It was, T.K. reflected, not a bad way to spend a summer afternoon. The younger Digi-Destined had taken the opportunity of the perfect weather to organise a group game of rounders in the park, with the children playing against their Digimon.
"Hey, T.K., catch!" Kari yelled as she hurled the ball towards the first base, laughing as Armadillomon curled into a ball and rolled forwards in an attempt to outrun the thrown ball. T.K. caught the ball just as Armadillomon rolled past, and opted to throw it to Davis in the centre of the roughly-marked pentagon. Davis fumbled the catch, letting it slip out of his grasp and snatching it up off the floor a split second after Armadillomon had rolled past the fourth base.
"Nice one, Davis," Ken called from twenty metres away in amusement as Veemon patted Armadillomon on the back and Gatomon let out a cheer.
Davis scowled. "Yeah, like you could have done any better, Ichijouji!"
"Well, if you'd care to let someone else have a turn at bowling, perhaps I could show you how it's done," Ken smirked as he walked towards the group, noting Davis' expression turning steadily more irritated.
"Yeah, Davis, why do you always get to bowl?" Yolei exclaimed from her post at the second base. "I bet Ken could bowl a zillion times better than you!"
Ken retreated back to his position fielding. "It's okay, Yolei, I was kidding," he said. "I don't mind not getting a turn at bowling. Besides which, I'm needed where I am: I bet Davis couldn't run as fast for the ball as I can."
Yolei burst into laughter as Davis huffed in indignation. "Yeah, is that a challenge? Take my place, T.W., I'm going to show Kari just how much faster than Ken I can run."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Gatomon said crossly, just as Cody's voice bellowed across from the fourth base.
"OI! Be quiet, Davis! In case you had forgotten, we're supposed to be playing a game here and that's not really possible when our bowler won't bowl the ball!"
T.K. smiled to himself. Good old Cody, honest as ever. Of course, Cody was now a teenager, and was constantly surprising T.K. by becoming more and more assertive every day, despite never losing his idealism.
"Yeah, yeah, okay," Davis said, raising his arm with the ball in it. "Oh yeah, Patamon," he added, addressing the small Digimon which was now standing in front of Kari brandishing a bat twice as big as itself. "No flying, okay?"
Patamon gave a high-pitched laugh. "Yeah, no fear," he said, neglecting to add that his small wings made flying at speed a struggle.
Davis threw the ball and Patamon swung at it, sending the ball flying towards T.K. as Patamon took off, his tiny legs carrying him as fast as he could. However, before Patamon could reach the base, T.K. caught the ball in both hands.
"Sorry, buddy, looks like you're out," T.K. shrugged as Kari smiled kindly at the small Digimon.
"It's okay, Patamon, you're not the only one out," Wormmon said encouragingly.
"Indeed, you did well to hit the ball such a long way," Hawkmon said. "I suppose that means it's my turn." However, before Hawkmon could step into the batting square, Veemon's stomach gave a loud rumble.
"Davis, I'm hungry!" he announced unnecessarily as his stomach shouted again.
"Yeah, me too," Davis said, dropping the ball where he was and walking away to where the group had left their bags.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," Yolei sighed, leaning on her base. "Sorry, Hawkmon, we can't play without Davis here."
Davis suddenly returned with Veemon, the pair of them stuffing their faces with chocolate. "Too right you can't!" he said through a mouthful.
"I think that what Yolei meant was that it's not really possible to play with only five people on the fielding side," Cody piped up.
"Well, if these two are going to decide to pig out, I suppose that means we'd better get out the picnic before Davis and Veemon finish the lot!" Yolei declared, before rushing over to fetch her hamper. With Kari's help she set out enough blankets for everybody to sit on in the middle of their rounders pitch, and T.K. handed plates around.
Once everybody was settled around the basket with a plateful of food from the Inoue's shop, Armadillomon spoke. "Yolei, do your parents not mind you taking all of this food from their shop?"
Yolei smiled. "Actually, I paid for this all myself."
Davis nearly choked on a mouthful of crisps.
"You mean you spent what looks like quite a bit of your own money on us when you're saving up for a new computer?" Ken asked, his eyes wide as he looked at Yolei. Veemon thumped the suffocating Davis on the back.
"Well, yeah, you're my friends," Yolei said, glancing up from her plate of food and smiling briefly at Ken, before quickly looking back down at her salad. Cody let a small rush of air from his nose which might have been a concealed laugh.
"Well, thank you, Yolei," Kari said gently as she tucked into her own salad, and the rest of the group murmured in agreement.
The Digi-Destined and their Digimon spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and laughing, completely at peace with the world as they ate their picnic and discussed their plans for the rest of the summer. After a while, Davis spoke up.
"Okay, guys, so we already know when we're going to the beach, when we're playing six-a-side soccer, when we're..."
"When we're all doing our homework together?" Ken offered.
"Yeah, I was hoping to forget that one," Davis muttered, before jumping to his feet. "What we haven't talked about yet is when we're visiting the Digital World!" The Digimon stood to attention.
"It would be nice to return for a bit," Gatomon said wistfully, as Patamon nodded in agreement.
"You mean you don't like being here with us?" T.K. asked in teasing tones, poking Patamon gently in the side.
Patamon stuck his tongue out. "Not if you're going to poke me like that, T.K.!"
T.K. shrugged. "Okay, I'm sorry," he said, as Kari made eye-contact with him and grinned.
"So, when are we going?" Davis said slightly louder than was necessary, smirking when Kari turned her attention away from T.K. and onto him.
"How about tomorrow?" Yolei proposed. "I mean, it's not my shift at the shop and none of us have anything better to do. Right?" she said, forcefully.
"Right!" T.K., Kari, Ken and Cody said quickly, to the delight of their Digimon.
"It's decided, then!" Yolei declared. "We'll go tomorrow!"
Davis scowled. "But what if I have a date with a cute girl tomorrow?"
Yolei burst into laughter. "And do you?"
"No," Davis said, so softly the others could barely hear him, and Veemon patted his arm in consolation.
"Aww, I'm looking forward to this!" Patamon exclaimed excitably, jumping up onto T.K.'s head.
"Okay," Ken said. "If we're going to meet up to go to the Digital World tomorrow morning, Wormmon and I had better be returning to Tamachi soon. We'll need to be well-rested."
"Stuff that!" Davis shouted. "Ken, would you like to sleep over at mine tonight? You can have my room and I'll kip on the sofa, it's fine, and you can eat with us..."
"Yeah," Yolei butted in. "Ken, you can be the hot date Davis was talking about!"
Ken wrinkled his nose, ignoring Davis' protests. "Sorry, Davis, you're not really my type."At that, the rest of the group, except Davis, burst into laughter. "Seriously, though," he continued once the laughter had subsided. "Thanks for the offer, Davis, but I promised my mother that I'd buy her some cereal on my way home and she'll want it in the morning. I'll be sure to send you a message when I reach Odaiba, though."
"Why don't we all just agree to meet at my place at nine in the morning?" T.K. offered. My mother won't mind us using the computer, and she won't turn it off while we're in the Digital World so it's impossible to get back."
"Sounds good," Gatomon says. "That way we can spend the whole day in the Digital World!"
Wormmon suddenly spoke up. "Hey, aren't we going to invite the older Digi-Destined and their Digimon along with us?"
Ken smiled at his Digimon. "No, Wormmon, I've already explained to you that they're busy with exams at the moment," he said patiently. "Some of them are even away at university right now, so we really don't want to distract them from their studies. We'll go again with them all as one big group trip when they return."
"That sounds good," Kari said.
"Seeing as we've got that sorted, Wormmon and I really do need to be going if we're going to buy that cereal," Ken pointed out.
"I can sell you some cheap from my family's shop if you like, Ken!" Yolei said cheerfully.
"Won't your parents mind that?" Ken asked.
Yolei shrugged. "Probably, but I don't care!" she replied, a broad smile on her face as she looked up at Ken, who was just staring back.
Cody cleared his throat softly.
"Um, okay, that would be great, thank you." Ken said brightly, quickly turning away from Yolei and looking at Wormmon. "Looks like we're taking a detour on our way back to the station!"
"Your mother will be happy," Wormmon said kindly. "Yolei, would you like any help carrying the picnic bag?"
Yolei shook her head as she got to her feet and began haphazardly throwing the dirty plastic plates back into the bag. "No thank you, Wormmon, it's okay," she said cheerfully. "Ken will be happy to do it!"
T.K. had to fight the urge to smile as the kind Ken immediately jumped up to help. Of course, Yolei was right, and as the group split up T.K. walked with Patamon, Cody, Armadillomon, Yolei, Hawkmon, Wormmon and Ken, the latter of whom uttered not one complaint about his designated role as bag-carrier.
The next morning, T.K. was woken early by Patamon jumping up and down on his pillow in excitement. After explaining his plans for the day to his mother, she went off to work, leaving T.K. and Patamon alone in the apartment to sort out their own breakfast.
Just as T.K. was about to put some toast on, the doorbell rang and T.K. answered it to find Kari and Gatomon waiting on the porch.
"Gatomon kept on pestering me to get up. I'm really sorry we're so early," Kari said apologetically.
"It's fine, please come in," T.K. said quietly, holding open the door for the girls and showing them into the kitchen.
"Gatomon!" Patamon yelled, and immediately raced towards the cat Digimon, happy to see his friend again.
T.K. nodded towards the Digimon. "Those two are great together," he said, laughing as Patamon jumped on Gatomon's head and tried to lift her up into the air.
"Well, we do make a great team," Kari responded, beaming at T.K., who smiled back.
"We do indeed. I was just about to make some toast. Would you like anything?" T.K. asked, tearing his eyes away from his friend and making his way into the kitchen.
Kari laughed as Patamon dropped Gatomon onto the table and collapsed in exhaustion. "Well, I wouldn't mind some toast," Kari said. "Thank you, T.K."
"I'll have sausages, eggs, more sausages and bacon, with sausages on the side," Gatomon said, scampering into the kitchen.
"Sorry, Gatomon, we're fresh out of sausages," T.K. said, incredulous that such a small Digimon could eat so much.
Gatomon frowned. "Oh, well, in that case I'll just have some tuna."
"Gatomon!" Kari said in a scandalised voice. "You already ate all of poor Miko's tuna before we came here!"
"Oh yeah, so I did," Gatomon said quietly, contemplating the floor.
"It's okay, Gatomon can have more tuna if she likes, right, T.K.?" Patamon asked.
T.K. opened a tin and handed it to Gatomon, who tucked in. "She means thank you," Kari said quickly, raising an eyebrow at the hungry cat.
T.K. put the bread in the toaster and switched it on before returning to the dining table. "So, what are you most looking forward to seeing again?" he asked , leaning slightly across the table towards Kari.
Kari's eyes lit up as she no doubt pictured the world in her mind. "I'm looking forward to returning to the forest, and the mountains, and the desert, and perhaps even Primary Village," she said thoughtfully, as she closed her eyes and adopted a beautifully serene smile. "And, of course, it'll be good to see our old friends again. Even the Numemon." At that moment, the toast popped out of the toaster and T.K. left the table to collect it. He spread butter on the toast and brought it in to Kari and Patamon, along with a selection of jams.
However, before he could take a bite, T.K. heard another voice.
"Hey, T.L.! Why are you eating breakfast with Kari?"
"Hi Davis, Veemon," T.K. said without even looking towards the intruders.
"You left the door open, so we thought we'd come in!" Veemon said cheerfully.
Davis folded his arms and glared at T.K. "You didn't answer my question. Why are you eating breakfast together?"
T.K. raised his arms in a placating manner. "Chill, Davis. If you'll remember, you could have been eating breakfast with Teen Genius Ken Ichijouji earlier."
"He's not Kari!" Davis shouted."Kari's beautiful and perfect and amazing and..."
Yes, she is, T.K. thought grimly. She's also not yours.
"Hey, Veemon, will you shut your pet human up before I have to? There's a good little dragon," Gatomon said, examining her claws.
"You know, Davis, you are kind of causing a scene," Veemon said, pointing out the fact that the other Digi-Destined were standing outside the door by this point, peering in.
"Aaaaand that marks the end of breakfast," T.K. said to himself, gesturing for the Digi-Destined to follow him into the study.
Yolei booted up the computer and set up a Digi-Port as the Digi-Destined and Digimon chatted among themselves.
"I think we're just about ready!" Yolei exclaimed. "Digi-Port open!"
One-by one the teens held up their D3s until T.K. and Patamon were the only ones left in the apartment.
"Everything's sorted, so I guess it's time for us to go," Patamon said, re-checking the front door was locked.
"Okay," T.K. said. "Off to the Digital World, then!" And with that, he raised his D3 to the monitor and he and Patamon were absorbed into the computer screen.
When they landed, T.K. looked around and noticed that they were in a familiar place: the forest where Gatomon had apparently lost her Holy Ring five years ago. Was it really that long?
T.K. looked down at Patamon, who jumped up onto his head and looked around himself.
"Hey, T.K.," Patamon said over the voices of the other Digi-Destined. "Gatomon and Kari aren't here."
Kari picked herself up from the floor where she had landed and shivered, surprised by how cold the place was. Beside her she felt Gatomon trembling slightly, before the small Digimon climbed up onto her shoulders and threw her arms around Kari's neck.
Kari suddenly became aware of how grey everything looked, and noticed that there was no monitor on the floor for the pair to have emerged from.
"I'm scared, Kari," Gatomon said quietly.
"No," was all Kari could say.
"Azulongmon," the great yellow dragon Digimon said in greeting.
"Huanglongmon, what brings you to the Eastern Quadrant?" Azulongmon asked in surprise.
Huanglongmon sighed. "I'm afraid I am going to have to ask you the ultimate favour," he said quietly. "I am sure you are aware of precisely why the Digimon Sovereigns each have twelve Digi-Cores, instead of the usual one?
Azulongmon nodded sadly. "You need me to give up the Crests."
"I'm afraid so," Huanglongmon confirmed. "All three of them, Hope, Light and Miracles, and all at full power."
"All twelve Digi-Cores," Azulongmon said quietly. "I can't say I didn't see this coming. Bad things have been happening."
"Don't worry. I shall personally keep an eye on your Quadrant until you are reborn," Huanglongmon said, neglecting to add that he almost certainly would not be able to keep his promise.
"Well, I suppose I shall see you again," Azulongmon said, gathering his Digi-Cores into groups of four and fusing them together into the familiar Crests, before dissolving into the air and scattering the Crests to the winds.
"Thank you, Azulongmon," Huanglongmon murmured, watching as the three yellow, pink and white crests twinkled out of sight.