Author's Note: Here's a quick chapter in time for Labor Day weekend and I give a big thank you to crestoflight3 for reviewing!
Circuits
Lingering
For the next several days, Kari couldn't shake off what Matt had told her. It just hovered over her head like a gray cloud, raining the android's words down on her.
To be rendered useless just because it was defective and tossed out like garbage. Kari bit her lip at the thought.
It seemed like such a cruel act to be seeking only perfection rather than focusing on what could have been improved.
At school, T.K. and Davis found themselves unable to cheer the girl up, whether it was a simple greeting or a compliment on her grades. Back at home was not much different, though Tai persisted to find out what was bugging his sister and despite his best efforts, Kari refused to talk.
"I can't help you if I don't know what's wrong, Kari!" Tai said in a frustrated tone. "And I'm tired of guessing…"
Instead of responding, Kari turned away from her brother and went into her room, closing the door from behind.
Tai groaned in defeat.
"Whatever the problem might be," he muttered darkly to himself, "It better not involve Davis or T.K."
...
Kari plopped onto her bed, sighing wearily.
I want to tell Tai…but I'm not sure what he'd say.
She then heard a beeping noise coming from her D-Terminal and she quickly opened it.
"It's from T.K. and the others."
Reading the message, it said they had noticed her downcast demeanor and suggested that they should pay a visit to the Digital World together tomorrow afterschool.
She paused.
I haven't been to the Digital World since we got rid of Myotismon for good!
Following the vampire's demise, Gennai managed to remove the Dark Spores from the children that MaloMyotismon had gathered as Oikawa and sent them back to the Real World with no recollection of what they had witnessed, which affected countless others, including the Digidestined's parents, who had seen the Digimon. And with peace restored to the Digital World once again, each of the partnered Digimon worldwide decided to stay behind permanently to prevent further exposure of their home.
It was hard to say goodbye again, but Gennai said that the memory loss was to protect the Digital World from another imbalance.
Recalling her mind illusion, she came across another memory of the battle.
But then again, Davis was right; you don't need a Digimon to be special.
Having made up her mind, Kari quickly replied back with a 'Yes.'
…
Arriving in the Digital World, the younger Digidestined were welcomed with open arms by their Digimon partners but Gatomon immediately noticed Kari's pessimism.
"Why so glum, Kari?" asked the white feline.
The Bearer of Light hesitated, "I'll tell you once we're alone."
Holding Gatomon tightly in her arms, she joined up with the other Digidestined.
Catching up on old times, both humans and their Digimon partners talked about one thing after another but only Kari sat quietly as she listened.
As the other five continued to converse, Kari recalled her first time in the Digital World. Despite being the seventh child of the original group, something about the team was still incomplete. It stayed this way until Davis became a Digidestined, revealing a new quality to the team: Friendship. She snapped out of her thoughts when a sudden argument broke out between Davis and Yolei about the mind illusions.
"I can't believe that your greatest desire was to eat sweets!" Davis blurted out.
Yolei scoffed, "What's wrong about liking desserts, Davis?"
"Nothing," replied the goggle head smugly, "but fixing computers doesn't burn the calories!"
"It's just an illusion," Ken told the two, "MaloMyotismon created it, not Yolei."
T.K. and Cody pitched in to help Ken calm them down but to no avail, allowing Kari to sneak off unnoticed with Gatomon.
"So, Kari, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about privately?" Gatomon asked once they were out of range.
"Well," Kari began, "It goes like this…"
…
Once Kari had finished speaking, Gatomon looked up at her human partner with wide eyes.
"I'm not sure what to think about your android," the champion cat admitted, "But the humans who built him sound just like Myotismon when I was under his service."
The Bearer of Light shuddered.
"In what way?"
"Myotismon destroys those who fail to obey his commands," Gatomon explained, "More or less; he eliminates the weak in favor of the strong."
They both became sad as the memory of Wizardmon's sacrifice resurfaced; knowing too well that his spirit would remain forever lingering in the Real World never to find rest.
"We better go back." Kari said, her voice quivering a bit, "Before the others find out we're gone."
Gatomon nodded. "I'm with you."
…
After her visit to the DigiWorld, Kari began to feel a little better after speaking with Gatomon. When she returned home, she saw Matt cooking dinner for the family while her brother lay on the living room couch, tossing a soccer ball in the air.
"Matt gave Mom her food and medicine a few minutes ago." Tai said as she walked inside and then he stopped tossing the ball and set it on the couch as he got up.
Looking into her brother's eyes, Kari knew that this time, Tai wasn't going to take no for answer.
"Alright, Tai," she stated, "I'm ready to talk to you."
"I already know," he replied, "Matt told me when I asked him about you. Kari, you shouldn't let stuff get to you like that. I know that you're upset about what Matt told you…"
"But, Tai-"
Just as the Bearer of Courage opened his mouth to answer her back, a harsh coughing came from their parents' bedroom.
"MOM!"
Immediately, they ran into the room, in hopes of aiding their mother.
Their jaws dropped at the sight.
Yuuko's complexion was completely drained of life; her pale skin had taken on a pasty shade of gray. There were dark rings under her eyes and she was gasping for air as she coughed.
It was too much for them to bear.
"Matt, come here quick!" Tai called out desperately.
Hearing the urgency in his owner's voice, the android quickly turned off the eyes of the stove and hurried into the room.
"What's wrong?" Matt asked.
"I-it's Mom!" Tai answered in a shaky voice, but after those words left his lips he could say no more.
Tears welled up in Kari's eyes and she buried her face into her brother's chest as she sobbed.
Matt calmly took one look at the ailing woman and confirmed the siblings' worst fear.
"Your mother needs emergency treatment."
Almost at once, Tai dialed for an ambulance while Matt tried to ease Yuuko's breathing. And again, Yuuko was rushed into the emergency room.
Matt accompanied Tai and Kari on the ambulance to the hospital, where the three sat in the waiting room.
A short time later, Susumu arrived and joined them.
For over an hour they waited as the silence of dread deafened every noise on the first floor. Then, the same doctor came and motioned them to follow him. Walking down the white corridors, the doctor led them outside the doors of the emergency room.
"Will she pull through?" Susumu asked hopefully. "Will she?"
The doctor's expression turned grim.
"Mr. Kamiya," he said, "your wife is dying."
His answer dropped like a bombshell on the Kamiya family but Susumu couldn't believe what he'd just heard.
"I don't understand!" he cried, "I thought she was getting better with the medications you prescribed!"
But instead of replying, the doctor only shook his head.
"We're keeping her alive through life support but I don't think that your wife has much time left."
He opened the doors, and brought them to an ICU room where the nurses were keeping her.
After ordering Matt to wait outside, Susumu and his children came into the room.
The slow beating of a heart monitor greeted their ears, as they neared Yuuko's bedside.
Tears were forming in their eyes, knowing now that this was their final moment as a family.
Yuuko silently wept as she saw the pain and despair etched onto their faces but she forced herself to smile.
Susumu was too choked with sadness to speak to his wife, so he bent down by the bed, holding a firm but gentle hold on her hand, stroking it with his thumb.
"I'm…so happy…Susumu…" she said in a faint whisper, "that…I was able to share my love…with you…"
She turned to her children, "And I'm…so proud of our son and daughter…"
Yuuko stopped and closed her eyes.
And the heart monitor's beating ceased with her last breath.
Outside the door, Matt could hear the family grieving as their mournful cries echoed on in the room. He hung his head as he listened to his owners' tears, brushing his fingers against his metallic chest, precisely where a human heart would lie.
-To be continued…