-Finally, part five is done! This turned out to be a whole lot longer then I originally planned. Once I got started I just couldn't stop, which means I was really into it which is a very good sign coming from me. I usually have these things planned out way ahead of time, but for this one I actually wrote about half of it as I went. I hope you enjoy! I'm going to apologize right now for the name of the Digimon that appears late in this chapter, but I just couldn't help myself. I swear it wasn't the name I originally had planned for him, but when it first crossed my mind I literally almost fell out of my chair laughing. I couldn't resist but use that as his name… You'll see what I mean when you get there!

It's nice to know some of you are actually enjoying what I'm doing here. (I'm not going to name any names at the moment, but you all know who you are) I do read and pay attention to all my reviews and e-mails, and nothing encourages me more then hearing good things about my work though I don't feel I really deserve it. Thank you anyway, and it is appreciated. I do want to answer one question though that I thought was rather interesting. Yes, the title and secondary purpose of this story is kind of a slam against Toei and the way 02 ended. If you read between the lines you'll find a lot of little things I've tossed in there.

To Hell With Destiny!

The Undersea Master

"I wonder if I should even bother going up there?" Ken sighed, as he stared up at the window to Izzy's apartment.

"Of course you should!" Wormmon, who was resting comfortably in Ken's arms, answered him. "We have to find a way back to the Digital World! If I understood what that old Wizardmon said, then our worlds will be doomed if we don't defeat Satamon and keep that mist from spreading!"

"I understand that but… Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course you can Ken. Ask me anything you want. Is something wrong?"

"Wormmon…" Ken turned his head to the side. "Do you think I still have evil tendencies inside of me?"

Wormmon stared at Ken like he was nuts. "Excuse me?! Of course I don't! Why would you ask a question like that?!"

"That's not quite what I meant," Ken stuttered. "What I mean is do you think I've put all my demons behind me, or do you think that essence of evil that helped spawn the Digimon Emperor is still swimming around inside me somewhere?…"

"Um… I'm sure a small part of that will always be with you, dark spore or no dark spore, but I'm positive it will never grow out of control like it did back then ever again. Remember, your one of the good guys now Ken. You've come a long way in making up for all the sins you committed back in those days."

Ken's eyes grew distant, as he looked back up at the apartment building. "I'm glad you think that way Wormmon because apparently not all of my friends think that way…"

Wormmon's face twitched with confusion. "I don't think I quite understand. What do you mean by that Ken?"

"I mean my friends don't trust me," he whimpered. "They're all waiting for me to snap and go back to my old ways. Even Davis… I thought we were really good friends, but he told me last night that he never liked me to begin with…"

"But that doesn't make any sense!" Wormmon retorted. "Davis pushed you more then anybody to see the good inside of you. He showed trust in you when you didn't even trust yourself. Heck, if it wasn't for him you never would've joined the rest of the Digidestined in the first place!"

"I know, and that's the part that confuses me… I don't know who I can trust anymore…"

"You can trust me." Wormmon looked straight into Ken's eyes.

Ken smiled slightly. "Thanks buddy. I know I can count on you. I was thinking… Maybe we should take off, and try to handle things on our own again…"

"Don't be foolish Ken," Wormmon said quickly. "This thing is too big for us to handle on our own. I don't know what Davis told you, but I'm sure it's all a big misunderstanding. Besides, even if he did mean what he said I'm sure the others don't think ill of you. Now shake this thing off, and let's join the others up their where we belong!"

Ken didn't seem so sure. "Okay… If you insist Wormmon.

Meanwhile inside Izzy's apartment, Tai was in the middle of roll call. "Okay, so I guess everyone's here but Ken then. As soon as he shows up we can get down to…"

As if on-cue, Ken walked into Izzy's bedroom stopping Tai in mid-sentence. While he noticed Tai smiled to welcome him, Davis, who was standing next to him, grinned and shook his head. "I'm here Tai. Sorry to keep you guys waiting."

"Don't worry about it. The important thing is you're here, so now we can get down to business." Tai took a glance over at Sora, who had refused to make eye contact with him all morning. He'd apologized and she'd forgiven him, yet things still seemed clearly tense between them as far as Tai was concerned.

Davis eyed the faces around him noticing everyone was acting just like he had arranged. Cody and Joe sulked silently in the back of the room having little to do with anyone. Armadillomon was nestled nervously at his partner's side. Mimi was huddled in the corner having some sort of private conversation with Palmon. TK and Kari were taking all actions necessary to have as little contact with each other as possible, except of course when the two took turns staring at each other when the other wasn't looking. Izzy was as moody as he'd been the day before, and assuming from the look Ken gave him when he walked in Davis could tell he was still feeling the affects of what he'd told Ken the day before. Everything seemed to be going according to plan. Did he ever hate it. "Don't worry about it Davis. Genai said I'd only have to go through with this until I get back to the Digital World, and then hopefully I can watch them fix everything I've helped to destroy. There's only one more person I have to go through… Just one more." Davis looked up sadly at his wild-haired mentor. Where in the world could he even begin to break him?

"I guess that only leaves one question," Matt said, as he stood up. "How are we going to get to the Digital World?…"

Before anyone could respond, everyone's attention turned to Izzy's computer, which had started blinking on and off while producing several strange noises most PC's normally don't. Suddenly, a powerful explosion of light filled the room, knocking just about everyone on their butts and blinding everybody else. Within seconds, the light dimmed leaving a swirling portal in its wake circulating right in front of Izzy's computer.

"I think that answers that question," Tentomon buzzed.

"Alright! Now we're in business!" Davis cheered with a pump of his fist.

"Hold on a second Davis!" Yolie ordered. "We can't just jump through that thing! We have no idea where it might take us! Normally, when we go to the Digital World we usually activate the digi-port with our D-3's, and then get sucked through the computer screen. This thing just kind of… Came out of nowhere! Where in the world did it come from anyway?!" Yolie looked at Izzy, who was kneeling down next to her after falling over, for an answer.

"How should I now!" Izzy snapped. "I don't have the answers for everything you know!"

Yolie sweat dropped. "I didn't say you did! Geez, I was only asking… No need to bite my head off!"

"I bet Wizardmon had something to do with this!" Gatomon sated proudly.

"It does look exactly like the portal we came in… Actually, that we feel out of when we dropped into this world last night." Agumon looked up at Tai. "It should be safe to go through."

"I'll test it out!" Davis volunteered.

"Davis don't!" Tai ordered, but he was to late. He stared at the portal with his mouth hanging open as Davis disappeared into it.

"I can't believe he just did that!" Yolie gasped.

Tai stared at the portal, debating on whether or not he should go in after him. He hadn't dwelled on it all that long, when Davis's head poked back into the room. "What are you guys waiting for, Christmas? You guys need to get over here! Things aren't looking good over on side at all!" Davis's head disappeared from view again.

"Then *what are* we waiting for?! Let's get moving! We've got a Digital World to save!" Tai called for everyone to go through the portal. Yolie and Matt did just that, and Tai was about to jump through when he stopped himself. It was lucky he did for he realized a good 66% percent of his team hadn't budged from where they stood or sat. The digimon's legs were revved up and ready to go, but seemingly anchored in place next to their partners. "What's the matter guys? Let's get moving! We've got work to do!"

"Of course your right," Sora said softly, as she stood up. "My mind was somewhere else… I'm ready now."

Izzy and Ken also realized the urgency of the situation much to the relief of Tentomon and Wormmon. They walked towards the Portal slowly, following Sora through it.

That was three down, leaving five more dejected Digidestined scattered around the room. "Well, what about the rest of you?! What's the problem, I know all your grandmothers couldn't have just died! The Digital World needs us, and you guys are sitting around like bumps on a log! Get up! Let's go! Move it!"

TK sat up, and grunted along with a clenching of his fist. "The Digital World could collapse on itself for all I care."

"What was that?!" Tai asked angrily, pushing he face up into TK's.

TK sweat dropped, and then sighed as Tai backed off. "I meant I shouldn't be letting my own personal problems keeping me from doing what needs to be done. Besides, I'm really worried about Patamon anyway."

Kari eye's widened as TK's words dawned a little reality on her. "I hate to admit it, but you have a point." Kari stood up next to TK, not by her choice mind you. They glared at each other sadly for a moment before turning their heads away, both afraid they may cry at any moment if they looked at each other any longer. "You go first."

"Forget it!" TK frowned. "Last time I turned my back on you, you stabbed me in it! I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen again!"

Kari was more then ready and willing to argue, but the feel of Gatomon tugging at her shorts distracted her. "Please don't do this right now! We don't have time for it, we need to get back to the Digital World! Please Kari, I'm begging you, let's just go!"

"Okay, let's go," Kari sighed. She shot TK one last look, half out of disgust and half out of sadness as she headed towards the portal. TK walked in after her, a cross expression splattered across his face.

Tai sighed with relief, as TK disappeared behind the portal. "What about the rest of you?! Time is wasting!"

"Just go without me," Cody said unexpectedly. "I'd just be in the way anyway."

"Cody!" Armadillomon cried.

"You might as well leave me behind too," Joe said. "Unless someone needs me to help them worm their way out of trouble I'm pretty much useless anyway."

"What are you two talking about?! We need you guys!" Joe and Cody simply hung their heads further frustrating Tai. Not wanting to deal with them at the moment, he turned his attention to Mimi. "What about you? Are you coming, our are you going to hang around and sulk with them?"

Palmon looked at Mimi pleadingly. Mimi hung her head off to the side. "That depends Tai… Do you guys really want me there?"

"Of course we do! Your part of the team Mimi, we need you there as much as anybody!"

"Oh yeah?! Even my snobby attitude? You think you can put up with it?!"

Tai's eyebrows furrowed slightly with confusion. "I have for over five years now haven't I? I'm use to it, it's all part of your charm." Tai walked over to Mimi, and held his hand out to her. "Now come on! The Digital World is calling!"

"You heard him Mimi, let's go!" Palmon encouraged her.

Still unsure of what to think, Mimi accepted Tai's hand and he helped her to her feet. Mimi simply nodded and smiled slightly before heading towards the portal with Palmon. Tai then turned his attention to the final two remaining holdouts. "Alright guys, I don't know what the problem is, but it's going to have to wait for later. The Digital World needs us now, and we can't afford to waste another second standing around here! Come on guys, we need you! The Digidestined are like a football team. If all eleven guys aren't on the field working together, things just aren't going to work!"

Joe inched his head off to the side to avoid making eye contact with Tai. "I guess that's the problem then. There are twelve of us so I guess that means one of us should be warming the bench anyway. Might as well be me."

"That's just a figure of speech! Maybe even a bad one I guess. Snap out of it Joe!" Tai grabbed him by the shoulders, and shook him up a bit. "Don't tell me your really going to stay behind, and turn your backs on all of us! At the very least think about Gomamon! He could be hurt or lost or who knows what out there! Are you just going to forget about him?!"

The mention of Gomamon's name appeared to knock some sense back into Joe's head. He stared at his leader for a moment before nodding his head submissively. "Your right… I almost forgot about him… Alright I'm in."

"That a boy Joe! And remember, at the very least you could always be the place kicker."

"That's reassuring…"

With Joe out of the way and headed for the portal, Tai turned his attention to Cody. The young boy backed away, clearly displaying fear and confusion in his youthful features. Though the others tried their best to treat Cody like a normal member of the team, Tai still kept in mind that Cody was the youngest member of the group. He'd have to handle him the same way he handled TK when he was slightly younger then Cody was. To look at him on the same level as everyone else and an important part of the team, but at the same time remembering he was still a young child whose emotions hadn't developed as well as the other's had yet. Yelling and shouting to get his point across to the older Digidestined might've worked on them, but handling Cody in that manner only would've succeeded in frightening him even further. "I guess that only leaves you then Cody. What do I have to do to convince you to come with me?"

"I've tried everything Tai," Armadillomon said, practically pleading with Tai for his help. "He just won't listen to me. He thinks he's getting in the way, and the rest of you don't want him around."

"Cody, is that true?" Tai asked, as he knelt down to look in the boy's face.

"That's… What I heard," the young boy sniffed.

"Well, wherever you heard that you just need to forget about it, because it's not true! You're just as important to this team as anybody, including me, and we need you there with us."

Cody's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Of course!" Tai chuckled. "Now, one way or another you're coming with me. Whether it's on your own free will, or if I have to drag you behind me by your ankles. Now which one is it going to be?"

Cody smiled slightly, and looked down at his Digimon buddy. Armadillomon nodded his head, and Cody looked back at Tai. "That's okay, I think I can show myself through the portal."

"That a boy! Now let's get moving! We've got to show this Satamon creep Gatomon talked about that he needs to think twice before trying to destroy life as we know it!"

Tai watched Cody and Armadillomon walk through the portal. He looked down at Agumon, smiling in the midst of a determined expression on his face. "I guess that only leaves us Agumon! Let's do it!"

"Yeah!" Agumon pumped his claw in agreement, and they ran into the portal.

They would've been nowhere near as excited if they knew what was waiting for them on the other side of that portal. They landed next to Cody and Armadillomon who were staring off into the distance with their mouths hanging open. Tai and Agumon quickly followed suit, as their eyes took in what had become of the Digital World. The sky was entirely gray, blanketed with the dark clouds that had started off as merely a few. Some were visibly lowered, covering some of the ground in their range of sight. The scene was almost surreal, and most definitely disturbing to the onlookers.


"What the heck happened?!" Tai asked, somewhat distantly, taken back by what his eyes were beholding.

"We were only gone a few hours!" Armadillomon gasped. "I swear things weren't this bad when we left! How'd this happen so fast?!"

"Maybe we should find the other Digimon and ask them?" Cody suggested without taking his eyes off of what was in front of him.

"Where's everyone else at anyway?" Tai asked, noticing the rest of their group was nowhere in sight.

"I don't know, we haven't seen anyone since we got here," Cody replied.

"They probably went off to do just that," Agumon assumed. "Find the other Digimon I mean."

Tai nodded his head in agreement. "Come on then. We better try to find them."

----------

"Patamon! Patamon, where are you!" TK cupped his hands around his mouth as he called out to his lost friend. "If you can hear me please say something!… Damn! Where is he? He's got to be around here somewhere!"

"So, if you don't care about him then why are we following him right now?" Gatomon asked Kari. They were tailing TK, trying their best to keep him from noticing them.

"I'm not following him because I care!" Kari snapped. "I'm doing this more for you because I know you must be worried about Patamon…"

"Yeah sure," Gatomon said sarcastically, and purposely ignored her comment. She was worried, but more then confident Patamon could handle himself. "That's why you haven't taken your eyes off of him since we walked into Izzy's, is it?" Kari frowned and picked up her speed, leaving Gatomon tailing behind her. "Kari wait up!"

"Patamon!" TK was ready to curse in frustration, when he heard something rustling in the nearby forage.

"TK…" The blonde boy turned towards the squeaky voice where he found Patamon flying towards him rather erratically. "You're here… I guess that means Gatomon and the others…"

TK charged to his friend and caught him just before he hit the ground. "Patamon! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm just wore out," the little Digimon smiled weakly.

"Patamon!" Gatomon called as she bounded up next to them with Kari fast on her heels. She'd seen everything that happened and in a situation like that, instinct often over comes pride. "Are you alright?! What happened out here?!"

"I'm fine… Those things really did a number on us after you left, and then the sky kind of fell in on us…"

"There'll be plenty of time for explanations later. Take a quick breather, and save your strength for now okay?" TK consoled the little Digimon, as he gently stroked behind his wing.

Kari was quick to disagree. "But we need to know now TK! This is important, and we don't have time to wait?!"

A deep scowl formed on TK's face, not as much caused by what was said compared to who said it. "I don't care about any of that right now! He's hurt and needs to save his energy right now! Not that I'd expect you to be sensitive to anyone's feelings or well-being! All you seem to worry about is lying, and manipulating people!"

"WHAT?! What the heck are you going on about anyway?! For your information I followed you because I…"

"I never asked you to follow me?!" TK cut in. "I don't know why you even bothered! I guess you think I should be flattered you're even acting like you care!"

"I followed you because I was worried about Patamon! Frankly, I don't give a damn what happens to you right now!"

"Why doesn't that surprise me," TK snapped coldly, as he stood upright and then walked away with Patamon cradled in his arms. He hadn't bothered to look at Kari once through the entire exchange of words.

Patamon looked up at TK wide-eyed. "What the?… If I didn't know any better I'd say you've been having it worse then me."

Kari battled back the urge to cry, not as much from TK's actions as her own choice of words. That made it two straight times now she'd buried herself with her mouth. She had no clue whatsoever on what to say, so she shouted out the first thing that came to mind. "Fine! Walk away TK! Just keep walking away! I don't care anymore!" Kari just couldn't fight it off any longer, and stormed off in the opposite direction softly sobbing to herself.

"Guys stop this!" Gatomon pleaded, but of course that fell on deaf ears. She looked back at TK and Patamon before bounding off after Kari.

----------

Matt wandered around the dense digital jungle slowly rolling his head to all sides. "Come on Gabumon, where are you hiding?" The normally lush green landscape seemed to be nothing more now then a graveyard of gray and black. He watched his steps carefully, making sure not to make any contact with the thick fog that had blanketed parts of the area. If what Tentomon told him was true, then he wanted no part of the grounded cloud. Finally, his determination was rewarded when he found his friend resting against the trunk of a tree. Matt greeted Gabumon carefully since he was noticeably worse for wear. After a short reunion, Gabumon began to explain the events of the last couple days to Matt.

"So, your saying that the Digimon turn to stone whenever they walk into that fog?" Matt asked for clarification. "Just like Tentomon said…"

"But that's the strange thing," Gabumon coughed. "After we were attacked and the Digital World had gotten swallowed up in this dark fog all of a sudden, a sheet of that fog cover descended over us and as you can see I'm just fine."

"Well at least you're not a statue, but I wouldn't go as far as saying you're just fine. You look pretty beat up there buddy. It's a good thing that fog didn't turn you to stone, but it does look like it took something out of you."

"To tell you the truth, I wasn't exactly feeling one-hundred percent when the clouds fell over us. Needless to say, it didn't help much though."

"Strange… But let's not worry about that right now." Matt hoisted his rather hefty friend up in his arms, and struggled to keep his footing. "Right now let's concentrate on finding the others, and figuring out how we're going to stop this mess before it gets worse!"

----------

"You've got a few bruises, but besides that you don't seem to be too badly injured," Joe diagnosed, as he examined Gomamon's tail end. "Except your anal area seems to be slightly infected. What happened?…"

"Don't ask!" Gomamon flapped his tailfin forcefully so Joe couldn't pry in that area any longer. "As for the bruises, they shouldn't be that bad because the Rageramon didn't do much of a number on me…"

Joe scratched his head in confusion. "They didn't? Then why did I find you laid out on the ground like this?"

"Because I kind of passed out before they got a chance to get me really good…" Gomamon paused, and looked up at Joe. "Hey Joe… There isn't anything bothering you is there? Anything going wrong in your life?"

Joe twitched his neck nervously. "No… What makes you say that?"

"Because right before I collapsed I had a premonition of you so to speak. You were in a lot of pain, not physically but emotionally. Don't ask me how I know, because I don't have a clue. All of a sudden I felt weak, and the next thing I knew I was eating dirt and fighting to stay conscious… You wouldn't lie to me about it would you Joe?"

Feeling a crippling sensation of guilt over take him, Joe hung his head. Gomamon, in all his forms, had saved his life countless times, so Joe at least owed him the honest truth. "I'm sorry Gomamon, I lied. Something has been bothering me. I was fed a hard dose of reality recently. I recently discovered that my friends aren't really my friends, and are simply using me to get what they want out of me. And worst of all I've been letting them do it. I've catered to their every need…"

"But that doesn't mean their using you Joe," Gomamon spoke out weakly. "Your simply there for people when they need you, like a good friend should be…"

"Well not anymore. I'm not letting myself get taken advantage of ever again. They're just going to have to find someone else to run to with their problems. I'm not going to be there for them to rely on anymore…"

Gomamon laid his head against the ground, partly out of fatigue and partly out of shame. Somehow, he even felt a vague sensation of what was going to happen next. "Well… If you can't be there for them anymore, then I guess that means I can't either…"

"What? But Gomamon, you're a Digimon and you have to…" Joe's mouth dropped as he looked down at Gomamon. At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but when he looked closer he could clearly see a stone casing beginning to form at Gomamon's tailfin. "Gomamon?! What the heck is happening?!"

"I'm not sure. I guess the curse of that cloud took a little longer to take affect on me," Gomamon moaned. By the time he was finished, the stone shell had spread half way down his body.

"Gomamon! Hold on, you have to fight it! GOMAMON!" Joe watched in horror as the shell spread up to his neck, and before he fully understood what was happening, Gomamon's entire body was incased in stone. Joe put his arms around the neck of the little Digimon to no avail, and fought back tears as he seemed to have lost the one friend he thought he had left.

--------

Mimi stared up at the dark gray-black sky over her head. It kind of reminded her of the way she felt inside at the moment. Palmon was walking a considerable distance behind her, and all of the sudden found it difficult to maintain her balance.

"Mimi, wait up!" Palmon wheezed, as she dropped down to her knees. "I need to take a quick breather. I don't know what's wrong, but I've felt really low on energy the last couple of days."

"Okay, sure thing. I can use a bit of a rest myself." Mimi said somewhat distantly. She plopped down to the ground against the nearest tree she could find. Palmon jitterbugged her way over to the tree, and sat down next to her. "Are you okay Palmon?"

"Yeah I'm fine. Like I said, I just need a quick rest."

The next few moments went by silently, Mimi too lost in her thoughts to speak and Palmon much to tired. Finally, Mimi wheeled her head to her side suddenly and asked Palmon a rather unexpected question. "Hey Palmon?… Do you think Tai meant what he said back there? About my attitude being part of my charm… Whatever that means."

"Of course he meant it," Palmon answered groggily. "I'm sure that's how all your friends feel about you… Even Davis deep down, despite what he might've said."

"Well, I wish I could be as sure of that as you," Mimi sniffed, as she looked up at the sky. Suddenly, her head snapped down as she began to cry for no other apparent reason then to cry. "Who am I kidding?! I don't belong here! I should've just stayed back in my world, instead of letting Tai drag me out here! Nobody wants me here anyway! I'm just the snob the others have to tolerate for the sake of the team! I wished I'd stayed in New York… I never should've come back here!" Mimi folded herself over, and softly sobbed into her short sleeves that were resting just above her knees.

Palmon stared at Mimi in disbelief. They had been through this conversation so many times in the past twenty-four hours, and Palmon wasn't sure what else she could possibly say to the girl. Maybe it was time she should give up, and let fate run its course. "Maybe your right then Mimi… And if that's the case I guess that I don't belong here either…"

Mimi raised her head up to ask Palmon what she meant by that, and at the sight of her immediately stopped crying. The look of self-pity on her face quickly transformed into one of shock, for half of Palmon's body was completely entombed in a slab of stone. "Palmon what's happening to you?!"

"Don't worry about me Mimi… I always wanted to be a work of art you know," she joked right before the stone casing reached her neck and eventually toke control of her entire body.

"Palmon! No! Palmon!" Mimi knocked on the stone casing if only to confirm with a touch what her eyes were telling her. "Palmon… This is all my fault too! This is all my fault!…" She wrapped her arms around her friend's neck and cried into her rocky shoulder, but unfortunately tears alone couldn't bring her back.

----------

"What's wrong with him?" Hawkmon asked, as he nudged Yolie in the shin with this elbow. He was referring to Ken, who was walking behind them having some sort of personal conversation with Wormmon. "He seems to be rather agitated this morning."

"He's been like this all day," Yolie sighed. "I don't know what's wrong with him."

"Why don't you try asking him? He is your friend isn't he?"

"I've tried talking to him, but he won't have anything to do with me?!" Yolie complained. "He doesn't want anything to do with anybody as a matter of fact."

"Maybe you'll get lucky, and he'll be in a better mood right now," Hawkmon hoped. "You should at least give it a try. It appears that we're going to have enough problems with this Satamon character, so we don't need any hostility brewing in our own ranks if you know what I mean."

"Alright! I'll go talk to him!" Normally Yolie would've loved the opportunity to talk with Ken but with the mood he was in at the moment, Yolie feared if she tried to speak with him that would only lead to a shouting match when you took her temper into consideration. Still, Hawkmon did have a good point. If Ken was bottling something up, it would be best for Yolie to get it out of him now instead of taking the risk of him letting it explode at an inopportune time. Yolie slowed herself down, and backpedaled until she was standing side by side with Ken. He didn't even notice the girl until she tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey Ken… You're being awfully quiet. Are you sure there's nothing bothering you?"

"I told you I'm fine. Don't worry yourself over me Yolie."

"Of course I'm going to worry about you! I'm your friend Ken!"

"Are we friends Yolie?!" Ken asked sharply and abruptly. "Are any of you really my friends? I'm not sure what to believe anymore!"

"Ken, please don't do this," Wormmon pleaded with him, as he curled upright on his chest.

"What?! Of course I'm your friend! What are you going on about?!"

"Why should I believe you Yolie?! After what Davis said I don't…"

"Hold on a second, I don't care what Davis said!" Yolie interrupted. "Come on Ken, I was one of the first to accept you in to the group! I've tried to do nothing but be as friendly and supportive to you as I can be! How can you even ask me a question like that?!"

Ken's eyebrows sunk low, otherwise his demeanor didn't change a bit. "If I remember correctly you weren't to quick to trust me at first, so how do I know you really trust me now?! Davis was the first to welcome me in! He talked like he believed in me and he was my friend, but he was blowing smoke the entire time! He never meant a damn word of it! He was only playing with me… Are you just playing with me to Yolie?!"

"Ken, please stop!" Wormmon begged to no avail.

"NO! I swear it Ken!" Yolie shrieked, growing more concerned for Ken then she was angry with him. She placed her hands on his shoulders, hoping it would help calm him down. "What's gotten in to you all of the sudden? What did Davis do to you?!"

"It's none of your business!" Ken swatted away Yolie's arms with his free hand, his other arm still clutching Wormmon. "I don't need you… I don't need any of you! We're better off on our own, and we should've stayed that way instead of buying into Davis's muck… Forget it, we're out of here!"

To bad for Ken that Wormmon didn't quite agree with them. He wiggled around violently until he squirmed right out of Ken' grip, and jumped to the ground. "Stop this right now Ken! This is ridiculous! Davis is the one that hurt you, not Yolie so there's no reason to treat her that way! We're a team and we need to stick this through together! If you walk out on them right now I guess I have no choice but to follow you, but this is wrong! We don't stand a chance by ourselves… Please think this through before you make any brash decisions…"

Ken stared down at his little Digimon companion, the rage that had filled his face moments earlier now replaced by a hint of sadness. "I guess your right… We don't stand a chance on our own, and I can't stay here with them… I guess there's no decision to make then. Maybe it would be best if I just walked away and disappeared." Ken turned his back and walked away from Wormmon.

"Ken, you can't just walk away!… Fine then. If you don't need them, then you don't need me anymore either. If you stopped believing in yourself, I guess that means you've stopped believing in me as well…" With a tear in his eye, and through the emotional pain dulling his senses, Wormmon faintly noticed the hardening sensation nipping at his feet. Before he knew what hit him, the stone casing was already strangling his abdomen.

"Oh my god, Wormmon!" Yolie gasped, as she ran over to him.

Yolie's scream triggered Ken's head to jerk back, and see just what was happening to his friend. His eyes widened to the size of hubcaps right before he charged over to where he left Wormmon behind. By the time Ken got to him, Wormmon was nothing but a motionless block of stone. "Wormmon no!" Ken hoisted the stone carcass up. The fact that Wormmon was extremely heavy seemed to be a moot point at the moment. "What the hell happened?! Wormmon break out of it! Wormmon!"

"Shaking him is not going to help him Ken," Yolie said, as she wrapped her arm around his. "I don't know what happened to him, but I'm sure Satamon and this mist had something to do with it. I know we'll find a way to bring him back, but we need to find the others first. I'm still your friend whether you like it or not, so let's get going!"

Ken looked at Yolie, and then at Wormmon. "Yolie?… Wormmon?… What did I do?!"

----------

"If we go any further we're going to get ourselves lost," Agumon informed his partner. "The mist is so thick up ahead I can barely tell what area we're in now!"

"I guess your right," Tai sighed in submission as he scratched the back of his head. "We'll just set up camp here, and hope the others wander back this way. I know it's still early, but if it's this dark out with the sun up then I'd hate to see how bad things are going to be come nightfall. Why don't you go help Izzy and Cody start a fire or something while I try to tie up some loose ends."

"What do you mean by loose ends?"

Tai sweat dropped. "What I mean is I want to try to find where Sora and Biyomon ran off to. She's been avoiding me all morning, so I guess she's still mad at me."

"Oh I see, girl trouble. Well okay, I'll leave you to it." Agumon scampered off towards the others, leaving Tai to his own personal business.

A few yards in back of him, Sora was gawking at Tai from around the tree she was sitting behind. She rolled her back around as Agumon left, and looked down at Biyomon who was perched in her lap. "He's probably looking for us right now."

"What's the matter Sora? Are you mad at him over something?"

"No, I'm not mad at him Biyomon," Sora said with a smile. "He said some things that hurt me, but I know he didn't mean them. He tends to get a little temperamental when it comes to his sister sometimes. Besides, I said some pretty mean things to him too. Anyway, I apologized, and he apologized. It's all over now."

"Then why are you hiding from him, and trying to avoid him?" the bird Digimon chirped.

Sora took in a deep breath. "It's complicated Biyomon. Tai's been really sweet to me, and he's been there for me this entire time after my breakup with Matt. He's done everything he could for me, and never asked for anything in return. I've seen an entirely new side to him and… Well… I've started to develop some feelings for him lately and… It kind of scares me right now."

Biyomon's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why does that scare you? Isn't that a good thing?"

"Normally it is, but this situation is different… He's my best friend, and I don't want to lose his support right now. It means too much to me. When the rest of the world went dark on me, he's been my one flicker of light leading me through the darkness. I don't want to try anything he may not welcome… I just can't take that risk right now. Besides, I just don't think he feels that way about me anymore. I hurt him once already… I just can't take the chance of having my heart broken a second time this quickly. I'm better off avoiding him for right now until I can get my feelings straightened out. He's already let me down once…"

Biyomon bobbed her head up curiously. "What do mean by that?"

Sora's face flushed a bright crimson. "Did I just say that aloud?… Oh well, I guess it's okay if I tell you. When I said I was starting to develop feelings for him, I meant I was actually revisiting some old feelings for him. Feelings that trace back to a long time ago… I never knew he felt the same way about until it was to late. I waited and waited for him to make a move or say anything at all, but he never did. By the time he finally did open his big mouth, I was already involved with Matt… I'm sure he would've gotten over me by now."

"If you had feelings for him then why didn't you say something to him instead of waiting for him to try something?"

"I don't know… Maybe I'm just old fashioned, but I believe the guy should make the first move. Maybe I was a little afraid to. He wasn't exactly very mature back then, not like he is now anyway, and I wasn't sure how he'd take it. Afraid, just like I am now… Maybe I should say something?… What should I do Biyomon?"

Biyomon stared at her kind of funny. "You're the Chosen of Love, and your asking for my advice on your love life?"

"Your certainly better then no one," Sora giggled. "Anyway, it's not like I never tried to hint at it or anything. Heck, I was down right blatant sometimes, but I could never seem to drill the fact that I was interested into that spiky haired head of his! What else could I do but assume he just wasn't interested in me?… I think it all came to a boil on my thirteenth birthday. Stupid Mimi had gotten me all worked up because she'd heard some stupid rumor that Tai was going to finally ask me out as kind of a surprise birthday present thing… Of course I had my doubts, but I couldn't help but hope. Of course that never happened. During my party I was getting kind of antsy, and decided I wanted to try to get a little time with him alone. I figured at the very least maybe I should give myself a little birthday present, and make a move on him of my own. I don't remember what excuse I used to get him alone, but whatever it was it didn't work. He decided he'd rather hang around with the guys, and suggested I ask Mimi or Kari! I also remember, very clearly, seeing red I was so angry with him. I stayed mad at him for a while to, longer then I ever have before. The funny thing is he thought the entire thing was over those stupid hairclips he gave me as a present. I guessed it helped that I kind of used that as an excuse, because I didn't want him to know why I was really mad at him. The truth is, he could've given me a diamond ring and I would've thrown it back in his face I was so mad at him at the time. He sent me a nice e-mail though apologizing for the entire thing, still thinking it was over something so stupid as… He still has no idea what it was all about to this day…"

"What's the point of staying away from the guy if he's all your going to talk about?" Biyomon snickered softly. "I think the truth is you really don't want to avoid him. You want to be around him, and you'll have to be when we finally face off with Satamon anyway. Let's just focus on that right now, and when it's over maybe then you can concentrate on what you're going to say to Tai."

"Maybe your right," Sora chuckled submissively. "Besides, if I shut him out of my life then what do I have left?"

"Shut who out of your life?"

"AH!" Sora screeched, as she leapt up to her feet. She looked behind her to find Tai standing behind her, wearing a rather mixed-up look on his face. "Tai! Umm, uh… I wasn't talking about anyone in particular, we were just chatting is all."

"If you say so." Truthfully, Tai didn't believe a word she said, but he wasn't about to pry into it. Whatever it was, Sora obviously didn't wish to discuss the matter with him, and Tai wasn't going to force the issue. "I've been looking all over the place for you, and I guess it figures that you'd be right underneath my nose. We're going to set up camp and wait for the others before anyone else gets spilt up. We better get moving before the fog here gets any thicker."

"Okay, sure thing ," Sora agreed, thankful for any change of topic away from what she'd just said… And maybe a little disappointed at the same time.

----------

Izzy rubbed two sticks together on the ground for the sixth time, and for the sixth time both twigs slipped out of his hands without producing even the faintest of sparks. The recently self-conscious minded genius muttered several curses to himself before picking the twigs up to try again.

"Umm… Do you need any help Izzy?" Cody asked apprehensively.

"If I needed your help I would've asked for it!" Izzy snapped.

"I know, but you seem to be having some difficulties getting that fire started, or so I thought…"

"Go away Cody! You're being a pest!" Izzy grumbled cruelly, refusing to even look Cody's direction.

Cody was going to reply, but he chocked on his words. He turned his head to the side and looked at Davis, who was nearby setting up one of the tents. Davis shot him an I-told-you-so type of grin before returning to his duty. Cody sniffled slightly before storming off away from the camp sight.

"Cody where are you going?!" Armadillomon called, as he chased after him.

"Home Armadillomon!" Cody shouted, barely beating back tears. "I don't belong here, I'm just in the way! I'm just a speed bump that's slowing everyone else down."

"You do belong here Cody! You're a part of the team, and as important as anybody! Even Tai said so…"

Cody suddenly stopped in his tracks, and stared off into the dark digital sky "That was nice of him, but I know he didn't mean it. I'm worthless… My role on this team doesn't mean anything. I'm not important."

Armadillomon watched in dismay, as Cody continued to walk back towards the portal where they'd entered the Digital World. "Well, if you think so strongly about it then maybe you are all those things Cody… I guess that would make me worthless too. Since I don't mean anything maybe it's time I just faded away…."

"Armadillomon, I didn't mean you were worthless. I said I was… ARMADILLOMON!" Cody shrieked in horror as he watched a grayish-brown stone shell slowly engulfing his friend.

"Was that Cody?" Tentomon asked Izzy after hearing the boy scream out his Digimon's name.

"I don't know, and I don't care!" Izzy grumbled harshly. He was still down on his knees attempting to get the fire going. "I've got other concerns to deal with right now!"

Tentomon sighed, and shook his head. "Electro Shocker," he muttered softly producing a small streak of sparks. It was a rather weak shot, not nearly putting as much energy into it as he would have in the middle of a battle, but it was still enough to ignite a small flame. That flame quickly spread to the rest of the pile of timbers creating a respectable controlled fire in the middle of the campsite.

Izzy tossed his twigs away, and crossed his arms. "Show off… Why didn't you do that sooner instead of standing there and letting me look like an idiot?!"

"Because you said you didn't need anybody's help! I really don't see why you're being so cranky with everyone Izzy, like the way you treated Cody a moment ago. I know your human woman have that thing once a month, but don't tell me the guys have it to?!"

"No we don't Tentomon we just…" Izzy sighed sadly, and fell over on his butt. "Just forget about it. I give up. I can't do anything right. I can't even get a stupid fire going let alone solve what may just be the most important riddle the Digital World has ever known! Well, I'm not going to worry about it anymore. I quit!"

"Izzy, stop talking like that this instant!" Tentomon demanded. "This isn't the time to be joking around! This is one of the most serious threats the Digital World has ever faced, and yours too if you don't recall, and we need your head to help us through it!"

"Get someone else to think things through for a change!" Izzy growled, as he turned away. "It's not my problem anymore, I quit! I don't care anymore… There's nothing I can do. My friends don't have faith in my abilities anymore, and truthfully I'm not sure if I do either."

Tentomon stared up at Izzy, whose eyes had seemed to drift off to some far off place. The little insect Digimon had seen Izzy go through some rough spots before, but never one like he seemed to suffering through right now. This combination of anger and sadness he'd been convectively rotating through over the past few hours was beginning to get to people, and Tentomon was no exception. He plopped down on his butt, and stared off into space. "I guess that settles it then Izzy. If you quit, then I guess that means I quit too! I'm not getting anywhere either, so why am I still bothering to try?! Here I've been trying to get you to see that you are intelligent and you do mean a lot to this team, but all I've gotten for my troubles is your cranky attitude! Fine then, I give up as well! If you don't care then why should I?"

Izzy hung his head in guilt. "I'm sorry Tentomon. I didn't mean to take my frustration out on you… I was…" Izzy's eyes widened in surprise when he noticed Tentomon's shell was a little harder then it normally should be. It wasn't long before the inquisitive young Einstein realized what was happening to him. "Tentomon! Your turning to stone!"

"You see Izzy, I told you so! Your just as observant as ever," Tentomon managed to spit out right before his stone casing completely entombed him.

********

"I don't understand! How could this of happened?!" Tai ranted, while looking around at the five Digimon statues surrounding him. It had been a little more then two hours since the Digidestined's arrival in the Digital World, and by then everyone had managed to find their way to the campsite Tai and some of the others had set up. The only difference now was they were down five Digimon, and up five lawn sculptures. Luckily for Mimi, Matt just happened to run across her shortly after Palmon's transformation so he and Gabumon helped her drag Palmon with them. Now they were all gathered around the campfire, the recently disabled Tentomon had started, discussing what in the Digital World was going on.

"Gomamon told me right before he turned to stone that he had gotten caught in some of that mist, and it must've taken the curse a while to take affect." Joe replied sadly, as he looked down at Gomamon who was laid out next to him.

Izzy's take on the subject was much more confusing and desperate. "But Tentomon was never touched by the mist! He's been by my side every second since last night, and to my knowledge he'd never been infected by it before!"

"It's the same thing with Palmon!" Mimi agreed.

"And Armadillomon too!" Cody added.

Ken looked down at the image of Wormmon resting in his arms. "Wormmon was never infected by the mist either, and the same thing happened to him. That theory just doesn't hold up Joe."

"And besides," Veemon started. "I got caught in the same blanket of mist Gomamon did, and I'm just fine. Patamon, Gabumon, Biyomon, and Hawkmon were too but they're not suffering any ill affects either."

Gatomon spoke up from her seat in Kari's lap. "In fact, Gomamon was the only Mon actually to be touched by the mist that turned to stone."

"So, does that mean the mist isn't what's turning the Digimon to stone, or is there something else involved?" Yolie inquired, while keeping an eye on Ken.

"Or maybe it's just a matter of time before it happens to the rest of us," Gabumon dreaded.

"I guess they're both possibilities, but we can't afford to be negative right now." Tai looked towards Izzy for advice. "You don't have any theories to what might be happening do you Izzy?"

"How should I know? I don't know everything, so I don't see why you're always asking me?!"

"If you don't know then just say so! Don't get an attitude with me about it!" Tai growled knocking Izzy backward. "I don't have the time to mess with you right now, so I'll pretend you never said that! This is a serious situation Izzy, so you better get your head in the game, you got me?!"

"Umm… Yeah sure," he mumbled nervously.

"Good." Tai turned his attention away from Izzy, and addressed the rest of the group. "I know things don't look good right now guys, but getting down about what's happened isn't going to help anything. We'll find a way to help our friends, and defeat this bastard that's done this to them and the Digital World! I promise you we will, and we have to believe that guys! Trust me guys. If there's a way we'll find it, and I'll make sure of it!"

"Yeah right," Davis muttered under his breath unexpectedly.

Tai got right in Davis's face. "Excuse me Davis?!"

"I said yeah right!" Davis shouted, loud enough for everyone to hear him. "They're pretty words Tai, but when it all comes down to it they don't mean anything! Look around you Tai! Do you see how down everybody is?! Most of them are going through rough times right now, so how can you expect them to be ready to jump up and fight just like that?! Most of them have been like this for days now Tai! Have you even noticed?!"

"Of course I've noticed Davis, but that's besides the point! We all have personal issues, but we have to push them to the side at times like this and look at the big picture! There will be plenty of time to deal with our own demons later!"

"But if those demons are strong enough to affect our efforts when the situation gets critical, it's going to come back and smack us right in the face! We have to patch up the holes in our own camp before we can even think we have a chance against Satamon! If you were any kind of leader…"

Tai shoved his face into his so close their noses touched. "Don't stop now boy! Finish what you were going to say!"

Davis gritted his teeth, and glared back at him. His only hope was that Tai couldn't make out the fear in his eyes. "I was going to say if you were any kind of leader you wouldn't have let things get this out of hand in the first place! We haven't been back in the Digital World two hours yet, and look how out of hand things have gotten already! If you had done your job right, we should've been able to avoid this entire mess!"

"And you could've done better?!" Tai challenged. "I've done everything I can Davis! We had no idea how awful things were going to be, and there was no way we could've stopped this from happening without knowing it was actually going down! What did you expect me to do while looking in from the outside?!"

"I would've found a way Tai. I would've found a way," he repeated. "If you can't handle the job anymore then maybe it's time for a change. If your listening closely enough I think you'll hear the others feel the same way I do!"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Look around Tai," Davis smirked confidently. "You don't hear anyone disagreeing with me do you?"

"Is this true? Do you guys agree with him?!" Tai took at look at his fellow Digidestined. Most of them just hung their heads, and no one said a word. Tai looked down at Kari who didn't bother to look back up at him. Then he looked at Sora who nervously jumped slightly.

"Tai it's not that… I mean… I…"

"Never mind," Tai growled, and faced Davis while wearing a deep frown on his face. "We don't need this right now Davis! Whatever this Satamon is, he's serious business! There's no time to be playing around! I don't want to have this conversation right now… I'm going for a walk, I'll be back in a few minutes."

Indeed, no one disagreed when Davis questioned Tai's abilities as leader, but there was a lot more going on then Tai could see with his eyes. Most of them may have jumped up to defend Tai if their minds weren't a thousand miles away at the moment. They either felt whatever Davis and Tai were discussing was irrelevant when put against their own problems, or they were to clouded with their own thoughts to even hear what was said. Sora had wanted to say no, but found herself tongue tied like she had many times when she was around Tai as of late. Kari and TK were preoccupied thinking about what had pretty much been the only thing on their minds for the past week or so. Each other. Ken, Cody, Joe, Mimi, and Izzy were more worried about their Digimon then anything else, not to mention drowning in their own self-pity. Yolie in turn, was at least attempting to listen in, but found herself more concerned with Ken. Matt on the other hand, had other reasons to keep quite. Reasons not to his liking, but he was abiding by them anyway. As for the remaining Digimon of course, their concern lied strictly with their partners and their problems. Whatever the reason, the net result was not a signal soul tried to stop Tai. Sora wanted too, but she stayed seated on the ground, to disappointed with herself to try.

Davis grumbled several obscenities to himself as Tai stormed away. "I swear I'm not playing around Tai. I'm not exactly sure how important this is, but I'm about to find out." Davis glared menacingly at the dark hillside just above him.

"I don't know what's gotten in to that kid," Tai grumbled as he shuffled his way through the dark foggy digital jungle. "I always got the impression the boy kind of idolized me, so why would he turn on me all of the sudden?… I guess the student always wants to surpass the teacher at some point, but why the hell did he chose now?! I know he's the leader of the new Digidestined but he's not mature enough to even understand the situation, let alone lead anyone through it!… He reminds me so much of me at that age it's scary…"

Tai stopped and stood still, staring into the distance. Not that he really wanted to, but the giant patch of fog covering the immediate area in front of him wouldn't allow him to proceed any further. "I wonder if he really means what he said though. Has he really lost faith in me as a leader? Has everybody else? Nobody exactly jumped to my defense back there. Not even Kari… Maybe I could've done something different. Maybe if I was a little smarter I could've found a way to the Digital World sooner, or maybe I could've helped someone out if I was a little more in tune with other people's emotions. Lord knows if I had a way to get here sooner, I would've taken it in a heartbeat…" Tai's eyebrows sunk low, as he stared hard at the black space in front of him. "Whoever you are Satamon, I promise I'm going to bring you down! Even if I have to do it myself!"

"But you don't have to do it by yourself Tai," a little voice said from behind him. "At the very least you'll always have me."

Tai turned his head in surprise. "Agumon! I thought I told you to stay back!"

"You did, but I was worried about you," Agumon explained as he walked up to Tai. "You know I don't agree with what Davis said Tai. I still believe in you. I think the others still do to deep down, but they're all acting kind of strange right now. Besides, there's nothing you or any of us could've done to prevent this from happening, but we are perfectly capable of fixing it."

Tai smiled at his much shorter friend. "Thanks buddy. It's comforting to know I'll always have you by my side."

"I do what I can! And you shouldn't worry about being smarter, or anything else for that matter. You've got your own special abilities and skills that make you unique, just like the rest of us do. There's no need to think you need to be something your not. Just being Tai has gotten us through a lot so far, so what's that old saying you humans use? If it ain't fixed don't break it?"

"The expression is 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'," Tai corrected him with a slight laugh. "We better head back for camp before they kill each other back there, or Davis does something drastic and barricades us out or something."

********

The hours ticked away slowly, and eventually darkness fell over the Digital World. Not that they were able to tell anyway, except for their watches and that the landscape somehow managed to get even darker. The thick and abundant fog prevented the group from going any further, and no new ideas were made to just what in the hell they were going to do. While most of the kids were gathered around the campfire chatting, Davis and Matt were up on the hillside above the campsite having a secretive conversation with a rather oddly dressed Digimon.

"This wasn't part of the deal Wizardmon!" Davis shouted. "Genai never said a thing about the Digimon turning to stone! Apparently the damn clouds don't even have anything to do with it! What if we can't find a way to reverse the affects?!"

"You have to have faith that your friends will Davis," Wizardmon replied. "You have to believe in them right now. It's all you can do at the moment."

"The hell I can't! I'll tell you what I'm going to do, I'm going to blow the lid off this damn thing! It's gone to far! Besides, Genai said once we got back to the Digital World I'd only have one job left to do, and then it was all over! I did it, and I'm done! All bets are off now!" Davis charged down the hill towards the campsite to do just that, when he felt Wizardmon's hand clutch his shoulder.

"You can't do that Davis! Your friends must learn to overcome their own doubts and emotional battles if they want to cure the other Digimon! If you tell them what's going on now, then their Digimon will be stuck like that forever! Not that forever would last that long, since Satamon would proceed to destroy this world soon after! Do you want that to happen Davis?! Think about it! If you go down there and tell them what we've been doing right now, then all this would've been for not! All the hard work you put in, all the pain you've gone through. All the pain you've watched your friends go through! Do you want that all to culminate into nothing?"

"But… But…" Davis appeared ready to give in, when his face suddenly flashed with anger again. "This is bull crap! Why couldn't Genai tell me this to my face himself, instead of sending you to do it!"

"Genai's a very busy Mon Davis," Wizardmon responded calmly, understanding the reasoning for the boy's tone of voice. "Besides, this is part of my job. I don't like doing this anymore then you, but it's the price I have to pay to save our worlds. Not to mention to have prevented my immortal soul from wandering around the human world aimlessly. I made a promise, and I can't go back on it now. We both have a responsibility to protect these worlds Davis. Don't be the one to doom them."

"Alright!" Davis grunted in frustration. "This better be worth it Wizardmon. This better work. If it does I might not have anymore friends to speak of when they find out what I've been doing…"

"I still don't see how me doing nothing is helping anything," Matt jumped in. He'd been an impartial listener through most of the conversation. He didn't really understand half of what they were discussing, but he was informed not to ask questions.

"You'll understand soon enough Matt," Wizardmon assured him. "You'll know when the time comes for you to act. It'll hit you like a ton of bricks when the time comes. Just remember the wise words a good friend once told you, and you'll know it."

----------

Meanwhile back at the campsite, most of the other chosen children had called it a night. They were lying in their tents anyway, but there wasn't much sleep to be had by anyone. A handful of Digidestined, along with their Digimon, were still stirring including TK who was staring into the campfire. They'd left it burning so Tai could easily find his way back from wherever it was he'd gone. Patamon was resting on his usual spot on top of TK's head. For reasons unknown to him, Kari was out and about sitting with Gatomon not to far away from him.

"Why don't you just go talk to him?" Gatomon asked Kari.

"I don't want to talk to him!" Kari was barely able to make out Gatomon's face through the darkness of the night and the fog. "I don't want anything to do with him!"

"Then why do you keep following him around for?!" Gatomon snapped, mostly out of frustration that she couldn't get Kari off her butt to patch things up with TK despite being in constant ear shot the entire day. "If your as angry with him as you claim to be then why haven't you been less then twenty feet away from him all night?!"

"I… I…" Kari babbled, looking for a good method of argument only to hang her head after failing to find one. "I don't know what to say to him! Every time I open my big mouth I just seem to say something stupid to make things worse. I'm sure he doesn't want to talk to me right now anyway…"

"Can you blame him? If you said some of the things you said to him to me, I wouldn't be speaking to you right now either."

"Gee, thanks Gatomon, that really helps!" Kari frowned.

"Your welcome," Gatomon huffed sarcastically. "Now answer my question. Why are we sitting out here in the dark when there's a warm fire burning over there? If your not going to at least try to talk to him then why are we still sitting out here?"

"That's two questions."

"They're the same question, now just answer one of them!"

Kari looked behind her nervously. She then tilted her head towards Gatomon's head, and whispered in her ear so TK or Patamon couldn't hear. "I'm waiting just in case… Just in case he decides he wants to try to talk to me or something… So he doesn't miss his chance, and hoping he can take a hint."

"Why don't you just go over there and talk to her?" Patamon squeaked.

"Because I don't want to talk to her!" TK growled. "I don't even care that she's out here!"

"Then why do you keep looking back at her whenever you think she's not looking, which hasn't been often," Patamon pointed out.

"I'm not looking back at her!… Well maybe once or twice, but that's just because I'm wondering what she's doing out here! She's been acting like she hates me and wants nothing to do with me, but for some reason she keeps hanging around wherever I'm at."

"She's probably hoping you'll go over there and talk to her, in case you can't take a hint. Then again, maybe she's trying to build up the courage to come talk to you."

"Yeah right," TK sneered. "She's probably sitting there figuring out ways to insult and torment me as we speak! She can sit there all night and stare at her feet for all I care, I'm not going to talk to that backstabbing manipulative little…"

Patamon grimaced, unseen to TK since he was still perched on the boy's head. "Look, I'm not exactly sure what happened between you and Kari, but I know you can't mean all those awful things you've said about her. Why don't you go over there and talk to her, and try to do it without jumping down her throat this time!"

"Just whose side are you on anyway?!" he asked angrily, as he stood up.

"I'm on yours of course, but that doesn't mean I agree with everything your doing! I can look into your eyes, and I can see you don't like fighting with her like this. I understand she hurt you, but why do you keep dragging it on? There's obviously something else bothering you, so why don't you tell me what it is?"

"Patamon I just…" TK sighed sadly. "I always thought she care… Or at least hoped she cared. It hurts to think she never even… Forget it Patamon! I don't want to talk about her right now. I need to go for a walk and clear my head…"

TK gently pushed Patamon off the top of his skull. "Hey, hold up TK! I'll go with you…"

"No Patamon. I need some time alone. Please understand that."

"If you say so," the little Digimon agreed reluctantly. "Tell me one thing though please. Does the way your acting with Kari right now have anything to do with that thing we talked about a while ago?"

TK smirked slightly but sadly knowing full well what Patamon meant. He guessed Patamon must've referred to one of their past conversations as 'that thing' just in case Kari and Gatomon were listening in. "I'm surprised you even remembered that. I guess I can't fool you huh? You know you and Matt are the only two souls I ever told that too…"

"I'm taking that as a yes," Patamon said. "So, he really is in love with her…"

Kari hadn't overheard every word exchanged between the two, but she had heard enough not to like what was going down. "TK, where are you going?!"

TK cringed and stopped walking. "I'm taking a walk if it's any of your business!"

"Are you crazy?! We can barely see the space in front of our faces! Do you want to get yourself hurt or killed or something?!"

"What's it to you anyway?! Didn't you tell me earlier that you didn't care what happened to me?! So why are you acting like you do care all of a sudden?!"

Kari's heart wrenched while TK continued walking. "Your right, I don't care! I don't give a damn if you never come back Takeru! I DON'T GIVE A DAMN!… TAKERU!" Kari called out his name one last time, half hoping it would bring him back but he was already out of the short range of sight the fire provided for her. "TK… God, I did it again!"

Right then, Kari's heart took the last bit of punishment it could take in the fragile state it was in. Kari no longer cared about being tough and stopping herself from crying so she simply stopped trying. For no other reason then to get as far away from there as she could, she turned tail and streaked off to nowhere in particular with a worried Gatomon right on her heels. She hadn't gotten very far when she found herself lost in the darkness, and tripped over her own feet. She made a feeble attempt to push herself back up, but quit trying half way through. Gatomon found her lying in the same position when she bounded up next to her. Even with her extremely sharp and handy night vision, especially during a situation like this, she had difficulty finding Kari at first. By the time she did, the dirt underneath Kari's face had changed into a small pocket of mud.

"Kari! What are you doing?! Get yourself up!"

"Leave me alone Gatomon! Just leave me alone…"

********

Kari laid in her tent awake staring at the green stitched cloth above her head, with Gatomon lying by her side. A little more then an hour had passed, and still no sign of TK. Her head snapped up when she heard rustling sounds coming from outside of her tent. She poked her head outside to find Matt walking by their tent.

"Oh, I'm sorry Kari. Did I wake you?"

"No, I can't sleep. Is TK back yet?" Kari asked quickly.

"No, not yet." Matt smirked slightly. "It's nice to hear you still care though contrary to what I've been told. I'm starting to worry though, he's been gone an awfully long time. Might as well think positive though. I'm sure he probably ran into Tai somewhere, and they're out there…" Kari groaned sadly, and disappeared back into her tent before Matt could finish. "Kari? That isn't a bad thing you know…"

Despite the stupid comment, Matt was fairly sure why Kari reacted the way she did. He may never fully understand the reasons why, but something possessed him to follow her in there. "Hey Kari. Can I poke my head inside for a second? I want to talk to you about something."

"Knock yourself out, but if your only here to plead your brothers case then don't waste your breath."

"I'm not here to plead anyone's case," Matt said, as he hopped inside. "I just want to shine a little light on this situation for myself… No pun intended." The only light to even speak of was the dim glow from the fire burning outside. Despite the dark surroundings, Matt could still clearly see what kind of state the girl had been in and it wasn't pretty. Matt then turned his head down towards Gatomon. "Would you mind excusing us for a few minutes?"

Gatomon had the look of someone wanting to say hell no, but thought better of it at the last second. "Okay… I wanted a chance to talk with Patamon about something anyway."

Matt watched Gatomon scamper outside the tent, and then turned his attention back to Kari. "So kid… Where's Yolie at?"

"She had to go to the bathroom…" A moment or two went by without another word being exchanged. Feeling Matt's gaze focusing on her the entire time, Kari grew increasingly uncomfortable . "What are you doing?"

"I'm just trying to figure something out," he said while examining the girl up and down. "Well, I'll admit you are a pretty girl and you can be a sweetheart most of the time, but I still can't see what's so special about you. Not that should drive my brother up the wall anyway. I just don't understand it."

"What are you talking about?!"

"So tell me, why is it you've been so mad at TK lately?" Matt asked, purposely changing the subject. He couldn't go into the previous subject any further due to a promise he'd made TK. "I mean before all those bull crap rumors started floating around anyway. You getting mad at him just for talking to other girls? Come on Kari, you're a big girl. There's got to be something more to it then that. You can't just expect the boy not to live his life. It's not like he's your boyfriend or anything, so why would you have any reason to act so jealous over it?"

"That's none of your business!" Kari shouted angrily, as she rolled over.

"It is too my business! Whenever someone's hurting or making my brother miserable, I make it my business!" Though he couldn't see her face through the back of her head, Matt could sense Kari's eyes widen when he said that. "This has got to end soon Kari! I'm tired of watching my brother come home crying every night over something you've done to him!"

Kari rolled over to face Matt slowly. "He's really been crying over me?…"

"Of course he's been crying over you Kari! You were his best friend, and he thinks you've only been playing with him all these years! That would make anybody miserable! He cares about you, and he truly believes you don't give a damn about him anymore with a lot of the things you've said to him. That's hurt him more then anything, even the rumors."

Feeling wetness at her eyes again, Kari rolled back over. "Oh god... And I told him I don't care if he ever comes back… What if he doesn't?!… I've been such a bitch! No wonder he hates me now…"

"He doesn't hate you Kari. Look, I can't tell you what to do. I can only give you some sound advice. The only way your going to convince TK he's wrong, and I know he is, is to prove it to him. You just have to decide how you're going to do it." Kari didn't bother to reply, and stayed in her little corner softly crying. Matt lowered his head and sighed sadly. "If they could only stop being angry for a minute, and look and see what they were doing to each other I bet they'd end this foolishness in a heartbeat…"

"I don't understand why they keep fighting like this!" Patamon squeaked. He and Gatomon were discussing the feud between their respective partners from just outside Kari's tent. "TK was always so happy whenever he was around her, but now he cringes every time he hears her name. Every time I've tried to talk to him about it he just gets mad, and one time I even caught him huddled up against a tree crying."

"I don't understand it either," Gatomon concurred. "I've never even seen Kari give TK a dirty look before, excluding that time she was trying to get though to Andromon. We know they really care about each other, so maybe that's why they're having so much trouble dealing with it. You know how bad humans can be at dealing with emotions like love and jealously, especially when they get strong enough to dictate the way their lives unfold."

"Yeah, it's a good thing we don't have that problem huh?"

"Right." The two Digimon gave each other a funny look, before their cheeks exploded into light pink. "That is if we had to face a situation like that, which lucky for us we don't."

"Yeah, exactly!" Patamon agreed, nodding his head nervously. "It's a good thing Digimon don't have to worry about that problem."

Gatomon frowned slightly. "So… You look at it as a problem?"

"Well, not exactly…" Patamon cursed himself for the poor choice of words, but quickly came up with a clean rebound. "It's definitely turned into a problem for them."

"Yeah, but that's just because they couldn't admit it in the first place," Gatomon reminded him. "If one of them had opened their mouths to begin with, they could've avoided this entire mess all together."

"I guess that's true…" Patamon nudged his head to the side, and spoke his next line almost coldly. "But if Kari hadn't said all those nasty things to begin with, TK wouldn't be suffering right now."

"Hey! Kari did not say those things Patamon!" Gatomon's frown changed into a deep grimace. "Someone else started those rumors, and whatever that tramp Kari was talking about told TK, she took whatever Kari told her out of context and twisted it all around!"

"Well, Kari had to say something bad about him in the first place for her to take it out of context now wouldn't she?" Patamon fired back. "She shouldn't be getting so jealous over nothing anyway!"

"It wasn't anything TK was falling all over those other girls, and ignoring Kari!"

"So, it's TK's life you know! If Kari likes him so much as you say she supposedly does, then why doesn't she just tell him?!"

"I don't know!" Gatomon responded defensively. "If TK likes Kari as much as you say he supposedly does, then why is the idiot flaunting all over other girls?!"

"Hey! Don't call TK an idiot!"

"Stop putting down Kari!"

"I'm not putting down Kari, I'm simply stating some facts!" Patamon humpphed.

Gatomon and Patamon snarled as they stared each other down. At the same time, both their faces fell back, as they realized what was happening. "What are we doing?" Gatomon asked.

"We're acting just like they are…" Patamon lowered his ears in shame.

"I'm sorry Pata… I didn't mean any of that. You know how protective I get with Kari, just like you do with TK…"

"I'm sorry too," Patamon squeaked. "I still think I'm right, but maybe I don't understand the situation enough…"

"Maybe neither of us do," Gatomon guessed. "I'm going to bed. Matt and Kari should be done talking by now. I'll talk to you later Patamon."

"Sure… Goodbye… I'll go see if I can find any trace of TK."

----------

Somewhere in the dark forest, TK sighed solemnly to himself as he cut his way through the woods. The small and somewhat dim flashlight he had brought with him was his only source of light. The light was so dim in fact, he nearly ran into a large tree before he noticed it was there. TK stared up at the giant digital oak in defiance. "I guess it's time I turned back around." TK had made a promise to himself that he would walk straight and then turn back at the first roadblock he came across so he wouldn't get himself lost. The tree actually wasn't very far from camp, but TK had walked back and forth between them several times in the past hour. He was on his way back when he noticed another faint glowing light coming from behind some of the bushes and trees. Curious, he maneuvered his way through the bush to find Tai sitting on the ground, his flashlight sticking out of the ground next to him flashing up towards the same sky Tai was staring into.

"Tai?"

Tai turned his head around in surprise, but appeared rather calm. "TK? What are you doing out here this time of night?"

"Just out for a walk," TK replied, as he clicked off his own flashlight and stuffed it into his pocket. "How long have you been out here? I've passed by here several times tonight, and I don't remember seeing his light here."

Tai laughed weakly. "I've been out here a couple hours at the least. I knew I heard something pass by a few times. I was worried I was going crazy there for a minute."

TK's eyes widened in surprise. "You've been out here this entire time?! You think I would've noticed that light shinning before, especially when it's pitch black outside! My mind really is a million miles away right now."

"My sister isn't a million miles away TK, she's back at camp lying in her tent as we speak." TK's face burned bright red. He opened his mouth to speak when Tai cut him off. "You already know what I'm talking about so don't ask, no I'm not crazy, and yes you are that obvious. I think that should answer all your questions, but if you have anymore then by all means fire away."

"No that's fine," TK mumbled quickly, as he took a seat on the ground next to Tai. "What are you staring at anyway? Besides black and gray I mean."

"If you take a close look up at the sky you can see a little part of the moon peaking through the clouds." Tai pointed up at a particular section of sky, and sure enough TK saw a faint yellow glow peaking through some of the cloud cover.

"Hey yeah… I guess that means the Digital World isn't completely covered in this mist after all. At least that's one good thing huh?"

Tai's eyebrows sunk low over his eyes in concern. "Not really. All that means is the mist is still moving and spreading."

"Oh yeah," TK groaned. "I didn't even think about that."

The next few seconds past by in silence. In unison, the boys faced each other, and asked the exact same question simultaneously. "Can I ask you a question?"

Both boys blushed, good for them that it was to dark to really notice, and looked out ahead of them. TK was the first to reply. "Sure… You go first, and then maybe I can ask you mine."

"Sure, no problem," Tai said with an embarrassed smile. "TK… I've been wondering about this a lot over the past few hours… I know you're an honest guy, so I'm going to take anything you tell me as the truth. Do you agree with Davis? I mean, do you think I've done a good job leading this team? Not just right now, but even back in the old days before Davis, Ken, and everybody."

TK laughed slightly at what he thought was a rather strange question. "Of course you've done a good job Tai. I've always thought you were a great leader. In fact, I've always looked up to you quite a lot. Even when I was younger you always treated me like I was someone important and part of the team, and not like I was some helpless kid who didn't know anything and needed to be protected like I got with most the others. Even with Matt at times. As for right now, you haven't really had a chance to do anything yet, but I have faith you'll pull us through it when the time comes."

"Thanks TK," Tai smiled slightly. "Why didn't you say something like that sooner though? Like while Davis was out there bashing me this morning?"

TK's face flushed an even brighter crimson out of embarrassment. "Well, I would have, but I wasn't paying much attention. I was a bit distracted…"

Now it was Tai's turn to laugh softly. "I guess you have a point there. You really do care about Kari don't you? Despite all this nonsense that's been going on."

TK turned his head away slowly. "I'm not going to answer that Tai… Besides, you already know the answer."

"I figured as much. Now I guess it's your turn."

"What?… Oh yeah!" TK nearly had forgotten he had a question of his own. "Umm… Tai. Before I ask you this, please promise me you won't take it out of context. This is not necessarily something I believe, but it is something I've heard and need some clarification on. Since she's your sister, I figured if anyone could tell me besides Kari it would be you. That is if you would answer me honestly anyway."

"Of course I would," Tai replied. He had expected TK's question would concern Kari, but something in the younger boy's voice made Tai very interested in what he was going to ask him. "Now, what do you want to ask me?"

TK took a deep breath, and forced the words out of his mouth. "Has… Has Kari only been pretending to care about me all these years for one reason or another?"

Tai's mouth dropped in shock and disgust. "What?! TK, I have half a mind to slap the red off your cheeks! Of course Kari hasn't been pretending! How dare you even accuse her of that!"

"Then why has she been treating me like this?! First she said we weren't friends anymore, then she said she didn't care what happens to me, and just a little while ago she told me she doesn't care if I ever make it back to camp or not! She certainly isn't acting like she cares!"

"She's just upset TK, she doesn't mean any of those things…" Tai paused and chose his next words carefully, making sure he didn't let anything slip that he didn't want to. "Look, I can't go into the details because I promised Kari I wouldn't tell anybody. All I'm going to say is she's jealous TK. You take from that whatever you like, but you're going to have to figure out the rest on your own. If you really want to know, then why don't you try talking to her again."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't," TK said, as he stood up. "It was nice talking to you. I think I'll head back for camp now."

"Be careful, and remember she's probably still awake waiting for you," Tai called after him. "I wouldn't keep her waiting much longer if I were you!"

TK didn't bother to respond, and kept on walking. Tai left it at that, and resumed staring at the moon. Almost immediately, he heard some more rustling coming from the bushes, but this time it was coming from the area directly above his head. The next thing Tai knew he heard a woman scream, and then a firmly shaped redheaded girl fell right into his lap.

"Hey Sora. Nice of you to drop in." Tai just couldn't keep that stupid grin from forming on his face.

Sora's cheeks burned a fiery red that even the darkness of night couldn't hide. "Oh Tai! I'm sorry, I was just…"

"Not that I'm complaining, but you can get off of me anytime you know," he joked.

Sora quickly scampered out of his lap, and straightened herself up. She settled herself into a seat on the ground, and made like nothing had just happened. "I'm sorry about that! Ha, ha. I was just out for a walk and…" Sora looked up at Tai shyly, and realized he wasn't buying what she was saying. "Okay, I'll level with you. I was out here following you… I thought you might need some company, but if you don't then tell me and I'll leave you alone. I won't be offended."

"No, your just fine," Tai laughed. "Your company is always welcome as far as I'm concerned. The thing that I don't get is why it took you two hours to finally drop in on me."

"I was a little nervous I guess," Sora said, still blushing bright red. "Okay very nervous, but I'm here now so… I couldn't help but hear your conversation with TK… I really wanted to tell you that I think you've been a great leader too Tai. That's what I tried to tell you earlier, but I just couldn't get the words out of my mouth. I'm sorry if I've been acting a little funny lately, but I've been having some social problems to deal with… I don't want you to think that I've been avoiding you or anything."

"But you have been avoiding me Sora."

"I haven't really meant to!… I mean I, I… It's just been kind of weird that I thought it would be best to avoid you for a while when I really wanted to be around you more then anything but…"

"What do you mean by that?" Tai asked, barely avoiding sounding hopeful.

"Umm… Uh," Sora babbled, really wishing she hadn't said that. "I figured that after our argument last night you'd probably want to keep your distance from me for a while."

"First of all you're wrong, and second that wasn't what I was talking about…" Tai said nervously.

"Oh that… Well I guess it's just that you've been so kind and supportive of me lately, and I really do enjoy being around you." She replied, going with the first thing that came to mind. It was part of the truth, but nowhere near the entire answer to his question. She looked up at him as she spoke those words, and noticed she could barely make out his features through the darkness of night, made much worse by the plague of mist. Nether the less, she still couldn't build up the courage to look him in the face just knowing it was there looking back at her. "You know, even with that flashlight I can barely see you…"

"Well, I can't see much of you either, but what I do see is still beautiful," Tai complemented her almost instinctively. An enormous lump formed in his throat when he realized what he said.

Sora blushed again, and smiled slightly. "You're hitting on me Taichi."

Tai grunted in horror. "I swear I didn't mean it that way Sora! I would never!… I mean I ah…"

"Your not?" Sora asked with mock disappointment. "So, you didn't mean what you said then?"

"No I meant it! I wouldn't have said it if I hadn't of meant it…" Tai caught his breath, and finally calmed down. "I mean that I didn't mean for it to sound like I was hitting on you, or flirting with you or something. I wouldn't do that. Not in your situation I mean… I wouldn't stoop that low!"

"It's okay Tai, I don't mind," Sora said after laughing out loud. "It makes me feel good inside to hear something nice about myself every once in a while, especially when it comes from you. That means a lot to me."

Tai's eyes widened in surprise. Tai searched his heart and his brain, looking for the right words to respond to her comment. He had to say this perfectly, or God knows what kind of consequences he may me facing if he slipped up. "It does? And this entire time I've been afraid of making you feel uncomfortable. I want you to know Sora that I'm here for you because you're my friend. The last thing I want you to think is that I'm doing this because I want something out of you, because I don't!… If our relationship evolves into something more then friendship along the way then I definitely welcome it, but that's not what I'm gunning for I swear!"

"I know you wouldn't do that Taichi. I'm your best friend, and I know you as well as anyone." That's what Sora was saying aloud, but inside her head her thoughts were on a much different track. "He can't really mean what he said did he?!… No, he's just trying to humor me. He's saying what he thinks I want to hear… Or does he really feel that way? Oh God, how do I even start to ask him?!"

"Sora, are you okay?" Tai asked, noticing the girl had drifted off.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sora smiled, quickly regaining her focus. "Hey Tai?… You don't mind if I ask you a rather off the wall question do you?"

"Considering I've already heard one off the wall question today, I don't see how another one is going to hurt."

"Thank you… This might sound kind of weird with me asking you for advice on this subject, but where does the chosen Child of Love go to when she needs help with her love life?" Sora asked quickly. Her breath shortened a bit, and her heart began to beat a little faster. "This is kind of a hypothetical question so… Let's say you were just getting off a bad relationship… Well, not really a bad one, but one that ended on a rather nasty note. Then all of a sudden you find yourself developing feelings for someone else that's really close to you, that you've actually had feelings for in the past but forgot about them or pushed them to the side because of feelings you have for someone else. Then all of a sudden they bubble back up to the surface, and you find yourself afraid to act on them because you're afraid of getting hurt again so soon. Plus you may worry about things like jumping in too soon or if that person has any interest in you, but at the same time worry what you might miss out on if you don't. So… What do you think you'd do in that situation?"

Tai gave her a funny look, and raised his eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Never mind! Forget I asked, it was a stupid question," Sora said, immediately wishing she hadn't asked.

"It wasn't really stupid Sora, I'm just trying my best not to misinterpreted what you said," Tai said, but hoping his first impression was right. "She can't be talking about me can she?! No, she must be talking about somebody else. It kind of sounds like our situation, but she never had any feelings for me before that I was aware of. Then again, Matt did say… I wish I knew what she was thinking and feeling right now. Maybe I can find out in a more discreet way?"

"Tai? Wake up!" Sora countered, now that Tai was the one lost in space.

"Oh sorry! I'm back now… Sorry I couldn't answer your question, but I have some problems of my own that makes it really difficult for me."

"I understand," Sora responded, trying not to read anything into that. "I shouldn't have asked you something that personal anyway. No need to burden you with my problems, I know you have plenty of your own to deal with. Particularly Davis. I wonder what got into that boy. I always thought he sort of idolized you."

"You've never once been a burden to me Sora," Tai said sharply, refusing to let her change the subject. "Don't you ever think that! How many times do I have to tell you? You're one of my best friends, and I'll always have time for you when you need me. At the very least I'll try my best to make some."

Tai couldn't see her face, but he could feel Sora smiling. "I know Tai… I'm really starting to believe that now… I don't know what I would've done without you over the last few weeks, I really don't. You've really meant a lot to me…"

"Hey, you've always meant a lot to me too Sora," Tai gulped, and played with the collar of his shirt nervously. "You know Sora, your question kind of reminded me of something I went through a couple years ago. Please let me know if I'm out of line, or making you feel uncomfortable or anything. I was just thinking that you might be interested in hearing that I kind of had a really big crush on you when we were younger."

"You did?" Sora giggled anxiously. "Well, I heard rumors but I wasn't sure what to… I'm sure your long over that problem though huh?"

Tai looked up towards the sky, and refused to dignify that question with an answer. "It's funny you should mention rumors. I heard a few of our friends whisper that you kind of liked me a little bit as well. I spent the better part of two months trying to figure out a way to tell you, or ask you out or something. I was so sure I had finally come up with the perfect idea on your birthday. Since I heard from a certain friend, that shall remain nameless, that you really wanted me too I was going to ask you out on a date with me after the party. I even got you those ridiculous hairclips as kind of a gag gift before I asked you. I had the entire thing planned out, but before I knew what was happening everything caved in on me. My stomach was in knots all day and when you finally gave me the chance to get some time alone with you and ask, I almost pissed in my pants I was so afraid. I used the first lame excuse I could think of to get out of going with you. On top of that, when I gave you your present so to speak, you got so mad at me that I didn't dare ask you out after that."

Sora stared at Tai with a bit of a mix of a blank and starry-eyed expression. She tried to hold it in, but before she knew what hit her she was laughing so hysterically Tai had to hold her up in his arms to keep her from falling over. "Oh Tai!… He, he… I'm going to kill Mimi…"

"What's so funny, and why do you want to kill Mimi?" Tai asked.

"Because she's the only person I've ever told that too, so she had to be the one to tell you!"

"Told her what?"

Sora blushed slightly, but this time it was accompanied by a broad smile. She suddenly found herself feeling a lot more confident in herself now that she knew Tai's little secret. "That I had a crush on you. Heck, I had a really big crush on you."

Tai's entire body went numb. "You… You use to have a crush on me?"

"I didn't say that," Sora smirked, referring to the use to part. Of course Tai was too out of it to pick up on this. "Since you confessed your little secret I guess it's okay if I tell you mine. The truth is that I was really hoping you'd ask me… Actually, I got tired of waiting for you to do it, so I decided to make a move myself. That's why I was trying to get you alone, but of course you already know what happened there. That was why I was so mad at you that night. To think, this entire time you thought it was over that silly little hairclip thing."

"Why you little," Tai giggled, while trying to look mean but failing miserably. "I spent months beating myself up over that, and now I find out you let me put myself through all that torment!"

"I guess that makes us even then! It couldn't have been any worse then what I went through having to wait for you! Anyway, that's all over now…" Sora began to speak very slowly, and turned her head away shyly while reaching for something with her left arm. "Now that we both know the truth at least we don't have to be so embarrassed or secretive about it. It's not so bad to admit you were my first real crush. We might as well just put that silliness behind us, and look at it in a positive light rather than a negative one you know…"

Tai noticed Sora was rambling, and he knew her well enough to know that's something she usually only did when she was trying to distract someone or when she was really nervous. With her slow speech, Tai guessed it might have been a mixture of both. Tai looked down at his lap when he felt Sora's hand make contact with his leg, and then quickly pull away. He could practically feel the girl blush, though he couldn't see her face. Sora stayed still a moment, and then she glided her hand across the grass around him like she was looking for something. Though Tai wasn't sure, he had a hunch and decided to make a bold move and play on that hunch. Using what little light he had to work with, he placed his hand over Sora's and gently took her hand in his. Tai felt Sora's body tense up, probably out of shock that Tai discovered what she'd been up to, but she quickly accepted it assuring Tai that that's what she had in mind. The fact that she stopped rambling almost instantly was another dead give away. "Maybe your right Sora. I've always looked at it in a positive light though. You were my first crush too, and in fact my only one so far. Sure things didn't work out my way, but that doesn't make you mean any less to me."

"Me neither," Sora tensed, with a very hard breath. "So Tai… If you did like me as much as you said you did, then how come you didn't try anything after the birthday incident?"

"I'm not sure…" Tai sighed. "I guess I kind of gave up. I figured after all that you would've thought I was dork or something, and wouldn't want anything to do with me in that way… So I kept my feelings to myself. It took me two years to work up the nerve to approach you again, but by then you were already in love with Matt…"

Sora giggled softly. "Yes, I thought you were a dork many times Tai, but you were always my dork. As for the other part, how long did you expect me to wait?"

"I didn't expect you to wait at all. I didn't see any reason for you to…… It's getting pretty late. Do you want to head back to camp?"

"No, I'm perfectly happy." Sora squeezed her hand a little tighter around Tai's fingers, further strengthening her stand. "I'd rather sit out here with you for a while, if you don't mind that is."

"No, not at all." They did just that rather quietly for a short while. The entire time, Tai had one solitary thought jumping around in his mind. A question so potent in fact that he realized he'd either have to ask her right now, or get as far away from her as soon as possible. Learning from his past mistakes, Tai wasn't even considering the latter at that moment. "Umm… Sora…"

"What is it Tai?" Sora asked, thankful for the break in the silence.

"Umm… Once again stop me if this is too forward or inappropriate, but I really want to ask you this just in case this is the only chance I get," Tai said, just about as nervous as he could get. "I don't know what's going to happen when we face this Satamon guy… Don't get me wrong, I promise I won't let anything happen to you or the others, but I can't guarantee nothing will happen to me… I was just wondering… If I had asked you that day or some other time shortly after that, and you had never gotten together with Matt or anything… Would I of had a chance?…"

Sora paused a moment, and then looked up towards the sky. Though she managed to hide it from her face, she was smiling broadly on the inside. "Hey look at that… I think I can see part of the moon."

"Yeah, I noticed that earlier too," Tai concurred. "She avoid the question… I wonder if that's good or bad… Maybe she doesn't have an answer yet."

"Awe isn't that sweet?" Biyomon asked Agumon. They were watching their partner's converse from a safe distance.

"Yeah, sure, sweet." Agumon mumbled sleepily. "Can we go to bed now?"

********

TK went straight into his tent upon his return, and jumped into his sleeping bag. However, sleep was the farthest thing from his mind at the moment. "I can't do this anymore!" TK cried in a low whisper so not to wake up his brother. Matt was sleeping soundly next to him, with his back facing TK. TK got out of his sleeping bag, and quietly crawled out of his tent. "I have to talk to her… Even if she won't listen to me, or have anything to do with me… I have to at least try to talk to her… I can't go on like this anymore…"

"No please… leave me alone," Kari winced, as she rolled around in her sleeping bag. "Leave me alone… Please leave me alone…"

"Come to me Kari… There's nothing left for you here… Everything you've believed in has been a lie… Come to me Kari… Join me…"

"No! I don't want to go back… I don't want to go back!" Kari cried, loud enough to awaken Yolie who was sharing the tent with her.

"Kari…" Yolie said groggily. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kari lied, a cold sweat running down her face. "I'm sorry, did I wake you?"

"No… I haven't been able to sleep… I've been worried about Ken, and I'm not sure if I'll even get a wink of sleep tonight…"

"For someone getting no sleep, then you must snore awfully loud when you're awake!" Hawkmon grumbled from Yolie's side. "Now if you girls don't mind, can we please try to get some sleep?!"

Within the next twenty seconds, Yolie was sawing logs once again. Whatever was calling out to Kari, apparently she couldn't fight it off any longer. She slowly withdrew from her sleeping bag, and walked out of their tent.

"Where are you going?!" Gatomon asked, awakening by Kari's sudden movement. Kari ignored her and kept on going, prompting Gatomon to bound off after her.

TK had spent the better part of the last fifteen minutes pacing around Kari's tent, rehearsing his lines and trying to build up his courage. Since it didn't appear that that was going to happen anytime soon, it was probably a good thing Kari emerged from the tent herself. She apparently failed to notice TK was even there, as she walked right by him without even acknowledging his presence. Not that the boy thought she'd give him the time of day, or even stop to admire the view if his head was on fire, whether she noticed him or not. TK's body went numb with fear, and when he tried to call out her name nothing came out of his mouth. He tried it again with the same result, so he decided the heck with it and followed after her tentatively. A few seconds later, Patamon flapped over next to TK flying at eye level with him. Patamon had followed him in secret, but the little porker had a feeling he could've blasted one of his bubbles straight in TK's face and he still wouldn't have noticed he was around.

"Where are they going?"

TK jumped a little as his friend made his presence known. He looked a little surprised to find his partner was there, and for the first time noticed Gatomon was chasing after Kari. "I don't know… Frankly, I don't care. Wherever it is, I'm going to follow her there."

They hadn't been walking much more then a minute before Kari came to a sudden stop. They were close enough to camp for the light of the fire to make the area somewhat visible. TK and Patamon hid themselves behind a large tree, actually TK kind of ran into it and stayed there, and watched as Kari stared up into the night sky completely motionless.

"Kari what are you doing?!" Gatomon shrieked, scared to death by how empty her friend seemed at the moment.

Kari inched her head around slowly, in such a way it sent chills up Gatomon's spine. "I've got to go back Gatomon… He's calling me… I've got to go back. It's the only way I'm going to find out…"

"Wait a second?! What do you have to find out?!"

"You've got to go back where?" TK finished asking himself the exact same questions Gatomon had asked Kari. Suddenly, the answer was making itself clear, and TK immediately wished the question was never asked. Patches of her body flashed gray, as Kari began to phase in and out. Exactly like the way she did a year before on the day she was sucked into the world of the Dark Ocean. A day TK remembered all too well, and haunted his nightmares ever since. TK watched in horror as Kari soon disappeared into thin air, leaving Gatomon staring with her mouth hanging open at the spot Kari had just stood.

"KARI!" Gatomon screamed, but turned her head in surprise at hearing someone else scream her name louder then she had. "TK? What are you…" Gatomon stopped realizing she already knew the answer.

"Kari…" TK gritted his teeth, and clenched his fist so tightly, blood oozed out from several different sections of his palm. "Not again… This is my fault… This is my fault…"

"How is this your fault?" Patamon asked him.

"I don't know why, I just have this undeniable feeling it is… But I don't care about that… I'm going to find her… I'll bring her back just like I did last time. I don't care what I have to do!" TK dropped to one knee, so he could look Patamon straight in the face. "I need you to do a favor for me Patamon. I'm going to find her, and I have this strong feeling I have to do this on my own. Once I find a way, I want you to promise you won't follow me. More importantly, I want you to promise you won't let anyone else follow me either. Not Tai, not Matt, not even Gatomon. Can you do that for me? Do you understand?"

"No, not really… But if that's what you really want me to do… I promise I'll try my best."

"Thank you." TK smiled at his friend, but wasted little time. He stood up and stormed over to the spot where Kari had crossed dimensions, and dug his feet into the ground firmly.

Gatomon knew that look all to well. "Oh no… Your not going to go bonkers on us again like you did last time are you?"

TK ignored her and yelled into the wind. "I don't know or care who or what you are, but if your listening open up and let me in!"

"Guess that's a yes ," Gatomon mumbled.

Much to the surprise of the Digimon, a small tunnel of gray light ripped into the sky that was very similar to the one they were pulled through last time. Truthfully, no one was more surprised then TK who was shocked that actually worked. "That's what I'm talking about… Show you whose boss!" Without another second's hesitation, TK jumped inside the portal.

"So much for promising never to do that again," Gatomon cracked. "What are we waiting for, let's go!"


Gatomon leapt for the portal only to get crossed checked out of the way by Patamon. Gatomon went crashing to the ground, and hit hard with a thud and a groan. She gawked at Patamon who had placed his pudgy body in front of the portal, effectively blocking her passage into the Dark Ocean. "Patamon! What did you do that for?!"

"I'm sorry, but I can't let you through…"

"Are you out of your mind?!" Gatomon snarled. "Kari's in danger! If you want to stay here that's fine, but get out of my way!"

"I can't Gatomon. I promised TK I wouldn't let anyone follow him." Patamon blew up his little body like a balloon, and let out a hard breath. "The only way your going to get through this portal is to go through me first!"

"Now I know you've lost it! Are you forgetting that I'm at the champion level while your still a rookie?! I could turn you into sushi if I wanted too!"

"If that's what you want to do then go ahead," Patamon stated calmly. "I'm not going to fight you Gatomon, but it's not because I know I can't beat you. I couldn't fight you even if I wanted too… Still I can't let you just walk by me… The only way your getting past me is to beat me within an inch of my life, and if that's what you so like then go ahead. It's your choice Gatomon…"

Gatomon relaxed her claws and fighting stance, as her face drooped. "Patamon! Why are you doing this?!"

"Because I believe in TK Gatomon, and I really believe they need to do this on their own. Otherwise I never would have let TK go at it alone… We have to trust and believe in them Gatomon… Just like they have to find in themselves."

Gatomon stared him down for a moment, but plopped down on her butt in defeat after realizing Patamon wasn't going to budge. Within the next few seconds the portal disappeared, leaving any chance for them to follow TK in gone with it. "Damn you Patamon!… You just have to be right don't you?… Maybe if I understood the situation a little better…"

"Actually, I think we do understand a little better then we did before… At least I do."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well…" Patamon blushed, and smirked slightly. "I'd like to think it's for the same reason you didn't just slice me to shreds right now."

Gatomon giggled slightly. "Your full of yourself aren't you, you little porker?"

"I'm full of something right now, but I assure you it's not pork!" Patamon joked.

Meanwhile from a short distance away, Wizardmon decided it was time to close the portal when Gatomon backed down from Patamon. He smiled warmly behind his cloak, as his one reason for leaving the portal up so long seemed to work out rather well. "Good luck TK. I don't think you'll be needing it though. I think a couple of your friends are learning a little more about themselves as you guys go."

********

"What do you mean she's gone?!" Tai screeched at Yolie, dissatisfied with her explanation. "Why would Kari and Gatomon get up in the middle of the night and just walk away?!"

"I don't know, but that's what they did!" Yolie insisted. "I don't know where they went, I just woke up and they were gone!"

"And you slept through the entire thing?!"

"Well… I'm sorry Tai but yes. She didn't exactly smack me on the back of the head, and say Yolie I'm leaving don't wait up for me!"

Tai turned away from Yolie, and grumbled loudly. "Damn it! I knew I should've checked on her before I went to my tent… I get ragged on for being overprotective, but the one time I don't!…"

"How soon we let our priorities slip away from us," Davis muttered under his breath, but made sure he said it loud enough for Tai to hear. As you could probably already guess, Tai didn't take the comment very well.

"Do you have a problem Davis?!"

"Duh, I have a problem!" Davis frowned. "Your sister is missing if you haven't noticed! If I were you I'd have been out looking for her by now!"

"I was about to get to that when you're started running your mouth!" Tai barked. "I'm in no mood to put up with any of your crap right now, so just shut up so I can get to finding out what's going on! I'm sure she's probably still around camp somewhere, we just have to find her."

Lucky for them, some of the mist had rolled out allowing a decent amount of sunlight to pour into the area, at least compared to what they faced the day before anyway. Tai hadn't even gotten his search off the ground when Matt came walking up to him.

"Tai! Have you seen TK? He wasn't in our tent when I woke up this morning, and I haven't been able to find him anywhere."

"TK's gone too?" Tai's eyes widen. "Kari was missing from her tent when Yolie woke up this morning… Strange coincidence."

Matt smirked slightly. "Coincidence my butt. You think maybe they're finally trying to work things out between them?"

"Let's hope so," Tai sighed in relief. "I guess I was worrying over nothing."

Sadly, Matt and Tai would soon discover that was nowhere near the case. Within the next few minutes, everyone had awakened and gathered together discussing various topics. Most of it involved whispers and giggles as to what the two missing children might be doing. A half hour passed with no sign of TK or Kari, but their Digimon did finally grace the campsite with their presence. Of course they didn't get a chance to say so much as hello before Tai and Matt pounced on them, firing a thousand different questions in their direction. The boys got their answers, but they weren't all too thrilled with what they heard.

"The Dark Ocean?!" Tai seethed. "And you let them go alone?!"

"TK asked me to stay behind, and not let anyone follow him," Patamon defended himself.

"Why would TK not want anyone to follow him?" Matt asked, surprisingly calm for the circumstances.

Patamon appeared unsure. "I'm not sure exactly… For some reason he thinks it's all his fault… I guess he wants to save her on his own though I don't know why…"

Gatomon shook her head in disagreement. "You know perfectly well the answer to that Patamon. Just as well as I do, and just like Tai and Matt and everyone else for that matter knows."

Tai and Matt looked at each other, both with serious looks etched into their faces. Tai turned his head back towards the two Digimon. "Though I'm not about to go there, I do know what you're getting at… Still, this could possibly be a life or death situation! This was no time for TK to run off, and play the night in shinning armor! He should've at least let the two of you help him!"

"I agree full heartedly," Gatomon said. "However, I don't think any of us can fully understand their situation. Something really strange is going on with those two, and I think it goes much deeper then just simple emotions. It's like Patamon told me, we have to believe in them Tai. I have faith that TK will bring Kari back safely. It's only a matter of time."

"She puts up a good argument," Matt smirked.

Tai didn't seem all that happy, but appeared to be leaning towards accepting the situation none the less. "I guess your right… I don't have much choice but to believe in that. We really don't have the time to wait for them, so I guess we better start getting down to business and find the source of this ungodly mist!"

"Tai! Wait a second!" Davis yelled, as he jumped in front of him. To that point he and the other Digidestined had been sitting or standing around behind Matt and Tai quietly, wherever they could find a foothold, while the big brothers bureau of investigation interrogated Patamon and Gatomon. "You're just going to walk away and forget about them! Kari's your sister for God's sake!"

Tai got right back in Davis's face. "I'm not forgetting about them Davis! If you would've let me finish I was going to say I was going to leave Patamon and Gatomon here in case they come back this way! They're not much good to us without TK and Kari anyway."

"It's still not a good idea Tai! We're down two Digidestined, five Digimon, and not to mention just about everyone else's moral's in the toilet! Plus, we have no clue whatsoever where to start looking! We're better off staying where we're at, and letting our enemy come to us."

"And watch the Digital World fall apart around us!" Tai pointed at the spot where Ken and Mimi were sitting, holding their digital partners in their arms. "Waiting around certainly isn't going to help them! We need to find the source of this evil and destroy it, that's the only way things are going to get back to normal!"

"If you knew what you were doing, things never would've gotten this out of hand in the first place! If you can't handle the job then maybe somebody else should be leading us!"

"Who? You?!" Tai laughed hard. "With the attitude you've been throwing around lately, you wouldn't be fit to lead a pack of lemmings off a cliff! Like it or not, I'm in charge here Davis! If you don't like that then by all means stay behind if your too afraid to face what's out there! The rest of us are going to put a stop to this before things get worse! Either way, just sit your ass down, and SHUT THE HELL UP!"

Davis stared wide-eyed at the space in front of him, as Tai turned his back to him. Davis smiled slightly as Tai walked away. "Go Tai…"

"Let's get moving guys! We've wasted enough time as it is!" It took Tai about five seconds to realize nobody was following him. He looked behind him only to find a sea of hanging heads and frowns. "Come on guys! What are you waiting for?! Let's go!"

"Maybe Davis is right on this one," Joe hated to say. "I don't think any of us are up for anything adventurous right now."

"Maybe it is a good idea for us to stay put for now," Yolie agreed. "Now that TK and Kari are MIA, it just doesn't seem like a good time to me."

"You guys can't be serious! The Digital World needs us, and you guys are just going to tuck your heads between your legs and give up! We've been through worse then this!… It's obvious you guys are feeling down right now, especially those of us who's Digimon are out of action, but we can't let that stop us! Every second we waste is precious, and we can't afford to doubt ourselves right now! Trust me guys, I promise I'll lead us through this! TK and Kari will be fine, we'll find a way to get the fallen Digimon back to normal, wipe the floor with this Satamon loser, and get the Digital World back to the way it was before! Come on! Tell me you guys are with me!"

Tai received no response whatsoever. Still in front of him were the same hangdog expressions, and broken spirits. Even Davis had his arms crossed with a cold expressionless look on his face. Matt and Sora, who were standing on either side of Tai, seemed to be the only ones affected, but most of that was anger flashing towards the group in front of them.

"What's the matter guys?!" Tai threw his arms up in the air. "You guys don't believe in me anymore?!" Once again Tai received no reaction. "FINE THEN! I don't need any of you! I'll save the world by myself then! Come on Agumon! Let's get out of here!"

No one member of the group even made one motion to stop him, except for Matt who chased after him. Sora felt a similar instinct, but instead turned on the group of kids that had drove him off. "I can't believe you guys! Are you Digidestined, or a bunch of babies who need their diapers changed! Instead of sitting around crying about your problems, go on and do something about them!"

An outburst from the normally patient and tender Sora was quite a shock, and more then enough to wake up the rest of the group. They all stared wide-eyed at the fiery redhead as she went off on them. Little did they know what they were in for. She went after Izzy first since he was the closest person to her. "Izzy! I can understand you're frustrated, but that's no excuse to take it out on everyone else! You are a genius, and not exactly a very modest one at that! If your so worried about Tentomon right now then why don't you try to do a little more thinking, and a little less whining! GROW UP!"

Izzy nearly fell off the log he was sitting on. He stared at her while shaking slightly, as she stormed over to Ken and Mimi. They both sweat dropped as Sora approached them. "Ken! I'll admit it took a while for everyone, including myself, to grow to trust you. We've shown nothing but the utmost faith in you and have supported you, so I don't know where this sudden distain towards us is coming from but you need to get over it! Don't throw that all back in our faces now, or you'll be acting just like you did when you were the Digimon Emperor! We've done nothing intentionally to spite you, and if we have we're sorry. Your either a team player or not, so you need to decide before you bring down the rest of us!"

Sora turned her attention to Mimi. "And you! I have no clue what your problem is, but I'd really like to know why you've been avoiding me ever since you came back to Odabia! I thought we were friends? I'll admit there was a lot things about the old Mimi I didn't care for, but she was a lot more pleasant then this sulking mess we've dragged into the Digital world with us! Get it together Mimi! We're still your friends, despite what you might've heard otherwise! If not for anyone else then do it for Palmon's sake! The same things goes for you Ken!"

Mimi looked down at Palmon sadly, while Ken's eyes just about bugged out of his head. "How did she know about that?! I never…"

Ken's question was partially answered when Sora looked over at Yolie who was standing against a tree directly behind Ken and Mimi. "We've already discussed your problem, but I guess I didn't get through to you very well. Just try to figure out a way to do what we talked about okay?"

Yolie nodded her head anxiously. Ken stared back at her through the corner of his eye. "Yolie?…."

Cody tried his best to make himself disappear as Sora walked his way, but it all went for not. "Don't close your eyes, look up at me little guy. Tai told me what happened yesterday morning. Everyone has doubts Cody, but you can't let them control you! You may be the youngest Digidestined, but don't think that means you should be treated any differently from anybody else! That's the one thing you've really been wanting isn't it? To be looked at on the same level as the rest of us? You haven't been in the way Cody, but if you really think you haven't been any use to us then stand up and do something to make yourself more then that! If you don't want to be treated like a little kid, then stop acting like one! You're a Digidestined! You've seen things most kids your age only dream about! Armadillomon believed in you, so why don't you give it a shot for a change?"

Sora left a speechless Cody behind, and went over to Joe. "And you Mr. Reliable, but I'm afraid I have to use the term loosely at the moment. The only living things that are able to rely on you right now are the bugs you're keeping warm underneath your butt! You may feel your useless Joe, but we've all known that you're the one person we could turn too when things looked their darkest if it was just something as simple as needing a drink of water! If you quit being that person then that's the only way you'll truly be useless to us! But that's your decision to make now isn't it?"

All poor Joe could manage for a comeback was a slight adjustment to his glasses. Sora had just about finished her rounds, with only one more stop to go. Davis gulped anxiously, fearing the look in Sora's eyes might melt an extra hole through his face. ."And Davis… YOU'RE AN IDIOT! If you want to be the leader so badly, then do something to prove you deserve it! Shooting off your mouth doesn't count! I'd sooner follow Tai off a cliff, then follow you into heaven either way!"

Davis sighed in relief as Sora removed her gaze from him. "Hew… I thought I was in for a lot worse then that."

Sora started off in the direction Tai had run off in, but turned back to address the other Digidestined one last time. "Some of you may have lost faith in Tai, but I haven't yet! At least he's trying! All the rest of you have done so far is sit on your butts and bitch, whine, cry, and moan!"

"It's not that we don't believe in Tai Sora," Joe spoke up. "I think most of us have lost faith in ourselves…"

"Well, you guys better find it again, and quick! I've had personal problems of my own, but I for one am not going to stand back and wallow in my own self-pity! From the looks of things you guys are ready to drown in it! Either get it together or go home, because your no use to us like this!"

"Tai, just listen to me!" Matt begged him. "Don't listen to what Davis is telling you! He's been acting weird lately, and I don't think he really means what he says."

"I don't care if he does or not!" Tai screeched. "I don't give a damn what that little traitor has to say! To think I gave that little bastard my goggles!… It's not him that's getting to me… It's the others seemingly agreeing with him that hurts. What if I am losing my touch Matt? What if I never had it to begin with? Maybe I'm not fit to lead this team…"

Matt whirled Tai around by his shoulders, and delivered a backhand right across his face. "SNAP OUT OF IT TAI! I'm not about to let you wind up like the rest of that mess back there! You've been a great leader Tai, but your not showing it by getting up and walking out like this! There's other things going on with them that you just don't see right now… Give them time and they'll come around. We'll pull through all this together, just like TK's going to pull Kari out of the Dark Ocean. Just you wait and see."

Tai rubbed his aching face, and smiled through the stinging pain. "Thanks Matt… I needed to hear that…"

"Hey, no problem man. Like you said, if I'm good for anything I'm at least here to keep you honest aren't I?"

"This is true," Tai laughed. "It's a good thing too… I don't know why in the world I was thinking like that to begin with! I appreciate the wakeup call Matt, but I could really use a minute or two to clear my mind… By myself that is…"

"I understand. Don't clear too much buddy, you don't have a lot to spare in there."

Tai responded with nothing but a smile. Matt respected Tai's request, and left him to be alone for the time being. He hadn't made it very far when he ran into Sora. Actually, Sora ran into him, literally. "Oh! I'm sorry Matt! I didn't see you there…"

"Just like old times huh?" Matt joked, as he released her from his arms.

Sora blushed, and looked at the ground. "Yeah… Except it doesn't mean no where near what it use to does it?"

"You have a point there." Matt smiled sadly. "So, what are you in such a hurry for?"

"I was looking for Tai," she answered quickly. "I know what happened back there had to of bothered him. You haven't seen him have you?"

"Yeah, he's right over…" Matt began to point in Tai's direction but abruptly stopped, and stared Sora down. Right then something dawned on him. Much like the old man had told him, his purpose suddenly became all to clear to him. "He's right back there…"

"Thanks Matt," Sora said, as she quickly scooted off on her way.

"Hold up a minute Sora."

Sora stopped, and looked back at Matt. "Yes, Matt… What is it?"

Matt fumbled his hands in his pockets, just like his lips were wiggling around looking for the right words. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry… Even though our relationship had ended, I shouldn't have shut you out of my life like I did. You're still my friend, and you deserve a lot better then the way I treated you. I had some issues I had to work out, but I think I'm finally starting to get over them little by little. I guess what I'm saying is no hard feelings?"

"Of course not Matt," Sora replied, with a small tear in her eye. She extended her arm out for Matt to shake her hand.

"We don't need any of that now. What's wrong with hugging a friend?" Matt opened his arms wide, and after a slight hesitation, Sora accepted the gesture and they embraced.

"Thank you Matt… I… That really means a lot to me…"

"Your welcome, but you've wasted enough time talking to me. You know where you need to be right now." Matt shrugged his shoulders in the direction Tai was in. Sora blushed slightly, and nodded her head. "I already kicked the door down for you. All you have to do is walk in."

"I think I understand," Sora giggled. "Thanks again Matt…"

Matt watched Sora disappear into the Digital Jungle, as one line from that old prophecy stuck out in his head. "The true meaning of Love and Courage must be realized in order to keep that light shinning, and only Friendship can help them possibly find their way." Matt wasn't sure what the first part fully meant, but the second was becoming ever more clear. "Is that what this means? Am I supposed to help them?… Maybe my purpose is to watch out for my friends? Especially my two best friends?" Genai had told him his purpose would become clear when the time was right. It didn't exactly fall on him like a ton of bricks like Wizardmon had stated it would, but the notion was developing quite nicely. Wizardmon also advised him to remember the wise words a good friend of his once told him, and that would turn out to be the clincher for him. He remembered the words Tai had spoken to him the day before their trip back into the Digital World. "Your there as a friend Matt. That's all anyone has ever expected of you, or any one of us expects from anyone else for that matter! You're our friend Matt, and that's all that's important to us." Matt's smile broadened as a couple tears filled his eyes, though he wasn't sure where they had come from. "Hey, maybe that's not such a meaningless life after all… I am the Child of Friendship aren't I? It's about time I started acting like it… Thanks Tai… You cocky little bastard."

Tai flipped a small pebble into the air that he'd picked up from the ground , and caught it on the way back down. The sound of slow moving footsteps behind him didn't even cause Tai to budge. "Don't worry about me Agumon, I'm okay. I just need another minute or two alright?"

Instead of Agumon's, a much sweeter and more delicate voice caught his ear. "Agumon is already on his way back to camp with Biyomon. I wanted a minute to talk to you alone."

"Sora? What are you…" Tai didn't get a chance to finish that question. Sora reached back and slapped him across the face, leaving a bright stinging hand print to match the mark Matt had given him on the other cheek just minutes before. "What was that for?! Is there a line forming for people who want to smack me around today?!"

"How dare you Tai! How could you just walk away from us like that?! How dare you turn your back on me!"

Tai was shell-shocked. "I, I, I… I didn't turn my back on you Sora! I was just…"

"Well, that's what it felt like," Sora interrupted. Sora placed her hands and his shoulders and locked her eyes into his. "Don't let that little scene back there get to you Tai! Don't go falling apart on us, we need you! You mean a lot to this team and… You mean a lot to me."

"Don't you worry yourself about it Sora." Tai smiled for the girl. "I'm not going to let that get to me… And I'd never turn my back on any of you guys. Especially you Sora. You mean a lot to me as well…"

"Thank you Tai." Sora hugged Tai tightly, and it caught him off guard. It wasn't the normal friendly hug he was use to receiving from her, but this time it felt much more passionate with a much deeper feeling for some reason. Tai would get his answer when Sora pushed her lips to his ear and whispered into it. "Remember last night when you asked me if you ever would've had a chance with me? Well, the answer is yes Taichi… And you still do."

Sora left it at that, and walked away leaving a stunned Tai staring after her with his mouth hanging open. "Sora…"

----------

Izzy hadn't moved from the spot where Sora had torn into him just minutes before. He had gotten to thinking about what Sora had told him, and in reality was doing just what she had told him to do. He was thinking.

"Maybe Sora's right… Maybe if I spent a little more time thinking of ways to help Tentomon I'd find one, instead of sitting here whining about how I can't…" Izzy looked down sadly at his friend, who was still perfectly persevered in his stone casing. "But how can I possibly find a way to help him? I don't even know how he ended up like this! If I only…"

Like a bolt out of the blue, the answer suddenly struck him where he sat. It came in a most unexpected place as he looked down at the ground. There for the first time, he realized the grass and dirt underneath his feet had taken on the same grayish color as the sky above him. He never really noticed it before since it blended in so nicely with the rest of the surroundings. "My God… That's it! Even after the fog rolls out, the area it touches must stay infected… So that means our Digimon became vulnerable to it just by setting their feet on the ground! But then why did certain Digimon turn to stone while the others remained just fine?… Then again, how come none of the humans were affected?"

Izzy pondered those questions in his head. He quickly deduced that the mist must affect only Digimon in that way, since all the humans and all the plant life seemed to be fine. The other question proved to be much more difficult to answer. Izzy handled the problem in the same way he used to do it by gathering and analyzing all the facts he had present to him. With a little time he slowly started to put the pieces to the puzzle together. The most striking theory he strummed up came when he named off all the Digidestined who's Digimon had been plagued by the stone curse.

"Joe, Ken, Mimi, Cody, and myself… Ours are the only Digimon who have been affected by the mist until this point, but what do we all have in common that might be a link to what happened?…" Then it hit Izzy like a ton of bricks. "We gave up… We were all dejected… Sitting around making up reasons why we didn't belong, and why we shouldn't go one fighting… Tai, Davis, Sora, and the others… They may have had problems of their own, but they kept on trying regardless. They didn't quit on themselves… We did."

Izzy stared down at Tentomon. "I told him I quit… I said I'd lost faith in myself… Right before this happened to him! The last thing he said to me before the transformation came over him was that if I didn't care he didn't either…" Several salty tears ran down Izzy's face as he spoke. "This is my fault... Damn it! I did this to him!"

Izzy dropped down to his knees in front of Tentomon. "You always believed in me didn't you little guy?… You tried to tell me something was wrong, but I wouldn't listen. I know you were right now… I know I'm an important part of this team. All twelve of us serve our own unique roles. I don't know how I let myself forget that… I guess the pressure of letting everyone else down in such a critical situation got the best me, but I promise I'll never let that happen again! I'll unravel this stupid prophecy eventually, and I won't rest until I find a way to get you back to normal even if I have to strangle Satamon with my own two hands to get it done! I promise you I won't give up this time… I'll prove you right Tentomon, just you wait!"

With tears streaming down his eyes, Izzy wrapped his arms around Tentomon's neck. Whether it was the heart felt words Izzy spoke, or some kind of chemical in a human teardrop, something managed to seep through the stone shell of the frozen Digimon. A stunned Izzy released his hold on Tentomon, as he found himself curious to a series of crackling sounds that caught his ear. He watched on as little lines started to spread all across Tentomon's stone façade, just like an egg getting ready to hatch, and finally shattered into thousands of pieces releasing Tentomon from his stone prison.

"Izzy! Did you really mean that?!"

"Tentomon!" Overjoyed, Izzy locked his digital partner in a bear hug. "Your back among the living! I'm so glad…"

"Izzy, it's good to see you too," Tentomon wheezed. "Now can you please let me go, your crushing my spine!"

"But you don't have a spine in this form."

"Well, whatever it is you're crushing something, so can you please ease up a bit."

"No problem buddy," Izzy giggled, as he released him. "Wait a second?… What did you mean when you asked if I really meant that?"

"I meant did you mean it when you promised never to give up again," Tentomon answered.

"You heard me ask that?!"

"Yeah, I've heard everything you've said to me since my little inflection," Tentomon informed him. "And I mean everything, including Sora's little tirade. She really ripped into you didn't she?"

"It's a good thing too, It really woke me up," Izzy chuckled. "You could really hear everything we said even in your altered state?"

"It's kind of funny, but yes. I was still conscious and everything, I just couldn't move."

"Well we can dwell on that later. Let's go give Tai and the others the good news!"

----------

"She's right… I have been acting like a little kid," Cody said to himself, his eyes focused on the horizon in front of him. Armadillomon, the sculptured version of him anyway, stood at his side. "All this time I've been striving to be looked at on the same level as everyone else, and the way I've been acting all I'm accomplishing is knocking myself further down the pole…"

"That's a nice argument, but you forgot one thing Cody. You are still a little kid."

Cody tilted his head upward towards the sound of the voice. "Joe?"

"Then again, Sora has a good point too. You are a Digidestined and should be subject to the same responsibilities the rest of us are. Being the youngest doesn't make you in the way, and it doesn't give you an excuse to quit either." Struggling to hold Gomamon in his arms, Joe took a seat next to Cody. Even though Cody was still standing, Joe still held a good inch or two height advantage on the boy. "Geez Gomamon… Once we get you back to normal I got to remember to put you on a diet."

Cody hung his head. "I'm still ashamed of that… Instead of doing something to prove I belonged on the team, I just rolled up into a ball and assumed I didn't matter… I went back on everything my grandpa ever taught me. He'd be ashamed if he knew how I handled the situation."

"That's something that's easily rectified you know Cody," Joe informed him. "We may be facing one the biggest battles of our lives coming up. All you have to do is stand side by side with the rest of us and fight to prove you belong on the team. Running away is the only way to prove you don't… I just realized that myself today."

"I guess your right… Your not still upset with me?"

Joe's eyebrows twitched slightly. "I was never upset with you Cody… I heard some things from someone I should've known better then to believe. If anyone I've been upset with myself. I'm the oldest Digidestined, and here I was acting pretty much the same way you were. I thought I was being taken advantage of, but I realize I was wrong now…"

Cody's eyes went wide at Joe's words. He moved his gaze towards Armadillomon and shook his head sadly. "He always believed in me… He tried to convince me I wasn't worthless, but I wouldn't listen."

"Same thing here," Joe said, as he stared at Gomamon. "He tried to show me the good in myself, but I wouldn't listen to him. Right before he turned into stone he told me if I refused to be there for my friends anymore, then he wouldn't be there for anyone anymore either. I guess the little guy inadvertently lived up to his promise…"

"We'll find a way to get them back," Cody said suddenly and confidently.

"I know we will. And together we'll prove we are an important part of this team." Joe extended his hand out to Cody. "Is it a deal?"

Cody thought the matter over a second, and finally accepted Joe's gesture with a smile and his right hand. "Deal…… Wait a second… Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Joe asked, roughly translated meaning no.

"That cracking sound…"

Joe listened carefully, and finally picked it up. "Gomamon?"

Joe looked at Gomamon, and Cody at Armadillomon. They both witnessed the shells of the Digimon cracking, and it wasn't long before they both came bursting out. The shock of the suddenness of the event gave the Digimon ample time to mug their partners.

"Cody!" Armadillomon leapt into his partner's arms, and his weight knocked the young boy to the ground.

"Armadillomon!" Cody sung happily, as they rolled around in the dirt.

"You see, I told you Cody! I told you!" w

"Gomamon! Is it really you?!" Joe wiped off his glasses to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

"Well, who else would it be Joe?! I'm glad you finally came around. It was beginning to get really cramped in there!"

"Well you seem to be fine!" Joe laughed, as he hugged his giggling friend. "I'm fine! Everything's fine!"

-----------

Mimi stared at Palmon, hoping that somehow she could break the spell cast upon her if she glared at her long enough. Nothing happened, and after a while Mimi's eyes just got tired. With nothing else all that important on her mind she found herself contemplating what Sora had said to her earlier. "The old Mimi?… I haven't changed that much have I? Did she mean it when she said she was still my friend?"

Matt was heading back to his tent in hopes that TK might've made his way back, but he feared it might be much to early for that. On his way there his ears caught the sounds of Mimi's slightly air headed voice, but that was still slightly charming to him in a mysterious sort of way. He didn't think much of it at first and proceeded to pass her by, until he heard something from her that disturbed him. It was comments she was making regarding the way he'd treated her back at his apartment a few days back. Whether it was out of guilt or maybe something else, Matt cut his way through some of the bush and walked up behind Mimi. She didn't even notice his approach, as she was still consumed in the middle of the conversation she was having with herself.

"You can certainly put up a great conversation, especially considering you're the only one involved," Matt joked alerting Mimi to his presence.

"Matt!" Mimi jumped slightly at the sound of another voice. "Did you need something?…"

"Yeah… I kind of overheard some of the things you said…" Matt said guiltily, rubbing the back of his head as he sat down beside her. "About what happened the other night after you slapped me… Man, I really need to work on my approach to handling women. Anyway, I'm sorry about the way I acted. I was surprised and upset. Not even over the slap really, but over the entire thing with Sora…"

"I'm sorry to," Mimi whimpered. "About slapping you I mean. It was kind of a reflex. I hated hearing you saying something so awful about one of my friends, especially coming from someone who's supposed to really care about her."

"I still do care about her Mimi. She's one of my best friends… I'm just not in love with her anymore. I doubt I ever really was. The thing that frustrated me so much was that nobody could seem to understand that. I knew how hard Sora took the breakup, and it hurt me to see she had to go through that. It really did, but I got tired of hearing about it from everyone. You guys all seemed to think letting her go was some kind of cakewalk for the big want-to-be rock star, but I was hurting too. It's not easy breaking off a relationship with someone you've been with for over a year! I was trying hard to get over it, but no one seemed to want to let me."

Mimi's big light brown eyes shown a little shame tinted in them. "I'm sorry Matt… I never really thought about it that way… Sora wears her heart on her sleeve most of the time, while you tend to keep your feelings to yourself. I can understand what your saying, but you still didn't have to say about her what you did."

"I know," Matt admitted. "Like I said, I was upset. I know Sora's not like that. I was going through some serious emotional problems at the time. Luckily, I think I'm finally starting to put some of those behind me… There is one other thing I heard that really interested me Mimi. What makes you think we don't want you around anymore?"

"Well… I have a source that's told me a few things… Plus everyone's pretty much been avoiding me since I came back. I didn't even see Tai and Sora until that meeting Davis called a couple nights ago."

Matt's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Mimi, no one's been avoiding you! You've misinterpreted what's been going on completely! You've seen what's been happening over the past day or two haven't you? It's pretty much the same thing that's been going on since you got back! Sora's been kind of down in the dumps over me, and Tai's spent most of his time with her. TK and Kari have been at each other's throats, and I've had issues of my own. You've seen how down Joe and Cody have gotten, and Ken hasn't been himself lately either. That's why you haven't seen anyone around Mimi, they haven't been avoiding you! Now that I think about it, you kind of picked a rather hectic time to drop in on us."

Mimi thought that over for a moment, mostly wondering why she hadn't thought of that sooner. "I guess you have a point there… Tell me something Matt… Do you like having me around?"

"Of course I do!" Matt smiled. "I enjoy being around you Mimi."

"You do?" Mimi blushed slightly.

"Well… Yeah. You have a certain charm to you I guess. I don't know what it is, but you make me smile."

Mimi covered her mouth, attempting to keep herself from laughing. "Even my snobby attitude?"

Matt frowned. "Your not a snob Mimi. You're blunt definitely, but I wouldn't go that far. Sure there's things about you that myself and the others don't particularly care for, but we still like you Mimi. Your fine just the way you are."

"That's exactly what she said," Mimi sniffed, as she looked at Palmon. She snapped to her side and hugged Matt tightly, shocking the heck out of him. "Thanks Matt… I needed that."

Matt sweated dropped, as Mimi let go. "No problem Mimi. Try not to think so down on yourself from now on okay?"

"I will… Maybe I do belong…"

Mimi had drifted off somewhere when a frantic Matt poked her on the shoulder. "Ouch! That hurt! What is it Matt?"

"Look! Palmon! She's cracking! I mean the stone's cracking!"

"What?!" A hopeful Mimi spun her body around, and sure enough little chunks of rock started flying everywhere. Mimi scooped her friend up in her arms, as Palmon shook what remained of the rubble off of her. "Palmon! Your back to normal!"

"Mimi! You see! I told you, you belonged!"

"I know I do, and so do you! Right beside me…"

----------

"You had no right to tell Sora about that Yolie!" Ken snapped, cuffing Wormmon protectively in his arms.

"I didn't want to tell her, but I needed some advice… I had to tell her what was going on…"

"It was none of her business, and frankly it's none of yours either!" Ken barked, without turning around to face her. "If I can't even trust you to keep my business to yourself, then how can I trust anything you do or say?!"

"Well, you wouldn't talk to me, so what did you expect me to do?!" Yolie whaled, growing increasingly frustrated by the second. "Didn't you listen to a word she said?! Why do you keep acting like this?!"

Ken placed Wormmon down on the ground at his feet. Without a change of expression, Ken simply ignored the question. "Just leave me alone Yolie… I don't want to talk about it anymore."

"I will not leave you alone! Not until you at least listen to me!" Ken was about to say something, when Yolie snuck up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Ken grabbed them instinctively, but froze unsure of how to handle this turn of events. He calmed down a bit as Yolie tilted her head up and whispered softly into his ear. "You're not going anywhere Ken. I'm your friend, and I care about you. I want to help you through this if you'll let me. I'm certainly not playing with you either. Think about this Ken. I'm a four-eyed, purple haired computer nerd! If I'm going to play anyone at anything it's going to be chess or go fish! Like I said before, I'm still your friend whether you like it or not."

"But… You're not a nerd Yolie… At least I never thought so…"

"Yeah sure," Yolie giggled roughly. "That's nice of you to say, but I know you don't mean that…"

"Of course I do Yolie," Ken insisted. "Why would I say it if I didn't mean it? What reason do you have not to believe me?"

"What reason do you have not to believe me? I know you're not an evil person Ken. You're a kindhearted and gentle person. If you won't believe me, then how can you expect me to believe you?"

Apparently, Ken's will to fight had died for he gave in to the girl rather easily. "I'm sorry Yolie… I don't know what's gotten in to me… I thought all the old scars from my past had healed… I guess I was wrong. Still, it's not an excuse to have treated you that way… I care about you too, and… I'm sorry."

"I forgive you," Yolie whispered softly. "I understand you still have some old wounds from your days as the Digimon Emperor that may take years to heal. Please don't think you have to face them alone Ken. Your friends are here for you, especially me. You never have to face your demons alone again Ken, if you don't want to. We're all here to help you…"

"I know Yolie… I don't know how I let myself forget that. Most of the things Davis said to me when he was trying to recruit me for the team really meant a lot to me, and the realization that everything he told me was all a pack of lies got to me in a way I can't really describe… I figured if he of all people was just pulling my strings, then I guessed that could only mean the rest of you were standing in line behind him waiting your turn…"

"Davis is an idiot!" Yolie seethed, inadvertently tightening her grip on Ken's waist, but not enough to hurt him. "That boy's developed some serious issues lately, and we need to straighten him up as soon as this mess is over with…"

"Davis…" Ken sniffed, as his attention shifted to Wormmon. Yolie let go of him, as she felt Ken bend down to pick his Digimon up. "Wormmon… He thought I stopped believing in him. He was wrong… He was the only other living soul I believed in at the time…" Ken nestled Wormmon across his chest in a hard embrace, as a river of tears ran from his eyes. "I'm sorry Wormmon… I do need you! You don't know how much I need you! You were right, I should've never tried to walk away! I'm not going to run from myself anymore, I'm going to stand up and fight with the others! I'll make you proud of me Wormmon! I swear I will!"

"I'd love to see that Ken, but it may be difficult if you suffocate me first…" a voice mumbled from inside Ken's clutches. Ken's tear filled eyes went wide as he tilted his head down. He released his grip slowly, barely noticing the chips of stone sliding down his body, and came face to face with a refreshed Wormmon. "Besides… I'm already proud of you Ken. You finally found a little faith in yourself."

"Wormmon!" Ken yelled excitedly, and rubbed the little Digimon's silky body against his cheek. "Your back to normal, but how?!"

"Who knows, who cares? There'll be time to figure that out later. We have to find the others and get ready, before Satamon finds us."

********

The scenery of the Dark Ocean was just like it had always been. A cold, damp, lifeless, careless, emotionless gray. Kari sat on the ground, resting her chin against her knees and looking just as emotionless and empty as the world around her. She either didn't notice or chose to ignore the persistent creatures dancing around her that had taunted her since her arrival back on this hellish plane. The same creatures that posed as Scubamon and tried to lure the young girl into becoming their queen. Only this time, they seemed to hold nothing but distain for the girl as they mocked her.

"The princess of light… After all this time has finally graced us with her presence once again."

"Yes… After she ignored our plea for help, and let us feel the wrath of our undersea master…"

"And this is supposed to be a pillar of humanity? You must sleep well at night. Cozy in your little bed while we slaved away, and were tormented by our cruel king."

Kari ignored the annoying creatures, and tried to turn her head in a direction where she couldn't see them, but wherever she looked another one would be dancing around and begin to taunt her. Really, she could care less about what they had to say. They couldn't possibly hurt her any worse then what she'd already gone through, but they were still managing to step on that one piece of her heart left unbroken and threatening to smash it into pieces.

"But there's a problem here," one of the creatures spoke up. "We can't call her the princess of light anymore can we?… The light inside of her has all but faded away and died."

"What do you mean by that?" Kari asked, suddenly getting interested.

"Since we didn't call you here, you had to of been drawn here in some other way. The only other way you could've come to this world is if your light had died. In other words, you've lost your hope."

"Do you mean that figuratively or literally?!"

As soon as she finished the question, a misty stream of smoke filled the air, and all the Scubamon imposters disappeared. All she could hear was a sinister snicker, and a sharp ruffled reply through the thin air. "Both." As the smoke cleared, all that was visible in front of Kari was an elfish looking creature floating around in mid air. He wore a faded blue top with matching jeans, and a funky looking blue barrette on the top of his head. He rested his hand under his chin casually, as he floated before her.

"Who are you? Where did those creatures go?!"

"My, my. So filled with questions aren't you? My dear, my name is Toeimon. Those creatures as you referred to them, I simply sent back to where they came from. My imagination."

"Your imagination? You mean they weren't real?" Kari's eyes remained empty and distant even with the added intrigue of this new little Digimon.

"Not at all Kari. They were simply bait I conjured up to draw you here the first time. It was my master's wish for me to bring you to him, but unfortunately my plan fell short when that boy stuck his nose where it didn't belong."

"So, what are you going to do with me now that you have me here? Take me to your master?"

"As if!" Toeimon scoffed. "Your of no more use to my master. Like I said through the mouth of my little illusion your light has died, thus snuffing out any hidden power that my lord may have found any use for. Look at you now, your pathetic! A lifeless shell of what use to be a happy human girl. And to think all of it is over a boy because he doesn't love you. It makes my stomach churn I tell you! What a useless emotion! It's such a waste…"

"Love?! Over a boy?!" Kari grimaced angrily, already growing annoyed with this little creature. "I don't know how you know my name, or anything else for that matter but this has nothing to do with TK!"

"Don't lie to me girl, I know all and see all," Toeimon explained. "I possess the uncanny ability to read minds and emotions of living things. Your emotions are particularly obvious, even though they've been blocked by a various array of pain and other dark emotions. Who do you think your kidding anyway? What's the reason you came back here?"

"I was pulled back here, so you tell me?!"

"Ah, but that's untrue my lady. I had no reason to call you back here, so you had to come on your own freewill. You might not have been consciously aware of it at the time, but deep down you can see the reason why right now. You came back because you figure if the one you call TK still cares about you at all, he'll come back here for you just like he did last time? Does that sound accurate Kari?"

Kari's silence was the only answer Toeimon needed. "Like I said… Pathetic."

"If you have no business with me, then why don't you just leave me alone?!" Kari demanded.

"Because I like to play games," Toeimon giggled. "I like to tug on human heartstrings a little… Take what I see hurts them the most and use it against them. It's how I get my kicks. I'm merely here to remind you he's never going to love you Kari, and he's not coming back for you. You might as well get use to life here, because this will be your home for all your remaining days. Maybe I'll even show you a little mercy, and whip up an illusion of your little lover boy. Then when you get your hopes up, snatch that dream away like I'm snapping a twig! If there's one thing I've discovered about humans it's that their hearts are as fragile as paper, and I love the sound of hearing one of them snap in two. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some other business to attend to. Later my dear Kari."

Toeimon disappeared with the same sickening laugh he appeared with. Kari wasn't at all hurt to see the little fart go. "My light's faded away?… Then what do I have left?"

----------

"KARI! KARI!" TK called through the darkness of the colorless world. "Come on! We came through the portal almost at the exact same spot, so where can she be?"

"As far away from you as she can get," a voice giggled, as something materialized behind TK.

TK spun himself around only to come face to face with a strange looking Digimon dressed in blue. "What the hell?! Who are… Who cares?! Do you know where Kari is?!"

"Indeed I do, but I'm afraid finding her won't do you any good," Toeimon taunted, as he floated through the air with his hands resting behind his head. "She won't go back with you. I don't see why you're wasting your time on her anyway. The girl practically wished you dead for heaven's sake! Save yourself the trouble, and leave this place."

"How did you?…" TK began to ask, but shook his head and groaned in anger. "Forget about it, I don't even care! I'm not leaving here without Kari, and helping her isn't a waste of my time! Standing here talking to you is, so if your not going to tell me where she is then stop bothering me so I can go find her!"

A sinister smile crossed Toeimon's lips, as he floated after TK. "He must hold the answers I'm looking for. That's it, he must be hiding something inside himself that I can't see. I have to find out what's so special about that little girl… Then maybe I'll finally understand why the master prizes her so much." Toeimon flew over to TK's side, and whispered into his ear. "So tell me boy. What's so special about this girl that you'd come all the way out to this dreary world to aid her, even after all you two have put each other through over the past few days."

Once again, TK didn't waste time pondering how he was aware of such personal matters. He only had one thing on his mind at that time, and that was finding Kari. "She's my friend, and I'm not going to abandon her."

"Why not? She's already turned her back on you. She wasn't brought here by force young TK, she came here on her own free will… Sort of."

TK didn't appear all that surprised when the funny Digimon called him by name. He looked up at Toeimon and snarled, only adding to the hideous smile plastered over his face. "We'll see about that!"

Toeimon attempted to read the boy's emotions, but he found this boy's heart particularly hard to read mostly due to the emotional turmoil he'd experienced recently . He could sense a slight trace of fear coming from TK caused by the unfamiliar surroundings, but that little trace was heavily outweighed by an enormous amount of determination and hope. However, he did find his mind rather easy to read since it was running solely on one track. Find Kari, find Kari, find Kari. Toeimon also picked up one or two ,God that little thing is ugly thoughts, which didn't sit to well with the psychic Digimon. "Gurr… Oh please Takeru! Don't tell me that's the reason you came after her! Can't you be more original then that?! Do you really think running to Kari's rescue like some knight in shinning armor is going to change anything between the two of you? She'll never love you TK. Even if you do save her you'll never be nothing more then a friend to her, if you're even that after things are all said and done."

TK stopped walking, and turned his head back towards the Digimon who was now floating in a rather awkward looking sitting position. The butt-ugly grin on Toeimon's face nearly summoned up TK's lunch. "That doesn't matter! She's still my friend, and I'm not going to turn my back on her! Her being safe is all I care about right now."

"Ah, so I see." Toeimon snickered and started floating laps around TK's head. "Another fool blinded by this useless emotion you humans call love. You may claim her safety is all you care about, but deep down you know what you secretly hope will come about all this. It may be discreet, but it's there. I don't think you realize your wanting for something you can never have. I guess I can't fault you though, you're just a victim to the games your heart and that little vixen have been playing on you. They tied a string to your back, and slowly and manipulatively tug at that string until your heart has no idea how she really feels about you. She strings you along slowly, at first calling out to you for help the first time she was summoned here, then telling you she cares about you, and even going as far as to take your hand when she thinks no one's looking."

Toeimon wiggled his hand in the air, and a clear image of Kari appeared not all that far away in front of TK. The bearer of Hope instinctively charged after the image, as Toeimon continued his lecture. "She'll keep stringing you along and along until you feel your just inches away from having her in your grasp…" TK reached out for the image of Kari, only to watch his arms go through her as she slowly disappeared. "And then boom! She slips out of your grasp, and the door slams in your face leaving any chance of getting what you wanted locked behind it. She'll keep stringing you along until eventually you hang yourself with it. That's what falling in love will get you every time Takeru. Actually, I'm experiencing a newfound respect for that particular emotion. Now that I think about it, it can tend to be cruel at times can't it? Your future's already been set in stone, and there's no Kari in sight. The boy doesn't get the girl in this case my friend. Just give it up… There's no point in fooling yourself any further.

TK clenched his fists in anger. His blood began to boil, but he somehow managed to fight off a nearly uncontrollable rage he felt towards this miniature nuisance. "THE HELL I CAN'T! I don't care what you or anybody else says, I'll love Kari if I want to! If Kari and I are merely friends our entire lives then that's fine! I don't want to imagine the hell I'd go through if she weren't in my life at all, even if I did get a brief dose of it over the past week! I care about her too much to let this God forsaken dimension have her! I do love her… And I'm not going to stop just because some little bitch dressed like a beatnik tells me I have to!"

Toeimon was shocked that he was unable to break the boy's sprit. "Boy, think about what your saying! How could she possibly love someone like you! Face it, she never really cared about you! She's not worth your energy! The person you fell in love if isn't who you thought she was!"

TK was prepared to counter, when he realized something very peculiar. "Wait a second… I know your voice! It's the exact same voice I heard playing with my mind the other night, saying the exact things you just did… I thought they were just some doubts of my own, but it was you planting them inside my head the entire time wasn't it?!"

"My, my. You're a lot brighter then you look TK." Toeimon bowed in front of him, suddenly brimming with arrogance again. "I like to play with people's minds, and make them think whatever I want them to. It's the way I get my kicks you see. I discover whatever's weighing on their chests the most, and use that to twist their hearts around like a pretzel! In fact, I've paid a visit to quite a few of your friends, and had myself quite a fun time with them. Most of the dribble I filled their heads with wasn't even true, and they still let it wreck their lives. They all thought it was their subconscious or something speaking to them, since I merely intensified some of the unfounded doubts they held against themselves. They had no idea it was me working my magic over them."

"So in other words, what your telling me is everything you've said to me so far has been a bunch of bull crap? Since the only real mistake I can make is listening to you, if I ignore you then you won't have any power over me." TK walked away causing a nervous Toeimon to fly after him.

"You can't change your destiny TK! You're bound to the future that's already been written for you!"

"To hell with my destiny! From here on out I'm writing my own future!"

----------

Kari hadn't moved from the spot where Toeimon had mocked her just minutes before. She didn't even bother to look up after feeling the presence of a large shadow creeping up behind her.

"So here you are Kari? I never thought I'd have to meet you in a place like this again. Come to think of it, the beach is the first place I should've looked shouldn't it?"

"So this is your little illusion Toeimon! I'm not amused! Just send it away and leave me alone!"

"I'm not an illusion Kari," TK laughed. "I'm here to take you home."

"Your not TK," Kari whimpered sadly. "He wouldn't have bothered to come back for me. TK hates me…"

The mere sound of those words out of her mouth ripped TK's heart to shreds. "I don't hate you Kari. Angry with you, shocked at you, disappointed in you maybe, but I could never hate you. I'd sooner hate myself then hate you Kari."

"You expect me to believe your really TK?! Lately, he hasn't even looked at me without at least scowling, so now you want me to buy this sudden mood swing?! He won't listen to me, he won't talk to me, he… *sniff* You just can't be him. He wouldn't waste his time coming out here to find me…" TK's heart shattered into even smaller pieces, and they all seemed to find a way to lodge themselves up in his throat. Through all the pain and the constant feelings of betrayal, he had forgotten just who this young girl was. She was Kari Kamiya, his best friend, the keeper of his heart, and simply the purest and sweetest person TK had ever held the pleasure of knowing. That's just how excruciating the pain was at merely thinking she'd turned her back on him, when deep down he always knew she'd never do such a thing. Just hours before he thought that was the worst kind of pain he could ever possibly live through, but seeing Kari in the broken state she was in was much worse. He understood now that Kari was always the same girl he knew so well, she just wasn't perfect like he had always believed. "Besides… Your not even wearing that stupid hat! TK never takes that ugly thing off…"

TK's deep mental trance broke out into a mild chuckle. He just now realized he wasn't wearing it. When he rushed out of his tent that night, grabbing his hat was the last thing on his mind. "You don't like my hat?"

"I much prefer you without it."

"Oh really?… Then maybe I should go without it a little more often," TK snickered, as he knelt down beside her. "So… What can I do to convince you I'm the real TK?"

Kari refused to look up at him. She didn't want him to see the pain in her eyes, nor did she want to see the hurt she knew would be in his if it was truly him. "Nothing… Now just leave me alone! Even if you were TK, I don't deserve your help or pity… Not after the way I treated you… Just let me shrivel up, and die here in peace!"

"I'll do no such thing!" TK frowned at the suggestion. His expression quickly softened, as he crawled behind Kari. He wrapped his arms around her waist softly, and feeling no resistance from her, pulled her close to him as he spoke to her. "Listen to me Kari. I could never hate you. I'll admit that this has been one nasty fight, but it'll all be behind us soon enough. It wasn't our first and it probably won't be our last, though I'm certain none of them will be half this bad! I'm sorry I didn't listen to you. I was angry and hurt, and I said some things I didn't hardly mean. I'm sure you've been feeling he exact same way. Just remember, whatever happens I'm always going to be your friend Kari, and I'm always going to be here for you. I promised to always protect you, and I plan to live up to that 'til the day they bury me under the ground. I followed you here to make sure I brought you back again, and I'm not about to leave without you. What do you say to putting this entire mess behind us and heading back. We have two worlds to save you know?"

Kari's heart started beating 100 miles a minute. If this wasn't TK, then he was at least certainly a most convincing copy. In fact, the thought he might not be scared her to a point it caused her to start squirming out of his arms. "Get your hands off of me!"

"If you say so…" TK did as he was commanded. Kari slumped forward slightly, allowing the palm of her hand to crash on top of the sand below. "Are you okay? I'm sure we can talk it out if you tell me what's wrong."

"Please don't TK," Kari begged, not wanting the tenderness in his voice to cast his spell over her like it had so many times before. "I don't deserve it… I can't go back with you… I'm no use to you guys anymore… I'm no longer the Child of Light."

"What do you mean you're no longer the Child of Light? Of course you are Kari!"

"No I'm not! My light's faded away… I let it die! I'm completely useless to the team now, so you might as well just leave me here to fade away with it…"

"Your light's gone?" TK didn't understand what she meant by that at all, but he hadn't the time to pry into it. "Then I guess we'll just have to find a way to bring it back to you now won't we?"

"And how are we supposed to do that?!" Kari stared straight ahead of her, not changing her demeanor one bit. "Why do you even care?! How do I even know your really TK?!"

"Questions, questions, question. Actually, I think I can answer them all together." TK positioned himself behind Kari, so that their backs were turned to each other. He rested his hands firmly onto the sand, and began humming a soft melody to himself. One that Kari knew very well, and caused her face to light up with the first signs of emotion she'd shown since arriving in the Dark World. TK had been singing her this song ever since they were nine, and it understandably had always meant a lot to the young girl. Tears brimmed in her eyes as his sweet voice filled the air, singing the words she knew by heart, but still felt awkwardly new as if she were hearing them for the first time.

I always thought you were the best, and I guess I always will.

I always felt like we were blessed, and I feel that way still.

Sometimes we took the hard road, but we always saw it through.

If I had only one friend left. I'd want it to be you.

Sometimes the world was on our side. Sometimes it wasn't fair.

Sometimes it gave a helping hand, and sometimes we didn't care.

'Cause when we were together. We made the dream come true.

If I had only one friend left. I'd want it to be you.

Someone who understands me, and knows me inside out.

And helps keep me together, and believes without a doubt.

If I can rule the mountain, and have someone to tell it to.

If I had only one friend left, I want it to…

TK wouldn't have time to finish the chorus. He turned around at the sound of Kari suddenly stirring, and nearly got tackled to the ground when Kari speared him. She tied her arms around his waist tightly and sobbed violently into his chest, as he allowed her to melt into his arms. "I'm so sorry TK! I didn't mean any of those horrible things I said about you, I swear it! Please forgive me… *sob* Please…"

"I already have Kari," he said softly, as he placed some strands of her hair behind her ears. "I'm sorry too. I should've believed you when you tried to tell me I misunderstood you. Even the remote thought that you'd do something like that to me hurt so much that it clouded my better judgment. You mean so much to me it felt like you ripped my heart out, and grinded it into dust right in front of my face."

TK cringed as Kari squeezed his waist much tighter, as she sobbed a little harder into his chest. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean too. I don't know why I got so jealous. I promise I'll try never to get that way again…"

"It's okay Kari, it's not all your fault. I forgot whom I was dealing with, and I know you to well not to know you'd never do something like that to me. I let my emotions get the best of me. I need to apologize to you too. When I realized you must have been hurting almost or just as much as I was, that hurt me more than anything. I can't really blame you for being jealous. I did kind of neglect you guys from time to time. My real friends should've always been my first priority, and I promise to put you guys first from now on."

"That's not why I was jeal…" Kari stopped in mid-sentence not completely certain she wanted to say that aloud with TK listening. Not quite yet anyway. "Never mind… Just promise me we'll never fight again okay?"

"I can promise I'll try at least," TK giggled happily. "I much prefer your company when you're happy with me rather than pissed off at me. Now it's not that I'm not enjoying this little moment, I really am, but the others are probably wondering where we're at right now. God knows what Tai and Matt will think if they find us both missing at the same time."

"You know what they'll think as well as I do," Kari snickered, fighting through the moistness covering her face. "Particularly my brother. Maybe I should tell him he's going to be an uncle when we get back…"

"Please don't! It's bad enough I have to worry about Satamon, I don't want to have to worry about Tai trying to kill me too!" TK wiggled out of Kari's grip, and stood up. He held his hand out to help her up, as he talked to her. "And just for the record, your light never burnt out Kari. It never will as long as you care about your friends, your Digimon, and other people no matter the circumstances. That's something no one can ever take away from you. That's what makes you special, and sets you apart from everybody else. Remember that."

Kari smiled softly and her face flushed as TK pulled her to her feet. "Thank you TK… Friends again?"

"Always have, always will be."

"No! This can't be possible!" Toeimon screamed, feeling the couple's bond growing even stronger. "After all they've put each other through, they should be ripping one another's heads off! That sentimental garbage can't possibly be that effective!"

"You underestimated them," A voice chuckled from behind him.

"Shut up Genai! I refuse to admit defeat yet! I still have…"

"Your little mind games are over Toeimon!" The image wasn't really Genai, but a subconscious vision of him taunting Toeimon from the Digital World. "You played your games, and you lost! The others are starting to shake off the effects of your brain washing as well. You've failed Toeimon, and your time is just about through!"

"I don't understand it! How could they possibly?… What is it about them I'm not picking up on?!" Toiemon pondered.

"There's actually a very simple answer to that question my vertically challenged friend," Genai teased. "If you knew who they really were… Or actually whom their power really comes from then you'd understand why you could never tear them apart. If anything you simply helped to bring them closer together through the adversity you tried to put them through. Thanks for the help Toeimon, I was banking on that."

"You mean they're?!…" Toeimon eyed the two children closely. "Of course… No wonder the master is so interested in her… The boy too…" Toeimon glared at the image of Genai. "You mean you used me!"

"You bet ya! Not usually my style, but it was necessary. Come on, think about this Toeimon. Do you really think I'd allow you and your buddies to run around free without a good reason? Your little games are proving to do much more good then damage."

"Ha! But I'll have the last laugh! Just wait until I tell my master the girl's little secret! I'm sure he'll find this very intriguing."

"Unfortunately for you, you're never going to get that chance Toeimon," Genai informed him. "Like I said, your little mind games are wearing off, and they're slowly starting to forget about them. They're ignoring you Toeimon, and you know full well that you can't exist if no one acknowledges you."

Toeimon sweat dropped, and went pale with fear realizing how right Genai was. "Ah true, but you know I exist Genai. I know you wouldn't let me just fade away like that…"

"Huh? Who said that? Is somebody there?" Genai looked around as his image disappeared.

"But Genai! I'm still here!" Toeimon went numb in panic, as he watched his hands begin to break apart in front of his eyes. He let out one final scream as his body ripped apart leaving his scattered remains floating in the wind."

TK and Kari had started off to find a way back to the Digital World, when a rumbling from the water behind them grabbed their attention. They whirled around quickly to see the salty water bubbling violently as if someone had started up a furnace on the ocean floor.

"The ocean…" TK said dumbly as he watched the water boil.

"Can you feel that?…" Kari mumbled with a terrified tone in her voice, as she backed away slowly. "He's coming… I can feel him…"

"Kari? What's the matter? Who's him?"

TK's eyes went wide as he learned who 'he' was. The image appeared slowly with two long horns, emerging from the water like razor sharp spears, that had to be longer then TK and Kari stacked on top of each other. The horns were followed by the back of a large steer like skull and a broad back covered with wide, spike like projectiles running all the way down his spine. The children's eyes fell down to the creature's arms as he submerged, one normal except exceptionally massive and toned a dark bluish color. It looked normal only compared to his right arm, which took the shape of a large metallic cannon. His legs were just as striking as the rest of him, hairy and thick like the legs of a bull with a pointy demons tail protruding from the small of his back. Kari latched on to TK tight as the monster showed his face to them, giggling hauntingly.

"It's horrible," Kari shuttered, feeling the tremendous power radiating from him. "I can feel it's evil…"

"I can to," TK mumbled, shaking almost as badly as she was, but still holding her tight in a protective manner. One word popped into his mind, and he mouthed it dumbly. "Satamon…"

End.

Only one more chapter to go! Maybe two depending on how long it runs. My endings have a history of being kind of flat in my opinion, so I'm trying my best to make sure that is not an issue this time.

Disclaimer: "One Friend" was written and performed by Dan Seals. It does not belong to me.