Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Apocalypic Yearnings ❯ Shadow ( Chapter 2 )

Author's Note: This should be... amusing... ;)

Pairing: Taikeru/Takechi, Yamato/MugenDramon

Part Two: Shadow

Tai sat down beside the fire. "Three days," he muttered. "Three days, we've been stuck here, the portals home closed, and we can't find a trace of either of them."

Across from him, Takeru sighed. "I know.... MugenDramon can't hide that well, can he?"

In the forest around them, various nocturnal Digimon made chattering sounds. Somewhere out there, Agumon and Gabumon are searching for Yamato... Taichi glanced to where Patamon was sleeping. "If there are Mega Digimon around, how much of a chance do we have with Patamon?"

"Not much. Even with Ken's spires gone... there's no way for him to go past champion. Not with the crest powers gone."

Tai nodded. "What.... what about us?"

Takeru's head shot up, questions blazing in his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if Yamato's half-Digimon... why not us? What's to stop us from being Digimon, too?" From the look in Takeru's eyes, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. "Not that there's much of a way to find out, without Izzy's Digimon Analyzer... I bet it could figure it out in an instant."

"That's it!" Takeru pulled out his D-Terminal. "When Izzy realized he wasn't going to be coming to the Digital World with us very often, he made sure that all of our D-Terminals had the Analyzer program." He turned the D-Terminal to Tai. "Nothing. You're fully human." He passed the device to Tai. All of a sudden, he became hesitant. "And... and me?"

Tai tapped a few buttons on the small device, and, as the results came back, his eyes bugged out of his head. "Ta... Takeru.... You're a half-breed Mega, too."

[I'm a WHAT?]

Gijinka MachineDramon chuckled, as he watched the two Digidestined over one of his many monitors. "See them, Calypsmon? They said that they were your friends. But now, they think of ways to have the strength to kill you."

[.... -breed, Vaccine Mega. It says that your attacks are Pulse Blade, Bright Spear, and Dark Half... whatever that last one is. Your father is a Genesimon. You ever heard of those?]

As Tai listed the information off of the small screen, Yamato's eyes narrowed to slits. "They're planning to destroy me, once and for all..." His voice, far raspier than normal, cut through the din of the machine-shop which MugenDramon had made his base. "My own brother, and my best friend.... the one I thought I loved... they're both planning to destroy me."

No! cried a small voice in the back of MugenDramon's head. He's not like this! This isn't why you to- With a bit of concentration, MugenDramon squashed the voice, and embraced the dark Digidestined before him. "I'll protect you, Calypsmon... never fear, I will always be here for you."

But you're supposed to l-

Squash.

A week later, MugenDramon collapsed, groaning, in his chambers, shedding his gijinka form for his normal one. "I don't believe this..." he rumbled. "I knew they were more than just kids... but to have him trained so quickly?"

Not that you mind... the stronger they become, the greater the chance they'll break your spell!

MugenDramon sighed. "Not you again," he muttered. "I thought I got rid of you."

I am you. You can't get rid of me. Only when your true pe-

Squash.

About the same time, Takeru and Taichi collapsed themselves, in the cave they'd made into a shelter over the past week. "That was exhausting..." said Tai.

"Why are you so tired?" Takeru shot, bitterly. "I'm the one doing all of the work." At Tai's hurt look, he sighed. "I'm sorry.... I know that you're doing as much work as me, trying to trace them, but it's been a weird week." He lifted his hand, and enveloped it in white fire. "Pulse Blade is draining." He let the fire fall away.

Tai moved over to Takeru, and put his arm around the younger boy. "Don't worry about it." Takeru could see a moment's hesitation in his friend's eyes; then Tai kissed him.

Takeru pulled away. "What the hell are you doing?"

Tai's eyes filled with hurt, and he pulled away from Takeru. "I.. I'm sorry... I thought that maybe... maybe you might feel the same way." He went to move across the cave once more, when Takeru pulled him down.

"You just surprised me." His arms went around Tai. "Now shut up and kiss me again."

Someone's arms were around him. This was not a situation he was used to waking up in.

Especially not when the person attached to those arms whispered, "Oh, Takeru," in Tai's voice.

Especially not when the person was Tai.

"Wha...!?" exclaimed Takeru, leaping up, his hands encasing themselves in white fire, until the events of the last night came crashing back to him. "Oh, lord..." whispered Takeru. "Did we really....?"

"Well, my clothes are still on," came Tai's voice, groggily, "and I'm guessing yours are, too." He lifted himself up on his side, supporting his weigh on his elbow. "So I'd say we kept it to making out. A lot of making out." His eyes took on a shiny quality, as if tears were just being kept back. "Do... don't tell me you regret it?"

Takeru was swift in grabbing Tai once more in his arms. "No... no.... don't worry. I just... it's a bit of a surprise. I mean... did you ever think that we... that we would, well, y'know?"

Tai nodded, and the two settled down on the cave floor once more. "I do... I mean, out of anyone in the group, I would have expected you to... well, to be in love with Kari." At Takeru's sputtering, he frowned. "What did I say?"

"Why does everyone assume that Hikari-chan and I are in love? We're JUST FRIENDS! I mean, you, of all people, should know about her 'problem' with Daisuke and Miyako!" Tai soothed him, whispering sweet nothings in his ear, as they spooned together on the floor, Takeru being held to Tai's chest. "But honestly, I thought you and Mimi had something going... I mean, I saw the letter she sent you last week. It must have been thirty pages!"

Chuckles made Tai's chest shake against Takeru's back. "Twenty-seven, actually. And she's just as much my friend as Sora, or Koushiro." Though Takeru couldn't see his face, he could tell, somehow, that Tai was grinning. "Or as Kari is yours." If he wasn't so comfortable, Takeru would have turned around and smacked Tai for that.

A few minutes passed, the two of them just relaxing in each other's presence. Finally, Takeru said, "What made you kiss me?"

Tai hesitated. "'Keru-chan, that's a long story..." Takeru snuggled up against him. "It started a couple of months ago. Right after the MaloMyotismon situation."

"'Situation'?"

"Okay, it was a bit more than that.... but you were spending a lot of time over at my and Kari's place... It was just... one day, I saw you in front of the window... you weren't wearing that hat, your hair was hanging down, around your face, and the sun was shining right through it; I could have sworn you were an angel. It was then, I think, that I first really noticed you; it was the first time I realized it, anyway.

"After that, it was like I was on fire everytime I saw you. Which, if you'll remember, was a lot, between our meetings, and the time you were spending with Kari." Tai sighed. "I was stuck there, watching you.... I never expected that you would, or even could, come to feel the same way.

"What about you?"

"I dunno..." Takeru shifted a little in Tai's arms. "I never really though about liking guys - or girls, for that matter. It just never really crossed my mind. I guess I just assumed I was straight; hadn't had any indications either way. I'm a little young, still, I guess, but.... the Digital World changed us, I think... made us more mature. You can see it the most in Daisuke, but it shows in all of us." He shrugged slightly. "I guess, in the back of my mind, I always had feelings for you; Yamato was always my older brother, but... you were just as much my protector as he was. I kinda latched onto you... but looking back, it never felt like you were a brother, it just felt nice being around you."

"'Felt' nice?"

Takeru grinned. "Okay, feels. But you know what I mean."

You can't do this!

Back in his gijinka form, MugenDramon sat on what was essentially his throne, in a room with gear designs etched into the dark metal walls. "I can do what I want, when I want," he growled menacingly to the voice in his head, his own voice as harsh as grating gears. "And nobody can stop me."

"Who are you talking to?"

At the silky voice, MugenDramon whipped around, to see Calypsmon standing in the shadows. "Nobody, Calypsmon. I was merely thinking aloud." The dark-clad halfbreed nodded to himself, satisfied with the explanation; how could he not be, when he was enspelled to be so?

Which you know is wrong!

MugenDramon waited until Calypsmon had left, and he was alone in the room. "Who are you, that you claim to know so much about me, yet are completely wrong?"

What makes you think that I'm wrong? Are you so lost that you don't have any idea who I am?

Again, MugenDramon growled. "Don't answer me with riddles. Who are you?"

Why, I'm you! I'm the spirit that was surpressed before when Piemon made you into a Dark Master; I was again surpressed when you were drawn from the Primordial Data Bank before your time, and returned to this form, by your current master. MugenDramon, I am the part of you that has been hidden all of this time - I am your soul.

"My WHAT?" MugenDramon's shout rattled the windows throughout the entire fortress. In his shock, he lost his control over his gijinka form, and reverted to his normal state, crushing his throne.

Your soul.

Around him, his lieutenants came rushing in, to see what was the matter. Calypsmon came over to him, soothing him.

And through his mind could run only one thought:

My soul?

And with that thought, that cyclic thought, a world shattered.

A soul

I have a soul

Digimon have souls?

Then that would mean...

Returning to his gijinka form as he returned to his senses, MugenDramon felt his control over much of his magic slipping - most especially, the spell supressing Yamato's personality broke, completely and utterly. With this, MugenDramon's restored soul reached out to Yamato's.

And with the touch of their souls, they became as one.

"So, what do we do now?"

Yamato's voice, clear of the dark undertones it had possessed as Calypsmon, rolled gently over his lover, the gijinka MugenDramon. "I mean, we can't just pretend that everything's all right. I know as well as you do that someone was behind bringing you back, to capture me... I can't help but think that this was supposed to happen, that this is all part of some evil plot..."

"You mean, you're rejecting out soulbond?" True fear rang in MugenDramon's voice, now clear of it's own gravelly overtones.

Yamato shook his head violently. "No! I mean... I never really wanted to be forced into a relationship, arranged marriages always seemed so... phony... to me, but... it's like I'm supposed to love you, and I don't know how I ever could not have... even when your own soul was suppressed, you weren't ever... well, evil. Not this time, anyway... you were almost gentle.

"I think, even if we hadn't been soulbonded, that I would have fallen in love with you anyway, while I was under your control... I admit, I wasn't fond of that, but I knew, behind the layered personality, that it wasn't your doing."

They snuggled on MugenDramon's bed, Yamato cradled in MugenDramon's arms. "I feel the same way... Most of what I did was true to me; my personality wasn't truly suppressed, just... who I really am was gone, locked away, for my mast-- ex-master's-- dark purposes. Now... I can't imagine ever not loving you."

And blocking all thoughts of the future, at least for now, the two fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

"Dammit." His lackey's scuttled around and away, fearful of being near him while he was in a a mood. "They broke through the spells. This was... unforeseen.

"Kuzuhamon, ChaosDukemon, and DeviGalgomon... I want you to go and destroy those traitors, once and for all."

As one, they bowed. As one, they left.