First up: a big thanks to Okami Princess for being totally awesome. Your ideas are wonderful and every time I read another idea you've come up with I just want to write more of this story. So, longest one yet! The next chapter is half-way written so maybe it will be up in a few days. The climax of this arc is coming!
Intertwined Destinies
Previously in Intertwined Destinies:
The digidestined and Jade have left File Island and have arrived on the continent of Server with Whamon's help. The only thing they need to do is gather the seven crests that are scattered throughout Server, and once they have the crests their digimon partners will be able to digivolve to the Ultimate level. The crest of Courage (Tai) has been found, as has the crest of Reliability (Joe). Tai's personality took a turn for the worst and now his positive relationship with Jade looks like it's gone forever. Greymon was forced to dark digivolve into SkullGreymon and Jade drained him of his power, forcing him to then de-digivolve into Koromon. Now Mimi has her crest of Sincerity, and the group have just spent the night next to a giant cactus.
With Etemon on their trail, they need to keep moving. They need to work together now more than ever, for true danger awaits on the horizon. Will they have the strength to overcome it? The next chapter of their adventure awaits...
Chapter 12: Friendship – Knowledge –Truth
The following morning the group was up and gone before the sun had completely risen. Tai was clearly feeling better as he and Agumon took the lead and was soon a good distance away from everyone else. The other children and digimon walked as a huddle, though Matt and Joe kept a close eye on Tai and how far away he was. Jade chose to walk next to Gabumon, and was involved in a serious conversation with about which digimon was more evil: Etemon or Devimon.
It was a harmless conversation, and the others only listened to them with half an ear. Mimi had taken the crest off from around her neck and was swinging it like a pendulum in front of her, her eyes watching as the light reflected off it. She was deep in thought about what the crest of Sincerity meant, but she couldn't help but quicken her pace slightly so that she was walking beside Joe. His eyes flickered towards her at her sudden appearance, but otherwise he kept his eyes on Tai and Agumon.
"It's beautiful, isn't it Joe?" Mimi asked him, referring to the crest in her hand. "And every crest we've found so far has been different. I wonder what the next one will be."
"Yeah, but we need to learn how to use them," Joe told her, his eyes moving to Jade this time. She was indirectly leading them towards the next crest, though she had informed them that there were two that were close together, and a third that was a short distance away from them. The blue one and the purple one were almost on top of each other, she had told them, and it was those two that they were aiming for.
"Or our digimon could digivolve all messed up, right?" Sora asked, thinking back on Agumon's dark digivolution. Jade blinked at her, also thinking about that event. She wasn't positive, but she didn't think that Tai's crest had anything to do with Agumon's digivolution. The power of the digivolution had come from Tai without being filtered through the crest. If Agumon had digivolved using the crest, Tai wouldn't have been drained of his energy.
"Yeah, but none of that really matters until we find all the crests," Matt told Sora as he stopped walking. Jade paused next to him, curious about why he had stopped. Everyone bar Tai and Agumon also stopped, but in time the two looked back curiously.
"I think you're probably right about that one, Matt," Izzy stated. "Maybe the crest power comes from having them all."
Everyone looked at Jade, as if she could answer their implied questions. She just shrugged. She had no idea if all the crests needed to be gathered or not, though she did suspect that it played a part. What she did know, however, was that each crest would only work when its holder exhibited the quality that the crest represented.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Tai called out from the front. His voice was small and only barely reached them. "We gotta move on! If you want to take some down time we need to find some shade!"
"Oh, thanks Tai," TK called up to him sarcastically. "We're right in the middle of a serious digi-conversation about the crests and everything. And then you made me forget what I was going to say! You be in charge of finding the shade. We'll catch up."
Jade shook her head at TK's order, a faint smile on her lips. She was glad that Tai was feeling better, but he needed to regain his confidence. Walking alone when he could be with the group was telling the others that he didn't want to be with them just yet, like he didn't feel ready to be a part of the group again.
Then they disappeared from sight.
"Tai!" Jade cried, before she could stop herself. She darted forward a few steps in disbelief before Matt caught her arm and stopped her from running after the two out front.
"What happened?" TK asked in fear.
"Something grabbed them from underneath!" Joe told him, looking like he too wanted to run after them. Then, from the ground rose a giant digimon that looked familiar to them all. Beetle-like in appearance, with a red shell with black lines covering the back of its head, and vicious looking fangs, was the first digimon the children had stumbled across who meant them harm.
"It's Kuwagamon!" Matt identified.
Hanging from its pincers were Tai and Agumon, and both looked suitably afraid. Kuwagamon threw back his head and with that momentum Tai and Agumon went flying as if released from a slingshot. Jade slipped from Matt's grasp and started to run. Kuwagamon was hungry, and Tai and Agumon had stumbled upon its hunting ground where it would lie in wait for its prey. Unless they acted now, and Agumon digivolved to Greymon, the two would become bug food.
Agumon pulled himself from the sand where he had landed head first, and turned around to see Kuwagamon's mouth getting closer and closer to him. Jade ran, but she couldn't feel the power that usually accompanied a digivolution, it was like Agumon was too afraid to digivolve. Tai had started to run as well from where he had landed, and he was much closer to help. Agumon had frozen in fear, and as Kuwagamon's pincers snapped closed Tai collided with his partner and flattened them both to the ground, narrowly escaping being eaten. Kuwagamon reared back before lunging forward again, and Jade knew that this time he would get them.
"NO!" she screamed. Energy bubbled under the surface of her skin and before she could think about it she threw her hand forward as if throwing a tennis ball and stumbled as energy left her. Her eyes went wide as a fireball collided with Kuwagamon, causing him to stumble back a few steps and turn to look at her. Confusion, anger and annoyance washed over her, but before she could analyse what she felt a smaller digimon with much more power appeared at the edge of her senses.
"Pixie-bomb: Seek and destroy!"
Jade wanted to call out her denial, she didn't want to sense what was about to happen. The small ball of energy rushed passed her like a summer wind, ruffling her hair in the process, before hitting Kuwagamon's chest. The beetle digimon was deleted instantly, his emotions muted and silence appearing in its place. Jade would have cried, but all she did was wrap her arms around herself and turn to look to where the new digimon was.
Voices called out to her, Tai and Agumon, asking if they were alright, and very faintly Jade could make out Tai asking about what had just happened. She stood up slowly, already feeling her energy return from whatever had just happened, and stared with curiosity as a tiny pink digimon with white wings, tiny arms and legs, and a spear that was no longer than her forearm, walked passed Tai and Agumon who were still lying on the ground. Jade tilted her head to the side, she had seen this digimon before.
"A powder-puff with wings!" Mimi cried with delight. Jade supposed that the pink appealed to the girl, though it wasn't the colour Jade was focused on.
"Just don't use it on your face," Sora told her as she made it to Tai's side. She and Joe helped Tai to stand, pulling on his arms until he was upright. Agumon was assisted by Gabumon.
"Where's Kuwagamon?" Joe asked.
"Maybe that's him," TK suggested, pointing to the pink digimon.
"Kuwagamon was deleted," Jade explained to them, her eyes still on the newcomer. "That blast erased his data and he's now being reconfigured in the Primary Village."
"I am no enemy, yep-yep," the pink digimon told them. "If anything, you are your own enemies, yep-yep."
"Oh, I've heard of you!" Biyomon suddenly cried in delight. It was as she was speaking that Jade finally remembered the name of the digimon. "You're the famous-"
"Piximon!" Jade cried, cutting across Biyomon.
"That's right," Biyomon said, not in the least bit upset with Jade's interruption. "Piximon is famous in the Digital World for his skills in training, but few have ever met him. His secret home is the training ground for the greatest digimon fighters. There are rumours that he taught the Sovereign how to fight."
"I've heard all about you too," Piximon told them as Mimi lifted him off the ground. She held him as if he were a stuffed toy. "But so far I'm not impressed. You seven are supposed to be the digidestined! Ha! You better be more careful or you're going to end up as digi-dinners! Yep-yep, without my spear and my magic, Kuwagamon would be eating you with a side of digi-fries!"
"That's gross, thanks a lot," Mimi scolded him.
"Jade helped before you arrived," Agumon told the little digimon.
"Little Jade wouldn't have been able to stop Kuwagamon for long as she is," Piximon told the dinosaur sternly. His gaze softened slightly as he looked at Jade. "You still have a ways to go before you find out who you are."
Jade blinked as Piximon made a reference to her question she had spoken aloud the night before. She wanted to know who she was more than anything. Did that mean that Piximon had been following them just beyond her senses?
"And that's not all, you digimon there!" Piximon continued, his expression becoming stern again as he focused on the digimon standing before the children. "You're supposed to protect the children but half the time they're protecting you! I want to see some guts! I want to see some courage!"
"This guy reminds me of a gym teacher I once had," Matt muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Tai grinned quickly, obviously understanding what teacher was being referred to, before his expression became serious again as he focused on Piximon. Palmon spoke up.
"He's right, we just don't have any guts."
"Don't we get points for enthusiasm?" Gomamon asked.
"But the news isn't all bad," Piximon told them, and Jade alone recognised the gleam in his eyes, anticipation. "Yep-yep! From now on you're all going to train with me!"
"But why?" Sora asked.
"Let's not go overboard Piximon," Tentomon began nervously.
"Especially you two guys," Piximon said, pointing to Tai and Agumon. They both gapped in disbelief. "You heard me! You need lots of help, and I have a special extreme training program just for you!"
"Did I hear him right?" Tai asked his partner.
"Sounds kind of extreme," Agumon told him.
Piximon started to walk off, ordering them to follow him without a backwards glance. Jade immediately skipped off after him. She recognised him, knew his name, but didn't know why. Maybe the little digimon would help her find out the truth about herself. The other digidestined and their digimon hesitated, but Jade knew that they would follow once they realised that they were falling behind and she was already gone.
"Little Princess, it's good to see you again," Piximon told her.
"So I have met you before," Jade stated with a sound of realisation. "I thought so."
"Gennai mentioned that your memory of us had faded," Piximon explained as he flew up to perch on her head. "But that it was returning slowly. I can help you with that."
"You can?" Jade asked with hope. "I know that there's something that I need to remember, and that it's important, but every time I think about what it could be all I find is a blank spot in my mind."
"You will know who you are in no time at all," Piximon promised. "Yep-yep! The Truth is right before you."
Jade nodded slightly, conscious of the digimon on her head, and thought about what he had said. Truth? What was the Truth? And why did it sound really important when he had said it? She bit her lip gently and twisted her hands around the shoulder straps of her back pack. Maybe Piximon was being literal, and Truth was the crest that they were making their way towards. The crest with the white gold light was what they appeared to be making their way towards, with the purple and blue crests now off to the side instead of directly in front of them.
"You know where the crests are, don't you?" Jade suddenly asked. "You're leading us towards them."
"I only know where one is," Piximon confided. "But it's not the crest of the digidestined. They are outside my home. The one I have was a gift from Gennai after the boundary between the Digital World and the Shadow World broke."
"Shadow World?" Jade asked curiously. "How many worlds are there?"
"In time, you will know," was all the pink digimon said. He then turned on her head to yell back towards the digidestined and their digimon who were still discussing whether or not they should follow Piximon. "Would you all just hurry up?!"
"Are we there yet?" Mimi asked with a pout an hour later. This time it was only Jade and Piximon who had separated from the group, and the others were walking together in a clump. It was like they were torn between keeping a respectful distance and staying close by to Jade in case she needed their help.
"Just a little further!" Piximon called back cheerfully. Jade giggled. It hadn't taken long for the 'are we there yet?' questions to start, and it probably hadn't helped that Piximon was very vague in his responses.
"That's about the seventh time you've said that," Joe muttered just loud enough for the two up front to hear.
"I think he's lost," Matt told Joe seriously.
"So what do we do?" Tai asked with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Ask a cactus for directions?"
"Ice-cream…cold root beer…" Sora moaned longingly. It was hot in the sun, and Piximon hadn't let them stop for a break.
"Stop that!" everyone ordered Sora.
"How far do we have to go?" Jade asked softly, her curiosity getting the better of her. Piximon just chuckled before projecting his voice so that all could hear him.
"Halt! We have arrived! Yep-yep!"
Jade stopped walking instantly, her eyes darting around to see what was different about this spot in the distance. It appeared like just another spot in the desert, but when she stretched out her senses she could pick up a faint…something…in the air that wasn't present anywhere else. She wanted to walk forward a little further to reach out and touch the something, but Piximon leapt off her head before she could move.
"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, longing still in her tone of voice as she thought about various cold beverages. "There isn't anything here."
"Pixie Portal!" Piximon cried mischievously. He spun his little staff around in his hands and right in front of the group appeared a ripple in the air. It ripped open a hole where a jungle could be seen. Jade felt her jaw drop open, and she darted forward quickly to touch the portal wall.
"It's a hole in the desert!" Mimi announced with surprise.
"Am I the only one who thinks this looks like trouble?" Joe asked, his eyes focused on Jade and her curious actions.
"Actually, it's just my front door," Piximon reassured them as he settled on Jade's head again. "Come on in now quickly, before it closes. Yep-yep."
The group walked forward and stepped carefully through the hole. Jade was already inside waiting for them, and her smile did more to reassure them than anything Piximon said. She skipped forward a little, laughing as Piximon was forced to grip her hair so that he didn't fall off, and tried to look at everything.
"Cool," Tai stated after a few minutes' walk. "A jungle inside a desert, that's something you don't see every day."
"I bet you have lots of friends who want to play with you," TK wagered as he jogged to walk beside Jade and Piximon. The little digimon looked down from Jade's head and grinned slightly as he noticed that Tokomon was at the same height as he was.
"You should have seen it when I first got it," he told the boy. "I think Jade and I spent a month just trying to find a way to make travel easy."
"You and Jade?" Izzy asked curiously.
"Oh sure, but I think I got more work done after Jade went off to play with the other digimon. She was far more interested in playing hide 'n' seek than clearing away the debris."
Jade smiled brilliantly as Piximon spoke. His words were creating images in her mind, and up ahead she could imagine seeing herself running around the trees and bushes, while Piximon chased her in fear that she would hurt herself if she disappeared from his sight for too long. TK laughed, clearly imagining playing in the jungle with Tokomon and the other digimon.
"Heads up!" Sora suddenly ordered fearfully. "Look behind us guys!"
Sixteen heads swivelled to look back towards the desert, and most gasped as they recognised a large Monochromon pulling a silver trailer across the sand. Jade said nothing, but her smile had disappeared and she narrowed her eyes at the sight.
"Oh no! It's Etemon and his trailer!" Mimi wailed, stumbling back slightly.
"Oh boy, this is bad," Joe stated, stepping forward so that he was standing in front of the younger children. Jade wouldn't let him do that, and stepped up to his side and took his wrist in her hand. Piximon was still sitting on her head, but he didn't appear to be worried about the danger.
"And right outside the front door he is too," Piximon muttered. Jade heard the awareness in his tone, and realised that if they had kept up with their former travel path, they would have walked right towards their enemy. Piximon's arrival had saved their lives.
"Huh?" Joe asked, his hand twisting slightly so that instead of his wrist in Jade's grasp, he was holding her hand.
"Don't worry. He isn't able to see through the barrier," Piximon reassured him, his voice carrying to all ears. "He sees nothing but desert. Yep-yep! Let's keep going."
Joe was the first to turn away, and he kept Jade close to his side as they walked. Piximon left her head and started to fly ahead of them, but Jade's attention was now focused on their near miss. Had Piximon known that they were in danger and interfered so that they would be safe? Or was it all a coincidence? Jade could have pointed out the location of any of the other six crests that she could sense, but she had chosen the two that were closest together. If they had been caught, would that have been her fault for leading them into danger?
"I can hear you thinking," Joe whispered to her. "Whatever it is, it's not your fault."
"If Piximon hadn't saved us, we would have walked right into Etemon, and it would be because I chose what way we would walk," Jade told him quietly.
"No matter what way we would have gone, Etemon would have found us sooner or later," Joe continued. "We are upsetting his Dark Network, he wants us dead for whatever reason. He nearly succeeded at the colosseum, and because of you we all survived. Piximon's arrival just means that we will face Etemon later as opposed to sooner."
Jade smiled up at him gratefully, but while part of the weight of their near miss was removed from her shoulders, she was still haunted by the 'could have been' scenario. What if she chose poorly next time? Would they be strong enough to survive? All of them?
"Oh wow!" TK cried, his voice breaking into her thoughts. "That's a lot of stairs!"
"Alright everybody, home we are!" Piximon announced cheerfully. "My house is just up these steps!"
"We have to walk up there?" Joe asked in disbelief, his head tilting back in the hopes that he would be able to see the top.
"But I didn't bring my stair climbing sneakers," Mimi told Piximon seriously.
"Yeah…and I just remembered, I'm afraid of heights," Tai added. Jade thought about that and a small smile spread across her face. She did recall Tai telling her that heights made him uncomfortable, but so far he had been able to hide his unease from the others. She figured that when he had been airborne he just hadn't looked down.
"Surely from a logical standpoint, it doesn't look very safe," Izzy theorised. His face had gone a shade paler at the thought of climbing as well.
"Is this part of our training?" Sora asked hesitantly.
"Exactly!" Piximon told them in delight. Jade stared up at the stairs even as the others around her slumped to the ground in despair.
"Was that here when I was here last?" she asked curiously.
"Nope," Piximon answered with a smile. "I had it built after the darkness invaded. It was part of the training for several other digimon. Only took them a year."
Jade nodded, her eyes still searching for the top of the stairs. Tentomon flew up higher, not looking in the least disheartened at the thought of climbing the stairs.
"Hey, no sweat," he said. "I'll just fly up there. Before you know it I'll be chilling by the pool while you guys –"
"Oh, by the way, did I mention that there will be no flying by anyone during all my training?" Piximon asked him slyly. Tentomon groaned and joined the others on the ground in a slump. Jade was now the only person still standing, and she was looking at the others in amusement.
"Haven't you rookies learned that sometimes the easy way is a trap?" Piximon asked them, a hint of disapproval in his tone. "Now let's move out!"
"I guess Piximon never heard of elevators," Joe muttered as he stood to climb the stairs. He reached out and grabbed Jade's hand as he moved, ensuring that she would stay with the group and wouldn't wander close to the side and fall off the edge.
They climbed, and climbed, and climbed. The sun, which had been above them when they entered Piximon's jungle, was now sinking below the horizon. With the greater height that they were now at, it meant that had they still been walking in the desert the sun would have already well and truly set.
"Don't tell me you're all tired?" Piximon asked. "Don't give up yet. You see, you've almost arrived!"
All eight children and digimon looked ahead. They were all tired, they were all hungry, and they were ready to drop. The thought of reaching their destination was enough to make it the last hundred or so stairs.
"That's his place?" Joe asked, staring at a colosseum type structure. None of them had fond memories of the last colosseum they had been in.
"That's right, and there's plenty of food for all!" Piximon told them.
Cheers echoed around the stairs and everyone managed to run the rest of the way. They didn't stop until they entered the closest door and ran out onto a walkway that stretched around the outside of the building. In the middle was a life-like sculpture of Piximon, many times larger than the original. Jade hung off the railing and quickly countered how many levels the building had. She counted four before her attention was drawn back to the conversation between Piximon and the others.
Apparently, Piximon wouldn't provide food for them until they had earned it. They were supposed to scrub the floors of his home so that they would shine. Everyone complained, but when Tai, Agumon and Jade picked up a bucket each they were requested not to. They had another assignment that they would need to complete before being allowed food. Jade slowly put her bucket down, wondering if Piximon wanted her and Tai to work together to do whatever he had in mind.
"I have a special chore for you three," Piximon said as he flew off.
"Oh great," Tai mumbled as he followed. "We probably have to paint the place."
"I'm better at cleaning!" Jade called after Piximon, following him with a slight bounce in her step so that she could catch up. Piximon didn't answer her, but behind them she could hear the others starting to work on the floors. She was glad that she didn't have to clean, but making the others do it while they were separated didn't seem like a fair idea. Especially now, Tai needed to learn to work with others and not on his own, that's what got them into trouble in the first place.
"Alright you two, this is the place. Yep-yep!" Piximon announced. "Stay here Jade, I'll be back in a minute."
Jade nodded and watched as Piximon led Tai and Agumon into a dark cave. She rocked back onto her heels, staring at the steadily darkening sky, and thought about what task Piximon had for her that was different to everyone else's. She didn't have to wait long as Piximon returned quickly enough and lead her to a small wooden house that was almost invisible against the side of the colosseum. The two of them entered.
"What's this place?" Jade asked curiously as she ran her fingers over the dusty furniture. Her eyes found a photo frame that was covered in dust, so she lifted it and brushed off the dust to see the photo. Her eyes widened as she saw a younger version of herself holding a black kitten-type digimon in her arms, surrounded by Gennai, Andromon, a white digimon that's top half was like that of a fox and lower half was a ghost-like tail and gold markings, a purple and white part kangaroo, part wolf and part fox digimon with bat-like wings, a red and black dinosaur type digimon, and finally, a boy in yellow with a purple cape and hat who looked just like a wizard.
"Who are all these people?" she asked Piximon.
"They were your friends, when you were last here," Piximon told her. "That photo was taken a few weeks before you left us."
"I don't remember them," she admitted.
"That doesn't surprise me," Piximon stated as he flew to a shelf high off the ground. He pulled a necklace off the shelf and flew back down to hand it to Jade. She looked at it with wide eyes, gently setting down the photo on the table. In Piximon's hand was a tag and crest, but this crest was the one that was white and gold.
"The crest of Truth," Piximon told her. "You don't have to take it, but it is yours. Gennai gave this to me after you were deleted. He said that it would unlock your memories, but that you needed to accept this willingly. I don't know if it will show you everything, but it will allow you to remember what is most important."
Jade nodded and tentatively reached out for the tag and crest. She could learn the truth about herself and find out why everyone seemed to know her. Once and for all she would know what it was about her that was so important. But still she hesitated. Did she want to know her past? Was she ready to know?
"I want to know," she whispered as her hand wrapped around the tag and crest. Instantly she was pulled into her memories, and she was only faintly aware of her body falling to the ground. All that mattered was what she could see in her mind. This was her story:
Jade was six and lying at the bottom of the stairs in a crumpled heap. She didn't even have the energy to cry, and didn't make a sound as Uncle Vernon lifted her and threw her into her cupboard. All she could do was curl up into a ball and wish, as she had done many times before, for someone to save her. She had wished to be saved often, but no one had ever come, and she was losing hope. She knew that she was dying, but she didn't mind. She always thought that if she died she would be with her parents again, and then maybe she would know what love was.
As time passed in her cupboard, she could feel her body growing weaker and weaker. Her eyes focused on a dark smudge of her cupboard door, and soon that smudge was all she could see. In time though, even that faded from her sight and her eyes closed. She wished with all her might that when her eyes opened she wouldn't be in her cupboard, that she would be somewhere where she would be loved.
With her eyes closed Jade imagined that strong arms were lifting her and holding her against a warm chest. She imagined that the arms around her were a shield from the rest of the world, and that they were carrying her away from her nightmare. There was a wind brushing against her face, and it was warm and comforting, and the sound of wings threaded their way into her imagination too. A voice, soft and childlike but also strong and confident, went through one ear and out the other like a lullaby. Her aunt had never sung to her, but sometimes she imaged her mother singing for her. The voice, while male, was familiar to her.
Eventually her body came down and was placed onto something soft. Jade never wanted to wake from this dream, she wanted it to go on for forever. A hand brushed her fringe off her face, pausing momentarily on her forehead where she knew she had a scar from the car crash that killed her parents. It left after a moment and Jade sunk further into oblivion. She would stay here for as long as she could, and she never wanted to leave.
Jade opened her eyes with a sigh before sitting up with a gasp. She had expected to still be in her cupboard, but she was in a large room with off-white walls, a large bed she was lying in, a couch off to the side of the room, a bookcase full of books and pictures of animals that she had never seen before. A young man was sitting on the end of her bed, but she didn't feel scared when she spotted him. He was wearing a white robe, his hair was a soft brown colour and short, and he was grinning at her.
"Welcome to the Digital World," he said once her attention was on him. "We were wondering if you would ever wake up."
"Where am I?" Jade asked curiously. "What happened?"
"You were very badly hurt when we brought you here," the man continued. "You've been here for about two weeks. Did you fall down some stairs or something?"
"Dudley pushed me…" Jade murmured. "But I was in my cupboard. How did I get here?"
"Your cry for help attracted the attention of one of our Guardians. He brought you to our God, who then sent you to me so I've been working hard to heal you. Do you feel better?"
"A lot," Jade admitted in confusion. "I don't think I've ever felt this good."
"That's good. The digimon are curious about meeting you," the man continued. "Would you like to come and meet them?"
Jade had no idea what digimon were, but nonetheless nodded and slipped off the bed. She was wearing a white nightie that reached her ankles and sleeves that reached her wrists. Her hair hung in tangles down her back, but that was normal and didn't bother her, and her feet were bare. She followed the man through numerous corridors until they walked out into a courtyard. Little animals played with each other, but as soon as they appeared the little animals cheered.
They were the cutest things that Jade had ever seen, and she eagerly walked forward and picked up the nearest animal that sort of resembled a kitten. It even purred like a kitten when she scratched behind its ears, and Jade giggled. With the not-kitten in her arms she turned to look at the man who was watching her with a wide smile.
"Who are you?"
"I am Gennai."
Gennai spent almost all of his time with Jade, teaching her how to look after the little animals. They were referred to as digimon, and each digimon had a different name that also explained what it was. For example, the not-kitten Jade had picked up was called Salamon, but there was more than one Salamon so it got a bit confusing when Jade wanted to call a particular Salamon over to have its health checked.
Jade learnt that she could heal the little digimon by just running her hands over them and focusing really hard. Gennai had praised her when he caught her doing that, something that had shocked Jade because if her aunt or uncle had caught her doing that they would have beaten her black and blue. But no, anything that she could do that wasn't considered normal, Gennai loved. He was always trying to find out the extent of what she could do and Jade was always trying to live up to his expectations.
He started to call her Little Princess, something that the digimon started to call her as well. Jade didn't mind, she felt like a princess in this world. Her clothes fit her, and she always had something different to wear every day. Every morning she would play with the baby digimon, and they would tell her stories about the Digital World. One day, about a month since she had woken up, another digimon came to see her but this one was different.
He looked like a little boy, taller than her but shorter than Gennai. He also had wings, eight of them. His wrists and ankles had a gold brace on each, and his hair was a light blond colour. He wore a white sheet that covered his right shoulder, tied around his waist, and flowed down his legs to his knees. His left shoulder had a purple tattoo that covered the left side of his chest, left arm and his left cheek. His eyes were a bright blue, and when he spoke Jade felt safe.
"Hi," she whispered.
"Hello Little Princess," he said, his voice soothing her like no other could. "I trust Gennai has been looking after you?"
"Yes," Jade said with a nod. "What's your name?"
"You may call me Lucemon," he said. "I am a Guardian of the Digital World."
Lucemon visited Jade every day after that first visit. Sometimes he would go flying with her sitting on his back, nestled safely between his wings. She had fallen in love with flying, there was nothing that she enjoyed better, and the stories that Lucemon told were even better. He was more than just a Guardian of the Digital World, he was the Guardian of the Digital World. Gennai told her afterwards that he was the God he had spoken about on the day she woke up.
Every digimon was his to protect, and over the past few centuries that had been getting harder and harder. A war was breaking out between the light digimon and the dark digimon and Lucemon couldn't be with everyone at the same time. The dark digimon were gaining strength, and unless something was done to satisfy them, and keep them satisfied, the Digital World and all joined worlds would be annihilated.
Jade felt sorry for him, but as she was only six she had no idea how to help him.
The answer came one night when Jade was having a nightmare. The scar on her forehead, the one that looked like a lightning bolt and the only thing she had to remember her parents, was burning her. Lucemon and Gennai worked together to remove the scar, and during the purifying process a darkness leeched from her forehead and became a digi-egg. The digi-egg was as dark as the night sky and Lucemon informed Gennai that the digimon in that digi-egg was pure evil.
When Jade woke several hours later she knew that something had changed. She felt lighter and cleaner, but also empty. She wandered around her home until she found Lucemon and Gennai staring at a black digi-egg. As soon as she saw that egg she knew that it was hers, and nothing could stop her from getting to it. She took care of it, made sure that it was warm and that no one hurt it.
To protect her when it hatched Lucemon gave her a gift. This gift was an orb barely bigger than her palm but glowed with a gold and white light. In the middle of the orb was a picture of what appeared to be an eye with five triangles above it as lashes and a diamond in the centre. Looking closer Jade could see that inside the diamond was a lightning bolt, just like her scar. She looked up at Lucemon in confusion and asked him what the orb was.
"This orb was gifted to me long ago," Lucemon explained. "A friend of mine, Phoenixmon, was struck down by dark digimon who hated her for her lightness. She was the Guardian of Truth, and she gave this to me and told me that I should give it to someone who is honest, and knows how to respect truth. This, should you accept it and it accepts you, will protect you from the darkness of the digimon in that digi-egg."
Jade nodded, and held the orb close to her chest. It felt warm, and she let out a gasp when it was absorbed into her chest. It was like her whole body was suddenly on fire, but it didn't hurt. In that moment Jade knew everything about Phoenixmon, and in that moment, she became Phoenixmon. Her eyes flared brightly, the green becoming even more vibrant than usual. She grew until she was six feet tall.
She was wearing a strapless pale gold dress that stopped just above her knees at the front, but at the back the dress stopped mid-calf. On each upper arm was a golden cuff, and there was a golden bangle on each wrist. Her hair was pale with strands on gold and red scattered throughout to make give it a shimmering appearance. A golden staff was held in her right hand, and it rested serenely on the ground. Wings of fire had burst forth from her back, and now rested peacefully without burning anyone.
The only thing about her that hadn't changed was her eyes.
"I didn't expect that," Lucemon admitted. Phoenixmon looked down at Lucemon with a smile before lifting the black digi-egg.
"Now I can protect the digimon with you," she said serenely.
"And a lot more I imagine," Lucemon said with a laugh. "And the digi-egg?"
"My darker half," Phoenixmon explained. "I suppose you could say that I cannot live without him."
A week after Jade accepted the gift of Truth her digi-egg hatched. A little ball-like digimon, pure black in colour with a tail that forked at the end and blood red eyes, fell into her hands and she knew instantly that as long as they were together they would never be lonely again. His name was Slymon. Slymon hated every other digimon Jade looked after, but he would sit on her head and not bother any of them.
A week after that Slymon digivolved into Riddlemon: a kitten-like digimon with a forked tail, blood red eyes and a mottled black coat. His ears were two little triangles on top of his head that Jade just loved to scratch when they were in their room and there was no one around to see Riddlemon act like a kitten.
Lucemon had decided on what to do with the approaching war, and that was train Jade and Riddlemon to succeed him. He governed over more than just the Digital World, he also governed over what he called the Shadow World. Jade would rule over the Digital World and protect the light that kept the Digital World alive. Riddlemon, on the other hand, would rule over the Shadow World and give sanctuary to the digimon and dark creatures that needed the darkness to survive.
It was the most serious Jade had ever seen Riddlemon act since his hatching. She gathered that he really wanted to rule over the darkness.
Part way through their training, and Jade practicing to become Phoenixmon whenever she could, Riddlemon digivolved again. Tomomon was definitely feline, and could probably blend in with the Real World should she ever bring him with her. The only differences were that his tail was still forked, his ears were much bigger, and his front paws had four extremely sharp claws ready to use at any moment. But when he curled up with her at the end of the day, Jade didn't see the monster that everyone else did, she saw her best friend and soul mate.
The war was getting worse. Tomomon and Jade spent a lot of their time with either Lucemon so that they could learn about the digimon they were supposed to protect and keep in order, or with Gennai so that they could learn about the Digital World and the Shadow World. Gennai had originally been a digidestined during the last Great War, and it was he and his friends Jade had only met a few times who managed to save the Digital World from eternal damnation. Even now they were trying to fix the horror the war had caused.
Centuries had passed since the Great War, but a side effect was that the timeline between the Human World and the Digital World was out of sync. According to Gennai, twenty years had passed in the Human World since the digidestined had been summoned to help them. Of the five humans who had been summoned, Gennai hadn't left the Digital World, one had died, and the other three had gone their separate ways.
But there was a prophecy that spoke of a great evil returning that had Gennai and his friends worried. The outcome of their final battle still had dire consequences for the survivors, but they also knew that they couldn't return. Thus, a new hope was created.
On some days Jade helped Gennai look after eight special digi-eggs. These eggs contained the hope for the future, for they would be the partners of the new digidestined. The eight of them had already been chosen, and when the time was right they would be pulled into the Digital World. Gennai had personally chosen each of the new digidestined, and he told Jade that he hoped that others would respect his choice. When Jade was with Gennai and the digi-eggs, Tomomon was with Lucemon learning about the darkness and how to conquer it. They would spend their time jumping to and from the Digital World and the Shadow World.
It was on one day like this that Lucemon snapped. The strain of controlling both the darkness and the light in the Digital World had torn him apart and twisted him into something ugly. He was powerful, and as much as Jade hated to do it, she and Tomomon teamed up together and imprisoned Lucemon where he couldn't hurt anyone any more. Tomomon digivolved into his Champion form Horcruxmon, to win the battle and save Jade's life, for he couldn't live without her.
Horcruxmon was Phoenixmon's opposite. He was an angel digimon, like her, but his wings were black as night, his outfit consisted of black material wrapped around his arms and chest, black pants and black boots that reached his knees. A silver staff was in his grip, but this staff was tipped with a cross and a sphere in the junction of the cross. Inside the sphere was the symbol of Darkness: a M with sharp points on either side and one reaching up from the middle of the letter. Beneath it was two more triangles, and looking at it Jade could feel the coldness it represented.
Phoenixmon had the symbol of Truth on the tip of her staff, and she knew that the two of them would forever be linked together.
Just before he was sealed forever, Lucemon thanked the two of them and wished them luck in ruling the Worlds. The four Guardians that guarded the North, South, East, and West supported the new rulers, and for a while at least there was peace in the Digital World and the Shadow World.
Phoenixmon and Horcruxmon were in different Worlds as they tried to maintain peace. Unfortunately, on Horcruxmon's part, there was a group of dark digimon who called themselves the Dark Masters and had no desire to listen to their new ruler. They banded together and travelled to the Digital World where Phoenixmon was playing with the baby digimon, and slaughtered all of them. Phoenixmon saw the destruction around her and released her power explosively. Every digimon with darkness in their hearts, and those who followed the Dark Masters, were banished from the Digital World back to the Shadow World.
But the damage was done. All the baby digimon were dead. Gennai held Jade as she cried, and it was her tears that made it possible for them to be reborn. Digi-eggs rained from the sky, and Phoenixmon and Gennai carried them all to File Island where they created the Primary Village. This village would be where all digimon were reborn, and it was off limits to all digimon who deemed it a threat.
The title Protector sprung up from the digimon who saw what she had done, and how she was looking after the young digimon. Phoenixmon spent some time on File Island, greeting all the digimon there and protecting them from several dark digimon who wanted to finish what the Dark Masters had started.
Two and a half years had passed since Jade entered the Digital World for the first time. She was confident and happy with herself, and saw Gennai as a father as he would look after her whenever he had the chance. Yet despite how much time had passed, she still looked like the six year old she had been when she first appeared. Gennai explained that it was because time had pretty much stopped in her world. The timelines differed greatly, so for the time that she had been in the Digital World, a few hours at most had passed in the Human World.
Her digimon partner preferred to spend most of his time as Tomomon so that he could curl up with her. He never wanted anything to change, though he did admit that he felt something was missing.
Jade had made several close friends among the digimon, and these digimon were different because once upon a time they had been the digimon partners of the first digidestined. Andromon had been Gennai's partner, and the only one who maintained a constant contact with his formally human partner. He lived on File Island, protecting the digimon there and watching over the newly hatched digimon before they began their travels over the rest of the world. Guilmon was a little red dinosaur who loved to play. He would go wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and the only person he would listen to was his human partner (according to Gennai). Jade loved to play with him.
Kudamon was a wise digimon who was a bit of a perfectionist. He was pure white in colour with gold markings, and he often flew around the northern parts of the Digital World to protect the little digimon there. Whilst small, Kudamon was also very powerful. Dorumon was a painfully shy digimon with a long tail, claws on both his hands and feet, and a head that resembled that of a wolf. He was very kind and caring towards Jade, but the other digimon didn't like him much. The final digimon was Wizardmon, but he never played with Jade. He would watch her with silent purple eyes, and once Jade noticed that whenever he would look at her he would cry. Gennai told her not to take it personally, and all he said was that Wizardmon's partner had been killed and he was still reeling from her loss.
Only once had the five digimon, Gennai and Tomomon been together in order to have a photo taken with Jade. She had it framed, and looked at it every morning before she went out to look after the Digital World.
The dark digimon were doing well under Horcruxmon's rule, and they were trying to deal with the Dark Masters on their own, but it seemed that the Dark Masters were more of a nuisance than first thought. They were causing a disturbance wherever they went, and Horcruxmon left his partner so he could deal with them.
While he was gone Jade was sitting with the digi-eggs and making sure that they were getting stronger. One of the Dark Masters, an evil clown called Piedmon, attacked the facility and it was only through sheer luck and perseverance that Jade was able to get the digi-eggs to Gennai. Gennai took the eggs and the digivices and flew off to File Island where Piedmon couldn't follow just yet.
Piedmon had the tags and crests of each of the future digidestined in his hands, so Jade transformed into Phoenixmon and did what she thought would be the best thing…she took the crests but left the tags.
Piedmon was defeated, eventually, but it wasn't until Horcruxmon turned up did he leave. Horcruxmon helped Phoenixmon hide the crests over the continent of Server, not knowing why she wanted to hide them there of all places, but he trusted her. She was his everything, and knew that if it hadn't been for her his digi-egg would have been shattered before he had a chance to live.
"Master," Horcruxmon began as the crest of Courage was set in stone near a Koromon village. Phoenixmon looked at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. "I have a bad feeling about the Dark Masters. They're up to something but nothing I do seems to be able to control them."
"My Lord," Phoenixmon told him, a smile on her face as she knew he hated being called that by her. "When the times comes we will fight them, together, and we will win."
"My Lady," Horcruxmon replied, a smirk on his face at his new endearment. "What would I do without you?"
"Probably live in misery until we are reunited," Phoenixmon told him with a laugh.
"Then I hope I never have to live without you."
"Me too."
The final day of Phoenixmon's life in the Digital World arrived a few weeks after that conversation. The two of them were on File Island, though it was decided that Tomomon would be a better form for the time being. Phoenixmon was flying around, visiting her friends and making sure that everything was running smoothly, when she was attacked unexpectedly. She fought back against Piedmon, annoyed at him more than anything, but at a critical moment in the battle she was distracted by Tomomon on the ground.
Tomomon had been cornered by one of the other Dark Masters, but in his current form he was no match for them and was getting hurt, a lot. In that moment of distraction Piedmon struck, his knife plunging into her chest, and she fell to the ground. Seeing his Master, creator, best friend and soul mate plunge to what would surely be her death infuriated Tomomon so much that he digivolved into his Ultimate form: Grimmon. Grimmon was a giant of a man who greatly resembled the Grim Reaper. His staff changed to that of a scythe, and from under his hood two bright red eyes could be seen.
By the time he was done part of File Island was devastated. The Dark Masters fled, and Grimmon dropped his scythe in order to lift Phoenixmon into his arms. She bled out in his arms and her body became data particles. Before disappearing completely she promised that one day she would return and that he was to live his life the best that he could.
Jade opened her eyes and almost cried. She had had the best dream ever. Someone had come and rescued her from her miserable life, held her when she cried and taught her how to live, but it was nothing but a dream. She was in her cupboard and it would only be a matter of time before Aunt Petunia was calling for her to make breakfast. She wished that her dream had been real, but there was no such thing as magic, her mind was just playing tricks on her.
What she didn't notice, and wouldn't notice for several years at least, was that her dream had left something behind on her. On her back, between her shoulder blades, was a faint symbol. In time she would recognise it as the symbol of Truth, and when the time came it would glow. But for now, she was alone in a world where no one liked her.
She was alone again.
Tai and Agumon floated aimlessly down a river of nothing but faint images and sounds in a small boat. They were hopelessly lost, and all Tai could think about was everything he had ever done wrong. His sister had gotten sick because of him and nearly died, even his mother knew that it was his fault, otherwise she wouldn't have hit him. His dad sometimes stared at him with such disappointment, and no matter how hard Tai tried in sports he never seemed able to earn the man's approval. A few years ago he had nearly killed three boys who were little more than children, and he knew that his mother knew it was him. She had that look in her eyes when she saw right through what was being told. Even though Kari had explained it as a freak accident, Tai had still been grounded for a week.
And then there was his digimon partner. It seemed that no matter who they were facing, or how great the danger was, Agumon was always getting hurt trying to save his life. He had no idea what he had done to deserve such a faithful friend, and then he had forced him to endure what all digimon considered a traumatic experience. He had forced him to dark digivolve into a monster, who had then gone off and hurt their friends. But the little digimon had forgiven him, when he had no right to deserve forgiveness.
Jade. He knew that she was abused, even if she never said anything about her home life. He could see that they didn't treat her right, and that she longed for someone to care about her. And what had he done? He'd gone ahead and slapped her. It was no wonder that she wouldn't even look at him anymore. He missed her silent presence by his side, it had made the nightmare they were living in, a little more bearable.
Agumon was thinking along similar lines to his partner. His thoughts, however, were on how he had let his friends down. From the moment they had hatched, the then-Koromon had done his best to make sure that they stayed together while they were waiting for their human partners. There had been a few near misses with the larger digimon who were hungry, but he figured that he'd done alright keeping them alive.
He was the first one who had hatched, and he had seen the darkness flood over File Island. The scream of pain, desperation and loss still made him tremble at night when all was silent. He had no idea who the digimon was, but he did know that that digimon was far more powerful than any they had come across. He was dangerous.
The others had hatched after the dark digimon had disappeared and had no idea what they had missed. Agumon had never told them. Years and years passed before their human partners arrived, and almost immediately the children were afraid of everything they saw. Agumon had wanted Tai to love his home, wanted to show him all the greatest parts of File Island where they could play forever, but he had never gotten the chance.
Devimon had tried to kill them, and everything the children and digimon were exposed to was dangerous. And then during that final battle, when Devimon had Tai in his hand and was squeezing, Agumon was completely helpless. He had a sudden awareness about how the dark digimon had felt when he hatched, all the fear and desperation he felt was balling up in his chest, and he knew that if Tai had died he would have screamed as well. Then Angemon was deleted.
Everything had gotten that much more dangerous.
They had gone to get Jade, and while Agumon had done his best to reassure Tai about what Devimon had told him, he was silently worried. The darkness that Devimon had sensed, that power, wasn't present with the other children. There was something in Tai, a ball of darkness that from time to time would make itself known, and Agumon had a feeling that Tai knew there was something different about him. And then that darkness had forced him to digivolve.
He was afraid of Tai, Agumon realized with sorrow. If Tai got angry enough again in the future, would Agumon be forced to dark digivolve again? It had hurt last time, and he didn't want to. But if he never digivolved again Tai could get hurt, like what had happened with Kuwagamon.
What should he do?
Matt and Izzy hung from the rope of the well easily enough. They had followed their tags to the well, and the only downside was that the well was outside of Piximon's home. But they had gone ahead to get them, and the pale blue and bright purple colours of their crests blinded them until they were safely locked in their tags. Matt looked at his blue crest curiously, wondering what it was, and made a mental note to ask Jade later.
Thoughts of Jade made him frown. She hadn't returned before they retired for the night, and neither had Tai or Agumon. Three of their number was missing, and when the others woke they could possibly think that Piximon was taking them down one by one. And putting Tai and Jade together, surely Piximon hadn't been that blind that he hadn't noticed how Jade wouldn't even look at Tai?
"You're thinking about the others again, aren't you?" Izzy asked curiously as they started to climb back up the rope again.
"Piximon knows Jade, from before," Matt muttered. "And she has some memory of him, which is why we decided to trust him."
"Yeah…" Izzy continued. "But the fact that she, Tai and Agumon never returned has you worried."
"Well, yeah, but that's not all I'm worried about. You never really got to know Tai at school, you were always in the library, but Tai has never been violent. He usually goes out of his way to help others, and his confidence makes him a great soccer player. For him to have hit Jade, a girl who he cares about and worries about all the time, was a shock to all of us."
"You think something's wrong with him?"
"I think that there's more to Tai than I first thought," Matt admitted as he reached the top of the well, moving aside so that Izzy could get out too. "He's hiding something, from all of us, and I think that unless we know about it, it's going to put all of us in danger."
"You're afraid of him?"
"For him," Matt corrected. "If he lets his emotions get out of hand like he did with Jade, he's going to destroy himself."
The two of them looked up as a shadow covered them, and both of them felt all colour drain from their face as fear crept into their minds. Standing before them was a giant dinosaur type digimon with red skin, a white belly, and really sharp teeth. Black cables were attached to his body, and it was those cables that told the two that they were in trouble.
"Run!" Matt ordered as he pushed Izzy towards where the secret jungle was. Etemon had found them, and they needed to get to safety. Behind them came an explosion, and then there was heat at their backs, they were through the invisible wall, and then they were flying as the wall shattered under the digimon's fire attack.
"You alive Izzy?" Matt asked as he forced himself to his feet.
"I think so," Izzy muttered as he also stood. "Maybe we should get back to the others before we get cooked?"
Matt nodded, grabbed Izzy's hand, and soon they were running as fast as their legs could carry them back to Piximon's home. Behind them, gaining on them, was the dinosaur digimon, and just when they thought that they were goners they heard the welcome cries of their friends. They turned and ran towards them, but as they ran they noticed that they were still missing a few crucial members of their team.
Etemon used his projection holograms to appear before them, and once again he had his guitar in his hands. He strummed it a few times and the digimon trembled slightly, but prepared to digivolve anyway.
"This is a song I call: Bye Bye Digimon, Bye Bye," Etemon informed them as he played a few more cords. This time the digimon dropped to the ground in sudden exhaustion. Matt darted to Gabumon's side even though all the children knew what had happened and that there was nothing they could do.
"My power's been drained," Tentomon moaned.
"It zapped them, so they can't digivolve," Izzy muttered, kicking the dirt in frustration. "He did this last time as well."
The dinosaur digimon, Tyrannomon according to Piximon, fired a blast of fire at them. Piximon darted in front of the children, shielding them from the blast, but his attention was more on Tai and Agumon. They needed to get back to the group, and Piximon was concerned about how long it was taking for them to regain their ability to fight. They were needed, and Piximon alone knew how important those two were. If they weren't around anymore, the digidestined would fall apart.
"I remember this park," Tai informed his partner as a park appeared in the distance. Agumon looked at him curiously, as those were the first words that Tai had spoken since they entered the cave and woke up on the water. The boat came to a stop next to a grassy area, and Tai got out and walked forward so that he could see what was happening. Agumon leapt out after him, curious about what was so important about this park that Tai felt he needed to see it.
"Leave me alone!" a young and female voice cried. It was faint, but Tai recognised it and started to run in the direction of the cry.
"Aww, is the wittle baby going to cry?" mocked an older male voice. Agumon was running now too, this is what they needed to see.
"She is!" cried another. "What are you going to do, baby? Run home to mama?"
There was laughter, and Tai picked up speed. He knew what was about to happen, he had to stop it, she would get hurt if he didn't do anything. He and Agumon burst into a clearing to see three boys crowding around a young girl, and one of the boys was holding a thick tree branch that he had found on the ground.
"You made my sister cry yesterday," the last boy said coldly. "Said that you thought you were too good to play with her. All she wanted was to be your friend, but noooo, Little Miss Perfect Kari has no time to play with anyone."
"Back off you creeps! Leave my sister alone!" a new voice cried out. Tai and Agumon turned at the same time, froze in their running motions, and watched as a younger Tai rushed towards the three boys.
"Tai!" Kari cried, relief in her voice.
"Big Brother Tai," the first boy snarled. "What are you doing here? Come to kill someone else?"
Little Tai froze, his eyes wide. Agumon looked up at his partner and took into account how pale he was. He asked him what the other boys were talking about.
"About a year before this happened, Kari was sick," he explained in a numb tone of voice. "I took her outside to play, and she nearly died of pneumonia. The kids in Kari's class heard what was wrong with her, and there were a few who blamed me. Kari's very popular. These three loved to rub it in that I'd nearly killed my sister, even though she never blamed me."
Agumon nodded, he understood what it felt like to nearly get someone killed. The blame and guilt would sit in your stomach until it exploded.
"Take it back!" Little Tai ordered coldly.
"No!" the boys laughed. "You're so messed up that no matter what you do, you get people hurt. What are you going to do to us? Knock us out with those tiny fists? Call for mama? Oh, that's right, mama can't stand you either."
The boys laughed harder, and Agumon paid close attention to Kari and Little Tai. Kari was crying silently, but Little Tai was white with anger. He was glaring at the three boys, and they just laughed harder until they were holding each other up.
Then a tree fell on them.
Agumon couldn't help the cry of shock that escaped him, but as his partner didn't move he just continued to watch. Little Tai no longer looked angry. He just looked afraid now. He ran forward until he was at his sister's side, but she flinched away from him. The hurt that Little Tai had on his face made Agumon's heart break. This was a memory, and a painful one if the emotions that Agumon was feeling were any indication.
"Kari," Little Tai whimpered. "Please don't hate me. I didn't mean to do that. I don't know how it happened."
Kari threw her arms around her brother's waist and cried. Little Tai was crying too, but when they heard moans from the tree the two siblings screamed for help. The scene faded so that all that could be seen was Little Tai holding his sister. The tree and the park had disappeared.
"Why am I so messed up Kari?" Little Tai asked in a depressed tone. "Why can't I do anything right?"
"You do do stuff right." Kari told him. "You're the best big brother in the world!"
"You nearly died because of me."
"No, I nearly died because I didn't listen to mum and dad. You saved me. When I was lying in the hospital, I felt you nearby. There was a rush of warmth from you that made me strong again, but when I opened my eyes you were gone. The doctors said that it was a miracle, but I know that it was you. You're always protecting me, and I feel safe when I'm with you."
"I just, I hated them so much!" Little Tai started to cry.
"I don't like it when you hate, Tai." Kari told him as she hugged him tighter. "Don't be angry anymore. Please?"
"I don't know how."
Tai took a step back with Agumon as the scene completely faded. Agumon waited in silence, having learnt more about his partner in the last few minutes than the entire time they had been travelling together. Tai took a deep breath and screamed into the sky, all his fear and anger flowing away as he did so. The suddenness of the scream caused Agumon to flinch, but he didn't move away from his partner, his friend. Tai's scream faded.
"Do you feel better?" Agumon asked.
"Not really," Tai admitted with a sigh. "I know it's not normal to feel the way I do, but there are just some days where I really hate my life. Everything I touch goes bad, and I'm so afraid that the next time I feel angry that you're going to digivolve to Skullgreymon again. I don't want you to feel like that, but I don't know how to stop it."
"Have you tried talking to people about it?" Agumon asked. "Joe, Matt, and Sora are always trying to get you to talk to them, maybe if you rant at them, or at me, or to the sky like you did earlier, you won't feel so angry all the time?"
"Do you think that will work?" Tai asked, a glimmer of hope in his voice.
"I do," Agumon told him. "I've been afraid as well, but I know that if we work together through this, then we will both become stronger for it. You are my best friend Tai, and I don't want to lose you. Only once have I seen a digimon lose something important to them, and I never want to feel that."
"I will try," Tai promised. "We'll do this together, and we'll find a way to save this world and get home again."
Agumon nodded, smiling now as he could see the change in Tai. He was still afraid, but there was hope now. As long as they were together, they could do anything. They turned and started to run back to the boat, there was somewhere that they needed to be.
The digidestined screamed as yet another blast of fire enveloped them. Piximon's shield held strong, but not one child or digimon could figure out why Piximon didn't fight himself. They didn't know what he was waiting for.
And then they knew.
A second blast of fire, from an entirely different direction, knocked Tyrannomon off balance and revealed Greymon charging with a confidence they hadn't seen since File Island. Tai made his appearance behind them, but it was Sora who noticed him first. Her cry of delight drew everyone else's attention.
"You made it!" she cried.
"Yep!" Tai told her. He was smiling, and the way he held himself told the others that while he wasn't exactly the same, he was better than he had been. Joe made his way to Tai's side and placed a hand on his shoulder in comfort. Tai looked at him gratefully.
"Greymon's pulling the cables out!" TK cheered, drawing everyone's attention back to the fight. All the digimon started to cheer, and when Tyrannomon was pulled free of all cables he was deleted instantly. His corrupted data disappeared into the air to be reborn in the Primary Village, and Greymon de-digivolved to Agumon. Tai darted forward to his partner and lifted him into the air in a hug. His laughter and smile did a lot to reassure the others, but they also knew that they had a way to go still.
When Tai returned to the group, and his eyes darted over everyone in a head count, he asked the one question that the others hadn't yet verbalised.
"Where's Jade?"
Next up in Intertwined Destinies:
Chapter 13: Prisoners of Fate