U/N: Here we have a pretty depressing chapter in the world of Jenna as well as a rather ridiculous look into the life of TK and Matt living together. Getting a chance to write something that was just SO much lighter than 06 or 07 was kind of fun I know, and then Jenna comes along and takes that lightness away but it was nice while it lasted.

Title: Digimon Adventure 08: Vaccine

By: UrazamayKing

Disclaimer: We don't own Digimon or its characters.

Part 1: Incomplete

Chapter 02: Moving On

Takeru Takaishi:

I was awoken by water dripping onto my face. It was weird. It had been raining in my dream, but I wanted it to stop and no matter how much I pleaded with the clouds it wouldn't obey. And there I was, lying in my bed, confused. Had I really felt a drop of water, or had it all been in my head? And then there was another drop, hitting me directly on the nose. I opened my eyes and looked up to the ceiling where a brown stain was stretched across the surface from one corner all the way to the center of the room near the light fixture.

Disgusted, I pulled myself out of my bed and pushed it out of the way of the water. Luckily the frame was on wheels so it wasn't difficult. I slowly walked out of my room on my way to get a pot to collect the water. I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the feeling of the bumpy and waterlogged linoleum flooring against my bare feet.

And then, as I came into the living room, I froze. I was staring directly into the glowing eyes of a racoon as it perched atop Yamato's scratched up bookcase. The racoon blinked twice and then leapt toward the wall where it scurried up, dragging itself through the large crack in the ceiling.

"YAMATO!" I shouted as loud as I could. I was sure he would still be sleeping, but I didn't care that I was waking him up. It was time to confront him.

"Oh no," Daisuke had said, "We can't go back home though."

"Why not?" Taichi wanted to know.

"We cancelled the lease," Daisuke explained, "We have nowhere to live."

"I suppose we could go back to the Coliseum," Kurayami said, eyeing up the baby in her arms cautiously, obviously thinking the Coliseum was a bad idea for Haruki, especially after spending two months there already.

"I know," Sora decided, clapping her hands together, "Why don't you stay with me? I've got loads of room."

"What about me?" I asked in a whining voice. I didn't like to admit to it, but I could whine every now and then. Especially in a situation like that where my roommates of more than five years were ripped away from me so suddenly. "Where am I supposed to go?"

"Well," Yamato decided, "you can stay with me. That'll be okay... right?"

"Of course it will!" I had exclaimed, thinking I knew what living with my brother would entail. If only I knew then what I knew now, I never would have thrust myself into this mess.

During my first night here I was shocked by the light switch in the bathroom, and I thought, 'Woah, that's dangerous. We'd better fix that.' The next morning three rats ran out of the cupboards in the kitchen and I thought 'Woah, that's unsanitary, we'd better fix that.' But as time went on it slowly became clear to me that there was no amount of supplies in the world that could fix the mess this apartment had become. When I found that the neighboring building had a disturbing old man who could see, and did see right into the bathroom window, I thought 'Wow, Yamato must be pretty confident. I'm not that confident, I can't live here like him.' And it became clear to me that I had to move away from this place. I didn't feel safe, or necessarily even wanted.

But now it was more than that. I couldn't leave alone. I simply could not allow Yamato to continue living here.

"What is it?" Patamon asked, shocked as he flew down the hallway in a kind of panic. Gabumon was next to enter the room wearing an adorable sleeping cap, rushing in from Yamato's bedroom. Then Yamato finally threw himself from his room wearing his underwear and a t shirt looking like he was ready for a fight. When he spotted there was nothing wrong—ha, nothing wrong?—he looked to me and shrugged his shoulders.

I pointed up to the crack in the ceiling and looked away, "Ther—there is a racoon," I told him as simply as I could, "In your ceiling."

"That's disgusting," Yamato said, and he actually looked like he believed that.

"How cool!" Patamon exclaimed, flying toward the hole, "I hear they're pretty soft."

"And so vicious!" I argued, snatching him from the air before he made his way to the hole. I turned back to Yamato and shook my head, "Yamato, you need you move. You can't live here anymore, it's not safe."

Yamato's head fell, "I know," he sighed, "But to be fair!" his head snapped right back up to attention, "it wasn't this bad before I was forced to live in hiding for two months."

"That's not fair," I said, disagreeing, "it just means you should have moved out then anyway. This is only two months of no one living here, that's insanity. We're going today to look at new places."

"But I haven't moved in years," Yamato argued, seeming to realize that he was in his underwear. He reached behind him and grabbed a robe and threw it around himself, moving toward the couch. "I've been saving my money for a time when I really need it." As he sat down on the couch with a big heave the weight he added cracked the floorboards beneath the couch.

"That time is right now," Patamon said, worry showing in his voice.

Yamato looked up, embarrassed and took one last look around the room. His eyes lingered on the chipped paint, the dents in the wall and then his head fell one last time as he looked to the crack in the floor. He sighed and hopped to his feet, "I'll go get dressed." As Yamato walked from the room Gabumon's face lit up with excitement at the prospect of finally getting to leave this dingy apartment. I couldn't help but feel bad for him. He'd been here for years. That just wasn't fair.

I realized that I was still in my pajamas as well and got myself ready to go. Patamon had his eyes shut tight as I pulled my jeans on, and when I told him it was okay to look again he seemed thoughtful. "What is it?" I asked him with a laugh. He was never very good at hiding when he wanted to say something. He looked embarrassed but said nothing. "Come on, tell me."

"I just was wondering," Patamon said quietly, "Are you going to live with Yamato again?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "No idea," I knew there was more to what he was saying so I didn't bother expanding.

"How many bedrooms will this new place have?" it was at this point that I found myself completely lost. Well, maybe not completely, I mean I knew how to respond, but I didn't know why it mattered. Instead of answering I just shrugged my shoulders and waited for him to continue. "Well I mean, how old were you when you first had your own bedroom?"

I felt a smile creep on my face as I straightened myself out, finally understanding what he wanted. "Alright," I decided, "How about, the first place I get on my own, I'll make sure you have your own bedroom. That's fair, right?"

Patamon's face lit up, "Perfectly fair!"

With both of us leaving the conversation on a happy note it reminded me of times when danger wasn't so pressing and imminent. There was no real way to be sure that we were safe yet. The hatred from the people was much less of an issue now than it had been before I'd left for the Land of Dreams as though the people only hated digimon for the sake of hating something but that the craze was over. That did not mean that we were now suddenly safe. It just meant that someone, somewhere was fighting alongside us.

"Takeru! Yamato!" I grabbed Patamon and hurried to the living room where Gabumon was standing near the television, holding the remote. "Look!" He exclaimed, pointing to the screen.

I stood on my toes to see over his head and saw that a reporter was on the left half of the screen while poorly recorded footage of a man wearing a wooden mask was on the right half. "There are no leads as to who this mysterious masked man is, but rumour has it he is involved with the Digital Man himself." I looked to Yamato and laughed but his face just turned red. "What do you think about this masked figure?"

The screen switched to a man with dark skin and he smiled, bemused, "I say 'go for it' if he's supporting something instead of tearing it down, I want to see more of these masked people running around the streets—" "Well that just sounds terrifying," Patamon interjected, "—I'm just so sick of everyone thinking everything is a danger to society. I'm on board with everyone and anyone who wants to support something."

"So you say you support their support?" both reporters began laughing at the completely ridiculous joke that had no humour involved whatsoever, but I couldn't help but laugh along. They were preaching support, and they were speaking of acceptance. They were on our side then.

"Who is the man in the mask?" Gabumon asked, worried, "You don't think it's Sigma again, do you?"

"What?" The rest of us gasped as one. It was clear both Yamato and Patamon felt just as shocked as I felt. "It's just some weirdo in a mask," Yamato continued, "Just because someone is wearing a mask doesn't mean it's Sigma. Don't even think about him anymore, okay? I want you to feel safe. Sigma obviously isn't something that makes you feel that way." Gabumon nodded and turned back to the screen where the reporters were now talking about an armed robbery. Gabumon shut the television off and turned round, ready to go. "I just need my keys..." Yamato said, holding his hands up as he thought back to where he had put them. Gabumon found them quickly on the table beside the couch and held them up. "Awesome," Yamato smiled, snatching them up, "Let's go."

Yamato grabbed his jacket on the way out the door and then we were off. Apparently we were to be meeting someone on the way, someone I hadn't met before. I didn't know what that meant—I mean I followed the words themselves, fairly easily actually, but I did not know who he had been referring to.

Yamato decided that he wanted coffee and I cringed, remembering Ai and where I worked again. I couldn't help but try to make an income. I needed to support myself and I couldn't let Yamato pay for me without me at least attempting to help out. Ai offered me the job back before I had even asked him. He decided he hated this new girl even more than he hated me and so I was there again—looking desperately for a new job—suffering through each and every day. Instead though he opted for a can of soda from the machine outside a local bar, and he waited for a while, probably not wanting to go too far without meeting up with his friend.

As we stood in the cool, but bright day, people walked past, as usual. They were all looking to the digimon though. Some would look with horror and distrust, some with anger and revulsion, others looked with great big smiles on their faces just to show that they supported them. I supposed that was alright, to actively show that they supported us and our partners. I liked to see that, but I didn't like that it was necessary. I was already longing for a day in which digimon were such a common occurrence that no one thought twice. I just wasn't sure that was going to happen any time soon.

It was when a girl wearing jeans and a t shirt showed up that Yamato got excited. Her dark red hair was pulled into a ponytail and she was wearing a black baseball cap. The most noticeable thing about her attire was the pair of neon pink cat-eye sunglasses that stood out from the rest of what she was wearing. "Nice glasses," Yamato joked.

"Oh thank you," the girl said, completely seriously. I felt Patamon squirm, possibly excitedly, in my arms as he looked toward the girl's bag. I looked down myself and saw a DemiDevimon enjoying the ride. "I see you have a Patamon." The girl said with a smile.

"And you a DemiDevimon," I noted, "So I guess that makes us rivals?"

"Oh no," She shook her head, "I think it makes us different sides to the same coin. You want peace and acceptance and so do I. We just have different perspectives on how to achieve it."

"Yeah," DemiDevimon said in a voice I recognized, "She's the one who has been painting Angemon everywhere."

"Hush now!" The girl hissed, pulling her partner into her arms and looking around suspiciously, "We mustn't let the walls hear you. They have ears you know." I wasn't sure if she was taking that saying seriously or not. There was just something about her that seemed confusing to say the least.

Patamon finally freed himself from my arms and fluttered toward the girl, "Can we talk about how you do my nose? I just think if you skimmed a little off and made it less of a honker people could really see the peace behind the mask."

"You think?" her voice rose with excitement, "Do you think you could let me take a look at your nose some day for a reference?"

"It'd be a pleasure!" Patamon exclaimed and the girl smiled to him politely.

Yamato grinned foolishly and elbowed me, "Amai," he said as he gestured toward her.

"Oh!" I clapped my hands together, "So you're that DemiDevimon?" he nodded, "You found your partner!"

"Jou helped," DemiDevimon said fondly, nuzzling closer to Amai.

I smiled to the digimon and then held my hand out to shake Amai's, "I'm Takeru, Yamato's brother." Amai smiled to me and tickled my palm. I looked over to Yamato, confused, but he said nothing as Amai strode off, down the street. I noticed then that she wasn't wearing any shoes, but she seemed to be enjoying herself all the same. "So where do we go?"

"I dunno," Yamato admitted, "It was your idea." He shrugged and then set off after Amai. Patamon landed on Yamato's head and listened to their conversation as Gabumon skipped around with DemiDevimon. They were just walking and talking. I knew that meant we weren't going to get around to any apartment shopping any time soon so it just left me in my head to think.

Mostly I thought about Hikari, and how much happier she was now that we had escaped the Land of Dreams. There was a lot going on that she wouldn't talk about still though. Of course I wanted to know what it was. Of course I wanted to pry and get the information I wanted, but I would never do that. I was going to respect her and her wishes until she thought it was time to tell me what it was that was upsetting her. I knew that the lingering feelings from the Land of Dreams kept her up at night because I had received a call at least once a week during the hours when Hikari would normally be sleeping, and she would talk to me about how she felt, about what was hurting her. We would work through that together. But there was more. There was something that was affecting her—and of course I had my suspicions that she was feeling guilty for letting Gaia out of the white maze—but she had not yet said anything to me.

And then there was whatever she was keeping from me. There was something she had on her phone that she thought would upset me if I saw. I didn't fear that she was cheating on me. Hikari would never do that. Perhaps it was simply that she sought comfort from someone else. Surely she knew that it wouldn't upset me. If Taichi, or Sora or even Daisuke could help her cope better than I could, then by all means, I would urge her to go for it.

Unless she was hiding her feelings about Willis' death out of fear of making me feel jealous, because that too could be true. I knew she was sad—of course she was sad—and I didn't think that it meant she loved me any less. Willis was her friend. He wasn't particularly close to me but I wished he would have been. But Hikari knew I was okay with her relationship with Willis.

Whatever was on her mind, I was sure she would tell me eventually.

I bumped into Yamato who had stopped in his tracks, staring toward someone's front lawn. "I want that," I heard him say as I caught my balance and side stepped. He was looking to a bike that had a sign tied to it claiming that it was for sale. It wasn't just a typical bike though. No, it was a motorcycle.

"Are you sure?" I asked, "Last time you had a bike you drove it into the river and claimed that you needed a more suitable and mature ride." Yamato sighed, remembering his decision.

"You're right," he sighed, figuring I probably had a point. I mean, it didn't affect me either way, I just didn't think that a motorcycle was a good impulse buy. If he wanted something random he should buy something a little less expensive.

Amai stepped closer and looked at the bike thoughtfully, pressing a finger to her chin. "Hmm," she hummed, "I love it."

Yamato's face lit up and he moved to look at it from her angle. I didn't know anything about bikes so it didn't matter which angle I looked. It was black and it was red, and it wasn't too big, but also not too small. It was like, I dunno, a regular bike. Seemed cool to me, I guess. Yamato moved forward and reached for the steering handle things. "You said," I told him, remembering more clearly, "You said you needed a different vehicle because you needed to be more suitable for marriage."

Yamato crinkled his nose and looked away, seemingly embarrassed of his reasoning, "I told you to stay yourself," Gabumon reminded him, "You'll remember that too." It was true, Gabumon had been urging him to not bother changing himself to please someone else.

"Well," Yamato said, still deep in thought. "You're usually right, Gabumon... even if it does take me six years to realize it."

"You're getting a bike—" I realized.

"I'm getting a bike!" Yamato decided, cutting across my words excitedly, punching the air. "Wait here, I'm going to go talk to the guy who owns it."

"I'll come too," Amai decided, "I'm a real good haggler." Yamato smirked in a way that was far too amused to be sane and gestured for Amai to lead the way. He chased after her and left me with the three digimon.

I sat down, realizing I was thirsty and hungry and still pretty tired, and I leaned back into the grass. I felt Gabumon lie next to me and he nuzzled in close. Patamon landed on my stomach and DemiDevimon curled up next to my head. We waited for a bit, and I was sure I fell asleep briefly, and then Yamato and Amai were back.

"Did you get it?" Gabumon asked, moving from my side. I didn't bother opening my eyes or moving yet. I was just so comfortable. Gabumon cheered excitedly, so apparently he had impulsively bought a bike.

"I'm supposed to pick it up tonight," Yamato explained, "Which leaves us time to go apartment hunting."

"What's wrong with the one you have?" Amai wondered.

"Well nothing," Yamato defended, "Kind of."

"It's the worst thing ever," Gabumon disagreed, "It's rotting and old and there are wild animals inside." Amai's face lit up with an even mixture of horror and excitement. I pulled myself to my feet and spun around to see them all. "It smells like feet."

"That's from Taichi," Yamato said, defeated, "three years later and I still can't get the smell out."

"Why do you still live there?" DemiDevimon wondered.

"It's rent stabilized and it's really, really cheap." Yamato said, ashamed.

"Because no one wants it!" I added, and then they were all laughing. Yamato's face turned red and he sighed. Because we were right. It was time.

So we went looking and Yamato didn't find anything he liked nearly half as much as he liked his new bike, and that was all he kept talking about. "Is there anywhere I could store a motorcycle?" "Do you have garage space?" "I bought a new bike and I was wondering if you would be upset if I painted the walls to match the colours?"

It was exhausting, but nice to see him so excited about something for once. Something that wasn't Sora. It dawned on me that perhaps he had bought the bike to spite Sora. There was something going on between the two of them and Yamato was suddenly in the mood for a major change. I'd told him to move before and never had he budged. Now he was hanging out with this new girl, buying a bike—something Sora specifically disliked and he had vowed to never own again just for her sake—and even moving from his apartment of six years. That was a lot of change all at once.

I wondered if maybe he was biting off a little more than he was ready to chew. But it was his life, and it was his decision.

Jenna Washington:

No matter how long we stayed inside these walls I couldn't shake the feeling that everything about us being here was wrong. I knew it was our home but it wasn't home without him. He was the reason we had all come together to be here in this place and now, with him missing, there was nowhere that I could hide without having a constant reminder that he was gone. My bedroom was filled with things that reminded me of him. There was a large painting that hung on my wall of me riding a unicorn that he had hilariously gotten done for my birthday the previous year. Falling asleep was a lot harder when I couldn't not see Willis in everything I owned.

He was my brother. My step-brother, as we always liked to remind each other, but it did not matter how many steps were between the two of us, because he was my family now. Or he was. And it hadn't lasted long enough. He was supposed to be around for a lot longer than he had been. He was supposed to be the brother I went to with the problems that needed a logical response. He was going to be there too. He promised that he would always be there, even if something should happen.

And he wasn't here now.

Chi held my hand tighter again, seeming to understand how I felt. But he couldn't understand. Not really. This was Willis' home. Everything he had ever wanted or thought about was inside these walls, and now he would never be home to enjoy them again. I didn't think that was fair.

All of the people here were dressed in black, as if they thought it was respectful. Why did it matter that we all wore black? I was sure that Willis would not have cared either way. And yet, I'd done the same. I'd worn black, too afraid to stand out on a day like today. A day where a bunch of people I barely knew were more important than those who Willis actually cared for.

His funeral had been held in a very beautiful hall and everyone had been invited to attend. We had the digimon present and no one seemed to say a word against them. Mari was there too, standing in the back by herself. Taichi and the other Digidestined had all been scattered throughout the benches, watching the ceremony and paying their respects. I didn't know many of them well, but I did know Hikari from when she and Willis had dated, and I noticed that she had been crying. Terriermon and Lopmon hadn't made a sound. Even now as they wandered the house aimlessly they said nothing, and did not cry.

I didn't blame them for not crying. I couldn't find the right way to express my emotions either. Losing someone like this was not a simple concept to grasp. There was no way for one action to express how I felt and crying felt wrong and it felt like I was giving in to the sadness when there were so many other emotions to feel at the same time. It felt disrespectful to cry.

Not everyone had felt that way. There were so many people crying at the funeral, and while that was fine, I just didn't want to look at them because it made it harder for me to not cry. I had been biting my tongue as hard as I could the entire ceremony to have something to focus on aside from my tears.

Willis' mother, who had been weeping madly during the funeral, had asked everyone who was not family to please give us time to grieve in peace at Willis' house. It seemed like a fine thing to do, but when that 'family' consisted of distant cousins and random aunts and uncles that I'd never even met, it no longer seemed fair to exclude Mari, or Mimi who had been such good friends with him during her time here in New York. Or Koushiro who had been in contact with Willis since they were children, or Hikari who was obviously the only person alive who accurately knew how to handle Lopmon and her sadness.

But there had been a reason, I just didn't know what it was.

The way his mother—my mother—had looked to Mari, hurt, as she declared that all those who were not family should find their way home told me there was something else going on, but that it would not be civil for me to ask what it was. I didn't care what their problems with each other were. I wanted my friends around, and when I pointed that out to dad he permitted me to have Chi around. That was not exactly what I meant. I wanted Mari specifically. I thought that she of all people deserved to be here.

Instead I was left to watch Michael politely make the rounds and greet everyone who had come to pay their respects. Why did the luncheon have to take place here? Why couldn't Mom and Dad take it back to their dumb house? Wasn't the point of these things to exchange stories about Willis and to seek comfort in one another? Well that was going to be fairly difficult because it would probably take me half an hour to find someone who even knew him.

"... not really a funeral if there's no body," I heard someone say. I was standing up the stairs, looking down at the entrance hallway, leaning against the railing with Chi.

"Well I hear they couldn't find the body," someone responded.

"That's dumb. They don't even know he's dead," the first person responded, "They couldn't even keep track of their own son, that's the real shame here."

"Jenna!" Chi hissed as I dropped the vase filled with water and flowers down to the gossiping jerks below me. I didn't care what happened. They were rude and I wanted them out of my house. Of his house. There were screams from below and fortunately—I guess—they all moved out of the way. Silence filled the building as everyone looked to the sound of the shattering vase. Then all eyes shifted up to me. I thought about apologizing, but I didn't feel like lying.

I turned on the spot and stormed off, down the nearest hallway, concealing myself from view. I slammed myself against the wall and ran my hands through my hair. My eyes were shut tight and I was trying to find comfort in knowing that these people would be gone soon and then we could relax and be free and sad in peace.

"Are you okay?" Chi asked in a quiet voice, pulling me from my thoughts, "I mean I know you're not okay. But are you going to throw anything else?" I looked at him with one eyebrow cocked higher than the other and shook my head. He looked silly all dolled up in a suit and tie. I had never seen him not wear ripped jeans. His hair somehow managed to look classy, even with its vibrancy. I guess he could change his appearance, hide his wings and antenna, and put his weapon away in some alternate dimension where it simply sat and waited for him to call to it, but he could not dim the colour of his hair. I didn't mind. The splash of colour actually made the room feel less bleak. "I'm really sorry Jenna."

"That those people are completely disrespectful?" I questioned.

"No," Chi shook his head, "Well yes, but I just meant that I don't know how to act. I've never... been to a funeral before. I've never known anyone to die."

"It's fine," I said flatly, "You're doing fine."

"Have you been to a funeral?" Chi asked quietly. "Before this one, I mean."

I looked away from him and stared down at the shining wooden floor. Had we not talked about my mother before? I was trying to find it in my memory, but I honestly couldn't remember if I had ever told him. "Yeah," I said quietly, "My mom died when I was four." Chi looked confused, but wanted to comfort me. "Mary is Willis' mom. She married my dad and now I call her 'Mom' too. She isn't my real mom."

"Do you remember the funeral?" he asked, and I nodded. "I—I'm sorry if these questions are too personal. I came to Earth to learn, and I've never experienced something like this."

I looked to him, not bothering to hide that he had just annoyed me and I rolled my eyes, getting to my feet. If all this was to him was a learning process then I'd let him learn from Michael or from any of the so-called guests. When I stood I found myself staring down the hallway toward a doorway that was partially open. My heart seared with rage and I stepped over Chi's legs and stormed toward the door. I pushed it open sharply, "You can't be in here—" I froze when I found that I was talking to Terriermon and Lopmon. They were sitting on Willis' bed looking up to me with wounded expressions. In front of them was an open wooden box and the contents were strewn about the smooth bed covers. "Oh—I'm sorry." I started backing away, reaching stupidly for the door, but I wasn't looking and I bumped into a weird stone pedestal that began toppling back and forth. I steadied it and felt my face turn red, "Sorry," I repeated, heading for the exit, completely embarrassed.

"Jenna," Lopmon said softly, "Stay." I stopped and looked up. Chi was still sitting at the end of the hallway, looking to me with a worried expression but I slowly turned away from him and glanced at Lopmon again. She was motioning with her little hand for me to come sit with her. I checked with Terriermon first to make sure it was okay, and then did as she asked. The bed creaked under my weight and I looked around the room. The first thing I noticed was that Monodramon was standing in the corner, looking through some old photographs with Kudamon wrapped around his shoulders. They both looked up and smiled to me, but continued their journey through the past. I saw Willis' ridiculously old mirror hanging on the wall by his bed, and his closet doors were propped open showing all of his clothes just thrown inside messily. There were shelves lining the grey walls containing all sorts of expensive looking trinkets and there were small charms and beaded strings hanging from the light fixtures.

When I looked back to the bed I finally got a good look at what the digimon were looking at. The box itself was intricate and beautiful, made of some kind of redwood. The contents appeared to be pointless, inexpensive nothings. But it was clear to me, even at first glance, that these were the things that Willis found to be important. "I like this one," Terriermon said, holding up a tiny Rubik's cube. "It's my size." Lopmon smiled at him and pushed aside a long black chain to reveal a photograph that I had seen before. Three years ago Willis had found that in the attic of this very house. The picture was of Willis' father holding two babies. "Is that Alice?" Terriermon asked, leaning forward to get a better look at the picture. Lopmon nodded and tears welled up in her eyes as she held the picture close her to herself. Terriermon dropped the Rubik's cube to hug his sister. "But they're together now. Forever, just like us. Remember that, Lopmon."

"B-But I miss him," Lopmon's voice was more emotional that I had expected it to me. I reached out and stupidly grabbed her foot to comfort her. She looked over Terriermon's shoulder and locked eyes with me, trying to smile. She couldn't.

"I miss him too," a voice from behind us startled me and when I looked round I saw that it was Michael who had spoken. He was standing, hand in hand with Tatum and the two of them made their way into the room. Michael sat at the end of the bed, spinning around to sit cross legged and Tatum pulled herself up behind Terriermon and Lopmon. She pulled them into her arms and hugged them both. Monodramon and Kudamon made their way to the door to greet Betamon and the three of them came to join us on the bed. I moved toward Michael so they had more room, and then we were all surrounding the box on the bed, and looking down to the contents. "So these are the things that meant the most to Willis," Michael noted, looking to the box, "his keepsakes?"

"I think so," Terriermon nodded, crawling away from Tatum to look at the box again. He reached inside and pulled out a strange looking necklace, "The tag for his crest..." he looked again and pulled out another one, "The tag for his other crest." Lopmon giggled and Terriermon handed one to her. "We can both have one."

Michael took a turn looking into the box and pulled out a folded piece of paper. He looked confused and he unfolded it to read what was written there. He cleared his throat and read, "'Mary, please give this key to Willis. It is all I have to pass to him, and I wish for him to remember me. Alice loves the necklace you sent for her, but I've put it out of her reach to keep her from breaking it. She can have it again when she is older. Tell Willis I love him for me. Talk to you later...'" Michael trailed off, "It's signed 'Keith'."

"Willis' dad," Tatum pointed out. When I looked to her I saw that her face was twisted into a pained sort of thought filled expression. "Keith was never keeping Willis a secret from Alice, was he? Not like Mary did to Willis." It was something I hadn't known, but what I did know, was that Taichi had forced Willis to give that key to him to keep safe when it actually belonged to Willis' father and was the only thing he had left of him. I didn't think that was very fair.

"Is this the necklace?" Kudamon asked. I hadn't even noticed him crawl across the bed. He had pulled a pretty golden chain from the box. At the end of the chain was a large sparkling emerald. "Alice's necklace?"

Lopmon moved quickly toward him to get a better look at it. Kudamon gladly handed it off to her and she held it tightly in her hands, "I think it is."

"Hey," I said suddenly as my eyes fell to a strange figure made of toothpicks and tape. "I-I made this," I picked it up and held it in my hands as a smile formed on my face. I looked up and everyone seemed to be staring toward it with confused looks. "Willis and I made tiny voodoo dolls of each other out of toothpicks. His looked a lot better."

"I should hope so," Michael joked, staring at the disfigured person. I playfully punched his arm and he laughed. Then we were back to looking through the box at all the things Willis found to be important to him. There was a pressed four leaf clover, a series of metal objects that none of us could recognize, a class picture of the year he met Terriermon and Lopmon—he looked so sad, and in the picture Marshall sure looked like a complete jerk. There was a picture of Mari too, but as a child. It seemed that Willis and her had been in a group together at a zoo as children, but they looked maybe eleven this time. The picture was of Mari feeding a giraffe and laughing wildly. It was when I saw the picture that suddenly everything we had been seeing felt wrong. These were Willis' prized possessions . They were memories that meant something to him. It was not our duty to understand those memories, but to respect that Willis wanted them to be secret and inside the box.

I decided I'd leave the rest of them to it, and I left the room telling them I just needed some air.

Kudamon came with me, curling up around my neck. When I was walking down the stairs Dad caught my eye and excused himself from his conversation. "Honey," he said gently as I finished my trek down the stairs, "your boyfriend went outside alone."

"He's a big boy, Daddy," I rolled my eyes, "He can take care of himself."

"I know that," he agreed, "but he's also a digimon, and it pains me to say that my aunt Gertrude isn't fond of the species."

"Well that's not fair," Kudamon said, rolling his eyes, "She hasn't given me a chance! Wait until she hears me karaoke—then she'll change her tune."

Dad laughed lightly and then flicked his eyes to the door and I knew what he wanted from me. "Fine, I'll go check." I said flatly. He thanked me and then set off to find Mom because she was apparently not fit to be alone today. I couldn't blame her really. I wondered how this was going to affect her. When her husband had left her she had become someone who I could have even admired, and then later, when she found that he had died she had sort of faded. She shut off, and when she turned back on she wasn't someone Willis could even recognize. Slowly she had been returning to her place as the ambitious and hard working girl. She had published a cookbook and was looking into different charities to get involved with. She was being the person her son always wanted her to be, and now he was gone. Would she shut off again? When she turned back on would it ruin her relationship with my father?

I shook my head, not wanting to think about that. Instead I made my way to the back door, and along the way I passed a woman who was whispering to her husband, "I just don't understand why the funeral is so long after his disappearance."

"I wonder how that's any of your business." I said flatly, not bothering to even look back at the woman. I honestly hoped she was offended. I wasn't wrong. It was none of her business whatsoever. Willis had gone missing nearly three months ago now. It had been about a month since everyone had come home from their respective worlds. No one had really spoken about why the funeral was later rather than sooner, but we all knew the answer. There had been some kind of lingering hope after seeing everyone else return. We had all sort of just been waiting for him to come back. Just in case.

But he never did.

I forced the thought from my mind and I slipped behind the stairs and slid open the glass doors to the garden. Chi was easily spotted, sitting in the grass, staring down at the pink flower that represented Lalamon's grave. She had died exactly in that spot. Another funeral I had attended. I walked to Chi and held my hand out to him. He looked up, and stared to me, slowly taking my hand, "I'm sorry," he said bluntly, "For what I said."

"Don't be," I said honestly. I didn't say anything else. Even when he started asking me questions about where we were going. I simply hopped into my dad's car and started the engine. We drove for a while, and even though I knew where I was going, I didn't go directly there. Something about the loud music and the roaring wind rushing through my hair really helped me feel a little bit better. I did feel guilty though. I hadn't asked for the car, nor had I told anyone where I was going. But I didn't care that much. I was sure they would forgive me. Today of all days.

When I finally stopped, after pulling into the short driveway, I turned to Chi. His hair was no longer sleek or presentable. It was a mess of purple, and I knew mine was no better. Maybe I should have driven with the top of the car up.

"Why are we here?" Chi asked as he hopped out of the car. I followed his lead but said nothing. Instead I reached for his hand and waited for him to take mine. When he did I pulled him closer to me and then started walking toward the house. I wasn't going inside though, I was going to the backyard. Chi followed silently until we were standing by the willow tree. "What's this?"

"This is my mother's grave," I told him in a quiet voice. I pointed to the stone near the tree and he released my hand to read it.

"Autumn," he said quietly, "That's a pretty name." I nodded, and flared my nostrils in an attempt to stop my eyes from burning with tears. "So she was buried here?"

I thought for a moment it had been a rhetorical question but really, digimon didn't die. It was possible that he really didn't know anything about death. "Yeah," I confirmed. "I don't remember the funeral much. I just remember there being so many people, and I couldn't find Michael. My dad didn't have time to talk to me because he was busy talking to everyone else and I was all alone. I remember crying and I remember wanting to find my mom." I was trying to ignore the tears that were slowly making their way down my cheeks, but when Chi grabbed my hands to comfort me it was hard to do. When I took my next breath it was shaky, "I remember that I saw her too. I don't remember seeing her. But I remember that I saw her—or I thought I did. For a long time I thought I was crazy—but she's not even human, so who knows. Maybe she did come to me."

I started dragging Chi away from her grave and toward the Looking Glass. The pond in my father's backyard served as the connection between the worlds. I pointed to the dock that led out into the water, "She was standing there."

"But you don't remember?" Chi questioned.

"No, I do," I told him, "I just don't remember her. I know she was standing there." I took him closer to where I had seen her and we stood at the end of the dock for a moment, staring at the sun reflecting off the water. "Right here," I said quietly as I wiped the tears from my face. "She was here. She wanted me to come to her and I did."

"But you didn't believe she was there?" Chi asked. Of course his questions made sense. More sense than my story anyway. I was just telling him what I remembered happening. What I couldn't believe had happened because it didn't make any sense. It had never made sense to me. And I'd never told anyone this before.

"I believed it." I told him, "At the time. And then I didn't anymore. I still don't know what I believe. But the most vivid memory I have came from when I almost fell in the water. My mother grabbed me and pulled me back to this dock. My hat fell off, and she apologized to me, she was crying. And she was beautiful. I told her that. She had never looked so beautiful. But I don't remember now. I can't see her face. I want to. But I can't remember a damned thing about her." I was crying again, this time more steadily and Chi wrapped his arms around me quickly, "I want to feel close to her, but I c-can't even remember h-her face. I-I-I don't want to forget Willis too. I don't want to lose anyone else."

Chi gasped and I knew he was crying too. He tried to release me, but I wasn't ready yet. I just held onto him and cried.

It wasn't until I heard a voice that I released him.

When I turned I didn't even believe what I was seeing. It didn't seem real—like she was copied and pasted into the scene because there was no logical explanation to be seeing her here.

It was Veronica. She was standing with Marshall and Tyler and Ricky. Michan and Tako were even here too, looking even more out of place. Their arms were crossed, all of them, like they thought they belonged in some crazy gang. Chi did not release my hand as we stared toward them. Probably for the better because I wanted to grab that stupid braid on Veronica's head and hold it tight as I drowned her. I would never, but the thought came to my head. Not much I could do about that. Marshall appeared to have gotten a haircut. His red hair was now shaved so short that I could see his head right through it. His body was even more disproportionate than it already had been, and he looked angrier somehow too.

"Get off of my property," I said sharply, even if it wasn't really my property. I didn't really care what they thought. "You don't belong here."

Veronica threw her hands up defensively, "Easy tiger, I'm here for you." Chi stepped in front of me protectively but I pushed him aside. I didn't need his help to beat on her. If that's what she wanted, she was going to get it. "Your dad lives here, so I figured it would be the easiest way to find you. Funny, how you make me out to be the bad guy for lying about my parents, but here you are, living it up in a first class life. You didn't make that very clear, Jenna. You're a liar just like me."

"Do not compare yourself to me," I snarled.

"And your bug-friend here lied too," Marshall added, "You thought he was a human, but he's not. Why are we bad for lying to you at all?" He had a point, but it didn't matter. I wasn't going to forgive them or ever even like them.

"What do you want?" I asked sharply.

"We're simply here to see how much you're willing to barter with," Marshall explained. Before I could express my confusion he added, "We know you know Arnold is in prison. It will take little time for the police to find connections with us. We want to know that you'll keep our secret."

"Ha!" Kudamon shouted suddenly, startling me. I had nearly forgotten he was there. "If you think we're going to let you get away with anything you've done then you're wrong."

"Don't talk to me you pest," Marshall spat.

"He's right," I snarled, "You have nothing to give me that would change my mind. I hope you all rot in prison." Except Tako, because she helped us, but I couldn't give away her cover!

"What did we really do that was wrong?" Veronica asked desperately, fake tears—or maybe they were real, but I didn't feel anything so they meant nothing to me—welling up in her eyes.

I stepped toward her, my eyes narrowing. "You killed my brother. You worked closely with the man who was killing so many innocent people. Digimon are people too, and you are sick. You are disgusting, and that virus Arnold sent out, killed so many people. Including Willis."

Marshall gasped, but when I turned to him he seemed actually happy. "Willis is dead?" I was seriously considering killing him this time. All I could think was that whatever he said next better not have been offensive. "So Mari's free then?"

Before I could even think about hitting Marshall, Veronica had done it for me, hitting him hard in the arm. "Jerk." she stated flatly.

He was more than just a jerk though. She wasn't being cruel enough. "As if that's ever stopped you before. You're a vile, horrible human being, and not only will I not be helping you, I will be actively working against you. All of you will face your crimes. And what crimes, you may ask? Stalking is a crime, Marshall. Violence, destroying someone's property—that's all a crime." I turned to Michan, "Burning someone's restaurant down? Yeah, you think you're done with that, but you don't even know the half of it." Then to Veronica, "You lie, you cheat and you manipulate to get exactly what you want, but you can stop your crying right now, because this time, I will get what I want. You're going down Veronica Truman. I hope you look good in orange, because I hear it's the new black."

Veronica's fake tears disappeared instantly and she started advancing on me, but Marshall was quicker and he grabbed me by both of my shoulders, lifting me with ease off of the ground. It only lasted a second though because the side of Marshall's head had been hit with the end of Chi's scythe weapon, and Marshall dropped me. I turned to see Chi preparing his weapon more readily and he smirked, ready to attack. "Let's just go," Veronica said, grabbing Marshall's hand. "We should get out of here before they actually find something to pin us with."

My jaw actually dropped. Had she not been listening at all? I had plenty of things to pin on her. She was not going to get away with this. She was going down, and I was going to watch as it happened.

Next on Digimon Adventure 08: We continue on the track to healing with Mimi and Kurayami giving us a glimpse into their lives this time.