(A/N: Uch, being sick is no fun. Think I caught a cold while participating in Freight Fest at 6 Flags. Anyone every try it before. It's a lot of fun. Can't wait to do it again this weekend. Still managed to get this chapter done though, even with another job. Also, in case anyone is interested, I've also started a new Batman story called New To The Family. Everyone loves Batman. But lets get back to this story. For this chapter, we're taking a little break from all the action and fighting to work on some emotional character development in our heroes. Always good to have some of that. )

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 37: Homesick

He had been summoned. He didn't know why, but when his master called, he came. He was informed though that his master was been very angry with him. Duskmon didn't know what he had done to trigger his master's fury, but he fearlessly went to face it.

Upon entering the throne room, he found Myotismon sitting quietly in the darkness. Cutemon was on the floor beside him, sobbing quietly, but Duskmon paid her no mind as he got down on one knee, bowing his head. "You summoned me, my lord?"

Myotismon's eyes seemed to be glowing in the dark. "I am aware that when you become Velgemon that it becomes difficult for you to think straight. However, when you DeDigivolved back to Duskmon, you still retained all of your memories of your time as Velgemon, do you not?"

Duskmon did not see where this was going, but it was not his job to understand, just obey. "Of course, my lord."

Myotismon's claws dug into the stone armrest of his throne. "Then tell me why you believed the humans were dead when they clearly were not."

In his surprise, Duskmon raised his head. "They live?"

"Clearly, otherwise they would not have been able to defeat Sandiramon and free all my prisoners." He slammed his fist on his armrest, breaking off a piece. "Years of gathering livestock, wasted! Tell me, why did you think the humans were dead?"

The demon Digimon lowered his head once more. "Forgive me, my lord. It has already been established that it becomes difficult to think straight when I am Velgemon. I used my Dark Obliteration attack on them while they were in their Digimon forms, after which they reverted back to their human forms and remained unmoving. I have heard that human bodies do not break down into data upon death. As Velgemon, I had rationalized that the loss of their Digimon forms and the unmoving bodies of their human forms meant they had met their end.

"When Shoutmon distracted me, I attempted to dispose of him, and the humans were already forgotten after he was dealt with. When I went back to being Duskmon, I still believed that the humans were dead, and reported as such."

Myotismon glared. He knew Duskmon would never lie to him. It wasn't in his nature; the demon Digimon was as straightforward as they came. He also understood the irrationality of his Velgemon form. If it had been anyone else, even LadyDevimon, he would have killed them for their failure. "You are aware that I fully expected you to restock my blood supply."

"My master, I would have done so without your asking. But first, please allow me to rid you of these humans. I assure you, I will eliminate them this time."

"Not the girl," Myotismon ordered. "I still wish to sample her blood. I don't care how violent and irrational you become as Velgemon. This time you are to bring her to me alive. You will not be forgiven a second time."

"I understand," the demon Digimon replied, rising to his feet. "I will not fail you again."

As he turned to walk away, Cutemon wiped her eyes and looked up at the scowl on Myotismon's face. Turning back to the retreating Duskmon, she sent a silent prayer to her human friends. "Please, my friends, be careful."

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Tai watched as several dozen Digimon unleashed numerous attacks upon the tower they had been confined to for months on end. He didn't blame them, he probably would have destroyed it too if he were in their shoes.

Several more attacks were fired upon the base, and the tower finally began to fall. The Digimon scattered as the structure came down and toppled over into a pile of rubble. Chuumon was still chained and locked up in there, most likely crushed beneath all the rubble.

Cheers rang out as Myotismon's dungeon became nothing more than a pile of stones. Several of the Digimon took off after that, eager to put as much distance between them and this place as they could, while others took the time to thank the teens for saving them.

Davis arrogantly rubbed his index finger beneath his nose. "Aww, it was nothing. All in a day's work."

The others looked on with hooded eyes. "I wonder who he loves more," Takato muttered, "his fans, or himself."

"Himself," the others replied instantly.

When the last Digimon finished giving their thanks, Davis addressed the group. "Ok, now we just have to get Myotismon, and we can call it a day."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Shoumton cried. "Back it up a bit. We need a plan of attack."

"How about attack?"

Tai rolled his eyes. "Davis, focus. Now, we know that Myotismon's castle is several miles east from his dungeon. So, lets see if we came from that direction, then we have to go this way."

"Right," Takuya agreed. "I'm guessing it'll take a few days walk from here. That should give us enough time to recover our strength."

Takato sighed. "Great, more walking. When we get back home, we should try out for the track team. We'd be masters at it."

A cloud of gloominess settled across the group at the mention of home. They all missed their friends and families and tried to avoid talking about such things. Takato realized his mistake by mentioning it, and he soon became depressed as well.

Tai looked around at the forlorn expressions on everyone's faces. As the leader, it was his responsibility to take care of the group. So he pushed aside his depression, putting on a determine face. "We'll rest here for tonight. I'll go gather some firewood."

A short while later, they had a nice fire going, courtesy of Shoutmon's Fiery Fastball. They sat around the blaze silently, still trying to keep their minds off of thoughts of home.

"Anyone want to sing campfire songs?" Davis asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Kari chuckled. "I'm sure Etemon would have been all for that."

Takuya nudged Shoutmon beside him. "Hey, you're a music based Digimon. Why don't you sing something?"

The dragon Digimon snorted. "I only do rock and roll."

Tai beamed. "You know what would really be good? Some marshmallows. We could make s'mores."

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "Some more what?"

The others chuckled. "No," said TK, "he said s'mores. They're made of roasted marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers."

Kari leaned against him and sighed dreamily. "I'd settle for just the chocolate."

The dragon Digimon made a face. "I've never heard of any of those things, but they sound nasty."

Grinning, Davis patted him on the back. "Oh, my little friend, you are so naïve."

"I used to make s'mores with my brother and parents whenever we went camping," TK reminisced with a smile. It didn't last long. "Well, we used to anyway, before my parents split up…"

Kari gave him a sympathetic look and rubbed his back comfortingly. Shoutmon, however, looked confused. "Your parents. That's what you call a mother and father, right? Kind of like what Swanmon and Elecmon do, but they're also the ones that created you?" At TK's confirmed nod, Shoutmon smiled, proud of himself for remembering. "Yeah, your father carried you around in his stomach until he gave birth, right?"

And just like that, the gloom that had settled over the group evaporated as the teens burst out laughing while Shoutmon looked confused.

"You got it backwards," Tai told him, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "The mother's the one that does that."

Shoutmon blinked. "It is?" He scratched his head. "I could have sworn that… Ah! You humans are so complex that it's hard to remember everything."

"We're complex?" Takato exclaimed. "You should see you Digimon from our point of view."

Looking around, Shoutmon saw that they were all of similar mind. "Ah, whatever. All I know is I'm glad I'm a Digimon." He gave TK a curious look. "So, what do you mean your parents split up?"

And the mood was ruined again. The dragon Digimon didn't seem to realize he was bringing up something painful, not understanding the concept. No one answered for several moments. When Tai moved to speak, he glanced at TK, silently asking for permission, but was met with no objection. "He means his parents are divorced."

The dragon Digimon scratched his head. "Divorced," he repeated, trying out the word. "What's that mean?"

TK sighed. Kari took his hand to offer comfort and support, and he gave her a grateful smile. "It means they're not married anymore."

Shoutmon scratched his head again. "Married? Wait, that's what you humans call those that are mates, right? You go through that ceremony thing. A weeding. No, a wedding." He received nods. "So then your parents aren't mates anymore? How does that happen?"

TK just shrugged. "It happens. Sometimes things just don't work out. I ended up living with my mother while Matt ended up living with my father. That's why we have different last names."

Takuya nodded in sympathy. "That's rough, man. My friends Koji and Koichi went through the same thing. They didn't even know they had a twin brother until they met one day. But things eventually worked out between them, and they developed a good relationship."

TK sighed. "Yeah, Matt and I did too. Even our parents share a friendly platonic relationship now. It was a painful experience, but it taught me a lot about family and keeping those you love close to you. I don't intend to make my parents' mistakes. I'll love and cherish my wife always." He glanced at Kari, then looked away, missing when she glanced at him too.

Shoutmon made a face. "It's all so complicated. You humans and your ways don't make sense. I understand having mates, and even having children to an extent since new Digimon can be born from large gatherings of data, but this mother, father, brother, sister, family thing is a foreign concept to me." He looked at the others. "So what are your families like?"

Looks of surprise crossed their faces. While they had spoken of what the Real World was like, Shoutmon hadn't really inquired about their family lives before. Perhaps having TK open up had made him curious, or perhaps he was trying to understand this concept of family that didn't seem to exist in the Digital World, at least not the way it did in the Real World.

"Well," Tai began, "Kari and I live in Odaiba, Japan in Highton View Terrace." He chuckled at the confused look on Shoutmon's face. "It's an apartment complex. An apartment complex is-"

"I know what an apartment complex is," the dragon Digimon interrupted. "We have those in the Digital World too."

"Right," Tai muttered. "Well, it's just the two of us and our parents."

"Don't forget Miko," Kari added with a smile.

"Right, our pet cat." He chuckled. "Can you imagine how he'd react if he saw you as Nefertimon."

"He'd freak out."

Tai smiled, thinking fondly of their family pet. "I'd say we live relatively normal lives. Except for…"

Shoutmon cocked his head to the side. "Except for what?"

Kari immediately knew where he was going. "Our mother's recipes. She's very into cooking healthy. She's always trying out these new recipes, and we're always the test dummies."

Tai shuttered. "They're really bad. We consider ourselves lucky if she burns whatever she's making. I remember one time when Izzy came over and tried some of her recipes…" He shook his head. "The poor guy couldn't leave the bathroom after that for the longest time."

"Ok, that was a little too much information," Takato told him. "So why's your mother so health-conscious?"

Kari smiled sadly. "That's probably my fault. I used to get sick a lot when I was little. I think Mom took to trying to make healthy meals so I would get stronger. Even though I don't get sick anymore, well, you know what they say about old habits."

"Like your whistle," Tai teased.

Her smile became more genuine. "You mean this one?" She reached around her neck and lifted up the necklace that hung beside the digital camera around her neck. Hanging from it was the small gray whistle in question.

Tai laughed. "Yeah, that's the one. There was a time where that was practically the only way you would talk to people."

This was met with laughter from the others, though Shoutmon just seemed more confused at this point. "I don't get it."

Davis stopped laughing and took over the conversation. "Well, at least you guys have good relationships with your siblings. My sister is a real pain. Just because she's six years older than me, she thinks she can order me around. And Mom and Dad always back her up because they think she's so mature. She just likes to boss me around! And she likes going around spreading bad rumors about me! Does that sound like someone who's mature?"

TK sweat-dropped. "I guess that means you don't get along so well."

Davis glared at him, but then grinned evilly. "Hey, she'll be your problem soon. She's adamant about marrying your brother one day."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, she's always bugging her friends about his band since one of them is in the same class as your brother. I mean, no offense, but she won't shut up about him. One time she completely flipped out on me because she had a zit and was afraid of what he would think if he saw her."

Takato was smiling nervously. "Ok, that's a little creepy in the stalker sense. As for me, my parents own a bakery, and we live in the apartment right above it."

Takato's last name suddenly clicked in TK's head. "Wait, you mean the Matsuki Bakery?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah, that's the one. Why?"

TK shook his head. "I just never made the connection, even though I've been there before. They make really good bread there."

His nervous smile returned. "Yeah, that's what we specialize in. I've actually been baking bread for several years now. Sometimes I'll help out if we get really busy."

Shoutmon raised an eyebrow. "So you don't have any siblings?"

Takato shook his head. "No, but I do have a cousin named Kai that I'm pretty close to."

The dragon Digimon tapped his chin. "Cousin, cousin… Ah, that's the offspring of one of your parents' siblings, right?"

Takuya slapped him across the back. "Hey, good job remembering that."

Grumbling, Shoutmon rubbed where he slapped him. "Thanks. And what about you? You got a brother or sister?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, a little brother, Shinya. We don't get along that well though. He's always such a brat, and Mom and Dad always take his side because he's the baby of the family."

Davis' eye twitched in irritation. "That's a switch."

Takuya chuckled at this, but his smile soon became a frown. "Actually, I really miss him right now. I kinda wish I was back in the Real World to fight with him."

Frowns soon found their way to the faces of the rest of the group as they all thought about and missed their own families. Shoutmon looked at each of them and crossed his arms, thinking about everything they had said. "It's strange. You humans are so different from us Digimon in some ways, yet are so similar in others. I just can't comprehend the whole family thing though."

In another attempt to turn the mood around, Davis gave him a knowing smile. "What about Renamon?"

The dragon Digimon blushed. "I… I don't know what you mean?"

But Davis' words triggered a memory in Kari of something she remembered Shoutmon mentioning a while back. "What about Gumdramon?"

Her question was met with silence. For several long moments, he just stared up at her before sighing and looking up at the night sky. "Gumdramon was a friend of mine. My very best friend. We were very close. Closer than close. If we were human, I'd even say he was my brother."

The teens listened in silence, waiting for more, but it seemed he had nothing more to say on the subject.

"You mentioned that he died," said Takato. "What happened?"

The dragon Digimon's response was quick and sharp. "What do you think happened? He was killed by another Digimon, and all because I failed to protect him. No, worse, because I was too much of a coward to fight. The Digimon was way too powerful, so I ran. But Gumdramon, he was reckless and brave."

He humphed. "Some king I was. I couldn't even save my best friend, let alone the Digital World. Just like now, I had to hide behind someone stronger than me." He looked at the fire, not seeing the blaze, but beyond it, to the future. "I still don't know how I'm going to face him if we ever meet again."

"Why?" Tai asked. "What happened?"

"Just let it go! I… I don't want to talk about it anymore…" He turned away and remained silent. The teens exchanged a few looks, silently deciding to let the subject drop.

"Alright," Tai decided, "we should get some sleep. I'll take the first watch."

Kari stood up. "I'm just going to use the little girl's room first."

Davis jumped up. "I'll go with you!"

"Pervert!" the others cried.

A look of panic crossed his face and he looked at each of them pleadingly. "No, no! I just meant to keep her safe."

"Yeah, right," Shoutmon grumbled.

Kari motioned to the trees. "I'll be fine. I'm just going over there. I'll be back in a minute."

She walked away from the group as they continued to glare at Davis, who was attempting to defend himself. Once hidden behind the trees, she put a little more distance between herself and them. Despite Davis' comment, she didn't think that he or anyone else would bother to peep on her, but she still wanted her privacy.

Finishing her business, she got up from behind the bush. In the darkness, she didn't see the shadowy figure creeping up behind her, but she did hear the shing of a sword being drawn. There was no time to react though as she suddenly felt the blade pressed against her throat.

From out of the darkness, Duskmon's face appeared next to hers. "Greetings, little girl. My master is expecting you."

(A/N: Ooh, a cliffhanger. And not just with Kari, but with Shoutmon's story of Gumdramon. Just what exactly happened between him and his best friend, and will they ever meet again. And what about the rest of the group? Will they ever see their families again? What's going to happen? Will Kari be taken to Myotismon? Will her friends realize she's in trouble and rescue her? Find out next time.)