Intertwined Destinies
Gennai has given the digidestined bad news: there is an eighth digidestined in Japan, and Myotismon, their new enemy, is on his way to get her. It is now a race against time to get home. If they lose this race, it will be more than the Human World that is in danger...every world will be facing its destruction. The children and digimon have opened the Gateway to the Human World and are now home. All they have to do now is figure out who the eighth child is, and protect the child from Myotismon. Simple right?
All the children made it home to their families, and it came to light that Yuuko, Tai's mother, is aware of the Digital World. Only Agumon was aware of her knowledge, keeping it as a secret at her request. Jade was attacked by Bakemon after retrieving the eighth digivice and being kicked out of Odaiba Elementary by her cousin and his friends. She has also come into contact with the Japanese magicians, and the digidestined are aware that she is alright. She has visited Joe and got into contact with the original digidestined: Michael (Determination) from America, and Akili (Wisdom) from Africa.
The eighth child has been confirmed as Tai's little sister Kari, and everyone is now in Japan even if they are not all within the fog barrier.
The next chapter of their adventure awaits...
Chapter 24: Myotismon makes his Move
August 2 1999
Jade had made it back safely to the school gym, but she had remained on the upper floors so that she wouldn't have to deal with her cousin. She had arranged it so that a few of her classmates had seen her, but they had never been able to get close enough to her to pull her back to the group. Wizardmon had contacted her an hour or so after he dropped her off, informing her of the good and bad news. The good news was that he had managed to grab Kari's crest, and would hold it until he could get it to Kari. The bad news was that he had fought against Myotismon, lost, and Myotismon had captured Gatomon to use as he had originally intended. She wasn't too impressed with that, but he promised that he would be fine until they met again. He also wouldn't admit where he was.
Now, with the sun cresting on the horizon, Jade was sitting on the roof of the school watching as a bunch of kids started to gather together on the school soccer pitch. They weren't English students, so that meant they were local kids. A flash of red attracted her attention, and Jade grinned as she realized that the red-head below her was Sora. She started to run down from the roof, through the corridors, and out on the oval. The only warning she gave to the older girl was a short mental tap to cause her to turn around, and then she was flying through the air to wrap her arms around Sora's neck.
"Jade!" Sora cried in delight as she caught her. Her joy faded as she realized the girl in her arms was shaking, and that she hadn't said anything.
"Are you alright?" she asked in concern. "They haven't hurt you have they?"
Jade hesitated. She had a cut on her face from the Bakemon, but all her other injuries from Dudley had been healed already. She could say that they hadn't hurt her, but she didn't like to lie. Sora saw her hesitation as a confirmation and tightened her grip. Her teammates looked at her in concern, having never seen the girl in her arms before, but not one of them came over to see if everything was alright. Sora gently put Jade down and cupped her face with both hands. She studied the scars on her face in worry.
"JADE POTTER!"
Jade flinched violently at the sound of her principal calling for her. Obviously she hadn't been as subtle as she had believed if the woman had spotted her and come outside to drag her back in. Sora's concern grew, and she pushed Jade behind her protectively as the woman marched up to her. She couldn't understand English, but she did understand that what that woman wanted wasn't in Jade's best interests.
"Princess?" she asked softly, ignoring Jade's sigh of annoyance. "What does she want?"
Probably to drag me back to the others, deny me food for running away, or lock me up at the local police station to keep me away from the 'normal' students
"Oh," Sora muttered, blinking as the girl's voice echoed in her mind.
"Where have you been?!" Ms Trish demanded. "Your cousin saw fit to tell us that you ran away yesterday. You're lucky we didn't call the police! As it is I am going to have a serious discussion with your aunt and uncle, and if you do something so reckless once more time, I will have you expelled and thrown into jail!"
Jade stopped listening half way through the rant, her eyes darting up as she realized that they weren't alone anymore. The soccer players started to scream as Bakemon started to fly down from the sky, each one grabbing a child and dragging him or her away. Sora cried out in horror, and Jade realized that she hadn't brought Biyomon with her. The Bakemon started to head towards the school, and Jade panicked at the thought of her classmates at the mercy of ghost digimon. She abandoned Sora's side and started to run back inside.
"Get away from me weirdo!" Dudley ordered as he tried to punch the nearest Bakemon. "Don't touch me!"
Jade sprinted into the gym to see dozens of Bakemon trying to grab the students. A few of them were getting annoyed with Dudley, and one looked ready to attack him. As much as she and Dudley didn't get along, Jade knew that she couldn't let anything happen to him. He was family, despite everything. She ran faster, seeing a Bakemon materialize his claws. Dudley cried out in horror, flinching backwards with his arms coming up to protect his face.
"Dudley! Duck!" Jade ordered as she came between her cousin and the ghost. She was facing her cousin, and yet even as ready as she was she couldn't help but scream out as the Bakemon's claws scrapped down her back. Dudley looked up in her with something other than hate on his face, in fact, Jade would go as far to say he looked worried and scared for her, instead of being scared of her. She tried to smile at him as her legs buckled, but failed as another Bakemon grabbed her and started to drag her away.
More students started to give up, and within a short amount of time they were being herded from the school to another building. Dudley appeared at Jade's side, throwing one of her arms across his shoulders to help her walk, and Sora darted up to her shortly after, almost crying as she spotted the blood on Jade's back.
"Jade…" she whispered.
"I'm fine," Jade promised, her voice startling Dudley as he didn't hear her talk often.
"What do we do?" Sora asked.
"We're all going to end up in the same place," Jade explained. "Once we get there, we'll see who else was captured and plan around that. I'll contact the others once we're settled."
"I'll see if I can find some bandages or something when we get there," Sora decided. "We need you in top condition to fight. Can you heal yourself?"
"In time, it's harder to heal myself than it is to heal others."
Sora nodded her understanding, staring at Dudley somewhat strangely, but otherwise didn't say anything. Dudley, seeing that their conversation was over, spoke up nervously and Jade looked at him in concern. She had never heard Dudley as anything less than confident.
"Why'd you do that?" he asked her. "After everything that has happened…why wouldn't you let me get attacked?"
"You're my cousin," Jade muttered. "Despite everything, despite how much you hate me, or how often you've hurt me…you're the only family I have left."
Dudley nodded and went quiet. She had clearly said something that upset him. Jade let him have his silence, and instead turned her attention towards the Bakemon leading them to their destination. She knew that Myotismon would be hunting for Kari, but as he was unaware of her identity he was probably gathering every child in Odaiba and getting Gatomon to pick out the one he wanted.
They were led to a large building, a place Sora called Big Sight, where there were already hundreds of people gathered, adults and children alike. The English students grouped together, but Jade stepped away from them and walked off with Sora. She realized, as she looked up at Sora, that the girl wasn't wearing her blue hat. She explained that if someone came looking for her they would find her hat and know that she was there, and hopefully come to rescue her.
"Mimi's over there," Jade said, pointing slightly off their path. Sora looked over the crowd, hoping to spot her friend, but couldn't see anything. She didn't doubt Jade, but she also saw no harm in tending to the girl's injuries before searching for the others. Sora used a cloth they had found in a cupboard and bound her back, making her look like a mummy. Jade didn't make a sound as Sora wrapped her up, but as Sora told her during the procedure, she should have Joe look at it later, just to be sure.
"Sora! Jade!"
The two girls turned and grinned as they saw Mimi making her way through the crowd towards them. She and Sora hugged, but then Mimi saw Jade's face and she screamed in horror. She started to babble about her scars, talking about teaching her how to cover them with cosmetics and getting revenge for her all in the same breath. Jade let her, slightly bemused and awestruck at how passionate Mimi was. Palmon came up to greet her as well, giving her a brief hug, but then Jade gave Mimi a hug to quieten her and look around for the others.
She explained to the two girls that Izzy was with Tentomon, but nowhere near Big Sight. Tai and Agumon were with Matt and Gabumon, Kari was with Tai but she didn't mention that as they were surrounded by enemies, and Joe and TK were the furthest away, on the other side of the river. It relieved the two girls to know that the others were safe, and understood that the place they were in was not the best place to talk strategy.
"Let me go! My children are out there and they are not going to be fighting this thing alone! Taichi! Hikari! Let me go!"
Jade looked up and smiled as she spotted Tai and Kari's mum, struggling against a man she assumed was her husband. She skipped over a smile, Sora, Mimi and Palmon trailing after her. Yuuko looked up at her appearance, her eyes darting between the three girls suspiciously.
"Tai and Kari are safe," Jade spoke up. "They met up with another digidestined."
"They're safe?" Yuuko asked in relief. "Thank goodness."
"This is Sora, Mimi and Palmon," Jade continued. "Sora's partner is elsewhere, but I know she's on her way here."
"You're digidestined?" Yuuko asked, her eyes now focused on Sora and Mimi. The two girls nodded, unsure if they should be confirming their identity but trusting Jade. Jade then turned to the two girls and smiled.
"This is the digidestined of Compassion," she stated. "Her partner is Guilmon."
"That's great!" Palmon cheered. "I didn't know that you lived in Japan. Do the others live here as well?"
"They're probably outside the fog barrier," Yuuko muttered, her features darkening. Susumu looked between his wife and the children in concern. It was obvious that Yuuko had never spoken to him about the Digital World, and the family would probably have a really long conversation after everything was over. He then looked towards Jade, and there was something in his eyes that made Jade feel uncomfortable.
With a quick glance at his wife he pulled Jade off to the side so that he could talk to her in relative privacy. Jade followed him, slightly curious about what he wanted to talk about, and apprehensive that he was leading her away from those she felt safe around.
"If I understand correctly," Susumu began slowly. "You're Taichi's Pen Pal?"
"Yeah," Jade said with a nod. She wrapped her arms around her waist nervously.
"Then, I would like to thank you."
"What?"
"I don't know what you talked to Taichi about, and I don't need to know, but ever since he met you he's changed. Turns out that there were some issues we weren't aware of with Taichi, but after he met you he came clean to us. Who knows what might have happened if he hadn't met you, and I shudder to think about it, but I am grateful. So, thank you for being the friend that my son needed."
"You don't need to thank me for that," Jade muttered, embarrassed. "Tai helped me far more than I helped him. He saved my life."
"And you saved his, there is no doubt in my mind of that."
"You're welcome," Jade grinned.
"If you need anything," Susumu continued, completely serious. "Please don't hesitate to ask us. Even if it's a place to stay for the night, or company, or even someone to talk to, we will help you."
Jade felt tears appear in her eyes at the promise and took a steadying breath to prevent the tears from falling. Her smile at him reassured him that he had done the right thing. They went back over to the group where Jade walked over to Sora and Mimi, resting her head on Sora's arm.
Mimi mentioned that she wanted to get back to her parents before they really started to worry about her, and Sora said that she would go with her. Yuuko and Susumu apparently decided that they would stay near the girls and followed them off, but Jade had decided to go off in another direction. Susumu wasn't exactly thrilled that she was going off on her own, but Jade smiled at him childishly, before turning her attention to their surroundings.
Now that Yuuko knew that her children were alive and alright, she was more than happy to join in with the battle plans to get free from the Bakemon. Jade wandered off, checking in on the others who were captive to make sure that no one was seriously hurt.
"Watch out!"
Jade let out a yelp as she was yanked to the side and pulled up against someone's chest. She looked to where she had stood and spotted a scythe finishing its swing. If she had still been standing where she was, she would have been cut in two. Her eyes traveled upwards into Phantomon's grinning face. He stared at her for several moments, threat in his eyes, before moving onward to bother someone else.
"Are you alright?"
Jade finally turned her attention to the boy who had saved her. He looked to be around her age, with warm brown eyes and brownish red hair that stood up in every direction. He was wearing his pajamas with a jumper over them, like several children were, and he was clearly scared about everything. The arms holding her were shaking, and even though she had to look up to see his face, she felt safe. It was like being held by Tai.
"I'm fine," she whispered. "Thank-you."
"You're welcome," the boy whispered back. "I'm Daisuke, but you can call me Davis."
"I'm Jade," she told him with a smile, stepping out of his arms. "I'll remember you, and I'll repay you one day."
Davis watched her run off with a strange look on his face before he returned to his family. He didn't know why he had helped her, only that it had felt important. His dad wrapped him in a hug, berating him for putting himself at risk, but otherwise said nothing more. And Davis watched as the small girl with bright green eyes and dark brown hair disappeared into the crowd.
When Jade returned to the group it was to see that Mimi had been reunited with her family and a battle plan of sorts was being organised. Jade, however, had spotted the tiny baby Makoto, Mimi's baby brother, and couldn't help but stand over him and grin at him. He held her pinkie in his fist as he spoke to her in his baby language, and their laughter brought smiles to the group.
Jade? Can you talk at the moment?
Jade's grin widened as Tai's mental voice brushed across her mind. She made sure that she wasn't looking at the others so that they wouldn't see the slightly blank expression on her face as she "talked" with the boy.
Yeah, are you somewhere safe?
I'm with Kari, Matt and our digimon. Agumon was hurt escaping from the Bakemon and when we're a little more recovered we'll come after you.
She was worried about Agumon, and stretching out her senses that bit more she noted that it was a simple flesh wound that was already healing and would be fine in an hour or so.
We're all fine here, she told him. Sora and Mimi are helping to arrange a break out, and your mum and dad are going to be leading the charge. Your dad is awesome by the way, he's going to lead the attack against the Bakemon while everyone else gets away. Mimi's brother is so cute, her parents are a little extreme, but I can see where Mimi gets her passion from. Michael and Akili should have arrived last night at some time, and hopefully they'll be able to get through the fog.
Maybe they'll bump into Joe, Tai mused. Or TK. If they manage to get together then the four of them could get across and help us out.
That sounded like a good idea. Before they actually went through with the breakout she would attempt to contact the two outside the fog barrier. Joe may have more of a chance meeting the older digidestined, as TK was a bit too young to be out without his mother and it was early in the morning. But still, they would need all the help they could get to defeat Myotismon and protect Kari. Speaking of Kari…
Is Kari safe?
Yeah…Tai said slowly.
At the moment the most important thing is that Kari is kept safe and out of Myotismon's grasp. If you do come after us here, you had better make sure that she is safe.
I'll leave her with Matt, he'll keep her safe. We're at Aqua City, when you break out make your way here.
I'll pass on the message, Jade promised. Now focus on yourself, and I'll see you soon.
Tai didn't answer, but Jade was happy either way. She pulled her hand free from Makoto and went to sit next to Sora and Mimi. The two girls were at the edge of the breakout/attack the Bakemon group and probably wouldn't be noticed too much.
"Tai's on his way here with Agumon," she muttered to the two. "He's at Aqua City, so when we get out you need to make your way there, alright?"
"Why's he coming here?" Mimi asked. "We can meet him there once we get out, no need for him to come all the way out here."
Jade just looked at her silently, one eyebrow slightly raised in question. Mimi stared back before blinking in understanding and sighing.
"Yeah, that was a pretty stupid question."
"It's Tai," Sora agreed with her. "Sitting on the sidelines is not something he's good at."
"It's why he's the captain of his soccer team," Jade stated with a wise nod. "I'm going to talk to Joe and TK, to see if they can make it into Odaiba with this fog, and if they've seen the other two digidestined."
"You mentioned them earlier, are they here?" Sora asked.
"I'm about to find out," Jade smiled. The two girls promised not to disturb her so Jade closed her eyes and allowed the others to think that she was tired. To make it look more realistic she pulled her legs up to her chest and rested her head on top of her knees. Her mind reached out towards Joe, as he appeared to be the most active at that moment.
Tai was thrilled when he and Kari had found Matt. Seeing his mum being dragged away by Bakemon, having Greymon attacked by Phantomon and being forced to abandon his mum so they could get to safety was hard. Greymon hadn't been able to stay in Champion form for long, and as soon as they were free of the crowds he de-digivolved to Agumon. With Kari's help, Tai had managed to get Agumon on his back and started to run with Kari's hand held in his right hand.
"Do you think mama's alright?" Kari asked softly.
"She's fine," Tai promised. "And so are dad, Gatomon, and Wizardmon."
"Where are we going?" Kari continued to ask.
"Matt's around here somewhere," Tai muttered. "I'm looking for him and Gabumon."
"How do you know?"
"It's something that I figured out to do a short while ago. Izzy called it telepathy, but I only picked up on it when I was searching for Jade. I can find the other digidestined fairly easily, but I can't find others unless I know them."
Kari nodded and remained silent. They were walking past Aqua City when Tai heard his name being called. He froze and spun around, pushing Kari behind him so that she would be safe, but relaxed when he realized that Matt was waving at him. He sighed in relief and pulled Kari inside the building so that they would be away from prying eyes.
"You look horrible," Matt told him as he knelt to let Agumon off his back. "What happened?"
"The Bakemon are rounding up everyone and taking them somewhere," Tai replied. "He's looking for Kari."
"Why is he looking for your sister?" Gabumon asked as he joined Agumon, looking briefly at the injury on his friend's arm.
"She's the digidestined we've been looking for," Tai explained. "Agumon, how's your arm now?"
"Almost healed," Agumon reassured him as Matt and Gabumon gaped at Kari. The girl ducked her head shyly and busied herself with Agumon's arm. Tai stood up straight, wobbled slightly, and walked off with Matt so that they could talk without Kari or the digimon listening in. Matt followed willingly enough, and once they were up against the stairs they started to talk. He sat down easily enough, though Tai remained standing with his arms wrapped around his body.
"Did you sleep at all last night? Or the night before?" Matt asked to start.
"Not really," Tai replied. "A few hours, maybe. But the first night I was worried about Jade, and then last night I had too much information running through my brain. Kari's the eighth child, Gatomon is her digimon, my mum was a digidestined, Wizardmon is Jade's ally…and now my mum's been captured by the Bakemon, and we're on the run, and I have no idea what to do."
"Breathing to start with would be good," Matt instructed. "Now, explain it all slower."
Tai sighed before doing as he was asked. He explained everything that had happened from the moment he put down the phone the night before up until he ran across Matt and Gabumon. The other boy listened in shocked amazement, and with growing concern. Tai was stretching himself thin, again, and at the back of Matt's mind he blamed himself for that. He was the one who had first nominated Tai as their leader, and while Tai had led them since the beginning, having the title was like dropping a heavy cape of responsibility on his shoulders. He was going to wear himself out at the rate he was going.
"Well, damn," Matt muttered. "Have you done that telepathy thing to find the others yet?"
"I used it to find you," Tai replied as he leaned against the stair railing. "That's why we headed in this direction. The others were too far away, and I think Joe is on the other side of the river. Sora, Mimi and Jade are together, so are my parents. Izzy is alone, he might be with his parents but I don't know."
"Talk to the others," Matt suggested. "Talk to Jade and find out what's happening. She knows something about Myotismon that she didn't share with us, and if you talk with her you can find out what the plan is."
Tai nodded and sat on the floor cross-legged. For some reason it was really easy to talk with Jade, but if he wanted to talk with the others is was a lot harder. Finding them was one thing, talking was another.
Jade? Can you talk at the moment?
Yeah, are you somewhere safe?
I'm with Kari, Matt and our digimon. Agumon was hurt escaping from the Bakemon and when we're a little more recovered we'll come after you.
We're all fine here, Jade continued. Sora and Mimi are helping to arrange a break out, and your mum and dad are going to be leading the charge. Your dad is awesome by the way, he's going to lead the attack against the Bakemon while everyone else gets away. Mimi's brother is so cute, her parents are a little extreme, but I can see where Mimi gets her passion from. Michael and Akili should have arrived last night at some time, and hopefully they'll be able to get through the fog.
Maybe they'll bump into Joe, Tai mused. Or TK. If they manage to get together then the four of them could get across and help us out.
Is Kari safe?
Yeah…
At the moment the most important thing is that Kari is kept safe and out of Myotismon's grasp. If you do come after us here, you had better make sure that she is safe.
I'll leave her with Matt, he'll keep her safe. We're at Aqua City, when you break out make your way here.
I'll pass on the message, Jade promised. Now focus on yourself, and I'll see you soon.
Tai opened his eyes and stared across the room to where Kari and the two digimon were looking towards him in worry. Matt was still next to him, but he didn't look concerned. If Tai hadn't known better he would have said that the blonde boy was sleeping.
"The others are fine," he muttered to Matt. The boy opened his eyes. "Sora, Mimi and Jade are attempting a break out and will make their way here. I'm going to go and meet them, you mind waiting here with Kari?"
"You're going alone?"
"I'll have Agumon with me, but the most important thing is that Kari stays out of Myotismon's hands," Tai promised. "I'm entrusting her to you while I do this."
"I won't let you down," Matt promised.
"I know," Tai grinned. "I already trust you with my life, and now I trust you with hers, just as you've trusted me with TK's."
Tai held out his hand and the two of them gripped each other's forearms. The digimon and Kari blinked at the interaction between the two boys and then looked up curiously as they made their way over to them.
"You feel up to some travelling Agumon?" Tai asked.
"I'm ready!" Agumon announced happily as he stood up.
"Excellent," Tai told him before turning back to Matt. "It's seven-thirty, if I'm not back in two hours move to another place. Find the others and we'll meet back when we can."
"You're leaving?" Kari asked. Tai looked down at her and placed his hands on her shoulders.
"I'm going to go after mum and dad," he explained gently. "I want you to wait here with Matt and Gabumon. They'll protect you while I'm gone."
"Are you going to get hurt?"
"I'm going to try not to."
"I don't like it when you come home hurt."
"Neither do I," Tai admitted with a smile. "Can you be brave for me? Stay safe while I'm gone?"
"Bring mum and dad back," Kari requested.
"I'll be back soon, I promise," Tai whispered, kissing her forehead. "Come on Agumon."
The two of them ran off, and Matt watched them go. He nodded to Gabumon to show that he would talk with him later, but for the time being he settled himself next to Kari to distract her. He told her about how he and Gabumon had ended up in Aqua City, and how they had managed to avoid the Bakemon, before moving on to tell her about some of their adventures. Yet, as he spoke he couldn't help but worry that something bad was going to happen.
Joe yawned loudly as he woke up and realized that the sun had risen and all he could see of Odaiba was all wall of fog. Gomamon perked up as he realized that his partner was awake, his head poking out of the bag excitedly. Joe rubbed his eyes as he stood up, stretching out all the kinks that sleeping upright had caused.
"Alright!" he stated loudly through another yawn. "To Odaiba we go!"
"How are we going to get there?" Gomamon asked.
"I don't know!" Joe exclaimed in the same tone. Gomamon sighed, not really surprised with the answer. Joe walked back into the taxi terminal, a small hope in the back of his mind that the taxis would be working again, but there was no such hope even if there were a great deal more people lining up. Getting in was seemingly the easiest thing to do, getting out on the other hand, that was a bit more difficult.
"Air!" Joe cried as he made it out of the crowd. "I don't know why I thought that time would be different!"
"Yeah," Gomamon agreed. "But at least we now know that TK and Patamon are here."
"We do?"
"Yep, I could sense Patamon when the crowd started to push," Gomamon explained. "He'll lead TK out here as soon as he can."
"I see," Joe muttered. "Well then, if they're making their way towards us I'm going to go and sit near the water in preparation."
Gomamon said nothing, but off to the side he could see the two men from the night before staring at them curiously. It made him worried, but his thoughts then turned to the Japanese magicians that Jade had spoken about. It was possible that the two were a part of that group, but somehow he didn't expect that to be the case.
Joe? Are you free to talk?
Joe flinched as he heard Jade's voice, spinning around wildly to look for her. Gomamon looked up at him in concern, but as Joe's brain caught up with his racing heart he realized that he was hearing Jade in his head.
You scared me, he thought towards Jade. She just giggled into his mind before continuing.
Where are you?
Hinode Water Taxi Terminal, Joe sighed. Nothing can get in passed the fog. TK's here as well, and I'm waiting for him to join me before we attempt swimming on Ikkakumon.
Sounds like a good plan, Jade agreed. Have you spotted the original digidestined? Michael's an American, and Akili is African. They would have spoken English as I'm not sure if they know Japanese and English was the only common language that the original group had in common.
You mean those guys who keep staring at me are digidestined?! Joe spluttered in his mind. He spun so that he was staring directly at the two men, suddenly understanding why they had watched him. They had either recognized him from what Jade had told him, had chosen him four years ago to be a digidestined, or they had heard Gomamon talking.
So they made it to Japan alright then? Jade asked in excitement. I haven't seen them in a while and I don't know what they feel like so I can't talk to them, but you could get Gomamon talk to them for me and help them across. Will Ikkakumon be able to carry them as well?
Yeah…Joe admitted. Hang on, I'm going to talk to them before we creep each other out further.
Jade said nothing to that, so Joe assumed that she agreed with his plan. Gomamon asked him what he was doing as he walked over to the men who hadn't moved just yet. They stared at each other silently once Joe was closer, and then Joe held out his digivice as if it were an id card that would explain everything. The two men sighed in relief and pulled out two digivices that were like Joe's but clearly an older model.
"I thought you were a digidestined," Michael stated as he slipped his digivice back into his pocket. "But I couldn't be sure."
"That's alright," Joe told him in tentative English. "I had no idea who you were until Jade said to look out for you."
"You know Jade?" Akili asked instantly. "Oh, I'm Akili, that's Michael."
"Joe," the boy stated before opening his bag to show the digimon inside. "And this is Gomamon. There is another digidestined inside the terminal still, and I am waiting for him before going across the river."
"Could we join you?" Michael asked.
"Sure, Ikkakumon could carry us all."
"I don't get a choice in the matter?" Gomamon asked, though Joe could tell he was joking.
"Of course you do," Joe told him with a smile, now speaking Japanese. "They can either sit on your back with me and TK or be dragged along in the water behind us."
"That's cold," Gomamon informed him before grinning. "But I like it. How'd you know that they were digidestined?"
"Oh! That's right," Joe uttered. He swapped back to English. "Jade is inside the fog with the others, but she is looking forward to seeing you."
"So you do know her," Akili stated. "How did you meet?"
"Summer camp. We were all sucked into the Digital World together, but she only regained her memory after we met up with Piximon."
"So that 'mon is still alive?" Michael stated fondly. "Well, if Gennai is still alive then I guess Piximon would have to be as well."
"Joe!"
Joe turned slightly and smiled as he spotted TK with Patamon in his arms running towards them. The boy slowed slightly as he spotted the older men, but didn't stop until he was at Joe's side.
"Ah, the Child of Hope," Michael realized, smiling at Patamon. "You, Light and Courage were my choices."
"You chose TK to be a digidestined?" Patamon asked curiously.
"This is Michael and Akili," Joe explained to TK. "They're the original digidestined Jade told us about, Gennai's team."
"Cool!" TK stated with stars in his eyes. Then his expression fell slightly. "But how do we get in?"
"I've got a plan for that, but first I need to finish talking with Jade. I kind of left her in the middle of our conversation."
TK's eyes widened further, and the two digimon looked towards him as well. Joe didn't really know how to get in contact with Jade, having never done it before, but he closed his eyes and tried to find the bright presence he had felt when she was talking earlier.
I'm here Joe, she said with laughter. Not for long, as we're about to try and break out, but I can talk for a few minutes.
Well, I have TK, Michael and Akili with me, Joe explained. And we're about to attempt to cross the river. Where are you? How are the others?
At Big Sight with Sora and Mimi. Tai is on his way here with Agumon, but Matt is waiting at a rendezvous point with Tai's sister. Izzy is moving somewhere with Tentomon, but I don't really know what he's doing yet. My classmates are all huddled up and freaking out about the ghosts that attacked them, so I know that I'll get the blame for that somehow.
Why did Myotismon block off Odaiba?
Because he knows that the eighth child is here, and he's using Gatomon to find her. It's about to get messy really quick so come across as fast as you can, alright?
Will do. And Jade…be careful.
You too.
"Alright," Joe stated as he opened his eyes. "Myotismon knows that the eighth child is in Odaiba and is using Gatomon to find her; Jade, Mimi and Sora were captured by Bakemon, if I understood the ghost comment right; Tai's running towards them to be the hero; Matt is waiting at the rendezvous point; and Izzy is doing something with Tentomon."
He had spoken in Japanese for TK, but apparently Michael understood a little of what he was saying as he translated for Akili. The two men nodded to him once he finished, and Joe turned to Gomamon so that he could digivolve. The little digimon jumped into the water mid-digivolution and soon they could hear the cries of "monster!" from inside the terminal. Joe jumped up first before holding out a hand for TK to sit behind him. Michael and Akili jumped on to Ikkakumon's lower back and made themselves as comfortable as possible.
"Takeru! What are you doing?! Get down from that thing!"
"Oops," TK muttered before looking down to the woman running along the pier next to them. "Don't worry about me mum! I'll be fine!"
"Don't worry Ms Takashi!" Joe called down as well. "I'll make sure that nothing happens to TK! He'll be safe with me!"
"Takeru!"
"I'll bring back dad and Matt!" TK continued to yell. "Everything will be alright!"
"That's not what I'm worried about!" Natsuko cried.
"I'll see you later mum!" TK finally called as the pier ended and his mother couldn't follow them anymore. Joe said nothing about the boy's farewell, instead he turned to the other two passengers. They had a lot to talk about before they made it to Odaiba.
Jade opened her eyes after talking to Joe, passing on to the two girls that Joe, TK , Michael and Akili were on their way across the river. It caused get relief in the two girls, but Yuuko, who had overheard her statement, had frowned. Her fingers rested lightly on her pocket, but it was more to find out that the device in her pocket was still there.
The plan to escape Big Sight was rather simple: the men would cause a diversion and attack the Bakemon with whatever they could find, while the women and children would run out and try to get to safety. Sora had argued that they needed to chant "Bakemon lose your power" to zap the ghost digimon of their strength, as it was something that Joe had successfully managed back when Devimon was still their enemy. It energized everyone around them, but the digidestined and Jade were a bit more apprehensive about the plan. No one knew Myotismon better than Jade, and she knew that there was no chance he would allow anyone in the center to escape.
She did her best though, standing with Yuuko as they started to attack. Susumu kissed his wife before he went off to cause havoc and rested his hand briefly on Jade's shoulder, but he was soon gone with determination to give the others a chance to escape. Sora led the group of women and children, chanting the same thing over and over to divert the digimon who had chosen to come after them. Mimi stuck close to her parents, her worry over them and her brother easy to see. The children from England followed Jade at Dudley's urging, as the boy understood that Jade knew what she was doing and if it got them to safety he was willing to follow her lead. It helped that she had given him a hurried explanation of the plan before it went into action.
But now, with most of the women and children outside, and the men still stuck inside fighting, Jade felt the most worry. Getting out had been way too easy. Somewhere along the way their group had become separated, and Sora had gone off in another direction to see if there were any more people who could be encouraged to escape. There were several magicians in the group, and some of the Bakemon had mysteriously burst into flames. The general consensus was that there were other monsters attacking, but only Jade, Yuuko, and the perpetrators knew the truth.
"We made it!" Mimi said excitedly. Jade sensed another presence approaching them, this one afflicted by a dark virus, and turned to shout out a warning. Palmon digivolved to fight against the DarkTyranomon, and Jade hesitated on what she should do. She was next to Yuuko, who was being slightly overprotective of her, and her classmates. Every single one of them looked to her as if she had the answer to their problem, and her eyes locked with Dudley's.
"Don't go," Dudley told her, seeing the determination in her eyes that he hadn't really seen before. "It's too dangerous."
"I'm sorry Dudley," she told him softly. Yuuko's hand tightened around her own. "But this is where I have to leave you."
"Why do you have to do it?!" Dudley demanded of her. Mimi screamed out in horror as Togemon fell from an attack by DarkTyranomon. She felt the other girl's crest come to life and looked up to see the giant cactus digimon digivolve into a fairy digimon, Lilymon. Jade looked back at Dudley and smiled, her first true smile in his direction. He staggered backwards in shock, even as the Bakemon reappeared to herd them back into the building.
"Because it's who I am," she said.
And then she was gone. She had shrugged away Yuuko's restraining hand and ducked through the rush of people so that she could become free to transform. She could feel Myotismon's malicious presence coming closer, and even as Lilymon used a flower wreath to counteract the virus in the digimon she knew that she wouldn't get there fast enough to make much of a difference. She heard her name being called by several people behind her, and then from Mimi as well as she saw her trying to get closer to the fight.
DarkTyranomon was deleted effortlessly by Myotismon as soon as he recognized that his minion was useless to him, and then he turned to Lilymon with the intention of doing the same to her. Flames burst into existence around Jade as she transformed into Phoenixmon and thrust herself into the sky, but even as she flew she knew that she was too far away. Lilymon cried out as she tried to dodge Myotismon's attacks, and in another part of the building Biyomon digivolved into Birdramon. It made Jade happy that Sora had been reunited with her partner, but she didn't let her joy affect her movements.
"Dead Scream!" Myotismon suddenly screamed, and a black mist sprung from him to wrap around Lilymon. The scream that the fairy digimon released was chilling, but not as much as watching how her color was sucked out of her, and her sudden cessation of movement which caused her to fall towards the ground. Phoenixmon changed her flight path and caught the digimon in her arms. Her green eyes glared up at the vampire digimon who merely laughed at her look.
Birdramon, Phoenixmon thought towards the firebird. I need you to grab Lilymon and the girls and get out of here.
And you? Birdramon thought back at her in concern.
I need to keep Myotismon distracted, he cannot be allowed to win this fight.
Very well, I'll grab Sora and then I'll be by your side.
Phoenixmon flew further away from Myotismon, her arms tight as she held on to Lilymon. Myotismon just laughed harder, the screams from the people below providing a backing track to his evilness.
"No matter what they do," Myotismon told her. "They will never be able to defeat me. Your powers are weak, My Lady, your other half is nowhere near you, and the digidestined are scattered throughout the city. You have no chance!"
"You forget, My Lord," Phoenixmon told him in response, her mind tracking Birdramon's location. "That the digidestined were created for this purpose. No matter how powerful you think you are, you are hampered by that body. You will be defeated, and I will see peace returned to this world, the Digital World and the Shadow World. You will never get your hands on Lucemon, you will never do what you want to achive, because every time you try I will be there to send you back to the Hell you came from."
"Insolent brat!" Myotismon snapped at her, all laughter gone from his voice. "You think that just because you are Lucemon's successor that you can order me around?! I am GOD!"
The time had come, and even though Birdramon was a short distance off Jade still threw Lilymon in her direction just in time to defend herself from Myotismon's attack. When they collided a shock wave spread out away from them, the force of the wave sending the remaining humans to the ground to stay in one place. Mimi was herded back inside and was unable to join Sora on Birdramon's leg. Birdramon had her partner on one of her legs, and in the other was Lilymon's limp form.
Despite wanting to stay, Birdramon obeyed Jade's order and escaped from the area to meet up with the other digidestined. As she was she had no chance against Myotismon. Phoenixmon was relieved when Birdramon left, but slightly disappointed that Mimi was still being held at Big Sight, having been unable to escape. Yuuko was still fighting with a few of the other magicians, fire colliding with the Bakemon far more often than before, but the woman's attention was focused on the sky as Phoenixmon and Myotismon fought furiously.
Phoenixmon had to admit it, even to herself, that she was unable to best Myotismon as she was. There was too much darkness in the Digital World, and too little of the Shadow World, to give her the power she needed to succeed. Myotismon was that bit better than her, and without using the power of the digidestined, she wouldn't be able to win. Myotismon knew it as well, but that didn't mean that he took her lightly. He was doing his best to kill her.
And then he spotted an opening in her defense.
She had left herself open after deflecting his last attack, her reaction time that smidgen too slow to avoid the next attack, and her eyes widened as a blade of red mist formed instantly. All she could do was watch as the blade snuck in passed her golden staff and plunged through her chest. The two of them were frozen. Phoenixmon wrapped her hands around Myotismon's, and stared down into her eyes. They were a chilling blue, but behind the hate and the anger was horror. To her, that meant that there was still a tiny part of the digimon before her that was free from the corruption inside his body. There was still a chance that the digimon could be saved.
But that time was not now.
Phoenixmon felt her transformation fade until she was just a little girl hanging in the air with a red blade sticking out of her back. Her world started to turn black, and all that she could hear in her mind was Myotismon's laughter. She went limp, and her last feeling was falling through the air. She wasn't conscious when the fall ended.
Across Odaiba, sixteen souls cried out in horror.
Joe gasped halfway through his explanation of what the digidestined were up against, his hands grasping his chest as if to stop his heart from breaking apart. Ikkakumon cried out and nearly threw off his passengers, but managed to control himself in time to prevent that from happening. TK grabbed his head in pain, eyes closing as waves of pain hit him, and Patamon curled up into a small ball on Ikkakumon's head. Michael and Akili didn't react, but they seemed to realize that something bad had happened.
"Jade," TK whimpered pitifully. "Something bad happened to Jade."
"Ikkakumon," Joe managed to gasp out. "Please, go faster. Something just went really wrong."
"I'm stepping on it Joe," Ikkakumon promised as he picked up speed. "I felt it too."
Izzy staggered to his knees just before he entered the Fuji TV Station, arms barely catching him before he face planted on the ground. He was panting as if he had just run a marathon, but he knew deep in his heart that something really bad had just happened to Jade. He didn't know how he knew, but he did. Tentomon wasn't much better, his wings freezing for a short moment as he landed back on the ground. The two of them looked at each other, determination on both their faces. They didn't need to talk as they came to the same decision: continue with the mission so that they could defeat Myotismon.
Sora nearly fell from Birdramon's leg as pain erupted over her body. She knew that she wasn't hurt, and there were no digimon nearby who could have attacked her, so that meant that it was purely psychological. She also knew instantly that the cause of pain had been Jade, and that she wasn't aware of the pain she was sending their way. She looked back as soon as she opened her eyes, hoping to see some sign of what had happened. But they were already too far from Big Sight to see it.
"Sora, did you feel that?" Birdramon asked in a pain-filled voice.
"Something happened to Jade," Sora confirmed. "But I can't see what it was. We need to go back."
"I can't do that," Birdramon groaned out. "She ordered me to get you and Lilymon to safety, back to the others so that we can fight as one instead of separately."
"Then we need to go faster," Sora decided. "The sooner we're together the sooner we'll be able to fight back and find out what happened."
"I agree," Birdramon stated before picking up the speed. There was no way that Myotismon would be able to get away with hurting their Sovereign, not while they still lived at any rate.
Matt's breath caught in his throat as the pain washed over him, but despite how sudden the feeling was he couldn't focus on it as Kari had started to scream in pure agony. Vague memories of what he had done with TK when they were younger appeared in his mind and he pulled Kari into a hug. Her small hands gripped his shirt as she started to cry, and Gabumon hugged her from behind. One look at his eyes and Matt knew that he was feeling the same thing that they were, and he knew deep in his heart that something had happened to Jade.
"Tai's going to go nuts," Matt muttered.
"I hope Myotismon's ready," Gabumon agreed. "Cause as soon as Tai gets there he's going to be in a world of hurt."
"He stabbed her!" Kari sobbed. "The vampire looking digimon stabbed her right through her chest! And she fell! She fell!"
More sobs burst from Kari's throat and Matt remembered what Tai had said the day before. Even without knowing Jade, Kari had seen her attacked in her dream and knew what had happened before anyone else had, and now she had seen Myotismon attack her. Matt hoped that Jade was alright, he hoped that she was still alive, otherwise the incident with SkullGreymon would likely be repeated and there would be nothing left of Odaiba. Tai would do everything he could to help his partner destroy everything in revenge due to the grief he would feel at losing her.
Gatomon didn't know what had happened, only that she was in pain. She was alone for the first time since being captured the night before, with Demidevimon looking out over the children that had been collected so far and Myotismon disappearing to deal with a problem. Her chest felt like it was being crushed, but she knew that Kari was alright. No, her pain came from somewhere else, and it meant that the situation had just gone from bad to worse.
Mimi saw it happen. She had been almost inside when she had looked up one last time and watched as the red blade went right through Phoenixmon, and then Phoenixmon reverting to her human form. The image of a child being run through with a sword would probably stay with her for the rest of her life, the pain that accompanied the strike would probably haunt her in her nightmares, and the vision of Jade falling down to the ground far below would never leave her. It was almost a relief to be pushed inside so that she wouldn't have to see Jade crash to the ground, but her tears and screams were still powerful enough to attract the attention of others around her. Her eyes fastened on Jade's cousin, and all she could think of was how much he had hurt her. It was time she gave him a piece of her mind.
Tai knew the moment that the pain had struck that there was something wrong with Jade. He didn't scream in agony, he didn't collapse to the ground, and he didn't stop running. What he did do, however, was clutch his chest in pain, the same place where Jade had just been stabbed, and narrow his eyes in hate and anger. Agumon knew what had happened as well, being in tune with Tai's emotions as he was, and used his power to tackle him to the ground.
"Get off me Agumon! There's a digimon that's going to die today!"
"Tai! Stop it! You're hurting me!" Agumon told him as he wrapped his arms around his partner's waist. Tai stopped struggling and fought to take in a calming breath. Tears appeared in his eyes but he didn't allow them to fall.
"He hurt her," he muttered to the digimon.
"I know."
"She's just a kid."
"I know."
"He needs to die."
"I know."
"Then why are you stopping me?!"
"Because if you fight as you are now, I'll digivolve into SkullGreymon and I'll probably die as well. Then you'll be completely alone and you'll probably find a way to kill yourself. Jade is not dead, I know you can sense that. You're more in tune with her than any of the others, including us digimon. So think about what you're doing and then we'll go after Myotismon and defeat him together."
Tai took in a deep breath before sitting up. He thanked Agumon with a short hug before standing and looking in the direction of Big Sight. Clearly the escape plan had failed, and now there was a casualty. He would be damned if he allowed anyone else to get hurt because of Myotismon, and he hoped that Sora, Mimi and his parents were still alright as well.
Yuuko broke free from the wizards surrounding her and attacking the Bakemon, calling over her shoulder for them to protect the others back in the building. The obeyed her, and she would probably feel shocked about it later, but at that moment her entire focus was on the small child falling at high-speed towards the ground. Back before she had given up magic, she had been among the most talented at school. Her friends had jokingly called her an escape artist due to her talent with getting away where others couldn't.
Her talent had appeared when she was in the Digital World, and at twelve she hadn't been brave in the slightest. She had managed to perfect teleporting, or apparating as she later figured out it was called, with her four friends holding on to her. Lily had always looked up to her, Akili had seen her as an older sister to mess around with, Michael had looked to her as a younger sister and Lily as his daughter or niece, but Gennai had trusted her as a capable young women and often talked with her about the plans that he was coming up with. He was the one who encouraged her to perfect teleporting.
And now she was using that skill again, and it was like she hadn't given up on magic at all. Her body moved through the air to appear a few feet below Jade, with enough time wrap her arms around her, and then she teleported away from Big Sight. There was no way that she would allow Lily's daughter to share the same fate as her mother.
Deep in the Shadow World, hard at work in repairing everything, Horcruxmon froze. He could feel Jade's life-force waning, like it had many years before, but there was something different about this occasion. It was like there was something preventing her life force from completely disappearing, a bond of some description.
The dark digimon pondered it as he considered going to the Human World to kill the one who had hurt his partner, before he realized what it was. He and Jade had always had a connection, but it wasn't a natural connection. He wasn't supposed to exist, his entire existence was a mistake of epic proportions. If the ritual had worked properly, Jade would have been free from evil and he would have disappeared into oblivion. But Jade hadn't wanted him to die, so he was forever bound to her.
The bond that was keeping Jade from death now, however, was a bond between her and another human. A true soul bound, one that would have formed naturally over time, anchored Jade to the realm of the living, and he had a suspicion as to the human keeping her alive.
He chuckled, his laughter carrying over the newly restored islands in the Shadow World.
"I see!" he cried. "Your path has been chosen! Live, Master! I approve!"
And the end of another chapter! I wasn't really sure about this last part, which is why it took so long to upload, but I decided to put it up anyway and see what you guys think of it. Everything is picking up now (yay!) and I suspect that in the next few chapters we will be able to finish the Myotismon arc and move onto the Dark Masters. No promises on when that chapter comes out, but I am working on it. Thanks go out to Okami Princess for betaing this chapter, and to everyone who reviewed! You guys are awesome!
Till next time!
Next up in Intertwined Destinies:
Chapter 25: The Power of Loyalty