It would seem that TK and Kari have completed the challenge set before them.
How did Armadillomon digivolve? Despite what TK says, one cannot armor digivolve without armor. It is slightly different from what he was describing.
They're inside a false reality- not the real digital world, but an imaginary copy of it entirely in their mind. TK could make Armadillomon digivolve to Omnimon if he convinced him he could.
What a downer...and for a second I thought Armadillomon had achieved a breakthrough in the art of digivolving.
It doesn't matter. They've done what I expected them to do. Now, all that's left is for our brash young leader to brood over the new couple, and then his mind will do the rest.
...I still don't think this is a good idea. Toying with a young man's emotions is cruel.
I'm well aware of your reservations Gennai, but this is necessary. It is the only way to see if he is truly the child of courage and friendship. Besides, I'm anxious to see the look on his face when he sees how conveniently close this experience has brought TK and Kari.
Sounds like you didn't enjoy your time with him.
He's the most annoying human I've ever met in my life...and as you know I've been around a long time. He has no respect for authority, and has know idea how to be serious.
He's an eleven-year-old boy, playful and full of life. What did you expect?
...I guess you're right.
By the way, what'd you do with him? I thought he was supposed to be with you.
He's where he needs to be. Inform the other digidestined that it's time to finish this.
Very well.
****
Unnh...where am I?
"Davis..."
Whose calling me?
"Davis, wake up...I'm here."
Kari? Davis slowly opened his eyes, and was met with the most beautiful smile in the world- at least as far as he was concerned. The pair of brown eyes looking down on him were filled with love when he made it clear he was alive.
Love? Wait a second. Since when did Kari look at Davis like that?
"Are you alright Davis?" the brown haired girl asked. "You've been asleep for hours. I was starting to get worried." He slowly looked around, and found that he was inside his bedroom. His bedroom in the real world. How'd he get here? He was in that black void just a little while ago...
"Kari, what am I doing here?" Davis tried to sit up, but was instantly met with a searing pain in his gut. "Aggh!"
"Davis, don't push yourself!" warned Kari, as she gently forced him to lie down again. "You were badly wounded."
"Oh yeah..." Davis remembered the events that lead him here. Namely, his words with the mysterious voice over what he did to Kari. (Wait a sec...) "Kari, how'd you get here? I thought you and TK were at the dark beach?"
Kari seemed unsure of what he was referring to. "The dark beach? What would we be doing there?"
"You were there to take a test, remember?" he answered. "Gennai sent you on a test to see if you were worthy of being digidestined."
Again, Kari seemed surprised at what he was saying. "Huh? Davis, I still don't know what you're talking about." She put a hand on his, and softly held it. "Davis, you were probably just having a bad dream."
"It wasn't a dream!" he answered sharply. "It was real! We were in the digital world, and we-"
Kari put a hand on Davis' mouth to silence him, which he did. "Whatever happened Davis...it's over now. So just relax, and you can tell me about it once you're well." She moved her hand away, leaned over, and gave the young Motomiya a light kiss on the lips. Davis' heart skipped a beat at that exact moment. Actually, it might have skipped two beats, but Davis had forgotten to count.
When the kiss was over, Kari stood up slowly and smiled down at the boy. "I'll see you later," she said sweetly before leaving the room. Davis watched her leave, the look of shock on his face never disappearing until the front door shutting woke him from his daze.
Is this happening? Or, am I dreaming? If it is a dream...then don't wake me up!
****
If it was a dream, it was the best dream Davis had ever had. After sleeping peacefully for the rest of the night, he woke in the morning with a feeling of dread. After last night, he wasn't sure where he would wake up to. Without moving a single muscle except his tired eyes, Davis looked around the room. It was the same room he was always in when he slept at home, and it had all the trimmings brought on by housing an eleven-year-old boy. There were posters of various sports stars, a TV with a video game console hooked up to it, and piles of clothes all over the floor, both dirty and clean. Everything seemed in order...but something didn't feel right. Something was missing this morning.
Davis sat up, and was instantly met with a sharp pain in his gut, just like last night. This time Davis looked down at his stomach, and saw that it was bandaged up tightly from his waist to that thing in the middle of your chest that had some special name. Davis didn't know the name, but he didn't care.
So last night might not have been a dream. But how can that be? What's going on here?
"Davis, wake up," said a soft voice outside his door. There were a few quick knocks, and Davis' mother opened the door and peaked her head in. "How are you sweety?"
"Mom?" the boy said with astonishment. His mother was never awake this early in the morning. Her and Dad were either at work at this time, or sleeping in. He and Jun were usually the only ones awake in the morning. "What are you doing up?"
"What do you mean?" she asked. "Someone has to wake you up, sleepy head," she said cheerfully. "Get dressed, and come out and have breakfast, okay?" Breakfast? Since when did they eat breakfast together? The Motomiya family was notorious for having the most boxes of cold cereal in Odaiba. They never ate breakfast together. Something weird was going on. Maybe Mom was pregnant or something...
"Uh...okay Mom," Davis answered simply. His mother nodded and closed the bedroom door behind her, leaving Davis in privacy. The boy carefully got out of bed, so as not to inflame his wound again (where'd that wound come from, anway?), and dressed himself for breakfast, all the while wondering what was missing from this morning. After several minutes of thinking about it, he still couldn't place it. Finally, he gave up trying and simply left his bedroom to join the others for breakfast.
"Hey, there he is," said Mr. Motomiya playfully as Davis came to the dinner table. Davis looked at him like he was a stranger, because Davis' father wasn't a playful guy. Ever. He had stopped being playful a long time ago. Why were his parents acting so strangely today? Maybe Mom really was pregnant...
When Davis' mother had finished putting some final touches on the breakfast platter (some pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast), she sat down and folded her hands together to say grace. Davis quickly did the same, though after such a long time he had forgotten the words to this prayer. Luckily, his mother said the prayer herself.
"Bless us oh lord, and these thy gifts, which we are about to receive, from the bounty of Christ our lord, Amen." She did the sign of the cross, and Davis watched her carefully and mimicked her so as not to make a mistake. Geez...what was going on? They hadn't done anything like that in years. While he mused on this, Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya started filling their plates and began to eat.
"Mom, is there something you want to tell us?" Davis asked. "We never eat breakfast together."
Her and her husband seemed surprised at that remark. "Davis, we always eat breakfast together. You love eating breakfast with us, so why would we do otherwise?" She took a bite out of her toast, while Davis tried to figure out what they were trying to pull. Maybe his food was poisoned...
"So, I understand you have a game today against last year's champions," said Davis' father. "That young Ichijouji is supposed to be doing very well this year. You think you can handle him, ace?"
Did he just call me "ace"? "Eh...sure. He and I have a bet riding on this game...I think." Davis wasn't sure what was going on anymore, but it sounded like it was still Saturday. How could it still be Saturday morning after all that had happened in the digital world? Unless, that was really a dream like Kari had said...
"Well I don't promote gambling, but I hope you win," his father said with a smile. "Just take it easy. You're still injured from last week's...incident." Davis wasn't sure what he meant, but his parents weren't going to remind him from the looks of it. While they ate their food, Davis looked at the table, and finally realized what was missing this morning.
"Hey, where's Jun?" Davis asked. "Did she leave for Matt's concert already?" Both Mr. and Mrs. Motomiya looked at Davis like they didn't know what he was talking about. Davis suddenly grew alarmed; this was definitely not normal. "You know, Jun?"
"You mean that girl that comes by all the time?" his father asked.
"No, dear, that's Kari Kamiya," his mother answered. "Such a sweet girl..."
Davis smiled. "I agree with you there, but I was asking about Jun. You know, my sister? Your daughter?" They still didn't understand who he was talking about. That was impossible...
"Davis, what are you talking about?" his mother said. "You don't have a sister."
Davis nearly fell out of his chair.
****
When Submarimon finally surfaced, he opened the hatch and let TK, Kari, and about twenty gallons of seawater pour out. As the two kids stumbled through the shallow waves to the beach, the armor digimon reverted to Armadillomon. The three quickly managed to get ashore, and collapsed in the wet sand once they did- both out of fatigue and relief.
"I can't believe we made it," said Kari as she tried to figure out a way to get the excess chains off her.
"Told you we would," TK said between deep breaths.
"I'm done," said an exhausted Armadillomon. "Wake me up when it's dinner time."
"Don't go to sleep just yet. First we gotta get back to Gennai's house." Armadillomon groaned in protest, and muttered something unintelligible. "Don't worry, we just have to go inland a ways before we reach the gate."
"Before we go, can we get these chains off me?" Kari asked. "This stuff weighed a lot less underwater. I'm amazed I could even move."
"I don't know, they look kinda good on you," said TK jokingly. "It could be the next big fad."
"Maybe your brother would like them. I'm sure he's into heavy metal." Kari and TK both smiled and went to work on the chains. The chains had a lock on them, though no amount of lockpicking from either child was enough to undue them. After nearly fifteen minutes of this, they decided to try plan B.
"Armadillomon, could you chomp through these?" They heard no answer from the digimon. They looked to see that the poor guy had fallen asleep while they were working on the locks. Deciding that he deserved a good rest, they decided not to wake him and instead continued to work on the chains.
"I suppose we could try a rock," suggested TK, "but I don't know how much that'll do."
"It's better than nothing I suppose," Kari replied, stifling a yawn. "Let's try it."
TK stood up, saying "I'll be back." The boy walked along the beach towards the nearby collection of rocks, large and small, that had washed up on shore. TK climbed over and amongst the piles of stone in search of just the right rock, when he came across something much different. Amongst a pile of fresh, moist seaweed, TK saw a small egg with strange markings all over it.
"Man, I'm good at this. Pity I didn't find this many eggs during Easter when I was a kid," he said sarcastically. Calmly he reached down and picked up the egg, which immediately transmogrified into a brown basket with a small digimon inside of it. The creature was blue with tiny yellow markings, and had a pair of black eyes that stared directly at TK.
"Hi!" said the tiny baby.
"I'm guessing you're the baby form of Demiveemon," said TK with a smile. "How do you feel."
Another flash of light. These guys sure are digivolving fast, thought TK. In the place of the baby digimon, an ecstatic Demiveemon remained. The happy monster clung to TK and nearly choked the life out of him with a crushing hug.
"Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! Thank-you! THANK-YOU!" he said at a speed TK never thought possible for human or digimon. "You saved me, TK!"
"Don't mention it," the boy answered. "That leaves just one egg, and we're all done! Hopefully, Davis knows what he's doing."
Demiveemon looked around, and just then he seemed to notice that Davis wasn't there. This apparently made him very sad, as he lost much of his seemingly boundless energy. "Where's Davis?" he asked sadly.
"Don't worry, he's alright," TK answered. "You should see him in no time."
"YAY! YAY! YAY!" cheered the little digimon, making TK's eardrum rattle violently.
"But first, can you help me get some chains off of Kari?" he asked. "There real strong, and Armadillomon is too tired to bite through them."
"No problem!" Demiveemon cheered. He hopped to the ground next to TK, and yet again he digivolved in a burst of light. He became Veemon right before TK's eyes, and hopped off towards the main part of the beach, with TK following him quickly, all the while wondering if they really would see Davis again.
****
After managing to convince his parents that he wasn't crazy, Davis dressed up for his soccer game and headed towards the field. Since his coach always held about half an hour worth of warm-ups before every game, he was supposed to be there an hour early. Thus, it was still dark when he reached the field where his other teammates were.
During the warm-ups, Davis was lost in thought. What the heck was going on here? What had happened to everybody? It was as if his life had been turned inside out. Kari loved him, his parents had time for him, and his older sister was wiped from the face of the Earth. It was like he was in a whole new world- a world that was both frightening and surprisingly comfortable at the same time.
Okay, so one minute I'm in the digital world (I think) with some weird voice that's trying to show me things I didn't know. Next, I'm here in my own perfect world. That's what it is, a perfect world! Next thing you know, TJ will be my personal butler. Davis laughed at the thought of TK cleaning his room for him, but then seriousness kicked in. He was here for a reason, and he had to find out why. As he was thinking of this, time seemed to fly by faster than he expected. It was game time.
"Hey Davis!" called out someone from the stands. Davis looked and saw Kari and the others taking their seats in preparation for the soccer match. Kari blew a kiss to the boy, which made him smile nervously. He had always dreamed of her acting this way towards him, but now that she really was infatuated with him, Davis didn't know what to do.
As he finished stretching, he tried to figure out if how much the others had changed, if at all. Yolei seemed as irritatingly active as ever. Judging by the way she was constantly staring at the other team, Davis could tell this Yolei still had a thing for Ken. Little Cody was apparently as calm and collected as he always was. Aside from the odd stares he was giving Davis, he seemed normal. TK looked the same as he always did, including that dumb hat of his. He didn't seem the least perturbed by Kari's affections towards Davis. This made the young digidestined suspicious, but then again it made sense. Davis knew the young Takaishi wouldn't be as ballistic about Kari liking another guy as he would. They would always be close friends, even if Kari liked other guys.
"Yo! Motomiya!" yelled the coach. "Wake up, it's game time!" Davis watched the other players leave the field in preparation for the coin toss. He smiled, saying "Sorry coach!", and did the same.
The game began just like any other. Davis and Ken were the primary players in the game, although neither one was a "ball hog". Ken was still an incredible soccer player, although he had lost much of his skill ever since he stopped being the Digimon Emperor. Despite the fact that Davis was injured, he showed off his skills like the best of them. The two of them had a blast the whole game trying to outdodge and outplay each other, with their friends cheering them on. Davis couldn't help but notice how much Kari cheered for him the whole time, and how good it made him feel. As far as he was concerned, it was because of her that the game ended the way it did. The score was a close 2 to 1, with the winning team being Davis' team.
"That was an incredible game you guys!" said Yolei as the two players cooled off after the game. "It was a close match up until the very end."
"No kidding," added TK. "I didn't think you could pull that one off, Davis. Guess you lucked out today."
"It won't happen next time," said Ken jokingly. Davis smiled at his opponent and gave him a friendly nod.
"I got some good pictures of you guys," said Kari, showing off the saved images in her digital camera. "I'll be sure to give you a copy if you want them."
"I want some of Ken's!" said Yolei. Ken blushed, and Yolei giggled as she ran over and cycled through Kari's camera pictures again.
"*ahem*, uh...I'd better get going," said Ken as he tried to change the subject. "I don't want to miss the bus."
"Catch ya later Ken!" said Davis happily. The others said their good-byes as well, before Ken and the rest of the Tamachi team loaded up on their bus and headed home. The other kids began their trek home as well.
"So what do you guys want to do today?" asked TK. "Does anyone have any plans?"
"Not me," said Yolei.
"What about you guys?" TK asked Davis and Kari. The two were holding hands, which Davis enjoyed despite it being something uncomfortably new and unusual to him.
"I don't know, do we Davis?" Kari asked, smiling sweetly. Davis blushed, but tried to hide it even though they were "a couple".
"I uh...was kinda hoping that... I could spend the day with you, Kari," he managed to say. "A-alone..."
Kari's smile grew mischievous. "Really?"
Davis' face grew redder. "Y-yes."
Kari moved closer to Davis and locked arms with him. "You're so cute when you're nervous."
Davis tried to think of something intelligent to say, but that proved impossible. "Eh heh heh..."
"I guess that means you guys have plans," said Yolei, ever master of the obvious. "You two behave now." Yolei and Kari giggled.
"I just hope Demiveemon doesn't think I'm abandoning him," said Davis jokingly.
"Who?" said TK.
Davis stopped dead in his tracks, nearly making Kari fall over. Everyone turned to see what made him stop, and saw a look of total disbelief on his face. He was staring at each of them, one by one. Everyone except little Cody looked confused, while the young Hida looked concerned.
"Don't tell me...that's impossible," muttered Davis. "Demiveemon...and Patamon, and Hawkmon..."
"Patamon? How do you know about Patamon?!" exclaimed TK, almost angrily. "Where'd you hear that name?!"
"You mean none of the digimon are here?!" Davis said with total surprise. "But...how?!"
"How do you know about digimon, Davis?" asked Kari fearfully.
Davis couldn't believe what he was hearing. "We're all digidestined! We each got our own digimon and D3's a while ago! We fought Ken when he was the Digimon Emperor! Don't you remember?!" TK and Kari looked at each other, while Yolei and Cody simply looked at Davis. Apparently, the latter two didn't know what he was talking about.
"Davis...after the incident four years ago, nobody has seen or heard a digimon," said Kari. "The stuff you're saying...we don't know what you're talking about."
"Why would we fight Ken?!" exclaimed Yolei. "He's one of our best friends!"
Davis gave up. Whatever was going on, he'd have to worry about it later. Putting on his best false smile, he said "Don't worry about it. It was just a joke Ken and I came up with. Sorry if you didn't think it was funny." This caught the others off guard. He had been so serious about it before, they didn't believe he could be making it up. Then again, Davis was known for his lying.
"But...how do you know about Patamon?" TK asked. "Nobody should know about him."
"Uh...your brother told me about him once," said Davis quickly. "Yeah...when I told him about how I was on that airliner that was taken down by a digimon four years ago."
TK seemed to buy this, though he was still noticeably uncomfortable about hearing Patamon's name again. "Oh...okay." After the tenseness of the moment faded, the kids resumed their walk home, eventually splitting up to go their separate ways for some lunch and to take care of any other duties they had at home.
"See you guys later," said Yolei as she headed home.
"Bye," said TK, doing the same.
Before Kari headed home, she gave Davis a long, loving kiss on his lips. Rather than act surprised as before, Davis held her and continued the kiss, surprising Kari at the same time. When the kiss finally ended, Kari smiled almost shyly at him, and finally walked home. Davis watched her walk away, with a sense of total happiness in his very being.
"Davis."
The boy spun around, and noticed that Cody was still there. The entire trip home, he hadn't said a single word. Now, Davis was worried. Cody was the least likely to be fooled by Davis' attempt at lying. He didn't think Cody would press the issue, but he couldn't be sure.
"Uh...yeah Cody?" he said, trying to sound relaxed.
"Is something wrong?" he asked simply. "You've been acting strange all morning."
"Yeah, never better Cody!" he answered quickly. "Why do you ask?"
"Kari's been worried sick about you. She says you've been acting strange all week, ever since the accident."
Accident? What accident? "Eh...what do you mean? I'm fine, really!"
Cody didn't seem to buy into Davis' convincing, but the boy didn't seem interested in interrogating him further. Instead, he headed off towards his home, giving Davis a simple message before he left. "If something's wrong, go talk to someone. Don't put Kari through anymore pain."
Davis silently watched him leave, before finally heading to his own home, determined to find out what exactly was going on.
****
The gate to Gennai's cabin started to glow once again, making Ken, Yolei, and Cody leap out of their seats. They watched the travellers materialize in the room before them, and happily went to congratulate them when they finished appearing.
"Armadillomon, you're alright!" cheered Cody, hugging his digimon partner happily.
"Yeah, I'm alright," he answered sleepily. "I'm glad to see you too."
"You guys did it!" cheered Yolei as she hugged TK and Kari happily. "I can't believe it!"
"Neither can we," said TK as he peeled Yolei off him and Kari. "I guess that means we're done!" he said happily.
Not quite.
"But Gennai...we've completed all your tests," said Ken. "Davis should be done with his by now."
He isn't. I'm afraid that's the problem.
"What do you mean?" Veemon asked. "What happened to Davis?!"
It's a long story Veemon, but right now the important thing is this. Since Davis isn't here, one of you will have to finish his final task for him.
"Darn..." said Ken. "That must mean he didn't pass the test."
He's still in the progress of taking his test. Don't worry, he's fine for now. The final task is a very simple one I'm told, so I wouldn't worry.
"What do we have to do?" Kari asked.
It's easy. All you have to do is find Gatomon's egg. It is hidden in the woods around my cabin, in a very specific place chosen by my overseer.
"That's all?" TK said bewildered. "What's the catch?"
The catch is that one of you will be chosen to pick up the egg once you find it. These instructions are very specific, though I don't know why. I'd suggest not touching it until told to, for your own safety.
"*sigh*...I hate these rules," groaned Yolei. "Let's just get this over with."
Right. A section of the wall started to shimmer, and in the blink of an eye a bare section of the wall transmuted into a simple door with a knob. That will lead you outside. Good luck, digidestined.
TK nodded to the TV screen. "Thanks Gennai." With that, the kids headed outside to begin their search for Gatomon's egg, and hoped that whatever was happening to Davis would end soon. They didn't want to lose anybody on this trip- even Davis.
****
In Japan, with everything being so crowded, there were few places that could provide privacy for two people, and the freedom of nature at the same time. Luckily, in Odaiba there was a place that suited this purpose. In a small section of town, there were several interconnected gardens filled with flowers and plants of incredible beauty. It was owned by Mrs. Takenouchi, Sora's mom, and used to grow specific flowers for her shop. She often lent it out to anyone who wanted a place to relax. Many people came here to admire the splendor that it had to offer, and just as many came to enjoy some privacy amongst the flowers. It wasn't a well known location, so it was rarely crowded, which suited most couples just fine. Today, Davis and Kari had lucked out- nobody was there that day. They could rest on the soft ground, staring into the sky above and listening to the silence around them.
"This place is so beautiful," said Kari dreamily. "I love coming here." She snuggled closer to Davis. "Especially when I'm with you."
Davis found himself twirling some strands of her hair with his index finger as he thought. "Kari... could you tell me about the accident?"
Kari looked at him sadly. "Why?"
"I don't know what happened," he said truthfully. "I'm sorry if it's painful for you...but I have to know."
Kari's face was filled with sorrow, and even fear. She lay her head on his chest and held him protectively, while she recalled what happened. "Last week...you were caught in an accident. Late one night, while you were walking me home, we were almost hit by a speeding car. You managed to save me just in time...but you didn't quite make it." She held him tighter, and she could here Davis' heartbeat pick up speed. Unfortunately, it wasn't in the good way. Kari continued. "The doctors said you didn't look like you'd make it, and it crushed me. I thought my life would end right there. Then, miraculously, you were almost fully healed. When I found out you were going to make it...I cried tears of joy the rest of the night, until you woke up."
Davis put a hand on Kari's shoulders and held her comfortingly. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Kari."
Kari looked up at his face, tears in her eyes. "I know, Davis. I'm just glad you're with me now." She lay her head on his chest again. "Promise me, Davis. Promise me you'll never leave me. I want to be with you...forever."
Kari felt Davis' chest shake slightly, and she heard soft whimpers coming from the boy she loved. She looked up, and saw Davis crying softly. "Davis? What's wrong?"
He looked at her affectionately- something Davis wasn't known for. "You don't know how long I've been waiting to here you say that, Kari." Davis sat up, and Kari did the same, though they remained very close to each other. "I'll promise you anything you want, Kari. Just as long as you and I can be happy."
Kari was overwhelmed with emotion, but she managed to smile and nod. "Thank you."
Davis then said something he thought he'd never have a chance to say in his entire life. Slowly, softly, he said the four words he had been waiting forever to say. "Kari...I love you."
"...I love you too, Davis," she replied lovingly. Then, amongst the most beautiful flowers in Odaiba, they kissed each other in perhaps the most emotional, powerful kiss either one had ever had in their lives.
It was a kiss that TK and Kari had made, in the world Davis was leaving behind.
****
Armadillomon popped his head out of the ground, spitting out chunks of dirt that had ended up in his mouth during his tunneling. "Are we anywhere close?" he asked the others, who were searching the area around them. Kari and Yolei were using their D3's, while Ken, TK, and Cody were busy searching manually for any signs of Gatomon's egg. For the past two hours, they had found nothing.
"Maybe the egg isn't really here," mused Cody. "Gennai could be lying."
"Why would he do that?" Ken said. "Besides, he said it was his 'overseer' who hid the egg. We should be yelling at that guy."
"We know we're close," said Yolei. "The D3 is picking up an egg, but it's exact location is somewhat of a mystery. It's as if something is messing up the signal."
"I hope Gatomon is okay," said Kari worriedly.
"Don't worry Kari," said TK assuringly. "She's alright, and we won't stop looking until we find her."
"Right!" said Veemon. "We won't lose her!"
"You can count on that," added Armadillomon before resuming his tunneling.
"Thanks guys," Kari said happily. "You're right. She'll be fine."
Hawkmon descended from the skies above, landing on the ground before Yolei. He saluted mockingly, saying "Hawkmon, here to report sir!"
Yolei giggled. "Did you find anything?"
He pointed in the direction they were heading. "About a mile up there, this valley ends. There are mountains all around this place, so if Gatomon's egg is anywhere, we'll find it before we reach the end."
"Good," said TK. "Then let's get going. A mile is a lot of ground to cover."
"No kidding," said Cody as he continued trudging along with the others. "This egg is going to get us killed if this keeps up."
****
Davis and Kari stopped at the door to the Kamiya residence. Despite the fact that it wasn't all that late, he still walked Kari home at her insistance. Davis gladly complied, of course.
"Well, here we are," Kari said, almost sadly. "Guess I'll see you tomorrow."
"I hope so," he replied with a smile. Kari smiled as well and opened the door. Before going in, she gave Davis a quick farewell kiss on the cheek, and closed the door while watching him smile at her. When the door closed all the way, Davis walked down the path and headed to where he lived. He walked inside, and found a note on the table from his parents. It basically said that they were out getting some stuff at the store, and they would be back shortly. Davis smiled and walked to his bedroom, closing the door behind him.
Hello, young man, said a familiar voice. Davis instantly went on the alert, and his gaze dashed left and right trying to find the voice.
"What're you doing here?!" he yelled. "What do you want, you jerk?!"
Is that any way to treat the 'mon who gave you all this? the voice asked.
Davis relaxed slightly when he realized the voice meant him no immediate harm. "What? All this?"
Yes... how do you think you got here to this "perfect world" of yours? You should be thanking me.
"I knew you were behind this," said Davis angrily. "What are you trying to do?"
This is the test, young man, he said teasingly. It's time for you to decide.
Davis clenched his fists tightly. "Decide what?"
You can stay in this world, where the real Davis died just before I replaced him with you, and live a long, happy life with Kari and without the pressures of being a digidestined. Or, I can return you home. Davis' anger was replaced by true worry. Such a proposition was one he didn't want to think about. Now, he had no choice but to think about it.
"If I don't go back...Kari will die."
*Flash* "Help me!!" *Flash*
Yes...even as we speak, the other digidestined are approaching the place where I hid Gatomon's egg. Soon, I will instruct Gennai to have Kari pick up said egg, and... well, you know the rest.
Davis trembled. "You...monster!" he yelled.
Why even worry about her? That Kari doesn't even love you like you do. She loves TK, remember? Davis head bowed in thought as what the voice said weighed down on him. And what's worse, if you go back, you will have to face the fate that you're trying to save Kari from. Even if you know about the pool, or even if you tell the others, there's no way to get Gatomon's egg back without someone touching the pool around it. I have personally seen to it that there are no loopholes in this test, knowing how you love to find loopholes.
Davis continued to stare at the floor ahead of him, so the voice continued. So what's it going to be, digidestined? Which fate do you choose for Kari and yourself? Who will live...and who will die?
The young Motomiya took in one, long, controlled breath, and let the air out just as methodically. Never had he been in such a position, but then again, never had such a situation turned up like this. Actually...that was a lie. When the Digimon Emperor had supposedly captured his friends and tried to make him decide which one lived out of the four, Davis had to make a similar decision. So, like last time, he made the decision the only way he knew how- with his heart.
****
The phone rang in the kitchen, though at first Tai didn't get up. The movie he was watching was just way to good, and he thought someone else in the house would get it before him. He wasn't disappointed.
"Thanks for answering the phone, Tai," said Kari sarcastically. She picked up the receiver and said "Konnichiwa."
"...Hello, Kari."
"Davis, hi!" said Kari happily. "I can't stay on the phone too long, or else Tai will start throwing stuff at me."
"I heard that," said the older Kamiya before taking another bite of his popcorn.
"Don't worry, I shouldn't take long."
It was at this point that Kari noticed the underlying tone in Davis' voice. "Davis, what's wrong?"
"..."
"Davis, please tell me," pleaded Kari. Tai glanced over his shoulder at his sister, and saw the worry on her face. As any self-respecting big brother would do, he turned off the movie he was watching and listened to the phone conversation, just in case things got ugly.
"Kari...I have to go."
"Go? Go where?" she asked.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that I can't come back."
Kari grew alarmed. "What? What are you talking about? Are you...running away?"
"...Yeah."
"Why?!" she exclaimed. "Why would you do such a thing? And what about what we promised each other today." Tai's ears perked up, and before he could voice his protest, Kari shooshed him and turned her back to him.
"*sniff*...I know. I'm so sorry Kari, I can't explain it. I just want you to know that I wouldn't leave you if it weren't for something more important than my entire life."
"Then let me come with you!" cried Kari, coming to tears herself. "I almost lost you once, I don't want to lose you again!"
"...I can't. I can't tell you why I'm doing this, and I can't take you with me, as much as I want to."
"Why not!" she cried. "If it's something serious, call the police! Please, just tell me Davis!" The boy could hear her crying over the phone, which cut him like a knife in his heart.
"I...I just want you to know that I love you more than anything, Kari," continued Davis. "Please don't think that I'm doing this for another girl, or anything selfish like that. As weird as it sounds, I'm doing this for you."
"Davis...I can't live without you," she said, her voice brimming with sorrow. Tai was at her side by now, trying to figure out what was going on.
"Trust me...there's another guy who is better for you than I ever could be," he answered, nearly choking on the words.
"Davis!" cried Kari again, fearing for the first time that Davis might be doing something horrible to himself soon. "Whatever you're going to do, don't do it! Please, don't!!"
"...I'm sorry," he said between tearful gasps. "Goodbye, Kari." *click*
Other than the dialtone, only silence followed. A long, painful, silence.
****
After a long and severly annoying journey, the digidestined finally reached their target- a pool at the far edges of the forests outside Gennai's home. The digidestined looked at the glowing pool of liquid with awe and wonder. It would be a misnomer to call it water, because water didn't ripple without wind.
"This must be it," suggested Kari.
"We've checked everywhere else," said Cody. "This has to be it."
TK nodded. "Okay, then let's get it and get out of here," said the boy as he stepped up to the pool and looked down, expecting to see a muddy waterbed. "...I can't see the bottom."
"So what?" said Yolei. "It's just dirty water."
"In the digital world, it can be anything," said Ken warningly. TK nodded in affirmation.
"Well we have to check to see if the egg is inside don't we?" said Kari. "If we give up now, then we'll never see Gatomon again."
"Who has to pick the egg up?" Ken asked.
Kari glanced down at her D-terminal. The message was simple, and straightforward. It read 'Good luck, Kari'. ~Gennai.
"Since Davis isn't here, I have to."
Cody, Ken, and Yolei stepped back while TK moved closer to the girl. "Okay Kari...be careful," said TK just before he touched her lips gently with his own. Kari accepted the kiss and added her own emotions to it.
The other three digidestined looked on in total shock, along with the digimon. "When did this happen?" exclaimed Patamon.
"Long story," said Armadillomon.
Eventually they broke the kiss. "I'll be waiting for you," said TK softly.
"I'll be with you soon," she answered just as quietly. TK finally joined the others, while Kari turned and knelt next to the strange shimmering pool. As the others watched intently, Kari extended her hand ever so slowly towards the opaque liquid.
"WAIT!!" somebody cried at the top of their lungs. Everyone turned around to see Davis stumbling through some brush to the clearing where they all stood. He looked where Kari was and ran over before anyone could exclaim at Davis' presence. "Kari, don't touch it!!" Kari practically leaped from the pool, like it had just jumped up and tried to bite her. When Davis had stopped screaming, she and everyone else started to calm down.
"You sure like to make an entrance, don't you Davis," said Yolei sarcastically.
"Davis!" cheered Veemon, leaping into his partners arms. "Where've you been?!"
"...I'll tell you later," Davis said. "Right now, I have to pick up this egg," he said seriously. "Sorry for making you guys worry."
"Who was worried?" said Yolei. Davis groaned.
"We're glad you're alright," said Kari. Davis looked at her uncomfortably, though the others didn't know why. Davis gave TK an odd look as well, but the other boy didn't say anything about it. He knew what was on Davis' mind the moment he saw his eyes.
"So did you pass your test?" Ken asked. "You've been gone for eight hours, so you should have had plenty of time."
Davis frowned and looked at the pool where Gatomon's egg lay. "This is the last part."
"Well...I guess you need to go ahead and do it," said Cody. "Doesn't look too hard."
Davis sighed, his gaze still locked on the pool. "...Yeah." While the others looked on, Davis stepped forward methodically, until he was finally standing at the puddle's edge. He kneeled down, stared into the liquid, and took one glance over his shoulder at the others- primarily Kari. She looked away, and Davis returned his attention to the pool before him.
Okay...here we go, he thought as he lifted his gloved hands up.
(What's wrong with him?) whispered Yolei as she held onto Ken unconsciously. (Why's he hesitating?)
One...
(Maybe he knows something we don't,) he answered back. (Maybe that's why he didn't want Kari to touch it.)
Two...
Realization dawned on Kari's face. (That's it! This pool must be booby-trapped or something. But that means...) Kari raced forward to try and stop the boy. "Davis, don't!!"
Three!!