"Clockmon's Offer"
Prologue
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you could fix just one mistake? It would probably be a very temping offer. When the Digidestend faced the Dark Masters, they faced changes and faced pain at was caused by mistakes from the past. And they wished that those mistakes never happened.
When things were at their worse, and the Digidestend were about to face Machiedramon, a story, which was never told to you, took place. The story of Clockmon's Offer....
~*~*~*~*
Tai, Kari, Sora, Izzy, T.k., Agumon, Gatomon, Byomon, Tentomon, and Patamon were walking along the "Highway" outside of Machiedramon's city. The children were thinking about what their missing teammates might be doing. Matt was traveling alone at the time. He and Tai got in a very big argument until a spirit possessed Kari and explained a few things to them. After that Matt decided to go alone to find his own path and Gabumon followed him faithfully. Mimi, Joe, Palmon and Gomamon were not present at that time as well. Mimi got so upset when Tai and Matt started fighting. After the whole ordeal Mimi and Palmon decided to go off on their own. Joe didn't want Mimi to travel all alone unprotected so he and Gomamon joined Mimi. After Puppetmon was defeated, Mimi and Joe decided it would be best if they recruited Digimon to help fight the Dark Masters. So far, they recruited Orgermon and a whole bunch of Gekomon and Otamamon. The Digimon were also deep in thought. Agumon was thinking when the battling will be over with. Byomon was thinking about how happy she was that Sora patched things up with her mom back on earth. Patamon was wondering if T.k. missed his brother too much. All Tentomon was thinking of is where lunch was going to come from. But more importantly, Gatomon was thinking of Kari. Kari wasn't looking too good.
Her face was getting red from the hot sun. Kari was also moving kinda slow, dragging her feet to keep up with the others. She was coughing a lot too.
"Hey Kari. Do you have a hairball or something?" Gatomon inquired.
"No silly! I'm fine." Kari said in a lifeless tone.
Gatomon turned to keep walking she didn't quite feel right with Kari's answer. Suddenly Gatomon heard a thump behind her. She turned around quickly to see that Kari had passed out on the ground.
"Kari!" Gatomon gasped.
Tai, who had been walking in front of the group, turned around and ran to his sister. He took her into his arms and felt her temperature. Kari was sick and was badly over heated.
"She's sick. Kari's sick." Tai said.
"Oh no! What are we going to do?" T.k. said worrying.
"We need to get her out of the sun!" Tai exclaimed.
The grouped scanned the area until Izzy said, "Hey, there's a bus stop stand over there! That'll be a perfect spot to lie Kari down."
"Good! Sora, Help me carry Kari over there." Tai ordered.
"Okay, Tai." Sora said as she helped Tai carry Kari. When they got to the bus stop, they laid Kari down on the seat. Izzy sat on the ground with Tentomon and opened his laptop while everyone else crowded around Kari.
"Shouldn't you be helping Kari instead of working on your laptop?" Tentomon asked Izzy.
"I am, I'm gonna go on-line to look up a cure for a fever." Izzy replied as he logged on.
"But even if you do find a cure, I'm sure we don't have the supplies to make the cure!" Tentomon said looking over Izzy's shoulder.
"Oh, I suppose you're correct, Tentomon. I haven't thought of that!" Izzy said looking away from the screen. Everyone was so worried about Kari, especially Tai. Izzy wished there could be more that he could do.
"Hey, Izzy. You have mail, shouldn't you check it?" Tentomon said, "It might be something important from Genni."
"Huh?" Izzy said as he looked back toward the screen. Tentomon was right,
he did have mail. Izzy opened it up.
"Huh? This makes no sense!" Izzy exclaimed after he had read it.
"What does it say?" Tentomon asked.
"It says 'Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!'" Izzy read out loud.
"What does 'Tempos Fugit' mean?" Tentomon inquired.
"It's Latin. I think it means 'Don't waste time!'." Izzy answered, "But why would someone tell us to not to waste time?"
"Maybe he's talking about defeating the Dark Masters. Maybe they're planning something evil." Tentomon reasoned.
"No doubt that the Dark Masters are planning something evil but for some
reason I don't think that's what the sender means."
"We better tell Tai!" Tentomon said.
*~*~*~Mean while, Where Matt was~*~*~*~
"Hey Matt! Do ya hear something?" Gabumon asked nervously.
"Like what?" Matt replied.
"Like a clock ticking." Gabumon explained, "I can hear it as clear as day."
"Well you gotta remember, Gabumon, in the Digiworld even the plainest things can be deceiving! You're probably just hearing water dripping."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. I'm sure I heard a clock ticking, and very loudly too!" Gabumon stated.
"Well where is it coming from? Maybe we can figure out what it is." Matt asked.
"Over there!" Gabumon said as he pointed to some bushes to his right. Matt walked over to the bushes and looked them over briefly.
"I don't see anything unusual." Matt said when he was done.
"Look harder! I'm sure I heard something!" Gabumon insisted. Matt looked again. He walked around to the back of the bush. There, he saw something strange.
"Hey, what's this doing here?" Matt exclaimed as he picked it up.
"What is it?" Gabumon asked.
"It looks like an alarm clock. You were right, you were hearing a clock ticking!" Matt said, "But what is it doing in the middle of a forest?"
Just then the ticking got louder. Matt could hear it now too.
"Hey, the ticking is getting louder." Gabumon exclaimed, "Do you know why, Matt?"
"Do I look like a clock repairman to you. How should I know?" Matt answered puzzled.
The ticking kept on getting louder until....BBBBBBRRRIIIINNGGG. The alarm went off, and it was quite ear pricing.
"Hey, that was a pretty loud bell!" Matt exclaimed trying to get the ringing out of his ears.
"Matt look out!" Gabumon shouted.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"
~*~*~*~Meanwhile, With Mimi And Joe*~*~*~
"Hey Mimi! Keep up! Meramon is gotta be here somewhere!" Joe said.
"But I tired!" Mimi complained.
"You're always tired!" Joe remarked.
"Princess Mimi, you can't give up now! We're almost at the top!" One of the Gekomon urged.
"Oh, okay!" Mimi moaned. She walked forward, dragging her aching feet. That is, until she tripped on something sticking out from the ground.
"Ow!" She yelped.
"Oh, Mimi are you all right?" Palmon asked, concerned.
"Yea, I just tripped on something." Mimi replied.
"Like what?" Gomamon asked as he walked over behind Mimi. There near Mimi's foot Gomamon saw something shinning in the dirt.
"Hey, I think there's something in the ground!" Gomamon exclaimed.
"Huh, let me see." Joe said as he walked over to where Gomamon was.
Joe began to dig out the something in the ground. When Joe was finished he exclaimed,
"It's an alarm clock."
"That's strange!" Palmon said.
"What was it doing out here." Mimi asked.
"Apparently, rusting. It's not running any more." Gomamon replied.
"Hey maybe it's Meramon's clock, he might be in trouble!" One of the Otamamon shouted, "Come on we gotta hurry!"
"You guys go ahead, we'll catch up!" Joe said as the Gekomon, Otamamon and Ogremon started walking again. BRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!! There was a bell ringing behind them.
"Hey what was that?" Ogremon asked as he turned around, "Hey they're gone!"
"What do you mean they're gone? Who's gone?" A Gekomon asked.
"Joe and Mimi and Gomamon and Palmon! They're gone." Ogremon replied. Ogremon was right they have vanished, but they haven't gone far, nor anywhere they can get to in a day's passing.
~*~*~Back With Tai and the Gang*~*~
"So do you have any clue of who sent it?" Tai asked Izzy, concerning the strange E-mail.
"No, it's not signed by anyone, and the Address is non-valid." Izzy replied, "Who ever it is, they don't want us to know where they are."
"Maybe it's some kind of code, or something." Sora reasoned.
"Nope, it defiantly means what it says, 'Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!'" Izzy said grimly, "It's just I don't know what he wants us to hurry up with."
"Do you hear something?" Kari said in a lifeless voice. Tai ran over to Kari's side and asked urgently,
"Hear what Kari? What is it?"
"Ticking, it's very near." She replied.
"Ticking? Humph! That's strange I don't hear anything." Izzy said frankly.
"No wait. I hear it too!" Tai said listening closely.
Sora started "But, Tai--", Until Tai interrupted her,
"Quiet!! Listen carefully!!" The group stayed ever so quiet, and listened ever so carefully.
"Hey, now I can hear it!" T.k. exclaimed.
"Yea, me too!" Sora said.
"Yes, but where is it coming from?" Patamon said.
"It can't be far!" Byomon reasoned. Everyone looked around for the source of the sound. T.k. scanned the ground, and in the sand he saw something shinning.
"Hey look! There's a shinny thing comin' out of the ground!" T.K. shouted as he ran out of the booth and grabbed the object out of the sand. Again, it was an alarm clock. T.k. ran back into the booth and held up the alarm clock for everyone to see.
"What in the Digiworld was an alarm clock doin' in the middle of a dessert?" Agumon asked.
"Don't look at me Agumon! I have no idea!" Tai responded.
BRRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!! The clock rang. Then all that was around them turned into an area of nothingness.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!! Wha-- What's going on?" Izzy asked with a hint of terror in his voice.
"Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!" A voice sang in a playful melody, "Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!" When the children heard this voce, they didn't say anything. They all knew the same thing. The voice was the sender of the E-mail.
"Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!" The voice went on and on in that same playful melody. The kids didn't know what direction it was coming from; it sounded like it was coming from all around. The group found themselves in an empty space. They were able to stand, but they could see no ground. Kari was lying in the mist, so Tai picked her up and carried her limp body piggy-back style. An iridescent white fog drifted in from all directions. Some of it clung towards the floor while some wafted upwards.
"Hello!" Sora called in the distance. She held her hand up to her ear, but all she heard in response was a very, very faint echo. Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep! The Digidestind's Digivices were going off. Izzy took out his Digivice and looked at the screen. Five flashing red dots in the middle of the screen, and one flashing red dot to the very far end of the screen, moving towards the center.
"What is it, Izzy?" Tai asked.
"Something is heading our way!" Izzy responded.
"Lookie!!" T.k. shouted pointing in the mist. The others followed his finger into the fog and they saw a silhouette of a person, and something behind him. As the person walked closer the gang was relived to see that it was only Matt and Gabumon.
"Matt!" T.k. cried as he ran into the arms of his brother, "Oh, I missed you so much."
"I know, I missed you too!" Matt said.
"What are you doing here?" T.k. asked.
"I don't know. I and Gabumon were just walking in a forest until we found this clock and then it rang and all of a sudden, where we are!" Matt explained.
"Hello!" Someone's voice rang in the distance, "Is anyone there?"
"Sounds like Joe!" Tai exclaimed, then he called out, "We're over here Joe, it's me Tai!"
Soon they saw Joe, Gomamon, Mimi, and Palmon running toward them.
"Come on Mimi! Our friends are just ahead!" Palmon urged on.
"Hey, do guys know what's goin' on here? What is this place?" Joe asked when they joined the others.
"I wish we did but no cigar!" Agumon responded.
"Hey, what's wrong with Kari?" Gomamon asked concernedly.
"She's sick! I think she over heated in the dessert!" Gatomon said. As Joe walked over t her and felt her forehead.
"It's a good thing that Joe's here! He'll be able to help us! Right, Joe?" T.k. said hopefully.
"Don't worry about her; she'll be fine as long as she out of the time flow." The singing voice stopped to say.
"Who are you! What do you want?" Tai yelled in the fog. Through the fog, another figure appeared through the fog. The group braced themselves as the image became clearer. Then the group was surprised to find that this mysterious voice was actually a giant living alarm clock. Its body was shaped like an ordinary alarm clock with mechanical arms and legs. On top of this walking clock was a human like torso(the waist up). The torso wore a black jump suit with red gloves and a red hood. The top half head a large steel mallet, while one of the mechanical arms on the clock had a laser gun/machine gun combo on it.
"What is that?" Sora exclaimed.
"Why not have Izzy look me up in his laptop. Look under 'C' for Clockmon." The Digimon replied. Izzy took out is laptop and looked for this Digimon in his Digimon Analyzer.
"His name is Clockmon. This is the protector of time and he keeps track of time in all worlds! His Chromo Breaker and Ear Bursting Attack will make sure no one messes up time in any world!" Izzy explained.
"Well, I wouldn't call my attacks that powerful. I am only at Champion Level." Clockmon said simply.
"What do you want? And where are we?" Tai demanded.
"To answer you last question first: You are nowhere and everywhere. Seriously, I just pulled you out of the flow of time. Kari's conduction will not get any worse or better as long as she's here." Clockmon explained, "And as for you second question: I don't want to hurt any of you, but merely give you an offer."
"What kind of an offer?" Izzy asked nervously.
"An offer that could change your lives, and could make your job here a lot easier." Clockmon answered.
Tai looked at Clockmon suspiciously and said, "Go on, we're listening!"
"Each and every one of you have a distinct flaw within your personalities that were caused by a mistake done by yourself or someone else. What I am offering you is that I back in time and reverse the biggest mistake in your past. Then I'll return you back to the time flow and you'll no longer be affected by those mistakes!" Clockmon explained.
"And what if we don't accept?" Matt said coldly.
"If you don't accept then I'll send you back to the normal time flow and you'll remember nothing of this." Clockmon went on, "But don't try and ask me what would happen if you say yes or no. I can only see what happens in the past or present and make a few changes from the past, but I can in no way predict the future! So think carefully!"
"Well, what's there is to think about. The answer is as plain as black and white! Right Matt?" Tai exclaimed.
"Yup, the answer is no!" Matt said.
"Yea--Huh--What do you mean no?" Tai said in shock.
"You heard me! I said no!" Matt replied, "Don't tell me you want to go messin' around with time!"
"Matt if we change our biggest mistakes it would make this a lot easier. Kari might not be sick right now if we say yes!" Tai said angrily trying to convince Matt.
"You're right, Kari might not be sick! She might have been dead already by now!" Matt replied, equally as angrily.
"Izzy! You're the smart one, what do you say?" Tai said turning to Izzy.
"Uh-Well-uh!" Izzy stammered.
"Who's right, me or Tai?" Matt asked.
"I gotta go with Matt on this one Tai!" Izzy said backing away from Tai in fear of getting hit, "If we change just the slightest thing it can totally mess things up!"
"Sora, you agree with me, right?" Tai said, looking for backup.
"Absolutely, Tai." Sora replied, "We could have defeated the Dark Masters long ago if we didn't have so many things holding us back."
"See Matt!" Tai said a tone of voice that Matt often uses, "We could have gotten this over with by now!"
"Not necessarily!" Joe said stepping forward, "I agree with Matt on this one. Things happen for a reason, and it would be a big risk to do something this dramatic."
"See!" Matt said sarcastically imitating Tai.
"But Matt." T.k. said approaching his brother, "If well change the past, then maybe you would have not gotten in all those fights with Tai."
"Keyword 'Maybe', T.k.!" Matt said kneeling down to eye the level of T.k., "If we're wrong then not all of us would be alive right now."
Tai then gave Kari to Sora and looked at Matt with angrily eyes.
"Matt, this is a chance to change the biggest mistakes in our lives and I am not going to let you past this up! Do you hear me, Matt?" Tai said as he pick Matt up by the back of his shirt.
"Matt, Tai! Stop it." Gabumon urged as he and Agumon tried to break them up.
"Yea, talk about a repeat in history!" Agumon remarked
"Oh, STOP IT!" Mimi screamed at the top of her lungs. Right then everyone froze in their places and all eyes were on Mimi.
"Whoa, Mimi!" Palmon exclaimed, "I didn't know you had it in ya!"
"Well guess what, I do and I'm sick of this fighting!" Mimi said in the angriest tone she could muster, "Matt, stop being so selfish! This is a chance to prevent all of those poor Digimon from dieing! Wizardmon, Whamon, Pixiemon, Leomon, all of them! And you just want to give that up!"
"Well the majority of us say yes. And I guess Kari doesn't have much of a say in it because, well, she's unconscious." Izzy said.
"But a simple majority will not do." Clockmon explained, "Since this is such a dramatic choice to be made, I must have every one of you to agree on one decision. And you don't have forever! If Genni finds out that I took you out of the time flow I could get in a lot of trouble."
"Tempos Fugit!" Izzy muttered under his breath.
"Well, what are we going to do?" T.k. moaned under his breath.
"I have an idea on how I might be able to help you reach your decision." Clockmon said.
"What are you waiting for? Tell us!" Agumon demanded hoping that this would prevent a fight between Tai and Matt.
"What I could do is go back and make the changes, but when I send you all back I'll keep a tab on one child and Digimon to see what it would be like. Then when the person has seen enough to make their decision I'll take you back out of the time flow where then you'll make your final decision." Clockmon explained.
"But who would you keep a tab on?" Izzy asked.
"We'll draw straws," Clockmon said as he pulled out several cut straws from a pocket, "Every child, except Kari because she's sick, will draw one straw. Whoever gets the shortest straw, he or she and their Digimon will be able to remember what happened in the real past and now."
"Sounds good!" Tai said, "Come on let's take a straw and get this over with!"
All of the Digidestend, except Kari, took a straw from Clockmon's hand and clutched it tight in their hands.
"Now everyone open your hands and let's see who has been picked." Clockmon said. Tai opened his hand first. No, he had a long straw. Then Matt opened his hand. No, he had a long straw too. Then Sora. No, it wasn't her. Izzy went next. He wasn't chosen either. Then Mimi. It Wasn't her. Now the only ones left was Joe and T.k. The air was tense with wonder of which one was chosen. They both opened their hands at the same time. Some of the kids sigh that it wasn't them. But one kid was scared.
T.k. got the short straw!
"T.k. has been picked!" Clockmon announced out loud, "He'll be the only one who remember anything during and after this 'experiment'"
He didn't know why, but T.k. was very scared. Even more afraid than the battle with Devimon. T.k. felt a knot forming in his stomach. Matt must have seen T.k.'s fear reflected in his face.
"T.k., are you going to be okay with this?" Matt said as T.k. started to cry. T.k. was trying so hard to hold back his tears. Clockmon raised his mallet in the air over his head.
"T.k.?" Patamon said in a worried voice.
"Clockmon, can't I go in place of T.k.?" Matt asked desperately.
"Tick-Tock! Tick-Tock!" Clockmon chanted over an over again. As Clockmon chanted the fog that clung to the ground swirled around them. Lightening clashed above their heads. T.k. couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He started to cry unstoppable.
"Clockmon! I wanna go in place of T.k." Matt shouted to Clockmon, "Answer me!"
But Clockmon paid no attention. "Tick-Tock! I will guide! Tick-tock" Clockmon chanted, "I will guide!"
"What does that mean?" T.k. thought to himself, but before he could ask out loud, Clockmon swing his steel mallet down and there was a flash of light. FLASH!!!!
T.k. was in a new place. Patamon was beside him. The forest was dark and it was raining. T.k. looked down at his clothing. It was at muddy and his shorts were all torn at the bottom. There was no doubting it, T.k. had never been more afraid in his entire life. He had wished Joe would have gotten the short straw. T.k. wondered why this was so scary. He thought not having those mistakes happen would be a good thing. Why was he so scared?
"Patamon, please tell me that what happened before was just a bad dream." T.k. asked Patamon.
"Oh, I wished I could T.k. but then I'd be lying! That whole thing with Clockmon there was no dream!" Patamon responded, "Why, are you scared too?"
"Uh-huh." T.k. said looking down.
"Maybe we should start looking for some of the others!" Patamon suggested.
"Okay." T.k. mumbled quietly as he steped forward hesitantly, "Hey, Patamon, do you know where we are?"
"Not a clue. But I'm sure we'll find out!" Patamon answered.
Suddenly, the bushes beside them started rustling. T.k. and Patamon stood as still as stones. They didn't move an inch until Byomon emerged from the bushes.
"Byomon! It's you!" Patamon exclaimed.
"Of course it's me!" Byomon said when she saw the two, "Listen, it's gettin' kinda dangerous now, I'd better get you to safety!"
"Safety?" T.k. asked himself, but then he remembered that the others didn't know what Clockmon did. The T.k. asked, "What has happened Byomon?"
"Huh, what happened? Oh, that's right. You've been waiting here for a very long time." Byomon relied; surprised that T.k. didn't know what was going on. While they were walking, Byomon explained everything that had happened,
"You see, Kari and Tai got in a fight and Kari ran off to fight off the Dark Masters with Gatomon, and we haven't seen her. Mimi thought Tai should go and get her, but he wouldn't listen. So, Mimi and Palmon went off to try and find her. If that wasn't bad enough, the Dark Masters planned a sneak attack and told us that they had Kari and Gatomon as a hostage. Now, Tai, seeing what he had done ran straight into the custody of the Dark Masters. Izzy ran off as soon there was trouble. And Joe is trying his best to get everyone to come back."
"What about Sora, shouldn't she be with you?" Patamon asked.
"She and I got in an argument and now she doesn't want anything to do with me." Byomon said sadly, "I don't know where she is and she could be hurt or something!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Patamon responded.
"What about my brother, is he okay?" T.k. asked conserved.
"I can't speak for him emotionally, but physically he's still in one piece." Byomon said.
T.k. sighed with relief; at least Matt was all right. Finally they came up to a dark cave. Gabumon was outside the mouth of it.
"Hey, Gabumon!" Byomon called out to him.
"Oh, hi, Byomon!" Gabumon answered, "I see that you found T.k. and Patamon!"
"Where's Matt?" T.k. asked.
"He's inside the cave. We'll wait outside if you want." Gabumon replied.
T.k. ran into the cave to see Matt.
"Hey, Matt!" T.k. yelled when he saw Matt. He run up and hugged him. T.k. was so happy to see that Matt was okay, but Matt wasn't happy to see T.k.
"T.k. what are you doing here?!" Matt asked angrily.
"Huh, what-?" T.k. stammered.
"I told you to stay where you were!" Matt yelled at T.k., "Why did you come here?!
"Byomon brought me!" T.k. said quietly.
"That's a lame excuse! T.k., I hate you! Go away and this time, don't come back!!!" Matt screamed at T.k.
"Wahhhh!" T.k. cried as he ran out of the cave.
"T.k. where are you going?" Byomon asked as T.k. ran past.
"T.k.!" Patamon said as he flew after T.k.
"Byomon did you know this would happen?" Gabumon asked Byomon after the two of them had left.
"Uh-huh!" Byomon said sadly.
"Then why did you do it?" Gabumon replied.
"I don't know! I heard a voice say 'Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock! Bring T.k. here!" Byomon explained.
T.k. was running through the forest, crying . Patamon wasn't far behind him.
"T.k.!" Patamon called out.
CRASH!
"What was that?!" T.k. asked wiping a tear from his cheek. Soon they found out that the crash was caused by Piedmon, himself.
"Ahh! It's Piedmon!" T.k. screamed.
"Ha-ha!" Piedmon laughed evilly.
"I'll take him down!" Patamon Announced as he prepared to Digivole.
"Patamon Digivole to--" Patamon started to say, but his Digivole was unsuccessful.
"Huh, what's the matter Patamon?" T.k. said panicking.
"I don't know!" Patamon replied, "Is it possible with the past changed and all, that I never Digivoled into Angemon?"
"Ha-ha! Come join your friends!" Piedmon said with an evil laugh. T.k. fell to the ground covered his ears and closed his eyes tightly!
"Ahhh! I WANT OUT! I WANT OUT! I WANT OUT!" T.k. screamed as loud as he could.
BBBBBRRRRRRRIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGG!!!!!!! An alarm clock rang so loud it hurt T.k.'s ears. When the ringing stopped, T.k. opened his eyes and he found that he was back outside of the time flow.
T.k. was back. He was back with Patamon, with Matt, with everyone. T.k. was still crying. He wasn't sure why, probably from the whole shock of the thing.
"You have returned." Clockmon announced.
"T.k.!" Matt said concerned. He kneeled down in front of T.k. and put his hands on his shoulders, "T.k.! Tell me what happened? What's wrong?"
"Wahh!" T.k. cried out loud as he hugged his brother.
"It's okay it's over now!" Matt said, "Now tell me what happened?"
Matt felt a whole lot warmer than he did in the "changed present".
"It was awful!" T.k. cried, "Piedmon was after us and Patamon couldn't Digivole! Sora and Byomon were in an argument. Tai and Kari were in the hands of the Dark Masters. And I had no clue what happened to Joe, Mimi, and Izzy, but I'm sure it isn't good."
T.k. was going to say that Matt hated him but it was too painful to say. He pulled away and looked at Matt in the eyes. Matt somehow knew what had happened between T.k. and him, and gave T.k. another hug.
Matt looked up to Tai with an "I told you I was right!" face. Tai looked down towards Agumon, who shrugged his shoulders.
T.k. was still crying. Tai walked over to T.k. and put his hand on one of his shoulders.
"Don't worry T.k. it wasn't real." Tai said quietly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
T.k. looked up to Tai in unbelief. Clockmon must have sensed this.
"He's right T.k.!" Clockmon said, "None of it was real, although it could have."
"He knew all along!" Kari said faintly, Sora was still holding her.
"Huh?" Tai said as he turned to her.
"Clockmon knew all along...." Kari faintly said again slowly opening her eyes.
"Clockmon is this true?" Sora asked turning to Clockmon, "Did you really know that the changed present would be like this?"
"Truthfully, yes!" Clockmon said closing his eyes.
"Then why did you have us go through that?" Tai said a little angry.
"And why did you even give us the offer if you that if we accepted we would be worse off than before?" Izzy continued.
"He needed to.....show us something...." Kari said. Have used up the last of her strength she closed her eyes again and went asleep.
"Show us something? Show us what?" Izzy exclaimed.
"I need to show you that things, in deed could have been worse!" Clockmon said.
"It could be worse?" Joe remarked, "You're sounding like Gomamon now!"
"Hey!" Gomamon responded.
"Throughout your travels you have asked 'Why me? Why do these things happen to me?'. You have recently have found out how you were chosen to be the Digidestend. I am showing you why." Clockmon started to explain, "You were not the only children who witnessed the fight between Greymon and Parrotmon four years ago. The light forces have seen many children capable of being Digidestend. But as your experiences increased and as you grew, only the eight of you before me now were worthy of carrying the destiny to save the Digital World and your own. These bad things that happened to you back then and now, were all tests, not planned by me, or the light forces, but by life. The more experiences you go through by doing what is right, the better people you become. That is where your strengths comes from."
"But why are you telling us this?" Izzy asked, "Didn't you say that when we are returned to the normal time flow our memories of you will be erased? We won't remember this!"
"You won't remember me, but you need me lessen, that you will remember." Clockmon explained, "And now my friends! It is time for you to return to the time flow. I wish you the best of luck!"
"But Clockmon!" Agumon began to say.
FFFLLLLLLAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHHH!!
They were back in the time flow. Tai, Kari, Sora, Izzy, T.k., Agumon, Gatomon, Byomon, Tentomon, and Patamon were walking along the "Highway" outside of Machiedramon's city again. Kari began to cough again
"Hey Kari. Do you have a hairball or something?" Gatomon inquired.
"No silly! I'm fine." Kari said in a lifeless tone.
Gatomon turned to keep walking she didn't quite feel right with Kari's answer. Suddenly Gatomon heard a thump behind her. She turned around quickly to see that Kari had passed out on the ground.
"Kari!" Gatomon gasped.
"Huh?" Tai said as he turned around, "KARI!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Epilogue
What the Digidestend saw that day was erased from their minds. But the lesion they learned was not. When they needed it the most, while in the World of Data during their final battle, the Digidestend found out that their true power came from all of those, "Rough spots" where they learned right from wrong.
This knowledge of right and wrong gave them what they needed to save universes.
And this I say to you, oh faithful reader. If you ever hear a voice in your head ask" Why me?"
Always remember that those hard things in life gave such great power to great heroes. Anyone who wonders "Why me?" may be such a hero. Anyone, who had hard times, could be a Digidestend. The kid who beat you up the other day, the class nerd, the girl in pig tails across the street, even you......
The End
Prologue
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like if you could fix just one mistake? It would probably be a very temping offer. When the Digidestend faced the Dark Masters, they faced changes and faced pain at was caused by mistakes from the past. And they wished that those mistakes never happened.
When things were at their worse, and the Digidestend were about to face Machiedramon, a story, which was never told to you, took place. The story of Clockmon's Offer....
~*~*~*~*
Tai, Kari, Sora, Izzy, T.k., Agumon, Gatomon, Byomon, Tentomon, and Patamon were walking along the "Highway" outside of Machiedramon's city. The children were thinking about what their missing teammates might be doing. Matt was traveling alone at the time. He and Tai got in a very big argument until a spirit possessed Kari and explained a few things to them. After that Matt decided to go alone to find his own path and Gabumon followed him faithfully. Mimi, Joe, Palmon and Gomamon were not present at that time as well. Mimi got so upset when Tai and Matt started fighting. After the whole ordeal Mimi and Palmon decided to go off on their own. Joe didn't want Mimi to travel all alone unprotected so he and Gomamon joined Mimi. After Puppetmon was defeated, Mimi and Joe decided it would be best if they recruited Digimon to help fight the Dark Masters. So far, they recruited Orgermon and a whole bunch of Gekomon and Otamamon. The Digimon were also deep in thought. Agumon was thinking when the battling will be over with. Byomon was thinking about how happy she was that Sora patched things up with her mom back on earth. Patamon was wondering if T.k. missed his brother too much. All Tentomon was thinking of is where lunch was going to come from. But more importantly, Gatomon was thinking of Kari. Kari wasn't looking too good.
Her face was getting red from the hot sun. Kari was also moving kinda slow, dragging her feet to keep up with the others. She was coughing a lot too.
"Hey Kari. Do you have a hairball or something?" Gatomon inquired.
"No silly! I'm fine." Kari said in a lifeless tone.
Gatomon turned to keep walking she didn't quite feel right with Kari's answer. Suddenly Gatomon heard a thump behind her. She turned around quickly to see that Kari had passed out on the ground.
"Kari!" Gatomon gasped.
Tai, who had been walking in front of the group, turned around and ran to his sister. He took her into his arms and felt her temperature. Kari was sick and was badly over heated.
"She's sick. Kari's sick." Tai said.
"Oh no! What are we going to do?" T.k. said worrying.
"We need to get her out of the sun!" Tai exclaimed.
The grouped scanned the area until Izzy said, "Hey, there's a bus stop stand over there! That'll be a perfect spot to lie Kari down."
"Good! Sora, Help me carry Kari over there." Tai ordered.
"Okay, Tai." Sora said as she helped Tai carry Kari. When they got to the bus stop, they laid Kari down on the seat. Izzy sat on the ground with Tentomon and opened his laptop while everyone else crowded around Kari.
"Shouldn't you be helping Kari instead of working on your laptop?" Tentomon asked Izzy.
"I am, I'm gonna go on-line to look up a cure for a fever." Izzy replied as he logged on.
"But even if you do find a cure, I'm sure we don't have the supplies to make the cure!" Tentomon said looking over Izzy's shoulder.
"Oh, I suppose you're correct, Tentomon. I haven't thought of that!" Izzy said looking away from the screen. Everyone was so worried about Kari, especially Tai. Izzy wished there could be more that he could do.
"Hey, Izzy. You have mail, shouldn't you check it?" Tentomon said, "It might be something important from Genni."
"Huh?" Izzy said as he looked back toward the screen. Tentomon was right,
he did have mail. Izzy opened it up.
"Huh? This makes no sense!" Izzy exclaimed after he had read it.
"What does it say?" Tentomon asked.
"It says 'Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!'" Izzy read out loud.
"What does 'Tempos Fugit' mean?" Tentomon inquired.
"It's Latin. I think it means 'Don't waste time!'." Izzy answered, "But why would someone tell us to not to waste time?"
"Maybe he's talking about defeating the Dark Masters. Maybe they're planning something evil." Tentomon reasoned.
"No doubt that the Dark Masters are planning something evil but for some
reason I don't think that's what the sender means."
"We better tell Tai!" Tentomon said.
*~*~*~Mean while, Where Matt was~*~*~*~
"Hey Matt! Do ya hear something?" Gabumon asked nervously.
"Like what?" Matt replied.
"Like a clock ticking." Gabumon explained, "I can hear it as clear as day."
"Well you gotta remember, Gabumon, in the Digiworld even the plainest things can be deceiving! You're probably just hearing water dripping."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that. I'm sure I heard a clock ticking, and very loudly too!" Gabumon stated.
"Well where is it coming from? Maybe we can figure out what it is." Matt asked.
"Over there!" Gabumon said as he pointed to some bushes to his right. Matt walked over to the bushes and looked them over briefly.
"I don't see anything unusual." Matt said when he was done.
"Look harder! I'm sure I heard something!" Gabumon insisted. Matt looked again. He walked around to the back of the bush. There, he saw something strange.
"Hey, what's this doing here?" Matt exclaimed as he picked it up.
"What is it?" Gabumon asked.
"It looks like an alarm clock. You were right, you were hearing a clock ticking!" Matt said, "But what is it doing in the middle of a forest?"
Just then the ticking got louder. Matt could hear it now too.
"Hey, the ticking is getting louder." Gabumon exclaimed, "Do you know why, Matt?"
"Do I look like a clock repairman to you. How should I know?" Matt answered puzzled.
The ticking kept on getting louder until....BBBBBBRRRIIIINNGGG. The alarm went off, and it was quite ear pricing.
"Hey, that was a pretty loud bell!" Matt exclaimed trying to get the ringing out of his ears.
"Matt look out!" Gabumon shouted.
"AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"
~*~*~*~Meanwhile, With Mimi And Joe*~*~*~
"Hey Mimi! Keep up! Meramon is gotta be here somewhere!" Joe said.
"But I tired!" Mimi complained.
"You're always tired!" Joe remarked.
"Princess Mimi, you can't give up now! We're almost at the top!" One of the Gekomon urged.
"Oh, okay!" Mimi moaned. She walked forward, dragging her aching feet. That is, until she tripped on something sticking out from the ground.
"Ow!" She yelped.
"Oh, Mimi are you all right?" Palmon asked, concerned.
"Yea, I just tripped on something." Mimi replied.
"Like what?" Gomamon asked as he walked over behind Mimi. There near Mimi's foot Gomamon saw something shinning in the dirt.
"Hey, I think there's something in the ground!" Gomamon exclaimed.
"Huh, let me see." Joe said as he walked over to where Gomamon was.
Joe began to dig out the something in the ground. When Joe was finished he exclaimed,
"It's an alarm clock."
"That's strange!" Palmon said.
"What was it doing out here." Mimi asked.
"Apparently, rusting. It's not running any more." Gomamon replied.
"Hey maybe it's Meramon's clock, he might be in trouble!" One of the Otamamon shouted, "Come on we gotta hurry!"
"You guys go ahead, we'll catch up!" Joe said as the Gekomon, Otamamon and Ogremon started walking again. BRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!! There was a bell ringing behind them.
"Hey what was that?" Ogremon asked as he turned around, "Hey they're gone!"
"What do you mean they're gone? Who's gone?" A Gekomon asked.
"Joe and Mimi and Gomamon and Palmon! They're gone." Ogremon replied. Ogremon was right they have vanished, but they haven't gone far, nor anywhere they can get to in a day's passing.
~*~*~Back With Tai and the Gang*~*~
"So do you have any clue of who sent it?" Tai asked Izzy, concerning the strange E-mail.
"No, it's not signed by anyone, and the Address is non-valid." Izzy replied, "Who ever it is, they don't want us to know where they are."
"Maybe it's some kind of code, or something." Sora reasoned.
"Nope, it defiantly means what it says, 'Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!'" Izzy said grimly, "It's just I don't know what he wants us to hurry up with."
"Do you hear something?" Kari said in a lifeless voice. Tai ran over to Kari's side and asked urgently,
"Hear what Kari? What is it?"
"Ticking, it's very near." She replied.
"Ticking? Humph! That's strange I don't hear anything." Izzy said frankly.
"No wait. I hear it too!" Tai said listening closely.
Sora started "But, Tai--", Until Tai interrupted her,
"Quiet!! Listen carefully!!" The group stayed ever so quiet, and listened ever so carefully.
"Hey, now I can hear it!" T.k. exclaimed.
"Yea, me too!" Sora said.
"Yes, but where is it coming from?" Patamon said.
"It can't be far!" Byomon reasoned. Everyone looked around for the source of the sound. T.k. scanned the ground, and in the sand he saw something shinning.
"Hey look! There's a shinny thing comin' out of the ground!" T.K. shouted as he ran out of the booth and grabbed the object out of the sand. Again, it was an alarm clock. T.k. ran back into the booth and held up the alarm clock for everyone to see.
"What in the Digiworld was an alarm clock doin' in the middle of a dessert?" Agumon asked.
"Don't look at me Agumon! I have no idea!" Tai responded.
BRRRRRRRRIIIIIINNNNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!! The clock rang. Then all that was around them turned into an area of nothingness.
"Ahhhhhh!!!!! Wha-- What's going on?" Izzy asked with a hint of terror in his voice.
"Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!" A voice sang in a playful melody, "Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!" When the children heard this voce, they didn't say anything. They all knew the same thing. The voice was the sender of the E-mail.
"Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tempos Fugit! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Time goes by!" The voice went on and on in that same playful melody. The kids didn't know what direction it was coming from; it sounded like it was coming from all around. The group found themselves in an empty space. They were able to stand, but they could see no ground. Kari was lying in the mist, so Tai picked her up and carried her limp body piggy-back style. An iridescent white fog drifted in from all directions. Some of it clung towards the floor while some wafted upwards.
"Hello!" Sora called in the distance. She held her hand up to her ear, but all she heard in response was a very, very faint echo. Beep-Beep! Beep-Beep! The Digidestind's Digivices were going off. Izzy took out his Digivice and looked at the screen. Five flashing red dots in the middle of the screen, and one flashing red dot to the very far end of the screen, moving towards the center.
"What is it, Izzy?" Tai asked.
"Something is heading our way!" Izzy responded.
"Lookie!!" T.k. shouted pointing in the mist. The others followed his finger into the fog and they saw a silhouette of a person, and something behind him. As the person walked closer the gang was relived to see that it was only Matt and Gabumon.
"Matt!" T.k. cried as he ran into the arms of his brother, "Oh, I missed you so much."
"I know, I missed you too!" Matt said.
"What are you doing here?" T.k. asked.
"I don't know. I and Gabumon were just walking in a forest until we found this clock and then it rang and all of a sudden, where we are!" Matt explained.
"Hello!" Someone's voice rang in the distance, "Is anyone there?"
"Sounds like Joe!" Tai exclaimed, then he called out, "We're over here Joe, it's me Tai!"
Soon they saw Joe, Gomamon, Mimi, and Palmon running toward them.
"Come on Mimi! Our friends are just ahead!" Palmon urged on.
"Hey, do guys know what's goin' on here? What is this place?" Joe asked when they joined the others.
"I wish we did but no cigar!" Agumon responded.
"Hey, what's wrong with Kari?" Gomamon asked concernedly.
"She's sick! I think she over heated in the dessert!" Gatomon said. As Joe walked over t her and felt her forehead.
"It's a good thing that Joe's here! He'll be able to help us! Right, Joe?" T.k. said hopefully.
"Don't worry about her; she'll be fine as long as she out of the time flow." The singing voice stopped to say.
"Who are you! What do you want?" Tai yelled in the fog. Through the fog, another figure appeared through the fog. The group braced themselves as the image became clearer. Then the group was surprised to find that this mysterious voice was actually a giant living alarm clock. Its body was shaped like an ordinary alarm clock with mechanical arms and legs. On top of this walking clock was a human like torso(the waist up). The torso wore a black jump suit with red gloves and a red hood. The top half head a large steel mallet, while one of the mechanical arms on the clock had a laser gun/machine gun combo on it.
"What is that?" Sora exclaimed.
"Why not have Izzy look me up in his laptop. Look under 'C' for Clockmon." The Digimon replied. Izzy took out is laptop and looked for this Digimon in his Digimon Analyzer.
"His name is Clockmon. This is the protector of time and he keeps track of time in all worlds! His Chromo Breaker and Ear Bursting Attack will make sure no one messes up time in any world!" Izzy explained.
"Well, I wouldn't call my attacks that powerful. I am only at Champion Level." Clockmon said simply.
"What do you want? And where are we?" Tai demanded.
"To answer you last question first: You are nowhere and everywhere. Seriously, I just pulled you out of the flow of time. Kari's conduction will not get any worse or better as long as she's here." Clockmon explained, "And as for you second question: I don't want to hurt any of you, but merely give you an offer."
"What kind of an offer?" Izzy asked nervously.
"An offer that could change your lives, and could make your job here a lot easier." Clockmon answered.
Tai looked at Clockmon suspiciously and said, "Go on, we're listening!"
"Each and every one of you have a distinct flaw within your personalities that were caused by a mistake done by yourself or someone else. What I am offering you is that I back in time and reverse the biggest mistake in your past. Then I'll return you back to the time flow and you'll no longer be affected by those mistakes!" Clockmon explained.
"And what if we don't accept?" Matt said coldly.
"If you don't accept then I'll send you back to the normal time flow and you'll remember nothing of this." Clockmon went on, "But don't try and ask me what would happen if you say yes or no. I can only see what happens in the past or present and make a few changes from the past, but I can in no way predict the future! So think carefully!"
"Well, what's there is to think about. The answer is as plain as black and white! Right Matt?" Tai exclaimed.
"Yup, the answer is no!" Matt said.
"Yea--Huh--What do you mean no?" Tai said in shock.
"You heard me! I said no!" Matt replied, "Don't tell me you want to go messin' around with time!"
"Matt if we change our biggest mistakes it would make this a lot easier. Kari might not be sick right now if we say yes!" Tai said angrily trying to convince Matt.
"You're right, Kari might not be sick! She might have been dead already by now!" Matt replied, equally as angrily.
"Izzy! You're the smart one, what do you say?" Tai said turning to Izzy.
"Uh-Well-uh!" Izzy stammered.
"Who's right, me or Tai?" Matt asked.
"I gotta go with Matt on this one Tai!" Izzy said backing away from Tai in fear of getting hit, "If we change just the slightest thing it can totally mess things up!"
"Sora, you agree with me, right?" Tai said, looking for backup.
"Absolutely, Tai." Sora replied, "We could have defeated the Dark Masters long ago if we didn't have so many things holding us back."
"See Matt!" Tai said a tone of voice that Matt often uses, "We could have gotten this over with by now!"
"Not necessarily!" Joe said stepping forward, "I agree with Matt on this one. Things happen for a reason, and it would be a big risk to do something this dramatic."
"See!" Matt said sarcastically imitating Tai.
"But Matt." T.k. said approaching his brother, "If well change the past, then maybe you would have not gotten in all those fights with Tai."
"Keyword 'Maybe', T.k.!" Matt said kneeling down to eye the level of T.k., "If we're wrong then not all of us would be alive right now."
Tai then gave Kari to Sora and looked at Matt with angrily eyes.
"Matt, this is a chance to change the biggest mistakes in our lives and I am not going to let you past this up! Do you hear me, Matt?" Tai said as he pick Matt up by the back of his shirt.
"Matt, Tai! Stop it." Gabumon urged as he and Agumon tried to break them up.
"Yea, talk about a repeat in history!" Agumon remarked
"Oh, STOP IT!" Mimi screamed at the top of her lungs. Right then everyone froze in their places and all eyes were on Mimi.
"Whoa, Mimi!" Palmon exclaimed, "I didn't know you had it in ya!"
"Well guess what, I do and I'm sick of this fighting!" Mimi said in the angriest tone she could muster, "Matt, stop being so selfish! This is a chance to prevent all of those poor Digimon from dieing! Wizardmon, Whamon, Pixiemon, Leomon, all of them! And you just want to give that up!"
"Well the majority of us say yes. And I guess Kari doesn't have much of a say in it because, well, she's unconscious." Izzy said.
"But a simple majority will not do." Clockmon explained, "Since this is such a dramatic choice to be made, I must have every one of you to agree on one decision. And you don't have forever! If Genni finds out that I took you out of the time flow I could get in a lot of trouble."
"Tempos Fugit!" Izzy muttered under his breath.
"Well, what are we going to do?" T.k. moaned under his breath.
"I have an idea on how I might be able to help you reach your decision." Clockmon said.
"What are you waiting for? Tell us!" Agumon demanded hoping that this would prevent a fight between Tai and Matt.
"What I could do is go back and make the changes, but when I send you all back I'll keep a tab on one child and Digimon to see what it would be like. Then when the person has seen enough to make their decision I'll take you back out of the time flow where then you'll make your final decision." Clockmon explained.
"But who would you keep a tab on?" Izzy asked.
"We'll draw straws," Clockmon said as he pulled out several cut straws from a pocket, "Every child, except Kari because she's sick, will draw one straw. Whoever gets the shortest straw, he or she and their Digimon will be able to remember what happened in the real past and now."
"Sounds good!" Tai said, "Come on let's take a straw and get this over with!"
All of the Digidestend, except Kari, took a straw from Clockmon's hand and clutched it tight in their hands.
"Now everyone open your hands and let's see who has been picked." Clockmon said. Tai opened his hand first. No, he had a long straw. Then Matt opened his hand. No, he had a long straw too. Then Sora. No, it wasn't her. Izzy went next. He wasn't chosen either. Then Mimi. It Wasn't her. Now the only ones left was Joe and T.k. The air was tense with wonder of which one was chosen. They both opened their hands at the same time. Some of the kids sigh that it wasn't them. But one kid was scared.
T.k. got the short straw!
"T.k. has been picked!" Clockmon announced out loud, "He'll be the only one who remember anything during and after this 'experiment'"
He didn't know why, but T.k. was very scared. Even more afraid than the battle with Devimon. T.k. felt a knot forming in his stomach. Matt must have seen T.k.'s fear reflected in his face.
"T.k., are you going to be okay with this?" Matt said as T.k. started to cry. T.k. was trying so hard to hold back his tears. Clockmon raised his mallet in the air over his head.
"T.k.?" Patamon said in a worried voice.
"Clockmon, can't I go in place of T.k.?" Matt asked desperately.
"Tick-Tock! Tick-Tock!" Clockmon chanted over an over again. As Clockmon chanted the fog that clung to the ground swirled around them. Lightening clashed above their heads. T.k. couldn't hold back his tears any longer. He started to cry unstoppable.
"Clockmon! I wanna go in place of T.k." Matt shouted to Clockmon, "Answer me!"
But Clockmon paid no attention. "Tick-Tock! I will guide! Tick-tock" Clockmon chanted, "I will guide!"
"What does that mean?" T.k. thought to himself, but before he could ask out loud, Clockmon swing his steel mallet down and there was a flash of light. FLASH!!!!
T.k. was in a new place. Patamon was beside him. The forest was dark and it was raining. T.k. looked down at his clothing. It was at muddy and his shorts were all torn at the bottom. There was no doubting it, T.k. had never been more afraid in his entire life. He had wished Joe would have gotten the short straw. T.k. wondered why this was so scary. He thought not having those mistakes happen would be a good thing. Why was he so scared?
"Patamon, please tell me that what happened before was just a bad dream." T.k. asked Patamon.
"Oh, I wished I could T.k. but then I'd be lying! That whole thing with Clockmon there was no dream!" Patamon responded, "Why, are you scared too?"
"Uh-huh." T.k. said looking down.
"Maybe we should start looking for some of the others!" Patamon suggested.
"Okay." T.k. mumbled quietly as he steped forward hesitantly, "Hey, Patamon, do you know where we are?"
"Not a clue. But I'm sure we'll find out!" Patamon answered.
Suddenly, the bushes beside them started rustling. T.k. and Patamon stood as still as stones. They didn't move an inch until Byomon emerged from the bushes.
"Byomon! It's you!" Patamon exclaimed.
"Of course it's me!" Byomon said when she saw the two, "Listen, it's gettin' kinda dangerous now, I'd better get you to safety!"
"Safety?" T.k. asked himself, but then he remembered that the others didn't know what Clockmon did. The T.k. asked, "What has happened Byomon?"
"Huh, what happened? Oh, that's right. You've been waiting here for a very long time." Byomon relied; surprised that T.k. didn't know what was going on. While they were walking, Byomon explained everything that had happened,
"You see, Kari and Tai got in a fight and Kari ran off to fight off the Dark Masters with Gatomon, and we haven't seen her. Mimi thought Tai should go and get her, but he wouldn't listen. So, Mimi and Palmon went off to try and find her. If that wasn't bad enough, the Dark Masters planned a sneak attack and told us that they had Kari and Gatomon as a hostage. Now, Tai, seeing what he had done ran straight into the custody of the Dark Masters. Izzy ran off as soon there was trouble. And Joe is trying his best to get everyone to come back."
"What about Sora, shouldn't she be with you?" Patamon asked.
"She and I got in an argument and now she doesn't want anything to do with me." Byomon said sadly, "I don't know where she is and she could be hurt or something!"
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Patamon responded.
"What about my brother, is he okay?" T.k. asked conserved.
"I can't speak for him emotionally, but physically he's still in one piece." Byomon said.
T.k. sighed with relief; at least Matt was all right. Finally they came up to a dark cave. Gabumon was outside the mouth of it.
"Hey, Gabumon!" Byomon called out to him.
"Oh, hi, Byomon!" Gabumon answered, "I see that you found T.k. and Patamon!"
"Where's Matt?" T.k. asked.
"He's inside the cave. We'll wait outside if you want." Gabumon replied.
T.k. ran into the cave to see Matt.
"Hey, Matt!" T.k. yelled when he saw Matt. He run up and hugged him. T.k. was so happy to see that Matt was okay, but Matt wasn't happy to see T.k.
"T.k. what are you doing here?!" Matt asked angrily.
"Huh, what-?" T.k. stammered.
"I told you to stay where you were!" Matt yelled at T.k., "Why did you come here?!
"Byomon brought me!" T.k. said quietly.
"That's a lame excuse! T.k., I hate you! Go away and this time, don't come back!!!" Matt screamed at T.k.
"Wahhhh!" T.k. cried as he ran out of the cave.
"T.k. where are you going?" Byomon asked as T.k. ran past.
"T.k.!" Patamon said as he flew after T.k.
"Byomon did you know this would happen?" Gabumon asked Byomon after the two of them had left.
"Uh-huh!" Byomon said sadly.
"Then why did you do it?" Gabumon replied.
"I don't know! I heard a voice say 'Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock! Bring T.k. here!" Byomon explained.
T.k. was running through the forest, crying . Patamon wasn't far behind him.
"T.k.!" Patamon called out.
CRASH!
"What was that?!" T.k. asked wiping a tear from his cheek. Soon they found out that the crash was caused by Piedmon, himself.
"Ahh! It's Piedmon!" T.k. screamed.
"Ha-ha!" Piedmon laughed evilly.
"I'll take him down!" Patamon Announced as he prepared to Digivole.
"Patamon Digivole to--" Patamon started to say, but his Digivole was unsuccessful.
"Huh, what's the matter Patamon?" T.k. said panicking.
"I don't know!" Patamon replied, "Is it possible with the past changed and all, that I never Digivoled into Angemon?"
"Ha-ha! Come join your friends!" Piedmon said with an evil laugh. T.k. fell to the ground covered his ears and closed his eyes tightly!
"Ahhh! I WANT OUT! I WANT OUT! I WANT OUT!" T.k. screamed as loud as he could.
BBBBBRRRRRRRIIIINNNNNNGGGGGGGG!!!!!!! An alarm clock rang so loud it hurt T.k.'s ears. When the ringing stopped, T.k. opened his eyes and he found that he was back outside of the time flow.
T.k. was back. He was back with Patamon, with Matt, with everyone. T.k. was still crying. He wasn't sure why, probably from the whole shock of the thing.
"You have returned." Clockmon announced.
"T.k.!" Matt said concerned. He kneeled down in front of T.k. and put his hands on his shoulders, "T.k.! Tell me what happened? What's wrong?"
"Wahh!" T.k. cried out loud as he hugged his brother.
"It's okay it's over now!" Matt said, "Now tell me what happened?"
Matt felt a whole lot warmer than he did in the "changed present".
"It was awful!" T.k. cried, "Piedmon was after us and Patamon couldn't Digivole! Sora and Byomon were in an argument. Tai and Kari were in the hands of the Dark Masters. And I had no clue what happened to Joe, Mimi, and Izzy, but I'm sure it isn't good."
T.k. was going to say that Matt hated him but it was too painful to say. He pulled away and looked at Matt in the eyes. Matt somehow knew what had happened between T.k. and him, and gave T.k. another hug.
Matt looked up to Tai with an "I told you I was right!" face. Tai looked down towards Agumon, who shrugged his shoulders.
T.k. was still crying. Tai walked over to T.k. and put his hand on one of his shoulders.
"Don't worry T.k. it wasn't real." Tai said quietly, "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
T.k. looked up to Tai in unbelief. Clockmon must have sensed this.
"He's right T.k.!" Clockmon said, "None of it was real, although it could have."
"He knew all along!" Kari said faintly, Sora was still holding her.
"Huh?" Tai said as he turned to her.
"Clockmon knew all along...." Kari faintly said again slowly opening her eyes.
"Clockmon is this true?" Sora asked turning to Clockmon, "Did you really know that the changed present would be like this?"
"Truthfully, yes!" Clockmon said closing his eyes.
"Then why did you have us go through that?" Tai said a little angry.
"And why did you even give us the offer if you that if we accepted we would be worse off than before?" Izzy continued.
"He needed to.....show us something...." Kari said. Have used up the last of her strength she closed her eyes again and went asleep.
"Show us something? Show us what?" Izzy exclaimed.
"I need to show you that things, in deed could have been worse!" Clockmon said.
"It could be worse?" Joe remarked, "You're sounding like Gomamon now!"
"Hey!" Gomamon responded.
"Throughout your travels you have asked 'Why me? Why do these things happen to me?'. You have recently have found out how you were chosen to be the Digidestend. I am showing you why." Clockmon started to explain, "You were not the only children who witnessed the fight between Greymon and Parrotmon four years ago. The light forces have seen many children capable of being Digidestend. But as your experiences increased and as you grew, only the eight of you before me now were worthy of carrying the destiny to save the Digital World and your own. These bad things that happened to you back then and now, were all tests, not planned by me, or the light forces, but by life. The more experiences you go through by doing what is right, the better people you become. That is where your strengths comes from."
"But why are you telling us this?" Izzy asked, "Didn't you say that when we are returned to the normal time flow our memories of you will be erased? We won't remember this!"
"You won't remember me, but you need me lessen, that you will remember." Clockmon explained, "And now my friends! It is time for you to return to the time flow. I wish you the best of luck!"
"But Clockmon!" Agumon began to say.
FFFLLLLLLAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHHH!!
They were back in the time flow. Tai, Kari, Sora, Izzy, T.k., Agumon, Gatomon, Byomon, Tentomon, and Patamon were walking along the "Highway" outside of Machiedramon's city again. Kari began to cough again
"Hey Kari. Do you have a hairball or something?" Gatomon inquired.
"No silly! I'm fine." Kari said in a lifeless tone.
Gatomon turned to keep walking she didn't quite feel right with Kari's answer. Suddenly Gatomon heard a thump behind her. She turned around quickly to see that Kari had passed out on the ground.
"Kari!" Gatomon gasped.
"Huh?" Tai said as he turned around, "KARI!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Epilogue
What the Digidestend saw that day was erased from their minds. But the lesion they learned was not. When they needed it the most, while in the World of Data during their final battle, the Digidestend found out that their true power came from all of those, "Rough spots" where they learned right from wrong.
This knowledge of right and wrong gave them what they needed to save universes.
And this I say to you, oh faithful reader. If you ever hear a voice in your head ask" Why me?"
Always remember that those hard things in life gave such great power to great heroes. Anyone who wonders "Why me?" may be such a hero. Anyone, who had hard times, could be a Digidestend. The kid who beat you up the other day, the class nerd, the girl in pig tails across the street, even you......
The End