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Click.

A camera flashed. The bloody sunset, stretching proudly over the endless blue ocean, was captured in the film of a crimson-eyed girl's camera.

Kari smiled as she lowered her trademark camera. Her short locks waved gently in the breeze and grazed over her soft shoulders. Her yellow spaghetti strap shirt clung to her body as the wind blew against her, her knee-length capris fluttering around her legs. She hung the camera back around her neck just as the dark clouds she'd been avoiding in her picture misted the scene. Knowing that rain was on its way, Kari grabbed her bag and headed back up the beach, wondering vaguely what the others were doing tonight.

They would be visiting the Digimon tomorrow in the Digiworld, and Kari's smile grew wide at the thought. Davis would, predictably, be late, and Yolie would get ticked off (as usual). Davis would complain to Yolie that she didn't HAVE to come if he annoyed her so much, but everyone knew that Yolie HAD to come because she was the one who brought food...Kari frowned. She hated it when her friends fought. But she knew, beneath it all, they were still fast friends. Ken would end the argument in a flash when pulled out his digivice and opened the gate himself, sucking them all inside. Then she would see Gatomon again! Gatomon was the best friend Kari had - well, except for TK, of course.

As her thoughts shifted to the Bearer of Hope, Kari stepped onto the sidewalk of her street. She had seen TK a few hours ago, as school let out. She remembered the way his hair stirred in the breeze, the way he looked at her as he told her he'd pick her up tomorrow at ten, the way he gazed briefly up at the sky before turning and walking away with Yolie and Cody. And then Davis tried to grab her hand and Kari shook her head, forcing thoughts of the obnoxious, spiky-haired teen out.

She stepped into her apartment building and waited patiently fo the elevator. She laughed quietly as she thought of Davis, and how he had tried to play soccer in the middle of the lunch room a few days ago. She was still getting the chocolate pudding out of her hair.

The elevator stopped on her floor and Kari drifted down the hall and opened her apartment door. Tai was sitting on the couch, yawning.

"Hey, Kari. Get any good pictures?"

"Some. There were seagulls attacking me on the dock, so I couldn't get a good shot of the beach from there...but you'll like the sunset one," she said. Tai chuckled and flipped through a few more channels as Kari drifted to her room. As she closed the door, something weighed in on her. She looked up suddenly, her eyes straining to meet and unknown foe's. But the room was dark and empty.

She undressed quickly and sank into bed, even though it was still early. She did not dare to close her eyes for a long time as she listened intensely to the rain pound on the roof. She turned over and faced the wall silently, trying to keep her mind off of the moving shadows behind her.

She did not sleep, but faded, strangely, in and out of a dream. The shadows from the dark ocean were there again, in the water, on the beach, in her room. She was running through aisles of driftwood walls, in a cold cave, down a wet street. She cringed as the dream took a worse turn. Tai was falling off a cliff, and she was reaching out to him. A giant, red-eyed shadow glared sinisterly at her in the darkness. TK stood over the sink in the bathroom, rubbing salt into his skin and running a shard of ice over it. She was tried to reach out to him, but she was drowning, drowning in the blackness of the ocean, in the darkness, in the shadows -

Kari screamed and sat up in bed, gasping for air. She felt her throat faintly and realized that she wasn't really suffocating. She placed one hand on her forehead and closed her eyes, her fingers gripping her shirt. Her heart was beating wildly from fear.

It was just a dream. It was just a dream.

She shivered and got out of bed, turning on her lab top. As the light from the screen illuminated the room, she grew calmer and sat down at the computer. The clock beside it read 2:27

She winced but knew she would have to wait awhile before she could sleep again. In a tired daze she realized she had email. Her heart hammered again. What if its from them?...

No, no, it's not, she tried to convince herself. As she opened it she held her breathe - but sighed in relief when TK's mail popped up on screen.

Email received by: scarletAngeleyes

From: Hopewithyou

Hey Kari

Uh....it's like, two in the morning and I can't sleep....sorry to bother you, you probably won't get this for a few days anyways cause WE'RE GOING TO THE DIGIWORLD!!! I can't wait, I miss Patamon and the other a lot. Don't forget to bring your camera (even though I'm sure you won't).

- TK

Kari smiled. TK always knew how to make her smile. Hoping he was still awake, Kari replied.

Email sent to: Hopewithyou

From: scarletAngeleyes

Hey TK!

Don't worry, I couldn't sleep either. I guess I'm excited about tomorrow. I can't wait to see Gatomon! I had a weird dream though, you were in it but I think it was from awhile ago. I hope its not raining in the Digiworld like it is here. And you know I'd never forget my camera!

- Kari