Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ When Worlds Collide ❯ Recognition ( Chapter 6 )

Disclaimer: Same as previous. I own nothing of Digimon or its' characters and I make no profit.

Chapter Six: Recognition

Mimi rushed through the intricate and similarly designed hallways, trying her best to block out the harsh, loud sounds of gun fire and detonations coming from behind her, but also keeping track of the fast-paced foot steps just to her right. She trained her eyes in front and kept a firm hand grasped around Iori's. Although Iori kept up, he was still distracted from whatever was on his mind, and Mimi was afraid to let go.

Running around a corner, Mimi spied an empty hallway, and in the foremost on her mind, a way to escape unscathed. For a moment, concern for her separated team mates intruded on her concentration and her footstep faltered. As she neared the keypad-controlled door, Mimi regained her balance and glanced over at Iori, who was already raising his wrist and scanning their obstacle. Keying in various commands, Iori deciphered the required code to enter, and quickly pressed them on the keypad. What followed was a mad dash through the doorway, a rush of adrenaline as Iori closed the door and locked it using another code, and an immediate wariness as both Digi-Destined looked around in the eerie silence.

Although white, the low lighting gave the walls a greyish tinge, casting misshapen shadows. Mimi visibly shivered, even as she straightened her spine in an attempt to block out her fears. Iori swept his neutrally curious gaze over the security tightened doors appearing on either side of the hallway, while Mimi peered nervously through the small slides of glass as they cautiously made their way forward. It was secluded enough for both of them to open the portals to the Digital World without being disturbed and followed by any blue bodied enemy. From the empty look of the place, Mimi concluded not many people entered here.

As Iori fiddled with the mechanics on the device strapped onto his wrist, Mimi relaxed slightly, rolling her shoulders, and trailed her eyes through the doors on her left. Curious, she focused on one particular door, much more heavily secured than the rest with its several large bolt locks and its own coded keypad. Mimi felt a burst of renewed adrenaline, a sudden thump in her heart and the slow build up of anticipation as she walked forward, hesitantly reaching for the door. Her hands lightly pressed against the coolness of the metallic surface while her light brown eyes squinted through thick pane glass. For a moment disappointment rushed through her; nothing was inside and for some strange reason she was hoping there would be. She sighed softly, amused at herself. What did she expect?

She turned back; brushing away the wisps of pink hair plastered onto her cheek and then stopped moving.

Clunk.

Clunk.

Clunk.

Heart suddenly beating into overdrive, Mimi strained her ears, hoping the sounds were real and not of her imagination. She gasped, "Iori! Can you hear that?"

"I...yes. I can hear it." Iori looked uneasily around.

"I think it's from there," Mimi whispered, nodding behind and hoping not to startle what ever it was.

"A threat?"

"I don't think so..."

"Let me scan the room first and then we can try to open it. Be prepared," Iori warned.

Mimi just nodded her compliance, moving her body into a defensive stance and placing her right hand onto the strapped gun. It didn't matter that she felt unthreatened because sometimes being cautious counted. She kept her eyes on the door while Iori focused his mind onto the three dimensional thermal projection of the room.

"There's someone in there," Iori murmured. "But whoever it is, is no threat. He or she is sitting against the door..." he hesitated, "hitting his or her head back."

Mimi relaxed her body and turned to face Iori, sympathy and wariness warring, and expression torn. Half of her wanted to rescue the poor soul who appeared to have been traumatized to the point of no return, while the other half whispered this could be a trick, a ruse.

"Wait." Iori frowned, surprise glittering from his calm green eyes. "I think...no.it has to be..." he mumbled.

"Iori?"

"Mimi -- I -- We know whoever is in there."

"My God...one of us? Are you sure?" Mimi said, excitement animating her face.

"Nothing's for sure, Mimi. You know that. But -- " Iori took a deep breath. "The scanner recognizes the body type, and you know Jyou made sure to enter our physical forms as no threat to the system. Unfortunately, whether by the WU or not, something's changed. And the scanner can't tell me who it is inside."

"I think we should take a chance," Mimi said finally, breaking the terse silence. Iori nodded, agreeing with their decision. There was no harm in helping an injured prisoner, even if it turned out to not be one of their own, and the danger was minimal since the scanner turned up with a list of wounds which would weaken their may-be-opponent.

Breathing softly, and trying to still her growing anticipation, Mimi lightly treaded towards the door, an obstacle that she knew Iori could tear down with no problem. He was one of their experts in the tech side of things, and while most of the Digi-Destined agreed that those who could manipulate and reconfigure the Digital World needed to be safe housed, they also understood that for them to succeed, one who was knowledgeable in hacking needed to participant directly. Like now.

Mimi stifled a fond smile as Iori muttered incoherently about safeguards and firewalls, and the stubbornness of individually coded locks. At last, when Iori broke through the system and grinned triumphantly, Mimi allowed herself to smile. The door slid open with excruciating slowness. That, or Mimi thought, my eyes are going bad.

They viewed the prison with distaste as they entered its threshold. It was a sterile and shambling environment, Mimi noted, as she eyed the thin mattress sitting on top of strong looking metal bars, a supposed makeshift bed. Her gaze shifted left, and landed on a slumped, knee-hugging figure sitting against hard cemented walls. Eyes widening, shock fusing through her body, Mimi catalogued the dirty lavender hair. The flimsy grey material wrapped around a skinny, tall body that was curled frailly inwards. The criss-crosses of scars marring otherwise pale skin. Mimi felt a rush of nausea and sympathy. Poor girl. Almost, as if on cue, she lifted her head and laid it back with a hard thump to the wall and stared back at Iori and Mimi with expressionless eyes.

"Iori," Mimi spoke, not turning, voice strained. "I think we should go now."

"I think so too," he replied softly, already plugging in the coordinates for their Digiport.

Mimi crouched near the girl, and gently helped her up. "Let's go."

*`*`*

Ken hid his concern within expressionless, violet eyes as he concentrated on watching Daisuke being looked over for injuries. Daisuke was shaky and in pain but not because of any wound on the outside. Jyou had long since stopped his urgency, and began a leisure scan over minor cuts and bruises, but Ken could tell he was tense. Not from concern for Daisuke though, and Ken sighed in relief, but from a sense of loss, of unleashed grief at losing Taichi. It was a shock. Taichi, their constant leader gone, most likely dead.

Ken ignored the queasiness in his stomach. A sting at the back of his mind. It was a very familiar and uncomfortable feeling, and it brought back uneasy memories of his brother's death, and its aftermath.

A flash caught the peripheral of his vision, and Ken immediately turned to face it, wary and alert despite Daisuke's report of what had happened with the Gateways. For all they knew, there might have been a prototype hidden and put aside. Three Gateways had been unexpected and Koushiro had been extremely peeved that the WU had kept the information outside of his grasp. Despite his act, Ken could see beneath the surface of Koushiro's forced annoyance. It held a depth of frustration, loss and anger. Anger at the demise of a close, personal friend and Ken couldn't really blame him.

Sober, Ken kept one hand in reach of his gun while he trained his gaze onto the large circular magnetic field that was ripping the barriers between the Digital World and the real World. He only relaxed when the gate formed into one of his own creations, a distinctive shape Ken had chosen and memorised, as soon as he had tested its usability and found it satisfactory. Not too soon however, his stance turned predatory again as not two, but three figures walked through.

Ken kept his surprise inward while gasps and murmurs could be heard from Jyou and Daisuke. Koushiro did much the same, only he made no attempts to hide his innate curiosity, and a hint of caution. Taichi was, perhaps blessedly, forgotten for the moment.

"Miyako?" Daisuke spoke hesitantly, gazing steadily at the familiar and yet unfamiliar features of his once dead friend. Ken struggled to reconcile the fact of Miyako's false death; her resurrection had opened the locked door of the past. Everyone had thought her dead, her Digimon destroyed. Apparently they were wrong on at least one account.

"Come on. Let's go to the Medical Bay." Jyou was gently leading Miyako away despite his sense of deepening haste. He walked several paces, one hand placed neatly at the small of Miyako's back, before he spoke. "Give me some time to look over her and then --" He hesitated. "I'll give a full report, but I'm not sure I can repair whatever it is they have done."

Daisuke nodded, and Ken noted the grave but hopeful faces around him. Was he the only one with misgivings? Did the sudden arrival of one of their own, after God knows how many years, mean anything other than the slim chance they would regain a fallen comrade? Perhaps it was his cynical nature but Ken was suspicious. He was suspicious of Miyako's timely reappearance and wanted to point it out.

"Where's Tai?" Mimi asked as Miyako and Jyou faded from their view.

Ken blinked, and decided he could wait until later. Ironic that in gaining one Digi-Destined they had lost another. Ironic, and cruel. Just as Ken has always assumed fate was.

Daisuke lowered his head as he said softly, "He's gone."

"What -- Wasn't Tai with you?" Iori asked, confused. "Both of you were behind us. What do you mean gone?" A growing realization was dawning on Iori's face, but he refused to acknowledge it. Ken almost felt sorry for him.

"He was. But...things didn't turn out right," he near whispered. Daisuke told his story again, only monotonously. He spoke unwaveringly of Taichi's courage and unfaltering concern for them, of how he pushed Daisuke away just as the blast hit. Of how, even obscured from his view, Daisuke was aware of Taichi's shout. And the silence that reigned after the explosives detonated. Chaos followed, as guards ran in all directions to avoid the flames and chips of metal flying at full force. Daisuke only faltered at the part where he couldn't find Tai anywhere, and it was so loud, so hot; Daisuke whirled around and around, looking for Tai. But he couldn't see him. Couldn't find him. Only debris and hot blue flames melting pieces of broken metal...no body. Nothing of Tai left. No time, no time...he had to go now.

Ken swallowed. All he wanted right now was to wrap his arms around Daisuke and provide the comfort Daisuke obviously needed.

Daisuke broke the heavy, oppressive silence. "I think we all need some time to ourselves." He added semi humorously, "Or at least I do."

They all laughed weakly, tension broken. Ken even managed to give a terse smile.

"Yeah, I hear that." Mimi unconsciously swiped at the unshed tears that, despite her command otherwise, were overflowing from her eyes and began moving away. "I'll see you guys later."

As if they were all dominoes, they followed in Mimi's footsteps, each going at their own pace to their own shelter. Ken laid a gentle hand on the small of Daisuke's back and led them away back to their chambers, even as he felt a prickle along the nape of his neck. Without pause, he slanted his neck back and caught a glimpse of speculative and accusing green eyes, but kept his own face expressionless. Ken barely faltered in mid step as he raised one falsely questioning eyebrow in Iori's direction and received a slightly more confused look in return.

Turning away from Iori, and struggling not to reveal his inner turmoil, Ken moved closer to Daisuke and walked just a tad faster.

*`*`*

Takuya nervously watched as the paramedics led the unconscious man away. The man was lucky, damn lucky that Takuya had been using the park as a short cut to his new job because he had been running late. Not that he was ever really early, but today he had been running later than usual and so braved running through the trees and shrubs in less than adequate light because he didn't really want to face the wrath of his new, and grumpy boss. At least he wasn't a stooge with money Takuya had thought, even as he stumbled and fell face down over a large inanimate object. Upon standing, Takuya had been hesitant to touch the still form. Half fearful of what he might find (a dead, decaying body) and slightly nervous about touching someone who looked like he was injured in more places than he cared for (he really didn't want to permanently injure the poor man), Takuya bravely prodded at broad shoulders and turned the heavy bulk over. It was with a sigh of relief when he lightly patted a moving chest, looking for some form of identification. When none could be found -- and boy was he wearing some weird clothing -- Takuya decided to drag the body out and call for an ambulance on his cell phone.

The ambulance arrived with its sirens flashing and shrieking at the same time Takuya was huffing and puffing, and half carrying the unmoving mass to the edge of the park. Trying to gently lower the stranger, Takouya nevertheless winced at the soft thud as the body hit asphalt. He whispered an apologetic, "Sorry," and then turned towards the people coming out of the vehicle.

After the details were discussed -- it didn't take very long since Takuya knew zilch about him -- the paramedics said they would take him to the nearest hospital, Odaiba General Hospital. Nodding slightly, Takuya remained motionless as the vehicle started, and then before long, faded from his view. It wasn't until the lightening sky streamed into his eyes, making him blink rapidly, that Takuya realized he was late. Very, very late. He quickly took off in a dash, heart in his throat and hoping against all odds that his Mr Ohira was the compassionate and believing kind. The stranger left his thoughts just as easily as he had arrived.

*`*`*

Dr Jyou Kido fidgeted slightly as his companion and friend, expert neurologist Doctor Adrianna Valez sighed in exasperation. Every one of his colleagues knew of Jyou's cautious, bordering on paranoia, nature. It was one of the reasons Jyou became a doctor -- so that he could diagnose and fix whatever had gone wrong with their unpredictable and vulnerable human bodies. Not that his father hadn't nudged him into the profession with the subtlety of an anvil. But that was all right. Jyou was where he wanted to be (not including the fact that he would be airborne soon), doing what he wanted to and being in a job where he was happy. And soon they would be enjoying a series of medical seminars and conferences in Odaiba, Japan. Jyou had hoped that after viewing through the government's new institute for suffering patients, they would have enough time to visit Sora and Satoshi. It had been a while.

Author's Note: A big thank you to Moerae who, despite being overseas and having a limited amount of computer time, managed to beta this. As you can see, things are developing in small nuances and will predictably lead on in the next chapter. The time needed to complete chapter seven remains to be seen. ^^ I'm not the fastest writer in the world and although I have planned outlines, RL is a continual busy process.