"Alright you two this is the place, yep yep." Piximon said and Tai looked behind the famous Digimon. It was dark. Piximon had lead Tai and Agumon to a cave that was a bit aways from the house. Agumon poked his nose into the entrance of the cave,

"What's in there Piximon?" He asked and the pink Digimon pointed his spear at Agumon.

"You, will have to discover that for yourself." He moved his spear to point it at Tai and Tai looked at him oddly.

"So what do we do?" Tai asked. He felt a little irritated. He felt a small sting in his chest and he looked down. There was no light emitting from his crest but something inside him knew his crest was causing the pain.

"Go in and then find your way out." Piximon said and Tai looked up at him. Piximon spun his spear and a blast of air hit Tai and Agumon and were moved backwards by the force. Tai tried to stop himself from moving and gather his footing. He stomped hard onto the floor of the cave and felt his foot disappear into the ground. Before he had time to react, him and Agumon were sucked into the dirt.


Matt blew out an exhausted breath. His eye lids were growing heavy but he didn't dare fall asleep. The group was in a large room where there were a couple of beds, a couch and a low table to kneel at. Matt saw Mimi and Kari sharing a bed together. They weren't tucked in and Matt thought they could use the blanket they were sleeping on top of. He thought about going over and pulling it over them but then saw TK laying on the couch with Joe. Something was so different about him with Kari around. He looked over at Sora who was restlessly sleeping on the bed with Biyomon and Palmon. She looked in pain and Matt winced. Where is Tai? Matt thought. He couldn't be in the room any longer. He was so wrapped up in his anger towards Kari and how everyone seemed to react around her. He lifted Gabumon in his arms and brought him over to the couch. He laid his Digimon next to TK and Tokomon hoping Gabumon would keep his brother warm. I still need you squirt. Matt thought and he turned away from the couch and marched out of the room. The cool air greeted Matt as he stepped out onto the balcony. He closed the door and then stood at the railing looking down into the courtyard. There was a statue of Piximon and Matt wondered what kind of trainer doesn't feed his trainees. Matt frowned, Did he kidnap Tai and Agumon? Matt wondered. He knew the others were much to tired to even question Tai's disappearance. Matt heard the door open and he turned around seeing Izzy walking out of the room.

"I saw you leave." Izzy said as he silently closed the door. He walked over and stood next to Matt at the railing.

"Something is wrong. Tai and Agumon never came back." Izzy put his fingers to his chin.

"What did Piximon say they were going?" Izzy asked. Matt shrugged his shoulders. He opened his mouth and then closed it. His chest warmed and he could see light emitting from his and Izzy's chests.

"Whoa!" Matt said and he brough the tag out from under his shirt. Izzy did the same.

"the tags, they must be reacting to the crests!" Izzy guessed and Matt suddenly felt determined.

"That means the crests are nearby. Come on let's look." Matt turned and started making his way to the stairs.

"wait Matt! We should get Tentomon and Gabumon. And we should tell the others!" Matt shook his head.

"Let them sleep, it's our crests we're searching for. We'll be back in no time." Izzy looked unsure.

"Come on Iz." Matt walked down the stairs and then slowly heard Izzy follow. The two made their way to the stone steps that lead down the mountain and they started walking down them.

"So Izzy, what are you hoping to find with your crest?" Matt asked and Izzy looked over at him a moment,

"Oh, I guess I'm curious what trait I have that harnesses the light. But mostly it would be good research to see how this crest can expand on the Digimon program I have on my computer. What about you Matt?" Matt looked ahead as he walked down the steps.

"I'm ready to be challenged, to be, I dunno, boosted in some way. I want to level up and change." Matt clenched his hands into fists.

"I want to be better." Matt finished and he really hoped that's what he would find with his crest. He felt lost a lot of the time back home. He felt like a loner and so distant from his brother and both of his parents. He wanted something that made him feel like he had a purpose. That he was a part of something. Izzy was quiet and Matt appreciated it. He continued to think about home. TK was really scaring him. He wanted to find something in his crest that would allow him to understand what was going on with his younger brother. To be able to pull his family together, to mend things. The image of the broken mug in TK's room came into his head. He then thought about pain and the pain Sora inflicted on herself. He wanted to stop that too. He wanted to help her and free her from whatever prison she had trapped herself in. He sighed. He really wanted some answers.

The two walked on and made it to the bottom of the stairs. The sun started to rise and Matt thought bitterly about the walk back up. Matt felt a little tired as he figured it was now morning but his crest glowed brighter and the walk back and tiredness was forgotten.

"We must be getting close." Izzy commented and Matt could see his crest too was glowing brighter.

"this way." Matt said and he marched through the forest.

"We must be coming to the edge of the barrier." Izzy commented and Matt nodded. They could see the dessert and the two stopped just at the edge of the forest. Matt held his tag up.

"it's there." Matt pointed a head and he could see a well in the dessert. Izzy pulled a face,

"but, is it safe? What if we can't get back in?" Matt felt the same as Izzy and wasn't sure what to say or do. Izzy then reached a hand out into the dessert. He then pulled his hand back in and both boys blew out a breath of relief seeing Izzy's hand was still intact.

"I think we'll be okay." Izzy said with enthusiasm. Matt nodded and the two stepped out of the dessert and walked over to the well. Matt could feel it. The light of his crest coming from the inside of the well. He suddenly craved it and felt he would move mountains to obtain it. He looked at the rope hanging down into the well.

"I think we have to climb down." Matt said. Izzy scrunched his nose,

"can it hold us?" He asked and Matt reached forward and tugged on the rope.

"I think so." Matt said though he didn't care anymore. He wanted his crest, no, needed it. The boys started repelling down into the well and Matt felt almost ecstacy as he looked at the wall and saw blue.

"my crest." Matt said and he saw purple glowing on the other side of the well. Without uttering a word both Matt and Izzy pulled their tags out and brought them closer to the crests on the wall. A bright light flashed and Matt almost felt like a piece of himself had been inserted back inside of him. He felt alighted as he looked down at his tag seeing the crest inside. The boys clambered back up and out of the well. Matt looked to Izzy feeling pleased,

"We did it!" Matt said excitedly and he and Izzy high fived. Matt couldn't stop staring at his crest. He felt it held so many answers and he was anxious to unlock them all.

Izzy turned to Matt and Matt watched Izzy's face go from joy to terror. He pointed,

"Look out!" Matt turned and saw a giant red dinosaur marching towards him and Izzy. Matt started running, Izzy right next to him and then they heard the Dinosaur attack. A large blast of fire was heading straight for them and Matt pushed Izzy down to avoid getting burned. Matt moved from covering Izzy and looked up. Piximon's barrier had been blasted and was now exposed. Matt grabbed Izzy,

"Run!" the two started running into the woods.


Tai was spinning. His body was laying on a wooden floor and he could feel himself spinning. Maybe I'm drunk, he thought and then he heard an echo,

"tai!" Tai squeezed his eyes the spinning hadn't stopped and he wondered if everything, the digital world, the Digimon, all of it had been a dream.

"Tai! Wake up!" Tai opened his eyes and discovered two things; first, the Digimon and the digital world was not a dream, and second, he was literally spinning. Tai sat up and was shocked to see he and Agumon were in a boat. The boat was spinning and Tai quickly put a hand in the water trying to slow the revelations.

"Agumon? Where are we?" Tai asked as the boats spinning slowed. Agumon shook his head,

"I don't know. We were in a cave but I don't remember any boats." Tai stood and put his hands to his mouth,

"hey! Hello? Piximon?!" Tai called Tai stepped and the boat started to rock.

"Tai no! don't stand!" Agumon said and the boat started rocking more. Tai lost his balance and fell overboard into the water. He quickly surfaced and spat out some water,

"What the hell Agumon!" Tai yelled and Agumon looked at Tai surprised,

"Don't you know not to stand in a boat?" Tai growled,

"Well help me." Tai demanded and Agumon grabbed an ore and held it out for Tai to grab. Tai grabbed a hold of it and Agumon started to pull him towards the boat. Agumon stopped,

"hey do you see that light?" Agumon asked and Tai got annoyed,

"hey don't focus on some stupid light, pull me in!" Tai pulled on the ore and Agumon was startled,

"hey! Don't rock the boat!" Agumon said

"Well pull me in!" Tai argued and he yanked on the ore and Agumon fell overboard into the water. Tai let go of the ore as Agumon surfaced,

"Now look what you did." Tai said and he swam to the boat and tossed the ore into it. He looked at Agumon who joined him and hung onto the boat.

"Me? I'm not the one who rocked the boat!" Agumon countered and Tai rolled his eyes,

"Well if you hadn't of been paying attention to that stupid light and just pulled me in-" Agumon cut him off,

"you were the one who stood in the first place! If you hadn't of stood in the boat you wouldn't have fallen in!" Tai and Agumon continued to argue as they drifted further along the water. Tai and Agumon climbed into the boat and Tai tried to steer it. The boat had a mind of its own and soon it started spinning again. Tai felt his head start to hurt and he laid down unable to think straight,

"the more we try to steer, the more the boat spins." Tai said defeated and he felt Agumon lay down behind him. The boat continued to spin and Tai felt himself slowly slip into insanity.


"Izzy watch it!" Matt once again pulled Izzy out of the way of a blast of fire. The two were running towards the stairs trying to avoid the Trannymon that was attacking them.

"Matt!" Matt stopped hearing TK's voice and he felt relief seeing TK, Sora, Joe, Mimi and Kari and the Digimon running towards him.

"Gabumon!" Matt yelled and Gabumon ran towards Matt.

"Watch out!" TK yelled and Matt turned around seeing cables wrap themselves around four large flowers and suddenly a sonic wave blasted from the cables. It was like someone strummed a cord on a bass guitar and all the Digimon fell to the ground exhausted.

"No! it zapped them!" Izzy said and Matt growled. He knew this was Etemon's doing. Matt felt the others tense as the Tryannamon roared and then blasted fire towards them.

"Move!" Matt yelled and everyone hit the ground. Matt expected to feel heat overhead but didn't. He looked up and saw Piximon had blocked the attack. The little Digimon was holding his spear up like a shield keeping the fire from burning the group. Matt scrambled backwards to Gabumon who was laying on the ground.

"Gabumon?" Gabumon moaned and Matt could see his partner was still out of energy. Where are you Tai? Matt thought as he wondered how long Piximon could protect them for.


Tai wasn't sure how long they had been spinning for when he noticed something overhead.

"hey, wait. I know that bridge." He sat up recognizing the bridge that they were drifting under. As he sat up suddenly he was standing on the bridge next to Agumon.

"wait what?" Tai asked and he could see a small child on a bike. The child peddled a few times before his bike tipped over and he fell to the ground. The boy started crying.

"wait, I know that kid." Tai said and he walked towards the child.

"Who is it Tai?" Agumon asked and Tai stared at the child in disbelief.

"I think that's me." The younger Tai sniffled,

"I'll never learn how to ride a bike." Tai cringed at the memory. He remembered this. He had been all alone. He had wanted to give up. Tai clenched his hands into fists. You've always been a failure. Tai felt his chest sting and he growled.

"Tai? What is it?" Agumon asked and Tai's shoulders fell.

"Just me, always the same. All alone, never able to finish or accomplish anything." Tai looked down at his feet and felt his eyes well up.

"But you're not alone." Agumon said and Tai looked up surprised.

"what do you mean?" Tai asked and Agumon pointed behind them.

"Look behind you." Tai stopped. That was one of his rules, never look back. You're not going that way so what's the point. He was frozen unsure what to do. He slowly, against his better judgement, looked back. Standing on the bridge was his mother and father,

"Tai, don't give up!" Tai was shocked his father was speaking and his father moved towards him. The two were face to face but his dad couldn't see him. He was talking through Tai to his younger self.

"You will always have your mum and I to cheer you on. Never give up my boy. Try again and again 100 times over if you have to but don't give up. You can do it." Tai was frozen he could see his mother wave.

"you can do it sweety!" Tai wasn't sure what to feel. He turned around slowly and watched himself get back on his bike and start to peddle again. This time, he stayed on his bike and successfully biked to the edge of the bridge. He stopped without falling over.

"I did it!" his younger self cheered and Tai looked back at his parents who clapped and cheered.

"we knew you could do it son!" his father said and his parents and younger self slowly disappeared. Tai looked down at his feet. I wasn't alone. My parents were there. They had always been there. Tai was so confused and he felt his head hurt. He clutched onto the side of his head as it pulsed,

"ah!" He knelt down on the ground and Agumon put a claw on Tai's back.

"Tai? What is it?" Agumon asked concerned and suddenly Tai felt something tear through his chest. It hurt and he yelled out and Agumon gasped.

"Tai! What is that?!" Tai opened his eyes and could see a small black wisp floating in front of him.

"Did that come from me?" Tai asked and Agumon nodded.

"It left a trail, like there was still some inside of you. But it came out of your chest." Tai stared at the wisp. That was inside me. He put a hand to his chest. He felt there was more inside but he felt a little relief at what had come out.

"this, This thing was blocking my memories." Tai said and put his hand to his crest which warmed.

"I couldn't see it but my parents, they were there for me, they had always been there for me." Tai felt tears well up in his eyes.

"Agumon, I left home, I moved out and lived a life of solitude because I believed they were never there for me. I believed they hated me. That I was better off dead." A tear rolled down Tai's cheek and he looked at his partner.

"I blocked so much out of my life to avoid feeling. I was so blind to the world around me." He looked at the wisp again and it slowly faded away.

"how did that? How did that get inside me?" Tai asked and Agumon put a claw on Tai's hand.

"It's gone now. Well, almost. I think you have more to face Tai but you're starting to heal and that's step number one." Tai felt more tears run down his cheek. He clasped his hand around Agumons claw.

"I've never really been alone, and I never will be. Now I have you buddy." Agumon smiled at Tai and Tai bent down and embraced his partner.

"I love you Agumon." Tai whispered and Agumon squeezed Tai back.

"I love you too Tai." Agumon said and Tai laughed and pulled back. He rubbed Agumons head.

"I can't give up. I can't quit. Just because I've made mistakes doesn't mean they have to weigh me down. I messed up with you Agumon and I messed up with my parents but that doesn't mean I'm a failure. You make mistakes and then you grow from them. That's what's going to happen from now on, I'm growing and I'm going to try again." Agumon beamed at Tai and Tai stood feeling a new sense of determination.

"I was so scared to have you digivolve Agumon. I was scared I was going to hurt you again." Agumon nodded,

"I felt that. I was scared to digivolve myself." Agumon admitted and Tai smiled down at his partner.

"I'm not scared anymore buddy." Agumon smiled wide,

"mean either." Tai laughed and then looked around,

"hey, were back in the cave." He noticed and Agumon stepped out into the opening.

"Uh oh, Tai look!" Tai came to Agumon's side and saw a large red Dinosaur blowing fire into the forest.

"The others! They're under attack!" Tai yelled and he started running towards the dinosaur.

"come on Agumon!" Tai ran through the woods and Felt his pocket warm.

"Digivolve!" Tai yelled and he saw a flash of light and Greymon appeared. Greymon marched over to Tryannamon and attacked.

"Nova blast!" Greymon yelled and Tai saw Tyrannamon take a hit. Tai ran through the trees and saw everyone on the ground with Piximon at the front.

"You guys okay?!" Tai yelled and everyone looked at Tai shocked.

"Tai!" the group yelled and Tai went over and put a hand out to Matt.

"here," Matt looked up at Tai a moment confused. Tai smirked and Matt grabbed Tai's hand and allowed Tai to pull him to his feet.

"What happened?" Tai asked and while Greymon fought Tryannamon, Izzy explained.

"Matt and I found our crests in the dessert. Unfortunately this Tryannamon spotted us and attacked. Then these cables wrapped themselves around the large flowers and Etemon used his guitar to zap the digimons energy." Tai nodded and then looked at the flowers Izzy was talking about. He then cupper his hands around his mouth and yelled,

"Greymon! Get rid of those cables!" Greymon threw Tryannamon to the ground.

"You got it Tai." He then pulled on the cables and ripped them all in half. The group cheered and Tryannamon disappeared into the distance.

"Tai! Greymon! You did it!" Mimi cheered and Tai looked over at the group.

"Sometimes, no matter how many mistakes you make, you just have to get back on the bike and try again." The group smiled and Kari stepped forward. She put a hand on Tai's arm.

"I'm glad your'e back Tai." She said and Tai smiled.

"Yeah, I'm back." He repeated. He saw Agumon walking over and he pulled his arm away from Kari and quickly went to his partner.

"you did great bud." Tai mused and Agumon smiled up at him.

"I couldn't have done it without you Tai." Agumon said and Tai rubbed his digimons head.

"You passed the test!" Piximon cheered and Tai looked at Piximon.

"Thank you Piximon." Tai said and the group looked a little confused.

"I'll tell you all later but really, thank you Piximon." Tai said and Piximon nodded.

"you really are the digidestined. Now go restore the balance! You can do it!" Piximon cheered and the group nodded. Tai turned to lead the group back out into the dessert when Piximon called to them.

"hold on! One last thing." He pointed his spear at Joe's bag and then winked.

"enjoy!" Piximon said and Joe looked inside his bag.

"we have food!" Joe yelled and the group laughed and cheered.

"Come on! Let's go and then we can stop and eat and I can tell you all what happened." Tai said and he turned and started walking. He felt the others behind him and Agumon at his side. For the first time in a long time, Tai didn't feel alone.