds like a plan...if you're willing to do it, I think it would be fun to travel with them for awhile-we can just ignore Zoey." Kouji chuckled.
"Besides, it seems like JP's got a crush on her anyway...I think once she realizes that, she might leave the two of us alone..." Takuya stood up then, brushing the dirt off of his pants and extending a hand to Kouji as he accepted it and stood up with the brunette's help.
"So, do you want to tell them?" Kouji asked, and Takuya nodded as he started to walk toward JP and Tommy, but Kouji placed a quick hand on his shoulder and stopped him for a moment.
"One more thing Takuya...just to warn you I might...not act like I normally do around them, like I do when it's just you and me...I might be distant. So don't feel like I'm ignoring you or anything, because I'm not..." Takuya nodded again and smiled as he grabbed Kouji's hand and held it tightly.
"I know, and I understand. We can have our 'private' moments at night..." He said with a playful grin, and a mischievous look in his eyes and Kouji couldn't help but send the same look back to him.
"Alright, as long as you understand." With that, he followed Takuya back to where JP and Tommy were now sitting, playing a game of paper, rock, scissors. They looked up when the two boys arrived, their eyes holding a questioning look in them as they held their breaths, wondering what their decision was.
"So...?" JP asked, as Takuya grinned at him.
"So, we've decided that we're going to go ahead and travel with you guys...but...only for awhile." He added, and Tommy's expression-which had turned into one of sheer joy-started to fall.
"We just want to see if we can travel with you guys-you know?" Takuya added hastily, seeing the expression change on Tommy's face, and both of the other boy's nodded and stood up.
"Then let's go and tell Zoey...we should head out and hike for awhile before dark falls..." JP muttered, heading off in the direction that Zoey went out toward, when Neemon suddenly dashed over to them, jumping up and down and waving his hands at them. Takuya and Kouji eyed the small Digimon skeptically.
"What's wrong Neemon?" Tommy asked, and Neemon took a second to 'compose' himself, his eyes still huge.
"They've got Bokomon and Zoey!" He gasped, acting as though he had just ran a hundred mile marathon or something.
"What?!? Who's got Bokomon and Zoey?!?" JP screeched, as Neemon tried to figure it out-the other's sighed.
"I...don't know how to explain it...but...bit, plant like things!" Takuya and Kouji eyed one another and shook their heads.
"Can you take us to them Neemon?" Takuya asked, and Neemon looked fearful for a minute, then sighed and sweat dropped.
"Alright, alright...I'll take you to them...man, and I barely escaped them! It's like a mon eating plant or something!" As he quickly lead the way, the other's followed.
Slowly the clearing turned into a forest-and as they kept on walking, they saw no sign of Bokomon or Zoey. Kouji frowned, thinking how ridiculous this was...was Neemon acting this way because he had thought he had seen something and in reality he and the other two had gotten lost and Zoey hadn't wanted to admit it?
"Neemon, are you sure you're leading us in the right direction?" He asked, a scowl starting to replace the frown, as Neemon nodded eagerly.
"Yes, yes, I'm sure, I'm positive..." He continued leading them for quite awhile, sniffing the air every once in awhile...when his ears started to turn down, Kouji sighed in frustration...knowing what was coming...
"Um...actually, no, no I'm not that positive at all now-I thought it was this way..." Even JP groaned, feeling like he wanted to throttle Neemon. He understood now why Bokomon did it so much.
"Neemon, it seems like we're just wondering around in circles..." Takuya volunteered, trying to help, but Neemon shook his head. None of them saw the plant like vines slithering on the ground as they made their way toward the group...
"No, it's not the same..." Neemon insisted, and when Tommy yelped they all turned to where he had been standing...wait a minute, had been standing?!? Instantly JP started to panic, and even Takuya had to admit it was a little nerving being in a shadowy forest-the sun didn't quite reach through the trees-and having two of your peers gone-now even maybe three...
"Um...Tommy?" He called out, but didn't get any answer. He was definitely starting to feel worried now.
"Where is he?" Kouji asked, looking around him as though Tommy were playing a game of hide and seek. JP shook his head and shrugged, a nervous sweat starting to appear on his forehead.
"I don't know...he was here...I swear he was just here!" JP claimed, and Takuya groaned.
"Will you calm down JP?!? We'll find him, we'll..." Takuya had been facing Kouji and was turning around to face JP when he blinked and realized that JP wasn't even there any longer-he had disappeared like Tommy had-and now he too was feeling the panicky feeling that JP had probably felt earlier.
"Man oh man...Kouji, what do you think could've happened to them?" He whispered, and when he didn't get any response, he whirled around-to find no Kouji. His mouth feel open as he cried out Kouji's name a few different times...even Neemon had disappeared...what was going on?!?
He smiled a little to himself as he remembered that evening last winter. It had snowed, and Shinya had wanted to go to the park and play with his friends...so Takuya, being the good older brother that he was, had offered to take him so his mother could make dinner and do some other things she needed to do. They'd had a fun afternoon-Takuya had even met up with some of his friends from the soccer team, and they'd had a snowball fight with Shinya and his friends, splitting up into even teams so that some of the bigger kids were with some of the little kids...as the afternoon had dwindled away though, there were only a few kids left-and most were getting ready to go home. It had started to get dark, and Takuya didn't know where Shinya was. He had kept on trying to find him as he looked for him, not knowing where his little brother had taken off to...he remembered that someone else had found him and was helping his little brother look for him...
But now he didn't have anyone else to help him find his friends...
He was so trapped in his thoughts as he continued to search for them, that he didn't feel the vines that wrapped themselves around his ankles. He let out a surprised yelp as he was suddenly violently dragged upward...into the trees...at one point he remembered banging his head hard against something, and then his mind fell into darknes...
~***~
"Takuya...?" He heard someone calling his name...
Groaning, Takuya slowly opened his eyes, and glanced upward into a pair of worried looking blue gray ones. Kouji...he knew that voice...he slowly grinned up at him and tried to sit up, but groaned.
"Relax, you took quite a hit on the head." Kouji whispered soothingly, and Takuya looked around, realizing that they were up in the trees somewhere, up high...and trapped, locked up in a cage made completely of-vines? He couldn't move very much, because the cage was a little on the small side. But at least he was with Kouji-he didn't know where the other's were, he couldn't see them anywhere. In fact, as he continued to glance up at the sky, he noticed that it was actually clouding now, looking like it was ready to rain...again.
He groaned a little bit more as Kouji helped him sit up fully. He couldn't stand...standing was practically out of the question. Kouji glanced at him with another concerned look.
"What happened?" Takuya asked, and Kouji was silent for a moment as he nibbled a little bit on his lower lip.
"Um...I'm not sure myself actually. I know that I was dragged off by those vine like things and I think that JP, Zoey, and Tommy were also dragged off. I haven't seen them yet...then I was put in here and I saw them drag you in. You were unconscious before that..."
"I don't remember what happened though...by 'they,' do you mean those plant like things?" Kouji nodded at Takuya's question.
"How long have we been stuck in here?"
"About a few hours..." Takuya gasped.
"I've been out of it that long?!? I don't even remember hitting my head or anything..." Kouji just shook his head, unsure of how to reply to that. They snuggled up to one another, trying to figure out exactly what was going on.
Until they heard a scream...
Takuya's head popped up from where he had been resting it once more on Kouji's chest, and his eyes opened wide.
"That was Zoey..." Kouji frowned as Takuya said the obvious-there was after all only one girl in the group-and he doubted that Tommy or JP-or even Takuya or himself for that matter, could scream that high.
"Yeah, I wonder what's going on...I wish we could be released from this stupid cage..." He mumbled, and Takuya nodded, and then gasped as suddenly it seemed that Kouji's wish was coming true-the vines started to unravel themselves, steadily one by one. But instead of leaving them completely alone, they once again wrapped themselves around the two boys, dragging them away from one another as they started to struggle.
"NO!" Takuya hollered, continuing his struggle as he was taken away from Kouji, but he saw as he struggled to look behind him, that the vines entwining Kouji were dragging him along the same path and lessened his struggling a bit.
"What's going on?" He yelled behind him, and he heard Kouji grunt as he continued to struggle, then gasp.
"Too-tight...!" Takuya glanced again at Kouji, noticing that the raven haired teen was having problems breathing...
"Stop struggling Kouji!" He told him, and for a second Kouji glared at him, before relaxing his muscles. Takuya realized that he was fine-but only because he wasn't struggling as much as Kouji had been. Kouji took in a deep breath of air as the vines slightly loosened, allowing him to breathe again.
"Ugh...I hate these things..." Takuya gave Kouji a grim look as Kouji said what he was thinking...it wasn't very fun being dragged along by live plants...
"I wonder where they're taking us?" He breathed out, as Kouji shook his head and struggled a little, but groaned when the vines strengthened their grip once more, and forced himself to relax again.
Eventually Takuya's question was answered, as a large village came into view. He raised an eyebrow as the vines continued to carry him and Kouji past the plant made huts and to something that resembled a temple.
"This is getting too weird..." Kouji muttered, and as soon as they had reached the 'stairs'...once again made from the plant-like vines, they were dropped, landing hard on the ground. Both boys grimaced, and stood as they rubbed their sore spots.
"Um...is anyone here?" Takuya hollered out as the vines quickly retreated, their jobs having been done. Even Kouji was looking around, wondering what was going on.
"I knew we should've continued to travel by ourselves...this is just way too weird..." He muttered.
"Yeah, well at least look on the bright side-we're still together and they-whoever they is, haven't separated us yet." Takuya pointed out, and as much as Kouji hated to admit it, Takuya was right.
"So where's everyone else?" Kouji asked, and Takuya shrugged, not knowing...until he heard JP muttering and complaining as he was struggling like Kouji had. Tommy was behind him, being dragged by the same vines that had held Kouji and Takuya earlier. Like the two of them, the other boys were dumped on the ground as well, grimacing as they stood, but glad to see Kouji and Takuya.
"Man, what's going on? Tommy and I were stuck in the same cage, and it was miserable...way to small if you ask me." JP complained, grinning sheepishly at Takuya and Kouji as Tommy shook his head.
"Yeah, but you took up most of the space JP! I was feeling squished...but I'm sure that if Takuya and Kouji were in the same position as we were, they probably didn't mind it half as much as I did!" He teased, and Takuya found himself turning a bright red. He glanced at Kouji to find the boy smiling weakly, also blushing.
"Yeah, yeah, rub it in. At least we were comfortable." Kouji pointed out, and Tommy stuck his tongue out at him.
"So...what are we supposed to do, just walk right on in or something?" JP asked, nodding in the direction of the 'temple'. Kouji shrugged.
"I'm not sure...we were just pretty much dumped here the same way you were..."
"Did you guys hear Zoey screaming?" JP asked, and both Kouji and Takuya nodded.
"Yeah, we did hear her screaming-why hasn't she shown up yet?" Takuya wondered aloud, but before any of the other boys could answer his question, a sound vibrated in the air-something that resembled the sound of beating drums...
"Um...what's going on?" Tommy asked, looking just as confused as the other's did. The vines came up from behind them again, and Takuya shrugged one off his shoulder. It was strange though-this time the vines didn't seem to be 'trapping' them in their grasp, instead they seemed to be guiding them.
"I think that these plant things want us to go in there." Takuya said, in reply to Tommy's question. They couldn't very well turn around and walk away-they vines were creating some sort of barrier, that even if they wanted too, wouldn't allow them. So instead they had to continue walking forward into the darkness of the temple made from...well, plants.
"This is creepy-way too creepy." JP muttered, as outside thunder boomed in the distance, and Takuya heard the rain start-at least here, they were dry. If he and Kouji had been left where they were originally, they'd probably be soaking wet by now...
JP jumped a little as more thunder sounded in the distance, and Takuya sent him a look that was of part amusement and part worry.
"You okay there JP?" JP nodded, fidgeting as they continued to make their way into the center of the temple, which was where the vines seemed to want them to go.
"Yeah, oh yeah, I'm just fine..." Again the thunder echoed through the walls and JP jumped once more. Kouji grinned a little.
"What JP, afraid of thunder and lightning storms or something?" JP growled a little under his throat. He hated admitting his fear...but Kouji had guessed it, and he really didn't have much of a choice now.
"Yes, I am...want to make something of it?" He grumbled, and Kouji just held up his hands in resignation and shook his head.
"Nope. But that would explain why you're so jumpy suddenly, that's all." He grinned at Takuya, who found himself grinning back and edging closer to him. The vines didn't seem to mind this, so he placed his hand into Kouji's, and kept it there. Tommy had moved over from where he had been walking next to Kouji, and grinned up at him as Takuya glanced down and mouthed a thank you. Tommy nodded.
"Where are we going? My feet are getting tired..." JP complained, not quite liking the silence, but no one didn't really know how to reply to that. Fortunately for them though, their question was answered when they stepped into the center arena of the temple, and their mouths dropped at what they saw.
"ZOEY?!?"
They all said her name in unison, and it would've been amusing had the situation not seemed as serious as it was.
It was indeed Zoey, dressed in a pale green dress that reached down to her feet-which, were now bare-and had only one strap going across her right shoulder, leaving her left shoulder bare. Her hair looked washed and clean, so that it shined in the darkness. And she was smiling...she looked happy.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute...how come Zoey gets treated like royalty and we get treated like prisoners or something?!?" JP questioned, and Zoey raised her eyebrow a little as she giggled.
"Because silly, I'm a girl...and girls do a better job of ruling, that's all...I suppose you're being well treated then, hmmm...?" She asked, and as she asked this, Takuya found himself getting angry.
"Like hell we are! We were trapped outside in cages made of vines, cages that were way to small for us! We couldn't even stand up! I don't call that being 'treated well'." Takuya fumed, and Zoey just gave him a wicked look.
"Well, then I suppose at least you and Kouji were comfortable? And you might want to thank me, because if I hadn't told them to put you and Kouji together you both would've been separated." She mused, and now Kouji felt the same anger that Takuya was feeling.
"What do you mean by that?!? Can you somehow control these vines that've been dragging us everywhere?" Zoey smiled and nodded.
"Oh yes, they're very loyal to me..." Takuya rolled his eyes.
"Zoey, we've only been separated for about three hours and you've already become a princess or something and have subjects you can rule over?" JP groaned, and Zoey nodded.
"Oh, yes...yes I do...now, aren't you going to ask me why I brought you all in here?" Kouji and Takuya both grimaced at her question, and the look in their eyes said 'no way in hell,' as did JP while he shook his head. So Tommy, looking from one to the other and than back up at Zoey, sighed.
"Zoey?"
She smiled sweetly down at him.
"Yes Tommy?"
"Why did you bring us here?" He asked softly, and Zoey's smile widened.
"Because I only wanted to make sure you were still alive, that's all. And I want you to meet a new friend of mine...guys, meet Vineramon, Vineramon, these are the guys." The boys all gasped as a Digimon nearly twice their size stepped out from the shadows. He was...nothing but a plant...he reminded Takuya of something like a mutant-half plant, half human...he shuddered at Vineramon's appearance.
"Now then, since you've met Vineramon you can be off..." Zoey clapped her hands twice, as the vines snapped into action and once again wrapped themselves around everyone. She still had that wicked looking smile on her face though as she eyed Takuya and Kouji...who had started to struggle again, not believing what was going on.
"Oh, and my bad...release him." She said, pointing at Kouji as the vines seemed to bristle with complaint and drop him. He fell, landing gently on his feet and glared up at where Zoey was now standing, getting up off of her 'throne'.
"You can take the rest away...I'm sorry Takuya, you get to spend a long, lonely cold night all by yourself...Kouji's my guest....he gets to stay with me." And as the vines started to drag the other Digi destined away, with Takuya struggling and JP feeling like he was ready to cry, Kouji silently cursed himself...he hadn't known what Zoey was up to until now. He had had the feeling that she'd been eyeing either him or Takuya-or perhaps the boy of them-when they'd first me...and now it looked like she wanted him. He sighed as the other's were taken away back to through the darkness and into the stormy weather outside, then turned to face Zoey, his eyes hardening as she descended down the steps toward him.
"You know I'm not interested in your... company." He snarled, and Zoey blanched for a moment, thinking of how to reply to it for a second.
"Oh, I know that you don't...but maybe I can get you to change your mind...maybe a night away from Takuya, and with me will help you." Kouji shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest and giving the blond haired girl before him a defiant look.
"Over my dead body. I love Takuya, not you or any other girl that'll come my way...besides, JP likes you Zoey..." Zoey sighed and shook her head.
"Yes, but I don't want JP." She whined.
"You can't get everything you want Zoey." Kouji warned her. He had learned that lesson a long time ago in his life.
"Mmmm...but maybe I can...if you don't at least accept to spend one night with me...I'll have to just let those vines do something horrible to Takuya..." Kouji glared at her.
"You...wouldn't." She smiled.
"Want to make a bet? I control them...I can tell them to do anything I want them too. If I want them too 'accidentally' strangle Takuya to death, than strangle him they would." Kouji grimaced and than he sighed in defeat...he didn't want anything happening to Takuya...and he somehow knew that Zoey wouldn't give up unless she had him to herself for the night...
"Zoey, I'm not even interested in girls! I never have been!" He protested, but Zoey just shook her head.
"Just one night...please?" She pleaded, and Kouji sighed and shook his head.
"Alright...alright...just...don't hurt Takuya." He whispered, hating the defeated feeling that was starting to rise up in his chest, and she smiled and skipped a little, clapping her hands once. Vineramon came up then, and stood right next to her.
"Vineramon, show Kouji to my-our-quarters...I'm going to check on the prisoners real quick..." She said with a giggle, as Kouji felt a strong arm guide him away from Zoey toward another section of the temple.
"Zoey! Don't hurt Takuya or I swear I'll make you pay!" He hollered, struggling but finding it to no prevail...Vineramon was stronger than he was...
As soon as Kouji disappeared from view, Zoey laughed a low, evil laugh that didn't sound quite like herself-maybe because she wasn't herself.
"Oh Kouji...I'm not going to hurt your little koi...I might mess with his mind a little bit, maybe make his love for you suffer...but I'm not going to hurt him...besides, I need him for my plan...need him, and you. For revenge is so sweet..." As Zoey laughed again and headed outside, the room turned dark...but what Kouji or any of the other Digi Destined hadn't seen in the room, was the real Zoey...hanging by vines, being forced to watch it all...she struggled, oh yes, she had fought against the one pretending to be her with all her might...but in the end she had lost...screamed even in pain as the vines had wrapped themselves around her and pierced her with their thorns, drawing blood.
Now she started to cry...her friends had just been there...and she was there...but not there...someone else was pretending to be her...Zoey- the real Zoey-only hoped that one of her friends-maybe even JP-would realize that the 'Zoey' wasn't really Zoey...but something else. Zoey would've never hurt Takuya or Kouji that way...the way that the fake Zoey wanted too...sure she had been mad at them at first, but...not anymore.
Zoey silently vowed, as she continued to struggle against the vines that held her prisoner.
TBC
AN: Bwahahahahaha! Another chapter out for me! And this one will probably be a two parter, because I didn't feel like having it all happen in one chapter-besides, it's fun torturing you guys with cliffhangers like this! :P (I've had it done to me one too many times lately with Takouji fics that I've been finding-so all you Takouji author's that're out there reading this, GET UPDATING! ^_~) Oh, and in the last fic, the song lyrics that I used were from Evanescence's 'Fallen' CD...the song was My Last Breath, in case if I didn't say it in the disclaimer last time, I don't own the and was just borrowing them for my fic because I thought it fit perfectly there...^-^ If you like dark, goth music, go and check them out because their CD IS really good...
ANYWAY, here's a sneak peak for you for the next chapter because I made you all wait so long...don't forget to review please!!!!!!!!!!! ^-^
~***~
Takuya was cold...freezing actually...and the pouring down rain didn't help him much. Not only did he not know where Zoey had the vines take JP and Tommy, but with Kouji back at the Temple with Zoey...he shuddered. He knew that Kouji didn't prefer girls...he knew it...but he also knew that this would test their relationship. He had to trust Kouji, he had to trust that he wouldn't do anything against his own will...but what if...what if somehow Zoey did something to him? Did something to him to make him forget who Takuya was, and his feelings for him?
The brunette stifled a cry, and tried to unstuck the sob that threatened to escape him. His body shook, but not from emotion but from the cold that was soaking it's way through his skin. He tried to rub his hands up and down as he tried to warm himself, but...but he wished that Kouji was there to warm him up instead. He knew that if the raven haired teen was there with him, he wouldn't be half as cold or as uncomfortable as he was now.
Without warning though, the vines unwrapped themselves, causing the cage to slack as they instead wrapped themselves around Takuya's body...he was getting used to this by now. Now it was only because Zoey commanded them to do so-which meant that she had something planned for him.
Takuya shivered as the vines started moving forward...at first he thought that they were going to take him to the temple where he had last seen Kouji...but instead they moved in another direction, and further up. There was a few huts to where he was taken too, and he didn't see any Digimon...or any sign of Zoey either. Instead, he saw the Digimon that had stepped out of the shadows...what was his name again...Vineramon?
"What do you want?" Takuya asked coldly, his arms crossing over his chest...partly for the look of defiance, and partly for the fact that it helped keep him warm.
"You." Takuya raised an eyebrow as he heard the Digimon's slippery voice for the first time.
"Me?"
"Yes, you. Your help actually is what I want."
"Uh huh...yeah, you want my help and yet I get stuck in a cage, and I'm soaking wet?" Vineramon looked at him for a moment, before ushering him inside one of the huts.
"Come inside." Takuya hesitated before accepting the offer, and stepped inside...to his surprise, a warm fire was set and roaring, the hut warm. He was glad he had accepted Vineramon's offer then as he sat in front of the fire and held his hands out to it. Vineramon stood a little bit away, in the shadow watching Takuya for a few minutes as he warmed his numb hands and removed his red outer shirt, placing it a little closer so to let it dry.
"Warm enough?" The Digimon startled the brunette, who nodded.
"Good."
"You know...I don't know if you're just being nice to me because Zoey ordered it and is going to do something horrible to me later, or if you're just being nice to me because you're just generally that way and don't like to show it." Vineramon offered Takuya a small, wry smile.
"Think what you like. Actually my people were once very kind and generous, but a cold and corrupted spirit came, and stripped that all away. Now most of my people are either gone or deceased...or slaves taken away to work for the spirit..." Takuya's eyes opened wide...by spirit did he mean a spirit like one of theirs?
"Um...what kind of spirit is this exactly?" Vineramon sighed.
"You might not understand...even we're not sure where it came from, we really aren't. But what we do know, is that it can possess your very heart and turn you into a cold person...it'll basically make you become the opposite of what or who you really are. It turned many of my people insane- it'll use you, corrupt you, and than drop you." Takuya shuddered.
"That sounds...awful...dreadful..."
"There is another spirit that we know of, one that'll be able to defeat the evil one...but we have yet to find it or even figure it out where it is...could you help us?"
"Why do you want my help?"
"Because we saw you and the others fighting the Sneemon...our vines can travel many other places and they were watching you...they believe that you can help lift this curse on our village." Takuya sighed.
"I-I guess we can try...but...I'm going to need some help." Vineramon nodded.
"Of course, your friends you mean...the chubby one and the small one?" Takuya choked on his laughter, and only nodded instead.
"JP and Tommy...the chubby one and the small one...yeah, those'd be them...is there any chance that you might be able to get them here?" Vineramon nodded.
"I shall try and do as you ask young one...but...I'm not sure...I've got to somehow get beyond Ms. Zoey's control...it wasn't easy doing it to get you out...let me see what I can do. In the meantime, I want you to stay in here until I come and get you." As Vineramon turned to leave, Takuya watched him go...but went after him, wanting to know one more thing.
"VINERAMON!" The Digimon turned around and saw Takuya at the doorway of the hut, a questioning look in his eyes.
"Kouji...my friend-the one that was forced to stay behind with Zoey- can you...can you help him? I mean, I know he's not interested in her at all, like she might be interested in him...if you can't bring him here like you might be able to do with JP or Tommy, can you at least watch over him for me? Until I can find a way to rescue him and your village?" Vineramon seemed to consider this for a moment, before slowly nodding his head.
"I will do my best young Takuya. But I can't promise anything...but if you manage to save my village, I will make sure that your friend is safe." Takuya nodded as he turned around and started to leave once more...he barely heard what Takuya said next, but he still heard it.
"He's more than my friend...I love him..." Takuya whispered, and he didn't hear what Vineramon said upon his departure:
"You're going to have more than him that you're going to have to save Takuya...Zoey isn't all she seems to be...but your heart is in the right place...and so is hers-you just have yet to see it...keep your friends close, but your enemies closer."
