Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. But I do own the great stories. -_~

Part 2

"T.K.!!!!!! T.K. help me!" I struggled against the ropes that were tightly wrapped around my wrists. They dug into my flesh. Taking a deep breath, I pulled against the ropes as hard as I could, attempting to break them. I concentrated on feeling them tear under my flesh, but it never happened. All it caused was more bleeding. I let out my breath and panted with the effort.

"T.K.!" I repeated. I could see three large digimon off in the distance running towards me, most likely hungry. Their eyes were glowing an evil red.

"Kari! I'm here!"

I looked down from my pedestal. "Hurry, T.K. They're coming and they look hungry!"

"I'm coming! Patomon, digivolve!"

"Mmhmm." Patomon agreed. "Patomon armor digivolve to.......Pegasusmon!" Patomon underwent his transformation. "Climb on, T.K.," Pegasusmon said. T.K. climbed on his back and they flew up to me.

"Are you hurt?" T.K. asked, looking concerned.

"I'm fine I think, but they're even closer! Hurry and untie me!" I wriggled her arms.

T.K. took out a small switch blade and held it up to my wrists, cutting the ropes. "Climb on," he said, helping me off the small platform.

"Thanks," I said gratefully. I got on Pegasusmon and held onto T.K.'s waist as Pegasusmon maneuvered through the air. "Now we have to help those poor digimon." I said.

"Right," T.K. said. "Pegasusmon, are you ready?"

"You bet."

He flew through the air at incredible speeds towards the large digimon. Effortlessly, Pegasusmon attacked the three digimon with his Aqueous Beam and the spirals that held them prisoner vanished. They looked around confused for a moment, then they went off trampling in the other direction yelling a thanks behind their backs.

T.K. and I smiled as we freed the digimon. It always felt good to help people and digimon.

I suddenly stopped smiling and looked up at T.K. He really had a great smile. It brought out his blue eyes. He caught me looking at him and also stopped smiling. His face looked so serious.

T.K.," I whispered as he leaned forward. He seemed to be wanting to kiss me. I had no idea. I've never been kissed before. I didn't know what to do.

He was so close. Close enough that I can smell the faint scent of bubblegum on him. I inhaled and felt my insides melt. His lips came closer...closer....closer. Just as I felt his soft lips brush against mine, a horrible buzzing came overhead. We both jerked back and looked in the sky. An enormous bug-like digimon flew dangerously close to us.

"We need to destroy the dark spiral!" I said to T.K.

"But Kari," he interjected, "he isn't being controlled!"

I took another look at the digimon. Sure enough, I couldn't find a dark spiral anywhere.

"Then why is he attacking us on his own free will?"

"Look at him, Kari. It sort of looks like......."

"Stingmon!" I shouted. How could I have been so dumb? No other digimon looked remotely like him. "But he can't digivolve without Ken!" Just as the words left my mouth, realization sunk in. What if Ken had survived the ordeal that occurred a month ago?

"T.K.," I mumbled. I could feel my blood run cold at the thought that he survived.

"We have to get out of here," T.K. said. "Pegasusmon, see if you can find us a safe place to hide!"

Pegasus nodded and flew around the dark landscape, using his strong vision to detect somewhere to hide.

"T.K.!" I screamed. Stingmon was coming back.

"Faster!" T.K. ordered.

"He's coming closer!" I whimpered, clinging to T.K. I looked back and saw that he was gaining on us and fast. I looked at the digimon, surprised that he was attacking us. He was usually a kind and gentle digimon. What would possess him to fight this way?

"It's Ken!" I gasped.

"Huh?" T.K. questioned. He turned his body so he can get a better look. Sure enough, Ken was being held by Stingmon.

"But I thought that-" I started as he hovered right above us. I clung more tightly to T.K. burying my face in his back.

"I'm Baa-ack," Ken sing-sang when he was close enough. He looked sown at me. "Hi, Kari. Maybe sometime we can finish what we started."

T.K. looked at me. "What's he talking about?" he asked.

"Well, maybe not," Ken interrupted. "Because you're not going to be around for much longer. Stingmon!"

"Yes, master?"

"Destroy them both!"

Stingmon looked at me and T.K. with sad eyes. He outstretched his right arm. "Spiking strike!" He charged forward and pierced Pegasusmon's side with the stinger on his arm.

"Agh!" Pegasusmon cried out. He jerked to the side, causing me and T.K. to fall out of his saddle.

"T.K.!" I screamed reaching out for him.

"Kari!" He yelled. He grabbed my hand, trying to get a secure grip. For a second, he had a hold of me, but then his grip faltered and he fell out of my reach.

"T.K.!" I screamed. I could see a clear view of the earth now. It was coming closer and closer into view for each hundred feet that I dropped. I didn't see T.K. anywhere. I held my breath and braced myself for the impact of rock hard cement against shattering bone.

"Kari, wake up!"

"Help!" I screamed one last time. I opened my eyes with a jolt. I sat up to face Tai the same way I had a month ago.

"Kari, were you having another nightmare?" Tai sat down on the bed next to me.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"You want to talk about it?" He rubbed my back the same way he used to do when I was little and waking up from nightmares. It always seemed to put me back to sleep before. Not this time though. I didn't know if I could ever go to sleep again.

"I-I'm scared to," I said. "It was all just so real."

Tai nodded. "It'll be ok. Just remember they're just dreams. They can't hurt you." He stood up and climbed in his bunk. "Just try to go back to sleep."

I nodded to myself. Dreams aren't real. I can't be hurt anymore now that Ken was gone. I hugged Gatomon and Wormon closer to me and closed my eyes for a second. As soon as I did, Ken's evil face was before me. I opened my eyes a split second after closing them and began to breathe hard.

"Tai," I whispered, hoping that he was still awake. I was answered with his rhythmic breathing.

I sighed. "They're just dreams," I reassured myself. Still I wasn't so sure as I stared at T.K.'s switch blade that rested in my hand.

"Hey, Kari," Yolei said. "What's up?" She sat at the lunch table, picking at the meat surprise.

"Oh, nothing," I groaned.

Yolei took another look at the slab of meat and placed it back on her plate with a disgusted look. Then she turned her attention to me. "You don't sound too good. Anything you want to talk about?"

I shook my head and yawned. "It's nothing really. I just haven't been getting much sleep."

From across the table, T.K. glanced at me curiously. He didn't say anything.

"So," Yolei started, talking to Davis.

I ignored their conversation. I started thinking about the dream I had last night and if it was real. Tai had no idea that Ken had the power over people's dreams and that you could actually get hurt. I never told him. I never told anyone. If Ken was really alive, I didn't know what to do anymore. He would most likely try to take over the Digital World all over again. He just never gave up. I clenched my hands into fists from under the lunch table. He had to be stopped. I couldn't allow him to-

"Kari?"

I flinched and looked up, startled. T.K. stood over me. He looked serious. Much like when we were when I was dreaming.

"Yes?" I asked. "What is it?"

"Can...." He looked at everyone in the table who seemed to be interested in other things than them. "Can I talk to you alone?"

"Ok," I said standing up from the table. I followed him out of the cafeteria to the library. It would be quiet enough for us to talk there. Besides, hardly no one hung out there.

When we got there, he picked out a secluded table near the back. I sat across from him and folded my hands from underneath the table. I had somewhat of an idea what he was going to talk to me about. I was thinking about talking to him all day about it, but I didn't think that it would be a good idea. What if he thought I was crazy?

"Kari," T.K. started. "I heard you tell Yolei that you didn't get much sleep last night. What's wrong?"

I looked down at the table. "Well, it's just that-"

"Ha! I knew that I could find you two here!"

I glanced up. Davis stood in front of us, smiling like a little boy.

"Great," T.K. said. "Well, me and Kari were kind of talking."

"What a coincidence!" Davis said sitting down next to me. "I love to talk too!"

"We know," T.K. said irritably.

"So what are we talking about?" He asked.

"You mean me and Kari," T.K. corrected. "I'd kind of like to talk to Kari alone."

Davis looked at me for help. I knew that he meant well and he liked to play around a lot, but now just wasn't the time. "Davis," I said gently. "Can T.K. and I talk for a moment?"

Davis held his head down in failure. "Ok," he said. He slowly stood up and left. It made me feel bad for the poor guy.

"But me and you can talk later, Davis," I said as cheerful as could.

"Really?" Davis asked. That really lifted his spirits. "Wow. I can't believe that Kari's going to talk to me later!" He skipped out of the library.

"Now," T.K. said turning my attention back to him. "Where were we?"

"I was going to tell you why I haven't been sleeping well," I reminded.

"Go ahead, then," he urged. He sat intently in his chair.

"Well, I had a nightmare last night. But it seemed so real," I recalled. I clenched my hands again. "And you were in it actually. It was me, you , and-"

"Ken," T.K. finished. He sat forward.

"How did you know?" I asked. I still clenched my hands.

"I think I had the exact same dream. I remember hearing you calling my name. I ran and ran, but I couldn't find you. Then finally I did and you were tied on a pedestal."

I didn't say anything. I just stared down at the table trying to let everything sink in. If this means what I think it means.....

"And then when I saved you, we saw Ken there. He told Stingmon to attack Pegasusmon. We fell and I woke up before I hit the ground." T.K. became quiet, trying to think everything over. "I remember waking up hearing Patomon scream my name. He sounded like he was hurt. When I looked at him, he had a wound on his side just like the one Stingmon gave Pegasusmon. I couldn't believe it. I didn't go to sleep again last night."

Tears sprung to my eyes. It was true. Ken was back.

"T.K. I haven't told anyone this, but the same thing happened to me the first time I had nightmares."

"Huh? What do you mean?" T.K. asked.

"Well, I dreamed that Gatomon attacked me with her Lightning Claw and when I woke up, I had a wound just like in the dream." I reached in my pocket. "And I have this." I put his switch blade on the table.

"Where'd you get this from?" he asked. "I couldn't find it this morning!"

"It's the dream," I replied. I set it down for him. "And when Ken took me prisoner, he told me that he had the power to control dreams. I don't know how, but I never told anyone because we all thought he was destroyed."

We both sat in silence just looking at each other.

"We have a serious problem here," I finally said. "We have to warn the others."

As we walked back to the cafeteria, I began to think. If the dream was totally true, then that means T.K. was really going to kiss me. I began to blush at the thought as we sat down in the lunch table once again.

"Hey," Codi said. "Where'd you two go off to?"

"We had a talk," T.K. said. "And we discovered that-"

RING!!!!!

"Darn," T.K. finished. He stood up with the rest of us, gathering his books. "I'll tell you all later. Meeting in the computer lab after school."

Everyone nodded and went their separate ways to class. I, however stood back. I wasn't feeling like going to class now that we found out Ken was back. There was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that threatened to grow.

"It's just gym class and Algebra I'll be missing. No biggie. Besides my Algebra's already a waste of time. Maybe I should go to summer school." I muttered trying to reassure myself that it would be ok to skip class.

"I need to tell T.K. that I won't be here after school for the meeting." I glanced around as the bell rang. I was alone in the cafeteria and began to walk, thinking of the class he was in now.

As I passes a class, I saw him sitting attentively as the teacher spoke. When the teachers back was turned, I stuck my head in the class and silently asked him to come here. He looked at me, questioning how he was going to get out of class.

The teacher turned his back again and I began to walk down the hall way, acting like everything was alright.

"Mr. Yamaguchi," T.K. said. "May I please have a restroom pass?"

"Ok, but you have to finish the problem before you go."

T.K. looked at the complex math equation on the board. He made a face. "Forty-two?"

"Wrong. Try again."

"Forty-three?"

"No. You can use paper and pencil though."

"But Mr. Yamaguchi, I really have to go." T.K. pleaded. He heard a few giggles as he said this.

"Alright. I'll give you some slack because you never asked to go to the bathroom before. Here." The teacher bent down and scribbled something on a sheet of paper.

T.K. stood up and walked out the room.

"What took you so long?" I whispered.

"I had to solve a complex math problem before I was able to leave. What's up?"

I looked around the hallways and pulled him into an empty classroom. I didn't want his teacher to hear.

"I just wanted to tell you that I won't be able to go to today's meeting."

"Huh?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

"I-I haven't been feeling good now that we found out Ken is really alive. I'm going to go home."

"Is your mom picking you up?" he asked, sounding concerned.

I looked to the side sheepishly. "Uh, no. She kind of doesn't know about it."

"Kari!" He said shocked. "I can't let you go home alone! What if something happens?" He put his hand on my shoulder. This forced me to look up.

"Nothing's going to happen, T.K.," I said. "Tai's going to be home from school in a little bit anyways. He'll be there."

T.K. was quiet. He reluctantly agreed. "Alright. But be careful. Don't go to the Digital World.....and try not to fall asleep."

I nodded and put my things in my book bag. "Bye, T.K.," I said strapping my book bag on my shoulders.

"Bye, Kari," he said. "Oh, and I forgot to do this before," he said. He bent down and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek.

I looked up at him surprised, then we both smiled.

"Tai?" I asked as I walked through the front door. I took off my shoes and placed them in the coat closet. "Mom?"

No answer.

I peeled off my book bag and threw it in the closet along with everything else. My homework could wait. I had more important things to do.

I walked to the television and turned the channel to the news. I watched as the reporter talked about the shortage of sushi and hot mustard at the local restaurant. I yawned and the next headline caught my eye.

"Breaking news, everyone. Boy genius Ken Ichijouji who mysteriously disappeared less than a month ago has returned out of thin air."

I grabbed the remote and put the volume louder so I could hear better. They showed Ken sitting at home wrapped in a warm blanket. "I'm just so glad to be home," he said. "It took forever for me to find my way, but it was worth it. Now I can finally be safe."

"Well what exactly happened?" the reporter asked him, holding the microphone to his face.

Ken looked down at the floor. "It's really hard to put together. The last thing I remember was that I had soccer practice then walking home. It gets all blurry after that."

The reporter faced the camera. "There you have it," she said. "But what really happened? Could this be a possible sign of kidnapping? Find out tonight at 11 o'clock. Now to find more about that sushi shortage," she said. "Back to you Dan."

I stared at the television screen speechless. He looked so normal. So innocent. And how did he survive the tunnel collapsing? Did someone help him? Has he been there the whole time? Where-

"Kari?!"

"Agh!" I screamed and spun around. I grabbed the remote and put it on mute. The volume must have been so loud that I didn't hear someone come in.

"Tai!" I said. "Don't scare me like that!" I slowed my breathing down. For a moment there I thought it was the Digimon Emperor.

"What are you doing home? Did mom drop you off?" Tai took off his shoes and loosened his tie, sitting next to me on the couch.

"Not quite," I said. "I wasn't feeling to good in school so I came home. But that's the least of out problems."

Tai grabbed the remote and changed the channel, searching for something to watch. "Anything good on?" He asked completely ignoring me.

"Tai," I scolded taking the remote from him. I shut the television off. "I have something to tell you and all you can think about is finding something good on TV?"

"Kari, can't it wait? I had a rough day at school and all I want to do is relax. That dumb Sora." He grabbed back the remote and turned it back on.

"Tai, don't you care that something is wrong? And don't call Sora dumb." I stood up angrily. Sometimes he could be so complicated to deal with. I grabbed the remote back and turned it off again.

"Kari, I just want a break," Tai defended. "Why are you getting so uptight?"

I threw the remote at him. It bounced harmlessly off his chest to the floor.

"Why am I so uptight?" I asked letting my emotions get the best of me. "Well, maybe it's because I'm tired of being a digidestioned. I'm tired of fighting and losing all the time. There's just too much pressure, Tai. And now even my big brother doesn't even care." I struggled to keep my voice from faltering, but it cracked with all the emotion that I always kept inside of me.

"Kari," he said.

I didn't say anything. I just walked to my room and slammed the door.

I sat on the bed and cuddled next to my two sleeping digimon. Well, one was really mine. I cared for the other as if he were my own, though. Then I had a thought. Maybe Ken would want him back.

"Wormon," I whispered. I shook him a little.

"Yes, master?" he groaned waking up. He looked up at me realizing who I was. "Oh. Hi, Kari. I was just dreaming."

I nodded with knowing. Then I began to wonder. "What were you dreaming about?"

"Oh, just about Ken and the Digital World. I had a bad dream last night actually. I was Stingmon though."

"I know," I said. I gave him a little hug. "You really miss Ken, don't you?"

Wormon nodded. "With my whole heart."

I looked at the door. Tai was knocking and asking to talk to me. I didn't say anything to him. "Wormon," I whispered so Tai wouldn't hear. "How would you like to take a little trip?"

"Oh, I'd like that very much. Where are we going? America?" He asked as I put him in my back pack.

"No. Even better," I whispered back.

"Goody," he whispered. "But one question. Why are we whispering?"

Locking the door, I walked to the window and looked down. It wasn't very far though we lived in an apartment building. I could climb down the tree. Opening the large window, I walked to the ledge and grabbed a large branch.

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Wormon said through my book bag.

I ignored him and continued to climb down. I was almost there. Just a few more feet to-

"Whoa!" I yelped as I lost my footing for a second. I quickly regained my balance and slowed my breathing. "That was close." I took the last hop down from the tree and began to walk to the subway station.

My next stop was Ken's house.

"Hi, I'd like to buy a ticket for the subway," I said.

The man looked at me. "Aren't you a little young to ride the subway all by yourself?"

I shook my head. "No. I always ride it."

He looked at me as he handed me a two-way ticket. "Here you go," he said cautiously taking my money.

"Thanks," I said and walked inside. It smelled bad and had trash everywhere. "Ew," I said, pushing away some newspapers so I could sit down. I took my pack off and let Wormon stick his head out so he could breathe.

"Kari, where are we going?" He asked.

"Be quiet," I whispered as a few passengers looked at me curiously. I nodded and smiled back at them as if nothing was wrong.

After they went back to whatever they were doing, I turned to Wormon. "Well, it's supposed to be a surprise, but you should know. I'm taking you back to Ken."

"Ken?" Wormon shouted happily. He jumped in the air and squealed with happiness. "I'm going to see Ken! Yippie!"

"Wormon, quiet!" I whispered furiously as everyone in the passenger car looked at us.

I smiled again, but didn't say anything.

"I'm sorry," he muttered. "I just can't control myself sometimes."

"It's ok," I said glancing up. "Oh, be quiet for a moment. Someone's coming." I stuffed Wormon back in the pack and zipped it. I sat quietly to myself as the person walked towards us. Whoever it was had a hoodie on and I couldn't see his face. He stopped next to my seat and sat down next to me, trapping me next to the window.

I shifted uncomfortably. There were plenty of empty seats everywhere. Why did they sit next to me?

"Wow, what a nice stuffed animal," he commented. "Can I see it?"

I began to fidget. "Well, it's supposed to be a present to a friend. I was just going to give it to him."

"Oh," he said. "Well, I guess that present belongs to me then." He took the hoodie off so I could see his face.

"Ken!" I gasped. I practically fell out of my chair. "I-I was just going to bring Wormon back to you."

"Thank you, Kari," he said as I took Wormon out of my bag and handed to him. For some reason he didn't sound as thankful when he said it. "Thank you for caring for him while I was.....gone."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what to say. Was I really supposed to say 'your welcome'? It was made apparent that he was being sarcastic.

"Were you really going to go to my house and give Wormon back?" He asked.

I looked at him and nodded. "Yes. He had been feeling homesick and when I found out that you were....back, I decided to go to your house to return him."

"That's taking a real risk," he said quietly.

"No it's not," I said. "Because you can't hurt me. All I did was something that any other person would do." I twisted and played with the string on my backpack. I hope I sounded as confident as I wanted to be. His presence was making me nervous.

"I doubt that anyone else would return their enemies property. That just shows that you're-"

"Naive, right?" I finished, feeling a little angry.

"No. I was going to say one of a kind."

I didn't say anything. His words didn't sound too threatening, but I was never going to trust him again. He was just so manipulative. One second he seemed like a nice guy and then the next he was back as the Digimon Emperor. I learned my lesson a month ago.

"Final stop. Everyone, this is the final stop. Please depart quickly. I repeat, final stop."

I gasped and sat up. "Final stop? Doesn't this go back to-"

"No," Ken said. "It stops here. There's another train that would take you back, but it doesn't arrive for another hour or so."

I looked down at the floor. What was I going to do? Tai would kill me if I called and told him where I was. So would everyone else. I couldn't tell mom, and I didn't know anybody else here except.....

"You can stay at my house until the next train comes," he offered. I looked up at him, confused. One moment he was sarcastic and egotistical, but now he was offering that I could stay over his house?

I thought for a moment.

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Kari, I'm not too thrilled about the idea of you coming over my house either, but I can't just let you wander around here all alone." He looked at me and I considered that maybe he really did change. "You could get hurt," he finished darkly.

Nope, he wasn't a changed kid. But I had nowhere else to go. Maybe I should.....

"Kari, it's not a lot that I offer someone a place to stay." He paused. "Going once, going twice...."

"Alright," I agreed hastily. "When does the next subway car come?"

"At six o'clock." He replied as I stood up.

I nodded and followed him out of the car. As we walked out into the evening, I felt a draft of cold air go through me. I tugged my jacket closer to my body, but it wasn't the cold air that was making me shiver.

It was Ken.

"Tai, go tell Kari that supper is almost ready and I need her to set the table."

"Alright," Tai replied. He got up from his homework and walked to the door. He knocked lightly. She hadn't said a word to him since they got into the argument. He hoped that she got over it.

"Kari," he said. "Mom wants you to set the table." He waited for her reply. "Kari," he repeated a little more firmly. "Come out. Mom wants you to set the-" Tai paused a little as he felt a slight breeze through the cracks on the door. "Oh, no." Tai said. He grabbed his spare key from his pants and put it in the keyhole. He jiggled it a little and he burst through the door. He wasn't too surprised that Kari wasn't there. What did surprise him was that Wormon was missing too. Tai shut the door and locked it again. He had to make up a lie to tell his mom. He hated to lie to her, but he had to.

"Here. I'll set the table mom," Tai offered. He grabbed two plates from the cupboard and set them across from each other. Then he grabbed some glasses and chopsticks.

"What's wrong with Kari?" she asked stirring the rice she was making. She set the large spoon down and leaned against the counter.

"Uh, she told me that she wasn't feeling too good and that she didn't want to eat just yet." Tai scratched the back of his head. "Girl stuff. You know."

Tai's mom nodded and went back to cooking.

Tai wiped a bead of sweat off of his forehead. Where are you, Kari?

"And I'm holding this meeting because Kari and I have found our some startling news." T.K. announced to the other digidestioned.

"Where is Kari anyway?" Yolei asked cleaning her glasses.

"She went home earlier because she wasn't feeling well," T.K. said. "Back to the subject of the matter."

"But Kari is the subject of matter!" Davis said. "Is she alright? Did she stub a toe? Break a nail? Get a concussion?"

"I'm going to give you a concussion if you don't let T.K. talk," Yolei said glaring at Davis.

He let out a little laugh and kept quiet.

"As I was saying," T.K. continued. "Kari and I found out that Ken is alive."

Everyone gasped. "What?" Yolei asked. She wasn't there a month ago when it happened, but Kari told her about it and she wanted to kill him just as much as everyone else did.

Codi didn't say anything. He grabbed a stick and began to practice his Kindo. His swings were a little more angry, though.

Davis clenched his fists. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get him!" He couldn't believe that he had been so dumb before. He truly believed that Ken had changed. He knew it in his heart. But there he was becoming the Digimon Emperor over and over. And for his stupid actions, Kari could have been killed. But not anymore. Now he was going to think about other people instead of just himself.

"We can't," T.K. said. "We don't actually know for sure, but we have a pretty good idea that it's true. And something else, he has a new way of attacking us where we are totally defenseless."

"Well spit it out already!" Codi outburst.

They all looked at Codi in surprise. He hardly ever got loud with anyone except when he was really mad. I guess this counts as one of those times.

"He attacks in our dreams."

"Here it is," Ken said.

I looked around. "That's it?" I exclaimed. His house looked really quaint from the outside....nothing like what I imagined it would be like.

"Didn't know that evil Digimon Emperors had a nice houses, did you?" He joked. He seemed to find this very funny, but I didn't find it humorous at all.

I followed him inside.

"Ken, there you are," a woman's voice rang out. "I was getting worried about you. Oh," she said as she saw me. "You brought a friend with you. How nice. Would you like some cookies?"

I smiled. "Thank you!"

She nodded and went to go get some. She came back with two glasses of milk and set them on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

I nudged Ken a little. He looked at me confused, then he realized. "Oh. Mom, this is Kari. She'll be here for an hour so she can catch the next subway train."

"It's nice to meet you, Kari," she said.

I nodded and echoed her.

"Well, please excuse me, but I need to get back to my knitting. Bye!" She turned and left, smiling the whole time.

"Wow," I said reaching for a cookie. "Your mom's real nice."

Ken groaned. "Whatever," he said. He stood up and grabbed the plate of cookies and his milk.

"Where are you going?" I asked looking up at him.

"Come on, Kari. Let's go to my room. We need to talk."

I grabbed my milk and followed him. I really didn't think that it would be a good idea. I still didn't trust him. His parents are here, I thought. He wouldn't do anything like try to kill me in his own house.

He opened his door and walked in. Reluctantly I followed. His room was nothing like I expected. It was neat and well organized. Nothing at all like a Digimon Emperors room. Oh yeah. Remember that he's a genius too.

He set the cookies on the floor and sat down on his bed. I settled on the floor and sat crossed legged. "What did you want to talk about?" I asked.

"Just about stuff. I never had anyone to talk to in my life. My parents wouldn't understand and I had nowhere else to go to. So I just balled up and kept to myself all the time."

"Aw," I said. "It would be nice of you weren't an only child. Then you could have someone to talk to," I suggested.

He looked at me angrily for a moment, then his face softened up. "I'm not an only child," he said. "Or maybe I should say that I wasn't an only child."

I instantly knew what he meant. "I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't know."

"Yeah, whatever," Ken said. He grabbed a cookie and dunked it in the milk.

There was an awkward silence between the both of us.

"His name was Sam," he said after chewing.

I nodded, urging him to go on.

"He was everything I wanted to be when I was little. He was also a genius and he was paraded by the media. I guess wishes do come true because look at me now. I'm just like his shadow." He paused and stared at the wall behind me.

I glanced back and saw that he was looking at a picture. He looked exactly like Ken. I couldn't believe the resemblance.

"I guess that some wishes don't come true, though," Ken continued. "Because Sam never came back. He never-" Ken slammed his milk on the table next to him.

I held my breath. His sudden mood change startled me. "Ken," I said. I stood and put my hand on his shoulder.

He flinched at my touch and pushed away. "Kari, just leave. I don't have time to be talking to you when I need to be taking over the Digital World."

"Ken," I repeated.

"The subway should be there soon. You should start walking." He stood up and held the door open for me.

I walked out but he grabbed my shoulder so I could turn around. "Sweet dreams," he said evilly.

What just happened back there? I thought as I boarded the subway. I sat down in a seat, troubled by my thoughts. He opens up to me, telling me something he probably has never told anyone, but then he turns away. I just don't get it. He obviously needs a friend to talk to. Maybe Davis wasn't so wrong before when he said Ken had some good in him.

"How in our dreams?" Codi asked. He squeezed the base of the wooden weapon he always practiced with.

"You're joking," Davis said. "No one can attack us in our dreams. That's all in the movies."

"Davis, shut up!" Yolei said. "Go on, T.K. I want to hear this."

T.K. nodded. "Well, me and Kari had the exact same dream last night. Everything was exactly the same. And get this, everything that happens in the dream results in the real world."

"How do you mean results?" Yolei asked, leaning forward.

"Well, we dreamed that Pegasusmon was attacked by Stingmom. Then when I woke up this morning, Patomon had a wound the same way Pegasusmon had in the dream. He had it on the same exact side and place."

"That's impossible!" Daivs said.

"Why do you think Patomon didn't come to school with me today? I left him at home so he could rest. And the same thing happened to Kari in one of her first dreams. She said that she was attacked by Gatomons Lightning Claw and when she woke up she had scratches on her from it."

Everyone stayed quiet.

T.K. went on. "And also I couldn't find my switch blade this morning. I knew I had it with me. I never leave anywhere without it. But then this morning, Kari had it with her. She said that in the dream she had grabbed it when we were pummeling from the sky. Luckily both of us woke up before we were able to ht the ground." T.K. paused to look at everyone's reaction.

"It has to be the dreams," T.K. said.

"I know," Yolei muttered a little sadly. She lifted up her shirt sleeves. "I had a dream that Hawkmon attacked me. He left a long scratch behind. Then when I woke up, the same mark was there. I couldn't believe it, but I didn't say anything to anyone. I thought you all would believe I was crazy or something." She out them back down.

"Now that you mention it," Codi said. "I have been having bad dreams too. But I never got hurt in them like Kari or Yolei. I just dreamed that Armidillomon was being controlled by the Digimon Emperor and he wanted to kill me. I always woke up and saw that he was sleeping right next to me. It was creepy."

They all looked at Davis. "Nuh-uh," he said. "I haven't had any bad dreams lately."

They all kept staring. He looked at them then finally gave in. "Actually I did. I had a dream once that Demiveemon, Veemon, Flamedramon, and Raidramon attacked me at once. I woke up right before they could hurt me. I was screaming and then Veemon began screaming then I started wetting the bed." Davis began to suck his thumb and rocking back and forth.

"Well that does it," T.K said. "We have to stop him somehow. And please, use Pull-ups or something from now on when you go to sleep, Davis."

As quietly as I could, I climbed back into my bed room, making sure that mom or Tai didn't see me from one of the windows. I saw mom sitting in front of the TV, but I didn't see Tai. He must've been doing his homework.

I closed the window, placing the curtains the same way they had been. I threw off my jacket and put it on the bed post.

"Kari."

I jumped and spun around. It was Tai. He was sitting up on his bunk quietly. Almost as if he were expecting me.

"Tai," I said. "What a surprise." I fidgeted with my camera hanging on my neck.

"Where have you been?" He asked.

"Oh," I said, feeling the heat rise to my face. "Now you care?"

"Kari. I have always cared. It's just that I have been having a rough time."

I didn't say anything.

"Now are you going to tell me where you've been, or do you want to tell mom?" Tai jumped down from the bed and began to kick his soccer ball.

I sighed. Either way I lost.

"What do you want me to start with?" I asked.

"Start with why you were acting so weird today."

I took a deep breath. "You're not going to believe this, Tai," I said. "But guess who's back."

Tai stopped juggling the soccer ball with his feet. I could tell that his face went white. "You don't mean-"

I nodded.

"But how? How could he-?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. But all I do know is that none of us are safe. He attacks us in out dreams where we're totally defenseless."

Tai's eyes widened. "Huh?"

"That's why I've been having those bad dreams," I said. "He's been controlling them and everything that happens in them happens in the real world."

"How do you know?" he asked. "Is there some kind of proof?"

I nodded. "Gatomon scratched me across my chest in my dream and I have a mark there now."

Tai gasped. "He has to be stopped then! There's no telling what he could do."

"I know," I said quietly as I sat down on my bed. "But I don't know if I can do it anymore. I'm tired of thinking we defeated him then all of a sudden he comes back again to try and take the Digital World over again. I'm just tired of losing all the time. I don't think I can take anymore."

"Kari, don't think like that. If you think like that you'll never win. You have to believe in yourself!"

I pondered his words. They held a lot of truth in them. "We'll stop him somehow," I said, hoping to sound more confident than I really was.

Tai smiled and nodded. "Good," he said. He continued to juggle the ball with his feet. "So, where did you take Wormon?" he brought up.

Oh. no! I thought. What should I say? "Uh...I.....gave him back to Ken," I said reluctantly. I was beginning to think giving Wormon back to Ken wasn't such a good idea.

"Ken, your dinners ready if you want to eat, honey."

"I'm not hungry right now," Ken replied through his door. He sat on his bed, thinking of Kari. He didn't know what was happening, but he was feeling a sort of connection with her. She came over knowing that he was really the Digimon Emperor and yet she still talked to him like he was one of her friends.

How can she act like that when I tried over and over to kill her? I just don't understand her.......oh, stop thinking of nonsense, Ken. It's about time to go and take over the Digital World.

"I'll see you in the morning, Kari," Tai said. He got into his bunk and covered up.

I stared at the top of his bunk. "Alright," I said. I turned to my side. "I hope so," I muttered under my breath. I cuddled Gatomon to me and closed my eyes.

"Good night, Yolei," Hawkmon said. He settled himself on the basket that Yolei had made up for him as his bed. She always complained over and over that he just took up too much room on her bed and she needed her space.

Yolei stared into the darkness. She was too terrified to go to sleep. Especially after she was attacked by Hawkmon in her dreams. Instead of going to sleep, she pulled out a boy magazine and a flash light and began to read.

"Are you going to sleep, T.K.?" Patamon asked, hovering over him. He was sitting down at his desk in his room.

T.K. shook his head. "I don't know. To be truthful, I'm scared to go to sleep." He opened his Biology book and began to study about the origin of the humpback whale.

"Armadillomon, can I ask you a question?" Codi asked.

"Shoot, Codi. You know you can talk to me about anything."

Codi paused for a moment. "You would....never hurt me, would you?"

"Never!" Armadillomon said. "Why would you ask me something like that anyways?"

Codi turned to his side and stared at the blank wall. "No reason. Good night."

"Good night, Codi," Armadillomon said a little sadly.

Codi pulled the covers up to his chin and struggled to stay awake the whole night.

"Good night, Davis," June said. She walked out of the living room and into her own, closing the door.

"Whatever," Davis said. He flipped the channels, trying to find something interesting on so he could stay awake.

"Davis, aren't you going to go to sleep?" Demiveemon asked climbing on his shoulder.

"Are you kidding? I don't want to get attacked by you , Veemon, Flamedramon, and Raidramon again! I'm staying up!" Davis flipped through some more stations. "Besides, I don't have anymore clean sheets."

I turned over in bed, trying to get comfortable. For some reason I just couldn't.

"Ouch," I heard from next to me. I glanced at Gatomon. "You're on my tail, Kari," she said sleepily, her eyes barely even open.

"Sorry," I whispered moving so she could have enough room. She buried her head in my pillow and was fast asleep again.

I sighed, glancing at the clock. It read three o'clock in the morning. I was really sleepy. I didn't know how much longer I could stay awake. I tried everything to keep me up. I splashed water on my face, I pinched myself until I had red bruises everywhere, and I even dropped an ice cube down my back. It all worked fine, but I ran out of ice cubes and my body was numb from so much pinching and I'm sure that I really brought up moms water bill.

"I need a drink of juice," I muttered rolling out of bed carefully so Tai wouldn't wake up. I tip toed along the carpet, trying my best to avoid all the creaks. I opened the door and walked to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator and pulling out a jug of juice. I poured it into a glass and sat at the table quietly. The house was so creepy at night. Usually there was always some kind of chaos going on in here. It would either be Tai bouncing his soccer ball off the walls or the fire alarm always going off when mom would burn yet another new recipe she would try out. It was too weird without either of them making noise.

I took another sip and I began to think of Ken. He seemed so lonely. I'm sure that if just someone could just talk to him, he would change somehow. I saw a side to him that I'm sure no one has. Not even his parents. He acted kind for the first time in his life when he offered to let me stay over his house.

I glanced at the phone. It was really late, but I needed someone to talk to.

I stood up and grabbed the cordless phone. I walked outside to the porch and sat down in the swinging bench. Reluctantly, I punched in a few numbers and waited for the phone to ring.

"Hello?" I heard a groggy voice ask. Needless to say, it was a very cranky voice.

"Hi, Ken. It's Kari." I tugged on my hair a little. Just talking to him made me nervous, but I had to.

"Kari?" I could hear the surprise in his voice. "What do you want?"

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. "I want to talk. I need to talk."

I could hear him groan. "Then why don't you call one of your other friends? I'm pretty sure that they're all awake at this time."

I didn't respond to what he said. "Ken, I want to talk to you."

Ken paused. "Oh, alright. Meet me in the Digital World."

"Huh?" I asked. "I didn't want to-why can't we meet somewhere in the real world?"

"We either talk there or no place at all."

I paused. "No, Ken. Can't we just talk here?"

"Nope. I'll be in the Digital World. If you're not there in ten minutes, I'm going straight back to bed."

"Well, you could just go back to bed," I said and hung up the phone. I could feel myself begin to grow angry. "Why did I even call him?" I asked myself, staring off in the sky. The stars were bright tonight. So bright that the whole sky was illuminated even with the quarter moon.

I stood up and walked back to my room once again being careful not to wake Tai. I sat down on my bed and thought for a moment trying to get everything together. If I went to the Digital World, there is no telling what Ken would do.

I looked at my computer. I could go so easily. Just a few words and I was there. "No," I muttered looking at the clock. Five minutes had already past since I called Ken. I had another five minutes to decide if I wanted to go or not. Sighing, I stood up and walked over to the computer. I moved the mouse a little and the computer turned off it's stand by mode. The bright screen illuminated the whole room with an eerie glow. I stared at the screen. It was now or never.

Holding my digivice up to it, I whispered "Digiport open," and I was transported to the Digital World.

"Huh?" Tai woke up as the bright light blinded him through his eye lids. He looked at the computer and saw that the Digiport was activated. "Kari!"

I groaned as I landed on grassy field. I stood up carefully and looked around. It looked pretty deserted. To make things worse, it was dark and I couldn't see anything. I squinted my eyes. Where was Ken?

"You're here," a voice said. I spun around to see Ken sitting in the tall grass waiting patiently. I noticed that he wasn't in his Digimon Emperor outfit either. "I knew you would be," he added.

I didn't say anything. I just sat down in the grass, keeping a little distance between us. Just in case.

"You don't have to stay that far back," Ken said. "I won't bite you."

I shook my head. "And how many times have you lied to me? Don't you think that I learned my lesson on not believing everything you said?"

"Apparently not. You're here right now, aren't you?" He patted the spot next to him, urging me to sit there.

I shook my head. "I just want to talk. We didn't have enough time to talk earlier today." I picked at some of the grass.

Ken just nodded. He didn't even say anything.

I sat there enveloped in this awkward silence. I had to break it.

"Ken," I said. I sat down next to him, getting his attention. "I know that you're not what you say you are."

Ken just laughed, not surprised at my straightforwardness. "Oh, really? And how do you know that?" He kept his eyes on me.

I pulled some of the grass out of the ground and threw it a little. "Because somebody that was truly evil wouldn't be so passionate about their brother the way you were today."

Ken didn't say anything. He just looked away.

I took a breath and continued. "I know that you're really good. I know it."

Ken snapped his head towards me suddenly, making me jump a little. "Oh, really Kari. How many times have you said that just to be proved wrong? Don't you remember what happened a month ago? I almost killed you and your friends. And nothing would stop me in killing you now."

"If you really wanted to, you would have done it already," I retorted. I held my breath as the words left my mouth. I knew that it wasn't good to provoke him, but the words left my mouth before I could even think on what to say.

He didn't say anything. He just turned his face.

"Ken, why are you doing this?" I asked. "Do you feel that you have to prove something by acting this way? There are better ways to prove things other than trying to rule over one world that you don't even understand."

"Do you understand it, Kari?" He asked. His tone was soft now. He sounded as if he sincerely wanted to know.

"No," I said. "I don't understand this world or even our own. I don't understand why things happen the way they do, but I believe that they happen for a reason."

Ken looked up, his eyes flaring with anger. "And can you tell me the reason that Sam was killed? Can you tell me the reason that my only brother was taken away from me and my parents? Do you believe it happened for a reason?"

I swallowed, trying to cure my dry mouth. "I don't know why it happened and I don't know the reason, but everything happens for a cause. Maybe it was a wake up call for you and your parents. Maybe you just didn't appreciate life the way you're supposed to."

Ken totally surprised me with a slap across the face. I stumbled back a little, stunned. I brought a hand to the burning sensation that stung my face.

"How dare you say that," Ken said. He turned his back to me.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves and the adrenaline flowing through me. I put my hand down and sat back.

"I almost died once when I was little," I said. I hoped he was listening to this. I wasn't just saying this for fun and I hardly told anyone anything personal.

Ken stiffened a little.

"I had a fever and I stayed home from pre-school. Tai came home, wanting to play soccer. He didn't want to leave me alone either, so he took me outside so I could play with him." I looked at the starry sky. It was nothing like the sky at home. This sky was blue, purple and pink all at once. It was a beautiful sight and I almost lost myself in it. I hurried to continue on. "He was teaching me how to kick a soccer ball when I collapsed. I went to the hospital and I was there for a few days so they could get my fever down. Well, when I got home, Tai felt so guilty. He blamed himself for it and he was scared to play with me again. He thought that if he did then he'll cause me to get sick again. After that, he was so protective of me. He wouldn't even let me go down the street without him being with me."

"Kari," Ken interrupted. "Is there supposed to be a point to this story?"

I sighed. "Yes, Ken. I'm just saying that everything happens for a reason. Tai blamed himself for being selfish and in result, he thinks more about other now. He doesn't act selfish anymore. If he did, then the previous digidestioned would have never saved the Digital World."

"So what? You're telling me that Sam died because I was too selfish?"

"No," I said. "But if you keep acting selfish the way you are now, then other people may die."

Ken stared at the ground. "Kari, you just don't understand. When Sam died, I was so expected to be just like him. I felt guilty that I wasn't a genius the way he was. So I tried every single day. I taught myself to read and count when he first died. By the time I was in the first grade, I was reading at a high school level. I forced myself to read college material when I was in the fifth grade. I barely understood it, but I kept trying until I did. Now finally, I am his shadow. I felt I had to be since I was the one who killed him."

I held a hand up to my mouth and gasped. "Ken, you didn't really kill him."

"Yes, I did!" Ken shouted, slicing through the quiet air. "It was my fault he died....."

Flashback.

"Sam, you wanna come play with me?" Three year old Ken asked his older brother asked. He sat in the grass and held up one of his toys to his brother.

Sam didn't glance up. He was buried into his book. "No, Ken. I'm studying now. I'll play with you later."

Ken felt a little hurt, but then his neighbors dog came running up to him.

"Hi, doggy," Ken said. He petted the dog behind it's ears. His tail swung back and forth, showing that he was happy.

"Look, Sam!" Ken exclaimed. "Look at the doggie wag his tail!" Ken tried to grab it playfully.

"That's nice," Sam said not looking up.

"Dodger! Come here Dodger!"

The dog looked up and his ears perked up at his masters voice. He looked back at Ken, gave him a lick on the face, then began to run across the street to his owner.

"Doggy! Come back!" Ken stood up and wobbled after the dog. "Come back!"

Sam looked up now. He knew that Dodger lived across the street and that Ken always liked to chase after him across the yard. To his horror, Ken was chasing him across the street.

"Ken!" Sam screamed. He dropped his books to the ground and ran into the street and grabbed Ken. He picked him up and gave him a small hit on his hand. "You know better than going across the street like that!"

Ken gave out a little yelp as he felt Sam slap him. He didn't cry though. Instead, he pointed. "A car!" He cried happily. "Maybe it's mama."

Sam turned around to see a speeding car race towards them. It was close and racing even closer. Sam tried to run out of the cars path, but it caught him on his legs.

"Sam!" Ken cried as his brother threw him to the grassy sidewalk. He watched as his brother flipped over the car, hitting his head against the windshield, shattering it.

The car screeched to a stop and the driver looked back.

"Oh, my God," he said, slurring his words. Instead of getting out of his car, though, he put the car into gear and sped off.

End Flashback.

"The driver was never found." Ken said. He looked up at the sky. "No one was blamed or even put in jail for Sam's death, so I blamed myself. My parents missed him so much. They cried everyday and sometimes they wouldn't even talk to me, so I knew that they blamed me too. Then everyday, I began to act a little more like Sam. It brought my parents so much joy and me so much pain, but it felt good to see them smile." Ken sniffed a little and I knew that he was crying too. "Sam always used to tell me a story about a person who discovers a new world and takes over it. He became their Emperor. So when I first received my digivice and went to the Digital World, I couldn't believe that there was actually a new world. A new place that didn't have any rules or a law to stand by. It was his favorite story, so I thought that I would make him happy by making it come true."

I sniffed as I listened to the story. It was truly a tragedy. I never knew....

"Ken," I said, my voice cloudy with emotion. I put my hand on his shoulder.

Instead of brushing me off, Ken turned towards me and wrapped his arms around me. He put his head on my shoulder and began to sob, letting out all of his pain and sorrow that he held inside for so long. Much like me.

I began to cry harder too. Just seeing him in so much pain made me feel sorry for him and his brother. It made me feel sad the way he had to feel that he needed to become Sam in order to be loved by his parents.

"Kari," Ken choked out between his sobs. "I'm sorry. It's just that-I have always felt that I needed to fulfill out Sam's dreams and this is one of them. I-I didn't want it to go this far."

I stroked his blue hair and nodded. "It's ok, Ken. I believe you." This time, I was sure that he was telling the truth.

"Kari!" Tai yelled at me as I went back through the Digiport. He grabbed my shoulders and shook me roughly, trying to get some sense into me. "Why did you go to the Digital World? You know that you could have been hurt. Especially without Gatomon. You're the one that is warning everyone about Ken hurting someone, but then you go to a place where you're most vulnerable. Don't you ever think?"

I pushed him away. "Tai, please. You have to listen to me. I know that you're probably not going to believe, but I ask that you do. Promise me that you'll believe me."

Tai didn't say anything.

"Please," I practically begged.

"I promise," he said quietly.

"Ken is good." I said.

Tai took a step back. "What?"

"Ken is good," I repeated. "I just know it this time. I have seen a side to him that no one ever bothered to look for in his life."

"Kari, you're crazy! How are you going to tell me less than a day ago that Ken is pure evil then change your mind?"

"Because he told me!" I said. "He told me everything. About why he became the Digimon Emperor and why he is trying to drive us away."

Tai widened his eyes. "Is that why you were in the Digital World? To see Ken?!"

I nodded. "Yes. We talked and he confessed everything to me. You have to believe me!"

"No, Kari. He didn't tell you the truth. He tricked you! Don't you see that you're the easiest out of all the Digidestioned to believe something someone tells you? He told you that because he knew you would believe him."

I took a step back. He was actually saying that I was the most gullible out of all the digidestioned. "Tai," I said quietly. "I don't know why I thought you would believe me. I guess that I really am gullible for believing that you cared." Angrily, I grabbed my covers and pillow and walked out of the room. If I was going to go to sleep, it wasn't going to be with him in the same room.

"Kari," Tai said. "Don't leave. Come back in here. I'll go sleep in the living room." He followed me, but I just threw my pillow on the couch and laid there.

"Leave me alone," I said. I covered up and closed my eyes.

"Kari," Tai said defeated.

I ignored him, pretending that I didn't even hear him.

"I'm sorry, Kari. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I needed to get through to you somehow." Tai sat in the chair across from where I was laying.

"Why did you need to get through to me?" I asked out of nowhere startling him. "Because you think I'm wrong? How come it is whenever I try to speak my mind and defend what I believe in, no one believes me? Am I that credulous that no one believes me anymore? That's why I never express my opinion: because no one is going to believe me anyways. What's the point?" I turned so that my back was facing him.

Tai didn't say anything as he walked back to his room, shutting the door quietly.

When he was gone, I sat in silence for a second, then I began to cry.

"I didn't get any sleep at all," Yolei said. She slouched over the table and yawned. "I stayed up all night scared that Ken was going to get into my dreams again."

Everyone else agreed.

"I stayed up all night too," Codi said. "I was just too scared to go to sleep."

"Me too," T.K. said. "I stayed up all night studying for the Biology test that I had. I hoped I passed it with all that studying I did."

"That is so cool that a guy can admit that he was scared through the night," Yolei said. "What about you, Davis? Davis?" Yolei looked at him. He was fast asleep at the lunch table.

"Aww," she said. "He looks like such a baby when he sleeps."

"He looks like a baby all the time," T.K. joked.

"What about you, Kari?" Codi asked. "You've been awfully quiet this whole time."

"Yeah," T.K. agreed. "Everything alright?"

I didn't say anything. I knew they were expecting for an answer, but I didn't have one.

Thankfully the bell rang.

"Shut the alarm clock off, mom!" Davis yelled over the bell.

"Thank God schools finally out for the day," Yolei said yawning and stretching. "Now I can go home and get some sleep.....wait. Forget it." She groaned with the realization that she couldn't go to sleep.

"Bye, guys," I said as I walked in the direction of my house. I didn't even look at them.

"Bye," Yolei, Davis, T.K. and Codi said.

I crossed the street after the cars went by and it was clear.

"Kari!" A voice called.

I spun around to see someone running towards me. At first I thought it was Joe. He had blue long hair. But when he got closer, I realized that it was Ken.

"Ken," I said when he got closer. "What are you doing here?" I snuck a peek at my friends hoping that they weren't seeing me talking with Ken. If they did I would have a whole lot of explaining to do that I didn't want to.

They were staring straight at me, mouths hanging open.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said, ignoring my friends and their stares. "You're the only person that would actually talk to me, you know. Even at my school kids don't talk to me because they feel intimidated."

I looked back at my friends for a second. "All right," I said. "Let's go to the park. It's real nice there and it's quiet."

Ken nodded and we both began to walk down the street.

I just knew that my face was red with embarrassment.

"What in the world is she doing!?" Davis exclaimed. He felt like chasing after her and tell her to get away from that creep.

"I don't know," Codi said. "But I don't like it. Maybe we should tell Tai?"

T.K. nodded. "Codi and Yolei, can you go and tell Tai that Kari is with Ken. Davis and I are going to go follow them so that nothing happens."

Yolei and Codi nodded and ran as fast as they could to Kari's house.

What is she doing with him? T.K. thought as he and Davis made there way behind Kari and Ken.

"So what did you want to talk about?" I asked. The both of us sat down leaning against a large tree.

"Well, remember how we were talking about everything happening for a reason yesterday?"

I nodded.

"Well, I just wanted to talk more about that. All last night I just kept thinking about it. I tried to figure what my destiny is."

"Well, Ken. Sometimes people never find out what their destiny is. They just overlook it or they don't understand it. It's good that you're thinking about it. Most people don't take enough time to actually sit down and thing about those kinds of things. So don't be discouraged if you can't come up with the answers right away."

Ken nodded. "Thank you, Kari. Thanks for everything. Just for being there and talking to me. Most people wouldn't think that a well-known boy like me needs someone to talk to."

I nodded and smiled. "You're welcome. Believe me, I go through the same thing all the time."

"Really?" Ken sounded surprised. "I never knew that you would need somebody to talk to. You have so many friends."

I looked at the ground. "Yeah, but I can't really relate to them. I never talked to them like the way I talked to you yesterday."

There was a pause.

"And did you relate to me?"

I nodded. "You're the only other person that I know that is almost exactly like me. We both have buried our feelings down in ourselves. I find it kind of nice that I'm not alone anymore."

Ken didn't say anything. Instead, he inched a little closer to me. He stared me straight in the eyes. Something about his eyes were drawing me closer to him. The color that they were. That had to be it. Instead of the usual blue color, they were transforming into a dark burgundy. Then they turned to a bright red. They were so...hypnotizing.

"Hey, Kari!" a familiar voice called. "Get away from that loser!"

I flinched and broke out of my trance. T.K. and Davis were running to catch up with us. When they reached us, they were both out of breath. I glanced back at Ken. He seemed...irritated to have been interrupted and his eyes had turned back to his original color.

"Kari, come on. We have to leave," T.K. said. He grabbed my arm gently, hoping to pull me to safety.

I pulled away, feeling some strange sort of resentment towards him. Davis too. "T.K., you have no right to tell me that I have to leave. I'm not going anywhere." I crossed my arms and glared at him. What's wrong with me? I thought to myself. Why am I getting angry with T.K.? He's just looking out for what's best for me. I feel sort of strange...as if something's inside of me...

T.K. was taken aback for a second. "Kari," he urged. "We have to leave. Why are you even here with Ken? You know first hand what he can do to you and to the rest of us."

'T.K.-" I started.

"They're right," Ken said, turning his back to me. "Just leave. You don't want to get hurt."

"Ken," I said, but he already started walking off.

"And next to going to the Digital World alone, that was the most irresponsible thing that you have ever done!" Tai yelled at me. He paced the room back and forth, trying to think of other things to say.

I didn't say anything at all. I knew that what I did was a bit irresponsible, but it was already done and I couldn't do anything to change it. I clutched Gatomon a little closer to me.

"You are so lucky that mom doesn't know anything about this because she would freak out so bad. More than me!"

I finally looked at him for the first time since he started lecturing me.

"You know what, Tai?" I asked. I could feel myself begin to lose control of myself. Almost the same way I felt myself losing control with T.K. It wasn't a feeling that I liked. Still, I continued on without even thinking. "I'm sure she would freak out. But don't you think she would freak out even more if she knew that we were keeping this secret from her for so long? She thought that after we went to the digital world the first time that it was over. Now here we are, putting our lives in danger everyday. I think that she has the right to know what's going on in her children's lives, don't you?"

Gatomon jumped off of my lap and backed away, shocked. "Kari," she started.

Tai's face went pale. "You wouldn't."

I stood up and felt my heart begin to race. It felt as if something was growing inside of me. Something that was about to take control of my body and mind completely. "Tai, I am getting so sick and tired of being a digidestioned. All the responsibilities we have to do day in and day out. It's getting to the point where I am so drained that I don't think I can do it anymore. I'm getting to the point where I don't want to do it anymore." What are you saying? You can't want to quit. You're not a quitter!

"Kari, you can't be saying that you want to quit being a digidestioned!" Gatomon cried out. She ran towards me and tried to touch me with her paw. "You can't! Don't you know how many people you're letting down? Don't you know that you'd be letting me down?"

"I don't care!" I shouted. I bent down and shoved Gatomon away from me. She landed in a heap of old dirty clothes. "I don't care if I'm being let down by other people because they have all let me down too. Even if they don't realize it. I hate them all and I hate you too!" What are you talking about? You don't hate Gatomon or Tai or the others. They've always been here to help you. You don't know what you're talking about!

Tai looked at me alarmed. I know what he must have been thinking. "Kari, you don't know what you're talking about. What's wrong with you? Why did you hurt Gatomon!" Tai walked towards me, reaching out his hand to my shoulder.

As his skin touched mine, I flinched and pulled away, glaring at him evilly. "Don't you dare touch me, you washed up digidestioned."

Tai pulled back and took a few steps backwards. "Kari, what?"

What am I doing?! What am I saying?!

I clutched my head as I felt my mind being torn into two. For some reason, the unreasonable side of me was pushing all my logic away. It was forcing the old me in the back of my heart. I fell to the ground and began to breathe heavily.

"Kari!" Tai yelled. He ran over towards me and bent down. "Are you alright?"

I shook my head. I felt a wave wash through me and I was back to normal. Slowly, I opened my eyes and looked over at Tai.

"What's wrong, Tai?" I asked him, standing up shakily. He looked extremely concerned.

He also stood up. "You-you mean you don't remember anything that just happened?"

I sat down on my bed and struggled to remember. "No, Tai," I said slowly, trying to figure everything out. "What did I do?" I looked over at Gatomon. She was laying in the my clothes. "Gatomon...are you alright? I thought I told you not to play in the clothes." I walked over to her and picked her up out of it.

Gatomon and Tai shared a look.

"What? Did-did I do something?"

Tai shook his head. "No. It's just that you were about to tell me something, but I guess you forgot it. Oh well. Let's go eat dinner. Mom'll have a fit if we don't get to the dinner table according to her watch."

I nodded. It was true. "Alright. You go and I'll be there in a minute."

Tai nodded and left.

I sat down on my bed and closed my eyes. What was happening to me? Am I going crazy or something? Why did I hurt Gatomon? I hate lying to Tai sometimes, but I have to. If I told him that I remembered everything that just happened, he would want some answers and I don't even have any. But I think I know where I can get some...

"Kari, are you sure you're alright?" Gatomon asked.

"You bet, Gatomon," I said trying my best to smile as easily as I could. "And don't worry, I'll bring you some table scraps so you can feast off of one of moms new recipes."

"Mom, may I be excused from the dinner table so I can do my homework?" Tai asked politely.

I rolled my eyes. Watch TV is more like it, I thought.

"Sure, Tai."

Tai got up from the table and sauntered to his room where he would most likely being watching the TV. As soon as he closed the door, I could hear the theme music from his favorite show playing.

"So Kari," mom said. "Speaking of school, I got a call from one of your teachers the other day again. Are you having any trouble?"

I looked up from the mashed sardines and potatoes mom had cooked. One of her latest recipes. "No, mom. I'm just fine. I just haven't been able to concentrate as much as I like to when it comes to school. That's all."

Mom put her fork down and looked over at me concerned. "I'm worried about you. You haven't been able to sleep for such a long time and your eating habits have changed. Do you need to talk to someone? Like professionally?"

That stopped me. "Professionally? You mean like a psychologist?"

Mom nodded and smiled. "Sure. It's just someone to talk to so you can get things off your chest. I think it might be a good idea."

My blood began to boil. I could feel that something forcing out of me. That irrational part of me pushing through. I took a deep breath. I needed to calm down.

"No, mother," I said as best as I could. "Everything is alright with me and if I wanted to talk to someone, I would just talk to my friends or I could talk to Tai." I stuffed a forkful of mashed sardines and potatoes in my mouth to keep from saying anything else.

Mom picked up her fork once again and continued to eat. "Alright. It was just Tai's idea. He thought something was wrong with you."

"Tai?" I asked. What is that boy thinking? "Oh, I have a feeling that things will be clearing up pretty soon."

"Good night, Kari."

I scoffed and pulled the blankets up closer to my chin. I wasn't talking to this kid no matter what. I couldn't believe that he actually suggested to mom that I needed help.

"Kari, I said good night. Aren't you going to say something back?"

I rolled over to my side, trying my best to ignore him.

"Kari,"

"What's your problem, Tai?" I asked suddenly. I had to know.

There was a pause. "What do you mean?"

"About me needing professional help? Where do you go telling mom that I'm going crazy or something?"

Tai sighed. "Kari, you have been acting strange lately. I'm beginning to think that being a digidestioned may have been too much for you to handle. Maybe you do need to talk to someone."

I closed my eyes, feeling suddenly sleepy. "Tai, just shut up. You think I have no idea what I'm talking about, but it's clearly you who has no idea. Do you realize how dumb you sound now?"

There was a moment of silence. "Kari," Tai said quietly. "Ken's only tricking you."

My eyes snapped open. "What?"

"He's tricking you. He's not good and he'll never be good. Can't you see that? I don't know what's wrong with you, but I have a feeling that Ken has something to do with it." I could hear Tai roll over in his bed, indicating to me that this conversation was over.

I closed my eyes once more and felt a tear trickle down my cheek.

So do I.

"Kari."

Huh?

"Kari."

Where am I?

"Come closer to me."

I opened my eyes. Ken stood right in front of me, fully clothed in his Digimon Emperor outfit.

"Join me in my quest. Help me defeat the other digidestioned!"

"Never!" I shouted angrily. "I will never hurt my friends."

There was a loud cackle from him. "You won't hurt your friends? What happened to you hating them? Didn't you say that while arguing with your brother yesterday? That you hate them all?"

I closed my eyes and shook my head. "No. I didn't mean it. Something else was forcing me to talk that way. And I have a feeling it's you!"

Ken just laughed. "You think figured it out, eh? Well, you don't even know what I have in store for you." Ken lifted his hand and I began to float in the air. He gestured me to come near him and I did.

"Stop it!" I shouted. "Don't do this!" I struggled against the unknown force that had me under it's control. It was useless. There wasn't any way I was going to win.

"That's right, Kari. So why don't you just give up now?"

As I floated nearer to him, I saw that his eyes had turned a bright red again. Exactly the same as the day in the park. "Look into my eyes," Ken chanted.

"No!" I squeezed my eyes shut and turned my head away. "Leave me alone!"

"Oh, Kari. Didn't you just say that it was useless to try and struggle. You had the right idea when you thought of quitting."

I shook my head. "No! I'll never quit. As long as I'm alive, I'll never surrender to you!"

Ken crossed his arms and brought his face down close to mine, whispering in my ear. "Well, we're just going to have to do something about that, right?"

I opened my eyes, startled.

Big mistake.

His red eyes drew me closer, deeper into his soul. Keeping me in his trance.

"You have to understand that everyone has evil in them. Everyone has the same amount of evil, but they just force it away. I am here to unlock the evil in your heart. I'm here to make you mine. To make you my slave."

My head began to spin. As I peered into Ken's soul, I could see all the pain that he had burrowed inside. I could see the anger of having to live in his brother's shadow and the need to be the best. It sickened me, but I had no control anymore. I could feel the coldness of Ken's heart washing over me-controlling me.

"No!" I screamed out. I struggled to get away, but Ken had grabbed my arms to keep me still.

"Let me go! I'll never be as evil as you!" My efforts began to weaken as the blackness crept up on my slowly. "You...you can't do...this." My head slumped over to my chest and I breathed heavily. I felt a newness in me. Something that was quite disturbing, but overpowering at once. I liked it.

"Done," Ken said.

I lifted my head to look in Ken's eyes. I suddenly understood him more than ever before. I knew why he did the things he did. It was because of this evil. This evil that feels so good inside. It gives us so much power.

"So, Kari. What is the first thing you're going to do with your new powers?"

I smiled a bit as I thought of my task. This was going to be fun.

"Destroy the Digidestioned."

A.N.: Hehe. This was a bit more funner than the other one because I got to play with the characters a bit and make Kari look like such a dummy. Sure, I like Kari, but who would actually go and save the same guy who she was trying to kill? I don't know where I get these ideas from. Anyways, it's been so many MONTHS since I actually wrote anything. My internet is down and it still is. I have to post my writings via library or friend's houses. Oh well. Hope I can get my internet back soon. In the mean time, R&R! I'll be checking up from time to time.