This chapter is helping us transition into the next big arc, which will also be the final arc. It's crazy to think I've been working on this since, I think, 2016. The idea of this story finally coming to a conclusion is exciting AND sad at the same time. But it will open up a lot more time for me to work on one of my other stories on here. My goal is to have this fic finished by the end of this year. No promises, but that's the goal! (Which will require more frequent updates again, wish me luck!)
Tai's voice was quiet but firm. "You're not listening. We need to tell him. Now."
"He's right, Matt." Sora looked at him pleadingly. "T.K. needs to know…"
Matt had his back pressed to the bedroom door, clearly uncomfortable leaving T.K. alone. "I just don't think he can handle it right now."
Joe pursed his lips. "I don't disagree. But Matt, you have to understand why we can't keep it from him. It's not safe for either of them."
"We can't wait, Matt." Tai glanced at Kari before looking back at his friend. "Besides, the longer we wait, the more upset he's going to be."
Sora agreed. "We don't know how T.K. is going to react, but we have to trust him, and do our best to convince him we can get through this together."
"How, exactly?" Matt's voice rose.
Tai groaned with frustration. "He doesn't have a choice anymore."
#
T.K. knew they'd been hiding something from him, that wasn't surprising, but the way they were talking made it feel that much more overwhelming. His chest tightened with worry. Was Patamon in worse shape than they were letting on? Was it something else? Did he hurt Kari when she used the crest to save him? Did Patamon hurt someone when he forced him to warp digivolve?
He inhaled quietly, trying to collect himself, trying to put his focus back on their conversation but he couldn't—not until he heard Kari's voice. His eyes snapped open, looking at the door apprehensively.
#
"Just stop it. All of you." Kari stood from her seat on the couch, making Davis and Sora shift to look up at her from either side. "This isn't going to get us anywhere."
Tai rolled his eyes. "So, we're just going to keep it from him forever?"
"That's not what she's saying, Tai." Matt let out a huff. "He's still recovering and—"
"Maybe you've forgotten, but this fight isn't over yet. What do we do if something else happens that we aren't expecting?" Tai's voice calmed. "This isn't a debate on whether it's a 'good' time or not. I agree that there's never going to be a good time. But that doesn't change the fact that it has to happen. Not tomorrow or next week. Today."
"Tai, if I tell him what I did—"
Tai shouted over Kari, frustrated. "Damn it, Kari! He's not a child!"
"I know that!" she snapped, her voice shaking. "But I don't know how to tell him…." She closed her eyes, feeling her fingernails digging into the palms of her hands to keep herself from breaking down in front of everyone.
"Just tell him the truth, Kari." Tai said softly. "Trust him."
Everyone stared at them as they stood in the middle of the living room in awkward silence.
Davis opened his mouth, but he stopped as Ken gave him a look from the corner of the room, shaking his head subtly. He closed his mouth and pursed his lips, looking down at the floor.
Finally, Matt spoke, his voice low with frustration. "I know you're trying to make this sound like you're just looking out for both of their best interests by telling him, but we all know you're just worried about how all of this will affect Kari. You—"
#
T.K.'s hands shook, his heart thumping loudly in his ears as he pressed his head against the wall beside the door. He had his eyes closed tightly, focusing on controlling his breathing as he listened to his brother's muffled voice just on the other side of the door.
"—only care about what's going to keep her safe."
"That's not at all what I'm saying, and you know it," Tai hissed. "Stop trying to make this a one-sided thing. You don't think I've been worried sick about him this whole time?"
Matt almost laughed, his voice tense. "I'm not saying you're not worried about T.K., but you're clearly more worried about Kari."
"You're acting like I have to choose one over the other. It doesn't work like that, Matt." Tai's voice rose. "I watched him lose all hope right in front of my eyes. I watched him give up, and I was helpless to stop him!"
"Keep it down, you two," Sora chided. "You're going to wake—"
"Then why can't you just give him some time to recover before we tell him? We're safe right now—"
"Maybe we're safe from Wisemon, but we're not safe from T.K. trying to do something stupid again!" Tai slammed his fist against something, maybe the wall or a table, T.K. couldn't tell, but it made him flinch. "He needs to know that if he dies, Kari could die too!"
"Enough!" Ken's voice was sharp and loud, halting the argument instantly.
T.K. froze. He stopped listening, staring wide eyed at the floor in front of himself, his mind spinning. What did Tai just say? If he died, then Kari…
He closed his eyes tightly, his brows quivering as he lifted his hands to either side of his head. "No…" He felt hot and lightheaded.
He had given up… he had given up back when he asked Patamon to kill him if things went too far. He'd given up when he thought Mephistomon was going to take him at the cathedral. He had given up when he was kneeling in front of Wisemon in the forest. He had given up when he slid the broken glass across his wrist for the second time. He had given up when Mephistomon nearly killed all of them right in front of his eyes. He had given up when he forced Patamon to evolve.
He had given up.
But now…
Now that meant being the reason Kari…
And for what…?
Why did she…?
No…
No…
"T.K., I love you. I can't just let you…"
T.K. heard her voice in his head. Memories that were so recent yet seemed so long ago echoed through his mind. He closed his eyes tight, his fingers intertwining with his mussed hair as he lowered his face.
"I'm asking you to stay. Please…"
"I'm in love with you, T.K."
"You're not alone. I'm here. I want to be here for you."
"I'm not letting him fight this alone!"
"If I let you walk away from me right now, I'll never see you again."
"I won't let you push me away. Damn it, T.K., I care about you too much!"
T.K. stood up weakly, his muscles fighting his every move, trying to overpower him as he reached for the door handle.
#
Matt's breath caught, his eyes widening as he felt the door behind him shift open. He spun around to see T.K.'s downcast expression, eyes fixed on the floor, one hand firmly placed on the doorknob, the other bracing himself against the doorframe. "What…" his voice sounded weak. He closed his eyes tightly and inhaled shakily, trying again. "What did Tai mean by that?" He opened his eyes and looked into Matt's, not even trying to hide the pain in his expression.
#
Matt just stared at T.K. in shock.
T.K. knew that they were all staring. All eleven of his friends were within view of the doorway, sitting and standing in various places within Izzy's large living room and dining area. He stepped just outside of the bedroom, still holding onto the doorframe to steady himself. He looked up, ignoring everyone except Tai, staring him in the eyes. "Tai?"
Kari moved to stand between T.K. and Tai, holding her hands up defensively. "T.K., let me explain…" She hesitated as he stared right past her.
Tai locked his gaze with T.K.'s. "You should let Kari be the one to explain…" there was an edge to his voice, implying he was talking to her more than T.K.
T.K. felt himself losing his patience, his gaze finally meeting Kari's for the first time. "What did he mean?"
"I didn't mean to…" Her voice shook, her fingers ringing at the hem of her blouse. "T.K., I just… you were dying…"
"What did you do?" T.K. shouted, making everyone in the room wince.
"When I saw you lying there, the only thing I could think was that I had to save you. No matter what it cost. I didn't even know what I was doing when I felt the power of the crest, but I knew I didn't care what it did to me, if it meant that you…"
He knew his expression betrayed his emotions. He was angry. He was scared. He was heartbroken. "The only thing I've wanted since we were children was to protect you."
Kari's eyes welled with tears, unable to respond.
T.K. closed his eyes, defeated. "I didn't want to involve you, any of you, because I didn't want to be the reason any of you were hurt or worse. I didn't want to burden you with this impossible situation." His voice shook. "I wanted to keep you all as far away as I could. Nothing else mattered, Kari. Nothing. I just wanted to protect you."
T.K. looked up, seeing tears running down Kari's face as she stared at him, mirroring the defeat in his own expression. "T.K.…"
T.K.'s voice broke as he spoke. "Kari, why…?"
Kari shook her head, tears falling down her cheeks. "I love you…"
T.K. looked at her, devastated.
Matt's voice was quiet. "Kari did what she needed to do to save you, T.K." He paused, seeing T.K.'s eyes open, his eyes glazed over, not even registering the floor in front of him. "The results of that created a bond between you and her, like your souls somehow connected. That means if something were to happen to you, she would likely…"
"You let her, didn't you?" T.K.'s strained voice was barely above a whisper.
Matt let out a slow breath. "I know you're angry…"
"Oh, you know I'm angry?" T.K. snapped. His voice was low, his jaw tightened.
Kari recoiled at the tone in his voice. Stepping back she found herself pressed against Tai, who had closed the distance between them without her knowing.
He reached up and put his hand on her shoulder, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Talk to him…"
She swallowed hard. "I didn't know it was going to connect us like this…" she spoke, a little more firmly. "I knew there would be consequences, but I didn't know what."
"You didn't have the right to… Kari, you saw…" T.K. could feel his breathing becoming more erratic as he continued, swallowing hard. He forced the rest out. "You know how powerful they are… you know how impossible this is…" he hated how his voice shook. "Kari, you can't save me from this, so why would you…"
Kari shook her head. "No, T.K., we're going to—"
"And now…" He felt his chest tighten. "Now I have to die knowing that I'll be the reason you do, too?"
"No, you're not, T.K." Matt spoke loudly, interrupting the intensity of the moment. "Neither of you are going to die."
T.K. was angry, and it was easier to take it out on Matt than Kari at that moment. "Oh my god! Shut up!" He turned to face his brother. "You don't know that! Just stop!"
"No! You stop!" Matt shouted back. "As long as you're alive, there's still something to fight for! I don't care if you've already given up. I haven't! We aren't done fighting!"
"Matt, I can't live like this!" T.K. screamed. "I can't keep running and hiding and waiting!"
"Yes, you can!" Matt yelled, exasperated.
"No!" T.K. slammed his fist against the doorway. "You don't know what I've been through! You don't understand what it's been like to spend months not being able to eat without being sick or sleep without endless nightmares that leave you exhausted. Or what it's been like looking over my shoulder, flinching at every shadow! You don't know what it's been like to consider that the only way to keep the people you love safe is to end your own life. You don't know what it's been like being alone all these years!" T.K.'s gasped for air, winded from his rampage. He leaned against the doorframe and slid down, burying his face in his shaking hands, crying silently.
The room filled with an unbearable silence.
After a few agonizing moments, Tai kneeled beside T.K. "You've been suffering since you left for Hokkaido, haven't you? And none of us knew…"
T.K. stifled a sob, biting his lip.
Tai grimaced, seeing T.K.'s pain, closing his eyes as he whispered. "T.K., I'm so sorry…"
"Don't…" T.K. choked. "Not after everything I…"
Tai frowned sadly at the guilt in T.K.'s voice. "Did you know this all started before you even moved to Hokkaido?" T.K. looked up at Tai, clearly confused. "No, I didn't think you did."
T.K. shook his head. "What are you talking about?"
Matt kneeled beside him. "T.K., this is a lot. Let's just slow down." He reached up to put his hand on T.K.'s shoulder. "Let's just take it one thing at a time—"
T.K. pushed Matt's hand away, ignoring him. "What do you mean?"
"Wisemon has been manipulating you since before you left for Hokkaido, T.K." Tai's expression darkened. "You didn't even get half of our emails, texts or the voicemails we tried to leave you."
Tai ignored the apprehensive look on Matt's face and turned around to look at Izzy. T.K. followed Tai's gaze to see Izzy pulling up a coded document on his computer screen, it was clear T.K. couldn't see the small text from his spot on the floor, but Izzy spoke as if it provided all the proof they needed to confirm what Tai said was true.
Izzy's had a concentrated expression on his face, his tone dark as he spoke. "We gained access to some of Wisemon's activity thanks to the breach at Gennai's. I was able to hack into the barrier before it completely crashed, and I found some residual data left by Wisemon's presence. It wasn't easy for him to hack through the firewall, which resulted in an unintentionally data exposure." He paused, seeing T.K.'s confused frown deepening. "Something that caught my attention was multiple messages to and from you that were never received, as well as a file that was encoded with the name of the company your mom works for in Hokkaido."
T.K.'s expression grew more distraught as Izzy continued.
"The job offer was legitimate, your mother's not in any kind of danger, I made sure, but Wisemon manipulated the algorithm that supplied them with your mother's name and credentials, meaning…"
T.K. looked shaken. "You're saying that the only reason I moved away to begin with was because of him…?"
Izzy nodded. "He wanted you isolated. Breaking down your relationships with the other digidestined was the beginning of his ploy to weaken your bonds and separate us so that you'd be an easier target when the time came."
"But that doesn't make any sense…" T.K. shook his head. "He couldn't have known…"
Matt spoke this time, not looking T.K.'s direction, but instead at the floor. "He didn't have to know anything, T.K., moving you away was just the first attempt to isolate you." Matt's voice had an edge to it. T.K. could hear his anger. "Then he blocked communication between us. There are over three dozen messages just between you and me that never got through, and several others from everyone else."
T.K. scowled, looking to Izzy for confirmation.
"The evidence is right here. He was trying to cut you off from all of us. There's more data too, that links back to Wisemon's manipulation."
T.K. closed his eyes, pressing his palm to his forehead. "So, it's been him the whole time? Everything that's happened…?"
Matt hesitated before finally speaking. "T.K., I know this is a lot. That's why I didn't want to spring all this information on you at once."
T.K. shook his head, looking up at Matt, unable to fight the frustration in his voice. "It's just one thing after another, after another… I just can't…" he bit back tears. "Damn it…" he whispered between gritted teeth, lowering his face.
Tai stood and backed away as Matt moved himself on his knees in front of T.K., "I know you can't, T.K., I hear you." Matt hesitantly reached for T.K., lightly laying his hand on his arm. "But you're not alone anymore."
T.K. shook his head. "No…" He pulled back from Matt, reaching to grab at the doorframe, attempting to pull himself to his feet.
Matt grabbed at T.K. again, this time firmly, stopping his brother from standing. "Stop pushing us away. T.K., please…"
"Matt…" T.K. finally looked up at his brother, searching his eyes for the right answer, because he just couldn't find it on his own.
Kari dropped to her knees beside him, her head hanging low, her eyes glued to the floor between them. "T.K.?"
T.K. was too numb to respond, lifting his head to look in her direction silently.
"I know this doesn't fix anything. I know I can't take back what I've done. And honestly, I still don't know what the right choices even were. But…" she looked up, eyes glistening with tears, meeting T.K.'s gaze. "I'm so sorry."
T.K.'s breath caught at the words, at the desperation in her voice, the genuine guilt she carried in her eyes.
T.K. didn't think, he just reached out and grabbed Kari's wrist, pulling her into his arms and burying his face in her shoulder. On contact he felt a surge of energy, though subtle, he knew instantly it was the crest of light reacting to his physical contact with Kari. His voice was quiet, he knew only she could hear him. "I'm so mad at you, Kari …" his breath hitched. "But please don't look at me like that…"
"T.K.…" Kari breathed his name, fighting back more tears.
T.K. lowered his arms, and she reluctantly pulled away. The moment they broke physical contact, something felt wrong. He tried to ignore it at first, but his expression betrayed him.
"Are you okay?" Kari asked worriedly, seeing the discomfort on his face.
He almost smiled—old habits. He shook his head. "It's nothing."
There was an edge to Matt's voice. "If there's something wrong, don't hide it."
T.K. lowered his gaze to the floor, trying to ignore how bright the room was getting. "I thought you said I was safe."
"You are," Matt said firmly, though T.K. caught the subtly glance his brother sent Izzy's direction. "Everything's going to be fine, T.K." He reached his hand up to squeeze T.K.'s shoulder reassuringly.
T.K. pushed Matt's hand away again and forced himself to his feet before anyone could stop him. "No. Nothing is fine right now. None of this is fine." He almost laughed out of frustration.
"T.K., I know—"
"No, you don't!" T.K. spun around to face his brother. He regretted the abrupt movement, but the lightheaded feeling faded fast. "You could have died! All of you…" T.K.'s voice broke. "Damn it… You don't understand."
"That's enough, T.K." Ken snapped. "He does know. Because for a minute we thought you were gone. He knows exactly how you feel because we almost lost you." He pushed away from the wall and walked up to T.K., standing between him and Matt. "Stop acting like you're the only one here with anything to lose. You're such a damn hypocrite."
"Ken, hey…" Davis stepped up beside his friend, but Ken ignored him.
"I've been trying so hard to figure out how to apologize to you for everything, how to express how angry I am that you did what you did, but at the same exact time tell you how relieved and happy I am that you're alive." Ken's voice shook. "I keep telling myself I can't be mad at you for trying to protect us, but here I am, pissed."
T.K.'s expression remained hard as he listened to Ken, his jaw tight, unable to respond.
"You keep saying we don't get it. But have you stopped to even consider how all of this has affected us? But wait, as long as we're alive and safe, who gives a shit, right?"
T.K. opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He pursed his lips, swallowing the lump forming in his throat.
"You see it, right? You see what I'm saying, right?" Ken gave T.K. a desperate look. "You keep saying this is your fight, and it has nothing to do with us, but you're wrong."
T.K. broke his eye contact with Ken at that, his eyes lowering to the floor.
"You don't want anything to happen to the people you care about? What the hell do you think you are to us? But you already know, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't have tried so hard to push us away. You can act like things changed after you moved away, but nothing will ever change everything we went through together as kids and the bonds that we share because of it."
T.K. closed his eyes, his expression softened, his voice weak and barely above a whisper. "I was only…" he felt hot tears building under his eyelashes. "…I didn't feel like I had any other choice… I just…" He inhaled shakily. "I hate myself, for being so weak… for not being strong enough to take the risk and ask for help… You're right, it was selfish, and I didn't care how much I hurt you, Matt, Kari or the others… as long as…" he bit his lip, tears sliding down his cheeks. "I tried… hoped…" his voice broke. "…I was making the best choice to keep everyone safe and keep myself alive… but at some point, without even realizing it, the only thing that didn't feel hopeless was keeping all of you away… keeping you safe…"
T.K. opened his eyes, surprised, as Ken took him firmly by the shoulders. "This wasn't your fault, T.K."
T.K. stared at Ken shamefully. His lips parted, but he said nothing.
"Stop blaming yourself. What's done is done. And all we can do is move forward." Ken's jaw tightened. "We know why you did it. We forgive you. But that doesn't mean we're going to stand by and let you give up. We're all going to fight until we've either lost or won."
T.K. looked away from Ken. He couldn't stop his thoughts from flashing back to what happened at Gennai's. He couldn't forget all the reasons he ran away to begin with. He didn't do any of it lightly. It wasn't a whim. He had gone over the options, or lack thereof, for days on end. Nothing had changed… nothing…
"T.K." Ken drew his attention back. "I know what you're thinking."
T.K. tried to take a step back, but Ken's grip tightened. "Ken…"
"You're thinking if it was that easy, you wouldn't have pushed us away to begin with, right? But you're focusing on the wrong thing." Ken sighed.
T.K. spoke without thinking, hating that his lips quivered. "What the hell does that even mean?"
Ken's brow furrowed at the frustration in T.K.'s voice. "You're focused on what only you can do."
"I…" T.K. stopped, his expression betraying him as he looked away from Ken.
"You aren't even stopping to think what we can do. We're not just some damn pawns in Wisemon's grand scheme, T.K." Ken lowered his hands from T.K.'s shoulders. "I'll never forgive myself for letting you push me away. I knew something was wrong. I knew you needed help. I knew. And I just let you…"
"Ken…" T.K.'s voice was barely audible, his mouth felt dry.
"I'm not telling you this because I want you to feel bad. I'm telling you this because I need you to hear me. I need you to understand." Ken didn't pause long enough for T.K. to respond. "I will never be able to clean your blood off my hands… never. I barely made it in time to stop you from killing yourself. I felt your blood pulsing under my fingers as you tried to fight me off. That night will haunt me for the rest of my life."
T.K. lowered his face, his hands curling into fists.
"I understand exactly how you feel, T.K." Ken's voice was firm. "You're terrified of losing someone you care about. You're terrified of being the reason one of us gets hurt or killed. You're terrified of living with that guilt. You made me feel all of those things—you made all of us feel exactly what you've been so afraid of. We thought you were dead, T.K. We thought we lost someone we care about. We felt like it was our fault. We didn't know how we were going to survive with that guilt." Ken let out a shaky breath. "So, please, stop telling us we don't understand, because we understand a lot better than you realize."
T.K. hesitated. He couldn't bring himself to look his friends in the eyes.
Matt walked up beside Ken. "T.K., I'm sorry." When T.K. didn't look up or respond, he continued. "Listen, I know this isn't easy. But I'm scared, and when I'm scared, I get protective, and we all know how much of an asshole I am when I get protective. Everything that's happened, it has me so wound up I can hardly think straight."
T.K. couldn't fight the tears sliding down his cheeks as he listened to Matt.
Ken stepped aside as Matt closed the distance between himself and T.K. "All I've been able to think about is how I almost lost you and how after everything that's happened I don't want to push you into a corner where you feel like the only options are to run or…" Matt hesitated before letting out a frustrated breath. "T.K., please just say something."
T.K. didn't trust himself to look at his brother, so he kept his head down. "I…" He stopped. He didn't know how to put it into words. This wasn't fair. More tears slid down his cheeks. "Shit…" he cursed under his breath. He felt so pathetic. He reached up and covered his face with his arm, trying to compose himself enough to somehow end this uncomfortable silence.
Matt reached up and gently rested his hand on T.K.'s arm. "Hey…" his voice was quiet, but the concern was still there. "Don't get lost in your head, okay?"
At first T.K. resisted the soft tug Matt gave his arm, but he reluctantly lowered it, looking up at his brother solemnly.
"Were you listening to them?" Davis spoke up from behind Matt. "Do you get it yet?"
T.K. looked past Matt, locking eyes with Davis, his concern clear. "I heard them, but… I just…"
Davis's expression didn't change. "Just what?"
"Davis, that's enough." Ken spoke before Matt could, both of them giving Davis stern looks.
T.K. looked down at the floor. "I just…" His head throbbed. "…I can't see it. I can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. I can't see what you're all fighting so hard for. I can't…" T.K.'s vision blurred with fresh tears. "My future… it isn't this. It's dark and painful, full of guilt and regret."
Davis's voice was firm. "No, it's not, T.K., even if you can't see it, I'm telling you, it's not. We won't let that happen."
"Davis…" T.K. looked at him, so desperate to believe him.
#
Wisemon stood silently within his dwelling, his eyes searching the runes scattered across every surface, his body quivering with anger and anticipation all at once. "Something's blocking my connection…" He pressed his hand to the wall, running it along the runes carved into the stone. "Light…"
A hum from the shadows made Wisemon lower his hand. "We knew this could happen."
"We missed our opportunity." Wisemon hissed from within the darkness of his cloak.
"It's not over yet, master." A dark figure appeared behind Wisemon. "We must only wait for the next moon to pass to complete our mission."
Wisemon seemingly ignored the digimon at first, but after a moment responded in his wispy voice. "He has…reconnected."
"No matter, he is broken and weak—a small reprieve will not undo all we have accomplished and will only give a false sense of security."
"I must ensure that he remains broken." Wisemon's voice was thick with malice. "We cannot allow him to regain too much strength…"
"Yes, master. Once we ascertain his location, we shall recover what the others have failed to obtain thus far."
Wisemon finally turned to the digimon, looking Duskmon in the eyes. "Do not give them the opportunity to interfere again…"
Duskmon kneeled in front of Wisemon. "We will not follow Mephistomon's path. We are not here to play games with digidestined, as he was so inclined."
"Yes…" Wisemon turned back around, his hand outstretched, touching the runes gently. A subtle yellow glow pulsed around the rune he touched. "Yes…"
#
T.K. reached up and grabbed his head, the lightheaded feeling more intense this time. He felt unsteady, grabbing Matt's arm for support as he wavered in place.
"Whoa!" Matt grabbed hold of T.K.'s other arm, barely stopping him from losing his balance.
"You have him?" Davis asked as he came up behind T.K.
"Yeah." Matt said, motioning for Davis to help him lower T.K. to the floor.
Davis kneeled beside T.K. "You good?"
T.K. nodded, though he wasn't sure. "I think…" he whispered.
Davis looked up at Izzy, who quickly shook his head, and then turned back to face T.K. "Hey, talk to me, what is it?"
"Just a little lightheaded." He shifted so that he was supporting himself with his left arm. "Sorry…"
"Don't be," Matt said, trying to hide the panic that was still showing in his eyes. "Hey, Joe?"
"No, it's fine…" T.K. tried to protest. "Really."
Davis stood and backed away, allowing room for Joe to kneel beside T.K. "It's probably because you haven't eaten anything." His tone was light, but there was an edge to it. "Can you look up at me?"
T.K. did as he was told. "It's fine, really."
"I just want to make sure." He smiled softly. After a few seconds, he gave T.K. a look. "I want you to drink some water, okay?"
T.K. looked down but didn't argue.
"If you can keep the water down for a half an hour, I want you to try to eat something, fair?" Joe looked concerned as T.K. hesitated to answer. "T.K., I really need you to—"
"I know." T.K. interrupted Joe before he could finish. "I'll try…"
Joe sighed as he stood. He looked at Mimi. "Can you—?"
"Already on it." She was walking by them before Joe could finish his sentence.
"Room full of mind readers." He grumbled as he walked away.
"Can you stand?" Matt looked down at T.K., trying to keep his tone even.
T.K. nodded his head, but he honestly didn't know. He tried to push himself up, but when he hesitated, Matt reached out to take his arm and help him up. "Come here." T.K. didn't protest when Matt pulled him over to the couch and made him sit down.
"Here." Mimi walked up behind Matt, pushing him away with her hip.
T.K. reached up to take the water. "Thanks…"
Mimi smiled brightly. "I know you said you aren't hungry, but does anything sound appetizing?"
T.K. was already feeling nauseated at the thought of food. "Not really, just something light…"
"I think I know just the thing…" She squeezed his leg gently before she straightened and walked away.
Note: The Duskmon in this story is not be connected to Frontier in anyway. Think of him as just another big bad standalone character.