Y/N: Sorry it's a little late. I hope you enjoy the chapter regardless though, and review if you get a chance! :)

U/N: I wrote Jou, Willis, Michael and Kurayami here, and I'm fairly sure only Willis and Kurayami were planned.
You know, the more chapters that go up the more I realize how poorly scheduled the plots in this story really were. Michael's and Jou's were shortened and put here... just a lot happens, and none of it really matches with each other-actually... kind of. Because they're all looking for something...

Huh. Never mind. They kind of actually work together. Aaaaaand I hope you like it :) Sorry it's late, really I am. My sister has all the whole files and it's on her account and whatnot, so she's supposed to do it, and all I can do is remind her, which I did yesterday, I promise.

Title: Digimon Adventure 05

By: Yukira and Urazamay King

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters.

Part 2: Shaped By Sin

Chapter 36: Lost and Found

Kae Ichijouji:

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I got back to Earth. Perhaps I didn't feel like I'd been gone too long, so I didn't have any idea what it was that I was getting into. I'd been gone ages according to my son and his friends, but it felt like mere days at most. The bills were paid; I didn't have a job to be worried about losing. I simply slid back into my role of housewife, and received a kiss when my husband got back from work for the day. He asked be how my trip was, and told me he hadn't been too worried, since Ken assured him that I would be saved.

It was nice to know that he worried, however little it was.

I was horrified to see the sheer amount of leftover takeaway food that was piled in the refrigerator. Apparently he hadn't bothered to learn how to cook. He just bought ready-made meals and gorged himself on fast food. It was good that I was back now, to get his diet back on track. At the rate he was going, he was going to eat himself into an early grave. And I couldn't have that.

I decided to start with a nice, fresh salad and some grilled fish. It was just the wakeup call he needed. It was as I was finely chopping carrots that Coronamon ran up to me.

"Kae, Kae!" he shouted happily.

"Yes, Coronamon?" I said with a smile. It was so nice to hear the little pitter-patter of feet again. It had been far too long since I'd had a child living at home to take care of, and Coronamon needed me to do that for him. He wasn't familiar with Earth, and this time he could depend on me, like I depended on him in the Digital World.

He was the only real difference now that I was back on Earth. If it weren't for him, I might've been bored returning to the monotonous activities that made up my life. After running around the Digital World and helping defeat the bad guys, I was glad to know I wouldn't only be washing dishes and fiddling with my label maker anymore.

"Can we play a game?" he asked brightly.

"A board game?" I guessed.

"Yes!" Coronamon cheered.

"Go pick one out," I said with a smile.

He loved the games that Ken and Osamu would play as children. He thought they were the coolest things. And I liked the fact that I was finally playing them again. Ken would never touch them, because they reminded him of his brother. They reminded me of Osamu as well. But I liked to play them. It made me feel closer to my lost son, because he loved to exercise him mind with such games and teaching Ken and I through them as well.

I set my knife down and looked at the meal I'd started. Dinner could wait. I had a young digimon to entertain.

Kurayami Higorashi:

I was trying to focus on one point in the distance, not that I actually had any idea where I should have been focusing. I was just too scared to look around. The Dark Ocean had been plaguing my life for so long, and I had a feeling it would always be there... if only I could just find my mother and deal with all of that darkness... then I could move on from the dark world.

Though that was unlikely to happen any time soon... especially with everything going on. I felt like everything was happening at once for a reason, but I couldn't see what it was. There must have been some sort of higher power that was instructing everyone that was opposing us... otherwise it didn't make any sense why they would all choose right then to strike.

I let my eyes fall to Ken who looked exhausted already from walking endlessly through the heavy sand, but he showed no signs of giving up. Wormmon was pushing forward as much as he could, but his little legs seemed unable to carry him as fast as he needed them to. I thought it would be easier if he digivolved, but I didn't want to say anything to break Ken's concentration.

Hawkmon was in the lead, flying high above us to scout for any signs of where we should be going. Apparently the Dark Ocean was a full world—and yet I'd only ever seen this beach. Maybe that's really all there was—just an endless beach, but if so then it would take us years to find Miyako. Our digivices weren't picking up any signals... and I kept thinking that maybe she was in the water, in some underground cave... it was just too scary to think about.

Labramon was keeping up better than I was, trotting along next to me. He kept glancing up at me as if he wanted me to say something, but I didn't know what to say. There were a lot of things I could have said, but none that seemed important enough to suggest.

"Ken," Wormmon said finally, breaking the silence that had started since we'd gotten to the Dark Ocean. "I think we should take a break." Ken didn't seem to be listening though, and continued walking. Wormmon sighed and we all followed Ken.

After a while Ken's face seemed to be turning red, and he was running out of breath. I could relate of course, having been walking just as much as he had, but I wasn't wearing nearly as many layers of clothes as he was, and he looked like he was ready to pass out.

"Ken," Wormmon said again, "We should really take a break. Rest?" Again, Ken ignored him. I thought Wormmon would just continue walking again, but he didn't, instead he jumped forward until he was standing in Ken's way. "Ken!" He shouted, "Ken we're stopping! You're going to fall down! You don't have enough energy!"

"Can't stop." Ken managed to say.

"What's wrong with him, do you think?" Labramon asked me.

"He won't rest because he knows Miyako is in danger." I explained, "But if he doesn't stop soon he's not going to be able to help her at all.

"Ken!" Wormmon shouted with a very different edge to his voice this time. I looked back to them quickly and saw Ken laying face down in the sand. I rushed to his side as quickly as I could and rolled him over. "He's overexerted himself!" Wormmon gasped.

I checked his pulse and found that it was racing. "We need to get him out of the sun." I said looking up to the dark orb in the sky. I looked to the edge of the beach and saw the storefronts. I'd never been in the buildings here, just the beach. It was time to step off the sand though.

Hawkmon spotted what was wrong and came down to help us, and between Hawkmon, Labramon and I we'd managed to bring Ken off of the beach and into the nearest store. It was a souvenir shop. I tried not to look around because it all disgusted me. Just the thought of wanting something to remind myself of that place was enough, but with the shrunken heads and the other awful items just made it worse.

I cleared a spot on the checkout counter for him, and we lifted him up.

"He's dry as a bone..." I said, trying to keep calm. "He needs water." I was checking everything I knew how to, but I had no first aid training, so I wasn't even sure if I was doing it right.

"I'll go get some?" Hawkmon suggested.

"No," I said slowly, "You can't. The only water here is... well, dark. We can't let him drink that."

"But he needs water, now." Hawkmon said, "He could die without it."

"It's not that simple though." I shot. I'd touched the water before. It had given me terrible nightmares. Dreams of death and gore—without even sleeping. It gave me hallucinations. I'd once fell in the water, and thought about killing myself just so I wouldn't have to go through what the water did. I shivered and shook my head, "We need clean water. Something else. Anything else." I couldn't let Ken go through what I had, especially since I didn't know if drinking the water would make it worse or not.

"It's just water," Wormmon said quietly, "If Ken needs it, we'll have to give him some."

I could see that I was the only one against the idea, and they had a point, I just didn't like it. I didn't want the nightmares to affect Ken—though he was sleeping... maybe it would be less vivid...

"Okay." I decided finally. I searched quickly for a cup to hold the water and found a coconut laying on the floor. I cracked it open and dumped the contents onto the floor, handing both ends to Hawkmon. "Take Wormmon. I don't want something to happen to you."

"I'll be fast." Hawkmon said with a firm nod before leading the way for Wormmon.

The second they were gone Labramon looked to me. "Are you okay?" He asked me.

"Yeah," I lied, but I knew it was no use. Labramon had always been able to see right through my lies. I shook my head finally, "No."

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"The Dark Ocean is the scariest thing ever." I started, "I always think to myself... I think, 'hey, lucky you. Karma loves you. You've done so much wrong, but its letting you off with a warning. Hikari, Daisuke and the others accept you even after all you've done. You can move on.' And then... then I end up back here."

"You think this is life punishing you?" Labramon asked.

"Yes, and no." I said, "It's like... life can't punish me anymore than it already has, so it's punishing everyone around me. Miyako... all of this is happening to her—why? Why do you think that is?"

"Because..." Labramon trailed off, "No, it's not happening like that anyway. Stop thinking like that. Life isn't punishing you or your friends. It's the evil digimon that are punishing you all. Not life. You've made mistakes Kura, but you've already paid for them. You're making it up by saving the world. I've heard the stories. You were there when Fanglongmon was defeated."

"On his side..." I said weakly. "And I was on Apocalymon's side when he was defeated... I'd thought he was my partner for so long—I'm so glad you came along."

"You know why I came along, don't you?" Labramon asked. I shook my head, "Life was rewarding you for making the right decision." I smiled at Labramon and pet his ears affectionately. "Can I tell you what's been bothering me now?"

I nodded, "You're going to tell me why you've been acting weird lately?"

Labramon shook his head, "No, that's a secret. I'm sorry, I can't tell you."

"That's okay," I said, "What's wrong then?"

"You're..." He sighed, "You know you're going to have to let me fight here right? You can't keep sheltering me. I promise you I'll be careful Kura—and I know this isn't the Digital World, so I won't come back if I die... but I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to protect you, Ken, Miyako and the others... if you let me."

"You can't fight." I said firmly. "I told you that. It's too dangerous."

"Kura—" He tried to argue with me, but Hawkmon and Wormmon were back with two ends of the coconut. I jumped to my feet and took one from them, turning to Ken.

I hesitated as I looked down into the dark water... Could I really just force this upon him? I had to. We'd agreed that it was for the best.

I propped his head up and his mouth open before pouring the liquid into his mouth. The coconut was drained quickly, so I turned to Hawkmon and took the second dose, pouring it down the same as the first.

I waited a few seconds, just in case and then slowly lowered Ken down.

"What do we do now?" Wormmon asked nervously, watching Ken, "Will he be okay?"

"Ken will be fine." I told them with no certainty, "He just needs some rest. It's okay Wormmon."

Hawkmon patted his head comfortingly, "As for what we should be accomplishing next... perhaps I could continue scouting for signs of Miyako?"

"That would be a good idea." I nodded. Hawkmon turned was running for the door immediately, "Be careful!" I shot before he could take off. He turned his head and nodded to me, and then he was flying away.

"So... what do we do?" Wormmon asked.

"We stay safe." I said, staring at Labramon who looked away, upset. "We're going to wait for Ken to get better, that's all we really can do. If we leave him here alone we'll be doomed. We need both him and you Wormmon. You're the only chance we have..."

"I could be." I heard Labramon say quietly, but I ignored him, and pulled myself onto the counter, sitting next to Ken's feet. We waited for about five minutes before he started his nightmares with a loud scream. I winced and looked away from him. At least I knew he was alive now for sure.

"What's happening to him?" Wormmon asked, shocked. I didn't look to him, and tried to ignore him, but the panicked noises he was making made it impossible to leave him in the dark.

"The water causes vivid nightmares." I told him. "That's why I was reluctant to give it to him."

"Will he be okay?" Wormmon asked in a quivering voice.

I nodded, "He should be. The nightmares for me were just that. Nightmares. He'll be scared... that's all."

"That's not so bad then..." Wormmon said. I closed my eyes and argued his point in my head. It was that bad. It was more than that bad. When I'd said 'scared' I really meant 'mentally scared for life'. But I'd let Wormmon think that.

Eventually I slid off of the counter and sat on the floor, plugging my ears to block out Ken's screams, burying my face in my knees.

I could still hear him though, and I started humming to block out all sound.

And then the ground shook. I stopped humming and unplugged my ears, pulling myself to my knees and looking through the glass under the counter. On the other side of the counter I could see Labramon biting and snapping at a shadow that must have been drawn to us by Ken's screams. Wormmon use his netting and pinned one to the wall, but it just melted through the hold and began advancing on him again.

I turned away quickly biting my lip hard. I could barely breath. I didn't want to be there. I needed to leave. I needed to get away from the shadows.

I heard Ken screaming distantly as I tried to find an exit, but the only visible way out was through the front door, past the shadows. My eyes started watering as I continued blocking out what was happening. I needed out. I couldn't be there anymore!

"Miyako!" Ken screamed loudly, freezing me in place.

Miyako. That was why I was here. I was going to save her. I couldn't just run away from this. I had to be brave. I had to find where Miyako was hidden...

"Let them take us..." I said quietly. I knew Labramon would hear me, but the shadows had normal hearing. I'd been around them enough to know that. "They'll take us to where Miyako is." Labramon nodded and continued to fight, to make it look convincing, but finally the shadows 'took him down' and threw him out into the street outside where more shadows picked him up and carried him off. Soon they'd done the same with Wormmon, and then Ken.

Finally they came around to me and I didn't move or fight back. I stayed, curled in a ball, unable to look at them. I tried to think happy thoughts, but the moment their cold skin touched mine I started crying again... but it was for Miyako. It was all to save her. I'd just have to remember that.

Willis Kennedy:

I found myself staring at the key again. It was sitting in the middle of the cluttered table, still rusted and old. I'd left it in my apartment in Japan so I wouldn't see it as often. I didn't want to see it. I didn't want to know what it could be, because I was just too scared to find out the secret behind it.

Terriermon was playing video games in the living room, trying desperately to beat my high score as Lopmon tried to pick up where Hikari left off in cleaning the place up. Ever since we'd broken up she'd been staying, unwillingly with her parents during our trips to Japan, which left this place in a state of no return—but Lopmon was trying, and that was all I could ask.

I knew I could have helped her, but the mess didn't bother me too much. I'd been living in such a clean, pristine condition in my house in America with Hikari, Tatum and Michael wanting everything spotless, and it was nice to be able to relax, and not feel guilty if there were a few dishes sitting in the sink, or if my shoes were in the middle of the floor.

"Willis, I'm throwing this out," Lopmon said, using a claw toy to hold up a pair of my underwear that she'd found in the kitchen underneath a pile of... something that I could not identify.

"Okay," I said before turning back to the key.

After a couple minutes Lopmon was climbing up onto the table and sitting next to the key. "Are you going to use it yet?" She asked, I replied by shaking my head. "Why not?" She asked. "You'll get to find what you've been looking for! You've been looking so long, aren't you the least bit curious as to what's on the other side of whatever door it opens?"

"Obviously." I said, but Lopmon knew that I didn't want to talk about it so she just sighed and sat still, joining me in my staring at the key.

After a half an hour or so of mindless staring Terriermon had joined us, asking for food.

"I'm terrible at cooking," I pointed out, "Awful—you know that." Terriermon laughed.

"That's so true!" But he continued begging for food until Lopmon and I agreed to prepare something as he danced excitedly on the table.

But before we could actually get anywhere in the process of cooking, someone was knocking on the door.

"Come in!" I called, leaning back and looking around the doorway and to the door itself, which was opening. The door got caught on a garbage bag that Lopmon had filled, but a second later the door was closing and Mari had stepped into the room. "Hey!" I said with a grin as I wiped my wet hands on my pants. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Well, yeah." Mari said calmly, "I just..." her eyes were on Terriermon who was standing on the kitchen table still and I knew she was remembering the first time she'd ever seen him, in the exact same situation. Both of us stood in silence as we remembered everything from our past together...

"Hey lil' Willy!" Marshall had said cheerfully, pushing me roughly so I spun away from my locker and toward him. "Meet my new girlfriend. Rebecca." He motioned toward the small, shy blonde girl with her large cat eye glasses. "This is a girl. You probably haven't seen many around. Besides your mother—but let's face it—she's not much of a woman, now is she?"

"Hey," I said bluntly to Rebecca.

"Hi..." She said shyly before Marshall led her away. She looked back and shot me an apologetic glance.

The first time I'd met her wasn't the best situation, but she proved herself over time, with the time she'd made Marshall apologize to me for being a total dick-face. When she'd broken up with Marshall because of me, and told me of her feelings for me, and the very same day Terriermon had scared her off...

And then the last time we'd seen each other for nine full years was Christmas...

"Willis, I hope you realize that you're amazing, and even keeping secrets won't stop someone from loving you. You are a perfect person. A wonderful friend... and I love you."

And that was when I kissed her for the first and only time.

"I-I'm sorry..." I stuttered.

"Don't be." She said, "I understand..." And then she'd left before poking her head back into the room one last time. "Merry Christmas Willis,"

"Merry Christmas Rebecca..."

But now she was here... single. And I was single—and she knew about digimon, she had a digimon of her own—of course I still had feelings for Hikari, but we were one hundred percent over now... The virus I'd created was so many years ago, we still lived in different countries, but I had a home right there in Japan only three streets away from hers...

"What're you doing?" She asked suddenly.

"Oh, Terriermon's hungry so I thought I'd burn some toast." I told her with a wink. She laughed and pushed me out of the way.

"I'll cook." She decided, "I do enough of it for Hideto and Sig—I mean Kiyoko or whatever his name is. They tell me I'm pretty good."

"Well I'd be honoured to test their theory." I told her with a smile. She smiled back at me and then set to work, cooking and I sat back at the table and stared at the key again. I still wasn't ready to use it, and I didn't want to talk about it either, so I hastily placed it back in the thin box it had come in, and buried it with papers.

Now wasn't the time. It couldn't be.

"So what brings you here?" Terriermon asked, "Without Lalamon?"

"Lalamon is doing plant things." Mari said with a wave of her hand.

"Photosynthesizing?" I asked.

She shook her head with a laugh, "She's playing in the park or something. She leaves every day, I don't know what it is that she does."

And then we were talking and laughing together about what Lalamon could be doing in her secret times out in the garden, Lopmon sitting silently, staring at the place where the key was covered.

Finally she jumped off the table and stood on the chair next to it, turning to Terriermon, "Race you to Mari?"

"YES!" Terriermon roared with excitement, jumping off of the chair he'd moved to and hitting the small one legged table to topple sideways. I caught it from underneath, but everything that had been on top of it cascaded toward the floor, including the box with the key inside of it, the top of it flying across the room.

"Oh no." Lopmon said monotonously, "Look at that key! I hope it's not broken."

I glared at her, she wanted me to use it so bad, but I just couldn't find it in myself to be ready for those answers just yet. But before I could say that Mari was picking it up, and running it through her fingers. "Is this one of those magical keys? Like the one that Mimi has to go back in time?"

"Mimi has a time travelling key?" I asked. Mari nodded, "Huh... well yeah. It's like that I think."

"Where does yours go?" Mari asked. "The future?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "I actually don't know." I admitted, "I haven't used it yet..."

"Well why not?" She asked loudly, "It could go somewhere amazing! Doesn't Hikari have one that goes to a totally different world? What if this does too? What if you've never been there? What if no one has ever been there? You can claim the entire world as your own!"

"Oh my God I'm so excited!" Terriermon said quickly, "Use it! Use it!" He chanted. I glared at him this time and he stopped instantly. I turned back to Mari and took the rusted key from her, picking up the box that it belonged in and putting it back.

"I'm not going." I told them. "It's too unnerving."

"Why...?" Mari asked.

I waited a moment to find the right way to respond, but before I could, Lopmon had done it for me. "He's scared." She said, "His mom said that his dad wanted to give it to him, and since he doesn't know his dad he's scared what will happen."

"What are you scared of?" Mari asked, moving toward me and taking the box from me. "Willis, haven't you always wanted to meet your father? To know who he was? What if he now lives in this world...? Wouldn't you want to find out? Wouldn't you want to talk to him?"

"I'm scared he won't remember me I guess..." I admitted. "I... I don't know."

"You have to use it." Mari said sharply, "You can't put it off forever, and that's exactly what you're going to do." She slowly opened the box and pulled out the rusted key and handed it to me. "Do it." She wasn't forcing me too, but it certainly felt like she was.

I was probably wrong anyway—but I was still scared. Afraid to use it... But they were all watching me now.

Slowly I stepped toward the front door, and pushed the key into the lock. I looked back to Mari for encouragement as my stomach flipped. I was too scared. My hands were shaking and sweaty, and my head was starting to spin, but it had to be done sooner or later...

So I turned the key.

When I opened my eyes I felt like I was flying peacefully through the sky with no worries or cares at all. The sky was a bright shade of blue that I'd never seen before, and the grass was soft and cool to the touch, more vibrant than any grass I'd ever seen.

My headache was gone as I sat up slowly, and the scar on my hand from when I was younger was gone... I looked around and the first thing I saw was Terriermon sitting by a beautiful, glimmering lake, staring into the waters almost hypnotically. Lopmon was laying, apparently unconscious a few feet from me, but Mari was nowhere to be seen.

I looked around for a quick moment for the rusted key that had brought me here, but it seemed to have decided against coming along. I quickly scooped up Lopmon and gently awoke her from her slumbers.

"Where are we?" She asked, her voice very calm and songlike. I looked around, this time further than the small patch of grass we'd found ourselves in. To the left was a large field of shining golden wheat, blowing gently in the breeze that was coming from the north. In the center of the field of wheat was a tall tree with blackening bark with some sort of exotic golden fruit. To the right was a long prairie of grass and flowers with mountains in the distance, taller than any I'd ever seen with bright, fluffy clouds dancing around the peaks. As I looked back to Terriermon I caught sight of a woman who I'd not seen before.

"I don't know." I told Lopmon hastily as I pulled myself to my feet. I slowly made my way over to Terriermon and stood behind him and the woman with long dark hair. "Hello?" I said, catching both of their attention.

"Oh hello there!" The woman said brightly, pulling her pale feet out of the water and hopping to her feet, "You're awake! It's so nice to meet you, I've heard a lot about you."

I looked to Terriermon who smiled weakly before following the woman's lead and jumping to his feet. "This is a girl." Terriermon said with a sarcastic smile, "I'd introduce you, only she won't tell me her name."

The woman giggled, and waved Terriermon off. "It's not important." She said, before turning to the prairie and pointing. "That is the way you must head."

"Sorry?" I said, "Why is that?"

"Trust me." She said before turning to the water and jumping right in splashing me with the warm lake water. I watched as she swam on her back for a while, my mouth hanging open slightly. Finally I turned the way she'd pointed and stared down the prairie. She didn't know what I was looking for, but I knew that she was right. I could trust her...

Maybe it was because I didn't know this place, or even what this place was, so I had no choice but to trust her. Either way, she had to be right, so I pressed forward, through the meadow.

Every step I took seemed to bring more beauty into my range of vision. Everything around me was happy, calm, peaceful... I saw deer off in the distance frolicking playfully. I wanted to get closer, but I didn't want to scare them so I just kept moving the way the woman had indicated.

Soon there were two men, one younger than the other, walking toward us, with backpacks full to the brim. "Ahoy there!" The younger one said cheerfully, "Do I know you?" He asked.

"Probably not..." I told him shyly. "I'm Willis Kennedy."

Both of the men made faces of realization and nodded. "Have fun." The elder one said.

"Say hello to my son, will you?" The younger one said before walking off with his friend.

"Who's your son?" I asked loudly, spinning around, but when I did the two men were gone.

"This place is trippy." Terriermon said, climbing up onto my head. Lopmon nodded her agreement from her place in my arms, but she was smiling broadly.

"What's got you so happy?" I asked her calmly.

"We're so close." She said, shivering with excitement. "So close."

We walked for another five minutes, and the prairie had ended. I looked over my shoulder, confused and it appeared that I had been walking for days. I could no longer see the lake where we'd woken up. I turned back ahead of us and saw a dirt path that led into a forest. On most occasions the random paths through the middle of a forest seemed frightening—but there was something about the way the trees seemed to dance in the wind that made them seem comforting. I looked around to see if there was another obvious path to take, but the forest started so suddenly that everywhere I looked there was prairie and then instantly trees. The mountains were still off in the distance, and I could only hope that I wouldn't have to climb them.

"You going?" Lopmon asked, still beaming. I nodded and set off through the trees.

I was met by at least a hundred butterflies, each with different coloured wings, some that I didn't recognize, fluttering away in a team. I watched them in awe before continuing. The path was long and twisting, but the further I went the more animals I saw, each of them perfectly peaceful in their own nature.

"You there!"

I spun quickly to see a very familiar elderly man. Why couldn't I place who he was?

"Hello!" He said brightly, waving to me, and rushing through the trees with particular speed for someone so old. "Willis! I see you've found a key."

"Who are you?" I asked. The man looked offended but brushed it off.

"How are you all faring?" He asked me.

"Good...?" I tried. What was he asking? Who was he? "We're all fine." Who was 'we'?

"I'm glad." He said with a smile and a nod. "Well, good luck." And before I could say anything he was off again.

After about ten more steps the forest ended and an ocean overtook me. In the center of it was a long stone bridge so I headed directly toward it and set off across the ocean.

"I'm really confused." Terriermon said, "I should be scared... but I'm not."

"I know how you feel..." I said quietly. Everything was all over the place and off the wall—the people were strange and hard to grasp, and I'd crossed a forest and a prairie in only a couple of minutes. Hopefully the ocean would be the same. I didn't know if I would have enough energy to go the whole way... then again, I didn't seem to be losing energy at all... I had endless energy and optimism.

"Look!" Lopmon giggled, pointing out to the ocean where a flock of giant bubbles were flying toward us. They passed overhead and inside one of them was a ten year old boy with glasses. He was laughing as if being taken by bubbles was the funniest thing in the world, and I realized... It probably would be pretty funny were that to happen.

And after a couple minutes of walking I could see the end of the bridge, and sitting at the end of the ocean, on a blanket in the warm sand of a beach sat a twelve year old girl with blonde pigtails.

I couldn't stop staring toward her until Terriermon poked the side of my head. I nodded and finished my journey over to her. The moment I stepped onto the beach she looked to me and smiled. The sun was warm, the breeze carrying the smell of the ocean was warm, and yet it sent shivers down my spine. The girl motioned for me to come over to her, and so, without thinking, I did. I walked over and stood awkwardly next to her until she motioned for me to sit down. I nodded and did as I was told.

"How are you?" She asked, offering me a roll of some sort as Terriermon and Lopmon slid off of me and sat next to me.

"I'm... confused." I admitted with a small nervous laugh. The girl giggled along with me, her laugh was familiar and comforting.

"Reasonably so," She said, taking a bite of a large purple berry. "I was just on a picnic with my father." She informed me, "He went off to take a walk, but he'll be back soon. You'll like him. He's so nice." I nodded and smiled nervously. "There's no need to be nervous!" She insisted, patting Terriermon's head lightly.

"Sorry," I told her, "I'm Willis."

"I know," She said with a wink, but she said nothing more for a while as she watched the waves wash onto the shore. "You know," She said finally, "you're on the right path now." What did she mean? "You weren't. For a long time you were lost and confused and trying to make something happen that wasn't supposed to happen."

"Like what?" I asked her.

"You know what."She said, pointing to the water. I followed her finger and gasped when I saw, in the reflecting light of the sun, an image of Mari, sitting at my kitchen table, the rusted key in her hands. I hadn't even thought of her reaction to me disappearing. I wondered if she knew I'd be coming back or not... Thinking about it though... how was I to get back?

The two of us sat in silence for a while until Lopmon started pulling on my sleeve to get my attention. I brushed her off and continued watching the light dance off of the water.

The wrong path must have been Hikari... and so the right path would be Mari?

"If you could never go back, what would you miss the most?" She asked me suddenly.

"Never go back?"

"To Earth." She clarified. "What would you miss?"

"My mom..." I admitted, "Mari... Hikari—Michael and Jenna..."

"Your new siblings?" The girl asked with a smile as Lopmon pulled on my sleeve again. "They seem nice. Funny, kind of, right?"

"They're hilarious," I nodded, "A little weird sometimes though..."

"All the best people are," She winked at me as I brushed Lopmon away again. "That was a good answer by the way. You'd miss your loved ones." I nodded and she smiled at me.

"What about you...?" I asked her.

"I have nothing left there to miss..." She said, "nothing left for me really except what I was already missing."

I thought about asking her what that was, but didn't want to pry.

"Willis..." Lopmon said quietly.

"Oh look," The girl said with a smile, "There's father."

I turned to look at her father and suddenly a wave of realization had washed over me, sending shivers down my whole body as I stared toward him, remembering a time when he held me in his arms and I held his finger with my whole hand...

"Dad?" I said breathlessly. His eyes fell on me and he smiled brightly. I pulled from Lopmon's grasp and ran over to him, through the sand, and jumped into his arms, hugging him. I'd been looking for him for a long time, and then... here he was, just appearing out of nowhere.

As I pulled away from him another realization washed over me as I spun around to see Lopmon wrapped in the girl's arms.

"Alice?" I gasped. I'd been talking to my twin sister, without even realizing it—she looked a lot like me, just a girl. And younger. Why would my twin sister be younger than me?

And then everything hit me like a brick wall. Gennai. The man in the trees had been Gennai. The man who wanted me to say hello to his son—that was Iori's father, walking with his grandfather... the boy in the bubbles looked too much like Ken to be a coincidence, and the woman by the lake had to have been Jou's mother.

They were all dead though.

My dad... and Alice—they were dead.

The tree with the golden fruit suddenly entered my mind and I knew exactly where I was.

"Dad... what happened?" I asked quietly.

"Our plane went down." He said, putting his arm around me. "A few years back. We've been watching you though... we're routing for you."

I had to bite the inside of my cheeks hard to avoid crying. This was what I was truly afraid of. I'd finally found who I was looking for. Who Lopmon was looking for. Just to find that they were dead. I couldn't stop myself from hugging my dad again and he hugged me back.

"How's your mom?" He asked me quietly.

"Loud." I said with a laugh. He laughed with me, a laugh that I still remembered from my infancy. "I'm sorry I didn't come to find you... before now." I said as I turned to see Lopmon crying in Alice's arms now, unwilling to let go with Terriermon watching, trying to hold back his own tears.

"It's not your fault." He said, shaking his head. "My fault. I should have come to you sooner—that's where we were going you know. To you..."

That hurt even more than the realization that they'd been dead for ten years... Lopmon was destined to be with Alice... and ten years ago, when Alice had died she'd been taken over by the dark spirit—she'd gone crazy until we defeated her, and she died herself... the only difference being that Lopmon could come back.

"I love you Willis." Dad said as I absentmindedly began walking toward Alice.

I looked back and nodded, "I love you too." Talking was making it increasingly more difficult not to cry, but I had to try. Finally I was on my knees next to Alice, looking into her eyes—they were the same as mine, pale blue.

"Willis," Lopmon said, pulling away from her. "We found her." I looked down to her and nodded.

"We sure did." I said with an attempted smile.

"And I helped." Terriermon added, rushing over to join me, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"It hurt to know that I'd never meet you." Alice said, "But here you are... besides, we'll meet again one day."

"Is that a death threat?" I joked, and Alice laughed, punching me in the arm, hard. She was a lot like me. I could just tell.

"It was an honour to meet you Willis," She said, suddenly serious. "But you have to go." I shook my head instantly, "Yes." She said firmly. "You've found what you were looking for. You've found your destiny, up here, where you don't belong. And I found you. Something I'd never thought possible. It's a miracle..." Suddenly she threw herself forward and flung her arms around my neck. I hugged her back and closed my eyes, listening to her choked breathing.

With a gasp from Terriermon I shot my eyes open and pulled from the hug. I turned around and saw him slowly digivolving to Gargomon, then Rapidmon and to MegaGargomon, standing tall and looming above us all. Then Lopmon glowed and shifted to Wendigomon, then Antylomon, and finally Cherubimon.

Then my digivice began glowing brightly, golden and bronze, and Megagargomon and Cherubimon flung through the air toward each other, colliding gracefully in midair and with a flash they were both gone, in their place was a different digimon. A warrior digimon with long blonde hair, two small wings that protruded from his shoulders, a long rapier and a red cloth belt that hung down in two strands.

"Leopdardmon..." He said calmly, looking at his knew body.

"Funny," Alice said, "Two rabbits made a cat..."

"I'm a dog." Leopardmon growled using Megagargomon's voice.

"I know," Alice said, "I was joking." Then she turned to me and sighed, "It really is time for you to go."

I nodded, "I know... I just wish there was more time we could spend together." She was so wise and mature, and I just... I'd waited so long, I wasn't ready to leave just yet. If this really was my destiny, then maybe I didn't have to go. I mean, it obviously was my destiny too—my digimon had finally fused because of that fact But I knew she was right.

"There will be." She said confidently, "But that's a long way down the road. If you need to remember me just sing that song." I knew which one she meant. The one I'd sung in my attic, the one Mom used to sing to the two of us, "Just remember that I'm always with you."

"Even in the bathroom?" Leopardmon asked, and I could tell that was coming from Terriermon's half.

"No." Alice said flatly.

"How do I go back anyway?" I asked her.

"Like this," She said, almost clapping her hands.

"Wait!" I shouted, stopping her. "I need to say goodbye." I turned to Dad who was walking toward us now. "I can't leave without saying goodbye."

"It'll just make it harder." Alice said, shaking her head. "Don't think of it as goodbye. Think of it as... I'll see you later."

I nodded, and swallowed the lump in my throat. "Okay. See you later then." I said to her, and then to Dad. And with that, Alice clapped her hands, and with the same amount of force and suddenness that had brought me there in the first place, I was back in my kitchen, sitting on the floor with Terriermon and Lopmon.

"Willis!"

The first thing I saw was Mari rushing toward me, and then she was hugging me, pushing me from the seated position I was in.

"You didn't bother looking for me?" I asked her with a laugh.

"Well I knew you'd come back for me." She giggled.

I looked up to her, and remembering what Alice had said leaned forward and kissed her. Mari gasped but kissed me back for a moment before eventually pulling away.

"Hikari...?" She said shyly.

"We broke up." I told her. "We just... decided not to tell anyone."

"When?" She asked bluntly.

"A couple... days ago?" I said quietly.

She shook her head. "I can't." She decided. She stood up and pointed to the oven, "Food's done." She headed straight for the door, but stopped and turned back. "What did you find?"

"I found them." I told her simply.

"I'm happy for you." She said with a smile before leaving me in the middle of my kitchen floor. But at least I wasn't alone. I had my partners with me. But they were both running for the door too.

"Where are you going?" I asked sharply.

"Well I've found Alice," Lopmon said as she leapt into the air to grab the doorknob, "Now I have to have a new mission."

"What's that going to be?" I asked her.

"We're going to find out what Lalamon does in her spare time!" Terriermon responded before both of them slipped through the door and closed it behind them leaving me truly alone.

Jou Kido:

I'd just hung up the phone.

Gomamon was in trouble.

Mimi had just warned me, and I had no time to waste. Apparently it was Pukumon who had done it. I needed to get to him... I remembered vaguely Gomamon telling me that he was near Infinity Mountain, but I couldn't go empty handed, and since I had no digimon there was only one thing I could bring.

I popped open the case full of the antidote and drew one of the long needles out, and readied it, taking the serum from the jar and into the needle itself.

"Daddy?" Emiko asked from behind me as I closed the needle into the case again, picking it up. I turned to her and smiled.

"Just stay with Mommy okay?" I told her, "I have to go, I'll be back soon."

Emiko nodded but didn't move until Momoe was in the doorway nodding at me. "Good luck," She said, before leading Emiko away. I turned to the monitor that sat on the desk in my bedroom and pulled my digivice from my pocket, opening the portal, and sending myself to the Digital World.

I'd opened a portal close enough to Infinity Mountain so I wouldn't have to walk too far—but so I wouldn't be thrown right into Pukumon's traps.

I usually tried not to do anything wreck less since I wanted to continue living, but I had no choice. I needed to save Gomamon, and there was no point denying that. Gomamon was my best friend—more than that—he was literally like a weird, different species of a brother. He'd been with me since I was twelve years old and there was no way I was going to let some rogue digimon that I'd unintentionally created take that away from me.

I was pacing through the trees, trying not to think too much about the world since it was all coming back in pieces. I wondered for a moment if the water was back—Gomamon would be happy about that if it was—not that it would matter because I was going to get him to come live with me instead. Momoe was looking for a job, I had two really good ones... we were going to get a new place. One where we'd all fit—and until then, we'd be just... snug.

I suddenly heard rustling in the trees and I froze. Was this Pukumon? I knew full well that it could have been any digimon at all, but Pukumon was around here somewhere, and that meant that it could also be him.

With a loud scream the digimon flung itself from the trees and kicked me in the chest, knocking me over and sending the case of the antidote flying, bouncing along the ground. I gasped for air as the digimon bounced up and down on my stomach. Finally I pushed it off and pulled myself into a sitting position, looking toward the green monkey in the toga.

"Monmon." I said breathlessly. Emiko's digimon. Of course it'd be the prankster digimon. "Go away." I said coldly, "I have to save Gomamon. I'll play with you later." I got to my feet and looked toward the silver case sitting on the ground by a large rock.

I took a step toward it but stopped when Monmon did the same. I stood still for a moment before taking another step. Monmon copied me again. I glanced at the case. Monmon was closer than I was—but I needed it...

I looked to Monmon and then to the case, back and forth until I decided what I needed to do, diving through the air toward the case. Monmon did the same, and beat me to the case, picking it up and swinging it around, hitting me in the side of the head.

I groaned and fell backwards, landing roughly on the ground. "I don't have time for this." I growled at Monmon who was bouncing up and down with a proud grin as he screamed like a real monkey, over and over.

"Monmon." I said firmly, holding my hand out for the case. "Monmon, give me the case." Monmon shook his head. "I need it. Monmon, please. Gomamon is in danger. I need that case."

Monmon looked to the case and then up to me, tilting his head. Was he asking me if I wanted it? I nodded slowly. "Yes." I said quietly, "Hand it over." Monmon put the handle in his mouth and ran over to me on all fours slowly. He sat in front of me and set the case down.

"Thank you..." I said, cautiously placing my hands around the side of the case. The second I touched it Monmon screamed, so I retracted my hands and he stopped screaming. I swallowed the lump in my throat, and with my tongue hanging a little out of my mouth I grabbed it again, and Monmon screamed loudly once more. I let go, grabbed it, released upon hearing his angry scream, over and over again, until finally I just picked it up.

Monmon reacted quickly and grabbed the case pulling it from me and throwing it away from us both and with another scream had leapt up onto my shoulders, blocking my view and pulling on my ears.

"OW!" I screamed, trying to pull Monmon off of my face, but that only made him pull harder. "AAUUURRGH!" I screamed, finally flinging Monmon away from me, and falling over in the process.

Both of us sat up from our places on the ground and looked to each other and then the case and started half-crawling-half-running for it at the same time.

I kicked off the ground and flew through the air, grabbing the case and slamming into the ground, rolling away from the place that Monmon had landed moments later. He started screaming again, so I started running from him, hugging the case to my chest as he bounded from tree to tree behind me.

I tried not to look back, but I found myself unable to resist. He looked mad—but I couldn't worry about the monkey's feelings—I needed to save Gomamon wherever he was.

I was seriously considering never allowing Monmon and Emiko to see each other again, when I entered a strange clearing, at first the sight confused me, but then I realized that this was exactly where I needed to be.

Tied up by some vines next to a tree was Gomamon, and sitting by a fire, his back to me was Pukumon, in all his weird puffer fish glory. I needed to get Pukumon out of the way—like now. I needed to save Gomamon—so long as his body was still intact I knew he was alive, and I knew I was capable of helping him, whatever it was that he needed help with.

I looked back, over my shoulder and sighed as Monmon flung toward me. "Sorry," I said, ducking underneath him and diving into the bush.

Monmon screamed loudly when he hit the ground, catching Pukumon's attention. I watched through a gap in the leaves as Monmon screamed—this time in a panic—and turned, running from Pukumon who was chasing him with a wild grin on his face. The second he was gone I was running from the bush and over to Gomamon.

I fell to my knees next him and rolled him over. His eyelids were fluttering—he was waking up!

I grabbed a nearby rock and cut at the vines where they'd been tied until I cut through and they fell loose. I pulled them away from him and he woke up with a start, rolling onto his feet and looking to the darkness.

"Where am I?" He asked loudly.

"Gomamon," I said with a smile. He looked over his shoulder to me and a second later was running into my arms where I hugged him tight.

"You came." He said quietly as he pressed his face further into my chest.

"Of course I did." I said firmly. "The moment I heard you were in trouble. Gomamon I couldn't let you be alone."

"You did before..." Gomamon said almost soundlessly—but I still heard him. And it hurt.

"I know." I said, pulling him out of my hug. "I'm really sorry." I told him, "I should have been paying more attention to you... I just barely have time to think anymore Gomamon. I have two really time consuming jobs—I'm a doctor and a veterinarian. I guess I stopped spending time with you because I used to have to raise you—while you raised me. We taught each other and grew together, but then I had to start raising my own daughter and I stopped raising you because you're whatever the digital counterpart of a man is. You've grown up a lot Gomamon, and I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks..." Gomamon said quietly, "But it still hurts that you don't think I need you anymore."

"I know..." I said, "Which is why, right now, I'm asking you to move in with me. Will you do that? I've already talked to Momoe about it. We're going to move out of our apartment and get a bigger house. What do you say?"

Gomamon looked away, but nodded, "I thought you'd never ask."

I smiled at him, but my face fell immediately when I saw the deep gash in his arm. "Gomamon..." I said quietly, staring at it.

He shook his head. "Later." He said, "Where's Pukumon?"

At that moment Monmon's screams had returned, and a moment later he was flying through the air, landing smoothly from his jump.

I turned to where he'd come from and saw Pukumon emerge a couple seconds later, his grin falling when his eyes fell on me.

I hastily turned to the silver case that sat next to me and opened it quickly, pulling out the needle. His eyes narrowed in on it and he started through the air toward me.

"Gomamon digivolve to... Ikkakumon!" Gomamon had shifted into the big hairy champion self and used his shoulder to block Pukumon's attack. He roared in pain as the mega digimon's sharp armour pierced his skin.

I couldn't let the fight go on—Ikkakumon was already hurt, and exhausted to boot, plus Pukumon had two crests absorbed inside of him. I needed to get the needle into his arms—the only unprotected place on his body.

I hurriedly climbed onto Ikkakumon's back and ran along it, balancing as best I could until I was on his head. Being scared of heights—and either scared or allergic to everything else was not going to help me here, so I didn't stop running as I leapt over his head, my stomach flipping and seizing up as I fell through the air, landing right in front of Pukumon, right between his arms. I clamped my eyes shut in fear as I slammed the needle into his arm, injecting the serum into him and then throwing my hands over my head for protection.

I waited a while before taking a peek. When I did I did, I saw Syakomon—the small cloister digimon—unconscious next to the two crests he'd absorbed and a now empty needle. I relaxed and smiled until I saw Monmon's eyes staring directly at the crests. I quickly grabbed them before he could, and pocketed them.

I picked up Syakomon and turned to Ikkakumon who had reverted to Gomamon.

"Ready to go?" I asked him.

But instead of responding, he just turned his head to the forest.

Michael Washington:

After the fake Betamon had dropped the bombshell on me I'd yelled at Ken and the others to leave. I felt so guilty about it... but I couldn't help them fight against whatever had taken Miyako anyway—plus I had so much to learn about Betamon.

"What the hell are you doing with me then?" I asked him.

"It was a mission." He told me. "A long time ago."

"When?" I asked.

"Three years ago." He said without remorse. Did he have absolutely no feelings about this at all? Why would he? He hadn't shown any sort of attachment to me before, why would he now? "When you were finally allowed back to the Digital World. Someone sent your Betamon into the waters of the Dark Ocean to investigate... and we switched places. I was hired by Fanglongmon's associates. I was to stand in his place and kill you when the Dark Masters time came."

"So you're actually a Dark Master...?" I asked him.

"Yeah." He said coldly, "Wow, this feels really good to get this off my chest!"

I growled at him, "Where is Betamon?"

"In prison somewhere." Fake-Betamon said simply. I clenched my fists to avoid punching the fake-Betamon.

"Where?" I shot.

"I can take you there." Fake-Betamon said, "It's the least I can do."

And so I was being led to my Betamon by Fake-Betamon. Not that I really believed what he said. Well I believed most of it—I had to. What I didn't believe was that he was not leading me into a trap.

I was keeping an eye out for Tatum and Jenna too, since we were in the Digital World now, but I didn't expect to find them. How could I? I'd probably find a fake Tatum and a fake Jenna and have them replace the real ones and then not find out that they were gone for three more years.

I clenched my fists so tight that my nails were drawing blood.

I was the worst person ever. How had I not noticed? He'd been there for three years. What had he been doing there? Was he dead? No. Digimon weren't dead. What if no one was feeding him? What if he was staring to death, only to be reborn to starve to death again? What if he was being tortured? What if he died so many times that his data actually ceased to exist? How could I ever live with myself were that to have happened?

I tried to stop thinking about it—but I couldn't. I'd never ever forgive myself for not noticing. I was going to save Betamon, and I was going to make it up to him. That was what I had to do. I owed him everything I had... Even if he forgave me, there would be no way I'd be able to find it in me to forgive myself.

"Are we almost there?" I blurted out, trying to think of something else instead.

"Kind of." Fake-Betamon nodded. "Why?"

"Do you really have to ask that?" I asked him.

"Well yeah, duh." Fake-Betamon growled, "I can't bloody read minds now can I?"

I growled back at him, "Well, for your information, I was asking because I don't want to wait another second in not saving my partner. I want to rescue him from whatever prison you've put him in."

"I didn't do it!" Fake-Betamon defended himself, "I was just the accomplice—the side-kick—I helped them out, but I didn't do anything to actively screw anyone over."

"That's not true." I shot, "You tricked me into thinking you were my partner for three years, and because of that the real Betamon is stuck in a prison cell somewhere all alone!"

"Now let's get this straight," Fake-Betamon said sharply, "Firstly, I'm a real Betamon too. Second, I never once said I was your partner. You just assumed that I was. Your fault. Not mine." I didn't want to believe him, but what choice did I have? It was technically the truth...

I stopped talking to him to avoid any further guilt on myself. If I had no sense of self I'd never be able to continue looking for Betamon—and if I did manage to find him I'd never be able to rescue him since I'd have next to no energy.

So there we were walking in complete silence, through trees... suddenly things were starting to look familiar until I knew exactly where we were.

The coliseum stood tall and large in front of me.

"He's in here...?" I asked skeptically. Fake-but-not-technically-Betamon nodded, and motioned for me to enter the wide open gateway, but I wasn't sure if I should or not.

On one hand Betamon really could have been in there, but on the other hand... was it really worth it if he wasn't?

Either way, I had no way to tell if he was unless I went in and looked around. "You first." I ordered. Fake-Betamon gasped, and started grumbling but nodded and headed off into the gateway. I was taking my first step over the threshold when I heard someone call my name.

I spun around quickly and saw Jou running toward me. Some small digimon creature was in his arms, Gomamon was running next to him, a vine and a leaf wrapped around his arm, and a green monkey running alongside them both.

"You look like an interesting team," I said with an attempted smile, "Good to see that you've got Gomamon back."

"What are you doing here all alone?" Jou asked.

I decided I'd have to tell him about Betamon eventually anyway so I sighed, but instead of explaining I accidentally said, "Come with me?"

He could obviously see the pain and fear in my voice and without a moment's hesitation he nodded.

I suddenly felt immensely more relaxed as I turned to follow the Fake-Betamon into the coliseum and began to explain what was going on to Jou.

Miyako Ichijouji:

Waking up from unconsciousness is never fun. But waking up in a dark, damp dungeon was worse. Worse still, was waking up in the dungeon of a castle located in the Dark Ocean. The slashes on my arms were burning, and the few from my side were aching. I was pretty sure I had sand stuck in the cuts on my arms. I needed to wash them out badly, but I couldn't I didn't have any water. Just dribbles of it that stuck to the walls and the floor making sure I couldn't find a comfortable place to sit without catching hypothermia.

I was really cold, and tired and cranky. But I was also absolutely terrified.

Armadillomon tried to keep me calm, but nothing he said really made me feel any better. He said we were in the Dark Ocean—though how he knew that, I didn't want to know—and that not one single person—shadow or otherwise—had come in to check on us since we got there. That could mean they weren't going to kill us…or that they just hadn't gotten around to it yet. I was betting on the second option.

The only thing that could rival my terror was my absolute boredom. I had nothing to do. Nothing to keep me distracted other than brainstorming methods the shadow that captured me could eventually kill me with. I was oddly fascinated with how descriptively morbid my mind was. I thought of some doozies.

Of course one of the thoughts at the forefront of my mind was always that Hikari had been the target for ages. And they'd wanted her to further their race. That thought was far more terrifying to me than any of the elaborate schemes that they could use to kill me. Slowly, painfully, without mercy.

"We can't just sit around forever, Miyako," Armadillomon insisted for the third time.

"Well," I snapped. "What do you expect us to do about it?"

"We don't have to stay here willingly," he told me.

"You think I want to be here?" I asked horrified.

"No," he said quickly. "But you haven't even suggested trying to break out yet. Usually you're full of crazy ideas."

"Usually I don't feel miserable, and frustrated and scared out of my mind. I haven't gotten a full night's sleep in ages. I can't think straight, and I keep feeling like someone is watching me. I'm not the Miyako I used to be, the one I want to be. I just can't find her," I cried. "She's hidden under all of my fear."

"Then I'll have to channel her for you," he surmised. "Hold on, it's going to be a bumpy ride."

"What?" I asked. But I didn't have to wait long to find out. He ran off—presumably towards the door, though I couldn't see it through the darkness—calling out "Diamond Shell!" and attacking the door. I'd seen the attack before, though I couldn't see it now. I knew he was rolling into a ball and rushing at the door. It wouldn't stand a chance against him. And sure enough I soon heard the snapping of the wood as it splintered and cracked and gave way under the force of his attack.

"Come on Miyako," Armadillomon insisted. "We've got to go."

I stumbled my way to my feet and followed his voice. Once I caught up to him—nearly tripping over him in the process—he began leading me through the dark hallways. He was right of course. We did need to try. I couldn't just give in and die pathetically. I'd much rather die while trying to escape their clutches. At least it would be worth something.

Armadillomon started sniffing the air. "This way. Follow my voice Miyako."

I didn't question him. He seemed to know where he was going, and that was fine by me. If it could get us out of here before that shadow came back, then I'd be happy.

It wasn't meant to be however…

"I must congratulate you," the chilling voice of the shadow said from behind me. "You made it farther than I expected. But I can't allow you to escape. The master wouldn't appreciate it much. You may have destroyed your dungeon cell, but there are other locations. This time, perhaps, you'll have a guard."

"Oh no," I murmured. We'd wasted our chance, all because I'd spent too long being terrified and bored. And my arms still ached. This was not my day.

"Oh yes," the shadow corrected. "The tower might do. You might even like it. There's a window that lets in a breeze. Granted, it's far too high for you to manage to climb out of it, and if you attempted to do so, you'd fall to your deaths, but it's a really nice breeze."

"We don't want to go," Armadillomon said firmly.

"I'm afraid you have no choice," the shadow said. He gripped me hard around the wrist, aggravating my already irritated wounds, and started dragging me down the hall, probably towards some stairs. "You don't have to come, but she really must."

"Armadillomon," I gasped.

"I'm not leaving you," he assured me.

"How sweet," the shadow drawled. "The power of friendship. It won't help you now. Nothing will. The master is preparing himself."

I was hoping to never find out just what he was preparing for.

"And here we are," the shadow said, opening a door and shoving me into a room that had to be from the top of the tower. It was lighter here. Not bright by any means, but it was light enough for me to see that it was a small room with a thick wooden door and a small window really high off of the floor. Armadillomon would never fit through it even if he could get up that high. And I wasn't going to leave him behind—not that I would survive the drop anyway… He chucked a pile of black fabric at me, which I caught out of instinct. "Enjoy your new lodgings. Put the dress on. I'll be back when the master is ready."

It sounded so ominous. Almost as ominous as the heavy clicking of the lock that he was putting back in place.

I sighed. At least I could see now. It was far better to be trapped in a room with light. I could see everything here, and didn't have to be afraid that something would attack me from the darkness.

"I've been waiting for you."

I screamed and whipped around. So much for my theory. I hadn't noticed this woman at all. She wore a blue, elegant gown that sparkled in the dim lighting, and she had bright orange wings on her back. A crown rested on top of her short, black hair, and her skin was tinged with blue.

"Fairy!" I gasped.

"Yes," she said with a smile. "You've met my sister, I know. I've waited a long time to meet with you, Miyako. I have important information for you. But you don't need it yet. It won't help you here. It will later though." I liked the sounds of that, 'later'. It implied that I wouldn't be dying any time soon. "I will leave you with this."

"A key?" I asked, taking the intricately designed key, the head of which looked like an ornate fairy's wing.

"Use it when you are ready for answers, but for now, keep it safe," she instructed. "It was nice to see you again, dear."

"Again?" I asked. But she didn't answer. She just smiled again and vanished in a cloud of sparkling smoke. "You could have at least taken me with you!"

"She's gone," Armadillomon said. "What do we do now?"

"No more ideas?" I asked him wryly.

"I've channelled all of the old Miyako I could," he said sheepishly.

"Hopefully Ken, Iori and Hawkmon will come for us," I told him.

"They will," he swore.

"But for now, we wait," I said, turning my new key over in my hand. It didn't feel right to use it now. She told me not to. I had to have faith in this mysterious stranger with mystical fairy abilities, no matter how hard the idea seemed to grasp. I turned to the ball of material I was supposed to wear. It was black, and had lace sleeves, and looked kind of ratty. 'The Master' probably wanted me to look all fancy when he killed me, to add an even more dramatic element to the whole thing… I hoped that was right anyway…

"We wait," he agreed.

Next on Digimon Adventure 05:

Koushiro gets called in to an emergency meeting, while Michael continues from where he left off in this chapter. Natsuni and Yoshie also play a part.