Pursuit of Light Chapter 3: Light's Fading Hope, a digimon fanfic

Chapter Three: Light's Fading Hope

"This way! Come on, keep moving!" the feline called, jogging alongside the others as they escaped from their campsite. "The farther we get away the safer we are!"

"Where are we supposed to go?" Izzy asked. "It's still very late. We can't keep running until the sun comes up and we know where we're going!"

"Forget about that! What's important right now is that we find Kari and T.K!" Tai told them as he ran, growing breathless, his athletic body giving him the strength needed to stay in motion. "I—we can't rest until we have them back!"

"I want them back, too, but we can't help them if we're dead!" the small red-haired kid shouted to him. "We have to take care of ourselves first. It's the best thing to do!"

The older boy wanted to argue against him. He could not believe this. His sister was in danger and they were forcing him to run away. If he could, he would run off on his own and find her himself. But the simple fact of the matter was that he, too, was afraid for his life and wanted to find safe passage. None of the courage incorporated in his crest could erase what he was feeling at the moment.

Dirt and brush swept across the sides of their legs as they raced through the dark forest without slowing down for the sake of safety. They leapt over broken branches and dangerous fallen tree items that could hurt them at will. Far behind them, they could hear the loud explosions of pain and bodies as Puppetmon raged through his armies, disciplining them very harshly. They knew he would not hold back on them one bit, and once he was done with the ranks he would quickly start pursuing them to do the same.

Tai glanced quickly over his shoulder, seeing a blast of fire sweep across the clearing they had only been in a minute before. He turned his eyes away and stared straight ahead, trying to shut out the screams of the digimon who were being destroyed, putting a much more important issue on his mind.

Where are you, Kari?

* * * * *

"Puppet Pummel!"

The evil digimon swung his hammer hard across the air at those of his army that attempted to avoid the blast, screaming for safety. They did not get the chance to do that for past a second. The hammer struck their bodies and left digital dust in its post hit. It blew into oblivion in the blink of an eye and all trace that they had even existed at all was gone.

"I'll teach you to fool around and not listen to orders!" the Dark Master cried as he spun and slammed his foot into the side of a running pack of Woodmon, causing it to collapse itself and fall as a stumbling heap on the dirt. He turned his eyes and caught sight of several Blossomon attempting to escape far at the edge of the clearing, only a few feet away from disappearing into the darkness of the trees.

A glint flashed against his eyes. He twirled the hammer like a baton and turned the head of the hammer in their direction. "Hey! Where do you think you're going?!" He pulled the hammer back and swung hard, sending a relentless blast of orange lights from his weapon and having them scream across the air toward the Blossomon like deadly fireballs. The Blossomon did not get a chance to touch the safety of the shadows. The light hit them, exploding the ground around them and sending a wave of dirt into the air. Once the dust cleared and chunks of debris met the ground again, nothing of the creatures was left.

"I will not be made into a fool like this!" Puppetmon cried in imitation of an immature child crying against the doings of the universe, turning and raising the hammer, bringing it down on the nearest Woodmon that was trying to elude him. That digimon instantly disappeared.

He turned and leaped forward, quickly skipping across the dirt at rapid speed. He flew from side to side, slamming his weapon into anyone he saw trying to run. He slapped at the campfire with it like a hockey puck and released sticks of flaming wood throughout the clearing. They hit many of those trying to get away and caused them to stop in panic, trying to put out the flames that had caught onto their bodies. They fell and rolled across the ground in a fury, vanishing in a small explosion of miniscule digital data.

"That's enough!" he screamed, his shrill voice causing their bodies to stop in mid-motion with anxiety.

Nothing but Woodmon had been left from the massacre that had taken place within the space of three minutes. All of the Blossomon, which were large and handicapped when it came to running quickly, had been caught in the line of fire and were no longer. Now the remains of his army were complied of small amounts of Woodmon, but still plenty. They shook with emotional tremors, wondering what their master had in store for them now that they had halted in response to his command.

The marionette narrowed his eyes and scanned the area, watching them with sharp ice daggers glimmering in the reflection of his red eyes. He watched them all shaking with fright. He tasted the pure, untainted fear in the air, letting it seep into his frail, small wooden body, soaking it into his mind and enjoying every second of it.

"All of you are useless! It would be a waste of time to finish destroying you all," he told them. He lowered the hammer and raised his hand, pointing toward the ocean of trees at the end of the clearing. "Now go and don't return until you find someone useful to destroy!"

The Woodmon didn't protest to the idea. Within a mere second they all turned around and raced toward the forest, covering the ground in a massive stampede. They split off into two separate groups that went off in different directions, not even taking one last look back at the wicked digimon who had spared them for the time being. Yet they were grateful, and would do as he asked. They were sure to find something or someone to attack without any provocation, other than the simple reason of keeping themselves on their master's good side, although it could hardly be said he even had a good side at all.

As they evacuated the premises, the puppet remembered that he still had the issue of the young female Digidestined to tend to. He did not want to disappoint his companions who were watching him from atop Spiral Mountain's peak. But the fit of rage greatly depleted his body and he had grown exhausted over the stresses he had just been put through.

He stretched his arms, yawning with pleasure. "I'm going back home and going straight to sleep," he told himself. "Forget Kari. She wasn't that much fun anyway. She can just get herself destroyed out there in the middle of nowhere by herself. I need my beauty sleep if I'm going to get rid of all the other Digidestined tomorrow. After all, a growing boy needs his Miracle Gro and rest!"

With that said he turned away and started to jump off in his own direction, heading back to the mansion that he occupied, giggling to himself and plotting for what he was going to do the next time he ran into some of the annoying Digidestined again. His dark forces were now deployed and clear of the entire open area, leaving it desolate and silent as their activity now began from within the mysterious shadows of the ever-spanning forest, their presence trailing off into the blackness of the night.

* * * * *

A slight tremor ran across the young girl's cheek as she rested on the cold ground alone and silent under the faint light of the stars. Her neck twitched and her eyelids quivered. She slowly opened the left one as she began to slowly regain consciousness.

What happened to me? Am I dead? Is this where everyone goes when they die? Oh, please don't tell me that I'm not alive anymore, she thought to herself.

But, quite to the contrary, she found that she was indeed very much alive, and very much awake once again. She felt her body ache and cry for rest. Her head pounded like if there was someone inside pushing against the skull plates, trying to pop them out of place. Her sense of equilibrium was greatly disabled as she tried to move her head and felt it tilt and sway in the direction of the ground.

I stopped, she realized. I stopped somewhere. But… where am I?

She tried to move up to a sitting position but it proved difficult to do so. Her ribs and bones felt tightened from the inside, being pulled against themselves from everything she had put herself through. Her legs were numb and throbbing, unable to hold her up steadily. She was a wreck, and she knew it was going to get worse unless she found someone nearby, and soon.

Kari stared up at the dark sky, trying to make sense of what had just happened earlier. She remembered trying to escape Puppetmon, but then what had happened afterward? She could barely even remember. How much time had passed? Minutes? Hours? Days? Could she even tell if she was still alive and time continued to have some significant meaning on her life?

She moved up, attempting to stand. Her body swayed as she tried, her legs refusing to lock in standing mode. She suddenly felt something slick slide against the skin on her calf. Peering down, she discovered that an ugly scab closed the cut she had received from the puppet's earlier activities. However, blood was still pouring out from the deep scrape on her knee she had received just before she had lost consciousness, when she had fallen and hit the ground hard. The blood escaping that new injury mingled with the dirt smeared across her skin. A dark, shallow puddle of life rested around where she had laid on the ground, seeping into the earth. She reached up and touched the side of her face, where the other cut had occurred. The blood was dry like a crispy layer of pizza crust.

She wanted to cry. She wanted to find someone to go to that could help rid her of the wounds. She had always depended on her family for that. She could remember how if she fell down and scraped her knee her mother would take her and comfort her. Her father would tell her to be careful, checking her occasionally to provide some additional relief. And then there would be Tai, sitting there by her side, watching as his mother cleansed and covered the wound, watching with curiosity and concern over his little sister. She could not remember why he wanted to watch her so much. Perhaps he was afraid of something that she had forgotten about long ago. She just knew that she could always count on them to help her out.

But this was different. Her parents were not there with her. They were all in the real world, still staring at the sky and waiting for the children's return. And Tai… he was somewhere else. She had to go through this on her own, and there was little she could do about it.

Kari leaned against the nearest tree that she could touch and looked around. The pendant containing her crest bounced against the front of her stained blouse. She shivered from the cold that ruffled the trees forming the darkness. She could not stay there. She had to get somewhere else, somewhere safe. She had to find the others, no matter what, even if she was lost in the middle of the night.

She tried to shout, but still nothing came out of her mouth. Puppetmon's spell continued to have an effect on her body. She would have to continue going speechless, and wondering when she would finally be able to talk again.

Please, let them be okay. Let Tai and the others be okay. Let—T.K. still be alright.

The girl, very carefully, began to limp across the ground and continue through the forest. She refused to stop. If she was going to rejoin the other Digidestined, she would just have to hold onto whatever hope she could muster and keep herself moving, no matter what was waiting for her along the path…

* * * * *

The steady sound of leaves rustling against one another was all that the boy could hear as he opened his eyes. He could hardly move at all. The fall had shaken his bones so hard he was afraid he had broken something. The jarring sensation he could still feel from the impact suggested that.

Despite the thought, however, the boy tried to raise his head and look around, his weak eyelids fluttering gently. He did not feel like he was going to be able to do much. He felt weak, and the fall he had taken disoriented him greatly. To add to that, the pressure he felt by the weight of his green backpack placed even further stress on his mobility. He could not even roll around onto his back if he tried.

Moving his head, his blurry cerulean eyes caught the nearby position of his digimon companion, still resting without noticeable life signatures. He worried for the condition of his friend. Only a few feet away, lying on the ground so innocently, and he couldn't even tell if he was alive or not.

"Patamon, please get up," T.K. whispered to him, trying to wake him from his sleep, hoping that he would respond. "Come on, Patamon. Tell me you're okay."

The orange mammal digimon did not move. He continued to lay on his side, his left bat ear draped over part of his face. The poor creature had been hurt so badly, T.K. could swear that he was feeling the pain his friend had felt when he had fallen earlier. He only wished that he could make it stop.

"Patamon, please. You have to get up. Please, you have to get up for me."

The small boy tried to crawl across the ground, hoping to reach out and touch the digimon with the tips of his fingers. A simple brush against his companion's body was all he wanted. If there was anything that would make him feel comfortable it would be to do that. But, unfortunately, even that wish was far out of his grasp.

He pushed himself up slowly from the ground, biting down on his lip as it hurt him to do it. He moved his legs, bending them, making it possible for him to sit up, his balance greatly off as he tried. He swayed as the remaining disorientation took a hard hold over his mind.

I need to find Kari. Puppetmon is not going to hurt her like he tried to do to me. I don't want her to get hurt because of him.

He tried to lift his leg and use it as support to try and stand up. Suddenly his leg wobbled against him and caused him to fall hard on his stomach. He felt his teeth grind right into the flesh of his lip, the blood quickly escaping into his mouth. His elbows crashed into the dirt and took much of the impact off the rest of his body, but the pain still lingered.

Lifting his head away from the hard ground, T.K. tried to grasp his breath. He could barely even see what was in front of him. The fall had done more damage than he had though it could have. His eyesight was growing fuzzy and he couldn't even tell the faintest detail of anything far in the distance.

But there was something that caught his attention, something that was very close by, resting against the dirt so patiently, as if it was waiting for the boy to discover it and take it into his possession. He noticed it automatically, only a few inches away from his fingers. He slowly stretched out his arm from where he lay, attempting to grab it. His fingers met the cool aluminum and wrapped themselves around the thin string that provided security when draped around someone's neck. Apparently, the security had fallen and the item had gone misplaced.

Kari's whistle, T.K. thought, pulling it closer to his eyes, grasping it tightly in his hand as if to make sure he could tell whether or not it was the real one with his touch. She… must have lost it. She probably doesn't know… that it's here.

The strength in the boy's body dissipated and he could not hold his head up any longer. His eyes closed and he lost consciousness once again, dropping his head down, sprawling across the ground in a state of pure vulnerability. All he now saw was darkness, and even in there he knew he was not going to get very far. He would continue to weaken every time he attempted to move through the forest.

Yet he did not know that already, as he laid there, the other thing that was starting to fade with his hopes were his life signs…

* * * * *

The big-haired boy scoured the area in which he and the others had just set foot upon. He shuffled his hands through the thick bushes that lined the grounds and peered into the darkness that they withheld, in hopes that they would reveal to him something that was critical to the whereabouts of his younger sister. Unfortunately, all of the searching that he had already taken up was leading him on empty, and the idea that all of a sudden he would find her hiding inside one of those bushes—alive—made him even more frantic to move faster and keep trying until every square inch of the forest was uncovered.

He parted the bushes that he was investigating now, shoving them aside down the middle and taking a good look to what they may be hiding from him. But much like his earlier luck, he did not find anything helpful to him. All he found was the base to the bushes and nothing else. He frowned and let go of the brush, letting them slip back into place.

Kari, where can you be? he wondered with anxiety tightening a knot in his stomach.

He turned around and looked toward the others in his group, standing far away and in their own searches. "Have you had any luck yet?"

"No, not yet," Biyomon called back to him as she fluttered high above the area and surveyed it, her excellent eyesight proving to be useful but not successful. "This forest is just way too big. It'll take us forever to find her."

The boy did not enjoy the current progress and grew upset about it. He glanced around and cupped his hands around his mouth, walking around so that he may be able to project his call. "Kari! Kari, can you hear me?!"

The smaller boy in the group moaned silently to himself at the sound of the other one shouting. "Look, Tai, we've been searching this place for nearly three hours now. Don't you think that if she was around she would've already come out and joined us?"

"What do you know?!" Tai snapped, his back turned to Izzy. "She's my sister, okay? I know how she is and because of that it's my responsibility to find her first. Don't tell me I can't."

Izzy had already taken a lot of Tai's domineering character already, but this was becoming too much for him. His patience could only hold his commentary back for so long. He knew he was bound to burst from such pressure as Tai was placing on him and the rest of the group.

I understand that Kari is his sister and all, but does he need to take his emotions out on the rest of us? the boy wondered.

He turned toward Sora, who was not that far away from his own position. He noticed something peculiar about her face. He always found her to be the bright, sensible corner of their group, ever since the beginning when they had first arrived at File Island. Maybe it had been all of the events that had led them up to this that was responsible for the change he noticed on her face. He swore that Sora looked reluctant and reserved, silent as she searched her sector with some help from both Gatomon and Koromon. That was something he never saw before in her.

"Hey, Sora," he said to her, "are you okay?"

Sora cast a slow look to the boy. "Yeah, I'm okay," she replied rather weakly, almost as if the sun had set down over her soul and she lost all expression of her inner self. She turned back to the bushes and continued the search.

Izzy grew disturbed at the things that he was seeing going on before him. The Digidestined group had split up. Kari and T.K. were missing. Tai was growing upset. Now Sora was changing into someone else. Nothing was the same anymore. It was as if returning to the Digital World was taking its toll on their innocence and affecting them down to their minds. He knew that they had no choice but to defeat the Dark Masters and save those that they cared about, but at what cost were they willing to do it? Was this how they were going to win, battered and stripped of their childhood like this? If that was the sacrifice that they needed to make, they had to go about it a different way.

After reflecting on that the boy knew that he had to do something. He turned and looked toward Tai, who was still calling out for his sister while searching through the shadowy trees that covered the corner he had set himself in. Gathering the courage he very rarely used in situations like this, he walked across the path and over to the older boy.

"Tai?" he asked, stepping up next to him and causing his friend to halt his hollering, looking down at Izzy. "I can comprehend why you are so upset. I know it is not in my place to ask you how to lead this team, but honestly I have come to the conclusion that my observations must be spoken. I don't think Sora looks that great right now. Don't you think you might want to apologize for having yelled at her earlier?"

Tai let his eyes wander over to the girl far off in the distance. He could see the slump in her shoulders and the slow way that she moved, as if she found no enthusiasm in her actions. His lips pressed against one another as he took in the sight and he turned back to Izzy. "I'll apologize to her later, okay? Sora's a big girl, she knows that I never really mean it. She'll get over it eventually."

"But what if she doesn't? The morale of the group is pretty low right now, and with the current situation I don't think it's going to improve. Really, Tai, you need to calm down a little. You're going to make everyone worried. Personally, your behavior hasn't been normal."

"Do you expect it to be normal?" Tai asked. "Can't you go and figure out something to do with that computer of yours that could probably help us?"

Izzy did not take that comment very lightly. He hated it when people made the assumption that just because he was immersed in technology it meant that was the only thing he was good at. "Try to focus on what I'm saying, Tai," he began, withholding a candid outburst of emotion. "We need to pull ourselves together on this. Your sister is top priority, but we need to act calmly when going about this."

Tai shook his head, his hair bouncing against the motion. "No, Izzy, Kari is in danger and I'm not going to stop looking for her. I'm—not going to lose her. You—you wouldn't understand." He turned away, his memories of long ago nearly flushing into his head. He pushed them deep down, trying to hold back any signs of weakness, signifying that what he had done long ago still possessed his mind. He would not let anyone else, especially Izzy, see him break down because of it. He could not let any pressure get to him, no matter what.

Izzy noticed the sudden silence in Tai and realized that there was really something wrong with him. He could not tell what it was, but he sensed it.

Tai must really feel bad about losing his sister like this, he worried. Something must have happened that would make him be so protective of her. I wonder what could be making him act so irrationally and so—afraid.

Izzy did not have much time to contemplate the different theories as to why this was so, as a sudden call disrupted their attention and caused them to look elsewhere. "Over here! I found something!" It was Gatomon's voice.

Tai spun around and ran quickly across the grounds to the feline who had called them. Izzy followed right behind him, curious as to what discovery they may have made. They halted right alongside Sora and the other digimon there, checking to see what the cat had for them.

"What? What is it? Did you find Kari?" Tai asked.

Gatomon, who was inside the vicinity of the trees in front of them, pointed up at an item that dangled above her, far out of her reach. She stared back at them. "No, it's not Kari. This belongs to her. It pays to be a cat that can smell her way around."

Tai and Izzy stepped into the trees, walking over to the item that hung from a sharp branch jagging from the side of a tree. The older boy reached out and grabbed the item from the twig and brought it closer to his eyes, trying to identify the thing with the very little light he could utilize.

It was Kari's pink scarf.

The discovery of the scarf did not soothe Tai's ambition to find her. It only made him want to find her even more. The very thought that she had lost this suggested that she had run into some kind of trouble and had escaped to somewhere. He feared the idea that whatever it was may have hurt her already.

"Kari was here," he told himself, grasping the scarf tightly between his fingers. "She must not be far from us."

"Well, that may be the case, but Kari would not want to stay in the same area," Tentomon offered from somewhere high above them, searching the tops of the trees that Biyomon was going through. "If she would have run into danger she would have fled as fast and as far as she could."

"That just means we can't give up," Gatomon said, becoming brightened by the new development. "If there are any signs that we can find both her and T.K. we have to take the chance. We can't give up just now."

Tai tightened his hold on the scarf even more, digging his fingers deep into the item, as if it was the only memory he may have left of his sister and it would be pried from him and taken away, leaving him with nothing. The very thought worried him, revealing itself on his face.

Izzy, standing at his side, stared up at the boy's face and noticed the apprehension. He could see him lost in thought, deeply concerned about him, wondering what could have caused him to act like that. Perhaps it was Izzy's own disadvantage of not having a sibling to have the experience that Tai had that made him blind to such reasons of behavior. Still, he was worried about Tai, and what lengths he was willing to take to make sure he recovered his sister and took her into his company again.

Tai stared out into the trees before him, lost in their expanse, wondering just how much his sister was suffering without him.

* * * * *

Kari could not do that much as she stumbled through the forest, her injuries taking much out of her. She had walked for what seemed forever, lost in direction, not knowing where her feet were bound to take her to. The exhaustion that was attempting to conquer her body lingered over her, asking that she take time to stop and relax in the comforts of the rest. But that was simply an indulgence she forced herself not to give into.

Come on, Kari, she told herself, her throat begging to become useful again. You can do this. You can get through all of this. You can do anything you want to.

The motivation forced her to continue through the perilous night. She dragged on, pulling her injured leg at her side. She had lost all track of time and could only imagine what hour it was. She bet that it was long after midnight. The moon, or whatever equivalent it was to that of Kari's own world's lunar object, hung brightly against the stars. It glowed against the backdrop of the human world's reflection. The night cycle was already past its peak, as she could tell. It was already on its move across the other side of space from where it had begun earlier that day. That gave some clue to the time, and suggested that dawn was not that far away. If she was lucky, she would be able to see the sun once again and bask in its warmth.

For a moment Kari's foot nearly slipped out from beneath her, threatening to make her fall. She quickly panicked and flung herself to a tree for support. She wrapped her arms around the trunk and tried to focus on her current position. She did not recognize where she was. All of the trees were unfamiliar to her. This only made her feel the desperation growing like the cloud of an approaching storm in her heart.

She tried to think of what to do next as she stood there. The walking would only take her so far. She had to do something. She could not stand being alone like this. Despite how much she knew and the observations she had made as she had grown up, she was still a child and had dependency on all those around her, no matter how much she refused to believe she did. She had tried so much to make others think they need not worry of her. She tried to make them think that just because she was young it didn't mean they could not think about themselves. That was why she refused to think about her own needs. Whatever others needed she would follow it, because she did not want to hamper with their own necessities by placing hers ahead of theirs. By being independent she knew she could accomplish that.

But that was not the true way. Independence meant nothing when one is alone. One needs to have the ability to rely on someone that can provide assistance in the direst of times. Without others one is bound to become lonely, and fall into their own traps of seclusion and ultimately doom. That was what Kari was learning the hard way as she stood there, alone in the middle of an uncharted forest, far from home and the belief that she would survive through this alive.

Kari could remember how when she was younger, she had gotten lost in the apartment building that the Kamiya family resided in. She had stepped out of the front door and wandered down the stairs, hoping to go after her pet cat who had run out on his own. But then, she had lost all sense of direction and found herself several floors down, lost and frightened because she was not sure which floor her home was and she was all alone on that steep staircase. She was not discovered until an hour later, when Tai had noticed that she had left the apartment and was nowhere around. He was the one who had taken her back upstairs. He did not bother to mention it to his parents because it was not such a major thing. If she had reached the bottom of the building then he would most certainly mention it, but because she was nearby he felt it was not necessary to do so.

But what he overlooked was that during that long hour she had been in a moment of weakness. That time that she spent, alone, made her feel emotions that she had never felt before. The fear was shoved away and never called back again, but now it was returning on its own. She had always believed, ever since after she had gotten lost long ago, to calm herself down about it, that just because she was lost it did not mean she had to lose faith that she would make it out okay in the end. Now, she was realizing that her theory was not holding true with her.

And to think, I told T.K. not to be afraid about being alone and away from Matt, she thought to herself. But now I'm the one who's afraid. I'm not even taking my own advice. Nobody's here to try and calm me down like I did T.K. I can't even tell myself that I'm going to be okay.

She moved away from the tree and stepped forward, feeling the sharp branches cut at the sides of her clothes, trying to cling onto them and pull at her. More memories came to her eyes. She remembered having been sick, or vaguely remembered it. All she was certain was that she being treated for something, something that had taken her away from home and placed her elsewhere for a while. Being away from home scared her. There were even times when she did not get to see her family because someone, a doctor perhaps, was treating her. The weakness that consumed her body during that time left her helpless, and she drifted in and out of consciousness. Those moments also scared her, and made her believe that she was not going to recover. Ultimately, she did, but the emotions were still there. The experience had become a part of her. She could not erase that, no matter how much she tried.

And no matter how much she told herself, when she was alone, she was alone.

Kari closed her eyes and tried to push those thoughts away. She did not want to give in to them. She did not want them to take over her like they had done before. She wanted to be strong, for her brother and the rest of the Digidestined. She did not want to think of herself as helpless. Their needs came first. She could not disrupt their goals and dreams just because of some fear of hers. No matter what, she had to think about them.

And about T.K., who she had told not to be afraid and was living through his own experience.

Is this what you were feeling, T.K? she wondered. Is this what you were worried about? You aren't alone on this. I understand how it feels to be alone.

She realized that she could not stop, because of him. She asked him not to be afraid, and if she became a hypocrite of her own words then she was lying to him and taking him down into his own personal darkness. She could not let that happen to him… T.K. was special to them all.

I won't break any promises, T.K. I'll find you.

As she stumbled forward and grabbed onto another nearby tree for support, the sudden sense of loneliness was touched with the feeling that another presence had entered the area. She froze her body, listening to the air, trying to follow what her body was telling her. The feeling was faint, but was definitely there.

There was something definitely close by her.

Kari slowly glanced around with her eyes, trying to see what it was that made her feel so uneasy. Then she noticed a faint glowing light. She turned her head and saw something dim in the distance, far ahead of her, down the path that she was following. Through the trees and the space between it and her it was hard to make out, but she could tell that it was there with a summoning quality to it, glowing in the air like a dim light bulb, flickering ever so slowly.

What is that? Who else would be out here? Would it be Tai? No, Tai doesn't have matches. Who would be making that light over there?

Drawn in by her own inquisitiveness and belief that it was someone that would help her, Kari moved away from the tree and continued down the path she was taking, leading herself toward that light that seemed to whisper her name without a voice or a sound…

* * * * *

"Kari?! Are you here?!" Tai called, his throat growing hoarse with the continuous stress that he was putting his voice through. "Please come out!"

He lowered his cupped hands from his mouth and felt desperate. He was not going to last much longer. He felt a nervous breakdown eminent if he was not going to find her soon. He knew the others would not be able to do without him if that happened, but he would have nothing to do about it once it came.

The fabric of the scarf felt gentle against his fingertips. He caressed the material gently, wondering about how so many times he had seen it around her neck. He could not believe that this was all he could find after three hours, and it very well could be the last item that he would remember her by.

Suddenly the jolt of memory hit his head and he felt the snap of a hand against his cheek, although he was only reliving it through his mind. He reached up and touched his right cheek, where he was experiencing the feeling. The memory from long ago flooded his head and he closed his eyes, trying to shut it out.

No, I don't want to lose her! I don't want to lose Kari! It's all my fault! It's all my fault!

He moaned loudly as the tears overcame him and his knees met the ground while he grasped his head. He did not want to relive the hate he had felt for himself then. It was not the time. It was too much for him. It was too painful.

"Tai, are you okay?" the pink floppy head asked as he and the digimon jogged over to the boy in distress. "What's wrong? Please tell me."

"Tai, what happened to you?" Izzy asked as he and Sora followed. "What is it?"

"I'm fine, just leave me alone!" the boy cried to them.

Izzy began to reach out to his shoulder when Gatomon suddenly raised her paws. "Wait, do you hear that?" she asked.

"No," Sora replied. "Is there something else?"

The feline's ears twitched as she listened closely to the air. There was a sound that she heard in the forest. A very disturbing sound.

"I hear it. It's coming closer to us."

Tai halted his crying for the moment and opened his eyes, overcoming that moment of weakness and listening to the cat's observations. He turned his head and listened as well. His own ears then picked up the sound. It was of something moving through the trees, across the dirt, something fast and large.

No, not large. It was many.

"I hear it, but where is it coming from?" Biyomon asked.

"It's in the forest," Gatomon told her. "I don't know what it is, but it's heading in our direction, and I don't think it's gonna stop."

* * * * *

Kari's mobility was improving on its own as she stepped closer toward that light she had detected. Her injured leg was growing to be less and less of an important matter now. It was almost as if the closer she got, the easier it became to move. Yet she also knew that because she was exercising the leg it was becoming used to the pain and ignoring it.

The light was secluded in the shadows of the trees that surrounded it, but she could see it much better than before. It was certainly brighter up close, the distance having had a great impact on its appearance to her. The air began to emanate a soft humming sound mixed with a twinkling tone, like the sound of a whistle being blown by two inexperienced lips, as she neared. It was hard to tell whether or not it was coming from a person. She could only see it floating several feet above the ground, far from her own height. Perhaps someone very tall was holding a lamp for her to see, but she doubted that thought as she stepped closer.

She nearly tripped as she reached the last couple of feet and grabbed onto another tree trunk to save her. She was becoming quite accustomed to their convenience. She took a moment to regain her posture and looked up in awe to the sight before her.

The light was small, rather too small to be anything she could figure it out to be. The air was sprinkling with particles shining with the same radiance. The sound was soothing, the shadows held back by its comforting tone. The light glowed with a mixture of soft-pink and white, sparking like a star but without such a harsh tint as one.

Kari gazed at the light and felt an awkward sensation wash over her. She could tell that it held some sentient presence deep inside it. It was sent there into the forest, and it had called to her to come to it.

But what exactly was it there for?

What is it doing here? she wondered. Why would it be here for me? Is it even here for me? I can't even tell.

The light suddenly began to move. It glided against the air, moving straight back and forth, calling her attention completely. Kari stared up at it with full response. She stepped closer to it, raising her eyes slowly as the closer she got the higher it was to her. She could sense the presence that belonged with the light.

What are you? Are you here to help me? Who sent you?

The light, expectedly, did not reply to her. It hovered high above her, stardust sprinkling down toward her and evaporating just three feet away from her face. With that the light began to trail itself across the air and move away from the girl.

The movement drew her in to wonder even more. She stepped closer to it, hoping that it would come down and answer her question as to why it had arrived. But the light seemed to be eluding her, becoming reluctant with every step that she took. She almost felt as if it did not want her to come close and asked that she step away.

Wait, Kari realized as she stopped moving for a moment. It's not trying to get away. It wants me to follow it. It wants to take me somewhere.

Her new thought seemed to be close as to what the light was doing. With every step she took closer it moved away very slowly, heading further down the path that led through the forest. Of course she could only assume that that was the reason as to why the light was behaving this way. She could not be certain unless she followed it and found where it was going.

Kari continued to stare up at the light, following its path, as it continued through the trees and led her down even further into that wicked forest. She had no clue as to where the light was going to stop. She only had to continue and find out for herself, the shadows taking over the space the light left behind it and letting the girl walk deep into them, closing the path behind her like a massive fog and losing her into its deepness.

* * * * *

"We shouldn't stay here. My suggestion would be to get as far away from here before whatever it is arrives for us," Tentomon insisted, buzzing down and lowering himself to the floor.

Izzy nodded. "I agree. It's too dangerous to stay. We need to start moving before we end up like those digimon that Puppetmon eliminated. Tai?"

The brown-haired boy could sense that danger was about to arrive. The sound was growing larger, and louder. When it arrived it was not going to be good for either of them. Something had to be done.

Tai took a deep breath, still reflecting on what he had gone through just a few seconds before. He had to stay strong. Whatever he did, he could not show weakness. He was their only leader. They would not be successful if he gave in to his fears.

"Tai?" Izzy repeated.

Sniffing away at his tears and wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand, he turned back to Izzy, fully composed once again, hiding the fact that he had been crying in front of them. "Yeah, I'm okay, Izzy."

"I can see something moving through the trees," Biyomon observed from her high position, watching as the leaves shuffled with activity and the trees swayed against whatever it was that was going past them. "They're getting really close now."

Tai quickly reached down into the pockets of his shorts and fished for his trusty mini-telescope. Once he felt it he pulled it out and lifted it to his eye. The lack of light did not help much, but he still made an effort to see what was rapidly approaching them. He could see deep past the shadows and anywhere where there was moonlight shining through the treetops. With that he was able to see what was in there moving.

His jaw dropped in horror.

"What is it? What are you seeing?" Gatomon asked, desperate to know what it was.

Tai lowered the telescope and gazed out with a lost look in his eyes. "I have only one suggestion…" he told them as the edge of their area was suddenly broken across by the bloodthirsty army that cut through the shadows.

"…RUN!"