A/N: This part is a little corney....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Excuse me," announced a man into a microphone, standing in the corner of the Crystal Tower room, next to a telephone. He was middle-aged and tall, wearing a simple black tuxedo and bow tie. His black hair was neatly trimmed, and his dark blue eyes scanned the room at every person. "Is there a Hikari Yagami-san in here?"

Hikari was surprised. "Um...I'm Hikari Yagami," she replied, standing up from
her seat, cautious about all the people who were watching her.

"There is a telephone call for you, Yagami-san," the man said, holding up the
phone.

Maybe it's Takeru! Hikari thought hopefully, as she grabbed her shawl and purse,
making her way through the mazes of seats and tables. He's probably calling to give me an explanation of his lateness! I hope he's okay
.

"Arigatou," Hikari murmured at the man when she got to the telephone. He
bowed, and walked away from her, and into the kitchen. Hikari held the phone to her ear. "Moshi moshi? Takeru?"

"Moshi moshi, Hikari-chan. No, this is not Takeru," said a familiar male voice.

"Koushiro-kun!" Again, Hikari was surprised. "Why are you calling me here?
What's going on? Do you know where Takeru is? He's late for our date."

There was a pause on the other line. It was so silent, Hikari could make out the
noise of sirens and people talking in the background. "Koushiro? Where are you?" she
asked, curiously.

He cleared his throat. "I was in Kokuya City today, Hikari. The city you're in
right now. You know that they have a great variety of laptops here, so knowing
me....Well, anyway, I was driving back on Route 68, and....." He paused.

"And....?" Hikari pressed.

"There's been an accident, Hikari," Koushiro said, sorrowful. "There was this
drunk driver.....I'm talking VERY drunk. He even got out a gun and started shooting
through his car window. He didn't know what he was doing. It shot through Takeru's
car. It swiveled, and it fell down a quarry....." His voice trailed off.

Hikari fell silent. No....No way could this happen! Takeru is not at the bottom of
a quarry right now. No....he's on his way over here right now, and I will see his smiling
face at the door in a couple of minutes....."
You're lying," Hikari accused, trying to be
bold. But her voice was as faint as a cricket. Tears started to well up in her eyes.

"Hikari...." Koushiro said, quietly. "The police are here. And the ambulance.
They're trying to find Takeru's body. They-"

"NO!" Hikari cried. Tears started flowing down her face, right there in the
restaurant in front of everybody. But she didn't care. "Route 68....Koushiro, please, stay there. I'll be right there!" she cried, frantically. "Ja ne!" She slammed the phone down back in it's receiver.

She wanted to get out of there as fast as she could. She ran, dodging waiters and
avoiding tables, and jumping over chairs....which was really hard, considering she was in high heals. She ran passed the waiter that served her and through a couple of yen at him. "Thank you for you're service!" she shouted at him, choking on her tears. Running to the parking lot, and putting her key in the ignition, she tried not to think about the worst that could happen to Takeru......

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That's five....counted Koushiro in his head. He was counting the number of police
cars that drove up to the scene of the accident. Another police car had just drove up,
increasing the number of police there. Five police cars, two ambulances....But no
Hikari....Where is she?

"Koushiro!" cried a female voice from behind him.

"Hikari?" He whirled around, but the voice was not Hikari's. It was Sora
Takenouchi, along with her boyfriend, Taichi Yagami, and Yamato Ishida. Yamato's dad
and Takeru's mom followed right behind them. He had called them right after he was
done calling Hikari. The two parents stopped to talk to the police officers, but the trio
stampeded toward Koushiro so rapidly, he even thought that maybe they would miss him and fall off the quarry instead.

But they didn't. The three of them skidded to a stop in front of their friend.
Yamato's face was red and his eyes were bloodshot. It was obvious he was crying at the loss of his little brother. He had been trying to cover up his tears, but he failed miserably.

Taichi and Sora weren't exactly clear-faced either. Both of their hair was messed
up, and it was obvious all three of them had a break down. Sora's face was streaming
with freshly fallen tears. Taichi's had just dried up, but he looked like he was about to
start again.

"Koushiro," croaked Yamato. "What-?"

"Minna-san!!" someone yelled.

The voice was Daisuke Motomiya's. Behind him were Jyou Kido, Iori Hida, and
Miyako Inoue. They, too, were stampeding toward their friends like a herd of elephants.
The only one who wasn't running was Hikari, who was right behind them. She was just
trailing along, looking at the ground, acting as if she was going to turn around and run
back any second.

Then, she looked up, and saw all of her friends. The Chosen Children. Her fellow
Digidestined, looking at her with sorrowful eyes. Her brain finally snapped and she
realized that she is not the only one. She is not alone. Her friends were there to share the great pain about losing Takeru, Guardian of Hope, with her.

Hikari suddenly burst into tears and ran towards them. She flew right into her
brother's arms, and instantly, everyone joined in. She could feel the energy from them
flow into her, comforting her heart.

They finally pulled away, oblivious to the chaos that surrounded them. Police
were running around. Detectives were asking questions to witnesses and Takeru and
Yamato's parents. Paramedics were coming out of the ambulance with rope and
mountain-climbing gear. They, along with some policemen, were climbing down the cliff, in search of Takeru's body.

"Is-is....Takeru's body...." Hikari started, but that was all she could choke out.
"Did they find Takeru's body yet?" Daisuke asked for her, glancing at the suffering
girl. He wiped a tear away from his cheek. He and Takeru would sometimes get into
arguments, but they were great friends. Daisuke had always had special feelings for
Hikari, but he never wanted to ruin her happiness with Takeru. It hurt him to see her so
pained.
Koushiro shook his head, not saying a word.
They fell silent, until a policewoman came up to them. She had red hair and bright
green eyes that scanned seriously over the clipboard she was holding. "Is there a Yamato Ishida here?" she inquired the group.

He stepped forward, quickly wiping away his tears. "I'm Yamato Ishida."

She nodded, and held out her hand. "I'm Officer Chikara Satoshi, the one in
charge of this case." They shook hands. "I understand that Takeru Takaishi was your
brother."

Yamato nodded. His words were too stuck inside his throat.

"I've just got done talking to you're parents." She nodded in their direction, and
the group saw that they were leaving the site. "The rest of the officers have searched the quarry in search of Takaishi-san's body-"

"Where is it?" Iori spoke up, shakily. "Did you find the body?"

"Is he okay?" Jyou wanted to know.

Please let him be okay....Hikari pleaded.

Officer Satoshi cleared her throat. It was obvious that she didn't want to say what
she was about to say. "We couldn't find the body," she answered quietly.

"What???" Sora burst out. "What do you mean?"

The policewoman shrugged her shoulders hopelessly. "We couldn't find him," she
said, holding out her hands to the group. "Our police and the paramedics searched every
inch of the quarry. We've found parts of his car, but his body was no where to be seen."
Hikari burst into tears. "Who did this to him?!" she wailed. Taichi and Miyako
hugged her protectively. Hikari's tears were flowing so rapidly. Wet, salty spots formed
on Miyako and Taichi's shirts as the tears poured into them. "Who's the bastard that did this to Takeru??"

Officer Satoshi shook her head. "Apparently, it was a hit-and-run...Well, more like
a shoot-and-run. The drunk was going too fast for anyone to get the license plate number. We can't even get any finger prints on the car, since it was a bullet that hit it."

"So that's it, huh?" Yamato finished, angrily, clenching his fists. He looked like he
was about to burn holes into the officer. "Takeru dies, but that crappy piece of shit goes
free."

She sighed wearily. "Look," she said. "I will be working on this case 24/7, so
don't worry about it. Believe me, I will help you find out what happened." She looked
around, seeing that her fellow officers were putting yellow tape and orange cones near the edge of the cliff. Some of them were packing up the mountain climbing equipment in the cars. "We're going to come back tomorrow for more investigation. "We'll notify you as soon as possible." She nodded. "Ja ne, minna-san."

The group bowed in unison. "Ja ne, Satoshi-sensei," they replied, as they watched
the red-headed officer walk to her car. Even if they didn't see it, she was working as hard as she could in this mystery. What really bugs me, she thought to herself, as she drove away, is that there is no remains of Takeru's body. It's like it disappeared into thin air.....

The Digidestined stayed at the site until they watched all of the cars exit. They
were replaced by regular cars that used Route 68 at night. Most of them slowed down,
looking at the constructed cliff with curiosity. Others just drove by as if they hadn't
noticed anything.

Hikari walked over to near the edge of the cliff. The moon was full and the sky
was brimming with stars. It looked like such a heavenly night. But it wasn't so heavenly in the Digidestined's hearts. They had lost their Hope. They had lost one person that made them whole. Without their Hope, they could not feel like the Chosen Children.

"TAKERU!" Hikari cried out into the night. She fell onto her knees, and once
again, tears of sorrow washed over her. "Takeru-ko...."

"Hikari, get away from there. You're going to get yourself killed!" snapped
Taichi. The last thing the group wanted was to lose their Light, too. Taichi had to look
out for his little sister, but he knew he sounded harsh. For the first time in a while, this
Chosen Child did not live up to the Crest of Courage.

"Shut the hell up, Taichi!" Hikari screamed at him. "It's better to die, knowing
that I would be with Takeru! I love him, Taichi! You don't have to act all bitchy about
it!" Her eyes widened at the sound of her tempestuous voice. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan," she
quickly apologized softly to her brother.

"That's okay, Hikari," he responded, quietly. "I should have been more
understanding."

"But," spoke up Sora. "It wouldn't do him any good if you died. He'd want you
to live a happy life, Hikari."

Hikari got up and looked at her friends. The friends that she's been with for so
many years. She remembered the battles they fought, and all the good times they had
together in the Digital World. These were the friends that stood by her through bad times, and the numerous times when they had saved both worlds from evil.

With Hikari's heart full of light and compassion, her body glowed, just like it had
been when she freed the Numemon from WaruMonzaemon's chains. Her body shimmered a pure white light, while a hint of pink shown inside her heart. The Symbol of Light flashed from her heart, covering the sky.

Her friends looked at Hikari in awe. It has been a long time since her "light" had
shown through. They've seen it before, but it wasn't as strong as this. The light gave her power, and it mainly did unexpected and surprising things.

Just like what happened next.

The light faded, and Hikari fainted from it's power. She fell to the ground,
narrowly missing the edge of the cliff, but she held herself up. Floating in the air above
her was a woman. She was tall and beautiful, in a white gown that flared like a waterfall
to her feet, which had golden sandals on them that shined like the morning sun. Pink
velvet outlined the top of her gown, as pink ribbons flowed against the skirt of her dress.
A pink shawl was wrapped around her arms. Her hair was long and blonde, that was
almost the same length as the dress, and her eyes were a deep sapphire blue, that sparkled exactly like the gem.

Hikari stared up at her and said the first things that came out from her mouth.
"Angewomon?"

She smiled down at her. "No, Hikari. I am the Digiworld's Angel of Light."

"Angel of Light?" Hikari repeated. She glanced at her friends and nearly laughed.
All of their mouths were hanging open, and they were looking at the angel, speechless.
"Isn't Nefertimon referred to as the Angel of Light?" she couldn't help asking.

The Angel of Light laughed. Her laughter was like the sound of peeling bells. "I
am you're Angel of Light, Hikari," she answered elegantly. "I am the one that gives you
the power of light, and watches over you every day of your life." Her face turned grave.
"Hope is gone."

Hikari looked at the ground, then looked back up, desperately. "Can you help me,
Angel of Light?" she pleaded. "Please, help me get Takeru back."

Light shook her head. "I'm afraid I have no idea where he is. But," she paused.
"You can find out."

"Me??" exclaimed Hikari in utter confusion. "How? Why me??"

"You and Takeru are directly linked, spiritually. You are Light, he is Hope.
Without Hope, there is no Light. Without Light, there is no Hope. You two are soul
mates, Hikari. Wherever he is, you can find him."

"But I don't know where to start!" Hikari said, desperately.

"There is a great journey ahead for you, Hikari," Light said. "If you pass in 24
Earth hours, you will find Takeru's body and he will be revived. If not, you will never see
him again. I'm sorry, but that's how it is. I wish it could be easier."

Hikari gulped, but bravely replied, "I don't care. I will do anything to help Takeru.
Please tell me what to do."

Light nodded. "Very well. What I'm about to tell you will get you prepared for
your journey into the light...."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What'd ya think? Please review! Oh, and I know I used "sensei" as the title for Officer Satoshi. But according to "Castle in the Sky", the suffix "sensei" can be used for anyone who is an expert or leader in their field. Well, bye now! ^.^