Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Diminished Light: Void's Assault ❯ The Reunion ( Chapter 9 )

Diminished Light: Void's Assault

Chapter 9

The Reunion

By

Sailor Janus

 

 

The darkened apartment was still and calm as the Chosen Children rested in a world full of dreams or nothingness. Almost everyone. Daisuke was just about to doze off when he heard what sounded like soft crying. He frowned and sat up, trying to adjust his brown eyes to the darkness. A few sniffles later he decided to investigate. Carefully he stood up and stumbled towards the crying only to discover that it was Hikari. Daisuke sighed quietly and kneeled next to her. “What's wrong?”

 

Hikari gasped and jerked upright. She stared at him with wide eyes, but didn't try to wipe her face off.

 

“It's okay, Hikari. You can tell me.” He didn't move and instead stayed stationary, looking at her in understanding.

 

“I…” She drew a deep breath and sniffed. “I was thinking back…. about Nitoni and the things we used to do together and for each other. He-he seemed like he loved me and it seemed like we were in love, but now…. I don't know. Maybe he was pretending all along, but it still hurts.” The Chosen of Light lifted her face towards the young man. “Why would he want to harm me? I don't understand. I don't know what happened.”

 

“I don't know either,” Daisuke softly replied, completely taken aback by how much pain she was in. More than anything he felt he was to blame. He should have been able to prevent this, but couldn't. “I'm sorry.”

 

She frowned at him. “What do you have to be sorry about? If anything I should be the one apologizing to you. You've been nothing but good to me, but all I do is treat you horribly.”

 

“It's okay, I'm used to it.” He grinned, trying to mask his bewilderment towards Hikari's confession. It was the last thing he expected her to tell him.

 

“Maybe I don't deserve happiness if all I do is bring people down.”

 

Daisuke abruptly grabbed her hand without thinking against it. “That's not true. You deserve every bit of happiness in existence, because you always put others first no matter what.”

 

“Then why do these things keep happening to me? Why are most of my memories gone? Why did Nitoni try to kill me? Why am I depressed all the time and wish I was never born? Why?” Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks, glistening in the faint light cast off the streetlamps through the windows outside.

 

The young man's eyes flashed as he released her hand and instead moved closer, wrapping his arms around her tiny frame. He didn't know the consequences of his actions, and didn't care. She could scream, bite, scratch, kick, punch, or try to force him to let go any other way, but if he could offer her just a minuscule bit of comfort even for a second, he would do it. “I don't know. Nitoni was a fool. He doesn't deserve you. And you've heard the saying `bad things happen to good people,' right? Well, things can only get so bad before they get better.”

 

Hikari numbly nodded, and rather than push Daisuke away, she gratefully returned the hug then pulled away. She sat up on the couch and patted the seat next to her as an invitation. “What about you?”

 

“What about me?” Daisuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he sat down. Hikari seemed to be calming down a bit, which was a good thing. The bonus was probably the fact that she was talking to him.

 

“You seem so sad at times even though you try to hide it. I guess your eyes kind of give it away.” She shrugged, shifting her gaze from her hands to his face in query.

 

Damn it. She still seems to be able to see right through me. Daisuke took a deep breath and tried to decide on how to form the right words without making things an even bigger mess. “Well, several years ago I lost someone dear to me and I don't know if they'll ever return.”

 

Hikari nodded and gave him a sad smile. “You must have loved that person a lot.”

 

The Chosen leader squirmed a bit in discomfort. “Yes. I guess you could say she's not the type of person that is easy to get over.”

 

“What happened?”

 

“She moved away, but before that we had a fight. It was stupid and pointless, but still, it was a fight.”

 

“And you think it's your fault that you haven't spoken since?”

 

He mutely nodded, focusing his gaze on the floor.

 

“Wow, you must have really loved her,” she murmured quietly.

 

“First love, maybe only love.” Daisuke sighed and dropped his face in his hands in defeat. “Maybe I don't deserve her either. I'm too brash and hotheaded. Stubborn too.”

 

Hikari touched his shoulder lightly. “But you're still a good person. I mean, look at everything you have done for me; a childhood friend who had forgotten a lot of things.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Friends?”

 

Daisuke picked his head up and looked at her then smiled. “Friends.” For a moment in time he would be happy. At least now he could be near Hikari without her trying to high tail it for the hills. For now, he would be content. The next instant her arms were around him again only this time a pleasant smile was also on her face.

 

“Thank you, for everything. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I've just been so scared and confused.” She tightened her embrace as she said the last part then let go. “If it weren't for you, I'd probably be dead.”

 

“It's okay. Things will get better. We'll go to the Digital World, find a way to get your memories back and everything will be fine.”

 

Hikari held his gaze for a moment then nodded. “I guess we really must have been good friends.”

 

“What makes you say that?”

 

“You have stuck with me through thick and thin like my brother said. I'm sorry I didn't believe you so much before, but I have more than enough proof now.”

 

Daisuke nodded. “He's right.”

 

Silence fell between them for a moment until Hikari broke it once again. “So, when did we first meet?”

 

Her companion flinched, but it was too dim to be noticed. “When we were nine. It was at a park and you saw me on the swings. We talked, but I can't remember what about. I had moved to Odaiba only a few days ago so I didn't really know anyone. I guess you could say you were my first friend.”

 

“I can't remember, but I'll believe you.” The Chosen of Light looked at the ceiling and sighed. “I hate this. I feel so pathetic not being able to remember a single thing, yet everyone insists that these things happened. Even my own brother.”

 

“We don't blame you for it, Hikari. It's not your fault.”

 

“I know, but everyone is so worried about me and I don't want that. I don't want everyone to fret over me. I just want things to be normal. Then everyone can be happy.”

 

Brown eyes gazed down at the floor as the soccer player pursed his lips. No matter how many memories Hikari had forgotten, no matter how much had changed, she still put others first. “You need to understand that we care because we want to. You always put so much on yourself. For once, let us worry about you for a change.”

 

The young woman turned her head towards her friend. She studied him for a moment then nodded. A soft sigh escaped from her lips and she leaned back against the couch cushions. “If you say so.” Hikari nibbled on her lip thoughtfully. “Can you tell me some stuff about us?”

 

Daisuke's breath caught in his throat at the question. “What do you mean?”

 

“I don't know. What did we do for fun? What classes did we take? If we went to any neat places, that type of thing.”

 

He paused for a moment, and contemplated what to tell Hikari first. The most important thing to leave out for the moment was more than likely the adventures in the Digital World because they may be too much for her to grasp. “Well, we went on picnics, played soccer, video games, um, studied and did homework when we had to…. oh, sometimes we'd get ice cream on the way home from school-”

 

“You'd get chocolate chip cookie dough, right?”

 

Daisuke gaped at her in shock. “How did you know that? I mean are your memories returning?”

 

“I had another one of my visions at the ice cream parlor. We were kids and the other ones around our age were there too. The lavender haired girl argued against it, but she folded after being convinced by the indigo haired boy. It was kind of strange,” Hikari admitted softly.

 

The young man scratched his head briefly as he recalled the particular day. They were on their way to the school to go to Digital World, but he had a strange feeling that it would be wise to eat something before they changed worlds. He knew Miyako had brought some food, but they needed something immediately. Sugar was the answer and he knew none of them had enough will power to turn down free ice cream of the flavor of their choice. Luckily the plan succeeded. Sure he came off as an immature, thinking-only-with-his-stomach leader, but immediately after they all had arrived in the Digital World, they found themselves in a desperate need of the energy burst they achieved with the added sugar.

 

“Are you okay?”

 

Daisuke jumped slightly and glanced towards Hikari's shadowed face. “Sorry, I was just remembering that day.” He shifted his position so he could sit a little more comfortably. “Yeah, Miyako can be a bit stubborn, but she never could say no to free ice cream either.”

 

“Do you really think I'll be able to get my memories back?” Hikari looked at him again and he could barely make out the tears glistening in the darkness.

 

The Chosen leader paused for a second as he debated on the best answer to her question. He didn't want to let her down so he replied with the only thing he could think of. “Yeah, so don't worry. Everything is going to get better.”

 

The Bearer of Light nodded appreciatively then began questioning him more about the past. Each answer of course was carefully chosen, but before long the two friends found themselves growing weary and soon silence smothered their soft chatter.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Taichi lazily opened his brown eyes, vaguely aware of someone shaking his shoulder sternly yet gently. He groaned and tried to roll over, but the same force prevented him from doing so. “Let me sleep,” the young man grumbled, swinging his leg to the side, kicking the unwanted presence in the process.

 

“Taichi, get your carcass up and this time don't kick me again,” an irritated voice ordered through clenched teeth.

 

“Five more minutes.” A brief moment of peace followed his words until what felt like a soft cloth object, hit him square in the head. Taichi lifted his head and blinked. “Yamato? How did you get in my room and why did you hit me with a pillow?”

 

The blonde narrowed his eyes at his best friend. “We're not in your room, we're on the living room floor of my apartment and I hit you with a pillow to get your ass up so we can meet everyone in Odaiba to go to the Digital World…. We're trying to figure out how to help your sister with her memories.” Yamato sighed at the blank, sleepy expression on the brunette's face. He growled and ran a hand over his eyes. “Your little sister Hikari…. The short girl that you shared a room with when you were kids.”

 

Taichi blinked again as realization finally hit him. “Oh! The short girl I shared a room with!” He shook his head and blinked a few times, trying to shake the hazy cloud he felt like his brain was immersed in. Then he leapt to his feet and sprinted off towards the couches, nearly trampling over a dazed Takeru in the process.

 

“What the hell was that all about?” The Bearer of Hope scrambled off the floor and shot his brother a flabbergasted expression. “What did you do, shock him awake with a 90,000 volts of electricity?”

 

Yamato shrugged and headed off to wake up Sora if Taichi's shouting hadn't done so already.

“Hik-” Taichi began when he noticed Hikari was still asleep on the plush sofa. What was odd about the scene however was the fact that she was not alone. Daisuke was sleeping right next to her and her head was resting on his shoulder while his was leaned against hers. It was so peaceful and innocent that he didn't really want to disrupt it.

 

The first time he had walked into a room and caught them sleeping in the same position had been when their grandmother had died of brain cancer. He distinctly could recall his little sister being so overcome by grief that she had locked herself in her bedroom and refused to leave. The death was hard on both of them, but Hikari was a lot closer to Nana than he was. He remembered their parents were at the hospital and since he failed at coaxing his sibling out of her room, he left as well, trying to give her as much space as possible.

 

When Taichi finally returned however, he was not only surprised to see his baby sister outside of the bedroom and sitting on the couch, but Daisuke was with her as well, and the two were sound asleep leaned against each other as the television flickered in front of them, indicating that they had been previously watching a movie. He supposed that either his protégé was invited or that he came on his own. Either way, Hikari had oddly accepted his company.

 

It was strange seeing the two adolescents that close considering that he had never actually seen them anywhere together before. If Hikari was going to allow anyone to help her, he never dreamt she'd choose Daisuke. Takeru yes, Ken, maybe, even Iori, Miyako, and some of the older Chosen Children made more sense than the bumbling hotheaded leader of the younger group.

 

Then again, perhaps looks truly are deceiving and the Child of Light knew there was more to the spiky haired boy than any of them could have ever suspected. He remembered that during Hikari's own digimon adventures with the second group that at times she was a bit standoffish towards Daisuke and other times, not, as if knowing him reminded her of something painful. It was then that Taichi reflected on their deceased grandmother's ailment. Perhaps that was the reason why. Either way, it didn't really matter as long as she was seeking relief from her pain in whatever way suited her best.

 

“I never expected to see those two that close again after everything that has happened to poor Hikari.” Sora sat up, gazing down at her young friends as Taichi turned his head and nodded at her.

 

“I was thinking the same thing.”

 

“They used to be rather close.” Yamato agreed as he moved to his girlfriend's side. His younger brother joined the group as well, rubbing his face tiresomely.

 

“Do you suppose this will work? I mean taking Hikari to the Digital World and all?” Takeru glanced glumly at the sleeping pair on the couch. “I just feel like I'm promising something that may not even happen. Memories can be a lot more complex than anyone could ever fathom.”

 

The musician placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. “We'll have to be positive and protect her as well as we can. Hopefully, Gabumon and the others are up to the challenge.”

 

“They will,” Taichi said determinedly. He sighed softly as he looked at his sister again. “I just hope Tailmon doesn't take Hikari's state too hard.”

 

“What's a Tailmon?” Hikari mumbled groggily as she yawned. She groaned softly and cuddled against Daisuke then froze. Brown eyes fluttered open and stared wide-eyed at the spiky haired young man who was starting to stir.

 

“Okay, I'm awake.” Daisuke lifted his head an inch from Hikari's and paused. His eyes flew open and he jumped back as best he could with her still leaning against him. “Uh, sorry… Sorry… Sorry. I-I-I…. Oh crap. I didn't mean-”

 

The young woman covered her face, trying desperately to shield the spreading blush on her cheeks. “No, no, no. I-I was sleeping on you. It's my fault. Oh, God, this is so embarrassing…”

 

“And really amusing,” her older brother cracked.

 

Hikari turned her head and nearly screamed at the sight of four pairs of eyes studying them with a rather good-humored interest. “Tai-Tai-Taichi! It-It-I-I…. Ahh!” She immediately bolted to the other side of the couch and buried her face in the arm of it trying to hide from her audience and most notably, her smirking older brother.

 

“Um, it's not what you think whatsoever. We were talking late last night and I guess we fell asleep at some point, but nothing happened. Believe me,” Daisuke explained the best he could without stuttering or running his sentences together into one incoherent mess.

 

Taichi laughed again. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen the two so jumpy and found it rather refreshing. He hated seeing them looking glum and depressed, especially his own baby sister.

 

Takeru snickered and addressed his brother and Sora. “So, did you two ever end up in a situation like that?”

 

“No!” The couple answered simultaneously, glanced at each other, turned away and sighed.

 

“Not…. often.” The redhead bit her lip as she tilted her head to the ceiling as if it were more interesting than everyone else in the room.

“And not nearly as bad as Taichi and that one girl he was completely gaga over in high school,” Yamato said quickly.

 

“Hey! I wasn't completely gaga over her,” Taichi said defensively.

 

His best friend however disagreed as he shook with mirth. “You could barely make intelligible sentences around her. I think she thought you had a speech impediment from all the stuttering you did.”

 

“Yeah, well, she was cute.”

 

“So are other girls and you don't see too many other guys have the same problem,” Yamato teased. “Even Takeru could form proper sentences around the Italian girl.”

 

“French,” the Bearer of Hope interjected.

 

“Whatever.” He smirked at Taichi instead. “The point is you were completely smitten.”

 

Taichi turned his gaze to the floor, the smile now faded from his face. “Well, if you don't remember, she moved and I never saw her again.” He folded his arms behind his head and looked up again. “Hey, I think we should get moving if we want to make it to Odaiba on time.”

 

“Right. Hey, sorry, man. I didn't realize she was such a sore subject.” Yamato patted the brunette on the back who shrugged in turn.

 

“It's alright. I mean she probably forgot about me, got married, and has 2.5 kids and a dog. It happens and all I can do is wish her the best, right?”

 

“Right.” The other four Chosen exchanged glances but said nothing. Instead they began cleaning and preparing to leave. In a matter of minutes they were ready to depart for the trip to Odaiba that lay ahead of them.

 

*~*~*~*

 

The hot sun bore down upon the group of Chosen Children as they made their way along the streets of Odaiba to the park. It was nearly thirty minutes before they would join the others in the journey to the Digital World.

 

“I didn't… realize how far…. away the park is…. Until now,” Takeru said between puffs of air. He tried shifting his heavy backpack, hoping it would make the walk easier, but to no avail, relief was not achieved. Instead he rolled up the sleeves of his gray shirt wishing he hadn't put it on over his pale blue one. His dark gray pants didn't help the situation either.

 

“That's because we used to live fairly close and didn't have to walk from the train station,” his brother replied, dressed similarly in a black shirt over a copper colored one with gray pants. He scanned their surroundings and sighed. “It hasn't really changed too much since we were last here. I kind of missed it.”

 

“The air seems fresher too,” Sora remarked, lifting her head towards the sky as she took a deep breath. She seemed to be the only one prepared for heat in a turquoise tank top and black jeans. Her long ponytail fluttered slightly as she walked.

 

“Only you would notice that, Sora.” The Chosen of Courage snorted and he rolled his eyes. The red button down shirt and black pants were horribly wrinkled, but he either didn't care or didn't notice.

 

She glowered at him in turn. “At least I know what clean air smells like.”

 

“It's air. What's the difference?”

 

The redhead groaned, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Ask Mimi to remind you about what they call air in New York. That should be a big enough refresher for you.”

 

Hikari frowned for a moment but trailed after along side Daisuke who kept shooting her with concerned glances. She shrugged and gave him a nonchalant smile, absentmindedly yanking slightly at a loose string of her faded black shirt. He paused then nodded as they continued on in silence.

 

It wasn't until twenty minutes later did they finally make it to the park and found their usual picnic table and as normal, it was uninhabited. Happy to have a chance off their feet, the group sat down on the benches or on the table itself with cups of steaming hot coffee they had purchased across the street in their grasps.

 

“It seems like ages since we were last here,” Sora remarked from her place on the table top, holding her cup with both hands. She swung her feet freely and leaned back a bit, turning her face towards the sky.

 

“Yeah. It feels strange.” Her boyfriend agreed by her side, taking a sip of his beverage.

 

Takeru looked at the group thoughtfully. “Makes you wonder why we were in such a rush to leave this place. I mean it was our home and a place where most of the time we were happy.”

 

Daisuke winced slightly but quickly covered it with a cough. “Sorry, I kind of swallowed wrong,” he shrugged sheepishly shifting the paper cup in his hands then took a large gulp of his drink.

 

“If you say so,” Yamato looked at the younger man clad in a dark green shirt and dark jeans skeptically.

 

An uncomfortable silence suddenly filled the air as the idle talk died leaving the group to swim through the sea that was their own thoughts. It wasn't until three minutes later did it break like an elephant sitting on a china cabinet.

 

“Holy shit!” The Chosen of Miracles scrambled off the bench, nearly dumping the contents of his cup on his and Takeru's pants. He stared with a dropped jaw, and seemed unaware of the blonde's cursing and the frantic juggling act of Takeru, Yamato and Taichi for the escaped cup of hot coffee.

 

“Daisuke, watch your language,” Sora scolded then glanced up and gasped as well.

 

Hikari blinked in surprised and pointed to the two young adults headed their way. One was a man, dressed in a pale yellow button down shirt and faded blue jeans, carrying a large gray backpack on his back. His short indigo colored hair swayed slightly in the breeze. His companion was a tall female with a long braid of lavender hair. A few strands hung her face as she studied the group with a look that seemed to be a mix of interest and annoyance. She was dressed in a large brick red colored shirt and dark blue jeans with white and red sneakers. She too had a large backpack over her shoulders in a deep red color. “Isn't that...”

 

“Ken and Miyako,” the Bearer of Hope whispered in disbelief as the young couple approached them.

 

“Well, hello to you six too,” Miyako snorted as she rolled her eyes then laughed. “I always thought it'd take either an emergency or a tragedy to bring us all back together. Looks like the emergency won out.”

 

Sora's eyes widened at the younger woman's bitter tone. “I guess we all fell out of touch. We should try better next time.”

 

Daisuke shifted from one foot to the other. “So, how are you two? I mean I haven't seen either of you since graduation! Classes going okay and all that?”

 

Ken and Miyako brief exchanged glances. “Things are fine,” the former Digimon Kaiser said softly.

 

“We're as happy as happy can be,” his girlfriend shrugged with a one of her trademark grins. She then spun around and looked at her long lost friend. The bright sparkle of her eyes suddenly disappeared. “Hikari…”

 

Ken looked at his childhood friend and offered her a smile to cover up their reactions of shock. His eyes too dimmed at her deathly appearance. “We're glad to see you're alright, Hikari and we'll do all we can to find your memories.”

 

“See? What did I tell you, Hikari? Everyone is going to help so everything will be okay and you'll have your memories back in no time!” Daisuke grinned merrily down at the young woman who merely nodded. “So, Ken. Anything new going on with you?”

 

Ken however was too busy staring at both the Child of Light and the Child of Miracles to fully register the question. An icy chill ran down his spine and at once he felt something was very wrong.

 

“Ken?”

 

The Bearer of Kindness's head snapped up and he looked at his best friend once again. “I'm sorry, Daisuke. I guess there's too much to fully take in right now.”

 

“Yeah, it's okay, man.”

 

Blue eyes studied brown and froze for the first time since he had arrived to the park. Something was indeed wrong. Daisuke's skin looked paler than he could ever recall it being. It seemed a few shades darker than Hikari's but not by much. He quickly refocused his gaze on Takeru who seemed rather out of it as he chatted with Miyako a bit about college. The blonde seemed shaky and had a rather bad cough. Ken then glanced towards the older Chosen Children then after comparing the two brothers realized that perhaps Takeru had taken to emulating Yamato again with the style of dress and the hair. Sora however looked almost too thin, as her turquoise tank top and jeans seemed to be swimming on her tiny figure. Last was Taichi, who appeared too frazzled for his own good. It was rather strange to see the leader clothed in a plain, button down dress shirt that seemed rather wrinkled with slacks.

 

However, before Ken could even address anyone in their party, two other group members walked calmly towards the table.

 

“Hey, there's Koushiro and I think Iori! I'd recognize that redhead anywhere…. At least I think I would,” the Bearer of Courage shouted as the two newcomers headed their way. The rest of their group looked on as well and agreed that the red haired young man dressed in a orange dress shirt with black pants and the brown haired teenager clad in a dark green school uniform were indeed two of their expected friends. Both had their customary backpacks over their shoulders just like the rest of the group confirming that they were indeed who Taichi acclaimed them to be.

 

“I see we are neither late, nor earlier, just as I anticipated,” Izumi Koushiro said with self-proclaimed satisfaction dripping off his words.

 

Hida Iori silently nodded. “Hello, everyone.”

 

“Hey Iori. It's nice to see you've finally grown,” Daisuke snickered teasingly at the youngest member of the Chosen.

 

The nineteen-year-old Kendo expert, who was now almost as tall as Takeru, narrowed his green eyes coolly. “Of course I'm going to grow. I grew the last time you saw me a few years ago.”

 

“Okay, okay, you don't have to turn into Mr. Grouch.” The leader of the second group of Chosen Children scratched his head. “So, you two doing okay…. And since when did you guys hang out?”

 

“We ran into each other on the way here,” Koushiro spun around and faced the elder brunette. “And no, it was not literally, Taichi so you don't need to strain your brain concerning why we possess no bumps or bruises.”

 

Taichi blinked then scowled. “Hey, I am not an idiot.”

 

The twenty three year old Bearer of Knowledge raised an eyebrow then set his backpack down. “I do not plan on accompanying all of you in the Digital World. Instead I'll monitor everyone via my laptop since you will more than likely need my intellect to get out of whatever foolishly sticky situations you may get yourselves into.”

 

Sora's jaw dropped and she took a step forward to comment when Yamato stepped in. “Koushiro, what the hell kind of nano virus got stuck up your ass? You are acting like Mr. Know-It-All, not the Chosen of Knowledge.”

 

“And you have really been representing yourself as the Chosen of Friendship, Yamato? Look, I am only doing what I do best, and that is brainpower. If you have a problem with it, then you can deal, but I am going to do my part.”

 

“And would happen to be having a major stick up your ass?” The musician snorted.

 

“Um, are we interrupting something?”

 

Everyone spun around to find a very familiar woman with very unfamiliar blonde hair dressed in a tiny baby blue sundress with sandals standing next to a young blonde haired man clothed in a bright red shirt and khaki pants. It took a moment for the Chosen to register that they were receiving odds looks from the woman.

 

“Mimi? You're a blonde!” Taichi gaped, nearly falling off the table.

 

“No, kidding. What were you are yelling about and what the hell happened to Hikari and Daisuke? They look like The Night of the Living Dead only in daylight,” Tachikawa Mimi remarked.

 

The two Chosen in question frowned at her but said nothing. Instead they sat quietly and watched the others interact. It was evident that their once friendly group had turned seemingly bitter and cold.

 

“Mimi, that isn't exactly a nice way to say `Hi everyone. I really missed you so let's catch up.' You need to work on your tact a bit more,” Michael Nicholson sighed as his girlfriend of five years glared at him. He took off his heavy navy blue backpack and sat down on the grass.

 

The Chosen of Purity brushed a lock of wavy waist length hair from her blue eyes and crossed her arms. “So are we just going to stand here or are we going to the Digital World?”

 

“Jyou is not here yet,” Sora said with a shrug. “He still has five minutes so he should be here any minute.”

 

“Lovely. And here I could have a smoke about now. Stupid jerk,” she stomped her foot and took off her silver backpack as well.

 

Hikari blinked. “You smoke?”

 

Mimi snorted. “Yeah, like who doesn't?”

 

“I don't,” Iori said firmly. “I don't care to huff and wheeze while doing Kendo.”

 

“I don't huff and wheeze!”

 

Koushiro shook his head as he booted up his laptop. “I don't smoke either. There are more important things to do.”

 

The blonde haired woman ground her teeth together. “Then who does? Please, enlighten me.” The hands of Takeru, Yamato, and Michael went up. Takeru threw Daisuke a look and the brunette groaned and lifted his hand partially.

 

“I'm working on quitting,” the leader said reluctantly.

 

Miyako however raised an eyebrow at her friends. “What is this, an AA meeting?” She shifted her eyes to Ken who growled softly at her. “Anyway, all of you are acting ridiculous, but then again, I should be used to it by now.”

 

“Since when did you become such a bitch, Miyako?” Mimi hissed at the younger woman who did not back down.

 

“Since you became a stereotypical moronic ditz.”

 

Ken ran a hand over his face and sighed. This did not bode well. He shifted his gaze towards Hikari, hoping the confused young woman was accepting everyone's changed attitudes as well as one could. The sight of her wide fear-filled brown eyes and the stricken look on her face spoke louder than words. Whatever her expectations of the group of friends were had been smashed into microscopic pieces. “Miyako-”

 

“Will you two stop? You used to be practically best friends,” Takeru shouted at the two women. “Fighting is not going to get us anywhere.”

 

“Well, until Jyou gets here, there isn't much else to do other than talk about the damn weather,” the lavender haired young woman replied dryly. “Besides, you're the Yamato-wannabe.”

 

“What does that have to do with anything?” The blonde looked at his friend completely flabbergasted.

 

She rolled her eyes in turn. “If anyone has issues, it's you, Takeru or should I call you Mini Mato?”

 

“Oh, that's really mature.”

 

Mimi snickered. “And playing dress up is? Do you still play with action figures too?”

 

Michael, Yamato, and Ken exchanged glances and shook their heads, knowing that the girls were more than likely going win that one. Instead they silently watched yet another argument with the others as Koushiro messed with his laptop.

 

“And how do you expect to do anything in the Digital World, Mimi in five inch heels? You're going to break your neck,” Takeru pointed out.

 

The blonde however fluffed her hair and simply replied, “Palmon will take care of whatever stupid digimon gets in my way.”

 

“Jyou is here…. and fifteen minutes late,” Koushiro said behind his laptop.

 

The three arguing Chosen looked up and sure enough, the blue haired bespectacled man dressed in a white dress shirt and maroon slacks strolled up to the group.

 

“So much for being Mr. Reliable,” Sora snorted as she slid off the table and picked up her bag.

 

“Well, excuse me for not being perfect,” Kido Jyou glowered at the young woman.

 

“Jyou, we said noon, not fifteen past noon.”

 

The Chosen of Faith narrowed his eyes at the Chosen of Love. “Look, I had other things to do, now get off my back.”

 

“You really should try a little harder to be on time, Jyou-” Yamato started but was cut off by Taichi.

 

“Will all of you SHUT THE HELL UP! We called everyone here to go to the Digital World to help my sister, remember? Now once you all have your heads out of your asses we can go, but stop ARGUING!” The Chosen leader shot everyone excluding Hikari an icy glare, daring them to even think of underestimating him. Instead the group fell silent and gathered their things together. Once he was satisfied, Taichi withdrew his digivice from the small pocket of his backpack and nearly dropped it. “What the hell?”

 

“What's wrong, Taichi?” Yamato inquired as he pulled out his own digivice and froze. “What?”

 

Sora blinked at her two friends. “What are you two freaking out about?” She dug through her bag, grabbed her digivice, and screamed. “Why is my digivice gray?”

 

The rest of the older Chosen Children retrieved their digivices and shouted in surprise at the fact that what was once a pale blue electronic device was now a very dull gray.

 

“Maybe it's just regular the digivices and not the D3s?” Koushiro speculated.

 

Daisuke stared at the strange gray digivices then grabbed his D3 from the small pocket of his backpack. “Shit, what happened to it?” He gaped in horror at his now gray D3.

 

“Daisuke, is this some kind of joke?” Miyako hissed as she held out her formerly red D3. “Why did you swap our digivices?”

 

“I didn't do it!” He glared at her then looked at Ken, Takeru, and Iori who held up their D3s, which were also gray. He turned to Michael whose digivice was gray as well despite having been from America. The Chosen of Miracles scowled for a moment then turned towards Hikari. “Wait… Hikari, can I look in your bag for a moment?”

 

The brown haired young woman glanced at him blankly but nodded. “I don't know what you'll find in there though.”

 

“It's okay, I just need to see something.” He fumbled around in her backpack until he reached the bottom and pulled out a similarly gray D3. “Damn it, yours too.”

 

“What does this mean?” Mimi questioned, her voice now tinged with worry.

 

“Will we still be able to go to the Digital World?” Sora looked at the others in question.

 

Koushiro however shook his head. “I don't think that's a good idea. If they are malfunctioning, you could get trapped or worse. If I could spend some time studying them then I-”

 

Daisuke abruptly cut the computer expert off as he jumped up on the bench. “We don't have time! Hikari's memories are at stake and now all of you are going to back down because something seems scary? I'm freaked out too, but I'm still going. We've faced many things together and yeah, this might be a really dumb thing to do, but if we don't try, who knows what might happen.” He held his D3 up high as if it were a sword. “I may not have my goggles anymore, and I may not have been the first Chosen leader, but I sure as hell am not going to back down when someone, anyone needs help. Hikari has no clue who any of us are and has been through hell and back, and now you are all going to just walk away? Some friends you are. Next time I need help, I know who not to ask.”

 

Taichi stared at his protégé in amazement for a moment then stood up. “I didn't say I wasn't going to help my sister, so you know I am definitely going.”

 

“I'm going too. She's like my little sister, so why not?” Sora put her backpack back on and glanced towards her boyfriend.

 

“Me too.” Yamato nodded. “I helped get you and Hikari this far, didn't I?”

 

“And me. We've been friends for a very long time and I don't think a little thing such as our digivices changing color should put an end to that,” Takeru said with a smile.

 

“I will go as well. We may have lost touch, but that doesn't mean that has to be the end of everything,” Ken said as he walked over towards Takeru and Hikari who were still seated on the bench.

 

Slowly the rest of the Chosen agreed in a soft chorus. Koushiro set his laptop on the table as everyone gathered in front of it with their digivices in hand. “Okay, it's ready.”

 

“Let's do this,” Taichi said firmly. “Digital Gate, open!”

 

Suddenly a violently bright light surrounded the group and in a matter of seconds they all disappeared.

 

*~*~*~*~

Author's Notes: This has got to be my longest chapter yet! Now, I finally have everyone headed in the right direction, but where exactly, we'll just have to find out.

 

A lot of this chapter, however I was not expecting, especially all the fighting, but I suppose it's to be expected. Once again, most of it wrote itself and I simply sat back and watched the fireworks. The next chapter should be equally entertaining.

 

Oh and I created a last name for Michael. I just couldn't see having him run around in the story without one, so I tried to come up with one that fit him the most. Oddly the name just kind of popped up as did the other created names. I guess you could call it “story writing itself” again.

 

I have also completed a colored sketch of the group. It can be found on mediaminer.org under the same Pen name (Sailor Janus). It's not the greatest thing, but it gives you an idea as far as how they look. I actually had some trouble in the coloring process because everything smeared with the pencil and then when I used the computer program to fix it…. well, let's just say I've never used it before. Hopefully whatever future sketches I do will be an improvement.

 

Thank you for reading and reviewing.