Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Presents And Promises ❯ Epilogue

Presents and Promises: Epilogue
By Archangel Bloodraven

"Gotcha!" Sora said catching Kari by the waist as the semiconscious girl plummeted past Birdramon.

"Momma?" Kari asked as the bundle tumbled from her numb fingers. "Oh momma I met the most wonderful boy and I
love him but I'm tired momma. I'm just gonna sleep for a little bit, but if I don't wake up momma, promise me you'll look
after him and tell him… tell him…"

"No Kari." Sora said by a sudden certainty that if she did go to sleep Kari wouldn't wake up. "You're going to stay awake
and tell him yourself, okay? Birdramon, head for the Generosity!"

"I don' feel good." Kari said nesting into Sora's arms.

Sora just cradled the younger to her. This girl who had seemed so strong was now reduced to huddling in the arms of
someone she erroneously thought was her mother. Sora felt her heart break as she began to sob.

***

Matt leaned out and grabbed the falling bundle as Garurumon took Gato's inert form and gently swung her onto his
neck. "Let's go Garurumon." He said briskly as Birdramon glided towards the docks. "Back to the Generosity."

"Good luck and god speed!" Yari called.

"Thanks!" Matt shouted as the blue wolf digimon loped off towards the dock. The pair leaped aboard the Generosity,
Garurumon reverting to Gabumon at the last instant.

"Wait for us!" Sora cried cradling Kari to her chest as she jumped from Birdramon's claw into Matt's arms.

"Unfurl all sails! Rowers to your posts!" Kandasia bellowed. "We're racing the black reaper and he's got a head start!"

"Now Birdramon!" Sora shouted as the last of the sails dropped into place.

Birdramon flapped her powerful wings as she flew behind the Generosity, blowing the weary adventures swiftly home.

***

"Miss us?" Matt asked as he cradled Kari in his arms. Sora tossed Gennai the precious antidote, before the digidestined
vanished behind the foreboding quarantine door.

"Sora." Kari coughed as the older girl tucked her into bed. "Promise me..."

"What is it, Kari?" Sora asked leaning close.

"I'm dying Sora. I'll hold on as long as I can, but if-" She broke off into a coughing bout. "If something happens, promise
me you'll watch over TK and Gato for me. Can you promise me that?" Gripping the older girl's hand as she searched for
her with sightless eyes.

"I... I promise, Kari." She choked squeezing her hand.

Kari sighed and sank into the quilts unmoving.

"No!" TK cried quietly. "Yama-chan," He said groping blindly for his sibling's hand. "I gotta go after Kari. I promised I'd
protect her, but if I don't come back...."

"I'll keep your promise." Matt said patting his hand as he slipped from the living. "I love you." He sobbed.

"And I love you." Sora said wrapping her arms around him as they shared their grief. "It isn't fair!" She sobbed. "I went
after Kari because TK was the only thing left you had to care about, the only thing you loved. I didn't want to break your
heart, so I was going to go, then Kari beat me to it, and now they're both dead."

"You didn't want to see me get my heart broken again, did you?"

"I will never hurt you." She whispered.

***

"Kari!" TK yelled into the inky blackness.

"TK!" Her voice echoed across the shadowy wasteland. "I came back as I promised, but I can't stay with you."

"What are you saying Kari?" He called struggling against the entwining darkness that tried to restrain him.

"I'm sorry TK, but I won't be coming back from this journey."

"NO!" TK screamed lunging against his restraints to wrap his hand around Kari's fingers. "I won't let you go."

"You have to Takeru." She said trying futilely to twist her hand free. "I don't want this either, but I'm too weak to come
back."

"I won't go back without you!" He cried squeezing her hand tighter.

"TK, you're hurting me!" She sobbed.

"Well you're hurting us!" He exclaimed. "Tai, and Gatomon, and yourself! And worst of all you're hurting me, here!" He
moaned pressing her hand to his heart.

"TK, I'm sorry. I lov-"

"Don't say that!" He snapped. "If you loved me you wouldn't break my heart this way." He whispered sobbing softly.

"Oh Takeru, I never meant to hurt you." She whispered too low for anyone else to hear. "No matter what, I will always
love you."

***

Matt held Sora as she sobbed. He stroked her hair and tried to comfort her. "I loved her like a sister Matt! Do you have
any idea how much this hurts?"

"I love you, Sora." He whispered. "And I will never betray you."

***

"I don't want to hurt anyone," TK whispered as he released the slender strand of life that tied him to the others. "but a
life without Kari isn't worth living. We will never be parted."

***

Across the space of time and dimension, life and death, four hearts made a sincere promise as four children spoke two
words in unison.

"I promise."

Those words gave birth to a miracle.

***

As if on cue, the crests of Light, Hope, Friendship and Love exploded into a blinding light.

"I stay with you." TK said defiantly locking eyes with Kari.

Kari nodded as the darkness slipped away and strength returned to her ailing spirit. "I'm tired." She said wrapping her
hand more fully around TK's. "Let's go home."

***

"Yello Oniichan." TK whispered.

"TK! I thought you were dead!" Matt cried gently squeezing his younger brother as Sora crossed to Kari's bedside.

TK shook his head and pointed weakly across the room. "I stay with her." He murmured sinking not into the cold hands
of death, but the warm arms of slumber.

Sora returned with a grim but relieved smile. "She's alive. He brought her back." She jumped into Matt's arms as tears of
joy rolled down her face.

"I wouldn't have thought it possible." Gennai bringing in a tray full of steaming mugs. "I can't explain it."

"Today is Christmas Eve, Gennai." Matt said sipping on a cup of the antidote as he placed one beside his younger
brother's bed. He would need it in time, but for now he was out of danger.

"It's a time of miracles, presents, and promises." Sora said.

***

The next day an alarmingly thin Patamon helped a weary Gatomon move about the cabin. "Thanks for everything Gato."

"Stop a minute, Pata." She said leaning against the wall of a secluded alcove.

"Do you need to rest?"

She shook her head. "Digimon heal fast, remember? But I do need to tell you something. I-" She broke off as fear
tightened her throat.

"Go on, Gato." He said soothingly.

"Patamon I love you." She blurted out turning away.

"I know." He said softly.

"But then why-"

"Because you had to say it, Gato. You had to admit to yourself that you can still love."

"You don't understand, Pata. The only other 'mon I ever loved was Wizardmon and he-" She broke off sobbing.

"I know. Evil destroyed the only one you ever loved, but you destroyed that evil, my angel. I love you as well. I don't
know if it's because we're both angel types, or if we're echoing TK and Kari's feelings for each other or-"

"Pata."

"Huh?"

"Shut up." She said kissing him deeply.

***

"It's good to see those two together." Biyomon said.

Gabu nodded. "Especially Gato. She's been alone too long and hurt too much.."

"Matt and Sora too." Biyo said thoughtfully as they stopped in a doorway. "Do you think the kids emotion's have
something to do with how we feel?"

"Possibly." Gabu said. "But it doesn't matter. I love you anyway."

"Oooh! You're under the mistletoe!" Mimi squealed pointing to the flower that hung from middle of the doorway.

"What's that mean?" Gabu asked looking perplexed.

"It's a human tradition." Matt explained drawing Sora close to him. "You two are supposed to kiss."

"Well of it's a tradition..." Biyo said leaning close as Gabu kissed her gently. When they broke apart the little avian said.
"Uh Sora?" while gazing at a point above her human partner's head. Sora followed her puzzled gaze, to see a sprig of
mistletoe hanging above her head on a string.

"It's tradition." Matt said.

"And traditions must be observed." She murmured leaning in close to kiss her new love.

Tai smiled. It was good to know that Sora had let someone back into her heart after all this time. Everyone had always
assumed they would be the ones to pair off together, but to him Sora was a great friend and nothing more. Right now
anything beyond that would be too awkward to work, and what he wanted most was Sora's happiness. Maybe I do
love her. He thought.But that time will come later if it's meant to be. For now she's happy and that's all that
matters. "Galloping Greymon." He said blandly. "The mistletoe is moving. Where will it stop?"

As if answering his question the mistletoe came to a bobbing halt over Mimi's head. The brunette girl frowned and
turned to find a grinning Koushiro gripping the stick that held the mistletoe aloft.

"Koushiro!" She said sternly, plucking the flower from the young genius' hands. "If you want a kiss..." She trailed off as
she gave the younger boy a warm loving kiss. "just ask." She whispered in his his ear. "Merry Christmas."

"Wha-" The bewildered red head asked before the realization struck him. "You're..." The brunette nodded with a smile.
"It's the best gift ever, but I don't have anything for you."

"But you do, Kou-chan. You see all I want for Christmas is you." She said wrapping her arms around her beloved and
holding him.

"Come on honey." Matt said leading Sora away. "Let's check on the other lovebirds."

***

With a seemingly superhuman effort TK pulled himself out of bed and tottered unsteadily to Kari's bedside. Except for his
shining eyes, one would be hard pressed to identify this thin, pale, ragged child as the bearer of Hope. For the first time
he saw how beautiful she was. He ran a finger down her cheek to prove to himself that this angel was real. Summoning
his courage, he reached out and gently shook her.

"Lemme 'lone." She mumbled. " 'm sleepin'."

"I gotta ask you som'min. It's 'portant." He said pleadingly. Kari slid over as TK clambered up into the bed and collapsed
with a sigh. "Kari, how ya feel 'bout me?"

"How ya feel 'bout me?" She countered.

"I love ya. Di'n' know it a' firs' though." He said quietly. "I was hopin' th' eighth child'd be som'on' my age, but now that I
thin' back... I wan'ed som'on' I could care for, who woul' care for me too, som'on' who made me complete." He paused
breathing slowly and deeply. "I wan'ed som'on' to love."

"I love you Takeru." Kari murmured. "Di'n' know it 'till I 'mos' los' you. It too' this journ'y to sho' me wha' you meant ta me
an' I'm no' gonna loose ya 'gin, kay?"

TK nodded wearily and tried to get up only to fall back onto the bed. " 'm gonna sta' a while, 'kay?"

Kari nodded and was silent for a long while. TK thought he had fallen asleep when she spoke again. "Sing to me TK."

TK was thoughtfully silent for a moment. "Dere's a song my mommy used to sing when me and Matt were little.
Sometimes Matt sings it to me at night when I can't fall asleep." He took a deep breath and began to sing

Kari fell asleep lulled by TK's gentle voice. As she drifted off, she saw the high points of her journey, meeting the
gatekeepers and Wabby, her dream at Nintai's, tumbling from the tree with Kofuku, but the most special memory was
the knowledge that she shared half of TK's soul and that always did and always would belong together.

TK sensed Kari drifting off to sleep as a deep weariness filled him. To his surprise Sora picked up where he had stopped
as Matt accompanied with a soft harmonica melody.

As the two youngest 'destined drifted off to sleep and Matt and Sora embraced the four whispered in unison,

"I love you."

Archangel pushed away from the computer and rubbed his eyes. "Well gang," He said swiveling away from the screen.
"what do you think?"

"Good fic, Arch." Neo said softly. Usually TK and Kari matched each others forms, but know the teenaged angel from
Defender's Keep lay with a 01 Kari nestled in his feathers before the fire. All in all it was a very kawaii scene.

Cupid lay a hand his shoulder. "Takari, Sorato, and just a dash of Mishiro, all wonderfully well written." She said shaking
her blond bangs out of her face. "This is as good as This Changes Everything."

"I dunno." Eros said from where he and Chibi Arch sat huddled in a corner. "I think it could have used some sex."

"You thin' ev'rythin' needs 'ex." Chibi Arch teased. "I like how ya made the kids talk Arch. You made 'em sound right."

"What can I say? I speak fluent Chibiese. What about you Osirus?" He said directing his question to the shadowy
corner.

"The children died." He stated in his odd echoing voice.

"And they came back." Arch reminded him.

"The illness they endured makes up for that. Besides, the chase makes the kill all the sweeter."

"Okay." Arch said with a shudder. Osirus was totally unpredictable, but that's what made him so wonderful to have
during an author battle. "What about you Iori?"

"Excellent grammar and syntax, good story cohesion, all in all a good read. One thing puzzles me. How did Sora learn
that song?"

"I guess she heard Matt singing it to TK."

"Did you come up with that song?" Cupid asked.

Arch laughed. "If that's my song, then I own digimon. No, that's Wynonna Judd's To Be Loved By You. I felt it fit. Oh Iori,
make a note. I am not to attempt to a Sorato again."

As Iori began to write Cupid looked at Arch with worried eyes. "But why Arch? This one went so well."

"My heart just wasn't in it. Shall we do reviews?" He asked. The others nodded and Iori grabbed a stack of printouts and
Feedback the review monster settled into his lap.

"The first is from Blubglub." Iori read. " 'I sense that an ending is near. I don't know whether to be happy or sad.
Excellent story, I loved it. Guy: Mmmmmn. Takari-licious. Blubglub: Huh? Anyway, good work, I can't wait for the next bit.'
"

"Takari-licious?" Arch mused before turning back to the keyboard. " ' Alas Blub, you are correct. The end is here, but be not sad for as long as I live, I write. Takari-licious? That's a new one by me. I'm glad you enjoyed this and feel free to peruse my other works if you have not done so already.' Ready with the next?"

"Almost." Iori said as Feedback finished the last of the first review. " Next up is ck. Very monotonous reviewer. 'very very
very very very very gooooooooooooooooddddddddddddddd' "

"Which is the same thing they said to all my other parts.' CK very very very very very very
gooooooooooooooooddddddddddddddd. Now you have to say something different about this story. It's the end! There is no more! So at least sum up what you thought of the whole series. Say anything you want OTHER THAN very very very very very very gooooooooooooooooddddddddddddddd.' Review up!"

"Next is from your borg friend 600665. 'Of course I came back! This is one great story!! Again, an obvious riddle thaz
not so obvious! I love 'em! It was true and puzzling... And the thing about half souls, I believe that, too. I can't wait for
more! But I guess I'll havfta, won't I? Archangel Bloodraven, I commend you on all you hard work and your loyalty to
your beloved fanz! Well done. Arigato to you, my friend. Arigato to you...'"

"' Alas this is the last of Presents and Promises, although I could write a 02 version with Davis and Yolie. Later though. I'm a hopeless romantic. I believe there's someone out there for everyone. No no! Arigato to you and all my other fans! '" He spun to face Iori.

"Next review is from Colleen. 'Wow. Just . . . . wow. You are such a good writer! I love this story! The plot is wonderful! I
can't wait for the next chapter! Send it in soon please! Arigato. Ja ne.'"

" 'As you wish Colleen here is the final chapter. I'm glad you like my work. A sensei of mine once told me, "As long as you are making a difference, you mean something to somebody." I'm glad I'm making a difference here. Ja ne! '"

"Slow down girl." Iori chastised Feedback. "Next is from Ambre. ' Great job! This story has been so good. I like the
riddles in this chapter. And I like the irony of Matt and Sora, very interesting. Keep it up.' "

"Hmm. 'No riddles in this part, just answers and closure. I'm glad you liked what I did with the characters. I wasn't entirely sure it would work.'" He cracked his knuckles as Iori handed Feedback the previous review.

"Next is from Digital Penman. 'Damn, that's good. I read them all just today. You're one heck or an author, Archangel.
Just make sure that poor girl gets better. Later!' "

"' D.P. Well here's the last part and if I wasn't going to let them get better I'd have let Osirus do some typing. If you like my work you'll probably like Kale and Robster80. They're a couple of my favorites. '"

"Speak of the devil. Kale's review is up next. 'OOOOOOOOOO! WOWTAKARI! That, my friend, was great. Half souls... too, too creative! This is simply outstanding writing. *Peter: Uhm, just what were you expecting, bub? 's Arch, right? You
*are* taking notes, right? *kale: Uhm, well, I was, but I kinda lost my place after the wonderful Takari bit there. Great,
Arch. Just an outstanding display of talent. -- kale'"

Arch was about to reply when his muse cat Phoenix climbed into his lap. "Is Peter still heckling poor Kale? He hasn't left
him alone since that Sokeru he wrote."

"Some muses are just cruel." Arch shrugged. "'Hey Kale, it's good to be back. I'm glad you liked it, but I thought Half souls might actually be a little cliched. I mean it's not that different from soul mates.'" Phoenix stood on her hind legs and began to poke at the keyboard. "'Hey Peter, Phoenix here. We all know Arch is a great writer. All of FF.N knows that, so do me a favor and LAY OFF KALE WOULD YA! '" She smirked as she curled up in his lap. "You are bad. 'Well Kale don't bother getting that notebook out because this part is just chock full of Takari Kawiiness. See you around. '"

"Next review is from Lady Love."

"My kind of gal." Cupid said approvingly.

Iori grinned and proceeded to read. "' That was great. I can't wait for the other chapter '"

"'Short sweet and to the the point here's the finial chapter. I hope you enjoy it.'"

"And we've saved the best for last."

"You mean?"

Iori nodded. "Robster80. 'Ach, you have NOT failed to amaze me. I am deeply humbled by your superior knowledge and
writing. As to your question on the ML, I was talking about part 4 of my Lemon series. Anyway, great! This goes into teh
favorites, definitely. Part 2 was there, but got removed NOT BY MY HAND I SWEAR! Keep up teh good work, and do check out DIGIMON GT?' "

"' Ach? I'm an Ach now? Just kidding! I don't mind bad spelling. Maybe we ought to talk xing into adding a spell check. I have read part 4, and have been patiently following GT, and New Destiny but whatever happened to Digivolve and Roll Out? I know what you mean. Just because I had consolidated my Who Will Pray For Me series, they pulled the original four. Oh well as long as it's there. See you around. '"

Arch saved the file and prepared to upload. "So what shall I do now? There's my Harry Potter/ Digimon crossover, or my
X-men/Digimon crossover or-"

"I thin' you ought to finis' som'in." Kari said.

"She's got a point, Arch. You've got Defender's Keep, Defender's Keep:Betrayal-" Neo said.

"The lemon series." Eros chimed in.

"That Sailor Moon story." Chibi piped up.

"The What if Series." Kari said.

"And the Neo Card Saga. You said fifteen reviews. You've had 18." Iori said.

"Valid point. We'll leave it up to the readers. Pick which story you think I ought to continue and leave it in the review."
He said to no one in particular. "Whichever one gets the most votes will be the one that gets the most attention."

"Are we done?" Iori asked pulling on a jacket.

"Yeah, we're done."