Chapter 9 All that Breaks

Yolei: Woah Davis! Hold up, what was that secret Sekimon wanted to tell you?

Cody: Yeah, don't keep us in the dark now!

Sora: There are more important things right now. Like the fact that it sounds like Kari and Tai are dying.

Tai: Yeah, worry about me for once.

Ken: Hello. I'm still chained to the wall.

Davis: You're just a sadist, aren't you Author?

Matt: ahem. Let's just get back to the story now shall we.

Yolei was alone in the darkness. She worried for Elecmon and Hawkmon, unsure of what became of both of them. She also was not sure how long she had been there for. The screams would come in and out every once and a while.

The ghostly Sora would come and go, egging her on. Calling out the digidestined's every weakness.

"How could you be a true digidestined? You always need saving." the antagonist mocked.

"Shut up" she muttered. A scream echoed again from the distance. "Shut up."

Ken's wrists were raw from the chains that held him. His voice was hoarse. His dopelganger sat back and played his games, with an eye always on the tethered digidestined.

"Why..." Ken's voice was barely audible,

His captor grinned a terrible grin, "Dear Kenny-boy, still haven't figured out how to break free?" He moved his pawn to kill the nearby white knight.

A pain seared inside causing another audible wail.

"Your move," his captor hummed.

Ken winced, "Bishop to B4."

"Ah and you took my knight," He knocked his own piece off the board. "You're a smart one. Even without seeing the board properly, you can still call your moves." The dopelganger took his vantage and took down the bishop with his rook. Ken let out a great yelp. "Unfortunately for the both of us, you're still tied down with no understanding of how to escape... So what's your move, Ken-chan?"

Luca sat between the two digidestined, slowly eating a popsicle that Sora had given him. The steps to the apartment were eerily quiet as the two girls contemplated on what to do next.

Mimi's phone began to vibrate. She pulled it out to find that the caller was Izzy. "Moshi moshi. Mimi here." Luca watched as her face changed from cheerful to concerned to sad. He could tell that the caller did not have good news.

"What's wrong Mimi-nee?" he asked as his next lick caused the popsicle to dribble all over his hand.

"Tai's in the hospital," she stood from the step.

Sora joined her. "What's wrong. What happened?"

"Hypothermia, the doctors are saying."

"What's hippo-tem-mia?" Luca queried.

"It's when you get really, really cold. Like going outside without your snow suit in December," Sora tried to explain. He helped him up to his feet and pulled a towel out to clean him up.

"Oh, I see." He said, trying to clean the grape flavour off his hand with his mouth. "But I'm not wearing a seeta. Will I get hippo?"

"No sweetie, but we need to go to the hospital now." Biyomon digivolved to Garudamon, preparing for takeoff.

"Are hippo there?" Luca asked, "Nii-chan asked me to pwotect you. I'll pwotect you from hippo!" Mimi pulled him up to Garudamon and followed soon after with her own digimon partner. Sora filed in last and they flew towards the hospital and to their friend in need.

Joe sat with a pile of medical books scattering his floor. Slamming the book in his hand shut he threw it against the wall nearly missing his partner.

"Watch it pal," Gomamon warned, jumping from the bed to the top of Joe's head. He peered down knocking off the digidestined's glasses. "Say... let's go back, shall we?"

Joe sighed and stood up, causing Gomamon to leap onto the nearby desk knocking some more books to the floor. He pulled out a backpack and began stuffing it with a couple of medical texts. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something sparkling. He sifted through some fallen papers to find his tag and crest lying on the floor, forgotten since Tai had returned it to him. As he touched it a warm glow illuminated from the crest, filling the room with a warm violet light.

Garudamon landed twenty feet from the entrance of the hospital Tai was admitted too. After unloading her passengers she dedigivolved back to Biyomon.

"This should be it, let's go," Sora started towards the ER entrance.

"Hey!" A voice called out, the doors opened and Izzy and Tentomon came running towards them.

"What's happening? What happened to Tai?" Mimi went straight to the point.

"He's stable for now, but in a coma. Their currently trying to warm his body, but his temperature is still way below normal. Mrs. Kamiya is with him for now," He explained. He looked around for a second, "Where's Matt? I thought he was with you?"

"He went to meet with..." Sora let her sentence drop.

"He should have been here by now then..." Mimi contemplated.

Tentomon cleared his throat, "I think you guys should head upstairs. I can wait here for Matt and Joe perhaps."

Screech. A high-pitched ring echoed around them, almost deafening the digidestined and their partners.

"Stop it!" Luca was in tears. Sora picked the boy up in an attempt to comfort him.

"What's going on?" Sora's voice was lost to deafened ears.

A bright light suddenly encompassed the courtyard of the hospital, almost violet in hue. For a few moments, no one could see. The light finally began to dimmer. In the faiding light, two figures emerged. Quite confused.

"Gomamon! Joe!" Palmon exclaimed. "Where did you guys come from?"

"Well, from Joe's bedroom," Gomamon said matter-of-fact.

"Wait, why are we back at the hospital," Joe panicked almost dropping his tag. "We were just… but now we are…" He observed his surroundings. "Mimi, Sora, Biyomon, Palmon… what on Earth!?"

Izzy observed his digivice, curious as to what had happened with first the high-pitched noise and then Joe's arrival. "It's as if you were summoned."

"Now the question is… why?" Tentomon pondered.

"I can perhaps explain that," A voice interjected. Another bright light shone, signaling a new arrival.

"Matt," Sora gasped. Her boyfriend stood within feet of her, a sleeping Tsunomon nestled in his arms. But it wasn't Matt. Not quite. The voice was different. Deeper. More assured. And then she noticed it. Sora walked up to him and pulled the sleeve of his shirt. Strange blue markings covered his wrist stretching past his arm to perhaps the rest of his body, Sora surmised.

"Who are you?" Mimi gasped, "What have you done with Matt and Tsunomon?"

"I mean no harm to this soldier of my kin," his voice was calm. Unwavering. "Yamato wanted so badly to come to this hospital and so I helped him get here as fast as possible." He gently handed Tsunomon over to Sora. "I may have another reason as well." He pulled off his shirt to show the rest of the markings on his body, even pulling up his pant legs. The ones on his legs covered most of the skin, making them look a bluish grey. "The two worlds are dying, and you digidestined are the key to saving it all."

Yolei summoned the courage to finally stand up and move around. "Elecmon," she called out, "Hawkmon? Where are you guys?"

Don't worry.

You'll find them soon.

Two voices. "I must be going crazy in this place," she surmised.

We'll help you, young one.

It only takes a single answer.

Two soft lights flickered behind her. "Okay, maybe I'm not imagining it." Yolei turned around to see what her peripheral had caught. Nothing. "Wh-who is there?"

Friends. I am the one you find when you follow your heart.

And I, dear Yolei, am the pureness you reach when your soul is set right. We'll give you the strength to fight.

We'll help you find what your heart desires.

Just say one word.

"One word?" Yolei was hesitant of the floating voices. She posed that perhaps they were the ones that pulled her into this void in the first place.

Yet, something tugged at the pit of her stomach telling her it might be the way to go.

Say Yes.

"What is the cost?" Yolei queried.

Truth be told Yolei, the burden of the power might be painful.

Agonizing, if your heart is not there.

But it is a power that is necessary to defeat the ones who've caused mayhem to these worlds.

Pain. She wasn't good with pain. "And if I don't agree?"

Then we can't intervene and break you from this void.

We have no physical forms to come and rescue you.

We can only transfer the power we once had onto you.

She pondered on what she should do. Should she trust these random, yet familiar voices. Or should she leave, and possibly never escape. "Maybe someone will come rescue me," she meekly thought aloud. She shook off that thought. She had to think differently. She had to be strong enough to rescue herself.

"Yes."

Lights of red and green engulfed her entire body. Spiraling. At the center of her chest the crests of love and sincerity divided themselves, merging as one. Images flickered through the lenses of her glasses.

The ghostly Sora who brought her to this world appeared. "Love," she said. "You'll never know true love."

"You're wrong!" Yolei cried out, "I do know love. To be loved. To love someone. To love the world. It's engraved in me." Yolei finally saw the truth behind the apparition. "You are my self-doubt and fear. I know that now." She placed her hand on the chest of the phantom Sora. "I am stronger than you."

The apparition cracked, and began to break down. The red and green lights were stronger than ever, piercing through the cracks now. Pieces of the ghost disappeared, from the bottom up.

"You may know love," it said. The voice was no longer Sora's but another of her friends. Kari. Only the mouth remained, "You may know what love is, but will you find the light again?"

The last traces of the phantom disappeared.

Her vision began to blur from the intense light. She saw figures from afar. The clarity began to return. Two men. Two very similar faces. One shackled against his will, facing an opponent unlike himself. "KEN!" Yolei cried.

Suddenly she was no longer in the void she was trapped in, but instead, back by the river near Primary Village. An unconscious Elecmon, was collapsed on the bank across from her.

She ran through the river and reached the digimon's side. He was still breathing. Still alive. She pulled him on to her back and began to carry him back.

A worried Hawkman fretted around the newborn digimon. Ensuring their care while worrying of what became of his digimon partner and the children's caretaker.

"Elecmon! Elecmon!" the baby digimon started to cheer.

Hawkmon looked out in the distance in the direction of the others' glances. There they were. An exhausted looking Yolei carrying the unconscious digimon on her back, climbing up the hill to the village.

Hawkmon smiled and ran towards his friends.

KEN!

Ken's eyes darted from side to side trying to find the direction of her voice in this directionless darkness. He could recognize it anywhere.

"Look who is actually trying," Ken's captor hummed. The chess game was nearing its completion and Ken had his opponent trapped.

"Checkmate," Ken huffed. "The game is over, now let me free."

"Oh Kenny boy, the game was just to past the time. It never had any sway on if you would be free from your shackles or not." The man waved away the table and chess set. They disappeared as if magic.

"Bastard," Ken swore. Every wrong move, every kill of a piece, had caused Ken pain. Was that simply for the sick entertainment of the madman who stood before him?

Even now the doppelganger antagonized him from his chair. A cleared table, he decided what to do with the digidestined before him. He stood from his chair and moved closer to his captive. Leaning in, his face was only a few inches from Ken.

He didn't see it when the digidestined's fist made contact with his face. Thrown of balance, he stumbled away from the now freed man.

The shackles were still cuffed to Ken's wrists but on each shackle a single chain had been torn open.

Running straight towards his opponent, Ken knocked him down and punched him a few times more. The doppelganger began to cackle beneath his knees. Ken looked down. He noticed that his captor was not bleeding. Instead, cracks began to form in the fake's face.

"Good job, Kenny Boy," it cooed, "You've broken free. You finally did it. But now the question is, How will you get out?" The doppelganger broke down until he was pieces of data scattered in the wind.

Exhausted, Ken collapsed once more. Finally able to take a moment, tears began to stream down his face. His body was tired, but he knew there was more work to be done.

Each moment that passed, he took one step forward.

One step toward his next destination. Where ever that may be.

"The pieces are falling together as we speak," Lampmon observed. Images flashed around the walls. In each one, a different Digidestined was focused.

"Dear me, what should we do about those ones over there," Lilithmon cooed, Her head nodded towards an empty cell, where two digidestined were unconscious. Eggs of their digimon lay near them huddled in a corner.

"Shall I take care of them?" Pharaohmon wondered, a look glimmered in his eyes.

"We'll need them alive for what we have planned," Lampmon said, "Make sure they're still breathing. As long as their alive though, you can do whatever else you want with them."

Pharaohmon's mouth grinned from side to side. "Well then."

Lilithmon faced the screens and saw an image of snow. "What about this child over here? I wonder what happened to him."

"Ah yes, now that one is quite peculiar. We might have to pay special attention to him. If you would be so kind. Maybe pay the young man a visit. I'm sure he would be exstatic to meet one so regal as yourself."

"Oh Lampmon, you make me blush," Lilithmon cooed as she disappeared from sight.

"Yes, yes" Lampmon hummed to himself, "The pieces, the pieces. This will be an exciting time, will it not."

The carnage seems far from over. What will the Digidestined do? Catch up with them next time on the next chapter!

Side note: Who has watched Digimon Reunion!? I know I have... twice Let me know what you thought in the comments =D