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Ch 02 || Cat and Mouse
"...we're missing someone! Where's Takeru?!"
"I don't see him anywhere!"
"He knew to come here, didn't he?"
"Do you think he checked his d-terminal?"
"I've sent him messages—he hasn't responded!"
"Do you think something happened?!"
"Maybe he's running late! Let's just wait a little bit!"
For the love of...
Yamato knew, even before Sora did a headcount and announced Takeru's absence, that something was wrong. Because Takeru was the only one missing, and that meant he was most likely alone somewhere and in danger. Yamato should have noticed before now, that he was gone. He should have checked.
They'd had to move fast, though, to stay out of Mirrormon's grasp. But Yamato had been sure to keep a careful eye on Takeru—Taichi had urged them to stay together until Mirrormon decided to play a sick game of hide and seek, forcing them to separate with the promise of regrouping when it was safe—and now he didn't know where his brother was.
Regardless, he should have checked.
He should have checked.
Now that Mirrormon's sadistic taunts had fallen mysteriously quiet, they were all together again—well, almost all of them.
Yamato worked his jaw. "Garurumon. We have to find him."
Without slowing down, Garurumon said, "Yes, I know."
"Yamato, now, wait a minute," came Jou's voice. "We don't know if Mirrormon's still out there! We don't know if he's—"
"Look around, Jou," Yamato shouted, refusing to look back. "My brother is missing! I don't care if it's a trap—we came here with twelve people and we're leaving with twelve people!"
His grip on Garurumon's fur tightened with each word, eyes narrowing against the wind as it whipped and clawed at his face. The sun beat down on him with a vengeance, but it didn't matter. Because a psychotic, powerful, widely-unknown digimon was on the loose, and who knew if Takeru was with him?
They'd been fighting Mirrormon for hours. Why would he suddenly vanish without a trace? Wouldn't they have heard one last, dying cry if one of their partners had defeated him? Wouldn't they'd know if he'd been taken down?
He wanted to believe that he would, and that prompted him into thinking that Mirrormon wasn't gone. But first… they had to find Takeru.
"Should we split up again?" That was Hikari. "And search for him?"
"I still don't think isolating ourselves is a good idea," Taichi said from on Greymon's shoulder. "We're stronger together. If Mirrormon was able to get just one…"
He trailed off, and Yamato seethed silently. Taichi didn't say it, but he knew what he was going to say.
If Mirrormon was able to get just one… whoever he got, wouldn't stand a chance.
He should have kept an eye on Takeru. They should have split up into pairs or groups of three, rather than scattering. Sure, the d-terminals made communication a little easier, but if Mirrormon had found Takeru…
Of course he wouldn't be able to check for messages or instructions on where to meet up.
It didn't matter if he wasn't seven anymore. It didn't matter if Takeru wasn't entirely defenseless. It didn't matter if Takeru would be fourteen in a few months. Yamato was still his older brother, and he was responsible for him.
Takeru… where are you?
No verbal answer came. Just the uneasy silence of his team and the hot, screaming wind. The world seemed much larger around him as he wondered about his brother's whereabouts. Would they find him soon? Would it take hours? Days?
"I think it's wise if we stop for a moment," called another voice. Koushiro. "We can try to pinpoint Takeru's location via his digivice. Perhaps he's headed this way."
"He wouldn't have just ignored our messages," Hikari said from above them, mounted on Nefertimon. "Takeru wouldn't leave us to worry, even if he was just a couple minutes away."
"Hikari's right," Iori said. "And Takeru is a very punctual person. He is not usually late."
"Unlike someone we know," Miyako droned, not even trying to be discreet.
"...if you're talking about me," Daisuke began, "the last time wasn't my fault! I—"
"Guys, let's not argue, please," Sora said. "I agree with Koushiro. We should stop for a little while and use our resources to find him."
Once again, Yamato's grip on Garurumon's fur tightened so much that it was a wonder Garurumon didn't yelp in pain or surprise. Yamato had no desire to stop moving, but… much as he hated to admit it, they were right.
Against his better judgement, Yamato leaned down to tell Garurumon, "Fine. Let's stop."
"Are you sure, Yamato?"
No, he wasn't. "Yeah. I'm sure."
As if sensing the hesitance that Yamato was careful to hide, Garurumon took his time in slowing down. When he reached a speed that Yamato felt comfortable with, he dug into his pocket for his digivice.
"I don't see a signal," Hikari called from above.
"Same here," Mimi said.
"Is everyone the same?" Taichi asked the group.
Yamato grit his teeth as a hum of reluctant agreement echoed around him, and his fingers clenched around his digivice as he, too, saw no signal that indicated his brother's presence. Did that mean they were going in the wrong direction, or were they just not close enough?
Damn it. Takeru, where are you?
"What should we do?" Greymon's gruff voice asked, shaking the ground with each pounding step as he, too, slowed down.
"I kind of think Hikari's suggestion to split up again could work," Jou said loudly. "Don't get me wrong, Taichi! I think we're stronger together, too. But… if we split up, we could cover more ground."
"He makes a good point," Ken said. "And we wouldn't be as conspicuous as we are now. Our digimon could revert back into Child form to conserve their energy."
"What happens if Mirrormon catches us and we're separated, and we don't have a chance to get our partners to digivolve?" Miyako fretted. "He'd overwhelm us easily!"
"That's what I'm worried about," Taichi said.
By now, they'd all come to a stop. With his hands still fisted in Garurumon's fur, Yamato continued to seethe, even as he and his partner turned to face his friends—who, in spite of how loud they were being while talking to each other, were quite a ways behind him.
Hikari was closest, drifting lower and lower to the ground as they all gathered in a giant circle. None of the digimon devolved yet—most likely as a precaution, even though Ken had suggested they revert to their child forms—and the tension was heavy in the air.
"...I'm going to send another message," Hikari said as Nefertimon finally reached the ground.
"Do you think he'll answer?" Miyako asked.
"I don't know, but I've got to try," Hikari said, her voice wavering.
"It'll be alright, Hikari," Nefertimon said. "We'll find him."
She didn't look convinced at all. "He wouldn't make us worry. He wouldn't just not respond. Something's… something's wrong."
Another silence ensued, brought about by the aching weight of a team mate's absence. Each second that passed only worsened the tension and fueled Yamato's irritation.
He couldn't just sit here and do nothing. He couldn't just stand around like his brother was already gone, never to return again.
"Well?" he snapped. "We can't just wait around."
He wasn't yelling at anyone in particular, but why had they decided to stop if they weren't going to discuss their plan to find Takeru, wherever he was?
"I'm thinking," Taichi said. "Look, man. I get it. We're worried about Takeru, too. But—"
"I really don't think you get it," Yamato said, and sure, it was probably rage talking, but he'd seen what Mirrormon was capable of. He'd seen the destruction he'd caused in the past few hours they'd been fighting him. "Mirrormon isn't here, and neither is Takeru. What do you think that means?!"
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, here," Sora said gently, sliding off Birdramon's talon and looking at him with soulful eyes. "We don't know for sure if they're together, or if Takeru's hurt. We can't go assuming the worst, alright? I'm sure Pegasusmon is with him. He's not defenseless."
But it had taken all twelve of them to lure Mirrormon away from the village of digimon he'd been attacking. It'd taken all twelve of them to act as a distraction, as a decoy; and even then, he'd nearly destroyed the village in the process. He'd summoned digimon after digimon to do his bidding as he chased after them like a cat in pursuit of a mouse, and even Koushiro couldn't find much information in the database about Mirrormon on that laptop of his.
So they were left without information, without a way to defeat him. Like he was a new breed of digimon entirely, and they had to start their analysis from scratch, based solely on what they had seen today. But they didn't have time to sit around and wonder.
The only thing he could think of was that he'd captured Takeru. Why else couldn't they find him? Either of them? Why else would Takeru leave them hanging, without responding to the dozens of messages sent his way?
"I do get it," Taichi said when Yamato glared stubbornly at the ground, mind racing with countless, pessimistic scenarios. "I'd be in your shoes if my sister was missing. I get it. You want to bring him home."
Greymon lowered him to the ground. He leapt onto the soil, sweating and flushed from the heat.
"Well… so do we."
"We'll split up, then," Yamato said, lifting his gaze to meet Taichi's. His tone left no room for an argument, but it didn't seem as though Taichi was going to fight him on this. "I'm going to go this way."
"Yamato, wait," Hikari called. "I'll go with you."
"I will as well," Iori said. "A group of three seems balanced enough."
"I agree," Jou said. "I still think we should be careful, but—"
Yamato was no longer listening. The sound of Iori's and Hikari's partners' footsteps grew louder and faster, and Yamato nudged Garurumon in silent command to get him to turn around. He obeyed without question, and then they took off with Iori and Hikari in tow.
Hey. Just checking in. Let everyone know if you find clues about Takeru, or if you find him. Or… or if you get into some trouble and need help. Just stay in touch, got it?
- Taichi
Now walking on foot with Gabumon by his side, Yamato had eagerly pulled out his d-terminal as soon as it went off. It wasn't Takeru, though, and that kind of irked him.
Still. He could at least acknowledge that they were a team. Keeping in touch was kind of the standard.
"I'll send a response," Iori offered when Yamato just stared at it.
Neither Yamato nor Hikari offered a verbal response, although it was as if Iori wasn't expecting one. Regardless, all three lapsed into another silence, and Yamato tried—unsuccessfully—to convince himself that he was overreacting. That wherever he was, Takeru was fine. He had a very powerful, celestial digimon on his side, after all.
But… he couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in his chest. Mirrormon was insane, and he was also wickedly strong. Who knew what would happen if Takeru was alone with him? They didn't really know for certain what they were up against.
"Sent," Iori told them.
For an answer, Yamato simply grunted, while Hikari hummed. No one in their group brought up Mirrormon. They didn't try to figure out what he was planning, or what to expect. They didn't try to figure out his location. Their focus remained fixed upon Takeru.
Iori had promised to keep an eye out for Takeru's digivice signal when they decided to continue their search for him on foot, but both Hikari and Yamato made it a habit to check their digivices as well.
A blinking, glowing yellow dot. That was all he asked for. Something that would indicate Takeru's location.
"It's quiet," Hikari said abruptly, staring straight ahead.
"I was thinking that, too," Iori said.
Scream for help, Yamato begged Takeru silently, as if he'd yelled the words out into open space for him to hear. Let us know where you are.
He wasn't expecting any kind of response. He knew there was no way Takeru could read his thoughts. He was aware of the fact that he couldn't reach his brother like this, no matter how much he wanted to.
But somehow, miraculously, someone—or rather, something—answered.
An otherworldly cry tore through the open sky like a lightning bolt coming down to strike the ground. As one, the group of humans and digimon gazed upward, searching for the source.
"That sounds like a Kuwagamon," Gabumon said.
"Do you think it was Mirrormon?" Hikari asked. "Do you think he summoned it?"
Desperately, Yamato scanned the cloudless sky. He couldn't yet see anything that indicated Takeru was near. He couldn't even spot the Kuwagamon Gabumon had mentioned. Like it had released a final wail—the last sound it could make before death welcomed it with open arms—and vanished.
Did… did that mean it was dead?
But then, all of the digimon mysteriously vanished when Mirrormon was done with them. They'd fulfilled his wish, and he'd toss them aside as though—
"Pegasusmon," Tailmon cried out.
That snapped Yamato's thoughts back into order. "Where? Where?!"
He gazed around wildly again as he spoke, eyes darting back and forth, back and forth. Then a glowing orb caught his attention, and Tailmon was wrapped in a cocoon of digital code as Patamon descended from the sky like an asteroid ready to cave in the earth beneath them.
"Patamon," Hikari called, choking on a sob.
If Patamon was here, where was his brother? Had Takeru been riding Pegasusmon before he devolved? The thought made the hairs on the back of Yamato's neck rise as goosebumps pebbled over his skin.
To fall from that height without some kind of safety net… no human would survive.
"Takeru," Yamato shouted, cupping his hands over his mouth and kicking off into a sprint, toward Nefertimon and Patamon. "TAKERU!"
"Wait, Takeru wasn't with Pegasusmon," Iori said, now running as well. "Wait—"
"Then where is he?!"
Swiftly, gracefully, Nefertimon landed in front of them with a pale-looking Patamon resting on her back. Hikari took him instantly, although carefully. Her eyes glistened with tears.
"Oh my goodness," she breathed out in a strained voice. "Patamon? Wh-what happened? You're… you're hurt…"
Something wasn't right. Even if Kuwagamon had been summoned and Patamon had fought him as Pegasusmon, he should have outmatched Kuwagamon easily. Though no one brought it up, it was well-known Patamon—no matter what form he became—was almost twice as strong as a normal Adult- or Perfect-level digimon. He should have…
But we've been fighting Mirrormon for a while, Yamato told himself. Of course he's drained of his energy…
All three of them crowded around Hikari, muscles tensed in anticipation. Yamato worked his jaw, worry spiking its way through his heart. For Patamon, and for Takeru.
If Takeru wasn't with Patamon…
Where are you?
"Patamon?" Gabumon pressed anxiously.
He'd whispered it so quietly and yet Patamon winced as if Gabumon had shouted his name right in his ear. Muscles pulled taut in preparation for what was to come, Yamato watched with webbed eyes as Patamon twitched. As his eyelids flitted and fluttered.
"F...forest," he mumbled with a shudder, like he was cold. "...Takeru… hiding there…"
"A forest?" Hikari echoed, brows knitting together. "Patamon? What're you talking about? Patamon…"
Hazy, murky blue eyes opened to glance weakly at the group. "...took him there… to be safe…"
Yamato glanced up to look for said forest. The digital world was full of vast open grasslands, and it was on one of those grasslands which they currently stood. And the sun's heat made it so hot that it was a wonder the grass wasn't dried up and dead.
"North," Iori said abruptly.
Ready to sprint again, Yamato risked one last glance at him. "What's North?"
"There's a blinking gold signal," Iori answered firmly. "That has to be Takeru. If we keep going North like we have been, then—"
Yamato didn't have to be told twice. He looked down at Patamon and said, "You did great, buddy. We'll look after you now. Just hang in there."
And then he met Gabumon's eyes, and he didn't even have to ask. His digivice exploded with light and Gabumon was enveloped in code.
"I'll hold onto him," Hikari said, wiping her eyes as she drew herself back up to her full height and clutched a shivering Patamon to her chest. She mounted Nefertimon without hesitation. "Let's go find Takeru."
"I'll update the others again," Iori said.
Yamato nodded in response to both of them. Even Armidillomon—who had either been extremely quiet during their search or Yamato just had been paying attention enough to hear him speak—had digivolved into Digmon and now hovered in the air with Iori in his arms.
Yamato's mind was a tangled knot of thoughts as they traveled northbound. It was hot and his clothes clung to his skin with sweat, but he didn't care.
He didn't care that there was no sign of Mirrormon anywhere, even if that meant something bad was about to happen. He didn't care that they'd heard but not seen Kuwagamon, who was no doubt a (perhaps unwilling) servant of Mirrormon. The only thing that mattered at the moment was making sure Takeru was out of Mirrormon's grasp. The only thing that mattered was getting him back to Earth safely.
Their surroundings passed in a blur, as did time. When Iori spoke, it could have only been one minute, or it could have been ten. Yamato wasn't keeping track.
"The others are headed this way, too," he shouted to them over the roaring wind.
Patamon said he was only hiding, Yamato told himself. He's in a forest for his own protection. But… but he wasn't with Patamon, so that leaves him without protection…
It was an unnerving thought. As many kind digimon as they had met in their adventures as Chosen Children, there were just as many malevolent foes. If Takeru ran into something, who knew if its intentions were pure or evil?
"Up ahead," Hikari said. "Patamon says that's it!"
Yamato blinked to focus his eyes, to find their new destination. "Garurumon, can you run faster?"
He hadn't demanded it. He hadn't said it rudely. But the desperate, frantic undertone in his voice must have done the trick, because Garurumon obeyed his request, gaining momentum with each stride.
Just hold on, kiddo. Wait just a few more minutes…
His thoughts trailed off as Garurumon stopped moving almost as quickly as he'd picked up speed. Yamato had to hold on as tightly as he could to avoid being thrown off like a rider being bucked from their horse.
"Garurumon—" Yamato began in surprise, firming his thighs for more support.
"Someone's coming out of the forest," Garurumon breathed out. "It… it seems like there are two people."
Not for the first time, Yamato stiffened in anticipation. It was hot out here, but he suddenly felt really cold, like his blood had been replaced with ice. His heart pounded relentlessly in his chest but even that sound fell mute as the full magnitude of Garurumon's statement hit him.
Someone… is with Takeru? Is it Mirrormon? he thought in horror. Is it even Takeru coming out of…?
Both Digmon and Nefertimon slowed as well, and Garurumon took a careful step forward. And another. And another. Like he was exploring a new, unfamiliar territory and didn't know what lay beyond its depths.
Yamato saw glowing red orbs deep within the trees and was getting ready to command his partner to attack when slowly, slowly, a lone human-shaped silhouette emerged from the trees.
Without hesitation, Yamato dismounted Garurumon and ran toward the figure, heedless of Garurumon's bark of warning.
"Takeru?" he called, as a halo of blond hair came into view. "Hey… hey, Takeru!"
Takeru didn't have much time to respond. Yamato ran up to him, embracing him without a second thought.
"You had me so worried," he whispered. "We… we were supposed to meet up…"
For a moment, Takeru didn't respond, or even return the embrace—which was strange because Takeru adored physical affection, unlike Yamato—but just as Yamato was going to question it, Takeru sank into the embrace, head lolling toward his chest.
"M'sorry," Takeru whispered. "I… I was looking… for everyone…"
The sound of footsteps reached Yamato's ears, indicating that the rest of his group was approaching.
"Takeru?" Hikari's voice wobbled. "Are you alright?"
Takeru's face remained buried in Yamato's shirt. Then, just as slowly and carefully as he'd come out of the woods, he pulled away, looking around Yamato to follow Hikari's voice.
"Yes," Takeru murmured. "Is… is that Patamon?"
Yamato's rapidly thawing blood was growing cold again. There was… something off about Takeru's voice. Something dreamlike and distant, like he was talking to him in his sleep. Like he wasn't even awake.
"...Takeru?" Yamato repeated, this time quieter. More vigilant. "...you sure?"
With his brows furrowed, he glanced down at his brother. Had… had he hit his head or something? Or had he actually fallen asleep, at a time like this? The thought filled him with dread.
"Yes," Takeru repeated quietly.
Yamato frowned. Curled one finger underneath Takeru's chin to coax his gaze upward so they were looking into each other's eyes.
At first, he thought he saw a tendril of red. Something swirled deep in his eyes, but then Takeru blinked and it was gone, and Yamato thought it must have been the glare of the sun.
"I'm sure," Takeru said, firmly this time.
He blinked again as he spoke, and all Yamato saw was blue in his irises, sparkling under the sun's rays.
Definitely the sun, Yamato repeated mentally.
Suddenly Hikari was running up to them, Patamon still in her arms, and as she squeezed her way in, she said, "We really were worried, Takeru. We messaged you and we didn't hear anything—"
Yamato didn't really intend on backing up, not after he'd been flooded with dread and worry for his brother's well-being, but Hikari sounded ready to cry. Even Iori looked relieved to see Takeru in one piece.
Again, Takeru blinked. "...what?"
Hikari stopped, looking at him quizzically. One hand hovered over his shoulder, as if to embrace him, but was frozen by his response. "You… you didn't see the messages? On your d-terminal?"
"Takeru?" Patamon croaked. "You're ok?"
"You… you didn't run into anything?" Iori asked hesitantly. "Did you see Mirrormon anywhere?"
A pause. Yamato's heart was beating so hard that it was as though it could break through the very cage designed to protect it.
"I'm ok," Takeru said softly, with a smile. "I didn't run into anything. I was… walking through the forest and... heard your voices…"
"...your d-terminal," Hikari repeated, her hand finally unfreezing and coming to rest on his shoulder. "Did you check it?"
Takeru reached into his pocket, but only pulled out his D3. Yamato watched as he checked his other pockets, front, and back.
"I… did I drop it?" he whispered, blinking once more. Like he was fighting off sleep or had something in his eyes. "I… I can't find it…"
"We'll have to search for it later, Takeru," came Nefertimon's voice. "We need to get back to the others and… and think of a plan. Mirrormon's nowhere to be found. He's got to be planning something. We need to be prepared."
Takeru nodded, but he did so, slowly. Gazed at Yamato, and then Hikari, and Iori, and their digimon, taking in their faces one at a time, like it was the first time he'd seen it before.
"Takeru...are you… sure you're ok? Are you awake?"
Yamato didn't know why he'd asked the second part. It just came out—rolled off his tongue instinctively. But he couldn't get it out of his head: Takeru seemed so hazy, so not there.
Except those words seemed to snap him out of it. At once, he glanced up at his brother, no longer blinking continuously, eyes clearing up; and he smiled. "Of course I'm awake, Nii-san. I'm… I'm so glad everyone's safe."
And then he pulled Hikari close, resting his chin on her shoulder, and she seemed to relax instantly. She murmured with a relieved smile, "We're glad you're safe, too, Takeru. We weren't going to go home without you…"
"Thank you for searching for me," Takeru whispered, and it was then that he took Patamon into his arms. "Buddy?"
"Hi, Takeru," Patamon said, bruised and exhausted, but looking thankful to see him. "I'm sorry I had to leave you. I only wanted you to be safe."
"Thank you for looking after me. I… ouch."
Hikari reached out to steady him as he stumbled, but Yamato was there first. Said urgently, "What? What's wrong?"
For an answer, Takeru glanced down at his foot. Yamato looked as well and saw the rapidly-darkening bruise forming just above his sock.
Suddenly, Mirrormon didn't even occupy one thought in his brain. It was as if he didn't exist at all.
"You're hurt," Yamato said. "You didn't tell me you were hurt?"
"You're hurt?" Patamon echoed.
"What happened?" Hikari said, wide-eyed.
Yamato didn't wait for him to reply. Carefully, but swiftly, he knelt down and said, "You're not walking on that until we can get a look at it. C'mon."
"Nii-san. I'm thirteen. I'll be—"
"Takeru."
"...alright," Takeru relented.
"Garurumon." Yamato's gaze snapped in the direction of his partner. "C'mere."
Garurumon obeyed, and even though the tension seemed to evaporate around them with Takeru found mostly unharmed, something didn't quite click in Yamato's brain. He was relieved to see Takeru and to know that he hadn't fallen into the clutches of a powerful, evil digimon, but something…
Something wasn't right.
He'd keep an eye on Takeru until he found out what it was.
