Digimon Adventure: Continuing Evolution

8. AHOD

Chapter 8. AHOD

Matt lay on his bed in the darkness, facing the wall. It had been an exhausting two days. He hadn't slept from the moment the ring of light appeared on his D4 until T.K. swooped down on Pegasusmon for him, and that coupled with the exertion of the fight with Eosmon and the pain of losing Gabumon created in him a profound weariness of body and soul that Matt could not fight against. He had slept well past noon, and the void into which he had cocooned himself—an absence of all thought, memory, or pain—had felt immeasurably peaceful and comforting. But as all things must, this too eventually came to an end, and consciousness unwelcomely returned. Still Matt did not stir, instead lying motionless in a refusal to acknowledge the world around him.

A world without Gabumon.

He still held the dead fossil of his digivice to his breast, and occasionally waves of sorrow racked his frame and brought fresh tears through clenched eyelids. A low moan escaped his lips as he tried to soften his cries, though he knew no one was there to hear. He had a vague memory of hearing T.K. answer the door and let someone in, echoes of a murmured conversation from the other room, and finally a soft knock on his door before his brother gingerly entered.

"Matt?", he'd said. "Listen, um...Kari and I are going to the Digital World for a little while. There's something over there that we have to check out. But if you need anything—anything at all—just call me and we'll be right there. Okay? I know you're hurting right now, but we're here for you. We're all here for you. You're not alone, Matt. We love you."

That had been several hours ago, and still Matt remained on his bed. He felt compelled to move—to yell, scream, throw things, do something, anything! But the torrent of pain, sorrow, and anger paralyzed him in place. It felt like fire consuming his bones, it felt like an arctic wind in his soul. He had never experienced such fear. How was he supposed to move forward and go on...without him? Gabumon's last question burned in his mind, but he did not know how to answer it. He knew he had to find some way out of this hole he'd been thrust into—something meaningful he could accomplish—or else he would be letting Gabumon down...but he didn't know what to do. So he did nothing, even as each passing second increased his need for action.

RIYAAH!! RIYAAH!! A raucous siren wailed from his D4 and a red light flooded the room. Matt launched straight up from the mattress in alarm, the covers sent flying. When he came down he stretched his arm out just in time to catch the device responsible for the noise, which was in mid-fall from where it had vibrated off his nightstand. Matt peered at his phone in confusion; it had been turned off and shouldn't have been able to make a sound. It was an "All-Hands-On-Deck!" message sent from Izzy with coordinates to a Digital Gate, along with the suite number and address for Izumi Industries. Matt swiped off the notification. What was wrong? Did something else happen? Surely this had to be about Eosmon. Maybe Izzy was trying to gather everyone to tell them about the end of their digimon's bonds. Or was it Tai? All these thoughts swirled in Matt's mind. He didn't want to go; he wasn't sure if he could face everyone right now. Not when the pain was still so raw. But it had to happen sometime, and he knew for sure that he had to do something, right now. What, if not this? He watched the replies pour in as the Digidestined sounded off. Matt stared at the screen for another five minutes, contemplating it and the choice before him.

Another notification came, this time a text to him directly. It was Tai.

Please. I need you, Matt.

Matt looked to where his keys and motorcycle jacket lay sprawled over the top of his dresser, and he made his decision.

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