Again, by popular demand… here is chapter 2! [You guys are making me post this faster than I naturally would have… but hey, it's all good. =D Updates may not be as frequent after this… my time is slowly being sucked away. But then again… there's always pre-calculus class to write in. hee hee.]

To answer some of the reviews…

TakeruG: Yes, I know it's weird having Japanese people use American names. But I'm not the best at Japanese names, so I don't want to botch it up. And having the DD's live in North America makes things easier for me, since I'm more acquainted with that than Japan. Sorry if that bothers you. I would have used Japanese names in the fic for the DD's… but I don't know them all too well—I feel more comfortable with American names.

And… it isn't Dawn who tells Hope about what happened between TK and Kari, it's Mari who does so. This way, it really is still in the family—Tai would probably tell Mari about her aunt and uncle, it's only natural. Dawn only fills in the story about the DD's. [And besides, Dawn's twenty-two, she'd be mature enough to deal with the truth even if Izzy told her about it… which he didn't. No one besides Tai, TK and Kari really knows the details of the divorce.]

To the one anonymous reviewer who left me 16 copies of the same review… thank you, but you really only need to tell me once. =D I appreciate reviews, but not if they're going to clog up the review box.

eunc: Don't worry about being too lazy to sign in. I review like that ALL the time. =D Doesn't matter if you're signed in, all that matters is the review.

karikamiya07: What song is Hope going to sing? You'll find out in Chapter 3. It goes with the plotline of that chapter. [Which, by the way, I'm going through a little writer's block with that at the moment, so… don't expect it anytime soon. Maybe in 4 days. I know that's kinda long but bear with me here. My senior year is very hectic.]

AND… I changed the title because… I'm going to write a sequel! Yay! "One Light, One Hope" is a better title for the sequel [you'll see why when we get to that] than for this fic, so the title has changed. Same story though. Yay.

Anyways, here's chapter 2. OH—before I forget, I forgot to do this in the last few chapters.

Angel of Music (AM): Hope, would you like to do the honors?

Hope *smiles sweetly*: Sure! AM does not own Digimon or its characters. They belong to… *leans over to AM and whispers* Who do they belong to?

AM: *shrug* Not me.

Hope: Well… they just don't belong to the author. Okay? So don't sue! *runs off*

AM: Thank you, Hope. Now on to the story.

~*~

Together Again: Chapter 2

Setting the Ball in Motion

          Hope woke to the sound of her cell phone beeping lightly. "What… oh." She rolled over and turned it off. Below her, Mari was peacefully sleeping—her classes didn't start until 9:30. Rachel was snoring in one of the other beds, but Kendall was blinking her eyes awake. She waved at Hope, who smiled back. "I have to get going soon," Hope whispered. "I'm recording today."

          Kendall gave Hope a thumbs up and leaned back against her pillow. After getting ready—making sure to put on her father's gift—Hope grabbed her CD and headed out to the recording studio.

-POV: Aaron-

          I yawned for the fourth time in five minutes. Why did I agree to having Hope record so early? But seeing the look on her face when I told her she could get a record deal was priceless. And it was for Mom and… well, Dad, too, so I guess it was worth it. Steve was waiting in the production booth. "How long is it going to be until she gets here?"

          "Not long at all," a voice answered, beating me to the punch. Hope stood in the doorway, CD in hand, looking a bit sleepy. "Good morning."

          "Good morning, Hope. And happy birthday," I greeted her, giving her a hug.

          "Happy birthday, yourself. So, how does it feel to be 'legal?'" Hope asked mischievously, a sparkle now forming in her eyes.

          I yawned again. "Sleepy."

          She cracked up. "I know the feeling." Then she headed over to Steve and handed him her CD. "Hey, do you mind if I warm up? It's kinda hard to sound good when you haven't warmed up."

          Steve nodded. "Go ahead. I'm going to figure out what I can do with this CD, so just sing whatever you want to."

          Hope agreed, and putting on the headphones, walked over to the mike. She began to sing, and though I couldn't hear her because the mike was off, the sounds that floated through the glass were beautiful. I couldn't wait to hear her sing. If she was as good as she sounded now, Mom would love to have her on the label.

          Finally, after a few false starts on both Hope's and Steve's parts, the recording was over. Steve had just given us the okay to make noise again when I heard footsteps at the door. Hope had seen who it was and frantically gestured for me to hide, so I did… but through the reflection of the glass of the studio, I could see who the person was. A tall blonde man, with messy hair just like Hope's, came into the studio. I gasped as I realized who it was. All these years of not having a father, not knowing him, and finally, I had caught my first glimpse of him—on all days, my eighteenth birthday. It took all my willpower for me not to yell out.

          "Daddy!" Hope yelled, running into his arms.

          "Hello, sweetheart," he replied, giving her a hug. "Have you been enjoying your stay here?"

          Hope nodded. "More than you can imagine. I've met so many new people and made so many new friends."

          "That's great. So… what are you doing here this early?" Dad asked her.

          She glanced, panicky, over at me, and I mouthed to her, "birthday gift." She got the message and said, "I… uh… one of my friends found out it was my birthday today and decided to get me a recording session, since you know how much I love to sing." I exhaled inaudibly. Good save, little sis.

          "How nice! And speaking of birthday presents… I see you have another one on."

          Smiling, Hope replied, "Yeah… it's so pretty, Daddy. Where did you get it?"

          Dad took Hope's hand and began to lead her out. "This is the Crest of Light," he explained, his voice getting softer as they got farther away from me. "It belonged to your mother…"

          As soon as the coast was clear, I stepped out. Steve handed me the CD of Hope's singing and said, "Good luck. I hope everything works out."

          "Thanks, Steve. It means a lot."

-POV: Hope-

          Sadly, my dad couldn't stay long. It was great to see him, and what he had told me about my pendant was very special to me. You see… this necklace here is actually the Crest of Light. It was once my mother's, and through it, she possessed great powers. Nothing scary like witchcraft or whatever. It was just very powerful in healing people and relationships… or something. Anyway, he wanted to give it to me so that I could have something that would remind me of Mom. "I know how hard it is for you," Dad had said. "I'm sorry that you had to grow up without a mother… and I hope this will give you a bit of consolation."

          It did. But what he doesn't know yet is that I've found more consolation in my brother. I couldn't wait to meet up with him again and ask him more about Mom.

          So after my dad had left, I made my way to the rec room, where Aaron and… oh, my goodness… his mom were exchanging goodbyes. I hung back a little, not wanting to spoil our plan by letting Mom see me. But she was beautiful… Her chestnut hair hung to her shoulders, silver earrings glinting in her ears. Her eyes were a deep chocolate—like mine—and there was just something around her… like an aura or something. I then realized that it must be her crest of Light. Dad had explained to me that even though I had the crest now, the virtue was deep inside each carrier and that the crest only strengthened that power. Tears welled up in my eyes as I leaned against the wall. It was so awesome seeing my mom, after all these years… and on all days, my sixteenth birthday. I silently whispered a prayer for her as she turned and left. Then, after composing myself, I walked up to Aaron. "Hey."

          He turned and smiled at me. "Hey yourself." He then looked closer at me and saw the look in my eyes, and his expression softened. "What's wrong?"

          "Nothing. It's just that… I just saw my mother for the first time in a long time. It's just…" I breathed deeply. "It's just overwhelming, you know?"

          Aaron nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "I know. That's how I felt this morning when you were with Dad. It was amazing to finally see him."

          We both stood there in thoughtful silence… and then I remembered. I had thought of something while I was recording, but I hadn't been able to touch base with Aaron until now. "Aaron?"

          "Hmm?"

          "What if this doesn't work? Our plan, I mean."

          He thought about it for a moment. "I don't see why it shouldn't."

          "But what if I'm not good enough? Do we have a Plan B?"

          "No." Aaron frowned.

          "Well, we do now." He looked at me curiously and I elaborated, "Look. You're a writer. Dad's a writer. If Plan A doesn't work, you can give some of your work to me, and I will give it to him. Then he can find a publisher and you consult with him and bring Mom along with you."

          Aaron nodded. "And what if that doesn't work?"

          Now it was my turn to frown. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Hopefully, we won't have to deal with that, I thought.

          "Okay." Aaron smiled. "Mom has the CD… but I made a copy for you." He held up a CD, and I smiled back. "You're the best, Aaron."

          "Like I said… it's what big brothers do. Now let's go listen to it." We headed into the rec room.

-POV: 3rd person-

          Aaron and Hope walked into the room and Hope furrowed her eyebrows. "Why is it so dark in here?" she asked aloud.

          Suddenly, the lights switched on and a loud "SURPRISE!!!" was heard. Aaron gasped, and Hope took in everything that was in front of her. "Oh, you guys…"

          The rec room had been decorated with streamers and balloons, and there were presents in one corner. Standing in the room were friends, roomies, and counselors, and they all began to sing as Mari and Ray came towards the siblings, each holding one end of a cake, fully decorated and candles lit.

          "Come on you guys, blow out your candles," Mari urged as soon as the singing ceased. Aaron and Hope turned and smiled at each other, then proceeded to blow out all twenty-one candles. What Hope had wished for the last fourteen or so years had finally come true today, and Aaron finally had his wish of so many years ago granted: they had found each other, and their parents.

Yes, I know, short chapter, please forgive me. The action is coming up in the next chapter. [And there's Takari in it! YAY! finally! =D] You guys know what to do, right? *chants* The button is calling you… review, review, review… you know you want to…