Note- This is the chapter where my original character is mentioned for the first time. If you want to know about her and how she was introduced to the Digidestined read the story that precedes this one, If I Never Knew You. It can be read in its entirety at http://www.yoleiperfecto.8m.com in the fanfic section. If you don't feel like knowing what happened before this, it probably won't matter since she's not a main character in this story anyway, but it might help things from getting confusing.





Chapter Thirteen- Digital Gate Open





The next night, Matt was back in the living room on the couch, trying to fall asleep. Last time he had checked, the clock had read 1:13 am.

Just as he was drifting off, he heard a faint ringing sound. Thinking it was only a dream, he ignored it and kept his eyes shut. Then he heard it once more. Matt sat up and looked around, finally realizing the phone was ringing.

When he saw that no one else was awake to answer it, he walked across the room and picked it up off the receiver.

"Hello, Kamiya residence."

"Matt? Is that you?"

"Uh, yeah, Izzy?"

"Yeah it's me Matt, and boy do I have some news for you."

"Izzy, what are you doing calling up at one in the morning?"

"Well, I was sitting up at my computer playing trigonometry trivia over the internet with Ken when I noticed something rather peculiar. My Digivice was reacting to something, then out of no where, the Digiport on my computer opened!"

"What!?" Matt shouted, forgetting that everyone else in the house was asleep. "The Digiports have opened up again, you're kidding!"

"I'm not, Ken sent me an instant message informing that the same thing had happened to him. Go into Tai's room and check the computer right away."

Matt did as Izzy instructed and hurried into Tai's room, still carrying the phone. He glanced over at the corner and saw that the computer was on. Not only was it on, but a full view of the digital world was visible through the screen.

"No way, it really is open!"

"Wake everyone up Matt," Izzy told him over the phone. "It looks like we're going back to the digital world. I'll call all the older kids and you call the younger ones,"

"Wait," Matt interrupted. "Can you call TK for me?"

"He's your brother, it makes more sense for you to call him."

Matt hesitated. "I can't, I'm not ready to talk to him yet."

"Matt what happened, you can tell me, I won't spill the beans."

"Sorry Izzy," he sighed. "I haven't even told Tai, I..."

"Fine then, I'll call TK for you but you're going to have to face him sooner or later. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Ken is on his way to Odaiba right now, we're all meeting at my house."

"Why your house?"

"One, because I'm a technical genius, and two because my mom baked peanut butter and jelly cookies this morning, see ya!"

Izzy then hung up the phone to do some calling.

Matt leaned over Tai's bed and shook him gently.

"Hey, Tai wake up!" He whispered.

Tai groaned and rolled over in bed. He opened one eye sleepily and looked up at Matt.

"Whata'ya want..." Tai said, still half asleep.

"Tai, the Digiports are open! We have to go back to the digital world for something."

Now, Tai was wide awake. He shot up in bed.

"You're kidding right?"

"That's what I said too, but it really is open!"

"Said to who?"

"Izzy called me up and told me about it."

"Heh, I should have known." Tai smiled.

Tai and Matt got dressed and then woke up Kari. When the three of them were ready, they left a note on the kitchen counter informing their parents that they might not be back home for a while, and snuck quietly out of the apartment.

When they reached Odaiba Mansion, they could see the light on in Izzy's room and knew that some of the others had already arrived. Matt looked up as they were walking inside and saw Cody and Yolei walking up the street from their apartment building, and TK was close behind.

Matt swallowed nervously when he saw his younger brother. How could he face him? TK looked so distant, and so alone. He knew he wasn't really up to this, but as a Digidestined, he had a duty to fulfill.

Tai, Matt and Kari crept quietly to Izzy's apartment door, but when they opened it up, they saw that Mr. and Mrs. Izumi were wide awake and packing food into backpacks.

"Hello kids," Izzy's mother said cheerfully. "I hope you like peanut butter and jelly cookies!"

The three of them looked at each other a bit puzzled for a moment until Izzy walked out of his room.

"Hi guys, my parents kind of woke up when everyone started coming over, so I had to tell them everything. They said they'll clear things up with the other parents, about us leaving again."

Tai walked up and bowed politely to Izzy's parents.

"Thanks for all your help, we're probably going to need all the help we can get." Tai was really enjoying the opportunity to act like a leader again.

In about 20 minutes, every one but Davis (excluding Mimi and Jesi) had arrived.

"Where is that pineapple head?" Matt grumbled.

Izzy was sitting tapping away furiously on his computer, and the others were waiting patiently in different spots around the room. Tai, Matt and Sora were on Izzy's bed. Kari had finally managed to get TK to talk and they were chatting in the corner of the room. Joe, Yolei and Cody were sitting in the middle of the room, desperately trying to teach Yolei how to play Go Fish. Ken sat backwards in a desk chair twiddling his thumbs nervously, there seemed to be something on his mind.

Tai glanced up at Matt when he noticed he and TK were kind of ignoring each other.

Sora leaned over and whispered in Tai's ear,

"Do you know what's wrong with them, Tai?"

"I still haven't figured it out," he answered. "He won't tell me anything."

Just then, Davis burst into the room panting.

"Sorry I'm late, but right as I was leavin' Jun woke up and blocked the door. I had to threaten to flush all clothes down the toilet before she'd let me leave."

"It took you a half hour to do that!?" Tai groaned.

The argument might have continued, if Izzy hadn't turned away from the computer screen and interrupted.

"It seems," he said, "that the Digiports are open in America too, I just got a frantic e-mail from Mimi and another not so frantic e-mail from Jesi. They're going to meet us in the digital world. Jesi's note seemed a bit strange though." At this, Izzy turned to Ken, who seemed very troubled about something. "Ken, did you two know anything about this before now?" Izzy inquired.

"Well..."

"Come on Ken, if you have something to say, spit it out!" Tai yelled at him.

"Settle down, Tai." Matt elbowed him in the side.

"I have a confession to make..." Ken swallowed nervously. "The Digiports...they haven't exactly been closed over the past year."

Everyone gasped, and Tai seemed to be growing increasingly agitated.

"Are you telling us you've been to the digital world and you didn't tell anyone?" he growled at Ken.

Ken nodded, looking a bit ashamed, and continued. "I would have said something, but we had to promise not to let anyone know, only the black and white Digivices were able to open the ports."

"What do you mean you had to promise?" Tai butted in, again.

"Last year, Gennai informed Jesi and I that we could go to the digital world at any time, but only the two of us. He said it was kind of a gift, for saving the digital world."

"But we all saved the digital world! Why should only you two get to go when the rest of us were stuck here this whole time!?" Tai's hands were starting to form into fists now.

"Will you let me finish!?" Ken snapped.

Everyone's eyes sort of popped open in shock when they heard Ken raise his voice. Tai seemed to be in shock too, because he sat back and lowered his hands. Ken hardly ever got mad, he was always so calm and reserved, and when he yelled it was a bit...intimidating.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell anyone, but we couldn't." Ken sighed. "Then about a month ago, something weird happened."

"Something weird?" Izzy said, raising an eyebrow.

"Right after February break, the Digiports suddenly closed, neither of us could get them open. We've been trying to figure out what happened, but it's like the whole digital world was just sealed off."

"Very interesting..." Izzy pondered. "Well obviously something has gone wrong in the digital world, and we're needed again."

"Well what are we waiting for?" Tai said. He stood up and looked down at everyone. "It's time to go back to the Digital World."

They all gathered their things and each took some of the food Izzy's parents had prepared. Izzy's mother stood back and sniffled a bit. She knew she might not be seeing her son for a while.

Izzy moved aside and they all gathered around the computer.

"Yolei, would you do the honors?" He said.

Yolei, as the official digital gate opener, held her D-3 up to the screen and shouted,

"Digiport o-"

"Izzy," Mrs. Izumi interrupted Yolei in mid-shout.

Izzy turned around, scratching the back of his head.

"Yeah mom?"

Izzy's mother had her arms outstretched and was motioning for him to come over. He made his trademark Izzy groaning noise as he walked by Matt and Tai, who were stifling giggles.

Mrs. Izumi threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug.

"Oh Izzy, I'm going to miss you so much."

"Moooomm...." He grumbled.

When Izzy's mother was done saying goodbye, Yolei held her D-3 up to the screen again.

"Digiport Open!!" she shouted.

There was a bright flash of light, and the Digidestined were sucked into the Digital World once again.