Memory's Limit
AN: And the plot moves into high gear... I anticipate two more chapters and an epilogue after this, so we're at the halfway point.(of this one 'teny rate. Three fics to go in the quartet) Congrats for bearing with me this far. Oh—If you can spot where I got the idea of TK and Kari embedded in Hikari and Takeru's consciouses, you get bragging rights, and congratulated in Chapter Five's AN.
Oh... Many thanks to kale and TK Takaishi for being such faithful reveiwers. It's what keeps me going, guys. And if you're reading this and not reveiwing... and I know there are people doing that... shame on you. See how it says "be a responsible reader and write a reveiw?" Do that. Thanks to author stats, I know three people have this on their faves. None of whom have reveiwed. Shame, shame. That blue box is there for a reason, people.

Memories Four: Memory's Learning

The school nurse listened silently as TK and Kari carried out their cryptic conversation. Although she could make little sense of their frequent references to "dreams," and "memories," and "destiny," what gist she got unsettled her. And when she figured out that their conversation was about, among other things, death, she nearly interrupted. But she found that something—shock,she rationalized—held herspeechless. But it wasn't shock that heldher back.It was destiny—or morespecifically, the barrier that stopsthose who would interfere with it.

Just before TK and Kari began to glow, she broke though destiny's barrier for a brief moment. A small "What—" escaped from her mouth. But then the first rays of light burst from TK's crest, and the nurse was truly shocked into silence. She watched, mouth agape and perfectly still, as Kari's crest began to glow. But when the two Chosen children fainted, her nurse's training took hold. She quickly checked their pulses and breathing, but these indicators betrayed no abnormality. By all signs, they were taking peaceful naps. But the witness of her own eyes held that something was wrong with them; Kari was in a bad enough state that a sudden faint was only to be expected, but TK had been perfectly healthy. Perfectly healthy sixth-graders don't drop into comas.

The nurse checked them once again, much more thoroughly. But the only remotely odd thing she found was in their eye movements. Those showed that the pair had dropped much more quickly into REM sleep, the sleep of dreams, than they should have. It was then that the nurse regretted not following their conversation more closely. She knew that they had said something about dreams, but what she could not remember.
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Takeru woke with a headache. He'dhad the oddest dream, too... Idly, he wondered if one of the Digiworld's myriadstrange plants had disagreed with his stomach. Last night, the group hadn'teaten anything new, though... He resolved to ask Gennai later if soil conditonsor something like that could have enough influence to cause food poisoning.However,there was a purpose far more urgent in his mind—finding relieffor hisheadache.In the dawn's pinkish light, he noticed Hikari sitting proppedagainst thetree next to the stream. Takeru lazily stood up and walked overto where Hikaristood. She had a light, sweet singing voice... if he askednicely, maybe she'dsing for him, and maybe that would help his headache.

As Takeru approached the stream, his face was briefly reflected in the water. Deep in his mind, TK noticed with a start that they looked exactly alike. Just as Kari and Hikari could pass for twins—or perhaps even the same person.

"Headache?" she queried as he approached.

"Yeah," he replied, mildly startled that she'd guessed so easily.

"I have a bit of one too. And I had an odd dream last night, too. About this girl with a phobia for climbing ropes... I think I might be coming down with the flu, or whatever the Digiworld equivalent is. I hope not, though. Lucefremon'll be the hardest challenge we've ever faced, and if I pass a disease around the group that weakens us we might not make it."

Takeru was even more surprised to learn that it had happened to her too.Buthe quickly rationalized it within his "food poisoning" theory. After all,everyone in the group ate the same food, so if there was anything bad initit would affect all of them. And Hikari had always been a bit more suspectibleto diseases and such than the rest of them, so if it had been enough to hurthim she would definitely feel its effect.

"Want me to sing for you?" Hikari continued.

"Yeah. How'd you know I did?"

"Dunno; I guessed. You know that I'm good at that sort of stuff."

He did know that. Hikari had always had this sort of telepathic connection with the world around them, whichever world it happened to be. And oddlyenough, these"guesses"were a lot more frequent and accurate when they concernedhim. It was almostas if they were connected, or similar, or something, at some basic level.Of course, that just might be wishful thinking on his part; lately he'd foundhimself feeling... different, happier... wheneverHikari singled him out fromthe rest of the group.

Hikari began to sing, "Ibara no mori o aruite kita ne," (translation: Through a forest of thorns we have come walking) when Takeru interrupted.

"Where'd you learn that song? I don't think I've ever heard it before."

"T'tell you the truth, Takeru, I don't think I have either... I just started singing, and the words came." She shrugged. "It's a pretty song, though,don't youthink?"

So it is possible to influence them thought TK. "Ashita wa ii hi ni Naru" is one of Kari's favorite songs. No idea why, though. She's never seen Fushigi Yuugi... it's probably Sora's influence, although Mimi seems more the type to watch that. TK recalled the lyrics... they were fairly romantic, and pretty sappy romantic at that. (AN: lyric translation from "Fire of Suzaku'sWings". See what I mean by romance sap?) Did she have any ulterior motive in choosing that song? TK wondered.

Funny that I know the lyrics despite having never heard it before. Did she have any ulterior motive in choosing that song? puzzled Takeru. Then almost immediately he rejected the idea. Nah. I couldn't be thatlucky.
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Takeru, Hikari, and the other firstDigidestined continued their fight against Lucefremon's minons easily...well,easily compared to how hard they anticipated the fight against Lucefremonhimself would be. Then, by Murphy's Law, one thing happened to make theirtask much harder...

The Digiworld's strange stars shone brightly above the five children andtheirDigimon. Theywere sleeping in the same sort of place they usually did—asmall clearing convenient to a stream—and for once they'd forgottentoset a watch. That proved to be a mistake. A dark shape slinked out of thesurrounding trees and seized two Digidestined—one child and his Digipartner.Quietly, he bore them off to his master, to be... forced guests... in Lucefremon's new prison. They would stay there for weeks.
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Takeru and Patamon woke between twoparallel hedges. A voice boomed above them, one they'd learned to identifyas Lucefremon's.

"I've grown bored of watching you two languish in a dungeon. I toyed with the idea of killing you outright, but that's not nearly entertaining enough for my purposes. So I offer you a bargain. If you can escape from this maze, which is possible, you get freedom. However... it's much morelikely you won't survive the attempt. I've placed the same anti-digivolution barriers around this compound that I did over your cell, so you only have yourself and Patamon to rely on. Not really enough, for some of the things in this maze, but you have a fighting chance. Even Viri have honor."

At that point the "hedges" turned around, revealing dozens of Deramon. Dozens of Deramon that looked all-too-ready to attack.

those who use cliffhangers have no right to complain
TO BE CONTINUED...