Kiriha was on cloud nine. He had already come to terms with Taiki despising him after everything he'd done so you could imagine his bewilderment and elation when Taiki chased after him and kissed him of his own free will. The shock passed through his body like a current of electricity and left his mind numb. He wasn't even processing where he was walking, he was moving on autopilot as his body instinctively navigated back to where Mailbirdramon lay waiting.

No Digimon, if any, dared come within ten yards of Kiriha. They were a bit disturbed by the numerous expressions that filtered across the humans face. He was going through a cycle of emotion and he couldn't pinpoint one dominate feeling. One might even think it was the face of a psychopathic killer who just had just made their first kill. As Kiriha stumbled into the clearing where he'd left Mailbirdramon, the bird Digimon jumped up protectively.

"Kiriha, what's wrong!?" Mailbirdramon was at Kiriha's side in one bound and he was quickly checking him over. "Are you hurt? Did something happen?"

"Oh yea... something definitely happened." Kiriha looked up at his partner and cast him a dazed, bright smile before collapsing onto the ground like a drunkard who was spent. Mailbirdramon looked around in unease but everything was still and quiet. He sighed and gently wrapped Kiriha up in his wings, before lying back down. Despite being the human's partner, he still didn't fully understand Kiriha.

. . . . . . .

Taiki never felt more embarrassed in his whole life. He didn't even know why he kissed Kiriha. His body just moved on its own. 'Ahhh! What do I do? Now he's going to get the wrong idea!' Clenching up his fists, Taiki raced through the trees after Dorulumon who was barely visible through the dense forest. He was pulling further and further ahead as Taiki's body began to slow in exhaustion. Not long after, Dorulumon disappeared completely from view and Taiki was left alone. He had a general idea where he was but without Dorulumon's instincts to guide him, he was probably lost… again. 'This is getting old! How many more times am I going to get lost? Damn-it!' Taiki slammed his fist up against the tree beside him and slid down to the ground in frustration. 'This is just like last time. Why couldn't Kiriha have just had his way with me at my campsite and temporarily sealed my Digimon inside his x-loader for the sake of ease? He could just release them after, instead of dragging me all the way out into the middle of nowhere! That would have saved me a lot of trouble.' ….

'Uhhhh…. What am I saying!?'He thought it would have been better to get molested at his camp site? How about not at all? And did he seriously consider letting Kiriha use his x-loader to trap his friends again? A drip of water tapped his cheek and Taiki paused to look up at the sky. The makeshift sun of the digital world was completely shadowed behind dark storm clouds. With it came cold air currents that filtered through the trees, carrying the strong scent of rain. 'Crap!' Climbing to his feet, he took off at a fast sprint in the direction that Dorulumon had disappeared in. Within seconds, rain was pouring down, soaking him through his clothes. The cold water stung as it pelted his skin and face. He knew he wouldn't be able to find the others in the storm, so he decided to find shelter, somewhere dry to stay warm until it passed and then he'd continue to look for his camp.

A strong flash of lightening lit up his right and when he turned to look in the direction of the flash, he spotted a cave. Luckily! Nature was taking pity on his soul! Hustling over without a moments delay, he silently thanked Mother Nature as he entered the cave mouth. The cold stone flooring and walls weren't to inviting but he couldn't complain. Any hopes of starting a fire seemed all but lost until once again, he was blessed to find a small pile of twigs and branches stacked at the back. 'Wait… they are stacked?' Taiki tensed as he eyed his surroundings nervously. 'I think I've intruded into some Digimon's home.'

"Hello! Sorry for barging in on you like this! The rain storm just took me by surprise and I didn't have anywhere else to go!" He was greeted by silence. Lucky for him, the Digimon was out at the moment… hopefully on vacation. If Digimon took vacations. He felt bad for intruding but it was better than getting soaked. Picking up the sticks, Taiki set them up in a tiki formation. Once finished, he set to work with rubbing two sticks together to create enough friction to start a smoking ember. It took a good thirty minutes, but he managed to get smoke puffing up. Lifting the wooden block, he blew gently until a small fire flickered to life. Carefully, so as to not lose his chance at warmth, he lit the bottom tinder under the sticks and the fire sprang to life. Standing up, Taiki stumbled forward awkwardly. His knees were shaky from sitting to long and his hands were sore and blistered from rubbing the stick. His gloves had helped but apparently not enough. Slumping down against the rock wall, Taiki closed his eyes and thought of how he missed his home back in the real world and his friends. Even though he'd left his friends in the real world to protect them, he was starting to regret it. Kiriha wasn't the best company. He was often emotionless and when he did show his emotion, it wasn't what Taiki wanted or expected… Nene was here as well… somewhere, but since their last encounter a few weeks ago, he hadn't seen her since.

….

Taiki awoke with a start when he felt a hard nudge into his side. He didn't remember falling asleep. At the sudden awakening, his adrenaline kicked in and he was on his feet in seconds, ready at a moment's notice should a fight break out. The person facing him, or could he call them a person?, looked like a human, except their clothing was that of some patched up wizard costume and they were holding a staff with what looked like a sun emblem attached on the end.

"What are you doing in my home?" The digi-human asked gruffly.

Taiki broke away from staring to meet their eyes. "I'm sorry, I was just trying to find some shelter from the rain. I didn't mean any disrespect. You were away, and I'd hoped you wouldn't mind."

"Shelter from the rain huh… I guess it's fine. Just don't go burning all my fire wood."

"May I ask what your name is?" Taiki asked as he settled back down.

"The names Wizardmon but most Digimon just call me wheezy."

"Why Wheezy?" 'So, he is a Digimon. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I highly doubt I'll meet another human out here, besides Kiriha and Nene.'

"They call me wheezy because…." Wizardmon never finished his sentence, and he didn't need to; as soon as he began explaining, he started wheezing and coughing roughly.

"Are you okay?" Taiki asked worried.

"I am alright. Don't you fret about me. I'm just an old Digimon who's tired of fighting." Wizardmon poked a stick at the fire, shifting the embers around to get more heat.

"You may stay until the rain has passed but you best not stick around. Now if you'll excuse me." The Digimon used his staff as a crutch to get back to his feet. "My old joints are killing me and I'm tired from all this idle chatter." Taiki watched him leave in silence. 'An old Digimon…interesting. He reminds me of my grandpa back home.'

…..

When Taiki woke again, a large leaf was resting in front of him with a few berries stacked on top. Now that light was slipping through the caves entrance, he got a better look at his surroundings. What he thought to be an ordinary cave was actually a large domed room, with smooth rock walls and with what looked like Indian paintings. There was some carpeting at the entrance that he failed to notice when he'd first entered. Where he sat was in the middle of the room around a stone pit. Off to the side, a new pile of sticks had been gathered. Looking back further into the cave, he noticed a small bend in the back. Curious, he crept over and looked behind it to find another room. Inside was a moss bed, a box that looked like a chest, more carpeting, and a large cauldron for brewing.

"Y'done snooping around?" Wizardmon asked from behind. Taiki inhaled sharply and flipped around with wide stunned eyes. "Sorry for startlin' ya'."

"I'm sorry… I don't mean to snoop, I was just curious."

"I recon you're wondering why an old Digimon like me is out here on his own, ain't ya'?"

"I don't want to pry... but I am curious..."

"I found this place a few years ago. I was out scouting for a small group of Digimon that I used to travel with. We were headin' to Mystic Meadow. We'd heard it was a safe haven and we were eager to get out of all the fightin' amoung them youngins'. Youngins' these days are all about proving them' powr' and stuff. Most of our group was made up of old folk like me, or Digimon barely sprouting them' years."

"There are baby digimon? So digimon can have kids of their own?"

"Baby in our sense is different than urs'. Baby Digimon are just reincarnations of old Digimon, like myself, who have died. When we die, our DNA is transferred back to the Digimon hatchin' grounds, where we evolve and grow all over again."

"Interesting..."

"So any who', back to what I was sayin', while I was out scouting ahead, I found this old place. It had long since been abandoned and was fallin' to pieces. I knew I should go back to get the others, but I thought I'd fix the place up and make it look invitin' for the group... you know, lift the spirits of everyone and all, but... when I'd returned to my comrades, they had already been attacked and picked off. Only two remained...they were elders like me. I took them back to this here cavern and we rested up for da' nigh', but in the mornin' they accused me of abandoning the rest; that I had merely fled from the scene, only to return when the figh'in had calmed down. I tried reasonin' with them, but they needed someone to blame, so they focused their anger on me. The followin' day, I awoke to find the others gone. Up and left me. Instead of followin', I decided to just stay and live out the rest of my days here alone, where I would be free from danger and away from any squabbles and youngins'."

"Why away from the younger Digimon?"

"I was only an unnecessary weigh, holdin' the group up, and I'm sure the other elders felt the same. The youngins' in our group would have made it safely if they weren't gettin held up by me."

"But you can never know, and the groups disappearance wasn't your fault! You were only trying to help."

"I like you human; what's your name?"

"Taiki."

"Well Taiki, I have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"Why were you out there alone in the woods anyways? It's not safe to be alone."

"...I got separated from my friends..."

"Well then...why are we still here. Let's go find your friends."

"You're going to help?"

"Of course. Why wouldn' I help a friend?" Wizardmons eyes seemed to sparkle, and Taiki could tell he was smiling underneath the cloth covering his mouth. Smiling back, the brunette held out his hand. "Friends!"

Wizardmon grasped his hand gently, giving it a fond shake. "So where do we start?"