Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ The Alternative Factor ❯ Cracks In the Ice ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Toei Animation does.

 

Summary: AU Season 01. In a world that has co-existed with Digimon for the past twenty years, humans and their partners battle against the Virus type Nightmare Soldiers set on casting the world into darkness. Eight kids will help reshape the future.

 

Title: The Alternative Factor

 

Ch.4 Cracks In the Ice

 

The Koromon was awake and watching him with unblinking red eyes. It had been doing this without speaking for the past half hour. Tai wondered if something was wrong with it—he didn't recall his first partner being so quiet. Perhaps it had nothing to say. Tai was glad in any case. He didn't feel like talking at the moment, much less answering any questions.

 

Idly, he tapped his fingers upon the table's surface. He had been ushered out of the infirmary and back to section B-11 soon after Captain Ishida's visit. His father had spoken to him briefly and said he was going to try and get to the bottom of why he wasn't being released, and had disappeared.

 

Tai rested his chin in his hand and glanced about the deserted room, wondering where the other kids had gone to. Maybe Izzy had broken into another restricted area of the base. Maybe they were joy-riding around in one of the military jeeps. He could just visualize it: Matt driving at the wheel, a determined glint in his cool, blue eyes, Izzy hacking into the GPS tracking system and downloading the software onto his laptop, T.K in the backseat hollering his head off in happy, childish glee, hands up in the air, and Joe leaning out of the window and being carsick.

 

He couldn't help but chuckle at the outrageous image. Who was he kidding? He barely knew them. Still, daydreaming was something fun to pass the time.

 

A low, gurgling sound reached his ears and Tai looked at the only other thing in the room that could have caused it. The Koromon's mouth was stretched into a toothy, lop-sided grin as it stared back at him and emitted the strange noise again from the back of its throat. It sounded almost like...

 

"Did you just chuckle?" Tai asked.

 

Although it had no eyebrows, the Koromon widened its red eyes and perfectly imitated his surprised expression.

 

"Are you copying me?" Tai questioned amused then stuck out his tongue experimentally.

 

The Koromon obediently did the same. However, as its tongue was twice the length of a human's, it shot out and collided with the table's metal leg. The Koromon recoiled painfully and Tai found himself laughing at the bewildered look it cast him.

 

A high-pitched maniacal giggling filled the air and Tai quickly stopped laughing and glowered at the round, pink Digimon. "Oh, come on," he said. "That's mean. I don't sound like a hyena!"

 

The Koromon had forgone copying him and stared back with an innocent air about it.

 

The hiss of the doors sliding open was an all-too familiar sound by now. Tai turned around to the small boy called T.K. walk in carrying a tray of food.

 

"Hiya!" T.K. greeted setting the tray down on the table in front of him. "Daddy says for you to eat lunch since you missed breakfast."

 

"Your dad is bossy," Tai grumbled but didn't protest since his stomach was rumbling hungrily.

 

Noticing there was a double portion of miso soup, fish cakes, a bowl of rice, and steamed vegetables on the platter, he inquired, "Are you going to be eating here too?"

 

"Oh, no, that's for Koromon!" T.K. stated. "You gotta feed your Digimon so they'll grow up big and strong, don't you know that?"

 

Tai did. All too well. "Sometimes Digimon become too big and strong," he murmured.

 

T.K. didn't seem to have heard him and scrambled up onto a chair so he could set the extra food aside as his head barely reached over the top of the table. "Here, Koromon!" he called.

 

In two leaps, from the floor to a chair then onto the table, the Koromon was showing off a healthy appetite as it attacked the meal with gusto face-first. Grains of rice flew through the air, fish cakes were swallowed whole and unwanted vegetables were spat out on the side.

 

An ill, foreboding feeling spread throughout Tai as he watched.

 

"T.K., where's Tokomon?" he asked in trepidation.

 

"Napping," T.K. said giving his hat a soft tap with his finger. It wiggled sluggishly in response.

 

"How long have you had him? I mean, how long have you two been partners?" Tai asked.

 

"Since those stones fell out of the sky six months ago," T.K. shared. "It was New Years Eve and Daddy had taken me and Matt to the mountains camping! We thought they were fireworks from the village below first, but then they kept on falling, coming closer and closer! Yellow and blue lights! And they landed right behind our cabin—almost crashed right into it!"

 

The story sounded interesting but Tai was distracted doing the math in his head. Six months ago. The beginning of January. It was the beginning of June now, the start of summer. Six months and Tokomon hadn't digivolved. And neither had Matt's or the other kids' partners for that matter apparently. It didn't make sense. His first partner... he had digivolved at an incredibly rapid rate. Had being locked within the marble slab for who knew how long somehow dampened the process?

 

In any case, it didn't appear like the Koromon would digivolve anytime soon no matter how much he ate then. Tai could only hope.

 

"Can I see your Crest?"

 

Tai blinked and looked at T.K. in incomprehension. "What?" he asked.

 

"Your Crest," T.K. said impatiently. "I didn't get to see what it looked like. You fainted, then we had to bring you to the infirmary and when we got back the slab had already turned into a Crest and was kun-fis-skated," the boy pronounced the word carefully as if he had just learned it. "Didn't Daddy give it you when you woke up?"

 

Tai shook his head. He still was unsure of what this Crest was, but he supposed he had staved off his chances of seeing it when he had dashed his digivice at the captain's head and screamed at him quite rudely. The captain must have had other reasons for visiting him besides spewing theories and dredging up unpleasant memories of the past, and he had effectively cut the conversation short.

 

Wonderful, he thought. I finally get an opportunity for answers and I blow it!

 

There was a tug at the sleeve of his shirt suddenly and he looked to see T.K. leaning in closely, his voice dropping to a mere whisper as he asked, "Did you see them too?"

 

"See what?" Tai asked.

 

"At Hikarigaoka," T.K. said, his blue eyes wide. "Did you see them too? The Greymon and Parrotmon and the other... the one who appeared in a swarm of bats?"

 

The sky was ripped in half like someone had peeled the paper wrapper off a crayon. Shrill, inhuman screeches and a multitude of whirring wingbeats split the air.

 

Lightning streaked across the black night sky. Red... scarlet... crimson lightning smeared vividly across his vision.

 

Suddenly the tide of battle had been turned.

 

T.K. was watching his face closely. Tai realized the boy couldn't have been more than four at the time of the incident. Kari's age when...

 

Tai's chopsticks, which were halfway to his mouth when the question had been asked, dropped to the table with a dull clatter.

 

"T.K.!" came a reprimanding shout as the doors slid back to allow the boy's brother entrance. Matt stormed into the room carrying his partner under one arm, worry and relief displayed across his countenance as he spotted his sibling. That soon turned into distdainful expression as he caught sight of the company he was keeping.

 

"You shouldn't run off like that without telling me where you're going," Matt chided. "Let's go."

 

"Wait, Matt, I just wanna know if Tai saw them too!" T.K. said, shrugging off the hand his brother had clapped on his shoulder.

 

"Saw what?" Matt asked.

 

"The Digimon at Hikarigaoka—"

 

"What? How could you ask a little kid to remember something like that!" Matt screamed, rounding on Tai furiously.

 

Tai could have pointed out that he was getting the facts wrong-that it wasn't him but his brother who had asked if he remembered anything, but all the energy seemed to have leaked out of him.

 

"You've caused enough trouble anyway!" Matt continued to rant at him. "If it weren't for you, Wizardmon wouldn't come here when he did and Joe, Izzy and me wouldn't have been found out! You've ruined everything! Now the medical supplies are under lock and guard, Izzy's laptop has been taken away and he isn't allowed within ten feet of a computer, and I'll never get another chance to go to the Digital World without supervision until it's too late!"

 

"Gee, I'm sorry," Tai snarled sarcastically. "Next time when I'm being attacked by two Nightmare Soldiers I'll just let them kill me so my existence won't inconvenience your plans!"

 

"At least I found out why there weren't any Nightmare Soldiers in the Digital World when I went," Matt spat. "They were launching a raid on the real world and who finds them? Some unarmed, clueless, bushy-haired kid with goggles for brains!"

 

There was a touch of envy in Matt's voice like he would have given his right arm to have traded places with Tai. He wanted to face off against a Nightmare Soldier very badly. There was a feral, desperation shining in his eyes and his face held a pain hidden in the shadows that Tai recognized. A pain that time had only numbed but had not taken away completely. A pain that cried out for vengeance.

 

You're not the only one who has endured a personal tragedy in the Hikarigaoka Incident. Those other kids have too, as well as myself and my sons. You're not alone in your suffering...

 

A feverish, reckless instinct overtook Tai. He knew no good would come of it, but that didn't stop him from opening his mouth and inquiring, "So, who'd you lose anyway?"

 

In hind sight, he probably should have guessed he had crossed the line too far and seen the fist coming, but for some reason he was still caught off guard by the blow that was swung and knocked flat out of his chair to the floor. The wind was ripped from his lungs and as he struggled to regain his breath, he was tackled by the other boy who sat on his chest, snagged the front of his shirt in both hands and shook him roughly.

 

A "how dare you!" was yelled into his face and Tai saw the fist pull back for another punch.

 

Tai lashed out before he could land it—one solid jab with his elbow into the boy's stomach and Matt doubled over wheezing. Seizing his chance, Tai threw himself forward, grabbing him around the middle and bowled them both over backwards. Making a quick recovery, Matt kicked out with one knee and scored a stunning hit the hollow underneath Tai's chin that left him seeing stars. Being momentarily dazed didn't quench his fighting spirits though. He felt Matt's hands on his arms pushing forcefully, trying to pin them down, so reaching up with his own, he latched on to Matt's and shoved back. They rolled about on the floor grappling with each other, banging into tables and chairs and dimly through the blood marching madly to his ears Tai thought he heard T.K. shouting in the background somewhere.

 

Suddenly a flash of pink filled his vision and the Koromon was there bouncing up and down quite agitatedly and emitting distressed squawking sounds. When those did not appear to put a halt to the fighting, it unleashed a torrent of pink bubbles at the person attacking its partner.

 

Matt stiffened and hissed as the bubbles impacted upon his unprotected back, melted right through the material of his shirt and left ragged holes behind in their wake as well as several patches of pink, raw skin from the acid.

 

A blur of orange fur and a grey curved horn launched into the Koromon from the side. "Don't you hurt Matt!" it cried and then the two Digimon tumbled roly-poly fashion over each other until they crashed into the wall.

 

A panic coursed through Tai's veins as he watched the two Digimon eye the other warily, feint lunges, and snap and bare their teeth.

 

They were going to fight. If they fought, digivolving was inevitable. Digivolving was dangerous, destructive, and brought undesirable attention. With digivolving, there was leeway for deletion...

 

If Tai had been able to, he would have gotten up and put himself between them, but Matt was sprawled out halfway over him, winded from the pink bubbles' effects and neither of them could move.

 

"Koromon, stop!" Tai shouted his voice cracking in terror.

 

Amazingly, Koromon did, the wild glint fading from his eyes and he blinked confused as if he could not remember what he should be angry about.

 

An odd, indescribable feeling washed over Tai as he realized this was the first time he had thought about his partner as just Koromon, not 'the' Koromon, and had replaced 'he' for 'it'. It symbolized something significant, but he wasn't sure what yet.

 

Something hot and wet splashed onto his chest and soaked into the fabric of his shirt as the body on top of him shuddered and Tai barely registered the fact that Matt was crying before the boy lifted a glaring red-face, tears dripping out of the corner of his eyes down his cheeks and whispered brokenly, "She was going to leave anyway. She was going to leave us—the Nightmare Soldiers just made her do it sooner."

 

There was no time to dwell on the relevance of that statement though as the doors slid open for the third time and T.K. rushed in followed by Wizardmon, whom he had run off to find in the midst of the fighting.

 

Wizardmon's eyes narrowed as they landed upon the two boys on the floor, their numerous war wounds and their bruised and scuffed Digimon staring guiltily back.

 

"Not a baby-sitter," was all he said, although by the way he was gripping his staff tightly, it looked like he was severely refraining himself from casting a spell to turn them all into toads.

 

oOo

 

Jim didn't look quite as friendly as he had the last time Tai was in the infirmary. His usual smiling face had morphed into a blank slate, his mouth set in a straight line as he took note of the new injuries.

 

"Three times here in span of less than twenty-four hours, Mr. Kamiya? I do hope you're not trying to break a record or have grown too fond of this place, because I'm leaving you to bleed to death in the hallway if there's a fourth time before the day's over," he stated in a grim yet serious tone.

 

Tai rubbed the bruise that was forming on his chin where Matt's knee had connected and didn't doubt it. He could feel another bruise emerging on his left cheek where he had been decked and knew he was going to have a sore jaw before too long. Dang, but Matt could sure could whap a wallop.

 

He cast a glance to the boy on the bed across the room. Apparently Jim felt it prudent to separate them as much as possible. Matt was lying on his stomach, his face buried in the pillow and his frame tense and shoulders hunching up in barely-perceptible tremors as Jim lightly swabbed cotton balls absorbed in ointment onto the raw patches caused by Koromon's attack.

 

Koromon nuzzled his face into his partner's side and Tai placed a calming hand on his head. He hoped they wouldn't blame the Digimon for this. It had really been his fault for provoking Matt. He should have been more considerate in his phrasing of the question. He knew he wouldn't have liked it if Matt had asked him point-blank the same question.

 

"Mind if I ask what the fight was about that it stimulated your two Digimon onto the verge of battle feeling like their two partners were in jeopardy?" Jim inquired.

 

Neither of the boys answered and Jim made a disapproving "hmm" sound in the back of throat.

 

The heavy stomp of military boots announced the newcomer into their midst: a Self Defense Forces soldier with a familar bandage wrapped around his head.

 

"Hey, kid, you still here?" Mantarou Inoue greeted Tai. His gaze drifted to Koromon who was nestled up against his side. "Is that your new partner? See, there was no need for kicking up a fuss. A bond's a bond no matter which way you look at it. Any Digimon will do, so long as they keep you from going insane."

 

Rage boiled up inside Tai at those words, at the utter heartlessness in them, but before he could act on it, retaliation came from a very surprising source.

 

"You don't know anything about it!" Matt shouted, half-rising from his bed. His face, splotchy red from the tears he had shed before, was turning a vivacious shade of puce. "Don't talk about things you don't understand!"

 

He looked for a moment like he was going to launch himself or at least a pillow at the soldier, if Jim had not pushed him gently but firmly back down on the mattress.

 

"You lie back down right now and don't be moving about," the doctor ordered. "You're father's going to have my head if those raw patches don't heal properly. And Mantarou, as your friend listen to me for once: for all that is holy, either think before you speak or shut up. You may have genius level scores on your aptitude tests, but your social skills need refining."

 

Mantarou crossed his arms, appearing more displeased at the sound rebuke he had received than repentant.

 

"Did you have a reason for coming here besides provoking my patients?" Jim sighed.

 

"This," Mantarou said sourly, pointing to the large bandage swathed several times about his head. "I'd like to trade it in for a smaller size if you would be so kind, doctor."

 

Tch-ing, Jim issued for the young man to seat himself on the chair next to the supply table. Then unraveling the first slightly blood-stained bandage, he began redressing the wound non-too gently, seeming to relish the yelps of pain his friend belted out.

 

"You're doing that on purpose!" Mantarou accused after letting loose several vehement and vulgar swears.

 

"And you're getting to be rather vain, aren't you, Mantarou," Jim stated. "Worrying about how a bandage will obscure your handsome features?"

 

"It's not that," Mantarou croaked, his eyes stinging from the pain as Jim dabbed disinfectant across the row of stitches on his forehead. "The Digital Researchers... they're sending their head analysts and computer programmers to collaborate with our officers over the destabilization of the gateways. I've just been assigned as personal escort of Mr. Oikawa and I'd prefer to look less like a mummy when I meet him."

 

Though Tai didn't fully understand all that he had just overheard, he got the impression it must have been classified information as Jim pursed his lips and a deep worry-line etched across his brow as he glanced sideways at Matt.

 

The aforementioned name must have held some significant to him because his face had changed color again, this time a sickly, ashen grey. Then Tai saw it—the flare of his nostrils, the quickening of his breath as his chest heaved, and his knuckles turning white as his fingers curled tightly into the palms. And his eyes... his eyes were like two blue knives of ice.

 

Jim muffled a curse, all but slapped a cloth square and gauze tape over Mantarou's forehead igniting a strangled shriek from the soldier, grabbed him by the arm and bodily hauled him across the floor.

 

"For god's sake, Mantarou, you couldn't choose a better time to boast about your new assignment?" Tai heard the doctor hiss into his friend's ear they passed by his bed. "Keep him away from section B-11 while he's here, you understand," Jim said in a low voice as he prepared to boot him from the room.

 

"Wait!" Matt cried and the two young men spun around: Mantarou looking very confused and in pain and Jim appearing hesitant and wary.

 

"My dad... does he know about this?" Matt asked tentatively.

 

"Captain Ishida was the one who gave me the assignment," Mantarou said blinking puzzled.

 

Matt's face sagged as if invisible puppet strings stretching it taunt had been cut and the expression he wore, like someone had knocked him clean off the edge of the world, screamed betrayal for all to see.

 

Jim picked up Mantarou by his uniform collar and practically shoved him through the doors into the hallway where he missed smashing his nose into the wall by a mere inch.

 

"Dangit, Jim, I'm a soldier not a dishrag you can discard!" came the offended exclamation before the doors closed.

 

It was like standing on the stage when you were not part of the act and watching other continue in their roles around you. Tai knew he was being shown insight into something private, something none of his business, yet he couldn't leave or look away.

 

"Matt," Jim said softly and Tai started at the doctor using such a familiar address. "Matt, it might help if... MarineAngemon could—"

 

"No."

 

The boy's tone was firm and unyielding. Tai heard the bitterness ingrained within it. He could identify with it. Some pains you did not want to be healed. Some pains you held onto and they shaped you into who you became, made you grow stronger... so you could never be hurt in the same way again.

 

"Don't hold onto unforgiveness, Matt," Jim said. "It's not healthy."

 

Tai watched as Matt lifted his head and locked gazes with him from across the room. His eyes were burning with a cold fury and even from this far away, he could feel their intensity, like freezing waves crashing upon an iceberg with a lethal tide of hate, and he knew for once it wasn't aimed at him, yet he still shivered all the same.

 

To Be Continued...

 

A/N: And the plot thickens! Here comes the AU-ness! I really don't mean to end the chapters on thse cliffhangers; they just happen. I'm not sure what words of wisdom to give the readers either. I hope it's a little clearer on what happened at Highton View Terrace now... any yet still vague enough to be confusing. I will just say, because I know people are going to read into things too far, no other child besides Tai has had a partner before. Think on that before drawing your conclusions. And like I said in chapter 1, some of the 02 cast will be making cameos here, as well as some 02 plotlines. Remember, some 02 events are the backbone for events in 01 and some 01 events were a key factor for initiating 02 events to happen.

 

Ah, more plot will be revealed in the next chapter. Stay tuned! I do mean it about the 2-3 weeks update thing. It will come sooner or later, but until then, enjoy the quick updates I'm shooting out. It's a miracle! I hope you have enjoyed reading this! Please review and share your thoughts. I love hearing what you liked best and it's the only reward a fanfic author gets. If you have any questions just ask, and I'll try to answer to the best of my capabilities without giving anything away. Thank you!^^