Neverworld

Follow me to heaven and I'll meet you on the hell side of the clouds.
There'll be farmers- they won't eat you, but they'll milk you sour.
Follow me to heaven and I'll treat you to an underworld of doubt.
If you follow me...
- Sean Altman, "Follow Me To Heaven"

Episode 20

Thomas Norstein was having a bad enough day without Tai barking at him the whole way back upstairs. The Trailmon had left for Isthmian, Izzy was on it, and Kari had run off to cope with her broken heart. Thomas had a job to do. So did Tai, but he was more interested in preventing the Austrian from doing his.

"You knew Izzy was leaving! Why didn't you say something?" On the elevator, Tai's voice was harder to drown out.

"It was in the report," Thomas replied. "He only said he had to go. He didn't elaborate, nor was I in any position to interrogate him further."

"Did you try talking him out of it?"

"Of course. He insisted it was personal and for me to trust him. I am surprised he didn't talk to you or Kari though."

"Kari?" Tai narrowed his eyes as the elevator doors opened. Thomas stepped out first, but Tai didn't let up. "You knew about him and Kari?"

"Wait, what's going on?" Davis stood, surprised to see only two officers get off the elevator. "Who and Kari? And where is she?"

"No clue," Tai muttered, walking past a stunned Davis and falling into his chair. "Something was going on with her and Izzy." He stood up again and pointed to Thomas. "Something somebody apparently knew about!"

Thomas's response was fierce. "I am not going to discuss my colleague's personal life behind his back. In fact, I make it a point not to discuss my own personal life."

Davis raised an eyebrow. "Norstein, you have a personal life?"

"This is about my sister!" Tai shouted. "Don't you think I should know if Izzy and her were up to something?"

"Yeah, I need to know too!" Tai and Thomas stared at Davis. He shrugged. "What, I get left out of everything." They rolled their eyes. "So wait, he bailed on Kari? Why?"

Tai fumed. "I don't know. He bailed on all of us. And he didn't give us a reason." Huffing, he added, "Jeez, one minute you're friends with someone, the next he's running off after doing God knows what with your sister.

"C'mon, this is Izzy we're talking about. It's not like he's going to take advantage of her."

Thomas coughed and shifted his eyes, peering into his monitor. Davis narrowed his eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"If you haven't noticed, we now have to run the same daily operations with fifteen fewer people." Thomas kept his voice firm. "We have several gaps to fill and we need to start filling them immediately. All of us should be working instead of pointlessly speculating about Izzy."

"It's not pointless," Tai muttered. "It's Kari."

"Right now, my biggest concern with Kari is nobody's listening to the radar. Her backup is on the train."

The elevator doors opened. Kari stepped out, head low. She sat at her station and put her headphones on without a word. The three boys looked at each other nervously. Thomas turned to her first. "Kari?" he asked, leaning forward. "Are you all right?"

She looked up, but not at him. He noticed her red eyes and the intensity of her stare, even if it was at a monitor. "Please let me work. Zoe's gone, so..." She gulped.

Tai marched up to her. "Kari, what's going on?" Her eyes closed and she leaned in more. Tai clutched the band of her headset and pulled it off. She turned around and sneered at him. He sneered right back.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said. "I just finished telling Gatomon. I don't need to repeat it to you. Just let me work."

"I just lost an officer... I just lost my best friend. You had something to do with it. I deserve to know what happened."

"I don't know what happened. I'm as confused as you are."

"I doubt that. Was he... was he..." Tai couldn't even say it. "Were you...?"

"Yes," she sniffed. "Yes we were. You're all caught up now." Kari sighed. "Feel better?"

"No! You think I like the idea of you two together?!"

Kari looked down. "So why are you surprised we hid it from you?"

She tried to turn back around. He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back. "Kari, I can't just drop this. I need to know what this is about."

Shooting to her feet suddenly, Kari stared up at him for a second, then fled to the elevator. The doors didn't open right away, so instead she ran down the stairs. Tai was left standing there, his shoulders slumped. He was no closer to an answer and even angrier than before.

When the elevator did arrive, Davis strolled aboard. Tai and Thomas barely registered him until he stared back at them and pressed a button. It dropped to the second floor unimpeded and Davis stepped out just before Kari reached her room.

Her key was in the lock, but she saw him and stopped. "I already said I don't want to talk."

Davis approached her slowly. "What, you think I want the gory details? They can worry about Izzy. I'm worried about you." He put a hand on her shoulder. "If you don't want to talk... don't."

Kari closed her eyes, turning and squeezing him hard and crying on his shoulder. Davis sighed, wrapped his arms around her, and gently patted her head.

Henry Wong was dying to go home even more now that he had company. The nearly three weeks he and Takato had spent at Isthmian weren't uneventful: they had to put down two attacks, not that either posed any serious threat. But no matter how much Takato brought for recreation, there was only so much reading and gaming two friends could do. He wanted to go home, and now he was less inclined to leave it than usual. With this split, he didn't know the fate of the patrol team, but he hoped it either wouldn't be setting out for a long time or he wouldn't have to leave at all.

He thought having more company at Isthmian would help, but the train full of new occupants were too focused on getting situated to sit down and chat. He and Takato knew they probably should have helped (the train couldn't head back until everything was unloaded), but neither had the motivation. They still couldn't believe it was all happening.

Terriermon danced around his partner as they all watched the commotion against a wall in the courtyard. "You're telling me all these people actually signed up to move out here? That's nuts!"

"Well, not all of us volunteered."

"Hey, Falco!" Terriermon jumped and used his ears to glide over to Falcomon, his partner, and Yushima approaching them. "Suppose this place is a resort compared to what you're used to."

"Better out there than being pampered back home," Falcomon replied with a dismissive wave.

"I see these two haven't changed much," Yushima said, an arm around both the owl and Keenan's shoulders. "Thomas says they're better served out here for now. Guess they're back to being my problem. Just as well. Takuya will need all the help he can get for what he's planning."

"Yeah, Takuya's kinda crazy like that," said Takato. "So Keenan, is Primary Village looking any better?"

"No," Keenan answered, looking down. "Nothing happened. No activity. No hatching. No enemies. The black egg's gone too."

"Oh, lovely. Well, thanks for the update, I guess."

Falcomon set a wing on Keenan's shoulder. "Keenan, we'd better brief Thomas before things get too chaotic here. Terriermon, nice seeing you again," he said politely.

The three of them headed inside, but Takato and Henry stuck around to watch others arrive and take note of who left. Their stomachs churned when Guardromon hauled in a pair of beds. Kazu naturally followed him in. They were even more shocked to see Rika.

"Guys!" Takato shouted. "Seriously, you too?"

Kazu shrugged and approached them. Rika was more hesitant. "What the heck happened over there?" asked Henry.

Chuckling as he and Takato shared a secret handshake, Kazu replied, "Everything kinda went to hell back home. River's not working right. Command's covering it up. Takuya swoops in like a boss and wants to start a new adventure out here? Why the hell not?"

"Um... because Takuya running everything kinda scares me," Takato said. "You really turned your back on Tai like that?"

Rika scoffed. "Yeah, well this is where the action is. I'm not letting these guys get themselves killed without me. You know I can't loaf around the castle waiting for trouble."

Takato frowned but raised his hands to stop her. "Okay... okay..." He walked up to her. "Just take of yourself, okay?"

She sighed. "Fine, just don't hug-" He hugged her. She closed her eyes and hugged him back.

"But uh... what about Ken?" Henry asked as they separated.

"We um..." Rika pushed her fingers together. "We're fine. We talked about it... last night... and we promised to stick it out... and um..." She blushed. "Look, it's none of your business!"

"Rika!" From afar, Renamon called out. Either she needed help carrying boxes or she was pretending to struggle to pull her partner away from the conversation. Both Rika and Kazu ran to her without another word.

Henry eyed them carefully. "You don't think she actually...?"

Takato smirked. "Well, if she did... you know, Ken used to be with Yolei... and Yolei used to be with-"

"Shut up, Takato."

The goggle boy chuckled to himself, then turned to the entrance again. Takuya had been going in and out for an hour. This time he was going in, and followed by Ryo asking, "So where are the Digimon staying?"

Takuya stopped in his tracks. "Uh..." He turned around and grinned. "You know, Koji and I never thought about that one... 'cause, you know..." He found Takato and Henry and their partners and took a few steps towards them. "Hey Guilmon, where'd you stay while you were here?"

"Hmm? I stayed with Takato!" Guilmon replied.

Turning back to Ryo, Takuya said, "Well, if it's good enough for Guilmon!"

Ryo folded his arms and huffed, "Yeah... uh, that's not going to work for Cyberdramon." He heard a loud roar and rushed back out.

Takuya chuckled and smiled at Takato. "Almost done unpacking. We'll get you home in no time." He raised his eyebrows. "Though you're always welcome to stick around."

"We're leaving," Henry replied sharply.

"I know, I know..." Takuya sighed and walked up, patting Guilmon on the head. "Takato, it's been fun working with you. Don't let 'em boss you around too much." He extended a hand.

Takato frowned, but shook Takuya's hand and said, "Take care, buddy."

After releasing, Takuya turned around and started barking orders, a proud smile on his face. Takato hated what was going on, hated how everyone was being split apart, and wanted nothing more than to return home and see Jeri again. And yet he was awestruck at Takuya's confidence. Problematic as all this was, the castle was full of enthusiasm and its leader seemed to embrace the throne. Takato could never dream of betraying Tai and trusted in his course of action. But if Kazu was right about everything going to hell back home, this team full of energy was a sharp contrast. It left Takato wondering when he'd feel that same level of excitement again.

Sora Takenouchi still wasn't sure why she was in the command center's meeting room. She was still picking up the pieces from the departure, which only added to the misery of losing both Matt and Tai. There was no joy in cleaning previously covered patches of the floor or rearranging furniture to not remind everyone of what was missing. Now Yolei had pulled her and Joe upstairs- a combination that offered no clues to what it was for.

They waited for several minutes. Through the window, Sora saw Kari seated at her station. She and Tai were glaring at each other. Davis pushed him and Thomas away from her and through the door. Sora steeled herself; Tai had held true to his word and hadn't spoken to her since their breakup weeks ago. They didn't make eye contact until he sat down. He was steeled too.

Even so, he was nervous when he said, "So... this isn't how we wanted to tell you guys this but, uh..." He turned to Thomas for help, but didn't get any. "Well, we need to shuffle a bunch of things around, and we're still working some stuff out, but we lost a lot of guys on our active teams..."

"Wait..." Joe held out a hand. "Are you asking us to fight?" Sora's eyes widened, darting between Joe and Tai.

Tai coughed. "Well... I wouldn't call it asking, exactly."

"Forget it, Tai," Sora spat. "I've been through enough. I don't need to throw Biyomon into danger now."

"Unfortunately, we don't have much of a choice," Thomas said. "We were hoping to take our time with this, but events forced our hand." Thomas slid a folder towards Yolei. "A small herd of DarkTyrannomon was corrupted and is storming around west of here. We need you to intercept them and put them down before they hurt anybody."

"Corrupted?" Sora gasped. "That's still going on?"

Thomas nodded. "It's gone down significantly since we were able to develop an immunization against it, but the patrol team can't hit everybody. Much as we like to claim otherwise, Digimon are comprised of data, which may naturally become corrupted."

"This is actually pretty routine for us," Yolei said, flipping through the folder. "It's sad, but we deal with one of these every other week."

"If not for the urgency, this is actually an ideal first mission for you."

Sora looked down. "I can't believe you expect us to just rush out and start killing Digimon again."

Yolei watched her and grimaced. "Do they really have to? What about Cody? I'm sure we can take care of them if Davis and Ken are with us. And once Takato gets back-"

With a sigh, Thomas interrupted: "We also have to replace most of the patrol team. We lost three members and may reassign Henry. So Takato may well be transferred." He frowned. "Cody requested to go on patrol... which we are granting."

Everybody fell silent for a moment. They appreciated the weight of somebody volunteering to leave the castle for weeks at a time to trek through rough environments and deal with often dangerous locals. Nobody content with their life at the castle would sign up for that.

Sora spoke next: "But I've got so much to do here. I can't do all this as well."

Tai nodded. "Suzie's back with hospitality full time. She'll lighten your load there."

"That doesn't make me feel better." It couldn't knowing why Suzie was rejoining it. "And what about Joe? Who's covering for him?"

"I am," said Thomas. "I'm more than capable of filling in if Joe is gone."

"Probably better," mumbled Joe.

"We might also have Ewan help out too," explained Tai. He paused, casting hard stares at both Joe and Sora. She wanted to hold firm, but her eyes wouldn't let her. She was too weary. Sick of fighting enemy Digimon, yes, but also sick of fighting her friends. Her eyes cheated to Joe; he was already close to conceding.

Suddenly, Tai's face softened. He blinked a few times and said, "Guys... I wanted more than anything to keep things the way they were. But we're really shorthanded right now. There's a lot of us downstairs without Digimon who can go fight. We need you to help right now. And I know you two can do it."

He looked at her again, his eyes pleading with her. Sora could only imagine what he was going through with all this. She could hide away in hospitality forever. Tai couldn't. It didn't help her at all, and only added more problems, but she looked down and said, "Okay. Let's go." She stood and walked out. Joe and Yolei nodded silently and followed her out.

Once they had left, Tai leaned back in his chair. "How many more friends can I lose today?"

"This was the best course of action," Thomas said. "Everyone will need to step up more."

Tai only shook his head. "What did you mean about reassigning Henry? First I heard of it."

"I'm going to recommend Henry for the open officer position."

"What?!" Tai almost fell over in his chair. "Are you nuts?! Henry's not exactly my biggest fan right now. You think we can work together? I'm surprised he didn't stay over there!"

"We're fortunate he didn't. But while he's certainly qualified for the job, I will admit there are political motives behind this." Thomas cracked a smile. "One thing that got us into trouble was the impression that your old team is making all the decisions for everybody. Promoting one of the tamers counters that. Secondly, as you said, Henry is still siding with us despite stranding him at Isthmian for three weeks. This would be a way to show our appreciation and maybe bridge the gap from our prior disagreements."

He stood and walked out of the room. Tai followed, but not before muttering under his breath, "Does that include the part where I slept with his girlfriend?"

Outside, he was happier to see TK chatting with Davis. Kari was back to burying herself in her workstation. Tai smiled and said, "TK! Welcome aboard!"

"Welcome aboard?" Thomas asked Tai.

Still grinning, Tai answered, "Kari needs a backup. How about TK?"

Thomas thought for a moment, then nodded. "Good call."

Except Kari slowly removed her headphones, swiveled around, and shot Tai a look of disgust, asking, "Why are you doing this to me?"

"Doing what?" Tai threw his hands up. "It's TK!"

"You just... assumed I'd be okay working with TK?"

"Um... yes?" Kari closed her eyes and shook her head.

TK leaned towards Davis and asked, "Did I miss something?"

"You missed everything," Davis replied. "...and we're not totally caught up either."

"Jeez..." Tai paced around, exasperated. "Who the hell are you? I don't understand this! All I know is I just sent Sora and Joe out to kill some corrupted Digimon, so the least you can do is show your best friend what you do here every day. Is that so much to ask?" By the end, he was almost yelling.

Kari's mouth hung open. With a gulp, she mumbled, "Okay," and turned back to her station. TK needed some urging forward from Davis and Thomas, but he took a seat next to her.

She closed her eyes for a long time, but turned to him, frowning. He flashed a bright smile and cheerfully said, "Hi!"

Kari blinked, her frown never budging. She turned to the monitor and said, "This screen shows us all of the signals we're receiving around the continent. Put on the headset and try to listen closely..."

Takuya Kanbara looked around at his new council, huddled in the small basement room that had evolved into the main Isthmian point of operations over the last couple months. The unadorned cement walls and lone computer terminal made it the polar opposite of the opulent sixth floor command center back home. The chairs were simple and uncomfortable. It was the ideal war room.

Still, it may have been a little crowded, with Takuya, Koji, Mikey, Izzy and Yushima all squeezed in. The latter two felt obligatory to Takuya. Yushima was there out of a sense of respect: he was older, wiser, and it felt like his castle. If anyone asked, Takuya would say he was in charge. He was leery of including Izzy, especially knowing his reasons for joining had nothing to do with his belief in the cause. But he was the best source of information they had and Koji insisted on including him.

Even so, Izzy clung to the wall, head down as the others discussed plans for organization and overall strategy. Takuya had little interest in the structure of their operation. All he knew was he wanted to avoid the old hierarchy. Everybody was expecting him to seize control as the new Tai. He wasn't about that. He wanted to make things happen. He let Koji outline a system and present it to the others. Takuya was barely listening. As long as he could explore the new land with no barriers, he was content.

Once Koji reached the good part, which gave Takuya unrestricted freedom outside the castle to act as he saw fit, Yushima coughed and stood up. "Of course you're all free to do as you choose. Far be it for me to care how you organize. But don't you think there should be some sort of focus? A mission to pursue?"

"We already told you, we want to check out the new continent," said Takuya.

"Define explore. Mapping out the land? Finding communities? Dangerous spots?" Yushima grinned. "Do you cover every surrounding inch or fly as far as you can to see what's out there? You can explore with both a telescope and a microscope, you know." Takuya rolled his eyes.

Mikey stood up. "What you need to look for are the Digimon that created this world. Like Algomon."

"Right, you mentioned that before," Takuya said. "Not like they're wearing name tags though."

"Well, that cave Algomon was in was super weird, right? Look for places like that."

Takuya sighed. "Maybe Marcus will help us figure out what to look for. What are we supposed to do once we find these guys?"

Mikey huffed loudly. "Hate to say it but I think they're the enemies we've been looking for."

"What?!" Izzy shot up. "Are you out of your mind?" He paced around as much as the cramped space would allow. "Don't you remember what Ceresmon said? If destroying Algomon led to the problems with Primary Village and the river, why would we want to go out and look for more of them to kill?"

"Destroying the creators destroys the world." Mikey grinned widely. "What if that's what needs to happen?"

Everybody leaned back in their chairs, uneasy at the suggestion. Mikey didn't care; he tapped his goggles and jumped to his feet. "We all came in here thinking we need to save this world, right? What if..." He stumbled, struggling to force the words out. "...what if it's us who need to be saved from the world?"

He saw both Takuya and Yushima recoil. Undaunted, Mikey continued, "Think about it! All of us coming in from other worlds? Getting stuck here? What if this place is the trap? Is it even real? Is there even a real world tied to it?"

"Human world," Izzy hissed. "And no, probably not. If there is, it combines data from all of our worlds just like this does. But that doesn't mean-"

"This world shouldn't exist," Mikey declared. "It's... it's like digiquartz. It hit us first, but it spread and all of you got pulled in. We had to beat Quartzmon... we had to beat the creator of that world in order for you guys to go home." His long grin somehow widened. "I bet it's the same here."

Everybody stared back at him in stunned silence. Mikey looked all of them in the face. Takuya was deep in thought. Koji narrowed an eye, leery. Yushima scratched his chin.

Izzy glared, still on his feet. "This is absurd." Mikey's smile fell, but only slightly. "Don't you think we speculated about all of this? Yes, everything you said comparing this world to digiquartz is a possibility. Thomas and I have spent hours discussing it. But we can't know more until we see who shows up here next, if anybody. We have to wait it out."

He shook his head rapidly. "But to take a guess on that and these creators? You want to actively hunt them? Even though you don't know how strong they all are? Even if you don't know how many there are? Even if you don't know they're all malevolent like Algomon!" Mikey looked away, but Izzy didn't let up. "And look at what happened after we killed him! What happens after the second? The third? If the world destabilizes after each one, will we even survive to defeat them all?"

Izzy sat down again, huffing, "This is why Tai didn't want you knowing about them."

"C'mon, Takuya..." Mikey dropped to a knee, pleading with his fellow leader. "I have a feeling about this. This is what we need to do. It's digiquartz all over again. We need to beat Quartzmon again." He put a hand on Takuya's arm. "I need your help... again. You were there for me last time."

Takuya's eyes darted between Mikey and Izzy, both anxiously waiting a decision. This was the part of the job Takuya knew he'd hate. He was deciding between logic and discretion versus impulse and action. Just as importantly, he was choosing between old and new.

He stood, forcing Mikey back to his feet. "I know you guys think I want to do Tai's job now that we're over here," Takuya said. "Not a chance. That's not how we're running things anyway, and I want to be out there doing the exploring, not babysitting the castle. So we need a leader who knows what he's doing and knows what to aim for."

With one last smirk at Izzy, Takuya put a hand on Mikey's shoulder and declared, "I think we found our new commander." His smile grew. "No... wait... how about general?"

Takato Matsuki expected more out of his return home. There was no fanfare, no exciting reunion with friends, and no show of gratitude from Command. Part of it was because the train pulled into the station in the middle of the night. Davis was the only one there to greet Takato and Henry, but he had fallen asleep. Rather than wake him, Veemon helped them and their Digimon unpack the train, even if they left most of the cargo at the station. Then Takato slept in and woke up too late to catch Jeri before she had to start working. He got a quick kiss while she was between projects, but anything more intimate would have to wait.

His first interaction wasn't a good one. It started with a debriefing with command, where he summarized his stay at Isthmian and the (uninteresting) battles he had. The officers tried to explain what had happened, but it was such a change that no words could make it any less surreal.

Still, the real bombshell was learning that he may be conscripted for patrol duty to replace Marcus, Rika and Kazu. They stressed it wasn't final and that the decision would be made based on necessity. Takato nodded along and said he'd be willing to do whatever they needed. He could tell they appreciated his allegiance. But after being stuck away from the castle for three weeks, the last thing he wanted was to leave again. He was more than happy to do his job and respond to problems, but all he wanted was to spend his days with his friends and his nights with Jeri.

This, apparently, was becoming too much to expect. He had all the respect in the world for Tai and the officers, but did they think of him as someone with his own opinions and feelings or somebody that would reliably say yes to whatever they asked of him?

The castle felt emptier and quieter than he had ever remembered. Furniture was gone, there were fewer people in the common areas, and nobody was having a loud conversation. The only discussion happening anywhere was around one of the remaining tables in the hall. He wasn't close to Ewan or Angie, but felt more comfortable joining them with Koichi there.

"Hey guys." Takato looked around the hall. "I, uh... see things kinda changed around here."

"Oh... hi, Takato," mumbled Koichi. He didn't look up when Takato sat. "When did you get home?"

"Last night. Still trying to take all this in." He squinted at Angie, wearing badly stained overalls and a bandanna over her hair. She looked like a mess. "Wow, what have the Digimon been putting you and Kenta through?"

She looked at her clothes, nose wrinkling. "Oh, no, this is my new side job. I gotta go fix a clog in one of the showers in Leo. Fun, huh?"

Takato chuckled. "And here I thought Tai was asking a lot from me."

"It's not Tai. I'm helping Jeremy." Angie took a long, sad sigh. "Poor kid lost his best friend and his girl. Someone's gotta be there for him."

"I offered to have Damemon hang out with him," Ewan said. "...he turned me down for some reason."

"Well, wish me luck!" Angie exaggerated a salute and marched off. As the remaining trio watched her leave, they saw TK enter the hall. Ewan smiled and flagged him down.

"TK!" Takato grew a smile as the digidestined joined them, grinning. "Saw you upstairs. Guess you're taking over for Zoe, then?"

TK shrugged, but his smile remained. "I guess. Interesting stuff they do up there."

Takato leaned in, eyes widening eagerly. "Plus you get to hang out with Kari all day!"

"Yeah, uh..." TK frowned, scratching his neck. "I don't know. She was a mess yesterday. Actually, she's been acting weird since I got back. I think she was avoiding me. What's up with that?"

"Don't know," Ewan answered. "She's always seemed a little off to me."

"Guess that's why I'm with you guys then." TK's grin returned. "The Abandoned Brothers Brigade!"

"I never agreed to that name," muttered Ewan.

Takato looked around the table, suddenly nervous. "Oh... am I interrupting something?"

TK waved him down. "Nah, just something Ewan and I were joking about since Matt and Nene left. But we had to add Koichi to the club!"

Chuckling, Takato eyed Koichi. "Light's acting weird, so you're giving darkness a try, huh?"

"I, uh..." Koichi coughed. "I don't like joking about that."

"Don't worry about it," Ewan said, face straightening. "I've been there."

"You really don't have to include me if you don't want to."

"It's fine." Ewan lowered his head. "Hard enough to stay occupied around here. This place is so..." He huffed. "Has to be really bad for you. Your whole team left you."

"Yeah, what's up with that?" Takato asked. "I would have figured you'd have gone with Koji and Takuya. Why would you stay here?"

Koichi pushed his seat out and stood abruptly. "I should go." He turned around and tried to dash away.

Takato nodded at TK and Ewan and chased after him. "Koichi, wait! I want to know what's going on! Why wouldn't you follow them over there? It's just... really weird to me."

Koichi stopped, his back still to Takato. "Why is that weird? I'm not my brother. Maybe I just like it better here."

"Well, okay. I just... you know, figured you could talk about it with someone. I'm curious."

Eyes to the ground, Koichi gritted his teeth. His hand curled into a fist. He exhaled once. "Takato?" he said, his voice suddenly raspy. "Do you really want to know?"

"Well yeah! I mean... we're friends."

Head jolting up, Koichi mouthed "friends" to himself. He sprinted away, far too fast for Takato to think about chasing him, or the subject, any more.

Kari Kamiya had no way to process what had happened. She had enough perspective to know this was far from the biggest disaster in her life. But with everything else, there was always someone to talk to to help share the pain. Now she was alone. She could cry in Davis's shoulder all she wanted and spill every last detail of her affair to Gatomon. Neither could understand why she had been with Izzy. Neither could understand how lost she felt when he suddenly abandoned her. And now having to work with TK again? His alleged feelings for her and the disaster that supposedly ensued started this whole mess. She didn't want to deal with him yet. Tai forcing the issue, on top of his insistence on answers she didn't have, made it all that much worse.

She just wanted to eat her lunch alone, trying to figure out why Izzy would run from her. She wouldn't even get that as Mimi dropped a tray next to her and fell into a seat. "I agree. It's that kind of week."

Kari looked up, her weary eyes finding Mimi's. The older digidestined didn't look much better. "Hope you don't mind. Sora and Yolei are on a mission again." Mimi looked around the room, frowning. "Pretty quiet around here."

"I'm not really in a talking mood right now. I'm sorry," Kari said, head lowering again.

"I bet. It has to be terrible for you all upstairs." Mimi sighed. "I hate this. I hate all of this. I hate Matt. I hate Nene. I want to wring Takuya's neck. It's just awful."

Keeping her word, Kari didn't reply.

"I can't believe how many left," Mimi continued, her voice lowering. "I kind of expected Tommy to go, but Rika? Ryo? And what happened with Izzy? That hurt the most."

"I have no idea," Kari mumbled. "I have absolutely no idea." Tears started to form.

"Really? I can't believe he wouldn't say anything to you or Tai. You're all so tight up there. You're the officers."

"More than that even. We were, um..." Kari's head turned up, mouth twitching. "We were sort of... together. "

Mimi's mouth fell open. Her first instinct was to squeal at the thought of the excitement and scandal of two of her digidestined in a secret relationship. But the implications caught up to her quickly. What it meant for Kari to hide such a thing from Tai. How Tai must have reacted to it. And what did it mean if he still left?

Suddenly, a new thought struck her and she gasped. It rattled her entire core, weighing heavy and settling into the pit of her stomach. She was almost teary as she slowly said, "Oh... oh... Kari, I'm sorry. I had no idea."

"Nobody did." Kari shook her head, oblivious. "Everything was going fine, and suddenly-"

"Can you forgive me?" Suddenly, Kari was hushed. Mimi continued to plead, "He never said anything. It just... happened. We were both... and it felt right in the moment."

Kari narrowed an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"That massage last week... it, um... turned into something more than that."

Mimi was hoping Kari would get it. She didn't. "You know... we did... adult stuff." Mimi flashed a smile to drive the point home.

But no, the only change to Kari's expression was her mouth opening slightly. Finally, Mimi gave up and declared, "Izzy and I had sex." She huffed. "Seriously, girl?"

Kari's leaned back slightly. "You did... f-for real?" she stuttered.

With a sad nod, Mimi replied, "I suggested it, but... he certainly didn't say no. And he definitely wanted to." She fought off a grin.

Head shaking slowly, Kari's eyes lowered. "He did, huh?"

"I can assume you two never..." Mimi stopped. She didn't need any more confirmation.

"That's why he left..." Kari decided, tears streaming once again. "He ran away rather than..."

Mimi extended a hand. "Kari, I swear if I knew about this I never..." Kari abandoned her food, stood and ran before Mimi could finish. Mimi looked around; no other friendly faces were in sight. She was alone, and now she was the one ready to cry.

Joe Kido was surprised and a little dismayed at how quickly he and Gomamon re-acclimated to fighting. The previous day's assignment was rough. Gomamon and Biyomon weren't as sharp as they once were, their partners troubled at seeing corrupted Digimon with no hope for salvation. It was sloppy, with hesitation and error leading to a few close shaves. But they were the digidestined, and this sort of thing was never going to present a serious challenge. The combined might of Ikkakumon, Birdramon and Aquilamon put down the threatening herd before it harmed anybody. They were glad for it to be over.

It wasn't.

The sequel the next day was even more draining. The corruption hadn't spread to some of the herd at first, which meant a scheduled visit to either immunize them quickly or put them down if they did turn. Unfortunately, it proved to be the latter and they had to fight all over again. Ikkakumon used his Harpoon Torpedo attack to keep the two remaining DarkTyrannomon at a distance while Birdramon rained fire down on them. It looked like a routine they had perfected years ago.

"They're way too good at this," Sora muttered. She and Joe watched from a safe distance while Yolei directed the action from above. Sora scratched her arm, sitting on the grass while her partner continued to subdue the sick beasts.

"Better this than them being in trouble," Joe replied. "Just a shame it gets to this point. Healing's a lot more rewarding."

"Can I help them?" said the fourth Digimon present. Patamon hovered close to Joe as instructed, but looked onto the battlefield with curiosity.

"No, I don't want you any closer." Joe leaned in, trying to get a close look at Patamon's fur. Despite the little guy being too restless and unsteady to hover in place, Joe was satisfied by what he saw.

"What are you looking for anyway?" Sora asked. "I still can't believe TK let him take you."

"He's had his shots, so there's no risk of catching anything. But I want to see if he reacts to corruption Digimon at all."

"Why would he?"

Joe wiped the grass next to Sora as much as he could, then sat with her. "The scanners picked up some unknown data in him. We can't figure out what it is." Sora inhaled through her nose, an uneasy look on her face. "Izzy had a look a couple weeks ago, but he was stumped."

"He's not corrupted, is he?" She watched Patamon scratch his ear-wings.

"No. Otherwise he would have digivolved differently, like he did when Marcus found him. It's more like some sort of mutation. It's too early to tell if it's good or bad." Joe moaned. "But knowing our luck..."

"Have you told TK?"

"Not yet, but I guess I have to. I was hoping to get something out of watching him."

Sora wrapped her arms around herself, looking up at Birdramon delivering a finishing blow on one of the DarkTyrannomon. "It never ends..."

"It did though! It used to seem so calm around here." Joe shook his head. "I mean sure Marcus and Takuya were always dealing with stuff but it's not like it ever got close to really threatening us." He gestured at the remaining DarkTyrannomon. "This is bad but... compared to what we used to go through?"

"We're all starting to hate each other again," Sora said. "Half of us just up and left. I'm sure we would have done the same thing before if we thought we'd all survive it." Joe returned a sad nod. "I'm not sure we'll survive this."

Joe chuckled. "If you're looking for someone to say we'll be fine, you're talking to the wrong guy. I think we're shooting ourselves in the foot."

"I don't know what I'm looking for anymore."

"You know, I don't think we realized how good we had it before. Everything was mostly calm, we all put up with each other." He glanced at Patamon. "Nobody was dying. It was everything we could have asked for."

Sora shuddered. "We missed it because we were still waiting for Matt and TK. We weren't together. It was like we were on hold all those years. And now..." She clenched her teeth.

"We just have to keep doing this, don't we?" Joe pushed up his glasses. "Keep fighting until we get back to the good times... or Takuya messes up and we all end up dead."

Ikkakumon seized the moment and charged forward, eliminating the last DarkTyrannomon and completing the mission. Sora leaned over, her head falling against Joe's shoulder as they watched their Digimon return in muted triumph. Joe glanced at her and grimaced, but did not disturb her.

Mimi Tachikawa knew she was in danger of not having dinner ready anywhere resembling on time. In the morning, she thought busting some nice steak out of the freezer would help refresh some spirits. But as it sat thawing on the counter she found herself unable to focus on food and barely able to concentrate on even grilling the vegetables. Time was running out, she had so much left to do, and her surprise feast was going to be a mess.

How was it that sharing happy moments with close friends continued to lead to disaster? Showing Matt the music room and presenting him his bass led to his proper introduction to Nene and betraying the entire team. Indulging in some much-needed intimacy with Izzy chased him away from the first relationship he or Kari had dared initiate. Neither of these were in any way her fault. Matt and Izzy made conscious decisions. But her acts of love turned into them hurting her friends and running away from the consequences. Now, on top of this disastrous division destroying morale, she had to fight off this strange feeling of cynicism challenging her never to do anything nice again.

This terrible feeling was so foul the smell of smoke seemed appropriate. By the time she realized it was from the vegetables, it was too late to salvage them. Mimi switched off the burner and glared at the damage. She was already way behind schedule; there was no hope of preparing them again and no assistant to help make up ground. In frustration, she slammed the pan handle, accidentally flipping it and sending it, and its contents, clanging against the floor. Mimi froze. Was it even worth cleaning up?

While she stood still, the door opened. She didn't react until she heard Ewan shout, "Everything okay in here?! I heard something crash." Mimi looked up at him, but still couldn't move. She tried to force a smile and act like everything was under control, but it wasn't. She couldn't pretend.

He frowned. "Do you need help?" She only blinked in response. Ewan hunted down a broom and dustpan and started cleaning her mess. He was halfway through before she bent down to take the pan while he swept the burnt food into it.

Ewan's offer of assistance didn't stop there. He picked up a pan and started on a new round of vegetables while Mimi started the steak. She was still overwhelmed, still barely functioning, but this was progress. As she watched the meat cook, she mumbled, "Why are you helping me?"

"You needed help," he replied, concentrating more on the food. "Seemed like the nice thing to do. Anyone here would jump in if they could."

"It hasn't felt that way lately. Your friends sure aren't helping."

Ewan shook his head. "Nene and Mikey are good people. They just... sometimes we hurt each other and don't realize it." He paused, staring down at the pan. "It's inevitable. I tried to find a world where that doesn't happen... I've done more hurting than anybody here."

Mimi raised an eyebrow, daring herself to take her eyes off the steaks long enough to look at him. "You might want to talk to Ken about that."

"I'm not mentally ready to talk to Ken about that." His voiced was suddenly hushed.

A faint smile crept onto Mimi's face. "There it is... I knew there was something. You can't hide it completely."

"Hide what?" Ewan snapped back. "Everyone knows what I did."

"And you still struggle with it." Mimi stared back at him. "Don't think I haven't noticed. You don't feel like you belong here, do you?"

He looked away. "You... don't understand."

She leaned in, trying to catch sight of his face. "I want to." Ewan turned to her and saw a reassuring smile. "That's why you intrigue me so much. You have the ability to do anything and a sister who will do anything for you. But you're not happy and I want to know more."

Mimi returned to her steaks, shaking her head. "That's why it hurt so much when you thought I was just a fangirl. Like you thought I only saw you as a pretty face with a bunch of talents."

Ewan nodded slowly. "It's not just that." He glanced at her quickly. "Maybe I also thought you were just a pretty face with a bunch of talents." After poking at his pan, he said, "But you're more than that too, aren't you? You have problems and worries and things you wish you could forget about." He bit his lip. "I've had dozens of girls say they like me. And I would always push them away because I knew they wouldn't like the real me."

"I'm fascinated by the real you." Mimi chuckled quietly. "Besides, everyone here's a little bit broken. How could we not be after what we had to go through?"

He chuckled back. "I like you better knowing you're a little bit broken."

She blushed a little, but continued grilling without response.

As the meal started to come together, their components uniting into a dinner that was now bound to be only a few minutes late, Ewan said, "Hey... I'm supposed to be helping Yolei with response team stuff, but when I'm not busy with that, did you want me to help out here?"

Mimi sighed, struggling to hide her smile. "Yes... I'd like that very much."

Ewan didn't hide his. "So would I."

Zoe Orimoto felt a shiver in spite of the roaring fire in front of her. Like everyone else, she arrived at her new home excited about the possibilities and eager for a fresh start. Yes, she turned her back on Kari despite their much-needed friendship. Yes, she ruined a healthy and promising relationship with Jeremy. The entire pitch around going to Isthmian was about taking control of life and having the freedom to venture forward. She was going to do what she wanted no matter who thought it was a bad idea. No matter how happy she realized she had become.

It didn't matter now. She made her decision and now she had to hope it was a good one. As everybody huddled around the celebratory bonfire, talking about the exciting challenges ahead of them the next day, she tried to focus on her contribution to the effort. Zoe would have the same job managing communications between the different field teams and handling whatever dispatches came from the other castle. As the Isthmian equivalent of Kari, she thought of it as a promotion until Koji dispensed with the officers concept for something less formal. Now everybody was more or less equal except for Takuya, who ran all the operations outside the castle, and Mikey, who was in charge inside it.

Zoe struggled with Mikey's appointment. She was here because she had an unshakable faith in Takuya and her original team (it was jarring how quickly they excluded Koichi). For years, she had wanted to see what Takuya could do at the helm in place of Tai. Isthmian was supposed to be that experiment.

She had no such curiosity about Mikey. After the Angie incident, it seemed like everybody was leery of him. Jeremy still viewed him more as a rival than a friend. From his testimony, Mikey was incredibly capable and unwilling to tolerate suffering, but he alternated between tunnel vision and a state of constant distraction. The same day they arrived at Isthmian, he pressed her about what she was capable of with her spirits. He wasn't happy when she told him how uncomfortable she was using them. Zoe wasn't sure if he'd take no for an answer if he wanted Kazemon to do something. She felt another shiver.

Suddenly, a jacket found its way around her shoulders. "Seriously? You're cold?" Takuya said, sitting next to her. He wrapped an arm around her back, pulling her in. Zoe gasped, but only for a moment. She didn't think she was actually cold, but the gesture, and his proximity, instantly made her feel more comfortable.

"No, I..." She sighed. "Why did you pick Mikey? I thought you were going to lead here."

"Because, I'm not going to be around here all the time. We're starting our first sweep of the new continent tomorrow. Who knows what that'll lead to. We might catch wind of something and be gone for weeks."

"You idiot, you're going to run out of food."

"Thank God for digibytes," Takuya chuckled.

"But still, Mikey? Why don't you just have Koji or Commander-General Yushima run things while you're gone?

"C'mon, Koji? He's all ideas and action. He doesn't people. And yeah, Yushima's a good guy to have around. He's been through everything. But don't you think everyone here would rather listen to someone our age? Especially when things get crazy?"

"Are things going to get crazy here?"

"Wouldn't bet against it. But with Mikey's team guarding the place, I know we'll be fine."

Zoe pulled her legs in close, wrapping her arms around her knees. "That's not what I'm worried about." She stared at the fire. "Look at the five of us. We have our differences sometimes but we're all pretty inseparable after what we went through in our world."

Takuya grinned, but asked, "Yeah?"

"I don't feel that with Mikey's team. He was horrible to Angie. Nene's been keeping her distance from him. Ewan stayed home. And Jeremy..." She hushed up. Talking about Jeremy in front of Takuya felt wrong. Not that she knew whom she was wronging. "...it just raises questions, you know?"

"They can't all be us," Takuya replied with a smug smile, squeezing her back. "Look, you gotta give him a chance. He's trying to help, just like everybody. And he's got ideas we need to try out. And I'm sure Koji will yell at him if he does something stupid. I just... need you on board."

She turned to him. "I just..." There was that smile. He was so confident about everything happening that all of her protests fell away. Of course things were fine. Of course Mikey in charge wouldn't be that bad. After all, Takuya had chosen him. Zoe wanted to not have to worry about it. The only way she could was to put blind faith in her leader. "I just... need you."

Smile still on, Takuya leaned forward, pulling her in for a kiss. She was all too happy to receive it, and even rushed in for a second when it ended too soon. There was a chance everybody was watching them. She didn't care. Kissing him made the doubts go away.

When she pulled back to catch her breath, Takuya turned to spot any onlookers, before leaning in to steal one more. Lips still close together, he whispered, "I am heading out tomorrow. You maybe want to keep me company tonight?"

"Takuya..." she whispered back. She shouldn't have been so surprised; it used to be a regular pastime between them. But two months of being with Jeremy, and honoring her promise with JP, made it a shocking proposition.

"...okay," she answered, looking around the courtyard before standing up with him, taking his hand, and quietly slipping away from the group. If kissing him removed her doubts about everything, she could only imagine how calm the rest of the night would make her. For now, that was enough.

Tai Kamiya wrapped up another exasperating day the way he usually did- heading out with Agumon for a nightly walk. In this case, it turned into a jog, then an angry sprint. The day was more of the same- another corruption for the makeshift response team to put down, asking too much out of loyal allies like Takato, and strained conversations with Kari that showed no signs of relaxing. He didn't know what he wanted to say to Agumon, so he ran. Agumon kept up, figuring it was some sort of training exercise. Tai kept running. He didn't want to stop. If he had his way, he and his partner would have run forever, with no destination in mind.

But of course he came back. At some point he felt the weight of his duties, stopped, and walked back in silence. He thought he had been running for hours. The walk home barely took any time at all.

He left Agumon and settled in for a bath. Inside, he was alone. The more he sat there soaking, the more he didn't want to be. Tai didn't have anything to say to Agumon. His partner knew him too well, and could already sniff out his frustration and discontent. Agumon didn't need words to be reassuring. He could suggest it with an embrace or even a slight grimace on his normally eager face. Tai needed more. He needed to talk to somebody, to anybody who could make him think he wasn't steering everyone off course. Nobody arrived.

Before retiring for the night, Tai did one last lap through the castle. He expected things to die down quickly. The way things were going, he figured nobody would have been in the mood for late night frivolity. He couldn't have been more wrong.

At one table, Jeremy tried to teach Angie and Kenta the rules to some complicated board game Tai had never seen before. She looked baffled by the whole thing, but nodded along, asking follow up questions and engaging a friend who had been hurt so badly by those closest to him.

Mimi, TK and Ewan shared a couch, watching their three Digimon partners play around. She had been left as the sole cook for the whole castle while the two boys had their older siblings run off on them. All three had once watched their partners die. The way they were laughing, Tai couldn't tell if any of them cared.

Henry and Suzie played ping pong at the table in the corner while Terriermon pretended to officiate. They were feisty and competitive, but friendly and quick to acknowledge good shots. Suzie's partner wasn't coming back at all, but she had gotten past her grief and was already embracing her next chapter in life. Tai couldn't remember the last time he saw her and Henry this tight. They were getting through the hard times together. This was how a brother and a sister were supposed to act.

Sora was the only one in the room sitting alone, staring blankly out the window, surely lost in her thoughts. Tai knew so much of her pain was his fault. Matt had removed himself, erasing all the traces of his rejection and her wasted years. Surely she had accepted that, at least for now, he preferred to be somewhere else, with someone else.

There was no such closure between her and Tai. As much as he tried to avoid her, he couldn't run to another castle the way Matt did. They still saw each other, occasionally had to talk to each other, and now he even had to order her around like a soldier. What was the point of abandoning her? He was supposed to be in love with her. Who was he trying to impress, leaving her alone when she clearly needed a companion?

Maybe this was the time to mend things. Maybe things already were getting better. Sora could have made a stronger protest about fighting. He had softened his tone and tried to be more sympathetic and she responded in kind. Did that mean things could get better again? He just needed to be with someone, no matter what that entailed. Surely she needed the same thing. And honestly, if that led to something more, he really could have used that too.

He took a deep breath and took several steps towards her, but stopped when he saw Joe emerge from the library stacks, joining Sora on the sofa. Tai couldn't hear what they were saying, but they were talking. Their heads nodded, shook and moved around as their conversation livened. They weren't frowning; Tai could see that much. They were just talking like friends. Enjoying each other's company. Not being alone.

Tai would never find out what it was Joe said, but it struck hard and Sora starting laughing. She wasn't a loud laugher, but it was more than the polite chuckle she normally let out. Her smile was bright and honest, and she set a hand on Joe's shoulder as the two reveled in whatever. The smile outlasted the laugh. There was no hint of sadness. She was good. Or at least good enough that she didn't need Tai to be happy tonight.

He watched her beautiful smile for a while longer, wondering why he had to take it from her. He wondered why he couldn't have been the one to return it. Or if anybody could find his. Everybody in the room was surviving, relying on their friends and loved ones to scratch out some light in the haze they were all in. Nothing was there for Tai. Nobody was there. His friends and loved ones were deserting him. He had nowhere to go but back to his room, alone. He didn't want anyone to see him breaking down, so he had to run.

Koichi Kimura wasn't sure what he was doing. The wave of reassignments and replacements hadn't gotten to him yet, and he wasn't sure if it ever would. He didn't have a spirit or partner Digimon, he couldn't cook, he wasn't particularly handy, and he didn't have the sort of leadership qualities Command would be looking for in an officer. In a castle where everybody was being asked to step up and contribute more, he still felt like spare weight.

He didn't care as much anymore. While he wanted to contribute as much as he could, the lack of time commitment needed for his position gave him freedom. He could do anything he wanted. It took arguments with his brother to realize how good that felt. Koichi didn't have a superior to order him around or a team to pledge loyalty to or even a partner Digimon to bond with. He was as unchained as anybody, and found his usual social fears and hesitations fading away.

At breakfast, of the eight castle residents eating in the hall, only a couple were actually paying attention to Jeri delivering morning announcements on the stage. It wasn't anything terribly important, mostly schedule changes warranted by all the departures. Koichi hung on every word, staring up at her majesty, killing it at her job despite all the chaos. He was amazed she could handle such an important role, and admired her so much for succeeding at it. Of course he wanted to express it.

This time, he was going to.

He popped out of his seat as Jeri stepped off the stage, smiling as he approached her. She grinned back, but nodded politely. They were in public; whatever it was he had to say, she was going to keep the conversation professional. She barely had time to gasp when Koichi wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her in for a kiss.

Koichi sensed her panic, but it subsided amid the rush of passion flowing through them. She closed her eyes and enjoyed it for a few seconds, before pulling away. Jeri beat back her grin to say, "Koichi, what are you doing?"

A can of juice crashed to the floor, its contents pouring onto Takato's shoes.

He didn't notice. "Wha... what's going on?"

Jeri's mouth fell open in horror as her whole body shook. She took a step backwards. "T... T... T..." she couldn't even say his name.

"Why were you two..." Takato couldn't say the deed.

She gasped, head darting to Koichi. The twin was composed, standing straight, staring right at Takato with no emotion on his face. Before approaching Jeri, he had checked the hallway. He knew Takato was approaching. He knew Takato would see it. That was the point.

"Koichi?" she pleaded.

He took her hand, keeping his eyes on the tamer. "You asked me why I chose to stay here." Koichi clutched Jeri's hand tighter. "So I'm telling you."

Next Time on Neverworld- Episode 21: "Running From Lions"
Takato's response to Koichi's shocking announcement has an impact on both castles. Tai attempts to make peace with Henry. Izzy pleads to Zoe to reason with Takuya over Mikey's plan.

"There's nothing for us back there. We have to go forward. We've got too much work to do."

Author Notes
The newest tri. movie, while it has just about zero bearing on this story, puts us all on heightened alert when it comes to talk about Digimon getting infected, particularly as it concerns Patamon. The use of the term "corruption," and I'm being very careful to call it that instead of infection (dodged a bullet with Henry in episode 13!), refers to a different phenomenon that they're more prepared to deal with. In fact, corruption in and of itself does not play a major role in the rest of the story.

What will play a role in the rest of the story, however, is whatever's going on with Patamon (you... you were assuming this, right?). After tri. it feels like giving him another problem is piling on, but this was something first brought to light in episode 17, with clues to the nature of his condition going back even earlier. It'll all unravel in due time, but rest assured he is not going to start biting TK.

A while ago on the Digital Connections forum, somebody was lamenting how authors of crossover stories sometimes see easy conflict between TK and Koichi because of TK's disdain for darkness and wanted to see a friendlier interaction between the two. Took a while, but I got there!

While we'd all probably enjoy a scene of Ken and Ewan in some sort of post-villain counseling together, it's probably best to take Ewan at his word when he says he's not ready to go there yet. While Ewan's story in Fusion is often derided as being similar to Ken's, the details paint a different picture. The fact that Ken's evil was a product of the dark spore and Ewan was simply talked into it says a lot right there.

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