And another one! These are all way overdue, and the sooner I post what I have so far, the faster I can finish the next couple of chapters and post again. Please continue to be patient.

Disclaimer: I hate this thing.... I own nothing!

It was well past midnight before Kari woke up, completely drenched in sweat and shivering from cold chills. Her eyes were completely bloodshot as she felt around her bed, trying to find remnants of any sign that those creatures had been around her.

Her breathing slowed considerably when she discovered everything to be normal. That was a relief for her. It meant that they still weren't strong enough to take her anywhere.

She wiped her forehead off with the back of her hand before getting up to retrieve her journal. This had become some sort of ritual for her, and she hated that recording her nightmares had become so routine in such a short amount of time.

She tip-toed across the room over to the desk before silently pulling back the chair and sitting down. After turning on the small reading lamp, she opened the book to a fresh page and began writing.

I had another nightmare. It was really scary this time because it was so...different. They were here. They were here in my bedroom, staring at me. I tried to scream, but they put some type of barrier around me. They've never done that before. I didn't even know they were strong enough to do such a thing. After I was quiet again, the barrier disappeared and they told me they were still trying to get me to their world. They were so close to me. I even think one of them brushed against my arm, because I felt an icy feeling near my wrist when one of them came near. They weren't solid; I guess that's a good thing, right? It means they aren't physically strong enough to be here in person. Either that or they are strong enough but are trying to conserve their energy. Yeah, way to scare yourself even more, Kari...

"Kari?"

Her breath hitched in her throat and she was temporarily frozen in fear until the person's voice registered in her brain.

"Tai" She breathed softly.

"I thought I told you to wake me up as soon as you had another nightmare."

His voice was stern, and his face held a look of anger mixed with despair. He was officially terrified now. It was one thing to read about what she had been going through and listen to her recollections, but when he woke up and saw her sitting at the table, agonizing over what she was writing, it brought everything home.

Kari lowered her head and whispered an apology. The anger left his face and was replaced by sympathy for her. He reached down and lifted her chin with his fingers.

"Come on. Let's get you back to bed."

She stood and followed him back over to the bottom bunk. She climbed in and instantly felt the leftover residue of the nightmare. She tensed up, earning her a concerned look from Tai.

"Was it really that bad this time?"

"Yes. I can still feel them here."

"They were physically here?" He asked in a slight panic. If they were able to get there, then they were able to take her. And the worst part was that he would be unable to do anything about it if it were to happen.

"It's weird. Most of them were just spirits, but one of them got really close to me, and I felt something. It was like a mix between ice and air, but he looked like a spirit too. I don't think any of them were physically here."

Tai nodded, making a mental note to let the others know this information when he got to school.

"Well, I don't want you sleeping there if you still feel their presence."

He walked over to their closet and grabbed a pillow before throwing it on the floor a few feet away.

"So, you're taking my bed tonight. I'll get some extra sheets and blanket and sleep on the floor."

"Wait, Tai?" She called out to him as he was about to leave the room to get the items. "I don't want you giving up your bed for me. There's room up there for you, too."

He thought about it before he nodded and climbed up after her. Surprisingly, she was right; there was a lot more room up there than he expected. He was such a crazy sleeper that he didn't think there was enough room for just him sometimes.

Kari curled up on the side closest to the wall and pulled the blanket up to her neck. She let out a content sigh. She hadn't been on the top bunk in ages. They had stopped switching beds a while ago and just settled for what they were most comfortable with. The only time she would venture up there was to wake him up if he was running late, or if she couldn't sleep.

"This brings back memories." Tai suddenly said as he put his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Anytime you were scared or something was wrong, you would always come up here or make me go down to your bed."

He laughed a little as he thought of the numerous times those moments occurred. Kari smiled at the thought as well.

"Yeah, you were always there to protect me. Sometimes when you're away and I'm feeling scared or worried, I'll come up here and fall right asleep. And then when I wake up, all my fears and worries are gone."

"Well, I hope I don't jinx it by being here."

"I don't think you will, silly."

He smiled at her before leaning over and kissing her on the head. "Get some sleep, kiddo. I'll be here if anything happens, alright."

"Alright. Thanks, Tai."

She let out a loud yawn and within minutes drifted into a peaceful sleep.

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Tai woke up the next morning completely exhausted. Because of Kari's nightmare, he stayed up virtually all night, turning around every other minute to make sure she was still next to him, safe and sound. He didn't remember when he finally fell asleep, but he knew it was not very long ago and his body was going to hate him all day for it.

He rubbed sleep out of his eyes and turned to face the other side of the bed to see that it was empty. He almost panicked until he heard Kari's voice from the kitchen. With his heart rate slowing, he quickly got dressed and walked into the living room to see his mother heading out the door.

"Remember what I told you, Tai. Straight home from school, alright?" She said before bidding them goodbye and making her exit.

As the door closed, Kari walked back into the kitchen toward the stove.

"Did you want me to make you any breakfast before you leave?"

"No, thanks. I actually should be leaving right now. I have to talk to my coach about leaving camp early." He said this with a cringe. He was not looking forward to having that conversation.

Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen and stood in front of her, a now serious look on his face.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright by yourself? Because I can talk to my coach and come back here if that's what you want."

"I'm sure I'll be fine, Tai. The doctor is going to be here in a little while, and I'll probably just do my homework and watch tv. No worries." She said with a reassuring smile. This was one of the few times where she wasn't worried about the scubamon. She'd caught up on a lot of missed sleep yesterday between her nap and sleeping in Tai's bed. She seemed to be more susceptible to the dark powers when her guard was down, and she was happy to say that now was not one of those times.

Tai was skeptical, but did not dwell on it. She was looking a lot better today, which he was very thankful for. And he would only be gone for seven hours. He just had to trust her.

"Well, I have my cell in my bag. If anything happens, just call me and I'll come home."

She nodded and watched as he put his shoes on and slung his bag over his shoulders and walked out.

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Tai sluggishly walked into homeroom and let out a heavy sigh as he all but fell into his seat. The coach had ripped into him about leaving camp, and had assigned him extra training every day until the big game on Saturday.

Matt entered the room and took his seat next to his best friend, who had his head on his desk. Tai looked up when he sensed someone next to him, and Matt grimaced as he saw the bags under his eyes.

"Man, and I thought T.K. looked bad this morning."

Tai glared at him before sitting up and leaning his back against the seat. Matt laughed in response.

"How is T.K. doing?" Tai asked curiously, knowing this was just as hard for the younger blond as it was for him.

"He's grounded for a week because of his delinquent move yesterday. He's pretty bummed about it."

Tai looked sympathetic. This was one time that Kari really needed T.K., and he knew his punishment would hurt both of them.

"Don't worry. I haven't told T.K., but I'm going to talk to my mom today after school. She's going to be presenting some article she wrote at this place downtown, so I'll just take her to a late lunch and try to get T.K. off the hook."

"I hope it works." Tai replied. "We all need each other if we're going to stop these things. I just hope Ms. Takaishi understands."

"Understands what?"

Matt and Tai looked over to see Izzy and Sora walking over to them.

Before anyone could utter a reply, the teacher walked in and urged everyone to take their seats. Tai groaned and put his hand through his hair. It was going to be a long seven hours.

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