Author's notes: I found them! (Maddie drags out her muses by the ears.) I'm sorry but they decided to go on vacation and forgot to in form me so I haven't been able to update. (Maddie glares at Tk, Matt, Tai and Kari who are all in holiday gear.)

Italics are the digidestined's thoughts. Stupid blonde how dare she ruin our holiday. (Maddie turns and glares at Tai who backs away before she uses her karate on him.)

It's a bit shorter than by other chapters but I promise I will update quickly with a longer chapter to make up for it. (Beams happily at everyone before turning on her muses who start to run for their lives.)

Disclaimer: First chapter if needed.

The Crests Within. Chapter Four.

            Tk cried out and pulled himself backwards away from the face hovering millimetres above his own. He suddenly fell backwards landing on the floor, "Ow." He looked up to see he had fallen off a sort of bed. It looked like something you would see at the doctors. A small furry head appeared over the edge, "You alright Tall One?"

"Er . . ." Tk stared at the digimon, it looked very much like a teddy bear, it had a red headdress (A strip of red cloth that had been tied round it's forehead) and a necklace with a feather on it round it's neck. It's huge brown eyes were locked onto Tk.

"Is you okay?"

"I'm fine er who are you?"

"Me Tediimon."

"Tediimon?" Tk asked as he sat up, brushing hair from his face as he scanned the room. They were in a small mud hut, and a second bed was beside his own which Ken was lying on. His eyes returned to the small digimon that had now scrambled off the bed to land beside Tk. "We live in middle of nowhere. No one bother us. We live 'lone. But find you out there. Take care of you Tall One. Where you from?"

"I'm from the human world, and what do you mean by Tall One?"

"We live here thousands of years. No see Tall digimon for so long, you very strange."

"I'm really strange?" Tk whispered to himself under his breath as the small digimon jumped up and down, patting his white tummy happily, glad that they were understanding each other.

"Where are we?"

"In village in ravine." Tk nodded, he was guessing the digimon meant their village was in a ravine. Glancing through the open door he guessed that they were still in the dried out area.

"How's my friend?"

"The other Tall One?" When Tk nodded the small digimon bounced over to the bed and carried on, "He be okay, very tired like you. But hit head." Tk nodded, Ken was slightly paler than usual and had a bandage wrapped round his head.

"Hungry Tall One?"

"Yeah but my name's Tk."

"Okay Tk Tall One." Tk pulled a face as he followed the small digimon outside.

Tk put a hand to his eyes as the wind whipped the sand around him. Squinting, he looked around, there were lots of huts like the one he had been in. He was in the centre of the village, the sand swirling around a huge well in the middle. The Tediimon scuttled across to the other side with Tk trailing him. He bent down slightly as he pushed a curtain aside and stepped into another hut. It was larger than the first and had two rooms, he could make out a stove in between all the smoke coming from one. While the one he was in had lots of table and benches which looked rather messy, wooden carved bowls and plates were scattered around.

"Kiko, guest woke up. Hungry." Tk concluded that the digimon appeared to like to talk in short sentences. But who or what was Kiko? A small light brown female Tediimon walked out. She was slightly taller then the first and wore a white apron over a reddish brown skirt and a red bandanna and a small leather bracelet on her wrist with two stones on it. She smiled and dusted her paws off.

"Takuji get food."  The small male Tediimon scampered off to the kitchen. Kiko ushered Tk to a table which he sat at, knocking his knees against the table top. "You have a name other then Tediimon?"

"Yes, Tediimon Tribe not like most digimon." Tk nodded, she was right they were more human than other digimon. Takuji came in carrying a bowl of what looked like a very leafy stew in one hand and a cup with some sort of red juice in the other. Picking up a wooden spoon, Tk dug in. The food was delicious though it tasted slightly different from something you'd find in the human world. Tk smiled up at Kiko who had been watching him intently as he eat and gently placed his spoon in his bowl. "That was wonderful, but where do you find the ingredients to go in it?"

"What mean?"

"We're in the middle of a desert where do you find the stuff to put in it?" Kiko smiled at Tk and shuffled out the hut, Tk blinked and followed. She wandered past the huts with Tk following though he nearly lost her a few times. His eyes were taking in the village, with the small mud or wooden huts with thatched roofs. The groups of Tediimon wandering the streets, the males wearing headdresses and feather necklaces, the Tediimon had a number of feathers on each they only seemed to go up to four on each though. The females wore bandanas, skirts and leather bracelets with a different number of greenish pebbles on it. Tk wandered what they symbolized but his thoughts were cut short when he came in front of a hill. Kiko was walking up it, Tk followed her up and his jaw dropped when he saw what was on top. It looked to be a small jungle, beautiful flowers of every colour climbed everywhere. Lush green plants were steadily reaching towards the sun.

"Wow, how come this is" He gestured wildly with his arms, "here?" She smiled up at Tk and opened her mouth to reply when Takuji came running up.

"Other Tall person wake up!" Tk smiled brightly and dashed down the hill, he needed to have a talk with Ken.

~*~

            "Matt what are we doing here?"

Matt ignored Yolei's question and carried on walking. Glaring at anyone who so much as dared to look in their direction. Tai smiled as he looked back at Yolei, "We're here to see if Tk and Ken left any clues when they went to the digital world."

"And to check on Saka." Tai rolled his eyes at the blonde, "And to see if Saka is okay. Though if she's as stubborn as her cousins you know she'll be fine." Matt spun round on his heel and glared at Tai, raising his fist. The brunette waved his hands in front of him, declaring surrender. "It was a compliment."

"Didn't sound like one to me." Matt growled as he resumed walking.

"He actually bought it." Tai whispered to himself, amazed.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing!"

~*~

            "So we're in the middle of nowhere, with a group of small digimon who have their own super jungle and don't talk much?"

"Yep."

"What are we going to do?" Tk shrugged as he sat down on the end of Ken's bed. The boy he had seconds ago been talking to, started rubbing his head.

"Headache?"

"Just a small one." Ken mumbled sarcastically, "Shame they don't have aspirin. But it fades away after a while." Tk said happily. Ken rose an eyebrow at the boy's optimism, the mad creature. The only time he wasn't happy was when he was talking about his parent's divorce or something related and . . . the powers of darkness. Ken shuddered, it was his greatest fear that he would one day revert back to the cruel and uncaring genius he had once been. On occasions he would see what he had done in his dreams and would wake up nearly screaming. The only two that knew of this were Tk and Davis. A soft smile painted his lips as he thought of his best friends, they were rather different but both great. Davis knew exactly what to do to cheer him up and would always be accepting of his problems, Tk took a more understanding level to it. Always sharing his own problems with Ken and offering advice where he could. Rising his eyes he locked them on Tk's form, the blonde was now staring at the door. Ken followed his friend's gaze to see a group of Tediimon crossing the ground towards them. Tk smiled and stood up waving to the only female of the pack, who Ken guessed was Kiko. The small digimon smiled up at him before ushering five male Tediimon in. She stepped to the side and the five Tediimon were left to look Ken and Tk up and down. Two who looked to be a bit older than Kiko had five feathers on their necklaces. Tk had thought they had only gone up to four, the other thing was that they weren't wearing the same headdresses as the other males. Each headdress had a single grey feather sticking out the top, one had a dark red which matched well with his golden coloured fur while the other had a muddy brown headdress and rusty red fur. The next two looked nearly identical, both were pitch black in colour and had a white circle over their right eye. The real difference between them was that one was wearing a dark blue headdress and the other a sky blue bandanna. The female had a bracelet with five green stones on it. The final Tediimon in the room had grey fur that was tinged white from old age, it had a staff in one hand and a long necklace that hung past his stomach. His headdress was different, a pure white in colour with alternating grey and light brown feathers on it all the way round. The eldest Tediimon looked up with tired black eyes, he smiled slightly at Tk and Ken as he bowed his head in greeting.

"Welcome Tall ones. Me Bussho head shaman of Tediimon tribe." He gestured to the male black teddy bear, "Arata" next the female black one, "Ayano" the honey coloured Tediimon, "Shiki" the final digimon was introduced as "Ryoichi." Tk smiled at each in turn who nodded their heads back. "We shamen of tribe, predict omens, protect digimon, know medicines, run village. We need know who you are." Tk was about to reply when Takuji ran in, he nodded to the shamen repeatedly who were glaring at him for interrupting before he turned to Tk.

"Tk tall one here." He held a bowl of leafy stew and a spoon up at Tk, the blonde gave the Tediimon a slightly confused look. "For other Tall one." Tk nodded as he took the bowl. Starting when he realised Takuji's paws were incredibly close to his hand which now had a very ripped glove on. Pulling his hand away quickly he made a mental note to fix them later.

"Tk Tall One?" He turned to the head shaman and nodded, it looked like he was going to be called that from now on. Ken snickered behind his back and he turned to glare at his friend as he handed him the food.

"And you?" The leader said now looking at the violet haired boy.

"Ken."

"Ah, Ken Tall One." Ken pulled a face as the shaman smiled up at him. Tk smirked, it looked like their stay here was going to be interesting.

~*~

            Tai poked his head round the doorframe as he took in Tk's room. It was quite tidy, mind you Tai thought, his mother's a tidy freak. He stumbled forward when someone pushed him from behind. He turned and glared at Sora who smiled at him as she stepped in behind him. "Yolei and Davis are checking Ken's room." Tai nodded as he ran his eye's over Tk's chest. Even though he knew he was here for a good cause Tai felt like he was violating Tk's privacy. Kari was the same, there was something private and special about her room. A place where she went to think and be, to put it in a word, wise. She would simply sit on the bed, her les crossed and think. When he had asked her what about she had replied 'everything and nothing.' That had confused him like hell, but he knew it had something to do with Tk's and Kari's crests. They seem so much wiser than their age at times, as if they could see something in the battles that the others could not. Ken had it to, though not as strong as the other two. Davis had gotten so annoyed when Ken had vanished, Tai smirked at this point. Sora had always said that him and Matt combined were a bad combination. Davis, though he had his own personality was very much that, a boy with a few well known traits of Matt and Tai in him. Determination and a quick tongue or as Sora put it being a hothead and not knowing when to stop insulting people. And when it came to friends there was nothing more that Tai and Matt valued more, Davis was the same. And since Ken, his closest friend had just vanished he was being on the ruder side of the line.

"You stupid purple haired idiot, don't you ever listen."

"I do but only to people who actually have a brain."

"Are you saying I'm dumb?"

Tai sighed as he shook his head, the pair's annoyed yells running through the dorm.

 "Would you two shut up!" Tai chuckled to himself as Matt proceeded to lecture the pair before going back to comforting Saka who had come close to tears when she had seen them on the doorstep. Moving forward Tai glanced over the top of Tk's chest of draws. He and Sora poked around, looking in the closest, under the bed etc. Everything looked normal, as if Tk had simply gone out for the day. But he hadn't, the pair had to be in the digital world. There was no other explanation for their disappearance. Tai turned to leave when he spotted something poking out from underneath Tk's pillow. Walking over the brunette pulled out Tk's digivice and d-terminal. Tai frowned, it was an unwritten rule to never leave the house without your digivice. The threat had stopped long ago, but you never knew what might happen. They had stopped carrying them round the house but never left without them being at hand. Their digivices had almost become a good luck charm to the digidestined, having them near made them feel comfortable and safe. So Tk and Ken wouldn't have left without them or gone to the digital world because you wouldn't have anyone to protect you meaning . . .

"They were kidnapped."

"But by who? The apartment looks just fine, no one's broken in or anything." Tai didn't reply he simply turned round and walked back out to Matt who he handed the devices to. Davis and Yolei, both turned away from each other with arms crossed, were standing beside the blonde and Davis was holding Ken's digivice and d-terminal.

"Now what?"

~*~

            After talking to the shamen the pair had discovered the feather necklaces and bracelets symbolised how high they were in the tribe. One feather or stone meant you were a child. Two meant you were in training, a teenager in the human world. The third said you were an adult and would get certain privileges and so on. Four meant you were very good at what you did, and were an expert at your skill be it a warrior or cook. Five meant you were incredibly powerful and in the human world they would be the government. The people who run the village making sure everyone was alright and nothing was wrong. He and Ken were now sitting outside in the sun, a drink in their hands. The Tediimon had said that they could stay here until they were better. But even when they were better they didn't know how they were going to get anywhere. The Tediimon said that the next village was digimiles away, something they had discovered were bigger than normal miles. Kiko and Takuji who were brother and sister had offered for Tk and Ken to stay with them, the boys had agreed and were now sitting outside pondering their next move.

"We can't do anything can we?"

"Nope."

"Tk?"

"Yep."

"Does this mean leaf stew for the rest of our lives?" Tk turned to stare at Ken before he burst out laughing. Ken smiled as he turned back to look at the horizon, he had picked up a few things on how to make people smile from Davis. A slight frown marred his expression, he wondered how the maroon haired boy was.

~*~

"Whadaya mean go home?! I'm not going home until Ken is back. I will sit on his doorstep and wait for him to get back! I am not leaving!"

"Davis-"

"Don't Davis me Tai! I'm not going."

"Look we all want them back but sitting here will do you no good."

"And staying at home will? At least I know that I'm at least trying to find him!" Tai glared at the boy before him, he was beginning to get on his nerves. Matt was going to throw a fit in a second, his cheeks were turning slightly red from repressed anger. If Davis didn't shut up Matt was going to make him by knocking his teeth out.

"Oh Davis would you shut up!" All three boys turned to stare at Yolei. Tears were gathering in the purple haired girl's eyes. "We're all worried, Tk is Matt's brother and Ken means the world to all of us but there's nothing we can do! We can go home and try to find out where they've gone by contacting Gennai. Everyone misses them and . . and . . . ." Yolei trailed off as tears started running down her face. She had finally broken down, collapsing Yolei broke into sobs. She would have hit the ground if Sora hadn't stepped forward and caught her, pulling the girls closer she rocked her backwards and forwards. Davis watched with a pained expression as Yolei cried her heart out on Sora's shoulder.

"I'm . . I'm sorry Yolei." Two tear filled eyes stared at him, "I'll go home and talk to stupid old Gennai and see if he's got any information okay?" She smiled through her tears and nodded at him. The pair had finally found an even ground, Sora thought, caring for Ken.

~*~

            Tk slowly opened his eyes and yawned as he got out of his bed and stood, stretching his arms above his head. He smirked at Ken's sleeping form before he yanked the boy's blanket off him. Ken cried out and curled into a tighter ball, mumbling something under his breath. "Saka go away."

"Thanks but I'm not a girl Ken, get up we need to go help Kiko." Pulling himself out of his bed Ken pulled his jacket on and followed Tk out the door. They had been here for two weeks now and had slowly fallen into a routine. They would get up help Kiko and Takuji collect ingredients before helping make food. They would then go and join the twin shaman, Arata and Ayano. Who they would spend the rest of their morning with helping to teach the younger children (The very small ones that had no feathers or stones, just plain necklaces and bracelets.) Afternoons would be spent alone on the outskirts of the jungle. This time was spent perfecting their abilities. They had gained them for a reason and so they were teaching themselves how to use them. Ken had improved, now being able to move quite big objects around without fainting. Along the way Tk had discovered that he had the ability to not just take the soul and emotions but to give it as well. He spent hours meditating, looking inside himself and his emotions. He had tuned them to the point where he could look at a person or digimon and see their emotions literally wafting around them. However their were slight problems, the higher or more powerful the digimon the harder it was to read. He could now also after determinating their mood, give them part of his emotions and make them feel better. So if they felt unhappy he could pass part of his happiness to them. Their discoveries took a lot out of them and they would spend their evenings listening to tales from the shaman.

Kiko and Takuji padded over to them. Tk and Ken smiled at the two Tediimon before following up the hill in silence. It was a comfortable silence that declared the trusted friendship between the individuals. Smiling to himself Tk thought that perhaps staying here wasn't as bad as they thought it was going to be.

~*~

            Tai frowned as he dropped the phone back into it's cradle. He lowered his head into his hands, fighting back the urge to scream. He had just spent half an hour consoling Sora on Tk's and Ken's disappearance. It had now been two weeks and the hope they once harboured on finding their friends was diminishing. They had stopped believing that it was going to be okay, that they would find them safe and sound. The only three that hadn't fallen into the pit of despair had been Kari, Matt and himself. Though he was now beginning to loose faith, with every passing day they could be killed and there was nothing they could do. He had managed to keep on track because of his position, team leader. If he couldn't stand strong then the rest couldn't. Tai frowned, sometime he hated his job. A knock on the door sounded, pulling himself away from the phone he opened the door to see Matt standing there.

"Hey Tai."

"Matt, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see you Tai why else would I be here?"

Tai nodded slowly, and stepped back to let Matt in. The blonde gave Tai a small smile and followed him into the boy's bedroom. Tai dropped onto his bed while Matt pulled a chair out and sat backwards on it. "So seriously, why are you here?" Matt ignored Tai's question, allowing his eyes to wander across the room. "Matt!"

"I came to check on you." Tai pulled a face, his eyes fixed on Matt who couldn't meet his eyes. "What are you on about blondie?" Matt frowned, fixing his glare on his friend. "Look Tai I know people have been coming to you with their problems. They've been loading them all off on of you and I don't think you can take it."

"Excuse me? I am perfectly all right so don't you come here telling me that I'm not when-"

"Tai I'm just worried about you. I know you're scared for Tk and Ken too but I don't see you complaining."

"I'm perfectly all right, there is no need to worry do you hear me? No need!" He stood up, hands balled into fists as he glared down at his friend.

"So what if people cry on my shoulder hours on end and I have to spend ages making sure they're alright! So what if I have to keep my grief inside while they add to the weight by coming and moaning to me and . . and . . " Matt was looking up at Tai coolly, not caring that the boy was waving his hands around angrily or yelling at the top of his voice at him. "And what if Tk and Ken are dead and it's all my fault because I didn't try hard enough to save them. Because they were pulled into another stupid dimension by some stupid digimon! Stupid stupid stupid stupid digimon."

            Matt would later say that he was sure that Tai's hands had flashed a light red before the curtains caught on fire. One second they were standing there the next the room was half alight. The smoke spilling across the room as the fire spread from the curtains to the cupboard in a matter of seconds. Matt slammed a hand across his mouth staggering backwards as he tried desperately not to breath in the smoke. He looked up at Tai who had a rather dazed look on his face. The boy was standing in the middle of the room, arms still spread out wide.

"Tai come on." Matt chocked out as fear rose in him. What was wrong with Tai? The brunette seemed to come to his senses but as he did all his energy left him. His knees were shaking and sweat pouring down his face as he tried to move towards Matt and the door. There was a crackling and snapping sound and part of the ceiling gave way. Tai managed to move back in time to not get caught underneath the debris. But the momentum and sudden lack of energy caught him off caught. He stumbled backwards before he collapsed by the side of the bed, consciousness trying to leave him as the bed caught on fire. The flames seemed to swirl above him, coming closer and closer. Not daring to look Tai closed his eyes and waited for the end.

To Be Continued . . .

The Tediimon are my own creation, the Japanese name of Teddy Bear with an added mon on the end. If you want to use them (though I doubt that you will) please ask for permission seeing as I love my Teddy Digimon.