Thank you all for waiting! Maybe it doesn't seem like such a dramatic delay on your end of things, (I hope not anyway) but I really did intend to have this up sooner. I was away from home and my regular schedule animal-sitting last week, though, so my friend's parents could go up to watch her graduation. And their chickens get up at, like, 5 AM… Let's just say that without the extra hours spent staying up late into the night, I was a little short on free time. But my school semester has ended for the summer and I'm hoping updates will be a little more timely from here on out.

Thank you for reviewing chapter fifteen: dnofsunshine, Katsa Graceling (and thank you so much, by the way, for taking the time to review despite the language barrier! I sent your review through a translator, and it may not have been exact, but I got the gist!) Berry Doyle, Bdc, and Sweet Cari!

Chapter Sixteen: Connections

Not an hour later, Kari found herself slowly retracing her steps from the night before, Gatomon tucked into a backpack. Only her head poked out, and Kari had hope that, so long as she didn't move too much, any passersby they encountered would assume she was a plush toy or part of the backpack itself. And, after just a few complaints about how warm the day was, Gatomon seemed content to take in their surroundings.

"You really weren't that far from where you were trying to be," Kari commented, breaking the day's silence. "I wonder how the gates in the Dark Ocean work… It would be nice to be able to predict what exactly we'll be walking into when we go back."

She was proud of her casual tone. The thought of actually making the journey again made her insides do a little flip. But Gatomon just responded with a wry little scoff. "I don't think anyone's ever willingly spent enough time in the Dark Ocean to study it as a form of transportation."

"TK maybe…" she murmured.

Gatomon hummed. "Yeah, maybe… But if his partner stays on the other side like you said, he wouldn't really have that problem. When he makes the journey, he'll appear wherever Patamon is."

They lapsed into contemplative silence. Kari wondered what this world seemed like to Gatomon. Uncivilized and barbaric like she'd viewed the Digital World? Certainly not the safe haven Kari had felt upon her return. Her thoughts had moved to brainstorming how she was going to keep Gatomon hidden from her parents by the time they reached the parking lot. It looked terribly ordinary in the daylight. Kari stood in the entrance for a moment, but it was clear there was nothing to see.

"What now?" Gatomon asked.

Kari began slowly walking away, absentmindedly chewing on her bottom lip. What next? Good question.

"We can't exactly start going door to door," she mused. Not only would it attract a lot of attention, she doubted it would get them anywhere. This neighborhood looked like one of the poorer districts—just a little run-down. Though their encounter the night before had been brief, Rika had definitely struck her as someone who was well-off. Put together, confident. Whatever she was doing here last night, Kari doubted she spent much time in these parts.

Gatomon shifted a little in her pack, and Kari sighed. She moved aside to let a young boy chasing a ball rush past her and was struck by another thought. The girl had certainly been aggressive enough to be an athlete… Maybe some of the kids around here would recognize her from a rival school.

She stopped in the bakery she'd seen the night before and grabbed a few buns to split with Gatomon for lunch. The bakery was a family-run, cozy little place. The sort of business she used to dream about when her parents were both away at their cold office jobs. The owners were friendly, if a little overworked. She would have stayed a little longer, soaking in the atmosphere, if it hadn't been the lunch rush.

So she made her exit and started walking away… But stopped when there was a loud clatter in the alley behind the bakery. She watched a boy about her age trip down the steps of the bakery's back door, sending towers of boxes toppling over. Kari and the boy cringed in unison at the mess that had been made. Muttering something under his breath, the boy hurriedly placed the box he'd been carrying on the step behind him and turned to try and straighten up the alleyway a bit. Kari remained rooted to the spot for just a second before rushing forward to help him.

He emitted a squeaky little "oh!" when her hands joined his, but smiled in response to the one she sent his way and let her help him. "Thank you! I'm kinda a klutz sometimes." His voice trailed off and he laughed nervously.

Kari did her best to look friendly and approachable, keeping Gatomon shielded behind her back all the while. "I don't mind. Are the bakers your parents?"

"Yeah. Oh, um, I'm Takato." He paused to offer his hand. The gesture looked odd on him. Like a child trying to imitate a more confident adult.

But she took his hand. "My name's Kari. Do you go to school around here?"

"Uh, yeah, why?"

He still looked nervous. Kari tried not to linger on the way he glanced over his shoulder further back into the alley behind him. "I'm trying to find a girl I met just down the road from here. But I don't live in this town so I don't really know where to start. I was hoping you could help me?"

"Oh, uh—"

"Takato! What are you doing out there?" his mother called from inside, cutting him off. A second later, the back door flew open again and Mrs. Matsuki stuck her head out into the alley. But she stopped when she caught sight of Kari. "Oh! I didn't realize we had a guest." Her voice immediately took on that happy homemaker mom voice, but the look in her eyes remained. The look that said, And you thought in the middle of the lunch rush was a good time to have someone over?

"Yeah, uh, Mom, this is my friend Kari."

"Oh," she said, seeming a little taken aback. "Your friend?"

"Mom," Takato groaned at her unintentional slight, but Kari had to suppress a giggle. Takato seemed… sweet. A little shy and nerdy, but sweet. Still, she doubted he had many girls over, if any.

"Right, well, don't stay out here too long."

Mrs. Matsuki retreated inside and her son turned back around, his face overtaken by a fierce blush. "S-sorry about that. My mom is… uh, well, anyway, you… you said you're trying to find a girl?" he stammered out.

"Yes," she began, but they were interrupted again.

"Takatomon? What's taking you so long?" came a voice from deeper behind them in the alley.

Takato jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around, but it was already too late. Kari watched, with a distant sort of surprise—was it possible she was getting used to this sort of thing?—when a red dinosaur-type thing almost as big as Takato himself wandered up to them, sniffing around curiously. A Digimon, for sure. This boy that she'd just happened across was hiding a Digimon.

Takato looked panicked, glancing back and forth between them. Kari knew her mouth had fallen open and Gatomon was straining to see around her back. By the time she composed herself a little, the Digimon had stopped nosing through the box Takato had brought out with him and come over to investigate. "Who's she, Takatomon? Another friend?"

Gatomon seemed to sense or smell something, and a second later, she had worked herself out of Kari's backpack and come to stand protectively in front of her partner. Kari tensed immediately, afraid she was about to repeat the encounter she had with the other 'tame' Digimon the night before. But Takato's partner didn't seem to sense the imminent danger Gatomon presented. He simply looked curious. And strangely… innocent. A good fit for Takato, from what she'd seen of him. She could only hope Gatomon—with all her fierceness and claws—seemed so perfectly suited to her in some way as well. But her partner's hiss when the red dinosaur continued to come closer jolted her back to the present.

Takato seemed blinded to Gatomon's aggression too—star struck. "Oh, wow… Another Digimon…"

On impulse, Kari reached down and scooped up Gatomon into her arms, trying to regain some control over the situation. "Well, this… changes things a little. In a good way," she hurried to add. "This is what I was really asking you about, actually. The girl I met last night had a Digimon with her too."

Takato had moved awkwardly to his partner's side. Trying to shield him from anyone walking by on the street, maybe. His partner was a lot bigger than hers, after all. But his eyes lit up with a clarity at her words.

"Oh," he said softly. "You must be looking for Rika."

…

Yolei pressed herself up against the wall in the next room, straining to hear the conversation between ShogunGekomon and the Emperor. On her ridiculously plush bed, Hawkmon sat propped up against the pillows, yawning, watching her through lidded eyes. She'd come to understand most of his expressions. She also knew he thought she could be a little dramatic sometimes, such as her eavesdropping now when she was sure to be filled in later.

But she just couldn't stop herself. As promised, Mimi had headed out the night before. Yolei would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous about being in charge of this big castle and all its power on her own. She was grateful this step had been handled for her. Even after all she'd been through, Mimi still carried herself with a strength and confidence that Yolei could only imagine possessing herself. But she supposed she'd have to learn.

She heard ShogunGekomon's booming voice cut off and knew the call had ended. They were free from the Emperor's prying eyes… for now. Hawkmon sighed again on the bed behind her, and Yolei reminded herself to breathe. She sent a little smile Hawkmon's way. She wasn't so alone after all. With a little luck, Mimi would find the other Digidestined, and they'd all be home before the Emperor wanted to check in again.

She could hope so, anyway.

…

"This should be it," Cody said, looking up at the apartment building in front of him.

"Great," said Davis, trusting his friend's ability to read a map without question. "Let's go then."

"And what, just start knocking on doors?" Cody asked, a little frazzled. "It's not like his bio gave out his address. We're lucky we got the street and the building."

"It also said he had kids, right? We'll just say we're looking for them. Someone's gotta know the family."

Once again, Davis had hit him with an idea that wasn't half bad. Cody had to envy his impulsiveness sometimes. He knew he tended to over prepare, personally, and as much as he would stick by that philosophy—that it was better to be safe than sorry—he was sure there had been opportunities that had passed him by because of it. So he grit his teeth, looked his friend straight in the eye, and nodded. "Okay."

So Davis grinned and did what he did best—led the way.

And pretty soon, Cody had never been more grateful for Davis's pigheadedness. They were out of luck with the first four floors, but on floor five, they finally got lucky.

"Hurry back, Henwy!" a shrill little girl's voice called at the other end of the hall. "It's almost time fow tea!"

"Yeah, I'll be right back, Suzie," another voice answered, much older and more than a little exasperated. "I'm just going down to get the mail."

Sure enough, they saw a dark-haired boy about their age easing a door to one of the apartments shut behind him, massaging the bridge of his nose with his other hand. He looked beyond tired, like getting the mail was just a convenient excuse to get out of the apartment for a few minutes. But if Cody found this a little off-putting, Davis just saw their lucky break.

"Hey, kid!" he called, quickening his steps, Cody hurrying to keep up with him.

The boy startled at his call and finally noticed them. "Oh. Uh, hi. Can I help you with something?"

Cody opened his mouth to smooth things over, but Davis ploughed ahead. "Yeah, we're looking for Janyu Wong. Do you know him?"

The boy looked surprised. "Yeah. Janyu Wong is my dad. He's at work right now. Why are you looking for him?"

Cody quickly grabbed Davis's arm. They had to approach this carefully. If the son thought they were a pair of lunatics, they might not even get to see the father. But the door to his apartment flew open again, and Cody found himself unable to form words.

At first he mistook the little figure in the pink dress that came jetting out into the hallway as the younger sister this boy must have been calling to before. Logic at work. But then he realized just how small the figure was… And saw the two appendages—ears?—just about as big as the creature itself on either side of its head. Appendages that it used to propel itself up onto the boy's shoulders.

"I can't take it anymore!" it cried indignantly, shaking off the two pink bows attached to its head. "If I have to play 'Princess' for five more minutes—"

"Terriermon!" the boy cried, eyes wide, clamping a hand over the thing's mouth. But the damage had already been done.

Cody and Davis had both frozen, but it was no surprise when Davis recovered first. "Whoa! That's a Digimon, right?!" At the same time Cody whispered, "They are real…" And the boy's hand slackened a little in surprise, allowing Terriermon to wiggle away and free his mouth, only to take a deep breath and mutter, "Oops…"

But this boy was quick to recover too. "Wait a minute, how do you two know what a Digimon is?"

"It's kind of a long story…" Cody began. "But we think the incident that took place in Highton View Terrace four years ago had to do with Digimon… not terrorists. And now one of our friends has disappeared, and we think your dad's research could help us find her."

The boy with the Digimon didn't linger on the gaps in his explanation—the pieces that would have made this conclusion make sense. After all, he knew just as well, things were… complicated these days. He just nodded. "Yeah, we should probably continue this inside." He turned back to the door and seemed to remember something. "Oh, and it's nice to meet you both. My name is Henry."

…

Kari and Takato had retreated a little deeper into the alley. Behind the piles of boxes, Takato had fashioned a doghouse of sorts out of the bigger boxes for the red dinosaur-like Digimon who she learned was named Guilmon. And who had seemed to lose interest in them completely in favor of the box of old bread Takato had brought out for him. (Kari was already grateful her own partner was so much smaller.)

"So…" Takato started, sounding almost like he dreaded the answer. "You know Rika?"

"Not really," said Kari. "I only met her for the first time last night… when she attacked us."

Takato seemed to relax just the slightest bit. "Yeah. I don't know her that well, either. And when I do see her, it's usually because she's attacking us too… I don't think she believes I'm a real Tamer…"

"Tamer?" she questioned. "I take it that's different than Digidestined?"

"Yeah… Yours sounds a lot cooler, honestly. Like… magic or something." She'd tried to explain the legend surrounding the original eight—what she understood of it, anyway—to him. Takato had seemed nothing short of enthralled, and maybe a little more intimidated by her than usual, afterwards. "I think the Tamers are a little less… organized. One day this device just… showed up in my room. And it gave me the ability to bond with a Digimon… I found Guilmon a few days later, at the end of some weird portal thing. And now we're partners."

He looked to Guilmon, as if for confirmation, but the red Digimon still did not appear to be paying attention. He had finished the box and turned it upside down, as if hoping a piece he'd missed would magically appear and fall out. They certainly seemed a little less put together than her own partnership. She could see why he might be in awe of a pairing that was 'destined.'

"So Tamers… What do you and Rika do?"

"Well, when I first got my… Digivice—" she had given him that word and could tell he was still getting used to it, "there was this message running across it… About how there were weak spots between the Digital World and our world. How kids like me were needed to protect that barrier. I guess Rika's a little better about the whole protecting business…"

He trailed off self-consciously, something Kari had come to learn was a little typical of him. But something else had stolen her attention from keeping track of his mannerisms. "Wait, are there just Digimon roaming the streets?! Is that what you're saying? How come no one has seen them?"

"B-Because Rika's really good at her job, I guess," he stammered, startled by her sudden intensity. "Better at it then me. I wasn't really looking for a… partner. Just a friend, I guess. But… I understand the responsibility and… I'm gonna work on that. Being a… fighter. A protector," he rushed to correct. But his words felt oddly stilted. Like he was trying to justify himself to an authority figure. But, like everything else about Takato, it was sweet, in a way. She had a hard time picturing Takato Matsuki as anyone's savior, though. And was kind of glad his role in the 'fight' would be contained to this side of things, where he could avoid the danger if need be.

"So you've actually been to the Digital World?" he asked next, his eyes shining.

"Yeah, briefly." She shifted a little on the box she was sitting on, and Gatomon shifted in turn. Her stance wasn't defensive, per se… She seemed to have at last acknowledged that Guilmon wasn't a threat. But she had still chosen not to relax on Kari's lap. She had more… mobility this way. Kari couldn't help taking note of her mindset, wondering if she needed to start adjusting her own.

"But you're trying to find a way back, right?"

"Sooner or later, yes. I'm not sure how reliable the Dark Ocean is. We still don't totally understand it."

"Well… there is one other Tamer I know… My friend Henry. His dad kind of invented Digimon, so he might be able to help."

Kari blinked. "Invented?"

"Yeah, it's… Kind of a long story. Henry explains it a lot better than I do. Come on."

He stood up and, with one last guilty look at the door leading back into the bakery, headed out of the alley.

…

"So what now, Mimi?"

The girl's sigh turned into a yawn halfway through. They'd spent the night walking across fields and through forests, trying to stay out of sight as much as possible. She was holding fast to her newfound determination. She kept flashing back to Yolei. How young the other girl seemed. How much she reminded Mimi of herself. She needed to be a leader. For Yolei. For all her other friends, now that they seemed unable to lead themselves.

But this didn't change the fact that her past few years spent occupying ShogunGekomon's castle hadn't exactly prepared her for a life of leadership. So she would have to go with what she knew. Well, maybe not Tai's recklessness. And she didn't quite have the mind for Izzy's analytical skills. But a good dose of careful logic couldn't hurt. What would Joe do?

"Let's go back to where it all started," she said. "We'll retrace our steps from the beginning. And take a different path this time. All the paths, if we have to. We're going to find the others."

Review please!

I don't own Digimon.

At last, the pieces are coming together. You know what's funny to me? I grew up with Digimon, and it was one of those shows that localized some things… Mostly, they just changed a few of the characters names. They were really faithful to the original characters… The changed English names could have been, like, nicknames. Or you know, the craziness of changing 'Jou' to 'Joe'. But it is something I try to keep track of—I noticed that some of you do prefer to use their Japanese names. But like with Joe/Jou, some of it is just… utter silliness. Did you know in the English dub, they changed Takato's last name? Someone explain to me how 'Matsuki' is any less Japanese than 'Matsuda'? XD Maybe I've been awake too long… I just wanted to share that all with you.