........In the silence that followed, the air was stirred only by the soft sounds of breathing, and the faint and plaintive notes of a harmonica.
........All was quiet that night.
........A search that was beginning to look hopeless flowered the next afternoon. They were tired, and anxiety was building. The sun beat down on them now that they had reached the outskirts of the forest, slowing progress and dampening spirits even further. The break came with Joe’s excited shout.
........“Guys! Hey, guys! Look!”
........“What?” Tai demanded, bulling forward to see. “A Digivice!”
........Izzy came closer. “But to whom does this particular Digivice belong?”
........“Let me see!” Matt pushed his way past Tai, ignoring his leader’s indignant yelp, and took the Digivice. He held it for a moment, then gave it back. “It’s not T.K.’s.”
........“Fascinating. How did you discern this?”
........“I just know, okay? It must be Kari’s.” He paused. “Wait a minute! I’ve been so STUPID! Follow the signal on the Digivice!”
........“An excellent idea!” Izzy puttered away at his computer for a moment. “There. The signal is programmed to home in on T.K.’s Digivice reading.”
........“How DOES he DO that?” Jesse whispered.
........“I dunno. I just play soccer,” Sora whispered back.
........“Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
........The travel was beginning to wear on most of the group. Matt and Tai, of course, were relentless, and Jesse was more than used to this sort of thing, but everyone else was wilting. The Digimon were plodding stoically along, not bothering to talk. ~Apparently it takes more effort to start a conversation than they want to expend.~ Jesse shook back her hair and flipped it up to unstick it from the back of her neck. ~I really should wear a hairtie. I just hate those God-awful, annoying, UNCOMFORTABLE things. And it would never stay in, anyways. Not with MY hair it wouldn’t.~
........She sighed. “Are we getting close?” she asked.
........At the exact same time, Matt yelled, “We’re getting close!” They looked at each other, and Jesse saw with surprise that Matt blushed. She gave him, wide innocent eyes. ~Yeah. Me and Kermit the Frog.~ He gave her an indecipherable look and went back to walking. ~Well, that answers that question.~
........Jesse thought. There wasn’t much else to do, so she thought about Matt. She didn’t know how to feel around him any more. She was betting she had also blushed when their eyes met, and she knew it should infuriate her, but it didn’t. ~I wonder why. I never blush. Why doesn’t it make me mad?~ She wondered if this whole thing was a dream set up to torture her. ~Although I don’t see any bamboo slivers. How can you possibly torture someone without bamboo slivers?~ The thought made her smile and choke back a giggle, turning it into a cough. Her mirth faded as though a hand had wiped it away. She felt confused and flustered, a condition that DID infuriate her suddenly, but again, it was self-directed, not Matt-directed. ~I shouldn’t let any of this confuse me! I’m just an idiot! What I need is something to stab!~ Guiltily, she realized she had forgotten to tell anyone that she had a dagger. She had found it after a fair had left town, dropped and forgotten by a seller. Although it was real, it was never meant to be used, but she had drilled herself in it anyway. ~A lot of good it did me.~
........“Look!” She jerked her head up to where Tai pointed, although she couldn’t have missed it if she had tried.
........The massive building towered above them, at least fifty stories high and twice as wide, its ends vanishing off into the distance to either side. It was made of marble of a curious violet shade, with many alternating swirls and hues.
........Outside the doorway was a little Digimon. It vaguely resembled a lizard, but was more like a tiny, bejeweled dragon. Its scales were a dark, shimmering turquoise, so deep it was almost black. It bounded towards them with all the enthusiasm of a puppy.
........“That’s Lyeernmon! What’s she doing here?” Tentomon asked quizzically. Lyeernmon reached them and, before anyone could react, bowled Jesse over and began to wash her face with a ribbon-like tongue.
........“J-chan!” she purred through a mouthful of sharp, needle-like teeth. “Where were you? I looked everywhere!”
........Jesse laughed. “I guess you’re my Digimon, Lyeernmon!” Lyeernmon sat up on her haunches and assumed a reprimanding look.
........“No, J-chan, you are MY human, and you took way too long to get here!”
........“I’m sorry, Lyeern, but I was--busy. Actually more like lost.”
........“That’s no excuse!”
........By now, everyone was laughing at the exchange, the problems at hand momentarily forgotten. Matt happily watched the little Digimon scold Jesse, glad that she had found herself a Digimon partner, but that thought in itself dampened his enthusiasm. He wasn’t sure why.
........Jesse dizzily pulled herself up, situating Lyeernmon in the crook of her arm. “I really hate to remind all of you about this, but--”
........“Let’s head in!” Tai, as usual, charged forward without looking first. Jesse sighed, put Lyeernmon gently down, and knocked him tail-over-teakettle in the dirt. The little dragon watched approvingly as Tai struggled to get up from his sprawl.
........“Well, at least you’ve learned something without my help.”
........“Tai,” Jesse said tiredly, “I know this is a cliché, but always look before you leap. It can save you a heck of a lot in hospital bills.” Tai glared at her indignantly for the thirteen millionth time since she had gotten there.
........“Hey, you didn’t have to do that!”
........“Oh, really? That’s funny. I was of the impression that were stupid enough to bull ahead without looking. Forgive me this terrible transgression, and remember, sarcasm is just one more free service we offer.” She gave him a cheerful smile that fairly dripped sweetness.
........“I would’ve stopped anyway, I was just warming up!”
........“Har. Har.”
........Matt melted into the backdrop and pretended he wasn’t there. Joe tentatively broke in.
........“I think we should camp here tonight and go in when it’s light out.”
........“What’s the matter, Joe? Scared of the dark, too?”
........THUD.
........“How many times I gotta hurt you before you get the hint? WILL YOU SHUT UP?” Tai opened his mouth. “No I’m rephrasing that. It is not optional. You WILL shut up, and NOW!” Their leader gaped, then frowned belligerently.
........“What’re YOU gonna do about it? You can’t tell ME what to do!”
........Jesse looked at him. Slowly and deliberately, she raised her hands to chest level and proceeded to crack every knuckle on both fists. Tai paled, realizing his mistake.
........“I was just kidding!”
........She took a menacing step forward.
........Tai babbled something incomprehensible about firewood and fled, bodily dragging Agumon with him. When he was safely out of earshot, the others shared a good laugh before setting up camp.
........Everyone was in a surprisingly good mood that night. All the Digimon were getting to know Lyeernmon, and she was fascinated by the rest of the people.
........“Why weren’t you with her when she got here? I was just at the right spot to meet T.K.”
........“I don’t know,” Lyeernmon replied. “I was waiting, and she didn’t come. I knew she should have come by now, so I looked, and didn’t find her. I picked here to stay and wait. I knew she was smart enough to find me.” Her hackles rose, half in annoyance, half in pride.
........“That’s just a little weird,” said Agumon.
........“No weirder than Kari and me,” Gatomon retorted.
........Jesse herself was listening, interested. Gabumon was snoozing nearby. Matt looked at him with amusement. ~He hasn’t done much this entire trip. Hasn’t said much either. Oh, well, not a lot of them have.~ It was getting late, and most of them would normally have been asleep anyway, curiosity the only factor keeping them awake. ~It’s no wonder they’re tired. They must be low on energy, since all they’ve had to eat is berries and fruits. The rest of us, too.~
........He yawned. “I’m gonna go to bed, you guys. See you in the morning.”
........“Sure,” came Jesse’s absentminded reply. The last thing Matt saw before dozing off was Jesse and Lyeernmon talking softly, the little dragon cuddled in her arms, sharing a newly-discovered and precious rapport. In his semi-conscious state, he felt rather jealous of the Digimon, but had no time to be embarrassed with himself before he fell asleep.
........The morning dawned bright and clear, despite Joe’s morbid prediction of rain. They broke camp, chattering happily, but with an undercurrent of fear, for T.K. and Kari, and of what might wait inside the vast corridors of the building. Mimi constantly grumbled about having to sleep outside with such a big, warm, cozy place right nearby and how her skirt was absolutely and positively RUINED now and beyond all salvation and how she had found a BUG by her nose when she woke up. Nobody felt particularly sorry for her, but bore it in silence. Silence that was fast becoming apprehension as they approached the massive structure.
........“I’ll just check it out and make sure it’s safe,” Joe volunteered. He crept forward. “I think I’m gonna regret this,” he muttered. Careful scouting yielded nothing, so he motioned for the rest to come forward. Matt felt a sinking doubt, unable to feel at all comfortable with this. ~I have to find T.K.!~ he reminded himself. Steeling his resolve, he followed the rest into the building.
........“It’s just one big room!” Tai said unnecessarily. The hall stretched forward and to either side so far that the walls were invisible, and the ceiling as well. It felt like being surrounded by space, stretching on for eons, not knowing whether it would ever be finite. Even the smallest utterance echoed like a shot, bouncing off the unseen dimensions of the room to return heartbeats later, and eerie cadence that little resembled the original sound, but instead something otherworldly, alien, and unrecognizable.
........“Let’s explore!” Tai shouted, striding forward.
........Chaos struck.
........The thing appeared from nowhere once again, only ten times bigger and more menacing. This time, it did nothing.
........“Pepper Breath!”
........“Blue Blaster!”
........“Poison Ivy!”
........“Munching Fishes!”
........“Boom Bubble!”
........“Super Shocker!”
........“Spiral Twister!”
........“Crystam Beam!”
........The attacks struck the thing, without effect. It seemed to drink in the energy, become more powerful, more dangerous. Its eyes were a dull grey, like a thick, impermeable fog. Its shape began to shift, faster and faster, the red-brown blurring into a mix of hues, until the slimy, roiling colors made Matt feel sick. Then it seemed to burst, spilling Kari, T.K., and their Digimon onto the ground. They were awake, alive, and apparently unharmed.
........“T.K.!” both Matt and Jesse yelled, Tai’s muted “Kari!” drowned in the pounding of their feet as they sprinted forward. Jesse reached them lightning fast, almost before Matt had a chance to start running, crouching over the frightened kids and growling like a threatened wolf. The thing did nothing, so she gathered them warily into her arms and was back with the others before Matt could even halt his dash. He skidded, trying to stop, turn around, and run the other way all in the same motion, and landed with a muted thud that drove the air from his lungs and echoed dully throughout the cavernous hall.
........The thing’s eyes turned from muted grey to blood red.
........It struck.
........“No!” The dagger left Jesse’s hand before she could think, burying itself to the hilt in the rusty, red-brown hide. The thing recoiled inches from Matt, keening, and she sprang forward.
........“J-chan!” Lyeernmon began to glow.
........“Lyeernmon, Digivolve to... CALARSHMON!”
........The little dragon grew to twenty times her original height, wings sprouting to span yards. Her scales turned a deep gold, and her claws took on a diamond-hard sheen. Fire gouted from her jaws, and she gave a trumpeting roar that shook the hall.
........“Gabumon, Digivolve to... GARURUMON!”
........They rushed in together.
........They were too late.
........The time spent Digivolving, although remote, had cost them the second the thing needed to recover, and it now held Matt and Jesse in front of itself, bound and struggling, a string of the foulest curses any of them had ever heard spewing from Jesse’s mouth. Calarshmon screamed defiance and took flight, frustrated at her inability to strike lest she injure Jesse. Garurumon found himself in similar plight.
........A deep, rolling laugh echoed through the hall, heralding Piedmon’s arrival. The Digimon smirked at the helpless Digidestined.
........“Fools. You disappoint me. I expected a more amusing performance. Well, no matter. The end is the same. A tragedy. For you.” He laughed again.
........“Howling Blaster!”
........“Wind Shards!”
........The pillar of blue fire merged with the swirling shower of glass-like shards, forming a beam the struck with double intensity. Piedmon shrugged it off. “Oh, my, you dirtied my costume.” He cackled. “Cholimon, you may destroy those two. Then the others as well.”
........“No!” Matt yelled. “T.K., get out of here!” The other Digidestined hung back, torn between saving them and running, uncertain of what to do since their Digimon couldn’t Digivolve without first putting them in danger. If one of them (Tai) rushed forward to provide that danger, it was unlikely that any of the three would get out alive.
........“Matt!” T.K. was stopped by Sora. “Hold on! Patamon, can’t you do something?”
........“No, I can’t Digivolve right now! I’m trying, but I just can’t! I’m so sorry, T.K.!”
........“Don’t worry about me, just GO! Get away! Garurumon, get them out of here!”
........“Yama-chan...” The soft word made Matt turn his head. Jesse looked at him, amber eyes bright. “I... love...”
........“J-chan...” Tears welled up. “I... love you, too.” He closed his eyes. He leaned over as far as he could, and she met him in the middle. They kissed, softly, tentatively.
........Cholimon folded in on itself, enveloping them in its substance. They were still holding the kiss as they disappeared from view.
........“Matt! Jesse! No!”
........Calarshmon keened, a high, broken sound, and disappeared. Garurumon dissolved slowly, howling heartrendingly. Cholimon shifted lazily as the horror-stricken Digidestined watched, then jerked and began to glow with a bright green light.
........It exploded. The blast threw everyone against the doorframe and wall, shattering small and unsecured items like glass. Bits of dissolving data flew and vanished like mist. Piedmon gave an outraged scream and disappeared back to his castle.
........When the smoke cleared, all that was left was a cracked crest, two shattered Digivices, and the twisted remains of what had once been a harmonica.
........A clearing in the woods. There are no living creatures about, as though they sense that their world is forever changed.
........Alone in the center of the clearing, forlorn and small in the green that surrounds it, lies a broken violin, and near it, a harmonica. The tracks of the Digidestined lead away from here into the distance, heavy with grief and heart-pain. They will never return to this place.
........The silence is broken only by the soft, sad melody of the wind on shattered strings.
THE END
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Email the author: Jesanae Tekani