Chapter 1

How had it come to this? Running through the once peaceful meadow that now resembled nothing more than a horrific battlefield, a young girl screamed the names of those she had originally arrived with. Fragments of data filled the air, carried on the wind from the bodies of slowly disintegrating Digimon who were both allies and enemies; in all the carnage surrounding her, it was difficult to tell the difference. Attacks bombarded the field left, right and centre; the girl having to quickly move to the side in order to avoid being hit herself. But not once did she stop calling those names.

"Gatomon! Tai!" Of all the names she called for, these were the loudest. Over and over she called for her friends, her brother, and her partner. After what seemed like a lifetime, she finally spotted a familiar flash of white.

"Kari!" The cat-like digimon ran for her partner, quickly jumping into Kari's waiting arms and being pulled into a tight and desperate embrace. "I'm so glad you're alright. I've been looking for you everywhere."

Being reunited with Gatomon helped settle her nerves somewhat, but the fact that she hadn't seen any of her other friends since the attack started filled her with nothing but dread.

"I've been looking for you too. Have you seen any of the others?"

Gatomon shook her head. "But don't worry, Kari. We'll find them."

Gatomon's determination brought a smile to Kari's face, but that quickly disappeared as another attack fell to the ground not far in front of them, the shockwave almost knocking both human and digimon to the ground. After managing to catch their bearings, both set off into a run once more.

Looking around the battlefield, Kari could have sworn she saw a flash of dark blue. The same dark blue of the jacket her brother had been wearing during their picnic. Choosing to believe her eyes she ran for that direction, startling Gatomon.

"Kari?" She asked, looking up at her partner.

"It's him, Gatomon! I saw Tai's jacket. He's this way!"

As they continued ahead, Kari couldn't help but smile as she saw not only her brother, but some of their friend. She called out his name once more, summoning every ounce of effort to push her tired leg muscles into a faster run. A run towards Tai. To safety. To comfort.

Having heard his name, Tai paused in checking on the small group of friends he had managed to locate in the calamity surrounding them and turned towards the voice. His chocolate brown eyes widened, and he couldn't help the relieved smile that made its way onto his face upon seeing his sister. Without a second thought he turned and ran for her, calling her name as loudly as she has called his own.

"Kari!"

Brother and sister ran towards each other. But mere moments before they would have reached each other, an attack fell. The attack fell right where Tai had once been and Kari's vision was filled with nothing but white light.

"Tai!"

"Kari! Kari wake up!"

Kari woke with a jolt, eyes watering and struggling to breathe as she looked around her bedroom. Doing so, she began to slowly register the warmth and weight in her lap that was her partner. She also felt a hand on her shoulder and looking to see what the source was, broke down in tears when she came face to face with Tai.

Tai had been having a peaceful dream, managing to sleep through Agumon's obnoxiously loud snores, only to be startled awake by screaming. Being able to recognise the screams as belonging to his little sister, he was instantly out of bed and headed to her room leaving Agumon struggling with the blankets that had suddenly been thrown over him. What Tai saw when he opened the door tugged violently on his heart.

Kari was stirring violently in bed, covered in a cold sweat and screaming. Not even Gatomon calling her name seemed to have any effect on the girl. Tai ran to his sister's side, calling her name and placing a hand on her shoulder. Before he had the chance to lightly shake her, Kari woke up, staring around the room in a daze and struggling to breathe as she tried to recover from whatever nightmare she had just seen.

Tai did not even hesitate to pull his sister into a hug when she finally brought her gaze to him; he whispered comforting words and reassurances, holding her tightly and rocking back and forth in an attempt to comfort her as he had done since they were very young.

"It's okay Kari," he whispered, lightly kissing her forehead. "you're safe. Everything's okay. I promise. It was just a nightmare."

Ever so slowly Kari began to calm down, relaxing into her big brother's chest and arms that she knew would always keep her safe. She was home. She was safe. They were all safe. However, she couldn't quite shake the feeling that something was unusual. The same sense of dread she had felt in the nightmare filled her once more.

It felt too real. It felt like a warning.

She only hoped that Tai was right.