Wow…A lot of people played the guessing game and won…Aw, now the suspense is all ruined. I'll explain the 'relapse' later.

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, never have, never will.

The Healer's Touch

Chapter 3: Power of Hope

When Kari and Yolei entered the computer room the next day, they were late. One look and she immediately noticed something wasn't quite right. It was Saturday, so they'd usually be all excited or nervous or pumped or something.

But today they looked…a little upset. When the girls walked in, Davis was standing in the corner by the window, looking for something, then occasionally hitting his head on the wall in frustration. Ken sat in a chair with his hands in his pockets, looking a bit sheepish. Cody was tapping the wall with a broom, looking a bit perturbed with himself.

Kari glanced between them, finally daring to ask. "Where's T.K.?"

Everyone stiffened, turning around just a tiny bit and looking sheepish. Yolei narrowed her eyes. "What happened?"

"Well…" Cody started quietly. "He showed up early, so he was here long before any of us…"

"And of course, we still wanted to know about…well, you know." Ken muttered. "Yesterday."

"So we…asked him about it." Davis shrugged.

"'Asked' him?" Kari asked.

"Well…" Davis scratched the back of his left leg with the other foot, then Ken answered for him.

"We used his plan." Ken rolled his eyes. "When we walked in, we asked him. And when he refused…"

"Davis slammed him into the wall." Cody finished.

"You what?!" Kari turned on Davis, who shrank back a bit.

"I just figured…"

"What kinda knuckle-brain are you, anyway?" Yolei exclaimed. "Even if you wanted to know something, you won't get anything out of him at all if you punch his lights out!"

"Where do you get off?" Kari cried. "If he doesn't want to tell us, why push it?!"

Davis raised his hands up in defense, backing away nervously. The girls both huffed and turned their backs on him. The goggle-head sighed gratefully, shifting over beside Ken. "Bit off a little more than you could chew, huh?" his friend asked, grinning.

"No kidding…" Davis gulped. "Remind me never to get those two mad again."

Cody tapped the top of his head with a pen, thinking during the next silence. Then he looked up. "You girls really aren't fooling anyone." he said quietly. "You're just as curious about it as we are."

Both girls looked at each other, then sighed. "Yeah, of course we are." Yolei sighed. "But there's got to be a better way of finding out than trying to beat it out of him."

Ken gave a mischievous grin. "There is."

The others turned to stare at their friend. Ken was typing something into the computer, coordinates for the Digiport. "I talked to Izzy the other day." he snickered. "Told him there was something up. He's got a pretty tight schedule, but he did manage to give me the address for a certain old friend of ours…"

"Gennai?" Kari guessed, and Ken nodded.

"Great!" Yolei cheered. "If anyone knows what's going on, he will!"

There was a bit of a silence. Yolei glanced out of the corner of her eye at Davis, who was standing nervously behind her. "…Well?" she demanded.

"Well what?" Davis shrugged innocently. "You waiting for me to say something?"

"Yes!" Yolei snapped.

"Well, what?"

"What you always say!" Yolei snatched up his Digivice from Davis's belt and forced it into his hand. "Open the Port!"

"Why don't you open it?" Davis complained.

"Because it doesn't feel right!" Yolei grinned, obviously enjoying the chance to be very annoying. "Let's go already!"

And with a flash, the group disappeared into the Digiport.

Patamon looked down at T.K. His ear was draped against the wall, and his friend was leaning in the same position, listening in to the conversation of the room next door. "They're on to us, T.K."

"I know, Patamon." T.K. sighed slowly. He picked his bag off the floor and started to leave.

"T.K.…" Patamon's worried voice from his head made him stop. "Why don't you want to tell them?"

T.K.'s eyes dropped down, deep in thought. "If they knew…" he muttered. "They'd never understand…They'd want to keep me back from everything, especially the fights. If any of them get hurt because of that…I'd never forgive myself."

"But they're going to find out anyway…!"

"I know…" T.K. sighed. "But…There's just nothing we can do about it now… Except stay away…"

~ * ~ * ~

"…A lake?" Davis finally asked. "Gennai's house is a lake?"

"I guess…" Ken looked around, searching for a beach house. "The coordinates Izzy gave me are…right in the middle…"

A bead of sweat dripped down the back of everyone's heads, Ken included. There was a moment of awkward silence. "Uh…now what?"

"Come in, of course!" a familiar voice suddenly sounded.

The kids looked at each other, but no one had said it. Then Yolei looked out into the lake and jumped a foot. "The water!!" she exclaimed.

Before anyone could react, the water in front of them parted with a rush into two walls of water straight out of Moses. Between them were a huge set of tall white stairs, leading down to a traditional-looking Japanese house, a huge garden in the front.

"I guess that's it, huh?" Cody muttered quietly.

"'Guess so." Kari muttered. "In we go."

They hurried down the stairs and into the house, least the water closed on them again. The open door closed securely behind them and the water closed up once it was done. Fish began to swim outside the windows. "Nice place." Davis whispered in awe.

"Thank you." the group jumped and turned to find Gennai, as young as ever, sitting by a steaming kettle. There were seven cups sitting in front of him, and a bag of some sort of powder. "I was expecting you, kids. Just making a little hot coco. Would you like some?"

The kids gratefully accepted, each taking a cup after it was prepared for them. Gennai took his as well, sitting back on his cushion, then noticed that one cup did not have an owner.

"Well now…" he said, taking this in. "Where's T.K.? I assumed he would be coming with you."

"Actually, Gennai…" Kari sighed, setting her glass down. "That's what we came to talk to you about…"

"About T.K.?" the man asked.

"Well…yes…" Ken started it out for them. "See, lately he's developed a strange sort of…power…"

"Power?" Gennai asked.

"Yes…" Yolei glanced over at Ken, who was feeling the ankle he'd hurt in memory. "He can…It's hard to explain, but…he…"

"He can heal wounds on his own, with only a touch?" Gennai said quietly. "And afterwards he pulls away from you, keep his distance?"

The kids stared a moment, shocked. "How'd you know that, Gennai?" Kari exclaimed. "That's it, exactly!"

The man sighed. "I expected as much." he muttered, setting his up down. "That boy is so stubborn…He's never told you, I take it?"

"Told us what?" Davis insisted, leaning forward. "What's he hiding?"

Their advisor contemplated a moment, then looked up at them. "Kids…This is a very serious matter." he said quietly. "This…this power of T.K.'s is nothing to been taken lightly, especially now."

"What is it, though, Gennai?" Cody asked. "Why would he hide it from us?"

"I suppose he must have his own reasons for hiding it from you…" Gennai sighed. "You see kids, this 'healing light' as it is called in our old legends, is a physical embodiment of the Crest of Hope."

"A 'physical embodiment'?" Ken was, like the others, all confused.

"Kari…" Gennai turned to her. "Your crest also has experienced this kind of embodiment, but it was much more…active."

"My crest…?" Kari thought a moment, then it came back. "Oh! WaruMonzeamon!"

"Excuse me?" Davis asked. "War-ru-whatty-mon?"

"WaruMonzeamon…" Kari was deep in thought, reflecting that day. "While we were fighting one of the Dark Masters, Machinedramon, we were trapped in…well, a sewer. And there was this Digimon, WaruMonzeamon, forcing all these Numamon to work for him, running the city. Then somehow, this huge light started coming from my crest…but it powered up all the Digimon, not just Gatomon!"

Gennai nodded. "That was the physical embodiment of the Crest of Light." he told them. "T.K.'s power is quite the same. However, while Light's power is used as a weapon against the forces of darkness, Hope's is used only to heal."

There was a slight silence as he sipped the last of his coco from his cup. "But…as with any great power, there are consequences to pay."

"Consequences?" Yolei squeaked. "Whattya mean, 'consequences'?!"

"For any great energy, you must pay a price." Gennai explained. "It's just the law of how everything works. When using the power of the Crest of Light, the bearer, in other words, Kari, is weakened slightly by the strain. But for T.K.…"

"What?" Cody asked in a hushed whisper. "What happens to T.K.?"

Gennai thought a moment before answering. "The pain from the wound…" he whispered. "Is transferred from the body he heals into his own."

"So he…he takes the wound from the other person?" Yolei asked.

"No." Gennai shook his head. "He takes the pain that the wound inflicts. The wound itself is eliminated, but the pain is given to him until which time that it would diminish."

"That's right!" Kari gasped, sitting up. "He was limping after he healed Ken's leg!"

"Of course!" Ken hit himself on the forehead. "The only reason I couldn't walk was because I'd cut a tendon! The pain would only be enough for a bad limp!"

"Indeed." Gennai nodded. "The pain of a wound is transferred, but not some of the consequences. If one of you, for example, was hit by a Digimon attack that pierced a lung, it would be painful for him to absorb it, but it wouldn't kill him. However…and this is the most serious part…it is possible to die from the pain of a wound, instead of the wound itself."

"Die?!" Kari squeaked, mind racing. The dream…it couldn't be…was T.K. really going to die?

"The pain diminishes as though the wound was there." Gennai assured her. "It doesn't just collect there, it disappears. But too much at once would make his vital organs freeze up, and there'd be no way for him to get any help."

A hush fell over the room as their older friend gazed amoung them. "As I said before, T.K. must have his own reasons for wanting this kept a secret. So I ask you not to broach it against his will. Treat him the same way you would as though nothing was different about him. It's the best thing for all of you."