Chapter Text
A loud, repetitive beep roused Takato from his deep slumber, and he groaned as pain coursed through his body.
What truck hit me?
Bright lights blinded him, and the faint sounds of chatter that had filled the area faded.
Blinking floaters out of his vision, the boy found that he was in a white room with wires attaching him to various machines.
I’m in a hospital?
The boy tried to recall what led him to this point without success. His mind was too scrambled to remember that particular detail.
A more important realization struck him a second later.
I’m in the Real World?
A wave of excitement coursed through him before the more realistic side of him buried it. After the Parasimon Invasion a year ago, he and Guilmon had failed to escape the Digital Zone. After a long journey to see the Digimon Sovereigns, their hopes of finding a way home were dashed.
After the Invasion, a Firewall had been put in place, sealing the barrier between worlds. Humans and Digimon were now completely segregated from one another. Unfortunately, Takato ended up on the wrong side of the barrier. It took him a long time to come to terms with knowing he would never see his family and friends again, but time healed all wounds or at least numbed them. After coming to terms with his loss, he was hard-pressed to believe he’d somehow made it back home. He couldn’t handle the disappointment of being wrong.
This must be a Digimon Hospital.
Takato had never heard of one existing in the Southern Quadrant, but the world had gone through many changes as it rebuilt after the D-Reaper’s destruction. Things could be different for all he knew.
A moment later, a very human nurse leaned over him, stealing whatever remaining thoughts he had in his mind. Instead, all he could do was gape like a fish in complete incomprehension.
“You’re awake,” she said, a warm smile spreading across her pretty face. “I’m glad. You had us worried.”
“W-what…” he choked, throat too dry to form any other words. He coughed instead.
The nurse moved out of his visual field before returning seconds later with a cup of water which she guided to his mouth; the straw pointed towards him.
Takato hadn’t realized how parched he was until he started drinking. Once he started, he couldn’t stop, even going as far as to ask for a second cup.
It didn’t take long for him to regret that decision as the stomach he hadn’t used for months rebelled against the intake.
He hadn’t needed to eat nor drink in the Digital World. Real World physiology was about to kick his ass.
The nurse must’ve recognized the look on his face as she was quick to grab an emesis basin before he expelled what he’d just took in.
“Sorry.” The nurse ran a soothing hand through his sweat-drenched hair as he coughed and retched. “I should’ve advised you to take it easy. You’ve been asleep for three days now.”
That long?
Takato spat in the basin, trying to eliminate the rancid taste from his mouth before straightening up.
“No, it’s my fault,” he rasped, nodding in thanks for her efforts to ease his discomfort. “I should’ve known better than to drink that fast. Mom always told me I’d make myself sick doing that.”
“Do you want any more water?” The nurse took the basin away once she was certain Takato wouldn’t throw up again.
“No, thank you.” No need to tempt fate twice.
“Do you feel up to answering a few questions? We’ve waited a long time to learn your name after the accident.”
Accident?
Takato frowned. A memory lingered just out of reach, leaving him clueless on how he’d arrived in the Real World and what condition he was in. Then he realized he hadn’t answered the nurse’s question.
“I’m Matsuki Takato.”
“How old are you, Takato?” The nurse asked after jotting a few notes down.
Takato wrinkled his nose as he considered the question. He’d lost track of time in the Digital World, but he still had a rough idea of how old he was.
“Eleven… I think. You mentioned an accident earlier. What did you mean by that?”
“You don’t remember?” The nurse’s lips thinned with worry when he shook his head.
“Did something happen to my parents?”
Takato’s heart started to race as the disconcerting thought took root.
“I can’t say. There were too many people injured when the apartment complex collapsed. We assumed your parents had to be nearby when we found you amongst the debris but so far, no one’s come forward on your behalf.”
“I wasn’t with my parents,” Takato admitted, relieved. He didn’t live in an apartment complex, so that, at least, meant his parents hadn’t been in the line of fire. He was curious to know more about the accident and how he’d ended up there, but there were pressing questions on his mind. “Where am I?”
“You’re in Tokyo General Hospital.”
While relieved that he was in his native city, that knowledge led to more questions.
“Where are my parents?” If they knew he was back in the Real World and the hospital, they would be here in no time flat. Not to mention there was no way Hypnos wouldn’t know. They would have detected the Digital Field he came from.
“We’ve been wondering the same thing,” the nurse admitted. “So far, no one has come to see you. We found no identification on you, nor did anyone file a missing person report for a child matching your description. Now that you are awake, we may have better luck finding them. What are their names?”
“Matsuki Takehiro and Yoshie.”
The nurse jotted the names down and then proceeded to ask other identifying information needed to find his parents.
A lot could happen in a year. His parents could have moved away after he went missing, or maybe they…
He shook his head, purging his thoughts of his parents’ possible death from his mind. They were alive. They had to be.
Losing them would be the worst thing that could happen to him. It would be just as bad as losing Guilmon.
Takato’s heart skipped a beat as he finally realized what was missing.
Where’s Guilmon?
His heart monitor started to beep more rapidly than before as his pulse and breathing quickened, leaving him light-headed.
While Takato couldn’t remember much about his return to the Real World, he knew Guilmon had been with him. Over the past year in the Digital World, they had spent more time Biomerged than not.
If Takato was in the Real World, so was Guilmon.
Where is he?
Long forgotten fears of Guilmon being captured or killed by the government came back to the surface of his mind. Logically, he knew Hypnos would never let that happen, but their powers were limited.
“Are you okay?”
The nurse squeezed his shoulder gently, trying to ease his anxiety.
“I know you’re scared, but I need you to breathe with me. Can you do that?”
Red eyes met warm brown, and Takato did his best to comply with her request.
Slowly, her efforts to calm him worked, and his mind cleared. Guilmon may not be with him now, but Takato would find him.
“Are you okay now?”
Takato nodded with a soft smile. “Thanks, er…”
“Nakamura Keiko,” the nurse introduced herself. “Don’t worry. We’ll find your parents. You’ll be home before you know it.”
“I hope so.” The sooner he left the hospital, the sooner he would find Guilmon, his parents, and his friends. He’d forgotten how much he had missed them until now. “Was anyone with me when the rescue workers brought me here?”
Keiko shook her head.
“You were alone from the moment you were found.”
Takato’s shoulders drooped. Guilmon wouldn’t leave him alone of his own volition, not if he could help it. The process of bio-emerging into the Real World must have separated them.
“Were there any weird fog banks around the time of the accident?”
“How did you know?” Keiko asked, eyes wide in surprise.
“Call it a wild guess,” Takato hedged. While the existence of Digimon was no longer a secret after the D-Reaper, the Tamers still preferred to keep most information about the Digimon quiet. There was no need for the general public to know about the fine details of how Digimon traveled between the worlds. “How many were there?”
Keiko glanced up as she considered the question, trying to recall the details. “I think there were two, according to the weather report from that day. One around the area of the apartment complex and another one miles away.”
Takato made a note of that for later. That may be where Guilmon was.
“You must be tired. Take some time to rest. I’ll let the doctor know you are awake and pass on the information you’ve given so that we can find your family. You can use the call button to reach me if you need anything,” Keiko advised before leaving him on his own.
Takato lay back on his bed, both physically and mentally exhausted. Now that he was alone, he could finally process his fragmented memories.
What’s the last thing I remember?
After learning he was stuck in the Digital World, he spent the first couple of months wandering through the Southern Quadrant, hoping that he would find a way home one day.
The Royal Knights soon approached him and took him under their wing, finally giving him a purpose in a world not his own.
He spent the next few months training directly under Omnimon’s tutelage until he was finally deemed ready to join the other Knights on missions.
He’d got the chance to go on his first solo mission, which led him to the outskirts of the Demon Lord’s territory when he’d encountered…
Takato shot into a seated position, wounds he didn’t fully recall receiving protesting the motion.
Daemon, the Demon Lord of Wrath.
Takato shivered at the memory. The way Daemon had been depicted in Digimon Adventure 02 both did and didn’t do the fearsome Digimon justice.
There was no doubt why he gave the Digidestined so much trouble when they faced him. He was crazy strong, even more so in real life as compared to the TV show.
It was a miracle Takato was even alive. It had taken every ounce of his and Guilmon’s combined strength as Gallantmon to keep up with Daemon, and even then, they’d had to call upon Crimson Mode.
Did we defeat him?
Takato’s brows furrowed as he strained his mind for the memory, but nothing came to mind. He sighed in frustration. How he went from fighting Daemon to lounging in a hospital in the Real World without his partner would evade him for some time yet.
His eyes fell on the table next to him, noting his clothes and belongings resting upon it. A hint of gold caught his eye, and he dove forward for his D-Arc, sighing in relief as he saw no static.
The sight of Jeri’s nonfunctional D-Arc following Leomon’s death still haunted Takato's nightmares. He didn’t know what he’d do if his D-Arc showed the same terminal signal.
Glancing at the door to ensure that he was alone, Takato activated the Compass feature of his D-Arc, hoping it would give him a clue as to where Guilmon was.
Moments later, he sighed in frustration and dropped the D-Arc into his lap. No matter what he did, the Compass always pointed at him whenever he tried to find where Guilmon was.
So much for that idea.
Takato couldn’t help feeling disheartened. The D-Arc had never failed him when locating his partner before.
The only lead he had was the two Digital Fields. He would have to investigate them, but he’d have to get out of the hospital first.