Disclaimer: I do not own the song Love Drunk for which this chapter was named.


It was dark when they left the noodle shop, chilly like autumn. Judi refused to let herself shiver, to let herself be vulnerable when Seger and Sarah and Morgan were in such a worse position than her. It was cruel, really, to have so much freedom and as Judi turned to glance at Jarred, who was tugging at Liam's sleepy form, she realized it was unfair for them to have no thoughts, no worries, to not have the burden of the Manteioter weighing their pockets down. But it wasn't fair to them to have to carry the burden with Judi.

It was unnerving to look up at the sky and see stars, stars that Judi couldn't recognize. There was no Big Dipper or Orion in the Digital World. In fact, Judi wasn't even sure that there were constellations because the star patterns didn't make any sense. Every once in a while a star would blink out of existence as another - maybe the same one? - popped up somewhere else. It was a strange world that made Judi yearn for home.

"Judi?" Terriermon asked sleepily as he rested his head against Judi's blonde hair. When Judi merely nodded her head in response, Terriermon continued. "What aren't you telling me?"

Judi paused her thinking, contemplating and weighing her options. Could she trust Terriermon? Despite only knowing him for a few days, Judi felt like she could trust the small Digimon like she trusted Jarred and Liam. She trusted all their Digimon that way. Then could she tell Terriermon about the Manteiopter? With a sigh, Judi decided on explaining part of the story. She didn't have to say everything, but just the basics.

"Yesterday, when I was taking out the garbage, I met a Digimon called Wizardmon who, um, gave me advice on defeating the Olympians," Judi said quietly so as not to be overheard by Jarred and Liam. "And, I miss home. I'm worried about Seger and Morgan and even Sarah, who used to annoy the crap out of me but now is one of those people on that top priority list. I just want to get out of here."

Terriermon didn't say anything and Judi fiddled with the strap on the backpack she had been given since arriving in the Digital World. She sensed that Terriermon knew she wasn't telling the whole truth, but was relieved by his words.

"I get it," he said into her ear as Judi clambered over a wooden fence and waited for her friends to catch up. "You've just got to be careful, Judi. You can get hurt here in the Digital World too."

There was a pause as Liam fell from the fence and Jarred scrambled over, kneeling beside him. "I know," Judi said, rushing to Liam's aid as well. "I know."

[Heroes]

When Seger came to stop at the next scene in the horrific dream he was in, he realized he was back at the middle school, near Sarah's locker to be precise. There was no one around and the skiier figured it must have been after school, such as the time that Sarah and Seger had discovered each other's secrets. Looking around for the people featured in that particular scene, Seger spotted Sarah and a second familiar figure farther down the hallway.

Trevor Birchard was a boy that had basically tormented Seger all his life. He had, at one point, competed against Seger in ski racing until switching to snowboarding, declaring that skiing was too tame for him. Seger had envied how Trevor had been so effortlessly good at every sport he competed in whereas Seger had worked hard to get good at skiing. It hadn't been simple, but he did it and Trevor had simply moved past skiing like it was really nothing in his life.

For a while, Seger didn't see Trevor except during ski season. Trevor had lived in Kelowna in the middle of southern British Columbia and had moved to Vancouver when he and Seger were ten and just happened to stumble upon the school that Seger, Judi, Sarah and Liam had all gone to. And Seger had been picked on by Trevor ever since.

It wasn't just Seger, though, that Trevor tended to annoy. He hit on a lot of girls at school and Seger had a fleeting memory of the time Trevor had tried to hook up with Judi. She had punched him so hard that she broke his nose and she was suspended for a day. Looking forward toward Sarah and Trevor now, Seger suddenly realized what was going on and crept closer.

"So, Sarah, thanks so much for letting me borrow your science notes. I can't believe that my mom made me stay home and miss that class. I told her I was fine, but she begged to differ, and I suppose it was for the best. Turned out I had a stomach bug, but I was lucky enough to get back at it the next day," Trevor said as he carefully tucked a few papers into his backpack.

"No worries," Sarah replied, shifting from foot to foot. Seger knew what she was thinking, how she wanted to get home to Biyomon and check on Salamon and PawnChessmon as well. She really didn't have time to spend with Trevor, but as Seger watched on he realized another thing: Sarah was starting to relax. What was going on? She couldn't possibly be falling for Trevor's charm, could she? She must know about the way he manipulated girls and beat up the boys and tormented teachers, but apparently not. "Glad I could help," she continued, pushing a strand of dark brown hair out of her eyes. Trevor smiled back at her, leaning against the window ledge.

"You're friends with Seger Davis, right?" he asked casually, as if it didn't mean anything (it probably didn't, but Seger was starting to get paranoid).

Sarah nodded. "Yeah, but we're just friends. He'll never see me as something else even though he probably knows I've had a crush on him since like, fifth grade. But whatever. He only has eyes for his best friend, Judi Gretzinger, even though he'll never admit it. I think she was the girl that punched you in the nose."

Seger thought he saw a flicker of annoyance in Trevor's hazel eyes but he might as well have imagined it because it was only fleeting. "Oh yeah, she's pretty, but you're much prettier. Seger's definitely missing out."

Sarah giggled, blushing madly and Trevor laughed. "You want to hang out sometime?" he asked, tossing his head so that his light blonde hair fell back into place. "Grab a pizza or catch a flick? Do something that doesn't involve cutting open a frog together?"

Sarah laughed, a full laugh this time, and shrugged. "Sure," she said, pulling a scrap of paper from her backpack and scribbling on it with a marker from her pocket. She handed it to Trevor with a smile. "Here's my cell number. Text or call me sometime and we'll figure out a day."

"Awesome," Trevor said with a smile, tucking the slip of paper away and with a painful jolt, Seger realized that Trevor would probably never call Sarah in her life. Their happy faces were the last thing he saw before the scene faded to an obsolete blackness.

[Heroes]

They figured out pretty quick that Liam wasn't really up to walking any farther that night. He had practically passed out from exhaustion and if they came across anymore obstacles like the fence, it was plausible that Liam could really hurt himself. As Jarred walked off in search of firewood, Judi sat with Liam's head in her lap and feeling extremely guilty. If she hadn't demanded for them to set off at night in the first place, they'd all be back at the diner sleeping in a bed instead of on the ground in the middle of nowhere.

"It's not your fault," Liam mumbled sleepily and it startled Judi so much that she yelped in surprise. Liam reached out a hand and entwined it with Judi's, trying to tell her he was sorry without really saying it. He was just so damn tired. "Just don't blame yourself," he muttered again, stifling a yawn. "It's not like I got hurt or anything. I just haven't really been getting a ton of sleep." He didn't leave room for Judi to say anything because he promptly fell asleep after that, but Judi didn't have much to say anything. She had never felt as connected to the people that were with her than she did now.

Veemon, who had previously been keeping an eye out for Jarred and Patamon, padded over to where Judi, Liam and Terriermon were, curling up next to his Tamer. "I'm beat too," he said sleepily. "It's been a long day."

"Yeah, no kidding," Terriermon replied, squeezing himself between the top of Liam's head and Judi's stomach and making himself comfortable. "You should get some sleep, Judi."

"I'll wait till Jarred gets back," the skater replied, brushing a strand of dark blonde hair out of her eyes and leaning back on her hands. "Make sure he doesn't get lost."

"Fair enough," Terriermon said with a yawn before he followed Liam and Veemon's example and fell asleep.

There were no crickets in the Digital World like there were in the real world and the silence was almost suffocating to Judi. The only sound was the breathing of her and her companions around her, and Judi strained her ears, trying to hear of the sound of Patamon's wings or Jarred's feet as he returned with fire wood to keep them warm that night. She was also listening for the sound of things out of place; they didn't need another Digimon attack like Pajiramon, which felt like a million years ago.

She wanted to ask the Manteiopter in her pocket if they would be safe tonight, but she felt like she didn't have enough brain power to try and process the riddle-like response. Judi sighed as she gazed at the sky above with the blinking stars and the ever-changing constellations. She was in the state of being where she was so tired she just couldn't fall asleep. Not insomnia, she mused, but just... different.

The sound of rustling grass and footsteps made Judi look to her left as Patamon swooped down low from the sky and settled himself in the low branches of a nearby tree. She could just make out the outline of Jarred in the darkness, and with a jolt she realized he wasn't alone. She was about to open her mouth to shout at him when Patamon's soft voice said, "Don't worry, she's not a threat." Judi turned her attention back to the approaching figures, watching them warily and absently smoothing at Liam's strawberry blonde waves across his sweaty forehead while the other was still entwined with his hand.

"Judi?" Jarred's voice rang out in the darkness as they arrived in the campsite.

"I'm right here," the blonde said, nodding towards the older boy.

"Right, good," Jarred muttered. He set down the wood and pulled out the matches they had swiped from the diner, twelve packs in all. Judi watched as a flame spurted to life on the end of the match before lighting a fire on a small pile of wood, throwing enough light around the campsite to make Liam mumble in his sleep. The girl that Jarred had brought with him stood in the shadows of the tree Patamon was perched in and Judi squinted to try and make out her features. When Jarred motioned her into the light, Judi gasped.

The girl before her was a skinnier, hungrier and more desperate version of Jasmine Saunders, someone Judi skated with and occasionally babysat for back home in Vancouver. She had two sisters, Talia and Yvonne who also skated and were apparently no where to be seen.

"Jasmine?" Judi asked in disbelief, pitching forward to take a closer look at the girl. Her hair was a little matted but was still the ordinary brown that Judi remembered. Her dark blue eyes flickered in the fire light, appearing listless and empty along with the rest of her face. Her clothes looked ripped and dirty, as if she had been out in the wilderness for a while. "What are you doing here?"

Jasmine shook her head, shaking and Jarred pulled her towards him as he stood, moving across the fire to sit with his back to Judi so that the two could lean against each other.

"Where did you find her?" Judi asked with a yawn, leaning her head against Jarred's shoulder as he cradled the eleven year old Jasmine in his arms.

"I'll tell you in the morning, when Liam's awake too," Jarred replied, reaching an arm around Judi and ruffling said boy's hair affectionately. "Right now, we should just sleep. We'll start walking again in the morning. Besides, I'd like to know Jasmine's story too, but she just fell asleep."

"Alright," Judi said, finally allowing herself to succumb to sleep.

[Heroes]

Seger's head was pounding and he groaned as he lifted his eye lids. Where was he now? And as his eyes settled on a pair of high heeled boots and the sound of battle raged in his ears, the blonde realized he was back at the theatre and he had been facing Venusmon. But he had been standing before and now he was on the ground, what had happened?

Venusmon's cold, cackling laugh filled the air and Seger shakily used his arms to push himself onto his knees. "Have a good time?" she asked as Sarah grabbed him under one arm and helped Seger to his feet. "See anything... special?"

"What did you do to him?" Sarah demanded, and from the way Venusmon conducted her face, Seger presumed she was rolling her eyes, which were hidden behind her dove mask. Sarah had probably been asking that for however long Seger had been out cold. "Why don't you tell me? You just let me stand there and watch as you tortured my friend!"

"Sarah?" Seger asked and he hated how weak his voice sounded, how empty and hollow it felt just leaving his mouth. "What happened?"

"That witch just... I don't know! One moment we're all having an argument and the next thing I know you're lying on the ground writhing in pain and screaming and moaning and crying out and it was the most cruel, cold-hearted, soul-less thing I've ever seen!" She screeched, directing the last part towards Venusmon who was twirling her ice-like wand between her fingers absently.

"Love is a powerful thing, is it not, Seger?" she asked in her cold but melodious voice. "You better think about what you saw."

"Were those visions real?" Seger rasped out, clutching at Sarah's shoulder to stay upright. "Was everything true?" His mind drifted to Morgan and Fawn, how Jarred would just throw aside his best friend and Andie for Haleigh, how Judi and Liam could be dating and how Trevor had manipulated Sarah. Was all of that real? And if it was, where did it leave Seger in the whole mess? If Venusmon had been showing him visions of love, it was pretty obvious that Seger had no love life.

"People are often blinded by love," Venusmon replied. "It clouds their judgement."

"Stop speaking in riddles," Seger roared, lunging for the goddess. She disappeared in a shower of dove feathers, re-appearing behind Sarah and allowing Seger to stumble and have to grab a railing to prevent himself from falling flat on his face.

"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Judi is the sun," Venusmon cackled. "I'll leave you to deal with the Commandramon; I have bigger and better things to do than deal with you." And like earlier when she had so easily dodged Seger's attack, she disappeared in a flurry of dove feathers.

"Argh!" Seger exclaimed, getting to his feet. He was still shaky from the whole ordeal with the dreams and whatnot but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He turned his attention towards the battle the Digimon were fighting and gulped. Although Biyomon and PawnChessmon were doing alright, they weren't going to be able to defeat all of those Commandramon on their own. There had to be at least fifty left and would no doubt wear out the two Rookies.

"What can we do?" Sarah exclaimed, waving her arms around wildly with her Digivice in one hand, safe from flying only because of the light pink grip. "Biyomon, let us help you!"

There was a pause as Biyomon released a mess of green spiraling energy before knocking back a Commandramon with her wing and shouting, "The only thing you can help us do is Digivolve again, but it will be harder this time. Digivolving to a Champion level needs strength for both parties, and if you haven't noticed, Sarah, I'm sort of running out of energy."

"Well, I think Sarah's got enough for both of you," Seger remarked dryly, pulling out his own Digivice and glancing at his knightly comrade. "We can do it too though, right PC?"

"Definitely," PawnChessmon replied, sending his shield into a small group of Commandramon. "We're capable of anything!"

Like when Seger was required for his Digimon to Digivolve from In-Training to Rookie, Seger concentrated hard on the bond that he and PawnChessmon shared. It was definitely special, a little unique sometimes rather violent, but Seger needed this Digimon in his life; he needed someone else while Judi and Jarred were away in the Digital World. I need this, Seger thought desperately. I need PawnChessmon and I need Sarah and Morgan. And we have to be able to do this because if we can't then it really shows something: that I'm as shallow and self-absorbed as Judi made me out to be.

Two identical showers of light erupted from the middle of the battle, mixed with swirling pieces of fractal code. Suddenly, a beam of red light shot from Seger's Digivice, striking PawnChessmon's ligt form. A similar pink beam from Sarah's Digivice did the same and both teenagers held their Digivices with both hands to prevent them from shaking too much.

"PawnChessmon Digivolve to... KnightChessmon!"

"Biyomon Digivolve to... Halsemon!"

The beams of coloured light seemed to shatter as the bubbles of light broke apart, revealing two Digimon that Seger had never seen before, but knew were his and Sarah's Digimon.

KnightChessmon was a towering figure, rising almost as tall as the theatre building and resembled a centaur wrapped in pure white armor with golden extras. He held a lance tightly in one hand and Seger watched him leap clear of the Commandramon, setting himself up for a long distance attack.

Halsemon, on the other hand, was the size of a large lion with crimson red feathers and a silver winged helmet, a heart emblazoned on the front. She pawed at the ground impatiently, eyeing the Commandramon who suddenly weren't too sure of the battle they were getting into. It hadn't meant anything when the two targets had been Rookies like themselves, but when facing two Champion -level Digimon they had lost their confidence.

"Big Darts!" KnightChessmon cried out, releasing a flurry of darts from his lance. They struck several of the Commandramon who burst into data upon contact. "Joust!" KnightChessmon cheered as a group of the Commandramon set themselves apart from the others and advanced on the centaur-like Digimon.

"Tempest Wing!" Halsemon shouted, engulfing herself in a thick tornado of air. She smashed into several of the Commandramon, sending them flying backwards before disintegrating into data like those before them. It wasn't long before the two Champions had defeated the enemy, looking exhausted. There was a flash of light and both Digimon reverted back to their Rookie forms before promptly fainting, exhausted from the beating they had took earlier.