Disclaimer: I do not own anything pertaining to Digimon, its affiliates, parent corporation, etc. etc. etc. Basically: I just borrow the characters and give them back when I'm done, most times in one piece.

Scars of The Past Never Fade
Chapter 6
Spark of Courage

-Tai's POV-

'Where am I?'

Everything around him was dark, and he felt numb. He could see nothing, except for himself. Tai couldn't tell if he was floating or sinking, if he was here or there. He could hear voices, like whispers from a dream that he could only half remember.

"Tai, why didn't you tell us?"

Tai finally was able to make some sense of the fact that he seemed to be sinking further and away from the voices. He felt a sort of ground come up beneath him, and he was no longer falling. Staring above him, Tai could see nothing. There was only blackness here, blackness and himself. It seemed half of eternity before Tai slowly rolled to his side, using his arms to lift himself up to his knees first, then his feet. He didn't understand why, he felt so tired. Wobbling on his feet, Tai slowly caught his balance as he still stared around, wondering where he was.

'This isn't digi-world, I know that.'

Slowly, Tai placed one foot forward, cursing as he felt his leg go underneath him, sending him nearly face first into the ground, arms protecting his face from the worse of the fall. He sighed, a heavy deep sound that rattled in his lungs. For a moment, he didn't move. He just felt so tired, like he'd been fighting for years and he no longer had to. All he wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and never wake up. Tai put his head face down on his arms, his hands bunching into his wild hair.

"Tai."

That voice…it was so familiar. From so long ago it seemed, another distant half-remembered voice.

"I miss you."

A small thing brushed against his face, though Tai couldn't see it, even when he looked upwards. The darkness around him kept him from seeing as such.

"Please come back Tai. I'm no brave little warrior when you're not here."

Tai looked down at his neck and chest, finding tiny rivulets of water there. Looking a moment, he realized that there wasn't enough to be water. They were tears, little shining tears. Another deep sigh and Tai wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort his little friend. But he couldn't see him, much less embrace him in hug.

'Oh, Koromon. I miss you too.'

-End of Tai's POV-

-Kari's POV-

She answered the questions to best of her ability, trying her best to tell them all. Between the police, child protection services, doctors, nurses, and the occasional digidestined visitor, Kari spent most of her 'free time' sleeping. She felt exhausted with everything.

Then there was Tai.

Looking at her broken brother, and Koromon lying on his chest, who spent some of his time crying at the loss of his best friend and digidestined partner. Koromon wanted him back, they all did. Kari didn't know where Tai was in his head, but he seemed very far away. He didn't respond to talking near as they knew of. He hadn't moved, and Koromon seemed to be losing hope that Tai would come back to them, somehow. He'd always been so strong, always tried to protect her, usually succeeding in that regard. To see him so broken, so weak; it didn't feel like Tai was in the bed next to her.

A deep sigh made its presence known from the door. Turning her head, Kari looked at Matt. He looked so very tired, so worn out, and…upset. In fact, Matt looked on the edge of tears. Did he know something that she didn't?

He waved piteously, sinking into a chair next to her, watching Tai and Koromon silently before he looked at her. Kari couldn't help but wonder what had Matt in such a state. She soon got her answer.

"T.K. had an accident."

Kari stared at Matt a moment. "What happened to him?" Not that Kari didn't care about T.K., but she was still tired, and didn't have much energy to mount a major worrying fit. Inside, she was terrified of what Matt was going to say.

"He was riding his bike home, some four by four was going down the street and the driver fell asleep at the wheel. It was an accident. T.K's okay, far as they can tell. The driver woke up in time to swerve the truck, and sent it into a lightpole. He only caught the back tire of T.K's bike and he was thrown off from the impact. He hit the side of a building and hit his head. The doctors say he was really lucky, got off with a few broken bones, a cracked skull, and a concussion. They say he'll be okay."

She nodded lightly as Matt finished the story. He looked so lost right now, so overwhelmed by the events of the past few days. The blonde looked to Tai again, and Kari was not lost on his thoughts.

"Nothing yet."

Matt looked back to her before he put his head in his hands, fingers tangling in his unkempt hair. Kari reached her hand out, trying to be comforting to Matt as best as she could. She ran her hand over the back of his head, moving her hand in slow, lazy circles. His shoulders shook a moment before she heard him sobbing quietly. Normally, Tai would've been Matt's friend through the ordeal with T.K. But with him in the state that he was in now, Matt was finding himself fighting a losing battle with handling this by himself.

"It'll be okay, Matt."

Kari sincerely hoped that it would be.

-End Kari's POV-

-General POV-

Looking around again, Tai sighed again, moving to sit against what seemed to be a corner, though he still couldn't see the walls.

'But why would anyone want me back? I'm no warrior. I don't deserve the crest of courage.'

He let the thoughts creep over him, the darkness closing in on him, what light he seemed to have been emitting began to slowly dim, bringing the shadows closer.

'I couldn't even protect Kari from mom. I'm a horrible big brother, and a horrible friend. I didn't trust the others; that they would help us.'

Tai looked at the darkness that lingered on his skin, swirling lightly as it encroached closer on him. He didn't see any reason to stop it. What good was he if he couldn't have protected Kari?

Wait….Kari.

He looked around frantically, twisting and turning his numb body. Where was she? If she wasn't here, where was she? Had mother gotten her? Was she with another family? In the hospital? Dead?

The last option terrified Tai more than anything ever had before. Even fighting Apocalymon hadn't been this terrifying. It also enraged him. If mother had killed her…Tai didn't know what he'd do. The cops would have to lock him up. He'd kill her himself if she'd taken Kari way from them, from their friends.

She had to be, why hadn't he heard her voice otherwise? If there was anyone that Tai would go through hell countless times, it was his little sister. He'd give anything to make sure that she was okay, that bore the brunt of the pain.

She had to be gone. He'd always answer her call, no matter how far. It was his job as her big brother. If she wasn't, he needed to find her.

Standing, the shadows seemed to melt away, receding from whence they came as Tai felt something akin in rage well inside him. Raw, desperate, wild, rage filled him and he could hear voices again, many of them shouting things he didn't understand. Medical terms it seemed but Tai wasn't entirely sure of that. The darkness receeded, and he saw white. White blankets, coats, walls, curtains, tables and chairs. It was morning, but Tai didn't take notice of that. He didn't see much more, acting on instinct as he fought the hands that held him down while he screamed, rage boiling over as he scrambled, twisted, flailed and thrashed. Something pulled against his arm and he felt pain as something pulled away, clearly having been embedded in it.

An alarm was raised, blaring as Tai looked around blindly, ignoring all other faces as he tried to find his sister. More words were shouted, more hands grabbed at him, and they forced him backwards, back into a pillow that was supposed to be comfortable but felt like it was filled with chunks of concrete. He opened his mouth and screamed his rage again, a raw and terrible sound that did not sound like him.

"Tai!"

It was a smaller voice than the others, but it was what he'd been trying to find. He continued to twist underneath the hands of his tormentors, kicking off one and punching another in the face as he tried to get his ungainly legs beneath him. He succeeded only slightly, managing to get more upwards on the bed, but could not get off of it.

"TAI!"

Kari's voice rang through the room one more time, and Tai's face snapped so quickly to the left that Matt could've sworn that he heard his neck crack. It was only a moment's glance but it made Tai's heart soar. Until more doctors came to restrain him, and brought a sedative with them. Tai fought them again, with all the fervor of the previous moment, twisting and flailing and kicking as one each grabbed his legs and arms and held him still. He continued to try and raise himself off of the bed, feeling pain with each movement as they restrained him, the sound of Velcro loud in the room before the doctor's let go one more time. He continued to squirm, he couldn't be tied down! Mother would come now, she always knew when Tai was at his weakest.

Pulling at the restraints that held his feet and wrists, Tai couldn't help but whimper piteously before another voice reached his frantic ears.

"Tai, calm down. Take it easy."

A hand on his shoulder and a messy mop of blonde hair and sharp blue eyes stared at him as Tai whimpered once more, fighting the restraints. His eyes wide, his begged in a broken voice that sounded nothing like Tai, rough and gravelly with disuse and raw from his screaming only a minute ago; a broken little thing.

"Matt, please."

Matt felt his heart wrench at the sight of his best friend. He was so terrified, so broken, and he couldn't blame him in the slightest. He didn't know what Tai was begging him for, and maybe he didn't want to know. The doctor took the moment of Tai being still to inject the sedative into Tai's bloodstream. It seemed to take effect quickly, because Tai's muscles slackened their fight and his eyes slowly closed. Matt took his hand off of his shoulder as Tai sank into the bed, a pale broken thing.

Glaring at the doctor, Matt growled out. "Take those off of him, you idiot." The doctor stammered some excuse about the patient being a danger to himself and those around him. Rounding on the man, Matt let his rage be known. "Have you not read their files? What part of 'abuse situation' do you not understand you moron? Get those off of him before he wakes up and has another panic attack!"

Bystanders outside could hear him rip the doctor a new one before he complied, releasing Tai's restraints before he re-connected the IV that he'd ripped from his arm.

Matt glared at him the entire time before the doctor scuttled out, looking like he'd just been threatened with death by the Ishida. Koromon slowly edged out from under the bed, hopping onto Tai's legs before he took residence on his chest again. Only this time, Tai's arms subconsciously came around to hug the little Digimon. He murmured unintelligible things in his sleep, but one stood out.

"I missed you too, Koromon."

:End of Chapter 6: