Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or the characters, but I do own the story, so there. :P

"Tai!" I called. I ran with all my strength. I didn't know where I was or where I was going, but I knew that I needed Tai. I needed his strength to help me.

"Tai!" I called again. I ran into an alley, hoping to find him there. No such luck. I didn't know where I was. I wasn't the digital world and this place wasn't anything like the dimension that I was taken to. This place seemed so real. So vivid. There were buildings and there were houses everywhere, cars parked in the driveways and bikes parked along the side of a few houses. But the strange thing is that there were no people around. Usually there were people walking up and down the streets, but it was eerily deserted.

"Kari!" a voice called, piercing the quiet sky. I spun around.. It was a very familiar voice.

"Kari!" the voice called again.

"Gatomon!" I gasped, relieved. I smiled as I looked at her and wiped my forehead relieved. Now I wasn't alone anymore in this place.

"Kari, come here," Gatomon said quite strangely.

I stopped smiling and stared at Gatomon. She looked different. "Gatmon, are you alright? You look strange."

"Yes, Kari. I am fine. Now will you come here?"

Slowly, I walked towards Gatomon. She had turned her back to me and she held her head down. She looked....evil in a way.

"Yes, Gatomon?" I asked when I got closer. I was in arms reach. I touched her shoulder and turned her around.

Suddenly, she whipped around. "Lightning claw!" she yelled. She swiped me with her long claws and I fell back to the ground surprised. Why would Gatomon attack me?

"Cat's Hypnotism!" she retreated. I closed my eyes.

"Gatomon! Why are you doing this?" I shouted, hugging myself.

After a moment, I opened my eyes and looked over at her. Her own eyes were an eerie red that glowed in the darkness. I glanced down at her neck. The whistle I gave her was gone and it was replaced with a dark ring.

"Oh, no!" I gasped. I stood up from the ground. Then I slumped back down. Her Lightning Claw attack must've done more damage than I thought as pain seared through my chest. I could barely breathe.

Gatomon walked slowly closer to me, taking long deliberate steps.

"Stop this!" I pleaded. I held my chest as I struggled to breathe correctly. "Why are you doing this?" I grasped my digivice, hoping that it would bring me some help.

Then out of the shadows came Davis and Veemon.

"Davis!" I called happy that someone was here to save me. "Help me!"

Davis lifted his head and just laughed. Not one of his usual silly boyish laughs. This one was evil. Veemon glared at me from next to Davis. I looked in horror as both of their eyes were glowing red the same way Gatomons was.

I gasped as T.K. and Patomon, Yolei and Hawkmon, and Codi and Armadillomon came out from the shadows too. They all possessed the same evil that Gatomon held within her.

They all walked closer to me, all chanting the same thing over and over. "Hail the Digimon Emperor. Hail the Digimon Emperor."

"Vee-Head butt!" Veemon suddenly cried. He charged at me, aiming at my skull.

I cried out and closed my eyes, waiting for the impact, but it never came. I waited for a second and peeled open my eyes as I felt a breeze flutter through my hair. Then I looked down. I was high in the sky, flying at speeds that frightened me. I looked up and saw that it was Stingmon that came to my rescue. In his other hand I saw Ken. He smiled at me and I realized that I was alright.

I smiled back. Then Ken looked at me once again, a strange look in his eyes.

"Stingmon," he ordered. "Drop her."

"No!" I cried out as Stingmon released his tight grip from me and I went plummeting back down to the earth.

"Tai!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Kari! Kari! Stop screaming already and wake up!"

I felt a hard push on the left side of me. I gasped and sat straight up in bed, feeling something wet all over my body. Then I realized that it was sweat. I gripped the covers and looked around me. Tai woke me up right before I hit the ground. It all seemed so real. But here I was: safe at home with my brother Tai.

"Tai," I whispered barely audible. I looked at him with tears in my eyes and breathed hard.

He looked just as scared as me. I'd be pretty scared too if he had woken up screaming in the middle of the night.

"Kari, are you ok?" he asked gently. He put his hand on my shoulder and stood up.

I nodded and put my hand to my forehead, feeling the clamminess of it . "I think so. I don't know. It's just that-I think I need to get some rest." I looked up at him.

He nodded and climbed back up to his bunk bed. "Good night, Kari," he said.

"Good night," I echoed, hoping that it would really become one.

"Wake up, Kari! It's time for breakfast."

"Coming, mother," I groaned as I stood up from bed. I threw off the covers and walked to the bathroom. I turned on the light and pulled out the toothpaste and my toothbrush. Looking in the mirror, I gasped. My face was horrible. My eyes were pink from the lack of sleep and I had bags under them. My lips were swollen from biting them so hard during the night and I had a long line that went from my forehead to my chin from my pillow. I groaned and began to brush my teeth, wondering why this was happening to me. I haven't had a good nights sleep since we defeated the Digimon Emperor. For some reason, it just didn't seem right. We defeated Ken and here he was: on our side now. I didn't like it.

"Kari!"

I spit out the toothpaste from my mouth and glared at the door. "I'm coming, mother!" I screamed downstairs. I wiped my mouth and put the toothpaste back in the medicine cabinet. As I lifted my arm, I winced as a searing pain went through my chest. I glanced down and lifted my pajama shirt. In the middle of my chest were four scratch marks that ran half way down my torso. I ran my finger along the marks, wondering what happened. It couldn't have been from Gatomon. That was just a dream. I gasped as I heard a noise in my room. I put my shirt back down as Tai came in the bathroom.

"You ok, Kari?" he asked me. He was already dressed and he seemed to have already eaten breakfast.

"Yeah, I'm alright," I lied pulling out my hair brush. I ran it quickly through my hair and walked past him to go downstairs to the kitchen.

I hope he didn't notice that I was shaking.

"Hail the Digimon Emperor! Hail the Digimon Emperor!"

"Kari!" Yolei scolded from next to me. She stopped walking and stared at me questioningly.

"Huh?" I asked snapping out of my daze. I didn't realize that I was ignoring her "I'm sorry, Yolei. Go ahead."

She looked worried for a split second then she went back to her story. "As I was saying, Izzy told me that even though we defeated the Digimon Emperor who turned out to be Ken, the Digital World is still in trouble meaning that there may be another enemy out there. There had to be, right? The digital world is still being destroyed even though Ken is good now, so that means we have to keep out eyes peeled."

"Mmhmm," I muttered, looking straight ahead. "That's nice."

Yolei stopped walking and grabbed my shoulders. "Kari! Snap out of it? What's wrong? You've been acting like a zombie for days now."

"It's nothing," I said, brushing her off. "Really. I've just been really tired lately and I can't get any sleep." I clutched my forehead, feeling a little dizzy from not enough sleep. "Can we get to class now?" I asked.

Yolei looked at me and nodded. "Alright. But I have one question. Do you think that those Scubamon are trying to take you back to their world again?"

I stopped walking and held my head down. "I hope not, Yolei. I hope not."

"Hey, what's wrong with Kari?" I heard a voice whisper. It was Codi. I sat straight up in my seat at lunch, pretending that I didn't hear him. I played with my food and then pushed it aside.

"Maybe I can cheer her up!" Davis exclaimed. He got out of his chair and sat down next to me. "Hey, Kari," he said. "Knock, knock."

I looked up at him warily. "Not now, Davis," I muttered. It was really nice how Davis wanted to cheer me up, but I didn't feel like playing right now.

Davis pouted and walked back to his seat.

T.K. stood up and sat next to me this time. "Do you need someone to talk to?" he asked gently. That's reliable old T.K. Always willing to talk to others when they seem like they're in trouble.

"No, thanks," I said quietly. More than anything, I just wanted to be alone. "I think I'm going to go take a walk," I said and stood up. Everyone watched bewildered as I left.

I didn't really care at how I was acting. All I knew was that I needed some sleep and fast.

I found myself wandering around the whole school, ignoring teachers who were asking where my hall pass was. I walked along the wall, holding myself up. Then I came across the computer room. I walked in it and saw that there was nobody there. Glancing around, I walked up to the computer and saw the gate open. Holding up my Digivice, I was transported to the Digital World.

I didn't even notice Gatomon chase after me.

"Oof!" I groaned. I landed somewhere that seemed to be the desert. It was deserted and very hot. Standing up, I began to walk around. I didn't know why I came to the Digital World. Especially after Yolei told me about Izzys theory that there was a new enemy. I just needed some time to myself.

All of a sudden, three digimon ran from nowhere. They were huge trees and they ran past me as if something was chasing them.

"Wait!" I called. I chased after them, curious as to why they were running. And partly because I didn't want to be alone.

They turned around. "Human!" They cried. "You must be the Digimon Emperor!" They squealed. They continued to run.

"No! I'm not! I'm one of the Digidestioned. What are you running from?"

One of them stopped to turn and the other two left. "There's a human here. He claims that he is the Digimon Emperor. He has taken many digimon captive the same way the other Digimon Emperor did a while back. We don't know how much time we have!" He turned back to run the way he came.

I looked around me. I needed to get out of here and warn the others of what the Cherrymon told me. I searched for the television, but it was nowhere to be found. "Where is it?" I panicked. I tried to remember which way I came from, but chasing the Cherrymon really turned me around.

I ran one way, thinking it was the way I came from, but the television was nowhere. I turned back around and ran the other way, but I couldn't see anything. "Oh, no. How did I get in this mess?" I pulled out my digivice, hoping that it would show me some kind of guidance. It beeped and a black dot appeared on it. "That must be the TV," I said. I started heading off in the direction. I glanced up every once in a while as I walked. There was absolutely nothing in sight. I hadn't realized before that I had been walking that much and I was beginning to think that maybe the black dot wasn't the television. "But I have no where else to go," I muttered. "Might as well keep walking." As I neared the black dot, I began to feel a tingling in my chest. I looked down and saw that blood seeped through my shirt. Gasping, I looked down and the cuts were bleeding horribly. Not knowing what else to do, I pressed my shirt against my skin, hoping that the bleeding would stop soon. I wiped my dry mouth with the other hand. I needed water. Fast. I was totally dehydrated and I was so tired that I didn't know how much longer I could walk. I stopped walking for a second. I could see something far off in the distance. I looked at my digivice and it beeped. I squinted to get a better look. I couldn't really make out what it was, but I was sure that it wasn't the television. I began to walk towards whatever it was. All I know was that it was far away and didn't know if I could walk anymore. "I need to rest," I muttered, holding my forehead. I sunk to my knees in the sand and laid back. I closed my eyes, thankful that I could finally get some sleep.

"Hey, does anyone know where Kari's at?" Yolei asked. She was sitting down at the computer, ready to go to the Digital World, but Kari wasn't there.

"No," T.K. said. "The last time I saw her was when she left after lunch. She didn't even go to math class."

"And she didn't go to gym either," Davis said. He leaned against a desk and crossed his arms. "Where could she be?"

Veemon sniffed the air. "I think I smell someone coming!"

"Maybe it's Kari!" Davis hoped. He picked up Veemon and held him.

"I don't think so," Koromon said. He jumped in Yoleis lap and sat there.

Armidillomon snuggled in Codis arms more comfortably. He was fast asleep.

"Hello, kids!" a voice called.

Everyone stood up and gasped in shock as the computer lab teacher walked in. Everyone looked at each other, embarrassed that they had been caught with their digimon.

"What are you doing here?" Yolei asked, trying to hide Hawkmon.

"Well, there is a club meeting today. Wow, what cute little stuffed animals!" As if on cue, a group of students began to walk in.

Yolei and the rest of the gang stood up. "Thanks," she said. "Well, we better be leaving now." They all walked out of the computer room slowly. They had to go to the Digital World today to test Izzys theory that there was a new enemy.

"Well, maybe Kari knew that there was a computer club meeting today and she didn't show up," Codi said. He looked at Armidillomon, wondering why he slept so much.

"Maybe," T.K. said. "But I'll go by her house later on today to see if everything's alright." Patomon flew on top of his head and rested there.

"Ok, T.I.," Davis said. "But don't try anything slick, loverboy."

T.K. shook his head warily and rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'll see you all later."

"Tai, do you know where Kari is at?"

Tai glanced up from his homework. He didn't even notice that Kari wasn't home yet. It was late, but he figured that she was in the Digital Word with the rest of the digidestioned.

Tai smiled and scratched his head. "Uh, she called and told me that she went over Yoleis house so she can help her with a project. She said she'll be home later."

"I'm worried about her, Tai. She hardly gets any sleep anymore and her teacher called me today to tell me that her grades were slipping. Then another teacher called and told me that she didn't show up for class. I just don't know what to do about her anymore."

"It's just the pressures of junior high school. I went through the same thing. It'll pass soon." Tai went back to his homework.

"I hope so," she said, cutting up some celery to put in the cake she was baking. "Well," she said, going back to her usual cheery voice. "You want to try some of my new celery cake?" She held out a slice for him.

Tai held his throat and pretended to gag. "Sure mom, thanks." I sure wish that Agumon was here to eat this, Tai thought to himself, taking a bite out of the cake, smiling at his mom the whole time.

Where am I?

I groaned and turned over to my side. I opened my eyes slowly and looked around. Then I sat up. I remembered that I was in the desert last, but now I wasn't anywhere near the desert. It was dark and cold here. And I was laying on herd ground. I put a hand to my chest. The bleeding had stopped. There was a large bandage there now.

"Who did this?" I asked myself, my voice echoing through the cell. I struggled to see in the darkness. I grabbed for my digivice, but when I reached in my pocket, it wasn't there. I gasped and saw that my D3 wasn't there either. Now I couldn't e-mail anyone for help.

I stood up and began to walk around. I had no clue where I was or where I was going. All I knew was that I needed to get out. As I walked in the dark, I heard a low growl coming from behind me. I spun around and saw two red glowing eyes. Eyes that looked exactly like Gatomons in my dream.

Gatomon. Where is she anyway? I didn't see her when I was walking around the school. She's usually roaming around the halls or something even though I always tell her not to. Where is she when I need her?

I backed away from the creature. I didn't know what it was or what it wanted with me. "Who are you?" I called, hoping that he would respond in a way.

He did, alright. He let out a tremendous roar that shook the whole cell. I cried out and fell to the floor as the ground shook.

"Tyranamon!" a voice scolded. "Be kind to our guest."

I glanced up towards the voice. I knew that voice. It sounded so familiar. It was forever embedded in my head.

I heard footsteps as he walked closer to me. I stood up and backed up until I hit the wall. A light streamed down from a crack in the crumbling brick. As he walked closer, I could see his face now. His pair of square glasses that he wore and the spikey blue hair. The same long cape and the same look of hate that possessed him before. Now he was back again.

"Ken," I seethed. I leaned back as he came closer to me. Close enough that I could smell the evil radiating off of him. I was his worst enemy. The powers of Light always battled the powers of Darkness.

"Kari, how nice of you to be joining me. I wasn't really expecting any visitors, but you're welcome in my lair any time." He touched my hair, knowing that his very existence disgusted me.

I pulled away. "Give me back my digivice and my D3."

Ken just laughed. "Really funny. I guess you don't get the concept of this. You are my prisoner. You have lost. You don't just go ordering things from me when you're my prisoner. Right, Tyranamon?"

As if in response, Tyranamon roared once again.

"See?" Ken asked. He put his arm around my shoulders and led me to a different room. "Now. I will give you a choice. Stay in this filthy dirty cell with the spidermon, or you can stay in this luxurious room with me." He revealed a room with candles lit and a huge bed that covered the whole room.

I opened my mouth to spit in his face, but then I thought better. If there was a way that I could trick him and get my D3 and digivice back, then I could get out of this place. "Alright," I said.

"You will?" Ken asked me, surprised at my willingness.

I nodded. "Yes. And you can get everything that comes with the package." I hoped that he knew what I meant. I barely didn't even know what I meant. I heard Sora say it to my brother once, so I decided that it might be a good thing.

Apparently, he did and he walked in front of me. He wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to his body.

I swallowed as his mouth came closer to mine. I struggled to keep it shut so he couldn't kiss me, but I realized that if I ever wanted to escape that I would have to play along. I opened my mouth slightly and let his tongue slither in my mouth. It was horrible. I could feel my body begin to shake as he led me to the bed, never breaking the kiss.

When we reached the edge of the bed, he peeled his lips from mine. "Don't be frightened," he said, caressing my back.

I nodded and he gently pushed me back on the bed. He rested his body over me and continued to kiss me. Down my neck and back up again.

I groaned in revulsion, but he apparently thought it was pleasure and he continued to kiss me. I glanced to my side and saw that there was a candle holder resting on the nightstand. It seemed heavy enough. I needed to get to that. I reached for it, but then his hand touching me under my shirt snapped my attention back to him. I needed to get the candle holder before something happened that I would regret.

I wriggled in disgust as his hands explored my body. I wished terribly that this wasn't happening. Ken placed kisses leading down to my navel. He kissed my belly button and looked up at my reaction. I tried to make myself seem more into it than I was. He traced his tongue along the hem of my shorts, slithering it down further. That was my cue. I reached up for the candle holder and swung at his head.

Ken reached up and grabbed my wrist before the candle holder could make contact with his head. It was as if he knew I was going to do that all along. He smiled evilly and wrestled me, trying to get the candle holder away from me. I groaned and struggled with him. Then with a sudden burst of strength, I pulled the candle holder away from him and I used all my strength to push his heavier figure off of me. He fell to the ground with a groan and my digivice and D3 tumbled out of his pocket. I grabbed them before he could get to them and I put them in my pocket. Then I walked over to Ken, lifting the candle holder in the air. I struggled not to think about what I was going to do. I knew that if I didn't do it now, I would never do it.

"Kari," Ken pleaded. He looked up at me with his blue eyes, so needy and so lonely.

I stopped. Just do it, a voice inside of me said. It's not like you're going to kill him. You just need to buy yourself some time so you can escape.

Don't do it, the other side of me said. The more rational side. Maybe you can leave without hurting anyone.

I looked down at Ken. As I began to put the candle holder back down, he kicked out his legs from underneath me and I fell to the ground with a surprised gasp.

He chuckled and stood up. "Lesson number one, Kari. Never let your guard down and always finish what you started. You should have hit me over the head with that thing." He reached down and took the weapon from me. Glaring at him, I stood up, not caring anymore if he would attempt to hurt me.

"Ken," I said.

"Digimon Emperor," he corrected.

"Ken," I said. "What are you going to do now? Are you going to try and take over the Digital World like you tried before? Sorry, but it didn't work out as planned, remember? What makes you think that it's gonna work this time?" I walked closer to him, staring at him in the eye.

He stared right back. "How can you say that my plan didn't work out? Everything turned out exactly as planned. I fooled everyone into thinking that I was good old Ken again. What fools. And that Davis! Always believing that there is good in people. What a rip off!"

I clenched my teeth. "You know, I always believed that too. That there was always good in people. But now you proved me wrong. I doubt there is any ounce of good in you. I doubt there ever was."

Ken laughed. "That just shows you that you need to be more realistic and less naive." He looked in my eyes, waiting for my reaction.

"Yeah, well I don't need to worry about being realistic. You need to be. Do you actually think that you will take over the Digital World? Now talk about being realistic." I kept my daze, never blinking.

Ken narrowed his eyes in anger. "We'll see about that." Ken finally moved. He paced around the room. "Oh, by the way, how have you been sleeping lately? Any nightmares?"

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. How did he know that I wasn't sleeping good lately?

He walked closer to me so that he stood directly behind me. "I think you need to get some rest now." He brought his hand up to my mouth, covering it with a damp cloth. I struggled for a moment, confused and feeling dizzy. The dizziness spread as he held it there longer. Then I began to feel sleepy. Until finally, I fell asleep.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Tai! Can you get the door? I'm upstairs and I'm busy."

"Yes, mom!" Tai called back. He closed his Algebra book and walked to the door. "Kari, where have you-oh, hi T.K."

"Hi, Tai," T.K. said with Patomon along with him. "Is Kari here? She wasn't feeling to good in school. We didn't go to the Digital World today because there was a computer club meeting."

Tai stood back. "Wait. You're telling me that you guys didn't go to the Dgital World?"

T.K. and Patomon both shook their heads. "No."

"Well, she never came home from school today. I just figured that she was in the Digital World."

T.K.'s eyes widened. He never would have thought that Kari would be missing. "Well, where could she be? None of us kids saw her after school. She couldn't have just disappeared!" T.K. began to loose it.

"Hey, man!" Tai scolded. "Just chill. My mom's upstairs and we don't want her to hear us." He grabbed T.K. and took him upstairs to his room.

When they got settled, Tai sat on his bed. "Ok. We'll call everyone we know. You call Davis, Codi, Yolei and Ken. I'll go call Sora, Matt, Joe and Izzy. Use my cell phone while I use the one in the kitchen."

T.K. nodded and called Yolei first.

"Hello!" The voice on the other line said. "This is Yolei speaking."

"Yolei!" T.K. said, but then he was cut off.

"Sorry we can not come to the phone right now. If you're a cute guy, leave your name and number and I'll be SURE to get back to you as soon as possible. Bye!"

"Yolei, this is T.K.! Call me back ASAP! It's an emergency!" He hung up and then went to the next number on the list which was Codi.

"Hello?" A voice asked on the other line.

"Hi. This is T.K. I was wondering if I could speak to Codi please. It's an emergency."

"I'm sorry," Codis mom said. "Codi can't receive any calls after eight o'clock. Good bye."

"Aaarrgh!" T.K. groaned and hung up the phone again. "Now Davis." He punched the numbers in the phone and heard the other line ring a few times.

"Hello?" a young girl asked.

"Hi, June? This is T.K. I was wondering if I could speak to-"

"T.K?" She interrupted. "You're Matt's brother, right? Can I talk to him?"

T.K. clinched his hand. "No. I'm not at home right now. Besides, I need to talk to Davis!"

"Oh, alright. But can you please tell Matt that I said hi and that I love him?"

"Whatever!" T.K. said. "Just put Davis on the phone!"

There was a pause. "Hello?"

"Davis! I need to ask you a question. Have you talked to Kari since we left from school?"

Davis paused. "T.J., is that you?"

"Yes. I mean no! It's T.K. Not T.J."

"Oooh. Well, I haven't talked to her. Why don't you go up he house like you were-wait. Are you up at her house now?"

"No," T.K. lied. There was no point in getting Davis worried about Kari. He'd go ballistic like he did last time.

"Yes you are. I have you on caller ID. I'll be there right away!" The phone hung up and T.K. groaned again. "Stubborn bull," he muttered. "Now I need to call Ken." He punched in the numbers and waited for the phone to ring. He felt a little uneasy calling Ken. Especially after they had battled and fought against each other that one time in Kens lair.

"Hello, is Ken there?" He asked as soon as he heard the phone pick up.

"Hold on," came the confused reply. "Ken, dear! The phone is for you." She paused for his response. There was none. "Ken? Are you there?"

T.K. waited patiently.

Then there was a response.

"Ken? This is T.K."

"No!" His mother cried out. "Ken's not in his room! I don't know where he is!" Then the phone hung up.

T.K. placed the phone down on the bed. Ken was missing again?

"How'd it go?" Tai asked as he walked back in his room.

T.K. shook hid head. "Not too good. Yolei wasn't home, Codu can't receive calls after eight and Davis is on his way over right now. That's really bad news."

Tai groaned. "Well, what about Ken? Does he know anything?"

"Here's the weird thing," T.K. said. "When I called Ken, his mother answered, but then she found out that he was missing from his room."

"Huh?" he gasped. "Where could he be?"

T.K. shook his head and patted Patomon as he slept. "I don't know. But I have a really bad feeling about this. I mean, he's been acting mysteriously. The same way he acted when he was the Digimon Emperor. It's just a crazy thought, but d you think that....?"

Tai shook his head. "I don't know. But we have to find her before my mom notices that she's gone."

"Tai? Was that Kari on the phone?" His mother called from the kitchen.

"Uh, as a matter of fact, it was." Tai yelled loud enough for her to hear. "She called and said that she was sleeping over Yoleis because her project was taking longer than expected. I'm going to go and take her some clothes so she can wear them for school tomorrow. I'll be right back." Tai turned to T.K. "Come on. Let's go. We'll wait for Davis outside. And Izzy and Matt said that they'll come over." T.K. nodded and carried Patomon, careful not to wake him.

"Oh, hi, T.K.," Tai's mom said. "I didn't know that you were here. Would you like something to eat?"

"No thank you. I have to get going anyways."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye." He held Patomon behind his back as he walked out the door.

"That was close," Tai said, holding one of Kari's old book bags. "Let's wait for Davis over there in the shadows. We can't let my mom see us just hanging around here."

T.K. nodded and followed him behind a tree. The didn't say anything and waited for Davis to show up.

"Hey, I think that's him over there," Tai said, pointing to a person walking down the street. "We have to get him before he reaches the door. On the count of three, we'll grab him into the shadows before my mom can see him!"

"Ok."

They waited for Davis to come closer. He was humming a song and Demiveemon was right next to him, humming the same tune.

"One, two, THREE!" Tai and T.K. jumped out from behind the trees and grabbed Davis. Tai put a hand over his mouth before he could scream and T.K. grabbed Demiveemon.

"Hey!" Davis squealed. "Don't hurt me! Please, please, please don't hurt me! I didn't mean to!" Davis began to cry like a little baby.

"Davis!" Tai said. "Calm down. It's me and T.K."

Davis stopped crying and looked at them. "Oh. Well, why are you sneaking up on people? You better be careful next time or I might have to hurt you."

"Ok," T.K. said. "Now we have to wait for Izzy. He should be here any-"

"I think I smell him!" Demiveemon said, sniffing the air.

"Well why couldn't you say that you smelled T.K. and Tai behind the bushes?" Davis pouted.

"One, two, three!" Tai shouted and they all pulled Izzy in the bushes along with them.

"Aahh!" Izzy yelled. He looked up and saw Tai, Davis and T.K. standing there. "Geez! Give me a heart attack, will ya!" He stood up and brushed himself off. "Thanks a lot guys. I was wearing my new shirt today and you could have broken my lap top."

"We have more things to worry about," Tai said. "We need to find Kari."

"Right," Izzy said. "Now, there is no point to go into the Digital World without finding her exact location. Here. I'll pull up the map and-whoa! Look at this, guys! More control spires!"

"Huh?" Davis asked. He looked at the screen and like Izzy said, there were black squares across the whole screen. "Where'd they come from?"

"We'll tell you about out theory later," T.K. said. "Now we have to see if Kari is in the Digital World."

Izzy nodded and searched across the screen for her location. He saw a pink light flash over the sector where there were the most control spires. "She's there," he said pointing.

"Tai!" A voice called out. Tai turned around to see Gatomon. "Gatomon, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be with Kari?"

"No!" Gatomon said, out of breath. "She left without me. I tried to go after her, but she already went through the gate."

"Ok, then. What are we waiting for?" Davis said. He held up his Digivice, ready to go to the Digital World.

"Matt," Tai said, holding Karis most trusted friend.

"Huh?" Davis asked.

"We're waiting for Matt. He said that he'll come with us, but he's not here yet."

"Yes I am," A voice called.

"Matt!" Tai called. "Good to see you. Now we can get going."

"Digiport open!" Davis yelled. He held up his Digivice and the all were transported to the Digital World.

Where am I? Am I dreaming?

Slowly I stood up. I was in a room much like the room Ken and I was in. I walked over to the bed and sat down. Ken was nowhere to be found. That was a good thing.

"Not quite," a voice said.

I glanced up and saw Ken standing in the shadows. He took a step into the light so I could see him.

"Ken," I said.

Ken walked towards me slowly. When he reached me, he ran his hand along the side of my face. I reached up to slap his hand away, but he only grabbed it into his own hand. He looked at it and traced it along his face. I tried to pull away, but he held it firmly.

"Kari," he said, still using my hand to caress his face. Then he led it to his neck. "I always knew that you had something for me." He led my hand down further, making me touch every part of his bare chest.

"This is only a dream, this is only a dream," I chanted to myself. I knew that as long as this was a dream, that he couldn't hurt me.

"On the contrary," he said, reading my thoughts. "This is very much real. I have found a way to tap into peoples dreams and control them any way I like. So anything that happens here, happens in the real world."

I gasped as he held my hand even tighter and pushed it down his pants.

"You're lying," I said, pulling my hand out, tearing my grip away from him. "This is just a bad dream. I'll wake up and nothing would have happened." I closed my eyes to try and reassure myself.

"Believe what you want. But do you remember those scratch marks you got from Gatomon?"

This stopped me. "Huh? How do you know about that?"

"Duh," he said. "Because I was there! Remember? I told Stingmon to drop you. You would have been dead if it wasn't for your brother who woke you up right before you hit the ground. But this time I will make sure that no one will wake you up. In fact, no one will hear your screams except me." Ken began to laugh.

I took this time to hit him where it hurt most. I lifted my knee and hit between his legs.

"Aagh!" Ken cried out. He bent over in pain. I took this opportunity to take off. I didn't know where I was going, but I knew that I had to get away. And if what he said was true about him having control over my dreams, then he will have no problem finding me.

"Boo!" Ken said, jumping in front of me, appearing fro nowhere. I skidded to a stop and turned the other way.

"There's no use running, Kari, my sweet. I will find you."

I looked back and didn't see him. I stopped and stood in the middle of a long corridor. I didn't know which way he was going to jump out from. Oh, why did I have to stop running? Why do I have to be so stupid?

"Yes, you are pretty stupid, Kari," Kens voice echoed through my head. I spun around. He wasn't there. Then I turned back around. There was nothing but darkness.

"Got you," He said coming up from behind me. He grabbed me around the shoulder so I couldn't move my arms.

"Let go!" I shouted. I struggled to free myself. I pushed and kicked and bit and begged, but it was no use. Nothing was going to work.

"Now you're understanding, Kari," Ken said. "Nothing will help you now. As long as you...cooperate." His grip became gentle and he turned me to face him.

"I'm sorry that I have to hurt you, Kari, but you see, I don't respond to rejection very well." His lips traced mine as he talked, sending shivers up my spine.

He wrapped his arms around me. "Are you cold? Let me warm you up." He wrapped his arms around me and held me close to his body. I almost felt safe in his arms. I was never held like this from T.K. or Davis. It felt good.

"Yes, I know," Ken said. He held me even closer and placed his lips on mine.

I moaned with willingness as he kissed me even deeper.

I can't believe this, Ken thought. I can't believe that she is actually cooperating. Let me read her mind just to make sure that she isn't planning anything against me....hmmm. Her mind is blank. Oh well.

Ken kissed me even harder and led me to his bed.

I paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to escape, but the trick was to keep my mind blank. If he didn't know what I was thinking, maybe I could escape. He walked back to the bed and stopped when we reached the edge. With out a moment to waste, I lifted my leg and hit him in the same place that I knew hurt him so much.

"No!" Ken cried out. "I-how could you have done that? You weren't even thinking it!"

I didn't say anything, but I grabbed my digivice and D3 out of his pocket, put it in my own, and ran out the room down through a long corridor. I didn't know which way to go, so I just ran down the closest path I found. I concentrated hard on not thinking anything. If I even thought about where I was going, he would know and beat me there to the punch. I tried to think of something else. I thought of flowers and fields full of them. I almost got lost in the thought, then I was stuck at a fork in the path. One looked dark and the other had light shining through it.

"Don't think about it!" I whispered to myself. Then I had an idea. 'Maybe I should go through the path with the light,' I thought to myself, hoping that Ken was listening to this. 'I can beat him there. I just know it.' Without a moments hesitation, I ran down the other path, thinking of flowers in a field. It was dark and I kept bumping into walls, but as long as I kept my mind blank, I knew I would get out. As I neared the end of the corridor, I saw light. It was beaming through an opening. I cried out with joy and lost my mind control. I really didn't care what I was thinking. I was home free now.

"Think again," Kens voice boomed out.

I skidded to a stop. He was waiting for me at the end of the tunnel.

"I caught on to your little mind game," Ken said. "After all, I'm a genius. What did you expect? Anyways, I'm tired of toying with you. Tyranamon. Attack!"

Behind me I could hear the ferocious roar of Tyranamon. I spun around and gasped. He was about fifty yards away. Another roar caught me off guard. I spun back around. There was another Tyranamon standing in front of me. They both charged me full force.

I closed my eyes as they neared closer. Everything seemed so real. The smell of their breath, the droll dripping down their long sharp teeth. It was all too real. Then I remembered that whatever happens here happens in the real world.

"WAKE UP!!!!!!!" I screamed as loud as I could.

"Agh!" I screamed. I sat up and woke in a sweat. I glanced around. I was back in the cell I first started in. I tried to think back to the dream. If what Ken said was true, then everything in my dream was real.

I went in my pocket and pulled out my digivice and D3.

"Thank God," I said. I opened the D3 and quickly typed a distress message.

Davis, if you can read this, I NEED YOUR HELP!!!!!! I'm in the Digital World. ~Kari~

I put the D3 away and stood up. There was a stream of light beaming through a crack in the wall. Curiously, I walked over to it. I put my hand up to the wall and it started to crumble beneath my fingers. Quickly, I began to dig through the wall. I could hear Ken yelling at some poor digimon in the background. I knew that he would probably be on his way to come here soon.

I began to dig more frantically. There was silence now. I didn't know where he was. He could be on his way here right now.

As if on cue, I began to hear slow footsteps walking towards the cell.

I looked at the hole. It was getting bigger. Almost big enough for me to fit through. "Just a few more seconds," I whispered digging more frantically. The footsteps were right down the hall.

Finally it was big enough for me to fit through. I struggled to climb through it. I had half of my body through when I heard a voice.

"Kari!"

I looked back. The voice didn't seem to match Kens.

It was Matt and Gabumon.

"Matt!" I whispered. "Am I glad to see you. You have to help me get out!"

Matt nodded. "Gabumon, you may have the honors."

"Wait," I said. "I think I hear Ken coming." They all stood quietly. Sure enough, they could hear Kens voice echoing down the hallways.

"Hurry," I said. "Get me out of here!"

Gabumon nodded. "Blue Blaster!"

The gate froze, but it didn't open.

"It didn't work," I said.

"Yes it did," Gabumon said. He hit the frozen part of the gate and the gate fell apart.

I climbed through just as Ken turned the corner.

"What are you-" Ken started. "Tyranamon, ATTACK!"

"Run!" Matt yelled. He began to run, followed by Gabumon then me. "What is Ken doing here?" Matt asked. He turned his head.

"He's the Digimon Emperor again!" I yelled back.

"Huh? I thought he was good!"

"It's a long story! Run faster!" I yelled.

"But which way?" Matt asked, stopping as we reached a fork.

"Just go!" I yelled. He ran to the left. It was really light where we were running. And if my memory serves right, then this was the wrong way to go. We should have ran towards the darkness because that was the way out in my dream.

"Uh, maybe we should've went the other way," Matt said. "It's a dead end."

"Don't say dead!" Gabumon scolded.

"He's right there!" I yelled pointing at the large dinosaur-type creature.

"Blue Blaster!"

The hit didn't even faze him. He seemed to be laughing at us.

"Fire Rocket!" A large flame appeared behind Tyranamon.

"Flamedramon!" I cried happily.

"Star Shower!" Large stars began to fall and they ht Tyranamon on the neck.

"Pegasusmon!" I said.

"Pepper Breath!"

"Super Shocker!"

"Lightning Claw!"

"And Agumon and Tentomon and Gatomon! You guys are my heroes!"

Tyranamon fell to the ground. The dark spiral he was wearing broke into tiny little pieces.

Matt Gabumon and I jumped over the Tyranamon to get to our friends. Standing on the other side along with the digimon were Tai, Davis, Izzy and T.K. Flamedramon and Pegasusmon went back to their rookie levels.

"Guys!" I said. "I am so glad to see you." I ran up to Tai and gave him a hug. Then I gave Gatomon a hug too.

"Are you alright, Kari?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm alright. But we need to get out of here now. I know the way to go. We go to the-"

"Not so fast!" Ken appeared from behind the shadows.

"Ken?" Davis cried out. "What are you doing here?"

"Fool!" Ken spat out. "I am the Digimon Emperor!"

"But!" Davis stuttered. "I thought that you were good now!"

Ken just laughed. "That's what I made you all believe. But now I can't let you escape now that you all know the truth. That would really hurt my reputation, you know."

"We're gonna beat you once and for all," Matt raged. He clenched his fists.

"With what?" Ken asked. "Those rookie level digimon?"

"We'll see about that," I said. "Are you ready, Gatomon?"

"You bet!" She said.

I held out my digivice.

"Gatomon....armor digivolve to.......Nefertimon!"

"Go get him!" I said.

Nefertimoon nodded. "Rosseta Stone!"

"Ah!" Ken yelped as the stones flew deadly close to his head. He jumped to the side. "You won't ever hurt me! Stingmon! Attack!"

"Yes, master," Stingmon said. He jumped in the air and began to fight with Nefertimon.

Nefertimon threw her Rosseta Stones once again, aiming at Stingmon. He dodged to the side and started to attack her, but then something stopped them both. They hovered in the air, confused.

"What is that?" Davis asked. The ground began to rumble and shake.

"I-I think it's collapsing! This place wasn't made sturdy enough. We better get going!"

"Right," Tai said. He picked up Agumon. "Come on! Stop fighting or we'll all die!"

Nefertimon looked at me questioningly. I nodded to let her know that it was alright to stop fighting. Without warning, Stingmon came from behind her and hit her with his large arm.

"Ahhh!" she screamed. She transformed back into Gatomon.

"Gatomon!" I screamed. I ran to where she landed.

"Com on, Kari!" Tai yelled. "We have to go now!"

"Not without Gatomon!" I replied, still running. A large rock fell from the ceiling, landing in front of me. I gave out a little yelp, but continued to run. I needed to save her. She would do the same thing for me.

"No, Kari!" Davis yelled.

"Don't go!" T.K. yelled, too.

I ignored all of them. Gatomon was my friend. Practically family. I couldn't just leave her. Not when she helped me whenever I was in need of help.

"Gatomon!" I screamed, trying to find some guidance.

I heard a small meow. "Gatomon?" It was very distant.

I heard her meow more urgently.

I ran to where the noise was coming from. "Gatomon!" I was a few feet in front of her. I kneeled down next to her and picked up her limp body. "It'll be ok." I cradled her close to my body and shielded her from all the falling debris.

"Ok, Kari. Now we got to go," Tai ordered. He and the rest of the guys were already outside in safety.

I nodded and began to run towards them. I stopped suddenly when I heard a groan from under some rocks. I looked down. It was Ken.

:Kari," he croaked out. He reached his hand out to me.

I looked at him, then at Tai. I didn't know what to do. The place was going to give way any second now.

"Come on, Kari!" Tai yelled.

"Kari!" All of them screamed in unison.

"Here, Tai!" I said. I gave Gatomon a kiss on her forehead and as gently as I could, I tossed her to him. He caught her and looked at me questioningly.

I ignored his stare and picked up Wormon. I tossed him to Tai also.

"Kari, no! We have to go now! It's going to collapse."

I ignored him. Instead, I knelt down and lifted Ken upwards. I propped him against my shoulder and began to help him walk. If I could hurry, we both could get out alive.

No suck luck.

A large boulder fell from the top of the tunnel. I gave out a surprised yelp and fell backwards. The boulder landed right in front of me.

"Kari!" I could hear Tai scream from the other side.

"Tai, I'm alright!" I said, coughing from all the dust. I took a deep breath. "But I can't get out! The exit is sealed."

"Just stay there. We'll try to move it!"

"You can't move that!" I said. "It's way too big. I'll find another way out."

"No, Kari," I heard Izzy say. "Just stay put. That's the reasonable thing to do. We'll find a way."

"Kari," Ken whispered.

I bent down so I could hear him. "Yes?"

"I know another way out. It's on the other side of the lair, though. And I can't walk." He looked down at his leg. It was twisted in an awful way.

"Then I'll carry you," I said. I lifted him up.

"No," he said. "I'll only slow you down."

"No you won't. Besides we have all the time we need to get out of here. We just have to be patient." I propped him up more so it would be easier. "Now which way?"

"To the left."

I nodded and turned back. "Tai! Can you hear me?"

"Yeah. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah. I'm going to find a way out. Ken is helping me!"

"No, Kari!" It was T.K. "Don't listen to him. It might be another trap."

I ignored him and began to walk.

"You know," Ken said. "It could really be a trap."

I stared straight ahead. "I'll take that risk." I walked to the left, carrying him the whole way. The walls of the tunnel were still rumbling, but the collapsing had subsided. For now. The corridor was long. Real long. It was so long that I couldn't even see the end of it.

I continued to walk in silence. Ken groaned every once in a while and I stopped two times to rest my feet and my aching shoulders. After the second time I stopped, Ken surprised me with a question.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

I didn't even have to think. "Because it's the only human thing to do. I didn't want to leave you here to die. I could never to that to anyone."

"But I tricked all of you. I lied, and I hurt you. Are you telling me that you forgive things that horrible so quickly?"

I didn't say anything at first. He made a good point. "Well, there are more important things than getting into stupid fights. I can never be stubborn enough that I won't save someone because they hurt me."

Ken didn't say anything for a long time. I was finally getting to him. At least someone was.

When we finally reached the end of the long corridor, there was a three way fork.

"Which way?" I asked.

"To the right."

I nodded and continued to walk. The tunnel seemed to be getting darker and darker.

"Ken, I can't see," I said. I stopped walking and stood in the middle of the fork.

"Good," he said.

Confused, I looked down at him through the darkness. Actually, I looked up at him. He stood up on his own two feet. I felt a deep feeling in the pit of my stomach. The kind of feeling that I always get when I realize that I was tricked.

"You know, Kari, you really do forgive people too easily. You're so naive that I feel bad that I have to destroy you now." He grabbed my hands and pinned me against the wall. I felt a cold blade against my neck.

"Ken," I whispered. I looked up in his eyes. They were pure evil. "Please."

He just laughed.

I closed my eyes then. I could feel a tear fall down my cheek. I knew it was a lost cause. I couldn't get through to him. I never would be able to. He was just too evil.

Stop it, Kari, I heard a voice in my head say. It sounded like Gatomon. You have to be strong. You have to be! You have to fight this evil so you can live. Don't give up.

"Gatomon," I said barely audible. I held my head down and breathed hard as the blade pressed up harder against my throat.

"What?" Ken said. "You have some last words?"

I looked up into those eyes that betrayed me so many times. I did have something to say. "Ken. You are the most evilest person that I have meet. You have betrayed me many times and I can't tolerate it anymore. If you think you're going to win, you are wrong. Even if you do kill me, my friends will get you. They will destroy you."

"Ha! I'll get them right after I kill you! Remember, I can tap into peoples dreams!"

"Then there will be other digidestioned. There are millions all over the world as we speak. The only way to destroy us is to destroy us all. And I really don't think you have the guts to kill all those people."

"You think I don't have the guts?" Ken asked. He shifted the blade so that it was pressed against my arm. He pressed the tip of it into my flesh.

I didn't say anything. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of giving him my pain.

He looked at me, waiting for me to cry out for him to stop. When I didn't, he pressed it deeper.

I clenched my teeth together and closed my eyes, trying to gather up all my rage and all my strength. I needed to use it wisely.

"So you're not scared to die?" Ken asked. "We'll just see about that." He turned the blade so that it rested on my arm length wise. With one swift move, he sliced my skin.

I gasped and reached for my arm. I looked down at it. Blood was everywhere.

"Ken," I seethed. I clenched my good hand into a fist and I hit him over his head hard. He stumbled backwards until he hit the other wall.

"How dare you!" He said. He charged at me, raising a fist. I jumped out of the way and began to run down the long corridor. I couldn't see a thing and I had no idea where I was going. I pulled out my digivice and held it up. A little bit of light began to radiate off of it. Just enough so that I could see where I was going. It wasn't long before I heard Kens ragged breathing and stumbling footsteps behind me. I had to keep going though. I had to. I was almost to the end of the tunnel. I could see a faint light at the other end.

I put my digivice back in my pocket. I couldn't waste the battery when I didn't need it. The light at the end of the tunnel was enough.

All of a sudden, I felt my legs go up from under me. I fell forward and landed on my chest. All the air left my lungs and I struggled to breathe correctly. I clutched my chest as Ken turned me over.

"I-I can't-"

Ken looked at me. "Breathe?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Good then. Now I won't even have to kill you. You'll be doing my dirty work for me! Hahahaha!"

With the little strength I had, I kicked up do that my foot landed in his face.

He flipped back and clutched his nose. "You little-come back!"

I wasn't even listening. I was already gone. The end of the tunnel seemed so close now. I pulled out my D3 and sent an e-mail to Davis.

Davis, I'm at the other end of Ken's lair. Meet me there! Kari.

I closed the D3 as I sent it and hoped that they got there in time. Ken would be up and after me any second.

The light seemed to get closer and closer. So close that I could actually see outside.

"Kari!" T.K. called. He looked in the tunnel and reached out his hand to me. I reached out my own hand, but then I stopped running. The ground was moving from underneath me again. This time it was more powerful than before. I fell to the ground.

"Kari!" T.K said.

I stood up tried to keep my balance as I ran. T.K. grabbed my hand and pulled me outside to safety.

"Tai!" I cried out to my brother. He ran to me and gave me a hug. I hugged him back and began to cry.

"Kari, you're bleeding!" He exclaimed.

"It's nothing," I replied. "It-it was Ken. He tried to kill me!"

"Kari!" A voice screamed. "Help me!"

It was Ken. He was trapped under a fallen boulder. I looked into his eyes. They still held that evil in them. I buried my face into Tai's shoulder as another boulder fell on top of Ken.

"Ken!" A mournful voice called. I looked at my side. It was Wormon. "No. Don't die!" Wormon ran as fast as he could to help his fallen master, but he was too late. Ken was gone.

"Wormon," I said gently. Wormon was a good digimon. We all knew it. It wasn't his fault that he had a bad digidestioned. But he loved Ken so much that he stuck by him the whole time.

"Come on Wormon," I said picking him up. I hugged him as he cried into my shoulder. "Let's go home."

As all six of us went through the gate, I couldn't help but noticing that the Digital World looked much brighter and much more healthier than before. I smiled.

"Good night, Kari," Tai said, climbing up into his bunk bed.

"Good night, Tai," I replied. I hugged both Gatomon and Wormon to me as I snuggled deeper in the covers. For sure I knew that it would really be a good night.

A.N. Hi, readers! This is my first Digimon fic. I had some fun writing it and I hope that you had fun reading it. It was a little complicated to write because sometimes I didn't know where I was going with it, but I am so glad that it's done. There will most likely be a sequel to this. I'm thinking about it because I left some gaps in it on purpose. I'll write a Part 2 depending on how many reviews I get, but if not, I'll just let it RIP. Flames are welcome!!!! :P