Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon - merely some old VHS tapes with poor quality video and sound.

Voices of Realities Past

Chapter 1

What? Wh-what do you mean? Th-that can't be! Is this some sick joke!? It's just... not possible... It can't be true... It just can't be true!

Matt slowly awoke as a chill wind blew over him. The hard ground beneath him felt cold and damp with morning dew. He shivered, suddenly wishing he were still asleep, despite the dreams that plagued him nightly. Ever since he'd left his fellow Digidestined to travel alone, find his own path, whenever he managed to drift off he would hear the same voice, feel the same overwhelming confusion and sadness wash over him. But as soon as conciousness returned, only the mood of the dreams remained, the words and tone of voice gone from his memory, leaving him feeling drained rather than refreshed.

Except for today. This morning he was also able to recall simple words and phrases, though the identity of the voice still remained a mystery. Considering the regularity of the dreams, he had begun wondering if it had been something he had once said. It seemed possible, though he couldn't understand why he had problems remembering the dreams when he woke up every morning if that were the case. He recalled that Izzy had once talked about repressed memories. Could that be the reason? Or was it really just simply a dream that haunted his nights?

Shaking his head and attempting to ignore the feelings that remained as he did every morning, the young Digidestined sat up and looked over at his sleeping partner. Matt found no reason to wake him as they still had no final destination. They'd been wandering aimlessly for a while now; he'd lost count of the days since he'd set out on his own. And yet he had come upon no answers to any of his questions, which only served to trouble his thoughts further. He pushed that thought aside as he surveyed the surrounding area. He blinked as he suddenly noticed that something seemed different. He looked in the direction of Spiral Mountain; yet another section of the grotesquely twisted peak had disappeared.

"They defeated Machinedramon, huh?" he mused softly as he leaned back against a gnarled tree. That left only one mega digimon to deal with. Piedmon, the last of the Dark Masters, would be waiting atop that mountain for the final battle, a battle he knew he should help fight.

The boy thought back on what the digital being had told them while borrowing Kari's body only days ago. He was truly grateful for the explanation, yet as he thought on it more and more, there just seemed to be too many holes, too many times when the being itself didn't have any answers. The beings hadn't known what the information they had gathered from each of them had meant, but they knew that it deemed them capable of saving the Digital World? His blue eyes narrowed as his mind cycled through the familiar questions that had been plaguing his mind, wondering briefly if all of his stress and confusion had been what triggered his dreams in the first place.

"Matt, you should have woken me up," came a groggy voice from only a few feet away.

The Digidestined looked over at his partner who was rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Gabumon stretched while letting out a loud yawn. Blinking he tiredly glanced at Spiral Mountain. After a moment of staring blankly, a confused look crossed his face as his eyes narrowed. Bewilderment was quickly replaced with a look of cheerful surprise.

"Hey Matt! Tai and the others must have defeated Machinedramon!" He saw his partner nod his agreement. His sudden happiness quickly vanished as he peered at the meloncholy boy. He knew that Matt was aware of just what significance that discovery had on them, but he was afraid to voice what was really in his heart. The Child of Friendship had been strangely silent since they had defeated Puppetmon and had since seemed to avoid the remaining Dark Masters at all cost. Hesitantly, he added, "That only leaves Piedmon, the strongest -"

"I think we should get going," Matt said abruptly, quickly rising to his feet. Deliberately turning away from the mountain looming in the distance, he began walking across the rocky ground, his partner following closely behind, a worried expression on his face.

They were getting close; he could feel it. The chill wind that blew across his face, that strange tingling that started at the base of his neck and traveled throughout his entire body, all were signs of it. The last Dark Master was waiting for them at the top of the very mountain they were climbing.

And that thought only made the young leader more uneasy.

As much as he wanted to finally take down the only remaining threat to both the Digital World and his own, Tai couldn't help but be worried. Some of the Digidestined were still absent and if what they had been told was true, he would soon be needing those missing members - they were all needed. But he had no way of contacting them and only a few people in his current party. Would the others make the same trip up Spiral Mountain to find them? Would they even know where to look? No, he had to stop thinking like that. He had to have faith in his friends. He glanced down at Koromon resting in his arms and then back at the their little group consisting of four other Digidestined and their partners as well as Andromon, all silent save the tapping coming from Izzy as he stared intently at his laptop's screen.

"Hey Izzy, whatcha working on?" Tai asked curiously, trying to keep his mind off of what he knew was up ahead. Apparently Sora, TK, and Kari all had the same idea as they too turned to look at the Child of Knowledge, waiting for his answer.

Head still buried in his computer, the young genius replied, "I'm trying to figure out exactly how far from Spiral Mountain's peak we are at the moment. If it's too much farther we may need to rest first to gather our strength before taking on the last of the Dark Masters." The boy continued his typing as if he hadn't just been interrupted. Apparently this was his way of easing his worries - analyzing the situation to make sure they would all be in the best possible position when the time came to fight. Tai couldn't help but smile at his friend's efforts.

"How much longer is it?" asked TK, Patamon perched atop his head.

"Well, according to my calculations, if we continue on at our current pace, we are approximately one hour and twenty-four minutes away," he answered matter-of-factly.

Slowing her pace so that she was walking with him, Sora peeked over the boy's shoulder. On the screen what appeared to be a three dimensional map of Spiral Mountain rotated lazily around and around. "How can you tell?" she asked, "Do you know where we are right now from that map?" She didn't see any flashing lights indicating their location.

The young boy pointed at the screen right under the top of the mountain and then returned to typing as if that were explanation enough, deep in thought. Sora blinked and tried to look harder at the spot her friend had specified but still saw nothing. But Izzy had never steered them wrong in the past with his digital maps. She looked up at Tai who was watching her and shrugged.

"Anyway, so we have about an hour and a half, huh? I say we just keep walking. The sooner we take down that clown the better!" declared their leader. He knew that he hadn't sounded as confident as he had meant to, but the emphatic "Yeah!" from Koromon made him smile nonetheless.

Kari fell into step next to her older brother and put her hand in his. "We can do it!" she said with a bright smile, that ever-present glow that just seemed to emanate from her giving those around her a slight boost of confidence. The Crest of Light couldn't have been given to a more suitable candidate. Giving her hand a slight squeeze, Tai nodded and turned his attention back to their current problem.

"Now just how do I get ahold of the others?"

No, something's wrong! This - this wasn't supposed to happen! But it was perfect! What could have possibly gone wrong?

"Matt, are you sure you're alright?"

"I told you, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping well recently."

Gabumon stared anxiously at his partner. A short while ago he had forced the blonde to sit and rest when he noticed his harsh breathing and stumbling steps. Once he had finally gotten his partner to heed his words, it only took a few minutes before the boy had fallen asleep. But it wasn't until Matt had woken with a start only about a half hour later that the digimon really started to worry. His partner's breathing was still heavier than normal and a pained look covered his face. When he had questioned Matt about this, the boy simply got up, insisting he didn't need to rest. His still slow, labored pace, however, was saying differently. His poor sleeping habits were having a greater effect on him than he was willing to admit out loud, and Gabumon knew it.

"Look, if something's bothering you, I think it would help if you -"

"I said I was fine, alright!?" yelled Matt, turning to glare at his digimon, fists clenched. He instantly regretted it though as he noticed the hurt look on Gabumon's face. Calming down, he stood there, closed his eyes, and sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you. It's just - well, I - I've been having these dreams lately." He hated saying that. It made him sound so weak. What kind of person was so deeply effected by dreams he didn't even rememeber upon waking up? But as Gabumon just simply watched him, a look of understanding dawning on his face, the boy continued. "I'm not even sure what they're about really; I always forget once I'm awake. I just get this feeling of overwhelming grief, sometimes frustration too. Well, that is, until recently."

The Child of Friendship sank to the ground, leaning against a nearby rock, his partner standing next to him. "It's this voice. I still don't know whose it is, but it always sounds so confused yet sad at the same time. I used to wake up and remember those feelings only, but lately the words have become clearer. It repeats things like 'it's not possible' or 'something went wrong', and it always ends with someone crying."

Matt ran a hand though his hair wearily, his fatigue clearly showing on his face. "I don't understand. Are they trying to tell me something? Am I subconciously trying to remember a part of my life I hid away? Or are these just normal dreams, and I'm making a big deal out of nothing?"

"Is that what you've been upset about?" asked Gabumon, "I know you wanted time to find yourself, but are these dreams distracting you? Do you think they are keeping you from finding whatever it is you are looking for?" Things were beginning to make at least a little more sense now. He had known that the boy had been having trouble sleeping, but didn't know the reason. Deep down, the digimon also knew that something was holding his partner back. Matt had, after all, gone after Puppetmon, but since then he seemed different, quieter, more meloncholy. Could it be that these dreams were affecting the boy so much?

The young Digidestined shook his head, not really sure of the answer to that question himself.

"What's that?" cried Sora pointing to the darkening sky as a female digimon floated into view. She was clad in black and had sharp, red claws that tensed with anticipation. She smirked, showing off her slim fangs.

"Welcome, children," she said in a smooth, low voice that dripped with false sweetness. "I've been expecting you." At this she licked her lips.

"That's LadyDevimon!" cried Andromon, readying himself for the fight which would surely follow, "Everyone, you must be careful."

Tai looked up nervously at the flying monster. They couldn't afford to waste their energy here! They had to be at full strength for their fight with Piedmon. He glanced around at his comrades who all looked as anxious as he did and knew he had to think of a plan of action and fast.

"Koromon digivolve to... Agumon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to... Birdramon!"

"Tentomon digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"

"Patamon digivolve to... Angemon!"

"Gatomon digivolve to... Angewomon!"

The light of their digivolutions faded and the battle had begun, Andromon taking the lead. He however was quickly swatted away by one of her large clawed hands. Birdramon and Kabuterimon attempted to attack her from afar, but she dodged with ease.

"Darkness Wave!" she screamed as dark energy shot out toward the attacking digimon. They were thrown back by the blast, but Angemon quickly answered with his Hand of Fate attack. The beam barely missed it's target, but Angewomon cried out "Celestial Arrow!" immediately following. LadyDevimon winced as the arrow grazed her side, but she suddenly smirked and flew straight toward the blonde angel.

"All right, my turn!" cried Agumon, seeing his fellow digimon in trouble, but Tai held him back.

"Wait! I've got an idea," he explained before the small dinosaur could protest. He looked back at Izzy who was watching Kabuterimon rejoin the fight, an unreadable expression on his face. "Izzy, what does the Digimon Analyzer say about her?"

The boy perked up at the call of his name, and he immediately pulled up the file. "'LadyDevimon, a fully digivolved digimon. The general of Piedmon's Nightmare Soldiers'," he read aloud.

General. That could mean only one thing. Tai breathed in deeply, realizing the end was in sight and that if they didn't do things right, their entire journey would have been for nothing. He looked back at Sora. "Sora, I want you and TK to go with Birdramon and Angemon to find Matt," he said calmly.

The girl's eyes went wide. "You want us to leave? Right in the middle of a battle?" What if something happened and they were needed? What if Piedmon showed up? The two of them should be there to help, not off searching for a needle in a haystack. But Tai merely turned back to the fight, not answering her right away.

"It's not about this fight," he said finally. He could feel all eyes on him, waiting for him to continue. "LadyDevimon is Piedmon's top fighter, why else would she be made general? Which means that, after her, all that's left is Piedmon himself. In order to defeat him, we're going to need everybody. We also need to save as much of our strength as we can. I believe that we can win this, but we can't do it alone. We need Matt, Joe, and Mimi, then the eight of us will finally be together. Only then can we hope to win."

Sora could only stare at their leader. Was this really the same Tai that had always wanted to jump into battle without more than a seconds thought? When had he grown so much? He wasn't thinking about this fight but the one that would follow, the one that would truly decide the fate of both worlds. A look of determination crossed her face as she nodded.

"Right," she answered. She then turned to TK. "Come on, TK, let's hurry and find Matt," she said with a smile. The little boy looked up at her and returned her smile. "Right!" He then turned back to the battlefield. "Angemon!" Angemon and Birdramon looked at each other and nodded upon hearing of their duty, knowing that it was for the best.

As Tai watched his friends fly away with their digimon, he added, "Agumon, we'll need you to fight Piedmon. You're the only one here who can digivolve to Mega, so we need you to save your strength."

Realization dawned on the Rookie's face. So that was why Tai hadn't let him join the fight. He nodded, and turned to watch as LadyDevimon and Angewomon fought mid-air, wishing he could help but knowing it would be foolish to do so.

Izzy smiled as Tai glanced at him and nodded his approval. This is what they needed - a strategy. Tai managed a smile back before turning once again, his eyes fixed on the battlefield.

"Matt?"

Gabumon waited for his partner to acknowledge him, but the boy simply continued on his way as if he hadn't even heard his partner speak. The digimon was beginning to grow anxious. When the two of them had once again started walking, they hadn't gone far before a dark cave had come into view. He had tried to persuade his partner that it would not be a wise idea to enter it, but the darkness seemed to instantly have grabbed Matt's attention. The boy had stared at the entrance for few moments before finally making his way toward the cave. Gabumon had followed reluctantly, but the deeper into the ground they went, the more uneasy the digimon felt. Something was wrong.

"Matt? Maybe we should head back. We could get lost in here," suggested Gabumon, trying not to sound as nervous as he felt.

"Whatever..."

The indifferent answer he had recieved was not what the boy's partner had been hoping for. "Listen, Matt. I really think we should leave this place. I - I'm not sure what it is exactly, but it just doesn't feel right. We shouldn't be here," tried the digimon again, no longer trying to hide his worry. Couldn't Matt feel it? Was he too preoccupied with those dreams to notice?

Gabumon was surprised to see his partner finally stop. Was he going to heed his warning? He waited for him to turn around, but the boy just stood there unmoving, staring down at the ground before him. The wolf-like digimon wondered if perhaps instead he had angered the boy when, with a deep breath, his partner at last spoke.

"What am I doing?"

His digimon looked up at him, confused. He would have liked to ask the boy the same question, but it hadn't seemed quite appropriate.

Matt looked at his hands. "I'm such a failure. I used to think that I was brought to the Digital World so that I could look after TK, but he doesn't even need me anymore. I couldn't save him from being kidnapped by Puppetmon, but he still escaped on his own." His eyes narrowed at the memory of TK bounding back to them, proudly proclaiming that he'd destroyed Puppetmon's controls to the forest. "And yet," he continued slowly, "even now, I want to be there for him. But I can't! These stupid dreams won't leave me alone!" His hands clenched into tight fists. "I can't stop wondering about them. I should be out helping the others, I know, but..." He was unsure of how to finish his sentence. Of course he knew he should help, that was why he was in the Digital World in the first place, wasn't it? But they seemed to be doing just fine without him. Machinedramon was defeated. He hadn't so much as even laid eyes on the digimon. And as distracted and anxious as he'd been lately, would he be of any use anyway? He couldn't even help TK before the dreams started tormenting him.

This - this wasn't supposed to happen!

"But Matt, it wasn't your fault that Puppetmon got TK!" Gabumon was at a loss as to how to deal with his partner in his current state. The dreams were bothering him far more than he would have even imagined, but he had to try. "I'm sure that by helping the others fight you'd be able to forget these dreams, at least for a while. They need you now! The dreams can wait, can't they?" But as he spoke, he could tell that his words had no effect on the boy. In fact, the darkness only seemed to thicken around them.

"I'm useless," continued the Child of Friendship as if he hadn't even heard his digimon's voice, "It - it wasn't supposed to turn out like this, was it?"

There has to be someway to stop it.

Matt's breathing grew harsher and more ragged. He reached out his hand and leaned against the cave wall for support. Waves of dizziness were causing him to lose his sense of balance, and an almost unbearable pressure was building in his head. He didn't even notice Gabumon's cries, frantically asking if he was alright.

"I - I have to stop them," he panted, "There has to be a way. Make them stop!" 'As long as the dreams stop, it'll all be ok, right?' he thought to himself, his mind reeling. Suddenly feeling weak, he collapsed to his knees, hand still on the wall in an attempt to keep himself steady. He squeezed his eyes shut as his vision began to blur. "TK..." he whispered. If the dreams would only leave him alone, he could finally see him again. He knew he'd be fine without him, but still, he wanted to be there! What if...

He slowly opened his eyes. 'No, Tai's there. He'd watch out for him.' "Tai's never treated TK like a child... but that's how I always treated him..." he said, trying to calm down his breathing, "All I do is think of myself..."

He was worrying about Tai at a time like this? Gabumon tried to wrap his mind around this as he watched his partner panting on the ground, gasping for breath, desperately trying to think of what to do. But as he looked on in fear, a pitch black fog began wrapping itself around his crumpled body, almost as if the darkness of the cave itself were trying to seize him. As Matt's eyes grew dark, Gabumon knew that if he didn't hurry, his friend would be gone forever.

"You can't compare yourself to Tai!" insisted the digimon, tears creeping into his eyes. "How can you say you only think of yourself? You're always looking out for TK, and..." He blinked, trying in vain to keep the tears from falling. "...and how do you think I would feel if you weren't here?"

"I - no, I am selfish. Everyone else - Tai - they... they..."

They're perfect.

Without a seconds warning, images began flashing through his mind so fast that he had no idea as to what he was seeing. Closing his eyes again, he tried to block out the mysterious voice which seemed to be growing louder by the second. Colors swirled in front of his eyes, and for a second he could swear he could see his old hometown, but it quickly was replaced by the lush surroundings of the Digital World as it used to be before the Dark Masters had a chance to take it over. The boy grabbed his head and screamed. All he could hear was that voice, but it was different from before. It was no longer sad but satisfied - pleased, in fact. And it terrified him.

I can use them, and they'd never suspect a thing.

One by one, he saw his friend's faces swim before his eyes, a blurry mess of colors and movement, making it difficult to distinguish one from the other. "Why? Why, why!?" he gasped, tears beginning to fall to the cold cavern floor. Why was this happening to him? Use them?

"Matt! Listen to me!" cried Gabumon frantically.

But it'll take some time.

His eyes still closed, he whispered a timid, "Gabumon..." Hearing his name, the digimon ran in front of his partner and placed a paw on one of his shaking shoulders. "I'm here, Matt. I've told you before, I won't leave you, no matter what."

And I'll have to appear as someone they can trust so that they'll listen.

The boy's eyes instantly flew open, the images and voice gone as suddenly as they had started. Gabumon hesitantly tried to look into his partner's face, but the boy was still shaking, although the mysterious fog seemed to have left him. "Matt?" he said quietly. But the boy didn't hear him. All he could think of was the picture that was still lingering in his mind.

"It's not true... I can't..." But he couldn't even bring himself to finish his sentence, for the last image that had appeared before his eyes was not only the clearest, but the most frightening.

to be continued...

A/N: I realize that quite a bit of this chapter was actually a retelling of some parts, but it was necessary to go with the flow of the fic, so I do apologize if this first chapter (or prologue of sorts, I suppose) seemed a little boring. I tried to cut out unnecessary parts, or at least trim them down. But I've been writing this fic for a long time now, actually, and I just recently got back into it. It was originally supposed to be a one shot, but it kept getting longer so I decided to try and break it up into 3 parts instead (the current number I'm shooting for). Just know that a lot of thought has gone into this fic in order to make it unique and interesting, and I hope that shows through in the last chapters especially.

Any feedback you may currently have would be appreciated, and thanks for taking the time to check out my little fic!