Disclaimer: Please don't sue me. I don't own Digimon and I don't like to make trouble. You can have m'bro tho'... :P **runs as her martial-artist- wanna-be of a brother comes after her** AAAAHHH!!! MOOOMMMM!!!! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~*~ More than Two Worlds Apart ~*~ By Lizeth http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/loft1050/ CHAPTER 3- Friend or Foe? Tai raised his head in defiance. Or at least, as defiantly as he possibly could when on the ground with an unconscious digi-destined leaning on him. "Great, wonderful, peachy," he muttered to himself in an oddly Matt-like manner. "Who's out there?" he asked clearly, "Show yourself." Somewhere in the back of his mind a voice asked, The mysterious voice laughed. It was obviously male, deep and resonant, that much was obvious, but he was still trying to decide whether is it menacing or not when the light shut off abruptly. "Well this interesting. We go out hunting and we find children..." it paused, "What do you propose we do?" it wondered aloud. The sound of the... dogs... filled woods for a full minute before it was broken. "Here's an idea, how 'bout you leave us alone?" Tai offered, edging back slightly. He had to get Matt out of here. Parts of his arm was raw and bleeding and though it didn't look deep in the dawn light, it could still get infected. "Alone?" the voice replied wonderingly, "Well, we can't possibly do that..." "Why not- HEY!!!" Suddenly, Tai felt Matt's weight lifted off him. "Now what will they think, when I bring this present to them..." it mused. Tai felt panic rise within him as he watched the cloaked and hooded shape loomed over him. It seemed incredibly tall and none of it's facial features were visible within the shadows of the hood. "No!! Leave him alone! Let him go!" He'd never felt so helpless in him life. Matt seemed so small in the arms of... it... and Tai was even shorter than Matt. Ever since they'd taken the little... detour, during camp, the digimon had always been with them. Evil digimon they could fight, but this... thing... seemed different somehow, although Tai couldn't place his finger on it. And their digimon where no longer with them. Bouncing up, he ran towards the figure and started pulling at its cloak, giving some well placed kicks against it's leg. Still, the towering figure seemed unaffected, other than the fact that it had stopped and turned back to face him. "I said, leave him alone! You don't want him! He's hurt!" Tai ground his teeth together and tugged hopelessly. "Please! Please! I can't loose anyone else now!" he blurted before he realized what he'd said. Still he pulled desperately. The hooded figure seemed to convey a look of disapproval and annoyance, even with its entire facial features hidden. Something picked him up from behind, immobilizing his arms. He let out a cry and struggled violently, legs flailing. Tai froze for a moment with horror as he realized that the creature had said "we" earlier, but he'd thought it'd meant the dogs... He scrapped his heel down his captor's shin, trying to get loose. "Stop that, child, before you hurt yourself," a soft voice whispered in his ear before he felt a brief flash of pain on his back and the side of his chest and darkness reached down to engulfed him. His digimon's name was the last thing on his lips. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tai felt himself being carried and his brow creased slightly, trying to remember what was going on. Distantly, he heard voices. He wanted to open his eyes, but they seemed impossibly heavy. In fact, he felt heavy in general. Moving seemed like a great effort. One that he was unwilling to put his energy into at the moment. He also felt oddly... safe... maybe... "Agumon?" he murmured quietly before his brain realized that Agumon would never be able to carry him like this. His loyal digimon friend was far to small. Of course, it MIGHT be Greymon or Wargreymon but... Whatever was carrying him had stopped moving and now the voices were louder. Blurring into a jumbled hum in Tai's fuzzy consciousness. Someone moaned not too far away, and Tai's ears found the sound incredibly sharp. Tai's heart froze for an instant. He recognized that... "Matt!!" he called frantically as his eyes snapped open. He twisted, searching for the source of the sound, but strong arms held him firm. Why did he feel so weak? "Stop that now, your friend is being taken care of." Stopping automatically at the commanding voice, Tai blinked as his eyes finally focused. He felt shock run through him like a freight train. "You're HUMAN!" The man smiled wryly. "What were you expecting?" "You're OLD." The man, who didn't seem any more than 35, frowned indignantly. A couple of armoured men at the door of the tent snickered quietly. "I wouldn't say that..." said Tai's captor with a note of surprise, glaring at the guards. Tai opened his mouth both closed it again as he spotted Matt. He was lying on a makeshift cot of some sort and partially covered with a rough brown blanket. His upper arm was bound crudely in bandages but the shoulder still looked wrong. Tai thought despairingly. Wriggling, Tai tried to get down and the man let him. The youth promptly stumbled, knees wobbling. Strong arms gripped him again, keeping him upright when he should have fallen. Slightly more steady on his feet, Tai frowned as he turned and faced the larger man, face filled with suspicion. "Why are you helping me? What do you want?" he inquired stiffly, rubbing his back. The man just gazed at him oddly, as if wondering what he was. "God, Tai, you're starting to sound like me..." whispered a weak voice, barely audible. "Matt?!" Tai whirled around so fast he almost stumbled again. He caught two half closed, gray-blue eyes looking back at him and almost sighed with relief. "Yes, my name is Matt. And I do believe you're Tai. Any other questions, genius?" came the mumbled retort. Tai resisted the urge to grin like a maniac. Matt was insulting him! This was a good thing!! Heeeeey...wait... "Matt! You're alright!!" "That would depend on your definition of the word... but I think I'm still breathing. You want me to check?" Tai swallowed, suddenly grave. "I told you not to joke about that, Ishida." "Why Tai, I'm touched that you care." Tai growled, a familiar frustration fueling his body. "Of course I do, baka! You know perfectly well I'd die for any one of you!" softly he continued, "I couldn't stand to be last..." "To bad there's only two of us now, huh?" "Yamato, don't make me punch you while you're down." "Sure thing leader-boy," he muttered sarcastically. The man moved forward suddenly, perhaps sensing an imminent argument, stepping around Tai and kneeling by the cot. Placing one calloused had on Matt's upper arm, he prodding the shoulder with the other. Matt hissed sharply and grimaced, twitching slightly as he tried to escape the man's grip. "HEY!" Tai snapped, but someone held him back. He would've tried to break loose if the man hadn't spoken. "Stop that, boy. I'm trying to help," he said with a frown. "You're hurting him!" Tai objected. "He dislocated his shoulder. It's got to be set," he replied, picking something up from the ground. He proceeded to unwrap the rough bandages around it. "And whose fault is that!?" accused Tai. The man sighed resignedly. "I apologize for that little misunderstanding." Tai glared at him dubiously. His captor shook his head and turned his attention back to the boy on the cot. "Bite down," he ordered, holding the cloth wrapped stick to Matt's mouth. Tai watched as Matt's blue eyes widened slightly, tinged with apprehension, even as he bit down on the stick. Needing no orders, the man holding Tai let go and moved to the other side of the cot, holding Matt down with large hands. Tai clenched his fist. Not knowing what else to do, he moved over and gripped Matt's hand. Blue eyes met brown. Their captor jerked, hard and for the second time, Tai heard a popping crack. He could almost see the twig between Matt's teeth quiver under the strain even as his hand was squeezed painfully. Binding the shoulder tight in a makeshift bandage, the man removed the twig before placing Matt's arm in a sling. Matt's breathing was ragged and uneven and his face seemed even paler than before. "Well, that was fun." He murmured unsteadily. "Dammit Matt..." Tai growled in exasperation, "Just... shut up and get some rest, Mr. Cool," he ended resignedly, "You look like you need it." Matt smirked slightly even as his eyes drooped shut. It looked odd. A smirk on that pale and ash stained face. Vaguely, Tai wondered how much better he looked in comparison. "Are you implying that I look bad, hair-for-brains? Because of you are, I'm afraid I'll have to kill you as soon as I manage t-to... get.. up..." Matt trailed off as eyes slipped totally shut. Not long after, a feverish sleep overtook him once again. Taichi Kamiya sighed. His friendship with Yamato Ishida was certainly a strange one. More than half the time they were usually trying to force their fists down each other's throats. How they'd actually come about to calling each other friends was still something of a mystery. But friends they were, and when it came right down to it, he knew that they'd both give up their lives for one another and for any of the other digi-destined. That was how it worked. They were family. You mess with one digi-destined and you'd better be ready to face up to the other seven. Not to mention eight probably very, very, VERY pissed off digimon protectors. Tai thought with some wistfulness as his mind turned to his own digital companion. A voice interrupted his reverie. he thought with annoyance. "We're all set to go, Alan. We'll leave as soon as you give word." "You have it. Move out now. And put him in the back of Kiren's wagon. Don't bump him too much either. Dislocated his shoulder." Having been brought back to the present, Tai turned his attention back to his captor, watching worriedly out of the corner of his eye as Matt lifted and carried off, cot and all. "What are you going to do with us... with him?" "I bring you back to Xerriah," the man replied bluntly. "Who?" Tai asked distractedly. He frowned even as he even moved to follow after his friend. He'll be damned if he left Matt alone while he was unconscious. Vaguely, Tai caught his captor arching a scarred eyebrow in bewilderment. "Not 'who'... it's 'where'." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sora examined her surroundings with an odd expression on her face. She had washed up with a basin that had been provided for her and the burns on her forearms had been cleaned and bound with salve. They itched already. Rather painfully, actually. her mind screamed The woman before her coughed politely, trying to get her attention once more. Sora blushed slightly. "I'm sorry," she muttered, "I guess my mind was elsewhere." "I could tell," the woman smiled gently. She was dressed in clothes that reminded Sora of medieval pictures... but not quite matching them. They certainly weren't 20th century, that was for sure. Plus, she couldn't place them in any other time frame either. Embarrassed, Sora just nodded. "Mind telling me your name, young one? Or will I have to call you 'young lady' forever?" "Oh!" Sora exclaimed, "Sorry, my name is Sora. Sora Takenouchi." To her host's surprise, Sora got up and bowed politely. She nodded back. "And your friend? The one with..." she brought her hands to her face, mimicking the shape of spectacles over her eyes. "Glasses? Oh, his name is Jyou Kido. We call him Joe." The woman cocked her head to the side. "We?" she inquired. Sora's heart constricted in fear. "We..." she stuttered, "Yes. My friends and I... was there..." she blinked. Her eyes stung all of a sudden and her heart pounded rapidly in her chest. "My dear," the woman told her in a soothing tone of voice, obviously noticing Sora's distress, "This 'Joe' and you were the only ones we found. There were no others." "No others...?" Sora repeated dumbly. her mind repeated endlessly. She started to shake. "No, dear. No one at all. Only you and your friend," her host continued worriedly. Sora broke then, rubbing furiously at the wet trails down her cheeks. She cried for her friends. She cried for the digi-destined. With only 2, they weren't complete anymore. It just wasn't right! Wasn't fair... wasn't fair at all! They were the digi-destined! They were supposed to be invincible! She cried until she thought she could drown out Megaseadramon's River of Power, and even then, she didn't stop. "How could... they leave?" she asked no one in particular in a small, strangled voice, eyes unfocused. "I would have felt something- I should have.. felt something..." she repeated silently over and over again. They were kids. She was a kid. They weren't supposed to die. None of them where supposed to DIE!!! Ryanne felt her heart go out to the girl as she watched her latest charge cry as if the world was crashing down around her ears. she mused sadly, Wrapping her arms around the Guardian of Love, she rocked the young girl gently back and forth, offering what little comfort she could. Sora cried. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ryanne closed the door behind her softly. "Well?" her employer asked nonchalantly. Ryanne shivered suddenly, the room temperature seemed to drop all of a sudden. Her eyes darted towards a corner of the dimly lit room. "Her name is Sora, lady. The boy is called Joe," she told her nervously. "Are they the ones?" "I... don't know my lady. But she mentioned others." "Did she wear a crest?" "No, lady... not that I could see." "No matter," her employer shrugged, "The crests are but symbols." Her employer eyed her once more and nodded with satisfaction. Ryanne resisted the urge to sigh with relief. "That will do for now. You will find out more later." "Ye-es, lady." Curtseying hastily, she backed up towards the door. Her hands shook as it gripped the doorknob. "Ryanne?" She froze. "Yes, lady?" "You'd better get a shawl," she smiled sweetly, perfect white teeth flashing in the dim light, but it did nothing to comfort the servant maid. "We can't have you falling ill, now can we?" "Yes, lady- I mean no, lady." She stuttered and with one last bob she was out of the room. Daemon's smile turned into a sneer. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Joe woke up to look upon fuzzy reddish-brown eyes and frowned. Searching for his glasses, he found them on the intricate wooden stand to his right and slipped them on. As the world came into focus he looked back at a girl he knew to be Sora, and almost reeled back in shock. Her eyes... they weren't the natural, happy and shining eyes of the Sora he knew. These eyes looked almost... haunted. he thought with surprise as he examined her. She seemed drained and pale and just... lifeless. Dread overtook his senses. Frantically, his eyes searched the room he was in. It was big, and well furnished. But it only had one bed, and he was lying on it. Where were the others? "Sora?" he asked tentatively, afraid of the answer he might get. She shook her head. "They aren't here," she whispered, the voice cracking at the end. "We're the only ones left." Joe blinked as his mind tried to process the information it was receiving. "They went home without us?" he asked dumbly, somehow knowing... "No, Joe... It's not that... the digivices don't work..." He stiffened instantly like a deer caught in the headlights of a MACK truck. Then to Sora's utter astonishment, he began punching the bedpost. Repeatedly. "Joe!" she cried, holding one of his arms back, away from the hard wood. His knuckles had already turned red. "They're NOT dead!!" he yelled suddenly, voice full of denial. "Joe..." she began, eyes wide. "They're NOT. I refuse to believe it!!" he roared in a very un-Joe-like manner. "We've been dropped down countess pits, been inside a whale, been chased throughout the digiworld by insane and powerful evil digimon. We've faced them all and won. We've been almost blown up, drowned, burned and turned into KEY CHAINS. We've been picked apart, pixel by pixel and we SURVIVED. They are NOT dead. There is NO WAY they can be dead!!!!!!!!!" He stopped abruptly, trying to control his breathing. The sound of his heartbeat was loud in his own ears. "Joe..." Sora mumbled, an odd note in her voice. "WHAT?!" he snapped. "You're right." "I...... What?" "You're right!" she exclaimed and for the first time since she'd woken up, she laughed. "They can't be dead. I'm sure I would have felt something..." she said breathlessly, hoping against all hope. She fingered the place where her crest used to rest against her skin. Suddenly, the old Joe was back. He fiddled nervously with his glasses. "You think so, huh?" he grinned sheepishly. "Yes," she smiled. The old Sora was back too. "Right then, what are we sitting around here for?" he asked enthusiastically. "We gotta get out and look for them," he ordered in his "leader voice". He paused half-way out of the covers. "Umm...." "What, Joe?" Sora asked, looking back. "Could we find the rest of my clothes first?" he asked as he turned a very bright shade of red at being caught only in his boxers. If his brother ever found out, he'd never, EVER hear the end if it. Sora couldn't help herself. She tired to, really. It was a valiant effort, but in the end, she broke down laughing, rolling like a maniac on the floor as she listened to Joe whine something about immature digi-destined and allergies. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Author's note: Notice the chapters getting' longer, huhhuhuhuh?! Okies, me stop now... Oh well, thanks to David Eddings for inspiration. If you have never read any of his books, go read his Belgariad series NOW (just be sure to come back and read my pitiful fic too, 'kay? **sniff**). First book is called "Pawn of Prophesy". You'll probably see more of influence by his works later. ^_~ Please, please e-mail me at Lizeth_Hal@hotmail.com! Arigato!