A/N: Here's the revision of Chapter Four . . .

Original A/N: Yes, I'm updating. Ano (Um) . . . nothing to say. On with the story!

Chapter Four

Hikari rubbed her behind, she hit the ground below hard. It wasn't her fault; she hadn't been able to see anything in front of her!

"T-Takeru?" Hikari whispered. She didn't know exactly WHY she was whispering, but it seemed suitable in her surrounding environment.

After she, Takeru, and Taichi had stepped into the hole, her feet had given out from under her and she'd fallen. How far, she was not sure, but far enough. It was so dark . . . it felt like it was pressing in on her.

"Takeru?"

Hikari was scared now. She stood on shaky legs. 'I can't be alone!'

"Takeru! Taichi! Where are you?" She screamed when someone grabbed her shoulders from behind.

"Hikari, Hikari! It's me. Your brother."

"'Nii-chan!" Hikari sagged against him. "Thank the Lord. Where were you?"

"I guess I got lost." He answered simply.

"Do you know where Takeru is? Oh, I hope he's okay . . ."

"I think he's over here." He grabbed her hand. "This way."

She followed willingly, feeling her heart rate calm down. "You know where you're going?"

He didn't answer. She sighed and lapsed into silence.

"Who-Who . . . are . . . you . . ." Takeru could barely speak, and his sentence lacked emotion. He was so weak, and something wet and sticky ran down his side. Although sight was out of the question, he had an idea of what it was. Why did he feel like crap all of a sudden? After tumbling down that hole, he'd lost contact with the others. 'Oh, I hope Hikari's okay!'

He wasn't really experiencing any pain, but he felt numb. And he knew that numb wasn't good. He couldn't even feel it when he dug his fingernails into his palm.

Definitely not good.

"Who ARE you?" He exerted much more strength while saying it this time, hoping he'd get a response. This time, he received one.

"Who am I?" A soft voice answered. "I am myself."

"Well, obviously. What's your name?"

"That's for no one to know. I don't know. You don't know. Who needs a title? I am me. That's fitting enough."

Despite feeling like he did, Takeru felt a bit angry. "Look, stop fooling around!"

"Am I fooling? I am no fool."

"I didn't say you were! Just tell me who the hell you are!"

"Angry? Emotions are a waste of energy. Precious, precious energy."

'This guy's out of his mind. He's insane,' Takeru realized.

He lowered his tone a bit. "Could you please tell me where we are?"

"Location means nothing if you live in your head."

"That makes no sense!" Takeru retorted.

"Sense? Sense--"

"Enough! Stop it, you baka! I don't give a shit about logic! I DON'T CARE! Just get me the hell out of here!"

Suddenly, he was blinded by a sudden illumination. He cried out and fell back, covering his eyes. The light was so intense he didn't dare look at it.

It dimmed enough for him to look. He lowered his arms from their protective stance and blinked, trying to get his eyes to adjust.

His blurry vision came into focus, and now he saw a chair.

Yes, a chair. It was made of a fancy type of wood, probably mahogany. The seat was velvet covered, it looked plush and comfortable but it was a repulsive color—some sort of grayish-brown. The same drab shade as the walls around him. He felt like he was in a prison.

'What the . . .'

"Do you like it?"

Takeru turned. There was a large, flat screen full of static.

"It's my pride and joy."

The voice seemed to come out of nowhere, the same one from before.

The static vanished and there was a dull clanking sound. Suddenly, a recording of him and Hikari eating ice cream popped up, her smiling brightly and him laughing at something. There wasn't any audio, but he felt strangely violated.

Had this person . . . had she, or he . . . or whatever it was . . . been WATCHING them?

"You really know where you're going?" Hikari questioned skeptically, raising her eyebrow.

"Hai" was Taichi's response.

'I guess somebody doesn't feel like talking today,' she thought gloomily. She wanted out of here, and she wanted it fast.

They rounded a corner. Well, Hikari was pretty sure that's what it was, because she almost rammed into it (Thank Kami-sama for her quick reflexes) . . . and surprisingly enough, there was LIGHT.

Now that she could finally see again, she looked down at herself. 'Ick.' Her clothing was dirt ridden. She didn't even want to see her hair. She glanced back up and saw a . . .

Chair.

It was atop a small flight of stairs, and at the bottom sat . . .

"Takeru!" Hikari cried happily and ran to him. She embraced him tightly.

"Hikari?" He murmured in disbelief, wincing a bit.

"Oh, are you okay?" She gasped when her eyes fell upon his wounded side. "You're hurt!"

"It's not that bad. I hardly feel it. But tell me, Hikari. How EXACTLY did you come out of that screen?" His face had confusion written all over it.

"Out of the screen?"

"Look behind you."

She did, and lo' and behold, there was a huge screen mounted on a wall. The wall that she had . . . walked through?

"But . . . I'm SURE that wasn't just there. I rounded a corner, and I was here. How could I have GONE THROUGH A WALL?"

"Vision deceives many."

'That voice again,' Takeru thought, and pushed Hikari behind him.

"Maybe the wall was there. Maybe it wasn't. Who knows? Or maybe your mind is making fun of you, teasing you. Are you sure that's there? You can never be sure . . . isn't that right, Hikari?"

She wasn't sure what it was, but there was something weirdly familiar about whomever it was that was talking. But her body went rigid. Something about them made her feel cold inside, frightened beyond words.

Koishirou, more commonly known as Izzy, eyes' were lit up by the blue glow of his computer screen. "I can't get any data on them . . . none in the very least . . . this is certainly a puzzle . . ."

A 3-D map of the Digital World circled around on his screen, showing the important landmarks. Normally, he could locate pretty much whomever he had too when they were in this alternate universe . . . he managed to find a couple of Koromons and an Opamon, but nothing on Hikari, Takeru, or Taichi.

This was a puzzle indeed . . .

TBC . . . (dun dun dunn! Suspenseful . . . o_O)