Ken sat up, wincing, as Wormmon shook him awake. Yolie was splayed out next to him, her long strawberry hair tangled in Hawkmon's feathers. The ground was cold and gray as stone. Ken leaned forward and wrapped a hand around Yolie's shoulders, trying to gently shake her awake. As she stirred, Wormmon began to untangle Hawkmon and Ken looked out for the others in the darkness.

They were laying in a park, or something of the kind; a bitter fountain with icy water was glittering faintly a few feet away. The grass was faded and dying, and broken shards of rock littered the yards. Withered flowers grew beneath the shadows of weeping trees. Cody, who was rubbing the back of his head, had fallen at the base of a willow with Armidillomon beside him; Patamon hovered over TK, who pushed up from his elbows, shaking his head, from his face-down position.

The dream...lights, follow the lights...

THUD.

"OOOOUUCH"

"AHHHH"

Davis sat up and rubbed his back. Apparently, the stone bench he was laying on was not quite wide enough for him. Veemon yelled as he rolled off and landed full hard on the Digimon's back.

"Hey, watch it Davis!" he said, struggling to stand. Davis stood up quickly and smiled sheepishly.

"Sorry, Veemon, didn't see you..."

TK wasn't paying attention. Lights? What lights? There was a faint mist above the trees, and the sky was dark gray. A bitter wind was blowing. TK looked frantically around as Cody checked his Digivice.

"We're here," he said, wincing a little at the thought. "We're in the virus' main frame. So this..." he looked around the cryptic park. "...this is what the world of the Dark Ocean is like."

"No. It's worse than this," TK whispered. A flash of the Dark Ocean went through his mind. Kari was out there, somewhere, alone, cold...crimson eyes...follow the lights. He gazed desperately around, seeking the flame of some candle far off, or the faint outline of the sun or a moon. There was nothing.

"What lights, Kari?" he whispered.

Behind them, something screeched.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Help me. TK? TK?! Where are you?"

"Hold on, Kari. I'm coming."

Kari was standing in the dark. There were waves lapping around her feet. She stumbled back, seeking dry land, struggling to escape from the icy waters. But she could feel hands, slimy hands, grabbing her ankles, trying to pull her down...

"NO! HELP! PLEASE! TK!"

She tripped and fell back, yelling. She felt a pair of strong arms catch her in mid fall.

The red eyes of the Scubamon grew wide with fear. The ran heedlessly into the depths of their ocean, calling after their Master, as TK lifted Kari to her feet.

She wanted to fall into him, to cry her relief into his shoulder, but her body wouldn't move. His blue eyes gazed into hers and she couldn't breathe; a shadow in his eyes begged her a question.

"The tide," she found herself saying. "The tide, TK. It will come with the high tide. There are paths for all of you. Help me. Follow the lights."

He nodded and the vision swirled. There was an island, a chapel, a race of Scubamon. A shadow with white eyes glared at her. Tai was yelling and sobbing in the darkness beside Sora. Izzy and Joe were running towards them. She saw something huge, something flaming...it had a giant head, the head of a bull, and horns...fangs greeted her and she saw claws, heard a roar...she struggled to run, but her feet wouldn't move. Her thoughts turned to TK and she cried out for him. He answered in a sudden burst of lighted glory. The forms of Angemon and Angewomon appeared and the Demon Digimon disappeared.

It ended abruptly. She saw him standing in the shadows of a willow tree.

"I'm coming, Kari."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Guys, we're here - where's everyone? What's -"

"HE TOOK HER!" screamed Tai, grabbing Izzy roughly by his collar. Izzy's eyes widened in shock as he met Tai's tear-streaked ones. "HE TOOK HER, THAT DAMN BASTARD -"

"Tai! Calm down!" shouted Joe from behind Izzy. Him and Matt each grabbed one of his arms and dragged him back while the computer whiz rubbed his neck.

"Don't get upset, Tai, please," begged Mimi in her pink nightgown, the bags under her eyes not matching the attentiveness in her gaze. Tai wrenched free from the two other Digidestined grasps, but didn't lunge for Izzy. He stood, breathing deeply, his eyes watering. Sora put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's ok, Tai, we'll get her back. We'll get them all back, don't worry..." she managed.

"What are you all talking about?" said Izzy, his face full of sudden fear. He grabbed Tai's shoulders and forced his gaze to meet his. "Tai, where are Davis and the others? Yolie? Cody?"

"They're gone, Izzy, they went into the virus's mainframe," Tai spoke, his voice trembling. His eyes were still filled with a faint, burning anger. "And he took her, the bastard, I'll kill him -"

"Who? Who did he take?" said Joe, putting a hand on Izzy's shoulder.

"Kari. He took Kari." whispered Matt suddenly. His hands were clenched in fists and shaking at his sides. Mimi, her heart wrenching, put a soft hand on his arm. Matt was staring at the ground, his fury blazing silently behind his azure eyes. "And TK, he went after her, and he's gone now, I swear if anything happens to him -" He struggled to finish but couldn't. Instead he ground his teeth and gripped Mimi's hand.

"They went in there?" said Mimi quietly. The fact that Izzy had long-distanced called her at two AM did not bother her at the moment - in fact it had woken her from a nightmare much similar to this. Izzy had explained everything to her, but she was still just realizing the seriousness of the situation. Tentomon buzzed worriedly and Palmon tugged lightly at Mimi's gown.

"But you can pick them up on the digivices, right?" she said hopefully. Tai broke free from Sora's and Izzy's grip and walked over beside Joe. They stood shoulder-to-shoulder, but they did not look at each other. The others could feel an inner bond forming between the leader and the oldest of the group.

"The signal's not working very well," he said. Joe didn't look at him, but nodded, swallowing the lump of dread in his throat. Izzy looked towards the woods.

"It shouldn't be," he said. All eyes turned to him. "When two worlds mix, the effect is disastrous. All communications will be cut off. Maybe the others can get a signal from inside the zone, but not a strong enough one. This is bad."

His eyes trembled as he stared at the woods. From somewhere far off in the distance, a yellow flash ignited in the dark sky. The echo of a screech hung in the air. The others tensed.

"This is very bad," whispered Izzy.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"GET DOWN, CODY!"

Yolie grabbed the boy by his shirt and pulled him down to the ground. TK crouched and shielded his eyes from the flashing, his clothes whipping around him in the intense wind. The Digimon laughed before them.

It resembled a woman, in a way; her eyes were heavily outlined with black and her faint, pale body was perfectly shaped. There were deep scars across her face that made the fierce orange of her eyes stand out. The minuscule gray wings on her back were leathery, and the thousands of black stripes across her gray skin were as dark as night. She was wearing a faint green shawl that went over half her body. She had paws instead of hands that were cast in metal gloves; her boots were thick with nails sticking out of them. There were strings of skulls about her body like jewelry. The darkness of her appearance increased the boldness of her eyes.

Somewhere in the dark field outside the virus zone, Mimi and Sora felt themselves drawn forward.

The woman Digimon smiled sinisterly. But TK did not notice her. At the end of the cold gray path, he could see a candlelight, flickering. The outline of a gate.

Somewhere in a dark room, Kari awoke with a scream and a vision of orange eyes.

TK yelled for her.

She cried back.

The Digimon laughed.

"Leave one," she hissed. The Digidestined looked at each other, and Yolie felt the pull as Sora and Mimi did. They all stepped forth together.

"I will." said three voices. Sora and Mimi stood firmly behind Yolie, with Palmon, Biomon, and Hawkmon at their sides.

The others did not have time for an explanation. TK leapt forward, his eyes on the light, his mind focused on Kari. Ken was behind him, and Cody and Davis soon followed; the three girls stood fearless before the Digimon.

"A fight, then, Ordramon?" said Yolie. The Digimon grinned.

"A test, children."

Halsemon, Lillymon, and Garudamon took flight.

TK burst through the gate at the end of the path and stumbled forward. For a brief moment, Kari could see him. TK could feel her breathe, hear her heartbeat. Her angel eyes called to him, seeking him in the shadows. As he fell forward, losing the image, he held Patamon to his chest and the small Digimon grabbed Gatomon's paw as she tried to reach out towards the image. The Bearer of Hope saw a glimspe of red before he hit something and free-fell to the ground. Kari shook as she tried to reach out, tried to grab Gatomon's free paw. The cat Digimon cried her name but the vision was fading. A faint light shone from Kari's digivice and went out as Gatomon fell with the other Digidestined.

The tests had begun.