"Prelude To Madness"
Episode One
By SS4Vegito

Note: This takes place before Ken joins their group.

Standing short of the cliff ahead, the girl stopped moving, as though set in stone.
The others saw only a cliff ahead of them, but her eyes showed something much more terrifying.
Ahead of her stretched the Dark Ocean.
Suddenly, the others saw her dissappear into thin air, just like that.
Like she had never been there.
Looking around, she walked to the shore of the Dark Ocean, her short brown hair waving in the wind, which seemed against her.
Silently she knelt in the cool beach-like sand and wept.
She was lost, Gatomon and her friends hadn't come this time.
She doubted that T.K. would be able to find her this time, with the pull of the Dark Ocean so much stronger now.
Looking ahead of her, her eyes blurred with tears, she stood and walked toward the lighthouse she saw. It was the only building in sight and the wind was picking up.
Almost as soon as she started to walk, she fell down, her face in the sand. It stung her eyes and got in her hair.
She sat up and wiped the sand from her eyes and face, spitting out what had gotten in her mouth and getting as much as she could out of her hair.
Looking ahead, she realized that the lighthouse gave off only dark-light, unlike a real-world lighthouse, which gave off light.
"Everything is backwards here... Light is dark and dark is light.." She muttered, pressing ahead yet again, only to be sent to the ground again.
Finding her strength, she stood up and pressed on.
In another place at the same time...
Standing near a copse of trees that he didn't recognize, a boy stood, as though awaiting something or someone.
Suddenly, the boy's Digimon partner Wormmon saw, the boy dissappeared into nowhere.
Finding himself in the gray expanse called the Dark Ocean, the boy tried not to freak out.
Walking forward, he knew there had to be a purpose to why he had been brought here now.
Then he saw it.
A speck of pink on the gray sand, moving towards the dark lighthouse.
Running forward, he ignored the heavy winds as he ran to her.
Getting there, she looked at him.
"Ken, why are you here?" She asked. He frowned.
"To bring you back." He replied, "Kari, don't go to that lighthouse it's evil."
"Evil? But... It's the only shelter here.." Kari asked him.
"Yes. Very evil.. And don't worry about shelter.. This wind ought to die down pretty soon anyway, and then we'll be able to go home. Don't worry." Ken told her reassuringly.
"I'm scared. This place scares me." Kari said, shivering in the cool wind.
"It scares me too. Don't give into your fear, that's the key." He told her, putting a hand on her shoulder. Kari looked surprised to see him be so kind to her.
"Okay, if you say so." She said, shivering again.
"You're cold." He said, stating a fact. Kari nodded.
"It's freezing here." She told him.
"We'll be home and safe and warm soon." Ken said.
Suddenly, Ken saw Kari's eyes close, and she fell limply into his arms.
Startled, he nearly dropped her before catching himself and holding the unconscious girl close, hoping he could give her a little warmth.
"Wait right here." He said, "I'm going to go find some driftwood for a fire."
He returned with a small armful of driftwood and put it on the sand, then taking out a match and starting a fire.
"Always come prepared..." He said quietly, putting Kari's unconscious body close to the fire. Not close enough to be burned but close enough to get really warm. Ken sat on the opposite side of the fire, keeping an eye out for any Digimon that might come to the fire.
About fifteen minutes and three trips for more driftwood later, Kari woke up, feeling much warmer.
Seeing the fire in front of her, she weakly raised herself to her elbows.
"Ken?" She asked. He came over from the other side of the small fire.
"You're awake." He said, "Good."
"What happened?" She asked him.
"You passed out from the cold. I built up a fire to keep us warm." He said, deliberately not saying that if he had been the only one there he wouldn't have started a fire at all.
"Thanks...." She started, "That was really kind of you... Cody will never believe me if I tell him about this."
"Why not?" Ken asked, shutting his dark-blue eyes for a moment then opening them again.
"He doesn't trust you.. I mean, I wasn't sure for a while back there if I could, but I was wrong." She told him, "I'm sorry I mistook you that way."
"It's alright. I should be used to it by now." He said, allowing himself to grin a little bit. Kari smiled.
Suddenly a noise came from nearby. A growl or roar of some creature.
Then a giant dragon-like Digimon emerged from the trees on the outskirts of the beach.
"Oh no!" Kari said, her ruby eyes wide.
"That's Diamondramon, a very powerful Mega-level Digimon!" Ken told her, "We can't beat him without our Digimon!"
"But we have to!" Kari said, "Or else we're gonna die!"
"Yeh I know that.." Ken said glumly, looking up at the huge Digimon before them.

END EPISODE ONE (ROLL CREDITS)