[Hikari had been forced to sleep on some uncomfortable surfaces recently--the pile of dirt down in the sewers immediately came to mind--but this? This was the worst yet.]
[Wincing as something dull but pointed poked at her back, the eight-year-old slowly sat up. And glanced around. Tailmon was still unconscious at her feet. Otherwise, she saw nothing but...garbage. Piles upon piles of wood and concrete and rotting food and bits and scraps of metal and plastic. That, in and of itself, didn't bother her quite so much as the slow realization that...she couldn't remember how she'd gotten here.]
[Rising to her feet, she tried vainly to brush some of the grime from her shirt. Tailmon stirred, and she knelt down in hopes of waking the poor little digimon. When that didn't work, Hikari picked her up and held her close to her chest. Subconsciously, Tailmon burrowed that much further into her chest, seeking the warmth from her lithe frame. It was no wonder she was so tired. The last thing Hikari remembered...they had defeated Piemon. A harrowing battle, during which time--at one point--it had been down to just herself and Takeru. The two youngest, and only a single digimon between them. A seemingly hopeless situation...or, at least, it would have been, if it hadn't been the Bearer of Hope himself protecting her.]
[Only now, it seemed, even Takeru wasn't here.]
[No one was. She took a few steps, head darting around in search of a familiar face. In search of Taichi. Sora. Koushiro. Jou. Yamato. Mimi. Anyone.]
Hello? Is anyone there?
[The only response was for the clouds above to open up and...unleash a cold downpour of rain. She was soaked within a matter of seconds.]
Phase IV
[The drones had been pretty scary. The incinerator, more so.]
[Then came the realization that, somehow, along the way, she'd lost her whistle. It had been hanging around her neck the last time she checked, hanging right beside her Crest of Light. Now it was gone. Hikari sharply inhaled once, her heart beating just a little bit faster at the awful thought of having lost it. Her eyes stung with the threat of tears. She always had that whistle with her. Always. Ever since she was a little girl, tweeting at her big brother when she didn't always feel like talking.]
Where could it have gone, Tailmon? I--ah!
[Relief washed over her when she caught sight of it. There, at the bottom of a dumpster. How it gotten there, she couldn't guess, but she was more than willing to jump inside in order to...to...]
[She thought she had it. That silver whistle. Only, when she finally picked it up, she realized it was...just an old piece of tinfoil.]
[Worse than that, it was now stuck to her hand. And it wasn't coming off]
BONUS!
[She wasn't coughing this time, at least. And she didn't feel warm; she made sure to check. Several times.]
[And yet...the longer they walked, Tailmon faithfully at her side...the longer they went without encountering another soul...the dizzier Hikari started to feel. Light-heated. The world spinning around her. It was different than the last time. Only not really. But she couldn't have been sick--maybe she was just getting a little tired--and so, without a word, she pushed on. Not wanting to stop for fear of missing out on finally running into--]
[Eventually, the dizziness grew too much for her to bear. The last thing she heard before collapsing was the sound of her ever faithful companion calling out her name:]
Yagami Hikari ☼ Digimon Adventure
[Hikari had been forced to sleep on some uncomfortable surfaces recently--the pile of dirt down in the sewers immediately came to mind--but this? This was the worst yet.]
[Wincing as something dull but pointed poked at her back, the eight-year-old slowly sat up. And glanced around. Tailmon was still unconscious at her feet. Otherwise, she saw nothing but...garbage. Piles upon piles of wood and concrete and rotting food and bits and scraps of metal and plastic. That, in and of itself, didn't bother her quite so much as the slow realization that...she couldn't remember how she'd gotten here.]
[Rising to her feet, she tried vainly to brush some of the grime from her shirt. Tailmon stirred, and she knelt down in hopes of waking the poor little digimon. When that didn't work, Hikari picked her up and held her close to her chest. Subconsciously, Tailmon burrowed that much further into her chest, seeking the warmth from her lithe frame. It was no wonder she was so tired. The last thing Hikari remembered...they had defeated Piemon. A harrowing battle, during which time--at one point--it had been down to just herself and Takeru. The two youngest, and only a single digimon between them. A seemingly hopeless situation...or, at least, it would have been, if it hadn't been the Bearer of Hope himself protecting her.]
[Only now, it seemed, even Takeru wasn't here.]
[No one was. She took a few steps, head darting around in search of a familiar face. In search of Taichi. Sora. Koushiro. Jou. Yamato. Mimi. Anyone.]
Hello? Is anyone there?
[The only response was for the clouds above to open up and...unleash a cold downpour of rain. She was soaked within a matter of seconds.]
Phase IV
[The drones had been pretty scary. The incinerator, more so.]
[Then came the realization that, somehow, along the way, she'd lost her whistle. It had been hanging around her neck the last time she checked, hanging right beside her Crest of Light. Now it was gone. Hikari sharply inhaled once, her heart beating just a little bit faster at the awful thought of having lost it. Her eyes stung with the threat of tears. She always had that whistle with her. Always. Ever since she was a little girl, tweeting at her big brother when she didn't always feel like talking.]
Where could it have gone, Tailmon? I--ah!
[Relief washed over her when she caught sight of it. There, at the bottom of a dumpster. How it gotten there, she couldn't guess, but she was more than willing to jump inside in order to...to...]
[She thought she had it. That silver whistle. Only, when she finally picked it up, she realized it was...just an old piece of tinfoil.]
[Worse than that, it was now stuck to her hand. And it wasn't coming off]
BONUS!
[She wasn't coughing this time, at least. And she didn't feel warm; she made sure to check. Several times.]
[And yet...the longer they walked, Tailmon faithfully at her side...the longer they went without encountering another soul...the dizzier Hikari started to feel. Light-heated. The world spinning around her. It was different than the last time. Only not really. But she couldn't have been sick--maybe she was just getting a little tired--and so, without a word, she pushed on. Not wanting to stop for fear of missing out on finally running into--]
[Eventually, the dizziness grew too much for her to bear. The last thing she heard before collapsing was the sound of her ever faithful companion calling out her name:]
Hikari!