This chapter is dedicated to my co-worker. God bless her soul...


Kari

Grey is the only color she sees. All different shades, light and dark, but all still grey. The only thing in this world is a soft fog and water as far as the eye can see. The air is cold and nips at her skin yet her breathe takes no shape in front of her. A familiar feeling washes over Kari. She knows this place, she has come here many times before but she can never recall a name. It itches at the back of her head but it never shows its face.

Kari looks down. She is in her PJs and her body matches the color of the vacant world. The murky water is almost up to her knees. The last time she was here, it was only half way up her lower leg. It is moving faster.

A cackle breaks the silence. Kari snaps her head up and searches for the sound. Just like with the world, a name lurks inside but she can never grasp it. She wants to find it, it haunts her never being able to put a face to this noise. Finding it might stop what happens next. Anything to stop him from appearing. It doesn't work. She does not find the source of the cackle. She finds someone else.

His colors are faded but against the monochrome background, the blues, oranges, and brown stick out like a sore thumb. His back is turned towards Kari but she can never forget the figure in front of her. Tai.

Every fiber of her being screams to run over to Tai. Kari knows it is a trap, she will never reach him. She struggles to resist the urge; however, her body doesn't listen. The water splashes against her legs as she trudges through it. Tai never draws closer. He drifts away as Kari pushes further.

The water begins to drag her down. She trips, hitting the water hard. Water rushes up and into her mouth and nose, choking her. Whatever ground she was walking on before is gone. She can no longer pull herself above the now turbulent water. Kari attempts to swim up but it is futile. The laughter comes back as darkness envelops her.

Kari wakes with a start. She bolts straight up, gasping for air. Her heart races inside of her chest, threatening to burst out. Kari clutches her shirt to calm it down. A million thoughts, a million twisted memories, race through her mind. A cold chill runs down her spine.

Her mind still lost, Kari looks around. Darkness covers almost every inch of her sight except for a small sliver of light that creeps through a curtain. Shifting herself creates the unmistakable sound of a bed squeaking. There is a distant sound of water running and dishes clinking together. There is no grey ocean in sight. No sounds of a dark laughter. She's home. She's home and in her bed. She is safe.

Four days now. Four days of nightmares crawling their way into her dreams. Sometimes they start differently, sometimes they start decently but they always end the same. The dark ocean and Tai appearing and then her drowning.

Kari lies down and collects her thoughts. Those dreams feel so real. She is at least somewhat aware she is asleep when she is there but even now she can feel the ice-cold water against her body. The laugh that always accompanies the dream plays in her head. Kari wraps her pillow around her head attempting to block it out.

Then of course there is the ghost of Tai. He has haunted her for years. Nothing she has ever done has gotten rid of him. There are lucky days she does not dream of him—usually on those days she has no dreams at all. The worse is when he bears the wound that ended his life. Thankfully this time she saw no such thing on his back. She has not seen that in a while.

"I'm sorry, Tai," Kari mutters to herself.

Kari takes a long inhale before crawling out of bed. She takes her time getting dressed, not caring today if she is late to school. It's Friday after all. Plenty of kids ditch class for a three-day weekend, being late can't be bad.

She grabs her bag off the chair in her room and heads out of her room. The sound of dishes being cleaned is clearer now and Kari can also hear her mom humming some tune. Kari walks straight for the door after turning the corner. Her fingers are about to wrap around the knob when she is stopped.

"You're not going to eat today, honey?" Her mother asks.

Kari sighs, closing her hand into a small fist. She can feel the cuts from days before starting to reopen. She hisses through her teeth at the pain. "No, Mom. I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten breakfast at all this week. And you barely touch your dinner. You have to eat."

"I eat a lot at school."

"Kari, you can't keep doing this again. This isn't good for you and I already got a call from your teacher you've were late twice already."

"Then I should go before I am late again. I'll grab something from the vending machine. I need to go."

Without saying another word, Kari pulls the door open and walks out of the apartment before her mother can say anything else. There is a chance that her mother will be waiting on the couch for her when she comes home. Great, another lecture. She hasn't had one of those in a long time.

Kari keeps walking. There is no point of stopping or turning around and going back home with her tail between her legs. She only has been awake for not even an hour yet and she wants the day to end already.

Despite already running late Kari takes the long route to school as she always does. The shorter way would spit her out near the water. Like hell she is going anywhere near lakes or oceans any time soon. If she keeps up the fast pace she should make it to school on time.

As she walks, Kari thinks about ideas to stop TK and the others. Most of the group have obtained a new type of evolution that has become a thorn in her side. Each so far has a crest from the old digidestined. If there are more out there like that it means TK will be looking for one for him. If she can get to the egg first she could set a trap.

Whatever her idea will be she must act fast. Yesterday, with everyone having their partners now, dark towers started to be targeted. Kari managed to shake them off somewhat but that also had to do with the fact it was a school night. She herself can't stay too long or her parents will grow suspicious. With the weekend almost here, they will have more time to wreak havoc. She has no doubts Izzy is trying to find a way to open the gate outside of the school. She has no idea if he already has done so. Today is the best day to stop them.

Kari knows if she does not do something soon a Scubamon will make its way out of the woodwork with a message of disappointment. She is overdue anyway to give an update on her work. Kari guesses they are happy, or at least were, and felt there was no need to send a low-key minion to talk to her every week. That doesn't mean they aren't still watching and keeping tabs. Kari has spotted a Scubamon at least once hiding recently.

Finally, the school is insight. Another long day of listening to the teacher ramble on about something. Great. Kari debates if she should skip spying on TK and the others and go straight home to find the egg before them. Maybe she should at see if they have any idea where the eggs can be.

The school comes into view. Kids are filtering in the front door. There will not be no phone call back home. Kari steps her way into the crowd, making little notice.


They are always in the same spot. Not the smartest move on their part but they have no idea Kari is listening in. The school yard is huge after all. Everyone has their own favorite spot in the courtyard. No one bats an eye at Kari sitting alone by herself. As long as she stays hidden from TK and his friends sight, there is nothing to worry about.

The only issue she faces is only able to pick up on a few key words. Despite focusing all her energy at listening, the ambient noise of kids enjoying free time makes it hard. Hiding behind the building blocks out sound as well. Whatever she can pick up, she makes a mental note. It helps that Davis has a habit of talking loudly.

With his high volume, Kari can pick up on Davis talking about his digimon, no surprise, destroying dark towers. Kari tunes him out for a bit, not wanting to hear him boasting and what she says isn't important at the moment. God his voice annoying, she thinks. His voice dies down as someone else starts to speak. It sounds like Yolei. Kari shifts closer, doing her best to stay hidden.

"…what about your egg? Any ideas?"

Silence again. Someone is just out of earshot. More than likely TK. Seems like her hunch was right. It's a race now to find it. It can be anywhere in the digital world. Sending out scouts can work. Whatever it takes to get there first.

The others start to talk about the other digidestined with them, Ken she hears, when the bell rings, signaling the end of everyone's free period.


Kari makes her way down the hall, not paying attention to where she is going at all. She keeps her head down, not wanting to meet anyone's gaze. There is not a lot of time to get home and conduct her search. Time was lost already because the teacher had to keep going on to finish his thought. Today really wants to annoy her, doesn't it?

She really should pay attention to where she is going. As Kari exits the school and starts on her long path back home, she hits something hard. It nearly knocks her down. She stumbles back, however, before shaking it off.

"Oh, sorry about that. Are you okay?"

Kari looks up. It's Davis' friend and the only other one in the group who knows what the heck he is doing.

"Ken…" She says under her breath. She immediately regrets her decision. Ken gives her a puzzled look, having heard her speak his name. This is the first time he has ever met her. Technically, the same goes for her.

"Do I…know you?" Ken asks. "Are you one of TK's or Davis' friends?"

"N-No! No. Just, I have to go," Kari stutters. A curse enters her head as she shoves Ken aside. She gives him no time to say anything else and leaves him hanging. That was not good at all, slipping like that. She has spent so much time towards getting her revenge and staying in the shadows so no one would recognize her face. Now, she might have just slipped and risked ruining her plan.

Calm down, Kari. It will be alright. Maybe Ken will shrug it off and not tell the others about the strange interaction. Maybe he will forget. Maybe you haven't just messed up everything and risked getting in trouble. Crap why am I such an idiot?

Kari slaps the side of her face, trying to stop thoughts from coming into her head. Her mind is such a mess from the small exchange she does not pay attention to what she is walking by. The sound of water hitting the earth draws her out of her mind.

She doesn't see the crystal clear blue water or the tan ground it touches. All she sees is are the greys that have haunted her since she was eight years old. Kari backtracks away from the ocean, getting back to her usual path as quickly as possible. Once nothing but trees and buildings surround her, Kari slows her steps. She notices her right hand shaking. Kari holds it in a fist, opening her wounds once more, to seize the movement.

God today really is not my day, is it?

Kari can barely walk up the steps to her apartment by the time she reaches home. Her legs weigh down under her and sleep threatens to take over her body. She can't let it stop her. Using all the strength she has, Kari forces herself up the stairs and into her home. Thankfully, it is empty. Her mom must be out doing something. Finally, something in her favor.

Taking a breath, gathering her thought, Kari heads off into her room and into the digital world. As always, Gatomon shows up not long after entering. She loyally waits for her partner every day after school.

"You took longer than usual. Is everything okay?" Gatomon asks.

"Today hasn't been my day, that's all. I don't want to talk about it," Kari replies.

"Uh…Okay. If that is what you want. Do you want an update on things? I saw a Scubamon this morning."

"Great…No not right now. I want to do something else first. Something that might actually slow the others down or stop them."

Gatomon's ears turn sidewise. "What do you mean?"

"I have a plan to trap them. I just need to find TK's digi-egg. The only question is where it could be."

"Well, were where the others? Maybe it is somewhere like them."

Kari thinks. Davis' egg was inside a remote cave while Yolei's and Cody's were in a hidden temple. The digital world is vast, who knows how many hidden places there are. This is going to be harder than she thought.

"Are there any caves or hidden buildings near here? We should look there first."

"I think there are a couple of caves around the area. Wait, are you seriously not going to go after the others? You know the Scubamon came here because they started to notice dark towers and rings where disappearing. You're really going to let them take out more?"

"I don't like the idea either, Gatomon. But if I can keep any more of these evolutions from occurring, things might get a little bit easier. They need me anyway, don't they? They just are going to have to deal. If this plan works then we will have the upper hand. Show me the nearest cave. Let's start there first."

Gatomon sighs but follows orders. The cat digimon guides Kari through the woods. It only takes a few minutes of walking for the duo to find the first cave. It is small and not all too deep. Just a moment in there and Kari can already tell this is not the place. Great.

The next cave is better but still no luck. While it was deep enough and had a few pockets, you could hide something in, all she finds is some rubble and a digimon hiding out. The second it spotted Kari and Gatomon, it attempts to bolt. Kari is quick throw a dark ring around its' neck. There can't be any witnesses, especially when Gatomon is near her.

Walking around more yields no results. Kari begins to get frustrated. If she does not get something done then Gatomon's worry will be quite real. There are two more areas to look around. One has to have it, right?

Gatomon suddenly stops. Kari looks around. She doesn't see anything but trees and a small meadow around her. Unless Kari is missing something, there is no cave or buildings around to look through. Why has her partner stopped?

"It's pretty, isn't?" The digimon says.

"What do you mean?"

"The meadow, that's what. It would make a perfect photo, right?"

Kari blinks before looking back at the meadow. Gatomon is right. The sun of the digital world has begun to set and the sky has become a mix of blues and orange. The purple flowers that bloom in the field stick out against the horizon. If she had her camera she might have a taken snapshot, she used to all the time. But her camera has been gathering dust on her bookshelf for the past year or so.

The faintest of smiles comes across her face. Gatomon can barely make it out but smiles herself when she sees it. "Don't worry about anything Kari, we'll figure it out. I'm sure one of these caves has to have it."

With that, Gatomon leads the way once more. She and Kari walk for a few minutes and luck finally seems to be on their side. The next cave the two look at is deep. Many twist and turns are about inside it. There is no way in hell either she or Gatomon can look through all the tunnels and get out before it is dark.

Something tells her to take a right, down a tunnel that just misses her head. Kari brushes her hand against the rough walls. After some yards, the tunnel opens into a medium sized room. Off to the side there sits two eggs. Drawing closer Kari can see that the tan colored one, TK's crest is carved into it. But her attention is quickly taken away.

Sitting by TK's egg is a white colored egg. Small feet stick out from under it. Right in the middle of the egg in a soft purple color, is her crest. It has been so long since she last saw the symbol, let alone thought about it.

Kari falls to her knees in front of the egg. Memories flood her mind. Meeting Gatomon for the first time, sacrificing herself to protect everyone, Wizardmon, Angewomon, everything about that fateful day hits her. Everything…

Without thinking, Kari slowly reaches for the egg. She remembers helping everyone in their fight against Myotismon, the proud face of her older brother, the feeling of euphoria at the feeling of doing good. She had forgotten all about those good moments. Nothing had ever made her feel better, feel as proud as that day when she took down the demon that terrorized her city. But nothing ever made her feel worse then him returning shortly after and the aftermath of that battle. So much happened on that signal summer's day.

She winces the second her hands touch the object. Sharp, stinging heat radiates into her skin. Kari hisses through her teeth, holding her hands close to her chest. Gatomon is quick to rush to her partner's aid.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine. The egg felt hot, like it would burn me. Damn that stings."

Gatomon looks at the egg. With one paw, she reaches out. She can touch the egg without harm. It is cold to the touch. She looks back at Kari, who wears a shocked look on her face.

Kari reaches out once more with her right hand. She only puts the tips of her fingers on the egg. It still feels like metal on a summer's day. Any thoughts of bliss she had with the digital world and that day fades away. It does not want her. She doesn't want it either.

"Tch, fine. We finally found it. Now we can set a trap and lull them in. Time to finally put them in their place."


She is back again. Back in the vast, endless ocean. Kari looks down like she always does. Now the murky water is nearing her hips. The water really is moving, isn't. She knows what is going to come next. Sooner or later, it will come. Everything always is the same.

Expect today. Instead of standing, Kari decides to move. It is slow going, she nearly trips a few times and it takes all her strength to move forward. She has no goal, no plan, she just wanted to change this landscape.

Right on cue, the cackle cuts through the fog. Kari stops in her tracks and looks around. Nothing. She grits her teeth. The laugh sounds so close yet there is nothing for miles. Time is ticking away before her brother appears.

"What do you want from me?" Kari shouts, not expecting an answer. She is shocked when the laugh turns into words.

"How can you forget so soon, little one? We both want the same thing, don't we? You forget why you need me? Why I need you?"

Kari bites her lip in thought. Her stomach twists into a knot. Unlike their name, that still tries to dig its' way out of her brain, she knows what they are talking about. She doesn't want to admit it, however.

"Power. We both want the power to change something, to take back what we lost and to get our justice, isn't that right?"

Before she can say anything else, Tai appears back still turned. Unlike before, this time there is tear in the shirt. His wound that Kari told Angewomon to deal.

"No." She looks away as fast as she can from the sight, staggering back. Her ankles catch each other and she falls into the water.

It is still dark out when she wakes in her cold sweat. Kari wonders if she should bother trying to sleep anymore if this is going to keep on happening. It doesn't matter, least not now. Trying to sleep after a nightmare is hard work.

Kari reaches up and touches her cheeks. Damped. That hasn't happened in a while. More threaten to come as she thinks of the events of her dream. Kari flips over on her side, not knowing what else to do. She tries closing her eyes but the imagine of Tai from her dream still is there.

"I'm sorry, Tai…"


A/N: So first thing first. Yes, another early update. Now I did this cause I want to try and start updating weekly and the date of updates might change cause work hours changes, so the next chapter will appear sometime between next Sunday (Sept 9th) and next week's Saturday (Sept 14th). If i start to run low on chapters its back to two weeks but for now I think I am okay for now.

Now for the second part. I'll try to make it quick but...the reason for the dedicated to my co worker is sadly she took her own life last week. I knew her since I was 15 and she always was supportive of my dreams and wanted me to do good and never stop loving my passions. Writing is a passion of mine and I use to write at work which she would tease me about since I was shy about people seeing me do it. Still, she always wanted me to do what I loved. This chapter happens to deal partly with loss and I guess it's fitting in that way this chapter is dedicated to her. And yall, if you ever are feeling like taking your own life is the only answer, it's not. So many people came out to her wake, so many people who loved her came. You ARE loved, there ARE people who love and care about it. They are willing to listen to you, willing to help. Hotlines are around as well to help, strangers want to help you. Life is tough, I know, but yall are tougher and there is hope.

And also, do small acts of kindness to someone. A small act like telling that stressed out cashier they are doing a good job and helping them bag and being polite, getting a coworker a coffee or bagel to bring a smile on their face, or taking a friend out somewhere when they are down, those acts can matter big time. So be kind and know you are all loved