In-Between-Time
Chapter six: Out of the Frying Pan…
a/n: Hm…okay. So, if anyone's still there, here's a new chapter. I am very very sorry for the wait and the length. Bit of a silent nod to EllaJ.W in here. She'll get it, at least. Hi Ella! Other than that, I hope it's worth the wait.
At first they walked just to be walking, to put some distance between themselves and the hovering spire of Infinity Mountain, and then Kari quietly declared that she thought they should head for the shore, and that was that. They pointed themselves in the direction of white sand, rolling waves, and the remnants of some telephone booths and spent the better part of the morning (and on into the afternoon) putting one foot steadily in front of the other.
Matt and Tai fell naturally into the lead and into some secret conversation , occasionally laughing or throwing out an elbow good naturedly, but mostly just talking quietly and earnestly, reacquainting themselves with the grudging friendship that got them through it all the first time.
Gomamon and TK walked a good distance behind them, giving them some privacy, TK's long-legged step and Gomamon's rolling gait somehow matching comfortably. TK answered Gomamon's string of questions about his missing partner, filling in the gaps, and every now and then TK would scoop him up and carry him, more for his own benefit than anything else, but Gomamon didn't mind.
Sora gazed at Matt and Tai from over TK's shoulder, barely watching where she walked, a sweet smile on her face, and it eventually annoyed Mimi so much that she spent the next hour trying to get Sora to say something other than, "mm-hmm," smiling wickedly, dancing along on tiptoes, rambling about what a vision Sora would be if she wore something other than peach lip-gloss every once in a while.
Izzy and Kari brought up the silent rear, occasionally bumping elbows, Izzy feeling more at peace than he had in, well, ever, and it had everything to do with the Kamiya siblings. Having Tai up ahead where he belonged and Kari's warm presence beside him kept things balanced. That was the way it was with Kari. She was always just what was needed, and that was part of her particular magic. It must have been a family trait, but if anyone suggested that to Tai he would just laugh.
By the time they broke out of the woods and into the sun it was past the hottest part of the day, but still wonderfully tropical, and they all dropped onto the sand like scattered pebbles. Matt started whipping up something for them to eat, and Mimi peeled off her shirt, stretched out in the sun, and immediately fell asleep. Izzy positioned himself with his back to her and sat blushing faintly, much to everyone's quiet amusement.
It wasn't until some time later, as the sun dipped lower and hung over the ocean, that Tai started talking them through the last three years. Matt handed out six plates of food and kept an extra warm for Mimi, who was snoring prettily in the sand, pink lips parted.
Tai started at the beginning, but left out that split second of in-between-time. He didn't like to talk about it, but they all knew he remembered because it hung in the air whenever he paused to collect himself. He talked about a long flight over tree-tops and then an ocean, arriving on Server, and being hungry and cold and scared, but that much they had all imagined. He talked about long months of imprisonment in one of the dark, infected patches of the Digital World, and Izzy leaned forward in fascination, completely incapable of hiding the gleam in his eyes.
"So it's everywhere?" he asked, and then caught himself and managed to look suitably guilty.
"Everywhere I've been," Tai said. "The dark right next to the light. It's like a disease."
He settled back against their pile of gear, arms behind his head, and told them about dungeons he'd broken out of, running, hiding, getting caught again. Mimi woke up and moved to sit beside Izzy. The sun went down. The stars came out.
"How'd you get away?" Mimi asked breathlessly, hair mauve in the moonlight.
"I had some help from an old friend," Tai said, looking steadily at Sora, and she knew what he meant right away.
"Biyomon!" she gasped. "She's all right?"
It was all a rush of questions after that, and Tai patiently answered them all. He told them about looking up to find Biyomon on the other side of the bars one day—the first friendly face he'd seen in a very long time—and the whirlwind of action that followed. Weeks of careful planning, and then freedom, and hope—things he'd been missing. He talked about traveling with Biyomon for some time, and then finally parting ways when she went off on her own to search for Gabumon. By then Tai was following rumors across Server, looking for the others, trying to make sure they were all safe. Knowing there was someone worlds away doing the same thing for him made it easier to keep pushing on.
He came for Gomamon first, and found a lot more than he'd been looking for. Now everything was different.
From File Island, Palmon was closest. She was being held on Crescent Island, about halfway between their current location and the mainland. They'd all been there, years ago.
"With Whamon," Mimi said, and leaned back thoughtfully on the heels of her hands. She pictured Palmon in the sun, roots to the rich soil, not in a cage, and not in the dark.
Gabumon was back on Server, and free and clear, as far as Tai knew. He and Biyomon were staying close together and close to the ground, or at least that was what Gatomon said. Kari's surprisingly powerful partner had never been caught, especially by Tai. They met up occasionally to wait out a storm or travel together for a day or two, but Tai always woke up to find her gone.
"And Patamon," TK urged.
"In and out of cages," Tai said. "Like me."
"Last you heard?"
"In," Tai said. TK blew out a long breath, nodded.
Tai looked at Izzy, who pretended to be wrapped up in some project on his laptop, but after a few long silent moments he sighed and looked back. "Just tell me, Tai."
"I don't know where Tentomon is. No one does."
Izzy looked back at the screen.
"But we'll find him, okay?" Tai said.
Izzy didn't say anything, but he also didn't move away when Mimi scooted in closer, touching her knee to his, watching him work. Tai let it go, and turned to help Matt clean up.
It was late, much later than they'd intended to stay up, but that's how it goes with friends who lose time. They talk until everything is a murmur, nodding off against pillows and shoulders, and it doesn't matter that they always have tomorrow. It was during this quiet time, as they were all settling in for the night, curling up in the sand under blankets, in twos or threes or alone, eyelids drooping, when Kari sat up very suddenly and said, "Tai, what about Agumon? You didn't mention…"
Tai took the extra blanket Sora was holding out to him, shook it open, and shrugged. "Agumon's gone."
"He…" Matt faltered. "What?"
"He's dead. He died." Tai said, and then looked up to find six very distressed faces staring at him in the firelight. "Guys, it's fine, okay? It's not forever. I'll get him back. Just go to sleep."
And eventually they did, and the fire burned low, but Matt and Tai moved to sit inches from the high-tide line and Matt watched the waves reach for their toes while Tai let his face drop into his hands and talked about the hard parts, and his shoulders shook, but the moon was beautiful that night.
It happened fast, and they were on their feet, moving into a protective knot, though they didn't remember what had startled them out of their dreams. Mimi tripped backing into them and sat down rather suddenly, and then stayed there, partly because she couldn't think of anything better to do, but mostly because she was scared. There was something black pouring out of the forest like water…no…like an avalanche, rolling, bottle-necking between trees and then bursting onto the sand like pus and spreading, gaining speed.
"What the hell!" Matt yelled, grabbing for his things, scrambling, backpedaling.
"Tai?" Mimi called, her voice hitting a high, frantic note.
"No clue!"
Sora already had Mimi by the arm and was dragging her to her feet, running. They lost half of their supplies, but they hardly noticed what was left behind or where they were going.
"What is it?" TK was yelling.
"Not it!" Kari called back, breathless. "They!"
And she was right, of course. Hundreds of Digimon, small black spheres, were hurtling at them now, covering the sand like dark shifting dunes in the wind.
"What do they want?" This from Tai, who turned to run backwards a few paces and then turned again lightly on the balls of his feet, flying into an effortless sprint.
"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say 'to kill us,'" Matt threw over his shoulder, and would have kept running forever to get away, but the waves were licking at his feet now, and there was nowhere else to go. "What now?"
"We fight," Tai said, eyes narrowed, and turned, using the momentum to swing his bag into the first line of Digimon and scattering them like so many bowling pins, and the others surged forward behind him with a collective yell, kicking and throwing and using whatever they had in their hands to beat them back.
Matt glanced up to see Tai wielding a frying pan like a club with Sora at his back swinging TK's walking stick in wide arches, both of them warriors in some deep part of themselves, and couldn't bear to look away. He heard Kari scream and spun to see TK go down hard, and then he forgot everything else as he fought his way to his brother, who didn't think he needed to be protected anymore, but that really didn't matter. He was vaguely aware of Gomamon cutting a path with his claws, of Mimi's beautiful snarl and white face, of the determined set of Izzy's mouth. He tripped and caught himself, but then they were all over him and his knees hit the sand. His teeth knocked together painfully and he tasted blood. And he couldn't get to TK, he couldn't, he needed to get up, he needed to…
And that was when one high note drowned out all other sound and Gomamon started to glow.
a/n: Let's all review like it's 1999.