[Geben Sie Text ein]
Hey guys! I know... it took me too long again. But I'm not giving up on this story. I hope you're not giving up on me though.
Hopefully you'll feel the many hours of work I've put into this chapter.
As always; I don't own digimon, but I own my OC's ; Dylan, Kazumi, Alec and Phoenix.
English isn't my first language so please excuse the possible errors in grammar. I gave my best.
Way down we go
Unshed tears are blurring my sight, leaving me without any orientation. I won't cry. Not here. Not now. I'm not going to give them the satisfaction in seeing me cry.
The wounds on my back feel like hot steel bars, burning up my skin. My shredded shirt hangs loosely on my body, revealing far more than necessary. With every inch I slide down the wall the chains cut deeper into the flesh on my wrists. But I just can't help it. It's like every bit of energy was sucked out of my battered body.
I try my hardest to lift my head up, but it feels like a ton of bricks is hanging around my neck, pressing me down. Helpless. I feel helpless.
"What a sight... Courage's son...so weak... I expected more from you.."
His voice feels like I've got whipped again.
"P – Please..." The words leave my mouth without me even realizing it.
"I can't hear you boy", his voice sounds again, sending a cold shiver down my spine. I want to die...
"Just kill me already... Please."
"You have to beg louder Dylan... I can't hear you" His malicious laugh fills the room, getting inside of my head. I feel the dark spore twitching and screaming at me but I hold still, waiting for him to approach me. He knows that I won't last much longer, immortal or not. I can't take this anymore.
I feel a tight grip on my hair which forces me to look up into his cold blue eyes. "I want you to beg Boy."
He drives his claws into my chest. I can't hold the scream of pain.
Kazumi's PROV
The cold breeze makes me shiver but I don't feel like going back inside. The dark night engulfs me in a calm, comfortable atmosphere in which I feel lighter than I've felt for a few days. The only sound I can hear is the wind blowing through the bushes and the trees, creating a soothing sound of peace.
I wrap my arms around myself in an attempt to warm up a little bit when I hear the door of the roof open. I turn to the sound and see my brother stepping out, dressed in sweats and only a tank top.
Stupid...he'll get sick.
Since he doesn't even care to look around he doesn't notice me. He walks over to the edge of the roof, sits down and lets his feet dangle down. Following my instincts I take a step forward in his direction. However the sight of something shiny in his hand makes me stop immediately.
I can't suppress the frown forming on my face. My voice gets stuck in my throat and I can't come up with anything to do, let alone say. I stare helplessly at my brother; how he grips his dagger and slides it down his lower arm, leaving a deep gash. I hear him exhale as if he'd been holding his breath for a long time.
The realization that we just took at least fifty steps back in our progress hits me like a gun shot, knocking me out of my daze. I approach my brother with shaking legs.
By now I'm sure that he knows I'm here. If he didn't see me he surely feels my aura. He however doesn't bother to turn around, but rather continues to cut his arm open. His arm with the many scars he tried to hide.
"I thought you stopped a year ago?" I whisper quietly. He tenses up but doesn't stop cutting himself.
I for my part can't take it anymore and reach down for the dagger. I didn't expect my brother to be that stubborn though.
"Kazumi let me!" he gets up, reaching for the bloody dagger in my hand.
"Dylan...", I start but he's not even listening. He's only concern seems to be to get the dagger back in his hands so he can continue his stupidity. His arms wrap around me, lifting me up in a desperate attempt to cause me to let the dagger fall. As if.
I struggle to get free, not caring that I'm full of my brother's blood. In a crazy impulse I turn around and slap him across his face what causes his expression to turn from fury to shock. His hand reaches up automatically on his left cheek where I just slapped him, smearing blood on his face.
"What happened?" My voice cracks when I see his eyes watering up. He shakes his head as if he's trying to get rid of the thoughts which are obviously torturing him.
He turns away from me, his hand leaving his cheek and clutching the back of his head instead. The spot where ... I freeze.
"Is your dark spore acting up again?"
His back is turned at me, I see him tremble lightly. He wraps his arms around his torso and takes a few steps away from me. This is answer enough...
"I thought Dad helped you to cope with it? You overcame it months ago!"
He ignores me and starts walking away.
"Dyl... brother..." my voice is a mere whisper but he hears the despair in it because he turns around immediately piercing me with his gaze. These browns eyes which we both inherited from our father. These eyes, once filled with happiness became two empty, incomprehensible dots.
"Kazumi, we came here for nothing. Our whole mission was doomed from the very beginning!"
I didn't expect him to burst out like this. I inwardly cringe at his harsh tone. As a natural reaction I shake my head, not willing to hear him say what I was thinking already the whole evening after this disaster in Belphemon's city.
"You can't be that ignorant can you?!" he shouts at me, clearly ignoring the fact that he just ripped my heart out of my chest with his words.
"Fact is – and you can't deny it anymore – that our father died the moment this son of a bitch stabbed him when he was trying to cover me! And this whole mission in coming here and getting the cure was the poor attempt of two idiots trying to prevent the inevitable!
Dad is going to die Kazumi, it's time for us to accept it." he says the last sentence so quietly that I wonder if he really wanted to tell me this.
"He'll die soon and the moment we step foot in our time again I'm sure we'll be next.." he adds, his voice a mere whisper.
"NO!" I shout angrily. "Don't act like everything depends on dad! Because it does not!"
Dylan just smiles tiredly at me. "Look at you... you don't even believe in your own words."
"No Dyl –"
"Kazumi!" he interrupts me. I lift my gaze up and look straight at him, his gaze suddenly much softer than before. "Kazumi... I'm your twin brother, you can't lie to me."
His words have the effect he obviously wanted. I can't help but tremble while I try my hardest not to cry. He is right. Every word he just said is right and I can't deny it anymore. It seemed unreal until he said it out loud.
Fact is I have some of the greatest powers the digital world can provide, I spent years training until I would throw up later because of the excessive strain. But all this is worthless when the person who made me to who I am today vanishes from my life. Every fight, every victory, every loss doesn't mean anything with my father not being there.
It feels like my heart is lying on the ground in front of me and Dylan just stomped on it in saying all this.
I don't realize that I am crying until I feel a warm hand on my cheek, drying my tear strained face. I look into my brother's eyes that are filled with equal hurt and despair.
"I assume you're agreeing with me when I say we give the cure to this time's Tai?" he whispers quietly, careful not to hurt my already battered soul. I can't force myself to say something, so I just nod quickly.
"Good... otherwise we risk not to be born and that would change history way too much."
Again I can only nod.
"You know Kaz..." Dylan starts, sitting down on the verge of the roof again;" Maybe if we were never born all this wouldn't have happened."
His cold voice snaps me out of my daze and I feel the old anger returning.
"How can you say that?!"
Dylan however just looks at the dagger in his hand. I look down at my own hands and see that I'm not holding it anymore. – What the fuck? How did he get it back?
"It's simple... dad got stabbed by Daemon when he threw himself over me. Do you remember? When you came to rescue me after I've been held there for weeks..." his voice trails off and I can't help but stare at my brother putting the blade once again on his arm, sliding down once more.
"And Tai got stabbed when he covered me today... I get it", I say quietly, having already made this parallel today when I was lying on my bed, thinking about today's events.
He nods abstractedly, looking straight ahead while caressing his arm with his dagger still. I can't take it anymore and kneel down beside him, placing my hand over his to make him stop. I can't continue to see the blood dripping down his left arm. I take a quick look at it and realize in shock that the cuts are way deeper than usual. My brother however doesn't even twitch. He possibly destroyed his nerves anyway, so he^s most likely not even feeling what he's doing to himself.
He stops his self-torture and turns his tired gaze to me while he carefully removes his hand, avoiding my touch.
He looks me deep in the eyes before he slowly leans his forehead against mine, barely touching me. I instantly close my eyes and enjoy the feeling of his warm breath. He feels like home. My brother.
"We're doing the right thing Kaz..." he whispers quietly.
"I know. But it still hurts."
"We can't let this time's Tai die... the digidestined would be lost without him. The digital world would be destroyed within months from here, even with Alec here to protect it. We don't know how stable he is anyway..."
His words cut my already flattened heart on the ground wide open. I feel the urge of crying coming back ever again. Not only the grief for my father but also the fear of my boyfriend's future, dares to crush me down on the ground.
While I am certain that my father will take his last breaths in the next few days... weeks if the odds are in our favor, I feel the constant fear of Alec becoming his old self again.
"We should have never come here..." I hear me say before I feel another tear rolling down my cheek.
"I know..."
We remain in silence. Deep desperate silence. I lean my head against his broad shoulder what causes him to tense up, but he doesn't move. We stare at the night, enjoying the darkness.
The door of the patio being opened disturbs our peaceful silence. According to the noises coming from inside it's unmistakable that the digidestined are still sitting in the dining hall.
"Are you okay Kari?" I hear T.K's voice. A second later I see my aunt's figure stepping to the balustrade.
"Sure I am T.K don't worry!" her cheerful voice makes me frown.
The door is closed again – probably by T.K because my aunt didn't move an inch. As soon as the door shuts however I see her turning around, laying her head on her crossed arms on the balustrade. Since there's no other sound here around I can clearly hear her sobbing.
I feel my heart ache and close my eyes. I don't want to watch her in this state. Especially, since she obviously doesn't want anybody to know about this.
I quietly get up again and pull my brother with me. His gaze never leaves the younger version of our aunt. I can feel how he's fighting with himself. It's obvious that he wants to go and comfort her, but how should he? He's not even capable to comfort himself...
Without any word said we make our way back into the underground of the base.
Sora's PROV
The sound of someone turning for the probably 100th time wakes me up. After having so much trouble falling asleep I can't take it anymore. Although Tai's obviously sleeping I can tell that he's not able to find any peace in his slumber. I lean over to the bedside table and switch on the light. The whole room is engulfed by a warm golden light immediately. I take a look at my boyfriends pained face. Even in his sleep he's clutching to his body as if it would ease the pain.
Though he assured everyone the whole time that he's fine and that the dagger didn't really hurt him when he was stabbed in the back I can easily tell by the way he's sleeping right now that he was talking bullshit.
I scoot over to him and run my fingers through his soft hair. I feel the tension of his body ease with every stroke. His expression changes and where before a grimace was, is now a peaceful, barely visible smile on his handsome face. I could spend hours like this; stroking through his hair and taking in his features. The long, black eyelashes, his soft lips, the high cheekbones which give his usually soft face something really hard, his sun kissed skin and his deep, chocolate brown eyes. If I'd have to do the same thing for the rest of my life, it would be to stare at Tai. My Tai.
My selfless, caring Tai who jumped in front of his future daughter he barely knows and got stabbed by a poisonous dagger which is slowly killing him. He didn't think twice when he did it that was obvious. And though I hate him for taking this lethal hit, I love him even more for what he did for Kazumi.
Kazumi... my future daughter who travelled through time to get a cure for her father who's in the same situation as our present Tai... I can't imagine how they both must feel right now. They wanted to rescue one Tai and now we have to choose between the two of them. Though there's actually nothing to choose about... they have to give the cure to this time's Tai, don't they?
Disturbed by this new thought I force myself to close my eyes again, my hand never leaving my boyfriend's hair. I feel my body getting heavy and my thoughts falling silent while I drift back to sleep.
Suddenly the bed moves again and I hear someone stumbling before the bathroom door opens in a swift move and shuts close again. I open my eyes unwillingly, sitting up again.
"Could you please be quieter the next time you have to pee at fucking 3 in the morning?" I exclaim, not bothering to hide my annoyance with him.
However the fact that I don't get a response is what makes me frown. I uncover quickly and stand up from the bed. In a few short steps I cross the room and reach the bathroom. I glance back at the digimon who are snoring peacefully, obviously being fast asleep.
"Tai?" I softly knock on the door and can't prevent my hands to tremble lightly.
I hear a faint cough through the closed door and lean against it, trying to hear anything but that.
"Don't come in here" Tai's voice sounds through the door, sending shivers down my spine. His voice is raspy, but not in that good "just – woke – up – hoarse "type.
"Tai please open –"I start but close my mouth immediately as soon as I hear the unmistakable sound of my boyfriend retching, - throwing up obviously. Fuck... they said the poison is spreading very slow! What the fuck.
"TAI! Open the door or I'll kick it in!"
I hear the flush and a few moments later the door clicks.
I immediately dart into the room. Tai's leaning over the toilet, only dressed in his underwear, his face buried in the crook of his arm. My heart aches by the sight and I don't waste time and approach him, kneeling down next to him. I gently rub his naked back only to wince as soon as I touch him.
Fuck, he's burning up!
"Wait here babe I'll get help" I'm just about to get on my feet when he lifts his head, grabs my arm and pulls me down again.
"NO!"
Dumbfounded I look at him. His eyes are bloodshot and his lower lip is trembling hard. Actually, his whole body is, as if he's terribly cold. I don't respond, instead I free my arm and go back into the bedroom as fast as I can.
"Sora I swear to god if you're calling anybody I'll hate you for the rest of my li – ", he doesn't finish his sentence; instead I hear him coughing violently before the rest of his stomach contents leaves his body.
I quickly take the covers off the bed and walk back to Tai who got back into his original position with his face buried in his arms, breathing heavily.
I lay the cover over his trembling frame, kneeling down behind him and resting my head between his shoulder blades. I rub his arms gently, trying to heat him up somehow.
"You'll be fine Tai... I Promise."
He however doesn't get the chance to respond because another cough fit strikes, causing his whole body to shake again. I peak over his shoulder and freeze in shock.
I can tell by his tensed shoulders that he saw it too. Slowly, Tai touches his lips with his left hand. He sits back so he's facing me and our gazes meet before we both look down at his fingers, painted by blood.
I feel how my chest tightens and fear spreads itself through my body. I take a quick glance at my boyfriends red lips before I jump to my feet and run out of the room to get someone... anyone!
While doing so I try my hardest to ignore his words when he realized what I am doing. Three simple words that hurt so much. I'd never thought he would tell me that he hates me...
Don't start Sora! You know he doesn't mean that!
I shake my head angrily and suppress the sudden urge to cry. He's just in pain... he's not thinking straight. There's nobody out there who loves you as much as Tai does!
I don't even realize where I am running until I find myself before Matt's door. If there's anyone who can help Tai then it's Matt.
Memories of a drunken Tai, predicting this whole mess comes to my mind. It feels like a déjà vu; the same shit all over again.
I hurriedly knock on Matt's door, hoping that I didn't just wake up the whole base.
"Matt! Matt! Open the door" I hiss. The door opens in a quick move and the blonde stands in front of me, dressed in grey sweats and a white shirt he pulls down as soon as he realizes who's standing in front of his door. His eyes widen when he sees my expression.
"What is with him?" He's already stepping out the door, walking back to our bedroom. I quickly follow him through the corridor.
"He's been sick and has very high fever Matt I don't know what to do!"
Matt's fast steps turn into a light jog after that.
"Matt!" I call out for him. He immediately stops and turns around. "What is it?"
"He coughed blood", my voice breaks and I feel the hot tears falling down my face. Now that I said it, I just realized what it means... my boyfriend's health is seriously endangered...
Without any other word Matt breaks into a run leaving me behind in the dark corridor...The in my body adrenaline wears off, leaving dullness behind. My feet feel like they're stuck in thick loam. Slowly I lean against the cold, hard wall and let myself slide down.
I lay my head on my knees and try to ignore the ice cold hand clutching my heart...
I don't know how much time passes... but I see the white soldiers running up and down the corridor. A few names are being called. Even my name is called at least four times before whoever tried to talk to me simply gave up. The voices get louder and the words "hospital wing" and "cure" are the only ones I can recognize from this babble of voices.
After a while I feel a warm hand on my knee and it takes all my energy to lift my head to look up at two light brown eyes meeting my gaze. Mimi kneels down in front of me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
"How about you spend the night in my room? I already told Biyomon to meet us there" her soft voice pierces through my fogged mind.
"What about Agumon?" My own voice sounds strange to me.
"He's with him..."
The hand clutches my heart tighter and I close my eyes in full force to prevent myself from crying. Mimi takes my hand in hers and lifts me up, guiding me through the corridor.
I don't know how long I've been sitting there and how we made the way to her room. The only things I register are the soft sheets and the warm blanket touching my skin.
Biyomon lies down next to me and I clutch her to my chest. I feel how Mimi lies down on the other side of me. She wraps her arm around my torso, pulling me closer to her.
please Mimi...hold me tight, otherwise I'll fall into pieces...
"Digidestined are called to the command center"
The mechanic female voice wakes me up from my slumber. I'm not ready to open my eyes though... not yet.
Instead I pull the covers over my head, engulfing myself into the darkness underneath. The warmth that usually helps me solve any problem is nothing but the poor attempt to ignore the ice cold hand that still clutches my heart in its tight grip, taking my breath away. Last night's events haunted me the whole night, never letting go of me.
His pained expression... his shaking shoulders... his blood painted lips. - I feel my body trembling just by thinking back and pull the covers tighter around me, trying to stop myself from shaking...trying to prevent the darkness to overwhelm me.
But the cold that spreads itself through my body takes my breath away, pushing me into a dark ocean full of pain from which I won't reach the surface again.
I bury my face in my hands and pull my knees up. I lie in that position for a while until I hear someone approaching me. Her soft steps echo through the silent room and though she hits the floor like a feather it sounds as if a hundred mirrors are shattered with each step, nearly blasting my eardrum.
Her soft touch strikes me like a slap across my face and I twitch inwardly.
Mimi however doesn't hesitate and pulls the covers off my body. Suddenly the comforting darkness is gone, replaced by the merciless, bright light coming from the lamps. I slowly open my eyes and regret it immediately. The light burns in my eyes and my whole body feels like it's on fire.
"Sora... they're waiting for us", her voice – so soft – feels like a blade, slicing through my flesh.
I slowly shake my head `no`... I can't bear to see everyone just yet.
However my best friend obviously didn't came alone because I feel a warm, strong hand grip my wrist, pulling me into a sitting position.
By the fast movement I feel my head spinning and close my eyes, trying to regain my balance again.
"That wasn't a question Sora", Matt's voice feels like someone just emptied a buckle of ice water over my head.
I take a look into his eyes and look for any answer he could give me. But he slowly shakes his head, instead he gestures for me to get up and follow him. Since I don't really see any reason not to do so, I stand up from the bed.
My legs still feel like they're bound to a ton of bricks but I force myself to keep standing.
Mimi flashes me a reassuring smile before going over to the cupboard and pulling a black sweatshirt out. She gives it to me and I immediately pull it over my head, in an attempt to get rid of the coldness. Matt just stands in the doorway and watches everything silently.
"How – "I start but he cuts me off.
"You'll get your answers in the command center Sora."
I inwardly wince at his harsh tone. Matt however doesn't take any notice because he turns around and walks away. I turn to Mimi who just shrugs. "I think he's just very worried about Tai..."
The mention of his name causes my heart to beat faster immediately, fighting against the cold grip that just won't let go of it. I force myself to breath regularly before stepping out of the door, followed by Mimi. That's when I notice something odd...
"Meems.. where are the digimon?" Mimi just smiles lightly "Eating breakfast."
"Oh okay..."
"Biyomon didn't want to leave you alone but I promised her to get you out of bed and to the meeting so she gave in and went with Palmon."
"I'm okay Mimi..."
Mimi however just rolls her eyes and pushes the button for the elevator. "Of course you are Sora."
The elevator opens and a few white soldiers come out, stepping aside immediately and forming a path for us to go through. I can't help but frown while taking a look at them. Though I am really focusing on seeing anything through their black helmets I can't get a look of them. One of them just nods at us before the elevator doors close.
"What was that?" I ask directed at Mimi who just shrugs her shoulders.
"I heard Phoenix say something about more safety arrangements". Great... just great.
We make our way down to the command center in silence. Mimi seems deep in thought while I wrap my arms around my torso, trying to keep the rest of the bed's warmth in me. As we slowly reach our destination I notice that the door to the command center is wide open, and in front of it the rest of our team is standing, seeming unsure what to do. I'm just about to ask what is going on when Yolei mentions for us to keep quiet.
I stop next to Matt who's looking straight ahead into the room where I finally notice rather loud voices coming from.
I turn around and see the two brothers Phoenix and Alec facing each other.
"– Don't tell me you don't feel fucking awesome after using these powers again!" Phoenix shouts, anger clear in his voice.
"Not that it is any of your concern brother, but they would have died if I didn't do it", Alec's voice sounds, much calmer and more collected. He's obviously not really impressed by his younger brother's outburst.
"What did you tell them Alec? I know you turned off your head set on purpose!"
"This also, doesn't concern you."
"But it does! Everything you do does because you're not yourself! You're already giving in to them again. And why did you tell them everything about the twins' mission?!"
"How about you discuss this in a more private premise?" a voice among us makes us twitch and turn around to come face to face with the twins.
Both of them are dressed in black pants with matching black t shirts. While Dylan looks rather annoyed, Kazumi wears an expression that is making it hard to say anything about her emotions. As if she's wearing a mask.
Alec and Phoenix immediately look away. While Phoenix is slightly embarrassed I'm not sure if I see Alec's mouth twitch in amusement. He's sitting at the big table waiting for the rest of us to follow his example. The twins walk through the room and take their seats on each side of Alec while Phoenix remains in his standing position.
"What are you waiting for digidestined? Take a seat", Gennai's voice sounds from behind us. He places a hand over mine and Matt's shoulder and pulls us into the room to our respective seats. I sit down on the chair with the crest of Love on it and try to ignore the pain what causes the empty crest of courage chair next to me.
I take notice of everyone else and inwardly slap myself for being so selfish. I look over to Kari who sits on her chair, Gatomon in her lab though I doubt that she takes notice of the digimon because her gaze is fixed on the twins. She's dressed in a grey sweatshirt, her face is paler than usual and she has dark bags under her red eyes. Her usual perfectly straight hair resembles her brother's messy bush. Any idiot could tell that she's not handling the situation well.
Shit... this news will crush her.
The rest of the team looks not much better than I am feeling actually. They obviously didn't take yesterday's news good... and I doubt everyone knows about the night's events just yet.
"Good, since we're complete I'd like to start this meeting", Phoenix starts but gets interrupted almost immediately.
"Tai's not here yet", Cody says, causing Matt, Mimi, Joey and me to wince.
"I'm afraid he won't come Cody..." Joey says. He started to help treat the wounded ones in the hospital wing a while ago so I am not surprised that he already knows what happened. Almost immediately everyone turns to him.
"What happened?" Kazumi asks confusion clear in her voice. Weird... I'd expected her to know already.
"W- Well h – he..." Joey starts but Alec answers for him.
"His symptoms are worse than we thought", Alec says nonchalantly, looking straight at my daughter from the future.
Her eyes get wide and she shares a look with her twin brother whose eyes got darker after he heard Alec's response to his sister's question.
"What do you mean by worse than we thought?" he asks, his voice dangerously low but still audible for everyone.
"It already affects his inner organs Dylan", Alec says slowly, watching the boy's every movement.
"What does that mean?" This time however it's Kari who asks the question. She looks at Alec with eyes wide with fear.
"How?! Dad's organs were affected a year after he got injured!" Kazumi calls out, already on her feet.
"It means that his need for the cure increased rapidly. We didn't expect the poison to spread so fast", Phoenix answers Kari's question since Alec didn't make an attempt to do so. Instead he gets up too and grabs his girlfriend by her wrists.
"Calm down love, you forget that your father is immortal and the dagger wasn't supposed to hit someone who isn't." He says the words with such a force that Kazumi slumps down on her chair again, rubbing her reddened wrists. I can't help but frown how aggressive that they all treat each other.
"Well then you should hurry and give him the cure don't you?! I mean you got it yesterday, right? That was the mission you came here for. The others told us... " Izzy chimes in, his voice trembling lightly. I take a quick look at his face that is drained from all color.
"I already tried Izzy..." This time it's Joe who answers again. However his statement causes everyone to turn to him in confusion. He leans back on his chair and fixes his glasses on his nose before continuing.
"He won't take it. I spent the whole night with him and tried to convince him to take it. But he'd rather..." he stops in mid – sentence and looks down on his hands.
"What Joe is trying to say is that Tai rather spent the whole night coughing blood instead of taking the cure", Alec says.
A gasp goes through the room and everyone looks at Alec and Joey wide – eyed, included the twins.
Dylan however regains his control again and his surprised expression turns into anger whereas Kazumi's turns into deep worry.
"Why?" I hear her faint whisper as if she doesn't want to hear the reason.
"I think you should ask him that", Alec responds in an equal low voice.
"Okay, I Will. Now" With that the girl stands up and leaves the room without looking back again.
Everyone stares at the door through which she just disappeared, no one daring to say anything. Be it because of the bad news we just heard or the simple fact that no one wants to worsen the situation with their respective negative thoughts. I can't be the only one having them.
However it is Gennai who breaks the silence again, driving all attention to him.
"We still need to discuss our next steps digidestined. Davis is in the demon lord's thumb after all. We know his location but we still need a plan"
Everyone nods in unison, still not saying anything.
"Kazumi and M – ", Dylan starts but Yolei huffing angrily makes him stop and looking at her in surprise.
"What?!" Yolei for her part just crosses her arms and leans back in her chair.
"If you want to say something Yolei just say it, I promise I won't bite" Dylan answers, his eyes narrowing dangerously. I can tell that this boy inherited my temper, no doubt.
"You're acting as we're useless here!" Yolei shouts angrily, her gaze not much nicer than Dylan's.
"Well... you pretty much are if I'm being honest!" Ouch... that hurt.
"Who are you calling useless!" Patamon says angrily from T.K's shoulder. Dylan however doesn't even bother to take notice of the digimon. He crosses his arms and leans back in his chair, ignoring us completely. I try to get a look at his eyes but fail since his hair covers them.
"Dylan didn't mean that", Alec says, his gaze focused on said boy. Dylan however doesn't bother to look up from the table.
"Sure he didn't", Matt says quietly, his voice dripping of sarcasm.
"Anyway... what should we do?" Ken asks, focusing on the main topic again.
It's true... as much as I hate myself for it I almost forgot about Davis. My mind was focused on Tai completely. We left them behind yesterday so we could get out of there. Now the demon lords have Davis and Veemon, I just hope they're alive. As much as I heard about these demon lords though, I fear to get my hopes up.
"The same thing we did when we rescued Tai from Myotismon. We just blast the hideout and get Davis out. Simple as that", Mimi says.
"I doubt it will be that easy though Mimi..." Izzy says his hand placed on his chin in his usual pose.
"Izzy is right Mimi. The demon lords are a lot tougher than Myotismon", Phoenix says, mirroring Izzy's pose.
"Yeah but we've got two very good agents here", Alec says quietly, earning a glare from Phoenix.
"As much as you dislike not being able to do very much digidestined, you have to accept that Dylan and Kazumi were trained for situations like these", Alec continues, ignoring his brother's stare.
"What do you mean?" Cody asks.
"What he means Cody is that my sister and I can sneak into this hideout, kill the guards quietly and get Davis out of there." Dylan says quietly, his gaze still fixed on the table though.
"So what? We just wait here for you and Kazumi to bring him back? There's no way I am not helping!" Kari calls out.
His aunt's outburst obviously affects Dylan in a way because he lifts his head and takes a long look at her before he nods slowly.
"Okay. Then you'll be accompanying us. You can fight the guards off so Kazumi and I have a chance to enter without being seen. That way we can head out tomorrow morning and don't need to go there at night."
"Sounds good to me", Yolei says, looking around for anyone to contradict.
"Why don't you want to go at night?" Matt asks directly at Dylan, driving his attention to him. The boy turns around and faces the blonde with an unreadable expression.
"The dark army of the demon lords is much stronger at night", he answers simply.
"But the sky is covered in clouds anyway so there's no sunlight that could affect them, why does the night?" This time it's Ken who's asking.
Dylan just looks at him and I can tell he's debating on what he wants to tell us. It's Alec however who answers.
"You're right. It doesn't matter for the dark army if it's day or night."
"But Dylan said – ", T.K starts but Alec interrupts him.
"It matters for the twins."
The following silence is deafening. I swallow hard and try once again to take a look at Dylan's eyes. He however just takes a deep breath before he stands up and exits the room without looking back again. Immediately I receive a few confused gazes which I only can return.
"I don't know him any better than you do", I shrug.
"Yeah but he's your future son so.. Don't you have any idea what's wrong with him? Geee I've definitely met nicer people", Yolei says, crossing her arms before her chest.
I inwardly cringe and feel bad for Dylan. After all, Yolei's right; he is my future son and I can't shrug off the feeling that he is anything but alright. There's something seriously wrong... with both of them.
"Yolei...a few very nasty things happened to Dylan so you'll just have to excuse his special behavior. He wasn't always like that", Alec says quietly, staring down at his hands in his lab.
"What things?" Matt asks, a frown appearing on his face.
"That doesn't matter digidestined. What matters is, that Kazumi and Dylan are one of the most powerful digidestined and they are very much capable to free Davis with your help", Phoenix says, getting up himself.
"If you'll excuse me", he bends slightly and exits the room.
"Little brother...always so polite", Alec whispers quietly while he rolls his eyes. Gennai however just smirks lightly at his comment.
"Okay. So when do we head out then?" Kari asks her voice kind of shaky.
"Tomorrow morning. You should rest and prepare yourself. This won't be easy", Gennai says.
It sure as hell won't...
Kazumi's PROV – starting at the moment she left the command center
I feel the small vial with the red liquid inside of it pressing on my hip bone. Though it's a very small vial and light as a feather I feel like it's dragging me down. Down into an abyss full of monsters who are all waiting for me to give in to them...
I forcefully shake my head to get rid of these thoughts and ignore the feeling of the cure on my body.
I make my way through the long, dark corridor until I reach a white Door with the words "HOSPITAL WING" written on it. I place my hand on the scanner right next to it what causes the display of the scanner to turn green and the door to slide open. I quietly step inside and am met almost immediately with the smell of germicide, blood and probably some cleaning agent. I cringe as soon as I realize that it smells exactly the same as back home. Since I'm not really in the mood to remember anything about that right now I focus on breathing through my mouth rather than through my nose.
I look through the pure white corridor and approach the first white soldier who comes my way.
"Hey!"
He stops right in his tracks and turns his head towards me. Since I'm used to them not really talking I don't even bother to wait for him to say anything. "Where's Tai?"
Without any word he points to the direction he just came from;" third door on the left."
"Thank you." I make my way to the said door and stop in front of it. I look through the small window into the room and see the younger version of my father sitting on a bed, dressed in black sweats and a matching black t – shirt, almost exactly the same outfit I am wearing right now.
He's slumped over, his arms clutching a bucket. His hair falls into his face so I'm not able to take a look at his eyes. But if I really think about it, I don't have to; merely his posture tells volumes about his well – being. There are several cables connecting him with some monitors and an infusion in his arm. I'm just glad that no one of the digidestined had the chance to come here yet.
I hesitantly take a step back and lean against the wall on the opposite of the door.
Do I really want to do this to myself again? Do I really want to see my father in such a state again? Maybe I should call Dylan...
As soon as the thought crosses my mind I grit my teeth and shake my head once again. No. No there's no way in hell I'll burden my brother even more. This whole situation nags on him enough already. I take two steps, knock slightly on the door and open it before I hear anyone answering.
I peak inside the room but Tai didn't move. Maybe he's sleeping?
As if on cue I hear him wince. The sound feels like someone just drew a dagger in my stomach. I heard this sound way too much..
"Dad?" I whisper, approaching him slowly.
"Go away, please", he says, his voice thin and cold as ice.
"I – I have something for you." I inwardly curse myself for sounding so pathetic. While I always manage to keep my cool and not letting anyone see through my façade I fail miserably when it comes to my father, be it his younger version of the past or my real father in the present.
Though... he won't be there in the present anymore when I get home. Just when I feel myself drowning because of this realization, Tai's voice snaps me out of it.
"I don't want it Kazumi. Take it with you", he says, his head still hanging down into the bucket. If I didn't know it any better I'd say he's just hungover. But unfortunately I know better.
"Are you still sick?" I ask sitting down on the chair next to the bed he's on.
Slowly I see him move until his gaze meets mine. His eyes that are almost identical as mine scan my face carefully. He's still in the same posture, but at least he managed to turn his head in my direction. He rests his head on his arms that are draped on the edges of the bucket.
"I doubt there's anything left in my stomach", he answers dryly, his still reddish lips twitching as if he finds it funny.
"So are you saying you're hungry?" I lean back on my seat and lift my feet up, placing them right next to his right knee. This time he actually grins at me, his eyes sparkling lightly.
"Don't mention food Kazumi please."
"Okay okay... I've got something better for you anyway", I say before I take the vial out and show it to him.
His eyes narrow immediately, the amused sparkle in his eye vanished as soon as he caught a glimpse of the vial.
"I already told you Kazumi. I don't want the cure", his voice sounding way stronger all of the sudden.
But I know the effect of this poison. The more you push yourself the more it makes you regret it. And as soon as the thought forms itself in my mind Tai starts to cough violently. He turns his head back again and coughs into the bucket. I don't really have to take a look to know that the content of the bucket is painted red. I saw that a hundred times back home already. So it's no surprise to me that his cough suddenly turns into gagging. I immediately jump to my feet and stroke over his back while I place my chin on his head, trying to show him that he's not alone. He'll never be alone as long as I live...
"It's okay... It's okay dad", I whisper quietly, not sure if I'm trying to calm him down or myself. My heart beats so fast that I feel like I don't get enough air. But that doesn't matter now; what matters is Tai. I won't let him destroy himself.
After what seems like an eternity he stops shaking and leans back on the head of the bed, his lips now a deeper shade of red. I lean over to the bed side table and take a tissue out of the box that is placed there. He thankfully takes it and wipes it over his lips before he closes his eyes and takes a few deep breaths.
"I won't take it anyway Kazumi", he says quietly, his eyes still closed.
"Why not?"
"The cure is for your father. You came all this way and finally got it. I'm not going to ruin all of that", he says before he opens his eyes again, looking straight at me. His eyes glistering suspiciously.
"Dad –", I start but he interrupts me
"It's Tai for you. Your dad is waiting for you in your time."
"But – "
"No buts Kazumi. I won't let that happen. You and your brother don't deserve something like this."
The intensity of his gaze is like an arrow shot right into my heart. I can feel my eyes start to glister similar to his. I slowly shake my head 'No'
"If it weren't for me you never would have been in this damned city. You wouldn't have been stabbed and Davis would still be with you here."
"I chose to save you. Davis chose to run after his partner. You're not to blame."
But I am...
"Okay then I chose to give you the cure", I say as determined as possible.
"That's not for you to decide", he counters simply.
His body starts shaking again and I'm just about to approach him when he lifts his hand and places the bucket down on the ground on the other side of the bed. He grabs the covers and pulls them up.
Fuck... he's starting to get cold.
"Wait a second", I say and approach the door again. I look out to the corridor and luckily catch sight of a specific green digimon.
"Ogremon!"
He immediately turns around and looks at me confused. Right... this Ogremon doesn't know me yet.
"Could you please tell them to bring Tai an extra blanket?" I call out to him in the sweetest voice possible.
"What? Do I look like a carrier pigeon to you?!" He shouts angrily. Charming as ever I see...
"Please... I'll even tell Mimi that you were really nice." I pout lightly and see the digimon's face taking a slightly dark shade of red.
"Okay Okay... I'll tell them." And with that he turns around. I close the door behind me as soon as I hear him telling anyone there about the request. I can't help but grin. Of all the digimons back home Ogremon is one of my closest friends since he kind of was my nanny when I was a little girl.
"I don't need an extra blanket..." Tai's voice sounds from beneath the covers. I slowly approach his bed again what causes him to pull the covers down lightly, revealing only his eyes.
"I see you shivering", I answer quietly.
"Oh..."
"You're sure you won't take the cure?" I ask one last time. It's useless to argue with Taichi Kamiya. If he made up his mind there's no one that can change it.
"Yes. I don't want it Kazumi. I mean it", he says before he turns around, pulling the covers over his head again.
Looks like I'm dismissed...
I pass another white soldier on the way out. He carries a blanket in his arm and enters Tai's room right after I left.
I leave the hospital wing without looking left or right; that's when I bump into someone.
"Oh sorry!" I look up and am met with a pair of crimson eyes looking at me.
"I'm sorry too, I guess I wasn't really looking where I was going and –" Sora starts but I'm already laughing what causes her to look at me flushed before she starts to chuckle herself.
"Were you on your way to Tai?"
She just nods, worry returning in her gaze.
"Good... you have to do something for me Sora, if you don't mind that is", I say, the idea that just popped up in my head causing me to grin.
Mimi's Prov
The mood is surprisingly light here in the living room. Though there's no doubt that everyone's wearing a happy face for one another.
I allow myself to join the laughter. At least this one time. However I can't suppress the nervous flattering in my stomach Sora's long absence is causing. The longer she's gone the more nervous I get. She just wanted to check on him... what's taking her so long?
Just in that moment the door of the living room opens and Sora steps inside, followed by a certain brunette with chocolate brown eyes.
While Sora greets everyone and takes a seat next to me Palmon and Biyomon, Kazumi remains standing beside the door. She buries her hands in the pocket of her black hoodie and looks around.
Everyone's gaze is stuck on her, waiting for her to say anything. She's just about to turn around and grab the door handle again when Matt speaks up
"You don't have to leave."
Kazumi stops in her tracks and slowly turns around again, facing the blonde with an unreadable expression. I try my hardest to make up something from the look in her eyes, but there's absolutely nothing. She's doing a really good job in hiding her emotions from everyone.
"I – I don't want to bother you all", she says. While her eyes are impenetrable, her voice gives her away almost immediately. It's thin like ice, as if it's going to break any second.
"Who said you're bothering us? Come here", Agumon – who joined us after he realized there's not much he can do for Tai – says, patting the spot next to him.
Hesitantly at first she steps on one foot and another before she sighs quietly and crosses the room, sitting down beside Agumon. She refuses to look any of us in the eyes though.
"Did you convince Tai to take the cure?" Joey asks hopefully.
"I...uh –"
"We did", Sora answers for her. A sigh of relief goes around and almost immediately I feel the atmosphere getting lighter. However the worry of what tomorrow might bring is nagging in the back of my head.
Kazumi's voice however snaps me out of my thoughts again. I immediately turn to her, her head still lowered and her gaze fixed on her hands inside of the hoodie.
"Alec told me about the plan and the meeting today..." she says before lifting her head and looking at us "I want to apologize for the behavior of my brother."
As soon as she mentions her brother her voice gets colder – but at the same time stronger. Her eyes which were brown, emotionless dots before glow for a mere second, anger clear visible in them. Once again I can't help but feel annoyed by the fact that these people have so many secrets. So many secrets they won't tell any of us.
Nevertheless they expect us to trust them. Sure, there's absolutely no doubt that this girl is Tai and Sora's future daughter, but a lot of things can happen in such a long time...
"Why is he such an ass? I mean, you're SO nice and he's just... argh", Yolei says, her anger from before returning obviously.
Kazumi twitches as if Yolei just slapped her by calling her brother names. But she almost immediately forces the mask on her face again before leaning back into the cushions of the sofa and crossing her legs.
"I think what Yolei wanted to say is; he's behaving a little bit weird. Do you know why?" Izzy asks in a more gentle way. He closes his laptop and places it on a table beside him, his gaze focused on every movement of the girl next to Agumon. However it is not Kazumi who answers.
"No, actually Yolei was right in calling him an ass. Kazumi herself knows how he can be, right love?" Alec's voice sounds from the door, causing everyone to turn around again.
Alec crosses the room nonchalantly before sitting down on the ground next to Kazumi's legs, a glass of bourbon in his hand.
"Don't talk about him like that... he went through a lot", Kazumi whispers quietly. Her elbow is placed on the armrest of the sofa and her chin on her palm.
"Do you want to tell us? Maybe we could understand him better that way?" I say in the gentlest voice I can bring up. Kazumi's deep brown eyes come to a rest at me and she smiles at me, allowing herself to let her mask fall for a few seconds.
However Alec touching her knee causes her to look down at her boyfriend who's looking intensely at her. Her gaze gets darker immediately.
"If you don't want to tell them, I will", he says quietly, his voice however softer than usual. Kazumi slowly shakes her head before she looks around again.
Yolei and Cody look uncertain if they really want to know anything while most of the others like Ken, T.K, Matt, Joey and Izzy patiently wait for her to tell them already. Sora, Kari and I however try our hardest to signalize her our sympathy. It really is obvious that this girl is troubled, really troubled.
"Almost two years ago, the demon lords managed to kidnap Dylan", Kazumi starts slowly. Alec places his hand on her knee again what causes her to continue.
"They abused him in many different ways... they couldn't kill him because of his immortality. But they made sure that he'd wish to be mortal. He once said to me that he preferably would have died than to be forced to go through all of that."
Her brown eyes start to glisten because of unshed tears and she has to avert her gaze, hiding her eyes beneath her long brown hair.
"What did they do to him?" T.K whispers, his eyes wide.
"He never told us what happened. Joe and Tai from their time had to make assumptions. But seeing that Dylan never denied them was prove enough that they were right", Alec says, taking the lead of the story.
"What do you mean?" Kari asks confusion visible on her face.
"Well, Dylan only ever talked to Tai about the nine weeks he spent there –"
"NINE WEEKS?" Matt shouts in shock. Kazumi twitches once again and wraps her arms around her body what resembles an attempt to cover herself, somehow. From what however I can only wonder.
"We tried... we tried for weeks to get him out but they were too strong", she says, a tear falling down her cheek. She can't do anything but shrug helplessly. "I did everything I could."
Matt's expression changes immediately from anger to regret; "I'm sorry I didn't mean to shout at you..." Kazumi just shakes her head, waving him off.
"Anyway... Tai told us what Dylan said and Joe told us about all of his injuries. It was very easy from then on to retrace what they did to him", Alec says, now sitting on the armrest next to Kazumi, her hand in his tight grip.
"And what did they do?" Izzy repeats the question from before.
"Do you really want to know that?"
"Yes", we say in unison.
"Aren't you worried that they're doing the same to Davis at this very moment?"
It's like lighting strung every one of us. Everyone winces at once, but no one refuses to know the answers though.
"Tell us."
Alec lowers his gaze and grips Kazumi's hand tighter. "I'm not sure if I already told you about the whipping... but that was probably the nicest part, though the skin on his back will never be the same again...Anyway digidestined since Dylan was immortal they could do whatever the fuck they wanted. They used to rip his heart out of his chest, wait for him to wake up with a restored body and do the same thing again. Again and again. When they noticed that Dylan could stand the physical pain they got frustrated. So they inserted a dark spore inside of him", he stops and looks at any of us.
Everyone's face is paler than before and they all can't do anything than to look at Kazumi and Alec, their gazes going from the girl to the boy and back.
"When we finally managed to get him out of there it was too late; Dylan was never like before. They broke something inside of him and only Dad was able to hold him together, kind of", Kazumi says.
"What do you mean? How did the spore affect him?" Ken asks, his face paler than ours. He's probably remembering his own experiences with the spore. I feel the goosebumps appearing on my body just by remembering these events that were long forgotten already.
"H – He wouldn't let anyone touch him but Dad. But dad himself took months to reach that point of trust with Dylan. And when it started to get better, dad's condition worsened. Dylan started to hear voices and he hurt himself in an attempt to ignore them... his skin is full of scars, this is why he has so many tattoos – he's hiding them", she says, her tears falling down now freely. Alec wraps an arm around her small figure and pulls her to his chest, rubbing her arm gently.
"I – I don't even know what to say", Yolei stammers, her own eyes glistering too.
"You don't have to. We don't need pity", Kazumi says in her now again usual sounding voice. She angrily dries her tears and gets on her feet. She walks to the door and leaves us behind, speechless.
"They will pay for everything they did to them", Matt says slowly, his face wearing the same angry expression as every one of us.
"They will Matt... they will", Alec says, clenching his hands into fists. The glass shatters in a thousand pieces, raining down on the carpet, looking like tiny diamonds.
Dylan's Prov FLASHBACK
The hard steel I feel on my chest makes my already battered body shiver. My back hurts like a bitch and I can't do anything but whimper like the helpless little, pathetic boy I am. The voices around me are one big mix of hectic sounds. It seems like no one really knows what to do with me. I try to take in my surroundings and fail miserably; my sight is a red blur and my head is spinning dangerously fast.
I see some shadow walking past me; my mind immediately registers the movement that is directed at me and as if someone just pushed a button I see the memories of the past weeks flow back at me. All at once.
"NO!" I hear me scream. I try to get up but the wounds on my back force me back on the stretcher.
"Master Dylan we're only trying to help you", a foreign voice sounds and I turn to see one of the all too familiar white helmets in front of me.
"NO.. Don't touch me!"
"Let him go guys I'll handle this", a voice I would recognize from a million sounds and my heartbeat slows down almost immediately.
The white soldier disappears and instead I'm met with brown, warm eyes gazing at me. Worry, shock and disbelief are clear visible on my father's face. He has dark bags under his eyes and his face is pale, really pale. If it's because of the sight of me or because of his medical condition I don't know.
"Dylan... son", he whispers quietly. "What did they do to you?"
They broke me.
A few months later
My legs give in and I slump down on the ground, breathing heavily. The dust fills my lungs, my sight blurs almost immediately. My whole body aches and my head feels like a million bricks fell on it. The throbbing never stops, whatever I do, the pressure on my temples never leaves.
"Get up"
His hard, merciless voice is like an arrow shot right into my head. The pain increases almost immediately and I can't help but grab my head with both of hands in a desperate attempt to ease the pain somehow.
"I said get up Dylan." The sound of his voice changes, giving away that his patience is fading fast, very fast.
"I – I c – can't d – d – do this anym – more dad"
I give my very best to get the words out but my lips feel like they've been glued together. Forming every word needs a huge amount of energy.
"Keep going." His voice stays cold as ice. I force myself to look up at my father.
He's standing right in front of me, his arms crossed before his chest. His eyes burn in anger; the same expression he wears most of the time.
"Especially when he's with you Dylan... "
The voice sounds inside of my head and I feel my body shaking, from fear or pain I don't know. The change of my posture obviously didn't go unnoticed by my dad because his expression changes almost immediately from anger to worry. He squats down so that we lock eyes.
"Fight it off Dyl", he whispers as if he fears I'll go crazy if he'd talk any louder.
"It's worthless... you've been trying for months to get rid of me. But you failed. Like you fail every time"
The voice continues and though I try my hardest to focus on the soothing words of my father I can't register any of them. The only thing that really gets to me is its voice. Its merciless words which feel like the whips I've received a while ago.
"Give in boy... you know the pain will fade away, you'll feel so much better"
"Dad, make it stop please", I whimper in pain. Why does it hurt so much?!
"I can't."
"Do something, ANYTHING!" I shout angrily. I force myself to my feet and look down on him. His expression is unreadable. He just looks at me, waiting for me to make the next move.
"See? He doesn't want to help you... he doesn't love you. You should join us and fight him instead of trying to be worth his attention..."
The words hit me like lighting and I stumble back. My heart beats painfully against my chest and I feel like I can't get enough air inside my lungs. Dad slowly straightens himself, his eyes wider than before, almost... fearful?
"Dylan... break the connection already", he whispers quietly, his expression now definitely full of fear. Something I rarely see on my father's face.
"The dark spore is the connection, how am I supposed to break it?" I reach for my neck, trying for the millionth time to feel anything there, but there isn't anything physically touchable. The dark spore is made of data, data that hurts like a bitch.
"You have to resist it. Get the voice out of your head Dylan... it's messing with you", he says, approaching me slowly.
"I CAN'T!" I shout angrily. "I should just give in..." I add the last part quietly.
"YES!"
"If you give in you'll join them." He states, his expression now again full of anger.
"Yes..."
"Then you can be sure that I'll be the first one who'll try to kill you somehow"
"HE WANTS TO KILL YOU! YOUR OWN FATHER!"
"SHUT UP!" The throbbing pain increases again and I feel myself scream out of pain, falling down on my knees again.
"He hates you Dylan...your father hates you"
Hot tears burn in my eyes, daring to come out. I can't take this anymore...
Suddenly I feel a light touch at my back causing me to look up in shock. I scoot away from him still not being able to accept the touch. Dad is kneeling next to me his hand which he tried to place on my back hanging in the air between us. Every bit of anger vanished from his eyes, replaced by something warmer, gentler.
"D – Dad I – I'm s – sorry", my voice trembles again. My heart continues to beat fast. Every beat hurts like a hundred needles inside of my chest. He frowns in confusion at my words, asking me for an explanation by just looking at me like that.
"I – I'm an h – huge d – disap – pointment."
As soon as the words are out I feel kind of lighter since this bothered me a while already. However with this sudden lightness my last bit of self-control fades and I feel the tears fall down my face.
I refused to cry since the moment they captured me. Never have I ever let anyone see me in such a weak state, but I can't take this anymore. I just can't.
The pressure in my body increases again, however this time in my chest rather than in my head. I try to get air inside of my lungs, in vain. My chest squeezes painfully and my hand grabs the paining spot almost automatically. Panic is spreading through me.
As I do however I register the look of shock in my father's face as soon as he realizes that my hand is placed right above my heart.
"Dylan!" He shouts, kneeling in front of me and placing his hand over mine. I lock eyes with him and there's no doubt that my usually calm, collected father is terrified.
"Stay with me son...!"
Stay with me... his voice seems so far away right now...
End of Flashback
My Eyes dart open and I sit up almost immediately, causing my head to spin. My hand – as if my body fears another heart attack – grabs my chest right above my heart that is beating faster than usual.
I close my eyes and force myself to take deep, steady breaths.
A dream... it was just a dream. It's over now.
"Was it really...?"
The voice sounds again and I feel the shiver make its way down my spine.
"Shut up"
"Join us Dylan... you see what happened to your father"
"No... Just shut up. Please!" As if on instinct I grab my head with both of my hands and close my eyes, trying to get the voice out of my head again. In vain.
"He could have joined us too. Then he'd be alive now. But he's dead."
"No..."
"He's dead. You failed him. Again."
"No No No! Dad please... help me", I whisper.
"He can't help you Dylan... he'll never be able to help you again"
"No..." I feel my heart beat increasing and my breaths getting heavier.
"This time daddy won't save you"
Kari's Prov
The sheets feel like bricks, pressing me down on the ground rather than the bed. Though I'm beyond exhausted from today's meetings and stories I've heard, I can't bring myself to go to sleep.
The fear of what my dreams might bring is too big. Instead I just stare aimlessly on the ceiling, trying to count the screws on it.
Davis...
"Kari?" Gatomon calls out my name, causing me to turn around to look at her.
She's lying next to me in the bed and looks at me with a worried expression. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine Gatomon."
"You've never been very good at lying", she frowns and sits up, looking down at me with her deep blue eyes. "Tell me what is bothering you Kari."
I sigh and close my eyes, trying to come up with an answer. What bothers me really? Up to this morning it was my brother's medical condition, but thanks to Sora and Kazumi who forcefully gave him the cure – I still have to ask how exactly they did it – this problem was solved.
But much to my surprise the news of my brother feeling better soon didn't have the effect I expected it to have.
Was it because a certain somebody wasn't around? The same person who was the cause for my break down yesterday on the balcony? The same person whose pained screams fill my dreams and cause me to fear going to sleep? The same person who silently made his way inside of my heart and who is now the reason for it to hurt so much because of his absence.
Davis...
"Kari?"
Gatomon's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. I turn to her again and smile softly.
"I'm sorry I was thinking..."
"About Davis?" she asks curious, her eyes sparkling with interest.
"How d – do you know?" I stammer. Wasn't it always obvious for everyone that T.K and I would end up together?
"Well I noticed you staring at him the way Sora stares at Tai" she answers, grinning lightly.
I feel my cheeks warming up. If she noticed that... did the rest of the team too? And T.K? oh no I'm not ready for this..
"I – I'm just worried about him. We're friends" Gatomon just continues to grin knowingly.
"You should not feel so guilty about T.K", she says, causing me to look at her dumbfounded.
"How do you know that?"
"I spend most of the time examining you Kari. I know your every movement's meaning, I am your partner digimon after all."
"Well I just didn't think that would happen... like ever", I sigh, thinking about the young gogglehead again.
"Why not?" Gatomon scoots closer to me, looking at me confused.
"Well as long as I've known Davis he always was interested in me. And I was kinda close with T.K most of the time. But it somehow changed..."
As much as I'd like to find out when and why exactly my feelings towards these boys changed I can't come up with a reasonable answer. But when were emotions reasonable anyway?
"You should not try to analyze everything Kari. Just follow your heart"
I look into the warm, kind eyes of my digimon and can't suppress the smile that is forming on my face.
"Thank you Gatomon, I will."
"Good. Now I request we sleep so we can kick some butt tomorrow and bring Davis back"
With that she cuddles up to me. With her so close to me I dare to close my eyes, feeling lighter all of the sudden. My Body relaxes and I feel how I drift into a peaceful slumber, a burgundy haired boy ever so present in my mind.
The next morning
"Where are they?" Yolei taps her foot impatiently on the ground.
We've been waiting for almost 15 minutes already in front of the underground base's doors. The thick, grey clouds engulf everything in a depressing dark color. Everyone is standing in a circle with their respective partner's right next to them. Everyone but Tai and Agumon, who didn't want to go anywhere without his partner.
However it is the twins and Alec we're waiting for. Honestly, what takes them so long?
"Should we go and check?" Armadillomon asks, unsure of what to do.
"We're here, sorry!" Alec's voice sounds. He exits the gates with the twins following him suit.
A murmur goes through the circle as soon as we take in the sight of the twins. They're both dressed in black, tight pants and matching black long – sleeved Shirts. However on the belts both of them are wearing are several small pockets whose contents I can only wonder about.
Next to the many pockets hangs – I gulp – a gun. I feel the shiver make its way down my spine only by looking at this weapon.
On their heads they wear hoods and their face is covered with a cloth, only revealing their deep brown eyes. both of them wear gloves, on the inside of their wrists however I can see something shining. After taking a closer look at the item I recognize the shining thing as a small dagger.
"Wow guys... you look like ninjas!" Yolei exclaims, looking at them in awe.
"Thanks. You actually helped design these", Kazumi says, her eyes narrowing because she's probably smiling. It's really hard to tell through the cloth over her face.
"I did? Wow I am so cool!"
The others chuckle lightly at her typical behavior and I can't help but be happy for these brief moments in which we remember to joke around with our friends, though we're in a real mess.
However it's Matt who turns serious again. "So the sphere will take us to the city Gennai said Davis is located in right?"
"Yes we just have to cross the forest; the sphere will wait on the clearing" Alec answers, pointing straight at the entry of the forest.
I sigh quietly and let the others take the lead. While Kazumi is walking next to Sora and Matt at the front I join Alec and Dylan who are right behind me as the last ones. We walk for a while in deep silence before several small conversations start between a few of us. I for my part remain silent since I really don't feel like talking right now.
Though I hate people who eavesdrop I can't ignore the conversation of the two behind me.
"Alec you have to promise", Dylan says urgently.
"I won't promise anything Dylan because nothing is going to happen", Alec responds, anger clear in his voice.
"Dad used to say you have to be prepared for the worst case. I am preparing you for the worst case right now", Dylan hisses, not less angry than Alec.
"You're predicting your death", Alec responds.
"No. I'm only saying that if anything happens to me today. I want you to get Kazumi out of there. Save", Dylan responds, calmer now.
"I'll save both of you if I have to. That's what I promised to your father, remember?"
"Yeah but my father is dead now so...", Dylan trails off and I feel the lump forming inside of my throat.
"That doesn't mean I can break my promise. Nothing bad is going to happen Dylan. You and Kazumi will both return with me today to the base."
With that the conversation of them stops and so does our short walk. The forest clears and in front of us is the sphere Piximon prepared for us, shining lightly through the darkness. We enter the sphere quietly. The rest of the journey is spent in silence.
We fly over several abandoned cities and landscapes. The digital world that was once filled with joy and happy laughter is nothing but an endless, sad, lonely ocean of grey. I have to avert my gaze because this sight hurts me too much. Seeing that none of my friends is looking around, I can guess they feel very similar.
After a while I can see a city appearing in the distance. The buildings are smaller than I expected and the streets seem empty. In the middle of the city is a hexagonal, large building. On each corner of it is a giant torch in which blue fire is burning. I've never seen anything like this.
"Is this creepy looking building our destination?" Matt asks, his gaze on Alec. He only nods his head.
"As soon as the sphere lands, Dylan and Kazumi will separate from the group and make their way into the building. The rest follows me, I'll guide you and if some shadows cross our way I'll destroy them. You however will take care of the digimon. Okay?"
We nod in unison and contemporaneous the sphere comes to a stop. We step out and almost immediately the twins turn into the opposite direction of us. They give us a swift nod and are just about to take off in a run when Alec grabs Kazumi by her wrist, causing her to turn around in confusion.
"What is it?"
Alec however doesn't respond, instead he pulls her into an embrace. She obviously didn't expect his sudden act of affection because she hesitates at first, but eventually wraps her arms around his neck, burying her face into his shoulder. Dylan for his part just stands next to them, not looking at any of us.
They remain a few more seconds in their embrace before Alec separates them, kisses her forehead and gestures her to go. Kazumi however turns to us again.
"I'll see you all later. Be safe." With that she joins her brother's side and together they take off in a run towards the nearest wall and with one swift, powerful move they jump up to the wall and within seconds they reach the roof of the building. I can't help but feel deep impressed by their athletic talent.
"Wow. They're awesome!" Ken says, his gaze still on the edge of the roof from where the twins were last seen.
"It's called parkour. They started at a very young age with their training. They're the best agents we have", Alec explains. Taking the lead of the group and walking through a small alley.
"What do you mean by agents?" Izzy asks curious.
"Well uh... in Kazumi's and Dylan's time they use the term agents similar to the term digidestined. But it turned that you – the original digidestined – are called digidestined, while the second generation is called agents. I don't really know why though. Every one of them has their digimon partner and a digivice, what makes them to digidestined too. But they call themselves agents so everyone followed their example..."
"So you know all of them?" Mimi asks, her curiosity taking over.
"Y – Yeah..." Alec responds, obviously unsure of how much he wants to reveal about the future kids of us.
"What are they like?" Cody asks.
"Alec...", Phoenix's voice sounds form inside of the headset we all received before we headed out.
Alec rolls his eyes annoyed what causes most of us to grin. The more time I spend with this guy, the more I grow to like him.
"They're very cool. And the fact that we all grew up together is obvious. We're in perfect harmony with the team", Dylan's voice sounds inside of our headsets.
"Am I talking to a wall? What did I tell you about not revealing anything about the future?!" Phoenix voice sounds again, this time angrier.
"Do you want us to turn the headsets off again Phoenix?" Kazumi's voice sounds. A chuckle echoes through the headset and I can't help but join them. Phoenix sighs annoyed but doesn't care to answer anymore.
"Kaz how far are you?" Alec asks into his microphone.
"We reached the ventilation shaft. The building's full of digimon though", Kazumi responds.
"Weird... the city is empty. Not even shadows are present", Alec says quietly, his eyes scanning every angle.
"Maybe they had better things to do?" Joe asks.
"Like what?" Matt turns to him in confusion.
"Well Daemon left the city earlier this morning. Maybe the shadows are accompanying him", Phoenix voice sounds again.
"Maybe..." Dylan's voice sounds.
"Anyway... guys you should – "
"Digivolve?" Weregarurumon asks, his eyes shining in amusement. Alec turns around and looks at the digimon in front of him.
"Uh... yeah. I'd say you aim an attack against the building and wait for them to come out. This way the twins will have enough chaos covering their entry."
"Oh let me be the first please", Lillymon says, flying high into the sky.
"Flower Cannon!" The Fairy digimon thrusts both of her arms forward, making a gun muzzle from the petals on her wrists. The energy shell evolving from there hits the building in full force, causing a huge hole in the wall.
The building shakes dangerously and a few more bricks fall down to the ground, covering a huge area
with dust.
It stays silent though.
"What – " T.K starts but is interrupted immediately.
"DUCK DOWN!"
Suddenly I feel a pair of arms pushing me down on the ground. My sight is blocked by Garudamon's body which is covering us from whatever is aimed at us. However I don't have to wonder for long. A huge energy blast crashes down on Garudamon's back what causes her to wince and the ground beneath us to shake.
"Stay down Kari", Angewomon's voice sounds right beside my ear. She presses me down on the ground, shielding me of whatever might come at us again.
"Garudamon! Are you okay?" Sora shouts. She's lying on her stomach, her hands covering her head.
"I am Sora. Take shelter everyone!" Garudamon shouts, getting to her feet and turning to face the enemy.
Angewomon lets go of me and runs to Garudamon's side. One by one we all get up and take shelter behind a few buildings, far enough to be out of their aim, but close enough to support our partners.
"We're in", Kazumi's voice sounds inside of my ear.
"Good. Go and find him, we buy you time", Joe answers confidently.
I for my part feel my heart sink and the fear spreading itself around me. "Uh... please hurry", I whisper inside the microphone of my headset.
A giant army of DarkLizardmon and DarkTyrannomon walks toward us. Their eyes black dots, sucked out of every emotion that would be usually visible, even in dark digimons. But what makes me tremble in fear is who is leading them; ExVeemon.
"Fuck"
Kazumi's PROV
I jump down on the ground, off the ventilation shaft from which my brother and I managed to enter the building. The digidestined made a good job in distracting the digimon since we can cross the corridors now without fearing an uncomfortable encounter with any of them.
Neither my brother nor I say something. We did this at least a hundred times together; sneak into the enemies' base, steal something – or free someone – and get out, without being seen or heard. It's like we know our siblings' next step without saying a word. Dylan takes the lead and glances over the next corner. He quickly turns to me, holding two fingers into the air.
Okay.. two enemies in front of us.
He goes left and I take the right way. Together we sneak up to the two shadow creatures in front of us. Their back is turned to us, what makes this whole attack much easier for us. We move absolutely synchronic and with a quick glance at each other we both wrap our left arm around our enemies' necks and drive the daggers into their skull, making them burst into data almost immediately.
"Did you just see that?" Dylan says, his face clearly wearing a content smile, though I'm not really seeing anything of his face, except for his eyes.
"How would I not seen it if I was part of it?" I answer, allowing myself to chuckle with him.
"We're so g –", he starts but his eyes lose their blaze of amusement. His expression slowly turns into pain. He falls down on his knees, clutching his head with both of his hands.
"Dylan!" Within seconds I'm kneeling right beside him on the ground without touching him that is.
His eyes are closed and the cloth over his mouth his moving rapidly, showing that Dylan obviously is struggling to get air. With a swift move I grab the cloth and pull it down, right under his chin. He doesn't even twitch; instead he just winces in pain, still holding onto his head.
"Dylan what is it?"
"They're in my head Kaz..." he whispers quietly, his voice thin as ice. As so often.
"Dylan... take deep steady breaths", Alec's voice sounds through our headset.
Fuck... everyone must have heard him then.
My brother however obviously doesn't care about this as much as I do because I feel how he slowly relaxes again, letting go of his head. However still breathing as Alec just said him to do. He takes one deep breath after another. Inhaling, exhaling. Like he always did with dad when he was about to flip.
He slowly opens his eyes, revealing the two emotionless brown dots again. Without any other word he takes the cloth and covers his face. He stands up ever so slowly and offers me his hand which I take without hesitation.
I give him a nod, which he returns and together we make our way to the basement of the building where we feel Davis' aura the strongest.
We take the stairs down and come face to face with a giant, wooden door. I don't even try to break it open; that would be a waste of energy. Dylan already has his wire in his hands, forming it in a weird looking form and sticks it into the keyhole. With a few practiced moves he makes the lock click and opens the door, revealing a small chamber. The walls and the ground are made of big rocks. The whole room is empty, engulfed in a sick dark blue light coming from the weird flame burning in a torch on the wall of the chamber.
Right in front of us is Davis, hanging on two chains which are attached to his wrists. I quickly cross the room and tear them out of the wall with one, strong move.
Without being held upright by the chains, Davis collapses on the ground, wincing lightly.
"Davis?" I whisper quietly. The boy slowly looks up and his eyes get wide, springing to life again.
"Thank god you're here. They have ExVeemon! They did something to him, we have to help him!" He immediately gets on his feet and stumbles to the wall.
"Whoa not so fast Davis. Are you okay? Did they do anything to you?" Dylan asks, his eyes full of concern. I can tell he's remembering himself, being chained to a wall.
Davis shakes his head. "No, I am fine. Please get me out of here we have to help Veemon!"
Dylan glances at me, unsure of what to think about Davis condition... I myself was expecting something way worse too. But shouldn't we be happy that they obviously didn't have any interest in harming him?
I shrug and gesture Dylan to get out of here. Without any word he turns around and leads us back up the stairs. We make our way through the empty corridors to the main entrance of the building. The sound of digimon shouting their attacks grows louder, the nearer we get to the battle field.
As soon as the exit is visible Davis starts to run towards it. We follow his example and just when I'm about to step over the threshold I hear my brother cry out in pain, again.
I immediately stop in my tracks and turn around. Dylan's hovering over the ground again, his hands pressed on the ground and his breathing going faster than before.
For a brief moment images of different people carrying my brother to the hospital wing, saying things like "heart attack" and "hyperventilating" pops up in my head, making me shiver. I kneel down to him and place my hand on his back, determined to force him to accept my touch. He twitches as if I slapped him, but he doesn't shake my hand off.
"Dylan..." I whisper quietly, trying to reach out to him. Trying to make him suppress the voices that are pining for him.
"Kazumi... run", he says, his voice barely hearable.
"No Dyl... I'm not letting you behind. You're my brother!"
He stops to tremble suddenly. And I feel his body temperature sink beneath my hand. It's like a giant hand appears out of nowhere, grabs my brother, and takes him away. This is what it feels like when my brother lifts his head and looks me dead in the eyes. All color drains from his once brown orbs, leaving shallow, ice – grey eyes back. His usual soft features harden within seconds, and a small smile that doesn't reach his eyes appears on his face.
He gave in.
I slowly stand up and take a few steps back from him, exiting the building in doing so. He however mirrors my movements. As soon as I take a step back, he takes a step forward. His wicked grin getting wider.
"What is it Kazumi? Why are you backing off? I'm your brother, am I not?"
I try to suppress my tears and the grief that is daring to overwhelm me at any second. I could have coped with everything.
But my brother taken away from me? No fucking way. No.
"Dylan... please get a grip", I ignore the lump in my throat and the fact that I'm giving away my emotions. This is my brother god dammit!
"Oh... you want me to get a grip? Yeah, sure. Whatever you say."
In one quick move he's standing right before me and his hand wraps itself around my throat, breaking my heart into pieces.
Sora's PROV
"We have to get out of here!" Matt shouts from the brick wall that is left of the building he's been hiding behind.
"Not without Davis!" Kari shouts back, scanning the battlefield for any sight of him.
"ExVeemon! Remember who we are. We are your friends!" Stingmon shouts to the dragon like digimon.
ExVeemon however doesn't even twitch. "V – Laser!"
His attack hits Stingmon who obviously didn't expect that to happen in full force. He falls down to the ground, dedigivolving after fighting so many DarkLizardmon and DarkTyrannomon.
ExVeemon was actually only observing the whole battle, but as soon as we cleared the field from the Dark Digimon – mostly because Alec helped our digimon with his flame attack he used when we first met him – he joined the fight.
While Garudamon, Weregarurumon, Lillymon, Megakabuterimon and Zudomon still fight the remaining Dark Digimon, Ankylomon, Aquilamon, Stingmon, Angewomon and Angemon are fighting ExVeemon. Though Stingmon and Ankylomon dedigivolved due to exhaustion and because they received a few heavy attacks coming from ExVeemon.
"ExVeemon! Stop this. Don't you remember us?" Aquilamon tries once again. "We don't want to fight you."
"Well that's your fault then. V – "
"EXVEEMON!"
ExVeemon breaks off his attack, turning to the source of the voice. Davis is running towards us and comes to a stop right in front of his partner. ExVeemon however doesn't seem like he's recognizing him in any way.
"Out of my way boy."
"NO! You have to stop this Veemon please", Davis begs.
"The only thing I have to do is kill you digidestined", the dragon like digimon growls angrily, approaching Davis ever so slowly.
Davis for his part doesn't care about the anger flickering in his digimon partner's eyes. He slowly sinks to his knees and bends over, his forehead touching the ground.
"Please ExVeemon I beg you to stop."
ExVeemon stops right in his tracks, looking at Davis in pure confusion.
"Horn buster!"
"Vulcan's hammer!"
Megakabuterimon and Zudomon's attack hits their respective opponents, causing them to dissolve in data. This however is enough to snap ExVeemon out of his daze. He lazily approaches the boy kneeling in front of him and – to the shock of everyone – places its foot on his head.
I steal a glance at Ken whose face is drained of all color. He probably remembers the day he forced the two of them to do exactly that. But this time however, ExVeemon is doing it by its own will.
"Davis!" Weregarurumon shouts and is just about to interfere but Alec holds up his arm, making him stop.
"Davis... keep trying", he whispers quietly.
Davis however doesn't hesitate. "D – Do you remember when Agumon was controlled by the dark spiral ExVeemon?"
Everyone holds their breaths, not daring to say anything what would cause their interaction to break.
ExVeemon however doesn't respond, but neither does he seem like he wants to attack. I'd say this is a good sign. Davis for his part doesn't bother, he continues.
"You asked me, if I would die for you. And I was acting like an idiot and answered that I'd probably would."
The blue digimon shifts and slowly lifts his foot, taking a few steps back. His gaze is fixed on Davis who didn't move an inch.
"The true answer is; I would die a hundred deaths, it if meant that you would be okay Veemon. I would do that in a heartbeat! Do you hear me?!"
ExVeemon eyes get wide and it's like someone just switched on the light inside of them. He stumbles back and falls down on the ground.
"Davis..." he whispers, before he is engulfed in bright light, which is coming from Davis' chest. The light leaves after a few seconds, leaving an exhausted, unconscious DemiVeemon back lying on the ground. Davis doesn't hesitate a second, he jumps to his feet and grabs the little digimon.
"Thank god."
"Davis!" Ken exclaims, stepping forward. Davis turns to look at us, a bright smile forms on his face.
"Hi guys!"
As if on cue, everyone approach him, wrapping their arms around him.
"Wait a second. Where are the twins?!" Alec's voice pierces through the reunion.
Davis frowns confused and looks back to the entrance of the building he exited a few minutes from.
"They were right behind me..."
But Alec doesn't even bother to let Davis finish. He takes off in a run and crosses the battlefield. We hesitantly look at each other before, without saying a word, follow him.
"Dylan! Let go of her!" I hear Alec's voice shout and increase my speed. However the sight that appears in front of me is one I'd never could have imagined.
Kazumi is lying on the ground, her brother straddling her, both of his hands around her throat. She struggles to get free but it is needless to say that Dylan is strong, very strong.
Alec however doesn't hesitate; he wraps his left arm around Dylan's neck and places his right hand on his right temple.
"One swift move with my wrist and I pierce your brain. Do you really want me to do this?"
Though Dylan is unfazed by Alec's dare he untightens his grip around his sister's throat and gets on his feet, Alec never letting go of him.
Dylan raises his arms in defeat: „Okay. You got me."
The sound of his voice sends shivers down my spine. Whereas before I'd always felt comfortable in his presence I feel the coldness coming from his body. I take a closer look and notice in shock that his eye color changed completely, resembling the color of Alec's eyes now.
Kazumi gets on her feet and stumbles towards us, the cloth on her face is gone and there are nasty, red marks around her throat. Her eyes are bloodshot due to the lack of oxygen. Alec lets go of Dylan and approaches his girlfriend, shielding her with his body from her brother. Said brother however only observes him with lack of interest.
"Yeah...keep her save from me. This way you can at least hold your promise, partially."
"You made your bed Dylan..." Alec answers quietly, pressing Kazumi closer to him.
"I think I did..." he answers thoughtfully.
"We should go boy."
The new voice calls out for Dylan and we turn to the source of it, most of us already knowing who's standing there.
Daemon swings his scythe through the air, waiting for Dylan to approach him.
"We should." Dylan slowly passes us and approaches the demon like digimon.
"DYLAN!" Kazumi, who obviously was in some kind of shock, snaps out of it and struggles against Alec's grip. She frees herself and tries to approach her brother who turned his back to her and leaves the field, neither of them bothering to even take notice of us.
Alec runs up to her before she reaches him and wraps his arm around the girl's tiny frame, lifting her up with no effort.
"Let go of me Alec! DYLAN!" her voice breaks. Her Brother however does not deign to look at her anymore.
"No. No... NO!"
Sooooo this was chapter 9. Let me know what you think.
I hope you liked it and I promise once again that it won't take me that long anymore to post the next chapter. I just hope I can stick to my promise.
Thank you all who are still reading this story, I really appreciate it. you're motivating me to keep going.
05/12/18
