The Problem with Friendship

by Angel Baby1

Added 52902: Chapter 14Final Chapter The end approaches. All of the Digidestined's efforts have come to this final confrontation. But will they be able to bring Deity Friendship back, or is he lost to them forever? And who is Naisamon?

5. Chapter Four

AN: I know what you're thinking. "Finally! It always takes this nut so *long* to post." Well, here ya go! It's long, it's new, it's...posted! Aren't you happy? I'm going to explain my little marks and stuff again, for those who don't remember. These @*@ mean a break in scenes. I.E. a shift in place or time or a change of the POV. Ok? Ok. Single stars will mean thoughts in paragraphs and Italics or emphasis in speech or text. For instance, *He never listens to me!* would be a thought, as it's an entire section. But "He *never* listens to me!" would put an emphasis on 'never'. Get it? You have to just read the passage in text and it'll usually be pretty plain as to which it is. At least...I hope so. I'm still not too sure what'll happen if I use the HTML code I know, and am not ready to experiment. So, please try your best to understand.

I rated this chapter PG-13 for a reason. Matt gets...hurt. Very badly. And there is blood, mention of blood, and a very painful wound. I don't go *too* graphic, but my mom said 'eww...' Although...my mom says 'eww...' a lot, so that's not saying much. Still, I rated it PG-13. I, personally, like this chapter. Especially the prophetic dream sequence. If it *is* a prophetic dream. I'm not telling! Also, as a last note, we figure out what 'the problem with friendship' really is. (My muse got tired of me skirting around the issue and took over for a while. He had lots of fun directing me and it's really well written, in my humble opinion. Anyway!) Go! Read! REVIEW!!!! Thank you.

-Angel Baby


@*@


"Aaaahgrh!" Meloremon threw a ball of black silence at VenomCobrmon, and the Digimon almost wasn't able to dodge it.

"I am sssorry, Missstressss," it hissed, bobbing its head in terror. "I tried to kill the iccce eyed one...I thought to drown him...asss you asssked. But hisss Digimon hasss sssome kind of connection to him...he wasss sssaved at the lassst moment. Give me one more chanccce. I will kill him, thisss time." Meloremon turned to face her Digimon servant, and raised a hand to cast him into the cold silence of death. Then she seemed to reconsider, and lowered her hand.

"No..." she murmured, more to herself than the Digimon cowering in terror in the corner. "No...I will let you live. But I will give you only one. More. Chance." The snake Digimon bobbed its head in agreement.

"One more chanccce. Yesss, Missstress. I will kill him, thisss time. You will sssee." Meloremon shook her head.

"No. I don't want him killed. Obviously, I can't kill him. So I will not send him to the silence of death. Bring him here. I will show him my silence, and then he will prefer death." She giggled, a terrible, dark sound that sent chills all through the snake Digimon. "Yes, bring him here! I want to show him my silence. I want to see how he likes it. Come to me, One Who is Both! Bring with you your cold, lonely, solitary eyes! Show me your silence, and I will drown you in mine!" The diverse laughter that filled the castle was the total opposite of what it should have been. In its wake there was dull loneliness and defining silence. Somewhere Matt shuttered, though it was not cold.

@*@

T.K. looked up from the campfire when Matt shivered.

"What's the matter?" He asked. "Are you cold?" Matt shook his head, not looking at his brother, and stroked Gabumon absently. It had been two days since the episode with the bridge, and Matt knew something was wrong. His throat hurt. And the *last* time his throat hurt like this, worse things were to come. Gabumon knew, without being told, what was the matter with Matt, and began sleeping with one arm over Matt's throat, hoping that would help. Neither of them told the others. What's the point? Matt would have asked had Gabumon suggested telling them. Whatever's going to happen is going to happen. Relapse or miracle healing, having them fret and worry and *bother* me won't do any good. Leave it alone. So Gabumon never said anything. Still, as the nights dragged on and Matt began shivering in his sleep and taking slightly ragged breaths, Gabumon felt the desire to tell the others grow and grow till it was almost unbearable. Only the knowledge that Matt would have been very angry with him kept Gabumon silent. And then, one night, something strange happened, and Gabumon forgot to worry about his Destined. Matt was taking a watch, staring morbidly into the fire, when there was a sound from the surrounding trees. Gabumon lifted his head and strained his ears and Matt, not understanding, remained quiet. Finally, he heard it. The sound was like something moving through the grass...moving...inching...*slithering*. Something was slithering towards the campfire. Unable to move for fear of alerting the creature, Matt picked up a stone and lobbed it at the closest person: T.K. The boy sat up, flailing his arms, and said at Matt,

"It's ok, Mom! I'm up! I can be there before the last bell! Huh? Matt? Wha-whaz goin' on?" Matt stared at T.K. till he was sure the boy was paying attention, then, very slowly, put his finger over his lips. *Be quiet.* Then, still maintaining eye contact, he pointed at the others. *Wake them up.* T.K. nodded and moved towards the others with extreme caution. There was something wrong, and Matt seemed to know what. Gabumon must have, too, because he had bared his teeth and moved closer to Matt. One by one T.K. woke the others up, shaking them gently. When they woke up, the first thing they saw was T.K., staring at them intently, one finger held to his lips. *Be quiet.* Then, once that message was clear, he made a motion with his hands, *stay where you are*, and pointed at Matt, *watch him*. Then he would shrug, *I have no idea what's going on*, and move on. Kari, Izzy, Sora, Joe. Done. Next was Mimi. T.K. crawled over and poked her. She sat up.

"T.K.! What are you doing?" Frantic motions with the finger over the lips. "Oh! Do you want me to be quiet?" Emphatic nods. "Well, why didn't you just say-" More frenzied shushing motions. "Oops! Sorry! I'll be quiet." T.K. made the *stay still* motions, but Mimi was too tired to understand. She shook her head. T.K. sighed and rubbed his temples. *Don't move.* He mouthed. Mimi brightened. Apparently, she could lip read. Wonderful. T.K. pointed at Matt. This, too, Mimi understood. She trained her gaze on Matt and T.K., sighing, moved on. Tai was last. T.K. sent up a little prayer that Tai would handle the situation well, and poked the misfit leader of a misfit group. He never should have worried. Tai grasped the situation in a quick sweep of his eyes before ever acknowledging T.K. He held T.K.'s eyes, nodded once, and turned to watch Matt. The tall blonde locked gazes with each one of his comrades to make sure they were paying attention. They each nodded. Then Matt cupped his ears, *listen*, and turned to face the spot of forest Gabumon was glaring at, *over there.* After a moment, each of the Digidestined had heard the noise. One by one, they turned back to Matt; nodded. The blonde made sure they were all paying attention again, then pointed at Gabumon. *Wake your Digimon up.* He put a long finger to his lips. *Quietly.* Matt and Gabumon turned back to the fire, pretending not to know of the whatever-it-was-mon that was approaching them. The Digimon, as the Destined found out, did not wake up quietly if they could help it.

"Hmm? Joe? What are you doing? Why are you waving your finger at me?" Apparently, not having fingers meant not understanding a *shush!* motion. It was soon discovered that waking your Digimon up by clamping your hand over its mouth worked best. After the Digimon were awake and somewhat composed, though still with hands over their mouths, the situation was explained in many hushed voices. After that, the Digimon knew what to do. They all laid back down, pretending to sleep. The Destined, who had never sat up that much anyway, copied their Digimon, and soon it was as if nothing had changed. Except for one major thing: now, they were prepared.

@*@

"Clossser..." VenomCobrmon hissed to the henchmen he had brought with him to collect the Ice Eyed One that his Mistress desired. "Clossser...get clossser. We mussst be clossser before we attack or they will have time to conssstruct a counter attack...clossser." Obediently, the Cobrmon, de-Digivolved forms of VenomCobrmon, slithered towards the campsite. Natural lovers of dark places, none of the Cobrmon, nor even their Venom Master, wanted to be in this place, about to do this thing. However, no one failed Meloremon. No one. The Cobrmon readied their attack. VenomCobrmon hissed his command.

"Go..."

They went.

@*@

Matt listened, eyes trained on the fire, fiddling with a stick, as the slithering advanced further and further. The twig bent in Matt's grip as the leaf-crunching sounds slowed and finally stopped. There was a tension filled moment of silence. Then, a low, hissing call,

"Attack!"

The twig snapped.

"Gabumon!"

"Right! Gabumon Digivolve TO!" There was a bright flash of light; Matt's Digivice screamed. As the light faded, there was, in place of the small Gabumon, a tall, white, wolf-like creature with dark blue stripes. The screaming stopped; the new creature called out its name. "GARURUMON!"

And so began the battle.

"Palmon Digivolve TO!"

"Patamon Digivolve TO!"

"Agumon Digivolve TO!"

"Biyomon Digivolve TO!"

"Tentomon Digivolve TO!"

"Gomamon Digivolve TO!"

"Gatomon Digivolve TO!" The air was filled with the light and screaming of seven Digivices. Power flowed almost tangible around the campsite as fifty Cobrmon and one VenomCobrmon slithered towards the Digidestined. The Digimon reappeared and used their names as war calls.

"TOGEMON!"

"ANGEMON!"

"GREYMON!"

"BIRDRAMON!"

"KABUTERIMON!"

"IKKAKUMON!"

"ANGEWOMON!"

The battle raged.

Matt stood up and faced the advancing Digimon. Next to him, Garurumon issued a low growl, his hackles raising further. The ice blue eyes of Friendship narrowed. Matt lifted his hand and sliced the air with it, calling to his Digivolve partner,

"Go! GARURUMON!" Garurumon attacked.

"Howling Blaster!" Frozen blue lightning raced from Garurumon's mouth to surround and destroy three of the attacking snake-Digimon. The remaining hissed angrily and slithered closer. At some unseen command from the other Destined, the remaining seven Chosen Digimon attacked.

"Needle Spray!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Nova Blast!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Electro Shocker!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Celestial Arrow!"

As his Digimon reduced seven attacking Digimon to data, Tai edged towards Izzy, who was typing madly on his laptop.

"What are they?" He asked in a yell, to be heard over the battle. Having instantly assumed the 'leader' role when danger began, Tai checked on everyone while Izzy accessed information on the invading Digimon. Mimi, Sora, Kari, Joe, and T.K. were all standing together, watching the battle with expressions of mixed emotions: fear, confusion, determination. Matt was alone, standing by the fire, watching his Garurumon battle the snake-like Digimon with a blank face, emotionless as stone. Just then, Izzy put a name to the small army that had struck during the night.

"They're called Cobrmon! According to this, they don't like sunlight and fire. However, our fire doesn't seem to be affecting them much. But watch out for the spikes on their backs and especially their fangs! One scratch could mean your instant demise!" Tai studied the Cobrmon. They weren't very thick around, but they more then made up for it with length. While Tai could have wrapped his arms around the smallest one with room to spare, it was easily six feet long. And that was the smallest one. Besides, Tai wouldn't have wrapped his arms around it even if he *could*. All down each Cobrmon's back were six-inch barbs, filled with toxic venom, according to Izzy. The Cobrmon were totally black, with blood red spots around each poisonous spike. The hooded head of a Cobrmon housed two large, glittering ebony eyes. One of the Cobrmon reared and hissed loudly at Togemon, who shot a 'Needle Spray' into its open mouth, which contained two wicked, needlepoint fangs. All this Tai absorbed in a second.

"Hey, you guys!" The six who were in a group looked over. Matt ignored him. *That's his problem!* Tai thought furiously. *If he doesn't want my help, there's nothing I can do!* He called information to those that would listen so they could relay it to their Digimon. "They're called Cobrmon! They have poisonous fangs and barbs on their backs! Don't let them get close!"

Everyone nodded, then Joe asked, "If those are Cobrmon, what's that one over there?" He was pointing at a huge shadow that was lingering in the darkness. Tai turned to Izzy, who shrugged helplessly as he typed at his computer.

"I can't get a lock on it! It's too far immersed in shadows!" Tai relayed the shrug to Joe, who nodded again and joined the others in yelling to their Digimon. Matt and Garurumon didn't seem to need any help. Matt was still watching the battle, only now his expression bordered on annoyed. These Cobrmon weren't *frightening* him...they were *boring* him. For some reason, amid the cries of attacks and hissing of huge snakes, this angered Tai slightly. What did *Matt* know about this battle that allowed him to take it so *casually*? And, if he *did* know something, *why* wasn't he *sharing* this information? Was he so cold and aloof that he didn't even *care* that the others, his *friends*, were scared? Did he even *count* them as friends? And if not, *why*? Tai made a resolution to ask Matt these very things the next opportunity he had. A colossal explosion ripped through the air, and called Tai's wandering attention back to the battle that was raging before him. Two attacks, Greymon's 'Nova Blast' and Kabuterimon's 'Electro Shocker', had collided on their way to a knot of ten Cobrmon who had surrounded Ikkakumon. The explosion not only distorted the ten Cobrmon utterly, but also knocked Ikkakumon back to Gomamon and blasted a deep crater in the ground. Greymon and Kabuterimon looked at each other, the huge hole they had accidentally created, then back at each other.

"Oops," they muttered, but someone was already taking advantage of the pit. Garurumon was using his 'Howling Blaster' to herd Cobrmon into the crater. When he was done, there were thirteen Cobrmon in the pit. One 'Howling Blaster' and there were none. Tai glanced over at Matt. He was smiling secretively at Garurumon, obviously pleased. Garurumon threw its head back and howled victory. Looking back up, Tai noticed that of the original fifty, only five were left. These were hissing softly, their heads swaying mournfully, attempting to find an escape. For the five were surrounded by eight champion stage Digimon (Gomamon had re-Digivolved) and knew that the battle was lost. Suddenly, they stopped hissing and grew perfectly still. As one, they reared until they could see over the top of Garurumon's head. Then they began hissing triumphantly and bobbing around in a frenzied, ecstatic way. Confused, every human and Digimon turned to see what had caused the unnatural delight in doomed Digimon. Garurumon saw and let out a deep, mournful whine. The three girls squeaked in surprise and terror. No one moved an inch. The shadowy Digimon from earlier was obviously a snake. But it was too massive to be real. It was a maximum of three feet wide and at least twelve feet long. It was blood red, with black scull markings all down its back. Its hood was huge. Two of the black sculls that lined the snake-Digimon's back were on the hood, one on each side. Its fangs were easily three feet long. But the size didn't matter. They were probably just as sharp, and *definitely* as poisonous, probably more so, as the Cobrmon's fangs. It was so huge it could have coiled itself around any one of the Digidestined with enough left over to have a tail stretch away at the bottom *and* rear over the child at the same time. This was obvious because the snake-Digimon was currently coiled around Yamato Ishida.

@*@

Matt had been watching Garurumon howling his victory when it had happened. One moment, he was watching his Garurumon gracefully dispose of Cobrmon, the next, there was a high, hissing voice in his ear that chilled him to the bone.

"Do not move, pleassse." Matt complied. He stood perfectly still as a snake too massive to truly be a snake curled itself easily around him several times. Matt was slightly dismayed to discover that there was snake left over on both ends. A huge hooded head appeared before Matt's eyes. "Yesss..." the snake-Digimon hissed. "Yesss...you are the one my Missstresss ssseeksss. The Iccce Eyed one who is both sssilenccce...and musssic. My Missstresss will be pleasssed to meet you, boy..." Matt, imagining hypnosis and more, refused to look into the snake-Digimon's eyes, but also refused to show his fear. Training his face to a look of perfect calm, Matt stared just off the snake's head. Garurumon whined and the girls screamed. *Ah.* Matt thought with strange kind of giddy calm. *They must be looking over here. I feel like screaming, too.* The snake-Digimon raised its hooded head briefly before turning back to Matt. "You don't ssseem to be frightened. I can fixxx that easssily." It moved its head over to the side of Matt's head and then down, till it was staring at the place where Matt's shoulder turned into Matt's neck. Beneath his jacket, Matt's skin crawled. "Oooh..." it hissed. "You have a lovely neck. Very niccce. I want to bite you. I want to kill you. Can I kill you?" Matt remained very still. *If I'm going to die here, right now, like this, I'm not going to go down begging, damn it!* The snake-Digimon seemed to be considering something. "Hmm..." Without warning, the snake-Digimon delicately sunk the tip of its right fang through his jacket and shirt, into Matt's neck. At least, as delicately as it could. The wound still bled badly. The others watched, helpless, as the gargantuan snake bit Matt. The girls screamed again.

@*@

*And that's it.* Tai thought dazedly. *After all this time. After all the near death adventures. After all the *crap* we've been thorough. That's it. He's dead. Oh, my God. I lost one. I lost one of *my* team members. Even if he wasn't always cooperative, even if he was *never* cooperative, he can't die! None of us can die! I've got to get us all back home! We're all going home! We *have* to!* They watched, in horror, as the huge snake-Digimon sank one of its fangs part way into Matt's neck. Garurumon howled and collapsed on the ground as Gabumon. The de-Digivolved form buried its face in its paws and shook, mortified at the loss of his Digital Partner. He was moaning something. Low and long.

"Nooooooo..." There was nothing anyone could do for Gabumon now. Matt was undoubtedly dead. He hung limply in the snake-Digimon's coils, held just the way he had been standing, his eyes forever staring dully and unseeing at the world, his head lulling to one side. Tai looked at the others in a kind of daze. Izzy was staring, horrified, at the snake that held Matt's body, his fingers hovering over the keys of his forgotten laptop. Joe had sunk to the ground at some point and was staring at Matt's lifeless face, shaking his head slowly. Mimi, Sora, and Kari were all clinging to each other, all sobbing silently. The one Tai was most concerned about, however, was T.K. The boy was staring at his dead brother whose jacket grew dark with blood. T.K.'s face was snow white, but slowly the expression changed. At first, there was shock mixed with horror. Then disbelief. *Nothing* could kill the great Yamato Ishida. *Nothing*. The disbelief was slowly replaced with rage. A deep, all consuming rage.

"How dare you..." T.K. whispered quietly to the murdering snake-Digimon. His fists were clinched and his body shaking. "How *dare* you kill my brother? After I've just found him! *HOW DARE YOU?!*" T.K. shrieked his loss and charged at the Digimon whose fang still dripped the life blood of Yamato Ishida. Tai only just caught T.K. as he charged past.
"Let me go!" He screamed. "I'm going to kill it! I'm going to kill it with my bare hands! He took my brother! He took my brother from me! I'm going to kill it! My brother, my brother! I'll kill it!" T.K.'s screams became a howl of pain and the howl slowly became racking sobs. "I just *found* him!" T.K. sobbed. "I just found him and now he's gone and I can't find him where he's gone this time. He's gone, he's gone, and I'll never see him again, ever. Oh, Matt! My brother! My *brother*! He's dead! My brother's dead! Nooo!" T.K. shook with his sobs and the snake-Digimon raised its head, looking at the shocked and crying Digidestined and the Digimon trying to comfort them. It hissed a laugh.

"Ha ha. Do you think I killed the boy? No...sssilly children. He isss only asssleep. However, if you do not come with me sssilently, I *will* kill him." T.K. looked up at Matt, his chest heaving, tear streaked face filled with a terrible hope. It was true. Matt's eyes were closed now, but his chest was moving, up and down in rhythmic breathing.

"Not dead?" T.K. asked quietly. "My brother...isn't dead? Then what are you doing with him?" The snake hissed again.

"My Missstresss wantsss thisss one back alive. I *wanted* to kill him...oh, yesss...very muccch ssso...but I could not tear out hisss niccce neck and kill him. My Missstresss would be...dissspleasssed. And then ssshe would kill me. Ssso...I will do asss ssshe asssksss. And I will deliver thisss one to her. Who knowsss? Perhapsss I will be lucky and ssshe will let me have him after he isss no longer a threat. Then...I can kill him. But I can't be sssure ssshe doesssn't want one of *you* asss well. Ssso, I will bring you all."

"Where?" Tai whispered, as the others were still too shocked to speak yet.

"To my Lady. The Missstresss of Sssilenccce. Lady of Emptinesss. Meloremon." Tai looked at his friends and their Digimon in shock. Meloremon. All this was because of *Meloremon*. *I don't think that this,* Tai thought numbly, *is what Matt meant when he said he wanted to get to Meloremon without climbing.* Slowly, very slowly, each of the Digidestined nodded their consent to Tai.

"All right," Tai said to the snake-Digimon that worked for Meloremon. "All right. We'll come with you. Just...let Matt go. If you don't let one of us look at his neck, he'll bleed to death before we get to...to Meloremon's place." The snake-Digimon looked down at Matt's limp form and seemed to sigh.

"A pity. I would have loved killing him." It hissed another laugh and let Matt slide roughly through its coils and land in a bloody heap on the ground. Gabumon, who had stood up at some point, leapt forward and landed next to Matt. Growling at the snake-Digimon that had tried to kill *his* Destined, Gabumon pulled Matt over to the others. Everyone gathered around as Joe addressed Matt's wound and Izzy typed at his computer. Quickly removing the blood soaked jacket and handing it to a trembling T.K., Joe pulled down the collar of Matt's now red T-shirt. T.K., seeing the wound, sank to his knees. There was blood- so much blood- it was difficult to see the wound clearly. Taking a deep breath, Joe forced himself to turn away from Matt for a second and retrieve his usually unnoticed backpack. From the depths of the backpack he pulled pile upon pile of bandages. Once these were out, Joe quickly, carefully, expertly attended to the wound. But it wasn't enough. He told Tai as much. The brown haired leader looked anxious.

"But...what do you mean, it's not enough?" Joe looked worriedly at Matt's still form.

"Well...this will *slow* the bleeding...but it won't *stop* the bleeding. If...if we don't find a way to stop the bleeding...he'll...he'll..." The way Joe dropped his head in defeat spoke mountains more than words could have. T.K., who had been staring at the large blood spot on his brother's jacket in dismay, looked up suddenly.

"He can't die!" He cried vehemently. The others tried to shush him, but T.K. would have none of it. "I don't care *what* you have to do," he continued desperately, staring at Joe with a great intensity, "you can't let my brother die, Joe, you just can't. I only just found him. I couldn't stand loosing him again, and death is so final. You *can't*, Joe. You *can't*." Joe looked acutely uncomfortable, and then he glanced down at Matt. The boy was snow white, and still he was loosing blood. For a second, Joe thought back to before, before Matt had disappeared, before he had been taken away. Just after they had all returned from the Digiworld. Matt had never been very open with anyone, but after the last battle in the Digiworld, it had become extremely apparent why Matt was the Chosen Child of Friendship. If one of the Digidestined were doing something, Matt would show up, without fail. He would go and cheer Sora and Tai on during a soccer game. He would pick T.K. and Kari up from school and take them out for ice cream or some other treat. He would go and use flash cards to help Izzy study for tests (even though he had no idea what he was quizzing the young genius on). He watched Mimi in her very first fashion show, and asked her for her very first autograph. He had been moral support for Joe when he had taken the entrance exams for a tough junior high school, which fed directly into a high school that specialized in pre-med. If one of the other Digidestined couldn't make it to an important event, it was always Matt who would smooth things over. Matt listened when no one else wound, and never talked about what he heard. He was a true friend. Though he always seemed distant to people who didn't know him, Joe discovered in the months after the Digiworld that distance was Matt's way of observing a person. Matt was found to be an excellent judge of character. Extremely complicated, Joe and the others were still trying to figure Matt out when suddenly...he was gone. And now, just as suddenly, he was back, even more tragic and complicated than before. It would take some time to get to know Yamato Ishida, and to have that time Matt would have to live. But to live, Joe would have to stop the bleeding, and to stop the bleeding...Joe looked at T.K. with a new sense of determination.

"I won't let him die, T.K.," he promised. T.K. looked down at his ever-paler brother.

"But you still have to stop the bleeding...how are you gonna...?" Joe smiled reassuringly at T.K.

"I can't stop the bleeding right now, because that will take time. And Snake-zilla over there doesn't seem like the kind of mon who'd let me sit here and fix Matt up." T.K. looked slightly dejected.

"But...Matt's bleeding so badly...and these bandages aren't going to work for long...and...and...are you *sure* you can save him?" T.K looked much younger than his thirteen years. To Joe, he was eight again, asking timidly if his brother was gonna be ok. Joe smiled once more.

"I want to get to know this person your brother's become. He's a strange guy. I'm thinking he doesn't want to die that badly, and he seems strong enough, so if he can just survive the walk to Meloremon's place, I can help him. What do you think?" T.K., with tears in his eyes, nodded. In the silence that followed, Tai asked Izzy,

"So...what kind of Digimon *is* Snake Kong over there?"

Izzy looked up, startled at the sudden change of topic, but quickly answered, "It is called VenomCobrmon, also known as the snake-Digimon king, Digivolved form of Cobrmon. Intensely venomous, it can either kill or simply knock out its victims. There is no way we will be able to wake Matt up ourselves. Extremely unfortunately, the only anti-venom to the 'Poison Sleep' attack is the 'Revival Fang', which is just as disagreeable as it sounds. Matt will have to be bitten again. Or, the VenomCobrmon could just drop a few bits of the anti-venom in Matt's current wound, but I doubt he will refrain from another chance to bite Matt. VenomCobrmon are *highly* aggressive and enjoy nothing more than killing. This Meloremon must be *radically* powerful for the VenomCobrmon to have held off its killing bite. I think we're in trouble." The others nodded. VenomCobrmon had obviously tired of waiting for the Digidestined, so he hissed impatiently,

"Come with me, Digidessstined. I will ssshow you my Missstresss. And *ssshe* with ssshow you death."

@*@

Meloremon's castle was huge. It had many dark towers and long hallways that made it seem even grander than it probably was. However, all this was lost on the Digidestined and their Digimon. Matt had bled through his bandages three times on the walk to Meloremon's house and the boy was now deathly pale. Gabumon had walked silently beside the VenomCobrmon, even though he probably wouldn't have under normal circumstances, because the VenomCobrmon was carrying Matt. Still holding Matt's blood stained jacket, T.K. was beside himself with worry and Patamon was beside himself with T.K. Several times T.K. had been ready to kill the VenomCobrmon and take the anti-venom, which would, Izzy later said, also heal the wound, by force. But Patamon had always talked T.K. out of it in the end.

"What if it just kills you?" Patamon was asking the sixteenth time. "We don't know what it wants with Matt, but it he might not need *you*. Wait, T.K., only wait. The time will come. Everything will be all right. You'll see." But T.K. looked skeptical. He kept shooting the VenomCobrmon glances that clearly said, 'You hurt my brother. *No one* hurts *my* family. I am going to *kill* you. Just *wait*.' It was getting harder and harder for Patamon to talk T.K. out of murdering the VenomCobrmon. But he was doing just that, none the less. Now the VenomCobrmon led the Digidestined and their Digimon into the castle. It took them to a grand bedroom, filled only with one huge four-poster bed, one dresser, and three chairs. The VenomCobrmon dumped Matt on the ground and left the Destined to themselves, taking the protesting but helpless Digimon with it. It locked the door behind itself. Putting Matt's jacket down, T.K. helped Tai and Joe pick Matt up as gently as they could and put him on the bed. T.K. immediately sat on the bed next to his brother and watched Joe and Izzy work. Joe took off the bandage around Matt's neck and place several layers of cloth over the still bleeding wound, which he applied pressure to in an attempt to stop the blood flow. Izzy was working on his medical program. After several moments, he looked up and nodded grimly at Joe, who sighed and went to his bag.

"Hey, Joe?" Joe looked up at Mimi. The three girls had taken the seats, leaving Tai to sit on the dresser.

"Yes, Mimi?"

"I was just wondering. Where did you get all those bandages and stuff?" Joe sighed and unnecessarily pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"Well, after the *first* time we came here, I realized that you can *never* be too prepared." He turned to his bag and began rummaging through it. "So, since I carry my backpack with me *everywhere*, I put a first-aid kit in it." He pulled a nice sized box out of his bag, placed it on the bed by Matt's feet, opened it, and began looking for something. "In this box, I have bandages," he placed a large pile of bandages on the bed, "Band-Aids," he put a container of multi-sized Band-Aids on top of the bandages, "pain killers/fever reducers," he rested a bottle of pills next to the bandages and Band-Aids, "and a needle and medical thread, among other things." Joe deliberately placed the needle and medical thread on other side of the first-aid kit and put the other things away. "You know," he continued in conversational tones as he put the first-aid kit away, picked up the needle and thread, and went back to T.K., who had been applying pressure to the cloth since Joe had gone. "We should really think about calling that our *aid* kit. Because there *is* no second aid. No one is gonna come and help us. We're all we've got. Just us. That's it." Joe took a deep breath and moved T.K.'s hand and the cloth away from Matt's neck. His hands were shaking. T.K. looked at him, stunned.

"You're not gonna-!" Izzy nodded grimly as Joe began pulling off some thread.

"He has to. There is no other way. Matt is in no danger of dying from venom but he is dying of blood loss. Even if we slow it down, look at the size of the wound. The only way to completely stop the blood flow it to close the wound. And the *only* way to do that is..."

"See?" Joe said with false cheer, trying and failing to thread the needle, "An aid kit. Because, you see, there's no one to help when you really need it." Mimi came up behind Joe and gave him a tiny, feeble smile, then threaded the needle for him. Sora wrapped her arms around a shaking Kari and closed her eyes tightly. Tai turned to look out the window, desperately trying to imagine that what was about to happen *wasn't* about to happen. T.K., ashen faced but determined, carefully pealed the bloody T-shirt off of his brother, one arm at a time, so that Joe wouldn't have to work around it. This he placed on top of the jacket, then went back to his perch by Matt. He seized his brother's free hand and held it tightly, praying that the pain would not reach Matt's sleeping mind.

"Have only good dreams," T.K. murmured as he smoothed Matt's hair out of his eyes, just as his mother had done for T.K. every time he had woken from a nightmare. And surly this was a nightmare. Izzy studied the screen of his laptop, preparing himself mentally so that he could talk Joe through any problems he might come to. Joe had his eyes closed and was taking deep, steadying breaths. Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at Matt's wound again.

He passed Mimi a cloth and asked, "Would you...could you dab any...any extra blood as it comes? So that I can still see?" Pale and trembling, Mimi nodded.

"You'd better be nicer to me after this, Matt," she whispered to him as he slept. "You'd better be nicer to all of us. Oh, I'm not sure I can do this...but I will. I will, because I have to." Mimi closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then nodded once and opened her eyes. Joe gave her a wavering smile, took one last deep breath, and put in the first stitch. Mimi made a slight gagging sound, but dabbed the coming blood anyway. T.K. squeezed his brother's hand.

@*@

Fifteen stitches later, it was finished. Matt's wound had been closed and re-bandaged. He would survive. Izzy, who had been sitting on the floor to type with his laptop in his lap, had closed the small computer and rested his head on it. Mimi had run to the adjoining bathroom as soon as Joe was finished, where Sora and Kari were helping her now. Joe was slumped on the ground, leaning against the bed. T.K. was sitting on the bed, staring at Matt, still shaking from what had just been done to his brother. Tai was pacing the room, the one person who had the energy to worry.

"Where are the Digimon?" Tai asked suddenly. "Why didn't VenomCobrmon leave them with us?"

"Who cares?" Izzy asked into his laptop. "It's late. Look out the window. It's still night. I cast my vote for sleeping while we can."

"Here, here," muttered Joe half-heartedly. "I never want to do anything like that again. Ever." T.K. nodded, but Joe couldn't see that. Mimi came staggering back into the room then, followed by Kari and Sora, who were watching her with worried eyes.

"I never," Mimi started, sagging back into her disregarded chair, "want to do *anything* like that *ever again*. Oh, I can't believe I did that. What was I *thinking*? Ohhh...I'm an idiot. You didn't need my help, did you, Joe?"

Joe picked his head up slightly and said, "I couldn't have done it without you, Mimi. You really pulled through. You saved Matt's life." Mimi closed her eyes and Joe fell back against the bed. Tai looked at everyone and sighed, defeated.

"Ok. It's ok." He smiled very slightly. "You guys have all been really great today. Er...tonight," he amended, "and you're right. We *should* get some sleep while we can. But...where are we gonna sleep?" Sora looked at Kari and they both shrugged. No one else said or did anything. Izzy was asleep, still folded over his laptop. Joe was asleep, too, leaning against the bed. T.K. had fallen asleep with his legs hanging off the bag, his torso above his brother's head. Matt hadn't moved; he was still lying on the bed, his head upon a pillow, where Tai, Joe, and T.K. had put him. That was to be expected. Mimi had fallen asleep in her chair. Tai sighed again and turned to Kari and Sora. But they were gone. Seconds later, they returned, laden with blankets and pillows they had found in the bathroom. Sora went over and put a pillow behind Izzy, pulled his unresisting and lightly snoring form back until it was lying on the pillow, put the laptop by his head, and covered him with a blanket. Kari went over and very carefully covered Joe with a blanket. Then she stood up and did the same for T.K. Sora came back from tucking a blanket around Mimi to help Kari arrange three pillows on the ground. Sora handed Tai one of the two blankets she was still holding and motioned for him to take the unoccupied pillow, which he gratefully did. With the last thought of *Never underestimate the uses and abilities of women,* Tai felt the exhaustion of the night's events crash over him like a wave and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

@*@

T.K. was running, but who to or from he didn't know. There was, all around him, a thick, heavy fog, that dragged at his feet and slowed him down. *No!* T.K. thought desperately as the white mist pulled against him, trying to stop his progress. *No! I have to get away! I have to get away...from...* Suddenly, T.K. understood. He wasn't running *from*, he was running *to*. This white mist was attempting to keep him from his brother, who was gone somewhere and in trouble. *It's not fair!* T.K. thought desperately. *Please...oh, please! Let me get to my brother. He needs me...and I need him! Please!* T.K. fought his way through the mist, bit by painstaking bit. Finally, he could see something. There was the silhouette of a building...no, not a building. It was a structure; a high roof supported by seven towering pillars made of ice and stone. T.K. struggled closer. There was something...something suspended by ropes in the center of the pillars. It was a figure...a boy. T.K.'s blood ran cold and he stopped moving. It was Matt. He hung limply in the ropes, his bare chest laboring with the effort of just breathing. Suddenly, he stirred, looked up. T.K. met his older brother's eyes...and Matt smiled. It was one of the rare, true smiles, like the one shared a few days ago, when Matt had made a kind of peace with his brother and played his harmonica. But there was also something different. An unfathomable sorrow had replaced the gentle kindness in his eyes. Matt was so sad...so very sad. T.K. was afraid for his brother.

"Matt!" He called. "Matt, what's wrong? Who put you there? What's going on?" Matt didn't move. He just...smiled. Then, slowly, as if from the very depths of his soul, he spoke.

"T.K...I'm sorry." T.K.'s eyes widened and he was only dimly aware that tears streamed down his cheeks.

"It's ok, Matt," T.K. said softly, somehow aware that something terrible was about to happen to his brother. Again. "It's ok," he repeated. "You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm gonna come, and I'm gonna get you down, and we're gonna go home. Right, Matt? Right?" Matt's smile became, if possible, even more sorrowful. His deep blue eyes, mirrors of T.K.'s own, filled with tears for the first time in years.

"I'm sorry, T.K.," he said again, and nothing more for an eternity as T.K. struggled forward once more. Something bad was coming...something dark and bad and powerful. But *why* was it coming? For Matt? And if so, *why*? Matt, pale cheeks streaked with the few tears that had escaped as he hung helpless, looked up. T.K. froze and looked up, too. Whatever had hung his brother in the middle of this...this *thing* was coming back. T.K. heard a voice call his name. Infatuated with the amount of sheer power hurtling his way, T.K. ignored the voice. It came again, slow and broken, as if the two letters caused it pain.

"T...K..." Finally, the boy looked at the source of the voice. Matt smiled again and more tears fell. "T...K...I'm here...so none of you have to be. It's all right. I've been gone so long...so very long...and even if we *did* go home...I probably won't be able to stay with you. Dad would take me back to our house in the county. He'll think that it can help. It won't, T.K. I'm as good as dead now, anyway. Go home, T.K. When this thing is over, and he is gone, go home. Take the others...and go." Matt looked up again and his smile slowly melted away. Now, instead of looking desperately sad, Matt looked tired. He turned to T.K. again, and his breathing was even more labored. There was something wrong with his chest. His words seemed hard to get out. "This...is the way...of things, T.K. Things...die. Some survive, some...don't. You...and the others...have great things...to live for. I'm...so tired, T.K. This...is the last thing...I can...do. It will be my...greatest act...of...of friendship...ever." He gave T.K. a slight smile. The smaller boy shook his head slowly, denying his brother's words.

"No...no, Matt. You don't have to do this. Whatever that this is that's coming...we can defeat it together! As a group, we can defeat anything!" Matt sighed, and gathered his energy to speak again. It seemed a hard thing to do.

"This is...the way of things...T.K. It cannot...be helped. It is the greatest show...of friendship...to help with your...life. It is...all...I am able...t-to do..." T.K. stared at his brother, numb with shock. T.K. discovered that this talk was making him very angry.

"Is that it, then?" He yelled at his brother. "Is that what a good friend is? The perfect friend? A chump who'll just lay down and *die*?" Matt smiled, sorrowful and tired, as if trying to explain a simple concept to a boy unwilling to listen or understand.

"To die...is...is the sign...of a true...friend."

"That's *stupid*!" T.K. roared.

"It is...the problem...with friendship. A true friend...cannot stand...to see his friends...hurt. I am tired, T.K. I'm tired of...hurting you guys and...of...seeing you...hurt. This is...all...I can do. Let...me do it." T.K. shook his head slowly. Matt smiled and sighed, then looked up at the sky. "It is beyond...you now, dear brother. It was...my choice then...it is my choice...now. This will...end it, finally." A bright light filled the sky, the embodiment of the power that had raged in the sky and all around T.K. Something called out in the mist, not of the world that held him and his brother, but beyond it. Something was battling. Matt smiled as the light hit the structure that held him in place.

"Run away!" T.K. screamed as the seven pillars were slowly filled with light. "Break the bonds, Matt! You can do it, I know you can! Come on!" Matt, head bowed, answered calmly and with more ease than during any part of the conversation. His voice echoed in this white world of mist and light.

"These bonds cannot be broken. They are the bonds of friendship that tie me to the seven pillars that fight along side me." T.K. found that tears were streaming down his cheeks, but didn't care.

"Seven...pillars?"

Matt's voice echoed, naming the pillars as they surged with the destructive light that would destroy them, "Courage...Sincerity...Love...Reliability...Knowledge...Light...and Hope. I hold the place of the eighth pillar. I am Friendship. And because of this, I stand in the middle, connecting. To allow the other seven to survive, I will take this evil power that fills them and add it to my final Life Power to destroy the last coming evil. It is my duty, my responsibility, my honor." The light from the other seven pillars drained into the ropes that held Matt, then filled the boy himself until T.K. could barely look at his brother. Finally, Matt lifted his head once again. His eyes were filled with the compassion of friendship. He spoke one last time. "I'm sorry, T.K. I love you." The light filling Matt exploded outward, too powerful to be contained. T.K. shielded his eyes from the blast of soundless light. When the light had faded, T.K. looked up. Seven pillars stood, and the seven ropes that had suspended Matt from the pillars now connected them in a large circle. Matt was gone. With a scream of sorrow born of loss, T.K. woke up.

@*@


Bathed in sweat, the Chosen Child of Hope sat up. T.K. looked around, chest heaving, and realized he was still in Meloremon's castle, still locked in a room with the seven other Digidestined. His eyes darted to his brother, who slept on. He was in the exact same position he had been in last night: sleeping soundlessly on his back with his neck covered in bandages. The white sheets of the bed had been pulled up mid-chest on the sleeping boy and remained undisturbed. Matt had a tiny bit of color in his cheeks, which cheered the younger brother slightly. T.K. looked over into the corner of the room and saw Matt's jacket and T-shirt still crumpled there in a bloody pile. It was obvious to the blond, who had only slept a few hours, that falling back into the world of dreams was impossible at this point. So he got up quietly, gathered Matt's disregarded clothing, and went into the bathroom to try and remove the blood. Several hours later, Tai woke up to the sound of running water. Groggily, he stood up and stumbled to the bathroom to see what was making all the noise. T.K. stood by the rather large sink, scrubbing the last bits of blood off his brother's white T-shirt. The wind-breaker jacket sat in a dripping clump on the side of the sink, all red having been removed. Tai watched T.K.'s tense shoulders as he resolutely scrubbed at the T-shirt for a few minutes before speaking.

"T.K.?" The scrubbing motions stopped for a moment, then continued.

"Yes?" Tai looked down briefly, then back up at T.K.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm getting Matt's blood off his clothes so that we can put them back on him." T.K. sounded so lifeless, so nonchalant, Tai only wished he could see the younger boy's eyes.

"How...how long have you been working on that, T.K.?" The blond shrugged.

"A few hours."

"Why have you been up so long?" Tai watched T.K.'s scrubbing become more violent.

"Because I couldn't sleep."

Very softly, for he knew this was the base of the problem, Tai asked, "Why couldn't you sleep?" T.K.'s hunched shoulders drooped and began shaking. Tai walked forward and placed a reassuring hand on T.K.'s shoulder. "T.K...what's the matter?" Tai took a step back from T.K. as the boy drew his sleeve over his eyes.

Then, still turned away from Tai, he said in a quivering voice, "It's not fair, Tai. It's just not fair."

"What's not fair?"

"No one gives him a *chance*. He never gets a *break*. It's not fair." Tai scowled lightly.

"What do you mean, 'no one gives him a chance'? We've all given him a chance." T.K. laughed wetly and listlessly began scrubbing at Matt's shirt again.

"Oh, sure, you guys are giving him lots of chances. You expect him to be exactly the same as he was last time we came here."

"Well, isn't he? He's distant, he's cold, he argues all the- well, I guess he doesn't argue anymore, but now he doesn't talk at all! He still thinks he's Mr. Cool. Mr. 'No Autographs, Please.' So what's the difference?" T.K. turned to face Tai, the dripping T-shirt now vacant of any stains still hanging from his hand.

"He *isn't* like that, Tai. Can't you see? He's different."

"How? He just keeps pushing us all away." T.K. clutched the T-shirt in both hands, desperate for Tai to understand.

"Tai, he *isn't*. He *isn't* pushing you guys away."

"How can you say that?" T.K.'s shoulders slumped and he lowered Matt's shirt in defeat.

"Because we're *already* away." Tai stared at T.K., confused.

"What do you mean?"

"We've been apart from him for five years. We might have been close to him before, but we're not anymore, we're just not. Everyone is acting like he's the same old guy. And when they're not acting like that, they're skirting around him, as if he was some kind of thing to be feared; like he's gonna attack them or something. He isn't, Tai. He's not going to attack or hurt any of us and he doesn't *like* being alone."

"Then why is he so *distant*?"

"Because he's watching us. He's observing how we interact and treat each other."

"But *why*?"

"He doesn't know us. It's just like he said a few days ago: people *change*. People grow. He knows that so he's trying to see how we've changed and grown. It's the only way he'll know who we are. You remember what a great judge of character Matt was, Tai. That was why he was so popular. He knew exactly who everyone was and what they stood for. He picked the good ones, the ones who supported the things he did. Do you remember what he used to do at parties? I only ever saw him do it once, when he took me to a New Years party that his friends were throwing before Dad moved him away. When we walked in, I thought for sure he was gonna just jump right in and know everybody. But he didn't. He stood there for about fifteen minutes with me, just stood in the shadows and watched. And when he finally joined the party, he only introduced me to those people who stayed sober the entire night. I never met anyone who got drunk or could have caused me trouble. In fact, the people he *did* introduce me to looked out for me all night. He's trying to protect himself. It hurts to be taken away from everyone and everything you know, Tai. He wants to make sure the people we've become are worth that kind of pain." Tai nodded.

"I know all that, T.K. Or at least, I guessed as much. But I don't see why he doesn't tell us *anything*. To make friends, you have to go half-way. I've been trying to go half-way with him and he doesn't seem to want to go the other half. It's as though he doesn't *want* any friends."

"He wants friends, Tai, I know he does."

"How do you know?"

"I've been watching him. He doesn't like being so distant and alone. He hates being alone. He's the Chosen Child of *Friendship*, for crying out loud. He doesn't *want* to be alone."

"Then why is he always by himself?"

"Because it's easier to be alone than to be ripped away from the people you care about." Tai paused to consider this new angle and T.K. continued, "Half-way isn't going to be enough this time. We're all going to have to go three-quarters of the way and pray that we've done enough for him to trust us."

Tai sighed and smiled slightly at T.K., who was more passionate about his brother than Tai had ever seen him, and said, "Ok, T.K. I agree with you. We do have to go a little farther with Matt than normal people. He reminds me of this little girl I knew who fell off a horse. Her parents didn't let her come to the next couple of classes so when she came back, she was afraid of horses. In the end, the horse had to get down on its knees and lap at her shirt before she would even sit on it. Matt's kinda like that, isn't he? He was hurt when his dad moved, and he didn't have anyone to be friends with for all those years. Now he's afraid that it might happen again, just when he makes some good friends- BANG- his dad'll take him away. I know we can't push him, T.K., and I know it'll take time. But I'll try if you will. What'd you think?" T.K.'s happy smile was enough.

When Tai stared turning away, T.K. asked meekly, "Hey, Tai?" He turned to look back at T.K., who seemed a little uncomfortable. "Um... when Matt wakes up...I just...I'm a little worried about what the others might do. How they might act." Tai raised an eye brow in mild confusion and T.K. hurriedly elaborated. "It's just that, saving a guy's life is a big thing, right? I thought that the others might...I dunno...try and guilt Matt into trusting them. You know, 'Oh, I saved your life, you've gotta be my best friend and tell me everything that's happened these past five years.' That kind of thing. And...anything that Matt tells us because of wheedling and poking and prodding and demanding isn't going to be told out of friendship. In fact, Matt hates that, or at least he used to, and I think it might just push him farther away. So, I was wondering..."

"If I would ask the others not to mention the whole 'I-saved-your-life-so-you-owe-me' thing?" T.K. sighed, immensely relieved.

"Exactly." Tai smiled and shrugged.

"Sure. No problem. All though, if I know my teammates, they won't want to wheedle and demand things of Matt. They know he's waiting for something, and they're all pretty patient. I don't think they'll have any problem with it." T.K. nodded and went back to the sink to wring Matt's dripping but clean T-shirt out.

"Yea, you're probably right. But it's still better to be safe than sorry." Tai laughed and helped T.K. by wringing out the water he missed in the wind-breaker. After a while of doing this is silence, Tai asked the question that had been nagging him all morning.

"Hey, T.K., what woke you up so early this morning?" T.K. 'hmm'ed and squeezed his brother's shirt thoughtfully.

"Well...I think it was a nightmare. But I don't remember it now."

"Ah," Tai said wisely, wringing out a sleeve, "yes. Well, that can happen." He gave the jacket one last good squeeze, then shook it out and looked at T.K. "What do we do with these now?" He asked. "They're still damp, but I can't get any more water out." He demonstrated. T.K. blinked at him, then at the jacket, then at the T-shirt he held.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "I can't get any more out either. What do we do now?"

"Well," came a groggy but highly amused voice from the doorway, "you *could* get the hair-dryers out from under the sink and *blow* them dry." Tai and T.K. turned to find Sora and Kari, both looking somewhat tired, watching them with looks of wry amusement.

T.K. blushed and asked, "How long have you girls been standing there?" Kari smiled.

"Long enough." Then the two girls came over, removed two high powered hair-dryers from under the sink, plugged them in, and took over drying Matt's shirt and jacket. Tai and T.K., finding themselves slightly tired of messing with the wet garments, watched them work. After a few minutes, when the girls had paused in drying Matt's clothing to see how close to done they were, T.K. asked,

"Hey, how did you girls know those were under the sink? I didn't even know there *was* a cabinet under the sink." Tai nodded and the two girls sighed.

As Kari shook her head and folded the white T-shirt, Sora checked the wind-breaker for wet spots and answered, "We're *girls*, T.K. We just *know*." Tai nodded.

"Ah." Sora finished checking the jacket, folded it, and handed to T.K. as Kari handed him the T-shirt.

"All done!" They announced. T.K. thanked them and the four went back into the main room. Once there, they saw that Joe, Izzy, and Mimi were all up and working. Joe was checking Matt's stitches while Izzy typed at his health program. Mimi was darting around, gathering up the pillows and blankets that had been used that night, folding the blankets, and putting everything in a pile by the bed. She looked up as the quartet came in the room.

"Hi, everyone!" She chirped, an early morning person till the end. Joe and Izzy didn't look up, but Izzy mumbled something that *might* have been 'hi' and Joe waved distractedly.

Mimi sighed at them and explained, "They've been working like that for about an hour. Joe doesn't think he did the stitches well and Izzy's checking. Joe also wants to be sure that Matt doesn't get an infection. I've been waiting *forever* for you guys to leave the bathroom so that I can get a bowl, some water and soap, and a cloth or three. I want to get all that icky blood off Matt. It looks really bad, don't you think? Excuse me!" So saying she gathered the blankets and pillows and dashed into the bathroom. Tai blinked and then smiled. Then he turned towards Joe and Izzy. T.K. was already standing by them, talking quietly. Tai went over to listen to the conversation.

"I know there can be complications," T.K. was saying to Joe, "but what do *you* think?" Joe sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Well, I can't be sure, because I'm *not* a doctor, but I think it's a good enough job to last till Matt's all better. And don't ask about how we're going to *remove* the stitches, because I honestly don't know. We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Oh no, better make that 'we'll cross that path'. Matt doesn't really like bridges, does he?" T.K. sighed and moved aside as Mimi edged past him with water, soap, and assorted small and large towels. T.K. took the bowl she was juggling, and she smiled at him.

"Thanks, T.K.! I thought for sure I was gonna drop that."

T.K. handed her the bowl when she settled and asked, "Can I help?"

"Sure!" Mimi chirped and handed him a wet towel. "What I want to do," she explained in a hurried kind of way as she sat on the opposite side of the bed from T.K., "is dab all the blood lightly until it's not so dry, then rub it off gently. Well, as gently as we can, anyway. Then I was thinking I would have you sit him up a little, and I could get the blood that ran off the back. What do you think?" T.K. gulped and played with his rag.

"There's a lot of blood."

"Yes." Mimi agreed, looking slightly pale. "There is a lot of blood. But that's why we're doing this. We don't want *Matt* seeing there was a lot of blood. He probably wouldn't like it very much. I mean, like, right?" T.K. grinned at Mimi.

"You're not going to fool any of us here with that 'like, right?' stuff, Mimi. We've all known you far too long to think of you as anything but a smart, caring girl." Mimi returned the grin and the two went to work. Twice as they worked Sora came over to change the red and murky water before Mimi pronounced his front all clean. Then she had T.K. set his cloth down and support his brother in a sitting position. Joe was not happy about this, but T.K. made sure to support Matt's head so his stitches were protected and Joe reluctantly sat down. After Mimi and T.K. were done, Tai called his team into a group on and around the bed.

"Now that we've taken care of Matt and he's not gonna die," he began seriously, "we can sit down and discuss what, exactly, is going on here. Let me start by recapping all the sh- er...stuff that's happened recently. We were all sleeping, except Matt, who was on watch. Either he or Gabumon saw or heard something in the forest, so Matt woke us up. That was a good idea, because what was coming was a horde of snake Digimon called Cobrmon. There were about fifty of them and eight of us, so I think we did a bang up job of destroying all but five of them. Then one of our own, one of the *Digidestined*, was bitten by a huge snake, and we only just *barely* saved his life. I think we all know that Mimi, Joe, and Izzy did a great thing last night, and I have something to say about that, too, but not right now. Right now I want to move on to my opinions, followed by all of your input. It is my opinion the battle was a huge *ruse* to get us distracted and leave us open for an attack. And I *also* think it's interesting that the Digidestined who was bitten is the *same guy* who was thrown off a bridge, which was obviously tampered with. Coincidence? I don't think so. What do you guys think?"

"I agree with you, Tai," Joe said thoughtfully from his position on the floor, "I think that VenomCobrmon attacked Matt purposely, and I think that the battle was a sham. Which makes me a little angry, because our Digimon could have been seriously hurt. But we learned something valuable: We can never let all our Digimon go like that again. If something attacks, we have to hold one or two back. And if that's impossible, we have to find a way to watch our backs. I also really want to know what Meloremon wants with Matt."

"Right," agreed Tai, "that's the key point in this. And the only thing we have to answer that is assumptions and guesses. And we all know that Izzy assumes and guesses better than anyone else here, so what do you think, Izzy?" Izzy 'hmm'ed and opened his laptop.

"It grieves me to say it, but I don't really have any theories this time, Tai. There simply isn't enough to go on. Meloremon could want Matt because she enjoys quiet people, and he is the obvious choice amongst us if she is searching for a silent person. That would explain why VenomCobrmon said that she wanted him. But it *doesn't* explain why she tried to kill him that first time by sabotaging the bridge. Which leads us to believe that she wants him dead, but recent events contend that. So the question is really: which is it? Does she desire him or his life?" Silence reigned as the Digidestined processed these new questions. Finally, Sora sighed.

"Isn't all this pointless, then?" The rest turned to look at her.

"How do you mean?" Asked Kari.

"Well, we're talking and thinking and trying but getting nowhere. It just seems that all this will be revealed when VenomCobrmon comes to take us to Meloremon, if that's why we're here. Which is *another* unanswerable question. So all we can do right now is wait for things to happen and then react."

"Yes," challenged Tai, "but isn't that what we *were* doing? We were walking in a general direction hoping to find Meloremon. Well, now she's found us, and we're in pretty sorry shape. One of us is down, we don't know for how long. Meloremon could have a death wish on him, and we don't know. The Digimon, who are our only protectors in this world, are gone, and we *don't know where*. As I see it, bumbling about hoping for the best and then reacting isn't working. So we have to do what we can. The Digimon can't do it by themselves this time, that's what Gennai said. This time it's up to us, so let's start thinking about what we can *do* instead of what we don't *know*."

"But Tai," Mimi asked, "how can we know what to do if we don't know how to do it?" Tai blinked at her.

"Come again?" Mimi sighed impatiently.

"Look, you're saying that we have to plan, but plan what? I mean, sure, if we knew what this castle looked like or what was in it or where the dungeons were or where Meloremon was, *then* we could plan a great escape. But we were too worried about Matt to even *look* at the castle. We don't know *anything*. What can we possibly plan on *nothing*?" The Digidestined stared at her.

"Wow, Mimi," Joe complimented. "High school's making you a smart cookie." Mimi shrugged.

"Daddy said B's weren't acceptable." Sora was aghast.

"Your *dad* said that? *Your* dad?" Mimi only smiled serenely.

"Ok." Tai said, getting back on the topic. "These questions and objections are why we're having a *meeting*. So, if we can't plan, what do we do with ourselves until it's time to see Meloremon? I can't walk in there with *nothing*. I just can't." The others nodded.

"But what can we do?" Kari asked.

"We can figure out how to protect our patient here." The other six turned to look at Joe, who had stood up and was now regarding Matt with a thoughtful look. "I mean, when Fang Face comes back, are we gonna let it carry Matt in its coils again? I didn't particularly like the way that looked last night. He was so vulnerable. That thing could have squeezed him to death at any time if it wanted to."

"It didn't appear as if it would have," commented Izzy. "It seemed to think that Meloremon wanted Matt to arrive alive."

"But what if Meloremon had changed her mind? We don't know anything about her; she could be telepathic. What if she decided that she didn't want him anymore? We would never have known that he was dead. Then we'd have come here thinking we had no option if we wanted to save Matt, and it would have been an ambush. So what if Meloremon doesn't want Matt *now*? Are we going to let VenomCobrmon take him wherever in its coils? The ability to kill Matt is still there. Then we could be ambushed, without knowing."

"We're *not* letting that thing *touch* my brother." They turned to look at T.K. and found the boy staring intently at his oblivious brother. "I will *never* let that thing near him. He's been through too much. I'll carry him if I have to, but that thing isn't touching him. Never again."

"I'll help," Tai offered. "We can each take an arm. That stupid snake doesn't have to touch him until...well, you know." T.K. sighed, dejected.

"So he'll have to go through more. Poor big brother," he said softly, smoothing Matt's hair off his forehead, "everything happens to you, doesn't it? No one ever gives you a break." Tai cleared his throat and everyone but T.K., who knew what the brown haired leader was going to say, looked at him.

"About that whole 'no one gives Matt a break' problem. T.K. was thinking- and I agree- that when Matt wakes up...let's not do the I-saved-your-live-so-tell-me-things thing. Ok? Because T.K. thinks- and I agree on this, too- that it will only push an already distant Matt further away. So I was wondering if-"

"If we wouldn't say anything?" Mimi was smiling. "Of course we won't, Tai! We never even dreamed of it, right Joe? Izzy?" They both nodded and smiled.

"We worked darn hard on him," Joe added matter-of-factly, "but we don't want his darkest secrets for payment. Seeing him walk and talk will be enough. Well, I guess not really talk, but...you know! That's why I want to be a doctor. Because I love seeing people, that were hurt, up and active and not dead. He's not dead, so that's all I need."

"Plus," Izzy continued, "he is obviously biding his time. When he deems us ready, or he himself becomes ready, he'll tell us what he believes we need to know." Tai looked at Sora and Kari. Sora put up her hands.

"Hey, hey! We don't need to say anything. *We* heard the conversation between you and T.K. in the bathroom. If there was any desire to bug him into talking, which there never was, it left with that conversation. We wouldn't do anything to break the fragile bond between two blond brothers, would we, Kari?" Kari only grinned.

After a few more moments of comfortable silence, T.K. asked, "So, do you guys think Meloremon is *really* after Matt?"

"Cccertainly. Who elssse?" The Digidestined groaned and turned to look at the doorway to the bedroom. As predicted, VenomCobrmon was coiled there, with the Digimon behind the coils that were blocking the door. Gabumon was putting up a violent struggle to get to Matt, so finally, with a hissed sigh, VenomCobrmon lowered its coils slightly and the Digimon rushed in the room. There was much hugging and relief and Gabumon ran over to the bed and hopped up on it to stare at his Digidestined's face.

He turned to look at T.K., who was hugging a joyous Patamon, and asked quietly, "Is he all right? Because he doesn't look all right."

T.K.'s eyes softened and he petted Gabumon slightly, saying, "Yes, Gabumon, he's all right. At least, as all right as we could make him. But he's going to sleep until...until VenomCobrmon...wakes him up." Gabumon nodded grimly.

"Enough with all thisss hugging already!" Called an annoyed VenomCobrmon from the doorway. "Meloremon waitsss. Let usss go now to meet her, for ssshe doesss not enjoy waiting." It slithered forward, towards the bed and Matt, but the Digidestined and their Digimon got in its way.

"That's ok," Tai said smoothly, propping Matt up, "we thought we'd carry Matt. Right, T.K.?" Nodding grimly, T.K. stood on the other side of Matt and slung his older brother's arm around his neck. As Tai did the same, T.K. put his arm around Matt's back and stood up.

"This might not work," T.K. whispered to Tai. "I don't think I'm tall enough. Wow, he's much taller than I remembered!"

"That's ok," Tai whispered back, rearranging his hold on Matt. "If you start having trouble, you can switch with Joe. He's taller than you are." There was the screaming of a Digivice in the room. Confused, the Digidestined looked around.

"Gabumon Digivolve TO!" There was a world of light, then, "GARURUMON!" The screaming didn't stop and the light exploded again. A sign appeared on Matt's chest: the sign of friendship. "Garurumon Digivolve TO! WereGarurumon!" The giant Digimon strode over to Tai and T.K. and easily lifted the unconscious Matt into his arms, careful to support and protect his wounded neck. Matt had never looked so helpless, dwarfed and cradled in WereGarurumon's dangerously powerful arms. Nodding at Tai and T.K., the gigantic werewolf Digimon stepped back, ready to follow. Dazed and dazzled, the Digidestined and their Digimon followed VenomCobrmon to a fate they did not know.


@*@


AN: So? What did you think? Good? Bad? Weird? Tell me what you think! Just...please don't be mean, ok? I really don't like mean. It stunts my writing ability further than it already is. And that's not good. *Glances nervously at mob of angry readers who have pitchforks and are picketing around web page**Squeezes stuffed Matt and Gabumon dolls**Whimpers* Make them go away. It's not *my* fault my muse won't let me switch stories...really, it's not. *Blinks at confused Digimon fans**Blink**Sigh* Never mind. Just, please review. It gives me confidence and helps me write more stuff, better and faster. Please, please, please REVIEW!!! Thank you! Aloha! Bye-bee!

-Angel Baby