Izzy studied the sand as the group walked upon it. He saw a black cable and crouched down to pull it out of the sand.
"hmm." Izzy studied it.
"what is it Izzy?" Tentomon asked and Izzy continued looking at the black cable.
These cables are running all over the desert. Joe, you tripped on one before we entered the stadium and then we were attacked." Izzy looked to Matt,
"and Matt I noticed one when we found our crests. And then we were attacked by the Tryannamon." Matt shrugged his shoulder,
"so what?" Izzy put the cable down.
"The cables then wrapped themselves around the flowers and Etemon was able to use them like a speaker and attack us, draining the Digimon." Tai stepped forward.
"what are you saying Izzy?" Izzy looked down at the cable.
"I don't think these are here by accident. I think Etemon is using them to track us." The group went wide eyed.
"How?" Mimi asked and Izzy picked the cable back up.
"we'll they must be connected to him somehow. But he must also have a power source. I suggest we follow the cables. They should lead us either to Etemon or the power source." Tai nodded and Izzy wondered if he was going to make the decision himself.
"let's put it to a vote." Izzy went wide eyed hearing Tai.
"It's dangerous and we still haven't had much rest since Piximons. It's probably early afternoon now so let's put it to a vote. Do we follow the cables yes or no." Everyone was staring at Tai. And Izzy wondered what exactly had happened to him.
"I think we should follow them." Sora said and Izzy nodded,
"Me too." Izzy said and the rest of the group raised their hands agreeing.
"Okay. Eat first?" Tai asked and the Digimon looked like they were salivating.
"yes!" they all chorused and Izzy smiled and watched the others laugh. Everyone sat down in the sand and Joe pulled his bag out and started passing out food.
"So what did you get up to while Agumon and I were gone?" Tai asked and Matt answered,
"Cleaned the floors, that took hours. Everyone slept while Izzy and I went and got our crests." Sora then jumped in.
"can we see!" she asked and Izzy shrugged his shoulders and pulled the crest off from around his neck. He handed it over to Tai who looked at it and then handed it off to Sora.
"Knowledge and Friendship." Gabumon said and Izzy looked down at the Digimon.
"how do you know?" Izzy asked and Tentomon grabbed Izzy's crest from TK.
"It's the symbol on the crests. Your crest Izzy is Knowledge." Izzy took his crest and gazed at it. Knowledge. He thought and Matt took his back. He could see Matt had an almost pained look on his face as he looked at his own crest.
"it suits you both." Sora said and Izzy looked at her. Izzy put his crest back on and bit into his pear. He wasn't so sure.
"Yeah Izzy you might be the smartest person I've ever met." Izzy heard Tai's compliment and felt his cheeks blush.
"er, no I mean I hear there's a kid way smarter than me in Tamachi." Izzy tried to look down at the sand. He wasn't very comfortable with people complimenting him. Especially his own peers. He wasn't used to being well liked by them.
"Izzy without you and your computer, we wouldn't have gotten half as far as we have." Tai said and Izzy shook his head.
"I think he's blushing." Tentomon said and Izzy elbowed his partner.
"What happened with you Tai?" Kari's question saved Izzy and he felt eternally grateful for the younger Kamiya.
"Oh that. Agumon and I were shown the truth about things." Izzy thought that sounded very vague.
"Like what?" Matt asked and Tai shrugged.
"I think I've been in a dark cloud for a long time. The cave Piximon took Agumon and I too, showed me what was really going on around me. Things I couldn't see due to the fog. I am seeing a lot clearer now." Izzy watched Tai look at Sora who stared back at him. The two were looking at each other for a while and Izzy wasn't sure what was going on between them.
"And we learned it's okay to make mistakes." Agumon added and Tai stopped looking at Sora to look down at his partner.
"that's right bud." Izzy nodded. Tai was still being a little vague but wondered if they really needed to know what Tai had gone through. He showed up and saved them and seemed in a lot better spirits. Whatever training Piximon had done with him had clearly worked. The group continued to eat and Izzy was happy the focus was off of him. Tai stood as everyone finished their food.
"Ready?" he asked and the group nodded and everyone stood. Tai then lead the way as the group followed the black cable in the sand.
"Look!" Biyomon flapped her wings and Izzy could see a small metal box in the distance.
"that must be the power source!" Izzy announced and Tai nodded at him.
"alright, let's move." The group made their way to the metal box and gathered around it. Izzy pulled his computer bag off his back and pulled out his laptop. He pulled out a cable from the metal box and plugged it into his computer. His computer turned on and he started typing trying to understand what the cable was powering.
"Etemon has hard wired the entire desert. I think this is one of the remote access generators." Izzy said as he brought up a map of the dessert onto his screen.
"alright lets crash it." Tai said and Izzy typed on his computer. The mail icon flashed onto the screen.
"hey, You've got mail." TK said and Izzy felt confused.
"wait, how? Who even knows I logged on?" Izzy said and he felt uneasy.
"Just delete it, it's probably spam." Tai said and Izzy clicked on it.
"Help me! Help me! I am being held prisoner! Help me escape and I will help guide you to the crest you seek!" A robotic voice spoke from the computer and the group looked at one another,
"could this be for real?" Matt asked and Sora put a hand to her chest.
"what if it's a trap?" Sora said. Kari put a hand on Tai's arm.
"Tai? What if he's really in trouble?" Izzy looked at the siblings. Kari looked worried and Izzy was surprised how much empathy she had. She really wore her heart on her sleeve.
"Well team what do we think. Someone's in trouble and needs our help, should we go after them?" The group nodded and Izzy unplugged the cable from his computer. He had a reading on the location of their distressed comrade.
"Alright follow me." Izzy said and he kept his laptop out while he started leading the group. They walked along the sand and soon came to large rock formations.
"It's like a canyon." Mimi commented and Izzy didn't look up. He was zeroed into his computer. He could see the flashing blip. Their location must be through these rocks. Izzy thought.
"TK, look." Kari's voice brought Izzy out of his head and he looked over at the two youngest members of the group. Kari had her hand on TK's arm and TK was holding his glowing tag in his hand.
"TK, your crest!" Matt said and TK walked forward.
"I think it's this way." TK instructed and everyone started following TK. Tokomon ran forward and gasped.
"TK! I found it!" TK ran to his partner and Izzy quickly followed. In the rock wall in front of them was a crest etched into the stone. TK stepped towards it and the crest glowed yellow and then grew brighter as it shrunk down and inserted itself into TK's tag.
"My crest." TK said staring at the crest in disbelief. Izzy was happy he had found his crest. He then noticed that where the crest had been was now a cave. Izzy walked towards it.
"Whoa, look everyone!" Izzy stood at the mouth of the cave and could see strange carvings on the wall. A memory flashed in his mind and he remembered seeing the same sketches on a wall in the factory town where they found Andromon.
"I've seen these before!" Izzy said excited he went into the cave and up to the wall. He pulled up the document on his computer of the sketches he was studying back in the factory. They matched.
"they're the same!" Izzy said aloud. He then looked at his computer and back to the wall.
"wait this one is different." He reached out and rubbed the symbol and lights turned on in the cave.
"how'd you do that Izzy?" Tai asked and Izzy added the symbol to his document.
"I think these are data codes. Each code reacts depending on the algorithm you apply. For instance this symbol turned the lights on. But if you were to combine it with another one, something else would happen." He studied the symbols and hear the group huddle up.
"Kari and Sora's are the only crests we haven't found." Matt said.
"I don't get one." Kari said and Izzy stopped to look over at her.
"I really don't know why I know this but, I don't have one. Not yet anyways. Sora's is the last one we have to find." Joe then stepped forward,
"well if that's the case, maybe this guy who needs help knows where Sora's is." Joe said and the group nodded. Izzy nodded as well though was confused why Kari knew she didn't get one. Tai stepped forward.
"Izzy where is he. We need to help him." Tai dismissed his sisters comment and so Izzy felt he should do the same. He looked back at his computer.
"Well these symbols have got me thinking." Everyone got closer to Izzy.
"we still don't fully understand where we are and I think I can answer that." Izzy could see he had everyone's attention.
"These symbols, are codes that create programs. Everything around us and everyone we've met have been made up from data which make up the codes." Joe looked shocked,
"so are you saying. Everything isn't real? It's just data?" Izzy shook his head.
"it's real but yes we and everything here is digital data." Izzy said and Matt put his hands up.
"wait wait, are you saying we are inside a computer? How did we do that? How on earth did we get here?" Izzy nodded,
"I think our digital copies are here and our real selves are somewhere else." Izzy concluded and Tai opened his mouth,
"like back at the camp ground!" Izzy nodded,
"yeah our real selves are all at the camp ground and here, we are computer copies of ourselves interacting in this simulation." Izzy looked at everyone. Everyone was shocked except Kari. She looked uneasy almost like she thought Izzy was wrong. Izzy ignored her. He sat down and started typing.
"look here is a map of our world." Izzy brought up a globe onto his screen and everyone gathered around.
"And this is the digital world" he brought up another globe and the group gasped.
"they look the same." Sora said and Izzy overlapped the two worlds.
"And if I over lap them, look." The lines all matched up and the group gasped again.
"how is that possible?" Tai asked and Izzy looked at everyone.
"we are in a direct parallel universe of our world. It is a carbon copy of digital data. We have gone beyond the computer and onto the other side where the data lines connect and create living things like the Digimon. We are experiencing something no other person has ever seen before. Our world and the digital world are the same because they are linked through the digital data. So whatever happens here has a direct effect on what happens back home." Izzy said quite proud of his discovery. Matt shook his head,
"This is insane." Izzy looked at Matt then to Tai. Tai was rubbing his chin with his finger and thumb. Izzy then smirked,
"but that's not all." Izzy turned back to his computer and started typing.
"If I put in the email alert into this program. I can actually get us to the location of the distressed individual." Izzy got excited as he studied the etchings on the walls. He could do it. He could manipulate the program and create a passage right to their desired location. The possibilities were endless to what Izzy felt he could accomplish. I wonder if I could create passageways to the last crest, or even back to file island! Where else could these programs lead? Izzy was deep in thought,
"Oh great, he's lost to his computer again." Mimi said and Izzy felt a little tightness in his chest. He remembered how absorbed he had been when she and Tentomon got lost. She got hurt. Izzy pulled himself back and focused only on creating a pathway.
"Ta-da!" The wall that was the end of the cave suddenly disappeared and Izzy heard the group gasp. He smirked impressed with himself.
"How did you do that?!" Joe asked. Izzy turned to look at the astonished group.
"It's all in the data on the wall. Putting the right codes together, I was able to manipulate the digital worlds make up and create a pathway to the distressed individual!" Everyone looked wide eyed and Izzy felt a little uncomfortable.
"Uhm, good job Izzy?" Tai said and then the group nodded,
"Yeah, good work Iz." The group grumbled and Izzy watched them look down at their Digimon.
"Could this really not be happening?" Sora said quietly and Izzy wasn't sure why everyone looked uneasy.
"Don't look so bummed Joe! Digital data or not we got to be friends so this is a good thing!" Gomamon said sincerely. Izzy still wasn't sure why everyone looked almost scared. This is the coolest thing to ever happen, why isn't everyone excited? He wondered.
"Come on everyone, let's move." Tai walked towards the new exit and Agumon followed. Izzy watched everyone follow Tai and he closed his laptop and stood.
"What is it Izzy?" Tentomon asked and Izzy sighed,
"Everyone looks so uncomfortable but this is such a unique opportunity! We might even make history!" Izzy said and Tentomon looked up at Izzy.
"Izzy, do you not see how this can upset the others? You just told them everything they know is a lie. It doesn't exist. Doesn't that upset you?" Izzy was quick to shake his head,
"No, I mean this is unbelievable." Izzy said and Tentomon shook his head.
"Izzy are you not concerned at all? About any of this?" Tentomon asked and Izzy was about to shake his head and say "No not at all!" but he thought about Tentomons words. Everything they know is a lie. A memory from Izzy's past flashed through his mind. He could see his parents talking and they had no idea he was listening. Izzy quickly shook the thought away.
"It's better to know. It's always better to know and not have any secrets. We know now and that's what is important." Izzy nodded at himself and walked away from Tentomon. Secrets were tricky and always led to problems. Even if it had upset everyone, they now knew where they were and what they were. Izzy stood a little taller as he caught up to the others. Everyone was crowded at the edge of the tunnel and Izzy wondered why the group was stopped.
"It's Etemon." Matt informed Izzy as he joined the group. Izzy wiggled his way through the group and stood next to Tai and Agumon. He poked his head around the corner and could see in the distance and upside down pyramid. In front of the pyramid was the trailer Etemon had been traveling in.
"They're in there, aren't they." Tai stated and Izzy looked at the pyramid.
"Yeah." Izzy answered and Tai moved back and Izzy did the same. The group stood together and Tai spoke.
"Look it's not smart to just rush in there. If this person or Digimon or whatever is being held captive by Etemon, us rushing in there could hurt them. I think we should wait." Everyone nodded and TK spoke,
"Let's go back to the way we got in here. We can rest and maybe get something to eat." Everyone nodded and walked back to the entrance of the cave. Izzy smiled a little excited to be around the etchings again. He felt someone watching him. He looked down seeing Tentomon looking up at him worriedly. Their conversation from before was still fresh in Izzy's mind.
"Come on Tentomon. Let's get you some food." He said trying to ease his digimons gaze from him. There were somethings Izzy did not ever want to discuss with people, and he was worried Tentomon was starting to zero in on those exact subjects.
Sora felt her hands shake. It was getting late and she and Biyomon had finished their food. She didn't like the dark. It reminded her of her nightmares. She closed her eyes and thought about what Izzy had said. It's not real, it's not real. She said. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she let out a scream,
"Ah!" Joe looked down at her.
"Sora? You okay?" He asked and Sora shook her head.
"I mean-" Tai spoke loudly to the group.
"I'll take first watch. We need to be well rested to face Etemon tomorrow." He said and Sora realized only Joe and their Digimon had heard her scream.
"Here, I'll block the exit. Just incase." Izzy said and Sora watched him type on the computer. The tunnel exit vanished and was replaced by a stone wall.
"there." Izzy said and Sora was impressed with Izzy's skills. He seems so calm, so sure of himself. I wish I could be like that. Sora thought.
"Good thinking Izzy. This way we only have one entrance to watch." Tai said and he whistled to Agumon.
"Come on bud. Let's go keep watch." Agumon quickly followed Tai smiling at the human as the two went to the entrance. They're so close. Sora admired Agumon and Tai's relationship.
"Sora? You okay?" Sora looked down at Biyomon. Sora was hesitant when it came to Biyomon. She's always trying to get so close to me. Sora continued to look down at her partner.
"Sorry Sora, are you okay?" Sora looked up realizing Joe was still standing over her.
"Oh, Joe! Sorry. Yep." Sora plastered a smile onto her face. Joe looked over her head and then sighed.
"Gomamon? Biyomon? Can you two give me and Sora a moment?" The Digimon were a little confused but didn't ask any questions. They went over to the fire where the others minus Tai and Agumon were all getting ready to lie down for sleep. Sora observed Matt and Gabumon a moment. Gabumon was asleep while Matt was watching TK with a worried look. Joe sat next to her and Sora stopped staring at Matt too look up at Joe.
"Sora?" Sora nodded.
"remember how you and I were together and the Bakemon tried to capture us?" Sora nodded.
"You said, well you asked, me not to tell anyone. Not to talk about how scared you got." Sora felt goosebumps all over her body.
"You look scared, you look like you did when we were tied to that stone slab. I know you're not sleeping Sora." Sora went wide eyed and looked up at Joe. She felt her heart rate pick up. She couldn't do this. Not here, not when it wasn't real. She stood.
"I'm fine. Please don't Joe. I'm okay." She wiped a tear from her cheek When did I start crying? Joe looked at Sora concerned. Sora quickly called to Biyomon softly. She could see Kari and Mimi were sleeping with Palmon and Tokomon.
"Biyomon, come with me." Biyomon flapped her wings and excitedly walked over to Sora. Sora looked at Joe a moment. He looked pained and Sora felt bad. She turned away from him and she and Biyomon walked to the entrance of the cave. She inhaled trying to get her energy up.
"hey Tai." Sora said a little more cheerfully then she meant too.
"Sora? What are you doing here?" Sora smiled and looked down at Agumon.
"I thought I'd come relieve you two." Tai looked at Sora quizzically.
"What? I just got out here. You can get some sleep Sor." Sora shook her head.
"No! I mean. No, I'm so awake right now I don't think I could sleep." Sora said. Tai looked at her oddly.
"You okay?" Tai asked and Sora put a hand to her chest.
"Maybe, we shouldn't go tomorrow. Maybe we shouldn't help this person or Digimon." Sora said.
"What? Of course we need to help. Sora, this might lead us to your crest." Tai stated and Sora winced at the word. Crest, my crest. She didn't want to find her crest. She couldn't imagine what her trait was and the thought of it made her insides crawl. Im no good. I'm not anything special. I don't deserve a crest. She felt her breathing pick up.
"Sora come on you want to find your crest right?" Sora shook her head and then stopped.
"I mean. What if it gets someone hurt!" Sora said and Tai put his hands on her shoulders,
"Sora. If this was mine or TK's crest you would run head first to try and find it." Sora nodded,
"Well of course!" Tai then spoke again,
"So why won't you do that for yourself?" He asked. Sora looked down a moment.
"You're right. I just…worry." She said and Tai smirked.
"Remember? This is all a computer simulation. None of this is real." Tai winked and he called to Agumon.
"Come on Agumon lets get some sleep." Sora forced a smile. While Tai and Agumon started back into the cave.
"Are you sure?" Tai stopped and Sora looked at him. She opened her mouth and Tai spoke.
"what am I saying. The idea we need sleep is in our heads right?" Sora looked at him confused. Tai smiled.
"none of this is real. Nothing to worry about. Night Sora!" Tai called and he went into the cave to join the others. Sora let out a breath.
"Sora?" Sora looked down at Biyomon who was looking up at her.
"Are you really okay?" Sora smiled down at Biyomon.
"come here Biyo. Let's watch some rocks." Sora sat down and Biyomon rested her head on Sora's lap.
"goodnight Sora." Biyomon cooed and Sora stroked her head. It's not real, it's not real, it's not real. She tried to soothe herself as she watched the rocks in the moonlight.
Tai startled himself awake. His eyes opened wide and he inhaled and looked around alert.
"You alright Tai?" Agumon asked and Tai could see his partner staring at him. Tai felt saliva on his chin and cheek and quickly wiped it away with his hand.
"Uhm, is everyone awake?" Tai asked.
"Yeah Tai, you're the last one." Matt said. Tai looked over at Matt and then around the cave. Sure enough everyone was up with their Digimon. Tai felt a little embarrassed he slept in and got to his feet.
"Everyone eat?" he asked trying to regain his composure. Kari walked over with a piece of bread and fruit.
"here you go Tai." She said and Tai took the food from her. He slowly studied his sister feeling his heart rate pick up. He had had a terrible dream. Kari was laying on the sand her eyes open and he knew she was dead. He'd seen this before, when they were traveling in Whamon. He had felt light headed as the image of his sister dead on the beach came to him. Tai blinked, Kari was still standing in front of him.
"Tai? You okay?" She asked and Tai shook his head.
"yep! Never better. I mean this isn't real so it's not like any of us can actually get hurt right?" He said and Kari raised an eyebrow.
"It's not…." Kari said quietly and then she stopped.
"Hey where's Sora?" Tai asked ignoring his sister. He was feeling better, the dream was just a dream and all of this wasn't real. No need to worry it's not real. He thought and Sora walked over with Biyomon.
"You slept late." She commented and Tai nodded.
"yeah, just tired I guess." Sora nodded and Tai saw her eyes were a little blood shot.
"you sleep okay?" He asked and she nodded,
"Yep!" She said and Tai was taken back by her enthusiasm.
"But Sora, we kept watched the whole-" Sora quickly pushed on Biyomon to walk away from Tai.
"Uhm we're gonna go scout see if Etemon is still there. Izzy? Can you open the wall or whatever?" Sora called out and Tai watched her walk over to Izzy and Tentomon.
"Uhh, are we ready? Should we debrief?" Izzy asked and Sora shook her head.
"No need we know the plan. Go in and rescue the Digimon and get out." She smiled and Tai was weary. He then shook his head.
"yeah let's do this." He walked over the wall and gave a thumbs up to Izzy.
"Alright Izzy open it up." Izzy pulled his laptop out and pressed on his keyboard. The wall disappeared and Tai and Agumon walked through the tunnel. Tai liked when they were moving. Sitting and talking just brought up a lot of room for overthinking and Tai felt vulnerable when that happened. He poked his head around the corner and could see the upside down pyramid. He could also see Etemon's trailer still in front of it.
"So what's the plan Tai?" Matt asked and Tai could sense a little annoyance in his voice. He ignored this and turned to the group who were all standing with him.
"I think we need to split into two groups. One group to go in and another group to stay back just incase the first group runs into trouble."
"Backup, that's smart Tai." TK complimented. Tai looked at Izzy.
"Izzy, any idea what's going on inside that pyramid?" He asked unsure if Izzy's tech skills could help them to rescue the individual.
"Actually yes. I can get an entire schematic of the pyramid. I think I can lead us right to the distressed person or Digimon." Tai nodded deciding on the group that was going.
"Alright then Izzy you me and Sora should go." Sora put a hand to her chest. Joe then stepped forward.
"me too." He said. Tai was surprised.
"Uh.. okay. Yeah that's four humans and four Digimon to go and the rest to stay back." Tai put his hands on his hips and the group nodded. He started to feel good. This'll be a cake walk. He thought. He turned to face the upside down pyramid and he felt someone grab his hand.
"Tai , be careful." He turned to look at his sister and he gave her a goofy grin.
"It's a cake walk Kar. No need to sweat." Kari looked uneasy and shook her head.
"Just be careful." She said again and tai removed his hand from hers.
"let's go Agumon." Tai then climbed down to the sand and Agumon followed. He was almost hyper with adrenaline Let's do this. He thought and he heard the rest of his group follow as they made their way over to the pyramid.
Sora watched Tai with mixed emotions. He was almost excited and Sora wasn't comfortable with it. The group ran over to one side of the pyramid and hudled together.
"how do we get in?" Biyomon asked. Izzy typed on his open laptop.
"there are weak points in the walls. Almost like transparent doorways." Izzy explained.
"Etemon!" Gomamon quickly called to the group and Sora felt scared that the monkey Digimon was about to catch them.
"here!" Izzy pointed and Tai quickly pushed everyone up and surprisingly into the pyramid through the wall.
"Whoa." Sora said feeling strange that she was now inside.
"Etemon!" Agumon said and Sora could see through the part of the wall they had just come through. On the otherside, Etemon was standing scratching his head.
"he must have heard us." Joe commented. Tai shrugged his shoulders,
"Alright Izzy where to next." Izzy continued typing and telling Tai where to walk. Sora followed behind wondering when this whole plan was going to go awry.
"Sora?" Sora looked next to her and saw Joe walking in step with her.
"oh Joe." Joe lowered his voice.
"I just want you to know I came cause I'm worried about you. So I'm not gonna push you but I'm here." Sora was surprised. Her mouth hung open a moment. She wasn't sure what to say. People don't care about me. She thought and she shook her head. I'm supposed to look after everyone else. She forced a small smile onto her lips.
"Joe, I really am fine." Joe didn't look convinced but didn't say anymore on the matter.
"Here Iz?" Tai said and Joe and Sora stopped to look up. Tai put his hand through the wall and then pulled it back.
"this is so weird." He said amused.
"Wait Tai! There are Gazimon!" Izzy announced and Sora stepped back seeing two Gazimon walk on the other side of the wall. Tai smirked and stuck his hand through anyway. The Gazimon didn't see it and Sora crossed her arms over her chest.
"Don't play Tai. This is serious" she berated and Tai shrugged.
"Computer simulation. Remember?" He winked and once the Gazimon were out of site, Tai walked through the wall. Sora let her arms fall at her sides annoyed.
"he's going to get hurt." She said and Izzy was stopped looking at his computer.
"come on Iz." Sora said and Izzy nodded,
"right, just what Tai said got me thinking." Joe stopped before joining Tai on the otherside of the wall.
"well hold off on any theories for now. Tai's growing a little reckless. Unless it reigns him in just keep it to yourself." Joe and Gomamon then walked through the wall. Sora sighed and gave a nod to Izzy.
"go ahead Izzy. I won't know where to go anyway." Izzy and Tentomon walked through and Sora and Biyomon followed.
"That way Tai." Izzy pointed and the group followed Tai through another wall. They came to the otherside and saw a large electric fence. Tai walked up to it confidently.
"Where now Iz?" Sora quickly pulled Tai back.
"Tai that's electric just stop." She said and Tai allowed her to pull him back.
"Relax Sor." Tai said and Izzy spoke.
"there's a weak spot right there." Izzy pointed to an area of the fence and Tai put a hand on Sora's shoulder.
"watch." He then walked right through the fence. Sora felt her heart stop.
"Tai!" she said as Tai disappeared. He then poked his head back out.
"Coming?" He asked and Sora thought she might throttle him. Sora shook her head.
"Sorry Izzy where?" She asked as Tai's head disappeared. Izzy walked over and pointed to where Tai had gone through.
"here." Sora was nervous but Biyomon gently pushed her forward and Sora managed to walk through the fence. The group came out the otherside and Sora felt relief that they had made it. They walked along the short corridor and came to an open doorway.
"Whoa!" Izzy announced and Sora looked around the room they were now standing in.
"it's like the inside of a computer." Izzy commented and Sora nodded. It looked like something futuristic.
"hey look over here." Gomamon walked over to where there was a large glass box on a table. Sora followed and gasped seeing a Digimon inside.
"That's Datamon." Tentomon said and Sora peered into the glass seeing a little robotic like Digimon.
"I wonder if that is the Digimon that asked for our help." Joe wondered and a voice came from Izzy's laptop.
"yes that's me I need your help!" Sora stepped back from the glass and walked over to Izzy and his computer. On the screen was Datamon and Sora was confused.
"how is he doing that?" She asked and Izzy looked up at the Digimon trapped in the glass and then at his computer.
"he must be a computer type Digimon. He's able to patch himself through the harddrive into my computers network."
"Ah another tech genius. Yes that is exactly what I am doing." Datamon explained.
"You see I have been captured and held prisoner here by Etemon. I fought him and due to an error in my calculations, I lost. He then trapped me here and forced me to construct a network throughout the desert to track you and other Digimon." Sora felt bad for the Digimon.
"you were helping Etemon spy on us." She said putting all the pieces together.
"yes and if you can help me escape I can lead you to the last crest. The crest of love." Sora was surprised at Datamon's proposal. She was even more surprised the last crest was the crest of love.
"So what do you need us to do?" Tai asked and Datamon explained.
"I need help getting through the last cybertronic barrier. Over at the wall to your left there's a panel." Sora watched Izzy walk over to the panel and then look along the wall.
"Tai, come here." Izzy called. Tai walked over to him and Izzy pointed.
"There's a lever there. I need you to push it up." Tai nodded and did as he was told. Sora could see the wall in front of Izzy moved and there was now a button in front of him.
"Okay." Izzy then pushed the button and called to Tai.
"Now Tai-"
"hold it!" Etemon suddenly appeared and Sora gasped and stepped back.
"I always thought it was you snot nosed teens that were distrupting my network and now I find out it was you Datamon!" Etemon yelled. Sora saw Etemon narrow his eyes at Tai.
"Alright it's time to teach you punks a lesson!" He charged at Tai and Sora panicked. Agumon quickly glowed and transformed to Greymon. He stopped Etemon from attacking Tai and Sora then saw Kabuterimon and Ikkakumon join in the fight. The three Digimon were quickly knocked to the side and Sora looked to her partner.
"help them Biyomon!" she cried and her pocket warmed while Biyomon digivolved to Birdramon.
"Tai Push the lever up!" Izzy yelled and Sora could see Tai quickly look away from the battle and push the lever up. Sora stepped back hearing machine noises. She saw the glass box that Datamon was inside slowly move.
"I'm free!" Datamon cheered and then he manipulated the glass so it fired at Etemon. Sora watched and then was horrified to see the glass not only hit Etemon but it pinned Birdramon against the wall.
"Birdramon!" Sora yelled and she watched her partner revert back to Biyomon.
"No!" She yelled and Tai rounded and looked at Datamon.
"hey! We helped you!" he yelled and Datamon laughed.
"oh and I am so grateful for that." Datamon then fired mini rockets at Etemon. Sora quickly moved wanting to get to her partner.
"Dark Network!" Etemon fired a balck and green attack and it hit the rockets head on. The two attacks collided and created a large explosion that blew up through the ceiling.
Sora covered her head as the attack blasted but she didn't stop moving. She made it to Biyomon and quickly pulled her partners head onto her lap.
"Biyomon. Wake up." She pleaded. Etemon grabbed Datamon and whipped him at the wall behind Sora and Biyomon. Sora flinched as Datamon fell to the ground in front of them but she didn't move.
"come on Biyomon." She begged.
"Looks like I've got you now you computer bug." Etemon said and he started walking towards Datamon.
"Not yet. I think I'll take these two and harness their power and then I'll finally defeat you." Before Sora could process what Datamon was saying. He jumped towards her and Biyomon and grabbed the two of them. Sora tried to struggle but Datamon had a firm grip on her. He then started rising off the ground and Sora felt her legs swing in the air. Suddenly Datamon started flying out of the room taking Sora and Biyomon as his prisoner.
"help!" Sora yelled as Datamon took them out of site.
Tai panicked. He watched as Datamon kidnapped Sora and he moved quickly after her.
"Sora!" He cried and he saw the Digimon stop Etemon from pursuing them
"Sora!" Tai yelled again. They ran back to the electric fence and Tai heard Sora yell.
"TAI!" His heart rate picked up hearing her in distress.
"They've gone back through the firewall." Izzy said and Tai figured he was referring to the electric fence.
"we'll lets go!" Tai said and he was about to go through the fence when both Joe and Izzy stopped him.
"Hold on Tai. Let me get back online so I can find the weak point." Tai shook his head.
"Who cares! It's not like we can actually get hurt so lets just move and get Sora!" Izzy then yelled.
"Don't Tai! My theory might not be correct!" Tai stopped.
"What?" Joe stepped forward.
"The whole idea of us being computer data is just one of Izzy's theroies!" He said angrily. Tai was confused.
"Tai we don't know what we are and even if we are computer copies of ourselves that doesn't mean our real selves don't get hurt! Tai if we die here, we could very die for real! We're humans not Digimon. While the Digimon here can regenerate like Angemon did, we won't!" Tai was frozen But, it's not supposed to be real. He thought and suddenly he felt scared. We can die? Ever since Izzy had proposed his theory, Tai was so excited to throw caution to the wind. He was finally relieving himself of panic and worry. He had thought nothing bad could happen to them. We can die. Tai let the thought sink in and Izzy continued to type.
"The weak point is here. Go Tai." He pointed to an area on the fence and Tai heard him but didn't move. We can die.
"Go Tai, Sora's getting away!" Tai was frozen. He could hear Izzy and Joe but he couldn't move. Suddenly Agumon, Tentomon and Gomamon came through the wall and landed on the ground in front of the teens
"We tried to hold him off as long as we could." Agumon said exhausted.
"Ha-Ha! I've got you now kids!" Etemon came through the hole in the wall and Tai went wide eyed. The roof over head started to shake as an explosion came through. Tai covered his eyes and heard a familiar voice.
"Howling blaster!" Tai brought his arm away from his eyes and saw Togemon and Garurumon were now fighting Etemon.
"Tai! Move!" Tai blinked and Matt was running towards him. He wrapped an arm around Tai and pulled him towards Garurumon. Togemon took on Etemon while Garurumon quickly shuffled all the teens and the Digimon up and out of the pyramid.
"Lets go lets go!" Mimi called as everyone came out of the pyramid and onto the sand. Tai was still in shock and Matt had to drag him across the sand.
"Tai move those legs!" Matt instructed and Tai slowly started to move faster. The group made their way back to their hideout away from the pyramid. Once Tai was inside he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck.
"You're okay!" Kari said and Tai couldn't hug her. He kept his arms at his side while his sister embraced him.
"where's Sora?" TK asked and Tai gently pushed his sister back.
"He took her. The stupid piece of shit Digimon tricked us and then took her." Tai felt like punching something. Palmon and Gabumon came into the cave.
"He didn't follow us so I think we're safe." Gabumon reported and Izzy pulled up his computer and put the wall back.
"Tai what are you talking about." Matt approached Tai with his hand in a fist. Tai was about to rage when Joe got between the two teens.
"it's not his fault. Look the Digimon need food and rest. Let's do that and then we'll talk." Matt shook his head.
"where is Sora?!" Matt yelled and Tai winced.
"She's been taken by Datamon Matt but we can't help her unless the Digimon are rested! So please let's sit." Joe said and Tai was angry. Matt reluctantly turned and walked out of the cave. The next few minutes were a blur to Tai. He was now sitting in front of a fire and the Digimon were eating though he wasn't sure who had done what and how he was now sitting.
"Tai?" TK spoke and Tai looked up at him. Tai then looked to the ground.
"It was a trap. I mean. We didn't know and now Sora's gone." Tai said helplessly. Joe came to his rescue.
"Tai's being too hard on himself. It was a trap but also wasn't. The Digimon, Datamon was in trouble. He was being held prisoner by Etemon but when we freed him he was just as bad. He attacked Birdramon and when Sora went to her, he grabbed her and Biyomon and took off with them."
"He said he could lead us to her crest too. The crest of Love. I think he was luring us for something. Obviously he wanted Sora but for what, I don't know." Izzy explained.
"it's my fault. I got too cocky and then she got taken. She could be hurt." Tai said and he felt his heart race. Kari put a hand on his arm.
"She'll be okay. She has Biyomon with her." Kari tried to soothe but Tai didn't feel any comfort from his sister. Matt looked pissed but then he took a deep inhale.
"okay. Kari actually has a good point. Sora isn't alone. We can't do anything until our Digimon get their strength up which means, we need rest." Tai went bug eyed.
"We can't wait till tomorrow!" Tai exclaimed and TK stood.
"no we should. We're still facing Etemon we can't face him at full strength let alone with tired Digimon." Tai hated that TK and Matt were right.
"I'm gonna stay up. I'm going to try to track Datamon with my computer. If he was able to track me, maybe I can reverse it and spy on him." Izzy stood and took his computer back into the cave. Tai was reminded of their first night when Izzy refused to sleep.
"don't uh, don't work yourself too hard Iz." Tai said and Izzy nodded. Tai had a bit of a soft spot for Izzy. It was Izzy and his program that had helped them countless times and Izzy worked so hard for them. He had a memory of Izzy sitting on his own in the lunch room. Tai cringed feeling bad that he had never really talked to Izzy before they came to the digital world.
"We'll need a plan." Joe said and Tai tore his eyes away from Izzy to look at the oldest member of their group.
"We can't really come up with one until Izzy can tell us where Datamon is." Tai said defeated. Mimi then stood and walked over to Joe's bag.
"And no one can do anything until everyone has eaten. Come on over you guys." Mimi called to the Digimon and they all gathered around her. Mimi handed out food and Tai was impressed. Nothing seems to get her down. He thought and Mimi gave him a wink.
"I'm sure Sora is fine. I mean, not fine since she has been kidnapped, but not hurt. I'm sure she is not hurt." Mimi said and Tai couldn't help but smirk.
"Right." He mumbled. Mimi then handed out food to all the teens. Mimi handed a bun to Tai.
"try not to be so hard on yourself Tai." She said and Tai took the food from her. Tai nodded.
"sleep's not gonna be easy." TK commented and Tai noticed TK was looking pretty upset. He didn't think that Sora and TK we're at all close. Kari sat next to TK and rubbed his back. Tai wondered about them and Sora. He looked away from his sister and TK and looked into the fire in the centre of their circle. He wasn't sure if he could sleep but he tried to take deep breaths and hope that wherever Sora was she was okay.