Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Diminished Light: Void's Assault ❯ Storms of Despair ( Chapter 19 )

Diminished Light: Void's Assault

Chapter 19

Storms of Despair

By

Sailor Janus

 

 

“What's going on?” Sora screamed, shielding her face with her arm as the heavy winds and rain assaulted their weather battered bodies, trying to pin the three girls to the saturated soil.

 

“I don't know, but I don't like it!” Dread flooded Tani's dark eyes as the wind whipped violently through her shoulder length hair. “We should find the others.”

 

“I can barely see anything,” Rosa cried out, her voice tinged with fear.

 

I'm not going to panic. I'm not going to panic. I'm not going to panic. I have not gotten through three years of this crap to have everything end like this. Tani curled her hands into fists as tears ran down her dirt stained face. “I'M NOT LETTING YOU DO THIS! DO YOU HEAR ME? YOU CAN TAKE MY CREST. YOU CAN TAKE MY DIGIMON BUT NO ONE MESSES WITH ME OR TAICHI AND HIS FRIENDS!”

 

“Is she loco? Who is she talking to?” The Mexican girl glanced blankly to Sora who stared at the new girl with a dropped jaw. Abruptly Tani grabbed both of their hands, yanking them to their feet and took off at a run through the storm.

 

“Where are we going? We're practically blinded,” Sora said, breaking out of her stupor.

 

“We need to find the others. If the person I think is behind this truly is, there is no telling what will happen next,” Tani replied bitterly.

 

“Who? Wait, you mean someone is causing all of this to happen?”

 

“Possibly. I'm not fully sure, but I do know that they are the reason why I've been stuck here for three years.”

 

“THREE YEARS?” Sora and Rosa chorused in bewilderment.

 

The dark haired young woman whipped her head around as she came to a halt and stared at the two girls with an intense glow in her brown eyes. A flash of lightening streaked through the air, adding to the fury in her gaze. “I don't know why you have all been dragged into this, but as you may have already suspected the danger is real. I haven't been here for three years because I like it so much.”

 

“But-” Rosa began but Tani had already turned back around and began running again. The short teenaged girl sighed and took off after her as Sora trailed close behind.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Taichi laid in the wet grass with his eyes closed as the rain poured down upon him. Once again I have completely failed. Some leader I am. Who am I kidding. I'm no leader. A leader is… I don't know. Someone who leads. Daisuke deserved the goggles more than I ever did. Maybe I should just lie here and wait for death to claim me. That is if it would ever want a miserable corpse like myself. He sighed heavily but refused to open his eyes. Suddenly his nose twitched slightly and he sneezed. “This is really pathetic.”

 

The soaked leader sat up and smoothed back his drenched locks from his sad eyes. I'm sorry, Hikari. So far I haven't been any good in finding you or your memories. I'm a horrible brother. I didn't do a very good job looking for you when you disappeared a few years ago. Hell, I couldn't even save you from the World of Darkness as you dubbed it many years back after Nana and Grand Dad died. You just kinda reappeared in the Digital World on your own. Taichi frowned as he recalled finding his then thirteen-year-old sister completely soaked to the bone and freezing to the point where she had nearly caught pneumonia. It had taken them several hours to calm her down enough to where she could actually rest peacefully. “With my luck, you're probably trapped there and once again I'm helpless to save you.”

 

His thoughts quickly moved towards the sorest subject of all, Tani. It was odd how she just disappeared. He had known her for about two years, dating on and off when out of the blue she practically dropped off the face of the Earth. Of course that didn't keep her off his mind, especially a year or two after his family had moved to Kyoto. That was when the pretty brunette had started haunting him, constantly. Sometimes it was simple dreams, other times he would be walking down the street and could swear that he saw her in passing only to discover that it wasn't her to begin with. And other times he could hear her voice in his head as clear as day. He didn't dare tell anyone about the hallucinations as a shrink would more than likely call them. They would probably try to convince him that he was overworked or worse, institutionalize him or something. Neither of which appealed to Chosen Child.

 

Instead, Taichi tried to drown the hallucinations out with alcohol; which had it's own problems, medications, or a large amount of caffeine. Unfortunately, neither aided him in his quest for relief for too long, leading to a bad case of depression induced hangovers or crashes depending on the substance of choice, threatening to push him over the edge. But she's back. It's really her… At least I think it is. Asukai Tani, the only other girl that seemed to hold his interest even more than his best friend Sora did. He could still remember the first time he met her.

 

They were both fifteen. He was at the park practicing for a big soccer game when he lost control of the ball he was bouncing from his knee to his head and sent it careening into a brunette teenaged girl who was innocently walking through the park as she was eating an ice cream cone, and promptly smashed the icy dessert in her face with his soccer ball. Taichi seriously thought she was going to pummel him after he heard her scream. He lost count of how many times he apologized, but Tani only laughed as she smoothed her waist length ice cream splattered tresses from her face and tried to convince him that she was okay. Taichi however wouldn't hear any of it and insisted on buying her another cone. Surprisingly enough, she agreed. After that, he didn't know it but he was hooked.

 

Tani was cute, funny, and a bit energetic plus she wasn't afraid to try anything once. She also had the odd ability of keeping him in line when things got too crazy. Sora would probably give her a medal for every time she kept him from blowing his top over little things. Of course, the girl wasn't perfect either. She was a bit oversensitive at times and when upset, had an annoying habit of storming off without actually explaining why she was angry to begin with. She also didn't voice her opinion too much, practically letting other walk all over her. Regardless, he still flipped over the pretty brunette. The only other oddness Taichi realized was that she had never talked about her home life. Whenever it was brought up she'd say very little then would change the subject in just a way that no one realized it or gave her tact much thought. At that moment, he felt like a really big heel. Taichi dropped his face in his hands and cursed himself. Why didn't I see this earlier? Damn it, I really am dense! She probably didn't want to mention her family because something bad was going on and I was too stupid to notice. Once again I have to ponder why the hell I was chosen to be the leader. I am too much of an idiot to even be worthy of such a title.

 

Taichi snapped his head up as the rain began falling even harder, a new light of determination shining brightly in his once dim brown eyes. “I have to apologize. That's the only thing I can do. I have to find Tani before I screw things up even worse than they already are.”

 

“I could have told you that.”

 

The brunette whipped his head around and found Yamato leaning nonchalantly against a tree with his arms folded over his chest. Taichi sucked in a breath and stood up bowing his head towards the ground. “Sometimes I honestly don't think I deserve anything.”

 

“You just need to learn to listen and shut up.” The blonde pushed off from the tree and moved to join his friend. His thick golden locks clung to his angular jaw as he came to a pause in front of Taichi. Annoyed he shoved them away and narrowed his eyes at the sky.

 

“I don't suppose you have that problem with Sora…. And I can't believe that we are actually talking about this.”

 

“And I never thought you'd actually find a girl,” Yamato smirked. “Do you always stutter like that around her?”

 

Taichi threw his best friend a glare and grabbed his bag from the ground. “Shut up. She-she just caught me off guard. Damn did she get hot. I mean she was pretty to begin with but now she looks even better.”

 

“Taichi…. you're drooling.”

 

“And damn proud of it!” He flinched a brief moment as if realizing exactly what he had said then shrugged. “Weren't you looking for Sora?”

 

“Couldn't find her. Plus hearing you scream out that you hated all of us didn't exactly leave me with warm fuzzies.” Yamato gave his friend an earnest look. “You may not be worn thin as you were before we got here, but that doesn't mean you have fully changed mentally.”

 

“What do you mean?” Taichi blinked in confusion at the blonde who sighed heavily.

 

“I know you, Taichi and before I may have been too thick to actually approach the subject like we did with Daisuke…. which didn't go anywhere either, but you have problems.”

 

“So do you!” The brunette glowered as he balled his hands into fists. Yamato only shook his head sadly.

 

“I know. I'll be the first to tell you that yes I do have problems and unfortunately, I have a feeling that I've dragged Sora into them as well.” The musician clenched his hands tightly and looked down at them. “I don't know what's going to happen here, but I do know that if we can change things, we have to start now. Maybe that's the reason for this whole thing. We may not actually be able to fight whatever is out there, but we can at least try to survive and make the best of the situations. As Takeru, or the old Takeru would say…. we can't give up hope.”

 

Taichi opened his mouth to reply but never got to say a word when a quiet voice jumped in.

 

“I don't mean to interrupt, but the storm is getting worse and I have a really bad feeling,” Iori said with a tone of urgency in his voice.

 

“The girls! We have to find them!” Taichi exclaimed as the color washed from his face. His two comrades nodded in agreement and together the raced off in the search of their three missing team members.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Koushiro stared in disbelief at the dark haired girl kneeling next to Catherine. He opened his mouth to say something, but found that he could only utter one word. “Akina.”

 

The French girl looked between the two and pressed her hand to her mouth. “Oh my. You two know each other?” She quickly stood up and backed towards the opposite end of the room to give them their space.

 

The red head recovered from his shock and took a step forward. “Akina…. What happened to you? I mean you stopped replying to my emails and were no longer on the messenger system…” He paused as his flashlight caught something around her neck. “You're a Chosen?”

 

Akina gripped the thin sleeves of her shirt and pursed her lips. “I…” She took several deep breaths and dropped her gaze to her dirty sneakers rocking back and forth slightly. “I…”

 

Koushiro put his hands up in surrender, professing that he wasn't a threat, even though that more than likely would not relieve the girl from the caged in feeling she was probably experiencing at the moment. “I'm not angry, I was just worried because well you're here and have a tag so that makes you a Chosen Child, and I really don't know what to say…. How did you get here and for how long?”

 

“I…. I haven't replied to your emails….” She softly began then snapped her head up as angry tears flooded her eyes. “BECAUSE I'VE BEEN STUCK HERE ALL THIS TIME!”

 

The computer expert's dark eyes widen from the confession. He stumbled backwards and leaned against the cool stone wall. “You-you mean you've been here for-”

 

“Three years. Three years alone in this horrible place, and it is all my own stupid fault. So, please just leave me alone.”

 

“Akina…”

 

“LEAVE ME ALONE!”

 

Koushiro stared at her long and hard. That instance he realized how different Akina had become in just three years. She was colder and quite self-loathing. Something had to have happened that he was unaware of and unless he knew, there was no possible way he could help. At that moment his thoughts drifted to Michael and Mimi. The couple was constantly bickering with each other, but no matter what, no one stepped forward concerning their true feelings. Instead the reasons that brewed those emotions of hurt and anger remained bottled up and tightly sealed. Nothing will ever be resolved if no one talks. What an ugly circle we all seem to be caught up in.

Catherine clasped her hands in front of her and lowered her head. “We've all done things that we aren't proud of, myself included. But that doesn't mean we can't fix them…. Or at least try.” She laughed lightly and sighed. “I know I'm a coward when it comes to things but if only I'd take my own advice, perhaps things would be better than they already are. Misery may love company, but is it really where we want to be?”

 

“She always tried to bring us down to her level,” the dark haired girl murmured to herself. “And one by one, we all got dragged into the muck.”

 

“Who?” The red head inquired softly.

 

“It's not important.”

 

Koushiro studied the solemn look on Akina's face and nodded. “Alright.” He cleared his throat and shuffled his feet slightly. “In any case, the others probably realize that I'm missing now too so we better find them. You're welcome to join us, Akina.”

 

“Please come. You don't deserve to be isolated in this cave. No one should be alone,” Catherine said earnestly as she gathered her bag together and turned pleadingly to the other girl.

 

Akina stared at her sneakers for a moment then groaned narrowing her green eyes at the French Chosen. “You're going to continue whining to me like a lost puppy until I give in, aren't you?” She pushed her bangs from her face and rose to her feet. “Fine. I'll go with you two, but later on I'll have to ask Catherine if she learned that trick from one of my sisters because I thought only she had mastered the art of the `sad puppy dog eyes.' Now you've proved me wrong.”

 

Catherine giggled gleefully as Akina began packing away her stuff. Koushiro looked at the two then shook his head.

 

Suddenly a loud crash followed by frantic footsteps killed the serene atmosphere of the small cavern. The three Chosen froze and fear awakened in their nerves, setting them immediately on edge. The Japanese boy backed up towards the two girls standing defensively before them as they watched the entrance with anticipation over who or what might be on the other side. They didn't have to wait too long as a frizzy haired blonde America popped his head in followed by a pale faced brunette young woman leaning against him.

 

“Michael! Mimi! Is it really you?” Catherine cried out as the two crumpled to the ground.

 

“Or what's left of us,” Michael replied grimly. It's getting worse in here. The lava is gaining speed and it probably won't be long before it reaches this cavern as well.”

 

“Lava?” Akina gasped with wide eyes.

 

“Hey, who's the new girl?”

 

“Michael!” Mimi slapped him upside the head as she scolded him. “You're supposed to introduce yourself, not point and look stupid.”

 

“Hey, I'm not the one who called two of my friends “The Night of the Living Dead in daylight,” he snapped back.

 

Koushiro however merely shook his head. “Akina, That's Nicholson Michael, or Michael Nicholson as they would say it in America, and Tachikawa Mimi. Everyone, this is Asukai Akina.”

 

“Wait, she's a Chosen?” Mimi gaped at the girl's tag as her boyfriend pulled her to her feet.

 

“Not now Mimi, we have bigger things to worry about such as life threatening lava.”

 

“Where's Takeru?” Catherine questioned as she realized that the blonde teenaged boy was not among the squabbling couple. “He's right behind you, right? RIGHT?”

 

The brunette young woman however lowered her head. “We lost him. There was a fight….We don't know where he is.”

 

“Then we have to find him. We can't just leave him in here to die. We have to find him.” The French girl frantically raced for the entrance but was caught in the arms by the couple. “Let go of me! I have to find Takeru!”

 

“It's not going to do any good to kill yourself hunting for him.” Michael gritted his teeth as he struggled to hold the blonde girl back. However just as Catherine had almost slipped out of their grasps, he lifted her up by the waist and swung her over his shoulder.

 

“PUT ME DOWN!” Catherine screamed in protest, swinging her arms and legs violently. “TAKERU!”

 

The American however sighed and turned to the new girl who watching the group in a stunned silence. “I don't suppose you know a way out of here.”

 

Akina blinked then slowly nodded. “Yes, I'll take you there.”

 

Koushiro grabbed her bag and looked at her sternly. “And you're coming with us.”

 

“I-”

 

“If you want your stuff back, you're coming with us.”

 

The young woman stared at her a moment then brushed past the others. “It's this way,” she said, leading the group of Chosen Children out of her makeshift home. Quickly they raced down various caverns before the finally came to a halt in front of what looked like a stream of lava.

 

“Oh no!” Mimi gasped in fear. “We're trapped!”

 

Akina glanced around the dim cave as Koushiro dragged the beam of his flashlight around. She pushed a strand of dark hair from her eyes and clenched her hands. “I don't know where to go now…”

 

“How about this way?” A new voice said from the shadows.

 

“TAKERU!” Catherine's blue eyes widened as she jumped in surprise, flailing her body weight every which way causing Michael to lose his balance.

 

“Easy, Catherine. Hey, calm down or we're both going to fall.” The French girl however didn't listen and she continued trying to slip out of his grasp causing him to fall, collapsing on his face as he shouted in warning. “Ow,” Michael mumbled as Catherine scrambled to her feet anxiously.

 

Suddenly the missing teenager found himself tackled as the girl pounced on him, throwing them both to the ground with a loud crash. “Hi.” Takeru mumbled with a mouthful of Catherine's blonde curls. He carefully pushed the hair from his mouth then sat up, glanced at the others, and flushed a deep red. “Um, hi.”

 

Michael scrambled to his feet and shook his head. “Good to see you're still alive. So where is this great exit you mentioned before Catherine did a maneuver that would make everyone at the Super Bowl in American football jealous?”

 

Takeru gently pulled the girl away and stood up, helping her to her feet as well. “It's to the right of this cavern, and you wouldn't believe what I found.”

 

“Well, now is as good a time as any to escape certain death so let's go.” The American started off down the cave followed by the others at a rapid pace, pausing only once to allow the blonde Japanese boy the option to take the lead; eager to be free of the madness and danger of the volcano.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Jyou slept peacefully in the corner of the cave when he abruptly awoke to an odd sensation of something tickling his legs. Lazily he opened his dark eyes and blinked at the sight of water surrounding him. He gasped in alarm and lifted his partially wet head up. Luckily the large puddle was only a few centimeters deep or he would have drowned. “Water. There must be a tsunami or a tide or something…. At least the water hadn't risen or…. Ami!”

 

Recalling the red haired girl, he got to his feet and splashed over to her slumbering form. “Ami, wake up! The cave is flooded,” he cried out urgently, shaking her shoulder tensely.

 

The curly haired girl opened her blue-green eyes and screamed in fright. “We're going to die!” She gripped her sleeping bag closer to her chest and began to sob.

 

The med student opened his mouth to reply, but was once again at a loss for words. It seemed that Ami was the most pessimistic girl he had ever met. Not to mention a hopeless crybaby. Instead he paused for a moment then took her by the arm and yanked her from her cocoon. “Come on. Crying about it isn't going to do any good. We have to get out of here.”

 

She stared at him for a moment and sniffed. “What's the use? We can't escape from the water. It's just going to continue to rise.” A bitter laugh erupted from her throat. “I guess she has finally decided on killing us after all.”

 

Jyou however shoved what he could of her things in her bag and handed it to her. Then he frantically picked up his own backpack and grabbed Ami's arm leading them out through the mouth of the cavern, splashing through the ocean water as they ran. “Damn.” The young man came to a halt as a mild wave crashed into them.

 

“I told you.”

 

Okay, what would Taichi and the others do? Damn it. I'm not cut out for this. I'm not leadership material, but I can't just sit here and wait for death to come for us. He quickly turned on his heel and waded to the side of the cave. “This isn't going to be easy.”

 

“What?” Ami glanced at the med student in question but found herself lifted up towards the jagged sides of the cavern as she shrieked in warning.

 

“Stop screaming and try climbing,” Jyou grumbled trying to maintain his already slipping grasp. Just them a particularly strong wave collided into the pair, knocking the young man off his feet, forcing them both to fall into the water.

 

“I told you this wouldn't work,” the girl whimpered, brushing her soaked locks from her face.

 

“No you didn't,” he glared.

 

Ami however merely shrugged. “Well I was thinking it.” She hesitantly rose to her feet and dropped her gaze to the rising water. A small glimmering stone floating on the surface caught her eye and carefully she scoped it up and smiled down at it. “I think I'll keep it,” she murmured, slipping the stone with a simple flower etched on its surface in her bag as Jyou wiped his glasses off the best he could. “So any other brilliant ideas?”

 

“It would have worked if you had grabbed onto the side of the cave instead of screaming like a baby.”

 

“I am not a baby!”

 

“You sure act like one,” he retorted with a snort.

 

Ami however sent him an icy glare. “And you haven't been stuck here for three miserable years completely alone! Tell me how great your stupid self confidence would be after experiencing that you, you, you, jerk!”

 

“What are you supposed to be? Some poor little rich girl?”

 

The girl balled her hands into fists and gave the water a kick, splashing it in Jyou's face. “Leave me alone and don't talk to me!” She spun on her heel and stomped away angrily as tears flooded her eyes once again.

 

“Like I would ever want to talk to a spoiled brat like you!” The blue haired young man shook his head and sighed. “Why am I yelling at her to begin with? I really have to get out of here before I lose it too.” At that moment Jyou realized that something was brushing against his lower back. He turned around and gasped loudly. What had once been not even ankle deep water now reached his waist. This fact did not bode well at all. “Um, Ami….”

 

“I told you to leave me alone,” her voice snapped hotly a short distance away.

 

“Yes, but I think we really do need to find higher ground unless you're a mermaid or a really good swimmer or something…”

 

The girl paused as if realization hit her as well. She looked at the salty water and grimaced. “You do have a point.”

 

Jyou stared in disbelief at what seemed to be the denseness of the red head and shoved a handful of hair from his face. She is unbelievable. Did she not even notice how high the water was before I told her? How in the world did I get stuck with this girl?

 

Ami approached the outer wall of the cave and bit her lip. “Can you give me a boast?”

 

“We tried this before and you made both of us fall,” he sighed.

 

“It's not my fault that you're so clumsy.”

 

“I'M NOT CLUMSY!”

 

The girl however rolled her eyes and grabbed a hold of a high portion of the cave then pulled herself up. She remained stationary for a moment until her hands slipped and she tumbled backwards into the water with a screech. “That burns,” Ami cried out, wincing in pain at a cut on her arm.

 

“The salt water will clean it out.” Jyou walked behind red head and lifted her up before she could even react. “Try again.”

 

Ami drew in a sharp breath then reached towards a higher portion of the cave. Her hands slid slightly from her wet gloves, but Jyou maintained his hold on her, pushing her up even higher. The girl gave out a small cry as she scrambled onto the young man's arms, wavering slightly as she tried to find her center of gravity. Before she knew it, she was balanced perfectly on his shoulder like some overly large parrot. “There aren't any good hand or foot holds. This is useless!”

 

“Try-” The med student paused as a familiar sound caught his attention in the distance. “I think there's someone up there. Try yelling.”

 

“HELP! SOMEONE HELP US OR WE'RE GOING TO DROWN DOWN HERE!” Ami screamed for all she was worth causing Jyou to shudder at her sharp intervals. Suddenly the thundering sound of footsteps became louder.

 

“Hey! There's a girl down there!” One voice said excitedly. “Wonder if she's hot.”

 

“Wallace!” A female voice scolded.

 

“We should help,” a third person said. “Hello? Are you okay?” A dark haired teen peered down the cliff and started as his blue eyes met a familiar face. “Jyou?”

 

“Jyou?” Just then a girl with lavender hair peeked over the edge and squealed in delight. “Jyou! You're alive! Who's your friend?”

 

“Asukai Ami, but that doesn't really matter. Can you please get us out of here? The water is rising really fast and right now it nearly reaches my chest,” the bespectacled young man replied.

 

“Not a problem, Jyou,” Wallace nodded as he leaned down and reached out his hands towards Ami. She bit her lip then accepted, allowing him to pull her up to safety.

 

“Thank you,” she said meekly.

 

“No problem. Name's Wallace Bailey or Bailey Wallace as you would say it.”

 

“Asukai Ami,” the girl smiled.

 

“Hey! I know I'm tall but you guys can't leave me down here,” Jyou shouted from below.

 

The blonde shook his head. “We'll have to make a human chain. Ken, grab my legs, girls, try to keep him steady because this may be a bit tricky.”

 

Everyone agreed and before they knew it, the eldest of the group was back up on dry land.

 

“What happened to you, Jyou? We thought you were gone for good,” Miyako said thoughtfully as the exhausted young man collapsed on the grass.

 

He groaned then explained how he had awoken on a beach and met Ami. Briefly he glanced towards the girl that was silently braiding several strands of grass together then shook his head. “Anyway, I think I need a break then we can go run around before danger decides to play with us again.”

 

Ken, Wallace, and Miyako exchanged glances, silently agreeing as they too found a place to rest before beginning the journey to find their other missing friends and a possible way out of wherever they had been sent.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Cold. Dark. Silent. Those were the words that rushed through Hikari's head as she studied the odd place she was standing in. What appeared to have been an ocean was strangely still, as if one could walk across the surface and not fall through. She rubbed her arms nervously as a chill ran down her spine. As eerie as the atmosphere was, she had a feeling that she had been there before, at least more than once.

 

“Where is she? Hikari? Where are you?” A familiar voice echoed in her head.

 

Hikari's eyes widened as she realized that it was none other than her own brother. She spun around anxiously, but no one was there. “Big brother! Taichi! I'm over here!” She paused for a moment, but no one came to her aid. The girl lowered her head, fighting back the tears wishing to fall.

 

“I don't see any trace of her, Taichi,” a female said warily. “Are you sure she's even here?”

 

“I don't know. But she's not in Odaiba. We have to keep looking, Miyako,” he replied.

 

“Right. And I've mapped out every location back in Odaiba that she could have gone but no one has seen Hikari,” a different male voice explained.

 

“But I'm right here!” Hikari stomped her foot in frustration then sat on the slimy ground, pulling her knees to her chest. “It's just all of you who are missing.” She sighed and buried her face in her lap.

 

“Poor little lost girl,” a new voice mocked in a fake sympathetic tone.

 

The brunette lifted her head and gasped at the sight of the darkly cloaked female. “You! Did you bring me here?”

 

The young woman circled Hikari as she snickered. “Are you certain that I am the one behind this? Behind everything?”

 

“I-I don't know what to think.”

 

“You are so pathetic. Crying about things that you can't even help. Whether its memories, dreams, or reality makes no difference. Whatever happens you can't change. You should just accept what is.”

 

“And what would that be? That I should have stood there like a doll and allowed Nitoni to kill me? You were probably behind everything.” Hikari shook her head and leaned over her bent knees. “Were you the one behind my missing memories?”

 

“And if I was, then what would you do? Kill me. Cry, plea, and beg for me to return them. You are absolutely pathetic Yagami Hikari.”

 

“I'm not the one hiding under a cloak.”

 

The figure however laughed. Her blue eyes sparkled like polished gemstones. A sudden breeze flowed through the air, whipping through Hikari's damp locks. “You know nothing and never will. This world is my own and those who have wronged me will feel my wrath if they haven't already done so, including your stupid friends, but especially you, Child of Light.”

 

The ground beneath Hikari cracked as it began to shake, causing her to fall through the earth with a scream.

 

“Consider this a warning. Whether you actually remember….well, it's not my fault.”

 

*~*~*~*

 

Hikari awoke with a start. She glanced tensely around her surroundings and released a sigh of relief at the sight of the interior of the cave. Daisuke appeared to be asleep on the opposite side, sprawled out in his own sleeping bag. It was just a dream… Or was it? She pushed back the hair that was hanging in her face and groaned. The nightmares were growing more and more confusing, especially regarding the cloaked woman who seemed to enjoy tormenting her. What was even more peculiar was that the place she was during the dream frightened her even more than the mystery person did.

 

“Hikari? What are you doing awake?” The teenaged boy sleepily rubbed his eyes and yawned. He blinked at her still appearance and sat up. “Bad dream?”

 

“Or something like that.” She turned her focus to her hands. “I can't seem to determine which are memories and which are fake anymore. And it scares me because I can't remember.” She hesitated a moment then shook her head. “That woman was back again. She kept telling me I was pathetic, but I don't know why she's so angry with me.”

 

Daisuke watched her in the dim light as she spoke before giving his reply. “We'll find out what's going on here if it's the last thing I do.”

 

“What if this is really all my fault? What if I'm the one who is to blame? Maybe I'm the reason why everyone is gone.”

 

“That's ridiculous. How could you have done any of this?” Daisuke rose to his feet and pulled on his jacket. “It seems to me that whoever that girl is has a serious grudge or something and she's deciding to point the finger at you to make herself feel better. Either that or to bring you down to her level.”

 

“But-”

 

“This is not your fault.”

 

Hikari drew a breath. “Why do you stick up for me? Why do you believe so much that I'm the victim when it could be because of me that all these things have happened? Why, Daisuke?”

 

He opened his mouth to reply but froze in mid-thought. Tucking his hands into his pockets, the teenaged boy shuffled his feet slightly and shrugged. “Because…. I've known you too long….”

 

“Things could have happened since you last saw me. Things that both you and I are unaware of.”

 

Daisuke stared at her for a moment. “Things may have happened, yes. But that doesn't make them your fault. It'd be like blaming Yamato for a hair gel shortage when it could very likely be anyone or no one at all. As Ken would say, it's all in perspective.” He paused a moment and scratched his head. “Wow, that came from my mouth? I guess the school thing really has done some good. Look Mom, I have insight!”

 

Hikari blinked then started giggling. “You just did that to try to cheer me up.”

 

“The insight thing? Nah, I think it was just a phase. It's probably gone now. Yep. It has left me. Oh well, must have felt lonely.” He chuckled and stretched out his arms. “I guess we can try venturing out again. Maybe we'll get lucky and actually get somewhere.”

 

“I guess you're right.” The girl slowly climbed out of her sleeping bag and gave Daisuke a small smile as a tiny blush colored her pale cheeks. “I just hope the others are alright. Especially my brother.”

 

“Taichi? He's more than likely fine.” The soccer player stuffed his things haphazardly in his bag with a shrug. “As I said before, everyone pretty much knows how to take care of themselves so don't worry about that. I'm pretty certain that they're all fine.”

 

“If you say so.”

 

Daisuke spun around and faced the uncertain girl. “Hikari?”

 

“Sorry. It's just I don't have much confidence with all these dreams I've been having. I can't help but fear for everyone's safety,” she whispered zipping up her backpack then dropped her face in her hands. “So of course I can't help but feel like I'm the one to blame because I'm the one being tormented with all these strange dreams outside of the fact that I'm missing my memories.”

 

“I see.”

 

Hikari tilted her head slightly as she glanced at the blank expression on her companion's face. She pushed a strand of hair from her eyes and finished packing. She determined it was a bit odd to have such a lack of response from him when lately he'd been trying to convince her otherwise. For some reason it irritated her. Why do I care what he thinks? It's not like it really matters. He's just an old friend that wants to help me, that's all. At least… I think that's all. Hikari bit her lip, stood up, and fixed the tie to her shirt.

 

“Ready?”

 

“I suppose so.” The pair exchanged glances then headed out of the cave into the sticky humidity. “It's warmer than it previously was,” the teenaged girl remarked as they approached a group of trees in the distance.

 

“Yeah. But then again, when has anything that has gone on here made any sense?”

 

“True.”

 

They fell into an awkward silence as they continued wandering down the rocky path towards the forest, unaware of what lay before them next.

 

*~*~*~*

 

Author's Notes: Many apologies on such a late update but with the chaos of my laptop's issues and the irregularities that is my internet connection, well it's been practically blood, sweat, and tears with a bit of madness thrown in for flavor.

 

This chapter was definitely something else. Not only is it now my longest, most of the characters surprised me with their actions and of course, the outline has been changed once again not that it's a problem. I should return to updating every other week as long as another issue doesn't pop up.

 

Oh, and I finally edited through the previous chapters which was actually what I was doing before the crisis, so now those annoying typos should be gone if not at least diminished.

 

Hope you enjoyed the newest chapter and thank you for your reviews.