Title: A Cry Amongst Silence

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.

Pairings: T.K/Kari, Tai and Kari sibling bonding, Matt and T.K sibling bonding.

Summary: Set after the final battle of Season 2. After everything seems to be back to normal for the digidestined, Kari feels a pull from the dark ocean again. But this time, Tai is there to help her overcome it.

Notes: This story will feature sibling bonding, family dynamics, and adventure. The adventure will be a slow build. This story also explores the capabilities of sensing emotions and feelings.

Chapter note: Slow plot build. I will still add cute sibling love fluff though, since this was the original reason for me writing this story in the first place.

Mimi arrived a few minutes later and placed herself on the floor next to Cody. She could tell from the look on Tai's face that this meeting had something to do with Kari. Glancing over at Matt' just confirmed how serious they considered this matter to be.

"What's going on, guys?" She asked, trying to break the silence and get the ball rolling. The one thing Mimi hated was being kept out of the loop, especially when it came to her friends.

"Alright, I've asked you all here because of something that's going on." Tai looked at Kari and she nodded her head in reassurance.

He held her journal up for everyone to see before speaking again. "Before I start though," He looked toward T.K. and Kari. "I need you guys to tell everyone everything that happened the very first time you met the scubamon."

T.K. was about to speak when Kari put a hand on his shoulder to silence him. He didn't know every single detail of what happened when they transported her to the Dark Ocean. It would be better if she told the whole story. Then T.K. could fill in anything she didn't know.

"Well, I was feeling weird before I knew about the scubamon. I was having really bad nightmares a few days before, and I had no idea why or what was causing them. I figured maybe I was watching too many scary movies or something. So the day they actually transported me was strange. I was sitting in class, then all of a sudden I had a pounding headache, and then I was surrounded by water. And even stranger than that was that everything around me was grey."

She paused to gather her thoughts. She glanced over to see Izzy taking notes on his computer, and everyone else hanging on her every word.

"That's when I noticed she was fading away." T.K. added during her pause.

"I snapped out of it when I heard T.K. call my name. I felt really weak afterwards, like someone had drained all of my energy. And then I heard something calling my name, telling me to help it. I had no idea who or what it was.

"So, after most of the day dealing with it, I couldn't fight it anymore and just went to the beach. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, and when I opened them I was at the Dark Ocean."

"And this is where things get complicated." T.K. again added. "Because we have no idea where the Dark Ocean is."

"You mean it's not in the digi world?" Mimi asked.

"I don't think so. Because I was transported there the same way Kari was."

"Yeah, and the portal wouldn't open for me." Davis said.

"But at the same time, it had to be the digital world, because there was a control spire there." Patamon commented.

"That's true, but the scubamon also had no idea what a Digimon was or that they were digimon." Kari continued. "And the scubamon had dark spirals around their arms. But then, when we took the rings off, the scubamon changed into these terrible dark creatures. They said they wanted me to help them defeat their master. They wanted me to be their queen.

"And when I refused, they said their master was powerful and that he would come back for me."

Those who were just hearing the recollection for the first time had looks of horror on their faces. The others had looks of anger, sadness, or empathy.

Matt stepped in after a few moments of silence. Time was of the essence, and they had a lot they needed to discuss.

"Tai and I have a theory as to why the scubamon are only going after her." He paused and faced Kari. "We think the ultimate reason they are going after you is because of your crest, Kari."

"My crest?" She asked as she and T.K. exchanged looks.

"Yes. Last time they summoned you they were attracted to your power." He began pacing around the room and stopped when he reached the wall Davis and Ken occupied. "Did they ever give a reason as to why they wanted to defeat their master?"

Kari said no before commenting, "They just said they needed me to help them battle."

"Hmmm." Matt said thoughtfully. He remembered what happened later on that same day. T.K. came home with Kari just as he had stopped over to visit Tai after band practice. Kari told them everything that night. And now that he'd listened to it again, there were a lot of things not clicking.

"So, if I remember correctly, they lured you to the dark ocean and told you they wanted to get the dark spirals off so they could go back to serving their master. Then, when the rings were off, they said that was all a hoax.

"And we know the spirals were a fake because any Digimon under Ken's power during that time were completely under his control as long as the control spires were in place."

He looked to Ken for confirmation and the younger digidestined agreed, looking guiltily at his feet. Even after all the time that had past, part of him would never be able to forgive himself for the horrible things he'd done. Davis gave him a small smile and a pat on the back, causing the blue haired teen to focus on conversation.

"So, the only way these things could even come up with such a plan as fake dark spirals has to mean that they aren't real Digimon, right?" Cody asked, looking more to Izzy for a response.

"Precisely. I've looked up 'scubamon' on my computer using a digital naming system I devised back when we all had our very first adventure there. Gennai helped me with it, too. There is no such thing as a scubamon, according to this. The only Digimon that remotely comes close in names are the divermon."

"Alright, we got it!" Davis's outburst caused everyone in the room to look in his direction. "We know they aren't real Digimon because they morphed into these creepy looking things after the fakedark spirals were taken off. We don't need to talk about that anymore. What we should be talking about is who is going to take turns watching over Kari and figuring out whose butt we need to start kicking."

"It's not that simple, Davis!" Tai spoke. He'd kept quiet so far, wanting to hear the theories and comments from his other friends, but what Davis was suggesting was that they disregard what they know, ignore what they didn't know, and just go head on into a situation that required that information.

"My sister is already in enough danger! Your plan is just a full proof way to give whatever these things are exactly what they want!"

Davis was slightly shaken by the tone of Tai's voice, but he knew that everyone was on edge, especially those who were closest to Kari. But now was the time to take action, not spend time going over information they already had a good handle on.

"What else do we need to know?" Davis asked, this time treading lightly.

"Well, for one thing it would be helpful if we knew where this dimension is, who this undersea master is, what he's done to make the scubamon want to rebel, and what powers they have that are allowing them to transport Kari in and out of their world." Ken said. Everyone began to think long and hard about the questions Ken brought up. Finally, after several minutes, someone finally spoke.

"I think I know the solution to answering some of the questions." Yolei, who hadn't said a word since the meeting started, stated as she leaned forward on the seat she occupied.

"You aren't going to like this, but I think the only way to know anymore about the enemy is if Kari communicates with them again."

"As in, send her back to the dark ocean?! Are you crazy, Yolie? That's the one place we're trying to keep her away from, if you've been listening!" Davis all but screamed.

Yolei stood her ground. "I told you that you weren't going to like it, but think about this logically. How did we find out all of the information that we know about the scubamon now? We found out through Kari. They communicate with her. And you heard what she said; the first time they took her to the dark ocean, they just transported her there. Who's to say they can't just do that again?"

A few of the other digidestined nodded their heads in agreement. Tai thought it was a good time to tell everyone about Kari's journal. He held it back up in his right hand for the rest of the room to see.

"Actually, Yolei is right about one thing; they do have the power to transport her to and from their world. Kari has written down a lot of accounts in here that could maybe bring us closer to figuring out this connection. If we really think closely, I think we can figure it out without going through Yolei's extreme to do it."

"But Tai," Kari's head was pounding again and her vision was becoming blurry. She paused in order to gain control over the pain before continuing. "I don't think what I wrote down is really going to help all that much."

Tai knew immediately by the tone of her voice that she was in pain, and it took all of his self control not to lapse into protective-big-brother mode.

"Your journal has actually helped us more than you know, Kari."

"Yeah," Matt added. "Tai and I came up with a lot of theories based on what you put in this book. "

Tai looked back at her and saw that her cheeks were losing their color again.

"Kari, I want you to go lay down, okay? Matt and I can explain the rest."

"T.K., you go with her." Matt added. Both boys' voices clearly said this order was not up for discussion.

Both teens immediately stood and said goodbye to their friends before taking refuge in Kari's bedroom.