Author's Note: First, I hope that everyone had a good Mother's Day yesterday. This chapter was going to be the second to last, but I ended up splitting it into two chapters, so I apologize for fibbing in my last note. After this chapter, this story will be down to two chapters left. Thank you so much melia2, DarkJanet, Music Chick, and BlondeandConfused for your amazing reviews as well as adding to your alerts and favorites!
Drowned Out
Chapter Fourteen
Pegasusmon struggled to break free from the power that was holding him and T.K. in place but he was unable to move a muscle. Then slowly, the two were being pulled closer towards the voice as they heard it boom once more.
"WHO ARE YOU?"
Turning his head slightly, T.K. looked and saw a Digimon he had never seen before but unlike the Nightmare Soldiers, he had long golden wings and glowing in a bright aura. He was doglike in appearance but stood upright, with his long hair tied delicately, wearing bracelets that decorated on his elongated arms and clad in white pants and gold sandals.
"Who are you?" the Digimon questioned again, a little bit softer. "Speak!"
"I-I'm T.K., a human," the Bearer of Hope said nervously, "And this is Pegasusmon. Who are you?"
"I am Anubismon," replied the winged canine, "the guardian of the Dark Area."
T.K. couldn't believe his ears. "You're the guardian of this place?!"
"Correct," answered Anubismon, "Whenever a Digimon dies, I'm the one who judges whether or not they can reconfigure back into digi-eggs. If their data is good, they can begin life all over, but if they are evil, they are imprisoned here in the Dark Area."
Anubismon flew closer, looking at T.K. in curious fascination.
"Hmmm…so you're a human? You're in fact the second human I've seen in the Dark Area."
"Second human?" T.K. echoed, "Did you see another one that looked kind of like me?"
Anubismon paused for a moment and his eyes widened. "Yes! I did see a boy who bore a resemblance to you, he had blonde hair and blue eyes."
"That's my brother, Matt!" the Bearer of Hope cried, "That's why I'm here! Daemon had kidnapped him and took him here!"
"Daemon!" Anubismon growled, "I should've known that he was behind this!"
T.K. gasped. "You know who Daemon is?!"
"I do!" replied the jackal-like Digimon.
"Did you see where Daemon was taking him?"
Anubismon nodded and released his hold on the two, "If you both come with me, I will lead you to your brother."
Growing hopeful, T.K. and Pegasusmon flew alongside the Dark Area's guardian as his bright aura shined brightly in the perpetual darkness. As they continued to travel, none of the Nightmare Soldiers dared to attack them and fled in terror whenever they came close. However, many questions were overflowing in T.K.'s mind and he wanted answers.
"Could you tell me more about Daemon?" The Bearer of Hope asked.
"I can," replied Anubismon.
Then another question hit T.K.
"If evil Digimon are sent here, then how come Daemon can come and go whenever he wants and why can't you stop him?"
Anubismon was silent for a moment before answering.
"Because…Daemon is one of the Seven Great Demon Lords of the Digital World."
T.K.'s blood ran cold. "S-seven Great Demon Lords?!"
"Correct. Long ago, there was an ancient battle which the Seven Great Demon Lords raised an army to challenge the Four Sovereigns to claim the Digital World as theirs but they and their followers failed, were destroyed, imprisoned in the Dark Area, and the powers of the Demon Lords were sealed. However, the Sovereigns were unable to completely seal away Daemon's power and he bid his time for when he would strike again once he was at full strength."
The blonde's blue eyes widened as he listened.
Anubismon continued. "Once Daemon's power returned, he had all the elements that he needed for his next invasion except for the crucial piece left to complete his plan. So, he gathered a small band of powerful Nightmare Soldiers and escaped to your world, intent on finding it and enslaving the Real World as well. However, his plan was foiled and he disappeared."
Ken's Dark Spore… T.K. thought.
"And now that he has returned, this spells disaster for both worlds should his plan succeed."
T.K. shuddered at the thought, Daemon was already so powerful that attacking him just made him stronger and now, not even sealing him away wasn't enough.
He shook his head. No! I can't think like that!
"Anubismon," the Bearer of Hope began, "Surely there must be a way that we can stop Daemon for good!"
"There is," answered the winged jackal, "it lies within the vessel."
"The vessel?" repeated T.K., a bit puzzled.
He was about to ask more when Anubismon said, "We're getting close."
Looking down below, T.K. can see a vast forest as they were getting nearer to their destination. Soon, his eyes saw an enormous castle standing ominously amongst the trees.
"Is that Daemon's castle?"
Anubismon shook his head. "No. That castle belongs to GranDracmon."
"GranDracmon!?" the blonde cried in a horrified voice. "Does this mean that we failed in stopping MaloMyotismon?"
"No," replied Anubismon, "the Myotismon that you humans have battled and defeated was a different, much weaker Digimon."
T.K. breathed a sigh of relief.
"GranDracmon, on the other hand," Anubismon stated darkly, "is said to be incapable of being destroyed."
The Bearer of Hope's heart leapt into his throat, filling with dread that such a Digimon could even exist.
Once they landed on solid ground, T.K. hopped off of Pegasusmon's back as he fired his Equus Beam at the castle wall and de-digivolved back into Patamon. After running down several corridors with Anubismon making quick work of some Nightmare Soldiers patrolling the area, they made it to the castle's dungeon.
Looking through the barred window one of the doors, there, sitting on a bench, with his limbs shackled, attached to chains that were latched to the wall, was Matt.
"Matt!" T.K. called.
Matt looked up and let out a startled gasp.
After breaking the door down, Patamon stayed behind to keep watch alongside Anubismon for enemy Digimon while his human partner ran to his captive brother's side.
"T.K.?! You…h-h-how did you find me? And y-your eye!" he stammered, taking notice of his brother's healing black eye.
It felt strange to T.K. hearing his brother speak again after three long months of silence. Despite that Matt was now speaking with a slight stutter and his voice was weak and cracking a bit due to lack of use, the younger blonde was elated.
"I'll explain what happened to me later," T.K. quickly answered, "there's no time to waste!"
Looking around, he found a fist-sized rock and started to slam the rock on Matt's bonds, hoping it would break them.
"Once I get you free and we get out of here," T.K. said as he continued to slam the rock against his brother's chains, "With your help, we can stop Daemon for good!"
He stopped when he heard his brother mutter something inaudible.
"What? What did you say?"
"I…can't help," Matt repeated a little louder, "I can't help…anyone."
T.K. was confused. "What do you mean, you can't help?"
Clearing his throat, Matt took in a deep breath.
"You don't need me around anymore, being in the Digital World proved that. And Davis is a better holder of the Crest of Friendship than I'll ever be, just look how quickly he accepted Ken."
"Matt, that's not true!" the Bearer of Hope protested, "Yes, I've grown more independent but that doesn't mean you're no longer important to me! It's true that Davis was the first one willing to accept Ken but he still clashes with Cody, Yolei, and me every now and then, he's not a perfect friend."
Matt looked at T.K., completely unconvinced. The younger blonde was about to respond but then remembered what Daemon had said prior to kidnapping his brother.
"Daemon mentioned giving your digivice an upgrade, right?"
"Yes…"
"Can I take a look?"
The Bearer of Friendship nodded and took out his digivice from his pocket for his brother to see.
Peering closer at the device, T.K. could see it wasn't its usual teal color was instead a deep blood red, cracked all over and its light faded in and out like a beating heart. On the screen, he saw an eerie symbol of a horned skull with two spikes protruding on both sides, flashing in tune along with the digivice.
Furrowing his brow, T.K. thought for a moment when a realization popped into his head.
"I think that we might be able to turn this around but we really need you most of all."
"W-what?! N-n-no! I can't!" the older blonde cried.
"You can, Matt!" encouraged T.K., "I know you can! I believe in you!"
"LOOK AT WHAT I'VE DONE!"
The younger blonde jumped back, startled.
"Joe and Kari told me that Mom and Dad had gotten badly hurt by a LadyDevimon and it's my fault that they're injured in the first place! It's all because of me!"
"Matt…"
"If I wasn't so sick that day, I would've been able to save Gabumon from Daemon and none of this would be happening!"
As Matt continued speaking, several black tendrils appeared and slithered past Anubismon and Patamon, making its way towards the blonde teen. Watching the blackness coil around Matt, T.K. gasped in horror, recognizing it as the same darkness that tried to entrap Sora years earlier in the Digital World if not for Joe and his brother's help.
Now enveloped in a dark aura, the Bearer of Friendship stopped and buried his face in his hands.
"I really can't go back to being their friend now…" Matt sighed, his tone quieter as a lump in his throat started to form, "The others will never forgive me…Gabumon would never forgive me…not after what I've done…"
"They will forgive you, Matt!" T.K. cried, "What happened is not your fault! We can still foil Daemon's plan!"
Matt briefly looked up and stared at his younger brother, his once bright blue eyes now blank and devoid of life.
"What's the point, T.K.? He's already won…"
"You can't succumb to the darkness! That's exactly what Daemon wants!"
The older blonde didn't reply and covered his face with his hands once more, the darkness surrounding him growing bigger. T.K.'s shouts of reassurance were becoming fainter and Matt felt as though he was deep underwater, sinking further and further into its shadowy depths.
…
Sitting in the doctor's office, Nancy dialed her home number on her cell phone. After it rang a few times, she was finally about to answer only to hear the message on the answering machine.
"Hi, this is Nancy Takaishi, I'm sorry I ca-"
She hung up, growing more anxious.
Maybe, they're over at Hiroaki's apartment.
Feeling a bit hopeful, she tried her ex-husband's number but there was no one there either. As a last attempt, she called on T.K.'s cell phone and sent a text message to Matt's phone but again no response.
Why aren't they answering? Nancy thought frantically, Matt and T.K. need to know what's happened to me and their father! Have they gone into hiding? Oh, I should've asked Kari where they were when I had the chance!
With that thought in mind, she attempted to call the Kamiyas but her cell phone battery was running very low and with the charger over at her apartment, she reluctantly turned off her phone.
Nancy glanced towards to the Emergency Room doors, worrying if her ex-husband would be strong enough to pull through his upcoming procedure.
"So," the surgeon asked, reviewing his notes, "is the patient completely stabilized?"
"Yes, sir," answered a nurse, "Mr. Ishida is responding well to the anesthesia and we were able to stop the bleeding."
"What about the blood loss from his injuries?"
"Through the use of blood transfusion, we were able to recover nearly all of the blood that Mr. Ishida lost," replied the nurse, "he is definitely ready for the operation."
"Excellent, bring him in." he said, putting his notes away as his assistant nurses wheeled the unconscious but stable Hiroaki on a gurney into the surgery room.
"Now," the surgeon said, donning his mask and gloves, "let's begin."
…
Imperialdramon transported the remaining Digidestined farther across the city to spread out as they battled every Nightmare Soldier they came across and when they tried re-sending them back to the Digital World, they used the Dark Area's portal to escape back to the Real World.
Their Digimon partners had digivolved to their highest level as they battled the Nightmare Soldiers while trying to keep innocent bystanders safe from harm.
Garudamon, WarGreymon, and MegaKabuterimon battled the aerial dark Digimon in the sky while the others focused on fighting enemies on the ground.
"Static Force!"
"Positron Laser!"
"Vulcan's Hammer!"
The attacks flew at a large swarm of SkullSatamon and quickly incinerating them.
"There's just so many of them!" Joe cried. "We can't stop them all!"
Yolei agreed, "No matter how many we destroy, even more of them appear!"
"Don't say that!" snapped Davis, "we can ha-"
"Davis," Ken shouted, "We need T.K.! All of our Digimon can't hold out much longer!"
"If Angemon and I fused into Shakkoumon, we'd have better luck with these Nightmare Varmints!" Ankylomon grunted as he swung his tail into another enemy Digimon.
"You'd have to do your best without him, Ankylomon!" encouraged Cody, "Just keep going!"
Kari looked up towards the sky as hope and dread were mixing together in her heart.
"Come on, T.K.! We need both you and Matt!"
…
Ignoring the pooling darkness that continued to grow around Matt, T.K. continued to pound the rock at his brother's chained ankles when he heard Matt give a long sigh.
"Daemon's right, I am the weakest link. You should just leave me here, T.K."
T.K. ceased his labor and looked directly into his brother's clouded eyes.
"So that's it? You're just gonna quit? Give up and let Daemon destroy everything?"
Matt paused; a bit taken aback.
"That's not the Matt I know," T.K. continued in a firm tone, "the Matt I know would do whatever it takes to keep his friends safe!"
"You may have given up on Gabumon, but he, our friends, even our parents never gave up on you."
Matt blinked, recalling everything Tai, Sora, and his family said to him following the loss of his voice.
"You can't handle what you're going through alone. And that's what me, Sora, Izzy, and the others are here for."
"We promise to be here for you, Matt. All of us."
"It may cost us, but to hear you speak again will be worth more than anything."
"We're not gonna give up on you, Matt! We're still family and we're with you every step of the way!"
"Just remember this, Matt. Friends don't shut other friends out. After all, Gabumon never shut you out, did he?"
Gabumon…
The older blonde looked at the screen of his digivice, looking beyond the skull icon, he could make out the faint outline of his digital companion and began remembering how no matter what, Gabumon remained loyal to him, even when Matt made the wrong choice.
"I know whatever it is, it will be the right one. Because I have faith in you! And whichever path you take, I'll be there with you."
"Come on, Matt, I'm your Digimon, remember? I'm here to help through thick or thin whether it's hot or cold."
"Matt…"
The sound of T.K.'s voice broke Matt out of his thoughts and he now sounded closer and clearer to him than before.
"You've heard of the phrase, 'A chain is only as strong as its weakest link', haven't you?"
"I have," the older blonde replied, dejected. "Weak link, that describes me perfectly."
"You're not understanding its meaning!" The Bearer of Hope cried, putting his hands on his brother's shoulders, "It means in order for a chain to be strong, the weak link must also be strong! Each one is important and that includes the weak link!"
"B-b-but," Matt stammered, "how am I still important? I-I didn't help hardly at all when Davis and the others became Digidestined."
"You were always important, Matt!" T.K. reassured, "You helped Tai snap out of his funk when Agumon was captured, taught Davis what it really means to be a friend, and you helped out Ken back when the Digimon were everywhere! You were never unimportant as a Digidestined! You were there beating some of the toughest enemies in the Digital World!"
The Bearer of Friendship scoffed, "Yeah right, it was Tai doing most of the work, if I remember right."
"You were there, with MetalGarurumon fighting alongside Tai and all of us! You saved him from Piedmon! I…I never told you this but," the younger blonde said softly, "no matter what anyone says, Matt, you've always been my hero."
Matt's eyes widened, unsure of what he just heard.
"Your…hero…?"
"Not just any hero, Bro," T.K. added, "You're my number one hero."
Matt's eyes filled and soon were overflowing with tears, completely touched by his brother's unwavering admiration and faith in him. T.K.'s hands then slowly slid from Matt's shoulders and as T.K. took his brother's hands in his, the dark aura surrounding Matt left him and the brightness in his eyes was restored.
"Atta boy!" T.K. said with a kind smile.
Matt gasped, stunned that his younger brother remembered those words he said to him back when he was a little toddler. Letting go of his hands, T.K. gave his brother a moment to compose himself.
"Sorry, I've been c-c-crying so much," Matt sniffled, wiping away the stray tears running down his cheeks, "Y-you probably think I'm a big crybaby…"
The younger blonde shook his head. "It's fine. You've really been through a lot, Matt."
"Hey, Patamon!" T.K. called, wiping away the sweat off his forehead, "Can you lend me a hand?"
The little orange creature perked up. "I'll always help you, T.K.!"
Patamon hovered over toward the two blonde brothers, where his human partner suggested that his air attack might be strong enough to break the chains.
"I can try!" Patamon declared with a nod.
Aiming carefully as he could and not to accidentally hurt Matt, Patamon fired his attack.
"Boom Bubble!"
The chains bolted to the wall broke away and Matt's handcuffs cracked and fell to the ground in pieces, Patamon then fired another Boom Bubble at the chains binding Matt's ankles and they too broke apart, releasing the blonde teen.
Matt smiled as he rubbed his sore but free wrists. Then he noticed Anubismon.
"W-w-who is that, T.K.?"
"It's okay, Bro," the younger blonde reassured, "he's on our side."
Anubismon agreed. "I will do my best to help you thwart Daemon's plan."
After escaping the castle, T.K. took out his D-3 and Patamon armor-digvolved into Pegasusmon again.
"Come on, Matt!" T.K. said, mounting on his Digimon, stretching out his hand, "Let's stop Daemon together!"
The Bearer of Friendship nodded and took his brother's hand as he was hoisted up onto the winged stallion and taking to the sky alongside Anubismon, the brothers were determined to stop Daemon's army from taking over both the Digital and Real Worlds.
-To be continued…
