Thursday:
It was 3:00am when Taylor's alarm rang out her wake up call. The sleepy woman forced herself out of bed, pulled on her bathrobe and went to the bathroom. She eventually made her way to the kitchen and started frying up some rice. She sang quietly to herself, an old tune she could remember her father singing to her. She was almost finished cooking when the front door unlocked.
" Taylor, what are you doing up?" Joe questioned, as he walked up to her and hugged her. " You shouldn't be up you need your rest."
Taylor kissed him and smiled, " I'm fine; I went to bed after Justice. Besides, I figured you'd be hungry and I know Cody and Solitaire will be when they come by later."
Joe groaned and leaned against her wrapping his arms around her waist. " How much later?"
" Probably not more than a few minutes. They've been in and out of clubs all night. They're probably exhausted." Taylor answered before yawning. " Don't start; I only got out of bed fifteen minutes ago I'm trying to wake up."
" You need to sleep more." Joe chided.
" I will; once this whole thing is over." Taylor assured him.
" Taylor, all this stress isn't good for you."
" I know. I know. Don't worry so much." Taylor laughed turning around and draped her arms around his neck.
Joe smiled and kissed her softly, " It's my job."
Taylor rolled her chocolate colored eyes, " You need to get cleaned up, and I'll finish cooking."
" Are trying to get rid of me?"
" Sweetheart, you've been working ER all night and you smell like it. Go take a shower." Taylor shooed him out of the kitchen.
" Fine, fine." Joe walked down the hallway towards the bathroom.
***
A knock rang out against the door and Taylor hurried to answer it. She glared at the couple for a moment, " Sleeping child, please do not knock to wake the dead." She took a more critical look at the couple, " Speaking of dead I'm glad Justice isn't awake you'd give him nightmares. I hope you didn't scare your contacts."
Solitaire flashed her tongue spike at Taylor before smirking, " No they're much scarier."
" And a lot less friendly." Cody added in a growl.
Taylor took their coats and hung them up. " I see you're in wonderful spirits. Joe's in the shower, but he should be out soon. Oh, and I have food for you guys."
Solitaire smiled, " I knew there was a reason I held you in such high esteem."
" Are they ready to eat?" Joe stuck his head out from the kitchen.
Taylor jumped, " Don't do that; you scared me. Why'd you take such a fast shower?"
" Taylor, I'm tired; the sooner we get this over with the sooner I can sleep." Joe sighed.
" Okay, okay. To the kitchen, let's figure out what we figured out." Taylor moved the younger couple into the apartment.
After everyone, except Taylor had a plate of food, Joe posed the questioned. "So what did you figure out?"
" Nothing." Cody shoved a spoonful of food into his mouth.
Solitaire took a sip of her water before adding. " Most of them said no one would cross Ken. He put an notice out a couple years ago, back when he was still the emperor, that if anyone crossed him the consequences would be Hell."
Taylor folded her arms over her chest. " And it's still holding?"
Cody answered, " Apparently he made one very convincing example."
" Ouch." Taylor grimaced. " What about…"
" No one would want to kidnap a kid like Cammy: to high-profile and too unique. She'd be too easy to identify." Solitaire stabbed her fork down against her plate. " It's more likely a revenge thing."
" Who? We're worse off now then we were." Joe lamented.
" And added to our problems, Davis and Tai didn't see a thing earlier today." Cody finished off his food.
" What are we going to do?" Taylor sighed, " I mean we've got no leads and I doubt the cops are going to be much help."
" Actually the one advantage we have that if it is a human, Ken has the kind of money that will keep the cops on track." Solitaire pointed out.
" We better hope so. I mean we've already long passed the twenty-four hour mark on this thing, the longer there's no word the more likely it is that she's dead."
" Cody! Don't say that, I know it's possibility, but putting it into words makes it worse." Taylor wrapped her arms around her stomach protectively.
" Sorry Taylor. I'm just tired." Cody apologized. " And the whole thing with Kari isn't very comforting either."
" What do you mean?" Joe questioned.
" Come on Joe, Kari appears and Cammy vanishes. That is too much coincidence for me." Cody thumped his hand on the table.
" Sleeping child." Taylor growled.
Joe furrowed his eyebrows. " You think he turned her."
" Seven years is a long time." Solitaire offered. " Izzy called me this morning, he wants to work on stuff with me tomorrow or later this morning which ever way you prefer to see it."
" So you think he's come to the same conclusion." Taylor assumed.
" Makes sense; the only ones who won't see it are the ones that refuse to." Cody said.
" Maybe so." Joe leaned against Taylor.
She smiled sadly at him. " Go to bed. I'll finish up here."
Joe nodded and bid his friends goodbye.
Taylor looked at the others. " This is too much for him."
" Not to mention your baby." Solitaire warned.
" I go in for a stress test tomorrow; we'll see what the doctor says."
" Didn't you have one of those last month?" Solitaire questioned.
" Yeah, my numbers were too high, she wants to do another one."
" Make sure you tell her what's going on or you could be on bed rest." Cody chuckled.
" It won't matter if my numbers are too high I'll be on bed rest anyway." Taylor shook her head. " Okay since I need my rest, if we don't know anything else…"
" Goodnight Taylor." The couple said and Taylor ushered them to the door.
After letting them out she cleaned up the kitchen and went back to bed.
***
Solitaire clicked her fingers along the keys as she looked over the program Izzy was showing her. She yawned and reached for the cup of cappuccino that she'd brought with her. " Going on four hours of sleep is not good for you. So what am I supposed to be seeing here?"
Izzy looked over shoulder for a moment. " These are the recorded power patterns from the digital world."
" From how far back?" Solitaire pulled out a notepad and pen.
" I started this program after I got back from our first adventure. It was supposed to record the energy patterns and alert me to anything that hadn't shown up before. It doesn't work." Izzy explained.
Solitaire opened the scripts for the programs, " These seem to be just fine. How do you know it doesn't work?"
" Because otherwise the merge wouldn't have happened." Izzy snapped.
" All things happen that are supposed to." Solitaire quipped as she opened the last script. " There's nothing wrong with these, they seem to have worked every time, but the merge…that could mean…" She trailed off as she started checking over the recordings.
" Mean what?" Izzy inquired, " I've looked over them a hundred times, there's nothing there."
" I think you've looked over it too much. You needed a fresh set of eyes." She clicked a few more keys. " The patterns match."
" Match what." Izzy leaned over her shoulder to see what she was talking about.
" Right here." She pointed out, " These patterns: it looks like the digital world refreshes itself every so many years and repairs the damage that's been done to it. The energy pattern that surfaced at the time of the merge matches those refreshing times. But according to this that energy hasn't come around since."
" That's impossible."
" My theory or the fact that you haven't seen it."
" Both. I mean why would the merge have happened if these patterns matched? It doesn't make any sense and yet…" Izzy looked at the screen for a few more seconds before dropping into the chair next to her. " I guess I needed a new set of eyes. I should have had Yolei come look at it."
" Does she program?"
" She used to; perfected this one."
" I see." Solitaire cracked her knuckles.
Izzy sighed and stood up, " We're going to be at this for a while. Do you want something to eat?"
" Yeah, just some fruit if you have any." Solitaire requested.
" You're going to have to be more specific, my wife eats like a fruit bat we have any fruit known to man." Izzy smirked.
" Just a pear or something I can eat with my hands." After he left a quiet beep rang out from the system. Solitaire looked over at the computer to see a tiny light on the digital map. It appeared to be a symbol, like Cody's crest, but Solitaire didn't recognize it. She cross-referenced it to the crests that the computer would recognize and her mouth dropped open. There on the screen was the Crest of Light, flashing with all brilliance to show that its bearer was awakened and using their power.
Izzy walked back into the room and looked at the screen; he blinked than drew a deep breath. " Call the others our problems just got worse."
***
Yolei paced back and forth in her room.
" Yolei, this isn't doing you any good. Just sit down and try to rest." Ken tried to comfort her.
" You don't understand. I can't rest until I find my baby."
" She's my daughter too, Yolei. I miss her just as much as you do."
" You weren't there when she was born, you aren't around her twenty-four seven." Yolei seethed.
" And whose fault is that?" Ken stood up and glared at Yolei.
There stood there for just a moment looking at each other, the hours of worry and frayed nerves were coming to a head.
" You hit me, you would have hit her." Yolei accused.
" You still haven't forgiven me for that? God, Yolei, what haven't I done trying to make up for that? If you still don't think I changed then what the hell is the point of me being here. Cause I'm sure not welcome, if you don't want me here, then why should I stay." Ken growled.
" You made me a doll."
" You didn't exactly fight that."
" I was your slave!"
" Are you going to hold that against me forever? I thought you forgave me."
" Should I have?"
" What kind of question is that?!? If you don't think I've changed what is the damn point?!? We're right back to where we started!"
" It's not like I …" Yolei trailed off as the door opened and the couple looked at Matt, who was standing in the doorway. Yolei ran to him and basically hid behind him.
Matt looked down at her, " You want me to get rid of him?"
Yolei shook her head, but announced. " I want to go for a walk."
Matt nodded and glared at Ken as lead her out of the room and gathered their coats.
" Matt? We were talking." Mimi interjected quietly.
" I'll be back." He answered and he and Yolei left the apartment.
" Of course you will." Mimi growled and wrapped her arms around her stomach.
Ken looked at her, "Is it always like that?"
" Yup." Mimi pursed her lips and stormed into the kitchen.
" Then why do you stay?" He asked.
" It's getting to be for TK anymore; the change would be bad for him." Mimi slammed the dishes into the dishwasher.
" Do you still love him?" Ken whispered.
" Yes. I wish I didn't. It would make everything so much easier."
" Would you leave?"
" No, Yes, oh I don't know. I hate playing second fiddle to anyone, but I suppose there are worse things."
Ken shook his head. " You shouldn't sell yourself short. Matt's a fool to do this to you."
" And Yolei is a fool to let everyone else dictate her relationship." Mimi added. "She loves you, she really does. She should have married you already if she wasn't so worried about everybody else."
" I'm a little different."
" True, but it doesn't make it right." Mimi wiped off her hands and looked up at him. " Do you know what happened the day Kari died or whatever happened to her?"
" Not really." Ken rubbed his temples, " I saw her body and than I found TK unconscious. So I took him back to my tower. I noticed the energy wave that hit before the wave actually hit and I left. The rest is history."
" The twisted the tale that it is." Mimi sighed and looked out the window. " You love them don't you?"
" More than life itself. Yolei is the reason I changed. I don't know what I would have become if it wasn't for her." Ken ran his hand through his hair. " I just wish I could comfort her right now or do something fix this."
" We all do." Mimi jumped as the phone rang. " Excuse me." She picked up the phone. " Hello. Izzy slow down I can't understand a word you're saying…what about a crest…okay I understand…Matt's out with Yolei as soon as they get back we'll be over…Bye." Mimi hung up the phone and glanced at Ken. " They spotted Kari's crest on the tracker. There's no doubt now, she's alive."
***
They'd been walking for twenty minutes when Matt looked at Yolei, " So what was that all about?"
Yolei just shrugged and stared at the horizon in front of her.
" Yolei, you can't just take all this out on him." Matt shoved his hands in pockets.
" Why not? He caused all this. Since when do you take his side? I thought you hated him." She looked up at him confused.
" I do, but I don't. It's kinda hard to hate someone going through this." Matt exhaled deep breath. " I guess I just wanted someone to blame for everything and he became my target. Not that knowing that means I'm going to be his buddy."
Yolei snorted, " He's arrogant as all hell at times."
" So am I." Matt justified. " Besides, when we find Cammy the last thing you should do is exclude him from his daughter."
" I just want my little girl." Yolei sniffed. " The tears just won't stop."
" They will; eventually." Matt looked up at the sky and felt a raindrop on his face. "Come on we should probably head back. I need to talk to Mimi."
Yolei nodded and turned around. After ten minutes of silence she finally admitted. " I want to marry him next summer, no matter what happens with Cammy. As long as we know one way or the other."
Matt sighed, " It's your decision."
" Matt, I want you there and smiling." Yolei insisted.
Matt wrapped his arm around her shoulder, " I'll try, but I think of you as my little sister and I don't think he's good enough for you."
" You wouldn't think anybody's good enough for me." Yolei pulled out her key and opened the door to the apartment building.
" True, true." Matt held the door for her and they walked on the elevator.
They reached the door and heard Mimi growl, " I just wish, just once that I could take priority. Like I used to. I mean I used to mean something. Now I'm his damn servant."
Matt winced and Yolei looked like she was going to start crying all over again. Matt opened the door and looked at Ken and Mimi. " We miss anything?"
Mimi jumped up from where she was sitting, " Yes, a lot. TK, Matt and Yolei are back it's time to go."
" Go where?" Matt questioned.
" Izzy and Solitaire spotted Kari's crest this morning. It was active, which means she's alive. We're all meeting over at Lexi and Izzy's." Mimi answered pulling her coat on and buttoning it.
Yolei walked over to Ken and whispered, " I'm sorry, I just…"
He hugged her and kissed the top of her head. " I know me too."
The group walked out of the apartment; and headed towards the garage.
" So the crest of light showed up? Are they sure it's her?" Matt inquired.
" That isn't something you can fake. Besides they're sure…" Mimi began.
" Kari! I will see Kari!" TK announced.
" Who knows; maybe." Matt supposed.
TK stopped in his tracks and in a voice that held all the clarity of someone his age he said: " I will see Kari. She's alive and I know it."
***
" I know Gatomon, is trying to keep this place quiet, but I'm going to die on the way there." Tai grunted as he hiked over another hill.
Davis, who was keeping pace beside Tai, chuckled, " I thought the original, fearless leader of digi-destined was up to a little hike, besides you didn't have to come along."
Tai sighed heavily, " I wouldn't classify this as a little hike. And as for coming with you, I didn't feel like waiting for Matt and the others, they can take forever. I can't believe we didn't think to ask Gatomon earlier, it was the easiest answer."
" Obvious oversight, this isn't exactly something we're used to dealing with." Davis shrugged his shoulders.
" Is anything in our lives classifiable as normal to deal with?" Tai pointed out exasperated.
" Point taken." Davis shook his head, " I wish I still drank."
Tai laughed, " You and me both."
The pair continued their hike until they reached another plateau, where they saw wispy-gray smoke rising in the distance. The scent of burned earth, rose eerily over the land, and filled the two men with dread.
" This is not a good sign." Davis muttered.
" That's after-smoke, whatever was burning has burned itself out, let's go see if there's anything left." Tai growled and trudged forward.
***
It didn't take them long to reach the heap of ash, which had previously been Gatomon's Haven for digimon: the ones that were trying to fix the scarred land. Tai threw a rock at the pile of ash. " Damn-it!"
Davis knelt down to inspect the land around the mound, " These are electric burns."
" Does everything in our lives have to turn upside-down at the same moment?!?" Tai started looking for signs of life among the rubble.
" That's the way it's always gone." Davis commented before jerking his head up. " Who's there?"
A smaller flaming digimon came out from a rock; she looked nervously at the destined.
" Nitramon, what happened here?" Davis asked her.
" Myotismon destroyed the Haven, he came with the Light-bearer." The quiet digimon answered.
" You mean Kari?" Tai questioned.
Nitramon shrugged, " I do not know names, but it was the Light-bearer."
" Where's Gatomon?" Tai continued.
" Gone; she was taken by the Myotismon. Those other digimon, who were chosen by crests were taken as well. Taken beyond reach forever."
Tai shut his eyes and took a deep breath.
Davis looked at Nitramon, " What happened during the battle?"
" I do not know. I was gone, when it started. It was like Gatomon knew her death was coming." Steam rose from the digimon's cheeks as a few tears escaped her eyes. "When I arrived her friends had just fallen and Myotismon and the Light-bearer came. I thought she was one of you."
Davis felt tears gather in his own eyes, " We aren't sure about that right now. Are you sure it was the Light-bearer?"
" All digimon know her; her power is great." Nitramon explain.
" Was there a young one with them?" Tai suddenly asked.
Nitramon shook her head, " No; no young ones since Primary's destruction."
" Nitramon, he means a young human child. One with lavender hair and dark blue eyes, a very tiny human child." Davis explained.
She shook her head again and other digimon began to move towards the mountain ridge. " I must go lead them away from here."
" Why? There shouldn't be anymore threat." Tai tried to reason with the young digimon.
Nitramon simply started to follow the others; " There is nothing for us here anymore." She made it another few feet before turning around to look back at the two men. " Know this Courage bearers, the little one was carried by Fuzzymon. Myotismon and the Light-bearer are keeping her until the world sends out its life energy."
***
" How long have they been gone?" Matt questioned as the group settled in the living room.
" They should be getting back soon." Izzy folded his arms over his chest and sighed, " and I think it we should hold off explaining everything until they get back."
" Can we please just get a basic idea? I don't know how many more shocks I can take." Yolei pleaded as she leaned against Ken.
Solitaire nodded, " Kari's crest is active, which means she's using her power."
Mimi suddenly looked at Izzy, " But why did Tai and Davis go into the digital world with no leads to follow?"
" They went to talk to Gatomon." Izzy answered.
" Something we probably should have thought of in the first place." Cody growled.
" But what good would it have done? Gatomon thought Kari was dead to begin with, didn't she?" Solitaire rationalized.
" I hate to be rude or selfish, but why are we worry about this? My baby is still missing!" Yolei drew a shaky breath to keep from crying.
Suddenly a loud bang sounded against the wall. The group turned and looked at Justice, who had thrown his game against the wall in anger. Taylor stood up and walked over to her son. " Hey, we talked about that."
Justice stuck out his lip and stomped his foot. " It's a stupid game!"
Taylor ushered her son to a chair, " Yes, but you still shouldn't throw things. Time out for five minutes, I'll tell you when you can get up." She walked by over to the adults and sat down in the armchair, " I hope my next one inherits her father's temper."
Davis and Tai walked in from the computer room. " We've got some bad news." Tai announced sadly and looked at Joe and Izzy. " Gatomon and most of the others at the Haven were destroyed."
The two men, whose partners were lost, closed their eyes and took a calming breath.
" But we also have bad/good news." Davis fidgeted, before continuing, " Lees, we know where Cammy is."
Yolei grasped and pulled her hands over her mouth. Her eyes held a bit of hope as she questioned, " Where?"
" Myotismon has her. He and Kari destroyed the Haven." Davis told the group.
" How do you know it was Kari?" Sora questioned.
" Nitramon told us. Izzy she mentioned something about the world's life-energy or something like that. Do you know what she's talking about?" Tai questioned.
Izzy sighed, " Nitramon tends to talk archaic, which makes her difficult to understand. She's probably referring to the refreshing."
Taylor stood up and started walking to the bathroom.
" Taylor?" Joe questioned.
She waved her hand dismissively and continued to walk to the bathroom.
" Okay so Myotismon has Cammy. What are we waiting for?" Ken demanded.
" You aren't going." Matt snapped.
" Like Hell I'm not she's my daughter."
" We don't know if we can trust you."
" I'm not asking you for your trust, but you're not leaving me behind."
" Or me." Yolei interjected.
" Yolei…" Ken began.
" No, I'm her mother. I'm going."
" Well, then I'm going too." Mimi challenged. " It's time the dream team got back to work."
" I will go." TK piped up.
" TK, I don't…" Matt argued.
" I will go." He repeated.
Suddenly a loud thud came from the direction of the bathroom.
" Taylor!" Joe jumped, ran to the door, and jerked it open. " Someone call an ambulance!" He knelt down beside his wife, who was bleeding from her head. " Taylor? Taylor, can you hear me?"
" What's wrong with Mommy?" Justice questioned.
Solitaire picked up Justice and carried him away from the bathroom. " It'll be okay Justice, don't worry."
***
The ambulance arrived and the emergency team placed the unconscious Taylor on a stretcher. Joe looked at the others. " I have to go. Solitaire, take care of Justice."
Justice was struggling in Solitaire's arms. " I'm sorry Mommy. I'm sorry."
" Joe, don't worry, we'll handle everything." Tai assured him.
Joe nodded and the doors of the ambulance slammed closed.
Matt folded his arms over his chest. " Let's go."
***
Davis, Yolei, Ken, Cody, Sora, Tai, Mimi, Matt, and TK stood in front of the computer as they prepared to transport to the digital world. Solitaire shifted Justice in her arms as she Izzy and Lexi prepared to monitor.
" Anything looks remotely odd I'm pulling you out." Izzy informed them.
The group nodded. Yolei looked up at Ken, " If you find Cammy grab her and transport out immediately."
" Okay, but the same goes for you."
The light flashed for a moment and the group was gone.
***
Soft crimson eyes looked up to sky, " All is not as it should be."
" Is there a problem my Kali?"
" That isn't my name." She informed the male digimon standing beside her.
" Kali suits you better my dark goddess."
"Myotismon, there is no darkness in me. My name is Kari; for I am light."
***
*Begin Flashback
He gasped for air as blood poured from his side. Not enough to run the teleportation device, he couldn't get help. His entire frame resonated with pain as he pulled himself forward. 'Oh the irony,' he thought bitterly. ' Here lies the digimon emperor destined to die in puddle of his blood, destroyed by his own obsession.' Ken coughed up a fair amount of blood and sank against the floor.
A soft clicking sounded a few feet away and Ken struggled to look up into the face of Wormmon. " Don't worry Ken, I'll save you." The tiny digimon adjusted the transportation box.
" There isn't enough power you stupid creature. I'm going to die here." Ken spat.
Wormmon looked sadly down at Ken, " I'll save you."
The digimon began to glow and in a flash Ken was back in his apartment in the real world. " I don't understand." He whispered before passing out.
End Flashback*
Yolei's scream snapped Ken from his mental ravine. She was shacking in pain as her old scars were bleeding with the emergence of her wings.
" Yolei?" He questioned.
" I'm fine." She snapped, spreading her wings and taking flight. "I'll scout ahead. I'm going to find my daughter and make Myotismon pay for what he's done."
" Don't do anything rash." Tai cautioned. " You can't do this by yourself."
" You can't do this all!" A deep voice boomed over their heads.
" Myotismon! Come and face me! I'll tear you apart with my bare hands you worthless beast!" Ken screamed.
" My, my how the emperor has fallen. Worried about our prodigy are we?" Myotismon mocked.
" Where is he?" Cody scanned the area, but was at a loss as to where the voice was coming from.
" I'm close." Myotismon answered. " Now, we're going to play a little game. The first play is mine, it's time to up the stakes a bit."
The land altered in shape and the destined were separated into smaller groups and encased in a maze.