Intertwined Destinies
Previously in Intertwined Destinies:
Etemon has been defeated, but the digidestined weren't unscathed. Tai was almost fatally injured and was saved by Jade when she transformed into Phoenixmon, but instead of fighting Etemon herself, Phoenixmon allowed Tai and Greymon to fight first. Greymon digivolved to the Ultimate level and became Metalgreymon, and it was his attack that opened a dimensional rift. Etemon was sucked into the rift, but before the rift could close Tai and Metalgreymon were also pulled through. He was pulled into the Human World where he realised no time had passed since they were first sent to the Digital World. Despite how much Tai wanted to stay, he knew he couldn't and foundhis way back to the Digital World.
In the Digital World, the digidestined separated. Jade ran from them first and was finally reunited with her digimon partner who she calls Tom, no matter was digivolution he is in. In Jade's absence from his life, Tom went insane and destroyed the world that he ruled. It is also revealed that Tom was once a human, who tried to kill Jade when she was a baby, but when that failed his soul latched onto her. The shard was removed from Jade when she was first pulled into the Digital World, and that was how Tom was born.
Tai and Agumon have found TK, Matt and Joe. Matt and TK went off and found Izzy, while Tai and Joe went off to find Mimi. The only one left to find is Sora. They must find her soon, or both worlds will be in great danger.
The next chapter of their adventure awaits...
Chapter 19: Inner Powers ~ Sora
"So, when are you going to meet up with all of your Protectors?" Tom asked as he flew through the night. They were heading after Demidevimon, and it seemed like he had finally returned to Myotismon's base, much to Tom's delight. There was much he wanted to say to his old subordinate.
"When they're all together," Jade told him. She was once again sitting on his back with her knees pulled up to her chest as she stared at the passing landscape impassively. "Sora's running from them, and until she's ready to go back I'll just stay out of it. What are you going to do with Myotismon?"
"Squash him into little data bytes and start his programming again."
"And if I asked you not to?" Jade asked hesitantly.
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because we're flying towards another crest and I'm pretty sure that Myotismon knows where, or what happened, to the final digidestined."
"Really?!" Tom asked in disgust. "Well that just ruined my plans. Stupid digimon. Why'd I create you? You worthless disaster in the making. You're going to destroy everything that we're trying to preserve."
Jade let Tom curse as she had known he would. The eighth digidestined was a topic of confusion for her, because she knew that there was supposed to be another one even though Gennai had never told her the identity of anyone. She also had no idea what had happened to the eighth egg after Gennai took them away from Piedmon, and she also had no idea how Myotismon had gotten his hand on the eighth crest. If she remembered correctly, that one had been hidden in an oasis on the fringes of the desert and the forest.
"You think he's going to go to the Human World to grab the eighth child and use that child to further his power, don't you?" Tom asked eventually as he started to descend. Jade changed the position she was sitting in so that when he stopped she could land on her feet safely.
"It makes sense," she told him. "The powers of the digidestined are greater than normal humans. There's a chance that if the digidestined here don't act, Myotismon will grab this child and convince them to join his cause. If he or she doesn't join him, they will die and then this world will fall."
"I could just delete him," Tom muttered.
"He has a way to the Human World, and I think he has the crest," Jade refuted. "Does this place look familiar to you?"
Tom looked around at the trees and then as they swerved around another tree they saw a castle far greater than the Gekomon Palace or Piximon's colosseum. The memory was just sitting out of Jade's reach, but Tom's curse told her that he knew where they were and he was not happy.
"This is the sight of the Gateway," he told her. "It is the location of the one physical portal in this world that links to every world in existence if you know the correct sequence. The Digital World uses data cards, and the placement of each card decides what door will open on the other side. There are other portals in this world, but they only link to one other world. Like, in the middle of the ocean is a whirlpool that links with the Shadow World."
"I see," Jade muttered as she stared at the walls. "The crest is definitely in there, and so is Myotismon."
"So, what, you want him to open the Gateway so that the digidestined will be able to go home?" Tom asked incredulously. "He's a traitor!"
"If he looks like he's succeeding before the digidestined arrive, stall him," she told him as she finally made it to the ground. "I'm going to lead the digidestined this way."
"Can I at least hurt him?"
"Stall him," Jade repeated firmly. Then she smiled. "How you stall him is entirely up to you."
Tom grinned in delight before de-digivolving so that he was a cat once again. Jade laughed and picked him up, warning him to be careful. Tom's delight faded as he realized that Jade would be going off on her own, and while he wanted to go with her he would take his job seriously. This was her world after all, not his, and he had already done enough damage to it. If she wanted the traitor alive, he would keep the traitor alive until she said otherwise. He disappeared into the castle.
Jade watched him go before turning and running off. If she could get to the digidestined before Demidevimon was freed from whatever punishment he was getting for his failure, then she could ensure that they made it to the castle and back home before Myotismon destroyed it. She leaped over fallen tree branches, and mid-leap transformed. Her wings of flame picked her up and sent her flying into the air and above the trees.
Now she would make good time.
Tai and Joe were once more paddling, with Mimi, Palmon and Koromon on top of the boat and Gomamon in the water next to them. It was harder going than the way across the first time, for many different reasons. Tai's arm was in a sling so he couldn't brace both his arms like Joe was, and there were now three passengers on the roof instead of one.
They had spent the night at the Gekomon Palace, eating their fill and sleeping on something soft. It had been very welcome and they were all reluctant to get out of bed once the sun rose. But they still had to get back together, and with any luck Matt and TK would have found Izzy and Sora so that they wouldn't need to run further across the Digital World to track down their missing teammate.
"How's your arm this morning Tai?" Joe asked between his panting.
"Better than it was yesterday," Tai admitted honestly.
"Does it hurt?"
"Only a little, I can ignore it."
Joe sighed. He just couldn't understand why Tai didn't want to make a big deal about his health. They were a team, what hurt one of them hurt them all. But then, Joe thought, Tai had never been particularly concerned about himself when it came to look after himself or the others. They had all lost weight on their adventure, but it was most pronounced with Tai. He wondered how their parents would react when they saw the change in them when they got home. They had only been at summer camp for two weeks, and that was nowhere near long enough for the types of changes they had undergone.
"Okay, we're here," Tai said in relief as the boat bumped against solid ground.
"I'm tired," Joe announced as he slumped back against the seat as much as he could. He forced his body out of the boat and around to where Tai was waiting for the others to join him. Koromon bounced to the ground, followed by Palmon, and Gomamon leaped from the water with a grin, but Mimi didn't budge from the top of the boat.
"Come on Mimi," Tai coaxed as he held up his one good arm. "It's time to get off your throne."
"Ha! I wouldn't call this a throne," Mimi told him regally.
"And I wouldn't call you a princess," Joe muttered out of the corner of his mouth. Mimi huffed at him and turned her head away as she took Tai's hand and slid to the ground. She ignored Joe as she brushed off her clothes and walked away from him. Her eyes studied the landscape curiously, wondering where they would be going next, when new voices echoed from over the nearest ridge.
"Hey guys!" it called. "Over here!"
The three of them looked up and grinned as they saw Matt, Izzy and TK running towards them. Matt reached them first, having longer legs than the others, but it didn't take long for everyone to gather around next to the boat. The digimon formed their own little group as they checked over to make sure that each other was alright, though Patamon stayed sitting on TK's hat.
"I thought your arm was only fractured?" Matt asked as he stared at Tai's sling.
"It was," Joe told him. "But it was made worse by the rough handling of the Gekomon and the fact that he didn't want to wear a sling."
"It was fine," Tai told him with a frown.
"Tai, if you'd gone any more pale than you were, you would have been transparent," Joe scolded him.
"How does your arm feel now Tai?" TK asked as he stood right in front of him. "Does it still hurt?"
"Only a little," Tai told him. "It's better than it was."
"Did you guys run into Sora or Jade?" Matt asked as TK nodded at Tai's answer. Joe still looked disapproving.
"No, we thought you might have," Tai told him. "Have you seen either one of them?"
"We've seen Jade," Izzy, Motimon, Tsunomon and Gomamon stated.
"I've heard her," Tai added. "Several times but I haven't seen her. I haven't seen Sora at all though."
"I think I heard Sora," Koromon said. "When I was Agumon and we were going to eat those Mushrooms of Forgetfulness I heard Sora warn me. I didn't see her, but I also didn't stick around long enough to look for her as I needed to get back to you and TK."
Tai frowned before closing his eyes. He concentrated hard on Jade, as they seemed to share a mental link of some kind, and thought his questions to her. He hoped that she would be able to hear him, and answer, otherwise he had no idea what to do.
Jade? Do you know where Sora is? We can't find her.
"What do we do Tai?" Mimi asked, noticing that his eyes were closed. "Tai?"
"One minute," he muttered. Jade? Can you hear me?
I can hear you, no need to shout, Jade whispered into his mind, her laughter bringing a smile to his face. Sora's not far from you, if you search for her like you're searching for me, you'll find her.
Tai wondered about that, slightly doubtful. But nonetheless he concentrated on Sora and his desire to find her. The others were watching him in concern, and while Tai could feel their gazes he ignored them and everything around him. Then, there she was. A red spark back the way Matt and the others had come from, but she was running away from them. He opened his eyes abruptly, causing Mimi to let out a yelp as she stumbled backwards, and Joe to grab his free arm when he swayed unexpectedly.
"Whoa," Tai breathed. "That was weird."
"What was weird?" Izzy asked curiously. "What were you thinking about?"
"I was trying to find Sora," Tai explained as he shook off Joe's hand gently. "I didn't think it would work, but I found her."
"You didn't do anything though," TK told him. "You just froze for a long time."
"You know how Jade's been able to talk to us in our minds?" the leader asked as he started to walk with the others hurrying after him. "Well, I tried to do that. I didn't talk to Sora, but I was able to sense where she is. She's running away from us, but if we hurry we could catch up."
"You sensed her?" Matt asked uncertainly.
"Sure, why?"
"That's highly improbable," Izzy explained. "What you're suggesting is something akin to telepathy. Humans aren't capable of such a thing outside of science fiction novels."
"I know it sounds weird," Tai admitted. "But I've been doing this for a long time now. And I'm pretty sure that I heard Sora's thoughts when she was captured by Datamon. Remember Joe, Izzy? I asked if you had heard her screaming for help, but you hadn't heard anything."
"You can speak into our minds?" TK asked with wide eyes. "That's so cool!"
"I'm not saying that I don't believe you Tai," Joe spoke up. "But you realize how strange you sound, don't you? What you're talking about, it's not possible."
"You don't believe in magic?" Tai asked him as he glanced over his shoulder.
"You know, I find it strange how you humans think magic is impossible," Koromon stated as he hopped alongside Tsunomon.
"Most so-called magic in our world has a basis in science and can be explained or rationalized. " Izzy told him. "Magic itself is an illusion, and isn't real."
"Actually," Joe muttered. "I don't think that's true."
"You believe in magic Joe?" Mimi asked in surprised. "I thought you were studying to be a doctor? Aren't doctors super rational and believe in science only?"
"That might be true for most people, but I kind of got an invite to a school of magic last summer," Joe admitted sheepishly. "A magician came to our house and everything, but I had a nervous breakdown and spent a week in the hospital. My parents declined the offer, said it was all a hoax, and that I was going to be a doctor."
"Wow," TK breathed. "That's so cool."
"I haven't really thought about that for a while."
Tai filed that information away mentally, but otherwise let the others talk behind him about the improbability of magic. He didn't find it too hard to believe that there were schools that taught real magic, and magic did explain quite a few things that had happened to him. He remembered a conversation that he'd had with Agumon in the past, about power levels, and if that conversation was actually about the magic they had inside themselves then it would stand to reason that they would all get an invite to a school at some stage in the future. He pulled out his digivice and stared at the screen.
There was a little red dot to show that they were going the right way in finding Sora, which was a relief, but it wasn't the confirmation that he was right that invaded his mind. The world they were in was the Digital World, emphasis on digital, but magic still existed in some form. Was it magic that allowed each world to exist, or something else? Was it their magic that allowed them to come to the Digital World?
It was too confusing to think about, so Tai put it out of his mind. He wondered if he could reach out to the others, to see where they were, and thought hard about each of them. TK, surprisingly, was the first one he could 'see' and he was a bright yellow. Joe was grey, Matt was blue, Izzy was purple and Mimi was green of all colors. He thought about how he could sense them, but only when he was concentrating. As soon as he stopped concentrating they disappeared from his mind's eye. Was that how the digimon saw each other all the time?
"I'm tired," TK suddenly spoke up. Tai glanced back at him, surprised to note that the conversation between them must have ended a while ago and he hadn't noticed.
"Why don't we find a place to rest for the night?" Joe suggested. "Or better yet, the next couple of weeks? My feet are killing me, not to mention every other part of my body. I'm sure everyone else is feeling similar to me."
"I can't go another inch." Mimi agreed as she sunk to the ground in defeat.
"Wait just a moment," Matt told them. "I'm getting a reading on my digivice."
"Really?" TK asked excitedly. "Is it Sora?"
"Oh!" Patamon exclaimed suddenly, his ears sticking up like a bunny rabbit's would.
"What is it?" TK asked him in a curious tone.
"What's that buzzing?" Patamon asked. Tai tilted his head to the side. Now that Patamon had mentioned it, he could hear something though he had no idea what it was.
"What's that sound?" he muttered. His eyes, as well as everyone else's, snapped back along the path they had already traveled on in time to see a giant bee.
"Uh oh," Joe moaned.
"Flymon," Gomamon growled.
"Duck!" Tai ordered as he darted back to push Matt and TK to the ground so that the bee would fly over them without harming them. When he raised his head he did a quick head count and realised that everyone was unharmed yet shaken, and he pulled Matt up and pushed him out of the way as the digimon came back for another attack.
"Ground stingers!" Flymon called as stingers from its tail shot towards them and hit the ground where they had been standing. Joe grabbed Mimi to pull her off to the side, TK and Izzy grouped together near a tree, which left Tai and Matt in the middle of the path to play dodge with sharp pointy stingers.
"Careful Tai!" Koromon cried as a stinger narrowly missed Tai due to him stumbling to the side.
"Lookout Matt!" Tsunomon agreed as his partner tripped and a stinger hit the ground inches from his face. He recoiled with a sharp sound of surprise, but already the In-training digimon were digivolving to protect them. Gabumon and Agumon attacked the enraged Flymon, but even with Gomamon and Palmon joining in, Flymon was just too agile and none of their attacks hit them.
And then Birdramon appeared and with one attack was able to hit Flymon. The insect digimon fell to the ground in a ball of fire, but it was the appearance of Birdramon that brought new life to tired and weary legs. If Birdramon was around, it meant that Sora wasn't too far from them. So when Birdramon flew off Tai started to run after her, with Matt, TK and their digimon following close on his heels.
"We'll catch up! Don't worry about us!" Joe called after them.
"Follow when you can!" Tai ordered over his shoulder.
He narrowed his eyes and picked up his pace. He had no idea why Sora was running from them, but he intended on figuring it out soon.
Sora ran from her friends, though she had no idea why. She had just spent the last few months making sure that they were safe, but with Jade looking out for them as well she probably didn't have to do anything. She had managed to help Agumon out by warning him of the Mushrooms of Forgetfulness, but she had seen Jade sitting in a tree out of the way watching the group and knew that no harm would really befall them. She had helped Matt and Joe at the restaurant as much as she could without being seen, and she had gotten a certain thrill from being able to put a crimp in Demidevimon's plans. But at the Gekomon Palace, all she had been able to do was watch, she wasn't needed.
But then Tomomon's words would revolve in her head: You so-called Protectors of this world need to work together. If one of you falls, you will all be defeated and this world will be destroyed far more effectively than I destroyed the Shadow World. This was the digimon who had terrified Gennai, and had apparently destroyed the Shadow World, whatever that was, but he was insistent on them being together. But to be together they all needed to get their crests to glow, and she knew that hers would never glow.
She would be the weak link, she would be the one to fall, and this world would be destroyed because of her.
She ran faster, she couldn't let them catch her until she was ready. Yet she wasn't running fast enough as Tai, with his broken arm tied to his chest, had somehow run passed her to jump out in front of her and halt her progress. She wondered if she had miscalculated their location and turned around to run back the other way only to see Matt running up a little out of breath. He was grinning when he saw her though.
"Why are you running away?" Matt asked.
"What's going on Sora?" Tai asked as well. Sora frownedand slumped her shoulders in defeat. She had known that she wouldn't be able to run forever, but she had hoped that she could have done it for a little longer. Her head wasn't on straight yet. Matt spoke to her in concern, but she didn't answer him. TK, Agumon, Gabumon and Patamon suddenly arrived a lot more out of breath than the two older boys.
"Sora!" TK said in happiness, and then he saw her defeated position. He became sad. "Does this mean that you don't like us anymore?"
"No," Sora told him. "Of course not."
"Then what's wrong?" TK asked her as he stepped up next to Matt. His eyes drifted upwards as a familiar pink bird landed by Sora's side. Biyomon was concerned, but her tone was gentle as she spoke to her partner.
"Sora, why don't you tell them?"
"…okay," Sora agreed. "It happened the night that Biyomon and I left camp to look for Jade. I saw this strange digimon. He kind of looked like a bowling ball with wings, and he was talking to something in a giant bubble."
"So, could you hear what he was saying?" TK asked.
"Yeah, I heard him talking about our crests."
"What about them?" Tai asked seriously.
"He was saying that each of our crests have their own special meaning," Sora told him. "But what was strange about it was that he knew exactly who had what crest and how to make them glow. Jade never got around to telling me what mine was, but this digimon knew. It's the crest of Love."
"Love, huh?" Tai mused. "Appropriate."
"No it's not! You're wrong! Don't even say that Tai! It's not like me at all!" Sora yelled at him. Tai backpedaled quickly but he was more than surprised at how violent her denial had been.
"I will say that," he told her with a furrowed brow. "Because you're always thinking of everyone else, and you're always worried about others. You're more of a mother hen than my own mother!"
"What?" Sora stammered, her arguments disappearing out of her head at his statement. Surely he was exaggerating.
"When we played soccer, or ate in the cafeteria, or even walking home from school, you've always watched us carefully to make sure that none of us are hurt. You were concerned about Jade in the Pen Pal Project before she even started to write to you, and don't think that I didn't notice the oranges you slid into my bag so that I would eat after a game. And then there's how you've taken a mothering approach to TK and Jade, they love you."
"Tai seems to be your favorite victim," Matt told her. "When anything happens, you always look at him and express irritation if he is hiding an injury or something, like he has been doing since we got here."
"Hey!" Tai protested. "I do not."
"You do too Tai," TK told him with a solemn nod. Tai's spluttering was ignored.
"So Sora, why do you think you don't deserve your crest?" Matt asked.
"It won't glow!" Sora told him sorrowfully. "I just don't have any love!"
The three boys were confused, as they all thought that Sora loved more than any of them. Sora sunk to the ground and brought her knees to her chest, and Matt used the time to lean back against a tree and cross his arms, adopting his 'cool but aloof' position. The digimon sat where they had been standing, and TK sat next to them with Patamon now on his lap instead of on his hat, and Tai sat cross-legged on the ground while he massaged his left shoulder.
"You love us though, don't you Sora?" TK asked Sora sadly.
"I don't get it," Tai muttered. "What's Demidevimon's plan? Why is he trying to break the power of the crests? You shouldn't listen to whatever he told you Sora."
"Leave her alone Tai," Matt told him sternly. "Don't even joke."
"I wasn't joking," Tai told him.
"The digimon thought I was funny too," Sora interrupted them. "He laughed when we crashed into him. I asked him what he was laughing about, and he said that it was because my crest would never work for me…because I didn't know what love was."
"That's ridiculous," Tai told her firmly. "There's only one person in our group who could make that claim, and it's not you. Besides, you know that Demidevimon is a liar. Why would you believe him about this?"
"It's true though," Sora mumbled as she hid her head in her knees. "It started back when I was on a girls' soccer team. You remember when I hurt my knee at school Tai? Well, my mother prohibited me from playing in the grand finale. She told me that she wanted me to stop playing soccer and work in the flower shop. She cared more about those stupid flowers than my happiness. I hate flowers, and if she loved me even the smallest bit she would have known that. I stormed out on her and ended up at the soccer field. We lost, 6-3. My teammates were so depressed that they didn't even notice me as they walked passed. I felt like I had let them down."
"Sora," Tai started, but Sora cut across him.
"That's why he wasn't lying when he said I grew up not knowing what love is."
With a cry she stood up and tried to throw her crest away, but Tai leaped up as soon as she moved and grabbed her arm.
"Sora! Stop it!" he ordered her.
"Let go!" Sora cried at him, tears in her eyes.
"Even if what you said is true," Tai told her gently. "You shouldn't believe a word from that loser Demidevimon. He's just a creep that's trying to hurt you. Your mother does love you, and I know that she was probably scared about you getting hurt even more. I'm sorry that you got hurt when I was mucking around, and it led to this, but it's not your fault."
Sora burst into tears and threw her arms around Tai's neck. Tai closed his eyes at the weight on his arm, and he wondered what it was that made girls want to cry into his shoulder. Mimi had done the same thing, and it hurt Tai to think that he'd said something to upset her.
"Don't cry Sora." he told her as he wrapped his right arm around her.
"It's not your fault either you idiot," she told him. Tai smiled.
"I know you probably don't want to move," he whispered into her ear so that the others wouldn't hear him. "But could you not lean on my arm so hard? It hurts a bit."
Sora stepped back as if she had been electrocuted but Tai just smiled at her as he rubbed his upper left arm. She looked to be about to scold him, but TK's appearance at her side prevented her from making a scene.
"Sora, I forgot to thank you." TK told her. "You told us not to eat the mushrooms, didn't you? I want to thank you for saving us."
"Right TK," Biyomon told him happily. "We thought Demidevimon was up to no good so we kept out of sight and made sure you guys stayed out of trouble. We were even there when you guys were working in the restaurant Matt."
"I had no idea." Matt muttered as he thought about the week he'd spent working like a slave.
"You didn't have to hide from us," Tai told them. "We were all worried."
"Sora just needed to be alone for a little while." Biyomon told him so that Sora didn't have to. Sora was still staring at Tai suspiciously. "But she really didn't want to be separated from you guys. Please understand."
"Sora, I like you. So please, don't go away again." TK told her as he grabbed her hand. "I don't like being away from you. When you're around I don't miss my mum so much."
"TK," Sora breathed in shock. More tears fell from her eyes. "I'm so, so sorry."
As Sora leaned down to hug TK Tai tilted his head to the side like he was listening to something, or for something. He didn't move beyond that, but a smile did spread across his face. Agumon, who was watching him, was curious, but the arrival of the others prevented him from asking about it. In the end, he figured that Tai didn't need to be questioned on his actions, because he had gathered them all back together.
"Hey!" Joe called as he came into sight.
"Hey! What took you guys so long?" Matt asked as he pushed himself off the tree.
"Well, we would have been here sooner," Mimi told him as she came to a stop. "But Joe fell in the river."
"Hey Mimi, you're the one who was hungry and tired and needed to sit down every five minutes," Joe told her.
"Well we can't rest just yet," Tai told them all. "We should go find somewhere to set up camp. We can set a fire and eat some food while we decide on what we're going to do next."
"I'm hungry." Mimi told him.
"There's a clearing just around here," Sora explained as she started to move off the path. "It's only a short walk to the river for water, and Biyomon said that she saw food in the trees that we could gather when we first arrived here, and it's sheltered."
"Perfect," Tai announced. "Lead the way Love."
Sora looked at him in confusion at the endearment, before realizing that he was calling her by her crest name. Why would he do that? And who gave him the idea to do that? Tomomon had done that with Mimi, in fact, she couldn't recall the dark digimon ever calling them by their names even though he had to have known them. So why was Tai copying a dark digimon?
"Are we going to go after Jade now?" TK asked curiously.
"She'll come to us," Tai told him reassuringly. "I think she's on her way back from wherever she was."
"Is her partner going to be with her?"
"No," Tai tilted his head slightly as he thought. "He's watching over whatever they've been hunting."
"She was following Demidevimon so that they could find…Myotismon's base…I think," Sora told him. "I guess they found it. How do you know that she's on her way?"
"She told me she was," Tai told her with a smile. "She just happens to be a fair distance away and will probably be here around nightfall."
"Is this the telepathy thing again?" Mimi asked him.
"Telepathy?" Sora asked the other girl. That started up the same conversation as before, in how Tai could use his mind to find the others and speak to them. Tai ignored them; he knew what he heard and what he could do. It just so happened that he had a stronger mental connection with Jade than the others.
The clearing wasn't too far from the road, and as soon as they got there they divided up tasks so that they would be able to have a warm fire and food as soon as possible. Tai was forbidden from gathering food, at Joe's insistence, as he wanted him to rest his arm so that it could heal. Still, it didn't take long for food and water to be gathered, the fire to be lit and the food cooked if it needed to be cooked. They told stories about what they had done when they were separated, and they brainstormed about what Demidevimon could have been after.
Tai was also curious about Myotismon, but not one of their partners had heard of him before. It seemed that the only one who had was Jade, and she was hunting him for some reason.
As a group they decided that they would spend the rest of the day and that night resting as they didn't think that they had anyone chasing them. That, and they wanted to see if Tai was right about when Jade would get to them. So during this time, Tai found a tree to lean on and allowed his tired body to give in and sleep.
"Is he alright?" Sora asked Joe quietly as soon as she saw that Tai was asleep.
"I don't know," Joe told her. "He's…different."
"He's more mature," Matt added as he dropped down next to them.
"He's scared," Mimi revealed. "When I was being a spoiled brat he admitted as much. You know him the best Sora, what's his home life like?"
"He lives with his parents and little sister," Sora told her. "He loves them a lot, especially Kari. He's always protecting her. He was devastated when she got sick a few years ago and nearly died."
"His mother hit him," Agumon whispered as he looked at his partner. "When Kari collapsed in the park it was because she was playing with him, and his mother hit him and told him that if Kari died it would be his fault."
"That's horrible!" Mimi gasped.
"He was only eight or nine when that happened," Sora breathed. "He never said anything."
"That explains a lot though," Matt muttered. "He's always blaming himself for something, could it because his mother blamed him?"
"I think there's more to it than that," Joe cautioned him. "Tai has issues that he's working out on his own. We just need to support him when we can."
"And his arm?" Izzy asked. "According to Tai no time has passed in our world, how will he explain to the camp supervisors and his parents getting that bad a break?"
"We'll work something out," Sora told him. "I think I'm going to copy him and get some rest. I'm exhausted."
"Eat first," Joe ordered her. "It's bad enough that Tai refuses to eat, you're not going to copy him in that regard."
"We've all lost weight," Matt told Joe in confusion.
"Tai doesn't eat," Joe repeated. "Surely you've noticed. We've lost weight because of all the exercise that we've been doing, and the change in eating habits we've been forced to adapt to. Tai just doesn't eat if he doesn't think there's enough food for everyone."
"We'll save him some," Sora promised. "Now go and relax. Stop stressing for today. We'll stress more tomorrow about what we're going to do."
The little group dispersed, but despite Sora's request they were all worried. Mimi, Sora and Izzy hadn't noticed that Tai wasn't eating, and they were feeling guilty about it, but Matt was feeling guilty because he hadn't done anything to help, despite noticing what Tai was doing. Joe just wished that Tai would care about himself just that little bit more. He wasn't looking forward to trying to explain how they had gone from being healthy children to children who had lost a significant amount of weight in the space of a day.
Jade had shifted to her human form just after the sun had set so that she could move without being spotted. She was jumping through the trees, because she could, and humming a tune under her breath. At one point she had frozen as Demidevimon flew passed her, and she picked up the speed with a narrowed glare. Tom was getting closer as well, but he was still some distance off. That probably meant that Myotismon was on his way as well.
"No! Biyomon! Please wake up! Biyomon!"
Jade's eyes narrowed further. She was close enough the digidestined now to hear Sora's cries of despair, and she knew that Demidevimon had done something. She jumped onto a tree branch that was just above the children, but didn't move just yet as they were more than a match for Demidevimon. The digimon woke up and moved to attack the little intruder, but Jade's gaze was pulled upwards as thick black clouds crossed in front of the moon, casting everything into shadow.
When the clouds cleared the moon had turned red and a carriage pulled by a Devidramon appeared. She shivered and knew that the passenger of the carriage was Myotismon, and that Tom was following at a distance so that he wouldn't be seen just yet. Then, from the back of the carriage fell a coffin. From the coffin appeared Myotismon, a human like digimon with great resemblance to a vampire and wearing a red mask. He landed just a little distance from the children and digimon.
"Digidestined!" he called to them. "Your journey ends here."
"That's it! That's the thing that Demidevimon was talking to!" Sora cried as she pointed to him. Jade smirked at her calling Myotismon a 'thing', but it was Demidevimon who introduced Tom's creation to the children.
"Myotismon?" Tai questioned.
"It's Lord Myotismon!" Demidevimon corrected angrily. Myotismon started to laugh, and as he did Jade mentally requested Tom to remain in the air a little longer. He was Horcruxmon, but with as distracted as everyone else was, they didn't see him hiding in the darkness of the night sky.
"These digidestined are making me feel a little…batty," Myotismon told his servant. "Grizzly Wing!"
Myotismon thrust out his arms and a legion of bats rushed towards the children. Jade was all prepared to jump down and help, but the digidestined would never learn anything if she did everything for them. The digimon leaped forward instantly, all of them except for Biyomon who was almost unconscious on Sora's lap. Their attacks held back the bats, but the bats didn't just come at them in a straight line. Palmon digivolved once she noticed that the bats had flown around and were attacking the humans and sent out dozens of needles to drive them back, and then, Gomamon digivolved so that he could attack Myotismon.
"Uh oh," Jade whispered. The attack had no effect.
"You can't defeat me that easily," Myotismon told them with a cruel smile. He created a ball of red light in his hands and when he flung it, it became a whip. "Crimson Lightning!"
Moments later the digimon were on the ground, defeated, and Myotismon was walking towards them in dark anticipation. Jade clenched her fists and took a few steps back so that she could take a running leap and land in front of the children so that she could protect them. While she was preparing herself, Biyomon fought her way free of Sora so that she could contribute, and once Birdramon was flying Jade leaped.
Her sudden appearance startled the group, and in their surprise Jade pushed Sora back to the others to stop her from running after her partner. Myotismon used him Crimson Lightning again and the attack caught Birdramon in the chest. She started to fall.
"Birdramon! No! Birdramon, I love you!"
Sora's crest started to glow, and as the tears fell from her eyes Birdramon began to digivolve into Garudamon. Myotismon hissed in anger and used all his power to attack the children before Garudamon could protect them. Jade held up her hands and imagined a shield surrounding them and protecting them.
"Jade!" Tai cried out just before the attack hit. Jade stumbled back a few steps from the force of the attack, but her imagined shield held strong just long enough for Garudamon to envelop Myotismon in burning fire.
"My crest," Sora stated happily. "It glowed."
"Of course it did, Love," Jade told her with a grin. "You don't think that just anyone can use the crests, do you?"
Myotismon ended his attack on the children so Jade dropped her shield. Garudamon rose up into the sky and unleashed her attack on Myotismon, causing most of the children to shield their eyes from the bright flames.
"Wing Blade!"
"Grizzly Wing!" Myotismon cried and sent his own attack at the approaching flames. Jade grinned in delight and started to walk forward, ignoring the others calling to her. She turned her attention to Garudamon briefly so that she could talk in her mind.
I've got this Garudamon, get the children to safety.
My Lady? Garudamon queried.
Everything will work out, and you don't want to be here when Tom gets really angry.
Garudamon nodded and ended her attack so that she could lift the children up in her giant hands.
"I did not anticipate such strength," Myotismon growled in anger.
"They're my Protectors, what did you expect?" Jade asked him. Garudamon had paused behind her as she was gathering everyone into her hands. Tai just didn't want to go and leave her.
"Your Protectors?" Myotismon asked with a laugh. "Who do you think you are?"
"Surely you recognize the Lady Sovereign?" another voice asked, the darkness in his tone encouraging Garudamon that it was time to go. Joe grabbed Tai and pulled him up and soon they were gone. Myotismon made no effort to go after them as he had spun around to see Tom slowly drifting to the ground.
"The Lady Sovereign was killed centuries ago."
"And yet, here I am," Jade told him. "What are you up to?"
"Or better yet, how would you like to die, traitor?" Tom asked coldly.
"Ha! You won't kill me," Myotismon crowed. "I have knowledge that you will lose if I die."
"I know you have the crest of the eighth digidestined," Jade told him. "I know you're trying to work out the key to get through the Gateway to the Human World. What knowledge could you possibly have that would prevent the Lord of Darkness from ending your existence?"
"The Prison World is weakening," Myotismon hinted with a grin in her direction. "Lord Lucemon grows stronger, he wants to be let out."
"We defeated him once, we can do so again," Jade told him unconcerned.
"But that was before the darkness was so thick in this world that you could just about taste it," Myotismon explained with a lick of his lips. "Your power is weakened, and without all eight of your Protectors you are easy pickings."
"You know who the Eighth is, don't you?" Tom guessed in disgust.
"The Protector of Light will be mine," Myotismon boasted. "And there's nothing that you can do to stop me! You're both too weak! You, My Lord, have done more to ensure the darkness succeeds in this world than anyone else ever has. It's just a shame that your power correlates to how strong the Shadow World is! With it almost gone, I bet that even the Dark Masters would be able to kill you one-on-one!"
Myotismon laughed before spinning on the spot and disappearing. Tom roared his anger, letting his cry echo outwards. Jade crossed her arms and thought about what Myotismon had said. It was true that both the light and the darkness needed somewhere to grow, and with the Shadow World in the state that it was Tom just didn't have the power to fall back on. He needed the other parts of his soul and a completed Shadow World. She hated to admit it, but if Lucemon did break free the Digital World, the Shadow World and the Human Worlds would cease to exist. Unless Myotismon was hoping that if he gathered enough power he would be able to challenge Lucemon, defeat him and take his place as the Supreme Ruler of the Worlds.
"We're in trouble," she summed up aloud.
"I hate that 'mon." Tom spat as he paced.
"He's right though," Jade told him. "The Shadow World is a mess, the light here is almost gone and it's only through the actions of the digidestined that there's some light here at all."
"So what's the plan?" Tom asked as he stopped pacing. The purple bell on his chest bounced at his sudden turn to face her.
"Go back to the Shadow World and rebuild it," Jade told him as she transformed. "I'm going to go to Myotismon's castle to wait for the digidestined. We'll stop him, don't worry. But we need the Prison World to remain strong, and it requires power from all the worlds to exist."
"Fine," Tom sighed. "I'm gone. But if you die while I'm rebuilding, I will destroy everything and no one will be able to stop me."
"Then I won't die," Phoenixmon promised. "Now go, I have a feeling that we're running out of time."
"We just left her there," Tai muttered as he kicked the ground. "She was right there."
"I'm sorry Tai," Yokomon told him sincerely. "But she ordered me to go, and the Lord of Darkness was there as well. You don't want to be around him when he's mad."
"Jade will be safe with her partner," Sora explained, watching as he paced. "He would rather die than let anything happen to her."
"So would I," Tai told her sullenly. "We need to be together, it's important."
"Hey Sora! How does it feel to have your crest glow?" TK asked, bouncing around her in delight.
"It feels great," Sora told him, her eyes remaining on Tai. "You were right Tai. My mother does love me, and she has all along."
Tai stopped his pacing and smiled at her.
"I guess you are capable of love after all," he said teasingly. He was glad that Sora was happy, and he was glad that they were almost all together again, but he was still missing one important member of the team that he couldn't go home without.
"We'll get her back Tai," Agumon whispered next to him. "You'll see."
The following day the children spent next to the river, soaking their feet and washing their socks…except for Izzy who was playing on his computer. Tai had pulled off his splint to soak his arm in the cold water, TK and Patamon were seeing who could make the biggest splash, Matt was playing his harmonica, Sora and Mimi were soaking their feet while they chatted on the side, and Joe standing in the middle of the river filling up plastic bags of water for them to carry. The digimon were pretty much relaxing while they waited for the next big disaster to happen, though they were also curious about the Human World. In that regard Agumon was the center of attention as he explained everything that he had experienced, including the plethora of food that was available.
Once Joe's water bags were full and safely packed in his bag did the boy make his way over to Tai. He sat next to him and stared at Tai's submerged arm.
"Can I see it?" he asked softly. They were far enough from the group that there was a little privacy, but not too far in that they could still be heard if they spoke loudly. Tai tensed at the question and hesitated, he really didn't want to pull the armband off.
"I want to see how bad the break is," Joe reassured him.
"It's fractured in a few places," Tai muttered. "But you won't be able to see it without an x-ray."
"Please Tai."
The request was soft and non-threatening, but still Tai was reluctant. No one had seen his arm since he had started to wear the armband, not even his sister and especially not his parents. But still, Joe had proven to be a reliable and trustworthy person and Tai trusted him more than he had trusted anyone before. So he pulled his arm out of the water and rested it on his lap.
"You won't say anything?" he asked quietly.
"Not a word," Joe promised.
Tai nodded and slid the armband off his arm and held it near the water so that his body was in the way of the other children and digimon seeing it. Joe's quick intake of breath let Tai know the moment he saw his secret, and he averted his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at him. Joe gently held Tai's arm and twisted it gently to look at all angles of it, taking note of when Tai felt the most pain.
"How long?" Joe asked quietly.
"I was eight," Tai whispered. "I haven't done it recently."
"How recent?"
"Last summer," Tai admitted. "This past year, I just wrote to Jade. She made me feel better."
"Does she know?"
"No, no one does, except for you now."
Joe nodded. The scars on Tai's arm were old, but they were noticeable with the black bruise Tai had gained. The bruise itself was still dark, though the edges had turned yellow, and the bone hadn't moved when he manipulated it.
"I'd say that it's fractured in two, possibly three places," Joe explained as Tai slid the armband back on. "You'll live, but I want you to keep the splint on a bit longer, and the sling."
Tai sighed but allowed Joe to put the splint back on and tie his arm back to his chest.
"Now that Myotismon's chasing us, we're going to have to keep running liked crazed shoppers as the mall," Mimi spoke up, her voice carrying to all of them. Tai and Joe waded closer to the others. "He's just a big creep if you ask me."
"I'm going to have to agree with you on that," Joe told her.
"My wish is to never see him again! Period!" Palmon called over to her partner.
"That makes two of us," Sora told her with a smile.
"Gather round everyone!" Izzy called to them suddenly.
"I hope that means lunch is ready," Tai stated with a smile. TK giggled next to him.
"Gennai's back!" Izzy continued. "He wants to speak to us!"
Tai turned serious instantly and waded out of the water, gathering his shoes and socks as he went. The others weren't far behind him, and they all quickly encircled the projection of Gennai. Tai wondered what bad news the former human had to bring this time.
"Don't keep us waiting in suspense, what's this all about anyway?" he asked once he was sure everyone was there.
"Well, I've brought you some good news and some bad news," Gennai told them. "Which would you like to hear first?"
"Save the good news for last," Joe replied instantly. "I hate being depressed."
"He's a basket case anyway, let's start with the good news," Matt countered. Joe gave him a put out look but Matt just shrugged.
"Actually, you all look like you could use some cheering up," Gennai remarked. "I've been told another child will be joining your group."
"Another child?" Sora asked. "Who tells you these things anyway?"
"Well, this is someone you should want as a friend," Gennai continued, ignoring Sora's second question. "This someone is a digidestined."
"Really?" came the general question.
"I hope this new one will have a digimon that will be able to help us," Yokomon said excitedly.
"You and me both," Sora told her.
"The important thing to remember is that all eight of you must be together, as long as you are separated the worlds will not be in harmony with each other. Everything will go wacko, so you must find that other child as soon as possible."
"How do we do that?" Tai asked.
"I hope it's someone my size!" TK hoped.
"I hope she's my size so we can swap clothes!" Mimi also hoped.
"Tell us something about this kid," Tai suggested, cutting across both TK and Mimi. "Like, what's his or her name?"
"The name?" Gennai repeated. "It's…I forgot."
"Gennai," Tai whined.
"Calm down, I do know the location of the child, it's Japan."
"Japan?" Tai wondered. A digidestined was in Japan?
"Where is Japan?" Gabumon asked.
"Japan's a big island in the far east," Agumon explained.
"Agumon and Tai were transported there when our two worlds converged," Izzy added as Agumon nodded his agreement.
"If they ever converge again, maybe we'll all get to go home," Joe stated.
"Remember, that was the good news," Gennai continued, bringing them out of their thoughts.
"Can't wait to hear the bad," Matt stated sarcastically.
"Myotismon has heard of the eighth child and will be going to Japan soon. He's gathering his forces as we speak. If he gets to the child first, both of our worlds will be doomed."
"Doomed! We need some spies on the inside!" Tai cried.
"I already have some, or I did," Gennai admitted. "For the past few days, Jade and her partner have been stalling Myotismon so that you would be able to catch up before Myotismon goes through the door. Unfortunately, something happened recently and the Dark One has returned to the Shadow World and Jade is alone at the castle."
"Then we have to get there quickly!" Tai cried in even more alarm. The others agreed with him and soon Garurumon and Kabuterimon, weighed down by their passengers, were flying towards Myotismon's castle, and hopefully home.
Jade waited for Gennai to get back to her after talking with the digidestined. She had spent half an hour berating him for losing the eighth digi-egg, and then forgetting that there were supposed to be eight digidestined, before telling him that Myotismon was almost ready to travel to the Human World and was in the final stage of amassing his army to go through with him. He had turned off his connection to her in order to speak with the digidestined, so Jade was waiting somewhat patiently for him to return so that she would be aware that they were coming.
"It's been a long time, Little Princess."
Jade jumped and spun around to see who had spoken to her. Her eyes widened in surprise before a smile of pure delight spread across her features. Standing before her, now only a little taller than her instead of a lot, wearing a purple cape and wizard's hat, was Wizardmon. She rushed at him and threw her arms around his neck in her joy, and he hugged her back with just as much affection.
"I was wondering where you had gotten to," Jade said as she pulled back. "Have you kept in touch with the others? Dorumon and Kudamon? Guilmon? I met Andromon on File Island, but I haven't so much as heard of the others since my return? What are you doing here?"
Wizardmon placed his hand across her mouth to prevent more questions from spewing out. He looked amused, but there was also relief in his eyes. It confused Jade a little because Wizardmon had never been overly affectionate with her, nor had he played with her. His amusement faded from his eyes slowly as he gestured for her to sit down.
"I haven't kept in touch with the others, though I know where they are," he explained. "After you died, I admit that I went off the deep end for a while. To think that you had died, the same way my partner had died, and I hadn't been there to help…well, it was a bit too much. I wandered around for years, I don't know how long I avoided everyone."
"What happened after that?" Jade asked as she hugged her knees.
"I found someone I didn't expect to…or should I say, she found me."
"Who?"
"I think she's the digimon partner of one of the digidestined, but I wasn't sure at first. I know Gennai carried the eggs to safety, but I also thought that he'd keep them together. Then she started to talk about how she was waiting for someone who had never turned up, and I knew as surely as I knew who my partner was. So I decided to stay with her, to protect her."
"You're saying that a Protector Digimon is working for Myotismon?" Jade asked in disbelief.
"I am."
"That horrid digimon!" Jade cried as she stood up to pace. "How dare he?! No wonder he has the crest of Light! He shouldn't have been able to get it without the Protector or her digimon."
"He knows where the child is," Wizardmon told her. "He is moments away from activating the Gateway and traveling to the Human World. Once he gets there he will tear it apart until he has her, and once he does he will come back here and use her power to bend this world under his control."
"Over my dead body," Jade hissed. "This is my home! I won't let him tear it apart more than it already is! It's bad enough that Tom went insane and flooded this world with darkness, but he wants to destroy the world I was born in as well? Not happening!"
"So what will you do, Little Princess?"
"I'm going to go with the digidestined to protect both worlds, and I'm going to win."
Wizardmon smirked before standing also and putting his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him curiously, but said nothing.
"You remind me so much of your mother," he whispered.
"My mum?"
"Yes, if your hair was red I'd have called you her clone," Wizardmon continued. "The Protector of Loyalty, even at the end she stood with her family instead of running. I have watched out for you in her honor ever since."
"You rescued me," Jade breathed in realization, eyes wide. "I always thought that Lucemon…"
"I brought you to him, and he brought you to Gennai. The digidestined of the past were closer than family, but when Lily was killed it fractured them beyond repair. She was the one who held us together. Compassion has not returned to this world since then, but the others come when they can to make sure that Gennai is alright. Wisdom knows the identity of Light, as he and Determination helped in choosing the current digidestined."
"Gennai's memory is failing," Jade told him as she tried to gather her thoughts around the fact that her mother was one of the original. "The Protector of Trust no longer remembers the specific details, he has gone too long alone."
"He remembers you clearly though," Wizardmon reassured her. He removed his hands and turned away, and despite her desire to run back to him she let him walk away. "I will continue to protect young Gatomon, until her partner is found."
"Be careful, my friend." Jade whispered to him.
"And you, Little Princess. You are your mother's legacy, and I know that she would be exceptionally proud of you, just as I am."
With that Wizardmon turned and left, leaving Jade standing there. She ended up curling up next to a tree so that she could wait for Gennai to reappear next to her. No one had told her who Wizardmon's partner was, just that she had died. But now that she knew her mother was a former digidestined, the way she was treated suddenly made a lot more sense.
It was because she was more than Lucemon's successor, she was the daughter of their friend, and their hope for a better future.
And now she, and the digidestined, were the only ones who could possibly stop this disaster.
Every world hung in the balance.
It was time to fight.
I'm glad you all liked my comparison to the Disney characters, your comments made me smile. Next chapter they will get home, and I know a lot of you are curious about what will happen. I eager to write it, and boy do I have a lot of ideas I want to put in. Just for a recap, I'll put down the original digidestined for you, their crest, and their digimon:
Gennai - Trust - Andromon
Akili - Wisdom - Kudamon
Michael - Determination - Dorumon
Lily - Loyalty - Wizardmon
Surprise Person I haven't Named Yet (I don't think, though some of you already know) - Compassion - Guilmon
And to my reviewers, the answers to your questions:
Liedral: Yes, Tai's mother was a witch, a muggle-born, but she doesn't practice magic anymore. She was trained in Japan, with a wand and all. That will be explained later. Tomomon loves to use his claws to scratch up his opponents, though we won't get to see him fight for a while. Glad you like my portrayal of him. XD
Larae: That's a surprise, though I have already mention her. See if you can't guess.
Next up in Intertwined Destinies:
Chapter 20: Gateway to Home