-Howdy! I really pushed myself to get this finished by the Friday deadline I set for myself, and I just barely made it! My production will be slowing down a bit for the next couple weeks for personal reasons, and the fact that I'm going on vacation! This Memorial Day weekend I'll be up in Chicago getting fat off of Pizza, and high off the ivy at Wrigley this Sunday! I'll be enjoying myself, so I hope you enjoy yourself too with reading this!

-Oh P.S. There isn't going to be anything like everyone has a Digimon, or any of that crap in this. Now I'm convinced someone had gotten into the hemp pretty hard before work the morning they wrote that.

This is something I decided to do for no other reason but for fun. Before the story begins, here are a few of my favorite quotes and lines that I've picked up from one place or another given to you by my favorite Digimon characters!

Sora: I started off with nothing, and I still have most of it today.

Davis: I'm not poor everything's just too damn expensive!

Mimi: Never criticize someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes. That way when you criticize them you're a mile away, and you have their shoes.

Matt: The day we're born the first experience we ever have is being held up by our legs, and getting slapped on the ass... Get use to it.

Kari: Being young makes you ignorant, but it doesn't make you stupid or immature. On the other hand growing older makes you wiser, but it by no means makes you smarter or mature... Just ask my brother!

Tai: Hey! Well... I've never been wrong about anything once in my entire life. There have just been times when I haven't been right, and that seems to happen a lot for some reason.

TK: If you lend someone twenty dollars, and you never see that person again... It was probably worth it.

Boombubble!: And my personal favorite! 95% of the time reality sucks, and we need an escape from it from time to time. That's probably why you're here reading this in the first place!

Okay, okay enough stupidity! On with the show!

To Hell with Destiny!

I Feel a Cold One Coming on

The near blinding light shined brilliantly off the mountaintops illuminating the night sky. The truly amazing thing about it was that the two balls of shinning light, hovering just above their pedestals marked with the symbols of Hope and Light, were merely glowing at half of their full potential at the very best. Resting on a rocky ledge just across from them, a gigantic serpent-like Digimon stared up at them with concerned eyes. Though he was well aware of the portal of light appearing next to him, he never once removed his gaze from the two glowing objects. A short elderly man walked out of the portal before it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. The old man hobbled over to the Digimon's front end, and sat down hanging his legs over the mountainside.

"So Alzulamon. Anything interesting happen yet?"

"Not much. You'll have to give it time Genai. This isn't something that can be done overnight. However a couple of cracks have already appeared... As you know some of the dark mist has already seeped through those cracks into the Digital World..."

"Yes I know," Genai sighed. "Are you sure this is the best way to go about it Alzulamon? You don't sound particularly confident about it yourself."

"This has to be done Genai. It does trouble me greatly however. I'm supposed to protect the spheres of Hope and Light, not sit here and watch them fall to pieces! It pains me, but this is necessary or life as we know it is doomed to end forever..."

"We have to think positive about this," Genai stated. "If Satamon and his dark legions escape now then there's still a good chance they can be defeated, and this time for good, not just imprisoned. If they escape forty years from now like they were pre-set too then there would be nothing anyone could do to prevent full scale Armageddon of both worlds."

"Yes I'm aware, but that all depends on the resolve of the children," he sighed. "They've never been forced to face anything quite like this before... I fear this may be too much for them to handle. According to the future they've already failed once..."

"That's merely because they never knew what they were up against! How do you fight an enemy your not even aware is there? By the time they realized there was trouble most of them were too far lost to do anything about it! We have to believe in them Alzulamon. They are the chosen of course you know. We have to believe they'll discover the hidden truths about themselves. It was designed for it to be best utilized if they discovered it while they were still young, or simply disappear once they grew older. I'll do my best to make sure that doesn't happen this time around..."

"I don't understand how the future turned out so unstable. I know there were quite a few things that didn't turn out as expected, but things appeared to turn out alright overall..." Alzulamon veered his head around, and stared into a large mirror-like object embedded in the side of the mountain. Activated by a simple thought from the large Digimon, a picture of Odabia a good deal of time into the future appeared in the mirror. One by one the mirror pictured each of the digidestined in the future, and most of the scenes weren't near as happy as they had appeared to be just a couple years earlier. The brief show was highlighted by the sight of Matt and Sora going through a messy divorce, Ken being hauled away by police in handcuffs, and a drunken TK getting behind the wheel of his car and well.... Alzulamon cringed, and turned his head away. It pained him to see one of his own children meet such a cruel fate as that. "It's almost too heart breaking to watch... To think just a couple years from this time the Dark Mist will break free, and swallow both worlds."

"It is strange isn't it? Matt and Sora kind of surprised me. They were in love weren't they?"

"Of course they were at a time, but that just wasn't meant to be... People fall in love all the time, but maybe one out of every million are lucky enough to find their soul mate. That's the way some of them end up unfortunately. There were problems with that from beginning. Let's just say that one of them settled, and the other got tired of waiting." The ancient Digimon paused, as if deep in thought. "Ken was another one that upset me... I really believed that he learned to control his demons. Too many late nights away from his family, and drifting ties with friends don't do much to help an already fragile mindset. The pressures of the real world must've brought the worst back out of him in the end."

Genai nodded his head in agreement. "Theirs one thing that confuses me more than anything. What in the heck happened with Kari and T..."

"Don't even ask," Alzulamon cut him off. "I don't have an answer for that question. I'll be scratching my head about that one for the rest of my days."

"It's a good thing we got that key to the future even thought it is limited." Genai looked at the time mirror behind them that had been a gift from an unknown party. All the mirror could do was show the same day so far into the future. They both understood that you could only mess with time so much without ruining the balance of the universe it's self. The only other piece of information they received was the exact date of the upcoming doomsday. "Though it's pretty much useless now, at least now we can make an attempt to prevent Armageddon from taking place."

"Indeed." Alzulamon eyed Genai curiously, and couldn't stop himself from giggling. "Excuse me but I can't help but wonder... I meant to ask you the first time we met over this, but what happened? The last time I'd seen you before then you still looked like a youngster, but then you suddenly seemed to age 100 years over night!"

"So that's what you've been giggling about. There's a simple explanation for that. After things in the Digital World settled down I didn't see any further reason to have six carbon copies of myself running around everywhere. Ah... The world should be so lucky to know such beauty! Hah! Anyway, we merged ourselves back together, and the next thing I know I'm an old fart again! All kidding aside my friend we need to take this matter seriously."

"Oh come on Genai! Since when were you ever serious about anything?"

"Ha! You've got a point there!"

********

Kari stamped her foot repeatedly, and looked up at the clock impatiently. The deep frown etched into her face surprisingly didn't stop the clock dead. "Fifteen minutes late! I wonder what his excuse is this time?! Mandy? Brittany? Maybe Amber this time?!"

In the meantime TK was zooming down the empty hallway with Davis in close pursuit. "Thanks for bailing me out again Davis," he panted. "Those girls just don't know when to quit! I really owe you big now. First Mr. Maori keeps me after class, and then that! Kari isn't going to be happy!"

"Hey it's no problem!" Davis sighed in relief, as TK finally slowed his pace. "It was kind of my fault anyway. I shouldn't have been egging you on like that."

"No it's my fault because I should know better than to listen to you by now! I'll admit it's kind of fun to joke around with them, but I'm not interested in any of them."

TK stopped in his tracks at the sight of Kari standing against the wall just a few feet down the hallway. As he had expected she didn't look happy in the least. He gulped, and approached her slowly.

"It was nice knowing you buddy," Davis teased, as he stepped back.

"Umm... Kari..." TK sweat dropped when Kari looked up at him. TK thanked his lucky stars that looks couldn't kill because if they did he knew he'd have been six feet in the cold, cold ground. "I can explain...."

"Don't bother!" she snapped. "Let me guess! Who was it this time?! Mandy? Heather? Amber?!"

TK looked surprised. "Well... Yeah. All three actually."

Kari grunted in disgust. "Why am I not surprised?!"

"Kari if you'd please let me explain..."

"I don't want to hear it TK! That's strike three, and you're out buddy! If we didn't have to go to the museum to finish our history report I would've left a long time ago!"

TK face faulted. "Oh man I forgot all about that! I'm sorry Kari, but I'm not going to be able to go today..."

"What?! Why not?!" Kari questioned. His response didn't do anything to help her already foul mood. "We've been putting this off for two weeks as it is TK! We have to get this done sometime or we're going to flunk!"

"I know, I know, but it'll have to be another time! I promised my mother I'd come straight home from school today, and help her out with some things before she leaves on her big business trip to Italy tomorrow morning! Can't we put it off until tomorrow afternoon or something?"

"Why bother?!" Kari tossed her free hand in the air, and stormed off in the other direction. "You'll just come up with some other excuse! Just forget about it TK! I'll go myself, and let you know how things turn out in the morning!"

"Kari..." TK thought about going after her, but voted against. "Fine! Be that way then! I'm sick of having to defend myself all the time! I... Ugh!"

"Talk about strict on punctuality!" Davis said. "Oh by the way TK... This probably isn't the best time to spring this on you, but I kind of promised Amber you'd meet her for ice cream after school today..."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" TK panicked. "Why did you do that for?! I just got done telling Kari I had work to do today Davis! That wasn't a lie! Hell, I've been telling you about it for a week now!"

"I know, but I didn't have a choice!" Davis insisted. "That's the only way I could get her to leave you alone! Anyway, it's no big deal! If you really don't want to go then don't show up. It's as simple as that."

"But I can't just not show up if she's expecting me! What have you gotten me into now Davis?!"

"Do what you want to TK. If you'll excuse me I have to go catch up with Kari. I'll see you later!" Davis waved good-bye, and took off.

"Davis! Oh man! I guess I better just get this over with!"

It took Davis a full five minutes to catch up with Kari. Not that she was moving to quickly for him to keep up, but something else was holding him back. "Hey Kari! You mind if I walk with you?"

"I'm really not in the mood right now Davis!" she snarled.

"Hey don't bite my head off! TK's the one being a jerk not me!"

Kari sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry Davis... Did you want something?"

"I just wanted to know if you needed some company," he said slyly. "I know your a little upset and all..."

"Thanks, but no thanks Davis! I'd rather be alone at the moment."

"Don't you think you might be overreacting just a bit Kari? I know it's kind of cruel for TK to flirt with all those girls right under your nose like that, but can you blame him?" Davis failed to notice Kari's face turning bright red from the blood boiling up to her head. "Most guys would kill for the kind of attention he gets, and he's just started taking advantage of it recently..."

"IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THAT DAVIS!" Kari screamed forcefully into Davis's face, nearly blowing the skin right off of it. "I'm angry because he's been flirting all his time away, and neglecting the rest of us!"

Davis sweat dropped. "Whoa, whoa! I didn't know it was such a touchy subject for you! It's funny though because I haven't seen it that way at all... In fact he only wastes about twenty minutes, and that's just beginning this week, doing it. It just happens to seem like it's always right before he's supposed to meet you somewhere for some reason!"

"What?! Well!...."

"What are you so jealous over anyway Kari? It's not like he's your boyfriend or anything."

"I'M NOT JEALOUS! Those airheads don't have a damn thing that I need to be jealous over! TK can flirt, date, or do whatever the hell else he wants to do with them for all care!" Kari's voice cracked. "I don't care..."

Davis felt his heart wrench. Kari sounded near ready to burst into tears. This task he'd been saddled with was going to be hard enough as it was, but doing this kind of thing to Kari was absolutely heartbreaking for him. He wasn't completely sure he could actually go through with at first, but something deep inside kept forcing him to push on. "I really hate to do this to you Kari, but it's something I really think you should know..."

"What is it?" she sniffed.

"Do you want to know the real reason TK didn't want to go to the museum with you today?" Kari looked at him questioningly, and that was all the response Davis needed. "Follow me then... You're really not going to like this."

********

"How much farther are we gona go? My feet are killing me!" Armadillomon complained.

"We can't stop until we find the others!" Veemon said, urging the group to keep moving. "We have to find them quick, so we can figure out what we're going to do about this little cloud of death problem we've been experiencing lately!"

"I'm getting worn out myself Veemon," Patamon whined. "I can barely keep my rear end in the air

anymore."

"I have to agree with them Veemon," Gatomon huffed. "We've been walking around for hours without a sign of anyone! What happens if those things attack us again? How are we supposed to defend ourselves if we're crawling around on our bellies?!"

"Come on guys we can't stop now!" Just as stubborn as his partner, Veemon seemed unwilling to listen to reason. "Let's keep moving! I know Agumon's territory isn't that far from here! We're bound to find him sooner or later!"

"Well then you go right ahead!" Tentomon barked, as he landed on his butt with a thud. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm staying here! My wings are all buzzed out!"

"Fine then you big babies! You guys wait here, and I'll keep looking!" Veemon grunted, and left them behind. After a few steps he suddenly felt woozy, and crashed face first to the ground. "On second thought... After a closer inspection of the ground, I've determined I'm a little wore out myself, so maybe taking a little break isn't such a bad idea after all..."

Each releasing a sigh of relief the Digimon proceeded to plop to the ground in unison. They lay where they landed without moving for a good five minutes when good fortune smiled upon them. The very person they had been looking for just happened to stumble across them.

"Hey guys!" Agumon waved at them from the small hill in front of them with Wormmon unexpectedly at his side. "What are you doing? Sun bathing?"

Veemon picked his face up out of the dirt. "Agumon! We've been looking all over for you!"

Veemon and the others picked themselves up, and ran (well stumbled really) up the hillside to greet their friends.

"Man... Why couldn't they come down here?!" Armadillomon whined, as he tried to pull himself up to the top.

"Hey buddy!" Veemon greeted Wormmon. "What are you doing in these parts?"

"Well to tell you the truth... That thing!" Wormmon pointed to the sky at a large black cloud. Every mouth in Veemon's group hit the ground.

"What is that thing doing here?!" Gatomon gasped.

"It must be stalking us!" Tentomon buzzed.

"What are you guys talking about? That thing has been up there for a week!" Agumon informed them. "You mean you guys have one by you too?"

"You mean there's more than one of them?!" Veemon freaked.

Wormmon jumped in. "Are you kidding?! Those things have been popping up everywhere! That's the reason I came here... I've been sensing the worst kind of darkness emitting from those things..."

"Your telling us?!" Gatomon cracked. "We've experienced that first hand!"

"What do you mean by that?" Agumon wondered.

"We'll get to that in a minute," Tentomon said. "Right now we need to focus on getting everyone together. You don't happen to know where any of the others are hiding do you?"

"As a matter of fact I do," Agumon replied. "Gomamon took the river upstream to see if he could track down Gabumon and Palmon while Wormmon and I were going to look for you. In the meantime Hawkmon, and Biyomon went to get a closer look at that cloud..."

"THEY WHAT?!" everyone belted out at once nearly knocking Agumon over. Gatomon was the first to follow up. "We've got to warn them! They're in great danger if they get to close to that thing?!"

"I've already made that mistake once, and against my own freewill mind you." Tentomon glared at Patamon and Gatomon. They started giggling, but soon stopped both of them realizing the seriousness of the situation. "I watched a Birddramon fly into that cloud, and she turned into solid stone! On top of that this swarm of hornet type Digimon came out of the cloud, and attacked us! They weren't that strong, but I just hate the thought of getting hit with anything that comes out of something's butt!"

"I'm not even going to ask what you meant by that..." Agumon winced right before remembering a more important matter. Oh that's right! Biyomon, and Hawkmon! If what your saying is true then we have to warn them fast!"

"Looks like you're up again Tentomon," Gatomon said.

"Why me again?! I had to do it last time!"

"This is important Tentomon! Don't worry, I'll go with you this time," Patamon huffed, as he took to the air. "We've got to hurry we don't have much time!"

"Oh okay!" Tentomon whined, as he flew after Patamon. "My wings are going to smart for weeks!"

"I wish we could do something besides stand here and wait!" Armadillomon complained after Tentomon and Patamon had flown out of their line of sight.

"What can we do? None of us know how to fly!" Agumon pointed out.

Gatomon's head perked up. "Wait a second! Hey Wormmon. You can fly when your Stingmon right? If you digivolve you can fly up to help them, and probably get to the others faster then Patamon and Tentomon can."

Wormmon didn't appear very confident. "I don't know... I've never digivolved without Ken before... I'm not sure if I'd know how to do it alone!"

"That's what we use to think," Agumon told him. "Somewhere along the way the other original Digimon, and myself learned how to digivolve to Champion level without our partners. I'm sure you could do it too if you tried!"

"I still don't know..."

"You can do it Wormmon!" Veemon encouraged. "Just concentrate really hard, and believe in yourself! I'd try it too, but I'm too exhausted to digivolve right now."

"Well... Okay. I guess It wouldn't hurt to give it a shot..." Wormmon dug his feet into the ground, and tried to focus all the energy in his body. "Wormmon digivolve too!.... Stingmon!..."

"I did it!" Stingmon announced proudly, hovering in the air above the group of his friends.

"You go Stingmon!" Veemon pumped his fist into the air.

"You better hurry and catch up with the other's!" Agumon ordered.

"Right!"

The cloud wasn't as high in the air as the Digimon had originally thought for it didn't take Patamon and Tentomon long to reach it. Unfortunately they were too late, and found Biyomon and Hawkmon being swarmed by another half a dozen of those yellow jacket things that had attacked them the day before.

"Spiral Twister!" Biyomon grunted after her target darted out of the way. "Dang it, they're too fast! They won't stand still long enough for me to hit them!"

"I see what you mean?" Hawkmon panted, while barely dodging a countless barrage of oncoming attacks. "By the time I find a free moment to attempt to digivovle I'll be too drained of energy to succeed!"

"I can't keep this up much longer! If we don't think of something quick we're going to be digidust in no time!"

"Well, if you have any ideas I'm listening! If not then the only advice I can give to you is don't get killed!"

"Boom Bubble!"

"Super Shocker!"

Stunned, both Biyomon and Hawkmon looked down to see several of their enemies getting ambushed from behind. For whatever reason this seemed to discombobulate the rest of the group causing them to start flying around erratically. The bird Digimon didn't waste time asking questioning, and pummeled their enemies with attacks of there own effectively eliminating four of them. The two left remaining quickly zipped out of harms way, and retreated for the dark cloud.

"Are you two all right?" Tentomon asked, as the friends greeted each other.

"We are thanks to you guys!" Biyomon chirped happily.

"You sure showed up in the nick of time!" Hawkmon commended. "Those things came out of nowhere! One minute we were preparing to fly inside that cloud for a closer look , and then the next thing we knew those things were all over us!"

"It was probably a good thing they did attack you," Tentomon said confusing the heck out of the two bird Digimon. "If you had flown into that cloud you'd both be statues by now!"

"What do you mean?" Biyomon asked.

"Well, I watched a Birddramon fly into one of those clouds yesterday, and the next thing I knew she was solid rock! Needless to say I didn't follow her in to see if the same thing would happen to me!"

"Hey guys can we discuss this later?" Patamon panted. "I'm not use to flying at this altitude... The air pressure is making it hard for my wings to hold my body up in the air..."

"I'm rather spent myself," Hawkmon concurred. "Let's make a hasty exit before those things decide to give a return performance."

"Guys... I'm afraid it may be too late for that," Biyomon groaned, as she watched their two reaming enemies fly back out into the open.

The Digimon braced to defend themselves, but their foes never attacked. A midair stare down ensued for a good two minutes with neither side budging one inch.

"Why are they just standing there?" Patamon asked. "I mean floating there... I mean hovering there! Whatever!"

"Should we make a break for it?" Biyomon wondered. "Maybe we'll get lucky, and they won't chase after us."

"I don't think we can take that chance," Hawkmon doubted. "Even at full strength they could probably run us down in a heartbeat, and we're significantly drained right now."

"Why don't we just take them out?!" Tentomon suggested. "There are four of us, and only two of them after all! Unless they call out some serious backup we should be able to take them no problem!"

In about ten seconds Tentomon would be wishing he had kept his mouth shut. A thunderous buzzing sound coming from inside the cloud caught the ears of the digi-crew, and they could see a large shadow begin descending down from the cloud over the other two insect Digimon. It looked exactly like the other Digimon, except this one had to have been at least four times the size of its smaller counterparts.

"I think we might've found Mama," Hawkmon winced.

"Is that enough backup for you Tentomon?" Patamon asked him.

"Yeah, that's plenty for me thanks...."

After a brief pause, the larger Digimon did something they hadn't seen any of the smaller type do yet. It began speaking to them in a low toned cheesy tough-guy type of voice you'd hear in a really bad western movie. "I'm Waspmon, and my little buddies here are called Thornetmon. We serve our Dark Lord Satamon faithfully, and you kids are trespassing on his private property! Of course the penalty for that is immediate termination. Do you hombres have any last requests before I vaporize the lot of you into kilobytes?"

"Just one," Tentomon took up his offer. "Please don't."

"Request denied!"

Waspmon lunged at them with his lance-like stinger pointing straight out causing the group to scatter around in a panic, but Waspmon never got to them. He was bumped in the back from below by a Digimon of equal size causing him to do a mid-air 360 before regaining his balance. The rookie Digimon sighed with relief as Stingmon stood in between them, and the huge wasp.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size you overgrown sapsucker?!" Stingmon challenged.

"No problem... If it's a fight you're looking for then I'll be more than happy to oblige you!"

"Oh nice accent. Can you do a bad British impersonation too?"

"Like you talk any better! What? Do you have the hiccups or something?! Try this on for size! Poison Sting!"

Waspmon fired his stinger at Stingmon, which he easily dodged. Stingmon tackled the giant yellow jacket, and the two started kicking and swatting at each other in midair. Waspmon flipped himself over, and fired at Stingmon again. The shot wisped right past Stingmon's right ear, and nailed one of Waspmons smaller partners dead on. Stingmon watched the small Digimon turn to solid stone, and plummet to the ground below.

"Note to self. Avoid letting him hit you with that thing at all cost!"

"That's easier said then done!"

Waspmon poked at Stingmon repeatedly forcing him to bob and weave out of the way. After finally having enough of that, Stingmon blocked Waspmon's progress with his elbow providing him with a great opportunity to launch his Lightning Strike attack that sent Waspmon reeling. Stingmon followed through with a flurry of punches pushing Waspmon to his limit surprisingly fast. Finally, the bug Digimon had enough, and quickly flew out of harms way."

"That's it I've had it! I'll give you this round buddy, but don't you dare think you've seen the last of me yet! Not by a long shot!" Waspmon shouted, as he disappeared into the mist followed by his lone remaining companion.

"Don't think your getting away from me that easily!" Stingmon yelled, as he jetted upward towards the dark cloud.

"STINGMON STOP! DON'T GO IN THERE!" Tentomon warned.

Stingmon came to a screeching halt just inches away from entering the mist. He looked back at Tentomon. "What's up? What's the matter?!"

"I wouldn't go in there if I were you! The last Digimon I watched fly into one of those turned into stone!"

"But Waspmon came out of the cloud, and he just flew back inside without anything happening to him!"

"I know, but I think that's because they have something to do with the actual origin of that mist!" Tentomon explained. "I have reason to believe that whenever ordinary Digimon such as ourselves go inside that mist we turn into garden sculptures! If you want to try and prove my theory wrong then be my guest, but don't expect us to come in there looking for you if you don't come back out!"

Stingmon stared down the cloud, and debated his options. The thought of possibly becoming a lawn jockey weighed heaviest on his mind. "No... Just the same I think I'll take your word for it..."

Stingmon loaded up his exhausted friends on his back, and flew back down to the spot where Agumon and the others were waiting for him. After a quick rest period, and a much needed healthy supper from food Agumon had kept hidden in a secret spot for just such an emergency, the Digimon gathered around in a circle to discuss what everyone knew and just what they were going to do about the situation at hand.

"Well there's two things we know for sure," Agumon announced. "We have to find out more about this mist and who's behind it, and we have to find some way to contact our friends in the human world."

"On the plus side Izzy, Tai, and Kari already know about the mist so I'm sure they're trying to figure out a way to contact us as well," Gatomon said optimistically.

"Yeah, but we need to do something soon before that mist starts to spread any further... " Agumon looked at Tentomon. "Tentomon, you've been analyzing this situation as much as anyone has right? Do you have any ideas, or is there anything else you can tell us concerning what's going on? You're the only Mon I can think of who might possibly know anything."

"Well, there is one thing I'm sure of! After analyzing all the facts, considering all the variables, crunching all the data available, and observing everything that's happened so far over the last two days I've come to the conclusion that....... I have absolutely no idea what's going on...."

Everyone, excluding Tentomon, collapsed to the ground. "Tentomon! This is serious!" Veemon scolded.

"I am serious! I honestly have no clue..."

"Just forget about that for now!" Agumon took charge. "Right now let's focus on finding the others, and finding a way to contact Tai and the others. Whatever we do let's make sure we stick together. Since we don't really know what's going to happen our lives may depend on not separating. Let's call it a night, and then we get moving first thing in the morning."

********

"Try it one more time Yolie," Izzy requested.

Without hesitating Yolie held her D-3 up to the computer screen. "Digiport open!" They waited for several seconds, but the light stayed off keeping them locked outside of the Digital World. "Nope, still nothing... I'm sorry Izzy."

"There's nothing you can do about that Yolie. Why don't you give it a shot Ken?"

"Okay, but I don't see why it would work for me when it didn't for Yolie..." Ken tried to open the digiport as well, but received the exact same result Yolie had. Tai, who had been watching them from the back of the room, grunted disgustedly and stared out the window.

"Maybe they don't work anymore?" Yolie figured.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Ken spoke. "Maybe this is a good sign. Technically we're not supposed to be able to go to the Digital World unless there's a problem. Maybe we've been worrying over nothing."

"That's a good point Ken. I had just been considering the same thing," Izzy said.

"How can we be sure of that?!" Tai barked, suddenly jumping into the conversation. "What about that black cloud Tentomon was talking about, and how the link went dead all of the sudden! Something smells fishy to me... Something could be going horribly wrong over there, and we have no way of knowing about it!"

"That may be true but since the D-3's aren't functioning we have no way of getting to, or communicating with the Digital World," Izzy told him.

"Damn those pieces of junk!" Tai cursed. "There's got to be something we can do!"

Yolie placed a hand on Tai's shoulder. "Calm down Tai! I'm sure we'll think of something. We're all worried about the Digimon, but having a coronary over this isn't going to help matters!"

"She's right Tai," Izzy agreed. "Just be patient and hope. I'll discover a way to get through to the Digital World yet, you'll see. Just give me some time."

"I'll try Izzy... I hate having my hands tied!" Tai walked over to the far wall, and looked out the window. It wouldn't matter how hard he may try he just wouldn't be able to get his little Digimon friend out of his mind until he was sure everything was okay, so he wasn't going to bother. *Don't worry Agumon... If anything's wrong then we'll find a way to help you guys... I promise.*

********

Matt thumbed through his newspaper not really reading it, but staring at it not really taking in anything he was reading. If you would've asked him he probably wouldn't have been able to tell you if he was reading the classifieds or the sports section. The paper just happened to be there on a night where he had nothing else remotely interesting to do. He sat at the kitchen table alone like he did most nights, at least as of late anyway. Between all the overtime at work, and his friends reintroducing him to the nightlife Matt rarely saw his father anymore. If Mr. Ishida didn't blow in every night for his seven hours of sleep Matt would practically live there alone. He hadn't been what you'd call happy over the past month or two. He couldn't seem to find any interest in anything he did, and nothing in his life seemed fulfilling any longer. Even his music was tiring on him fast. As each day past his heart seemed to tell him a little more that this really wasn't what he wanted to dedicate his life to day in day out. It felt like something had been digging a hole into his chest making him feel alone and empty. He tried everything he could think of, but he couldn't seem to fill it no matter what he did. Even Sora couldn't help him through this. He always believed that love was something that was supposed to get stronger over time and help you through times like this, not die out and get to a point where it almost feels more like a nuisance then anything else. That's the reason he broke it off with her in the first place. As his mind slowly got lost in this depressed state, he had been unwittingly shutting himself off to the outside world, and his friends pushing them away without even really noticing it. He'd even been drifting apart from his brother in a way, something he vowed never to do from a young age. However things were much different from the time he'd made that promise to himself. He had to face it, TK was growing up into a young man, and discovering a new life for himself. TK was no longer the scared little boy that worshiped the ground Matt walked on, and who's entire life revolved around what Matt thought of him. He was by no means upset to watch his brother grow up or live his own life, but though he would never admit it aloud he was going to miss that. He knew TK would always look up to him, but things would never be like they were before. At the rate TK was growing Matt was beginning to worry he may be the one looking up to him in a couple of years.

Matt sighed as he dropped the newspaper on the table, and sunk back into his chair. Lost in his thoughts he didn't even notice that someone had snuck into his apartment. Lucky for him it was a friendly intruder, and an old friend he hadn't seen in a while.

Matt nearly jumped out of his chair at the feel of a slender pair of hands covering his eyes. "Guess who?" a voice said causing Matt to settle down.

Matt smirked recognizing the voice immediately. "Let me see here... There's only two people I know of with enough nerve to sneak into someone's home while they're alone without permission, and since Tai's voice doesn't sound that sweet I'd wager that it must be Mimi!"

"Bingo!" she said, as she pulled her hands from his face. Matt looked up, and sure enough there was Mimi standing over him. She'd gone back to the same hairstyle she wore the first time they went to the Digital World, but now without the pink cowboy hat. "I'm sorry about sneaking in like that. I knocked but nobody answered. I don't what possessed me too, but I let myself in and well... What's the matter? Did you not want to be bothered or something?

Matt looked surprised. "No, I wasn't paying any attention. Don't worry about it. I think I needed the wakeup call." Matt stood up, and gave Mimi a quick hug. "It's good to see you again. What brings you over my way?"

"I'm in town visiting relatives with my folks, and I wanted to drop in on my friends while I was here. I figured I'd surprise you guys instead of calling ahead."

"And you chose to visit me first? I'm flattered."

"Sure did," Mimi smiled. "Well actually... I went to Sora's place first, but she was working at the flower shop. I tried Tai and Kari's next but they weren't home, then I tried Joe's then Izzy's but they weren't home either. I was really getting frustrated before I tried TK's house but..."

"Okay, okay I get the picture!" Matt begged, wanting the torture to end.

Matt pulled her up a seat, and they sat down to catch up on the last several months since Mimi had been to Odabia. Matt had to admit it was nice to see her again, and it did help him to forget about his problems for a short while. Mimi's somewhat annoying sometimes snobbish sounding way of talking didn't get to Matt like it did a lot of other people. "So, is your father having any luck finding a job in Tokyo? I mean the last time I talked to you, you mentioned he had been looking for a job in the area."

"Yeah on and off... My parents really want to come back to Japan, but it's kind of hard for him to look when he's all the way in New York. He's going to be looking while we're on vacation here the next couple weeks, but I'm not going to get my hopes up just yet..."

"It would be nice having you close by again. I'll admit things are very different without you here, but I haven't decided whether that's a good thing or bad thing yet!"

"Very funny!" Mimi smacked him in the arm playfully. "I really miss you guys... So, how have the other's been doing? I haven't gotten a chance to talk with any of them yet."

Matt frowned slightly, and coughed into his hand. "They're all okay I guess..."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Mimi asked, puzzled by the strange response.

"It's nothing... I just haven't seen much of anybody lately... I've been really busy with some things..."

"I see..." Mimi paused looking for a delicate way to ask her next question. "So, I heard you and Sora broke up last month... I was kind of wondering how that happened. You guys really seemed happy with each other before."

Matt swallowed hard. "It didn't work out. At least it wasn't working for me anymore... I wasn't feeling the same way about her I did at first... I still care about her, but it's just not quite the same way as it was before... I guess we were just two kids who had crushes on each other, but most of those usually don't last forever. I know Sora's having trouble getting over it, but she will in time."

"Maybe, but she really cares about you Matt," Mimi argued. "I don't think you realize just how much you hurt her when you ended your relationship."

Matt stared down at the table coldly. "Sometimes I wonder about that. I guess that was one of my biggest problems. I was never quite sure if it was really me she liked, or just the pretty boy rock star image she was into like half the other teenaged girls around this town that wanted to climb all over me..."

Mimi's mouth fell to the floor after hearing that, and it caused something inside her to snap. She stood up, and slapped Matt right across the mouth shocking the hell out of him. He stared back at her with wide-eyes, his cheeks tinted pink with his left side trying to fight through the burning red mark her hand had left on his face. "Yamato Ishida I can't believe you'd say something like that about her! You know her a lot better than that Matt! She's one of the most caring and levelheaded people I know, and I won't have you sitting here talking about one of my best friends like she's some kind of cheap slut!"

Matt rubbed his stinging left cheek, trying with all his might to keep his temper in check. Now that he thought back to it he was glad he hadn't used that line on Tai the day before, because instead of just getting a slap he might've been missing some teeth instead. "I can understand why your upset Mimi, but I think it would best for you to leave right now."

Mimi backed up realizing what she'd done. "I'm sorry Matt... I shouldn't have slapped you, but I couldn't just..."

"OUT MIMI!" After a moment Matt hung his head in guilt while still rubbing at his face.

"Okay.... Good-bye Matt."

********

"This better be good Davis!" Kari snapped at him growing annoyed that he'd been dragging her around town for twenty minutes. "I'm really not in the mood for games right now, so if you've dragged me all the way out here for nothing..."

"We're almost there," Davis assured her. "I promise you, I wouldn't joke around about something serious like this! I have to ask you again though, are you sure you want to see this? I'm pretty sure you're not going to be thrilled when you see what he's doing..."

"Stop playing around, and get on with it Davis!"

"Okay, Okay!" Davis backed off. "It's not like you're in a nasty enough mood as it is huh? Well brace yourself because here we are."

"What?"

"In there." Davis pointed to a small ice cream shop across the street. He motioned for Kari to peer inside the window where she saw an unmistakable hat sitting in a both across from some blonde girl, both of them eating ice cream. "She's kind of hard to make out from here, but I'm pretty sure that's not TK's mother."

Meanwhile inside the shop TK wasn't enjoying his afternoon one bit. In a rush to get out of there, TK gobbled down his order as quickly as he could, but Amber had counteracted that by deliberately eating hers as slowly as she could. "Now I want you to understand something Amber. I like you and all, but it's not quite the way you want it. Davis set this up not me."

"I figured that, but I'm not going to let that bother me," Amber giggled. "Come on, give me a chance TK! Try to enjoy yourself! I don't bite..."

"That's not what I heard..." TK muttered under his breath.

"What was that?"

"Oh it was nothing..." TK blushed not meaning for that to slip loose. Normally he tried his best not to be rude despite the situation, but sometimes that was harder to do than others. "Are you going to be finished with that anytime soon? I hate to rush you, but I really need to be going as soon as possible."

"Oh, what are you being such a party pooper for?" she asked playfully. "What's really the matter? Are you afraid your little friend Kari will get mad at you if you stay to long?"

TK's cheeks burned even brighter. "No! Kari has nothing to do with this! I was supposed to help my mom pack for a business trip, and she's already going to be angry with me for being this late!"

"Was that the best excuse you could come up with?" Amber taunted. "So what is the story with you and Kari anyway TK? For being just your friend she sure seems to have you wrapped around her little finger. Did you have to get permission from her before you even came here?"

"She does not, and no I didn't!" TK barked defensively. "She's my best friend and I value her opinion, but she doesn't tell me where I can go and what I can do!"

"Oh really?!" she laughed. "Is that why you seem so nervous every time she catches you talking with me, or the other girls? She definitely seems to have some sort of control over you TK. It's a shame really. You can do so much better than her. She's so plain looking, and that sweet cutesy attitude she tries to show isn't fooling anyone. Everyone at school thinks she's a flake. I don't see why you'd waste your time with her when you could..."

"That's it!" TK slammed his hands into the table as he stood up. "I've tried to be nice, but now you've gone too far! Kari's my best friend, and I won't sit here and listen to you insult her thank you very much! If this is your strange way of trying to get me to warm up to you then pick a different approach, because it isn't working! I've heard enough! I'm out of here!"

Unfortunately TK had chosen to leave a little too late. He stormed away from his booth only to run into Kari who had entered the shop just a few seconds before. Her eyebrows bent low over her eyes, and her frown could've scared the stripes off a full-grown tiger. "Helping your mother huh?"

"Kari! I can explain... This isn't what it looks like!..." TK mentally slapped himself for that one. He thought he sounded just like a soon to be ex-husband who just got caught by his wife in bed with another woman.

"Sure it isn't! So this is what you blew me off for huh?! You don't have any time to finish our work, but I see you had plenty of time to waste with her! Well that's just fine Takeru! That's just fine!" She shouted, right before she stormed out the front door of the ice cream shop.

"Kari wait!" TK sweat dropped, and went off after her. Nether one of them even noticed everyone in the place was staring at them.

Amber sunk back into her booth and grinned. "Just friends huh?"

"Kari please let me explain!" he pleaded, as he chased her down the street. Davis stood nearby, and listened in on the conversation. "I really did have to help my mother after school today, but somehow I got stuck doing this! Davis set this up, I didn't even want to come!"

"Oh grow up TK! Don't try to blame this on Davis! You're the one who got his hand caught in the cookie jar!"

"Got caught doing what?!" TK fumed, starting to grow angry himself. "I didn't do anything wrong! So I sat down, and ate some ice cream with Amber! What's the big deal?! It's nothing for you to be getting all upset over!"

"I'm not upset over that!" Kari fired back. "You could date the entire freaking cheerleading squad for all I care! You could've just told me you were planning on going on a date with Amber instead of lying to me about it!"

"It was not a date!... And so what if it was?! I wasn't lying, but what would've been the point of telling you anyway?! You just would've gotten mad at me then to! Newsflash Kari, but you don't tell me what to do, and you can't tell me who I can be friends with!"

"I wasn't trying to! You can do whatever you want TK! I don't care!..." Kari turned her back to him. "Don't you think that's a little low of you TK? Flirting with all those girls so zealously when you know you don't have any real interest in any of them. Your just leading them on you know, or do you really plan on trying to play all of them?"

"Of course not!" TK grunted. He paused a moment, and then smiled evilly thinking up the perfect come back. "And what about you little miss Kamiya? It's not like your exactly innocent yourself!"

Kari scoffed. "What are you talking about?!"

"You haven't been shy about playing with people's feelings either! Like the way you use to do with Davis and me all the time! How you'd constantly flirt, and pretend you were interested in me all the time just to make Davis jealous! Despite what you knew you were doing to him did you ever stop to think what you might be doing to me in the process?! What if I hadn't known you weren't serious about it? Did you stop to think what you might've been doing to me? Did you even care?! I was lucky I knew better than that!"

Kari looked surprised. "TK! I never... You don't even know what you're talking about!"

"I know exactly what I'm talking about Kari!"

"No you don't because if you did you wouldn't say something like that! You don't know how I think Takeru! If you had any idea how I was feel...." Kari stopped herself before she let something slip out of her mouth that she didn't want to. "Just forget it! I'm through talking to you TK! Go finish your date with your little friend! Tell her I'm sorry I kept you from her for so long!"

"Kari!..." TK growled, and punched through the air. "Fine! Just go! I'm tired of having to defend everything I do to you! It's my life Kari! I'll do what I want with it whether you like it or not!"

Davis bit his lower lip. He had learned something this afternoon since this was the first time he'd actually seen it. He hated watching TK and Kari fight. It just didn't seem natural. Anger wasn't an emotion either one them displayed very often, and especially towards each other. The thing he hated most of all was being one of the key causes of it. A drop of sweat trickled from his forehead as TK turned around, and noticed Davis was there for the first time. The look TK gave him wasn't all that pleasant.

"Davis!? What are you doing here?!"

"Well... I just happened to be with Kari when she... Well you know?"

"You were with her!" TK shrieked. "Davis you knew I was going to be here this afternoon! You set the damn thing up after all! Did you even tell her what you did?!"

Davis sweat dropped. "I tried TK, I swear! It kind of slipped my mind I guess... I tried to tell her once I remembered, but she wouldn't believe me! I'm sorry TK, but there was nothing I could do! I promise! You know I would've prevented this from happening if I could! I'm sorry TK..."

"Never mind Davis..." TK sighed. "I shouldn't blame you for this... I don't understand why she's so mad at me! I haven't done anything wrong, and I haven't lied to her once! Oh forget it! I'm tired of worrying about it! If she wants to be mad then let her be mad! I don't care anymore either!"

"And you shouldn't be TK! She has no right to get upset with you over it! What do you care what she thinks anyway? Just forget about her, and do what you want to do!"

"I'd love to but..." TK chocked. "But I just can't! I care about her too much... I don't want her upset with me, but what can I do about it?! Oh forget it! I don't want to have to worry about this right now!"

TK stormed off forgetting Davis was even there. Davis stared blankly in the direction he had walked off in. "I really am sorry..."

Davis could hear the television that was on inside of the ice cream shop. It was tuned in to the local news with the weatherman in the middle of the day's forecast.

"It's going to be an unseasonably hot spring night tonight folks. Don't be surprised if temperatures get as high as 85 degrees. All in all it should be clear, warm, and mild. A perfect night for an evening walk, or if you just want to stargaze or something."

Davis laughed at the forecast. "I think you missed it by a long shot buddy. I feel a cold one coming on tonight. At least for me anyway..."

********

Davis sat himself down at a table in the picnic area of the park. He had a nice view of the setting sun from there, but that was the farthest thing from his mind at the moment. He wasn't proud of what he was doing, and he by no means enjoyed it. In fact he down right hated it, but then why did he find it so easy to do? Just when he thought it was becoming too much, and he couldn't go through with it something deep inside kept pushing him into pressing on. He didn't want to do it yet he was able to play his role so flawlessly, and he was ashamed of that. One thing that he happened to discover he was really good at, and it just had to be playing with people's minds and tugging at their hearts. After all, here he was right now poised and ready to pounce again. He didn't want to be, but here he was.

"There you are!" Joe pushed up his glasses, and glared at Davis.

"Hey Joe... You wanted to talk to me?"

"Indeed I do." Joe sat down across from Davis. "I need to talk to you about Cody. I had a rather interesting conversation with him yesterday."

"Oh, you've talked to Cody?" Davis smiled. "How has he been doing? I haven't seen him in a while."

Joe frowned. "Don't play games with me Davis! I know what you did! Cody told me all about the things you said to him the other day. I want to know what you think you were doing, and why?! Cody's your friend, so why did you alienate him like you did?!"

"What are you talking about?" Davis asked, trying to sound offended.

"Stop playing dumb Davis!" Joe snapped. "Cody told me that you've been telling him all his friends think he's an annoying brat who's always getting in the way! I can't be sure about you anymore Davis, but I know the rest of us don't think of him in that way!"

"Hey! Calm down Joe!" Davis begged off, still pretending he didn't understand what Joe was getting at. "I don't know what he's been telling you, but I haven't said anything like that to Cody! I promise you! I haven't even spoken to Cody in over a week! I've hardly seen him except for occasionally at school! I'm sorry Joe, but whatever he's been telling you it's all been a big lie!"

Joe took a moment to consider that. Davis did seem like he was being honest with him, and Davis had never been one that was very good at hiding his emotions. Still... "Come on Davis! Why would Cody lie to me?! He was practically crying yesterday when he talked to me!"

"I don't know what to tell you Joe.... Unless...."

"What?"

Davis lowered his head, as if he were reluctant to say what was on his mind. "This might be a shock to you since you don't know Cody as well as I do, but Cody's not completely the sweet innocent kid he seems to be. He has been known to lie, and he's not above taking advantage of people to get what he wants. I found that out the hard way because he's done it to me! I have called him a selfish brat a couple times before because of that, and maybe he got that confused with something else... Then again maybe he's trying to get you to feel sorry for him, because he wants something from you."

"Excuse me?" Joe scoffed, clearly not believing him. "If Cody needs help or something he knows all he has to do is ask me! Why in the world would he even try to lie, or put on some act?! Tell me that much at least Davis!"

"Well... I'm sorry to say this Joe, but you've always had the reputation of someone who is well..." Davis exhaled trying his best to keep a straight face. This wasn't getting any easier for him. "How do I say this... Easy to manipulate. Someone that would hold a stick of dynamite that's already been lit for someone if they asked you the right way."

"I am not easy to manipulate!" Joe defended himself. "I'm dependable, and I'm there when my friends really need me! Its called reliability! Who in the heck besides you thinks I'm easy to manipulate?!"

"Everyone does, and there's a fine line between being reliable and being a pushover Joe! You may not see it, but everyone you've called your friend has taken advantage of you at some time or another because they can get you to do stuff for them other people won't! Remember that time Matt and Tai had you cover for them when they told you they had to sneak out of the house for the night to take care of some business in the Digital World? Well I've got news for you Joe! They didn't go to the Digital World! They took the opportunity to sneak out to some party their parents told them they couldn't go to!"

"They did?..." Joe shook his head realizing whom they were talking about. "No! Matt, and Tai wouldn't blatantly lie to me like that! They're my friends!"

"Well they did! I know because I was there that night!" Davis lied. "And another thing is that I don't think your friends think all that highly of you. Particularly Matt and Tai. I think their exact words were let's call that idiot Joe! We can talk him into doing anything! Hell I've heard the others call you everything from a sucker to a nerd! Face it Joe, you rub off on most people like a hopeless geek who'll do anything for someone just because he's desperate for people to like him! I'm not saying that's my opinion of you personally Joe, but that's what I've heard the other's saying..."

"I don't know what you're trying to pull here Davis, but I don't believe a word that's come out of your mouth!" Joe sat up forcefully. "I think I may just go ask the other's about the information you just gave me myself! I don't know what your problem is Davis, but get over it quick!"

Davis sighed, as Joe stormed off. Davis had never seen Joe that angry in all the time he'd known him. He at least succeeded in getting under his skin at the very least. Davis rested his chin on the table with full intentions of trying to forget about what he'd just done, but little did he know there was something else lurking nearby that wasn't about to let him.

"Why does this have to be me? I don't know how long I can go through with this..."

"Admit it Davis. You're enjoying yourself."

Davis's head shot up at the sound of the voice. "Who said that?!"

"I did."

"Who did what?! Where are you?!" Davis stood up, and looked around in every direction.

"Don't bother looking because you can't see me, but don't worry. I'm near by. Trust me. As for my identity let's just say I'm an interested observer who's been keeping a close eye on this personal dilemma you've been going through."

"You know about this?! Tell me what's going on then! Please!"

"I'm sorry, but that wouldn't be in my best interest," the voice giggled sinisterly. "Now tell me the truth Davis. You're getting some kind of sick personal joy out of tormenting your friends like this aren't you?"

"Of course I'm not!" Davis screamed into the wind. The voice was like nothing he had ever heard before. Deep, cold, and smoky it chilled him to the bone. "I've been forced to do this! I'm not enjoying it one bit!"

"Of course you are Davis!" the voice cackled. "You may not even realize it in your mind yet, but deep down your loving every second of this! It's been something you've been bottling up for a long time now. Think about how natural it's come to you, and you know you had to get it from somewhere. You've always been cold, and uncaring deep in your heart Davis. Why shouldn't you be? They've always ridiculed and talked down to you, and they've even had the nerve to do it right in front of your face the entire time! Some friends! Your just paying them back for all the grief they've put you through. I know your savoring every second of this Davis... Because I'm a part of you Davis, and I can feel it in your blood. It's a part of you Davis. Accept it. Be one with your dark side Davis. You know you want to be.... Revel in it. Take pride in it."

"They did put me down a lot... But that was a long time ago! That was a time when I was a lot less mature, and things are a lot different now then they were then! I don't believe you! I won't listen to you! Shut up, and get out of my head!"

"You can't fight it forever Davis," the voice laughed. "You'll admit it to yourself soon enough. I'll make sure of that. You can't get rid of me Davis... Because I'm a part of you. A part of you you've been trying to push to the surface for a long time. Remember that."

Almost as quickly as it had started the voice stopped. Davis put his hands against his ears, and squeezed them hard against his head. He'd had some weird things happen to him over the last few weeks, but this one really shook him up. That little voice had succeeded in planting something into his head Davis really didn't want rooted there. That was the thought now running laps around his mind... What if the voice was right?

"I can't believe Davis's nerve!" Joe yelped, as he cleaned his glasses. "Now I know he's been making up that crap he's been telling Cody, because he just did the same thing to me! I don't know what he thinks he's going to accomplish, but I intend to find out! I really thought he was above this sort of thing!" Joe placed his glasses back on his face, and then stopped dead in his tracks. A deep raspy voice played with his head, and seemed to confirm everything Davis had told him. Joe figured it was his subconscious doubts that were trying to argue with him. "But what if Davis is right?... Are the others trying to take advantage of me? They do seem to ask a lot of me, and a lot of those things have seemed to me that they should've been able to do easily on their own.... Do they really think of me that way? That's the way I use to see myself when I was younger, but that was before I met my friends. Do I let people take advantage of me so they'll like me?... No! I do it because I like being there for people, and I feel a sense of pride from being dependable! Don't I?..." "Davis and Cody both seemed legit. Who do I believe?"

"Who do you want to believe?" his subconscious asked him.

"I don't want to believe either one of them! I'd hate to think that either Cody or Davis would be willing to lie, and manipulate people like that!"

"But you have to admit that Davis does have a point. Your friends do take advantage of you, and you know it and let them do it. Face it, your friends have no respect for you. The only reason they put up with you is because they feel pity for you. You've known this all along Joe, so why are you so surprised when you finally hear it form someone with your own ears?"

"That's right..." Joe sighed. "I've always had a feeling they... I've always seemed to be out of the loop, especially lately. The odd man out of everything... No! Why am I thinking this way?! They're my friends... They wouldn't... Would they? Maybe they're not the people I thought I knew. Maybe I haven't changed as much as I thought I had..."

Joe hung his head, and headed for home with his already fragile self-confidence being hammered into dust. Not too far away another boy was fighting a losing battle with his emotions, feeling remorse for what he'd been doing, and avidly denying what he was supposedly trying to convince himself. Indeed the games had begun, as an eerie giggle could faintly be heard carrying in the wind.

end.

I can't possibly do this enough, but I want to thank everyone who's been reading and reviewing my stories over the past several months. I do read all my reviews, and I do take everyone's opinions and comments to heart whether it's one word or a short essay. I'll admit I do have my favorites, but I won't mention any names. I don't consider any one person more important than the other after all. I just felt I should say that it is looked at, and it is appreciated. Thank you very much!

-Here's a special preview of Part 3! The Digimon continue to look for a way to contact the human world, but their vow to stay together lasts less than twenty-four hours. Matt's depression gets worse as he starts asking tough questions about himself, and Davis finally decides to tell the other Digidestined about his dreams. In the meantime the tension between TK and Kari is starting to grow, and something big is getting ready to blow! TaKari fans are going to get a charge out of this! Here's a hint, the chapters called "Friends forever... Aren't we?" I'll let you piece the rest of it together.