disclaimer: I don't own digimon, it's characters or anything else that goes with it. That counts for the rest of this series too.

Well, I'm back. With a series. That makes this the longest thing I've posted to date. I'm glad that you all liked two of my last three stories. The last one I posted only got one review. (I feel so loved) I just hope this one does better.

As far as series go, this one is not too long. There is some Taiora and Takari in it, but this is not a big mushy romance. It has other stuff going on too. I'm trying to put in a bit of everything in this by the end and not just favor one genre. I have part two written so hopefully I'll have it up for you soon, and part three is in the works. I might hold out until I break the ten review point, but it depends how long that takes. Anymore than that would be asking for a miracle. Well, here it is. Sit back and enjoy the show. Don't mind me, I used to work at a movie theatre.

The Lost Ones

pt.1 Lost

Matt scowled lightly as he walked through a wooded area of digiworld. He was trailing behind Tai and Sora, who were chatting happily. He had been the one to get stuck with the pair on this scouting mission. The absence of their digimon hung heavily in his mind. This left them completely vulnerable to any oncoming attacks. Although with the amount of control spires in the area they would provide little help. Still, Matt felt unusually nervous.

His bad mood was only increased by the company he was keeping. Being alone with Tai would have been just fine. The two were quite good friends, and got along very well. Being alone with Sora would have been even better. Matt had long ago developed feelings for the compassionate redhead. Yet though he could get along with the two separately, he couldn't stand them together. Their feelings for each other were obvious as Matt angrily watched them flirt. The tenderness in Tai's actions towards her and the softness in his voice as he spoke to her sickened Matt on a level he never imagined possible. This was only heightened by the fact that Sora returned Tai's loving behavior one hundred percent. Unable to stomach the situation any longer, Matt allowed his anger to explode.

"You two are sure doing a great job of ignoring me!" he yelled.

Tai and Sora stopped in their tracks and spun around to face him. Concern was evident in both of their eyes.

"I'm sorry Matt," said Sora.

"Like hell you are you stupid bitch!"

Matt barely had time to spit out the words before Tai's fist connected with his cheekbone. Sora stood shocked for a moment, fighting the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes before she turned and ran off into the woods.

"WHERE THE HELL DID THAT COME FROM! SHE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU!" Tai yelled before he sprinted off after Sora.

"That's what you think," Matt muttered once Tai was out of earshot...

Being the faster runner, Tai easily gained on Sora. He managed to grab a hold of her and stop her. At this point she had calmed down a little, but tears still flowed freely her face. Tai released her from him and turned her to face him slowly. He smiled down at her weakly, while maintaining a soft grip on her shoulders.

"Don't mind Matt. He's just being a jerk. You know how he gets."

"No, he has a reason to be mad at me."

"What is it?" Tai asked, a little bewildered.

"Well," Sora faltered slightly, unsure how to continue, "he asked me out about a week ago and I said no."

"That's it!? Just because he bruised his ego doesn't give him the right to act like an asshole," Tai fumed.

"Well you shouldn't of punched him. I should've respected his feelings more. You need to apologize to him."

Tai sighed at her as a soft smile spread across his face.

"You're amazing you know. He acts like a jerk and you're still not mad."

Sora blushed lightly at Tai's words.

"I'm just saying it was my fault too."

"Well, I'll apologize to him if he apologizes to you. By the way, why did you say no? He doesn't get that too often," Tai teased.

Sora's blush intensified as Tai asked the question she'd been dreading. Yet she didn't have to answer. A loud crashing noise could be heard coming towards them. She unconsciously grabbed Tai's hand and squeezed it tightly, causing Tai's face to resemble hers' in color.

"What was that?" she asked.

"I don't know."

Tai silently prayed it was just Matt or one of the Digidestined, but he highly doubted it. This thing sounded much larger than a person. It seemed that quite a large digimon was coming towards them.

Tai's worries were confirmed when a large Tyrannomon emerged from the brush behind them. A dark ring clung tightly to its neck, and its eyes glowed a ferocious red. Tai was barely able to choke out one word,

"Run!"

They sprinted away immediately, their hands still locked together tightly. The Tyrannomon roared loudly before it began to chase them. The hunt was its favorite part of a kill. Little did Tai and Sora know, but they were doing exactly what the Tyrannomon wanted. It had been sent to specially to take them out. The absence of their digimon made it too easy, and the hunt made it enjoyable. It would only be a matter of time before it caught them.

Propelled by sheer fear and adrenalin, Tai ran faster than ever before in his life. By some miracle, Sora was ale to keep up with him, though he was pulling her along to some degree.

The terrain was rough, making the run harder. The trees began to thin as the ground became rockier. All the while the Tyrannomon could be heard thundering behind them.

Tai ad Sora had managed to widen the gap between them and the Tyrannomon, but they were running out of ground. The ground in the distance cut off sharply to about a fifteen-foot drop. Tai felt his stomach turn as he realized what they'd have to do.

"We gotta jump!" he yelled to Sora as they continued to run.

"Oh Tai, we can't!" Sora yelled back.

"We're out of other options," he said. They drew nearer to the edge, "Now jump!"

Sora closed her eyes as she felt the ground beneath her feet vanish. Her hand slipped out of Tai's as the jagged ground rushed up at her. She landed hard on her feet, which gave out with a cracking noise. She fell to the ground completely. Her right ankle throbbed painfully. Her breaths were light and shuddering as the pain threatened to take over her body.

"Sora, are you all right!?" Tai asked in a slightly panicked voice.

Sora forced her eyes to focus as she sat up. Her eye's met his sadly.

"My ankle's broken," she looked away from him suddenly. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes, which she blinked away quickly, "Tai, just go on without me. That Tyrannomon is almost here. I couldn't stand it if it got you too."

"There's no way in hell I'm leaving you here!" he said in a harsh tone. But his voice softened as his eyes found hers, "Come on Sora, you know me better than that. I love you, and I'm not gonna let you die here. No matter what it takes."

Sora's eyes widened at the implication of what he'd said. She found herself smiling slightly, despite their situation. Tai reached forward and caressed her face gently, causing her to blush a deep crimson.

The moment was shattered, however, by the sound of the tyrannomon drawing nearer.

"Tai there's no way out. I can't run, and if you help me you'll die too."

"There's always a way out..."

Tai looked to his digivice. He took it off his belt. Sora, though unsure of his actions, did the same. The shadow of the Tyrannomon loomed above them, it's hungry eyes locked on the two teens. It opened it's mouth to blast them with it's fiery attack. Tai and Sora wrapped their arms around each other as they braced themselves for the attack...

Kari's head jerked upward suddenly as a flock of birds flew overhead. TK looked at her, a little concerned.

"You okay Kar?" he asked softly.

She looked to him, her eyes locked on his. A panicked look was evident in her gaze.

"Something's wrong. We have to find everyone," she said hurriedly.

"All right," TK answered, not questioning where She'd gotten such a notion. "Sora, Matt and Tai should be around here somewhere. They can help us find everyone else."

"Thank you TK," she replied, sounding slightly calmer.

As they began walking, Kari started to question her actions. Yet she knew somehow that she was right in what she was doing. Something was wrong. She could feel it in the air. TK said nothing as they walked, yet she knew he never doubted her. He was always so agreeable.

She was broken from her thoughts by the image of Matt, sitting on a rock several feet in front of them.

"Matt!" TK called. Matt turned to face them. There was a strange darkness in his eyes. TK asked his next question nervously, "Where's Tai and Sora?"

"We got in a fight and they ran off."

TK nodded, unworried. However Kari let out a gasp.

"Oh my god. We have to find them now! Tai! Sora!" she called as she walked into the forest.

"I think she's really flipped this time," Matt whispered sarcastically to TK.

"Leave her alone Matt!" TK retorted angrily.

"God you sound just like Tai. 'Leave Sora alone Matt! What'd she do to you?'" he said in a tone that mocked Tai. The two boys began walking after Kari as Matt continued to rant, "They're so annoying together. And Tai's such a wimp. It's so obvious how they feel it's sickening but they won't say anything!"

"Matt, you sound jealous," TK teased.

"Jealous! Of them! Look, they might like each other but they'll never be together. Sora's gonna get sick of waiting around for Tai and move on before he gets the guts to ask her out. TAI'S A PATHETIC LOSER!" Matt yelled the last part without noticing that Kari was about six feet in front of them, staring motionlessly at the ground below a cliff, "Kar, I didn't mean it," Matt started.

She didn't respond. TK and Matt approached her cautiously. They stood on either side of her and looked to the bottom of the cliff. The ground was scorched black in an odd circular pattern. In the center lay two digivices, which were miraculously in perfect condition.

No words were capable of describing the depth of emotion the three felt at that moment. They all knew who those digivices belonged to. Kari suddenly burst into tears. TK wrapped her into a loving embrace as she sobbed pathetically against his chest. Matt stared solemnly at the two digivices. He wanted to cry more than ever before in his entire life, yet found that no tears would come. He found himself void of all emotion as he stared down at the spot his two friends had once stood. A dark emptiness had descended on his soul, and he would carry that darkness with him for the rest of his life...

In the days that followed Taichi and Sora's death, it seemed that a black cloud had descended over the digidestined. They all found themselves drowning in a deep state of grief and despair. Yet as the days turned to weeks, and the weeks to months, sunlight began to leak through the blackness of their grief. TK was the first to see this light for reasons only he knew. But the cloud would never leave Matt. As the others began to move on and laugh again, Matt remained trapped in his grief, and he found himself growing distant from them.

The digidestined had fought ad best they could against Ken during those dark days. However, their efforts had little effect, and Ken's empire grew stronger. Matt refused to go back to digiworld after that day. Everyone respected his wishes, although his absence was having a noticeable affect on the outcomes of their battles, and it seemed they were losing the battle against Ken.

TK never gave up hope, and it was his hope that allowed Kari to go on with her life. Over the months, she and TK had become exceptionally close. Those two reasons combined were why Kari wanted TK there when she made the next step in putting her grief behind her.

Kari had retrieved Tai and Sora's digivices from the bottom of the cliff once she had collected herself enough to do so. Since then she had kept them with her at all times. It made her feel closer to them somehow. Yet now, she felt that she needed to put that behind her if she was to move on. And, she'd thought of the perfect way to do so.

Kari waited nervously for TK to come to her. They had arranged a spot to meet in the digiworld and, although TK had no idea what her motives were he agreed to come without question. She stared down at the two blackened screens of the digivices, which she held in her hand. The deathly blackness haunted her, yet she expected a light to come from them somehow, and life to return to the two long dead screens.

She was jolted from her thought by the feeling of TK hand on her shoulder. She turned to stare into his sapphire eyes and found herself blushing in spite of herself.

"What's wrong Kar?" he asked, barely above a whisper, as he allowed himself to rub her arm gently.

"Nothing really TK. I wanted you to be with me because I need your strength. I'm going to bury Tai and Sora's digivices in a place that's special to them. They're gone now and it's time I accept that."

A solitary tear rolled down Kari's cheek. TK gently wiped it away with his thumb. He tilted her face upward slightly so that she was staring into his eyes.

"Kari, they'll always be with you, whether you have their digivices or not. They'll never truly be gone as long as someone here loves them."

"I know," Kari said with a sigh, "but I need to do this."

"All right," TK replied cheerily, "So where are we headed?"

"It's not too far from here. Tai told me about this place shortly before he," Kari cut off suddenly as a lump formed on her throat. She continued on, somewhat pained, "before he died. During our first time in digiworld, Tai and Sora used to come to this place to talk at night. He was too embarrassed to admit it, but I could tell this was a special place to him. I'm betting it meant a lot to Sora too."

"Yea," TK sighed' "They really did love each other. It's too bad they never got together."

Kari nodded. She stopped walking suddenly.

"This is it," se stated simply.

TK awed at the view. They had come to rest at a cliff edge that overlooked Primary Village. Despite Ken's wrath, the baby digimon still thrived, completely innocent.

"It's beautiful..." he gasped.

They stared onward for several minutes before Kari snapped back to reality. She withdrew a garden spade from her backpack and began to dig a hole. She stopped when it was about two feet deep. She then deposited the digivices carefully into the hole and began to fill it in with dirt. TK knelt and helped her. When they were finished they stood. Kari made no attempt to mark the piece of ground.

"I don't want Ken to ever find these. God knows what he'd do with them. But since that was the only part of them that was left, they seem special. And I don't ever want him to touch them."

A bitterness was evident her voice as she spoke of Ken. They had all been changed by Tai and Sora's death, but it was most evident in Kari and Matt. Their demeanors had changed. Although Kari's light had not completely gone out like Matt's, it had faded considerably. To TK, it was very disheartening.

"We'd better go now," said TK solemnly.

Kari nodded in agreement and the two departed silently.

Questions? Comment? Complaints? Mail me at Lucky5@hehe.com