Chapter 21: Partner

I stood there for a moment, watching the unconsious form of Tai - probably kept asleep by some sort of drug. Even within his sleep, I could see the pained, troubled expression across the 'head's' face.

"A bit pitiful, isn't it?" the technician who had welcomed me earlier approuched me silently, observing my focus upon Tai.

"Um, yeah." I mumbled, a little nervous. I took a moment to observe him. The technician was just a tad taller than me, and I noticed he also sported a tail: a yellow one. "Have we...learned anything? From him, I mean."

"Not much." the technician seemed compassionate. "It's a shame. There's...something about him." he shrugged. "Doubt we'll ever find that much."

I nodded slowly, thinking of a way to get Tai out without attracting attention. I couldn't think of any.

"Why don't we just let him go?" I hesitated. "I mean, if we can't learn that much from him..." I hoped I had not sounded too obvious.

The technician stared at me silently for a moment. Then he glanced at the machine I was supposed to be operating.

"You don't know how to work that, do you." he lowered his voice, suddenly becoming very serious.

My heart nearly stopped. I shook my head slowly. Was I about to be found out?

"Hm.." he pondered me for a moment more, then turned to the rest of the technicians in the room.

"I'm..." he put a gloved paw on my shoulder. "We're...taking a little break."

The rest of the staff hardly cared to acknowledge us. The one apparently in charge gave a wave of his hand in acceptance.

I was guided out of the room by the technician, and then to a nearby restroom. It was empty.

"Who are you?" he asked, curious yet non-threatening. I detected a hint of hope in his voice.

I stayed silent. He shifted his weight. Was he nervous too?

"Have you...heard of someone named Matt?" he asked suddenly.

My surprised showed, even through the covered lab hood I was wearing. He laughed a little, but in a sad tone.

"Are you with him? Or against?"

I bowed my head, debating whether or not to respond. Or how to respond.

"Answer." he commanded.

"With." I blurted out quickly, recoiling a little to prepare for the possible consequences of my answer.

We stood in silence for a minute. It felt like an hour. Finally, the technician laughed softly.

"So...Matt...how is he?" he asked, sounding concerned.

I stood silently. "You know him."

"Yes." he answered quickly. "I am...his partner."

I breathed slowly. Of course; now I realized it. I now knew who this was.

"Gabumon." I predicted.

He nodded. "Nice to meet you." Gabumon approuched me. "Now, who are you, and just why are you here?"

I explained the whole situation to the Digimon. He was focused and very receptive while I talked.

"I see..." he pondered after I had finished. "Alright. A lot seems to be happening...we need to get Tai out of here quickly."

I nodded. "But how'd you get involved with this place? And when?"

"I came in recently." he sighed. "I took a great risk and was able to get recruited. They really needed the staff, and they did not know I was a prison escapee. They believed I was a certified worker." the Digimon smiled sadly. "I knew I should keep tabs on Tai, make sure nothing...bad happened. That's all I could do..."

"Where are all your friends?" I began. "The Digidestined, their partner Digimon. You all escaped..."

Gabumon nodded. "Yes, we did, I think. But...we got separated." he groaned a little. "I only know where that one, Davis, is. I think he might know something about where the others are, but...he's really just mean. Even worse than when we first found him. He won't tell me anything, and even attacked me."

I nodded. "I heard he was a handful."

"I think he almost seems insane." Gabumon shook his head. "I couldn't do anything about it."

"We can deal with him later." I suggested. "For now..."

Suddenly, an alarm went off, loud and alerting. I knew what it signified: either one of the unconscious guards had been found, or one of our 'search team' had been discovered.

"They found us out." I said shakily. "We need to get Tai and ourselves out of here. Now!"

Ed: Hi again everyone! Hope that the latest chapters are going well for you all. Anyways, there are two things I wanted to address in this note.

First off, my e-mail is now ! Secondly, and I am not afraid to admit it: I don't know all that much about Digimon. I wish I did, but...well, I don't.

It's starting to cause me some problems and I was wondering if some of you could help me out! If anybody can answer any of these questions, throw it in a review or e-mail me.

1. I need some suggestions for humanoid (or anything that stands on two legs) Digimon. Anything will do, but please make them first season Digimon; throw some names out.

2. Personalities of the partner Digimon and the Digidestined of the first season. I think I already know a bit, but I need to make sure...

3. Stuff about Genni! I don't know all that much about the dude.

If I think of more stuff I'm clueless about, I'll throw in another note at the end of the next chapter. Thanks in advance for the help!