Seven Kids Stuck on a Raft

By Sonfaro

So we sailed away from File island, where we had some really cool adventures. When we had to survive on our own, we grew up very fast (Except Joe. He just threw up very fast.) But he came around too! We don't know what's waiting for us on the other side of the ocean… but we'll face it as a team!

- Taichi "Tai" Kamiya

The Net Ocean was a vast sea of billowing blue waves. The raft that currently floated on it was barely a speck on the vastness of such a body of water. The fact that the Digidestined, (the saviors of File Island, and ultimately, the Digiworld itself) rode on this raft didn't even come into the equation.

Taichi "Tai" Kamiya held the mono-scope to his eye, surveying the waves with a deep frown plastered to his tanned face. Four hours. That's how long ago they had left File Island . Now the home of Leomon, Andromon, Frigimon and the others was just a tiny dot on the endless blue.

"I can't see anything," Tai said with a sigh.

Joe Kido, the resident worrywart of the so called Digidestined sighed. "I wonder how much longer this trip will take."

Tai laughed. "Chill out Joe, we just left!"

The eldest of the group ran a hand through his dark hair. "This salt air's killing my sinuses," he confessed. "And we've only got enough food for two weeks."

Tai yawned. "If we run out of food, we'll catch some fish."

Sora Takenouchi smiled. The crimson haired 'tomboy' stood behind Tai, watching the waves rise and fall. "Well the one good thing is this is wonderful weather for sailing."

Yamato "Matt" Ishida smirked. "What do you know about sailing?"

Sora faltered for a moment. "I…" She shook her head and smiled weakly, though not so much that the others would notice. "It isn't all that hard to see what a beautiful day it is Matt. The wind is blowing. The sun's shining…"

"And I didn't bring any sunscreen." pouted Mimi Tachikawa, who sat near the food rations with her Digimon partner Palmon.

Digimon… Digital Monsters. The more Tai thought about what the seven kids had been through over the past month, the more he realized just how far away from home he was. Thankfully, he had his friends to keep him company.

And of course there was Agumon.

The diminutive tyrannosaur kept close to Tai's side, a look of both wonder and fear molded to his reptilian face. Poor guy, thought Tai. You're a long way from home too.

Agumon wasn't the only Digimon on the boat, however. Along with his new friend were the other creatures, whosesworn duty in life was to protect them. There was Biyomon, the partner of Sora Takenouchi; she was a clingy bird who was nevertheless willing to fight for her friends. Palmon, Mimi's newest friend, adorable – at least as adorable as a talking plant could be. Gabumon, Matt's bashful partner, a half-dog half-dinosaur. Gomamon, a corny seal Digimon, who seemed to want to make Joe a better person.

And then there was Poyomon and TK.

Behind Tai, sat Matt's 'dopey' little brother, Takeru "TK" Takaishi. Tai smiled. He could hardly call TK 'dopey' anymore.

The dirty-blond youngster sat by Mimi, bouncing the little ball of jelly that represented all that was left of his partner – the once-glorious Angemon. "You're gonna be real strong when you get bigger Poyomon. I just know it!"

Matt smiled and ruffled his half-brothers hair a bit. "Of course he is TK."

Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi sat a few feet away from the others, the farthest he could get away from them, and sat with his signature laptop in his lap. His partner, a giant reddish insect hovered over him. "What are you doing Izzy?" Tentomon asked.

"I'm finishing my examinations of Gennai's digital map." Izzy's eyes never left the computer screen as he spoke. "I'm modifying the program to help us remember where we've been in digiworld."

Tai's eyes narrowed. "I had a map once." He glared, annoyed at Agumon. "It got burned to a crisp under mysterious circumstances."

"I said I was sorry already Tai!"

Izzy continued, paying no attention to Tai or Agumon. "Here's File Island , he pointed. "And here's where we're headed."

Matt sighed. "Great. Nowhere."

"Have a little faith Matt," Gabumon tried his best to smile. "I'm sure we'll be fine."

"We've been on this raft for hours. Are we there yet?"

Joe wanted to shush Gomamon, but he was too busy shivering. "It's getting colder the farther out we sail. Has anyone else noticed that?"

"We might have a bigger problem…"

Matt raised his eyebrow. "What is it Mimi?"

The sandy brunette fidgeted, trying to keep her eyes as far away from the water as she could. "Guys… Um… Where's the little girls room?"

Tai felt a bead of sweat slowly trail down his face. "Come on Mimi, couldn't you have gone back on File Island."

"Well I didn't. Where am I supposed to go?"

Matt shrugged. "You could always go behind the barrels."

"In plain sight of you guys? No thanks."

"You know," Joe began, "we really should have thought this whole 'lets go to an unknown continent and help an old man we don't even know defeat an evil potentially more powerful than Devimon' idea."

Gomamon rolled his eyes. "You worry too much Joe." The colorful seal turned and gave Mimi his best grin. "Hey Mimi, I'll take you out to sea and you can go, how's that?"

Of course, Mimi would have none of that. "Are you crazy! I know your reputation you little pervert!"

Gomamon blinked. "What! What I do?"

Sora sighed. Their wonderful little sailing trip was falling apart. "Look, why don't we pull the sail back up and weigh anchor." She shrugged. "The sea's getting choppy and that usually means we're close to land."

Biyomon looked up to her partner. "Are we at Server already Sora?"

"No way."

"Huh?"

Izzy looked up long enough to answer Biyomon's question. "My map clearly states that server is a long way away. To even think of stopping the boat could be suicidal."

Sora blinked. "Izzy, there's a small island over there. We wait for a little while, let Birdramon and me take Mimi. Then Ikkakumon can take any of the boys, and that'll be it."

Izzy frowned and shook his head. "And what if that isn't it? What if that isn't an Island at all? What if it's really a Digimon? Then we'll all be in trouble", the redhead told them. "If we divert course there is a chance of the boat being stranded, and then we'll never be able to go anywhere."

Tai sighed. "Izzy, we have to stop at some point."

"Not according to my map we don't."

"Izzy…"

"I'm serious. The map says that at our present state, at our present course, it should take us up to ten days to reach Server. That is of course, without the obvious interferences. If we make a detour now, who knows how long it would take to get us back on track. We could be lost forever on the sea. And then who would save the Digiworld…"

Mimi grabbed Izzy by the collar and shook him. Hard. "I HAVE TO GO TO THE BATHROOM NOW!!"

There was along moment of silence. Izzy laughed hesitantly, desperately trying to keep Mimi from strangling him. "I guess we can stop for a minute."

"They've been gone too long."

The five boys and their Digimon sat on the raft, which bobbed up and down on the water for quite some time. They sat staring towards the small island Sora had pointed out earlier, still waiting for their four friends to return.

Izzy frowned. "If we don't leave soon, I'm afraid we're never going to leave…"

"Chill out Izzy. Sora said she'd be back soon, and I believe her."

Matt frowned. "How do you know Sora so well anyways Tai?" When Tai regarded him curiously, Matt sat up from the deck and turned to face him. "I mean I only know her from class…"

Tai shrugged. "She's on my soccer team."

Joe frowned. "The men's soccer team?"

Tai shrugged. "She was better than most of the guys that tried out."

"What's a soccer?"

"It's a ball you kick around. It's Tai's favorite game."

"Yeah., 'cause I'm the best at it! Just… don't tell Sora I said that…"

Matt shook his head. "But there's more to it. You two have been best friends since before I met you. The day I met her, she was with you. And this was before Soccer tryouts even."

"We've known each other for a while I guess. Since I was little. But didn't really know her know her till soccer, though." Tai shrugged. "That's when we got…" He tried getting the right words, found he couldn't, then sighed. "Close…"

Matt blinked. "How close?"

"Uh…"

"Tai look!"

Agumon's voice saved Tai from explaining himself, and alerted the others to the flight of Birdramon.

Tentomon fluttered upwards. "There they go."

"Finally."

But Gomamon noticed Tai's mood hadn't become relief. It had hardened. "What's wrong?"

Tai frowned. "Birdramon's flying really fast…"

"What?"

Tai gasped, startled. In a flash he was giving orders. "Hit the deck!"

The ten boys dived to the deck of their raft, as the giant phoenix Birdramon flew so close over head that Tai was worried he'd get sunburned. Two screaming girls rolled onto the raft from the sky, shaking the boat and threatening to capsize the entire vessel. Birdramon looped back towards the island. That's when Tai saw the fin of a large creature heading towards them.

Meteor Wing!

Birdramon let loose thousands of fiery arrows towards the strange monster in the sea. After the bombardment the creature, fin and all, disappeared back into the waves. All got quiet for a moment. Birdramon took two more loops around the raft. Just in case.

Tai rushed to his friend's side. "Sora!"

"I'm fine," the red-head managed. "I'm a little dizzy, but I'm okay."

"Um, Sora. Could you…"

Sora looked down at Izzy, and realized that she was straddling the young boy across the waist. His face was cherry red, and he was sweating like mad. "Oh. Sorry Izzy."

Tai broke out into hysterics. Agumon let a bead of sweat fall down his face. Matt helped Sora to a less awkward position. "You alright Sora?"

The girl in question blushed a little and dusted herself off. "Thanks Matt."

The boy ignored her, turning instead to Mimi Tachikawa, who was shivering in fear. "Mimi, are you okay?"

"What was that thing out there?" TK asked, gripping tightly to Poyomon.

"It was a shark!" .

"What?"

"A really big shark," Mimi said finally, her voice wavering with fright. "It was coming after Palmon and me!"

Sora sighed, calling Birdramon back to the boat. "We aren't sure it's a shark yet."

"Didn't you see the fin Sora! Didn't you see!"

"Calm down Mimi", said Palmon, trying to ease the situation. "It's going to be okay…"

But Mimi would not be consoled. Curling into a ball on the edge of the raft, Mimi began to sob. Her tears fell from her cheeks deep into the net ocean. "I want to go home", she wept. "I hate this world! I want to go home!"

"Mimi!"

Mimi's eyes snapped open. Her partner's dewy eyes had begun to spill over as well. Mimi stifled her tears for a moment and embraced her friend. "I'm sorry Palmon."

Silence. The waves rocked the tiny raft and its occupants softly in the sun. They weren't supposed to be here. Any of them. They should have been destroyed so many times over, and yet here they were. Seven kids, stuck on a raft, far from home. With determination, Tai got them rolling.

"We're leaving."

"I don't feel so good," Mimi groaned.

Izzy couldn't quite hide his discomfort either. "I didn't calculate these waves being so rough…"

Tai tried his best to ignore them focusing instead on keeping his monocle focused on the horizon. The truth was, he hadn't said much since Mimi's earlier outburst. Though he didn't say anything, he had a bad feeling that things were only going to get much worse.

Apparently sensing his concern, Agumon nudged at Tai's side. "What's the matter Tai?" he asked.

Tai frowned. "It's too quiet."

TK meanwhile had contented himself to a nice corner of the raft, bouncing Poyomon in his hands, his young mind trying not to focus on the situation they were in. Instead, he played with his partner, hoping that every interaction would be one step closer to the return of the majestic Angemon. "Hey, hey! Poyomon."

"Popoyo…"

TK smiled. Then Poyomon hopped out of his hands and towards the edge of the raft. "Wha…? Oh!" TK immediately dove after his friend, who was still amusingly singing his name over and over again, despite nearly drowning himself in the Net Ocean . "Poyomon be careful!"

"Poyopopoyo…"

TK smiled and hugged the little jellyfish tighter. He looked up, then gasped. "What… Hey! Guys! Over there! He's over there."

TK's cries brought the rest of the Digidestined's attention towards the same fin streaking towards them. "It's chasing us!"

"Hard to starboard!"

Joe blinked, and turned to Sora. "Hard to what…"

Sora frowned, grabbing a hold of the sail and twisting it. "To your right!"

The group scrambled to get the raft moving in the direction Sora indicated, with Palmon and Mimi helping her with the sail, and Gommamon trying to aid with propulsion. The fin just kept coming. Agumon stepped to the edge of the raft and faced the oncoming assailant.

Pepper Breath!

The ball of gaseous flame leapt from Agumon's gullet and flew towards the fin, consumed by the sea itself, but causing the fin to falter slightly. Tai joined his partner, shouting words of encouragement as the Digidestined began to make their escape.

"Again, Agumon!"

Pepper Breath!

The second blast nearly caught the monster, whose fin disappeared beneath the waves. For a time, the Digidestined began celebrating, thinking that they had beaten the mysterious attacker back from whence he came, until the raft suddenly lurched into the air.

The Digidestined held on for their lives as several food baskets and other sundry items found their way into the sea, along with Joe, who couldn't hold on long enough. Gomamon was after him in a flash, diving into the water and tugging the teen's flailing body back towards the raft.

And then… silence once more.

Matt kept his eyes open as he helped Joe back onto the raft. "He's gone."

"So's our rudder", said Sora dejectedly.

"And the map," moaned Izzy. His computer had shutdown during the ruckus, being pitched into the water with Joe. Izzy was already busy at work messing with the device, trying to reboot his system.

Mimi asked the question that was truly in the back of everyone's mind. "Are… are you saying we're stranded in the middle of the ocean?"

Silence. Matt assessed the situation in four words. "This is not good."

Night had fallen on the waves by now, yet the Digidestined, try as they might couldn't sleep. Between Izzy's constant attempts to restart his computer, Joe's complaints of sea sickness, and the work on a makeshift rudder; made from what was left of one of their food bins, sleep was an impossibility. And of course the ever watchful eye on the dark seas for the predator who lurked in the shadows.

"I think this will work Tai", Agumon said with finality, watching Tai snap the last bit of wood into place.

Tai nodded, though he was not entirely convinced. "It'll have to do I guess."

Sora let one hand stroke Biyomon, who was already showing the strains of fatigue. "It looks long enough anyways," she said with some conviction. "Maybe it'll be enough to get us back to File."

"Yeah…"

"What does it matter?" A dejected Izzy looked at his laptop in defeat. "Without a map we aren't going to know where to go. Or how to get there."

Tentomon flew to his partner. "Aw Izzy, you don't really mean that."

Sora smiled softly at the younger boy and sat by him. "Come on Izzy. Where's your sense of adventure? I haven't been here long but I can tell you we've been facing that star since we started. The wind has been pushing us farther out. You put too much faith in that thing, Izzy. We'll be able to find our way in a day or two. You'll see."

"There's nothing to see! Those aren't our stars! It isn't so easy to just look up and say we're going the right way. We had the map for a reason, and until I can get this thing working again, we're going to be stuck here!"

Izzy's unexpectedly loud voice carried across the waters and echoed over the waves. Even Izzy felt a little out of place for yelling so, dejected, he slumped back down to his off-line computer and continued the reboot process, with Tentomon trying to calm him down.

Sora stared after her auburn-haired friend in silence. She looked up to the stars. These same stars that were hers, and weren't. The smell of the ocean. The sounds of the sea. It all was flooding back within her. She smiled.

"Up jumps a crab with his crooked legs

Saying "you play the cribbage and I'll stick the pegs"

Singing blow the wind westerly, let the wind blow

By a gentle nor'wester how steady she goes…"

"Sora that's beautiful."

Sora blushed when she realized Gabumon had heard her singing. "It's an old sea shanty," she averted her eyes.

Gabumon smiled. "Well it sounded lovely."

Matt frowned, and finally turned to Sora. "How do you know so much about sailing?"

Sora blinked in surprise, though she realized that she probably should have expected it. She shifted in her seat uncomfortably while looking away at the blonde. "It's a long story Matt."

"You can tell us", said Tentomon. "We have a long time to wait."

Sora then realized that the others were all watching her now. Waiting. She sighed, and tried not to face the thirteen pair of eyes looking at her. Waiting. "My father used to take me sailingevery summer when I was little. We'd get on a boat and ride out to Tokyo bay. We'd fish, and we'd sing, and we'd watch the stars come out at night. That was before he was offered a position in Kyoto . I don't see much of my father anymore."

TK held a sleeping Poyomon tight. "Did your parents split up too?"

Sora smiled in spite of herself. "No. Dad writes to mom whenever he can. I think… I think they still love each other. But my momma is just so stubborn that she couldn't leave the stupid flower shop." She sighed. "I miss my father very much."

"And the song," asked Gabumon.

"My father used to sing it to me," Sora said sadly.

Matt looked at his feet, his face showing discomfort. "I'm sorry Sora."

"No. It's okay." She smiled. "I'm actually kind of glad you asked."

Tai yawned, breaking the sentiment in his own way. "I always liked Mr. Takenouchi."

"Really?" A mischievous look settled into Sora's deep eyes. "He always thought you just liked me."

Tai felt the blood rush to his face. "What?"

Matt blinked. A cheap grin settled onto his face. "Tai and Sora?" He laughed. "I couldn't see it."

Mimi smiled. "Aw you two would make a cute couple."

Tai blushed and glared at Sora, who stifled a laugh. "This is so embarrassing…"

"Guys! He's back!"

Joe's shrill voice awoke the Digidestined from their laughter for a moment. Out to sea, not to far away, a solitary fin cut towards them.

The fin circled the damaged raft twice. It was as if this shark-like being was stalking his prey, waiting for the right moment to strike. It did this for several minutes, before he unexpectedly pulled away. Joe frowned, as he watched the creature slink through the water. "We're not going to survive another attack, are we?"

Tai smiled. "I think it's about time we fought back. Don't you?" Joe stared blankly at Tai, until he caught the look of danger in the brunette's eyes.

"This is going to end badly isn't it…"

"Come on," said Tai with force. "Lets get this boat turned around!"

Early morning saw the sun rising above the crashing waves. A single fin streaked slowly and menacingly towards the only thing keeping the Digidestined from the Net Oceans waves. The Digidestined were ready for him, digivices at the ready, but there wasn't much they could do. The raft was made for seven children and seven rookies. A champion wouldn't fit on the raft, and by now, the attacker had to know that.

"Here he comes…"

The fin began to increase its speed, making a direct beeline for the battered raft and its makeshift sailors. The Digidestined braced themselves to what they could, expecting the attack to come swiftly. The fin was deadly close to them now.

"Move!"

Sora's command was immediately heard. The Digidestined all leaned to the side. The raft's port side tipped out of the water for a few seconds, Long enough to avoid the physical contact of the monster. Sora smiled, watching the fin try to turn around and keep up.

"Now it's our turn! Now Gomamon!"

"I'm on it!"

Gomamon rushed from one side of the raft to the other, diving off the edge, and towards the waters…

Gomamon digivolve to…

Instantly the small seal began to morph. His fur grew longer, the leopard spots disappearing under ice grey sheets. A single, solitary horn shot through his forhead, and the mammal grew to about the size of a large horse. It was no longer Gomamon, but…

Ikakkmon!

The walrus was already in the waves heading directly for the attacker. The Digidestined could only watch as both heroic mammal and mysterious attacker came closer and closer…

"Now Ikkakumon!"

Icicle Coat!

The water around Ikkakumon began to slowly but surely harden, as the huge walrus' internal body temperature began to drop. The fin had no time to stop. It tried desperately to leap from the water before it was too late. The ice was faster though, sealing the assailant in an icy tomb. Ikkakumon shivered in victory.

"Try those fast tricks now you little…"

Pulse Blast!

Ikkakumon blinked. "Uh-oh!"

The monster, in all its glory, rose through the shattered ice and dove onto Ikkumon. Both monsters crashed full force into each other, and their cries of battle echoed across the Net Ocean. The sea churned as the two mighty behemoths disappeared into the waves.

On the raft the Digidestined stared out in shock. "Ikkakumon…"

Silence. And then, the familiar head of Gomamon appeared from the sea, a childish grin on his furry face. "Hey guys! No sweat! It's just an old friend of mine! Dolphmon!"

Joe felt a bead of sweat fall down his brow. "Dolph… he's a Dolphin?"

The battle scared creature swam slowly to the side of the raft, his good eye resting on the young teenagers. He gave them an embarrassed grin. "Eh… Hi."

Biymon blinked. "I guess he wasn't a shark after all!"

Mimi wasn't about to be so forgiving. "Why were you attacking us!?"

The monster in question let a stream of water from its snout and averted its eyes sheepishly. "I'm sorry. But ever since Devimon took over that island, these waters have been dangerous. It's up to monsters like me to keep the Net Ocean safe. I thought you were a group of Devimon's minions looking to spread his evil to Server."

Izzy frowned. "But that was all the way back on File Island. Surely he can't reach this far out!"

Dolphmon turned to the Digidestined's resident hacker. "What do you mean, far out? You're still in File's waters!"

"What?"

Dolphmon began to giggle and squeal. "You've just made a wide circle around the area. That's all."

"Would you please tell us which way it is to Server then," asked Mimi with a huff.

Dolphmon looked like he was blushing. "Oh sure. A lady friend of Gomamon's is a friend of mine."

"And the rest of us?" Agumon pressed the sea mammal.

Dolphmon simply scoffed. "Meh, don't push your luck lizard breath."

"Got it working yet Izzy?"

Izzy, technological genius that he was, had indeed reset his computer's parameters, and was already in the process of bringing the map back up. The rest of the Digidestined were asleep, the long day getting to them. Dolphmon had been generous in his apologies, directing the Digidestined towards Server; oddly the same direction Sora had suggested earlier. Izzy sighed. "I'm pretty sure falling into the ocean isn't part of this thing's warranty."

Tai shrugged. "So your laptop got a little roughed up. Everything's all right now, isn't it?"

"Tai?"

The person in question blinked. "What?"

"Do you think I put to much faith in technology?"

Tai cleared his throat. "Well…. Yeah. You do." He laughed. "But that faith has kept us alive this past month. We wouldn't have saved Leomon without the knowledge we gained about the digivice. Knowledge we learned from you. Cheer up. We're the Digidestined right?"

Izzy blinked in confusion, then smiled and nodded. "Huh… Right."

"Hey, you two going to yap all night, some of us are trying to sleep."

Tai turned to face a sleepy Sora, who none the less had a grin plastered on her face. He yawned. "Aye, aye captain."

Sora watched her best friend goof his way over towards his partner, who was already snoring. She yawned and turned to Izzy, who nodded to her apologetically. She smiled and looked towards the stars, singing silently to herself.

"Up jumps a dolphin with his chuckle-head

He jumps on the deck saying 'pull out the lead!'

Up jumps a shark with his big row of teeth

He jumped up between the decks and shook out the reefs

Singing blow the wind westerly, let the wind blow

By a gentle nor'wester how steady she goes…"

As the seven kids, and their seven partners made their way ever closer the the mysterious continent of server, the stars continued to shine brightly. Beneath them, a dark object followed, but for now, their concentration was on sleep, and their ever growing responsibility to a world that wasn't their own. Tomorrow would be a new dawn…

Fin.

Authors Notes:

First of, special thanks to Sithking Zero for Beta reading for me. Hope to work with you again. Sorry I jumped the shark (this inside joke is going to keep going until all the crickets are dead and the drums destroyed.)

This is sort of an expansion fic, looking at a particular time in the season that could be broadened into it's own arc. There are a few more of these coming, as well as Anniversary, which is suprisingly coming along faster than I thought. At this rate I might even get the next chapter up by Christmas! -...-'

At anyrate, thanks for reading, keep an eye out, yadda-yadda. See ya soon.

- Sonfaro